Chapter 16: Dungeon Exploration (1)
TL: Hanguk
The safe zone in Gauido Island was much smaller than that of the uninhabited, Wolgwang Island.
The same was true for the shops; if Wolgwang Island's shops felt like a supermarket, Gauido Island 's shops felt like a neighborhood discount store.
However, there was one common point between the two shops...
[Tools]
[Household goods]
[Art supplies]
Neither of them sold food.
"Darn it."
Could it be a coincidence that the items sold in the two shops seemed strangely similar in concept?
-Gauido Island: Tools, Household goods, Art supplies
-Wolgwang Island: Building materials, kitchenware, musical instruments
With the materials purchased from both places, it seems like you could build a house and perfectly decorate the interior.
Not to mention the things for hobbies are also available, everything can be found except for food.
"Food is never given easily."
Rubbing my temples, I bought items suitable for living here.
From the tool corner, I bought stainless steel wires and nails for hunting, and from the tools section, and from the household goods section, I bought toilet paper, wet wipes, towels, etc.
"At least I don't have to worry about water."
Water can be obtained without shortage if requested from the residents of Gauido Island.
Because here, there's groundwater available, so clean water comes out just by turning the tap.
'I'm worried because it'll start getting really cold in about a month from now.'
I need to prepare for winter bit by bit, but the problem is the damn food.
Maybe I can get through the winter with the help of the residents here, but resources are limited here too, so I couldn't just rely on them.
I'll need to think about it.
“Should I start farming, too?”
If I combine the items from Wolgwang Island and Gauido Island shops, I can easily build a greenhouse.
Kim Yong-geun, who served me food, seemed to be growing potatoes in his vegetable garden, so getting some seed potatoes and planting them could be an option.
"Wait... Do I really have to farm?"
But then, I had a good idea.
Instead of Wolgwang Island, wouldn't it be better to build a lot of greenhouses here on Gauido Island and make the residents farm?
Aren't the villagers here also short of food during the winter?
In other words, let's combine our strengths.
'I'll buy materials for farming, such as vinyl greenhouses, with my coins, and the people here will provide labor to produce food in large quantities.’
It would be a win-win, having the best of both worlds.
Before going to Wolgwang Island, I’ll have to talk to the villagers here.
And I'll also check out how they dealt with those guys.
I left the store and looked around the safe zone of Gauido Island.
[Restroom]
[Bathhouse]
[Hotel]
[Shop]
The four facilities were the same as those on Wolgwang Island, but here instead of a workshop and a shrine, there was a facility called a 'casino'.
Suddenly, my mind lit up.
The reason was that I remembered an item that was occupying one slot out of ten in my inventory.
[Lucky Talisman / Rare]
-An item that adds luck to its owner.
-Effect is applied when kept in inventory.
Gambling is a game of luck.
But if I have this item, wouldn't it be more than just luck?
With a pounding heart, I entered the casino.
The casino was filled with slot machines and all sorts of games.
So I sat down in front of a slot machine to try it out.
-Ding.
[For fairness, the effects of luck-related items are temporarily disabled.]
This message popped up, crushing my expectations.
This damn system is not easy.
"Tsk."
I decided to leave the casino.
[Item Draw]
But I spotted a slot machine near the exit that caught my eye.
[From normal-grade material items to rare-grade weapons. Test your luck.]
"Huh..."
It's clear that the anomaly that hit the world is based on K-games.
I had to smirk at the slot machine, obviously designed to suck up coins.
There was a probability table kindly posted on the top of the slot machine.
[Normal-grade 90%, Advanced -grade 9%, Premium-grade 0.9%, Special-grade 0.09%, Rare-grade: 0.01%]
Thanks to that, I could fully understand the grade system of the items.
But, the probabilities are indeed very K-game-like.
"It's a trap. Only the item grades are listed by probability. Even if a rare-grade item comes out with a 0.01% chance, you could just get one part of an item, right?"
The probability of getting a rare-grade weapon are probably much lower than listed.
I calmly maintained my reason and passed by the slot machine.
Well, I tried to pass by.
"But... Should I give it a try once or twice just for a test?"
I couldn't just pass by, as the advertising slogan was too tempting.
And since my luck has been pretty good even before getting the Lucky Talisman, I thought, 'maybe?'
"Let's try it ten times and go."
The cost of trying the slot once is 10 coins.
Even if I tried ten times, it's only 100 coins, not a significant amount for me.
[You have acquired Goblin Leather.]
[You have acquired Goblin Leather.]
...
...
...
Something already feels off.
I tried five times, and only Goblin Leather came out.
I wanted to stop, but since I decided to try up to 10 times, I stuck to my plan.
[You have acquired a Dagger (Normal).]
Finally, something worthwhile came out.
“Wow!”
Filled with anticipation, I kept pulling the slot.
[You have acquired Goblin Leather.]
...
...
However, I got Goblin Leather three times in a row again.
Well, what can you do.
“This is a scam. I only get Goblin Leather, not even an Orc."
Now, for the last try.
Without expecting much, I pulled the slot.
[You have acquired a Dog Collar (Advance-grade).]
Something different came out.
I was late to come to my senses, surprised by the appearance of an advance-grade item.
[Dog Collar / Advance-grade]
- Can tame one dog or wolf-type monster.
- If you try to tame a monster of higher grade, the item may be destroyed.
Quite an interesting item.
As soon as I got it, the Grand Dire Wolf came to mind.
“I got a dog to guard the house.”
The Grand Dire Wolf is a powerful monster, nicknamed 'Human Crusher', so it seemed like it would be of great help early on.
I chuckled and picked up the Dog Collar.
The slot machine seemed different now that I had gotten a usable item.
So, I went beyond the originally decided 10 times, and tried 20 times, 30 times…
[You have acquired Goblin Leather.]
[You have acquired Goblin Leather.]
I ended up with a bunch of Goblin Leather.
-Bang!
I kicked the slot machine and got up.
The odds seemed even worse than I thought.
“I'll see you again!”
I left the safe zone and headed back to the village to ask about farming before returning to the Wolgwang Island.
“What's going on?”
But...
When I returned to the village, the atmosphere was chaotic, and it seemed that something unusual had happened.
Could those guys be causing trouble again?
‘That can't be.’
I made sure those guys were thoroughly beaten down to the point where they couldn't resist the villagers.
So I couldn't help but be puzzled.
'Could they have had a potion? No, that's an item they can't get with their level.'
I tilted my head and approached where the crowd was gathered.
Then Kim Yong-geun, who had served me food, recognized me.
“Oh? Weren't you leaving?”
"I have a proposal, and I thought I should look around once before I go. But what's going on?"
At my question, his face darkened.
And Kim Yong-geun sighed and answered.
"The villagers are divided over how to deal with those guys."
“Really?”
Fortunately, it didn't look like those guys had stirred up trouble again.
Well, they're not supermen, there was no way they could have resurrected from those injuries.
I approached the center of the commotion with Kim Yong-geun.
Then I could see the nine men I had subdued, their hands tied behind their backs, kneeling down.
"Because of these bastards! My mother died! And what? Forgive them?"
"No, it's not about forgiving them, but we shouldn't kill."
"That's the same thing! If we don't deal with these guys on this small island, we're saying we'll have to live facing them! With the ones who killed my mom!"
"Ugh... Mr. Kim, calm down for now."
Calm down? What calm down! Isn't Mr. Park and everyone else doing this because they're worried about the law? Then leave me alone! I'll do this myself!"
Just as Kim Yong-geun said, the villagers' opinions were divided.
Into those who thought 'we should kill them without hesitation' and those who thought 'we shouldn't kill.'
But anyone could see that the atmosphere was leaning towards killing.
“Did that man’s mother pass away?”
“Mr. Kim's mother had asthma. But those bastards took away her respirator for fun.”
“Oh no…”
“And it's not just Mr. Kim's mother. Mr. Cho's wife and Mr. Choi's younger sisters over there were also victimized by those guys.”
In the end, it means that the ones who should be killed are in danger of death.
The only ones protecting and defending that garbage were the country's laws.
But now that the world has collapsed and 'rule of law' has lost its power, the principled arguments of the 'anti-killing' group had little persuasiveness in calming the anger of those who lost their family members.
“Think about it! Can you sleep peacefully knowing these guys are alive? How can we live with those who can stab us in the back at any time!”
The result was pretty much determined.
In the end, the majority of villagers raised their hands in support of the judgement group's claim.
That's how those scoundrels' fates were decided.
Mr. Kim, Mr. Cho, and Mr. Choi, who were grinding their teeth in revenge, swiftly dealt with those guys.
"I was against murder, but I can't blame them. I understand their feelings. If I had lost a son, I would have been among them."
Kim Yong-geun spoke to me with a somber expression.
I nodded in agreement, understanding their emotions.
"The world has changed."
"Yes, it has."
"For the well-being of myself and my family, sometimes it's necessary to harm others."
"That's right."
Though there was a disaster, in a way, these people might be lucky.
They've realized the truth of this changed world early.
"Don't feel guilty about it. It's the will of our village."
Kim Yong-geun said that to relieve my burden.
But I'm not so sure.
I don't even feel sympathy for the dying people...
Rather, I can't accept the old 'law' where you could commit murder and return to society just fine after spending only five years in prison.
"You said you had a proposal, didn't you?"
At Kim Yong-geun's question, I nodded and moved back towards the safe zone.
"No, I'll come back later. Now's not the time to talk about it."
".... Alright then? Everyone's too excited, and they need time to calm down."
"Okay. Then I'll visit you in a few days."
*
Did I kill too many monsters?
Or is it the influence of the system?
The inhabitants of Gauido Island looked as if it was natural to see people killing each other.
And I realized that my state of being calm about it was strange, just after I returned to the safe zone on Wolgwang Island.
"What's wrong? Am I a psychopath? Why am I not disturbed after seeing people's deaths?"
With a serious look, I asked Willia for a heal.
She used healing on me with her usual smiling face, and I felt all my stress and fatigue go away.
"You're not like a psychopath."
"Really?"
"You've grown."
She seems to know something.
As I glanced at her, Willia began to explain in a calm voice.
"It's because your stats have improved."
"Stats?"
"The magic power stat doesn't just increase the energy needed to use skills. It also enhances the user's mental strength."
Finally, I could understand what she meant.
But then I became worried.
"Will I lose my human emotions as my magic power continues to increase?"
"No. It's not a brutal system that erases individuality. When mental strength is enhanced, you can remain calm in emergencies and maintain your composure. It's often called having a 'steel mentality'."
"That's a relief."
I was relieved and patted my chest.
Then, Willia, who had been quietly watching me, suddenly turned back and started massaging my shoulders.
I was surprised by the unexpected service.
"You may think you're fine, but in my eyes, you seem quite startled."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, so just stay like this for a while."
She massaged with a touch that was neither too strong nor too weak, and it was quite refreshing.
Willia may be an NPC, and I don't know if she's different from us humans, but the more I look at her, the closer she seems to my ideal type.
'An angel...'
After about a 10 minutes massage, when I offered to return the favor, she refused.
Was my expression creepy?
"Oh, right."
Then, I remembered something and opened my inventory.
I took out an item and handed it to her.
"It's a souvenir from Gauido Island."
"What is it?"
It was something you could never find on a deserted island.
It was cola.
I was surprised to find out that my inventory can also maintain temperature.
The cola I handed her was very cold.
"!!!!!!!"
Upon tasting the cola, her eyes sparkled with surprise.
I laughed at her never-seen-before expression, and she kept sipping the cola, finding it to her taste.
Next, I received a message that my favorability with Willia had increased by 5%.
"It's delicious!"
"Haha, I'm glad you like it."
My business here is done.
I need to head back to the base camp now.
As I was about to leave the shrine, Willia stopped me.
"Mr. Baek-ho."
"Yes?"
"Have you finished all your busy work?"
"Yes, I have."
"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?"
At her question, I tilted my head.
Forgot something?
She held out her hand towards me.
[A quest request message has arrived from NPC Willia.]
"Ah!"
I remembered what I had forgotten.
It was the quest from her that I could get when I reached level 20.
*****
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