Chapter 23 – LV.Two Warrior Lee Jongho – [One]

The next afternoon, a feast was held in Happy Village.

It was a celebration to honor the new recruits who had completed all their training and transformed into full-fledged Players. Not only the village Players but also their families participated in the feast, and Kim Jihyeok’s mother had gladly attended as well.

At the head table sat the representative of the Players.

Kim Jihyeok looked at Oh Haengbok. Oh Haengbok was speaking to everyone as if roaring.

“What are you doing? Everyone, eat!”

At the Orc’s voice, everyone momentarily froze. Kim Jihyeok wondered if that Orc was acting that way out of necessity or intentionally.

According to Seo Yun, it was clear that the dictatorial Orc enjoyed seeing people frightened by his words—was that true?

“Ah, damn. I’m not even angry right now, so why does my voice come out like this… I’m really sorry, but it’ll get cold. Everyone, dig in. Hurry!”

Still, the Orc’s infrasound didn’t ruin the festive atmosphere.

Everyone began to chuckle and pick up their spoons and chopsticks towards the bowls placed before them. The feast truly featured precious food.

That is, boiled chicken was served.

Kim Jihyeok knew that the ‘ordinary’ people of the village could only eat this dish on their birthdays. Even though the village had a fair amount of provisions left, raising chickens was difficult. The village’s main crop was potatoes, and since there was a saying that feeding potatoes to chickens wasn’t good, grains had to be cultivated separately for chicken feed. Even on New Year’s Day, they only ate retort food or thawed items, never slaughtering a precious chicken.

Kim Jihyeok’s mother seemed overjoyed to be able to eat precious chicken even though it wasn’t her birthday.

His mother, seated next to Kim Jihyeok, said.

“Mom hasn’t had boiled chicken in a long time, right? Having a good son sure is a luxury, I’m so happy…”

It seemed Mrs. Park Hae wasn’t saying such things to praise her son but because she genuinely loved boiled chicken. Watching his mother gleefully peeling the chicken skin, Kim Jihyeok chuckled softly.

Perhaps she had actively encouraged her only son to become a dangerous Player precisely to receive such treatment.

Well, it didn’t matter. Regardless of his mother, Kim Jihyeok himself was terribly pleased with this situation.

Kim Jihyeok also contentedly tore off a chicken leg and put it in his mouth. It was certainly delicious, but he was thinking it was far inferior to the pork belly he had eaten before.

In a voice quieter than before, Oh Haengbok’s voice reached him.

“It’s absolutely not something I ordered, but the new kids handled their first actual combat on their own. I don’t really want to praise this because I’m worried other new recruits might try to follow suit. Still, anyway, you’ve all shed your trainee tags now. Even if I’m still not satisfied, this is truly praiseworthy… In celebration, cheers!”

Everyone even downed a glass of alcohol. This too was a luxury not everyone could enjoy, as brewing also consumed a considerable amount of grain.

The fact that she could drink that luxury item seemed to make Mrs. Park Hae even more terribly happy, her smile widening further.

“Jihyeok, you still shouldn’t drink alcohol, right? If you’re going to drink, just one sip…”

Kim Jihyeok smiled at his mother, then shifted his gaze from her to the other Party Members.

Kim Ak, busy accepting and drinking alcohol given by the Senior Players… and those motherfuckers.

Park Taeyang and his gang came into view.

Those three were competitively drinking alcohol, with no adults around to stop them. Well, it was laughable that seventeen-year-olds risking their lives fighting monsters was fine, but drinking alcohol wasn’t.

Of course, it was of no concern to Kim Jihyeok.

Kim Jihyeok averted his eyes from the three orphans he didn’t want to see and found the girl he wanted to look at.

It really wasn’t difficult at all to find that girl. Because at this gathering, she stood out second only to that Orc.

Seo Yun was over there.

Seo Yun was currently sitting next to Oh Haengbok, and Oh Haengbok was chatting with the village Mage using her as a topic. Thanks to the Rogue’s unique ability, Kim Jihyeok could eavesdrop on their conversation even from a distance.

“Is it true that Seo Yun here will be sent out from the Party after reaching Level 3?”

In response to the Mage’s question, Oh Haengbok answered.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Isn’t it a waste?”

“A waste how?”

“Seo Yun’s Ability Scores are Strength 3, Agility 7, Dexterity 8, Intelligence 6…”

“Spirit 9, Health 11, Charisma 10, Luck 3, right?”

“She’s beyond Special A-grade, blatantly a cheat character. Isn’t this much higher than the initial Ability Scores of a Rulebook Player character?”

“So what? Because she’s a cheat character, we should keep making her brawl with Monsters?”

“Putting it that way is a bit… but yeah, similar.”

“Kid.”

“Listening to Kim Ak, he said even while fighting the snake hatchlings, Seo Yun here did the work of two or three people alone? Why not remove Park Taeyang and keep Seo Yun in the Party? I heard that bastard Park Taeyang froze up during combat even with a blessing Buff. Isn’t that bastard Park Taeyang the one unsuited for this kind of work…”

“Hey, but Seo Yun can’t stay in that Party.”

“Why?”

As Oh Haengbok spoke next, he lowered his voice, so Kim Jihyeok could barely eavesdrop.

“Lee Jongho and Jeon Sangguk ostracized Seo Yun… She still can’t stand the sight of them, so should we force her to keep traveling with them?”

The Mage sighed.

“No, why did those bastards ostracize such a pretty girl?”

“I made a bit of a mistake at first…”

“Even so, just looking, Seo Yun here’s visuals are on a different level. The rest are all gloomy Frostpunk residents, but she’s like someone with beauty mode turned on…”

Kim Jihyeok agreed with that statement too.

There were quite a few young or little girls in the village, but hadn’t their appearances become rather un-beautiful since the world ended up like this?

With heating water being difficult, in winter, there were overflowing numbers of people who didn’t wash their faces for over a week, and the situation wasn’t different for women. It was common for hair not to be washed for months on end, so everyone looked like stray dogs. Of course, makeup was out of the question.

He heard it was even worse for women in other villages. People from other villages had poor nutritional status from the start, leading to early aging, so they all looked about twenty years older.

Thus, while everyone’s beauty was hidden or withered away, only one girl’s appearance stood out conspicuously, unnaturally so to anyone who saw her.The village boys had always pretended to have no interest in her looks, saying things like, “No matter how pretty she is, dating a troll is a bit…”

But lately, no one believed that anymore. Because Lee Jongho, who used to gossip about her the most, was the first to betray those words.

Among the village boys these days, it was accepted as fact that Lee Jongho liked Seo Yun.

On the day the village youths underwent their Class Change, the village boys had sensed that Lee Jongho’s act of speaking to Seo Yun in front of everyone was a kind of display.

It was probably the roar of a male wolf, signaling that since he, the one with the highest chance of a successful Class Change, was interested in her, the losers shouldn’t dare show any discontent.

In Kim Jihyeok’s eyes, Jeon Sangguk from their Party was also a suspicious guy. Normally, he wouldn’t even make eye contact with Seo Yun, but whenever he was with Park Taeyang and Lee Jongho, he strangely badmouthed her the most. And as they say, excessive displays of hatred are often an expression meant to conceal a deep-seated interest.

‘And honestly, that bastard Park Taeyang is also unusually suspicious…’

Kim Jihyeok’s thoughts were cut off. Oh Haengbok’s voice pierced his eardrums, loud enough to be painful.

“Alright, attention! The rest of you, just continue your meals. Players, listen while you eat!”

True to his Vampire nature, Oh Haengbok wasn’t having any meal, just sipping on flat wine. Perhaps bored, he suddenly began a speech.

“Summer is coming soon. Everyone knows what that means, right?”

As a Player, Kim Jihyeok thought.

‘Hunting season.’

He had already learned during training that in summer, monsters from other continents cross over en masse to the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. He also knew that most of the Players’ Leveling happens during that period.

“For the next three months, everyone’s going to have to suffer like dogs. Fight monsters and rest, fight and rest, fight and rest. The rookies have already seen some combat, but you still must never let your guard down. Goblins or Skeletons might give less Experience Points than that Basilisk snake bastard, but they’re much more dangerous.

Are monsters the only danger? Absolutely not. People are far more dangerous. You’ll often run into guys from other villages while moving around. Since we’re stronger, there’s no real need to be scared, but still, watch out because there are some real Lunatics out there.

Especially this time, the rookies might be targeted, so the Seniors need to be attentive. Protect them while keeping track of their locations in real time, okay? We’re already fucking uneasy having two Priests as it is…”

Kim Jihyeok nodded while looking at Seo Yun.

Oh Haengbok continued speaking.

“As you know, among the monsters that come in summer, there’s a fucking lot of flying ones. If even one gets over the Fortress Wall, you all know it’s a disaster, right? From now on, about five Players need to be on Night Patrol Duty. Since it’s not cold in summer, don’t you dare slack off.

Look at Seo Yun. I went to the trouble of making sure she couldn’t serve Night Patrol Duty, but she started serving again because I was dozing off. If a kid is being this admirable and you grown-ass men slack off…”

When Seo Yun was mentioned in Oh Haengbok’s speech, most of the Players turned their gaze toward the girl. Even the village Seniors seemed full of interest in her.

In Kim Jihyeok’s eyes, it was only natural.

Hadn’t the diligence she showed in the village and her superhumanly high Ability Scores already become the talk of the whole village? It was also already proven through Kim Ak’s report that the girl was exceptional in actual combat. On top of that, her class was Priest, the nobility among nobility.

All those facts, combined with her unreal beauty, were turning that girl into ‘the fruit at the top of the tree.’ They made it so that no boy in the village dared to attempt something like confessing to her, forcing them to only conceal their true feelings.

And for reasons similar to the other village boys, Kim Jihyeok also wouldn’t reveal his true feelings.

But Kim Jihyeok could be satisfied with this situation. Even if not now, it might be possible in the future.

If he were to reveal his feelings, it wouldn’t be now, but later. That is, in the distant future when he was qualified…

And in this world that had become a game, the method to gain ‘qualification’ was simple. High Level and outstanding skill. Leveling to achieve those two things.

“Anyway, whether rookie or veteran… everyone, be firmly prepared, okay? It’s not like we treated you like noble lords with a feast. We fed you well because you’re going to suffer like hell from now on. You gotta pay for the chicken, right?”

As that Orc said, summer was approaching.

For about three months, that Orc would lead Happy Village’s Players on an expedition. And the seven rookie Players would follow along with them. Kim Jihyeok would be together with a certain girl. For some reason, thanks to the fact that girl hadn’t left the village yet.

That fact alone made Kim Jihyeok happy.