Sofia distributed the rewards and disappeared soon after. The small crowd expected YuWon to lead them, but he had no such intentions.
After all, the apocalypse he lived through and the one they were stuck in were quite different. With his stats
frozen,
YuWon was as useless as them. Besides, he was headed toward home. Yeji's father was still alive, and YuWon wanted to change that.
Unfortunately, reaching their home would have to wait. With the monsters and the distance between their school and house, it would take them a couple of days to get there.
"Let's look for a place to settle first," YuWon mumbled.
As the other religiously followed YuWon, Min-Joon was stuck thinking about how he ended up there. While everyone was dispersing, YuWon sought him out and offered to take him in.
Although he was
offered
the spot, something in YuWon's voice told him if he didn't obey, he would die. With no choice, he nodded as Soo-Ah's skeletons patted his back, welcoming him to their ranks.
Even the skeletons sympathize with me... I don't know if it's good or bad.
After fighting through some estranged goblins, the group arrived at an apartment complex. The entire place was littered with corpses and blood. But it didn't seem any monsters were there.
Soo-Ah sent her skeletons to scout the place, just in case. They found a few open, habitable apartments. When they arrived there, the stench of death hit them hard.
Skeletons saw the apartments were safe, but paid no heed to blood and gore. Yeji, Gina, Lilith and, to some extent, Soo-Ah handled themselves, but Min-Joon immediately puked. For a berserker, his heart was quite weak. YuWon made a mental note to help Min-Joon after they were settled.
"Clean it up," YuWon told Soo-Ah.
No sooner he said that, the skeletons got to work. While she did that, YuWon grabbed Min-Joon by the back of his collar and dragged him outside.
"Brother, go easy on me—"
YuWon glared at Min-Joon and that shut him up. The last time, YuWon used goblins to make Min-Joon aware of his strength. He aimed to use the same strategy, but this time with ogres. But before that, YuWon had to cultivate Min-Joon's skills.
YuWon opened the store and began browsing through the skills section. Berserkers prioritized two things: sustainability and strength. As a berserker, the longer Min-Joon stayed in a fight, the stronger he'd get.
+++
>> Rage: Increases attack by 20% when HP drops below 30%.
Price: 11,200 gold
+++
YuWon scratched his chin. The Bloodlust Axe was the perfect weapon for Min-Joon, but the price was quite high. Thankfully, YuWon had no shortage of gold.
Min-Joon would be my right-hand man in the future. Being stingy now could bite me in the ass later.
With that thought, YuWon bought the heavy battleaxe. Min-Joon's eyes widened when he saw the axe and was even more taken aback when YuWon tossed the axe to him.
"Brother, no, master—!" Min-Joon exclaimed, bowing to YuWon.
"Stop with the nonsense," YuWon cut him off. "Now you have a weapon and a skill. You know what that means, right?"
"...you want me to fight?" Min-Joon mumbled.
YuWon nodded, before pointing outside the fence. A couple of Soo-Ah's skeletons stood guard there, but further ahead, one could see a towering creature. It was an ogre.
"I want you to kill it in under two minutes," YuWon instructed. "If you fail, I'll take back the weapon and give it to someone more deserving—maybe one of Soo-Ah's skeletons."
Min-Joon's gaze shifted between YuWon and the towering ogre. The instructions were clear. Either he obeys YuWon and continues reaping rewards, or he fails and gets abandoned.
YuWon smiled inwardly. He knew human nature quite well. After receiving treasures like the axe and a skill, Min-Joon's greed would have skyrocketed. He'd crave more, enough to drive him to any lengths to stay in YuWon's favor.
Last time, YuWon used Min-Joon's fear to train him. This time, he opted for a more reliable method.
"I'll do it," Min-Joon nodded.
"Then what are you waiting for?" YuWon asked, marking a checkpoint.
Min-Joon took a deep breath, his hands gripping the axe tightly. As he rushed ahead, he could feel YuWon's gaze on his back. He had two minutes to prove his worth to YuWon.
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With a loud yell, he charged at the ogre. The ogre turned, its eyes focused on the new target. With a growl, it raised the tree-sized club. Unafraid, Min-Joon swung the axe, aiming for the ogre's leg.
But before the axe could connect, the ogre swung the club, hitting Min-Joon mid-charge. The force sent Min-Joon flying. He smashed into a car, crumpling its frame like paper. A pained groan escaped his lips as he slid to the ground. He was down—but, surprisingly, alive.
"This is going to be a long day," YuWon sighed.