719 Episode 27 Recycling Center (2)

The place I fell into was a dense forest area.

The will-o'-the-wisp buzzed before me like a little firefly.

But I didn't move right away. Because I needed to know where this place was.

It's late at night. The forest with lush broadleaf trees covering the sky felt somewhat mountainous and scary.

There were no stars in the sky.

Even indirect messages were not heard.

I came up with a hypothesis in my head.

First, this is an area that the constellations cannot yet see.

Second, the constellations are not interested because the area I am in is outside the scenario.

Whatever the theory, it was best to avoid battle as much as possible in my current state.

The cries of animals were often heard.

I crouched as low as I could and went into the bushes holding my breath.

"Dokkaebi bag."

Fortunately, the 'Dokkaebi Bag' worked normally.

I bought items needed for the homeless from the bag.

These were the things that the Demon King of Salvation once told me were 'great items for homeless people'.

After spraying the surrounding area, I set up a 'bed' and covered it with 'someone's old blanket'.

The blanket fluttered like ectoplasm and slowly seeped into the background. From the outside, there was no way to tell that there was a hiding place in the bushes.

When I squeezed inside the transparent blanket, I could clearly see outside.

The downside is that the interior is so narrow that one adult male can barely lie down.

It didn't matter because I was the only one in the group anyway.

As I slowly curled up under the thick blanket, for some reason, a familiar memory came to mind.

Memories of hiding under a blanket and reading a book with a small light on.

Is it my memory or Kim Dokja’s memory?

Is it really that important to reveal the origins of anyone's memories?

I turned on the smartphone that Kim Dokja left behind and started reading 'Ways of Survival'.

One day passed, and then two days passed. My daily routine was simple.

When the sun rose, I followed the ghostly fire through the forest area, and at night, I took a nap in a blanket tent while reading 'Ways of survival'.

Sometimes I encountered monsters.

Grrrr—!

The monster species encountered are mainly 7th grade or 8th grade species.

After two days of camping, my body recovered quite a bit and I was able to fight against monsters.

The main thing I encountered was a huge wild boar.

As I was trying to take out my weapon as usual, I suddenly realized that the Demon King of Salvation had borrowed my thoughts of almost everything.

Fortunately, there was one weapon left to replace it.

'Unbroken faith.'

Kim Dokja's main weapon, and the weapon left behind by the disappeared Han Sooyoung.

The bright blade of [Baekcheonganggi], which was now quite proficient, flashed.

I narrowly avoided the giant forest boar and refined my sword using the story 「Persistent Murin Master」.

The wild boar fell down in an instant, blood pouring from its side.

After collecting its core, I immediately started butchering it. Because I haven't eaten anything for two days already.

I looked for and read about the 'Forest Wild Boar’s butchering' in 'Ways of Survival'.

The poisonous horns were removed, the skin was removed, the intestines were taken out, and the meat was sliced along the spine.

I gathered twigs and lit a fire.

There was no [Magic Brazier], but now it is possible to light a cooking flame without a brazier.

For cooking wild boar, refer to Yoo Jonghyuk's recipe from the 81st round. However, even though I followed Yoo Jonghyuk's recipe, the dish did not turn out well for some reason.

Probably because I am not Yoo Jonghyuk.

There are some obvious facts I learned while living alone.

For example, not all monster species are as delicious as 'Ground Puppy' or 'Yana Spreta'.

Monsters must be slaughtered three or four times a day, and emergency food must be stored in case the hunt fails.

Even in the apocalypse, you have to maintain hygiene and occasionally wash your body under running water.

Then Lee Jihye held her nose and walked away.

"Eww..…"」

If you don't have a place to wash, you can purchase [Clean Body] from the 'Dokkaebi Bag' and use it.

Three days, then four days passed.

It's been a long time since I've been alone like this.

Suddenly, memories of the day I first started living here came to mind.

The fact is that humans need to eat something every day to survive.

The fact is that someone has to constantly run the washing machine in order to wear clean clothes.

The fact is that if you don't clean up what you eat right away, bugs will be attracted.

The fact is that you have to work and earn money to pay rent and resident tax.

By experiencing those extremely obvious facts firsthand, I managed to grow into a decent member of society.

Things that must be done to become an ordinary adult.

Since when did Kim Dokja start doing things like that on his own?

I often thought about Kim Dokja, who endured his childhood alone without the help of his parents—the Demon King of Salvation at a time when no one could yet save him.

A boy who worked to earn money, did laundry, cooked meals, washed dishes, occasionally paid rent, and read Ways of Survival before going to sleep.

Thinking of that boy, I also read 'Ways of Survival'.

And a week has passed.

Now monster hunting has become much more natural. The speed of butchering has also increased, and the skill proficiency has also increased.

I read 'Ways of Survival' repeatedly, looking for the information I needed.

I was able to properly distinguish between what was edible and what was not.

Whenever there was a stream, the water quality was checked and drinking water was stored.

I often washed my face with cold water. My face was reflected in the eerily clear stream.

For some reason, my face seemed to have changed a little. Is it an illusion?

"I guess I’ll have to go get some new fragments soon."

Recycling Center.

Over the past week, I've searched through the entire 'Ways of Survival' and found every bit of information about the eighth scenario.

Originally, the eighth scenario on the Korean Peninsula was 'Black Castle'.

New Demon World—A stage that exists to elect the 73rd Lord of the Demon World.

However, the eighth stage of the 41st round was 'Recycling Center'.

An area that can only be reached through the 'Star Ladder'.

According to the explanation of the 'Ways of Survival', it was possible to rise to the status of a constellation with a sponsor by using the 'Recycling Center'.

If you look at it up to this point, it wasn't a bad scenario.

The problem is that the level of difficulty of this 'Recycling Center' is such that even regressor Yoo Jonghyuk shakes his head.

It was understandable that the Demon King of Salvation was reluctant about this scenario.

But he eventually sent me here.

Finally, the wisp's guidance came to an end. I looked around.

The place we arrived was the entrance to somewhere. At the entrance stood an usher holding a small attendance board in her hand.

"Hmm."

It was a guide wearing a sheep-shaped mask.

"Is there anyone who hasn’t come in yet?"

The receptionist looked me up and down and spoke in a bored voice.

"It looks like you’re from the Frontier Nebula. Is that right?"

"I am not affiliated with any Nebula."

"Huh. Oh my. There’s no nebula?"

The receptionist must have felt sympathy for my answer, and suddenly started saying something strange.

"It looks like some crazy sponsor is pushing their incarnation to death again. Were you also deceived by a story like 'A dragon arises in a stream'?"

There seems to be a story like that.

"I don’t know where you came from and what you heard, but if possible, it would be best to just go back. An incarnation like you will become prey as soon as you enter."

"Thank you, but I would like to go to the 'Recycling Center'."

The receptionist, who didn't know my situation, shook his head as if another pathetic fool had appeared.

"Yeah, well. It’s your life. I have to ask you a few questions to pass, is that okay?"

I nodded.

"Where are you from?"

"Seoul Dome."

"Do you have any stories?"

"Yes."

"How many stories do you have?"

"There are three that I have accumulated myself."

"You accumulated three stories yourself…"

The guide who had written down that far stopped and asked.

"Count the stories. You piled it all up? Who recommended this?"

"The Demon King of Salvation."

I thought he might know my background, but the guide was wearing sheep's clothing so I couldn't tell his expression.

The guide who checked something nodded and asked.

"Your name is?"

I was about to answer Cheon Inho, but hesitated for a moment.

"Your name is?"

I don't know why.

However, I had a feeling that I shouldn't say that.

"I asked your name. I’m sure you didn’t forget it, right?"

"There are a lot of unusual friends today. Including the black haired(?) clothed(?) kid who came in earlier…"

I thought of the Demon King of Salvation.

"I’ll tell you in advance, if you say the wrong name, you will be immediately expelled. Only invited incarnations can come here—"

My playful constellation.

It was he who let me in here.

"My name is—"

I slowly said one person's name.

The guide looked at me for a moment and said.

"That’s a strange name."

"I hear that a lot."

"Welcome to the 'Recycling Center', Kim Dokja."

I nodded.