7 Episode 7 - The Mark of an Awakener, Part III (2/2)
”Yes, if it had been safe ... I'd have come here already to get a drink.”
At the end of the thought, the moment everyone realized that his words were not wrong, everyone's face was white. The air grew tense. He confirmed the tension and swallowed his coffee.
”And the situation is quite different from what we have seen or have assumed.”
He showed the back of his right hand to everyone with his words. The crowd opened their eyes wide at seeing the mark of the burning sun.
”With the appearance of the monster, some of you have a similar mark on your right hand.”
People reflexively checked the back of their hands. The minority was surprised.
One of them spoke up for the first time., ”What is this?”
The woman with freckles on her face asked about it; she was the woman who came out to save Park Jae-woon. She had a mark on the back of her hand.
”It's called the mark of an Awakener.”
”An Awakener?”
”I couldn't think of any other expressions, so I'm saying it, and I'm sure the people with these marks have a mysterious ability.”
He did not show what his mysterious ability was. He didn't have to. It didn't have to be. It was enough to explain, and he looked at the big man laying on the floor like a dead man.
”For reference, the mark of an Awakener can be decoded by taking a picture; if you take a picture with your smartphone, the mark will be printed out, and it is similar to a game ability window,” he continued on.
”There are three major types of abilities, and it's simple to raise your Stats. You just cut out the heart of a monster, acquire a jewel in it, and then eat it as it is.”
With that word, he held out his palm. As if waiting, Bang also quickly pulled out a thumbnail-sized red jewel from his pocket and put it on Kim's palm. Kim put the jewel in his mouth and swallowed it. Everyone stared at him.
”Now my Strength is up.”
The crowd looked blank at his explanation. It was not a realistic story. However, Kim continued his explanation without any concern.
”Note that the jewel obtained from a monster can also be valued by taking a smartphone photo.”
Kim pulled out his smartphone and showed the picture he had taken. The close-up of the red jewel he had eaten a while ago showed clear characters that were not seen before the jewel was taken a picture.
[Crystal of Orc]
- A small amount of Strength increase when ingested.
”This is all the information I have now.” The information Kim prepared after butchering the monster bodies in the meat department was not easy to get.
”This is all I have now, from dissecting of the monster's body after the battle with the monster.” It was not easy to butcher dozens of monster bodies! The public would not be able to butcher a monster even if they were given a day. It was valuable information that only Kim and Bang knew about. Kim told everyone what he had learned.
In fact, the crowd was grateful to him, but at the same time, some doubted his intention. ”Why are you telling us this?”
They gave him thanks, but Kim did not have the obligation to inform others about this.
Was Kim armed with a spirit of sacrifice and service?
There was not one person who had known Kim for more than a day, but everyone could assert that he was not a human being full of sacrifice and service spirit. He was never that kind of person. And it was true. He did not tell them to show off his kindness and generous spirit.
”The world has changed, and monsters have emerged. If Awakeners are to fight the monsters, it means it's not a one-time, single event.” He had realized that before anyone else.
”If you want to survive this unspecified change, you must be selfish, and wisely selfish.”
From now on, mankind must fight the monsters. In such a situation, it was meaningless and worthless to monopolize this basic information. The more survivors, the more favorable it was for him.
Most of the adult Korean men who survived had experienced military service. It would not be impressive giving them an ax or a knife, but if he could give them a gun, the story would be different.
”The price has already been paid because we ate all the monster stones.” Most of all, he had already collected the information fee. He shared the monster stones from the hearts of the monsters with Bang. They ate them all, so there would be no fee for the information. It was a kind of give and take.
”Do you have any complaints?” All of the giving and receiving was done under the unilateral leadership of Kim.
”I take it there is no complaint.”
The crowd could guess what it meant to be wisely selfish.
”The last thing I know is that this is an unproven hypothesis, but the monsters appeared without any space constraints as if they came out of nowhere. The reason for this hypothesis is...”
He stopped talking, and his eyes changed. While everyone was opening their eyes wide at the change in him, he threw back the coffee in his hand. He immediately shouted after injecting caffeine into his stomach, not even tasting it, ”Get away from those doors!”
Bang! As soon as he cried out, the fire shutters, which were blocking between the second and the first floors, exploded like bombs.
”Kaaaah!” Beyond the fire shutters that had been blown away, a fierce cry that could not be compared with anything earlier burst out. Soon after, the owner of the fierce cry appeared.
”Oh, my god...” It was an Orc, over two meters tall and black skin!