#11 Entering Nova
"Wow, it dropped!"
Anyone who didn't contribute to the hunt couldn't get loot anyway, so the orb was Cheol-du's.
Nevertheless, Sergeant Kim Sang-cheol was as happy as if it was his.
"Hurry, take a look."
Everyone watched him, eyes full of expectation, as Cheol-du picked up the black orb.
<Ogre's Ability Orb>
You can acquire one of the Ogre's special abilities.
-Can be activated with 100 Goblin Coins.
"Oh, an ability stone. Nice. I didn't want to waste the coins. Hurry up and do it."
"Yeah, Cheol-du."
"Even a baby Ogre has the same traits. This is huge!"
The group was buzzing with excitement again, and Cheol-du burned 100 coins on the black orb.
"Hmm."
"How is it?"
When Jin-tae asked, Cheol-du grinned.
"Heh, I bet I could even stop bullets now."
"Big talker."
"Wanna test it out?"
"Whoa, no thanks."
Everyone else freaked out, but Cheol-du was feeling himself.
<Giant's Skin>
The giant's hide is made of an epidermis tougher than steel. Attacks below a certain level won't even scratch it.
Activating the black orb randomly granted one of the Ogre's abilities.
It was called 'Ogre Skin'.
"Kind of a bummer. I heard Ogre Power is insane, but I guess the little ones don't have it yet."
"Sergeant Kim, if that thing had that, we'd all be toast, sir."
"True. Totally OP for a beginner quest."
Cheol-du liked the current ability more than something like 'Ogre Power'.
'This should keep me from getting killed by a stray bullet.'
And now, on top of his already tough Barbarian body, he had the hide of an Ogre, the toughest thing he'd ever fought.
This was the ultimate upgrade.
"Let's go back now."
"Sergeant Kim, can't we do a little more hunting?"
Two soldiers.
Sergeant Kim Sang-cheol and Private First Class Im Chang-jin disagreed.
There were two routes to clear the Apocalypse Test.
The first was to quickly job advance to Novice and cross the portal faster than anyone else to acquire resources in Nova.
The second was to defeat as many Goblin Shamans as possible in this Apocalypse Test map, obtain as many stat stones as possible, and then cross over.
Most civilians went with the first option, while the soldiers preferred the second.
You could also get stat stones by hunting monsters in Nova, but going in bare-handed and trying to fight with a rock, those monsters weren't pushovers.
But here, they had rifles, the best modern weapons around.
But the second plan was useless after 12 hours, when the escape quest popped up.
You couldn't take down the boss monsters without some serious firepower.
Most of the soldiers were probably already heading to the safe zone and moving on to Nova.
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"Oh… that's right."
"It's too late now anyway, sir."
Forget about the civilians who went first, and the 2,000-plus soldiers who already crossed.
The resources near the Nova portal would be picked clean, so it didn't matter if we went now or later.
Might as well grab more loot here first.
"I'll follow Cheol-du's opinion."
To hunt here now, safety from boss monsters had to be secured, and if Cheol-du didn't want to, it was pointless.
Cheol-du glanced at Jin-tae and said.
"If Jin-tae's in, I'm in."
"Heh, that's what friends are for."
"I can lend Jin-tae a gun."
When the two soldiers actively stepped forward, Kim Jin-tae looked at Cheol-du with a touched expression.
"Ch-, Cheol-du!"
"Hehe. You need to train a little more."
If I pump him up with a few more stat stones, I can get more work out of him, right?
*
Kim Jin-tae's mouth was like sandpaper, but he couldn't show any signs of hardship.
Catching his breath, holding it, okay, now.
Firing.
Bang.
"Kiek!"
One goblin died from Jin-tae's shot, and Sergeant Kim Sang-cheol dealt with the rest.
Bang, bang!
"Oh, stat stone."
"Hoo."
Kim Jin-tae's lips twitched.
It's tough, but fun. No, it's worth it.
It's a strength stat stone.
Fssss.
While Jin-tae absorbed the stat stone, Kim Sang-cheol checked the remaining time.
"Chang-jin, what's the time?"
"About 58 minutes, sir."
"We gotta go. Everyone ready to wrap it up?"
"Yes, sir."
"Yeah, bro."
"Got it."
The group headed towards the portal, only taking down the enemies in their path.
Everyone had about 10 coins left.
They'd looted way more, but it all went to activating stat stones.
"Ugh, I'm so tired."
"I'm hungry."
"Seriously, I'm hungry too."
"First thing we gotta do is get supplies, sir."
Talking amongst themselves, the group hit up the last stop.
The space next to the portal.
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There were a bunch of wicker baskets piled up, with a carrying frame leaning against them. An old, bearded goblin sat on top of the frame, puffing on a pipe.
"I heard about this, but it's wild to actually see it."
Jin-tae's aversion and resistance to goblins, an alien species, had greatly decreased while hunting so far.
"Last of the newbies, huh? Alright, take your pick."
The goblin merchant surprisingly spoke Korean.
Cheol-du looked at the window that popped up in front of him in amazement.
<Goblin Shop>
Purchase list of the Goblin Shop in the beginner zone.
– Novice Clothes (Top, Bottom)
– Spoon
– Rope
– Cloth scraps
– …….
It looked like a bunch of junk, but it'd be gold if you were stuck with nothing but the clothes on your back.
'I was told to definitely get clothes.'
The other miscellaneous items were 1 coin each, but the top and bottom clothing were 2 coins. That's a steal.
Since the quest coins disappear as soon as you cross the portal, you have to spend them all here.
It was when Cheol-du had selected all the items on the list.
"Not a bad choice."
When the goblin merchant flicked his pipe, one of the wicker baskets opened on its own, and items inside were thrown towards Cheol-du.
"Huh?"
It was a weird mix of magic and old-school.
Cheol-du changed into the clothes.
The clothes were rough, just shorts and a shirt, nothing fancy.
Still, they were a decent start. Better than running around naked.
Everyone in the group changed into novice clothes and threw everything they were holding into a pile of military uniforms in one place.
The soldiers who went ahead had dumped everything there, with a big pile of rifles.
"Can we just leave this stuff here?"
"The second wave will pick them up."
"Ah, gotcha."
Starting with Jin-tae and Kim Sang-cheol, they crossed the portal one by one.
Pop!
It was when Cheol-du was about to cross the portal last among the group.
"Hehe, it's been a while since I've seen a Barbarian."
"..."
Cheol-du's expression hardened.
He glared at the goblin, but the goblin's eyes were tiny, hidden behind long white eyebrows. He couldn't even tell if they were open.
"A Barbarian with the power of a fairy… Hehe."
Cheol-du's face twisted in a nasty grimace.
"Do you know about me?"
"How would I know a guy I just met?"
"..."
Cheol-du was confused.
But how does he know my secret?
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"Unique, very unique. A Barbarian hiding the power of a fairy lived among humans, huh."
The goblin merchant straightened his back.
"Good luck, kid. You're one of a kind."
"I have something to ask…"
Pop.
Cheol-du had a face full of questions, but when the goblin merchant flicked his pipe, he was thrown into the portal by an invisible force.
"Hehe, so test takers are coming out of Earth too."
The goblin laughed pleasantly.
He'd made a good deal, finding a promising prospect.
"That's a wrap for today."
The goblin waved his pipe, and the baskets stacked themselves on the frame. Then, poof, they vanished in a flash of light.
Papapapap!
The ground shook around the portal.
Kudududududu!
It shook like a freakin' earthquake.
The expanded area started shrinking again.
Trees fell, and newly sprouted trees took root.
Cars were scattered around, rusting and falling apart.
Kukukuku.
When the shaking stopped, the shield around the Cheongju disaster zone vanished, revealing a totally alien landscape.
It was a huge circle, way bigger than before.
*
Pop.
He felt like he was floating for a second.
He felt pressure all over, like being underwater, then everything went bright and he squeezed his eyes shut.
After a second of feeling totally disoriented, he got his bearings.
Slowly blinking his eyes, he looked around.
"Heok, freaking awesome."
Jin-tae's loud exclamation rang in his ears.
Cheol-du couldn't argue with that.
'Freaking awesome.'
Nova's first impression was amazing.
Enough to forget the unpleasant conversation with the goblin merchant just a moment ago.
'What is that?'
Behind them, the portal they'd used was still glowing brightly.
Down below, near some hills, they could see a small base being built out of logs and rocks.
They'd only been there a few hours, tops, but they'd already managed to put together a rough but decent shelter.
"Let's go."
The group headed towards the shelter.
"Yo, new meat!"
"What? Isn't that Sergeant Kim?"
"Kim, you snake. Why so late?"
Hearing the whispers around them, the makeshift entrance of leaning trees was moved aside.
"Gotta report in... Oh, hang on, follow me."
Kim Sang-cheol took Im Chang-jin, Kim Jin-tae, and Kang Cheol-du to find Sergeant Park.
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"CP's over there, Kim."
"Oh, okay."
Kim Sang-cheol was guided by familiar unit members and headed to the command post.
The hut, made of logs and some thinner tree trunks, looked pretty solid.
"Hang tight."
Kim Sang-cheol went inside and yelled his report, loud enough for everyone outside to hear.
"Sergeant Kim Sang-cheol and 3 others, reporting for duty!"
"Why four?"
"Two civilians."
"And why the hell did you bring civilians?"
"..."
"You, you son of a bitch. Do you think I'm a joke?"
A stream of curses and insults came from inside, making everyone outside cringe.
The other soldiers just frowned, used to it.
"Ugh, Sergeant Park, that bastard, is starting again."
"He's always looking for a reason to chew Kim out."
"..."
Outsiders Kang Cheol-du and Kim Jin-tae just stood there blankly listening.
"Kick them out. You son of a bitch. Is the military a joke?"
Everyone could hear it.
After a long argument, Kim Sang-cheol came out, his face like stone.
He bowed his head to Kang Cheol-du and Kim Jin-tae.
"I'm really sorry."
"It's alright."
"It's okay, hyung."
"Ha, seriously, damn military…"
Kim Sang-cheol felt like a total failure.
When Kang Cheol-du and Kim Jin-tae tried to comfort him, it just made him angrier, to the point of tears.
"We can handle ourselves."
Jin-tae had activated as many as 4 stat stones.
"Well, yeah."
Kim Sang-cheol figured it was for the best. They were Ogre Slayers, even if it was a baby Ogre. Who was he kidding?
"Here, take this stuff. I gotta give it back to the army anyway."
Kim Sang-cheol handed over all the supplies he had bought from the goblin merchant.
