Chapter Text
The dokkaebi continued to eat the dumpling as several letters appeared before his eyes until it reached the climax of the fable, strangely enough, he could remember every detail that was in the fable - similar to how the 'main character' in the fable could remember every detail that he comes across. He was quite curious to say the least, was this really the red haired human's fable or did he stole it from someone else?
It's possible but the chances of the red haired human and this 'main character' in the fable could be the same person is very high though at the same time very unlikely. The fable, 'Lone Survivor of Three Brothers', could be something he received from either a 'regression' or 'reincarnation', but judging from the vague details of this human's soul, he could tell that he hasn't reincarnated nor regressed - some dokkaebis were 'born' with an extraordinary skill, and that is too peek into a human's soul when they are vulnerable, this human Cale Henituse, has a very vague soul to the point that you can only see what you strongly desire to find out.
And since he, Biryu, only desires to find out if this fable is formulated because of a regression/reincarnation - he could only see that the soul of this human is an ordinary soul, or well... as ordinary a soul that has never reincarnated can get at least.
Many humans believes of 'life after death' which turned out to be true but not proven, every single human here had at least ONE reincarnation - unless they are absolute good or evil then their soul would never stop reincarnating, be it have a thousand years gap - which is why it is quite odd to find a soul of a human that has not reincarnated, it's rare to say the least, most God of Deaths' of every mythology would want this kind of soul for themselves.
Cale is one of those humans... to think that Biryu would meet such a precious soul in this world, this might mean that he's quite lucky.
[This Dokkaebi Blanket... where did you get it?]
'From your cousin, Bihyung. It's very comfortable to say the least, this must have taken a few months to make or maybe even years because of your tiny hands. It's applauding though.'
Biryu visibly recoiled at the humans' words, but it's not because this human deliberately pointed out that dokkaebis' have tiny hands but it's because
[And how did you know we are cousins?]
A wave of realization hit Cale that he had slipped up as he nonchalantly shrugged, 'Because you look alike?'
It was a good thing that Cale is dubbed as a 'dumb little human that has never seen a dokkaebi before the apocalypse' in this situation or else making up an excuse for his slip-up would have been quite hard.
The dokkaebi, Biryu, patted the human's head whilst having a funny look on his face, it seems that his little human friend has a simple mind - even thinking that a supernatural creature like a dokkaebi would have the same type of genes that would let their close relative to have the same face, just like how human genes' works.
After a a few minutes of him just petting the human's head, he looked down at the shoulder he is sitting on - it is slightly faint, as if it has went countless of times in being bathed in invisibility potion, but Biryu could still clearly deduct as to what it is. The blanket, naked from the human eye, both literally and figuratively is a Dokkaebi Blanket wrapped around the red haired human - a familiar one at that. Even though he already knows that the humans perhaps befriended Bihyung too, it still baffles the young dokkaebi that his cousin would just carelessly give such a precious thing to a mortal, a human no less.
[It seems that you have an affinity for vicious creatures.]
'Let's not say such useless things.' Cale sweat dropped, 'affinity for vicious creatures'?! This guy is practically jinxing him! Although it is kinda true in his previous world, surely it would not occur in this world.
The dokkaebi huffed before fanning the human with a fan he had personally made, it's not really a requirement that a dokkaebi must always only make a [Blanket], some can do their own thing that they would enjoy making. The fan was like any other asian paper fans, though this one was of course better than the fans made by humans.
The paper Biryu used to make the fan was one of those rare papers that had an ancient text on them, or in short, papers that are used to make scrolls that has power. He painted over the letters written on it, it's supposed to be that way anyway to 'activate' the power in it, instead of painting stars he painted flowers instead - he got bored of always only seeing stars and galaxies as such, the only stars he likes are the constellations that goes in his channel - flowers tend to look calming and peaceful, they're also very pretty.
[Here. You can have this fan to cool yourself or fight other incarnations... think of it as a payment for the fable that you've fed me.]
Biryu never really voiced it out towards the red haired human but he was planning to write down the fable, 'Lone Survivor of Three Brothers', in a journal and gift it to him - based on the careful words in the fable as well as the brotherly bonds that could be read in there, Biryu could guess that this wasn't just a 'fable', but a very precious thing for the human.
'Ehh? Really?' Cale's eyes sparkled, now this, this is what he has been waiting for ever since he decided to befriend this cruel dokkaebi. A gift.
[Yes. As to how you can fight other incarnations with it well... it has a wind and sharpness with it. If you feel threatened, the wind being produced by the fan would be a lot cooler and stronger. It could also slice flesh.]
Cale started to slowly smile, he hit the fucking jackpot. Isn't this like the fans that you would see in animated shows? The fans that could cut down enemies and could somehow make someone fly ten meters away just by a single flap of the fan?
'Such a precious item... Can I really have it?'
[It's payment anyway, so yes.]
'It looks very well made...thank you.'
Cale smiled giddily like a child as the dokkaebi handed the fan at him, it looks like a normal fan to humans so surely nobody would suspect it. The fan was light and was actually comfortable to grip, it's also the size of a normal fan too and could be folded which would make it easier to bring it with him anywhere.
Kim Dokja who was watching Cale for the whole time he is in the corner was a bit shocked when he suddenly saw a paper fan materialize in the teen's hands. 'Did he gain a skill? If so, is it an inventory type?' An inventory skill is quite useful to say the least, it would be too much of a hassle to bring your stuff with you all the time in multiple bags, if ever it is many items, and would cause some difficulties sometimes.
Though what did the teen do to acquire such a skill? Or was it gifted to him by his sponsor? No. The latter could not be an option since he was sure he saw the teen sleeping throughout the whole time the 'Sponsor Selection' was occurring, surely he didn't have time to pick a sponsor? If so, would that mean the teen just sat there and suddenly obtained an inventory skill? It's quite baffling but he had read in the novel that it is a rare occurrence to suddenly develop a skill whilst doing nothing, though you'll need a lot of luck for that to happen.
'I also saw some constellations taking favor to this boy... it seems that he is just naturally talented and loved even when he does nothing important in particular.'
So to say that this teen would be a great asset to Dokja's 'group' would be quite an understatement, being loved by constellations has its' pros and cons but the pros are greater to the point that ones' safety could be set in stone when a strong constellation favors them.
'How interesting...'
...
After a few minutes have passed, several people from the marginalized group, including Kim Dokja's party, were standing in front of the tunnel towards Yaksu Station. It was very dark that even the limited light could not reveal anything at least two meters far into the darkness.
"Don't stand too close to the edge. You guys might fall." Barrow frowned as he pulled Kim Namwoon and his brother, who were both curiously peeking towards the darkness, by their clothes closer to him. It would be quite bad if they fall, it would cause them injuries, though it would only be minor- they are still injuries nonetheless.
"Yes mother." Kim Namwoon and Cale said in unison which irked the already annoyed Barrow.
"Agh! You damn brats, how disrespectful!" Barrow decided to talk like a mother would, it brings a small smile to his brother's face so why not? If his brother is happy then he's happy too, it's as simple as that. 'Damned brats...'
Kim Namwoon snickered whilst Cale just smiled slightly.
"We're sorry... *snicker* -mother."
"I see. You are going to enter the railway rack?" Cheon Inho, who suddenly appeared behind the three smiling teens caused their moods to suddenly turn sour. The two expressing it on their face more whilst the other only gave a fake 'innocent' smile once more.
"No. We're going to swim in the darkness that envelops it. What else do you think we are here for?" Barrow said in a deadpanned voice as he looked towards Cheon Inho as if he was a stupid person who could not read the situation.
Saying that Cheon Inho is annoyed would be quite an understatement, his right eye twitched at the teen's words but he did not voice out nor show any of his displeasure, he just hopes that this teen would perish whilst battling the ground rats that lurks in the darkness - of course he did not know that the teen is a mercenary which is why he thought that the teen would fall once he finally fights a weak monster instead of a human. Fighting a human and fighting a weak monster is quite the same yet different, no?
“Well, looking at it in the long run, a team dedicated to attacking the scenario is required. Come back safely.”
What a humorous clown, he spoke to them as if he was their fixed captain - such delusions could never be met if the 'party' he would be 'controlling' would be this rag tagged group, even the weakest of the bunch could slaughter all of Cheon Inho's lackeys and Cheon Inho himself - a weak 'captain' like him could only dream of being the leader of this vicious bunch.
"Thank you for your concern to our safety Cheon Inho-ssi." Cale said with a small smile which made Cheon Inho's lips twitch a little.
Compared to Barrow's brother, Cale is less annoying and much more easier to 'control', based on Cheon Inho's observation of the teen at least - he concluded that the teen is oblivious and innocent, one of the easiest kind of people to control, though his sponsor had once warned him about the teen - it seems that there is more to meet the eye when it comes to Cale.
"Let's not be thankful for such small things, Cale-nim. It is only natural for a human like me to be worried for your safety." Cheon Inho said before adding, “Oh, can one of my group members join? I’d like to get some information on the attack.”
Such a sly way to inquire that he did not trust them, it's applauding. It's natural for Cheon Inho to not trust them of course, they are after all the ones that has been ruining his 'perfect' plan to control the individuals' minds in this station.
“I-I have to go with them?”
“Eh, why else are you here, Han hyung? Didn’t you want to reconcile with Dokja-ssi last night?”
“T-That…”
And as expected, Cheon Inho's party member who was going to go with them was none other than Han Myungoh, the cowardly Department Head.
“D-Dokja-ssi. If you don’t mind, I will go…”
“I understand. Let’s go together.”
Judging from the ahjussi's facial expression, it seems that he had not expected such an unhesitant answer from Kim Dokja. It's a bit understandable to not expect such a fast answer, Han Myungoh is after all a suspicious man whilst the part members have trust issues or are meticulous in their actions.
"May we go as well Dokja-ssi?" Cale asked politely as he motioned to himself, his brother and Kim Namwoon. It's quite obvious that Barrow and Kim Namwoon wanted to go and hunt these said 'monsters', though as the guardian of the trio, Cale needed to come as well cause' who knows what these two will do when he is not there? The two are quite vicious individuals with a short temper, they might make a fuss whilst hunting monsters which would inevitably give them in a lot more unnecessary situation.
"Very well then, you may come as well." it sounded too formal for a reply but Kim Dokja felt that he should be formal and polite considering that Cale asked him in a polite manner.
.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Second Scenario – Food Acquisition]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Directly hunt the monsters that can be used as food and cook them.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 500 coins
Failure: ???
+
[A few constellations are anticipating your performance.]
[The constellation 'Handler of the Lamented' is telling you to be careful!]
.
Before they could even move ten steps, the darkness of the tunnel had soon started to envelop their viewing range. It was apparent that it would be quite hard to move forward without relying on a source of light, which was fortunately provided by Kim Dokja's flashlight - though it seems that it is not enough. The surrounding area did not become visible at all, the flashlight could only reveal some of those that is near to it, and even that did not serve much usefulness.
"Oh wow! I could see something but-" Kim Namwoon happily looked around his surroundings before hastily placing hands to cover his ears, he activated a skill that his sponsor gave but it seems that it had some side effects - and those side effects were him hearing the whispers of... well... everything around! He could also practically here his blood being pumped by the heart and the circulation of it.
It's annoying.
It's annoying.
E̵̛͍͖͕̟͇̾͂̀͆̀͗̔̂̅͘͝V̷̧̡̭͕̳̲̞̻̹̫͔̟̩͉̱̆͆̊̓̾̏̐̑̐E̵̛̺̥͔̳͚̞͙̍͋̃͊̊͆̄̄̾̿́̕͝Ṟ̶̨̘̲̳̼̱͎̳̺̟̲̏͛̿͆̔̍̔̂̿̈̐͝Ȳ̴̼̮̳̱̞̮̲͓̇̾͆̄̓̊̏̇̓T̴̡̬̞͎͇̰̙͚͙͈͜͝͠H̴̨͉͖̼͔̼̓̈́I̶̛̻͎̜͎͇̞̐̆͗̇͌̂́̂̔͑͊̍̕Ņ̸̖͓̭̻̘͙̰̫͎͎̭̘̲͋̃̎͌̚G̸͖̪̣͍̹̩̽̃̋͗͘͝ ̸̺͓͓̫̪͖̟̭͚͍̞́̈́̒̓͑̂̾̅̚͜͝Ị̸̦͇̘̞̊̋͋̏̈́̊̂S̵̹͎̗̪̻̹̪̽̈́͌͝ ̵̦̤̥̹͕̝̱̥̖̜̟͕͇͊́̉̽͋͐͜A̵̡̱̙̠̪͂͆̔͛͋̋͌̽̒N̴̰̤̯̱͍͚͍̘̻̔̀̄̓̈́̓̎̍̉̆͘͠ͅŅ̸̝̰͔͗̄̃̐̆̄͠͝Ơ̴̘̭͊̌̌̈͂̏̎͐̒͆Ẏ̵̡̛͍͍̳̖̐̌̒̌̓̆̃I̵̢̢͙̣̲̼̮̬͈̜̺͐̅̄̄͑͠N̵̤͇̱͙̹̟̭̦̪̬̬̬̣̻̳̅͑̓̓̄G̵̢̹̱̙͕̪͎̦̦͚͖̽̄̋ͅ!̵͙̬̝̬̉̋͌̀̎̒̈́̽͐͘
"Kim Namwoon. Deactivate your skill." Cale frowned worriedly as the white haired teen looked at him in alarm as if he did not notice his presence at all, No. He did not notice anyone around him at all, he could only fathom in the dark and stand alone as the whispers grew louder and louder.
Kim Namwoon looked around but nobody was paying attention to his inner dilemma, as if they could not see it, only Barrow and Cale were the ones to notice it. Was it because these two were the only people he trusts? Or is because they were the only ones who cares enough to notice? Both is good.
"Ah yes..." Kim Namwoon breathed as he deactivated his skill, immediately making the whispers disperse.
"You shouldn't use that skill for long periods of time if you're not used to loud sounds that you cannot keep away." Barrow frowned as he turned away, he has that too but it's more passive than Namwoon's - perhaps it is the small price he needs to pay for his curse to be removed, it's bearable though - he could hear whispers... mostly Cale's, blaming him for his death. It was mind breaking the first time it happened, but with the help of Cale he managed to live through it.
"Okay..." Kim Namwoon nodded, it's a very useful skill but the drawback is insane! It's like finding an old golden coin owned by the late King but in return you will be tortured mercilessly.
Cale smiled at Kim Namwoon benignly, as though he is a parent looking down at his son. Those eyes of his were calming and peaceful... it made Kim Namwoon relax. But... when Cale focused his gaze on the ground again... "Hiieekkk!" Cale shrieked in surprise when he saw cockroaches suddenly approaching their direction, it's not like Cale is disgusted of it or anything, he was just caught off guard. Right. He forgot, Gilyoung is an Insect Master person.
"It seems that savior-nim isn't so fond of surprises..." Kim Namwoon sweat dropped as he saw the peaceful image of Cale suddenly becoming disheveled.
"Pfft-" Barrow silently laughed all the while he is being hit on the head by Cale, Cale is very weak in terms of punching or hitting with his hands but he can pack quite a kick that could probably break bones - that's probably because Cale trained his legs more because he wants to 'be able to run fast', he doubts that that wasn't the real reason.
Cale frowned as he stop hitting Barrow before taking a deep breath and looking towards Kim Dokja who was looking at him oddly, as if surprised by the teen's shriek.
"First of all, I apologize for the unnecessary noise I've made." Cale sighed and fanned himself with the paper fan before looking down at Gilyoung, "You have quite a useful skill there kiddo."
Gilyoung nodded shyly before he spoke, “My attribute is Insect Collector.”
“This is nothing in front of us. It is safe for 100 steps forward.”
'100 steps? So what if our steps are short or long? Will the 100 step thing still apply?' Cale thought to himself as he hummed, during his stay in this world he had been so... bored out of his mind that he just decided to overthink some things until it had become a hobby of his - though he knows that overthinking complicated things could be quite dangerous, he still does it.
Barrow, who was clasping his brother's hand, sweat dropped slightly at the dazed expression his brother is making - it seems that he is having such useless thoughts once again. He still couldn't believe how different yet similar Cale Henituse is now compared to his past self that did not dwell into useless things too much, it seems that transmigration could affect ones' personality. Like his.
“Thank you for your concern. But I didn’t follow all of you for you to take care of me.”
“Ah, yes.”
Jung Heewon nodded with a sour expression before she worriedly turned her head towards Cale, "What about Cale?"
Before anybody could even take a step forward, they've already became frozen in their spots as they stared towards the red head in question. It's not that Cale would be a burden to them, hell no, it's just the fact that Cale's narcolepsy might hit him whilst they are fighting a horde of monsters - being in a vulnerable position whilst in a dangerous situation could lead into ones' demise - which is why, they are solving these matters as early as they can.
Cale, who got a bit uncomfortable at the stares, opened the paper fan and hid the lower half of his face with it. "I could stay back if you want, I might be a burden-"
"He'll be fine. It's not like he'll be away from any of us anyway." Kim Namwoon said with a sigh, his savior-nim's 'in act character' has quite a low self steam that he's actually starting to feel bad even though it's just a 'character' his savior-nim is pretending as - could you blame him though? Cale Henituse is such a good actor that it could put some legit actors into shame.
[You have entered a dangerous area.]
"Cale, Namwoon. It's dangerous, hold my hand." Barrow said with a frown as he held out both of his hands for Kim Namwoon and his brother to hold.
The said two only looked at him in confusion and blinked dumbly as if they just saw an alien.
"Okay...?"
Even when they are confused at the young mercenary's actions, they still held his awaiting hand.
The air inside the curtain was sticky from the humidity.
“Reduce the light.”
Yoo Sangah immediate covered the flashlight. Since this model didn’t have a light control function, she had to adjust the light with her hand.
“Ouch. Don’t shine it downwards.”
"These are... quite disgusting..."
Jung Heewon felt nauseous when she checked the ground. There were torn bodies. The bodies of those who tried to move through here were arranged at their feet.
Cale scrunched up his nose slightly as he covered his nose and mouth with his free hand, the dead bodies that lay on the ground were quite... a gruesome sight. It reminded him of the torn bodies of his.... team members when they... Cale closed his eyes and sighed as he shook his head to get rid of the resurfacing memories that seemed to still be intact, albeit messy and inadequate.
"This looks familiar." Barrow muttered as he chuckled faintly, he could still somehow envision the dead bodies of his pawns that lays on the property of the Roan Empire, it sends shivers up his spine as he thinks about it. Cale's allies are quite vicious in war, aren't they? Had they not been fighting for good, they would've been such great villains that had more chance in taking over the world than him.
Kim Namwoon, who happen to hear the mercenary's mutter and chuckle, looked at him in curiosity. Does the dead bodies look 'familiar' to him because he witnessed a massacre in his job or perhaps... he's the one who slaughtered? He's knows that that isn't necessarily what a mercenary do, but there's still a possibility that Barrow had done one of these things.
"What is it Gilyoung?" Cale suddenly asked as he looked towards the child who had a shift in his expression albeit still looking calm.
“There is something that isn’t human.”
As Lee Gilyoung said, it wasn’t only the bodies of humans on the ground. There was something the size of a fully-grown wolf. The bodies of the mole-like creatures were scattered all over the place.
The 9th grade underground species, the ground rat. It was a name reminiscent of bug on Earth, but a name was just a name. They were underground piranhas. The ground rats were persistent hunters who burrowed through the ground in groups and aimed at their prey.
However, the ground rats collapsed like they had received a bombardment.
"Every corpse didn't even look like it struggled." Barrow mumbled as he observed the bodies of the monsters, what he meant by that of course is the fact that the ground rats did not look like they even had the chance to fight back nor attack. It seems that whoever did this to them was very powerful.
“…Who the hell did this?”
"Dokja-ssi, can we use this for food?"
“The scenario said that we have to ‘hunt’ it ourselves so maybe it isn’t possible.”
“…Well, it is kind of uncomfortable. What about cooking? Do you want to bake it on a fire?”
"Let's not assume that we can cook it, much less eat it without special measures." Cale said with a sweat drop as he waved his hand around as if telling them not to do anything unless they're sure of the outcome.
Kim Dokja glanced at Cale before closing his eyes, the red haired teen is right. They can't cook it with special measures, in his perspective it could be said that it cannot be cooked without 'special fire'. 'It is either Cale over-analyzes things before taking action or...' Kim Dokja's eyes turned sharp '...he knows specific things because of his 'prophet abilities'.'
Kim Dokja raised his head before heaving a small sigh, he will take care of that matter later, the thing he should focus about is the present, “Heewon-ssi, you said you were good at kendo?”
“Uh, it is a bit much to say I am good…but what are you doing now?”
Dokja stabbed the body of the ground rat and started to cut it with a knife. He didn’t know when he read it in the novel but it didn’t go as well as he thought.
"Very smart..." Barrow mumbled with a glint in his eyes, his impression of Dokja tilting slightly towards the better.
“Why are you taking that?”
“You need a weapon for kendo.”
The stone hog’s thorn wasn’t enough but the spine of the ground rat consisted of a single bone, making it a pretty good weapon at the beginning of the scenario.
After cutting the cartilage leading to the leg and shaping it, the bone actually took the shape of a knife. Dokja gave it to Jung Heewon.
“Eh?- Oh. Thank you. Suddenly I feel like I’m back to the Paleolithic age.”
"Please don't bring History lessons into this."
“You need to grind it a bit more for it to be useful. There are rocks around so skillfully grind the blade.
“Huhu, understood. Captain.”
Jung Heewon started to grind the blade with a slightly excited voice.
"Mom, do you also need a weapon? I'll provide it for you." Kim Namwoon said with a grin as he looked towards Barrow whom looked at him with an annoyed expression.
"Yes. I do. But stop calling me that."
"Okay mother."
Barrow huffed in disbelief before he and Kim Namwoon sat down on the cold stone floor, both of them helping each other as they dissected the monsters for their bones and making them fit to be called a weapon. They had previously planned to make one for Cale too, but they decided not to after the red head 'politely' declined.
Kim Dokja, who just finished dealing with Lee Hyunsung, looked towards Cale who was fanning himself with a fan whilst watching Kim Namwoon and Barrow make bone weapons.
"And you? Why aren't you making anything for yourself?" Kim Dokja asked as he started to approach Cale.
"...I already have a weapon Dokja-ssi." Cale said in a calm tone as he waved around his fan as if saying that the weapon he's talking about is it.
"The fan? Is it..." Kim Dokja trailed off as he started to think that the skill the Cale obtained a while ago might not be an 'inventory skill' but rather a 'special fan' that he might have received from a constellation or... purchased from the Dokkaebi Bag.
It's still too early on in the scenarios for people to find out of the existence of the 'Dokkaebi Bag' but considering that this teen has a 'prophet ability' that could pinpoint specific scenarios, it could be possible that he found out about it whilst using his ability... or not.
Kim Dokja's gaze flickered towards the teen who was still looking at him with a polite smile. 'This person... really is an enigma... I better be careful. The most dangerous thing in this world is the unknown.'
"Interesting."Kim Dokja mumbled.
.
[You have succeeded in acquiring weapons by yourself.]
[A very small number of constellations are interested in the primitive nature of humanity.]
[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]
.
Lee Hyunsung’s spear was made with the spine of the largest ground rat while Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh’s weapons were made with the spine of average sized ground rats. Barrow had a sword similar to Jung Heewon's while Kim Namwoon only had a sharpened spine, only used to stab and hit, Lee Gilyoung’s weapon was made with the head bone of a young ground rat whilst Cale 'did not have anything'.
"Can I ask you a question, hyung?" Lee Gilyoung suddenly asked as he turned towards Cale who only nodded.
"Why are you wearing a hanbok meant for females? Is it necessary for you to wear it?"
It's an innocent and pure question, one with no malice hidden in it nor shown. It never really crossed their minds to ask about it since it may lead to a personal answer or a simple obvious one, for example 'I like it' or it could turn dark 'It's my late mother's favorite clothing'.
"Not necessarily. I am merely wearing this because I've grown into my phase where I used to pretend like a girl for my mother whom wanted a daughter." Cale answered calmly with a smile on his face, making sure to openly display that it is not an insensitive question at all.
.
"Ugh- you're such a lovable teen." Jung Heewon commented as she wiped a non-existent tear before looking at Cale as if he is a little angle sent down to Earth to be her happy pill.
Kim Dokja went silent as his gaze shifted from the teen towards the ground, he did not quite like the topic about mothers.
Lee Hyunsung smiled happily, he's quite glad that some people would do anything to make their mother happy. Though he does not blame those who hates their mothers in general, nobody would hate someone for no reason at all and it was not Lee Hyunsung's business to be insensitive about it. People have different stories that some does not know, which is why it is better to not judge people based on what you just see.
Kim Namwoon, who knew of Cale's true nature, fell silent. His words and tone were genuine yet he knew better to not believe it immediately, though the possibility of his reasoning being true is quite high.
"Good. That's how kids should act towards their mothers." said Han Myungoh.
...
They finished the preparations and started to move forward again. The 100 steps that Lee Gilyoung mentioned was right in front of them now.
[The sub scenario – Food Acquisition has begun!]
The ground rats crawled out from the ground. One, two, three…there were exactly 23.
Grrr…
"Oh my... they are much more hideous when they are alive and breathing." Cale whispered under his breath but Kim Dokja could hear the subtle amused tone in his voice, though it was not pleasant, more so it's a mocking one.
“There is no plan. We are beginners. It might sound cruel but honestly, I don’t expect you to survive.”
“T-That…”
“Still, all of you survive. Please.”
Han Myungoh was the only upset one in the party. Everyone else was nervous but looked determined. In particular, Jung Heewon’s eyes, Barrow's and Kim Namwoon's were very impressive.
"Don't use your bare hands Barrow, I know you're strong but it would be better if you're careful and just used your weapon." Cale whispered towards Barrow who only nodded his head.
"You too." Cale said in a stern tone towards Kim Namwoon whom only laughed loudly as if indicating that the red head's worries were useless.
“Then let’s go.”
The party fought well. It was actually a little bit surprising. In particular, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon who stepped forward with Dokja were very influential.
The battle composition naturally became the three of them in front with the other three in the rear. Less than a minute after the battle began, a few ground rats were stuck on the ground with their necks pierced.
Surprisingly Cale had single handledly defeated three ground rats, his way of handling them not seen too much which led them into conclusions that Cale used a 'skill', of course, Kim Dokja was the only one who knew that Cale actually used the fan to slaughter the ground rats.
Barrow on the other hand managed to defeat four ground rats, he was very skilled with the sword, if Kim Dokja could accurately compare Jung Heewon's sword skill and Barrow's, he could say that Barrow is better and much more experienced.
Meanwhile with Kim Namwoon... his swift movements and unhesitant actions was what helped him to defeat three ground rats, it's applauding considering that Kim Namwoon did not have real life experience in killing monsters yet had the determination and willingness of a killer.
It seems that Kim Dokja's judgement is good... Cale and Barrow really are great additions for his soon to be 'party', Kim Namwoon too.