Farming for Survival

Ju Si-eun's status window appeared before my eyes.

"What the...?"

What did "not activated" even mean? My status window and Ji-su's appeared without any issues whatsoever.

After a moment of thought, the reason finally clicked.

"She hasn't killed a single monster yet. It must activate after you've taken down at least one."

She had probably stayed hidden the entire time since the monster outbreak began. Then, for whatever reason, she was forced to flee from them and ended up getting killed.

"When we run into monsters, I'll have to make her finish one off. Only then can I check her class, look at her stats, and also..."

I swallowed hard, throat suddenly dry.

"...I can boost her stats using my own class."

My heart hammered against my ribs. Could I really do that? To Ju Si-eun, the greatest star in South Korea? The woman worshipped like a goddess?

The mere thought of pouring into her the same power I'd unleashed on Ji-su made the front of my pants strain tight in seconds. Walking suddenly became uncomfortable.

I wanted nothing more than to ditch the farming and dive straight into the Cradle of Rest, but I forced myself to hold back.

There's plenty of time. Don't rush. Finish what you started.

Today's objective was securing the supplies we'd need to keep living. I'd already obtained clothes, so the goal now was food and daily necessities.

I had a mid-sized grocery mart and a camping supply store in mind. The mart was only a short walk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the entertainment district, and directly across from it sat a fairly large outdoor gear shop. That was where we were headed.

The camping store probably hasn't been looted yet. The mart, though... that's worrying. Monsters or survivors might have already stripped it clean.

If it had been open for business, monsters would have swarmed it and emptied the place. But I knew the particular mart I had targeted had been closed for the holiday on the day the outbreak hit. With all the doors shut tight, there was a chance the monsters simply passed it by. I was pinning my hopes on that possibility.

Today I'd hit just those two locations, gather what I could, then find a safe spot to rest. After that, I needed to raise both Ji-su's and Si-eun's stats...

"Khm!"

I forcibly dragged down the corners of my mouth that kept trying to climb toward my ears and focused on keeping a neutral expression.

While my mind wandered through all sorts of wicked thoughts, Ji-su finished wiping out the monsters and walked back over to us. The moment I saw her, I frowned. Her body was covered in the exploded remains of the creatures' fluids.

I pulled out some wet wipes and began cleaning her face and body while muttering, "We're going to need a proper way to wash soon. We can't rely on these things forever."

As expected, farming really was the only path to survival.

I led Si-eun into the Cradle of Rest. The pocket dimension was packed full of the clothes I'd shoved inside earlier. I spoke to her gently.

"Please organize all of these for me. Hang each piece on a hanger, then place them on the rack."

I had decided to use polite speech with Si-eun. It was preparation for the day her pre-death memories returned through the Ego Restoration skill.

At my command, she picked up some clothes and hangers from the floor, but then she simply stopped, clearly unsure what to do next.

I let out a small sigh, stepped forward, and demonstrated the process myself, hanging a garment on a hanger and sliding it onto the rack.

Why do they all turn into airheads the moment they're raised?

"Like this. See?"

Once shown the example, Si-eun quickly got the hang of it. Satisfied, I watched her for a moment before stepping back out of the Cradle of Rest.

I left the organizing to her and planned to handle the farming with only Ji-su. The current Si-eun wouldn't be much help in a fight anyway.

Just as I was about to close the Gate of Rest, a worry suddenly hit me.

Is it really safe to leave her inside and shut the door? She won't just disappear, right?

The food and supplies had always remained exactly where I left them whenever I reopened the gate. But would the same hold true for a moving person?

Only one way to find out.

I left Si-eun working inside and closed the gate. It vanished from sight with a soft rustle.

I sprinted roughly a hundred meters in the direction we'd been heading, then summoned and reopened the Gate of Rest.

The interior looked exactly as it had before I closed it. The stacked supplies, the piles of clothing, and Si-eun still diligently sorting everything.

I breathed a light sigh of relief.

Good. No problems. It's safe to leave her in the Cradle of Rest.

Reassured, I closed the gate once more.

Time to get moving again. I've already wasted too much time.

I started walking with Ji-su at my side. As we left the entertainment district and made our way toward the mart, we encountered two separate groups of green monsters, one with five and the other with six. Ji-su stepped forward and dispatched them without any real effort.

My level isn't rising anymore. It probably won't increase easily from now on. Still, I haven't seen any more of those big monsters since the one at the PC bang...

I'd wanted to test Ji-su's full strength against one of them, but the creatures refused to show themselves.

There probably aren't many to begin with. If there were hordes of them, the balance would be completely broken. Humans wouldn't stand a chance.

Lost in thought, we finally reached the mart. I circled the building, examining its exterior.

No broken doors. That means no one's forced their way in.

What a relief. It must have been far enough from both the residential areas and the entertainment district that monsters hadn't swarmed this far. Most survivors were probably still hiding instead of venturing out to farm.

You couldn't see anything inside from out here. With the power out, even the refrigerator lights were dark, so that was only natural.

I considered the best way to get inside.

Better to use the side door instead of the main entrance, right?

I could probably force the front doors with raw strength, but there was no reason to. A visibly destroyed main entrance might draw unwanted attention.

I moved to the side entrance. A heavy iron door stood firmly locked beneath a lowered shutter. I tried lifting the shutter, but it refused to budge.

Sturdy. Even with my stats raised, I'm easily two or three times stronger than an average man, yet...

Still, it wasn't a problem. I had Ji-su.

"Go on, Ji-su-mon! Show me that ridiculous strength of yours!"

At my order, she walked up to the shutter, crouched, and shoved her fingers into the bottom track. When she stood, a sharp cracking sound rang out as the entire shutter rose smoothly. The locks that had anchored it to the ground were ripped clean away, left dangling like broken teeth.

"As expected of Ji-su-mon. Incredible. Truly charming."

She gave no reaction to my praise. The teasing had lost its fun, so I grumbled and ordered her to pull open the iron door as well.

With a crunch of shattering metal, the lock gave way and the door swung open. I glanced at the alarm device and private security logo mounted above it.

Normally an alarm would have screamed and guards would have come running the instant the door was damaged... but there was only silence.

Even if it had gone off, no one could have reached this place in the current world anyway.

I pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped into the mart. The first thing that hit me was the smell of food. Only two days without power, so it wasn't yet a rotten stench, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

I closed the broken door behind us and walked slowly into the dark interior.

Way too dark in here.

I pulled out my smartphone and switched on the flashlight. The battery was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already running low. Once it died, charging would become an issue with no electricity.

Well, if it dies, it dies. Internet's gone anyway. Not much use for a phone now.

I swept the beam across the aisles, mentally listing the items we needed.

Avoid the refrigerated and frozen sections. They won't keep long and their condition is probably poor. Better to focus on shelf-stable goods.

I moved to the open space in front of the registers and summoned the Gate of Rest. The plan was to ferry everything inside and stack it in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cradle.

When the portal opened, I saw Ju Si-eun still quietly organizing clothes onto the rack.

"Oh, you've nearly finished. Just a little more work, please."

She continued without a word, focused and diligent even after my encouragement.

I stared into the cradle and frowned.

No matter how I look at it, the space is too limited. Even if I cram everything in, I won't be able to store much food...

I called Ji-su over and ordered her to remove all the refrigerated items from the piles inside the cradle. They'd come from the PC bang fridge and were already close to spoiling. No point letting them take up valuable room.

She stepped inside and began hauling out the stacked supplies.

"Hey! I said only the refrigerated stuff! Why are you bringing everything?"

She froze mid-motion at my shout.

"Does she lack the intelligence to even separate refrigerated food...? What a slow head. Tsk."

With no other choice, I went in myself and sorted out only the items that needed refrigeration.

But then...

"...Huh? Why do they look this good?"

The refrigerated food was in far better condition than expected. The Cradle of Rest maintained a comfortable temperature for people, but it wasn't ideal for food storage. Left there for two full days, they should have shown at least some signs of spoilage.

"They're practically perfect. Like they just came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of a working fridge..."

I gazed around the interior of the cradle, mind racing.

Could it be that time doesn't flow inside here? No, that's not quite right. It's less that time has stopped and more that this is a separate dimension from reality, so it's not bound by normal time. That feels more accurate... If that's true, would frozen food stay perfectly preserved too?

I wanted to test the theory, but there were no intact frozen items left. They'd all melted.

If I'd known, I would have stored the PC bang's frozen goods in here. What a waste.

When I'd gathered supplies from the PC bang, I'd deliberately left all the frozen items behind, knowing melted food would be a nightmare to deal with.

Can't be helped. Let's at least test with these refrigerated items. If food really doesn't spoil inside the Cradle of Rest... that would be incredible. I could gather everything without ever worrying about expiration dates.

I pushed the items I'd nearly discarded back inside.

Then a new problem surfaced.

There's no good way to expand the space in the cradle. Everything stored here is essential for survival...

As I mulled it over, one thought suddenly rose to the surface.

That's right. I still have undistributed skill points. Should I use them to level up the Gate of Rest skill?

I remembered that one of its derived skills was called Expansion.

There's no guarantee leveling it will actually expand the space... If it only reduces MP cost or something, it'll be a total dud. Still... when Rise went from level two to three, it gained the ability to summon one additional thrall. A useful effect is bound to appear. If expansion doesn't trigger, I can always send Ji-su out to hunt monsters. Points will come quickly enough.

I made my decision and allocated the skill points to Gate of Rest.

I really wanted to level Rise first and unlock Ego Restoration quickly... It's a shame, but it can't be helped. No need to rush.

Swallowing my regret, I distributed the points.