Chapter 22: The Boss is Too Weak (2)

Chapter 22: The Boss is Too Weak (2)

After storing the provisions in the vacant lot, we finished our introductions and began to walk through the forest, following Park Cheol-jin’s lead.

‘...It’s a good thing I didn’t regress.’

It was only once that I had come this far, and that was on the sixth day.

In the past, when I lazily stayed at the Vacant lot doing nothing, such events didn’t exist.

I’ve never even heard of Park Cheol-jin finding the boss.

In that case, I should consider myself the butterfly effect... However, I still don’t know why the future changed.

“...”

“...”

Park Cheol-jin, Choi Ji-won, and I walked in silence.

The atmosphere felt a bit awkward, but I decided to ask what I was curious about.

“How did you know about us?”

Perhaps because I used the word “us,” Choi Ji-won’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but she didn’t offer any objections.

By the way, Park Cheol-jin’s departure from the vacant lot was in the early afternoon of the second day. Choi Ji-won started distributing provisions after that.

Which meant there was no contact between them.

“...It was Kim Gun-do who told me,” Park Cheol-jin willingly answered my question.

“But who’s Kim Gun-do?”

“...”

I have no idea. Who is Kim Gun-do?

It feels like a stranger saying, “Oh, aren’t you Jun-ho? Nice to meet you!”

“He’s someone who came from your group... but I don’t know his name.”

“Does he have anything unique?”

“He digs the ground everywhere.”

“Ah!”

It must be that old man who dug the ground. His name was Kim Gun-do, apparently.

“He originally planned to leisurely dig the ground at the vacant lot for five days... but there were too many people, and he couldn’t stand the mental strain. Now he’s part of our group.”

“Ah, I see.”

In the previous round, Kim Gun-do, the old man, disappeared on the fifth night.

It seems he left the vacant lot earlier than planned because of the people I sent there.

And somehow, he ended up joining the group of the firefighter old man.

Is this what they call the butterfly effect? It feels oddly strange.

“We’ve arrived.”

How long had we walked? Park Cheol-jin finally stopped his footsteps.

“Wow...”

There were three well-built houses made of wood here. They were a bit small, but the craftsmanship was quite impressive.

“Did you build these yourself?”

“No. We had a carpenter in our group who had the trait to process wood easily. Those are his works.”

“Oh... Wait, he had...?”

“He died by a mutant goblin.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, when Park Cheol-jin left the vacant lot, he didn’t believe in status screens or towers at all.

He used to insist that all of this was just a joke...

But now, he casually uses words like “traits” and “mutant goblin.”

How much hardship did it take for him to accept all of this?

It makes my heart feel heavy for some reason.

“But there’s no one here?”

The log houses were empty.

Although there were signs of people living here, there was no one to be found, which felt a bit strange.

“...”

The atmosphere suddenly turned chilly.

What is this?

“...Miss Choi Ji-won. Can we trust this man’s abilities?”

“I think he’s among the top.”

“Good. If you say so, then it must be true.”

The firefighter, Park Cheol-jin, nodded after hearing Choi Ji-won’s testimony.

“As much as I’d like to see Kim Jun-ho’s skills in action...”

He sank deeply into the chair and stared at me.

“We don’t have much time. The situation is quite dire.”

“...Dire?”

“You know about the message window that appeared regarding the boss, right?”

“Yes, I do...”

Tutorial Stage-Clear condition 1: Swallow the ‘Golden Bead’ hidden somewhere in the forest to proceed to the next stage. However, there are only 50 Golden Beads in existence.

-Clear condition 2: Defeat the boss, Goblin Shaman, to create a portal to the next stage.

“Aren’t you curious why we found the boss but didn’t immediately kill it?”

Come to think of it, that was true.

By killing the boss, a portal to the next stage would open.

And at first glance, Park Cheol-jin seemed like a formidable opponent. That giant axe, his muscles, and the aura emanating from him all proved his strength.

So why did such a powerful individual take the long way around to find us instead of quickly dealing with the boss?

“...You’ll understand the situation when you see it for yourself. Follow me.”

He stood up and began walking somewhere, and Choi Ji-won and I followed behind.

“We came across the boss by a simple coincidence. Kim Gun-do discovered the goblin’s lair while digging the ground.”

As we walked, a familiar smell filled the air.

A familiar and unpleasant swampy smell.

It seemed like we were heading toward the outskirts of the forest.

“While exploring the goblin’s lair... we found an exit leading above ground.”

Because I called people to the vacant lot, Kim Gun-do left earlier than planned.

And then he started digging the ground here, which resulted in Park Cheol-jin discovering the boss - it was mysterious, but in fact, a logical butterfly effect.

“...”

But the luxury of thinking about such things was gradually disappearing.

It was because of a tingling sensation on my skin... A feeling of tension in the back of my neck.

I sensed something. The creature was enraged.

“Well, that’s the Goblin Shaman over there.”

Haah. Haah.

As Park Cheol-jin said, an old goblin was breathing roughly.

It had some kind of animal bone turned upside down on its head, and it held a decorated staff in its hand. It was obvious that it was the Goblin Shaman.

The peculiar thing was that the boss looked extremely weak.

Green blood trickled from its mouth, and it seemed like it could collapse with just a slight push.

“If we kill that weakling, the portal will open, right?”

“That’s right.”

The Goblin Shaman stood on a complex pattern and mumbled something incessantly.

“...”

The problem wasn’t the Goblin Shaman.

“Grrr... Grrrrrrrr...”

Twitching muscles.

Eyes filled with madness.

A colossal axe tightly gripped in its hand.

The body was humanoid, but the head was that of a bull.

The boss, the Goblin Shaman, was struggling to maintain its seal.

The seal that restrains the Minotaur, the monster that killed me in one blow.

--- END OF THE CHAPTER ---

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