Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: The Reason I Became a Monster - 1
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It's empty.
I stretched out my arm to find Da-jeong, but she wasn't there.
She went to the Luat Kingdom...
Waking up without that weight felt surprisingly lonely.
At this hour, she always draped her leg over my stomach.
"Got too used to it."
I tidied the bedding and stretched my body.
After a quick wash, I stepped out of the hut. It was still the pre-dawn darkness before the sun rose.
Ji-man and Sang-shin were huddled by the fire pit, cooking.
Correction.
Ji-man was cooking, and Sang-shin was just watching.
"Gukbap today?"
"Yes. It's been simmering since dinner yesterday. It'll be ready soon."
"You didn't stand watch all night, did you?"
"I was on night watch anyway, so it was multitasking."
Ji-man's face showed a hint of fatigue.
His stats were high, but fatigue was something stats couldn't beat.
I pulled him to his feet.
"I'll take over from now on, so go crash in my hut and sleep."
"I'm not that tired."
"Just go sleep."
Once Ji-man left, Sang-shin let out a sinister chuckle.
"Heh... Never thought I'd get to eat beef soup in the apocalypse..."
"Instead of just waiting, why not make some side dishes?"
At my words, he wagged his finger.
"I'm not on cooking duty today."
Just testing him.
The shelter had plenty of bad cooks, and Sang-shin was the worst among them.
He couldn't control the fire at all, so burning the pot was routine.
It was a fire pit instead of a gas stove, so some leniency there.
Still, he loved gukbap so much—something hard to make—that he drew complaints from the members.
It was important to eat well, but if gukbap was left over, you had to finish it.
Can't waste it.
Sang-shin rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"You been waiting since dawn for this?"
"For Gukbap-nim."
What a creep.
Sang-shin's love for gukbap was famous not just among the shelter members but across the Korean shelter and even the auction house.
No one knew the name "Weird God," but everyone knew Gukbap Addict.
He valued auction food in terms of gukbap equivalents.
Something like that.
Yet at the auction house, despite the trash talk, he actually had a good reputation.
A top psychokinesis user over level 30.
Word spread that he'd helped me take down the drake in Texas, so his value was through the roof.
His mild, agreeable personality helped, of course.
But watching him lift the pot lid and sniff made all those good feelings vanish.
He even burned his face on the hot steam and frantically rubbed his cheeks.
"Ow, hot hot!"
Truly one of a kind.
Still, Sang-shin didn't hide his passion for gukbap.
The problem was it showed as drool.
"Think this is ready?"
"Making a huge fuss because it's so tempting."
"Bowls are ready too. Gotta eat quick and sleep."
As he said that and pulled bowls from the drawer, it was quite the sight.
"...Isn't that a stainless steel dish tub?"
"Never used, so it's clean."
Was that the issue?
Sang-shin gazed happily at the steam billowing from the pot lid.
If he put that passion into hunting, he might've been the top level instead of me.
Anyway, enough.
Up early, I was hungry too.
"Let me see... Feels about done."
I scooped some broth with the ladle and tasted it. It had a nice, light flavor.
This could sell.
"Okay to eat? Still boiling?"
"Don't eat too much."
I stepped aside politely, and Sang-shin filled the "bowl"—really a dish tub—with a massive ladleful of soup.
Then he cracked open three pouches of heated instant rice and dumped them in. I nearly cursed.
Crossing the line.
Forgiving because he helped with the drake hunt.
"Gukbap calls for pickled radish, national rule."
Slurp—
He gulped it down frantically and crunched through heaps of radish.
The munching sounds were oddly endearing.
I half-reclined in the chair and checked the auction house.
I hadn't noticed overnight, but the veterans had arrived at the Luat Kingdom.
The details were alarming.
Curious what the fuss was, I looked into it. Flames were encircling the royal palace.
Definitely not natural.
No comments after that.
Probably posted hours ago.
Time difference isn't huge, so I can get details when the sun's up.
In that brief distraction, Sang-shin had demolished the massive gukbap portion and was patting his belly.
"Ugh. Feels like the soup's coming back up."
"Eat in moderation and sleep."
"Was gonna anyway. Been short on sleep lately."
He sneakily cleaned up and crawled into a hut.
Dawn broke soon after, and people started waking one by one.
Today's cooking duty was Su-yeon and Yu-hyeon, apparently.
They sighed at the still-steaming pot.
"Gukbap all day again today."
.
.
.
It had been two days since returning to Korea.
The survivors from Texas had settled into the Korean shelter, thanks to James and Paige's consideration.
Jang Won-taek couldn't refuse the 100 cows either.
My shelter housed 300 cows collected over two trips.
No matter how much we'd expanded, it was too much to handle.
Even with Ji-man and others working all day, the tasks never ended.
"Gotta deliver them quick..."
Need to check if Seok-hyeon's group is up.
Three people commenting would be messy, so Da-jeong was representing.
The flames weren't ordinary; they seemed massively scaled.
What kind of ridiculous thing...
No big deal if he dies.
Seok-hyeon has resurrection trait, and he took scrolls too.
Worrying about him is pointless.
Could use random respawn after death to slip inside.
But fully random, likely just wastes scrolls.
Why is flame magic covering the area in the first place?
When I asked, Da-jeong gave an unexpected answer.
Spell name is literally Fire Fist.
Anyway, Seok-hyeon's group was camped out around the palace for now.
Solution was simple.
Drake dropped fire resistance gear.
Seok-hyeon wears it, should manage.
I grabbed my bulletproof vest and ogre gloves.
Turns out shelter members hadn't mentioned it.
Figured I'd announce since I caught it.
Da-jeong wanted every detail of the drake fight.
I poured on the heartfelt words about needing her.
She melted into sentiment, whining about wanting to return soon.
I sent her the two items and a ton of beef.
High chance they're alive then.
I urged her.
I closed the auction house and stepped outside the hut.
Time to lead the cows.
Found Ji-man already in the cow pen, brushing them one by one.
"Gotta live well there too."
Moooo—
The cow's moo sounded different from usual—Ji-man definitely had a way with them.
"Ji-man, let's go."
"Yes."
We herded the cows toward the Korean shelter.
Cows streaming out of the dimension gate left Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok speechless.
"Heh... Never thought we'd bring real cows from Texas..."
"President... Any way to raise this herd?"
"Paths open in desperation. Plenty of grass near Yeouido for feed. Monsters are the issue, though..."
Roads and buildings overturned, Rotos' unique ecosystem taking hold.
This ecosystem was hostile to both humans and monsters.
No, the ecosystem itself was a massive enemy.
Vines wrapping buildings, barren branch-only trees, grotesquely huge flowers—all monsters.
Thus, that lone apocalypse street-wander vibe was off to Andromeda.
Full gear minimum to survive, and in groups.
Otherwise, no body recovery.
Thus, 100 cows entered the Korean shelter.
They were still docile under Ji-man's influence.
"Delivery done. I'll check back and forth for a few days, so no escapes."
The rest was on them.
Raising cows in monster-infested Seoul was undoubtedly tough.
But they had to manage.
Jang Won-taek talked with James, and I returned to the shelter.
Now, time for serious business.
.
.
.
As the apocalypse hit 10 months, one thing grew scarce: water.
Food could be hunted as needed, or pricey store bread bought in a pinch.
But water—especially drinking water—was hard to find.
All those bottled waters guzzled by monsters, residential tanks dry.
Han River could work as a source, but few purified it to drink.
Everyone knew how filthy it was.
If things worsened, we'd use river water properly, but not yet.
Thus, bottled water on auction sold out instantly.
Everyone craved clean water.
In that context, our shelter folks used clean water freely.
Thanks to the nearby stream.
Not bottled pure, but settle a bit and drinkable no problem.
My body, mainlining stream water for months, proved it.
Anyway, Ji-man was planning to sell this water to people.
Or so I guessed, but the plan was basically giving it free.
"Bit wasteful to give free..."
"Water's fine to give free, hyung."
His earnest eyes shook me.
Yeah, providing clean water saves lives—good thing.
Potential customers too.
"How then?"
Ji-man filled a PET bottle with purified water.
"Sell these for 10 points each."
"PET bottles aren't infinite."
Shelter had tons of stuff, hundreds of empties stockpiled.
Can't make more, so thrifty recycling.
Ji-man said buy empties back.
"Buy empty PETs for 10 points."
"What about fees?"
He went "Ah" and shut up.
10% auction fee vanishes.
No one, me included, knows where it goes.
Fill-sell-recover cycle loses 2 points to fees.
Fair 1P loss each for seller/buyer.
No need to bear that.
"List at 20P. Buy empties at 10P. Gotta invest 10P for clean water."
"Not too pricey?"
"Store bread's 20P—2L water for 10P is a steal."
"Uh, yeah..."
Felt like Bong Yi selling Daedong River water, but different case.
Clean water priceless in apocalypse.
Ji-man grinned sheepishly, recalling store bread.
"Store bread's so gross. Wonder who makes it."
"No clue. Maybe deep-dungeon monsters."
"Eww..."
Thus, Ji-man started the water business.
Real water selling, not some euphemism.
Reaction was explosive, naturally.
Auction folks followed Ji-man's request readily.
These guys...
True though, no comeback.
Not 50P, but pricier than Ji-man for sure.
While checking reactions, unexpected news hit.
Someone breaking rules, bidding high on Ji-man's water bottles.
20P was unspoken rule, now broken.
Continued, folks got annoyed.
Sorry, but Truth-Seeing Eye skill gone—no ID check.
Culprit showed bidding 40P on water.
Sudden bullshit?
Not just me stunned—dozens piled on curses.
He stayed silent, snagging every Ji-man listing at 30P.
Folks heated up, bids hit 30P, sometimes 40P.
Ji-man's cheap clean water plan flew away.
"This won't do..."
I comforted downcast Ji-man and called the shelter folks.
Time to check point totals.
[The Reason I Became a Monster - 1] End