Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: To Home
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Before charging into Yongsan Station, we huddled together with the group to think it over.
We didn't know exactly how many orcs there were.
Kang Hye-seon had said there were at least over a hundred.
"Let's use the Fundamental Skill."
"Sure. What should I ask?"
"If there are any shaman-like individuals there."
She'd also set level 15 as the benchmark for stably handling orcs.
I'd long surpassed that appropriate level.
Even on the first day of the cataclysm, I'd already fought and beaten orcs.
So regular orcs were fine.
I figured the ones to watch out for were mutant types like goblin shamans.
"Asking so specifically might not work."
"Then?"
"We should broaden the scope... or maybe ask about the orc species itself?"
Regrettably, we rephrased the question into a form that could get a response.
"Oh? Bro. My skill just got upgraded."
Jang Ho-seop used his Fundamental Skill and shared the result.
Along with the news that he'd hit level 10 and the skill had evolved.
"No magic-using mutants among the orcs."
"That's what the System said?"
"Yeah. Now the answers come in full sentences."
The System understands Jang Ho-seop's perceptions.
And Jang Ho-seop can interpret the meaning in the System's responses.
"Orcs are all about physical brawling. 'Magic-using' covers magical attacks, debuffs, crowd control... that whole concept."
Thanks to that, we firmed up our resolve to head to Yongsan Station.
We set up Spirit Stones and captured goblins alive, going through the preparations.
"We probably won't have to deal with every orc in Yongsan Station."
Yongsan Station is huge.
We'd just need to handle the ones on the platforms and nearby.
With that in mind, we charged in—and our guess was spot on.
"Krwaaak!"
We spotted orcs resting in the shadows.
The orcs, scattered around their turf, charged at me.
Easy.
The orcs' strength and tough bodies didn't feel overwhelming anymore.
Slash.
I swung my honed axe.
And the orc's head hit the ground with a dull thud.
They couldn't keep up with my movements anymore.
The problem is...
Too little experience.
One, two... twenty.
I rapidly thinned out the horde of charging orcs.
And finally, I stood alone.
+ All Stats +5
I'd reached level 30.
And a new General Skill had appeared.
"Bro! You hit it?"
"Orcs don't give much experience."
"Huh? Ah... but we can pass through Yongsan Station now, right?"
The moment the battle ended, Jang Ho-seop rushed over with water and a towel.
Completely nonchalant.
"Yeah. And I hit it."
"Huh?"
"Level 30. I hit it."
"Whaaat? No way... Oh? Wooaaah! Bro!"
Jang Ho-seop blanked out for a second, then suddenly threw both hands up high.
He seemed even happier than me.
I roughly wiped my face and immediately got to extracting Mana Stones.
The extraction time had shortened by a few seconds.
Meanwhile, the group killed the goblins and recovered the Spirit Stones.
"Let's push through right away."
"Got it."
There were probably still plenty of orcs left in Yongsan Station.
We'd taken out all the ones that aggroed, but no time to get complacent.
We passed through Yongsan Station while the tracks were clear.
"Phew. Glad we made it through smooth."
The group catching their breath.
This won't do.
The orc blood splattered on me reeked something fierce.
Like fermented cheese mixed with rotten skate.
And the worst part? My nose wasn't getting used to the stench.
"Let's find a spot to rest. Need to change clothes."
Jang Ho-seop nodded vigorously.
"Bro, over there."
"Yeah."
There was a three-story private parking structure nearby.
A steel-frame one, and the deep interior wasn't visible from outside.
We entered the parking lot, confirmed it was empty, set up a Spirit Stone, and I stripped down.
Jang Ho-seop pulled out a change of clothes from my backpack.
Kim Soo-jung and Lee Jang-su were prepping a simple meal.
"Um... O... no, Uncle."
Then Lee Yu-na's voice came from behind a pillar.
"Yes."
"I can help you with it."
Lee Yu-na offering to use her skill to help me wash up.
"I'm good."
"If I use my skill, we can wash your hair without wasting water."
I'd planned to wipe down with a wet towel and change.
But thinking about it, blood had splattered into my hair too.
Her offer was too tempting to pass up.
"You need to save mana and mental strength though."
"One person's fine!"
I glanced at Jang Ho-seop.
"Might as well get properly clean since we're at it."
"Yeah. Would you mind helping?"
"Sure!"
I took off my pants and shoes too.
Lee Yu-na came around the pillar.
She held a two-liter water jug.
"Eek? Uh, ah."
"Should I put clothes on?"
"N-no! They'd get wet. Yeah. Just like this..."
I stood in front of Lee Yu-na in just my underwear.
She opened the jug lid and activated her skill.
The sight of water streams rising from it was still amazing no matter how many times I saw it.
"Close your eyes, please."
Following her gestures, the water stream wet my hair.
As I closed my eyes, the water dove between the strands and swirled fiercely.
"Whoa, this is like a Bluetooth showerhead plus auto-shower?"
Jang Ho-seop marveling.
"Go rest."
"Ah, yes! Have a good time, bro!"
Jang Ho-seop said something weird and vanished.
"Feeling refreshed? Should I make it stronger?"
"This is good."
Not just polite talk—Lee Yu-na's water stream really felt refreshing.
No lethality, but perfect for shampooing.
"All done."
I opened my eyes to see the discolored water floating in the air.
Lee Yu-na collected it into the empty jug, then used her skill again.
Clean water rose up.
"Now the body."
"Okay."
I stood with arms and legs spread appropriately.
Lee Yu-na reached out to me, face flushed.
Her eyes darted around like there was an earthquake.
"I'll start gentle."
The water stream followed her hand.
No physical contact, but it felt like she was caressing me.
Thanks to Lee Yu-na's skill.
The job finished faster and cleaner than if I'd wiped off the blood myself.
No need to towel off either.
She'd carefully recovered the moisture without drying out my skin.
This is way too convenient.
Now I was changed and eating lunch.
Everyone focused silently on their meals.
We finished the simple meal.
"If things go well, we could arrive today. Passing Yongsan was huge."
Jang Ho-seop said, checking the map.
We were really almost there.
"If there aren't too many monsters, it's a short distance..."
Hard to say for sure, but Jang Ho-seop and I both thought we could make it today.
"Orcs are checked off, but it's not certain yet."
Because we suspected monsters above a certain level had been sucked into the Gates.
The dragon we'd seen on day one.
The statue-type monster in Yeouido.
No more impossibly strong ones showing up.
If only weak monsters were left, we could punch through.
"The roads might be more trouble than monsters. We may need multiple routes..."
We had little info north of Yongsan from Kang Hye-seon's side.
Lucky for us, I knew the local area like the back of my hand.
It was my hometown, after all.
"Um... Bro."
After the meeting.
As we prepped to depart, Jang Ho-seop called me cautiously.
"Yeah?"
"How's your skill...?"
Curious about what skill I'd gotten at level 30, huh.
"You wanna know?"
"Yeah. Super curious."
"Then tell me a secret of yours."
"Huh?"
I planned to tell him anyway, but not for free.
"What kind?"
"Anything. A secret you can't tell others."
"Well... uh..."
Jang Ho-seop hesitated, then finally spoke.
"Truth is, I once used multiple accounts to post crap online..."
"Huh?"
Didn't get it.
"Ah! You said a secret no one else knows. So, like fluid clone jutsu... uh, fluid clone jutsu is..."
Jang Ho-seop explaining in detail.
Basically, he'd pretended to be different people posting weird stuff online.
"Why?"
"Uh... just... no special reason."
I decided that didn't count as a real secret.
Not a big deal anyway.
"Magic Resistance."
"Huh?"
"Level 30 General Skill. Magic Resistance."
This time, I explained to Jang Ho-seop.
✨ Magic Resistance
Grants resistance to all enemies' magic.
My third General Skill.
The magical attacks, debuffs, CC stuff Jang Ho-seop mentioned earlier.
I now had comprehensive resistance to all that.
"So probabilistic resistance, or negation type?"
"Both. Affected by level, and your mental strength, mana too."
"Whoa... that's... insanely good. Nuts..."
When I'd gotten Mana Stone Extraction, Jang Ho-seop had made a huge fuss.
Now he just muttered blankly in a low voice.
"Ah, bro. Were you that shocked by the goblin shaman...?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Less shock, more a truly awful experience.
Not being able to control my own body.
"I'd been guessing General Skills derive from Fundamental Skills."
Not entirely wrong.
"But seeing this, maybe they can be influenced by the person too."
"Could be."
Sounded plausible.
"Ah, no. Still, doesn't stray too far from the Fundamental Skill. I won't suddenly get fireballs or something random."
Jang Ho-seop concluded that General Skills are influenced by both the Fundamental Skill and the person.
We packed our backpacks while chatting.
"We're all set!"
The rest of the group too.
Time to head out again.
Heading north from Yongsan Station brings you to Seoul Station.
My neighborhood is between the two stations.
West of the tracks connecting them.
'Muhwadong'
A neighborhood hugging a tall hill.
Used to be called a shantytown back in the day.
We're climbing that hill now.
"Living here means automatic leg workouts... Ah."
Jang Ho-seop trailed off.
Spot on.
My house is up high on this hill.
The house my mother left me.
"But... lots of intact buildings here? Because it's on the hill?"
"Not quite a mountain, just higher elevation."
As Jang Ho-seop said, plenty of undamaged buildings.
Mostly old ones too.
No idea why earthquake damage was so light.
Still, monsters were around.
We avoided groups and I took out the stragglers as we moved fast.
"Just up this incline."
The final uphill stretch.
Once over this short slope, my house comes into view.
I focused on Target Detection while pushing the cart.
And finally, we crested the hill, and my house appeared.
"There."
"The green gate?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, two-story house?"
The sun hadn't set yet.
My heart pounded.
One step, two steps.
Ten footsteps later, we reached the gate.
[Muhwa Hill Road 42]
My precious home.
Even if the world ended, this was the reason I had to return here.
I wanted to rush in, but stopped at the gate.
"Bro?"
Target Detection had picked up four presences.
Inside my house.
At the same time.
"Go? No go?"
"Go? No go?"
Voices. Human voices.
"Ah, come on! How ya gonna go at this hour?"
My heart pounded harder.
Rage boiled up.