Chapter 44: Signs (3)
TL: Hanguk
At the mention of a blacksmith NPC, I suddenly recalled an achievement notification about an American from before.
[****Harry, an American player, has successfully enhanced a weapon.]
At that time, I had asked Willia if she knew anything about weapon enhancement, and she had said this:
'I don’t know the specifics either. But if I had to guess, I think there are two possible explanations.'
'What are the two?'
'Either enhancement items exist, or there are facilities or NPCs dedicated to enhancement.'
Willia isn’t some all-knowing encyclopedia.
However, perhaps because of her high affinity with me, she tries her best to provide answers, combining what information she knows with her own reasoning, even if it's something she doesn’t fully understand.
This might be right or, of course, it could be wrong, but her insights have proven highly accurate and very helpful.
And right at this moment,
The keyword of a blacksmith NPC that suddenly appeared felt like it lined up with what Willia had mentioned before.
'In games, weapon enhancement is often done through a blacksmith, right? So, wouldn’t it be natural to assume that a blacksmith would be related to enhancement?'
It seems I should include finding a blacksmith NPC in my future plans.
If my guess is correct and the blacksmith NPC is related to weapon enhancement, then they would definitely be someone I need to meet.
“Baek-ho ssi.”
While I was lost in thought, Kim ssi handed me the rod-shaped artifact of unknown purpose.
“Here, you take it, Baek-ho ssi. It’s useless in my hands anyway.”
I looked at Kim ssi in surprise.
I didn’t know what it was, but it had an unusual aura.
It might very well be a treasure of considerable value.
After all, isn’t this the first artifact item?
“It’s fine. I found it with your shovel, Baek-ho ssi, and I don’t have the ability to figure out its purpose anyway.”
“Even so, that’s…”
“If you really feel that way, then just look out for my family. They’re probably struggling.”
That was already something I had promised.
But seeing Kim ssi’s attitude, not asking for anything more, made me nod, determined to keep his family in mind.
‘I can always reward him more later depending on the item’s value.’
I took the mysterious rod from him and stored it in my inventory.
And after shaking off various thoughts, I spoke to the Wolgwang Island members.
“All right! Take a short break. I’ll go bring Fatty.”
I should finish what I started.
Today is party day.
***
-Kkuik.
When Fatty raised his hand and clenched his fist, the members of the Gauido Island youth squad who were following him stopped and lowered their stances.
Kim Han-sung approached Fatty, who was next to him, and quietly pushed aside some bushes to observe the situation beyond.
[Grand Dire Wolf / Level: 10]
[Chief Dire Wolf / Level: 20]
In his view, about 20 meters ahead, was a pack of Grand Dire Wolves.
The pack consisted of one evolved, Chief Dire Wolf, and four regular types.
Kim Min-hee crawled over next to Kim Han-sung and whispered,
“What should we do?”
Their current level was 15.
They were higher level than the Grand Dire Wolves in front of them.
The problem was that, even so, they couldn’t be certain of victory.
Beast-type monsters like the Grand Dire Wolf were stronger than their assigned level indicated.
Moreover, with the Chief Dire Wolf twice the size of a regular Grand Dire Wolf, they didn’t have the courage to face it head-on.
Seeing their lack of confidence, Fatty spoke up with a serious expression.
-Kkuik.
“So, you’ll take on the Chief, and each of us will handle one?”
For some reason, Kim Han-sung understood Fatty’s words as if by instinct.
Currently, Fatty’s level was 25, and thanks to the Dullahan Set equipment that Seo Baek-ho had given him, his gear was also decent.
In other words, there was no reason for Fatty to struggle.
But could he really handle a Grand Dire Wolf one-on-one?
Worries crept in.
To this, Kim Min-hee shrugged her shoulders and said.
"If we can't even handle monsters five levels below us, when will we ever become as strong as teacher?"
Kim Han-sung looked at his other companions in response to Kim Min-hee’s comment.
They, too, showed signs of tension but soon nodded as if to say they were ready to give it a try.
Kim Han-sung flinched at the sight of his companions.
Was he the only one afraid of the current situation?
At that moment, Fatty patted Kim Han-sung on the shoulder.
It was a gesture that seemed to say, You can do this.
With the reassuring touch, Kim Han-sung, who had been overwhelmed by his own thoughts, steeled himself and decided to go along with the group.
“Let’s do this.”
“Great.”
Then, at Fatty’s signal, each of them charged toward their designated target.
-Kkuik!
-Tatatat!
Following Seo Baek-ho’s advice to prioritize strength and agility over magic power, their movements were extremely quick.
-Krreong!
Thanks to this, they managed to set up the desired one-on-one battle situations.
All they needed to do was kill the enemy in front of them.
-Bam!
“Kugh!”
Kim Han-sung blocked the Grand Dire Wolf’s ferocious claw swipe with his shield, barely managing to hold his ground, and thrust his sword forward.
But the reach was too short.
His sword only grazed the Grand Dire Wolf’s hide, which only served to make the beast angrier.
'Stay calm, observe your opponent’s movements, and fight accordingly. And don’t just swing your sword meaninglessly; match your strikes to the enemy’s range and movement for effective hits.'
Seo Baek-ho’s teachings flashed through his mind, but it was easier said than done.
What was simple and natural for his teacher was incredibly difficult for him.
But sometimes, persistence brings unexpected rewards.
-Puk!
And this was one of those moments.
When he thrust his sword forward, he happened to do so right as the Grand Dire Wolf opened its jaws, and his blade drove straight into its mouth, piercing through its skull.
[You have slain the Grand Dire Wolf and gained 100 experience points.]
The exhilarating sensation left him with a bewildered expression.
Looking around, he saw that everyone else was still fighting.
Fatty’s battle with the Chief Dire Wolf seemed close to ending in his victory, and Kim Min-hee was energetically overwhelming her target.
The other two were struggling but were making steady progress.
-Chwak!
“Oh! Han-sung, you already took yours down?”
“Just got lucky.”
"There's no such thing! Luck is also a skill."
Kim Min-hee, who had just pierced through the forehead of her own Grand Dire Wolf with a clean strike, laughed and praised him.
Her words were a great comfort to Kim Han-sung, who had been struggling with self-doubt.
“Ah, let’s go help the others.”
“You sure we won’t just end up stealing their experience points?”
"Well, that can't be helped then."
The two of them went to assist their other companions.
-Kuooo!
With one final slash that severed the neck of the Chief Dire Wolf, Fatty let out a triumphant roar, and the battle concluded in their victory.
After that, the Gauido youth squad continued hunting Grand Dire Wolves.
Though Kim Han-sung didn’t stand out as much as he had in the previous battle, he still proved that the levels he had steadily increased were not in vain.
“Oh? You’re back?”
After leveling up once each, Fatty and the Gauido youth squad returned to the village.
As they arrived, they saw Seo Baek-ho talking with the Gauido residents.
In the residents’ hands were cuts of butchered pork, which made the youth squad cheer with delight.
After the great catastrophe, fresh pork had become a rare sight.
"Is using a sword still difficult?"
At that moment, Seo Baek-ho approached Kim Han-sung and asked.
As always, Kim Min-hee was hovering close to him.
“It’s better than before, but... I still feel like I’m lagging behind compared to others.”
Seo Baek-ho paused in thought, then took something out of his inventory and handed it to him.
It was a spear.
A short spear, about 180 centimeters in length.
"It might be good to try changing weapons. You have a decent ability to seize opportunities, so take this chance to try using a spear.”
"Eh? Is that okay?"
[Dullahan Rider’s Spear / Short Spear / Grade: Premium]
-Agility +2, Strength +1
Kim Han-sung’s eyes widened as he looked at the item’s information without much thought.
The equipment that Seo Baek-ho had casually handed over was actually of Premium grade.
“Th-thank you.”
Kim Han-sung was deeply moved.
If Seo Baek-ho were only focused on efficiency, it would make sense for him to spend his time solely teaching someone talented like Kim Min-hee.
But this gesture seemed to mean that he wouldn’t abandon his students, no matter how lacking they might be.
“Let’s go, Fatty.”
-Kkuik.
As Fatty moved toward his master, he gave Kim Han-sung a hearty pat on the back, as if cheering him on.
To Kim Han-sung, the sight of the two of them walking away felt monumental.
“Hey, Han-sung, isn’t our teacher awesome today?”
“Yeah, he really is.”
The truth was, Seo Baek-ho hadn’t put much thought into recommending the spear to Kim Han-sung.
He’d only suggested it because Kim Han-sung lacked the natural feel for handling a sword, so he thought, Why not try this instead?
But surprisingly, after switching to the spear, Kim Han-sung showed remarkable growth.
From Seo Baek-ho’s perspective, it was a lucky coincidence, but to his students, all they could think was, As expected, our teacher is amazing.
***
“Yawn.”
“Are you hungover?”
Last night, the Wolgwang Island members, including myself and Willia, had a big party in the safe zone.
After having some drinks for the first time in a while, I was in such a good mood that I even convinced Willia and Herald to drink. Perhaps due to their low tolerance, the two NPCs quickly became completely wasted.
Both Willia and Herald had their own drunk quirks.
Herald, for instance, put on the Incubus underwear that was gifted to Kim ssi on his head and danced strangely, while Willia kept leaning on my shoulder, dozing off and testing my patience.
Perhaps because the effects of alcohol hadn't completely worn off yet?
Even after leaving Wolgwang Island, Willia kept yawning.
"Wouldn't using Heal help with the hangover?"
“Shall we try?”
In the end, Willia cast Heal on herself, and only then did she stop yawning.
“That’s much better.”
“Haha, Willia-nim, from now on, only drink when I’m watching over you.”
“Don’t worry. No one else would try to make me drink except Baek-ho-nim.”
Currently, we were heading north along the Gyeongbu Expressway.
On the 19th day since the apocalypse began, our destination was none other than Seoul.
“What was that?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel like someone is watching us.”
We were passing through Bundang on the expressway, but for a while now, I’d had an itchy feeling at the back of my neck, as if someone was watching me.
“It’s probably just my imagination, but it’s unsettling.”
At my words, Willia’s expression grew serious, and she cast Bless on me.
I looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she glanced around intently, answering with a tone of caution.
“It might not just be a feeling. As your stats increase, so does your perception, which means you might actually be sensing someone tailing us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you feel that presence even more strongly now?”
Bless is a skill that raises stats by 20%.
If what I sensed wasn’t just my imagination, then with Bless, that feeling should now be even stronger.
And that’s when it happened.
-Ding!
[Someone has used an investigation skill to check Seo Baek-ho-nim’s information.]
[Seo Baek-ho-nim’s magic power is more than twice that of the opponent, so the investigation skill has been nullified.]
The unexpected message appeared before my eyes, and I quickly turned my head, activating the Vision Enhancement skill.
I looked toward the rear, specifically to the left side.
A church with a bent cross came into view.
As my vision zoomed in, like focusing through binoculars, I saw a man wearing a black robe.
“Woof-woof, protect Willia-nim.”
-Awoo!
Then, I immediately dashed forward through the air.
Using Blink would have been faster, but that was my secret weapon—I couldn’t reveal it so easily.
-Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Well, honestly, even without Blink, there were few people who could escape from me.
The suspicious man, realizing that I had noticed him, started to run, but I caught up to him in less than three seconds.
“Eek! Monster!”
What’s this stalker babbling about?
The distance between us was now less than five meters.
I was about to close in further with another leap when,
I saw the man reach into his coat.
At that moment.
Bang!
Ping!
Without thinking, I drew my sword and swung it.
“Huh?”
The man gasped in shock, and I was just as surprised.
In his hand was a revolver that looked like it belonged to the police, with a thin wisp of white smoke rising from the barrel.
'Did I just...'
Did I just deflect a bullet with my sword?
It was an almost instinctive action.
Of course, even if I had been hit, my armor likely would have prevented any serious injury. But the fact that I had just recreated something straight out of a movie or manga left me in awe.
Still, I forced myself to stay calm as I reached out and grabbed the stunned man.
“Who the hell are you?”
"W-who are you? Damn. Deflecting a bullet with a sword."
The man in the black robe looked to be in his thirties.
Judging by his not-so-shabby appearance, he didn't seem to be a struggling survivor.
However, the fact that he followed us and used an Investigation skill to check information suggested malicious intent.
So, without hesitation,
-Wham!
“Guh!”
I punched him square in the face.
It wasn’t a large movement.
But looking at his expression, it was as if he'd been hit with a hammer.
"I asked who you are. If you don't answer in 3 seconds, I'll crush your head."
“Ugh…”
I’d already taken the lives of more than a few people by now.
Adding one more wasn’t going to make any difference to me.
I raised my fist with genuine intent to kill, and,
“I-I’m a cop! From Seongnam City!”
He desperately waved his hands and pulled out a police ID.
But I wasn’t naive enough to let my guard down just because he claimed to be police.
Among those I’d fought and killed were cops who had oppressed and exploited the townspeople.
“Police forces are only still active in Suwon in Gyeonggi Province. What kind of crap are you spouting?”
“N-no! There’s a survival zone in Seongnam too! It’s not government-approved, but the Seongnam mayor established it on his own!”
“What?”
I tilted my head, puzzled by his words.
It sounded like the mayor of Seongnam was acting on his own, ignoring the government’s directives.
“I only investigated you because your equipment looked high-grade! I wondered if I could recruit you since you seemed like a high-level player! Oh, and by the way, in Seongnam, we call people who level up ‘players’ as a general term.”
An unnecessarily detailed explanation.
“You want to recruit me, and the first thing you do is shoot at me?”
“Well, if I didn’t, I thought you’d kill me! You were freaking terrifying!”
Now I had to decide how to deal with him.
'Guess I should go back to Willia for now.'
I restrained him with the Magic Rope Bracelet, then headed back toward Willia.
“What the hell…?”
But when I reached where Willia was, I couldn’t help but make a dumbfounded expression.
“Urgh.”
“Ough…”
Because around her, about 10 men and women were sprawled on the ground.
“You’re back?”
Willia greeted me with her usual bright smile, while the man I had brought along gaped at her in shock.
*****
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