#19 Sanctuary
Cheoldu was shaking like a leaf.
‘Could it be the Barbarian tribe?’
The goblin merchant definitely knew about the Barbarians. So, could there be Barbarians in Nova too?
'What if my home, Valhalla, and Nova are connected?'
Maybe if I explore Nova, I could find a portal back home.
Cheoldu’s heart pounded.
My ears were ringing like crazy.
“…Cheoldu-ya!”
“Huh, uh?”
“Dude, why aren't you answering me?”
“Ah, I didn’t hear you.”
“I've called you like a million times.”
“Why?”
“Look over there.”
“Hmm.”
Jintae pointed across the river next to the portal.
To the northwest of the portal.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know. Looks like some kinda building or something.”
Beyond the river and the hills, there was a considerably large pile of stones, but it wasn’t naturally formed.
There were things crawling around, could be monsters, could be people, who knows?
“There are two unusual places.”
The artificial structure beyond the river to the north.
The unidentified smoke beyond the forest to the south.
Both places have something living near 'em, but we've got no clue if they're monsters, aliens, or just people from other countries.
“Are we going to go?”
“Of course.”
Cheoldu nodded without hesitation.
"We can't make it that far this trip."
"It seems so."
Cheoldu agreed.
The forest to the south is vast.
Just getting through it would take, like, seven days, easy. And if we're being careful and staying on guard, double that.
No need to go crazy on our first trip to Nova.
It's not worth the trek just to check it out.
“That place would be good.”
Cheoldu looked at the artificial structure to the north.
Nothing's really blocking the way, just a couple of hills.
It's all prairie, so we can book it if we have to.
One day to get there, one day to return.
Three days, tops.
“I’ve decided.”
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Cheoldu decided to go see the unidentified artificial structure.
"Can't wait."
"I'm with you all the way."
Cheoldu shook his head.
"Jongdu and Odol, you're on house-sitting duty."
Seo Jongdu looked bummed, but he'd learned his lesson, so he didn't argue.
“Understood.”
He just gave Cheoldu those puppy-dog eyes, begging to go, but Cheoldu got serious.
“Seo Jongdu.”
"You got it, boss!"
"I'm gonna see if you've got what it takes to be my right-hand man."
“……!”
Seo Jongdu’s eyes widened at Cheoldu’s words.
“Tomorrow, Jintae and I will go there alone. While we're gone, you guys make yourselves useful here.”
Seo Jongdu’s eyes widened.
‘This is a test.’
His heart was pounding.
You can't just whine and get your way with him.
‘Qualifications of a subordinate.’
I must pass this.
I'll show him what I'm made of and become his go-to guy.
Seo Jongdu said, all serious.
"I won't let you down."
"Heh. Good."
Cheoldu nodded.
Trying to get off easy, huh?
Get your act together and learn to pull your own weight.
“Now, let’s hunt!”
"Let's do this!"
They hunted 'til sunset, then had to use torches to get down the mountain.
But the crappy torches they made without oil didn't last long, so they had to rely on moonlight.
Luckily, they'd all leveled up their senses from all the hunting, so hiking at night wasn't a big deal.
Once they got down, there were no trees, so they could see fine in the moonlight.
Everyone was wiped from hunting so hard, so they crashed early.
*
Next morning, over breakfast, Seo Jongdu came back from the refugee camp with a bundle.
"Take this with you."
“What is it?”
"It's jerky and other stuff that won't spoil."
“Oh, did you make it yourself?”
"Nah, bought it with coins.”
Right now, the government and big companies are all about setting up towns in Nova.
So, of course, they're sending people with all kinds of skills, and that camp's full of them.
Smoking meat is no biggie.
"Nice."
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"My pleasure."
"Hold down the fort."
"You got it!"
Cheoldu and Jintae passed through the portal and stood in front of the river blocking the northwest side.
The river was like 30 or 40 meters wide.
Swimming across wasn’t a problem, but the problem was that Jintae couldn’t swim.
"Ta-da!"
Jintae made a small raft and put a bundle of food on it to keep it from getting wet.
Splash.
Then, he went into the water and held onto the raft as a buoy. He didn't have time to build a big raft, so this was the best he could do.
“Okay. Let’s go!”
Cheoldu tied a rope around his waist and connected the buoy and Jintae’s body.
Splash!
Cheoldu could swim like a freakin' fish!
And that was him just taking it easy.
He was flying through the water. Some gator tried to mess with him, but...
Crack!
Cheoldu punched it right in the snout and it took off.
After chasing off five of those things, they were on the other side.
"Damn, you're fast!"
"Heh, no big deal."
They gave a quick wave to the guys across the river and started walking.
“A rabbit.”
"Huh, so that's what they look like."
Over the river, where no one had been yet, there were a bunch of animals that looked like wild rabbits.
They'd probably never seen humans before, just staring at them until they got close, then scattering.
Wham!
Cheoldu picked up a rolling stone and caught two rabbits.
“Let’s eat them later.”
"Can't wait."
Jintae grinned, kinda disgusted with himself for drooling over dead rabbits.
"Ugh, I'm turning into a savage."
“It’s a good change.”
"You haven't changed a bit."
For Jintae, Cheoldu is a special friend.
No, he’s also his only friend.
"You were always solid, but here, you're like a whole new man."
"Heh, I've finally found my inner beast."
Cheoldu laughed happily.
It was like some invisible weight was lifted off me.
I didn't even know I'd feel this free.
Cheoldu and Jintae walked diligently.
“Shall we rest there?”
“Good.”
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There were some trees here and there for shade, perfect for taking a breather.
There was deadwood everywhere, perfect for a fire.
They gathered firewood and roasted the rabbits they had caught earlier.
Cheoldu, and even Jintae, were skinning and gutting those rabbits like it was nothing.
"This is becoming second nature."
Jintae, proud of how fast he was adapting, roasted the meat.
"Holy crap, this is amazing!"
“Mmm.”
It didn't have that wild taste, and even though it was kinda plain, it tasted just like chicken.
Way better than that gator meat.
The rabbit was gone in seconds, and Jintae eyed the other one hanging from his bag.
"Hmm. Wanna cook another one?"
"Good!"
There's rabbits everywhere, anyway.
We can hunt again for dinner.
Gator meat was just for survival, but this rabbit is actually delicious.
"Man, all it needs is a little salt."
"Heh. You know it."
"Heh, and some pepper, too."
Give a man an inch, he'll take a mile.
Once you get a taste of the good stuff, you always want more.
"Next time we come to Nova, let's stock up in Seoul first."
"Good idea."
They say Shinseong's town is in the Iron Age, so New Seoul, the government's first town, must be even further along.
Two years back home.
That's like ten years in Nova time.
They ran into monsters now and then, picking up goblin coins and stat stones without breaking a sweat.
Cheoldu took them down no problem, and Jintae, fighting them one-on-one, figured out their moves and started hunting them easily, too.
"Seriously, I feel like I'm being power-leveled."
"Heh, you're welcome, Jintae."
"Yeah, thanks, man."
Jintae felt totally safe with Cheoldu.
"There it is."
"Whoa, that's bigger than I expected!"
If they just go over one more hill, they will arrive at the pile of stones.
However, it was already getting dark, so he asked Cheoldu.
"We heading straight there?"
"Duh. We're sleeping there."
"Okay."
They had three more rabbits hanging from their bags.
Nova had two moons, one big one and a smaller one, like a quarter of the size.
The big moon was huge, like twice the size of Earth's, and even though it was just a crescent, it was bright enough to see everything.
With a full moon, it'd be bright enough to hunt and patrol all night.
Cheoldu and Jintae walked diligently and finally arrived at their destination.
The thing was massive, over 20 meters around and three times Cheoldu's height.
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It was a big, round stone tower that got pointy at the top, and the stones were stacked so perfectly there were hardly any gaps.
"Is that some kind of pyramid?"
"Hmm."
Cheoldu and Jintae touched the stone tower and were surprised.
Sanctuary Discovered!
Contribute to Sanctuary activation and get perks!
Coins needed for Sanctuary activation: 0/2000
The two friends stared at each other, eyes wide.
"What the heck is this?"
"Whoa, perks! We gotta do this."
A place no one's ever been.
First discovery, untouched ruins.
This is a no-brainer.
"Let's do this."
"How many coins you got?"
"I've got 127. You?"
"I have 472."
We're way short of what we need.
"Alright, looks like we're hunting."
"Sweet!"
Cheoldu and Jintae put all their coins into Sanctuary activation.
Coins needed for Sanctuary activation: 599/2000
They'd already collected a bunch of coins just from casual hunting, so if they really went for it, they could probably activate it in two or three days.
"Let's crash early and start grinding tomorrow. We can probably activate this thing in three days, tops."
"Heh, going soft on me, Jintae?"
"Huh?"
"Follow me."
"Where we going?"
Cheoldu’s finger pointed to the sky.
"Look at that moon."
“……”
Cheoldu’s finger pointed to the field.
"Time to hunt, Jintae."
"Oh, alright..."
Cheoldu and Jintae headed towards the monsters in the field.
