Before the Grand Opening
Reward
When one of the crew was about to claim a reward, it was customary for everyone else to keep their distance. There was always the chance that someone standing too close could end up receiving it in their stead.
So Won-goo, who had been hanging back, stepped up beside Chul-soo.
"So what are the options?"
"One is swapping the Dullahan's capsule for a different one. It says it will be replaced with an existence more powerful than the Dullahan."
"Not that one."
Won-goo refused flatly. He knew these traps the Apocalypse liked to dangle all too well.
In a world overrun by the Apocalypse, rewards had to be exchanged on a like-for-like tier. It meant the system couldn't just slip some bizarre trap-card reward in among legitimate ones.
And yet the Apocalypse had a clever way of screwing survivors over anyway.
Like right now.
Swap the Dullahan's capsule for a more powerful being. At a glance it looked appealing, but the odds were high that this was a trap. The Dullahan was a monster modeled on the dullahan lineage — which meant it still had plenty of room to grow. Going by Won-goo's memories, the Dullahan's ceiling was high enough to keep serving as a mainstay well into the middle chapters of the Apocalypse. Trading that away for "something stronger" was gambling on a long shot.
Yes, there existed beings with both a higher ceiling and greater raw strength than the Dullahan — but only a precious few. Choose that reward, and nine times out of ten what popped out would be a monster stronger than the Dullahan yet with no room left to expand.
Won-goo was not the type to place bets on that kind of probability.
"The other one is a random enhancement of the Dullahan."
"Random enhancement. Take that one."
"This one, then."
"Good. Chul-soo's committing to this path going forward, anyway. Roll it."
Geum Chul-soo chose. The orb flared with brilliant light.
"What did we get?"
"It says the Dullahan's intelligence will increase......"
Everyone's faces stiffened.
* * *
"DULLAAAAHAN!"
The Dullahan was bellowing at the top of its lungs.
"What's it saying?"
The capsule's own master couldn't make heads or tails of the creature's expression. Won-goo, however, could.
"It wants one too. Hey. Give it a strip of jerky. The little bastard is damn noisy."
Geum Chul-soo held a piece of dried jerky out toward the Dullahan's head. The Dullahan chewed on it with obvious relish.
"DULLA!"
"And this time?"
"Says it's tasty."
"Director. This is a dud, isn't it?"
Chul-soo asked.
"It may not be the best draw."
"No, sir......"
"But that doesn't mean it's useless. Having intelligence means you can give it orders with words."
"So Chul-soo doesn't have to move it himself anymore?"
"Right. Jo Mu-sa."
"How useful that turns out to be will probably depend on how smart it actually is."
"Which we'll find out by testing it. Honestly, an intelligent monster beats a mindless muscle-brained one more often than not. So it's not a bad pull. It might even be a good one."
Won-goo clapped Chul-soo on the shoulder.
"No matter how I look at it, this seems to have serious drawbacks, the part......"
"Honestly, old-timer. It only just grew an intelligence. Maybe that's why it's like this."
"What is that supposed to mean, the part?"
"The head's sharp, sure, but it was just born. What's it supposed to know?"
"You mean it'll change as it learns things one by one over time?"
This time it was Jeon Hye-ji.
"That's Hye-ji for you. Sharp as ever."
"Th-then, Director......"
"What?"
"The c-clear......"
"Why won't the dungeon close, you mean?"
"Ye-yes."
"That happens too, sometimes."
"There are cases like that, the part?"
"What are you so startled about, you bold fellow?"
With that, the crew began making their way out of the dungeon.
"Well...... I'm no dungeon expert, but I thought killing the boss was supposed to end it."
"That is the usual pattern, but it's not the only case. If clearing the boss isn't the stated completion condition, the dungeon may not close."
"Then shouldn't we go back in?"
Jo Mu-sa said.
"And do what, exactly?"
"......?"
"When you don't know precisely what has to be done to clear it, you're liable to get lost in there. It's not as if every information broker specializes in dungeons, either."
The crew nodded along.
"Besides, if this dungeon worked that way, Yang Jin-seon would have told us. The woman practically holds a title as a dungeon-savvy informant — you think she'd fail to drop a hint that basic?"
"Ah......"
"No such hint means the odds of that being the case are very low. And even if it were that kind of dungeon, it wouldn't matter much right now — we'd need a proper broker for it. Su-won might remember every path we took, but running laps around a dungeon like that is dangerous. And the reason this dungeon isn't registering a clear is something else entirely."
"Something else?"
"Yes. It's because it hasn't officially opened yet."
At Won-goo's words, confusion rippled through the crew. Not officially opened? The dungeon wasn't exactly an amusement park.
But to Won-goo, the regressor, it amounted to precisely that. It was, after all, nothing more than a device designed to make the Apocalypse more entertaining.
"'Not officially opened.' You'll need to explain that part in more detail, the part."
They were veterans who had already been through quite a bit in the Apocalypse, and yet so much still remained unknown to them. Curiosity of this degree was only natural.
They were scrambling for their lives without ever understanding why they had to scramble, or what was actually happening to the world.
"It means exactly what it says — before the grand opening. The Apocalypse hasn't truly begun yet."
"What's that supposed to......"
"Let me say it once more: I received transplanted information. But I don't know every answer. So I can't walk you through it step by step. What I can say for certain is this — this isn't the real start. Right now we're in, how should I put it... the tutorial? Is that the right word? Any of you actually play games?"
"Tutorial is correct, Director."
"That's what I mean, then."
"And...... what happens when it properly begins?"
"I don't know that either."
"......"
"......"
"......"
The strength drained out of the crew all at once.
"Here's one thing I do know. You're all aware the regions got scrambled and tangled together, right?"
Heads nodded all around. Land split apart like mosaic tiles and randomly reattached — that much was accepted as settled fact among survivors.
"Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong — chunks from every region, glued together at random until you can't even tell what land you're standing on. But hasn't it ever struck you as strange?"
"Quit being coy and just say it, the part."
"So even old-timers take an interest in this kind of talk, do they?"
"Hurry up."
"Think about how strange it is. The land got torn to pieces and stitched back together — in a way no science could explain. So why, then, are there Koreans absolutely everywhere around here?"
"Aren't there foreigners too?"
"You see one now and then. But aren't those bastards all foreigners who were stationed in Korea?"
"W-well, yes......"
"You think Korea was some special country that uniquely survived? It wasn't. Other nations are going through something very similar in their own way."
"Which means the time is coming when we'll be merged with them?"
"Hye-ji, always quick on the uptake."
"Then...... could it be......"
"Could be what?"
"We're not going to have to compete with them, are we?"
Won-goo turned and stared at Jeon Hye-ji with an odd little smile.
"Don't tell me......"
"Now do you understand why shelters exist? Apocalypse. It means the end. The end arrives, and they go planting little hopes everywhere? Why would that be? To make it more entertaining. More. Entertaining. Which is why we need to prepare — for the moment the Apocalypse properly opens its doors."
Swoosh.
Jeon Hye-ji raised her hand again.
"What?"
"You said there was more than just emotion behind you driving out Cheonmok and their ilk, Director."
"Did I say that?"
"You did. Back when we dealt with Dinosaur."
"You even remember that? What a memory. Well, if I said it, it's probably true. I do despise cult-racket bastards like Cheonmok, and it's also true that clearing them out is preparation — they'd be no help in what's coming. What's our objective? Survival, isn't it? Everything else is worth jack shit. We survive. We stay alive. The sentimental stuff can wait until we've lived long enough to afford it. So just as I have until now, and just as I will going forward, I'll set our course by one compass — surviving — and I'll prepare accordingly. That should explain most of my little outbursts so far, shouldn't it?"
"DULLAAAAAAH!"
At a truly impeccable moment, the Dullahan howled. As if offering an answer of its own.
* * *
The return to Shelter Sabbath.
The moment they stepped inside, they could feel that something about the shelter's atmosphere had shifted. It had always been a crowded place, but today it was packed to a degree that bordered on absurd.
And everyone was moving at a frantic clip.
"Why's the mood like this?"
"Right? This doesn't feel like the shelter at all."
Jo Mu-sa chimed in. The shelter existed so survivors could rest on their way through. A certain leisurely air was only to be expected.
Today's atmosphere was nothing of the sort.
"We should find out what's going on. Hyun-sung."
"Yes, hyung-nim."
"Take Chul-soo and stash the loot in the warehouse. Don't sort it — just dump it in there for now."
"Yes, hyung-nim."
"I believe I'll go and investigate the mood myself, the part."
Mu Beob-sa made to slip out of the column.
"Tell them you're just going to rest."
"Then rest is where I shall go, the part."
"Go on. You've more than earned your keep."
With that, Won-goo walked over to Mu Beob-sa and tossed him one of the pre-divided pouches.
"Use that for the shelter's facilities for the time being."
"Is it wise to give away this much?"
"We've had income lately. One word of caution, though."
"That I shouldn't cause trouble, the part?"
"That goes without saying. Gambling."
At the word gambling, a flicker passed through the eyes of several crew members.
"Gamble all you like. In this insane world, we need whatever amusement we can get. But no debt. Play only with what's in your own pocket. And don't lend to each other, either. Understood?"
"Yessir!"
"You got it!"
"I've made myself clear. Don't make my work harder than it has to be. Hyun-sung — hand a pouch to everyone."
Even before they'd entered the dungeon, Won-goo had intended to pay out one hundred silver coins each as reward. In a world where people moved as teams, a crew head who handed every member a hundred silver to spend freely was a rare breed indeed.
Smiles crept across every face.
Watching the pouches change hands, Won-goo called for the group to disperse. Then he headed straight for the central plaza, with Jeon Hye-ji close on his heels.
"Got nowhere else to be?"
"I followed you around a few times, but it was boring. Following you around, Director, is the most fun there is."
"You should find some amusements of your own."
"Yes, sir."
"Fixating too hard on your goal can hollow you out. Right now, at this point in time, there isn't much you can do about your siblings anyway."
"......"
"Spending the necessary strength at the necessary moment — that's what matters. That's why I'm giving you time to relax. You need to get used to that too, little by little."
"Yes, sir."
When they reached the plaza, survivors were lying on the ground. Some had actually died, but the majority were patients.
"What the hell. Did a plague sweep through?"
"It's not that, Director."
A figure abruptly darted up to him — a man wrapped head to toe in bandages.
"Who are yo— Il-chul?"
"It's me, Il-chul."
"You startled me. What happened to you? Did Dr. Woo beat you up again? Why are you cosplaying as a patient out here?"
"I didn't do it on purpose. There was... an incident."
"What incident."
"More importantly, Uncle Sanghae said to come find you right away if I saw you."
"What...... is this related to what's going on here?"
"I'd assume so?"
"And why is Sanghae an uncle?"
"Because he's old enough to be my uncle?"
"What the f—. How big an age gap do you think there is between you two?"
"I'm twenty."
"......"
"......"
"Hye-ji. How old did you say you were?"
"Twenty-one."
"Twenty?"
"Really."
"Fine. This is a hassle, so escort him— no, forget it, just lie down. You need to stay horizontal for a while."
"Yes, sir."
And with that, Il-chul flopped onto the ground.
"So while we're at it — did you ever change careers into pathfinding?"
"Pfft...... I'm freelance. Gotta do a bit of everything."
"The money I gave you a while back — gambled it all away, did you?"
"That's a slanderous——"
"What's slanderous about it?"
"Come on, the Airline hitting three times in a row? Is that even physically possible? So I......"
"......"
Feeling the icy stare, Il-chul's words trailed off.
"Did you count cards?"
"Yessir."
"And is there — even the slightest chance — that your current state has something to do with those cards?"
"Hnnngh...... I... wouldn't say it's entirely unrelated?"
CRACK!
Fast as a gunman snapping his pistol out of its holster, the war hammer came down on the crown of Il-chul's skull.
"OW! Hit me softer! I'm a patient here, Director!"
"You little punk, gambling at your age! Would it take chopping off all your fingers and toes to knock some sense into you?"
"You really did hit me way too hard!"
Il-chul scrambled to his feet and swayed. A moment later, his eyes drifting toward the center of his face, he crumpled to the ground.
"Hit me sof——"
Thud.
"Will he be okay?"
Jeon Hye-ji looked down at the fallen Il-chul.
"He's got a thick skull. The stubborn bastard doesn't die easy. He'll be fine."
"Understood."
"Let's go."
Jeon Hye-ji nodded. Then she glanced back down at the unconscious Il-chul one more time.
"What?"
"Oh...... it's just, earlier."
"Hmm?"
"I don't think anyone ever actually told you to stop hitting him."