Chapter 28: Land (1)
TL: Hanguk
On a hill on Wolgwang Island, which is higher in elevation than other places.
I focused on the long-drawn start line and started running forward with all my might.
The muscles throughout my body tensed and then expanded explosively, creating energy that felt like a 1000cc compact car engine producing the output of a hypercar with more than 1000 horsepower.
Overpower that does not match one’s physique and muscle mass.
This was a phenomenon occurring because I had physical stats that were four times that of an ordinary person.
It was as if I was driving a car, with the landscape around me quickly passing by, and I powerfully stepped on the start line.
At that moment when the condensed muscles spewed out explosive power again for the jump.
‘Leap.’
I used the Leap skill at the right timing.
I was launched forward, and a strong wind hit my entire body.
And soon, as the speed that had picked up considerably began to slightly decrease, I created a Stepping Stone beneath my feet and leaped powerfully again.
‘Leap. Stepping Stone. Leap. Stepping Stone. Leap. Stepping Stone.’
Having consumed half of my magic power, I stood in mid-air and looked down at the flag planted in the sandy beach below.
“It’s a new record.”
And then, I returned to my original place.
‘As expected, as I become more skilled in using skills, the travel distance does increase, even if by a little.’
My magic power, after consuming Millennium Ginseng, is 30.
With a Bless from Willia, my stats increase by 20%, making my final magic power 36.
With that 36 magic power, I just traveled a distance of 850 meters.
Meaning, every time I used Leap and Stepping Stone, I jumped 47 meters.
“Good.”
The increase in travel distance means more leeway in planning, so I was very satisfied and clenched my fist tightly.
“I can go.”
I have practiced enough running in the sky with the combination of Stepping Stone and Leap skills, and after pouring in a whopping 10,000 coins, I also obtained an MP Recovery Potion.
Now, all that’s left is to execute the plan.
*
[Affinity 75%]
The affinity floating above Willia’s head.
I can have her as a companion when it reaches 80%, which is now really close.
“I look forward to the day we adventure on land together.”
“Ha ha, I’ll bring back a gift.”
Like the pets, when an NPC becomes a colleague, they can move with me when I use a waypoint.
In other words, if I succeed in going to the land this time, she too can leave Wolgwang Island and enjoy adventures on the vast land with me.
Therefore, she prayed for the success of my journey to the land with quite an expectant expression.
[Would you like to move to Gauido Island?]
Then, I used the waypoint to head to Gauido Island, the only other location saved, and Woof-woof and Fatty saw me off.
-Pop!
A moment later, the scenery changed, and Gauido Island came into view.
Usually, someone would be sitting in the safe zone, but today, no one was in sight.
It seems like everyone is busy with agriculture to prepare for the winter.
Normally, I would leave the safe zone and head west where the village is located, but today’s destination is the northern tip of Gauido Island.
That area is a zone where the village residents do not enter.
[Grand Dire Wolf / Level: 10]
[Grand Dire Wolf / Level: 10]
The reason is simple.
There are quite a lot of monsters that they cannot handle.
However, that’s a threat only to the villagers, not a problem for me.
-Kkaeng!
I lightly took care of the monsters blocking my way and after about 30 minutes, I was able to reach my destination.
Since all of Gauido Island, except for the village, is mountainous, it took a long time to travel.
“The direction… Ah, I see it over there.”
And I found the first destination, the reef island, using a telescope borrowed from the village residents, scanning the sea.
A location about 1.5km away from Gauido Island.
If I can reach there in one go, then the subsequent reef islands are situated at intervals of a few hundred meters, allowing easy travel to the mainland.
The problem is this distance of 1.5km.
With my current magic power, I can cross a distance of 850 meters in one go, so it’s impossible to cross it all at once without external help.
Therefore, I took out my secret weapon item to examine.
– Recovers depleted magic power.
“Please, I beg of you.”
I held the potion bottle and prayed.
“Why am I nervous about this?”
The world has changed, and every challenge is based on risking one’s life.
And this time is no exception.
Theoretically, there should be no problem, but if an unexpected situation arises and something goes wrong, it could be the end for me.
“Well, it’s natural to be nervous about running over a sea teeming with monsters, isn’t it?”
I prepared to run.
Taking a deep breath.
Stamping the ground.
After loosening my body here and there.
Then focused on my destination.
– Dada-da-dak!
Then I sprinted forward with all my might.
‘Leap!’
As I kicked off the edge of the island, the deep sea unique to the West Sea unfolded beneath my feet.
– Tap! Tap!
I flew over the sea like a bird.
The only difference between me and the birds, however, was that I was flying by frequently kicking the air with my feet instead of using wings.
‘Luckily, there seems to be no wyvern watching over this area.’
My magic power was rapidly evaporating.
The 36 magic power, which would have been more than enough before, was drying up too quickly.
“Gasp!”
– Whoosh!
And it’s not just the consumption of magic power that I need to be wary of.
The dark shadows lurking in the sea below, eyeing me.
Each one is a massive ocean monster.
[Eiectus / Level: 50]
I thought I had maintained a safe distance, but suddenly, a reptile-shaped monster, as if it were a flying monster, soared into the sky.
Startled, I used the Stepping Stone skill in an unplanned location to avoid the monster, twisting in mid-air to dodge its attack.
– Thud!
A giant maw snapped shut just below my feet.
The creature then disappeared back into the sea, creating a large wave, and I continued forward, maintaining my composure.
This is the sea now, where a Level 50 monster can suddenly emerge.
So, I must always stay alert.
‘The magic power is still okay. I have plenty.’
Theoretically, I should be able to travel 1.7km in one go with the magic potion.
There’s no need to worry about magic power consumption for wasting a skill once or twice.
– Whoosh!
About a minute of slicing through the air and running above the sea.
Finally, my magic power hit rock bottom.
– Gulp
While running on a Stepping Stone, I slowed down slightly to take out and consume an MP Recovery Potion.
The potion quickly replenished my depleted magic power, and I could soon feel my magic power fully restored.
“Good!”
Thanks to the MP Recovery Potion, I was able to continue running through the air without any problems.
And.
‘I see it.’
I could see the first destination, the reef island, getting closer.
Just need to reach there.
Just need to reach there…
– Puff!
Avoiding the attacks of ocean monsters that surged up intermittently, and with a heart full of nervousness about whether flying monsters might come from the mainland, I moved forward.
– Tadak.
“Done.”
Thus, I finally reached my first destination after running madly through the air.
It was a time when every minute and second felt exceptionally long.
Safely reaching the reef island, I didn’t look back and took out a Safety Tent to set up on the reef island.
[You cannot install a Safety Tent during combat.]
[You cannot install a Safety Tent during combat.]
[You have installed the Safety Tent.]
It was unclear which ocean monster was aggroed for a while, causing the Safety Tent not to be installed, but soon the aggro was released, and the Safety Tent was successfully set up.
And then, I threw myself into the tent to fully recharge my magic power.
Despite setting it up on uneven ground, the interior of the Safety Tent was incredibly comfortable.
‘I’m almost there.’
Arriving at this island means the journey to the mainland is about 80% successful.
Greatly relieved, I laughed absently as I recharged my depleted magic power.
***
The government selected 9 areas across the country to establish evacuation zones.
The chosen areas were ‘Seoul, Incheon, Suwon, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, Ulsan, Jeju’.
Residents of areas not chosen by the government had to fend for themselves and struggle to survive.
Initially, everyone just holed up in their homes.
They held out until they ran out of food, and only then did they leave their homes with hungry bellies.
In that process, people’s fates were divided into two.
Either they were killed by monsters, or they slowly adapted to the changes.
“Damn government bastards, if they’re going to select evacuation zones, why not distribute them evenly across all regions? Just centering around cities with large populations, how is that supposed to work? Shit, the closest refuge from Chungnam Taean is Suwon, 100km away, does that make any sense?”
“They probably chose populous cities thinking it would save more people.”
“Sigh, what do we do? Really go to Suwon, traveling 100km?”
“Talk sense. It’s dangerous enough going through our own neighborhood, aware of monster placements, but to travel 100km to an area we’ve never been? That’s just asking to die.”
However, just because they’re adapting to the changes doesn’t mean their trials are over.
Entities just as dangerous as monsters constantly threatened the survivors’ lives.
“So, we just stay here? Live as those bastards’ slaves?”
“Sigh… I don’t know.”
An existence just as threatening to humans as monsters.
That was, in fact, other humans.
Being in an area not chosen by the government could also mean it was a region no longer needing to follow the government’s rules.
In other words, it’s a ‘lawless zone’.
“How about going to Manripo instead? I heard there’s a safe zone there, and a force has formed centered around the police.”
“Police who don’t follow the government’s orders, you mean? I heard rumors that the thugs who took over here are connected to Manripo’s big shots. If they’re armed with K2 rifles, it doesn’t seem like just a baseless rumor.”
“What? Ha, shit. What is this, kings and lords?”
“Give it time, and they might really become kings and lords. Look at the state we’re in, just ten days in.”
Padori Taean in Chungnam is an extreme example of such ‘lawless zones’.
A survival group of about 800 people was dominated by just 20 armed outsiders.
They acted like kings, unabashedly committing atrocities against the survivors and forcing them to collect coins.
“Look, there’s a slime.”
“Do we have to live like this, shuttling coins for them?”
“We’re relatively better off. Did you not hear about the supermarket owner’s daughter and son? They were taken by those bastards and came back half-dead.”
“The ones who used to be idol trainees in Seoul?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit, I heard people in other areas cooperate well with each other.”
“We were a pretty good group too before those guys came. The moment such scumbags barge in, everything becomes the same.”
Residents of Padori, the Choi Ik-heon and Choi Ik-chan brothers, constantly sighed and lamented their fate.
“Isn’t there anyone who’ll take down those bastards?”
“Exactly.”
They saw no solution to their current situation.
All they could do was pray to the heavens to clear away the scum.
-Tatatatatang!
“Argh! Shit!”
“What, what? Gunshots?”
But then.
Loud gunshots suddenly echoed through the quiet village.
The source of the gunfire was in the direction of Padori’s abandoned school, where survivors had gathered to form a camp.
“These crazy bastards, what are they up to now!”
The sound of gunfire, almost like a spray of bullets, made their hearts sink.
The reason was that the two men’s elderly mother was also staying at the abandoned school.
Therefore, they had to abandon their assigned tasks and run towards the school.
“Shoot! Keep shooting!”
“Argh!”
“Please, S-spare me!”
“Damn it! Why can’t you catch a single one!”
And a moment later.
The two faced an unbelievable situation.
They saw the armed gunmen who had taken over the village being mercilessly slaughtered by just one young man.
“What is that?”
Surprisingly, the armed gunmen struggled helplessly against a young man armed with a sword.
The young man moved through the air with terrifying speed, as if he had stepped out of a martial arts movie.
Sometimes he would shoot blue orbs of energy from his fingertips.
He would also spread out a translucent defensive aura of protection to block bullets.
Most impressive was his martial prowess, slicing people along with their guns in half with a blazing blue sword energy.
“My God. Do martial artists really exist?”
For the two brothers, who enjoyed reading martial arts novels, the young man’s appearance could only be seen as that of a supreme master from the martial world.
“A hero, a hero has appeared.”
*****
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Glad to see a new chapter! Wish this updated more frequently, the story is great.
Thank you!
In fact, this time I was a little nervous about the sea monsters 🫣🫣