Chapter 20

[T-Then I will let everyone take care of it! Yihihihit!] The dokkaebi said these words and disappeared .

A food penalty and survival penalty . I already knew about the former penalty . However, the latter wasn’t in the original Ways of Survival . Maybe my contract with Bihyung caused this development . Jung Heewon confirmed that the biscuit in her pocket had disappeared and asked in a soft voice, “Dokja-ssi, did you perhaps know something like this would hap―”

“I did expect it . I thought about what the dokkaebis would do first to harass humans . ”

“…Aren’t you really good at making predictions?”

I called Lee Hyunsung and the others over . The situation was created and now it was time to move .

“Give back our food!”

“How, how did this happen?”

The people of the marginalized group were crying . Cheon Inho and the mainstream group were also devastated by the sudden food shortage . My eyes met Cheon Inho’s, who then bit his lip .

[Perhaps…were you aware of it? No, that’s impossible . ] If I could read his thoughts then that’s what he would be thinking .

[You have accurately read the thoughts of character ‘Cheon Inho . ‘]

[Your understanding of the character ‘Cheon Inho’ has increased . ]

…My understanding rose from this sort of thing? I looked at other people’s expressions and tried to guess what they were thinking . However, the previous messages didn’t pop up again . Meanwhile, Cheon Inho quickly gathered the people together in order to organize the chaos .

“Everyone, gather together . I will give you an emergency notice . ”

The contents of the notice were simple: The situation had become worse so more ‘scouts’ from the marginalized group were needed . They had to hurry . Now there was no food underground .

“We won’t distribute food to people who don’t participate as scouts . ”

Despite the hardline declaration, there was no backlash from the citizens . No, they couldn’t . It was an inevitable result in this situation . The people noticed it and volunteered to be scouts one by one . The food had disappeared but hope remained on Cheon Inho’s face . As the situation became worse, more control was passed onto the mainstream group .

Lee Hyunsung became anxious when he saw this and opened his mouth, “Dokja-ssi, what now?”

“Of course, we have to go and get food . ”

The expressions of the party members became tense at these words . Obtain food . This meant only one thing .

“Then we have to be scouts? There is still food remaining aboveground . ”

“Nope, we won’t go aboveground . If we go there, we will unconditionally die . ” I looked at a gas mask on the floor . This tattered gas mask couldn’t stop the poisonous fog .

Lee Hyunsung muttered, “We need to obtain food aboveground…”

“Lee Hyunsung-ssi . The world has changed . Then the food needs to change . ”

I looked at the tunnel to Yaksu Station .

“Wait a minute . Dokja-ssi…don’t tell me?”

“That’s right . ”

In this world, humans were no longer the top predators . Even if we weren’t predators, we didn’t necessarily have to be prey .

“We will hunt monsters . ”

* * *

After a while, several people from the marginalized group, including myself, were standing in front of the tunnel towards Yaksu Station .

“I see . You are going to enter the railway track?” I thought Cheon Inho would challenge us when we refused to join the scouting group, but he seemed relieved that I was out of the group . He might think I was a threat to his own power . “Well, looking at it in the long run, a team dedicated to attacking the scenario is required . Come back safely . ”

He was a funny guy . He spoke like he was the captain but the time for him to be finished wasn’t far off .

[Your understanding of the character ‘Cheon Inho’ has increased . ]

[Your understanding of the character ‘Cheon Inho’ has reached a certain level . ]

I see…I got it now . There were two major cases of character ‘understanding’ rising . One was when I got the liking or trust of the character . The second was when I accurately guessed what the character was thinking . Maybe now was the latter case .

[The character ‘Cheon Inho’ is suspicious of you . ]

According to the accumulated understanding value, a vague idea of the person’s emotions could be obtained .

“Oh, can one of my group members join? I’d like to get some information on the attack . ”

Indeed, Cheon Inho wouldn’t let us go so easily . I stared at the man behind him . It was the person who would go with us and an unlucky fellow .

“I-I have to go with them?”

“Eh, why else are you here, Han hyung? Didn’t you want to reconcile with Dokja-ssi last night?”

“T-That…”

Cheon Inho’s party member who joined us was Department Head Han Myungoh .

“D-Dokja-ssi . ” If you don’t mind, I will go…”

“I understand . Let’s go together . ”

Han Myungoh was surprised when I responded readily . He thought I would refuse . Lee Hyunsung had a worried face but I had an idea . In any case, the survivors party of five people from Carriage 3807, consisting of me, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh was reformed .

“Can I come as well?”

“…Is it okay even if your body isn’t fully healed?”

“This much is fine . ”

There was one more . Including Jung Heewon, there were a total of six people in the party . It was a lot for a small party . Of course, the number of people wasn’t much in front of the upcoming crisis .

[A new sub-scenario has arrived!]

+

[Second Scenario – Food Acquisition]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: E

Clear Conditions: Directly hunt the monsters that can be used as food and cook them .

Time Limit: None

Compensation: 500 coins

Failure: ???

+

As soon as they stepped foot in the tunnel, a sub-scenario flew in . Food acquisition . It was a sub-scenario we had to go through before entering the second main scenario .

[A few constellations are anticipating your performance . ]

The darkness of the tunnel became apparent before we even moved 10 steps . I lit up the tunnel with a flashlight but the outline of the surrounding area wasn’t visible at all . It was proof of a curtain that was blocking the light . The real thing would be beyond this curtain .

“Dokja-ssi, wait a minute . It is really dangerous from here on . ” Jung Heewon, who walked beside me, stopped first . “Are we really going this way? No matter how I look, it seems like suicide . There is also Gilyoung . ”

“In fact, I was concerned from the beginning . It isn’t too late so how about we leave Gilyoung behind? And if possible, the women…”

“Lee Hyunsung-ssi, I’m not as good as you but I know how to fight . I took some kendo lessons . ” Jung Heewon replied .

“But…”

An unnecessary controversy was about to heat up the atmosphere so I interrupted, “Lee Hyunsung-ssi . I told you before . The world has changed . It is biased that a woman is physically weak . Right now, everyone can become stronger by raising their stats . But Jung Heewon-ssi, there is also a problem with your words . ”

“…What is it?”

“Just as a woman isn’t weak, a child also isn’t weak . Gilyoung, show them . ”

Lee Gilyoung came forward . He looked around for a while before sitting on the tunnel floor and reaching out his hand . Jung Heewon’s eyes widened . “Oh my god, what is that?”

“S-Shit! Cockroaches!” Han Myungoh cried out with fear .

The cockroach that appeared in the distance was connected to Lee Gilyoung’s fingertips with a faint solid line . The cockroach listened to Lee Gilyoung’s words like a well-behaved dog and disappeared into the darkness .

“My attribute is Insect Collector . ”

Insect Collector . Lee Gilyoung possessed the rare ability to communicate simply with insects through his ‘Diverse Communication’ skill .

“There is nothing in front of us . It is safe for 100 steps forward . ” Lee Gilyoung showed an overwhelming scouting power and the other people made a stunned expression . Lee Gilyoung spoke to them with a bold expression, “Thank you for your concern . But I didn’t follow all of you for you to take care of me . ”

“Ah, yes . ” Jung Heewon nodded with a sour expression . Lee Gilyoung came to my side and I stroked his hair . Lee Gilyoung’s attribute hadn’t been seen in the original Ways of Survival . It wasn’t a wrong choice to save Lee Gilyoung in the beginning . We passed a clear barrier and entered the full-fledged darkness .

[You have entered a dangerous area . ]

“Y-Yoo Sangah-ssi . It is dangerous to hold my hand while walking . ”

“…Aren’t you more afraid than I am?”

“N-No!”

The air inside the curtain was sticky from the humidity .

“Reduce the light . ” I ordered .

Yoo Sangah immediate covered the flashlight . Since this model didn’t have a light control function, she had to adjust the light with her hand .

“Eew . Don’t shine it downwards . ” Jung Heewon felt nauseous when she checked the ground . There were torn bodies . The bodies of those who tried to move through here were scattered at their feet . Yoo Sangah closed her eyes tightly, Han Myungoh shook and even the bold Lee Hyunsung started sweating . Lee Gilyoung was surprisingly calm, with not the slightest bit of fear on his face . I felt a bit worried . This boy, did he think it was all a game?

“There is something that isn’t human . ” As Lee Gilyoung said, it wasn’t only the bodies of humans on the ground . There was something the size of a fully-grown wolf . The bodies of mole-like creatures were scattered all over the place .

The 9th grade underground species, the ground rat . It was a name reminiscent of bug on Earth, but a name was just a name . They were underground piranhas . The ground rats were persistent hunters who burrowed through the ground in groups and aimed at their prey . However, the ground rats collapsed like they had received a bombardment . Jung Heewon sighed, “…Who the hell did this?”

Obviously, there was only one human who could turn the ground rats into this . It was Yoo Jonghyuk . He proceeded to the next station through this path alone . I couldn’t help wondering . Originally, it was supposed to be tonight or tomorrow when the third turn Yoo Jonghyuk moved to the next station .

Why was he so hasty? Did he become impatient? What was the reason?

“Dokja-ssi, can we use this for food?”

“The scenario said that we have to ‘hunt’ it ourselves so maybe it isn’t possible . ”

“…Well, it is kind of uncomfortable . What about cooking? Do you want to roast it on a fire?”

It could be roasted . The problem was that it must be a special fire .

“Heewon-ssi, you said you were good at kendo?”

“Uh, it is a bit much to say I am good…but what are you doing now?”

I stabbed the body of the ground rat and started to cut it with a knife . I didn’t know when I read it in the novel but it didn’t go as well as I thought . After somehow getting rid of the tough skin, I managed to remove the spine bones . This was the first time so I left many scratches, but it was usable .

“Why are you taking that?”

“You need a weapon for kendo . ”

The stone hog’s thorn wasn’t enough for everyone and the spine of the ground rat consisted of a single bone, making it a pretty good weapon at the beginning of the scenario . After cutting the cartilage leading to the leg and shaping it, the bone actually took the shape of a knife . I gave it to Jung Heewon .

“Thank you . Suddenly I feel like I’m back in the Paleolithic age . ”

“You need to grind it a bit more for it to be useful . There are rocks around so skillfully grind the blade . ”

“Huhu, understood . Captain . ” Jung Heewon started to grind the blade with a slightly excited voice . I looked up and saw Lee Hyunsung watching the scene with a bit of envy .

“Do you want one?”

“Eh, you will make me one?”

“All of you come closer . It is better if you learn how to do it . Let’s make it together . ”

In fact, this was also my first time trying it . I wouldn’t have been able to do it if the details hadn’t been included in Ways of Survival . Why wasn’t Ways of Survival popular? It was simple . The author wrote too much of the setting .

“…Dokja-ssi, you are a beginner but you are good at it . ”

We sat down and made weapons together . This time it was a spear, not a sword . They didn’t have the Kendo skill so I decided it was more stable to make a long spear . Lee Hyunsung’s spear was made with the spine of the largest ground rat while Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh’s weapons were made with the spine of average sized ground rats . Finally, Lee Gilyoung’s weapon was made with the head bone of a young ground rat .

[You have succeeded in acquiring weapons by yourself . ]

[A very small number of constellations are interested in the primitive nature of humanity . ]

[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins . ]

Everyone received these messages .

“We receive coins even for this type of thing . ”

I asked, “I don’t want you to die . You have your own coins?”

“Yes, we do . ”

“Whenever possible, leave enough coins for the survival cost and invest the rest in your strength, physique and agility . Otherwise, you won’t survive . ”

“Ah, I’ll keep that in mind . ”

We finished the preparations and started to move forward again . The 100 steps that Lee Gilyoung mentioned ended right in front of us .

[The sub-scenario – Food Acquisition has begun!]

The ground rats crawled out from the ground . I quickly counted their numbers . One, two, three…there were exactly 13 . It was more than I thought . The group of ground rats drew a line and started threatening us . The moment we crossed the line, the fight would begin .

I said, “There is no plan . We are beginners . It might sound cruel but honestly, I don’t expect you to survive . ”

“T-That…”

“Still, all of you survive . Please . ”

Han Myungoh was the only upset one in the party . Everyone else was nervous but looked determined . In particular, Jung Heewon’s eyes were very impressive .

“Okay, let’s try it . Everybody, please live!”

Just as Yoo Jonghyuk tested me, I also had expectations for them . No matter how good a mentor, a person who wasn’t determined couldn’t survive in this world . In the end, it was up to each person to save themselves . Everyone should use this opportunity to realize it clearly .

“Then let’s go . ”

I also knew who I must take among these people . As we took one more step, the ground rats moved . The battle began .