CHAPTER 37

Assembly (1)

Lee Jun-hyuk was one of the Awakened who led a group of survivors near Seomyeon Station.

His ability was merely producing water, but in extreme situations, the ability to create water played a crucial role in survival.

Thanks to this, the group he led had a significantly higher number of survivors compared to other groups.

However, as time passed, having a large number of survivors was turning from an advantage into a disadvantage.

The reason was simple: food was being consumed as quickly as the number of people increased.

Including himself, there were a total of 24 people.

The amount of food required to feed 24 adults was beyond imagination.

"This is really the limit."

Even the food they had desperately secured by fighting monsters was starting to run out.

"We have to leave, no matter where."

It was around that time when it happened.

Kwaaaang—!

The prelude to despair began on an unusually bright afternoon.

Kugugugugu—!

The ground trembled as explosions erupted.

Since he was underground, the impact felt even stronger.

"An earthquake?"

Just then, a man rushed down from above, shouting at him.

"Jun-hyuk! You need to come up right now!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"It's bad! A monster! A monster!"

Lee Jun-hyuk, seeing the sheer terror on the man's face, spoke calmly.

"Calm down and show me. Where do we go?"

"Follow me."

Even as they hurried up the stairs, the vibrations in the ground continued.

"No… it's getting even worse."

By the time Lee Jun-hyuk reached the third floor, following the man's lead, he finally saw it through the gap between buildings.

"…What is that?"

A giant stood there.

With its towering height of dozens of meters, it could probably be seen from anywhere in Seomyeon.

The monster was crushing buildings as it moved.

"Jun-hyuk… w-what do we do now?"

Lee Jun-hyuk stared blankly at the massive creature and replied.

"Hyung."

"Y-yeah?"

"What do you mean, what do we do? Against that?"

The answer was already decided.

"Tell everyone to stay put underground and not move."

"What? B-but…!"

"Don't you get it? There's nothing we can do. The best we can do is pray that thing doesn't come this way."

When a predator appears, prey has only two choices.

Run or hide.

But in Lee Jun-hyuk's situation, running wasn't an option.

"And where exactly would we go? Goblins and orcs are swarming outside—where are you planning to escape to? If we fight them and catch the giant's attention, it's all over."

"I-I get it… I'll tell them to hide. But what about you?"

"I'm going to watch where that thing is headed."

"O-okay."

After sending the man back down, Lee Jun-hyuk moved to the rooftop.

As soon as he arrived—

"Kyaaaak!"

A goblin lunged at him.

'Still one left?'

Without hesitation, he swung his baseball bat.

Crack!

The goblin died instantly.

Lee Jun-hyuk was able to hunt goblins so easily because he was an Awakened.

Upon awakening, a person's physical abilities became vastly superior to those of ordinary people, and the more monsters they hunted, the stronger they became, even if only slightly.

Now, he possessed physical abilities far superior to those of even the most dedicated athletes, with all his senses sharpened to an extreme degree.

He had far surpassed the capabilities of an ordinary person.

"I don't even feel anything from hunting goblins anymore."

Ever since he reached a certain level, he could no longer experience that distinct feeling of growth from hunting goblins.

"Does that mean I need at least an orc to feel it?"

His comrades couldn't sense this unique feeling of growth at all.

"It must be something only Awakened ones can experience."

Rumble—

Fortunately, the giant showed no interest in this building and was gradually moving away.

Watching the giant fade into the distance, he thought to himself.

"If I could take down something like that, I'd become unbelievably strong."

He knew.

That it was nothing more than a useless fantasy.

But he couldn't help but feel the desire.

Because he knew all too well—if he managed to kill that monster, his physical abilities would evolve to the next level.

And then—

"Graaahhh!"

The giant let out a scream of agony.

"…Hmm?"

When he looked closely to see what was happening, he noticed someone fighting the giant.

"Is that guy insane?"

He had only imagined it, but someone was actually doing it.

"That guy must be an Awakened like me."

He had never met another Awakened before, but he was certain.

Otherwise, no one would risk their life on such a reckless gamble.

To Lee Jun-hyuk, it looked like that person had been blinded by greed for experience points and was overexerting himself.

"A fool who doesn't even know his own limits…"

But then—

"Aaagh!"

Something unexpected happened.

"Huh?"

Judging by the giant's pained cries, that reckless fool had actually landed a meaningful hit.

"No way… Could he really kill the giant?"

That thought flickered in his mind for only a moment—

BOOM!

The giant's enormous foot came crashing down like a meteor.

Rumble—!

"Ugh!"

The ground trembled violently, causing the surrounding buildings to collapse without resistance.

Even the shockwaves reached the building where Lee Jun-hyuk stood.

He nearly lost his balance, but thanks to his enhanced physical abilities and agility as an Awakened, he managed to stay on his feet.

"…He must be dead."

He mourned the unknown Awakened who had surely been crushed under the giant's foot.

But then—

"Hmm?"

The giant started rampaging again, running forward.

But something was off—its steps were noticeably slower. Looking closer, he saw that the giant was limping.

"What the hell? He's still alive?"

He was confused.

Just how powerful was this Awakened to be able to fight a giant on equal footing?

"Just… how strong is he?"

He had thought he had grown considerably since the day the monsters first appeared, constantly hunting and improving himself.

And yet, there was already an Awakened who could fight such a monster.

"Would it have been possible if I had gained combat-related abilities too?"

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't imagine himself fighting that monster.

But then, an even more astonishing scene unfolded.

Whooosh—!

"!!!"

A massive flame erupted like a fountain from the giant's mouth.

With it, a warm gust of wind reached all the way to where Lee Jun-hyuk stood.

Flames powerful enough to have an impact even at this distance…

'What kind of monstrous ability is that?'

That explosion clearly wasn't caused by the giant's own power. If it were, the creature wouldn't be reacting as if it had taken damage.

That meant it was the ability of the awakened one fighting the giant. But to produce such an overwhelming display…

'The difference in level… no, in class is immense.'

At this point, it wasn't even the giant that seemed terrifying—it was the unknown awakened one battling it.

If their abilities were even remotely comparable, he might have felt jealousy or competitive fire. But this was beyond that.

It was simply awe-inspiring.

One thing was certain—the giant possessed an incredible vitality, having withstood that massive explosion.

Then, after pounding the ground for a long while, the giant suddenly—

Flash!

With a brilliant burst of light, its upper body was severed.

"!?!?!?!"

And just like that, the battle ended. The giant's body began to vanish entirely.

"…That was insane."

Having witnessed the entire spectacle, Lee Jun-hyuk came to a realization.

'It's that person.'

To survive in this wretched world, he had to align himself with that person.

'I need to find them right now.'

The moment he made up his mind, he immediately descended underground to convince the others.

There was no need for a lengthy debate.

"If Jun-hyuk says we should go, then we go."

"Of course, but just in case—does anyone object to Jun-hyuk's decision?"

"…No one."

His group of survivors already revolved around him.

They all understood that they owed their survival to Lee Jun-hyuk. Moreover, they knew they would eventually have to leave in search of food.

Most importantly, only those who actively supported him remained.

From the start, Lee Jun-hyuk never kept people who questioned his decisions.

It might seem cold, but in a world like this, it was the only logical choice for survival.

"Let's move out."

Surprisingly, reaching the apartment complex where the giant had died wasn't difficult.

Thanks to the giant's rampage, there wasn't a single monster in sight.

Besides, the survivors under Lee Jun-hyuk's leadership weren't ordinary—they had experience hunting not just goblins, but even orcs.

Of course, much of that was due to his own efforts, but what mattered was that every single one of them could hold their own.

For these reasons, they reached their destination in less than an hour.

"Oppa, is it there?"

"Looks like it."

As Jun-hyuk confirmed, the man beside him looked up at the apartment and commented.

"You were right, Jun-hyuk. There's definitely something strange. Even if it's a newly built complex, it looks way too clean after all this chaos."

That wasn't the only unusual thing.

'He's right. The surroundings are too clean.'

There weren't any human or monster corpses in sight.

No bloodstains, no signs of battle—almost as if someone had deliberately cleaned the place.

And then—

"Oh? Look over there, Junhyeok."

The place the man was pointing at had about a dozen people walking toward them.

Most of them were in a group, thoroughly armed with orc spears and bows.

Faintly, their conversation could be heard, but something about it seemed strange.

"Wow. That was seriously terrifying."

"Right? We were just trying to make some pocket money hunting goblins and almost died. A giant, out of nowhere?"

"What even was that giant?"

"No idea. But how much did you make?"

"Me? I got three goblins today, so about 10,000 won? Got a decent amount of experience, too. Gonna buy some cup noodles later."

"Lucky. I only managed to get two."

The idea of gaining experience from hunting goblins made sense.

After all, the sensation that Junhyeok himself felt perfectly matched that description.

'But what do they mean by money?'

Earning 10,000 won for killing three goblins?

What was that supposed to mean?

He couldn't understand.

'Wait, hold on. If they're talking about gaining experience, that means they feel the same sensation I do… so are all of them Awakened?'

In Junhyeok's group, he was the only one who could sense that feeling, because he was the only Awakened one.

But these people—every single one of them—seemed to understand and relate to the concept of experience points.

'And what is this weird sense of dissonance?'

There wasn't a trace of tension coming from them.

No fear of monsters. No desperation for survival.

Because of that, he was certain that they were somehow connected to the powerful Awakened who had taken down that massive giant.

"Junhyeok, what's wrong?"

"Hyunchan-hyung."

"Hm?"

"Let's follow them."

And so, just as they were about to enter the apartment complex behind the group—

"Ugh!"

"Huh? What the—?"

A sudden, invisible wall blocked their way.

[Access Denied.]

Then—

[Would you like to obtain citizenship?]

[Yes / No]

Strange words floated before their eyes.

"What the hell is this?"

"Junhyeok, what do we do? Looks like we need to get citizenship to enter."

Junhyeok stared at the unfamiliar words in midair for a moment before answering.

"Let's accept it."

Ding!

[Citizenship acquired.]

The moment they accepted it, the invisible wall vanished, allowing them to enter the apartment complex.

And shortly after—

"Party Quest"

Quest Objective: Find apartment 114, unit 3002.

Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds

Reward: Small amount of experience

Failure Penalty: None

Once again, a holographic window appeared before them.

"A quest?"

"What's this about experience again?"

Junhyeok turned to his group and spoke.

"They're calling us. Let's go check it out."

There was no need to overthink what was happening in front of them.

After all, he himself had an ability that allowed him to create water from nothing.

So, the idea that someone else might have a game-like power wasn't that strange.

With that thought, he led his group of 23 toward the quest location.

And when they arrived—

"Welcome, Lee Junhyeok."

The moment he locked eyes with the man, he instinctively knew.

'It's him.'

The one who had made that colossal giant kneel was standing right before him.

The overwhelming presence of the man before him felt more befitting of the word giant than that actual giant.

"My name is Kim Jaehyun."

It almost seemed as if an aura was radiating from his entire body.

The sheer dignity in his every gesture and tone naturally commanded respect.

Perhaps the nobles, royals, and emperors of the past had only existed to serve men like him.

Junhyeok grasped Kim Jaehyun's hand and bowed at a full ninety-degree angle.

"I'm Lee Junhyeok! Please take care of me!"

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