Chapter 13

The newcomers were amazed, as the situation inside the building seemed much better than they had expected.

A man named Kim Ho-won spoke up.

“Wow… there are a lot of people gathered here. How on earth…? The food supply looks plentiful too. Is this even possible?”

“…I wasn’t here from the beginning either, but I heard that Yoo Ju managed to organize everyone here and fend off the monsters.”

“……”

The man fell silent after hearing my words. Hyeon-jin’s reaction wasn’t much different.

A woman named Kang I-seo muttered to herself, clearly surprised by how different the situation was from what she had imagined.

“…Damn. I almost got screwed if I had just gone ahead.”

“Hey… watch your language… there are others here too.”

“It’s fine. Since we were suddenly brought here from Earth, it’s only natural to curse. I curse a lot too. Hahaha…”

“Oh… that’s not why I curse, but thanks for the sentiment, I guess.”

“Hey… why are you speaking casually to someone you just met? Did you skip the manners class or something…?”

“You little…!”

*Thud!*

“Ow! Why’d you hit me? That hurt…!”

“I hit you because it hurt…! How dare you talk like that to someone as great as me.”

Hyeon-jin and Kang I-seo seemed to be quite close. Kim Ho-won, the older man, didn’t react much, as if he was used to this kind of scene.

Well, I didn’t really care about her casual tone. Given the nature of this place, casual speech is the least of our worries. Some people pull out knives the moment they meet, so this is nothing.

‘…She seems capable, so it’s good if she makes a good impression.’

“…Ahem, ahem… well, sorry if the casual tone bothered you… or, uh, I’m sorry. By the way, how old are you?”

“I’m 26.”

“Oh, we’re the same age~ You can speak casually to me too. That works, right?”

‘Man… her personality is easy to figure out.’

Personally, I don’t get along well with people like this.

In my case, my words and thoughts don’t always match, but people like her just blurt out whatever’s on their mind.

I can’t adapt to this type of person. They’re the hardest for me to deal with.

‘Well, the biggest reason is that dealing with them is exhausting.’

“No, it’s fine. I prefer using polite speech… so, can I call you I-seo? You can speak casually to me. I don’t really mind that kind of thing.”

“You’re shy, huh? You look like the type who would’ve been super popular with women on Earth. Unexpected.”

‘Damn… is she crazy?’

It seemed like she didn’t filter her thoughts before speaking.

Hyeon-jin held his forehead and spoke.

“…Bro. You gotta understand. She’s not a bad person… just a bit… crazy.”

“Haha… it’s fine, man. She’s honest, and that’s refreshing.”

“See? That’s why I said you’d be popular with women. You’re so kind. Whether it’s genuine or not, with that attitude and your looks, most women would fall for you~.”

“…Stop it, you idiot… how come you haven’t changed at all, even here?”

“Come on, old man. Am I wrong? You can tell just by looking at him.”

Ignoring the woman, I asked Ho-won.

“Did you two know each other since Earth?”

“Well… that’s…”

As Ho-won hesitated, the woman answered my question.

“Yeah. I grew up in an orphanage and became independent with his help. We’ve been close since Earth.”

As soon as Kang I-seo spoke, everyone, including me, was at a loss for words. I quickly apologized to her.

“Uh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t care about that stuff.”

“…I don’t know if this will make you feel better, but I’m also from an orphanage. So I understand your struggles. It must’ve been really hard.”

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t expect me to be from an orphanage. Hyeon-jin and Ho-won also looked shocked.

“…We have something in common? I take back what I said about you being popular with women. It was just a joke. You’re not upset, are you?”

“Haha. I don’t get upset over things like that. If anything, I’m flattered you think I’m good-looking.”

“Pfft… I take back taking it back. You definitely look like you’d be popular with women.”

“…I’ll take that as a compliment. Anyway… this is where you’ll be staying. Food is distributed at regular intervals, and priority is given to those who go out on expeditions.”

“Expeditions…? Can I ask what you mean by that?”

“Like how we went out today, we plan to go on expeditions regularly. The goal is to kill monsters, grow stronger, secure food supplies, and find clues to clear the tutorial… but since we gathered a lot of food today, we shouldn’t have food shortages for a while.”

“…Hmm.”

“Personally, I hope you’ll join the expeditions, but I won’t force you. Oh, and feel free to speak casually to me.”

“…Thanks. I’ll do that. I’ll probably join the expeditions. We’re fully aware that we need to clear the tutorial. But I have one question.”

I could guess what Ho-won wanted to ask. It was probably about the people here. Most of them just sit around and eat the food handed to them.

“The people I’ve seen here seem to have given up fighting the monsters. Are they… doing nothing?”

“…They do move the stones at the entrance when we return, but honestly, they hardly do anything.”

“Hmm…”

Hearing my words, Ho-won sighed.

“Sigh… so these people are just livestock being fed? You guys go out and gather food to distribute to them? What the hell… they’re not even animals…”

She just expressed what I said in an extreme way, but her thoughts were exactly the same as mine.

Well, anyway, now we have surplus food, and if food becomes insufficient, we can just reduce or stop distributing it to them.

After all, they…

‘They’ll pay the price for doing nothing here after the tutorial.’

It’s a simple guess, but it won’t just remain a guess. Just looking at the tutorial, this place called Eras doesn’t seem easy at all.

“… Honestly, I can’t deny it either. Anyway, take a rest for now, and I’ll come back with the others later. We’ll discuss the plans after that.”

“Got it.”

Leaving them behind, I moved to where Yoo Ju was. It seemed the group had finished moving the food and were starting to gather.

“Yoo Ju. I’ve guided them here.”

“No, thank you, Yoon Seong. How are they? Are they okay?”

“Yes. They all seem like good people. I also briefly mentioned the exploration matter, so it should be easier to discuss later.”

“I’m always grateful, Yoon Seong. If there’s anything you want from me, feel free to say it.”

“No, it’s not really a big deal.”

“Anyway, Yoon Seong, you’ve worked hard, and so have the others. Let’s take a break for now. Ah! Everyone, come back here in 2 hours. We need to talk with the newcomers.”

******

About 2 hours later, Yoo Ju nodded as she confirmed everyone had gathered.

Seeing the new trio had arrived, it seemed Yoo Ju had sent someone to inform them earlier.

“Thank you all for gathering. I called you here to discuss tomorrow’s exploration.”

Ho-won started speaking to Yoo Ju.

“… I’ve heard a bit about the exploration. You’re looking for clues to clear the tutorial, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I’ve made some guesses about clearing the tutorial, and I think we should explore the central area more thoroughly.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d explore the buildings…”

“I did consider that, but we already have enough food, and I don’t think we need more people. Besides, I’ve realized something important.”

I asked her.

“May I ask what you’ve realized?”

“… Let me ask you all something instead. Have any of you thought about the terrain here and found it strange?”

Everyone tilted their heads, not understanding what she meant.

I didn’t get it either, so I waited for her to explain. Then, she suddenly started drawing a map on the ground with her spear.

“Here. This is where we are, the northern starting area. And… this is where Yoon Seong and the siblings started, the southern starting point.”

I realized, as a Returner, she was explaining what she knew to us.

“And… the western point we went to yesterday. The important thing isn’t that everyone there was dead. Hyeon-jin said he came from the south like Yoon Seong, so the two newcomers probably came from the eastern starting point.”

Ho-won nodded and replied.

“That’s correct.”

“I think this place is very similar to an RPG game from Earth. If it’s similar to a game, then the tutorial might be about clearing something like a dungeon.”

This was something we had discussed before with Jo Chan-ho. Back then, people had speculated about the existence of a dungeon.

‘Wait… where is Jo Chan-ho?’

Suddenly, I thought of Jo Chan-ho. Where is that guy and what is he doing?

The speculation that he was killed by a monster… isn’t entirely impossible, but I don’t think that’s the case.

‘Is he out there killing people somewhere?’

It’s a plausible speculation since the people in this camp aren’t the only survivors.

In the end, I couldn’t come to a conclusion, so I pushed the thought aside.

“Anyway, if a dungeon exists… looking at the map I drew, there are buildings in the north, south, east, and west, and the center is empty. It might seem too simplistic, but… I think if a dungeon exists, it’s likely in the center.”

A question popped into my mind, so I asked her.

“… Yoo Ju, wait a minute. It’s not like no one has been to the center, right?”

Actually, the place where she and I met was near the center. People from the northern and southern buildings met there, so someone must have passed through the center.

“That’s true. It’s not like no one has been there. But… couldn’t the dungeon be hidden?”

‘… Hidden?’

Given Yoo Ju’s words, the speculation that the dungeon is in the center is probably correct. But the question is, unless the dungeon is extremely small, how could it remain hidden without anyone noticing?

“When I said it’s hidden, I meant it’s hidden from the perspective of this world.”

“What do you mean?”

Everyone looked curious, waiting for her answer.

“We… can use a power called mana here, which didn’t exist on Earth. If we use mana, wouldn’t we be able to discover a hidden dungeon?”