Chapter 26: I Had a Feeling, and Indeed…

After waking up, we had a light breakfast and walked along the beach again.

Perhaps because it was still early, the sunlight wasn’t hot and felt pleasant.

“Where should we go today? If we start now, we could cover quite a bit of ground,” Hilde, holding her spear, turned back and asked.

“No, we won’t go particularly far today. We need to consider our stamina levels,” I replied.

“Hmm… And yet, you were the one who went so rough yesterday?”

“Ahem! Ahem!”

I didn’t really have a comeback. After all, I was the one who kept going until Hilde passed out yesterday. But what choice did I have? Hilde in her swimsuit was just too damn sexy. Plus, my recently improved stamina is overflowing, which is kind of a problem. Even after all that yesterday, my ‘thing’ was still perfectly fine.

“To be doing that every day… what kind of life did you even live before coming to this island?”

“It was just ordinary. I took the college entrance exams, got into university, did my military service, and somehow ended up getting a job. I was constantly scrambling, trying desperately not to fall behind the other employees.”

Ah, just talking about it makes me fucking pissed. In a way, my current life might actually be more pleasant. At least survival has some fun to it. Working life had no dreams, no hope, no fun, and no inspiration.

“Someone as amazing as you, Master, was pushed around by other people?”

“My old company had a lot of talented women. My colleagues Yoo Hye-jeong and the other bitches were all highly capable. And Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa was even rumored to be the next director. You have no idea how stressed I was, surrounded by people like that.”

“Of all the times, another employee quit midway, leaving me as the only man. So I had a rough time.”

“Being surrounded by women, wasn’t that supposed to be a happy life?”

“If I had been a truly capable guy, maybe it would have been.” If you ask me, I consider myself ordinary. The only advantages I possessed in life were being kind and diligent. To do even half as well as others, I had to put in several times the effort. And while everyone around me was so talented, I just kept accumulating a sense of inferiority.

‘Sigh… so that’s why my work life was so grueling?’ If this were the Conan universe, I’d have already turned evil and be rotting in jail. I have to admit, I’m pretty amazing for having grown so well on this uninhabited island.

“Anyway, the reason I can live so happily on this uninhabited island is all thanks to you, Hilde.”

“…Even while saying that and fiddling with my thigh, I’ll keep things moderate today.”

Tsk, busted. Still, she didn’t say no to letting me have my way. As expected, you can take breaks from sex, but you can never truly escape it. If I tease her by touching her bit by bit, she’ll probably lose her patience and come onto me first.

‘If Hilde really wasn’t here, survival would have been incredibly difficult.’ I would have gotten so lonely, unable to stand the solitude, that I’d have ended up befriending a volleyball. But here I am, doing ‘Search! Search!’ every day with a beauty like this. How lucky am I?

We continued walking like yesterday, chatting like this. After walking along the beach for a while…

“Master, wait a moment.” As I was checking the map, Hilde stopped me. She was gazing intently at one spot, holding her Valkyrie’s Spear. I followed her gaze and saw something red.

“Is that a crab?”

“It… must be a crab, right?” But it wasn’t just any ordinary crab. For starters, the crabs I know aren’t as tall as a person, and their pincers don’t look like they could slice through logs.

‘Appraisal.’ After ducking behind some cover nearby, I activated Appraisal.

▶Giant Crab

Level: 3

Rank: D

Just an ordinary crab that’s grown to the size of a person. It retains its normal intelligence and lacks special abilities, but its massive pincers and thick shell are threatening enough on their own. Exercise sufficient caution if you decide to approach.

Fortunately, it doesn’t possess any particular skills or powers. But as the description stated, that size is definitely intimidating. A larger body means greater strength, after all.

“What should we do?” Hilde asked with a serious expression, holding her spear ready to swing. “It doesn’t seem to have noticed us yet. We could just bypass it.”

“…….” Honestly, the old me would have definitely chosen to run away. But things have changed now.

“No, let’s take care of it here. It’ll be much more dangerous if we have to fight it properly later.” You never know when or where you might run into a monster like that again. Even if we avoid it now, we could still be ambushed later. There’s no reason to take that kind of risk. We need to eliminate it here decisively, even if it means pushing ourselves.

“Besides, I like crabs. They’re pretty tasty.”

“Is that perhaps the real reason?”

“No, well… the more food we have, the better, right?” At that size, even just one leg would be enough for a feast. Just like with the goblins, monsters can surprisingly be valuable food sources.

“Then I’ll take the lead. Let’s attack together.”

“No, Hilde, you rest.” As I said that, I pulled out ‘Adol’ from my inventory. It was the perfect chance to test my newly acquired strength. “I’ll try this alone for now.”

“But…….”

“It’s fine. More importantly, can I borrow your spear?” Hilde handed over the Valkyrie’s Spear with a slightly worried expression.

‘Adol is a good weapon, but a spear certainly has better penetration.’ I gripped the spear and channeled my telekinesis into it. A weapon enhanced by telekinesis can exert power beyond its original capabilities. Combine that with my strength, which has increased by one level. With these two combined, it’s possible to generate destructive power unimaginable with my original body.

‘Go!’ I threw the spear with all my might. The spear, whistling through the air, pierced the Giant Crab.

CRACK! The spear embedded itself, and the sound of its thick shell cracking echoed. Seeing the attack had landed successfully, I grabbed Adol and charged. ‘If it escapes into the sea, it’ll be a hassle. I need to finish this in one go.’ Using the momentum from my full-speed sprint, I kicked the spear. With a ‘SCHLURP!’ sound, the spear widened the wound. Then, I wildly swung Adol against its body. With dull thuds, a liquid, possibly its bodily fluids, splattered everywhere.

【You have defeated a monster you haven’t seen before!】

【Survival Quest Cleared!】

【You have acquired 100P!】

The points came in the moment the Giant Crab fell. So it seems points are awarded even for defeating monsters seen for the first time. But this time, the message didn’t stop there.

【You have acquired experience points by defeating a monster!】

【Your level has increased!】

【You have acquired Stat Points and bonus Points as a reward!】

‘My level went up?’ When I first saw the game-like status screen, I was skeptical. Could it really be that the system was structured to gain experience by hunting monsters? ‘And Stat Points too…’ I opened my status screen.

▶Status Screen

Name: Kim Jinwoo

Level: 2

Strength: 4

Agility: 1

Durability: 1

Magic Power: 1

Potency: 1

(Stat Points: 5)

Traits: Golden Finger (A), Tool Crafting (E), Dismantle (F), Axe Mastery (E)

Skills: Gacha, Appraisal, Telekinesis

Sure enough, Stat Points had arrived along with the level increase. ‘I knew they were acquired differently from regular points. But I hadn’t realized they’d actually increase from defeating monsters.’ I really feel like a character straight out of a game. Either way, I have no complaints as long as I get stronger. The strength gained from Stat Points was proven just now when I defeated the Giant Crab. If I can use them, it’s better to use them liberally.

‘As expected, Strength again.’ While I do want to test out various abilities like Agility or Magic Power, if I raise them carelessly, I’m likely to become a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. I poured all the points back into Strength.

▶Status Screen

Name: Kim Jinwoo

Level: 2

Strength: 9

Agility: 1

Durability: 1

Magic Power: 1

Potency: 1

(Stat Points: 0)

Traits: Golden Finger (A), Tool Crafting (E), Dismantle (F), Axe Mastery (E)

Skills: Gacha, Appraisal, Telekinesis

‘As expected, there’s no noticeable change yet.’ While I’m a little disappointed, I’m only level 2. Reaching level 10 alone should make me significantly stronger. ‘An ordinary goblin was about level 1. So, a normal person would probably be similar, right?’ At any rate, it’s confirmed that I can grow via the status screen. The problem is, there aren’t many opportunities to hunt monsters. The only monsters I’ve seen on this island are the goblins and the Giant Crab I just defeated. If I were to seriously aim for leveling up, the number of monsters is drastically insufficient.

‘But a stable life comes first for me. If possible, it might be better not to encounter monsters.’ This island isn’t like a game map with designated hunting grounds based on level. The probability of a giant level 100 squid suddenly appearing isn’t zero. Anyway, I decided to treat leveling up as a bonus rather than obsessing over it.

“Wow, Master! You really are amazing! To defeat that huge crab in one go!” While I was checking the status screen, Hilde, who had crept up beside me, exclaimed in admiration. She gazed at the Giant Crab with sparkling eyes. “With this level of strength, you could probably defeat all those goblins by yourself!”

“No, I don’t think I’m quite there yet.” I’m just strong right now; I don’t have any particular skills or swordsmanship. This time too, if it hadn’t been an ambush, I wouldn’t have won so easily. “See, the first strike is what’s important in a fight.”

“Still, I think the ambush succeeded thanks to you getting stronger, Master. Ah! What should we do with this crab?”

“Hmm, it seems difficult to butcher it right here.” We’re currently in a rocky area, not a sandy beach. There are many hard rocks, and the waves are crashing right below, making it a poor location for preparing ingredients.

“It’s a shame, but should we head back from here?”

“Mmm, I suppose so, right?” We’ve achieved quite a bit of our initial goals: securing food and surveying the beach terrain. More importantly, simply gaining the information that monsters can appear on the beach is a significant gain. ‘Until now, I came with the lighthearted intention of just fishing. But if monsters might appear, that changes things.’ The monsters appearing here weren’t limited to goblins. Perhaps I might even encounter a monster while fishing. It’s become necessary to make at least minimal combat preparations.

‘If possible, I want to gather more points to do a lot of draws, but they’re not giving them out as easily as they did initially.’ Maybe it’s because I satisfied the initial survival quest? It might be time for some kind of change.

“Hmm? Master… Could you check over here for a moment…?” As I was stuffing the Giant Crab into my inventory, Hilde urgently called me.

“What’s wrong? Did you find something else?”

“Well… a rare beauty is here…” What was that? Did she suddenly want to praise herself? As I seriously pondered whether it was Hilde’s own brand of joke, something caught my eye. I let out an involuntary chuckle.

“This… I wondered if I might see it again someday, and sure enough, here it is.” Just as Hilde said, the person there was indeed a beauty. Black, silk-like hair contrasted with her snow-white skin. A sharp face, honed like a blade. Even the ordinary combination of a white shirt and a black suit skirt looked alluring on her. I hadn’t really noticed it before, but seeing her like this now, she has a truly voluptuous figure. Her breasts, visible through her soaked clothes, looked quite large.

‘I never imagined I’d see this person collapsed like this.’ She always stood proudly during company retreats and even during intense battles. In the past, I even admired that about her. Later, I gave up, thinking she was like a tree far above me, someone I couldn’t even gaze upon. Even though she’s unconscious and collapsed, is it my prejudice that makes me feel a sense of coldness and confidence emanating from her face?

“Do you know her?” Hilde, sensing my reaction, asked. I nodded.

“She was my superior back when I worked in the real world.” The beauty lay collapsed and wet on the rocks, as if swept there by the waves. She was Shin Seom-hwa, an A-class Ability User and our team’s Team Leader.