“Ah, whoever comes this time, I’m going to really…!”
“Geez, just don’t get beaten up and beg to be spared, mister. And you know you owe me two potions right now, right?”
“Ah! I said I’d pay you back. I’m going to practically live in dungeons after this mission ends. I’m going to clear all the activated dungeons! No one else better come near them!”
Once Jeongwoo woke up and the Eternal Guild members who had gone out returned, it quickly became noisy.
Since part of the building was destroyed, all the civilians were evacuated elsewhere, and now only the Awakened Ones remained here.
Since they were Awakened Ones, no one would get hurt just because the building floor collapsed a bit, so they decided to stay here for now.
“Jisu-ssi, is everything finished?”
“Yes. You don’t need to worry. The bastards coming tonight are going to have a rough time.”
Though Kim Jisu was a combat-type ability user, unusually her main ability was in curses. Utilizing that specialty, Kim Jisu had spent all day today installing all kinds of traps inside and outside the building.
“They’re not that amazing traps, but still, if they get caught, they’ll be annoying and disgusting.”
“Disgusting?”
“Among the traps I installed, there’s a curse that gives you stomach pain when you step on it. Acute diarrhea! I set it to explode before they can take five steps. You could call it a diarrhea landmine? The downside is we might have to see a disgusting sight, but in war, what can we do. Besides that, I also set up curses that make you bald, curses that prevent you from getting a lover for life, so everyone, don’t step where we announced. If you do it wrong, you could become a laughingstock forever.”
“Hieeek! That’s cruel!”
Despite people’s jeers, Kim Jisu just shrugged her shoulders once. Jaehee bowed briefly to Kim Jisu and expressed his thanks.
“Geez, stop looking at me like that, you’re going to bore a hole in my face. If we don’t properly protect the Guild Leader-nim today, we’ll meet our end at the Vice Guild Leader-nim’s hands. Don’t worry. Even if I die, I’ll protect him.”
“Ah, no, that’s not it. Jeongwoo!”
At Kim Jisu’s words, Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo in surprise, but Jeongwoo didn’t relax his expression. After Jeongwoo woke from sleep and heard about what had happened, he’d been in that state continuously.
“Hu, I know everyone has done their best so far. Don’t mind Jeongwoo acting like that. He’s just, he’s a friend who worries a lot originally.”
“Not at all. I fully understand why the Vice Guild Leader-nim is like that. We were too careless. Tonight, we’ll make sure nothing like that happens. Last night we had to protect civilians too, so we couldn’t focus on guarding the Guild Leader, but today is different, isn’t it?”
Even though Jeongwoo was openly showing his displeasure, no one said Jeongwoo was arrogant or rude. Seeing them politely treat Jeongwoo as a superior, Jaehee smiled bitterly inside.
Even in the early days of awakening, there were looks saying what could these young kids do, but now no one thought that way. In this rapidly changing era, people quickly adapted to the new order. Especially while doing this mission. As they realized there was no one who could replace Jeongwoo, people became more polite and respectful toward Jeongwoo.
Jeongwoo also not only accepted this without awkwardness, but also naturally gave orders to or scolded people much older than himself. Jaehee found such aspects of Jeongwoo very unfamiliar.
“Now, now, Jeongwoo. Aren’t you hungry? You slept for so long. I’m a bit peckish. Let’s eat something. We’re going to eat and come back! Everyone rest.”
Jaehee used hunger as an excuse to bring Jeongwoo out. It wasn’t without reason, but in any case, watching Jeongwoo treat people high-handedly didn’t sit well with him.
“Jaehee, are you hungry? Should I make something?”
“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s eat something simple. Should we have ramyeon?”
Jaehee burst into a chuckle. Jeongwoo’s attitude toward him and his sincerity about food remained the same.
“Ramyeon? You’ll need to work hard tonight too, will ramyeon be enough? Instead of that, let’s eat properly. If you want ramyeon, I’ll make ramyeon for dessert.”
“Hey, how much of a glutton do you see me as? Eating ramyeon as dessert after finishing a meal.”
“You know Awakened Ones eat much more than ordinary people. That much is nothing. It’s been a while, so should I show off my skills? I’ve hardly had a chance to cook since we’ve been continuously eating mother’s food.”
Jeongwoo seemed excited as he rolled up his sleeves and started taking out cooking tools from his inventory.
Watching that, the unsettled feelings in his heart calmed down a bit.
“Jeongwoo. I’m so scared right now I can’t even check the number of citizens. I’ve never seen numbers like that in my life. It’s like Seoul’s population.”
“What’s the big deal about that? You’re going to become the King of Earth.”
Hearing the words “King of Earth” from Jeongwoo brought back facts he’d been trying not to think about until now. King. Can I do something like that? Until now, I seemed to have treated King just like a job, as just one classification of awakening. But as the Night of the Dead started and the King’s role increased, I kept getting scared.
“Jaehee, no matter how you think of yourself, you’re already a King. A good King at that.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah. I don’t think there’s a better King than you.”
“Based on what…? I’m… not particularly good at anything, I don’t have any outstanding qualities.”
“Even when you’re in a position where you can wield power, acting according to your conscience and caring for others. Not just anyone does that.”
“I don’t know about that. Even if I’m like this now, I could change later.”
At Jaehee’s words, Jeongwoo burst into laughter. At Jeongwoo’s clear laughter, Jaehee somehow chuckled too.
“Jaehee, if you were that kind of person, I wouldn’t even worry. So you don’t worry too much either. You’re a good person, and you’ll be a good person in the future too. I’ve seen it all from the future. Come, come here and eat first. You need to eat to have strength.”
It was when Jaehee was going to the meal Jeongwoo had prepared.
“…Huh?”
“Hm? Why? Do you need something?”
Suddenly some scene flashed vividly in his mind.
– ……Promise!
He was looking at Jeongwoo. Saying something as if angry, shouting at Jeongwoo to promise, and then after that, heading straight for Jeongwoo’s lips…….
“Jaehee? What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Uh… Ah, no. It’s, a bit, hot.”
What is this? I don’t remember doing something like this, what on earth is this….
Jaehee fanned his flushed red face with his hand while looking into the distance. His gaze kept going toward Jeongwoo’s lips. To dismiss it as his imagination, it was too vivid. The sensation, smell, and body heat when their lips overlapped.
Jaehee buried his nose in his rice bowl with his flushed red face and scooped up rice to eat.
Unlike the urgently moving situation outside, it was such a time like usual.
* * *
“Surprise attack! Surprise attack!”
“Here too!”
All around was filled with screams. It was no different from the horrors of war. Everyone was doing their best, but there was nothing they could do.
Jaehee bit his lip hard and looked around.
At this level, they should change the mission name. This wasn’t the Night of the Dead, but the Night of the End.
At first, everyone was confident. Since the Management Bureau’s combat personnel had been reinforced, they thought there would be no more backstabbing. The Management Bureau knew Guild Sahae’s power well. But thinking even of the worst case, they deployed enough power to handle Guild Sahae with plenty to spare.
With this much power, dealing with Guild Sahae, it wouldn’t be arrogance to be relaxed.
In fact, they were relaxed until they dealt with the first attackers.
The attack was fully expected, and the power was overwhelmingly on the Eternal Guild’s side.
But the atmosphere started to reverse 30 minutes after the first attack.
“What the hell is that! Aren’t the dead supposed to be outside!”
Though they clearly looked different from the dead outside the veil, in that corpses that were already dead rose again and rushed at them, they were no different from the dead.
“Keueeeeek, kueooooo!”
They couldn’t be called human. Swaying bodies bent at bizarre angles while charging while making incomprehensible sounds. After becoming the dead, their combat power became stronger than when alive. Though attack patterns were simple, their strength grew stronger and they didn’t tire. Above all, even if killed they rose again, so ultimately it became a battle of stamina – who would tire first.
As stamina was exhausted, casualties started appearing one by one.
The fortunate thing was that unlike outside the veil, the numbers weren’t infinite, but at this rate, they’d have to prepare for total annihilation.
Isn’t there something that can restrain them? Since we can’t kill them, restraining them seems to be the best option.
It was when Jaehee was racking his brain while chewing his lips hard.
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Lee Shinhoo…?”
At the voice suddenly heard from behind, Jaehee’s eyes widened.
