Chapter 74

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 74

Chapter Title: Start Exploring The Neighbourhood

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"She really just vanished in a flash..."

"Wow..."

Ha-rin, wrapped in light, was sent flying to Mangcheon, and we stared blankly at the spot where she had disappeared.

"I hope she comes back safely..."

"Seriously."

Hee-seon and Mer were worried about her.

I hope this experience gives Ha-rin a bit more confidence.

We already have Yae-won as the only one lacking confidence in our team.

'First, A-ram and Ha-rin have been strengthened. The problem is the rest of us.'

To get even a little stronger before the misfortune I saw arrives, we need to take down the Field Boss as soon as possible.

Once we kill that thing, the level restriction will be lifted, even if it's just temporary.

The crucial part is that we have no idea where the Field Boss respawns.

It's frustrating because we don't know how to make it appear or where to go ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to find it.

Plus, we rarely left the supermarket, so we didn't know what kinds of monsters were in the surrounding area.

While I've been dragged into all sorts of incidents and even went into the black market, the underworld, and even a dream, and seem to have moved around a lot, I basically didn't leave this neighborhood.

To be honest, if those demon worshipers hadn't come all the way here, we might have just stayed holed up in the supermarket, mindlessly killing zombies without knowing any better.

'I need to scout the surroundings... I have no idea what's living around us or what kinds of monsters are out there.'

Named monsters have become scarce around the supermarket we've settled in, and most of the evolved mutants have cleared out, so in a way, it ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could be considered peaceful.

Normal zombies and special mutants are no longer a match for us. As for evolved zombies, as long as I'm here, they're manageable.

"Should we take a look around the area?"

"You mean go to a different neighborhood?"

I nodded at Eun-ji's question.

I feel like we've been in one place for too long, so I think we need to move around a bit.

Stagnant water rots, and a frog in a well knows nothing of the world.

"Yeah. We're looking for a place where the Field Boss might be."

"We definitely have to take down that Field Boss thing to level up..."

"That's right, Master. Calamities will keep getting updated, and zombies will keep getting stronger. If we stagnate, we're finished."

Everyone agreed to search for the Field Boss.

If we stop getting stronger, we'll be left behind, and in the end, we'll be devoured by stronger beings.

If our levels stagnate, that will lead directly to death.

"Right. While we're at it, we'll crush any dangerous-looking monsters we find in advance."

"And... our number of slaves will increase."

Hwa-yeong let out a slightly anxious sigh and closed her eyes.

She seems worried that the number of 'harems' will increase again.

Well, with eight of them, she'd have to wait a long time for her turn.

If I could use my clone technique, it'd be a different story, but I only have one body and one 'instrument,' so there's no helping it.

"Hold on. Before that... Hey! Kang Eun-jeong!"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Bring that punk Moon Geun-woo here."

"Ah, okay. But don't yell so loud... you're scaring me."

"Hurry! Go get Moon Geun-woo!!"

"Ugh... damn it..."

First, I need some preliminary information for our trip.

We have no idea what's happening outside our neighborhood.

Instead of recklessly going out to scout, I plan to get a general overview from Moon Geun-woo about any other dangerous forces in the area.

It seemed like the 'Our Heart Church' guys were actively doing missionary work to get people to join the main association, expanding their territory, so he should know better than me what other groups have settled in the area.

"Huh? You want to know about ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the situation in the area?"

"Yeah. I want to know if there are any other survivor groups around here besides your lot."

"Uh... yes. There were quite a few."

"Quite a few?"

I didn't expect there to be so many.

'Ah... come to think of it, we were the ones tanking all the zombies...'

I realized that the zombie waves were a nightmare only we had to endure, and it made sense.

Thinking that the others had a relatively easy time facing the calamity because of us, I felt a bit of injustice.

No, it's fucking unjust. I should capture them all and make them my slaves.

"Yes. As of last week, we confirmed there were quite a few. Most of them seem to have been wiped out ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this week... but some factions have banded together and grown even bigger."

"Do you have any detailed information on those factions? Tell me everything you know."

The fact that they've survived means there are likely several Hidden Class Awakened among them, right?

Even if we took care of all the zombie waves, the difficulty of the calamity doesn't decrease completely.

It's an environment where even ordinary classes like Warriors and Archers have a hard time surviving. So it's more accurate to assume there's at least one or more Hidden Classes.

'And among them, there are definitely some who would be a threat to me.'

I didn't even know there was a Demonist hatching eggs in the next neighborhood over.

If I had left them alone, they would have been running around with dozens of possessed demons, turning Seoul into their nest.

If our assault had been a day later, we might have been wiped out fighting mass-produced demon-possessed.

If there are that many threats, it's better to crush them while we're still in the early stages.

'All sorts of weirdos are out there... like Yang Ji-sang. Aside from raw power, there are definitely some dangerous types with unique skills.'

For instance, the Wisp Warlock who could wander around as a spiritual body even after dying.

If Siegfried hadn't taken him out quickly, that punk Yang Ji-sang might have joined another survivor group, leaked our information out of spite, and tried to get some pointless revenge.

That would have been quite a hassle.

An ambush from an unknown enemy is always dangerous.

The fact that our enemies know about us is chilling.

"Uh... from what I know, those criminals... those guys are pretty dangerous. They're the damned bastards who call themselves Vendors or Radars or whatever, trying to look cool. What they do is just a complete group of crazy murderers. They kill people just for fun. They say they have no purpose."

"Is that so?"

A criminal group? What's this?

Are they convicts who escaped from prison?

"Yes. From what I've heard, they just grab whoever they feel like, kids and adults alike, kill them, and rape all the women..."

What a bunch of bastards.

It's a good thing when I go on a rampage, but it's scary and irritating when some unknown bastards I've never met are running wild.

Especially since they're killing people who are supposed to become my slaves and workers for the new nation... I can't tolerate it.

"And from another escapee, I heard they... do cannibalism too... Ugh. It's worse than you can imagine. It's better to be here, protected by the Master, and just be a slave. Those guys are living demons."

Hearing this from the guy who used to worship a possessed demon is a bit funny.

"Haa... Anyway, so there were guys like that."

"Yes. But they're quite far away, so they don't come around here often. They won't come. They shouldn't come. Please."

"That remains to be seen. They might crawl all the way here."

To be honest, if they're crazy enough, they'd probably go hunting humans just for fun.

If I run into them, I'll sacrifice them all. Cannibals? It'd be hilarious to throw them to the evil gods as food.

"Hmm... Are there any other guys?"

"Uh... well... Ah!"

"What is it? What is it?"

"Well, there's this group... the 'True Conquest Team' or 'Focused Strike Unit' or whatever they call themselves."

"Focused Strike Unit?"

"Yes. At first, they tried to get them to join the main association, but they got totally rejected... they're all early-to-mid twenties, five of them. I don't know much else, but they're pretty strong. They were spouting nonsense about 'conquering this world' or something."

"Just five of them, what can they..."

As I was about to say that, it struck me that all five could be Hidden Class users, and one of them might be as monstrous as me, and I realized my mistake.

'I almost let my guard down... Don't let your guard down.'

Letting your guard down leads to death.

Things you handle carelessly or dismiss as unimportant have a high probability of coming back to strangle you later.

Even if they're all special classes, you shouldn't dismiss them as insignificant just because there aren't many of them.

After all, you can't know about a fight until you actually clash with them.

"Well, that's about all I know of the two groups... The rest are pretty much all about the same level. The main association was planning to deal with them first. Somehow, things ended up like this."

Moon Geun-woo let out a regretful sigh.

"Alright, I get it. Now go do your work. Ah, don't forget to write that speech."

"Yes! Understood! I'll work hard!"

Moon Geun-woo went back into the supermarket. I've put him in the maintenance team for now and am working him hard, but I plan to use his skills to hold religious meetings for the survivors soon. It's a kind of stress relief.

Because even slaves get stressed.

Regardless of my orders, slaves are exposed to stress-induced hair loss and various diseases caused by stress.

Telling them not to get sick doesn't mean they won't.

So I decided to manage the slaves' mental health every weekend.

First, I thought about a sex matching system.

I plan to let adult men and women have sex with whomever they want.

Of course, my women are excluded, as they must only be with me.

I'm talking about the other female slaves who couldn't become my women, those with flaws in their looks, bodies, or whatever. It would be perfect to pair them up with those energetic young men. Nothing relieves stress better than sex.

'Since they're my slaves, they won't get pregnant anyway. They have nothing else to do, so they might as well have sex freely.'

That's the plan to relieve the sexual desires of young men and women. Next, for those who want religion, I'll put Moon Geun-woo forward as a pastor, deify myself, and hold brainwashing sessions.

Faith is the easiest form of escapism, and collective fanaticism is a direct hit for stress relief. I'll use that.

'Well, that's for next week, if the zombie wave doesn't come and... if we can maintain our number of slaves.'

I even threw away the choker, so I hope next Monday passes without incident...

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Meanwhile, the True Conquest Team.

"Hmm... So, who's going to wear this?"

Yoon Ji-ho, a 25-year-old glasses-wearing Archivist, asked his companions.

"Wait a minute. Are you seriously thinking of wearing that?"

At that, Cha Ji-tae, the 23-year-old Healer and the youngest in the team, shouted in fear.

"What else can we do? To find out its hidden effects, someone has to wear it, right?"

Lee Seon-jae, the leader and a Magic Swordsman, replied, flicking the scared Cha Ji-tae's forehead.

For a long while, the five men discussed who would have the choker put around their neck.

"I'm not wearing that gay-looking thing for anything. Ugh."

"Same here. Everyone says they don't want to wear it, so why are you acting up? Is it your time of the month because you're a vampire?"

"Hey, you bitch!"

In the end, fed up with the grumbling, Porter Gu Gyo-han and Kim Gi-sung, the Berserker who swore he'd never wear the choker, grabbed each other by the collars and started squabbling.

Porter Gu Gyo-han didn't like Kim Gi-sung, who was younger but used casual speech from their very first meeting. Kim Gi-sung just hated the brutish Gu Gyo-han.

"Stop! Just stop. Let's decide fairly with rock-paper-scissors. No complaints with that, right?"

In the end, they decided to decide the order with rock-paper-scissors, following Lee Seon-jae's suggestion, and take turns wearing the choker for 4 hours each.

The result was that Kim Gi-sung, the Blood Warrior with white hair and red eyes, was the first to have the choker put around his neck.

"Wow, you bastard... You look totally gay right now, don't you?"

Gu Gyo-han scowled and pointed at Kim Gi-sung.

"Y-you bastard..."

"HAHAHAHA!!!! Hey! Gi-sung!! HAHAHA!!! Your expression is hilarious!!!"

"Don't make fun of me. You're next."

"Ah... that's right."

And so, they took turns wearing the choker.

"This... if you wear it weirdly... doesn't it make you feel incredibly depressed?"

"Right? Something about it... it makes you more sensitive."

"And isn't it strangely dizzy while you're wearing it?"

"My shoulders feel heavy for no reason. Should we just throw this away?"

Leader Lee Seon-jae tried to discreetly take off the choker he was wearing.

Then, the glasses-wearing Yoon Ji-ho stopped him.

"Hold on. Something's happening."

"What's happening?"

"The flow of mana... it's abnormal. This thing was absorbing our mana. It's an item that awakens by absorbing the wearer's mana. Something's about to start."

Yoon Ji-ho, who had seen something with his Demon Eye.

His words were almost 90% accurate, so everyone put on the choker without a word.

Approximately 4 hours later.

The choker tore, and a black, ominous figure appeared before them.