Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Yongsan Station Sweeping Operation
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I'd given in to Spring noona's temptation again at dawn and gotten it on.
"Haa... haa..."
Spring noona let out excited breaths.
The faint morning sunlight filtering through the window made her bare skin gleam.
Her breathing was ragged, but satisfaction was plain on her face.
"Rest up and come out whenever you're ready."
"To check the Spirit Stone?"
"Yeah."
"Ah... okay. I'll lie here a bit longer before heading out."
I stepped into the living room and closed the door behind me.
The quiet silence settled in once her excited breaths faded away.
Normally, Soo-jung auntie would be up by now.
She'd have woken everyone else to start the day.
'Everyone probably didn't sleep well last night...'
I could roughly guess what had happened.
So I decided to let them be.
More importantly, the Spirit Stone had my attention.
It was the same as before.
The Spirit Stone's appearance hadn't changed.
'It did absorb it.'
The new Spirit Stone I'd fed into the existing one had vanished without a trace.
Maybe the one Chairman Park had been keeping was faulty somehow.
[Would you like to absorb it into the existing Spirit Stone?]
With that in mind, I checked a spare Spirit Stone.
The same message popped up as before.
'Yes.'
I fed it another Mana Stone.
In Jang Ho-seop's words, it was a bottomless pit.
'Got plenty to spare...'
We had a ton of Mana Stones from the market.
So I shook off the inconvenience and got up.
I headed to the yard and checked on Chairman Park.
He was still shoved in the corner just like yesterday.
From the traces, it looked like he'd thrashed his head around a lot.
"Wake up."
Chairman Park had been sleeping.
Amazed he could sleep in that state.
Slap!
I smacked him across the face several times.
His skill was costing me, but oh well.
"Ughhh..."
Chairman Park opened his eyes and glared at me.
I ripped off the tape around his mouth and removed the gag.
"You fucking bastard. Least let me use the bathroom..."
"That explains the stench, old man."
He stared at me with bewildered eyes.
"You..."
Confirming he was alive was enough.
I went into the kitchen and grabbed some ingredients we couldn't eat anymore.
"Open your mouth."
He clamped his mouth shut upon seeing what I had.
Plop.
I dumped them around his head instead.
"At least something edible..."
"Keep whining, and I'll seal that mouth again. Deal with it yourself."
With that, I headed back inside.
A few retching sounds followed, then it went quiet fast.
My Level 2 Spirit Stone stayed the same even after devouring two new ones.
No choice—I fed it the last one too.
"Sorry I overslept... You must be hungry, right?"
Spring noona must've dozed off again after lying down briefly.
I was stretching alone in the living room when Soo-jung auntie came down.
"I'm fine."
"Let me check your wounds first. You shouldn't be moving around like that..."
I stripped in front of her—it was easier with all the minor cuts.
"Let's see..."
She disinfected them, reapplied ointment.
Luckily, none looked like they'd get infected.
"There was a bit of trouble last night."
As she tended my wounds, auntie brought up Lee Jang-su.
"I talked to him properly. Used my skill too..."
She said she'd focus her skill on him for the time being.
Meaning she'd cut back on the courage buff for everyone else.
"Sounds good. Sorry you had to deal with it in the middle of the night."
"Um... you wanna talk to Jang-su separately?"
"Nah, I'll leave it to you, auntie."
"Got it. All done."
Soo-jung auntie headed to the kitchen.
The rest of the group came down one by one.
Finally, Spring noona emerged, fully dressed.
"Bro. Absorption's done."
"Yeah."
The Spirit Stone had finally changed.
The Spirit Stone had leveled up, and its size had grown.
"Whoa. Looks like it's getting bigger and bigger. Kinda cumbersome to carry now."
Straight up, it stood about 50cm tall.
And the system messages poured in again.
I closed my eyes briefly, sorted through them alone, then spoke.
"Lemme tell you guys."
"Yes, sir!"
Jang Ho-seop plopped down in front of me with his notebook, eyes sparkling.
"The rest is pretty much like when it hit Level 2."
Safety field's range expanded, Mana Stone efficiency improved.
Up to there, same as before.
"So the administrator..."
"Nah, nothing on that."
Still limited to one administrator for the Spirit Stone.
But a new concept appeared.
I relayed the system messages verbatim.
A few in the group reacted.
"Huh? This..."
Lee Yu-na suddenly uncorked a water bottle and activated her skill.
Water floated in the air.
"Oh... wait, bro. My experience is going up?"
The safety field wasn't just for repelling monsters.
Jang Ho-seop jumped at Yu-na's words.
"For real? By how much?"
"It's rising super slightly... but it is rising."
He deflated at her answer.
"Ugh! Why isn't mine... Why me only... This is rigged."
He felt nothing.
Jang Ho-seop couldn't proficiency his skills.
"Bro..."
"Nothing for me either."
Same here.
"See! Only you, bro!"
He moped, then grinned at my words.
He's earning spanks more and more.
A week had passed since the clash with the Revival Society.
Lots of changes in that time.
First off, the group's levels had shot up big time.
Everyone over Level 10, especially Yu-na's growth was steep.
She'd even overtaken Jang Ho-seop.
But the level reversal between them wasn't due to the Level 3 Spirit Stone's safety field.
"Yu-na. You forgot this."
This morning, as we prepped to head out at dawn like always.
Jang Ho-seop held up her farming bag.
"Hmm, can't sunbae grab it for me?"
"Huh?"
He looked flustered at her reply.
"Ah... yeah. I should. My level's lower anyway."
Jang Ho-seop slung her farming bag over his shoulder, deflated.
"Pfft. Just kidding."
Yu-na had been laughing more lately.
Pulling pranks like that often.
Fighting monsters suited her.
"Bro. I'm seriously dying of grievance here. She's no sunbae, just..."
"Ugh, seriously. Sunbae ban! It was a joke."
Jang Ho-seop still felt a bit awkward around Yu-na.
Her taking the initiative with jokes had helped a lot, but he still avoided her eyes sometimes.
Last time I asked why, he said her eyes scared him.
I didn't get it.
"What's so sad. Lowbies carry, duh."
"B-bro?"
"Pfft. Puhahaha!"
Yu-na burst out laughing.
"No way bro would say that to me... If even you..."
Jang Ho-seop glanced around.
Soo-jung auntie shook her head, Jang-su didn't care.
Ah, my relationship with Jang-su had improved too.
Thanks to auntie's skill, or maybe his attitude shifted.
Jang-su was working harder than anyone for the group.
"Hyun-ah. Here."
"Yeah, thanks, noona."
Spring noona finished prepping and handed me my gloves.
She was leveling up at a crazy pace too.
Despite her sluggish reflexes.
"Ugh... already so hot."
Mid-April now.
Perfect weather for activity.
Yet noona fanned herself, complaining of the heat.
'Gotta think about this too.'
Levels weren't the only change.
The group's outfits had evolved too.
Everyone wore clothes fitted to their bodies.
Reinforced with pads in spots.
They even modded bike helmets with ventilation holes.
The harsh environment made loose clothing dangerous.
Fighting monsters meant protecting vitals.
So tough fabrics as base layers, but sweat poured after minimal movement.
"Yi Hyun-ssi. Cart mods done."
As I checked the group, Jang-su finished tweaking the cart.
Chairman Park dangled from the front.
"Good work. Everyone ready?"
After their replies, we headed out the gate.
Today's destination: Yongsan Station.
The path to Yongsan Station was peaceful.
Just like with the Revival Society, we'd cleared the area.
Residents who used to watch us now even took walks sometimes.
Still no real traffic though.
Everyone wore faces of those barely clinging to life.
'There were troublemakers, but...'
Not anymore.
"Not one thanks, huh."
A family bolted at the sight of us.
"You serious?"
"Eh... half and half?"
They'd seen me kill those who approached.
"Still, this neighborhood's peaceful thanks to us. They know those dead guys brought it on themselves..."
Jang Ho-seop gave his reasoning.
Said he'd have buttered me up for even a scrap.
"Of course, you'd eye the situation first."
I'd killed a few locals, but my level hadn't budged.
Even with experience corrections, leveling was getting harder.
Reason my levels stalled: average people too low-leveled.
Like, two Level 5s vs. one Level 10—the 10 gives way more exp.
Higher levels mean exponentially bigger exp pools, so low-level monsters or people barely count.
"Um... bro."
"Yeah."
"You won't take any orcs, right?"
Jang Ho-seop spoke up after a quiet walk.
"Yeah."
"Got it. No exp anyway."
Wrong. I could.
He didn't know.
Facts I'd pieced together fighting monsters and via Jang Ho-seop's Fundamental Skill:
Most important—people's max reachable level now was 29.
"No orc mutants either... Ah, that question I tossed out last time was spot on."
Others get no exp from monsters 10 levels apart.
Gates pull based on Level 20 benchmark.
Closest monster we knew: orcs.
They range 13-18 usually.
Goblins 3-5, mutants +10.
Orc mutants over 20 don't exist on Earth.
"Not tossed. Might come in handy someday?"
I'm the irregular.
Already past 30.
Fundamental Skill lets me keep gaining exp.
Huge edge.
Scraped my way here bit by bit.
Low efficiency, so I yield monsters to the group.
"But seriously, we fight solo today? You won't take a single one?"
Jang Ho-seop eyed me.
Already discussed, but asks again.
"Quit circling. Just ask."
"Heh... that obvious?"
"Yeah."
He probably guessed my Fundamental Skill.
"Bro, what's your level?"
"Don't need to know."
"But you just said ask straight."
He pouted.
Practically begging for a smack.
"Wha? Gonna tattle to mom?"
I raised a hand, and he freaked.
"You... saying I got no mom right now..."
"Huh? No, wait. That wasn't... just a figure of speech."
Jang Ho-seop panicked.
I smirked, and he relaxed.
Really got to him.
"Um... bro. Guess based on Irregular..."
"Go for it."
"Uh... Level 31!"
"Nope."
"Whoa. Insane."
That's how it goes.
He was dead sure my Fundamental Skill tied to levels, so he probed.
"Levels keep climbing. Total cheat..."
Hypothesize, verify, repeat.
Same with his Fundamental Skill use.
To query the System more efficiently.
"Bro. You won't help at all?"
Yongsan Station in sight.
"I'll sit it out unless necessary."
"Suddenly tense. We're lucky to have you, yet..."
My group faces Yongsan orcs starting today.
Hit the recommended level from Kang Hye-seon the swordswoman, so they'll manage.
'Not just bus-riding either.'
Tons of combat exp lately.
Even tangled with orcs before.
"Uh... you'll do pulling, right?"
"Yeah."
Me herding monsters appropriately.
We took a break in a good spot and prepped.
We entered via the tracks we'd used passing Yongsan before.
Not a single orc in sight.
So we climbed to the second-floor concourse.
"Kwaaaagh!"
Tons of orcs in the concourse.
Meaning I couldn't stick to Jang Ho-seop's "appropriate" number.
'Still, this should be...'
Lots of obstacles from concourse to tracks.
Orc pack would string out long.
Down to tracks, sprinting toward the group.
"Get ready!"
More orcs than expected, but I wouldn't jump in yet.
They'd prepped plenty.
And I trusted their skills.
"Incoming!"
I blitzed past the group too fast for orcs to catch.
My crew wore grim faces, activating their skills...
"Friend Shield!"
Jang Ho-seop shoved the cart with all his might.
Chairman Park dangled from it.
"You fuuuuck!"
Chairman Park's desperate scream echoed.
Anyway, that's part of the strategy too.