The monster wave that had shaken the nation. Five days had passed since then.

Go Byeonggap drank some cold water as he gazed out the window.

“Still soldiers everywhere.”

Armed soldiers patrolled the streets in formation. It wasn’t just here—armed troops were stationed throughout the entire city.

And not just soldiers. The guilds had organized their own security patrols, holding the city center 24/7.

The Association had sent messages to freelance hunters, asking them to volunteer for autonomous patrols. The pay was, naturally, terrible. Go Byeonggap had turned them down without a second thought.

“What a damn mess.”

This disaster hadn’t struck only South Korea. What he’d learned belatedly through the news was this:

Fifty-seven countries around the world had experienced monster waves. All of them at the very same time, on the same day.

The scale of damage varied by country. The worst hit was the United States. In LA alone, two S-rank rifts had torn open.

Casualties went without saying, but property damage alone reached into the trillions of won.

In Korea, a total of five rifts erupted across Seoul and Busan. The final tally: 1,477 dead, 918 wounded, and 7 missing.

And of course, astronomical property damage came with it. Just in Seoul, three buildings had collapsed.

A state of emergency gripped the whole world. The atmosphere was even more tense than twenty-eight years ago, when Deep Impact first hit.

“I’d better stock up on food too.”

Citizens stormed the grocery stores. Every item—noodles, rice, you name it—vanished into instant scarcity.

Black marketeers seized the moment, peddling illegal weapons, and just two days ago, a civilian shootout had broken out.

Anyway you looked at it, the country was a wreck.

The one small mercy was that no monster wave had occurred since that day. But the public’s fear hadn’t cooled. Terrified that monsters could burst out again at any moment, people refused to budge from their homes.

Researchers studied what had triggered the monster wave and the likelihood of a repeat. But they’d turned up nothing conclusive.

“Tch.”

Go Byeonggap pocketed his wallet and stepped outside.

Tanks and armored cars parked in the middle of Seoul—it couldn’t have looked more surreal.

‘Nothing but soldiers out here.’

They were everywhere. Occasionally he spotted someone in civilian clothes, probably a hunter.

The nation had basically ground to a halt. Schools were closed, and with office workers refusing to show up, companies had been half-forced into shutdown.

Small business owners were crying bloody tears, understandably. If this trend kept up, the economy might be heading for another Great Depression.

The government was straining every muscle to calm the public. But honestly? Almost no one believed the line about returning to normal life safely.

“…Well, this place is hopping.”

Go Byeonggap stopped in front of the grocery store near his house. The streets were empty, but here it was packed wall-to-wall.

“Move! I said move!”

“Two packs of noodles per person, maximum! Please keep order!”

“What do you mean I can’t buy with my own damn money?!”

“Hey, ajumma, you just grabbed stuff from my cart!”

“Oh my! Are you calling me a thief?! And don’t call me ajumma!”

If chaos had a name, this was it. Go Byeonggap stood there blankly for a moment, then turned around.

He’d thought maybe he could scrounge up something today, but no such luck.

‘Why are they all making such a fuss?’

Go Byeonggap thought people were overreacting. Were they really making that big a deal out of nothing? That was his take.

But that was the mindset he could only have because he was a hunter.

Go Byeonggap had been working as a hunter for three years now, and he’d seen it all. He’d knocked on death’s door more than once. Just a few days ago, he’d nearly died after stumbling into a dungeon that wasn’t even in his job description.

Plus, when you see monsters every other day, they start to feel almost familiar.

In other words, he could keep his cool even in extreme situations.

Ordinary people? Not so much.

A sudden apocalypse — of course the civilians would spiral into chaos.

But Byeonggap didn’t like this chaos one bit. He was worried that some social disruption might delay his mother’s treatment.

Thankfully, the hospital hadn’t called with any bad news — at least, not yet.

“Time to head back.”

Byeonggap’s hands were empty again today.

His apartment felt hollow. There was practically no food stockpiled there.

At most, a bit of rice and bottled water. Two packs of instant noodles, and some dried, shriveled pickled vegetables.

That’s what happens when you almost never cook at home. Right now, it wasn’t a problem. But if the ‘apocalypse scenario’ everyone was worried about actually hit… it could get inconvenient.

Hmm. Or maybe not?

‘If worst came to worst, I could just head to Asvillam and dig up some potatoes and sweet potatoes.’

Asvillam had clean water and food. Even if a full-blown era of war descended, Byeonggap wasn’t really worried.

He could just evacuate to Asvillam.

‘Still, better be prepared.’

Byeonggap scrolled through the internet. Made a few calls. Almost none connected, but after a dozen tries, he got lucky.

-Hello?

“Ah, yes. Hello. You’re the one selling hens, right?”

* * *

Byeonggap drove for four hours to find a poultry farm in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

“Aigo. You came from Seoul? I hear it’s absolute chaos up there.”

“Yeah, pretty much. How is it here?”

“Better than Seoul, I guess. It’s the countryside, after all.”

The provinces were in a much better state than the capital. Soldiers and hunters were on alert here too, but at least life still looked normal.

“You said you wanted to buy some chicks?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“How many did you say you needed?”

“Around a hundred. Is that possible?”

“If you’ve got the money, I’ve got the birds. But are you going to transport them yourself?”

“Just put them in some boxes. I’ll load them in the back seat. And what was the price you mentioned?”

“These are Baekbong Ogol chickens — a premium breed. Three thousand won each, so for a hundred, that’ll be three hundred thousand won.”

Byeonggap paid three hundred thousand won in cash and took delivery of a hundred female chicks.

The farm owner seemed eager to pass along ‘One Hundred Ways to Raise Healthy Chicks,’ but Byeonggap politely declined.

He knew how to raise chicks too. Just feed them the elixir of Growth.

Of course, there was the side effect of the chicks turning into turkeys…

Go Byeonggap loaded the hundred pullets into his truck and pulled out of the poultry farm. The incessant chirping nearly caused him to crash twice.

He parked at a suitable spot and crossed over into Asvillam.

He transferred the hundred pullets to Gobungi, along with two bottles of the elixir of Growth.

«Keep them alive.»

«Yep!»

«And Gobungi, we need to build another fence. This one has to be tall and tight—keep the roosters from getting in.»

«Ah! Got it! I’ll give it a try!»

«No. I’ll be back in a few hours. We’ll do it together then.»

«Yep! Sounds good!»

Go Byeonggap returned to his truck and drove diligently.

He reached home around four in the afternoon. Quickly getting ready, he crossed over into Asvillam.

The goblins were still hard at work.

«Gobungi. Come play with me.»

«Ah! My Lord! You’ve arrived?»

«Yeah, just got here. Let’s build that fence. Stop working and come out.»

«Yep! Right away! I’m coming out!»

Go Byeonggap swept his eyes over the cave interior. Even if Earth had gone to hell, here it was still peaceful.

He led Gobungi to the back of the settlement. Piles of felled timber were stacked there.

They’d cleared the path to the river, bringing down all this wood. Material was no problem.

«Hm? You’re here? When did you arrive? I had no idea you’d come.»

«Lord. Hi.»

As he inspected the wood for materials, Ea and Doran appeared. Go Byeonggap exchanged quick greetings with them.

«What are you two doing here?»

«We need to start dinner soon. Came to get some wood for the fire.»

«Oh?»

Go Byeonggap stared at Doran for a moment, then spoke abruptly.

«Perfect timing. Ea, come here a second.»

«So you’ve got something to say to me again. Fine then.»

«What do you two always whisper about? Leaving me out. Can’t you tell me too?»

«You stay here.»

«Tch…»

Doran puffed out her cheeks, sulking.

Go Byeonggap took only Ea into a quiet part of the woods.

Ea came hopping along with her hands clasped behind her back.

«I think I know what you’re going to say. Want me to guess? I’m good at this sort of thing.»

«Go ahead and guess.»

«You’re going to ask how Doran’s doing, aren’t you?»

«…You knew.»

«Were you always this worried? You ask about her every other day, don’t you?»

Ea spoke in a tone that said she knew everything. Go Byeonggap let out a small sigh and replied.

«So. How does she seem?»

«Don’t I tell you every time? Doran’s doing fine. She gets along well with the goblins and never throws a fuss. Ah—but she’s terribly curious. Wants to try everything. She’s a little clumsy now and then, but isn’t everyone at first?»

«So she’s doing well. Got it. If you need anything, just say the word.»

Go Byeonggap said it out of habit. Ea’s brow furrowed.

«I wish you’d bring some vegetables. We’ve been eating meat roasted with nothing but salt for days now. The goblins are craving gukbap.»

«Sorry. Things outside aren’t good right now. Vegetables and the like are hard to come by. Just hold out a few more days.»

«Hm? Things outside aren’t good? Has something happened where you live?»

«Nothing too serious.»

«Oh—I shouldn’t have pried. In that case, don’t push yourself. I don’t want you taking risks just to bring us vegetables.»

«It’s fine. It’s not that bad.»

«Well, that’s a relief then.»

Go Byeonggap and Ea returned to the pile of stacked timber.

The moment Doran spotted Ea, she ran over and whispered.

«What did you talk about with the Lord?»

«Oh, sorry, Doran. If I told you, he’d be upset.»

«Just tell me secretly! Aah—tell me, tell me.»

Ea shot Go Byeonggap an awkward, sidelong glance.

He, for his part, couldn’t have cared less.

«Gobungi, let’s go.»

«Yes!»

Go Byeonggap and Gobungi hefted an armful of timber and departed. With their strength far beyond ordinary, the load they carried each trip was immense.

«What did you talk about! Why won’t you tell only me?»

Doran clung to her stubbornly. Ea half-feared her own clothes might tear.

That wasn’t an exaggeration—Doran’s strength was truly formidable.

Ea finally relented.

«Fine. I’ll tell you. Just stop pulling on my clothes—they’re going to rip!»

«You’ll tell me? For real?»

Doran let go without a fuss. Ea glanced at the spot where Go Byeonggap had left, then answered.

«It seems your Lord is quite fond of you.»

«Huh? No way. The Lord doesn’t like me. He barely even talks to me.»

«Well… Maybe he’s just shy. He asks about you every day—whether you slept well, whether you ate well. He wouldn’t ask that if he didn’t care.»

«Oh…»

Doran blinked her big eyes. Ea found it amusing and let out a small laugh.

«Um… Ea?»

«Yes, go ahead.»

«Then… what should I do?»

«Huh? About what?»

«If the Lord likes me, how am I supposed to act?»

Ea tilted her head and pondered. After a moment, she spoke.

«I’m not sure, but being loved and cared for by someone is a grateful thing. So wouldn’t the true way be to repay that kindness?»

«How do I repay it?»

«Do things he would like.»

«Things the Lord would like? What are those?»

«How should I know? Why don’t you try asking him yourself, Doran?»

«Ah… I see.»

The two women grabbed a few logs of firewood and returned to the campsite.

All the way back, Doran wondered: what did the Lord truly enjoy?