Chapter 12: Flintstones, Here We Go!
After saying goodbye to Kim Sang-cheol and Im Chang-jin, Kang Cheol-du and Kim Jin-tae slipped out of the army-built shelter.
With the portal at the center, a river flowed north and west in a backwards 'L' shape, and the army had taken over the south, so civilians only had the east side to go to.
"Wow..."
In the eastern area, tent villages made of cloth pieces to avoid the night dew were lined up here and there.
Cheol-du snorted, thinking it looked like something out of a barbarian tribe.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Just because. It really feels like barbarians."
"Heh, total barbarians. Ugh, let's just find a spot and crash."
"Yeah."
Jin-tae was extremely tired right now.
Even for a high school senior who's supposed to be tough as nails, it was enough to make anyone tired just staying up all night.
He'd been awake for a full 24 hours.
Especially since he'd only gotten a quick nap in the car the night before, and after that, he'd been hunting, which took some serious stamina.
He'd activated a total of four stat stones: two for strength, one each for stamina and senses.
Otherwise, he would've passed out ages ago.
Everyone was wearing the same, basic beginner's outfit, people chatting in small groups, warming themselves by the fires, it was a real mix of people.
Looking at the sky, the sun was still high.
You could tell a lot of people had gone off to scavenge for supplies, seeing all the empty spots.
Cheol-du and Jin-tae were hungry, but sleep was too urgent at the moment, so they roughly settled down at the edge of the crowd.
The sparsely scattered trees were all preempted by the groups or people who looked like they could throw their weight around, so there was no suitable spot.
A little ways off from the crowd, there was a small rock they could lean against, so they decided to set up a makeshift shelter there to block the sun.
"There are no suitable trees."
"They've scraped everything around here. Guess that's why they say the early bird gets the worm."
Since the resources around the portal were for those who came first, the group who came after hunting until almost the end of the quest had no choice but to give up looting resources nearby.
"Let's just tie it with this."
"Okay."
The rope, made from twisted plant fibers, was something they'd bought from the goblin shop. It didn't look super strong, but it was good enough to tie up a piece of cloth.
They tied one end of the cloth to the rock, pulled the rest, and tied it by picking up stones.
They managed to make a little bit of shade, not really a tent, but Cheol-du and Jin-tae put their faces under it to avoid the sun.
"Man, I thought I was gonna die, I was so tired."
"It was definitely tough."
"Cheol-du, you really worked hard."
"Jin-tae, you too."
The two friends exchanged a few words and then fell asleep.
The uneven ground and the shade that barely covered their faces from the blazing sun felt like a luxury bed.
They were so bone-tired, they didn't even notice how uncomfortable it was.
Spectators watched the two friends who had fallen into a deep sleep and laughed in disbelief.
"Those guys are so carefree."
"Aren't they those guys? The ones who were fighting in the rice paddy."
"They survived somehow."
"I hadn't seen them for so long, I thought they were dead."
Since Kang Cheol-du was such a big, noticeable guy, a lot of people recognized him.
Among them was team leader Kim Young-do.
"Hmm, I should go see them later."
His eyes gleamed at Cheol-du's changed demeanor.
Was it that something about his atmosphere had changed?
His appearance hadn't changed much, but these two friends were total newbies.
You could tell just by seeing them sleeping so defenselessly like that. And yet, there was a subtly changed atmosphere.
Nova's a lawless place.
Well, because this isn't South Korea.
If you request mediation from the military unit located in the south, they will mediate, but there is a price to pay.
Every man for himself. Survival of the fittest.
Nova is a place where everything is explained by these two phrases.
There is infinite potential, but it is just as dangerous, and you must bear the responsibility for your own actions.
That's why those with power are needed, and fences are needed.
we need recruits like that big guy, and with such talents gathered, Shinseong Group's fence will become even thicker.
Had it been about two hours since they'd set up camp? As Kim Young-do saw Kang Cheol-du stirring and waking up, he moved first.
"I was starting to worry, you guys took so long."
"......?"
Cheol-du tilted his head, and team leader Kim Young-do laughed heartily.
"You don't seem to remember. I'm team leader Kim Young-do. I belong to Shinseong Group."
"Hmph. I know who you are."
Cheol-du said indifferently.
The guy who tried to make a slave out of a warrior.
He hadn't dared to antagonize him, so there was no immediate problem, but there was a limit to enduring insults.
"Get lost while this warrior still has some patience."
"Hmm?"
Team leader Kim Young-do wondered if he had heard wrong.
"Didn't you hear me?"
"Huh?"
Is he talking to me right now?
As Cheol-du suddenly stood up, Kim Jin-tae was horrified and drove out team leader Kim Young-do as if leading him away.
"Please go. Quickly."
"Huh? Just a moment to talk."
"No, I'm telling you to go! Something really bad will happen if you do this here."
Kim Jin-tae led Kim Young-do away from Cheol-du, acting like he was saving his life.
"No, why are you doing this?"
"My friend's a bit of a hothead, you know?"
"No, still. Seriously."
"Whew, anyway, we're not looking to join any group right now. So you can stop with the offers."
"Huh."
Team leader Kim Young-do shook his head, watching Jin-tae reject the offer outright. But still, Cheol-du, over there, seemed totally different from yesterday, so he couldn't quite give up on him.
"Alright, I'll just say my piece and then I'll go. Listen up."
"Since you guys got here late, you'll have to go pretty far to find anything to hunt."
Team leader Kim Young-do said, looking around.
"Compared to that, everyone here has already stocked up. They'll stay for four days and then head home. They've got plenty of goblin coins, too. Enough to take care of both of you, no problem."
"......"
"Don't go thinking about those goblins from the apocalypse test. Goblins are easy pickings, but here, they're like rare as unicorns. The monsters in Nova are no joke."
As Jin-tae was still looking unimpressed, team leader Kim Young-do cut his words short.
"Huh, I know your confidence, but my offer is valid until 4 days later, so come find me anytime if your mind changes."
This is more than generous enough.
They'll try their luck, being young and all, but when they realize they're in over their heads, they'll come begging for help. That's when we'll step in.
"We'll take care of ourselves."
"Hmm."
He felt like turning around and saying, 'Good luck with that,' but he was too much of a professional with his position and experience to act on impulse.
"Heh, see you around."
As Jin-tae, who had seen Kim Young-do off, approached, Cheol-du pouted.
"That guy's trouble. Why'd you let him go?"
"Every problem has a solution."
Cheol-du shook his head.
"It's easier to just get rid of the problem."
Jin-tae shook his head from side to side.
"Are you fully awake now?"
"Yeah, roughly."
"Then let's go get something to eat."
Cheol-du suddenly stood up.
"Yeah, okay. I'm really hungry too."
After waking up from a nap that was just enough to relieve the immediate urgency, he could no longer bear the hunger. He hadn't had a proper meal last time either, and the final spurt of battle had caused extreme physical exhaustion.
Cheol-du and Jin-tae packed up their pathetic excuse for a tent and bundled up their supplies and set off together.
There were only two of them, so they couldn't split up into a food-gathering team and a base-guarding team.
Cheol-du picked up a few suitable stones while walking.
"Hmm. These are perfect."
He picked up a good-sized branch, snapped it in half, and stripped off the smaller branches, making a decent club.
"Ready to roll."
"Damn, that's solid. I feel a lot better now."
Jin-tae chuckled and followed behind Cheol-du.
He didn't doubt for a second that they'd succeed.
Among those watching them leave were some tattooed muscle-heads.
"Boss. Aren't those the guys?"
"Who?"
"You know, the ones who blocked Big Boss's car."
"Ah, right. Those sons of bitches."
The gangsters, whose coordination had changed from suits to beginner clothes, frowned menacingly and glared at the two leaving.
"Joong-ho's been itching for payback. Shouldn't we teach them a lesson?"
"Duh, are you even asking?"
Joong-ho is the senior gangster who drove Big Boss's car and was hit by Cheol-du.
"Five of you rookies, come with me."
"Yes, sir."
Half the gang went hunting over by the mountain, and Joong-ho, the one who drove the Equus, went with them.
But we gotta help out family.
You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.
Six gangsters chased after the two friends.
*
Cheol-du and Jin-tae, holding their hungry stomachs, headed north for now.
"Fishing's probably our best bet, right?"
"Probably."
There were carcasses of rabbit-like animals scattered around the open area.
"It looks like a place where rabbit-like things used to live."
"They've been cleaned out."
The two friends chatted idly and arrived at the river.
"It's wider than I thought?"
"The current is slow."
"Looks like everyone's fishing."
Jin-tae looked around.
Everyone was standing a good distance from the river, holding these crappy-looking fishing rods.
Didn't seem like they were getting many bites. Most of them just had their rods propped up, not really reeling them in.
"Let's make a fishing rod too. Help me out."
"Whoa, you know how to make one?"
"Of course! Just bring me one rabbit bone from earlier."
"Why that?"
"Let's make a hook."
"Oh!"
While Cheol-du went to get the carcass with anticipation, Jin-tae roughly finished his plan in his head and smiled.
He was strangely excited.
Kim Jin-tae came here with a longing for camping.
Isn't that why he bought an SUV and shopped for various camping equipment?
"Nothing beats going back to basics."
Shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.
All he has are his two hands.
Isn't this true bushcraft?
"Here."
"Oh, thanks. You know how to make a stone axe?"
"I roughly know what it looks like..."
"Make that. I'll make a fishing rod."
"Okay. Hurry up. I'm so hungry I could eat this bone raw."
"Ah, okay."
Jin-tae's hands moved faster thinking about his hungry friend. A hungry Cheol-du is more sensitive and fierce than anyone else.
Clang, clang.
Turning his head at the clashing sound, he saw Cheol-du holding two stones and breaking them.
"That's a killer stone axe."
Jin-tae took a deep breath looking at the rabbit bones.
It was gross, with bits of flesh still stuck to it, but his hunger was stronger than his disgust.
Crack.
He tore off a rib and laid out several bones he had torn off on the floor.
It didn't need to be perfectly hook-shaped like a modern fishing hook. The flesh on the bone would act as bait, so as long as it got caught somewhere in the fish's mouth and didn't let it spit it out right away, it would work.
"Now, I need something to grind this with..."
"Use this."
"Oh, you're getting pretty good with those flint tools?"
Jin-tae grabbed the sharp hand axe that Cheol-du handed him and ground the bone to be used as bait and a hook. It'd be too hard to make a hole, so I figured just carving a groove to tie the line would be enough.
'Knotting.'
He had watched a ton of YouTube videos on knot-tying when I was getting ready for camping. He carefully unraveled the rope he'd bought from the goblin merchant, then twisted three of the strands together to make a thinner line.
It looked strong enough, as long as he didn't hook a monster fish.
Jin-tae finally tied the string to the wooden rod that Cheol-du had brought in the meantime.
"Oh, it looks plausible?"
"Heh, pretty cool, huh? Gotta admit, I'm handy."
"Huhu, acknowledged."
Even Cheol-du had to admit it.
Jin-tae was always good with his hands. In art class, he couldn't draw to save his life, but he always aced the projects.
"It's done!"
Jin-tae lifted up a pretty plausible fishing rod.
<Crude Fishing Rod Crafting Successful.>
<Skill 'Crafting' Awakened.>
