19. Focused Leveling. (2)

When I went down to the first floor, Soo-hyeon and Mr. Hoon were working on something by the open side door.

I looked around and walked over to them.

The entrance area was completely shuttered.

They had applied a thick layer of silicone, making it hard for anyone to lift them unless they really tried.

The only thing left was the shutter on the side door.

They hadn’t applied silicone there.

People needed to be able to come and go.

“What are you doing?”

Mr. Hoon, who was cutting a thick metal pipe with a cutter according to Soo-hyeon’s instructions, turned to look at me.

“Ah, Sir. You’re here?”

I nodded at him and looked at Soo-hyeon.

Soo-hyeon smiled and said,

“We’re going to secure this shutter. We’ll hang loops on both shutters and insert a metal pipe to lock it.”

I nodded.

“Ah, like a latch lock?”

“Yeah.”

Soo-hyeon glanced at Mr. Hoon and then took my hand, leading me toward the elevator.

Was she trying to make sure no one could hear?

Why was she acting like this?

Soo-hyeon said,

“Bro. Ye-eun said something weird?”

…Hmm.

I had a pretty good idea what she meant.

I shrugged and asked,

“What did she say?”

Soo-hyeon narrowed her eyes.

Uh, this is awkward.

“She said she accidentally opened the bathroom door and apologized. Bro, what did you do?”

…Ugh…

…Might as well just tell her.

I shrugged.

“Actually, I went to the wrong room when I came back yesterday. I was supposed to go to 1023, but I went to the next door.”

Soo-hyeon looked at me with narrowed eyes.

I said,

“I was tired and wanted to shower and sleep. So I was showering when Ye-eun opened the door. That’s it.”

“…Is that all?”

“Yeah, that’s all. I went to the wrong room, showered, and nothing happened.”

Soo-hyeon stared at me for a while with a narrow gaze, saying nothing.

…Damn.

It feels like I did something wrong.

No, wait.

Why is she looking at me like that?

It was an accident.

A misunderstanding and an unfortunate accident.

Hey, even if something did happen with Ye-eun.

We’re not even in a relationship, right?

So, you know.

That’s what I mean.

I wouldn’t say it like that, but.

Why am I so flustered?

Soo-hyeon looked at me, and I looked at her, and we stood there for a moment.

Soo-hyeon was the one who spoke first.

“…Do you like Ye-eun?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you talking about? It was just an accident.”

“…………”

Soo-hyeon stared at me for a long time without answering.

I didn’t really have anything to say either, so I just stood there looking at her.

Soo-hyeon finally sighed deeply.

“…There’s nothing I can do about it.”

…Huh?

What can’t you do?

Soo-hyeon said,

“Actually, I’ve had this thought for a while. There are more women in our group, right? In such a situation, it feels like things might go back to the old days, where men had multiple wives and concubines.”

“…Hey, isn’t that a bit extreme? Concubines?”

Soo-hyeon smiled.

“Bro. I see things, and I hear things. There’s no police, no courts, no government. It’s a world where it’s a miracle that the tap water still works and phones still connect. This is the world we live in now.”

“So?”

“I just had this thought. If I didn’t have you, I would have probably starved to death in that boarding house. The same goes for the others in our group and the people in the other group. Without you, they wouldn’t have been able to leave their homes, right?”

…Hmm.

Is that how it is?

I went to level up.

I didn’t really have an answer.

Soo-hyeon said,

“I thought about the people in the other group. You know, I would never go there. The people are terrible. I like it here. Being with you feels more secure and comfortable.”

…Hmm, it’s hard to find the right words to respond to that.

I just nodded slightly, as if to say, “I see.”

Soo-hyeon said,

“So, if you ever decide to bring another woman into the group, that’s okay.”

…?!

I was so taken aback that I couldn’t even manage a laugh. I just stared at Soo-hyeon.

“Why would you say that?”

Soo-hyeon had a slightly bitter expression.

“I told you. There are more women in our group. The other group probably has the same situation. Men are the ones who go out to hunt and find food, right? I saw them breaking into convenience stores from my window.”

“That’s… true.”

“That means men are more likely to die. When that happens, there will be more women left.”

“…So?”

Soo-hyeon looked up and stared at me intently.

“Bro. If you have this strange belief that women don’t have sexual desires, you should get rid of it quickly. I know what you’re thinking, even if you pretend not to.”

…Hmm.

I do know, but…

I shrugged without answering.

Soo-hyeon said,

“So, what I’m trying to say is, if you ever decide to bring another woman into the group, that’s okay. If you keep me all to yourself, the other women will end up hating me.”

“They… would?”

Soo-hyeon frowned.

“You’ve never experienced women being jealous. You don’t know how vicious they can get. Ugh, I can’t handle that pressure.”

Then she sighed deeply.

“Besides, I already know how the other women look at you. Ye-eun, So-eun, Eun-seo, and the other women from the inline group. They already look at you with sparkling eyes.”

“…They do?”

I had no idea.

Soo-hyeon shook her head and said,

“But.”

She raised her hand and grabbed my collar.

Then she glared at me.

“…You have to love me the same way. If you start favoring other women, I’ll cut it off. I’m serious.”

…Ugh…

Don’t… don’t do that…

For no reason…

I frowned and shook my head.

Then, I shrugged and said,

“…You know. I’m not some guy obsessed with women.”

Soo-hyeon looked at me and slowly shook her head.

“Bro. You didn’t listen to me. Your thoughts don’t matter now. The women already look at you that way.”

“They… do?”

…What should I do about this?

I scratched my head.

Then I said,

“I understand what you’re saying.”

I spoke slowly and clearly.

“I’ll do as you say.”

I nodded a few times.

Soo-hyeon frowned and glared at me, then kicked my shin.

Ouch, damn it.

“Ouch.”

“Bad guy. Hmph!”

Soo-hyeon stomped away.

…Her butt is so round…

My shin hurts, but her butt looks good.

…Hmm.

Anyway, I get it.

I understand what she’s saying, but in our group, there are already three other guys. If I monopolize all the women, they might try to kill me.

Why didn’t I think of that earlier?

It was a bit sudden.

…The women look at me like that?

I don’t really remember making eye contact with many women.

It’s hard to say.

Anyway…

I’ll think about it later. Right now, I have something to do.

I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and walked toward the mart.

I need to level up.

I waved at Soo-hyeon and Mr. Hoon.

“I’ll be back.”

“Yes, Sir. Be careful!”

Soo-hyeon glared at me without saying a word.

…When she glares like that, I want to pounce on her.

Damn, hearing unnecessary things made my lower body react strangely.

Focus.

Leveling up comes first.

I burst into the mart.

I clearly remember that there were just the right number of them left-neither too many nor too few.

So, let’s see…

Should I give it a try?

I took a deep breath.

“The Nergulman has arrived!”

I’m here to take care of things, so everyone can relax.

“Kyarruruk?!”

Heads popped up from all over the place.

The beasts stared at me with wide eyes.

Their faces contorted.

I smiled.

“Kraaaah! Kyaahhh!”

The beasts charged at me.

I hummed a tune.

“Maiyahi~ Maiyahu~ Maiyaha~”

“Kraaaah!”

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

“Maiya, hot!”

Crack!

 * * *

[Level up by 2.]

29.

There were 29 beasts left on the first floor.

The important thing is, I only leveled up by 2 after killing 29 of them.

Damn, with a last digit of 9, it should have been at least a 3-level up.

It was probably a 0 last time, coincidentally.

“Phew.”

I swung my sword to shake off the blood.

Splat!

The first floor is now clear.

All that’s left is the second floor of the mart.

“Status.”

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Chosen One

[Specialization – Survival Expert] [Level – 42]

[Title – Gained Strength]

Status

[Health – 58/64] [Senses – 2/2]

[Strength – 1/30] [Agility – 4/4]

[Spirit – 20/60] [Intelligence – N/A]

[Unassigned Points – 2]

Skills

[Passive – Soul Tattoo Lv. 2]

[Passive – Recovery]

[Active – Acceleration] (Automatic activation)

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Hmm.

I’m already at level 42.

Thanks to the increased health, I can now fully recharge about twice a day.

With 64 health…

I smiled and put both points into health.

Health 66.

Let’s try to make the recovery even faster.

If this keeps up, I might be able to raid three times a day soon?

Ah.

Now that I think about it, I do use some health, though not much, when fighting.

About 1 point for every 5 kills?

It seems to have improved a bit since I chose the Survival Expert specialization?

I’m not sure.

Anyway, the health consumption isn’t really something to worry about.

How many are there on the second floor?

I have 4 Accelerations left, so I’ll take a quick look.

I looked around the mart.

The flat escalator leading to the second floor.

Hmm. I remember someone saying that a room in the residential area is about 20 pyeong.

So this place is probably around 400 pyeong per floor.

It’s not a huge multi-story mart like HomePlus or E-Mart, but it has everything you need.

I took the escalator to the second floor.

If things go wrong, I’ll use Acceleration and run.

I only have 1 Strength.

The second floor was filled with home appliances, clothes, kitchenware, bags, bedding, and other household items.

All the food was on the first floor.

And there were definitely fewer people, or rather, fewer human beasts, on the second floor.

I could see heads popping up here and there, but not many.

Maybe 40 or 50, including the ones lying down and out of sight.

It could be a bit more or less.

Anyway, I get it.

I’ll take a break and come back later.

Once I clear the second floor, the mart will be fully cleared.