Home Sweet Home (4)

Yu Ji-in counted down with her fingers. Three, two, one.

Every single explorer swallowed hard.

"I present to you... the labyrinth."

Along with her low voice, characters floated up.

Defense. A genre with a long history and tradition. Naturally, the format was simple.

Protecting the base from endless waves of enemies.

"But! You can't win by just defending, can you? Your roles in this defense labyrinth are twofold."

Yu Ji-in raised both hands.

"Offense and Defense."

Then, she clenched her right hand.

"First, the Offenders must traverse the map to attack the enemy dungeons and destroy all Enemy Crystals until their Fatigue and Health allow."

Next, she opened her left hand flat.

"On the other hand, the Defenders must install an Ally Crystal at their base and keep it as secure as possible."

In these types of games, offense was usually easier. Waiting was harder; moving was more comfortable.

"Attackers can recover their health and fatigue at the defenders' base, and if all bases fall, it is considered a failure for everyone."

Defense, which required endlessly waiting for the end, and Offense, which only ended when you finished it yourself.

The psychological burden and fatigue were relatively higher for Defense. There was also far more work to do.

"Shall we hear the detailed explanation inside?"

Yu Ji-in smiled brightly.

Snap!

The moment she snapped her fingers, they were teleported.

"...Still startles me."

It was a virtual reality-like space, with grid patterns engraved in a pitch-black void.

A hologram floated up before his eyes.

Naturally, Defense had the advantage.

Even so, most would choose Offense.

Explorers needed to perform to get votes, and roaming the field on Offense would be much more advantageous than being stuck at a base on Defense.

"...Hmm."

But if there were too few on Defense, it would be a problem. The offense team needed to recover health and fatigue at the defense team's base.

Ultimately, the defense team's sacrifice was required, but the explorers would take for granted that "a certain someone" would choose the defense team.

Me.

There was no way Seol Ha-woon, with his limping leg, would choose Offense... A reasonable deduction.

Plus, I am—though it's a bit awkward for me to say—objectively a reliable spellcaster.

So quite a few explorers would choose Offense without a second thought, and the burden would naturally shift to the Defense side, including me.

Not that I lacked confidence.

As a spellcaster, I specialize in warfare.

"Defense."

Offense teams could hire mercenaries too, but they had to pay out of pocket.

There were all kinds of options. But I needed to fill in what I lacked.

My Flame of Cognition was a one-man army. I could easily replace the numbers of ordinary foot soldiers on my own.

So...

Akiman was a 300,000-coin warrior, and Smeshion was also a 300,000-coin warrior.

I chose the two most expensive mercenaries that seemed to match my style. 400,000 bonus coins plus 200,000 from my own pocket.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I pondered as I looked at the map.

Some bases had civilians, some had few or none. The western area had fewer civilians, while the eastern had more.

"...Hmm."

Looking at the west, I shifted my gaze back to the east.

If there were no civilians, I would have too much to do. Not just combat, but food supply, medical care, maintenance, and so on. It would be easier to leave the chores to the civilians and have me and the two mercenaries focus solely on defense.

"This place looks good."

A village with a mountain behind it. A well to pump up groundwater, meaning a drinking water supply.

Coins represented votes. But weekly votes were excluded because they accumulated and caused massive inflation. So coins represented 'individual profile votes'.

It would be good for viewers to see explorers using their votes usefully.

The production team would be happy too, since they could give a legitimate advantage to explorers with high votes.

"Three Advanced draws."

I would need a lot of these coins later. Let's not spend more than 300,000. Food could be covered by the Snack Box anyway.

I obtained three Advanced boxes.

"...What's this?"

I was slightly surprised.

They looked very similar to the random boxes in MoMo.

I opened them.

Clack. A medallion fell. I picked it up with telekinesis.

Suddenly, a part of the space opened, and wind rushed in from the outside.

Whoosh!

The blue background and pure white clouds shone dazzlingly.

"...A drop."

I smiled. The sensation of the gale catching my hair felt good.

It had been a while.

I was about to jump straight down but paused. A status window popped up.

"...Huh? Ah."

I looked back. There was a drop machine resembling a capsule.

I must have lost my mind for a second. I almost jumped without a parachute.

I quickly climbed into the capsule.

"Oh~ As expected, he chose the S-rank mercenaries."

Im Hyeong-uk, practically lying in his chair, chuckled as he watched Seol Ha-woon on the screen.

"But he won't know~ The trap that comes with S-rank mercenaries~"

Kim A-rang glared at him, exasperated.

"Excuse me. You sound like some third-rate villain."

"I'd be lucky to be a third-rate villain out of billions of people. Hey, but is this ratio okay? They're almost all Offense."

42 Offense. 8 Defense. They expected at least a 7:3 ratio.

The prediction was way off; it was practically 8:2.

"One person was a guaranteed Defense. That's why everyone chose Offense without any pressure."

If everyone chose Offense, they'd all perish together, but Seol Ha-woon was guaranteed to be on Defense.

Offense is usually much more advantageous, but Seol Ha-woon is on the Defense team? That Je-Mal-Olh guy, the one whose words are always right?

Then they'd trust him and pick Offense.

"Sure, sure. Then let's just watch the mercenaries run wild~"

S-rank mercenaries are hard to handle. Because of the so-called S-rank trap, where skill and ego are directly proportional.

"Hahaha."

Im Hyeong-uk chuckled and grabbed some popcorn.

Thud! The capsule landed on the ground.

Hiss. The lid opened.

I stretched my stiff body, stood up, and planted my cane.

Thud! Thud!

Two other capsules landed nearby. Hiss. The lids opened in unison, and two mercenaries stepped out.

"Are you the mercenaries?"

I asked them.

"Greetings. I am Akiman."

First, a warrior clad in light leather armor. The gaze peeking through his disheveled hair screamed expert. His weapons were a katana and forearm guards that seemed to double as a shield.

[I am Smeshion.]

Beside him, Smeshion was a giant. A warrior far larger than old man David. Half of his body was mechanical. According to the radar of Sequence, vicious heavy weaponry was concealed beneath his black exoskeleton.

"I am Seol Ha-woon, the spellcaster who hired you."

I introduced myself to them.

"Our destination is over there."

There was a village not far away, clearly visible even now.

The walls were patchy, having clearly suffered many hardships, and the scenery was thick with resignation and despair.

"We are going to protect them."

Akiman stared at me intently. Smeshion cast a similar gaze.

They seemed to be sizing me up, but so what?

I gestured toward the village with my chin.

"Shall we go?"

"...Understood."

[Confirmed.]

We walked together. Clank, thud. Clank, thud. Smeshion's footsteps sounded like RoboCop, while Akiman made absolutely no sound.

Perhaps due to the noisy capsule landing, people had already gathered at the village entrance.

Among them, an elderly man with white hair stood trembling, leaning on a cane. He blocked our path, trying his best to suppress his fear.

It was probably because of Smeshion. He looked practically like a monster.

"Are you the village chief?"

"...Yes. What... brings you here?"

I held out the medallion to him.

"I came to protect this village."

"...!"

The chief's face brightened for a moment, but it quickly fell. A despairing sigh escaped his lips.

"First... please come inside."

The chief guided us into the village. I followed behind him, and the mercenaries followed without a word.

As we walked, a few dogs and children hid behind walls, watching us with curious eyes.

"As you saw on your way here, this entire area is perishing. Too many villages have disappeared. Devoured by magical beasts without a trace. We are considering relocating, but..."

Even if they relocated, where could they settle? Would there really be no magical beasts there? Rather than that, wouldn't it be better to fight with their lives to protect the home they had built?

That must have been their mindset.

"Whether we run or not, we face death all the same if we encounter the beasts..."

[Weaklings.]

Smeshion muttered arrogantly.

The chief asked, "My lord. Can this village survive?"

"Yes. It is possible."

I replied instantly.

"As long as you follow my words. His Majesty has commanded us to save you all, after all."

Who is His Majesty? The viewers, of course.

Anyway.

I stood in the middle of the village. The overall state was quite rotten. Not a single house or building was intact.

We needed construction materials.

"Mr. Akiman."

I turned to Akiman.

"Speak."

"Please chop some wood."

"......"

Akiman blinked blankly for a moment. Smeshion chuckled.

"Mr. Smeshion. Please quarry some stone."

[......]

Smeshion's smile vanished. His artificial eye glowed red.

"It is crucial for protecting the village."

The two mercenaries seemed highly displeased, but I ignored them.

I asked the chief, "By any chance, is there any discarded food?"

"Discarded food?"

"Yes. Food that has become inedible, destroyed, or contaminated."

Food is important. Not just for the villagers right now, but the Offenders will eat like beasts too.

"Ah! Most of the chickens in the poultry farm died from the beasts' toxins. We've buried them for now."

"Is that so...?"

I turned around.

The two S-rank mercenaries were still standing there blankly.

"What are you doing? Logging and quarrying. I clearly gave an order."

[...An order?]

Smeshion's eye flashed crimson. A laser-like glare pressed against my forehead.

I stared straight back and replied, "Yes. An order."

A brief staring contest.

Then, Akiman turned around first.

[Ahem.]

Smeshion cleared his throat and stomped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away.

"Chief?"

"Yes. Follow me..."

The chief led me to a cabin bordering the back mountain.

"Hey, Yoon!"

He pushed open the door familiarly and called out. A man buried under a blanket on the bed groggily sat up.

"Ah, what is it now..."

The buff 'An Eye for People' obtained from the Advanced Gacha activated.

"Here, this royal inspector has something to say to you!"

I asked Yoon, "I heard you have chickens."

"No... that was ages ago."

"Don't speak so casually! He is a guardian who came by His Majesty's command!"

At the chief's scolding, Yoon sighed.

"...They're all dead. All that effort raising them, wasted."

"We should find the value in that effort starting now. Where did you bury them?"

"Why on earth would you... sigh."

The chief's glare at Yoon was like a knife.

"Fine, fine. Follow me."

Yoon stood up.

He led us to a mound not far from the cabin.

"It's here. We buried them pretty deep, so it'll take some time to dig them up."

Thump. I tapped the ground with AC-0308. Rumble! The entire ground was overturned.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Yoon and the chief's eyes widened.

"Hmm..."

I looked at the buried chickens.

"There must be over 500. How many villagers are there?"

"Exactly 203."

203 people. Roughly 60 to 70 households. More than I thought.

"Thanks to Yoon, our food problem is somewhat relieved."

If we turn all these dead chickens into snacks and combine them with the existing food, we can feed all the civilians until the defense time limit.

"Are you crazy? You'll die if you eat that."

Yoon grabbed my shoulder. The chief swung his cane and smacked Yoon's hand away.

"You rascal, watch your mouth! Watch your hands!"

"...No, really. Those chickens were exposed to the beasts' toxins. The moment you eat them, your body will reject it and your heart will stop. Understand? You'll die."

"I know. In that state, yes."

I picked up a chicken with telekinesis and plucked its feathers. I placed the bare carcass inside the box.

It was quickly refined into snacks.

The shape, perhaps influenced by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my Flame of Cognition, resembled a famous chicken-drumstick-shaped snack.

"...Whoa. What kind of item is that?"

"As expected of His Majesty's royal inspector..."

While Yoon and the chief watched with intrigue, crunch. I ate a snack myself.

"Delicious."

Apologies to the chickens, but chicken can't taste bad.

"Try some."

I tossed a drumstick to each of them. They looked highly suspicious, but at my nod, they chewed, trembling.

Crunch. Crunch.

"...Oh. Oh?"

"What in the world? It's delicious!"

"Yes. About 20 pieces should equal one serving. By the way, are there any live chickens left?"

"Ah, yes. About thirty are still alive," Yoon replied.

"Then let's keep them alive for eggs."

Special meals are quite important. A reward to present to civilians who achieve great things, or to the Offenders.

"First, gather the people and have them pluck all these dead chickens."

"Yes, yes. I'll call them right away."

"Do you happen to know anything about herbs?"

"Herbs... I actually have one on me right now. Because of my cold."

The chief pulled out an herb. A status window from NaN appeared right above it.

Health and fatigue recovery. It's different from reality. It must be a rule of the labyrinth itself.

I see. Thank you.

"Do you have a herbalist in this village?"

I have a body that makes it hard to roam outside the base. And there's no way the mercenaries can distinguish herbs.

"Ah, yes! Just one. Only one left. She lived with her father, who was a herbalist, but he died about three years ago, leaving her and her younger sibling—"

"Please lead the way."

I checked the remaining time.

During these 34 hours, I must equip this base with the maximum possible fortifications.