Chapter 56 - Food First

Chapter 56 - Food First

"Oh, but first, let's eat."

Jin suddenly clutched his lower abdomen.

Then, with a grunt, he made a face as though he'd been stabbed with a knife.

His companions stared at him, dumbfounded.

Suddenly?

But this was a perfectly natural occurrence.

When a human faces a critical issue, they tend to shove all the little desires into a closet until the big problem is dealt with.

Now that the dangerous situation was over and safety was secured, it was like the contents of that closet came spilling out all at once.

"Food, give me food!" he shouted.

With that, Jin jumped to his feet.

After rummaging through the underground space here and there, he returned with both hands full of cans, and Fenrir, looking utterly baffled, spoke up.

"Why are you bringing so many?"

"To eat with you guys... uh, never mind."

Jin avoided Ocia and Den, who had already started dozing off, and leaned back on the couch.

"Tired?"

"They haven't slept or bathed for three days. It's probably because they're finally relaxing. Who's the one who suddenly wants to eat first?"

"So, what do you want me to give you?"

"...Anything."

Bastard.

He was going to eat anyway.

Jin smiled faintly and tossed a can marked 'processed meat.'

"Where's the spoon?"

"None. Just drink it or eat it with your hands."

What's a wolf-man doing complaining about utensils?

With just a few long claws, you wouldn't need a fork.

Oh, sweet corn.

That looks delicious.

Jin tilted his head back and shook the can.

Golden kernels poured out like a waterfall, filling his cheeks as he chewed.

At the sight, Fenrir also took off his mask and began to eat.

Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he'd seen Fenrir's face in human form.

When Jin glanced over, it wasn't a surprise—the appearance was just as expected.

His sharp eyes paired perfectly with his razor-sharp jawline.

And the rough scars that covered his face.

"What are you staring at?"

"Quite prickly, aren't you?"

Jin shrugged and opened a new can.

Then, using his thumb and index finger, he fished out a few pieces and spoke.

"What's the deal with TB... no, with Taha?"

"Nothing much. He used to be a comrade."

"Did he stab you in the back?"

"Stab me in the back? It was just that we had different views, so we split ways."

"I don't think Taha thought it was that simple. What did he say? Fate? The voice within?"

Fenrir, chewing on the processed meat, scowled.

"Beast sickness must have fully taken hold. I had a feeling, and it turns out it's really messed up."

"Beast sickness? What's that?"

Jin tossed the can with his question, and Fenrir caught it out of mid-air before answering.

"Side effect of the beast serum. An uncontrollable urge to destroy, and while it's happening, you start hearing voices in your head."

"Do you have that too?"

"Sometimes."

Fenrir nodded casually, then, at some point, twisted his lips into a smirk.

"It's no wonder beastkin are shunned by society. They're treated like ticking time bombs, ready to explode at any moment."

With a cynical self-deprecating remark, Jin's gaze shifted back to Fenrir's jawline.

He had thought the marks were just irregular cuts, but now he saw they were claw marks.

It looked like whenever the impulse hit, Fenrir would vent his anger on his own face.

He's made a rag out of himself, Jin thought to himself.

Noticing Jin's gaze, Fenrir made a sour face.

"You get used to it. I've been handling it for years without any problems."

"But Taha didn't hold back?"

"...He's different. He's undergone shedding."

At that, Jin snapped his fingers.

Right.

That's what I wanted to ask about.

"Hey, good job bringing that up. What exactly is shedding?"

"...Don't you think you're asking too many questions? What exactly do you know?"

Fenrir retorted with a gruff voice, but Jin didn't care.

He just kept drinking the can's contents.

If you don't know, ask.

Simple as that.

There's a saying: "Don't be embarrassed to ask what you don't know."

Even Confucius said so, right?

Here's a little trivia.

The word '하' in '불치하문' (Don't be embarrassed to ask what you don't know) comes from the Chinese character for 'lower.'

It refers to someone lower in status or lacking knowledge.

So it's about not being ashamed to ask someone beneath you.

Solos of the same level and Fenrir, who is more knowledgeable, don't fall into this category.

But you know, those who've only learned half are the ones who ask with more confidence.

Jin waited, eyes fixed expectantly, and Fenrir let out a half-hearted chuckle before answering.

And so, shedding!

It means breaking through one's shell, essentially growing to a new level in every aspect of life.

Regardless of the power one uses, it's a moment of transformation that occurs through specific conditions and realizations.

It's like smashing the wall that stands in front of you and seeing a wider world.

But even when you step into that new world, you'll encounter another wall, blocking you once again.

It's the world that surrounds you and the boundary to something beyond, which is why it's called a 'hierarchy' or 'level world.'

"Hmm."

Jin nodded thoughtfully.

Now that he thought about it, he had experienced such a moment.

The time he fought Killgit.

When a lightning bolt struck his mind, didn't the world seem completely different for a moment?

It was like putting on new glasses.

Now he was used to it, but at the time, everything felt... off in a way.

At the same time, a thought flashed through his mind.

How many worlds have Crow, Lokan, and Killgit already stepped into?

Now he was starting to understand why their strength always seemed so vague.

They lived in a different world.

At that moment, Fenrir continued with his previous statement.

"The shedding of one's shell is something ordinary people will never experience in their lifetime. Solo fighters above Level 5 are those who've achieved it... Wait, how did we get onto this topic?"

With an annoyed expression, he scratched his head before looking at Jin.

"...Anyway, I trust you understand now that Taha is a beastkin who has undergone shedding."

"Second Rank."

Jin immediately applied what he had learned.

Truthfully, it was still an unfamiliar term to him, so he had simply said it aloud to get used to it.

"Back to the point—Taha's tendency to speak insanity with such composure is likely due to his shedding. The more times a beastkin undergoes shedding, the deeper their madness becomes. Or rather, during the process of breaking through the barrier, the risk of succumbing to madness rises drastically."

Perhaps because he had never experienced it himself, Fenrir added nothing more.

He simply buried himself into the couch, his exhaustion apparent.

Before long, the sound of soft snoring filled the air.

The moment Jin was left alone—

A status window appeared.

「(Omen!) The Beast of War 2」────────

Eliminate Taha and dismantle TB.

Reward: Perk XP 9,000──────────────────

Jin folded his arms as he looked at the rectangular box in front of him, a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"They're giving me a lot of experience points. Must mean they're planning to make me suffer again."

Muttering under his breath, he slowly closed his eyes.

***

Jin woke up to noise.

Hurried footsteps.

Desperate screams.

And the thick scent of blood.

Instinctively, he sprang up from the couch.

His eyes landed on people being carried on stretchers.

It didn't take long for him to realize they were the rescued resistance members.

Two of them were still walking on their own, albeit sluggishly.

One was a stranger, but the other was a face Jin recognized.

A woman who had served as the attending physician back when he had taken shelter at a former resistance base.

Her name was—

"Grace?"

"...Jin?"

Her face, caked with blood and dirt, was a mess, but her surprise was evident.

"You... How are you here?"

"Albus called me."

"...Albus is here too?"

"He is, but talking to him won't be easy."

By then, Ocia and Den had started conversing with the other resistance member who had come with Grace.

Though it was a dramatic reunion, the conversation itself was grim.

Who had died.

Who else had died.

Stories that weighed heavily on the shoulders of the living.

Heads drooped in despair.

Jin furrowed his brows.

He looked back at Grace.

"So you and that guy over there are the only ones unscathed?"

"Yes, that's right."

She answered, but she hardly seemed fine.

Half in a daze, she was little more than a walking scarecrow.

In this condition, she wouldn't be of any use, no matter how many survivors there were.

"Rest."

With that, Jin walked past her.

He strode through the corridor echoing with screams, climbed the spiraling staircase up three floors, and arrived at the fireplace-lit living room.

The man sitting in front of the fire slowly turned his head.

"Hic— You're here?"

Jin glanced at the old-looking man with a crooked expression before striding toward him.

As he walked, he grabbed a chair and naturally seated himself across from the man.

Then, he asked bluntly—

"Does this make sense to you?"

The colonel tilted his head at the abrupt question, which lacked both context and courtesy.

At the same time, Q, who had sensed movement, opened the door and stepped in.

Seeing him, the colonel raised his palm in a gesture to pause before responding.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you not see the faces of the people downstairs? Their morale is shot. They're completely broken. They can't fight like that, no matter how many of them you gather."

His tone was sharp and direct.

Enough that even Q flinched.

But Jin didn't care.

This wasn't some sick old man or a frail elder he was talking to.

This was a special forces colonel.

There was no need to be polite.

That was why his speech had become even rougher.

To the colonel, however, the sudden shift was jarring, prompting him to let out a short laugh.

"So?"

"Gathering more of these beaten-down survivors is meaningless. The base is already destroyed, and their strongest allies are dead. What kind of strength do you expect them to muster?"

Just as Q furrowed his brows and took a step forward, the colonel raised a hand to stop him and spoke.

"We're not ignoring that issue. But we have no choice. We need troops to fight TB. Hic—"

"Then do it yourselves."

"If we did that, our target would withdraw."

"...The Collector?"

"Exactly."

The colonel poured himself another drink as he answered.

At that moment—

Footsteps echoed beyond the living room.

Fenrir appeared, crossing his arms silently.

The colonel glanced at him before wiping his damp lips and speaking.

"That's why we need your help."

"'Our help?'"

Jin and Fenrir spoke in unison.

This time, it was Q who answered, following the colonel's cue.

"We plan to form a strike team with you two at the lead. Your objective is to eliminate Taha. Meanwhile, while you engage him and TB's forces, we will hunt down the Collector."

Essentially, they were being asked to complete the operation that Oren had failed.

And then—

The most important part came.

"We'll guarantee a success reward of one hundred million credits each."

"Hiiik!"

Jin unknowingly took in a deep breath, only to choke violently on the sudden rush of air.

He coughed and spluttered, making quite the scene, when someone in front of him offered a bottle.

In his desperation, he snatched it and took a gulp—only to immediately spit it out in a fine mist.

It was alcohol!

As the colonel burst into laughter, Fenrir spoke up.

"You think that highly of us?"

"You deserve to be. You're the solos who survived against Crow, after all."

At Q's response, Jin, still wiping his damp chin with the back of his hand, slowly raised his head.

"…How do you know about that?"

"We're hiring you for a job. Doing at least this much background research is a given."

Then, Fenrir's voice came again.

"What are the chances of Crow getting involved?"

"Fortunately, it seems like he's withdrawn from Mute Town. It was probably just a temporary alignment of interests. You don't have to worry about that."

"No backup? Even though you're supposedly a city government agent?"

"Sorry, but our budget is tight. I'd say the reward alone should be enough to show our sincerity."

After saying that, Q looked at Jin and Fenrir and asked,

"So, what's your decision?"

Honestly, there was no real reason to refuse.

It was a golden opportunity to rake in a massive amount of experience and a hefty sum of credits in one go.

But the problem was the squad—

Even if they got additional manpower, it would just be a handful of surviving resistance members.

That was too weak of a force, wasn't it?

And from the looks of it, there wasn't going to be much in the way of support, either.

That was when—

Bzzzzzzzz—

A long vibration came from inside his chest pocket.

"Ah, excuse me."

With an awkward smile, Jin checked his device.

It was an unknown number, but thinking it might be Khalifa, he quickly pressed the answer button and brought the device to his ear.

"Hello?"

A professional voice immediately came through.

[This is Wonder. As I mentioned before, we'd like to provide you with equipment. Would you care to select something that suits you?]

At the same time, a flood of messages filled with images and details of various gear started arriving.

Seeing them, Jin's eyes widened.

For a moment, he covered the device with his palm, stretched his neck to the side, and let out a couple of deliberate coughs.

Then, he cautiously leaned toward the speaker and spoke.

"So, uh… sorry to ask, but… can I have everything?"