Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Yongsan Station Sweeping Operation
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The safety field of a level 3 Spirit Stone holds a special power.
You can raise your level by using skills within it.
But not everyone could level up through skill proficiency.
‘This is for production classes.’
That was what Jang Ho-seop had said.
Neither he nor I gained any experience points no matter how much we used our skills inside the safety field.
Yu-na and Bom-i noona did gain some experience, but the amount was too small.
It was only helpful when levels were really low.
The ones who gained a meaningful amount of experience were Uncle Jang-su and Soo-jung.
Uncle Jang-su especially had a high experience multiplier.
‘But even he levels up faster hunting monsters...’
Even for him, catching a few monsters was more helpful for leveling up than repeating skills all day.
In other words, the levels the group had achieved over the past week came from diligently fighting monsters.
“Going in!”
They had definitely received my help.
But they had also put in their own efforts.
This was the moment to see the results.
“Friend Shield!”
Jang Ho-seop pushed the cart with Park Chairman dangling from it.
That was strategy too.
“Kraaaagh.”
The orcs that had been chasing me turned their attention to the cart.
Jang Ho-seop released the cart and activated transparency.
“You son of a biitch!”
Park Chairman’s scream dragged on.
Soon, the orc horde swarmed the cart.
“May courage fill us all. Keep a clear mind and stay calm.”
Soo-jung spoke in a powerful voice.
Her first general skill, Oratory, took wide-area effect.
“I’m starting.”
Next was Yu-na.
At Yu-na’s gesture, water streams shot up from the nearby water barrel, splitting into several branches.
Her level had risen, so the amount of water she could handle at once had increased.
The skill’s range, which had been extremely narrow, had also expanded.
But the most surprising part was yet to come.
“Aqua Arrow!”
The split water streams took shape.
They gathered thin and long into sharp arrows.
Just like Jang Ho-seop had once mentioned.
This was no longer ordinary water.
It was magic arrows imbued with power.
The effect of Yu-na’s general skill, Mana Condensation.
She had evolved it from the water magic Jang Ho-seop sang about.
“Fire!”
Seven water arrows launched toward the orc horde in sync with Yu-na’s voice.
Yu-na frowned in concentration.
One arrow embedded in an orc’s skull.
Others struck forearms or torsos.
The arrows didn’t fly straight; they curved slightly under her control.
“Ah...”
Yu-na sounded disappointed.
Two arrows had fizzled out midway.
Because of the distance to the orc horde.
If targeting close threats, Yu-na could fire up to ten at once.
“Grrr...”
As fellow orcs fell, a few turned toward Yu-na.
Aggro was splitting.
“Aqua Arrow!”
Yu-na immediately prepared her next skill.
Shouting the skill name Jang Ho-seop had once mentioned.
That was the activation word.
He said calling it out helped.
“They’re coming!”
Soon, a few orcs charged their way.
Bom-i noona, Uncle, and Soo-jung stepped forward with shields.
Clank clank.
Those were special shields modified from police riot shields.
They could combine with simple maneuvers.
The three formed a makeshift barricade with the enlarged shield area.
To block monster approaches.
“Fire!”
Yu-na thinned the charging orcs’ numbers.
Jang Ho-seop suddenly appeared mid-way, taking out a few more.
Still, some orcs remained.
Bang!
The survivors soon collided with the shields.
The group was pushed back a step by the force.
“One, two!”
But they held.
They shoved the shields forward on command.
The orcs toppled in a heap.
“Fire!”
Yu-na used her skill once more.
The others thrust long spears into the orcs.
“Unni!”
After blocking part of the orc charge.
Yu-na, looking exhausted, called for Bom-i noona.
She was out of mana.
Her versatile skills consumed mana heavily.
“Yeah. Hand!”
The two women clasped hands.
Bom-i noona transferred her stockpiled mana to Yu-na.
That was the secret to noona’s rapid leveling.
‘Judgment, was it?’
Yu-na killed monsters with mana from Bom-i noona.
Then, for a set time, Bom-i noona also received experience.
Jang Ho-seop said it was the judgment system.
It counted as them killing together, sharing the experience.
“More coming!”
At Soo-jung’s shout, Yu-na received mana and fired another skill.
‘Yu-na’s killing so many...’
It all came down to attack power.
After acquiring Mana Condensation, Yu-na’s damage was the highest in the group.
She’d overtaken Jang Ho-seop’s level from all the kills, and Bom-i noona benefited too.
“One, two, three!”
Yu-na loosed water arrows.
This time, Soo-jung and Uncle pulled ropes on command.
Iron spikes erupted from the ground.
Stab—
The angled spikes pierced orc bellies.
The charging ones tangled and fell over each other.
“Thief Secret Art: Shadow Assault!”
Jang Ho-seop appeared chanting something odd, slashing an orc’s nape.
That wasn’t an activation word.
Bang!
“Gaaah! It’s dizzying!”
Meanwhile, the cart broke apart and rolled.
Park Chairman bounced amid the orcs, writhing in agony.
Yelling without dying.
That guy’s skill seemed ridiculously overpowered too.
The group took down over twenty orcs with their own power.
While they rested, I wandered alone extracting Mana Stones.
‘Nice.’
Nowhere to brag, but it felt good.
Like the pride of seeing a model bridge I’d built as a kid withstand heavy load.
It wasn’t an overwhelming victory.
It was won through much preparation.
But the important thing was they won.
‘Everyone’s mindset has changed.’
Levels, gear, skill proficiencies.
A lot had changed in the past week.
The biggest change was in the group’s mindset.
They no longer depended solely on me to survive.
They shed helplessness and found what they could do.
Where fear receded, composure settled in.
And they’d been somewhat influenced by my way of thinking.
That part pleased me most.
“Yu-na, you okay now?”
“Yeah, unni. Thanks.”
I returned after gathering Mana Stones.
A Mana Stone in Bom-i noona’s hand crumbled to dust.
“Wow... Noona’s skill is straight-up broken no matter how I look at it.”
Jang Ho-seop eyed Bom-i noona enviously.
“But this makes you two total money pits...”
“Sunbae.”
“Ah, joking, joking. Don’t glare like that, it’s scary.”
Bom-i noona’s level 10 general skill was Mana Absorption.
It absorbed target mana, and like sharing her own, filtered impurities through a mana filter.
With this, noona could extract mana from Mana Stones.
She passed it to Yu-na, letting her spam skills.
Hence Jang Ho-seop calling them money pits.
“Hyung-nim. But Yu-na and noona fight while burning through Mana Stones like crazy.”
“Shameful, son.”
“Sorry... I’ll use them sparingly.”
As I approached, Jang Ho-seop spoke looking at me.
Kind Bom-i noona looked apologetic.
“No, noona. That’s not...”
He wasn’t upset about them using Mana Stones.
He wanted something himself.
“So?”
“I worked hard too, so... could I post to the plaza...?”
Posting to the plaza required mana energy.
But Yu-na and Bom-i noona using Mana Stones for battle versus Jang Ho-seop for plaza posts were different in nature.
“You want to post?”
“Hehe. Yeah.”
He knew that, so he was gauging my reaction.
If it were essential for the party, he’d have said it confidently.
“Hyung-nim. Not a lot. Just one or two a day...”
I pretended to think.
As Jang Ho-seop learned about me, I’d learned about him too.
‘Reward. This counts as a reward for him...’
I glanced at the others’ faces.
Rewards mattered.
For productivity and morale.
But we hadn’t set reward criteria yet.
“Alright. Let’s think about it.”
“Ooh, yes!”
Jang Ho-seop beamed.
He’d caught that my tone wasn’t a refusal.
We hunted orcs at Yongsan Station until late afternoon.
The station was so huge it’d take a few more days to clear fully.
“Everyone, write what you want on paper.”
After heading home.
At dinner after tidying up, I said it.
“What you want?”
Bom-i noona asked back.
“Yeah. Personal necessities or luxuries. Or like Jang Ho-seop, wanting to post to the plaza.”
Jang Ho-seop immediately pulled out a notebook and wrote.
“So stuff you think hyung-nim might say no to is fine too?”
“Yeah. Just write it down.”
We were living communally now.
And everyone was watching my mood.
They’d sacrificed much under the absolute value of ‘survival’.
“Take your time. Even things we can’t do right away are fine.”
But now we were comfortably well-off, so to speak.
The issue was not knowing how long it’d last.
Couldn’t get complacent.
I had no choice but to crack the whip.
So this was my signal to the group.
The whip needed a carrot too.
‘Can’t make currency like a market.’
We were just six people.
For now, I’d gauge individual desires and watch the situation.
“Hyung-nim. Here.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. Is it one-and-done after submitting?”
“Nah.”
Jang Ho-seop tore out the page and handed it.
As expected, he wanted to post to the plaza.
“Fine. Go ahead. Moderately. You get what I mean?”
“Ooh, yes! Thanks! Uwhehehehe.”
Jang Ho-seop shot up.
“Son, sit. Where you going mid-meal?”
“Ah, right.”
As Jang Ho-seop got permission, anticipation rippled through the others.
They’d all been holding back till now.
That night.
Jang Ho-seop posted right away.
No, he posted two.
And the next day.
Day 2 of the Yongsan Station sweep.
We entered the shopping center connected to the station.
Hard to lure and trap beforehand, so we fought indoors.
No one got hurt.
Jang Ho-seop figured out how to post photos to the plaza.
He could capture real-world things near the Spirit Stone.
Like augmented reality.
But it cost extra Mana Stones.
“Don’t post group photos.”
“Got it, I’ll be careful.”
“And Uncle Jang-su says bring beer quick.”
“Ahang!”
“No cute act.”
Today we spent more time farming.
Surprisingly, lots of edible food remained intact.
We grabbed boxes of jerky, protein supplements, and plenty of booze.
Also high-calorie tasty stuff like jam, chocolate, and grain powder.
Uncle Jang-su wrote on paper he wanted booze the moment he saw it.
Day 3 of the Yongsan Station sweep.
We reached the top floor of the shopping center.
Human bones piled so high you couldn’t step.
Thus ended the largest facility clear.
Two buildings slightly smaller than the center remained.
We continued yesterday’s farming.
Mostly daily necessities.
Toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine products, tools, car tires, etc.
Next door’s our warehouse now.
We’re demolishing the wall and planning security.
Once cleaned, we’ll split into parties for living.
A high school near Yongsan Station.
Five men gathered in a classroom.
“Jang Ho-seop? Only posts from this guy?”
“What’d he write?”
“First... Is he nuts?”
Desks replaced by blankets and pillows.
Traces of eaten food half-cleaned.
“Huh?”
“What?”
One man opened his closed eyes.
He sat before a Spirit Stone.
“Guess he lives nearby.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Posted photos, and the labels? Packaging? Anyway...”
Another man, bald-headed, sat up from lying down.
“Photos? What photos?”
“Food pics and stuff. But tons of it.”
“Come see.”
Baldy accessed the plaza.
Moments later, he opened his eyes.
“Yeah. Noblesse Mall Yongsan branch.”
“Right? That’s by Yongsan Station, yeah?”
“Yeah. And small group... Call the kids.”
One man went to the hall.
Soon, about twenty men crowded in.
Baldy explained what he saw and asked.
“What do we do?”
“They going again tomorrow?”
“Probably. We could too if we play it right.”
Then a glasses-wearing man spoke.
“But they got pads too... Women there?”
Baldy nodded.
An odd silence fell among the men.
“Jang Ho-seop’s level 17. Gotta be higher levels too.”
The glasses man broke the silence.
Another man shot back immediately, voice raised.
“Hey, who cares. Chang-ho snipes ’em.”
“But how to find the high-level ones...”
They were the only survivor group nearby.