One Step (2)
Even without me around, things seemed to be running smoothly on their own. I was planning to just let Jaehoon know and head out hunting when he suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Uncle, we’ll be heading out now. Take care of things here.”
“Where are you going?”
“Hunting.”
He stopped me with a serious expression. “Could I ask a favor?”
“A favor…? Why the grim face?”
“Please let me join you on the hunt.”
“Join us…? With our group…?”
What was this about? It wasn’t like I was sharing some secret family recipe. I didn’t see any reason to refuse, but I still wanted to ask why he was so insistent and what would happen if monsters attacked while he was gone.
When it was just Mom and Dad, they could stay hidden without drawing attention. But out here, there were only seven people total. And they weren’t exactly staying quiet—they were working. We’d accidentally attracted monsters a few times even when it was just our group. So I asked, and he answered carefully.
“First, I want to see how you fight monsters with my own eyes.”
“And the second part?”
“I believe the three of them can protect this place just fine without me.”
“Three people might be enough, but wouldn’t the work slow down?”
If Jaehoon left, one of the workers would have to switch to guard duty. That meant paying for protection without getting full use out of it. But Jaehoon already had a solution.
“These two will help with the work too!”
“Huh?”
He grabbed the shoulders of the two men who had come as guards with him and pulled them forward. They stared at him like this was news to them. After a quick whispered conversation, he said, “This is for all of us. Sacrifice yourselves!”
“B-Bro…?”
“Do we really have to?”
“I’m telling you, it’s for our sake! I’m not trying to make you suffer for no reason!”
Once they finished talking, I looked at the two men. They nodded reluctantly. With all seven people working and three ready to fight if needed, the problem I’d been worried about was more or less solved. We’d already cleared out most of the monsters nearby, and none of them were particularly strong. Three people would be more than enough to keep everyone safe.
“Also, I don’t need my share of the pay. I’ll give up any loot we get from the hunt as well.”
That last part cleared away my remaining hesitation.
“Let’s do our best together, Uncle!”
And just like that, Jaehoon ended up coming with us.
Jaehoon was shocked. The way Dohyun’s group fought was completely different from what he was used to.
The Mart probably had the highest monster kill count overall, but these four people were operating with incredible efficiency. Each one was doing the work of two or even three people. Jaehoon could think of a few reasons why.
First, their coordination was excellent. Whether by accident or design, their roles were well balanced. There were still some gaps due to their small numbers, but Jaehoon’s presence filled most of them. So-hyun and Dohyun fought at the front while Seo-rin rained down powerful magic from behind. Any monsters that slipped through were handled by Jaehoon and Seo-rin working together.
Their defense was solid, but their offense was even stronger. And there was one more reason they could fight so freely—the presence of Daon.
“You got cut on the arm. Are you okay?”
“Y-Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“A scratch? If it gets infected, it’ll be much harder to treat!”
“R-Right…”
Despite Jaehoon’s protests, Daon cast Heal. The wound closed instantly. Knowing they could receive perfect treatment even after getting injured made it easier to push past fear and keep fighting.
Jaehoon found himself wishing his own group had a healer too. But he knew it wouldn’t be easy. Only two people in the entire Mart had awakened Rare Classes—Na-yoon and himself. Most of the ordinary survivors hadn’t awakened any class at all, and even among his own subordinates, the number who had was low. About half of them, and even then, they were all Normal Classes.
Rare Classes were already hard to find. Unique Classes were even rarer. Before meeting Dohyun and Seo-rin, Jaehoon hadn’t even known such classes existed.
‘This is just unfair…’
Four people, all awakened. Two with Rare Classes and two with Unique Classes? Jaehoon didn’t believe in gods, but he felt like yelling at one anyway.
Still, seeing their strength, he couldn’t deny it made sense. People who had been ordinary civilians just a week ago were now this powerful. Talents that would never have surfaced in a peaceful world had awakened because the world had changed and survival demanded it.
They were strong enough to make him wonder if he could ever fight like that. And the difference wasn’t just about classes.
“Uncle, you can keep going, right? We were only planning to hunt in the morning, but we’re thinking of pushing a bit longer today.”
“I can manage. No, I’d actually like to ask the same of you!”
Jaehoon had two reasons for joining this hunt. One was to figure out how they’d obtained such rare classes. But that wasn’t something he could learn. It was just talent and luck. So he focused on his second reason.
They ate a quick lunch outside and finished the afternoon hunt without incident. Thanks to the extra time and extra person, they’d gathered more loot than usual. All that remained was extracting the Mana Stones from the last monster.
Dohyun split open the monster’s chest and pulled out the stone while Jaehoon sat beside him doing the same. About halfway through, Dohyun spoke with genuine gratitude.
“I’m really glad you came with us, Uncle.”
“Huh…?”
“The girls get freaked out by this kind of work. One of them beats the monster to death and the other burns it to ashes. I tried asking once, but they just tore it apart, so I’ve been doing it alone ever since…”
“It’s not exactly pleasant work… But our boss handles it fine.”
“She’s impressive too. Anyway, thanks!”
“No need to thank me… Oh, here—take the Coins.”
“No, you keep them. You’re the one who killed it.”
“I already said I wouldn’t accept payment…”
“Even so, you worked hard. It wouldn’t feel right if you got nothing out of it. Just take them.”
Seeing that Dohyun wouldn’t accept no for an answer, Jaehoon gratefully accepted. It was a decent amount. Investing these would help protect the people at the Mart.
They continued working in silence until Jaehoon carefully spoke up.
“Could I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
When Dohyun nodded, Jaehoon continued. “How do you coordinate so well in battle?”
“Coordinate well…?”
Jaehoon explained the situation at the Mart. When Na-yoon and his subordinates fought, it was every man for himself. They each took on monsters suited to their level, and since Na-yoon usually handled the toughest ones alone, there hadn’t been major problems so far. But monsters kept getting stronger, and without coordination, injuries were piling up. As long as Na-yoon remained overwhelmingly powerful, the current approach would work—but the world was changing too fast. No one knew when a monster she couldn’t handle might appear.
“I see… Yeah, from what I’ve seen, Na-yoon fights best alone. Probably because of that skill of hers…”
Na-yoon’s Blaze could injure her own allies. To prevent that, she avoided fighting alongside others. She believed that if she became strong enough, she could protect everyone by herself. Jaehoon had tried talking to her about it, but she showed no signs of changing.
“A one-man army, huh… But she’s got the power to back it up…”
“……”
“I understand why you asked.”
This was the second thing Jaehoon had wanted to learn. He waited for Dohyun’s answer.
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you…”
“……I figured it would be hard to share with another group. I understand. I’m already grateful you let me tag along.”
Jaehoon said the words, but his expression showed disappointment. Dohyun quickly corrected himself.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you… I just don’t really know myself.”
“You don’t know?”
“I was just an ordinary person until recently. What would I know about fighting? I’m barely getting by with the System’s help.”
It wasn’t an excuse—he was being completely honest.
“I just… figured that if we wanted to survive, we had to work together. Then I happened to meet Seo-rin and Daon, and it turned out they had strong abilities too.”
It had been coincidence, but the three of them—plus So-hyun—had filled each other’s gaps perfectly.
“We didn’t set out to coordinate well. We just help where we can and trust each other. That’s how we’ve gotten this far.”
“Ah…”
“So why don’t you and your subordinates try focusing on that? Instead of worrying about perfect coordination, just help each other when someone’s struggling. If you have room to spare, lend a hand. If you don’t, accept help.”
Jaehoon’s face lit up with understanding. There was no grand strategy. No special tactics. But coordination could still happen naturally. He hadn’t gotten a complete answer, but he had a much clearer idea of what to do going forward.
“You get what I mean? Sorry I can’t say more.”
“That’s more than enough. Thank you.”
Once they finished extracting the Mana Stones, Jaehoon wiped his bloodied hands and stood up first, offering his hand to Dohyun.
“Thanks for the good answer!”
“Glad it helped!”
Dohyun took his hand and pulled himself up. After a moment of thought, he spoke again.
“—Ah, this won’t work.”
“What won’t?”
“Me speaking casually while you’re formal. It feels weird.”
“Uncle—actually, just call me Jaehoon. Or ‘hyung’ is fine too. Drop the formal speech.”
“Hyung…? That’s…”
“Just do it. Or I’ll tell Na-yoon everything you said behind her back.”
“When did I badmouth the boss?!”
“See? You dropped it. Much better.”
Dohyun said his piece and walked back to the others. Jaehoon stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Dohyun called over his shoulder, “Hyung, hurry up!”
“……Hah. He’s impossible to dislike. Now I get why the boss trusts him… Yeah, I’m coming.”