Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Chapter 11
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Benefactor of Life
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"...Shouldn't we help them?"
A murmur rose from among the survivors.
It didn't seem like something said on purpose—just a slip of the tongue.
It was a perfectly reasonable question, but no one echoed it.
On the contrary, one of the survivors scowled.
"Help who?"
"Anyone around. If we leave them like this, they're all gonna die."
The screams and death cries continued without end.
But unlike before, the number of screams had dwindled significantly.
In a situation like this, if the screams stopped, there were only two possibilities.
Either they'd slain the skeletons and were catching their breath, or they'd been killed and silenced.
No matter how I thought about it, the latter seemed far more likely.
In the heavy silence, the tattooed man spoke up with a sneer.
"If you wanna do it so bad, go ahead."
"What? You're not gonna help?"
"Help my ass! Do you even know who I am? Why're you trying to drag me into this?"
"What does that matter right now? It's about saving lives!"
"Saving lives, my ass. If I got fulfillment from that shit, I'd be a firefighter, not some corporate drone."
The tattooed man spat on the ground and pointed at the skeletons.
"I ain't risking my neck to fight those boneheads. So if you wanna play hero, do it alone. Or with the folks who wanna join you."
"...."
The young man shut his mouth at the tattooed man's words.
Unlike the feeble goblins, skeletons had the strength of an average adult man.
And they wielded swords sharp enough to hack people to pieces.
It was a situation where even a beta tester could get killed.
Asking to go together meant asking them to risk their lives alongside him.
"Um, excuse me. Is no one here?"
"...."
The subject was omitted, but everyone understood.
People averted their eyes or pretended not to notice.
The man's gaze, scanning around, met mine.
I met his insistent stare head-on and said,
"No thanks."
"...I didn't even say anything."
His face flushed red, pride wounded by my refusal, as he made an excuse.
Rejected by everyone, the man fled back into the house.
The other survivors glanced around warily before slipping away one by one.
No one wanted to risk their life for a total stranger.
'Especially when that risk means getting chopped to bits.'
I felt the same way, so I had nothing more to say.
When it came to risking your life, the reward had to match.
I wasn't about to do it for a maybe-thanks that might never come.
Just as I turned to head inside like the others, wordlessly—
"Excuse me. Could we talk for a moment?"
A man about my age stopped me.
Unlike the young man from before, he had a composed expression.
Instinct told me right away.
'Beta tester.'
This guy was one of my kind.
"I'm Min Jae-yoon. My class is Holy Knight in the warrior line."
I let him in, and he started with a self-introduction.
Holy Knight, huh. Attack power's a bit iffy, but it's the optimal class for stability.
It's pretty much the only one that can use healing spells early on, after all.
Min Jae-yoon got straight to the point with a serious face as soon as the intro wrapped up.
"To cut to the chase: you're a beta tester, right?"
"Yeah, sure am."
"...."
My immediate answer left Min Jae-yoon looking stunned.
He clearly hadn't expected me to admit it so easily.
I chuckled and eyed him.
"What? Thought I'd be shocked or try to hide it?"
"N-no, nothing like that."
Bullshit.
I could tell I'd hit the nail on the head and thrown him off.
Was he planning to play detective protagonist or something?
Corner the guy into spilling his secret, then smirk and say "I knew it."
"Honestly, it's way too obvious how to spot one."
"W-what? Obvious how?"
"In this chaos, if someone looks chill, they're basically a confirmed beta tester. First time seeing monsters, hands covered in blood, and not only are you not exhausted—you're full of energy? It's like advertising 'I've done this before, no sweat.'"
"Ah."
"You're one too, right? You've had that relaxed vibe since you got here. What was your World Rebuild ranking?"
"...."
As I said it casually, Min Jae-yoon's face turned beet red.
Can't blame him—it was embarrassing.
He'd thought he was leading the scene like a protagonist, only to snap back to reality.
To ease his awkwardness, I smoothly changed the subject.
"Oh, right, I didn't introduce myself. Kim Jong-min. Black Mage in the magic line."
"...Pardon? Black Mage?"
Min Jae-yoon looked dumbfounded at my class.
I shrugged innocently, pretending I had no clue why.
"Something wrong with that?"
"No, it's just... Black Mage is kinda..."
"Sure, it wasn't a great pick in World Rebuild."
"Then why'd you choose it?"
"Best class for the early game."
There was another reason, but no way was I spilling that.
Why broadcast my strategy for everyone else's benefit?
Copycats were one thing—rivals trying to sabotage me would be worse.
My excuse must've seemed thin, though—Min Jae-yoon still looked unconvinced.
I gave a wry smile and added,
"You know Black Mage is only good early on, right?"
"Yes."
"And that there's no reason to pick it if you're thinking long-term?"
"Of course."
"How many people who think that way will actually survive to the late game?"
"...."
Min Jae-yoon shut his mouth again.
Any half-assed answer would've earned him a "What makes you think you will?"
Anyone with sense knew to stay quiet.
"I'd rather secure a surefire early survival than chase the late game and croak halfway."
"I-I see."
"Anyway, what's this about? You didn't come just to confirm I'm a beta tester."
"Actually, I have a proposal."
Regaining his composure, Min Jae-yoon put on an air like he was offering a once-in-a-lifetime deal.
"How about teaming up with me to save people?"
I stared at Min Jae-yoon in silence.
There had to be a reason for such an absurd proposal.
"Why?"
"Too many innocents are dying. Even if... this is too cruel."
"Got it loud and clear. See yourself out. How do you do an expulsion again?"
"...Beyond the moral side! There's a very practical reason too!"
Min Jae-yoon broke his dramatic pose, sweating bullets as he backpedaled.
Why start with the good-guy act instead of the main point?
He probably wanted to flex his heroic side, but that crap doesn't work on me.
I'd turn down pure sincerity—what chance did obvious ulterior motives have?
"Let's hear the practical reason first."
"Straight up: we don't have people. Specifically, population."
World Rebuild's goal was rebuilding civilization.
But without people, there's no civilization to build.
No subjects, no ruling.
"In the game, the early goal was finding a small village and developing it into a city. But in this world? No way that exists."
"True. We're already in a city, people everywhere."
"Exactly. I think the system wants us to rebuild civilization based on the survivors gathered here. But with just fifteen? What can we do?"
I nodded at Min Jae-yoon's plea.
He wasn't wrong.
All current survivors were combat classes.
Great at fighting, but no producers.
And they were all proactive types confident in battle.
They might rule, but submit? No chance.
Like a forest full of wolves, no deer.
"To bolster population, we have to rescue the hidden ones. For the future, we need to save people now."
"Hm."
Not wrong.
Thinking long-term, yeah.
People probably wouldn't refuse rescue.
Normally suspicious, but right now? Life on the line, doubts be damned.
But my thinking differed slightly.
"Dunno. Not convinced."
"Not convinced? They'll all die if we do nothing! We'll fail before we start!"
"Who's dying? The system?"
"Pardon?"
"System summoned the skeletons. If they all die, isn't that the system killing them?"
"Uh... well..."
He stammered—he clearly hadn't considered it.
Simple syllogism, really.
System summons skeletons.
Skeletons kill people indiscriminately.
Thus, system wants everyone dead.
Sounded right on the surface.
'But that creates a massive contradiction.'
System ran beta tests for civilization rebuilding.
Yet slaughters the very people needed?
Self-sabotage, basically.
No civilization, no point to the system.
'System has no intent to kill everyone. That's just a threat.'
To be precise, a blatant threat laced with blood and sacrifice.
Whatever the system's motives, people's courage struck me as half-baked.
They'd kill goblins somehow, but ignore quests.
Scared of weaker monsters, mouthy to the strong.
Worried about their own necks yet optimistic about the future.
Rescue teams would come eventually; society would normalize.
'System's shoving reality in their faces by force.'
No such thing. Don't move, you die. You're not safe.
Your options for security: gain power yourself or submit to the strong.
Brutal method, but necessary process.
If monsters didn't kill people, people would've killed people eventually.
Like that old guy who nearly got murdered by Park Geon-woong after mouthing off.
I opened my mouth to share my thoughts with Min Jae-yoon.
"I'm not saying you're wrong. What I mean is..."
Benefactor of Life
📍 Classification: Sub Quest
⏰ Details: People are losing their lives due to the Monster Wave. Rescue those trembling in fear from the undead threat and bring them back to the village. You must save at least 10 people; fewer counts as failure.
🎁 Reward: Beginner Equipment Set for Your Class
"...even the time for this conversation is too precious!"
"Pardon?"
"Saving people doesn't need a reason! If those with power don't step up now, what becomes of the world!?"
"No, just a second ago you clearly..."
"Come on, let's go! Hands reaching for help await us!"
I rose from my seat, surging with a sense of justice.
Even after dealing with all sorts of crazies, a sliver of humanity remained in my weathered heart.
Yes, this burning passion—this was true humanity.
Definitely not greed for rewards.
For real.
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