Gyeongju
When Kang Dohyun opened his eyes, the dark night sky greeted him. He turned his head to the side.
"Hyung? You're up."
He was lying by the Taehwa River. The brothers had been sleeping under a blanket beside the campfire. It had been twelve hours since Kang Dohyun had fallen asleep.
"You okay?"
"Yeah... better than I expected."
Kang Dohyun answered his brother's question while sipping warm tea.
"The Condensed Rest Potion's effect, I guess."
"Oh? You gave me that? Good call."
Thanks to the Condensed Rest Potion he'd bought from the shop, he'd recovered quickly. It was late at night, but hungry, Kang Dohyun continued his conversation with his brother while eating army rations. He told his brother about his conversation with the whale spirits.
"And this is what I traded for."
He handed a blue gem to his brother.
Grade: Gradeless
Description: When used, allows the user to form a contract with a Water Spirit.
"A spirit?"
"Yeah, a spirit."
Even Kang Dohyun, as a regressor, had never seen a spirit.
"If it's a Water Spirit, it'll be useful in a lot of ways. You'll get even stronger, hyung."
Kang Dohun naturally assumed his brother would use the spirit stone and handed it back.
"No, you use it."
"Huh??? What did you say?"
"I'm saying you should contract with the spirit."
Lately, Kang Dohyun had been growing increasingly concerned about his brother's direction of growth. Strength had been important, so he'd encouraged him to focus on athletics and combat, but as a result, his close-combat abilities had grown far faster than necessary. He had almost no other skills. During the unusual dungeon in Ulsan, and this time at the Bangudae Petroglyphs dungeon, Dohyun's combat power had been essentially meaningless.
"You're too lacking in utility. You're a close-combat one-trick pony. This can't keep going. At least contract with the Water Spirit."
A Water Spirit would fill in the utility gaps the brothers hadn't even considered.
"Really? The spirit stone... I use it?"
"Yeah. You have to grow for us to grow."
"Hyung! Thank you!"
Kang Dohun shouted and grabbed the Water Spirit Stone. He felt the cool energy radiating from it, refreshing.
'This is the Water Spirit Stone.'
He gripped it and called out in his mind.
'Spirit, let's make a contract.'
He called it out internally, gripped the stone, and waited.
'Vrrrrr.'
The Water Spirit Stone began to vibrate. Then it melted away, and a small Water Spirit emerged from within.
You have formed a contract with the Water Spirit.
You have acquired a new trait: Water Spirit Arts.
'You're my new master? Nice to meet you.'
The spirit spoke telepathically, and Kang Dohun replied that he was pleased to meet it as well. Kang Dohun had contracted with and summoned the Water Spirit, conversing telepathically, but to Kang Dohyun watching, it looked like his brother was talking to empty air.
"You? You just contracted with a spirit?"
"Yeah. I'm talking to it right now. You can't see it?"
"No, I can't see it."
Other people couldn't see a contracted spirit.
"So, what abilities does it have?"
"Well... for now, it can produce water."
Since it was a Water Spirit, water production was expected.
"Anything else? Powerful attacks, defense, buffs, or other abilities?"
"Not yet."
"What?"
"It said it needs to grow before it can help."
For now, expecting a major role was difficult. But.
"Long-term, a growth-type is good."
The brothers decided to think positively about it.
Morning came, and once Kang Dohyun had recovered his stamina, the brothers took a drone back to their base camp near Ulsan Airport.
"You're back!"
Kim Suah greeted them with a bright smile. It was the first time since arriving in Ulsan that they'd slept somewhere other than the base camp, so she'd been a bit worried.
"Everything went okay?"
"Yes."
She smiled brightly, but today would be the last time he'd be with her.
While Kang Dohun tidied up the base camp, Kang Dohyun checked on Lee Chaerin. It had been a little over a month since she'd become Kang Dohun's slave. In that time, she had changed dramatically. Addicted to masturbation and dependent on Kang Dohyun, she had become a woman who could only live by masturbating or being with Kang Dohyun. The frequent adrenaline-overdose sex she'd endured due to severe headaches had slightly damaged her brain, lowering her intelligence. Above all, thinking itself had become a trauma for her. Because thinking brought on headaches that were too painful, she had come to hate the very act of thinking. Naturally, she could no longer serve as a Japanese spy, and since she tried not to think, her headaches had decreased compared to before.
She acted purely on instinct. When awake, she masturbated; when hungry, she ate; when she needed to defecate, she did; when sleepy, she slept; and when she saw Kang Dohyun, she'd rush over to have sex. That was all. So now, even during the day, she didn't need to be bound. Just handing her a vibrator or masturbation tool was enough for her to occupy herself.
'This is just right. If her intelligence drops further and she becomes a complete idiot, she'll be harder to manage.'
Kang Dohyun had greatly reduced the headache pain that occurred when Chaerin unknowingly did something harmful to him or thought about it. She probably wouldn't try to think anymore. She'd try to move purely on instinct, thinking as little as possible. For a whole month, she had suffered that much pain.
Now that he could manage Lee Chaerin, Kim Suah was no longer needed. So while his brother packed their things, Kang Dohyun called her over to talk.
"Suah-ssi, thank you for everything."
"Thank you for everything" meant one thing: Kim Suah was no longer needed.
"Ah... yes. Is it time for us to part?"
"Yes."
At the prospect of parting, Kim Suah accepted it calmly. Because she'd had sex with Kang Dohyun for over a month, his trait had pushed her affection for him to its maximum — she was in love with him. Still, she knew very well that Kang Dohyun was a terrifying person. The man who had treated Lee Chaerin so harshly that he'd turned her into a fool was dangerous. So Kim Suah's reason told her she should leave while she still could, but her heart...
'Drip...'
Tears began to flow from her eyes.
"Ah, why am I doing this."
She tried to calm herself while wiping her tears, but it was as if her eyes had broken — the tears kept coming. Still, she thought as rationally as she could and didn't cling to Kang Dohyun.
While his brother packed, Kang Dohyun put Kim Suah on the drone and flew her to Yangsan. Ulsan was too dangerous for her to live in alone, so he brought her to Yangsan, which was relatively safe. For the forty-minute flight, she pressed her body against his back, wanting to absorb as much of his scent as possible.
They arrived in Yangsan and got off the drone. Then they went near the city center.
"Thank you."
As compensation for her month of hardship, Kang Dohyun handed her two large bags filled with food. And.
Gifting 100 Zombie Coins.
He gave her an additional 100 Zombie Coins as a gift.
"Thank you."
Two heavy bags plus 100 coins — enough food to live on for three, maybe four months.
"I... will we ever meet again?"
Kim Suah asked just before they parted. The thought of never seeing the person she loved again was too sad.
"Honestly, I don't know. But if you gain an ability, I might come looking for you."
"An ability..."
In the apocalypse, abilities often meant combat power, so she was slightly disappointed.
"Abilities aren't just about combat. Even a productive ability, if it's special enough, could be worth me coming to find you someday."
At the mention of a productive ability, Kim Suah paused to think.
"I'll try to gain an ability strong enough to contact you someday."
"Yes, I hope you do too."
And with a final handshake, the two parted.
When Kang Dohyun returned to the base camp in Ulsan, Kang Dohun had already finished packing.
"Hyung, you're back."
"Yeah."
Kang Dohyun was cold, but parting with someone he'd shared his body with for a while left him feeling oddly empty.
Seeing his brother's expression, the younger brother suggested.
"Still attached? Then bring her back."
"It's not like that."
He took the bag his brother had prepared and checked on Lee Chaerin.
"Hehe..."
She was laughing somewhat crudely. Kang Dohyun tied her body in an M-shape and wrapped her in the Cloak of Silence to hide that she was bound.
They came out to the road in front of Ulsan Airport. And.
"Alright, let's go."
Two bicycles they'd bought at the Yangsan market. With his brother's help, Kang Dohyun tied Chaerin to his back and got on one bike, while Kang Dohun got on the other alone.
"Hyung, but where are we going?"
"Gyeongju."
"No, I know that. But where in Gyeongju?"
Kang Dohyun said as he pedaled.
"Let's start with Bulguksa, the closest Gyeongju landmark from here."
"Got it."
The two brothers pedaled their bicycles north along the national highway.