CHAPTER 47

Jagalchi Market (3) 

"Who's bothering our Ppoppi?"

As Ha Dong-geon and his party shined their headlamps in the direction of the voice, they revealed a group of middle-aged men and women, seemingly in their fifties.

"Huh?"

"Turn off that light! It's blinding!"

"Oh, sorry about that."

The group approached Ha Dong-geon's party with a casual stride.

The women passed by Ha Dong-geon's party and examined the state of the wooden monster, exclaiming in distress.

"Oh my, what should we do? There's a hole in it."

"That must've hurt a lot."

"Ppoppi, are you okay?"

Then, a scolding was hurled at Ha Dong-geon's party.

"Hey! Are you the ones who did this?"

"Uh… yes."

"Why would you do this to a creature that wasn't doing anything?"

"…We're sorry."

The tense atmosphere was interrupted by excited shouts from the side.

"Hey, look at this! Ppoppi did it again!"

The man who had been scolding Ha Dong-geon turned his attention to the land shark.

"Wow, this one's got some solid meat on it."

"It's not the tastiest, though."

"Like we're in a position to be picky? If you don't like it, don't eat it."

"No, that's not what I meant. Honestly, tuna tastes way better."

"Ah, shut up already. Just eat."

Listening to their familiar dialect and casual banter, the tension in Ha Dong-geon's chest eased.

'So that's what it is…'

Everything suddenly made sense.

The existence of a tree monster that didn't attack people, the massive tree that had grown only in his house—

'Someone awakened.'

And it didn't take long to figure out who had gained that power.

'Grandfather.'

Ever since he was a child, their home had always been filled with plants.

The trees and flowers in the yard changed with the seasons, and the rooftop garden bore fruit at different times of the year.

After his grandfather retired, the rooftop turned into a farm, overflowing with green onions, onions, lettuce, eggplants, and other vegetables that often found their way onto their dinner table.

He could still vividly remember how his grandfather would personally carry water to drench the soil, every morning and afternoon without fail.

'So that tree… is my grandfather's ability?'

A tree that doesn't attack humans—

He had never considered that to be the result of someone's awakened power.

He had assumed it was just some freak coincidence.

After all, in all the time he had helped integrate thousands of people into the city, he had only met five awakened individuals.

The chances of awakening were astronomically low.

And yet, someone here not only controlled a level-30 tree monster but also had the ability to grow a tree tens of meters tall with unknown functions?

At this scale, there was only one other awakened individual he knew of who could wield such power.

'Me.'

He was sure of it—there wasn't another person who had awakened at his level. That was why he had been so furious when he saw the massive tree taking over his home.

Because monsters with power on that scale were a dime a dozen.

'Who would've thought there was another person besides me with such overwhelming strength?'

And to think it was someone from his own family.

The odds of something like this happening were lower than winning the lottery twice in a row.

The U.S. lottery, at that.

'I'm relieved. So relieved.'

To be honest, he had already convinced himself that his family was dead.

It was just too unrealistic to think otherwise.

High-level monsters roamed freely, with late-20s level creatures appearing frequently, and airborne packs of level-10 monsters swarming the skies.

Giant level-30 crustaceans lurked around, and there were likely even stronger threats out there.

How could ordinary humans possibly survive in such a world?

He had already filled himself with grief and rage, ready to explode at any moment.

And the massive tree standing where his house should have been had been the final spark.

But things had taken an unexpected turn for the better.

His anger now felt almost embarrassing.

Thankfully, he had only been furious for a few seconds—any longer, and he might have really made a fool of himself.

"Haha."

As I let out a hollow laugh, Seo Yejin and Yoo Hyerin asked in a worried tone.

"Jaehyun, did something happen?"

"…You're okay, right?"

It was understandable for them to be uneasy since I suddenly started laughing in the middle of the operation.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. Everyone is safe."

Before I knew it, Ha Donggeon and his party were helping dismantle the land shark.

Thanks to their exceptional physical abilities, which came with their high levels, they could disassemble the creature quickly, drawing exclamations of admiration from those around them.

"Ah, youth is truly a wonderful thing! If only I were twenty years younger…!"

At some point, Ha Donggeon's party had naturally started carrying supplies and moving alongside the older men and women.

I used the Ring of Communication on them.

[Everyone, do you see the massive tree on your left? That's my home.]

Understanding my intent, Ha Donggeon spoke up.

"Excuse me, but may I ask where we are headed? We need to go to that tree over there."

"Huh? We're actually heading that way already!"

A middle-aged man nearby raised his voice and asked.

"What? Do you know our village chief or something?"

Hearing that, I immediately issued a command to Ha Donggeon's party.

[Ask for the village chief's name.]

Ha Donggeon promptly repeated my words like a parrot, and the man responded casually.

"Our village chief's name? It's Lee Bongyeol."

The moment I heard that, a joyful smile spread across my lips.

'Of course, it's Grandpa.'

Lee Bongyeol was my grandfather's name.

The reason we had different surnames was that he was from my maternal side.

Since my father had lived with my mother's family after marriage, I had grown up with my maternal grandfather and grandmother from birth.

'I'm so relieved he's safe.'

As we got closer to home, more people began appearing in sight.

It felt as if this area had preserved the world as it was before the monsters took over.

There were no collapsed buildings or corpses strewn across the streets.

The more I took in the scene, the more at ease I felt.

"Let's stop by here for a moment."

The space that used to be our home's parking lot had been converted into a storage area, filled with carcasses of land sharks, sky swordfish, and other marine monsters.

People were busy processing them.

'There are so many people.'

Just from a rough estimate, there were more than a hundred people gathered here.

Most of them were middle-aged men and women or elderly folk, as Nambumin-dong was a town with very few young people and an extremely high average age.

Many of them had originally worked in the fishing industry, so their fish-processing skills were second nature.

Nearby, some people had even set up stalls and were slicing sashimi on the spot, while others grilled fish over an open flame, releasing a mouthwatering aroma.

It almost felt like the Jagalchi Market had been relocated here.

"Let's put this down here."

"Did you catch another one?"

"Yeah. Oh, right. This kid just joined us. He must be hungry, so let's give him some sashimi."

A man wielding a sashimi knife skillfully sliced the land shark's flesh, placed it on a plate, and handed it over.

"Here, take this!"

The dish was a proper plate of sashimi, complete with red pepper paste, wasabi, and soy sauce.

"Come, sit and eat."

"What about chopsticks?"

"There aren't any. Just use your hands, like this—mmh!"

I quickly summoned some chopsticks from home.

While Ha Donggeon's party naturally picked up the chopsticks, the older men and women were startled by their sudden appearance and made a fuss.

"What just happened? Are you some kind of magician?"

"Wow, that's amazing."

Amidst their curious stares, Ha Donggeon's party each picked up a piece of sashimi and put it into their mouths.

"Mmm~"

"Wow!"

It was freshly sliced fish.

There was no way it wouldn't taste amazing.

"Delicious!"

"Awesome."

"It's been such a long time since I last had sashimi."

"Yeah, yeah, eat a lot."

With happy faces, Hadonggun's party enjoyed their meal, and I even summoned cola, cider, and cool water for them.

Then—

"Huh, what?!"

"Isn't that cola?"

"Cider! Cider!"

The adults who had gathered around, intrigued by Hadonggun's party, reacted enthusiastically.

Hadonggun and his party handed over the summoned drinks to them and said,

"Would you like some?"

"Are you sure we can have it?"

"Of course."

"Hey, give it to me first! I've been looking out for you so much!"

"There's some for you too, mister."

The people who received the cola and cider made a big fuss as they eagerly drank.

I wasn't sure if it was okay to think this about older folks, but seeing them sip their drinks so sparingly was kind of cute.

Seeing this, I chuckled and summoned a large quantity of cola and cider next to them. Along with that, I also brought out a bulk supply of food items like ramen, rice, eggs, and milk.

"What the?!"

"What's all this?!"

"Is… is all this for us?"

Hadonggun nodded with a gentle smile.

"Looks like it. It seems like Jaehyun is giving these as gifts to the elders."

"Jesus Christ, who's this Jaehyun? I ought to bow down in gratitude. Which one of you is it?"

"Ah, he's not here."

The man who had been getting ready to kneel on the ground looked dumbfounded and asked again.

"What did you say?"

After thinking for a moment and failing to reach a conclusion, he asked once more.

"So, is this Jaehyun guy some kind of Jesus? If he's not here, is he up in the sky?"

O Wonju chuckled and joked.

"Maybe that's actually true."

The people in the warehouse became busy dealing with the sudden appearance of supplies.

"Everyone, move this stuff into the storage!"

"Kim! Come over here for a second!"

Meanwhile, the man who had been talking to Hadonggun's party from the beginning asked,

"Uh, by any chance, do you have any butane gas or a gas burner?"

I immediately bought them from the store and handed them over.

"Damn! That's awesome!"

The man shouted toward the people in the warehouse.

"Look at this! This came out just because I asked for it!"

"What? Gas?"

"Gas? Seriously?"

The reaction was particularly intense from the people grilling fish.

They had been cooking using firewood, so it was no surprise that the sudden appearance of gas burners and butane gas had them wide-eyed.

"It's real?"

"Bring it over here! We need to make some spicy fish stew!"

"Boil the ramen first!"

The whole warehouse was buzzing with excitement.

And then—

Creak—

A strange sound began to echo.

The sound stretched from the roof of the warehouse to the entrance, like tree roots growing.

A man descended from the tree roots and bellowed,

"Why is it so noisy in here?"

He was an old man with thick magnifying glasses and a head that was half bald.

His stubborn expression exuded an undeniable presence.

The moment I saw his face, I was overwhelmed with emotion.

'Grandfather…!'

And at the same time—

[The spirits have encountered the bloodline of the household's absolute ruler.]

[Unlocking the power of the bloodline.]

『Name: Lee Bongyeol (Lv. 55)

Title: [Bloodline] [Village Elder] [Druid]

Trust Level: 88

Awakened Ability: Guardian of the World Tree』

[Conditions met.]

['Annex' has been added to the list of available constructions.]

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