6. The Ark is Sacred

The Ark felt sacred. An entity that couldn't help but evoke such emotions emerged from the darkness. A massive tiger with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gleaming white fur.

The bandits' reaction upon seeing it was simple.

"That's a big one."

"It's gotta be a unique monster!!"

It was only natural they'd react that way. These bandits, who had survived by slaughtering monsters and even fellow awakeners for their loot, wouldn't cower before a single oversized tiger. If anything, it felt like a treasure chest had dropped right into their laps. And given their own considerable skills, it was a reasonable assumption.

If only their opponent hadn't been the White Tiger and Mae.

Boom—

A massive explosion echoed. The White Tiger in front did nothing at all. It simply stood there nobly, glaring down at the bandits. Yet one of them collapsed. His neck bones shattered in an instant.

"Attack!!!"

Finally snapping to their senses, the bandits launched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a frantic assault. But before the warrior could even reach the White Tiger—

Something invisible pulverized his neck in a flash.

"Magic! It's using magic!!!"

But the bandits just assumed the White Tiger ahead of them was some spellcasting tiger. The White Tiger casually swatted away the archer's arrows, then charged and smashed through the shield awakener's armor. At the same moment, Mae dove from above and eliminated the archer.

Now, only one remained.

"R-run…!!"

He abandoned his fallen comrades in a heartbeat and fled. As the fastest and most perceptive of the bandits, he bolted at top speed. Loyalty among bandits? Not a chance. They were the type to kill and betray each other at the first opportunity anyway.

So he kept running, never looking back, eyes fixed dead ahead. Before he knew it, he'd escaped the mountain and reached a crumbling road.

"D-did I get away?"

He looked up. A round moon hung in the sky. The ruined road and surroundings, bathed in strong moonlight, showed no signs of life.

"G-good. What a relief."

That powerful mana wave must've come from that insanely strong tiger. That's why he'd insisted they not chase too far. Of course, the others had agreed at the time, which was why they'd followed him here. But the man didn't care about any of that right now.

"Gotta tell the others about this place. Tell 'em there's treasure sleeping here—hurry up and grab it."

Even as he schemed to backstab them later and slip away—

A deafening roar of wind tore through the world.

Startled, he frantically scanned his surroundings. Fortunately, no White Tiger in sight.

"Phew… Never coming back here again."

He vowed it to himself, gazing up at the sky. A bright moon. But there was a black dot on it.

"…Huh? What's that?"

The moment the question crossed his mind, a massive hawk's silhouette filled his vision.

Boom—

And that was his final memory.

Chirp chirp chirp— I woke to the peaceful sound of birdsong. Felt refreshingly good today. Probably because I'd slept so soundly for once. My companions were all nice and toasty, like hugging a long body pillow.

"Awake, nyang?"

Nyangnyang stirred in my arms, stretching out cat-style.

"What about Turtle or Mae?"

"They got up early and went outside, nyang. Mae said he was off scouting, nyang."

"So diligent, unlike you, Nyangnyang."

"Weaklings gotta be diligent at least, nyang!"

"You're the strongest?"

"Obviously, nyang!"

Nyangnyang batted away my petting hand and sauntered out. Watching her, I got up too. First thing, a sip of water, then out into the fresh air. I inhaled the crisp autumn breeze deeply and spotted Turtle watering the front yard with his mouth.

"You're up, milady? This one was just giving the potatoes a drink!"

"Good job. So now I just use Rapid Growth here?"

"Indeed! But it's morning—don't push yourself too hard!"

Turtle had everything prepped, so I clicked on Rapid Growth for the front yard. The potatoes shot up in seconds.

"At this rate, one more use and they'll be perfect."

"How many more boxes of potatoes will that give?"

We could stockpile plenty now and live easy for a while.

"Tired…."

"Time to head inside now. You've used a lot of mana—rest up."

"Yeah, yeah."

Pushed back into the house by Turtle. Next up: breakfast. In solo apocalypse life, eating was my one reliable dopamine hit. Sure, now it included petting Nyangnyang, tapping Turtle's shell, and stroking Mae's fluffy chest feathers. But nothing beat a delicious meal.

Today's menu: stir-fried potatoes. Someone might complain about potatoes three meals a day, but they were overflowing, and more were coming. Gotta eat 'em first. Plus, they're delicious.

Quick oil in the pan, low heat, toss in sliced potatoes and stir lightly. Salt, pepper—done! Bacon would've been perfect, but meat options were limited to Spam right now.

"Gotta save the ham."

Potatoes were tasty enough on their own. No point wasting precious ham for marginal gains.

"Smells amazing!!"

"Done already, nyang?"

My companions slinked in, drawn by the aroma. Mae still wasn't back, though.

"Something wrong?"

"Don't worry about Mae, milady! He's probably just gone too far and running late!"

"Yeah, probably."

Speak of the hawk, and through the open window he flapped in.

"Wash up!"

"Understood."

Once Mae had cleaned up, we started our light meal. I wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sure if carnivores like him could eat plants like potatoes, but if he didn't want to, he wouldn't. Beak or no beak, he chomped them down obediently.

"Patrol report?"

"No issues, falconer."

"Why'd it take so long?"

"I woke early and checked farther out."

"How far?"

"The city right next door."

"Downtown?"

News had dried up, so I'd been clueless about the outside. Maybe I'd learn something.

"Most humans had barricaded inside buildings, fighting monsters there."

"Lots of survivors?"

"Couldn't count exactly. More hiding in homes than expected."

"How'd you check?"

"Invisibility—circled downtown everywhere."

Mae poked at the potatoes while explaining. Playing with food? The words nearly escaped, but I held back. He kept going regardless.

"Survivors seemed grouped up, holding off monsters."

Made sense. Not everyone awakened, and even awakeners couldn't do everything. Human society thrived on division of labor—normies on chores, awakeners on fighting. Sure, some loners too.

"They were fighting over food supplies."

"Fridges don't last without power."

"Unlike us, monster corpses are toxic to humans. Untreated, the poison seeps into soil, contaminating sewers and groundwater."

"No clean water downtown now?"

"Bottled water holds for now, but it's only a matter of time."

Water and food—the crux of survival. Lack them, and humans fight, feud, take needless losses. Then monsters pick off the weakened. If I'd followed the government's advice and left the area early… Unthinkable horrors might've awaited.

"Hiding the house was the right call in the apocalypse."

Best to stockpile solo and chill. Loneliness? Companions fixed that.

"…And this is the main point."

"Main point?"

Mae's face turned serious as he rearranged the potatoes into a circle. A shape I knew all too well.

"…A gate."

"One opened in front of city hall. Monsters pouring out in real time."

Gates. The culprits behind this apocalypse world. Spring this year—countless gates spawned in a day, unleashing monsters. They closed soon after, but the summoned hordes wrecked the world in under two weeks. And it didn't end there. New gates popped open periodically, spilling more monsters.

Places with gates became wastelands, driving people away.

"Could you two handle it together…?"

"Impossible."

"Mm."

Survivors holding for now, so nothing reaching here yet. But eventually, monsters from there would.

"Gotta grind harder."

No point fleeing anyway. Just level up till then.

"Alright! Skill time!!"

Post-meal, back to the front yard. Mana drained from morning, but like muscles, it grew with use. Not scientific, but felt right—spam magic.

Hands together in the yard.

"Rapid Growth!!!"

"Not Hyper Growth, nyang?"

Potatoes surged up. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Finally fully grown.

"Whew… Tough."

Mana empty—that clear-headed post-run feeling.

"Hey, help harvest."

"Got it, nyang."

"Gladly!"

"…Very well."

With my three companions, we harvested over three boxes. And these weren't ordinary potatoes—smooth, shiny, premium Druid-grade at a glance.

"Wish I could sell 'em."

Finding trustworthy buyers? Tough. Comms dead too.

"…Oh, right."

That guy I saved last time—said he'd bring internet stuff.

"Nyangnyang!"

"What, nyang?"

"Let's check Haven. He said he'd leave something."

Mae stepped forward.

"I'll go instead."

"Oh, yeah. Here, coordinates."

"Back soon."

Mae vanished. Ten minutes lounging on the floor, staring at the sky—

He returned clutching something.

"This it?"

"Yeah."

A small cardboard box, potato fries doodled on it to avoid mix-ups.

"No bombs inside, right?"

Checked—no issues. Opened it: huge antenna, electronics. And a letter on top.

A thoughtfully written letter. Guessing I'd pull away if she pushed more? Whatever. Folded it carefully, then with companions' help, mounted the antenna on the roof and ran cables. Skipped my warm shower, charged the laptop. At 10%, powered on, connected. Power-saving mode.

Heart pounding. Booted up cautiously.

"Whew… Internet after so long?"

Manual said only specific site worked. Typed the domain, hit enter nervously.

"…Connected."

A plain white screen, no frills—optimized to sip data.

"It really works…."

Tried other sites? All servers down. Back to the original.

Site name: Ark. Perfect for the apocalypse.

First: region select. Korean server—joined. Korean posts flooded in.

Seeing posts from countless people, my heart raced. Not everyone's dead yet. I sighed in relief unconsciously. About to click one—login prompt.

Restricted community, huh.

"Nickname…."

Usual one: PotatoFriesLove

Not taken. Who'd want it anyway? Stretching amid the flood of posts.

"Alright, where to start."

Battery at 8%. Use it wisely.