Chapter 12

“This is…”

As soon as we arrived at the western building, what we found inside were the remains of corpses that had been partially eaten by monsters. From the outside, it seemed like there were no people inside, but the stench of rotting bodies was overwhelming.

“…Horrifying.”

The smell was so bad that everyone except Yoo Ju felt nauseous. I was no exception.

“Damn… Ugh…”

“There might still be some food left, so let’s go inside.”

Following Yoo Ju, we entered the building, and Ahn Tae-woo started speaking.

“Yoo Ju, do you think most of the people who started here… are dead?”

“I can’t say for sure, but probably. We managed to hold out well, but I heard Yoon Seong’s starting point wasn’t this bad.”

“…That’s right. I woke up in the southern starting area… Even though many died, it wasn’t this bad. From what I remember, some people managed to escape the building.”

It seemed like the people who started here decided to fight, missed their chance to escape, and were eventually cornered and slaughtered.

The evidence was that there were no traces of bodies outside, only half-eaten remains inside.

Normally, if people had escaped late, there would be some bodies outside, killed by monsters.

Thanks to that, there were many bags scattered on the ground along with the remains, containing food and water that people had packed.

…Monsters target humans, not food and water.

‘Should I be happy about this…?’

We got a lot of food, so someone might be happy, but in this horrific scene, everyone silently gathered what they could.

“…Sis, it’s heavy…”

“…Hang in there. If we carry this, we won’t have to worry about food for a while.”

Everyone carried or dragged bags like war refugees.

Especially the siblings were the funniest. Yoo Rim was one thing, but little Yoo Hyun, who was short for his age, was completely wrapped up in bags, which was hilarious.

If we weren’t in such a place, I would have teased them mercilessly.

After everyone had gathered their things, Yoo Ju spoke up.

“…I don’t know if we should be happy about this, but we ended up getting a lot of food. We got way more than I expected, so let’s head back to camp.”

Everyone agreed. With this much baggage, there wasn’t much else we could do.

******

Just as we were almost back to camp, we spotted three figures near the entrance.

Yoo Ju stopped us from their blind spot and whispered.

“Hold on. Stop. There are unfamiliar people in front of the camp. Everyone, hide.”

We all hid in the bushes. I recognized one of the three figures.

“…Cha Hyeon-jin?”

The Returner, hearing me mutter, asked.

“Do you know him, Yoon Seong?”

“…He’s someone I used to travel with before getting help from Yoo Ju. We split up due to circumstances…”

I answered Yoo Ju and opened the status windows of the three. Cha Hyeon-jin was one thing, but the other two were concerning. Unlike the idiots who gave up on the tutorial, their equipment and appearance showed they had some experience fighting monsters.

[Name: Cha Hyeon-jin]

[Age: 20]

[Job: Swordsman (Normal Grade)]

[Title: None]

[Unique Trait]

Strong Will (Grade Pending) – You possess strong willpower. You don’t give up easily.

[Traits]

Basic Swordsmanship (Normal Grade) – Slightly increases understanding of swordsmanship.

[Stats]

Strength – 13 Agility – 15

Stamina – 17 Luck – 13

Magic – 00 Resistance – 09

[Name: Kim Ho-won]

[Age: 45]

[Job: Shield Bearer (Normal Grade)]

[Title: None]

[Unique Trait]

Steel-like Body (Grade Pending) – Your body is like steel. Permanently increases Resistance by 8.

[Traits]

Basic Shieldmanship (Normal Grade) – Slightly increases understanding of shieldmanship.

[Stats]

Strength – 16 Agility – 14

Stamina – 15 Luck – 18

Magic – 00 Resistance – 22

[Name: Kang I-seo]

[Age: 26]

[Job: Archer (Normal Grade)]

[Title: None]

[Unique Trait]

Sharpshooter (Grade Pending) – You receive aim correction when using a bow. Your arrows will pierce through enemies.

[Traits]

Basic Archery (Normal Grade) – Slightly increases understanding of archery.

Basic Trap Disarming (Normal Grade) – Slightly increases understanding of trap disarming.

Tracking (Normal Grade) – Can track traces of people or monsters.

[Stats]

Strength – 13 Agility – 18

Stamina – 14 Luck – 17

Magic – 00 Resistance – 08

After seeing their status windows, I realized their party was very balanced.

Tank, swordsman, archer… Just hearing it, it sounds well-balanced. They only lack a priest, but Hyeon-jin’s stats are decent, and the middle-aged man Kim Ho-won and the red-haired woman Kang I-seo have impressive stats.

Yoo Hyun and Song Ha-eun just have insane talents, but these two are also quite exceptional.

Especially Kim Ho-won’s 22 Resistance is astonishing. Excluding Returners, this is the first time I’ve seen someone with a stat over 20, excluding Luck.

Kang I-seo’s Sharpshooter trait caught my eye.

‘I really want these people on our side…’

For now, I watched as they seemed to be talking to the camp people. The camp people hadn’t yet cleared the rocks and trees blocking the entrance.

Kim Ho-won opened his mouth.

“Could you open up, please? We mean no harm!”

“…How can we trust you? Please leave.”





“I have no intention of opening the entrance.”

“We need a place to rest. Please, do us a favor!”

“…Please go back.”

The man seemed frustrated. He probably wandered around looking for a place to rest and ended up here, but since no one opened the door from inside, he looked annoyed.

A red-haired woman named Kang I-seo opened her mouth beside him.

“…Forget it, old man. These people won’t open the door even if they die. Damn, they look like they gave up fighting monsters and just ran away. Let’s just leave them be. Let’s go our own way.”

“…Hmm.”

“…Hey, I-seo noona. But how did we find this place…? If we ask nicely, maybe they’ll open up?”

“Hyeon-jin, wake up. These cowards won’t open up even if they die. They’re too scared to do anything and just hide. Damn, they’re just decorations down there.”

“Noona, please… your language…”

The woman seemed quite fiery. She swore like a pro, and her appearance gave off a vibe like she chewed gum a lot in school.

After observing them, Seo Yoo-ju spoke to us.

“…They don’t seem like bad people. One of them said they traveled with Yoon Seong, so let’s approach them. But don’t let your guard down completely. Don’t worry too much, though. We outnumber them.”

We revealed ourselves and slowly approached them. The first to notice us was the swearing woman.

“Damn! Who are you?!”

She aimed her bow at us. Kim Ho-won, a man who seemed to realize the situation late, raised his shield to protect the archer. Hyeon-jin also drew his sword, ready for battle.

‘…They’re definitely not amateurs. They act fast.’

In that short time, each of them took their positions, and their party’s coordination seemed better than ours.

‘Of course, our party has Seo Yoo-ju, the cheat key.’

Seo Yoo-ju raised both hands, signaling that we meant no harm.

“Calm down. We have no intention of harming you. It’s just that the camp over there is where we’re staying.”

Even though Seo Yoo-ju expressed no intention to fight, the other party’s wariness didn’t easily fade.

If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t let my guard down either if a group twice our size suddenly appeared.

In the midst of this tense standoff, Hyeon-jin from their side recognized me and the two siblings, his eyes widening.

“Huh? Yoon Seong hyung…!”

“…Hyeon-jin, you’re alive. Good to see you.”

Kim Ho-won and Kang I-seo seemed slightly flustered upon realizing that Hyeon-jin and I knew each other.

“Hyung! What’s going on? Who are these people…?”

“They’re people I met after we got separated. They’re all good people. Not bad.”

While Hyeon-jin and I were talking, the archer woman asked him.

“Hey, Cha Hyeon-jin. What’s going on? You know them?”

“Ah… noona. Remember the people I told you about, the ones I got separated from at the beginning? That’s Yoon Seong hyung and those kids over there.”

I smiled softly to assure them we meant no harm.

“First, I hope you can lower your guard. We have no intention of harming you. We just want to hear about your situation. The camp in front of you is where we’re staying.”

Kim Ho-won, who seemed to be the de facto leader, lowered his guard and spoke.

“Ah… nice to meet you. I’m Kim Ho-won. You already know Hyeon-jin, so I’ll skip that. This troublemaker, no… ahem! This girl here is Kang I-seo.”

I almost laughed at the “troublemaker” comment. People think alike, huh?

The woman shot him a glare but didn’t say anything since they were in the middle of a conversation.

“Anyway… the reason we’re here is that we were looking for a place to stay and found this place. They blocked the entrance with rocks and trees, and it looked safe, so we asked if they could open it. But the people inside refused…”

“…I understand your situation. Can you wait a moment? We’ll discuss it with our people and let you know.”

“Yoon Seong hyung! Can’t you do something? Please. Ho-won ahjussi and I-seo noona are both good people.”

“…I want to help too. I can’t promise anything, but… I think we’ll give a positive answer. Don’t worry too much.”

I immediately asked Seo Yoo-ju what she thought. Personally, I expected her to accept them.

Because from Seo Yoo-ju’s perspective, it’s good to have as many capable fighters as possible, and they fit the profile she was looking for.

As expected, when asked, Seo Yoo-ju nodded immediately.

“Let’s take them in. They don’t seem like bad people, and they look experienced in fighting. I think they’ll be helpful. If anyone disagrees, please don’t hesitate to speak up.”

“I agree with Yoo-ju. Her opinion is mine, so don’t worry about it.”

Ahn Tae-woo showed complete trust in Seo Yoo-ju.

“Alright. I’ll assume no one objects. I’ll go talk to them.”

Seo Yoo-ju stepped forward and started talking to them. The conversation seemed to go well, and the atmosphere lightened.

Eventually, she went to the camp entrance and spoke to the people inside.

“I’m back. Open the entrance.”

“Huh? Yoo-ju? Alright, just a moment!”

A flustered voice came from inside. Soon, the sound of people moving rocks and trees could be heard.

After some time, the entrance opened.

“Alright, everyone, come in. Yoon Seong, can you guide the newcomers? The rest of you, please move the food supplies. I’ll check if anything unusual happened while I was away.”