Chapter 26: If I Call You Nuna (1)

I went to the rooftop with Lee Yuna.

I heard an explanation of where and how the Spirit Stone was placed.

She said it was just lying there in a corner of the rooftop.

“If it fell from the sky, the impact should have been enormous. It’s strange that the house is fine.”

Right now, I’m sitting around in the living room with the group, examining the new Spirit Stone.

“I don’t think we should just think of it as a meteorite. Ah, it did look like a meteorite, but since this is magical….”

Jang Hoseop says that the meteor shower that fell on the day of the cataclysm seemed like Spirit Stones.

If that’s true, we can continue to find Spirit Stones in the future.

“We’ll figure that out later. What should we do?”

Jang Hoseop has already used his Fundamental Skill for today.

What’s important now is what to do with the new Spirit Stone.

[There is already an activated Spirit Stone.]

[Do you want to absorb it into the existing Spirit Stone?]

This was the System message that popped up when I received the new Spirit Stone.

“Should I absorb it? Or do you want to activate it?”

And a System message also popped up for Jang Hoseop.

A message saying he could activate the Spirit Stone.

It seems level 10 is the minimum level required to activate a Spirit Stone.

“I think it would be good to try absorbing it. We’ll be traveling together anyway. What do the others think?”

Everyone nods.

I think the same.

“Then let’s absorb it.”

I grabbed the new Spirit Stone.

It looked exactly like the existing Spirit Stone.

[Do you want to absorb it into the existing Spirit Stone?]

‘Yes.’

[Please place it on top of the existing Spirit Stone.]

Just like when feeding it Mana Stones, I brought the new Spirit Stone close to the existing one.

Then, the two Spirit Stones floated into the air.

[Mana Stones are required for absorption.]

Another System message popped up.

“It says it needs Mana Stones?”

“Yes? How many?”

“I don’t know.”

I tried feeding it one Goblin Mana Stone as a test.

“Uh… This means it wants more, right?”

The Mana Stone clearly melted in, but there was no change.

No System message appeared either.

“Ah, sh*t. It’s a bit much not knowing the ceiling.”

A situation where we don’t know how many Mana Stones are needed.

Fortunately, we have a surplus since we acquired a large amount of Orc Mana Stones when passing Yongsan Station.

“I’ll feed it more.”

“Yes. Ah, Hyungnim. I think it would be good to use Orc Mana Stones.”

We’ve used up all the Gnoll Mana Stones.

Goblin Mana Stones are needed for more precise adjustments to the range and duration of the safety waves.

So, I fed it Orc Mana Stones.

A whopping five of them.

“Huh? Hyungnim.”

There was a change.

The Spirit Stones stuck to each other.

Then, they slowly began to merge into one.

“It looks just like combining dough.”

The absorption process didn’t take long.

The Spirit Stone that had floated in the air came back down to the floor.

The shape was the same, but its size had increased.

It’s now bigger than a basketball.

【Level 2 Spirit Stone Saihyeon】

And the Spirit Stone’s level increased.

My Spirit Stone leveled up to Level 2.

I had anticipated it seeing the level indication, but it’s still surprising.

And what’s more surprising is.

“Hyungnim?”

System messages poured in.

As I closed my eyes and sank into thought, Jang Hoseop became anxious.

“I’ll tell you.”

When I opened my eyes again, Jang Hoseop was holding a notebook and leaning towards me.

It was uncomfortable, so I leaned back slightly.

“First, the limit of the safety wave range has increased.”

“Huh? There was a limit?”

“Apparently so. And the Mana Stone efficiency has also increased.”

I don’t know how large the safety wave can be made.

Anyway, there was a limit, and this time that limit was expanded.

Also, now, even using the same Mana Stones, we can generate a longer and larger safety wave than at Level 1.

“Wow. That’s great. We’ll quickly get our money’s worth from the Mana Stones we fed it, right?”

Jang Hoseop says we’ll have to pay attention to finding Spirit Stones from now on.

But this isn’t the end.

“And it says we can access the Plaza.”

“The Plaza? What’s that?”

“Um… It’s like an internet cafe. It says we can post things? And read posts written by others.”

“Huh? Awesome! Really?”

Jang Hoseop jumps to his feet.

Questions pour out of his mouth.

“No, how? Can anyone use it? Can we do pictures or videos… No. Hyungnim, what about the range? Is it only for Koreans to communicate, or….”

I don’t know much yet either.

I tried accessing it, but there were no posts, so I just came out.

“You need mana energy to write posts. Mana energy seems to refer to the energy extracted from Mana Stones.”

“Uh… So it’s paid, right?”

“Yeah. Every time you write. And when you read.”

“Wow, sh*t. How much does it cost?”

“I don’t know.”

The ‘Plaza’ function can only be used when the Spirit Stone reaches Level 2.

Therefore, we speculated that there probably aren’t many people who have unlocked the Plaza function yet.

“Besides, who would want to use Mana Stones to write a post?”

“Well… that’s true. We need to use them for the safety wave.”

Jang Hoseop shows great lingering attachment to the Plaza function.

Even though I told him there were no posts at all.

“Lastly….”

“There’s more?”

“Yeah. We can appoint one administrator. For feeding Mana Stones to the Spirit Stone or….”

We can now appoint a Spirit Stone administrator and define the administrator’s authority.

The appointed administrator can use the Spirit Stone within the authority I grant.

“Um….”

After finishing the explanation, I looked around at the group.

Lee Yuna slowly raises her hand.

“Me! Hyungnim! I really want to do it!”

Jang Hoseop suddenly shouted.

Today was a day for regrouping.

We also did some simple training.

Future training will assume we are dealing with people and will proceed from the basics.

‘Anyway, I don’t know how to deal with unfamiliar monsters either.’

And Jang Hoseop was appointed as the Spirit Stone’s administrator.

Originally, I was thinking of giving the role to Lee Yuna.

Because she discovered the new Spirit Stone.

However, Lee Yuna glanced at Jang Hoseop and then lowered her hand.

Jang Hoseop had also shown such an enthusiastic attitude.

‘Should I try going in?’

Earlier, I saw Jang Hoseop sitting in front of the Spirit Stone in the living room for a long time.

He was probably trying to find out about the Plaza.

Since my watch duty was over, I sat in front of the Spirit Stone for a moment before lying down.

Paat

As I thought about accessing the Plaza, a white screen appeared.

It felt like doing VR with my eyes closed.

I didn’t have high expectations.

I just tried accessing it, but surprisingly, there was one new post.

[1st!!!!!!!!] [JangHoseop10]

With a sinking feeling, I open the post.

[1st!!!!!!!!] [JangHoseop10]
1st kekekekekeke

I immediately disconnected and got up.

‘Is he really a crazy b*stard?’

I need to punish Jang Hoseop.

The next day.

I’m preparing to go out early in the morning.

“No, Hyungnim, you also used energy to read the post….”

Jang Hoseop grumbles, his forehead red.

It’s because I flicked him on the forehead.

And my flicks are very painful.

“This kid, this kid.”

Aunt Sujeong glances at me and then smacks Jang Hoseop on the back.

“Ah, that hurts, Mom! I had to find out eventually anyway!”

“Are you raising your voice at your mother?”

Writing a post in the Plaza costs the energy equivalent of one F-grade Mana Stone.

It’s about using up almost one whole Goblin Mana Stone.

A Gnoll Mana Stone would leave a little bit.

Reading a post costs significantly less energy.

Jang Hoseop calculated it based on the duration of the safety wave.

So there’s quite a margin of error.

‘Besides, as the Spirit Stone’s level increases, the efficiency of using Mana Stones also improves….’

Jang Hoseop still insists there’s a lot to find out.

However, there’s no need to find it out right away.

Still, I didn’t say much about it.

“We’re ready.”

A moment later.

The group finished preparing to go out.

“Hyungnim. You’re going to start by farming nearby, right?”

Our neighborhood is a low hill terrain.

My house is at the top of the hill.

This area is mostly residential houses.

There are also small supermarkets, convenience stores, churches, etc.

If we set out to farm, we should be able to gather a good amount of supplies.

“No. I have a place to go.”

“Huh? Where?”

Still, I’ll clean up the surroundings later.

Partly because the alleys are very complicated, but there’s another reason.

“Down there.”

“Let’s see, if it’s that way… it’s towards the community center, right?”

If you go south, a commercial district appears.

There’s a community center in that area, and if you cross the main road, there’s an old market.

“Yeah. I’m going down there.”

“Oh… Okay. Is there any particular reason?”

“My hair salon is over there. I’m going to check there first.”

“Huh? No….”

I hardly engage in social activities.

Even at work, most of my time was spent working alone.

The hair salon is a place I, who am like that, have visited regularly for a long time.

I’ve been going to the same hair salon for over ten years now.

The hairstylist there is one of the people who has seen me the longest.

“Hyungnim, you owned the building? I’ve never seen a building owner before.”

Jang Hoseop says something outlandish.

“That’s not it….”

I just chuckled and let it go.

---

We arrived at the Muhwa-dong Community Center.

We fought several small battles on our way here.

The three people, excluding Jang Hoseop, gained similar amounts of experience.

The opponents were Goblins and Gnolls, but there was just one monster we’d never seen before.

‘A rat the size of a chicken must be a monster, right.’

It was a rat with a disgustingly long tail and sharp claws.

Since it was an unfamiliar monster, I killed it in one blow, but its aura was smaller than even a Goblin’s.

“It’s quiet, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I don’t feel any presence either.”

There was no one at the community center.

I thought there might be a group of survivors since the reserve forces unit was attached to it.

“Still, it looks like people were here.”

Traces of people having stayed are visible in various places.

It’s not a sign of being attacked by a monster horde.

I wonder if something happened that made them abandon this place and leave.

Reasons like food problems or conflicts between people.

“We’ll rest here for a bit.”

After finishing the internal reconnaissance, I took out the Spirit Stone.

Mr. Lee Jangsu made a dedicated bag for the Spirit Stone.

It can be worn snugly on the back and isn’t uncomfortable.

“Hyungnim. The water here….”

“Shall I get you some water?”

As I set up the Spirit Stone and stood up, Jang Hoseop and Lee Yuna offered me water bottles at the same time.

Without much thought, I took the water bottle Jang Hoseop offered.

“But aren’t there too few people?”

“There were some people holding out inside their houses.”

“Huh? Really? But why didn’t they ask us for help?”

We did move very quietly.

We also brought a cart to dispose of corpses, but thanks to Mr. Lee Jangsu’s modifications, the sound of the wheels rolling was barely audible.

Still, with five people moving, there must have been some sign of our presence.

There were also people observing outside.

“They might have thought it was dangerous.”

“Ah, right… Or if they had food stockpiled at home, they might not have wanted to involve other people.”

We talk quietly while chewing energy bars and drinking water.

Aunt Sujeong and Mr. Lee Jangsu don’t say a word, perhaps because the battle was tough for them.

It’s not like they faced vigorous Goblins.

I broke their arms or legs before passing them over.

Still, it seems receiving the monster’s killing intent head-on was difficult for them.

Because Goblins will snap and charge even with broken arms.

‘Lee Yuna seems fine though.’

I noticed it when she killed CEO Kim.

Lee Yuna is mentally and physically superior to the other members of the group.

Even more so than Jang Hoseop.

Earlier too, she killed an uninjured Gnoll by herself.

And her movements while handling water and using her body simultaneously are becoming smoother.

‘No, it seems like there might be a problem somewhere.’

While assessing the condition of the group members and organizing my thoughts.

Lee Yuna meets my eyes and smiles bashfully.

Then she blushes and lowers her head.

I looked away from her and quietly finished eating my energy bar.

“Hyungnim. We’re almost there, right?”

“Yeah, it’s just ahead.”

After finishing our rest, we left the community center.

We soon arrived at the commercial building where my hair salon is located.

That shabby commercial building was filled only with traces of a monster invasion.

Two days have passed.

I don’t feel good.

Because I’m accepting the fact that the hairstylist died.

For the past two days, we’ve been farming and cleaning up the street near the community center.

We’re also cleaning up around the house while coming and going.

I took out my anger by brutally dealing with the monsters we encountered.

The group members are wary of me because of how I look.

“Just a moment.”

Today, we left the community center street and moved to a different area.

It’s near the border between dongs, and there’s a fairly large market alley here.

“People. Three.”

It’s still early morning.

For the first time, we encountered people moving around.

They’re not visible due to the collapsed buildings, but their presence was caught by my target detection.

“Level 5, Level 5, Level 7.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We’ll see.”

Lee Yuna is currently Level 7.

Mr. Lee Jangsu and Aunt Sujeong are Level 6.

Thanks to that, I can now guess levels quite accurately by the size of their aura.

Limited to below Level 10, that is.

“Ha, this horny b*stard.”

“You said you liked it too.”

“That’s right. Gotta get one off to start the day.”

Soon, the sound of conversation was heard.

At least two of them are men.

“But Chairman Park is there, right?”

“Yeah. Why that old man?”

“What’s his ability? How did he already….”

“How would I know? You know that group of thugs over there. Those guys….”

Listening to the conversation coming from beyond the building debris, I walked in the same direction as them.

Their conversation quickly devolved into lewd jokes.

“Ah, I found that b*tch hot. The female owner who ran the hair salon over there.”

“Hair salon? Who… Ah! Didn’t she just look average?”

“Looks aren’t important. More than the face….”

Then, the moment I heard the words “hair salon” and “female owner.”

Tadak

I couldn’t stand it.

I immediately jumped up onto the debris.