Chapter 13: The Reason to Level Up (3)

The brightly burning bonfires disappeared.

Darkness descended upon the underpass.

‘Quickly.’

I felt comfortable in the darkness.

I closed my eyes completely and created the world in my imagination.

I painted an identical picture of everything in the underpass in my mind.

Ssk

I raised my body.

It had felt like an invisible hand was binding me, but that feeling vanished with the bonfires.

It must have been the doing of the Shaman Goblin.

So, I’ll target that one first.

Tat

I ran, making a small noise.

Normally, I wouldn’t even make this small footstep sound.

I’m used to maintaining balance with my eyes closed.

The pain is the problem.

The pain spreading from my back made me lose strength for a moment.

“Kicha!”

Did it notice me moving?

The Shaman Goblin shouted unknown words.

Thanks to the creature making a sound, it became clearer.

‘Head.’

Although I could track the location of all Goblins through Target Detection and visualization, their exact posture wasn’t clear.

“Kish…”

This is the Shaman Goblin’s head.

I’m sure of it.

Adding the force of my run, I swung my fist.

Thwack—!

It felt like I had smashed a watermelon with my bare fist.

“Hyungnim!”

Jang Ho-seop shouted.

“It’s done.”

When I opened my eyes, the red light of the fire spread through the underpass again.

Jang Ho-seop couldn’t hold on any longer and had come down from the drum barrel.

“Good job.”

It was a short time, but it was enough.

The Shaman Goblin had collapsed with its face caved in.

Crack

I lifted my foot and completely smashed its head.

And the plunger rolling on the floor too.

---

After defeating the Shaman Goblin, there were no other difficulties.

Together with Jang Ho-seop, we easily defeated the Goblin horde.

“Mom. Are you okay? Let me see.”

“Son… Ho-seop. My son…”

Mother and son embraced, enjoying the joy of reunion.

Jang Ho-seop’s mother looked haggard but was uninjured.

The other survivors were the same.

All women, and though their energy was depleted, their bodies were fine.

The Goblins I’d seen so far hadn’t just left captured humans alone.

“Hyungnim. Thank you. Sob…Thank you.”

When I returned after checking the surroundings, Jang Ho-seop bowed deeply.

Some people had scattered during the battle, so I went to check on them.

They must have fled completely, as they weren’t nearby.

“Hyungnim saved me. He came all this way with me because I asked.”

“Thank you.”

Following Jang Ho-seop, his mother also bowed deeply to me.

She didn’t straighten up from her bow.

“I’m also receiving a lot of help from Ho-seop.”

I helped the ajumma up and exchanged greetings.

Jang Ho-seop looked at me with wide, round eyes.

“I’m Sa Yihyeon. You’ve been through a lot.”

“I’m Kim Sujeong.”

Jang Ho-seop’s mother is 47 years old.

She has aged gracefully and looks young for her age.

The mother and son give off a similar impression.

Somehow their features are faint and pale.

She looks fragile due to her short, thin frame, but her eyes have strength.

‘It’s done.’

The ajumma’s voice isn’t grating.

“How can I ever repay this kindness…”

The ajumma kept bowing her head.

Even while doing so, she peeked at what I was holding in my hand.

Thud

It was an unconscious Goblin.

I had captured one alive.

“I know it’s difficult, but would you try killing this?”

It was our first meeting, and she must have suffered for days, but there was something I needed to confirm right away.

“What? Me?”

“Yes.”

Jang Ho-seop had said it.

His mom had worked as a nurse for half her life.

She even had experience working as an operating room nurse in a general hospital.

So, we were hoping she might awaken a healing-type skill.

“Mom. Hyungnim is helping you with this. You have to kill it.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“You know too, Mom, right? That the world is strange now.”

Jang Ho-seop stepped forward and actively persuaded his mother.

Quickly explaining the situation.

“So… killing this monster will help me too?”

“Yeah. You absolutely have to awaken.”

“It’ll help your son too, and this person too…”

Zero and one are different.

The same goes for people who have awakened a Fundamental Skill and those who haven’t.

“You can stab it here with this. If it’s too hard, I’ll help you. Just close your eyes.”

I handed her my knife.

With the thought of grabbing the ajumma’s hand and stabbing it for her if necessary.

“Ah… Thank you. I’ll try it myself.”

The ajumma took the knife.

Then she took a deep breath and squatted down in front of the Goblin.

Stab

The hesitation wasn’t long.

“Mom? How is it?”

“Uh… Masterful Coordinator? What’s this?”

Jang Ho-seop’s mother awakened at once.

---

The kindness I showed ended with Sujeong ajumma.

We left the underpass and returned to the hospital building.

“So the Goblin Shaman waved a plunger and they became docile?”

“Yeah. Really.”

We are currently having a late dinner in the hospital’s basement cafeteria.

Fortunately, there were some leftover ingredients.

“Oh dear…”

Jang Ho-seop looked at the survivors from the underpass with a compassionate gaze.

It was because the ajumma had told him what had happened.

The mutant Goblins had devoured all the newborns.

The mothers who lost their babies resisted.

The women who resisted became food for other Goblins or lost their sanity due to some sorcery used by the Goblin Shaman.

‘A few of them seem to have completely lost their minds…’

The survivors from the underpass who had witnessed and experienced such scenes all looked gloomy.

Even the women who hadn’t lost their own children.

Only Sujeong ajumma, reunited with her son, was burning with the will to live.

“Hyungnim. I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“I should have told you beforehand… It’s basic to hit the casters first.”

Jang Ho-seop blamed himself.

He said he was sorry for not warning me about the danger of the Goblin Shaman, even though he had named it.

“You didn’t know for sure either. It’s in the past.”

“Still. Hoo… Looking at the monsters we’ve encountered so far, there are many similarities to the fantasy worlds I know. It’s similar to games too.”

Jang Ho-seop did his best in a critical situation.

He even got burned creating a decisive opportunity for me.

“Just focus on recovering. You got bitten by a Goblin too, remember?”

First aid was administered.

There was enough medical personnel and medicine here, so I also received treatment.

“Mine is just a scratch compared to yours, Hyungnim. I’m fine.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a thorough examination.

With no electricity, there wasn’t much the hospital could do.

The Goblin heads and fingers I brought also became useless.

“I should have awakened a good skill… What was it? Cure?”

This time, Sujeong ajumma blamed herself.

Saying she was sorry for not awakening the healing skill Jang Ho-seop mentioned.

“No, ma’am. Please don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not… when I’m only receiving help.”

Sujeong ajumma repeatedly apologized even though it wasn’t her fault.

She rolled up her sleeve to show the Goblin bite wound.

“See? It’s almost completely healed already.”

“Ah… You heal quickly.”

“It’s not just fast. The wound was quite deep.”

I’m guessing that my natural healing ability has also improved due to leveling up.

The doctor at the hospital also said it was unbelievable after hearing my explanation.

I was worried about an incubation period, but even so, there was nothing I could do right now.

“We just need to think about what we can do now.”

“Understood. Still, I hope it’s not infected at all.”

“That could be the case.”

We finished our meal while talking quietly and decided to rest immediately.

We have to move from dawn tomorrow as well.

“I know it’s hard and uncomfortable, but please endure it for a few more days.”

We are handling a schedule that is tough even for young people.

I know Sujeong ajumma has suffered, but we don’t have the luxury of time.

So, I spoke up to ask for her understanding.

“Yihyeon-ssi.”

“You can speak comfortably to me.”

Sujeong ajumma looked up at me with a firm gaze.

“Yihyeon-ssi, you are a benefactor to me and my son. I’ve heard enough from Ho-seop about what kind of situation this is.”

“Yes.”

“He said being next to you, Yihyeon-ssi, would be the safest? So please do as you think best. I will follow diligently. I’m grateful for just that.”

Jang Ho-seop gave his mother a thumbs-up.

‘He was holding onto his mom and chattering for a long time earlier.’

It seems like he practically brainwashed her.

“Don’t mention it. I’ll be counting on you as well.”

“Kya~ We’re a 3-person party now. I’m a bit worried that we have two support types… but since I’m at least a DPS-support…”

Jang Ho-seop, who often looked gloomy, said with a bright smile.

And so, the long day ended.

---

After Yihyeon’s group left the cafeteria to rest.

The people who had been rescued from the hospital rooftop talked amongst themselves.

“I’m telling you, they took the Director and Yun-ssaem out first, right?”

“Then what about us?”

“Only two people came here! They’re short-staffed right now.”

They still believed Yihyeon and Ho-seop were police officers.

They also held onto the belief that the government was conducting rescue operations and that there would be a safe shelter.

“Even after what the Director did?”

“Still, what can they do? That’s their job.”

“But why did they only transport two people? The shelter doesn’t seem that far.”

Because Yihyeon refused to talk, all they could do was speculate.

“Seeing as they brought those women… it seems they plan to use this place as a base for a while.”

“Do they have more teams? Or did those monsters move somewhere else…”

They built up misunderstandings with baseless speculation.

“No, it doesn’t make sense. Why only the Director and Yun-ssaem…”

“Those people have to report too, don’t they? So they just picked a suitable number of people and took them.”

Then, they finally reached a conclusion among themselves.

“Could additional forces be dispatched here?”

“Or maybe those two will transport people little by little, like now. Perhaps it’s because there are still dangerous elements remaining?”

Based on that conclusion, they began to voice their opinions one by one.

“I think it’s right for me to go tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I’m a doctor. The shelter will be short of doctors.”

“Then… shall Teacher Lee and I go? The others are still young…”

And soon, they began to conflict.

“Aren’t patients first? I’m really struggling right now.”

“Since the Director isn’t here, isn’t Teacher Lee in charge here?”

“Let’s do it fairly by drawing lots…”

Even as their eyes grew heavy, they continued their discussion late into the night.

---

Early dawn.

“I’m not sure if it’s okay to leave like this.”

Sujeong ajumma said quietly.

Perhaps because it was the hospital where she worked.

She had heard that all her close colleagues had died.

“Mom.”

“I’ve packed most of the essential medicines… I was wondering if I should leave a note or something.”

“Hyungnim saved all those people. That should be enough.”

Jang Ho-seop voiced my inner thoughts.

He had figured me out to some extent, even though I hadn’t said anything.

“Um… Yihyeon-ssi.”

“Yes.”

Sujeong ajumma was still speaking formally to me.

Saying she couldn’t treat me like her son’s friend.

“Just a moment.”

“There’s still food over there, and plenty of medicine.”

It seemed she wanted to help people.

So, I said it bluntly.

“No, that’s not it… I think I know how to use my skill now.”

That wasn’t it.

She must have been constantly thinking about her skill.

Sujeong ajumma, upon hearing Jang Ho-seop’s reply, had already dismissed her thoughts about the people remaining in the hospital.

“Can I try using my skill before we leave? I think it might be helpful, even if just a little.”

I nodded.

Then Sujeong ajumma stood in front of me and said.

“Don’t lose courage. You’re doing well.”

That was it.

This time, the ajumma looked at Ho-seop.

“You’re doing well too, son. Don’t be scared, always act calmly.”

“Huh? Uh… Um. That’s it?”

“Uh… The skill worked, though?”

Sujeong ajumma’s skill is ‘Masterful Coordinator’.

Her words are imbued with power, and the target listens to her with an open mind.

“Is the effect still weak?”

“Yeah… Mom will work hard on leveling up too. I need to raise my level to save my son if he’s in danger later.”

“As expected of my mom. Those are wise words.”

Jang Ho-seop analyzed his mother as a buffer.

While saying he didn’t know why an ajumma who had worked diligently as a nurse would get such a skill.

It was because he still harbored a longing for a healing skill.

“Then let’s set off.”

Anyway, after receiving a buff from the ajumma, we set out.

Everyone else was asleep, so we quietly left the hospital.

Crunch Crunch

The fog is thick. The weather is gloomy too.

I can’t really feel the effect of the buff.

Our next destination is the Han River Railroad Bridge.

To get to the Han River Railroad Bridge, I plan to cross Yeouido.

‘There’s a large department store on the way…’

Depending on the time, we might rest at the department store or even spend the night there.

We’ll also resupply there.

“Hyungnim.”

Then, around the time we entered Yeouido and the National Assembly Building came into view.

“My cooldown is over.”

Jang Ho-seop used his Fundamental Skill.