Chapter 15 (1/2)

“What is this place?”

“I found it by chance while I was running away. There are a few other places too.”

The place where Zephyrus had led him was a bunker that could fit around 10 people. There were things like food and supplies in random places.

He said that they were not purchased, but already here when he first found it. Items found on a mission can be used. They cannot forget that it is reality.

“Odin, you passed the interview.”

“Interview?”

Cha Jun Sung tipped his head in puzzlement. It sounded like Zephyrus had decided on some benchmarks and tested him. Zephyrus relieved his curiosity.

“I saw 3 things.”

He then explained.

First, he did not underestimate him because he was young.

Second, he allowed him to take on all of the mutants.

Third, he was the same until the very end.

He was young, but he had his own standards. He could be seen as very thoughtful.

“Are those three criterions hard to fulfill?”

“I tried out a lot of parties, but there weren’t many who even passed the first.”

Countless times, he had heard laughter of disbelief at first sight or the words that a minor should not be leaving prank comments online. They did not see him as a Lifer.

“The second was to see which side you considered important.”

It had not mattered that he used harsh words in his post to try to filter out the garbage. The people who came in were all the same.

However, he had not given up. He had the belief that a good person would come in at some point. Someone like Cha Jun Sung who was still looking for a party even after experiencing the bitter aspects of it.

“Until now, there were 3 other people who had passed the second point. But they were busy shooting their guns when the blood-sucking insects came swarming in.”

This he could understand. Blood-sucking insects needed to be eliminated early on. Those people must not have trusted Zephyrus’ skills.

Cha Jun Sung himself could not guarantee that he would not have done the same if he had not trusted Zephyrus. That was how dangerous the insects were.

“Since I passed the interview, is it time to earn trust?”

“Of course.”

Cha Jun Sung thought Zephyrus was cute. Though he did not act young, he was.

Looking at him as one Lifer to another however, his skill and personality was one to be admired. Age cannot become a determining standard of evaluation.

“What can I say to gain that trust? Information that only I know?”

Cha Jun Sung spoke casually. He did not have any intentions on surprising him.

Zephyrus was someone he wanted to make into a comrade, but he did not want to be at a disadvantage. Since he did not seem like he would speak first, he would have to tell him in the pretense that he had been fooled.

“I’m sure you know that Level 2 mutants appear when it’s 1000 points?”

“I saw that on Lifer World.”

“From 1500 points, 2 come out. I think there were about 400 Level 1 mutants?”

Cha Jun Sung continued to explain that because they were smart, they recognized objects that were a danger to them and hid while ordering the dwarves around.

Zephyrus asked questions as he listened. The difference between reading about it and listening to someone who had experience speak was that of theory and encounter.

Then Cha Jun Sung said the most important thing.

“Acting alone instead of as a party will make it difficult to reach over 1000 points. Even if you are the best out of 100, you’re nothing when facing numbers.”

Whew.

Zephyrus sighed. There was no disputing it. That was the reason why he did not move over to another mission.

He had spent everything on the case, but his goal was to get points from Underpass and buy the best equipment from the Class E store. He estimated it would take a month.

“While we’re on it, I’ll tell you one more thing. I earned 5260 points in the tutorial. That became the foundation for this equipment.”

“A special mission?”

“I guess that’s what is linked to the reason why we need to move quickly. If you stay in one place for a while, the evil blood-sucker could appear or there could be another format…”

Zephyrus was shocked. He looked like he had seen a ghost. He muttered,

“Oh, how did you know that…..!”

“Knowing the term special mission means you’ve already gone through it and….. looking at your behavior upon entering Underpass, I can assume.”

Cha Jun Sung had not only looked at Zephyrus’ skills. He had kept Zephyrus’ words and defensive behavior in mind.

It might be difficult to put something together with one piece, but a profile can be made out after gathering pieces. It was like a puzzle.

“With this much, I believe you have something to say as well.”

Talking alone defied the courtesies of give-and-take. Since he taught Zephyrus something he did not know, Zephyrus also needed to hand over information.

“I only know what I learned through Underpass.”

Seuk.

Cha Jun Sung gestured to him to continue as he did not care about such things.

The listener is to decide if the information is useful or not. Even if it is useless, he liked Zephyrus. He would be satisfied with becoming comrades.

“Exactly 12 days ago, I came into Underpass in a 6-person party.”

He was rewinding his memory.

Zephyrus recalled when he first stepped into Underpass 12 days ago.

***

Zephyrus’ first party. It is also the only party that was annihilated.

Their reason for choosing Underpass was nothing special. It stood out while they were looking for 500-point missions. To put it simply, they were just looking for something that would pay.