646 Episode 18 Father (4)

Why is Shin Yoosoung in this dungeon now?

I put my rising doubts behind and moved my body as if sliding to enter the Nagak where Shin Yoosoung was hiding.

Doo doo doo!

A sound like a rapid drumming rang out, and I felt the air pressure in my ears change. But other than that, there were no other hits. This shell prevented the ensemble attack of 'Ancient Nagak'.

"You won't get attacked if you're inside. I'm not sure why..."

It was a way I hadn't thought of.

Come to think of it, the Nagaks here would also listen to each other's ensemble, but they weren't hurting each other.

We held our breath as we lay on our stomachs inside the narrow shell. When the sound had quieted down a bit, I lifted the shell slightly and explored the surroundings.

In the distance, an Ancient Nagak could be seen pacing the terrarium.

Apparently, they hadn't found us yet.

"I feel safe now."

When the faint light came through the cracks in the shell, the face of Shin Yoosoung, whom I had seen before, came into my eyes once again.

Shin Yoosoung stuttered in embarrassment at my gaze.

"Well, he was originally a child who had almost reached the end of his lifespan. By chance, he communicated with me, and he said he wanted to give me a house of his own..."

It was only belatedly that I realized that Shin Yoosoung was talking about this shell.

There must have been a hermit crab in here too.

However, the guy seemed to have passed on this shell to Shin Yoosoung.

It was something that could have happened to Shin Yoosoung, not to anyone else.

Because she is an incarnation that can communicate with monsters.

I recalled the contents of the main story while reading and compared the abilities of Shin Yoosoung in front of me with the main story.

I don't know what the difference is, but some skills and overall stat levels were a little different from what I knew.

The question I had been thinking of for a while popped into my mind once again.

Why is Shin Yoosoung here?

According to my memory, Shin Yoosoung became a wanderer for a long time, and it was after the 'fourth scenario' that she met Kim Dokja.

I sincerely bowed my head.

"Thank you for saving me."

"Ah, yes..... no!"

In any case, if it weren't for this child, I would have fallen prey to the 'Ancient Nagak' without moving here.

A message from the constellations flying in the air.

"Ah. Ah..."

Shin Yoosoung, who received a sponsorship, looked back at me with a confused expression. I nodded my head as a sign to accept it quickly. Shin Yoosoung, blushing, bowed her head to the air.

"Thank you. Thank you."

I felt strange.

Was this Shin Yoosoung before meeting Kim Dokja?

I opened my mouth in a low voice so as not to be noticed by other monsters.

"I'm late to introduce myself. My name is Cheon Inho."

"I'm... Shin Yoosoung."

Shin Yoosoung said that and added hesitantly.

"You're an adult, so you can talk comfortably."

"No. You are my benefactor."

Shin Yoosoung opened her eyes wide and rolled only her pupils.

"But I feel like I’m doing something wrong because I’m being treated with respect by an adult…"

Apparently, Shin Yoosoung felt uncomfortable hearing respectful words from adults.

After hesitating for a moment, I replied:

"You don't know what type of person I am yet."

"A little... I know."

You know?

Shin Yoosoung wriggled her hands for a moment as if she was embarrassed, then pointed to my coat pocket and said,

"You took care of the belongings of the dead."

When did you come to that conclusion?

In fact, I took the belongings of the dead incarnations while hunting Nagaks.

It was to check if there were any incarnations I knew, including Dansu ahjussi, and to inform the people of the Chungmuro group if there were any faces they knew.

"You're going outside to let others know... right?"

Those who entered the one-man dungeon, 'Nagak's Field', were more likely to be in a relatively isolated position in the group.

If there was a party, of course they would have entered a 3-person, 5-person, or 7-person dungeon.

Choosing one person must mean that there was a reason why they had no choice but to come in alone.

"I just packed the items. Why did you come in alone, Yoosoung-ssi?"

"Oh, I am..."

When our eyes met, Shin Yoosoung hurriedly lowered her head and stammered.

"Because grown-ups don’t like teaming up with me…"

I knew it.

In a word, everything made sense.

The reason Shin Yoosoung was here alone, and the reason why she was hiding and observing my actions...

"They are bad adults."

"Ah, no. But he said that if I clear this place and get a 'commentary notice', he will go with me. He said he would accept me into the group."

Did they even ask a child who hadn't even joined the group to do that?

"They are really bad adults."

"Oh, oh, not really. It's a natural choice for them."

"A natural choice?"

"Someone said that adults and children are equal in this world. Now, children are not children… But things like me aren’t very helpful… Rather, giving me an opportunity like this… I should be thankful..."

I was extremely confused.

As Kim Dokja once said, in an apocalyptic world, there was not much difference between children and adults.

Children can also become stronger by raising their abilities with coins.

Therefore, Shin Yoosoung, a child, could say things like that as if she understood the circumstances of the adults.

But is it really okay?

Just because a new world has begun, is it okay to suddenly leave such a burden on the children?

Is it okay to treat children and adults as completely equal just because they have the same physical abilities?

"Which group of people said that?"

Children in this world are scary.

Like the children of the Beggar Sect, there are even children who specialize in hunting adults.

So, while asking that question, I didn't miss the possibility that it was Shin Yoosoung’s acting.

Even when she actually met Kim Dokja, Shin Yoosoung was a child who could use the sympathy of adults.

But if all this was this little kid's design, it was fine as it was.

Knowing a child's desires but turning a blind eye to them.

Because that might be the only gift you can give a child as an adult living in this crazy world.

"That... I can't remember their name... It's a group that belongs to a place called the Union."

Union.

It was a name I had heard from Ye Hyunwoo.

Did you say it was a group of kings, including the tyrant king?

"Let's escape from here together."

We have to somehow get Shin Yoosoung out of here.

And, unlike the main story, I must see the faces of the proud adults who drove the child to death with my own eyes.

The time to escape was drawing near.

I had finished hunting 500 Nagaks, which was my target, so all I had to do was wait. However, Shin Yoosoung muttered weakly.

"I can't go. I haven't met my quota yet."

Well, it's a dungeon that even adults couldn't clear. Even if she was talented, there was no way Shin Yoosoung, who was only a child, couldn’t clear it alone.

"I'll help you."

If you hunt only 100 Nagaks, you can meet the escape condition of the 'Nagak’s Field'.

The problem is that the Ancient Nagak is looking for us from afar.

But while I'm wasting my time, if Shin Yoosoung just hunts Nagaks one by one-

Watching Shin Yoosoung tremble with her arms wrapped around her, I realized that I was one step closer to the Shin Yoosoung Kim Dokja met.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

Shin Yoosoung's first scenario flashed through my mind.

She is a child who had to survive by killing her dog.

Shin Yoosoung's trauma was still vivid.

"I'm sorry. You can go alone. I can stay here, so-"

I thought it didn't matter whether it was acting or not.

If that's acting.

That's what's wrong is this world that made Shin Yoosoung act like that.

"I'll die if I'm here alone."

"You don't want to die. You don't have to say that."

Shin Yoosoung still hung her head.

"The school teaches you what to do in dangerous situations."

However, not everyone can do what they are taught at school.

Everyone knows that you should be considerate of the elderly and that you shouldn't hurt people.

I know that when I need help, I have to tell someone to help me.

But some people can't tell even if they know it.

There are people who have become like that.

"Shin Yoosoung helped me even though I didn't ask for help. So, I will help you too."

It's not because I'm an adult. It's not because Shin Yoosoung is a child.

I’m just helping, because she's the one I can help right now.

Shin Yoosoung, still unable to meet my eyes, opened her mouth.

"But I don't have the confidence to kill the monsters..."

"Killing is not the only answer."

I checked the number of monsters scattered throughout the terrarium.

Is it because I slaughtered quite a few of them?

Now, there were not that many living monsters in this 'Field of Nagak'.

There is no sign that Nagak's numbers are increasing.

If so, there is one way to try it out.

"You don't have to kill them. Instead, it can be a little painful."

However, in order to use this method, Shin Yoosoung’s help was needed.

"Maybe it's harder than killing. It's hard on the body, not the mind."

"If that's the case."

Shin Yoosoung raised her head and looked up at me.

"I'd like to. If I don't have to kill anything."

She is a determined child.

I nodded and said.

"Then let's try it."

"By the way, are you okay? If you're in trouble because of me—"

"No problem. And don't worry too much."

I smiled lightly as if to calm a frightened child.

"No matter what happens, I will protect you."

I briefly explained the operation.

Shin Yoosoung, who has a good brain, understood my words right away.

"Can I really do that?"

"It will be."

This operation relied entirely on Shin Yoosoung's talent.

Shin Yoosoung must believe in me to make this method possible.

"Start."

I flipped the cudgel cover and started running.

I must have walked dozens of steps after stepping on a puddle, and the monsters around me, noticing my presence, all looked at me in unison.

The sound waves inadvertently pouring behind my steps.

I gave a signal to Shin Yoosoung, who was looking at me from a distance, while running.

The purpose of this operation was simple.

While I was attracting the attention of the Nagaks, Shin Yoosoung, who activated [Tame], tamed the Nagaks in the terrarium.

This operation was conceived from Shin Yoosoung's status window.

Clearly, Shin Yoosoung was in a state where she couldn't kill even a single Nagak. Nevertheless, Shin Yoosoung already has a record of killing a Nagak. From this record, I can infer two hypotheses.

One, Shin Yoosoung can actually kill Nagaks.

Two, simply 'taming' them is recognized as hunting.

Whichever hypothesis is correct, the operation was well worth a try.

Even if this operation fails-

At the very least, Shin Yoosoung will be able to secure monsters to protect herself from adults.

The problem is that 'Shin Yuseung''s skill proficiency is too low.

From a distance, I could see Shin Yoosoung's face stained with faint despair.

"Oh, Ahjussi—"

I cried out in a loud voice.

"Calm down, try again one by one! You can do it!"

In fact, it was difficult for Shin Yoosoung at this point.

Even in the main story, Shin Yoosoung tamed sea creatures of 7th or higher after growing up under the special training of Kim Dokja.

And unfortunately, there was no Kim Dokja in this world.

But.

Shin Yoosoung now has me.