Chapter 56
Even though I won the argument, somehow, I don’t feel good about it.
I tightly gripped the hip pouch full of refined magic stones.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
At that moment, Baek Yi-heon asked the elderly couple with a serious face.
He was proposing once again if they wouldn’t come to Ganghwa Island together.
“That’s right. Now that the monster is gone.”
“We can get firewood and food from the mountain, so don’t worry about us and go on down.”
The two kind-faced elderly people waved enthusiastically in front of their country house.
“Old folks can’t be a burden to young people. We were born and raised here, so we’ll die on this mountain even if we die.”
Seeing this, I felt a twinge in my heart.
As I turned my head to look, everyone else, including Baek Yi-heon, had slightly uncomfortable expressions.
Even Choi Kkang-kang, whose conscience was closest to normal.
‘Damn it…’
I gripped the hip pouch even tighter.
…Come to think of it, in this situation, am I not appearing too cold-hearted?
I’ve been carefully managing my image until now, I couldn’t suddenly be treated like a heartless person.
‘Right. That would only hurt me in the long run.’
So that’s why I’m doing this seemingly disadvantageous action in the short term…
With trembling hands, I took out a blue magic stone from my hip pouch.
The only A-grade magic stone I had barely obtained after defeating that damned sea dragon last time.
“T-this…”
I handed it to the elderly couple with shaking hands.
“If you have this, low-level monsters won’t be able to approach.”
It should be enough, since there’s no way higher-level monsters would appear in such a remote mountain anyway.
[(Messenger) Indra is looking down at you with a benevolent smile.]
Why. What. What is it.
“Oh my! Isn’t this valuable?”
“No, no it’s not…”
Actually, it is. It’s extremely valuable… You can only get this by defeating boss-level monsters…
I turned away from my beloved magic stone, holding back tears.
Staying longer would only leave regrets.
“Let’s hurry down. Before the sun sets…”
It was so precious that I actually had tears in my eyes.
“As expected of Noah…”
“Even tearing up out of concern for the elderly…”
“Hmm. Maybe I misjudged. She’s quite different from my first impression.”
I moved my feet while hearing the whispers of my companions.
The path down the mountain was clear.
Just like we had really gone hiking.
Maybe because I had one less magic stone, the weight of the hip pouch on my shoulder felt a bit lighter.
And so we returned to the camping car.
💎
“I did it!”
One day as we were driving towards Ganghwa Island again.
We had just parked the camping car at the foot of a mountain to replenish water and food as usual.
Choi Kkang-kang, who was alone in the car, burst out of the door and shouted in a joyful tone.
“Haha! I figured it out! Now I can make anything I want!”
After consuming several of the precious refined magic stones we had collected, he finally seemed to have understood how to use them.
‘Finally…!’
While I was jumping for joy inside, the other companions who didn’t yet understand the meaning of those words remained calm.
“Congratulations. Then I’ll get water…”
“I’ll go hunting…”
“I’ll set up a barrier!”
But Choi Kkang-kang paid no attention and rushed back into the camping car.
Throughout the time the group was busily preparing for tonight’s camp, there were constant clanking sounds coming from inside the car.
As the sun had completely set and the stew was bubbling in the campfire.
“It’s done!”
Choi Kkang-kang burst out of the camping car with the same line and pose.
His face, smeared with ash here and there, was full of pride and satisfaction.
However, the rest of the group gathered around the campfire looked puzzled.
“…What’s done?”
Even I, who roughly knew about his abilities, ended up asking that.
It was because the exterior of the camping car looked the same.
“The car! There weren’t enough beds and it was too cramped, so I fixed it!”
“…Really? It doesn’t look any different.”
“What do you mean it hasn’t changed!”
Then he put his hands on his hips proudly and quickly exclaimed.
“Why don’t you go inside and see for yourself before saying that!”
Huh?
With a doubtful expression, I approached the camping car and opened the door.
The exterior is so unchanged, how much could the inside have possibly…
“Wow.”
I let out an exclamation of amazement.
As soon as I opened the camping car door, what appeared was a living room as large as any ordinary house.
Moreover, judging by the wooden doors, it seemed to have several rooms.
Peering out with a puzzled expression, I checked the car’s exterior, which was still the same as the previous camping car.
“It’s really spacious. Just like magic. How did you do this?”
“Hehe. It is magic. I made it with the powers granted to me by the god.”
He lifted his nose proudly, looking very satisfied.
Then he turned to Baek Yi-heon, who had followed me in, and exclaimed triumphantly.
“Hyung-nim! Check out the refrigerator too!”
At those words, Baek Yi-heon opened the mini-fridge door.
I quickly approached to look, and inside the small door was a space almost as large as a restaurant’s freezer.
Shivering slightly at the cold air rushing out, I asked.
“What on earth are you planning to put in here?”
“Anything! We always end up wasting the meat you hunt, Hyung-nim.”
That’s true.
Once, Baek Yi-heon had hunted a large wild boar, but it was too much for the five of us to eat, so we had to throw it away when it spoiled.
Even then, he was so regretful about wasting it, even though he hadn’t hunted it himself.
‘To think he made even this in such a short time.’
“That’s great. Food supply will become increasingly difficult in the future.”
“Now that we have a freezer, we can freeze food whenever we find it.”
Baek Yi-heon and Yu nodded and spoke in turn.
Especially Baek Yi-heon, though he didn’t show it much, looked particularly satisfied.
“That’s not all! The core of this renovation is this!”
Excited by everyone’s interest, Choi Kkang-kang proudly pointed to one wall.
There was a transparent crystal-like item made using B-grade magic stones embedded there.
I recognized what that item was before anyone else.
“The so-called Barrier Stone! With this, we won’t have to suffer from monsters while we travel!”
He exclaimed proudly, then glanced at me and added.
“…The other day, ahem. I tried making it after hearing something about wavelengths.”
At those words, everyone’s faces brightened.
We had been encountering more monsters as we got closer to Seoul, where the Tower was located.
“Wow, you’re amazing, Hyung!”
“That’s great. It was tiring to fight every time.”
Baek Yi-heon, who was examining the crystal with interest, asked.
“Can you make more of these Barrier Stones, Choi Ka… no, Choi Yu?”
I could immediately guess what he was thinking.
He probably thought if we could distribute Barrier Stones to people, they could avoid monsters too.
But if there was such a simple solution, why would humanity have perished in the novel?
“As long as we have magic stones, we can make as many as we want. …But these don’t last long, Hyung-nim.”
Choi Kkang-kang seemed to have immediately understood the intention behind Baek Yi-heon’s question.
“It uses magic stones as a kind of battery. Even with B-grade stones, a week is the maximum.”
“…I see.”
I nodded as I listened to his explanation.
‘The performance of the Barrier Stone is the same as described in the original work.’
That’s why it was only used in survivor camps where Craftsman-type Awakened stayed.
But even so, it’s enough to last until I reach the shelter after parting ways with Baek Yi-heon.
Finally, all the means for my solo life have been prepared.
I muttered weakly.
“Wow… that’s great…”
💎
Thank you for reading! ♡
