Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: To Home
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jang Ho-seop had only used his invisibility ability during the first ambush.
Even so, he'd ended the battle without a single scratch.
He'd gotten pretty used to dealing with goblins.
'He said he'd never fought once in his life.'
It would've been great if he'd awakened some combat-related skills.
You couldn't ignore innate talent when it came to fighting.
"Did you get a General Skill?"
"Yep!"
"Check it out."
Jang Ho-seop had hit level 10, so he'd gained a General Skill too.
I told him to look into his new skill, then turned my gaze to the still-living goblins.
'Four of them. What to do.'
First, I needed to brief the group on the goblins.
Their weaknesses, points to watch out for, that sort of thing.
Those people would have to fight eventually if they wanted to level up.
Jang Ho-seop and I could help, but there was one big issue.
Hesitation about killing living beings.
That was something they'd have to overcome on their own.
'If I shove all four at one person, will they level up?'
It was iffy.
It might work, or it might not.
I glanced at the group, debating whether to have them each take one or pile them on.
"M-Me!"
Lee Yu-na shot her hand up high.
She was really proactive, I thought, as I started calling on the group.
I was just about to have Yu-na go first for some hands-on practice.
"Hyung-nim. Hold on a sec."
Jang Ho-seop hurried over to me.
He looked like he had something to say.
'If he's asking me to prioritize his mom...'
I'd be happy to.
His guesses had been spot-on so far.
If he said his mother's skill was the most useful, there'd be a good reason.
Even if it was just nepotism, I wouldn't mind.
But it was neither.
"Hyung-nim."
Jang Ho-seop pressed right up close and craned his neck to look at me.
"What."
I instinctively stepped back.
Then I noticed his hand over his mouth and leaned in, despite the unease.
"You're gonna have them kill the goblins, right?"
"Yeah."
"Lee Yu-na, specifically."
His voice wasn't that quiet.
The others could probably hear too.
"How about testing her skill first?"
"Skill? With water?"
"Yeah. We need to see if it has any lethality..."
It was starting to annoy me a bit.
"Hey. Why are you telling me? Just say it yourself."
"Huh? No, you're better at it than me..."
I scowled, and he backed off.
"Sigh. Goblins have weak points similar to humans."
I kicked over a wriggling goblin with my foot.
Its grotesque naked body was fully exposed.
"Head first. Hit it hard, and it dies. Then the neck. They bleed too..."
I shared the info I'd gathered from personal experience.
They'd all awakened skills, but only one each.
Everyone listened quietly.
"Alright, Yu-na first."
"Yes."
Instead of the knife from the department store, Lee Yu-na pulled out her personal water bottle.
She must've heard Jang Ho-seop after all.
Sploosh.
A stream of water shot up at her gesture.
It then slammed hard into the goblin's face.
Splash!
"Kieeeek."
The goblin thrashed its head in irritation.
And that was it.
"Uh... like a face wash?"
I heard Jang Ho-seop mutter as I held out my palm.
"Shoot it here."
"Pardon?"
"Same as before, right at my palm."
Lee Yu-na shot a stream at my hand.
It was just some pressure.
"Better stick with the knife for now."
"Ah... Yes. Sorry."
Lee Yu-na bowed her head, looking deflated.
She didn't need to apologize to me.
"Still, if you aim for the eyes or nose, it'll stun them. Use that opening."
"Ah... Yes!"
She lifted her head.
Her face brightened, but then she met my eyes and bowed it again.
"Hyung-nim. Instead of that, how about changing the shape?"
"Like how?"
"Water Arrow or Aqua Arrow are basic skills, but... Or make it thinner and higher pressure."
Jang Ho-seop leaned in toward me again.
"Dude, why do you keep coming to me? Yu-na."
"Yes!"
"Talk to her."
"No, I feel more comfortable with you..."
Lee Yu-na gave an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, Jang Ho-seop kept throwing ideas at me.
"I get that you're imaginative, so go to someone else..."
"You have good imagination too, hyung-nim."
"No, that's not what I— Never mind."
"Pardon?"
Even today, Jang Ho-seop was a mystery.
In the end, Lee Yu-na killed the goblin with her knife.
She understood Jang Ho-seop's explanations but couldn't put them into practice.
Kim Soo-jung and Lee Jang-su each took down one too.
And we arrived at the Hangang Bridge.
"Only one path looks intact."
The Hangang Bridge had four parallel spans.
Only the leftmost single-track one was undamaged.
"But can we pull the cart up there?"
"Won't be comfy."
The tracks were bumpy all the way.
There were broken and protruding structures here and there.
There was a side path next to the tracks, but it was barely wide enough for a person.
Pulling a wheeled cart through looked tough.
"Mind if I take a look?"
As Jang Ho-seop and I pondered, Lee Jang-su stepped up.
"The cart?"
"Yes... What if we add temporary supports underneath to roll it along the rails?"
Jang Ho-seop chatted with Lee Jang-su and nodded.
"Hyung-nim. Looks doable."
"Let's try."
Materials were scattered everywhere.
With Jang Ho-seop and me assisting, Lee Jang-su quickly modified the cart.
"Oh? If the track breaks, we can grab here and lift."
"Yes... That's how I designed it."
"Come on, ajusshi. I told you to speak casually to me."
The cart now had temporary supports like pot handles attached.
We could disassemble them easily after crossing.
"Let's head out."
We got the cart onto the tracks.
Definitely smoother.
Jang Ho-seop could push it alone.
Whoosh. Thud.
I walked a bit ahead of the group.
Tossing the live goblins far away.
These were the ones I'd spared earlier.
I couldn't forget the monster I'd seen in the Hangang on the first day.
Just in case it surged up, that's why.
"Kyeak!"
The goblins made weird noises each time they hit the tracks.
It might draw even peaceful monsters.
Should I stop?
"Man, why do the goblins look kinda pitiful?"
I heard Jang Ho-seop mutter from behind.
I turned, and he spouted nonsense.
"Uh... Ah! Hyung-nim, gotta lift the cart."
The tracks were broken here.
"I'll help too!"
Lee Yu-na jumped in quickly.
Jang Ho-seop freaked out and fled to the front of the cart.
The auntie and Lee Jang-su helped too.
"One, two!"
The four of them caught up, carrying the cart.
It was heavy with water, booze, and other liquids inside.
Yet Jang Ho-seop was handling the front alone.
'His strength's improved too.'
Jang Ho-seop had shared his level 10 impressions.
About his new General Skill too.
At level 10, my physical abilities had jumped sharply.
Same at 20.
Jang Ho-seop said his skill-using power had grown more than his physical stats.
Using terms like 'mana' and 'mental strength.'
We concluded that level-up benefits varied per person.
I slit the goblins' throats.
Kept tossing the now-silent ones as we crossed the Hangang Bridge.
Thankfully, no monsters burst from the water.
"Looks like he's sleeping, right?"
"Yeah."
We were in Gangbuk now.
At the other end of the bridge, we spotted one person.
Hangang Park was below us.
A little farther, stairs led down to the park.
Ahead of those stairs, barricades made of scrap blocked the way.
They sealed off the entire bridge approach.
One man had his arms on the chest-high barricade, dozing off with his head nodding.
"There's another one behind him."
Something felt off.
Maybe because it was outdoors, not in a building.
"Is that one sleeping too?"
"Probably. No movement."
"They're slacking."
I left the others with Jang Ho-seop and headed to the barricade.
"Still alive?"
Jang Ho-seop approached the man with a weird greeting.
I gripped my axe, ready to swing anytime.
"Hey!"
"Huh? I wasn't sleeping... Eek?"
"What the? Shift cha— fuck."
The two men jolted awake in surprise.
"Wh-What! Who are you guys?"
"Hi. Just ordinary citizens."
We stared at each other blankly.
Then the guy who'd been dozing standing up suddenly saluted.
"Freeze, freeze, freeze. Hands up..."
"Hey asshole. We're already here. What salute?"
I grabbed Jang Ho-seop's wrist as he started to raise his hands.
They didn't seem all there.
We told the two guarding the barricade our goal.
The older one asked permission and dashed down the stairs.
Going to fetch the boss, apparently. Looked like a survivor group nearby.
That's why they were guarding the choke point.
'They've secured territory?'
While waiting, I stood at the railing, scanning the surroundings carefully.
Goblin corpses littered the Hangang riverside.
Orc bodies too.
And on a road pretty far from the river, I spotted human traces.
Like here, barricades of scavenged junk blocked a narrow road.
"Ajusshi. You military?"
"Pardon? Ah... Yeah. On leave..."
"Him too?"
"No. That guy's been out for a while, I heard."
As I scanned around, tracking the man who'd run down.
Jang Ho-seop tried chatting with the one left behind.
"Man, wasting prime vacation time. Ah, what rank?"
"Private First Class."
"Ah~ World's gone to hell... But honestly, not reporting back is sweet, right?"
"Pardon? Well... Yeah."
The man who'd gone down the bridge reached a three-story building.
It was a ways off, but nothing blocked the view.
Several people came out to greet him, like they'd known he was coming.
Probably thanks to the flag he'd planted before leaving.
"So this is like an outpost?"
"Yes."
"Oh. Lots of folks living together?"
"Pardon? Ah... Yeah, a fair number."
"Impressive. Must've been tough."
Jang Ho-seop steadily gathered intel.
Meanwhile.
The group chatting in front of the building started heading our way.
"What's with the flag? Not gonna swarm us and attack, right?"
"Pardon? No. It's just for signaling something unusual..."
"Ah, got it. So the soldiers teamed up..."
"Um... Can you not keep asking me?"
"Oh, sorry."
We could've just pushed past, but we waited.
The group coming from the building wasn't that big.
Plus Jang Ho-seop kept signaling.
He was using his new General Skill while talking.
Jang Ho-seop's first General Skill was 'Lie Detection.'
It let him spot false information.
The soldier was telling the truth.
'Here they come. All Awakened?'
The group from the building entered my Target Detection range.
All Awakened.
Ridiculously, some carried guns from who-knows-where.
They wore clothes padded around the torso and neck like armor.
Their auras were all smaller than Jang Ho-seop's.
Except one.
"Just worried, you know? World's brutal... Not saying you're bad or anything."
"Our inspector is a righteous person. No need to worry."
The group climbed the stairs.
The woman in front caught my eye.
She was the only one higher level than Jang Ho-seop.
'Level 15?'
Dead Kim Representative hadn't even hit 10.
Yet this woman, around my age, had a much bigger aura.
'Average build. Attack skill?'
I observed her out of habit.
Gathering visible info and adding my imagination.
She wore comfy athletic clothes for mobility.
Unlike the others, no padding—light gear.
Her gait and posture were stable.
Oddly, a long stick hung from her left waist.
'That's... a scabbard?'
A sword.
A real one.
"Over here."
They finally reached us.
Jang Ho-seop glanced at me, so I signaled him to handle it.
"Hi. I'm Kang Hye-sun."
With the barricade between them, she and Jang Ho-seop exchanged greetings.
As expected, the high-level woman was their leader.
"Five of you?"
"Yes."
Kang Hye-sun peered past Jang Ho-seop.
Glanced at me briefly, checked the distant others.
Her eyes were sharp.
"Where you headed?"
"Uh... Gotta say?"
"First time anyone's crossed this bridge, so I asked."
They knew our goal.
Crossing north.
But our wandering around intrigued them.
"You know the world's changed, right?"
Kang Hye-sun took the lead in talking.
About how their group formed.
Current situation, etc.
They were local survivors.
Kang Hye-sun had fought monsters with people she knew, saved others.
Still doing rescues steadily.
"Same with us. Got lucky and made it here..."
"Doesn't seem like just luck."
She shared their story first, naturally drawing out ours.
Jang Ho-seop gave a brief rundown.
Starting point, monsters encountered, people met, etc.
The weird part? Kang Hye-sun kept looking at me.
"Impressive. Just five of you... But do you really have to keep going?"
"Yes. Got something to find."
"Won't be easy. Why not join us?"
Kang Hye-sun proposed merging.
Jang Ho-seop politely declined.
"You could die... No, you'd almost certainly die."
"Yeah. Still gotta go."
"Hm... Open it."
Kang Hye-sun opened the barricade.
"Sorry."
"Pardon?"
"Letting you go would be aiding suicide."
She wasn't letting us pass.
At her gesture, the men started closing in.