#Chapter 7: Growth
“How do I do this?”
“There’s a manual right here.”
“Good. Read it and explain.”
“Ugh, give me a second.”
Cheoldu debated whether to eat four now, or three now and four later.
“Alright. Decided.”
“What? What is it?”
“I’ll eat five now.”
There’ll be more loot along the way anyway.
No way the goblins took everything.
“Hey, if you pull this part, it heats up. Like this…”
Cheoldu clamped a hand over Jintae’s mouth, cutting off his rambling explanation.
“Just do it.”
“……”
“Not gonna do it?”
“You really live life on easy mode.”
“Heh heh heh.”
At Cheoldu’s laughter, Jintae suddenly paused for self-reflection. Now that he thought about it, this was kinda funny.
“Guess I’m the one living easy here.”
Without his friend, he’d never have dared attempt this.
Honestly, right now, Jintae might as well be riding Cheoldu’s coattails.
“You’ve grown, Jintae.”
“Grown? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Recognizing the situation is significant progress.”
“……”
Is he lowkey roasting me?
Jintae tore open a combat ration to heat it and suddenly asked:
“But… are you okay with this?”
“With what?”
“I mean… they’re monsters, but they’re still living things.”
“Killing them?”
“Y-yeah.”
Cheoldu’s casual tone made Jintae’s voice shrink involuntarily.
“Hesitating changes nothing.”
“Huh?”
“This isn’t a game. When lives are on the line, power differences mean nothing. If you’re weaker or unlucky, you die.”
“Uh… right…”
“Why hesitate?”
“……”
“You’d be dead without me, Jintae.”
Though without Cheoldu, they’d never have come here in the first place. Jintae didn’t bother pointing this out.
His mind was already too tangled.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Cheoldu grinned widely.
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“Jintae.”
“Yeah?”
Cheoldu rapped his knuckles against Jintae’s skull.
“Strong body needs no thoughts.”
“Huh?”
Isn’t that backwards?
“Eat more. Train harder.”
“Wait, what?”
Is that how it works?
“Doesn’t no thoughts make your body suffer?”
“That’s exactly my point. Strong body means no need for thoughts.”
“……?”
It sounded questionable, but the mental knots loosened slightly.
What good would overthinking do now?
“Got this earlier.”
Cheoldu produced a yellow orb.
“Whoa! Is that a stat-boosting thing?”
“Magic power is the source of shamans’ strength.”
“Really?”
Jintae half-listened while heating his ration – it wasn’t his anyway.
“Activate it. Can’t hurt to have magic.”
“Hmm.”
Not sure about becoming a shaman…
As Cheoldu hesitated:
“D-don’t move!”
A gun barrel appeared through the shack’s broken wall.
“Hm?”
While Cheoldu tilted his head, a tense-faced soldier in full gear shoved his rifle inside.
“Freeze! Move and I shoot!”
“Ghk!”
“We’re not moving.”
Jintae threw up his hands in panic while Cheoldu answered stoically.
Guns truly were terrifying.
Could I dodge that?
“Password!”
“……?”
“……?”
“Cuckoo!”
“……?”
“……?”
Another soldier appeared behind the first.
“What the hell you doing, punk?”
“S-sergeant Kim! They don’t know password! Spies!”
Whack
The latecomer smacked the gunman’s helmet.
“Yipe! Private Ijumo!”
“Damn brat, why would spies be here? Get out here, shithead!”
This guy’s a walking liability even on missions.
Of course we’d spawn near him in a quest zone.
“So uh…”
The sloppily armed man peered through the shack’s half-collapsed entrance.
“Civilians.”
“Y-yes.”
“……”
“Tch, pushed civilians all the way to the start point in this border zone. Carry on.”
As Sergeant Kim turned to leave, his eyes locked on Cheoldu’s yellow orb.
“Hm? Where’d you get that?”
“Killed a shaman.”
“Damn, just you two?”
“Yes.”
Technically just Cheoldu, but Jintae kept quiet.
“Not bad.”
Interest bloomed on the bored sergeant’s face.
“Let’s exchange greetings.”
Sergeant Kim crouched through the broken entrance with a sly grin.
“Kim Sangcheol. 27 days till discharge.”
“Kang Cheoldu.”
“Go easy on me if we meet in Nova.”
“Sure.”
Kim’s wide smile met Cheoldu’s firm handshake.
“Carry on then.”
As Kim left, Private Ijumo whispered:
“S-sarge! Wasn’t that a stat stone?”
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t that illegal? Only military can hunt those!”
Whack
“Dumbass. Civilians can hunt what they want.”
Who says civilians can’t kill shamans?
It’s just hard.
You’d need three expert archers. Miss first shot and you’re screwed. No wonder civilians avoid it.
Not worth risking lives.
Kim clicked his tongue.
“You couldn’t handle that punk barehanded.”
“Just need more stamina stats!”
Kim snorted.
A kid hunting goblin shamans without weapons? Their gear was trash too.
‘No bow either.’
Worth befriending talent like that.
We’ll cross paths in Nova…
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Better than babysitting this idiot.
Jintae blinked at the soldiers’ sudden exit.
“What… was that?”
When the coast cleared, he peeked out.
Watching them disappear into distant fields, he exhaled shakily.
“Almost died from fear despite doing nothing wrong.”
“Hmm.”
Cheoldu’s expression darkened.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I got scared too.”
“Huh?!”
Jintae stared incredulously.
“Dude, there was a gun in your face! Of course you’d panic!”
“Warriors don’t panic.”
“……”
Cheoldu sighed deeply, shaking his head.
“Still green.”
“No need to be so harsh…”
“Still far from true strength.”
“……”
Not listening.
Jintae waited silently as Cheoldu organized his thoughts.
“I can’t counter firearms yet.”
“Who can?”
“An invincible warrior must overcome everything.”
“……”
Cheoldu accepted his limitations.
Self-awareness marked a true warrior’s mindset.
Being green just meant room to grow.
Truthfully, his posture had been poor earlier.
No way to dodge while sitting cross-legged.
Excuses.
“I’m weak.”
Would I share Father’s fate if exiled?
Earth’s tribal societies dwarf barbarian clans in scale.
If I can’t handle one soldier, how face armies?
Cannot meet Father’s end.
“I’ll grow stronger. Protect what’s mine.”
“……”
“I’ll be reborn anew.”
“……”
“Shaman or warrior – I’ll use any means.”
“…You’re this conflicted over snack choices?”
“Crucial for warrior identity.”
“…Right.”
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Jintae respected his friend’s conviction.
Cheoldu clenched the yellow orb. The circular tattoo on his hand displayed the number 10.
Crackle
<10 Goblin Coins consumed.>
The glowing orb dissolved into Cheoldu’s palm like absorbed coins.
“Hup!”
Electric magic surged through Cheoldu’s spine, making his eyes widen.
‘Lightning attribute?’
Whether all magic orbs carried this trait remained unknown.
Like novice class awakenings.
Knowledge of magic flooded Cheoldu’s mind as innate memory.
No study required – this pleased him greatly.
“I’ve touched magic.”
He’d unlocked magic without shamanic bonds.
“Magic? Like spells? Can shoot lightning?”
Jintae recalled goblin shamans, but Cheoldu shook his head.
“No spells yet.”
Just the foundation.
“Lame.”
But the tingle of magic excited Cheoldu.
Shaman or warrior?
Power mattered.
Means irrelevant.
More strength!
“Can’t tell if stronger, but feels new.”
The magic itch differed from physical training.
Regardless, Cheoldu had entered a new realm.
He’d learn any method to grow stronger.
First step: fill stomach.
“Eat. Should be done.”
“Yeah.”
Jintae warily opened his ration pack.
Military emergency rations were notoriously vile.
“Huh? Edible?”
Between exhaustion and hunger, they devoured the meals.
“More?”
“…Save the rest.”
“Agreed.”
3 rations remained: 1 for Jintae, 2 for Cheoldu.
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They took turns using the shack’s collapsed corner as a toilet.
Cheoldu went first. When Jintae entered after:
“Ugh, elephants poop cleaner!”
“No need for envy.”
“Disgusting!”
Using the black sphere in the sky as guide, they marched on.
“Got plans after this?”
“After?”
“Portal leads to Nova.”
“Yes.”
“What then?”
Cheoldu looked back.
“Decide when we arrive.”
“…No plan at all.”
“Going to Nova to plan is the plan.”
“……”
Society agreed to call that ‘winging it’, buddy.
“Three goblins ahead.”
“Shamans?”
“None.”
“Good.”
Jintae’s battle-ready eyes now resembled a warrior’s.
They ambushed goblins pilfering military cigarettes.
Frequent hunts slowed their portal journey. The black sphere seemed an hour away when:
<12 hours since Cataclysm Trial began.>
<12 hours remaining until escape closure.>
