Chapter 12
The Goblin Is Too Big (2)
“Huh?”
The moment the quest message appeared, Yechan let out a startled sound.
Only then did Youngwoo realize that Yechan had also been included among the “residents who possess a monster kill record.”
In other words, he was one of the targets for this Epic Quest.
“You can see it too, right? The message and all the markers.”
“The markers?”
Tilting his head at Youngwoo’s question, Yechan soon spotted the distant pillar of red light and flinched.
“I can see it.”
Was he really planning to go fight the Mutant this time?
Yechan looked at Youngwoo with eyes full of concern.
And in fact, Youngwoo was staring intently at the crimson pillar, which almost certainly marked the Mutant’s location.
It’s moving.
Even from this distance, he could tell in real time that the pillar was moving.
That meant the target was traveling at an incredible speed.
Where is it headed?
Of course, there was only one way to find out—follow it.
Standing around thinking any longer would only waste time.
“Let’s get ready to move too. We’ve done everything we needed to do here.”
Youngwoo picked out 40,000 Karma worth of coins from the pile at his feet and handed them to Yechan.
Yechan glanced nervously toward the red pillar.
“We’re... going after the Mutant, right?”
“Of course. And if we run into more goblins on the way, we’ll kill those too.”
As he spoke, Youngwoo brought a coin to his mouth.
He intended to reinvest the Karma he had earned into his stats.
Flash!
Character: Jung Myungwoo07
Strength: 96 (19 + 77)
Stamina: 97 (21 + 76)
Durability: 13
Senses: 24
One stat point costs 1,000 Karma.
Available Karma: 200,000
With 200,000 Karma available, he could raise his stats by a total of 200 points if he spent it all.
For now, Youngwoo decided to balance his stats somewhat evenly.
Let’s raise Durability and Senses to 50 first.
Then he distributed the rest between Strength and Stamina.
Character: Jung Myungwoo07
Strength: 150 (19 + 131)
Stamina: 150 (21 + 129)
Durability: 50 (13 + 37)
Senses: 50 (24 + 26)
Available Karma: 30,000
This is insane. I’m growing way too fast.
Youngwoo blinked.
Just a few hours ago, his Strength had been only 19.
Now it was 150.
And even after all those upgrades, he still had 30,000 Karma left.
I should save the rest. I might need actual cash later.
Closing the status window, he looked over at Yechan, who was surrounded by dotted lines as he allocated his own stats.
Yechan glanced up cautiously.
“Did you spend all your Karma again?”
“I left a little, just in case.”
“Oh. Then maybe I should—”
“No. You should use all of yours. Fighting monsters is still hard for you.”
Despite calling 30,000 Karma “a little,” Youngwoo felt nothing strange about it.
The amount of money he could command had increased enormously thanks to monster hunting.
I wonder what everyone else is doing right now. Still running away?
Surely some of them had at least tried fighting back.
Youngwoo looked at the blue pillars of light still scattered across Gumi.
They indicated monsters that had yet to be eliminated.
The pillar that had appeared here vanished together with the goblins’ corpses the moment they were wiped out.
“Mister, I’m done too.”
Having finished distributing his stats, Yechan stood beside him holding a spear and shield.
Without taking his eyes off the red pillar, Youngwoo asked,
“What’s your Stamina now?”
“Fifty-two. My base stat was twenty-two.”
The fact that he even included the base value suggested Yechan had calmed down considerably.
After making sure the backpack containing 30,000 Karma was securely fastened, Youngwoo pointed the tip of Early Bird toward the red pillar.
“We’re heading straight there. Keep up.”
***
Move.
It sounded grand, but in the end they were simply running.
The difference from before was—
Dash!
Even at a tremendous speed, Youngwoo didn’t tire easily.
Of course, that only applied to him with his 150 Stamina.
Yechan, on the other hand, already looked exhausted.
Still, instead of asking for a break, Yechan clenched his teeth and endured.
He feared that if Youngwoo saw him as dead weight, he’d be abandoned.
“Huff! Hah... Haaah!”
But before long, his stamina reached its limit and his breathing became ragged.
Seeing this, Youngwoo gradually slowed down.
“We should rest a bit.”
“N-No! I can keep going...!”
“No. If you collapse completely, that’ll just make things harder for me.”
Only a few hours ago, Youngwoo had been effortlessly overtaken in the race to reach the Exchange Office.
So he had no intention of abandoning Yechan simply because his stamina was lacking.
There was no reason to.
“Take a break. We don’t know when we’ll have to fight again. It’d be good for me to rest too.”
The moment Youngwoo stopped, Yechan bent over and poured sweat onto the ground as he gasped for air.
If possible, I should have him invest in Stamina next time. Or...
Looking around, Youngwoo’s gaze stopped at something.
Two bicycles were parked side by side in front of a roadside shop.
“Huff... Haaah...”
Naturally, they had been turned to stone.
But they said Karma can restore petrified objects to their original state.
Taking out a coin, Youngwoo walked toward one of the stone bicycles.
Then he pressed the coin against the handlebars.
Fiiiiing!
As expected, a small holographic window appeared where the coin touched.
“Huh?”
It was a price tag.
Bicycle: 3,000
Touch the target with a coin again to confirm purchase.
A bicycle cost 3,000 Karma.
In other words, three crimson coins would restore it.
Both together would only cost 6,000.
To Youngwoo, who currently possessed 30,000 Karma, that felt cheap.
Using bicycles would drastically reduce stamina consumption while also increasing travel speed.
Tap.
After briefly removing the coin and touching it again, the coin vanished instantly and the bicycle began to change.
Ssssshhhhh!
Just like when objects from the old world had first turned to stone, a hazy mist emerged.
Then the petrification rapidly unraveled from the point where the coin had touched.
“Huh? W-What’s happening?”
Yechan rushed over in surprise.
“You know how to ride a bike, right? We’re using these from now on.”
“What? Ah—yes! I can ride, but...”
Yechan stared at Youngwoo in awe.
Most people were desperately trying to avoid monsters.
Yet this man was buying bicycles to chase after a Mutant.
The more he watched him, the more incredible he seemed.
“Mister... you’re not some kind of regressor, are you?”
“A regressor?”
Youngwoo frowned briefly before chuckling.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Of course not.”
“Then why are you going this far?”
“Why...”
He started to answer but stopped.
The truth was, even he didn’t have a clear answer.
“Maybe I’m scared.”
“You? What are you scared of?”
“Becoming weak.”
“...Ah.”
As he pushed one bicycle toward Yechan, Youngwoo asked,
“What about you?”
“I...”
While Yechan stared at his half-burned name tag, Youngwoo placed a foot on the pedal.
“Sometimes that’s scarier than dying. That’s why I’m trying to become as strong as possible while I have the chance.”
Click.
The gears of his bicycle engaged.
Yechan stared blankly as Youngwoo began rolling away.
Then he hurriedly mounted his own bike and chased after him.
The physical enhancements granted by Karma allowed both of them to ride at incredible speeds.
They crossed the shopping district in moments and entered a residential area.
From there, they began seeing other people again.
The problem was—
“Aaaah!”
“S-Save me!”
Everyone was terrified.
Dozens of people—young and old, men and women—were running toward Myungwoo and Yechan.
“What the...?”
“They’re fleeing. There must be goblins over there.”
Youngwoo pointed toward a blue pillar of light shining down deeper within the neighborhood.
Then he glanced at a man who had just rushed past.
The man was clutching a stone object.
Youngwoo hadn’t seen it clearly, but it caught his attention.
Whatever it is, it’s probably something from the old world.
Likely something valuable.
There were also vulnerable groups among the crowd:
A man carrying a child on his back.
Two sisters supporting their elderly mother.
“This really is a living hell.”
Yechan muttered while watching a staggering old man.
But Youngwoo shook his head.
“At this pace they won’t outrun the goblins. Someone deeper inside is buying them time.”
He didn’t bother adding:
The real hell is probably over there.
Whether that person was willingly holding the line or not was another matter.
Perhaps the people at the back of the refugee column were simply being slaughtered one by one.
The thought painted a horrifying image in Youngwoo’s mind.
If people really were dying back there, they needed to hurry.
“Let’s go. Stay to the side and avoid the crowd.”
Since refugees continued pouring out of the residential area, the two rode their bicycles along the edge of the road.
“Oh, right.”
Pedaling hard, Yechan spoke again.
“There are quite a few people without weapons at all.”
“Not everyone is following the quests.”
Seeing another large group burst out from ahead, Youngwoo sensed they were nearing the source of the chaos.
The blue pillar was already close.
Then—
CRASH! CRUNCH!
A disturbing sound of destruction reached his ears.
What the hell was that?
Instinctively, Youngwoo straightened and looked beyond the fleeing crowd.
Immediately, his vision filled with crimson.
Blood-soaked goblins.
Each one held a human body and was tearing flesh from it, covered head to toe in blood while feasting.
CRUNCH!
The sound came again, right before his eyes.
The sound of a goblin stripping flesh from human bones.
“You sons of bitches...!”
Furious, Youngwoo shouted and pedaled straight against the flow of refugees.
One goblin, in the middle of peeling flesh from its meal, looked up at him.
Then it bared a row of still-white teeth untouched by blood.
And grinned.
As if delighted that more food had arrived.