Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: 4. The Goblin Is Too Big (2)
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“Eh?”
The moment the quest prompt appeared, Yechan let out a startled noise.
That told Youngwoo that Yechan was included among the “residents with monster kill records.”
The targets for this epic quest, in other words.
“You see it too? The text and the marker.”
“The marker?”
Yechan tilted his head at Youngwoo’s question, then spotted the red pillar of light in the distance and flinched.
“Y-Yeah… I see it.”
Was he planning to go fight a mutant this time?
Yechan looked at Youngwoo with eyes full of worry.
And sure enough, Youngwoo was staring intently at the red pillar of light, which had to be marking the mutant’s location.
‘It’s moving.’
Even from this distance, he could feel the pillar shifting in real time.
Meaning the target was moving at an incredible speed.
‘Where’s it headed?’
The only way to find out was to chase it. Pondering it here would just be a waste of time.
“Let’s get ready to move. We’re done here anyway.”
Youngwoo picked 40,000 karma from the pile of coins at his feet and handed them to Yechan.
Yechan glanced nervously at the red pillar with a uneasy expression.
“We’re… heading to the mutant, right?”
“Of course. If we spot more goblins on the way, we’ll take them out too.”
As he said this, Youngwoo brought a coin to his mouth.
Time to reinvest the karma he’d earned into his stats.
Flash!
『Character: Jeong Youngwoo07』
[Strength] 96 (19+77)
[Stamina] 97 (21+76)
[Durability] 13
[Sense] 24
* 1,000 karma is consumed per stat point.
* Available karma: 200,000
With 200,000 karma at his disposal, he could boost his stats by 200 points if he dumped it all in.
Youngwoo decided to even them out first.
‘Let’s bring Durability and Sense up to 50 for now.’
Then split the rest between Strength and Stamina.
『Character: Jeong Youngwoo07』
[Strength] 150 (19+131)
[Stamina] 150 (21+129)
[Durability] 50 (13+37)
[Sense] 50 (24+26)
* Available karma: 30,000
‘This is insane. The growth rate is ridiculous.’
Youngwoo blinked.
Just a few hours ago, his Strength had been a measly 19. Now it was 150.
And he still had 30,000 karma left after pumping his stats like this.
‘Better hold onto the rest. Might need cash on hand sometime.’
Youngwoo closed the status window and looked at Yechan, who was now outlined in dotted lines.
Yechan sneaked a glance at him and asked cautiously.
“Did you use up all your karma again?”
“Left a little just in case.”
“Oh, then I should…”
“No. You should use it all. You’re still struggling against monsters, right?”
Youngwoo called 30,000 karma “a little” without a hint of irony.
Hunting monsters had ballooned his available funds, after all.
‘I wonder what everyone else is up to. Still running? Some of them must’ve fought back by now.’
Youngwoo glanced at the blue pillars still dotting Gumi in all directions.
They meant unprocessed monsters were scattered everywhere.
The pillars that had appeared here vanished along with the corpses once the goblins were wiped out.
“Uncle, I’m all set.”
Yechan finished allocating his stats, gripped his spear and shield, and stood beside Youngwoo.
Youngwoo kept his eyes fixed on the red pillar and asked.
“What’s your Stamina at now?”
“52. Base was 22.”
The fact that he’d added the base value meant Yechan had settled down a bit.
Youngwoo double-checked that his backpack with the 30,000 karma was secure, then pointed to the red pillar at the edge of Early Bird’s range.
“We’re heading straight there now. Keep up.”
* * *
Moving.
Fancy word for running.
But this time was different.
Flash!
He wasn’t getting tired, even at this blistering speed.
Of course, that only applied to Youngwoo with his 150 Stamina. Yechan had been showing signs of fatigue for a while.
“Huff, huff!”
Still, instead of suggesting a break, Yechan gritted his teeth and pushed on.
He was afraid Youngwoo would ditch him the moment he became dead weight.
“…Hic! Eek, hic!”
But soon his stamina hit its limit, and his breathing turned ragged.
“……”
Youngwoo gradually slowed.
“We should rest a bit.”
“N-No! I can go… a little further…!”
“No. If you collapse completely, it’ll be a hassle for me.”
Just hours ago, Youngwoo had been helplessly overtaken in that mad dash to the exchange.
So he had no intention of ditching Yechan just for lacking stamina. No reason to yet, anyway.
“Take a breather. We don’t know when we’ll have to fight next, so it’s smart for me to rest too.”
Youngwoo came to a full stop, and Yechan—trailing behind—collapsed to the ground, panting and dripping sweat.
‘Next time, I’ll have him prioritize Stamina. Or…’
Youngwoo scanned the area, then paused at one spot.
Two bicycles were parked side by side in front of a storefront along the main road.
Of course, they were turned to stone.
‘But if I use karma, I can restore stone-turned items to their original state.’
Youngwoo pulled a coin from his backpack and approached one of the petrified bikes.
Then.
Tap.
He touched the coin to the handlebars.
Bzzz!
“……!”
Sure enough, a small rectangular hologram appeared where the coin met the bike.
“Whoa, what’s that?”
It was a price tag.
[Bicycle: 3,000]
* Touch the target item with a coin again to confirm purchase.
A bicycle for 3,000 karma.
Pay three crimson coins, and he could ride it again.
‘Even both would only cost 6,000.’
To Youngwoo with 30,000 karma, it felt dirt cheap.
Bikes would slash stamina drain per distance and boost speed to boot.
Tap.
Youngwoo pulled the coin away to check the price, then touched it again. The coin vanished, and the bike began to change.
Whoosh!
It started spewing the same hazy smoke as items reverting from stone.
Stone flaked away rapidly from the point of contact.
“Huh? W-What’s going on?”
Yechan, catching his breath behind him, ran over in alarm at the smoke.
“You know how to ride a bike, right? We’ll use these from now on.”
“Huh? Oh, y-yeah! I can ride, but…”
Yechan stared at Youngwoo in awe.
While everyone else was busy fleeing monsters, this guy was buying bikes to chase a mutant… The more he saw, the more impressive he seemed.
“Uncle, you’re not some regressor or something, are you?”
“Huh?”
Youngwoo frowned briefly at the random question, then chuckled.
“What nonsense. No, I’m not.”
“Then why go this far?”
“Why, huh.”
Youngwoo started to answer, then shut his mouth.
Truth was, he didn’t have a clear answer himself.
“Guess I’m scared.”
“You? Scared of what?”
“Being weak.”
“…Ah.”
Youngwoo rolled one bike over to Yechan and asked.
“What about you?”
“I…”
As Yechan looked down at his half-burned name tag, Youngwoo placed his foot on the pedal.
“Sometimes that scares me more than dying. So I grab every chance to get stronger.”
Clunk.
Youngwoo’s bike gears engaged.
Yechan stared blankly as he pulled away, then hurriedly hopped on his own pedals.
* * *
With karma-enhanced bodies, the two sped along on their bikes.
They blew past the shopping district and into a residential area in no time, where they started seeing other people again.
The problem was…
“Aaah!”
“S-Save me!”
They were all terrified out of their minds.
Dozens of people—men, women, young and old—were fleeing toward Youngwoo and Yechan.
“What the…?”
“They’re running from something. Goblins ahead, probably.”
Youngwoo pointed to the blue pillar shining down into the heart of the residential area.
Then he glanced at one of the people who’d just rushed past.
He’d spotted someone clutching a stone lump. Too quick to make out the shape, which was a shame.
‘Whatever it is, it’s gotta be a pre-cataclysm item.’
Probably something valuable.
He also saw a man carrying a child on his back, sisters supporting their elderly mother while drenched in sweat—plenty of vulnerable groups.
“This is a real living hell.”
Yechan muttered as he saw an elderly man stumbling along, but Youngwoo shook his head.
“At this pace, they won’t shake the goblins. Someone inside’s buying them time.”
Which meant the real hell was deeper in—though he left that unsaid.
Of course, he couldn’t tell if someone was deliberately holding the line inside.
Maybe the stragglers at the end of the evac line were just getting picked off one by one.
“…….”
Youngwoo grimaced, unbidden images of the horror flashing in his mind.
If people really were dying back there, they needed to hurry even more.
“Let’s go. Skirt around the crowd on the edge.”
People kept pouring out of the residential area, so Youngwoo and Yechan hugged the roadside and pedaled.
“Oh, yeah.”
Yechan, pumping the pedals hard, spoke up again.
“A lot of them don’t even have weapons.”
“Not everyone followed the quests.”
Youngwoo sensed the trouble spot was closing in as another group burst out.
The blue pillar was right nearby now.
Then, at last.
Crunch! Crackle!
An ominous tearing sound reached Youngwoo’s ears.
‘Crazy. What the hell is that noise?’
Youngwoo instinctively leaned back and peered past the refugees.
His vision filled with crimson at once.
Blood-soaked goblins.
A pack of them, mid-meal—each clutching a human, ripping into flesh, covered in gore.
Crunch!
The sound rang out again, right before his eyes this time.
The sound of a goblin stripping bone from human meat.
“You fucking bastards…!”
Enraged, Youngwoo bellowed and backpedaled against the flow of refugees. One goblin, peeling the “shell” off its meal, looked up at him.
It bared its still-white teeth in a grin.
As if to say, more food.