Chapter 16
The mysterious girl who healed others with penguin potato fries. Any Ark user would know her story. But normally, you wouldn't believe something like that. After all, only the survivor group Haven had proof of her existence. There's no guarantee all Ark info is true. Fakes and scammers run rampant, of course. And Haven itself seemed too perfect as a survivor group, so it was natural to doubt the girl's existence too.
But no. The Fry Girl was real.
"……?!!!!"
"I-is this for real?!"
Maybe they'd seen wrong. Or maybe Private Seunghwa Jeong had somehow gained regeneration powers himself. This time, Sergeant Hyunwoo Park cut his own arm and crunched into a raw potato. After a brief moment, his body healed perfectly. These potatoes were the real deal.
"……Squad leader, how about we take a short break to rest and regroup before continuing the discussion?"
Sua took a deep breath at Hyunwoo's words.
"Dismissed for now. Regroup in 10 minutes."
The soldiers scattered outside at Sua's command. Hyunwoo was the last to leave. In the pre-apocalypse world, a soldier's best friend—cigarettes—would have filled this empty time, but sadly, even smokes were precious now. He just stared blankly at the mountain, breathing in the cold air.
Then Seunghwa approached him.
"Want a smoke?"
"…I'm good."
A brief silence. Hyunwoo eyed Seunghwa uncomfortably. Sergeant and private. Even speaking casually, there was nearly an eight-year age gap. In a normal world without extended service, they might never have crossed paths. One whose gates opened the day before discharge, the other on his first day at the unit. The two stuck in the worst timing stared blankly at the sky.
Seunghwa glanced around before speaking.
"That girl bothering you?"
"…Yeah."
"It's understandable. Situation could've caused some trauma."
"…If she'd escaped fine, I even thought about killing her on the spot."
"Natural reaction. If it had been a humanoid boss monster, it could've taken out the others around."
The judgment was spot-on. They'd lost comrades before by hesitating in unknown situations.
"When I saw her use skills last time, it felt like she hadn't awakened long ago."
"Really?"
"If I'd killed her then…."
Even at low level, she produced overwhelming potatoes effortlessly. If she leveled up more, gained new skills….
It was mind-blowing just imagining it. She might even be the key to ending this crisis. Nearly killing someone like that left his mind uneasy.
"…I'm grateful to her. Even though she probably doesn't feel kindly toward us. She offered a trade first."
"You know what they say? If affinity's low, just shower 'em with gifts!!"
"Yeah, what matters is how we handle it from here."
What's lost can be regained with effort. Reminding himself once more, he headed back. And after pooling opinions….
"Unanimous decision. We'll accept the trade with Hayun."
The military had gained a solid benefactor.
My sponsor groups had doubled: the military and Haven. I still didn't know what the military needed, though. They replied, but I decided to just send some potatoes for now. The friction with them delayed things a bit, but Haven took priority now. The orcs pouring from the gates were too threatening.
Of course, the Bomb Flowers and potatoes I'd sent last time improved things somewhat. But only just. The orcs were too scared to charge, merely surrounding Haven and holding out.
"Falconer!! I'm back!!"
Mae returned from his mission today. I stroked his chest lightly, then pulled out the notebook from the box. We weren't just exchanging short notes with Seola anymore; we'd upgraded to full notebooks for chatting. It reminded me of swapping diaries with friends in elementary school.
Pushing aside the random thought, I flipped to the bookmarked page.
Hayun. Thanks again for the Bomb Flowers.
Thanks to them, the orcs stopped attacking.
We managed to gather tons of survivors in the meantime and catch our breath.
But lately, orcs are encircling us, making scouting tough.
Without your potatoes, we'd be out of food already.
Always grateful. I won't forget this favor.
Why'd you ask for so many carrot seeds, though? I scraped together as many as I could and sent them.
Stay healthy today too.
I set down the exchange diary and pulled out the bag of carrot seeds from the box. I'd collected various seeds while farming my yard, but not in unlimited quantities. Carrots were enough for me alone, but we needed massive amounts now.
But why carrots, you ask? Aren't potatoes and Bomb Flowers the priority?
My answer: NO!! Haven's situation made it clear. The orcs halted after Bomb Flowers, but who knows when they'll swarm again. Plus, rumors said orcs were taking over all of Donghae City. Apparently, no survivors left in the city except Haven. Bitter news.
One solution existed: Mae's bombing runs. But efficiency sucked. No effect on orcs inside buildings.
So what now? I brainstormed with my companions. Our surprisingly inept-yet-brilliant Turtle spoke up.
"Orcs don't see well in the dark, right?"
"Right."
"Why not use that?"
As we'd seen on our last scout. Orcs couldn't navigate darkness without light. Humans were the same, so night fights were rare or torch-reliant back then.
"Using carrots' power, huh?"
"Exactly. Day and night. Both sides use day equally now, but if we master night…."
"Huge advantage."
"Indeed."
"Great. Let's do it."
And so the Carrot Carrot Operation began.
"Rapid Growth!!!"
"High-Speed Growth, nyang."
I botched the skill name again today while activating High-Speed Growth. The scattered carrot seeds sprouted fast. But stop!! I pulled back my mana, leaving just a bit, then poured the rest into about a square yard of planted carrots.
Instantly, the carrots shot up.
"Come out."
At my word, they pulled themselves out smoothly. Gleaming orange carrots. I wished I could stamp them "EX-Rank Druid Carrots," but no such skill. I just dusted off the soil carefully and boxed them.
"Safe travels!!!"
I wrote a careful exchange note and tucked in some french fries before sending. That wrapped up today's tasks. Mana depleted, nothing left to do.
Time for rest. Normally, I'd pet my companions or gaze at the sky leisurely. But now I had another option: check Ark.
"Heh heh."
Hugging my cool Penguin, I pulled out the laptop and logged into Ark. First time in ages—heart pounding. Nothing major happened while I was away, right?
Yep, same old Ark. No big deals.
No idea how to tell them apart. Can't loot convenience stores carelessly anymore. Lost an arm. Would've been dead without a healer.
Mimics, huh. Could be risky, but my companions scout for me, so fine. Gotta tell Mae to watch out.
College buddy I escaped with. Lately, she's chatting and laughing with the ration guy. He's a shelter guard Awakener—gives her extra cans maybe? Non-Awakeners suck. World's ended, but my love life's still apocalypse. When do I awaken?
Let's survive another day. Fighting!
Awakened F-rank lifestyle job... [Laundry God]! F-rank with "God" in the name? Others shoot sword beams S-rank, flames A-rank, and I'm washing bloody combat uniforms for group Awakeners. Monster apocalypse? Why my life?
"Laundry God? Every kind of Awakener exists."
I skimmed humor and info posts, checking the world's pulse. Before I knew it, night fell. Battery dead, internet quota filled—enough for a while. I closed the laptop, stretched, and headed to Nyangnyang dozing on the sofa.
"Where's Mae?"
"Back ages ago, nyang."
Following Nyanggel's point, I spotted Mae perched stiffly.
"What'd Haven say?"
"Felt like guerrilla war starts tonight, nyang."
"Oh? Curious."
Wondering how well they'd use my plants. Better than hearing reviews from afar—like when I first healed Seola. But showing up was risky.
As I pondered options….
"Leave it to me!!"
Penguin burst from the room. Bouncing over, he puffed his chest proudly before me.
"Huh? Do what how?"
"I told you! Contract gives special powers!"
"…Oh, right."
Honestly, I'd contracted for the fridge perk. Bonus powers? Score.
"Watch this!!"
Penguin opened wide, exhaling frost that coalesced into an ice block. Very familiar shape.
"Penguin statue?"
An ice penguin statue. Finished, he flexed his shoulders and bellowed.
"This penguin statue solves everything!!"
"…Solves what?"
"Real-time Haven surveillance!"
…?