Chapter 8

While saying thank you with my mouth, I checked the woman’s status window.

[ Name: Seo Yoo-ju ]

[ Age: 27 ]

[ Job: Intermediate Spear Master (Rare Grade) ]

[ Titles: Returner, The One Who Starts the 2nd Round ]

[ Unique Traits ]

???? (Not yet unlocked)

Rapid Growth (Hero Grade) – Accelerates stat growth. You will grow faster than ordinary people.

[ Traits ]

Master of Spear Arts (Hero Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of spear techniques.

Understanding of Intermediate Combat Arts (Rare Grade) – Moderately increases understanding of combat techniques.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 24 Agility – 28

Stamina – 26 Luck – 22

Magic Power – 19 Resistance – 20

‘…..What the?’

I was stunned the moment I saw the status window. It was impossible to comprehend. Not only were the stats and unique traits problematic, but there was also a word that caught my eye.

‘….Returner?’

My brain froze at the absurd word, and I couldn’t continue thinking.

‘…Return? Is that really possible?’

If what she’s shown so far is that of a Returner, then it makes sense. It’s impossible for an ordinary person to take down three people in an instant.

The content was so shocking that I even doubted if the status window was fake.

As my head was about to explode from the complexity, she smiled and answered.

“No, of course I had to help you. You don’t need to give me food.”

If… she really is a Returner, then I absolutely need to make a good impression on her. If she judges me as an enemy or an obstacle to her plans, the chances of her eliminating me are high.

However, the strange thing is that she seems oddly friendly toward me. No, she’s blatantly friendly.

“Would it be okay if I traveled with you all? This place… is like this, so it’s a bit scary for me to go alone…”

She would be fine traveling alone. In fact, it would be more dangerous for those who foolishly target her.

But the problem is that I don’t know why she wants to travel with us.

‘….Could it be… that in the 1st round, I knew this woman?’

It’s a plausible hypothesis, given how oddly friendly she is toward me. I don’t know the reason, but when I was on the verge of death earlier, she quietly seethed with anger after seeing that.

‘The probability that she had a bad relationship with me in the 1st round…’

Is zero. If we had a bad relationship, my head and body would have been separated the moment we met.

‘Then that’s a relief. The fact that she, a Returner, is friendly toward me is something I can definitely take advantage of.’

“Yes… do as you wish. It’s fine.”

“Thank you so much. Actually… I was really scared to go alone.”

I almost let out a hollow laugh when I heard her say she was scared. A woman who killed three people in an instant is scared to go alone? What nonsense…

‘Scared my foot…’

“By the way, you should treat the wound on your arm first. It must hurt….”

“Ah… this is..”

“Brother…! I’ll heal you. I just… got a job.”

Yoo-hyun’s hands emitted light, and the wound on my arm slowly healed.

“This is….!”

The Returner stared at Yoo-hyun in surprise. It was the expression of someone who had stumbled upon a tremendous treasure while walking.

‘…Was Yoo-hyun someone famous in the 1st round…?’

Or… maybe it was just because his ability was a healing one.

“Ah…! I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Seo Yoo-ju. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, my name is… Lee Yun-seong. Nice to meet you too.”

“Yes… of course..”

She spoke with a somewhat wistful tone. Her expression looked incredibly complicated.

‘….Was it more than just knowing me?’

I’ll figure it out slowly. Since we’re traveling together, there’ll be plenty of time to find out. I opened Yoo-hyun’s status window, who seemed to have changed jobs.

[ Name: Lee Yoo-hyun ]

[ Age: 15 ]

[ Job: Priest of Protection (Hero Grade) ]

[ Titles: None ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Guidance of the Light-lost God (Grade Under Measurement) – A god who once possessed radiant light has favored you.

[ Traits ]

Healing Light (Rare Grade) – Gathers magical power in your hands to heal yourself or others. The speed and effectiveness of healing are influenced by the user’s magic stat.

Shield of Protection (Hero Grade) – Creates a spherical protective shield with a diameter of 3M. You and allies within the range are protected from a certain level of impact. The shield’s range and the limit of impact it can block are influenced by the user’s magic stat.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 07 Agility – 10

Stamina – 09 Luck – 25

Magic Power – 10 Resistance – 09

‘Crazy… her job is… Hero Grade?’

Even the Returner’s job is still Rare Grade. But Hero Grade? And her magic stat has skyrocketed.

Also, the moment I saw the newly acquired trait, my jaw dropped.

‘This is so unfair… someone starts with a Hero Grade job, while others have a Normal Grade job… damn.’

I absolutely had to hold onto the Returner and Yoo-hyun. With no special abilities of my own, I needed to cling to them to survive even after the tutorial.

Of course, I have the unique trait of being able to see others’ status windows, but I couldn’t reveal this to anyone.

Who would leave someone who can peek at their status window alone? My ability is one I can’t reveal to anyone.

‘And I have almost no combat ability.’

As I was organizing my thoughts, Yoo-hyun spoke to me.

“Brother…”

“But, the weird thing is, when I got my job, there was no selection list, it just forced itself on me…”

“Hmm… Anyway, let’s think that good is good. Your healing ability was amazing just now, right? If we get hurt in the future, Yoo Hyun can heal us. Haha…”

“Hehe… Just trust me, bro!”

Yoo Hyun clenched his fist with a determined expression.

“Sis! I’ll protect you now too!”

“Uh, yeah…”

While the Returner was listening to our conversation, he approached me.

“Mr. Yoon Seong. What are you planning to do now? Do you all have a place to stay?”

“No. I don’t have a place to stay. Originally, I was here to hunt monsters for Yoo Rim and Yoo Hyun’s job change, but… we got ambushed by these people…”

“In that case, I have a camp facility where I stay. How about everyone coming there? I’ve set up a camp at the northern starting point.”

‘What? Northern starting point?’

“…Northern starting point?”

“Ah… You didn’t know. There are buildings identical to the one you woke up in at the north, south, east, and west. The building you woke up in was probably one of the four.”

If there are three more buildings identical to ours, that means four times the number of people in that plaza are being tested in this tutorial.

“Then… there must be a lot of people here.”

“Hmm… At the point where I started, I gathered people, so most of them are still alive, but at other starting points, most people probably died to monsters.”

“…How do you know all this, Yoo Ju?”

Realizing she had casually revealed too much information, the Returner started making excuses.

“Ah…! Someone from another starting point escaped to the camp! I heard it from them…!”

‘This woman. Is she naturally a bit scatterbrained… She’s completely different from before.’

Well, it’s much better than being too sharp and ghost-like. If the Returner were too sharp and thorough, it would be hard to take advantage of her.

“I see. I’m fine with it, but I’ll ask the kids too. Just a moment…”

“I’m fine, oppa. Anyway, you’re the one who saved us. I should have thanked you sooner. Thank you for saving us. I’m Lee Yoo Rim…”

“I-I’m Lee Yoo Hyun. Thank you for saving my sister…!”

The Returner waved her hand dismissively.

“Haha… No. It was something I had to do. So… can I call you Yoo Rim and Yoo Hyun?”

“Of course.”

“You can call me… unnie or noona.”

“Okay, unnie. Anyway, we’re fine with going to the camp.”

“Good. Mr. Yoon Seong, I’ll guide you then. It’s not too far. We should arrive by evening.”

******

As she said, we arrived at the camp she mentioned by evening. I thought it would be some kind of camp, but it was inside the starting point building.

Not long after, a man came running out to greet us.

“Ah…! You’re here, Yoo Ju…!”

“Yes. I brought some others. Any unusual incidents?”

“No. Nothing special.”

The man started glancing at us. It didn’t seem like a welcoming atmosphere.

‘Probably because more people mean less food. The supplies are limited.’

From his gaze, it seemed like he was trying to figure out if we were the ones fighting monsters outside.

I checked the man’s status window.

[ Name: Ahn Tae-woo ]

[ Age: 28 ]

[ Job: Not yet changed. ]

[ Title: None. ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Social Skills (Grade being measured)

[ Stats ]

Strength – 10 Agility – 09

Stamina – 11 Luck – 17

Magic – 00 Resistance – 07

‘Trash.’

His stats are comparable to my initial stats. It’s not my place to say, but this guy seems to have given up on fighting monsters out of fear.

The man looked at us and then spoke to the Returner again.

“Haha… If you’re bringing new people, you should at least give me a heads up… I was really surprised.”

Pause.

Sensing something odd in Tae-woo’s words, the Returner stared at him quietly.

“Do I have to report everything to you, Tae-woo?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Tae-woo, sensing the mood, stiffened and quickly replied.

“…No. I-I meant… to welcome them.”

The man wasn’t completely clueless.

The cold atmosphere quickly dissipated, and the Returner patted his shoulder.

“Alright. Then, keep up the good work, Tae-woo.”

“Yes, yes! Of course! Come on, everyone. Follow me. I’ll show you where to stay.”

“Take special care of these people.”

“Yes…! Come on, follow me. If you’re hungry, I’ll have meals prepared for you.”

As I followed the man, I thought about two things I learned from this situation. First, the Returner seems scatterbrained, but that’s only with us. Second, her authority here is absolute.