The Transformed Gopchang Alley (1)
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Two men, two women, and one young child.
They were walking endlessly along the desolate road that had been transformed.
“How much longer do we have?”
“Another day at least.”
“A whole day?”
Jin-hwan, already exhausted, sat down on the ground and gave up walking.
“Let’s rest for a bit. Ji-ah seems really tired too.” “No. Ji-ah is fine.”
“……”
Jin-hwan, trying to make an excuse for Ji-ah, couldn’t find one and stood up again.
Everyone else was walking, so how could he be the only one resting?
“Just a little longer. We’ll find a good place to rest soon.” “Really?”
“Yeah. We have to find it before it gets dark. Didn’t we go through that chaos yesterday?” Nod. Nod.
Everyone walking like this had a reason.
Because last night, while looking for a place to sleep, they had encountered monsters.
“Can’t we just walk the same path as yesterday?” “Yeah. It was really scary.”
“How do they keep wandering around?”
The monsters we met yesterday.
They were the ghost monsters called Race.
“Hehehehehe!”
“Kyaak!”
“Kyaak!”
Behind Jin-hwan, Ara and Jin-ri were being tormented by imitating Race.
“Oppa. If you do it one more time, I’ll die?”
“Yeah! Do you know how to offer a funeral today?”
Actually, Race wasn’t that strong a monster.
Its level was only around 10, looking like a completely insignificant monster.
But then why were Ara and Jin-ri acting like that?
Those who couldn’t be hit by physical or magical attacks, as the name suggested.
Moreover, their terrifying appearance was more than enough to make people tremble in fear.
Fortunately, for some reason last night, the Races that faced us lingered around us for a moment and then vanished quietly to another place.
But there’s no guarantee we won’t meet them again today.
So, we planned to walk a lot while it was still bright and not move at night.
“They’re not appearing today, right?”
“Yeah. As long as we don’t wander around, we won’t meet them. Don’t worry.” Honestly, I said it to calm the kids, but I couldn’t guarantee it.
Since they might appear again, I was pondering how to deal with Race.
“Those who can’t be hit by physical or magical attacks. How do you fight them?” Actually, when I met Race, I had used the Weakness Identification skill.
Their weakness was their eyes.
But if I could hit the eyes, I could somehow capture them.
“How to aim at the eyes……”
No answer.
Sigh.
But today, it seemed like we had found a place to sleep before dark.
“If it’s here, we can sleep.”
“Yeah. Let’s set up. I’ll cook something.” “Me too! I want grilled meat!”
“I want Lizardman soup!”
There was no food stall nearby, but luckily I had the cooking skill.
My cooked dishes could be stored in the inventory, making them perfect emergency rations.
That was why there had been a big commotion at the auction house.
Previously, they had only been valued as buff foods, but now they were foods that could be stored in the inventory.
In other words, non-perishable, long-lasting foods that could store an enormous amount in the inventory.
“Should I have registered more at the auction house?” We left only what we needed and put almost everything up for auction, and in the meantime, we earned 50,000 coins.
An enormous amount of money.
It wasn’t a special item, just a simple dish, yet such a price.
I was left with a regret for not registering more.
But if I registered too much, the price would drop, which is the market principle.
I decided to proceed slowly.
“Next auction, I should buy some items.” Since there were no defense items, and now I had a lot of money, next time I should look at various things.
“Kiya! This is the taste.”
“Ssaem, it’s so delicious!”
“I didn’t know it would taste this good!” Jin-hwan, Ara, and Jin-ri were eating monster dishes deliciously.
However, Ji-ah was a bit hesitant to eat the dish.
“R-r-really delicious?”
Ji-ah looking at the grilled meat with a doubtful expression.
But seeing everyone else eating happily, she soon brought her mouth closer.
Slurp. Slurp.
“Wow! What is this?”
“Haha. Tasty?”
“Yeah! Really delicious!”
“Eat a lot.”
Ji-ah was also hooked on the grilled meat.
Watching her small hands and mouth eating deliciously, a fatherly smile appeared on my face.
At that moment!
The sound of footsteps from somewhere.
Tap. Tap.
“Everyone, be on guard.”
Everyone pulled out their weapons and looked in the direction the sound was coming from.
It couldn’t be the Race we saw yesterday.
Since those guys don’t have legs, they wouldn’t make such sounds.
So, it was likely another monster.
In the moment everyone was tense, watching what kind of monster would appear!
“Grrrrr!”
“Grrrrk!”
Something was walking towards us, making eerie sounds.
“Z-zombie?!”
“Even zombies in Daegu?”
“No way.”
The thing in front of us looked like a person, similar to a zombie.
“Over here.”
“Kyaak! Get away!”
Jin-ri preparing to attack the zombie(?) approaching us.
But before Jin-ri attacked, upon closer look, it wasn’t a zombie, just a normal person.
“Everyone, calm down. It looks like a person.”
“A person?”
“Yeah. What brings you here?”
As I slowly approached them, the one who had been walking like a zombie stopped and raised his hand slightly, pointing to something.
“It smells… delicious. Could I… get some food to eat? I’ve been starving for two days.” This zombie’s true identity.
It was just a person who had been hungry for several days.
When I took out grilled meat from my inventory and gave it to him, he tore into the meat madly.
Woof. Woof. Woof.
“Eat slowly.”
“Mmm. Mmm.”
He was eating as if possessed, and when he felt his stomach full, he finally came to his senses and looked at us.
“I’m sorry. I was too rude.” “No. It’s okay. Glad you’re fine.” “But this is grilled meat, right?” “Yes. That’s right.”
“I wanted to buy it at the auction house but couldn’t. It tastes really good. Did you get it from the auction house?” “Yes. Hehe.”
I didn’t need to explain that I made it, so I scratched my head and answered.
Then, he bowed his head in gratitude and greeted.
Then, he introduced himself.
His name was Park Nam-hoon.
He was originally from Geoje Island and was going to Daegu because his girlfriend was worried.
“We’re also heading to Daegu. Come with us?” “Oh. Is it okay?”
“Yeah. But did you encounter any monsters on your way?” “Ah! You mean Race?” Nam-hoon pretended to know if he saw Race on his way here.
“Don’t worry. With me here, those Races are no problem.” “Really?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“Physical attacks and magic attacks don’t work. How is that possible?” I had tried every method to catch Race.
I tried spraying poison with Fairy, tried petrifying with Medusa, but nothing worked on Race.
Jin-hwan, with his new ability, charged bravely but only got hit and barely escaped.
But this guy.
He caught Race without any problem.
Does he have some special ability?
“Haha. Well, there are ways. I have something I ate, so if Race appears, don’t worry. I’ll handle it all.” Honestly, I didn’t believe it much, but if there was a real way, it wasn’t bad.
Just in case Race appeared.
So, today, we spent the night here and the morning came with the sun rising.
Fortunately, last night we didn’t meet Race.
Well, I was curious how that person caught Race, but not meeting them was the best, wasn’t it.
“Ssaem! There’s a car over there!”
“Where?”
The place Jin-hwan pointed to.
There was a 1.5-ton cargo truck parked by the roadside.
“Is there enough gas?”
“Yeah. With this, we’ll get to Daegu quickly?” Fortunately, the car’s condition wasn’t bad, and we could get in right away.
“Everyone, get in.”
First, Jin-hwan had to drive, so he got in the driver’s seat, Ji-ah sat next to him, and the others got in the back of the truck.
“Eh? That student’s not a student?”
“In this situation, are you thinking about that?” “No, but can you drive?” “Pretty well. Don’t worry, just watch.”
After talking with Nam-hoon yesterday, we learned we were the same age, and we became more comfortable with each other.
After all, Nam-hoon seemed to doubt Jin-hwan’s driving skills, but what could he do.
Actually, he said he couldn’t drive well either.
“Alright. Let’s go!”
With Jin-hwan’s shout, the car’s engine started.
Vroom~
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The cargo truck’s condition wasn’t great, but it was enough.
It looked much better than walking, and there didn’t seem to be flying monsters nearby.
Vroom!
The Porter racing happily on the broken road.
After driving for a bit.
“There are signs!”
The signs that were still intact and not broken showed that we were almost at Daegu.
“Mom, Dad, Mi-seong-ah.”
Will we meet our family soon?
With the hope that they would be safe, I told Jin-hwan the way to go.
The famous gopchang restaurant run by Mom and Dad in Daegu.
I didn’t know if they were at the store or home, but since I thought the chance they were at the store was higher, I headed there.
And as I drove the truck a bit more and entered Gopchang Alley!
Lively! Bustling!
“Ssaem. There’s something weird here.”
Ara, sitting in the truck, looked around and said.
“Yeah. What is this?”
I also looked around and was surprised.
This delicious smell tickling my nose.
And the situation around me.
This Gopchang Alley, which didn’t seem to have been attacked by monsters, was very clean.
Moreover, countless people were sitting in restaurants as if nothing had happened, grilling gopchang!
“What the hell happened here…”