Home Sweet Home (8)
"...Woo-hyun. Is there a single spot in this place that isn't trashed?"
Lee Jun-ho asked, pulling a dumpling from a food bundle and taking a bite.
"It was perfectly fine at first. I just didn't expect flying monsters to show up."
The owner of the base, A-Tier spellcaster Kim Woo-hyun, scratched the back of his neck.
"Even getting it to this state was a miracle."
Kim Woo-hyun had set up camp in the ruins of a half-destroyed fortress. He had hired a builder mercenary to handle repairs and had even synthesized turret spells along the walls.
He had been quite proud of his handiwork, but...
"What's with those turrets?"
"Ah. I got some inspiration from video games. They're auto-turrets. They keep blasting mana until the mana stones run dry."
"...And over there?"
Jun-ho pointed toward a corner. About a dozen civilians were huddled under a tarp. They looked like three families made up of parents and children.
"They just wandered in while I was building the base. They even set up their own tents without asking."
"...Hmm."
Jun-ho chewed his dumpling.
A toddler had been staring at him for a while now. The dumpling must look delicious to the kid.
"Geez. What are you staring at, kid?"
In the end, he pulled out an entire food bundle and tossed it over to them. The civilians bowed their heads in gratitude.
"Hyung, are you sure? Those bundles are expensive."
"I focused on buying food instead of gear, so I'm fine. I'm playing solo anyway."
"Ah... Hyung, did you destroy any crystals? I heard they drop stuff when you break them."
"They drop a few loot fragments and some weird beads. Nothing major. My main issue right now is fatigue."
"Ah. And fatigue only recovers when you're within the crystal's range, right?"
"Yeah."
The crystal's range. Looking up at the sky above the base, a faint blue barrier stretched over them like a dome. Eating, sleeping, or resting inside this dome would recover their fatigue.
"Hyung, in that case... do you think you could spare some food...?"
"That's why I came here in the first place."
Jun-ho tossed a small bead from his pocket. *Thump, thump.* It rolled across the ground a few times before suddenly transforming into half a sack of rice.
"Whoa. Is this that bead?"
"Yeah."
It was a bead that materialized thoughts. You just rolled it and wished for what you wanted.
"But you only get one bead per crystal destroyed. And they seem to have an expiration date of about twenty-four hours."
"What happens if you don't use it quickly?"
"It just shatters."
"Ah... That's rough."
"Nom, nom! Yummy!"
The laughter of the child eating the dumpling drifted over. Jun-ho gestured toward the civilians with his chin.
"If you can, send those people somewhere else."
"Where?"
"To Kate."
"Ah~ I heard Kate hired three S-rank mercenaries. Can she even control them?"
Since they cost 300,000 coins each, she had burned 500,000 coins of her own money on top of the budget.
"She'll manage. She's an aristocrat, after all."
Jun-ho popped the rest of the dumpling into his mouth.
A scabbard was tied to his waist with a cord, and his loose-fitting martial arts robes were remarkably clean.
Kim Woo-hyun stared at him in awe.
"Hyung, have you been reading martial arts novels lately?"
He was starting to look like a wandering martial artist.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Suddenly, a bell began to toll.
"Oh, already?!"
The second wave was starting. It meant Day 2 had already begun. Jun-ho sprang to his feet.
"Since I'm here, I'll help you out."
"I'd love that, but Hyung, is your fatigue okay?"
"I can just rest tomorrow."
Day 2, Night.
Skreeeeeeeech—!
"...Ugh, those crazy bastards must have changed their tactics."
Yun Hwa-rim's base. Hwa-rim frowned at the distant, echoing shrieks of the magical beasts.
Skreeeeeeeech—!
"Oh, seriously!"
She climbed up the wall and screamed.
"Hey, you sons of bitches!"
Skreeeeeeeech—!
"Stop making that goddamn noise!"
She screamed, the veins in her neck bulging. Her voice, infused with mana, echoed across the landscape like an amplifier.
Skreeeeeeeech—!
"Shut your fucking mouths! You motherfuckers!"
"Leave them be. It's not like screaming back does anything."
Seo Ji-woo let out a dry laugh. Hwa-rim huffed, glaring into the distance.
"...Wait, I think it worked?"
The beasts' shrieking stopped.
"Oh, it actually did."
In any case, the second wave of Day 2 was drawing to a close.
"Ugh, screaming made me dizzy. Ji-woo, can you help me with the third wave too?"
Ji-woo was currently tied down at Hwa-rim's base, even though she had chosen the offense role.
"Hey, I told you, I need to go on the offensive too."
"But what am I supposed to do? We're doomed without you!"
Hwa-rim was an elite spellcaster. She had hired a balanced team of mercenaries—not just combatants, but builders and medics too. She had spent her 400,000-coin bonus plus 300,000 coins of her own money. Yet, flying monsters had appeared in the very first wave and ruined everything.
"Still, I have to go out to gather supplies. I heard you get good drops when you destroy crystals."
Ji-woo picked up her smartphone.
Only eleven people had obtained this smartphone from the high-grade gacha, allowing them to exchange information in real-time.
"Ah, this is so annoying! I should've chosen offense too. The defense team is at such a huge disadvantage!"
Hwa-rim stamped her foot, glaring at Ji-woo.
"...What is it now?"
"Ji-woo, you're the one who said we should do this together! You on offense, me on defense!"
"Cameras. Cameras. There are cameras here."
"..."
Only then did Hwa-rim quiet down.
Once inside the labyrinth, the cameras were completely invisible, so it was easy to let one's true personality slip when things got tough.
"Sigh... This is exhausting."
Just as Hwa-rim slumped onto the ground,
*Patter, patter.*
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed.
It was Lee Jong-su's party entering the base. Three players and three mercenaries—six people in total.
"Oh, hey. We need to recover our fatigue. Do you have any beds...?"
They looked around the interior.
The place was heavily damaged, and there barely seemed to be enough floor space, let alone beds.
Jong-su gave a bitter smile.
"We'll just lie down, recover our fatigue, and head out."
"Don't bother. Sleeping on the bare ground barely recovers any fatigue."
Ji-woo stepped forward. She pulled out her high-grade gacha item, the Tent Generator—an object shaped like a shuttlecock case.
*Pop! Pop! Pop!*
She aimed it at the ground, and three makeshift tents materialized.
"Sleep in those."
"Oh, thanks."
Just as the exhausted party members were about to crawl inside,
"Wait a sec, before you do!"
Hwa-rim blocked their path.
"Could you, like, spare some food? Our mercenaries need to eat."
She asked with a bright, forced smile. Jong-su glanced to his side. It seemed someone else was in charge of supplies.
Kim Dong-ha.
Hwa-rim turned her gaze to him.
"I heard you get good drops when you smash crystals."
"Yeah. We do. Want to trade some loot for it?"
"...What? What are you talking about?"
Hwa-rim's expression stiffened.
"You should just give us the food."
"Why?"
Dong-ha tilted his head.
"...What do you mean 'why'? You guys are resting at our base anyway."
"True, but we almost died out there to get this."
"No... Hey! This is a team game!"
"And?"
"And?!"
The two glared at each other. Sparks were about to fly—no, they were already flying.
Jong-su quickly intervened.
"Hey, hey, Dong-ha. Just give it to them—"
"Wow, this is unbelievable. Hey, do you think you guys are the only ones working here?"
Hwa-rim stepped forward, unable to hold back. With soot smeared across her face, she pointed toward the walls.
"Do you not see the state of this place? If the defense team dies, all your loot and everything else vanishes. Do you not understand how this works?"
"We know. We get it. But you guys get loot delivered to you even if you just sit still."
"What are you talking about?! We have to kill a hundred monsters just to get a single mana stone!"
At that, Dong-ha's brow furrowed suspiciously.
"...Are you sure your mercenaries aren't pocketing the loot?"
"Hey!!!"
Jong-su quickly grabbed Dong-ha and whispered in his ear. Though Dong-ha still looked disgruntled, he handed a bead to Hwa-rim.
Hwa-rim looked at it askance.
"...What is this now? Am I supposed to eat this?"
"No. Think of food and throw it. Kind of like when you visualize a spell."
"What kind of..."
Though skeptical, Hwa-rim tossed the bead.
*Pop!*
The bead transformed into half a sack of rice.
"Whoa!"
"Cool, right? It works for other things too. Like if you want a boat—"
"Excuse me! Staff!"
Hwa-rim immediately called over her cooking mercenaries.
"Take this rice and make some food... And you guys, go sleep. Go, go, rest up."
She pointed toward the tents, her voice suddenly sweet again.
"My staff and I have work to do. We'll wake you up when the food is ready. You mercenaries over there too."
"...Right. Thanks."
The six members of Jong-su's team crawled into the tents. Hwa-rim muttered, "Those beads are pretty neat..." as she pulled two beads from her own pocket.
She had looted them during the wave.
She hadn't known how to use them, but now she did.
"Hehehe. So this is food..."
Hwa-rim grinned slyly. Meanwhile, the muffled grumbles of Jong-su's team drifted out from the tents.
Watching all of this unfold, Ji-woo massaged her throbbing temples.
"This really is a group project."
"Haa... Haa..."
Im Hae-jun was on the verge of collapse.
He had won five battles on his journey eastward and achieved brilliant feats, including destroying two crystals. Unfortunately, he had fallen into a trap.
The Forest of Demonic Beasts.
A cursed forest where no matter how much they walked, walked, and walked, they kept looping back to the exact same spot.
"...The base is to the west. There are many in the west... to the west..."
The mercenary, Kim Yong-tae, kept repeating the same words like a broken record. He probably didn't even know what he was saying anymore.
The scorching heat, which felt like being trapped inside a microwave, seemed to have driven him out of his mind.
"Ah..."
Hae-jun's legs gave out. He collapsed onto the ground.
The mercenaries were in no better shape. Without a word, they panted heavily before collapsing one by one.
"Get up..."
He couldn't sleep.
If they fell asleep here, they would surely die.
"Get up..."
But even as he spoke, Hae-jun's eyes closed first, and his body went limp. His face hit the dirt.
*Puff.* Sand kicked up with every shallow breath he took.
...Step. Step.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached his ears.
His ears twitched, but he had no strength left to move.
The sheer exhaustion melting his mind and body was too heavy...
"!"
Hae-jun snapped his eyes open.
"...Huh?"
It was strange.
He felt comfortable.
Cozy.
The ceiling was clean, and there was even a blanket draped over him.
"What is this?"
His stats, which had both been near zero, were now in decent shape.
"Ah, you're awake."
A sudden voice. Hae-jun flinched and looked toward the sound.
It was a woman.
"Where... am I?"
Hae-jun swallowed hard. The woman simply smiled.
Could it be... a miraculous encounter? Did I get transported to another world? Am I a hero?
"You're awake, then."
This time, a very familiar voice spoke. Hae-jun raised his head to look.
"Huh? Sabu?"
Seol Ha-woon was leaning against the wall. He let out a chuckle.
"Eat up and come to the hall. Bring your mercenaries with you."
With that, he turned and walked out, leaning on his cane.
"Food... Food?"
Nurses brought in a meal tray. Healthy barley rice, clean water, meat, and even snacks. Hae-jun's eyes widened.
"Whoa. What is all this?"
"...Did you hit your head?" a nurse asked with a serious expression.
"No, no! I'm just wondering where this kind of food... came from!"
"Ah~ Actually, this is a special meal served only to you. You'll have to pay us back, of course."
"...Ah. I see."
The nurse smiled warmly and stood up.
"Let us know if you need anything else~ Enjoy your meal~"
"Yes, ma'am."
Hae-jun picked up his spoon first. Swallowing his saliva, he placed a piece of meat on top of the rice and took a bite.
*Chomp.*
Even the rice and meat were delicious enough to bring tears to his eyes, but the real "kick" was the snack.
These chicken-drumstick-shaped crackers. He had always loved snacks, but these were so good they could have won Culinary Class Wars—
"Going east was the right choice after all."
A voice chuckled from beside him. It was the mercenary, Kim Yong-tae.
"Ahem!"
Hae-jun puffed out his chest and sat up straight.
"...What did I tell you?"
He said, his voice brimming with confidence and pride.
"My strategy was correct."