Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Heavenly Blessing Sect
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While hunting Corrupted Beings across the bridge, I often spotted two or three groups of hunting teams.
They seemed to be operating their teams in a fairly systematic manner.
Usually, they formed parties of four to five Awakeners.
The interesting thing was that they never set foot anywhere near the bridge.
They must have known about the cats lurking around our base.
But they didn't seem to know that I'd taken care of them all.
If they did, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to avoid just that area.
Intruders could only mean our base.
"Intruders?"
This wasn't the time to be leisurely hunting.
I quickly headed to the save point I'd set up nearby.
Logging out instantly changed the scenery to my living room.
Then I logged back in and entered the rooftop garden of the zombie world's school.
The scenery shifted again, placing me in the pristine rooftop garden.
Having two save points was convenient in situations like this.
Looking down, I saw two groups facing off.
Three women and a group dressed in what looked like refined hanbok variants.
Naturally, the three women were Chaewon, Suji, and Jia.
All three were in Combat Suits, with Suji wielding the large hammer I'd given her for low-rank Body Enhancement Awakeners.
Chaewon held a revolver, and Jia gripped a spear.
They were tense, likely because of the sudden appearance of these hanbok-wearing people.
In contrast, the hanbok group had matching swords at their waists and wore relaxed expressions.
There were at least a dozen of them—an overwhelming numbers advantage.
Still, there was something praiseworthy about them...
They hadn't tried to seize our base without permission.
Just three women and two kids.
They could have easily overpowered them by force.
Maybe they were decent humans after all.
Or perhaps they didn't know this place had electricity and running water.
"Young lady, why not put down that dangerous item? We wandered in here without knowing."
Even in the tense atmosphere, the elderly man who seemed to be the leader calmly tried to persuade Chaewon.
He was probably referring to the revolver pistol Chaewon was holding.
Yet he didn't seem particularly afraid of the gun.
Either he had nerves of steel, or...
The gun wasn't much of a threat to him.
"Then you can just go back where you came from."
"We'd like to talk a bit."
"We don't."
Chaewon put up a cold wall, while the old man tried to engage in conversation.
"I don't see why you'd have anything to say to someone who says no."
I jumped down from the rooftop.
-Thud.
"Uncle!"
"Oppa!"
The kids greeted me warmly.
"Who are you!"
-Shing~
Startled by my sudden drop from above, a few of the hanbok group drew their swords from their waists.
"What? You wanna fight?"
I glared at them and said.
I'd always thought I could handle up to A-rankers even back in my original world.
In this zombie world where Awakeners were just starting to emerge, who could possibly match me?
The old man bellowed.
"Everyone, sheath your weapons!"
At the words of the apparent leader, they reflexively sheathed the weapons they'd drawn.
-Gulp.
Tensing up at my size, they all swallowed dryly as they stared at me.
I glanced at Chaewon, and she shook her head, understanding my look.
They weren't from the survivor camp Chaewon had been in before.
Honestly, none of them looked like they could take me.
But there were a lot who seemed like Awakeners.
No... a ton of them.
'Is my sense of normal off? Why are there so many?'
Their ranks weren't high.
But the entire hanbok group...
All of them were Awakeners.
Were they really?
Their mana was gathered in their lower abdomens.
It was an unusual form.
Was it what I was thinking?
Research how, exactly?
They didn't seem like the type to spill their secrets willingly.
Should I catch one and dissect it?
The old man was about C-rank by our world's standards.
Behind him, a pretty ponytail girl and a refined-looking young man.
They were a bit weaker than the old man but gave off a similar vibe.
"What's this about?"
My appearance wiped the relaxed looks off their faces.
They'd been eyeing frail-looking women, only for a towering dark-skinned man over two meters tall to show up. It was only natural.
The kids behind me gripped their weapons tightly, stiff with tension.
These people had shown up in force.
The girls must have thought a fight might break out.
It was natural for them to feel anxious.
But I wasn't too worried about an actual fight.
Unlike before, with mana conversion and Suni, I had ways to protect the kids.
Yet the hanbok group's expressions as they looked at me were far from good.
The way they eyed me made it seem like they thought I was the type demanding bodies from the women in exchange for safety.
Was it my build?
My face?
Did I really look that villainous?
On the other hand, the leader old man was extremely tense.
'Just because of my size? Or does he sense the mana difference?'
At C-rank level, he might have keen mana detection.
"...Are you the master of this place?"
The old man cautiously opened his mouth after gauging the situation.
Strictly speaking, this land and building weren't mine, but denying it now would be pointless.
I hadn't given it much thought before, but from now on, I could claim ownership.
"Yeah... something like that."
"We apologize for barging in unannounced. I am Baek Tae-san, Sect Leader of the Heavenly Blessing Sect."
The old man greeted me politely in an archaic tone.
He'd seemed normal from above too—aside from the speech.
"Park Un-ho."
Once I gave my name, his expression eased a bit, as if realizing proper conversation was possible.
"And the young ones?"
"Do I need to answer that?"
There was no reason to politely answer the old man's questions.
They were uninvited guests.
I spoke bluntly without formalities, but the old man didn't seem bothered.
Maybe because I didn't look like an easy mark.
The ones behind him squirmed instead.
At that moment, the ponytail girl's eyes sharpened fiercely as she noticed something.
(Grind. Even little kids like that!)
She ground her teeth quietly behind the old man, but my heightened senses caught it.
She must have seen the kids peeking anxiously from the windows.
'Ridiculous. Can't they see it's because of them?'
Well... in this harsh world, a hulking dark man surrounded by women alone—hard not to misunderstand.
Even so...
'Tch. Villain aside, getting labeled a lolicon would suck...'
"Did you handle the corpses around here too?"
I hadn't dealt with the zombies, but since I'd taken out those cats, I'd take credit.
"...Yeah."
"Unlike other places nearby, there are no moving corpses here. I thought it might be suitable for our family to settle, so we came looking around and ended up here."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
So what did he want me to do about it...
"........."
"........."
A strange silence flowed.
'No way he's asking for my permission?'
If the old man had manners, credit where due.
Or maybe he sensed I was strong.
Totally different from how he'd treated the kids.
I had no intention of claiming this whole vast area as mine anyway.
My group wasn't that large.
Managing just this school was enough work.
"It's not all my land anyway. As long as you don't mess with this school, I don't care."
"My thanks."
They didn't seem like total irredeemables.
If they settled nearby, they might act as a buffer against potential threats.
Even so, pausing hunting for a while to pat Jia's butt and observe this group's tendencies didn't sound bad.
I was curious about that odd mana state too.
Under Grandfather's lead, they parted on amicable terms with the man named Un-ho.
Baek Seol-hwa had broken into a cold sweat upon first seeing the man, unbidden.
His size was secondary; she felt an inexplicable pressure from him.
The sect members drawing weapons without the Sect Leader's order must have been due to that.
The beauties behind the man were no joke either.
Those unusual outfits—normal circumstances wouldn't gather such women together.
They must have been deliberately chosen...
Definitely 'collected' by that hulking brute.
And she'd spotted the two young girls peeking anxiously from the distant windows.
She remembered those pleading eyes begging for help.
On the way here, Baek Seol-hwa had rescued women and children in wretched states from trash who were 'breeding' them.
She'd dealt with the scum, but the victims' minds were shattered.
It didn't seem too late yet.
Baek Seol-hwa couldn't stand leaving the children with that man.
"Grandfather. That man..."
"Do not clash with him."
"Pardon? He might be like those demons we saw before, breeding women. We can't leave the women and children like that."
"Martial Sister is right, Master. We must save those children."
Her senior brother Cheon Su-ho chimed in from the side.
"Even if so... we can't."
Grandfather's firm refusal came back.
"Grandfather!"
"Master!"
"This is an order as Sect Leader of the Heavenly Blessing Sect!"
"Kuh... Why..."
"I felt the same pressure from him as from the Black Wolf. Do you know what that means?"
"Pardon?"
Baek Seol-hwa and Cheon Su-ho were stunned.
The Heavenly Blessing Sect had fled Gyeongryongsan due to the Black Wolf and come here.
She couldn't believe this man was a powerhouse comparable to the Black Wolf.
"A human at that level..."
"I could be mistaken. But the fact he's strong remains unchanged."
"But unlike the Black Wolf, he's alone."
If he was strong, overwhelm him with numbers.
Baek Seol-hwa believed she, Grandfather, and Senior Brother together could handle him.
"Clashing with him would cost us most of our disciples. I... value my disciples more than those children."
Baek Seol-hwa's grip tightened on her sword at Grandfather's resolute refusal.
"Endure a little longer. Your progress in the Heavenly Blessing Technique has accelerated beyond compare. Wait, and the opportunity will come."
As Grandfather's mind seemed set, Baek Seol-hwa's eyes grew cold.
'What about the suffering those children will endure in the meantime...'