No Need to Rush
But the related posts were being deleted faster than new ones could be written. Whether someone had applied pressure or not, the entire board was shut down shortly afterward under the pretext of a system maintenance check.
Of course, the internet wasn’t the kind of place where closing a single board could stop people from talking.
Still, at this point, it seemed the public had grown convinced that the method was genuinely possible.
The rate at which new posts appeared on other communities and boards slowed down, and an atmosphere of silence settled over the topic.
In less than thirty minutes, searching for the subject online turned up nothing at all. Kang Tae-sung found the situation almost absurd.
Yet the thought that followed only deepened his sense of futility.
There was no reason to rush.
The authority and benefits that came with reaching Level 3.
The bug-like playstyle it enabled, the method of funneling a massive amount of experience to ordinary people.
Had he really let himself get swept up by each new piece of information like that?
I didn’t need to do any of this.
No matter how quickly one tried to reach Level 3, it still required a certain amount of time. They would also need to earn the points spent in the process, so it wasn’t something that could be done in a day or two.
Had he been possessed by something?
Or had learning about this bug-like playstyle and the shortcuts others were using made him feel like he’d fall behind if he didn’t do it too?
If I were getting paid by others to do it, that would be one thing.
The people he intended to awaken were none other than his own younger brothers. There was no need to form an official party or rely on anyone else’s help. He could awaken them just fine on his own.
He had wasted time.
Kang Tae-sung shook his head with a faint smile at the rare mistake he had made, then turned and walked away.
“Hey, Second Brother.”
“What?”
Kang Yeon-sung, who had been repairing a mousetrap, asked cautiously. Kang Han-sung, who was doing push-ups shirtless nearby, turned only his head to look at him as he answered.
Even as he spoke, he didn’t stop doing push-ups, so his heavy breathing continued in short bursts.
“Still… wouldn’t it be faster to just go out and hunt together instead of spending all that time trying to reach Level 3?”
“Have you ever fought a monster before?”
“…No. I got hit by flying brick debris from far away and was carried off immediately.”
Kang Yeon-sung fiddled with the eyepatch covering his left eye as he answered. He squinted his remaining eye, recalling that day.
He had barely managed to join a hunting team through connections. His heart had been pounding as they reached the outskirts of the city.
He had no idea what was happening or where anything was coming from when a sudden boom was followed by sharp, vicious thuds. Something struck him, and he lost consciousness.
What had hit him was a piece of brick sent flying by a rampaging monster. That was how he had lost his left eye, he was later told.
The hunt had already ended by then, and so had his connection.
With so many perfectly healthy guys lining up and rubbing their hands together for a spot, no one wanted to bring along a one-eyed man.
“The rear support units only handled cleanup, but sometimes the ones we thought were dead would suddenly get up.”
Sometimes severed limbs would twitch and jerk like postmortem spasms. It might not have seemed like a big deal, but the problem was that the things thrashing around were parts of monster bodies.
Some had razor-sharp claws, and soldiers nearby would end up dead or injured.
Kang Han-sung had nearly died once himself, so afterward he made it a habit to stay cautious no matter how dead something looked.
“Actually landing a hit on their bodies is harder than you think. Of course, if you’re armed with guns, you can just aim roughly and spray bullets, so it’s not a problem. But that’s not the situation we’re in right now, and neither of us has that kind of equipment.”
Seeing his youngest brother glance down at his own chest, Kang Han-sung—who was still doing push-ups—continued with a knowing look.
“That was given to us to protect our family. Not to shoot monsters.”
“I know. I know that.”
“I think Tae-sung Hyung… probably wants to move in a way that ensures our safety, even if it takes a little more time.”
Hunting together would mean sharing the danger as well.
Kang Han-sung figured that the reason their oldest brother was trying to raise his level further and use that strange bug-like playstyle was because he wanted to awaken them in the safest and easiest way possible.
According to the method their brother had explained, even ordinary people fighting outside an official party could still receive experience as long as they contributed somehow.
“In normal group hunts, if you don’t deal proper damage, you apparently don’t get any experience at all.”
“Ah.”
“It’s not divided strictly by damage ratio, but if your hits are too insignificant, the chances of getting nothing are pretty high.”
“So that’s why Eldest Brother…”
“Yeah. He’s doing it so we can awaken even if we’re just making half-hearted attacks from a safer position.”
“I see.”
Kang Yeon-sung nodded, feeling a fresh wave of gratitude for his oldest brother’s consideration, when a low sound came from the distance. It was the noise of car tires rolling over the dirt of the schoolyard.
“Hm?”
Kang Han-sung, who had heard the same sound, shot to his feet. His eyes turned in the same direction as his brother’s. A modestly sized vehicle was entering through the wide-open school gate.
It was a four-wheel-drive with a small cargo bed attached to the back. It was an electric vehicle as well, but it had been manufactured as one from the start, so there were no signs of crude aftermarket modifications on the exterior.
Its clean appearance was a silvery-white color, and the person visible through the windshield was none other than their oldest brother.
The car came to a stop after approaching a certain distance, and Kang Tae-sung got out and looked at the two of them.
“Looks like someone else will have to drive from now on.”
When he had driven the truck last time, there had been no other vehicles or people on the road, so it hadn’t been an issue. This time was different.
It was daytime, and with far more people and vehicles around, Kang Tae-sung had driven back feeling quite nervous. He shook his head as he spoke.
“Where did you get the car?”
“Bought it. A hunter who was ten points away from Level 2 put his car up for sale. I bought it for ten points.”
“We already have a truck. Why buy another car?”
“There are more people now. More cars is better.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Even in an evacuation, more cars meant they could carry more people. It would allow them to save far more lives than if everyone had to run on foot.
Since it wasn’t his own money being spent, Kang Han-sung didn’t complain further. Still, it was strange that his brother, who had gone out to find a party, had returned so quickly driving a car.
“What about the hunting?”
“I was mistaken.”
What Kang Tae-sung said next completely overturned the conversation the two had been having.
“You were mistaken?”
“……”
“I thought you were doing it for us.”
The youngest looked a little downcast, while Kang Han-sung grinned as he spoke.
“The combat method won’t be complicated. I’ll bring the monsters, and one of you just needs to finish them off.”
Having said that, Kang Tae-sung jerked his chin toward the cargo bed of the vehicle.
“Hmm.”
When they went over to look, they saw a long spear that could be assembled by screwing segments together.
As long as they had the materials, it could theoretically be extended indefinitely, but if it got too long, it wouldn’t be able to exert proper power.
“Once we arrive, assemble it to about three segments and use it.”
Each segment was one meter long, so three segments made a three-meter spear, not counting the spearhead. That should be a reasonably safe distance.
“Just in case, bring the bows we picked up last time too.”
At Kang Tae-sung’s additional instruction, the youngest quickly ran off and selected a bow and arrows from among the equipment the outsiders had dropped the previous night.
“How exactly are you planning to bring them back? You know better than anyone that capturing monsters alive is much harder than killing them.”
“I’ll cut off their limbs.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Han-sung stroked his chin as he stared at his resolute older brother, then nodded in agreement when Tae-sung added that they wouldn’t die from that.
“Are we leaving right now? Man, I was wasting my energy for nothing.”
Kang Han-sung put back on the shirt he had hung on the pull-up bar nearby and was about to climb into the vehicle when Kang Tae-sung looked at Kang Yeon-sung beside him and raised a hand.
“You stay here for now. If all the young men leave, there won’t be anyone to protect the family. Watch over them.”
“Right. I made a mistake earlier.”
Kang Han-sung, who had been gripping the steering wheel and checking out the vehicle’s controls, also spoke with a look of sudden realization.
Kang Yeon-sung nodded without showing any disappointment.
“Take care of yourselves. You too, Second Brother!”
“By the way, can you drive? Once I’m done, you’ll have to take the next trip.”
“Yes. I can drive. I don’t have a license, though.”
“My little brother grew up to be a criminal. Anyway, got it. We’ll be back.”
Kang Han-sung spoke casually, glanced at Kang Tae-sung in the cargo bed through the rearview mirror, and slowly drove the car forward.
Kang Yeon-sung watched the vehicle quietly leave the schoolyard just as it had arrived, then returned to the mousetraps he had been repairing before his oldest brother showed up. He stared down at them for a moment.
“Maybe I should stop this.”
It wasn’t a lie to say that these traps had kept people from starving to death before his brother returned. But people were fickle creatures. Once his brother started bringing back proper meat, the rat meat they had been eating suddenly became unappetizing.
Even he, who caught them himself, felt that way. How much more so for the others? Although he ground them so finely that their original form was unrecognizable and mixed them into porridge, he was starting to question whether they really needed to keep eating it.
“Still, it’s not hygienic to leave the rats alone.”
If they didn’t control the rat population, disease could become a problem. Kang Yeon-sung resumed fixing the mousetraps he had been working on, only to feel a surge of emotion in his chest a moment later.
I can awaken.
His oldest brother was going to help.
Of course, awakening with someone else’s help might feel a little embarrassing, but it wasn’t something to be ashamed of.
Aside from the very first awakeners, most people these days awakened by somehow slipping into a hunting party and leeching experience.
Whether through connections, money, or even using their bodies, no one pointed fingers at those who wanted to awaken.
If it was through blood ties, that was actually one of the better ways.
In fact, it was something everyone would envy.
The only concern was that he would have to shoot a bow, something he had never even touched before.
Both his oldest and second brothers had said that the only path available to him was long-range attacks. There were many ways to attack from a distance, but the most common, simple, and easy-to-obtain option for training right now was the bow.
A gun would be nice, but ammunition supply was the problem. Even if there were sellers, the price would not be cheap.
“I should start practicing even before I awaken.”
After finishing the repairs and placing the traps in their designated spots, Kang Yeon-sung picked up the bow and quiver he had set aside for his own use and headed to a corner of the schoolyard.
He stood an old restaurant table—whose legs had been broken and rendered unusable—on its side and secured it, then drew a rough circle on its surface to make a target. Standing at an appropriate distance, he nocked an arrow with an awkward stance.
Thank you.
See you next time…