Coalition Rewards and Rising Tensions

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠checked just now and confirmed I ranked in the top three contributors. After all that life-or-death struggle, it was only natural. From what I heard, Nayun and Seorin also made the top three alongside me, while Daon, Sohyun, and Jaehoon hyung placed within the top ten. The system rewards effort and hardship in equal measure. How sweet those words sounded.

Just like the Class-exclusive Rare Skills, there were only three options. Aside from Path of the Wind, I could roughly guess what the others did. While debating my choice, I immediately ruled out Self-Regeneration. With Daon around, there was no need. Of course, I didn't want to put her through unnecessary hardship, physically or emotionally, but as long as she stayed by my side, I doubted I'd need that skill much. Maybe later, but for now, that was my thinking.

My options narrowed to two, and I agonized over which to pick. Should I go with the flavor I already knew… or try something completely different? In the end, I chose the one I recognized.

The description matched what I'd expected, though it felt a bit vague. To confirm exactly how it worked, I'd have to test it myself. Since it worked on living beings too, I turned to Nayun beside me.

"Huh…?"

"What is it, Dohyun?"

"No, it's just…"

Something appeared above Nayun's head, identical to the information displayed for monsters. A name tag ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floated over her.

So this was what the basic information looked like. I glanced at the greatsword strapped to her back, and a tag appeared over it as well.

She really carried that thing everywhere, even now. This skill was pretty fun. I checked Sohyun and Jaehoon hyung's levels next.

While I was testing my new skill, Daon finished recovering and Seorin came over, fussing over her. I checked their levels too.

Staring intently at everyone's faces made them suspicious. Jaehoon hyung asked, "What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you doing, staring at people like that?"

"Ah, well…"

I explained the skill I'd acquired, and everyone listened with interest. Seorin tilted her head. "It says I'm level 17… but what does that actually mean?"

"Hmm… I'm not sure either."

"That's curious."

"Maybe it's related to our stats?"

We put our heads together and concluded that level was calculated from the average of our stats. We verified this by checking other survivors wandering nearby. Even so, some people didn't match the average exactly. The discrepancy came from stat imbalance. Nayun, for example, had high stats across the board except for her mana, which was still at 1. If we averaged them normally, her level should have been 20, but that clearly wasn't accurate. She couldn't possibly be at a level 20 standard. It seemed the system applied some adjustment for people with severe imbalances. When I checked myself in a mirror, my level showed as 25, which lined up. Of course, this method wasn't perfect. Skills weren't factored in at all. Then again, the same applied to monsters, so the difference probably wasn't that big.

Having finished experimenting with my new Rare Skill, I asked what skills the others had picked. They were Rare, after all, not Normal. I was dying to know.

"I chose Self-Regeneration. It does exactly what the name suggests."

Nayun had picked the one I'd immediately discarded. It seemed to pair well with her Berserk skill. When she used Berserk, she charged in without thinking, so automatic wound recovery would let her fight more efficiently. For her, stamina mattered far more than her other stats now.

"I went with Physical Hardening. It lets me make my body tougher, apparently?"

Sohyun's choice fit her Fighter class perfectly. Her All-Out Strike was incredibly powerful but hurt her as well. Being able to harden her body would help mitigate that drawback.

"I picked Mana Overdrive."

Daon added that it was thanks to this skill that she'd been able to heal me. I made a mental note to avoid situations where she'd have to use it again if possible.

Jaehoon hyung had received the skill Megaphone. It consumed mana and did exactly what the name implied, but with a twist: it didn't just make his voice louder overall. He could designate specific people—his allies—and make his voice reach only them more clearly. In the chaos of battle, that skill would be incredibly useful.

That left only Seorin. Everyone's eyes turned to her, including mine.

"W-what are you all staring at…?!"

"Unni, what did you choose?"

"You're the only one left."

"Unni, what skill did you get?"

"I'm curious about Seorin-ssi's choice as well!"

"I-it's nothing special…!"

"If it's nothing special, you can just tell us! Come on, what is it? I'm curious!"

"F-fine, whatever—!!"

Seorin's face flushed red. She snapped angrily and stormed off, practically fleeing. We watched her go in confusion.

"What's with her…?"

The mood had been light and shared, yet she was the only one acting strange. Thinking back, she'd seemed restless ever since Nayun and then Sohyun started talking about their skills.

"Maybe she picked an embarrassing skill she can't talk about…?"

"What kind of skill would be embarrassing…?"

Han Seorin was a mystery sometimes. It didn't seem like she was suddenly treating it as private information she couldn't share with us. Still, forcing her to tell us felt wrong. Well, either way, the skill-sharing session was over. I moved on to the next important thing: my Class-exclusive Quest.

A residence that satisfies me, huh… I had more than enough ability now. I could build the kind of house I'd always imagined. The conditions were a bit abstract, but I figured I'd understand once I started building. No point ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overthinking something vague. The real issue was the requirements. I opened my Status Window.

This too would work itself out as I built. Demolition & Construction had slowed a little recently, but it had always gained experience quickly, and Material Storage wasn't much different. This quest shouldn't be a problem. I asked Nayun about her Class-exclusive Quest. Hers was to raise Berserk to level 4. It had gone up to 2 during the recent battle… It sounded simple, but for her it would be incredibly difficult. Class-exclusive Quests were never easy. Regular quests were already tough enough. Seeing Nayun's quest made me suspect Seorin's was probably similar. Everyone was going to have their work cut out for them.

After checking all the rewards, everyone seemed ready to head back. Time to return. For the next few days, I wanted to stay far away from any fighting. How had things ended up like this…?

Thirty minutes before Dohyun's group departed, trouble was brewing back at the Mart. Only the minimum security detail had remained to protect the survivors. The people who had stayed quiet while Nayun and Jaehoon were present now began causing problems. They voiced complaints to those loyal to Nayun.

"The sleeping arrangements are uncomfortable." "The food portions are too small." Selfish grievances that ignored the situation entirely.

"Open the food storage!"

"Is the Mart yours? Who gave you the right to manage the food?!"

"Improve our treatment!"

"Get lost, you thugs!"

Nayun's people tried their best to calm the crowd, but their efforts only went so far. They needed Nayun or Jaehoon.

"Please calm down for a moment!"

"The boss and the others will be back soon! We can talk then!"

"Shut up!!"

Meanwhile, the remaining gang members stayed back to avoid escalating things further, though they hurled sharp insults at the crowd.

"Look at these bastards acting up just because the boss and Jaehoon hyung-nim aren't here!"

"They were too scared to try this before. It's probably that guy again, right…?"

"How are these people any different from us?"

The ones holding the line didn't curse openly, but their thoughts aligned with the gang members'. Why did they have to deal with this when they were the ones protecting everyone?

"Should we just grab our bats?"

"Don't. The boss will kill us if we do."

"Tsk, what's so scary about the boss…"

"It's not the boss we're worried about…"

Frustrated, they fell silent. Watching from a distance were two men.

"Just like you said, the gang members aren't stepping in!"

The middle-aged man with a protruding belly smiled slyly at his companion's words.

"That woman kept the gang members perfectly in line. She's a soldier to the bone. Our citizens are only useful when we exploit them properly!"

He spoke as if he'd predicted this outcome. Still, if Nayun had been here, things wouldn't have escalated this far. Over the past three days, she'd stopped by the Mart several times, but today she hadn't come at all. This was the perfect opportunity. Having spent the last few days quietly stirring people up from the shadows, inciting them into this state had been almost too easy. If things continued this way, he could soon make the Mart his own.

'If she's a soldier, she should just protect people like a soldier. Giving orders is my job!'

The man wearing a greedy smile was interrupted when another man came running up in a panic.

"S-sir, that soldier woman and her people are coming back!"

"What?"

They'd returned faster than expected. Still, it didn't matter. They'd already come this far. The people who'd been hesitant would no longer be able to back out of the crowd. The middle-aged man raised his voice.

"Everyone, let's go outside. The boss has returned. Let's settle this directly with them!"

The murmuring crowd hesitated for only a moment. With so many people gathered, Nayun's power no longer felt so terrifying.

"Let's go!"

"Yes, let's go!"

"Ooooooooh——!!"

"W-wait a second…!"

"These people…!"

Maintaining their momentum, the crowd surged outside in a rush.