By Zephyria “This is for fixing body parts when they get cut off.”
“…What?”
Yohan, having heard something terrifying, doubted his ears. Lee Hyun-muk explained while miming wrapping the tape around his arm.
“For intermediate awakened individuals, if you just keep this attached for a few days, it will reattach. For low-rank awakened individuals, even if it doesn’t fully reattach, keeping it connected allows you to preserve the severed part to some extent until you can get to a hospital for reattachment surgery. The adhesive is so strong that your skin might peel off a bit, but that recovers very quickly. Of course, civilians absolutely must not use this medical supply.”
“Wow….”
Yohan carefully pushed the tape back into the first-aid kit and let out another “wow.” He could accept having potent painkillers or stimulants in an emergency kit, but this was a bit frightening. He had never had a body part severed before. Come to think of it, he recalled the incredible regenerative abilities shown not only by Lee Hyun-muk but also by the intermediate awakened team members in the Abyss.
‘As expected, the others have surpassed even the intermediate awakened level.’
Nodding in understanding, Yohan suddenly remembered something and spoke.
“Right, I received some fruit from my family’s home. I wanted to give some to Seung-ryong Hyung too. Since he’s been treating me to meals lately, it’s a token of my gratitude.”
For the past few days, Yoon Seung-ryong had diligently cooked and brought food almost every day. He had eaten it deliciously, but his conscience felt a little pricked. Although Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong had told him not to worry about it, how could he not?
“Shall we? He should still be before work.”
Lee Hyun-muk agreed in a gentle voice. Knowing Yoon Seung-ryong’s appetite, Yohan headed downstairs with an armful of fruit. When he rang the doorbell, a indifferent and cold voice was heard.
— Who is it?
Yohan paused, finding the voice somewhat unfamiliar, then quickly revealed his identity in a cheerful tone.
“Seung-ryong Hyung, it’s Yohan.”
— …Ah, Yohan?
Hearing hurried, flustered movements from inside, Yohan tilted his head. Was his house perhaps messy? It didn’t matter if it was a bit dirty. No matter how dirty, could it be worse than his dwelling in the Abyss… Lee Hyun-muk, sensing an unusual movement unlike Yohan’s, narrowed his eyes.
“Seung-ryong. Open it, nicely.”
His voice was infinitely soft, but the warning was strong. The bustling sounds stopped abruptly, and Yoon Seung-ryong slowly approached the front door and opened it. Then, with a wide smile, he asked.
“Yohan! And the Team Leader too! What brings you here?”
“Oh, I just came to give you some fruit…. What’s going on with you, Hyung?”
Yohan, still holding the fruit, asked in surprise. It was understandable, as Yoon Seung-ryong had dirt, like soil, smeared on his clothes and hands. And that wasn’t all. A pungent stench assaulted his nostrils, and Yohan asked in a bewildered voice.
“Is something… rotting in here…?”
“No… I don’t think so?”
Yoon Seung-ryong gave a vague answer, avoiding Lee Hyun-muk’s gaze as if he had something to hide. Lee Hyun-muk looked intently into the interior of the house and asked again, softly.
“May I come in for a moment, Seung-ryong?”
“Yeees….”
Yoon Seung-ryong reluctantly opened the door, accepting the fruit and thanking Yohan. By then, Yohan had also sensed something suspicious. Truly, from somewhere in a room inside the house, he felt a strange, wriggling presence. A door, particularly stained with dirt, was firmly shut. Lee Hyun-muk abandoned his gentle tone and commanded.
“Open the door.”
With a face that suggested he had committed a grave error, Yoon Seung-ryong opened the door, and Yohan’s jaw dropped. Monster fruits and vegetables, cultivated in the Abyss, were wriggling with stems and leaves. It was then that Yohan realized that when they escaped the Abyss, the fruit and vegetable seeds from Yoon Seung-ryong’s pocket dimension had been brought out intact. He exclaimed in shock.
“Seung-ryong Hyung! How can you grow things like that here?”
“No, well… I only intended to grow them at home… Here, the contamination level won’t progress further, I’ve installed pet cams, and there’s barbed wire all around… When I leave the house, I always put them back in the pocket dimension.”
He made a lengthy excuse, saying they didn’t have legs to go anywhere, but in the end, Lee Hyun-muk ordered him to put them back in the pocket dimension and take them to the guild laboratory immediately. Yoon Seung-ryong dejectedly stroked and hugged the fruits and vegetables one last time before putting them into his pocket dimension. Yohan cleaned up the stench emanating from the house and, in return, received a few fruits that Yoon Seung-ryong had diligently grown.
Since Yoon Seung-ryong had caused trouble, Lee Hyun-muk took the opportunity to conduct surprise visits and inspections of the other team members’ homes as well. Lee Chan-ha’s house, which was white and gleaming everywhere, yielded dozens of disinfectant bottles. Seo Yakrin’s house had a pile of burst sandbags and hundreds of pictures of Go Jae-won, torn to shreds and scrawled on creepily. Joo Ho-young’s house revealed mountains of dozens of boxes of cup noodles and energy drinks, along with Game Consoles. Of course, unlike Yoon Seung-ryong, the other team members only received light warnings.
“Are you insane?”
Seo Yakrin, who was heading to work with them after the surprise inspection, glared at Yoon Seung-ryong and smacked him on the back.
“Ah, damn it…”
Yoon Seung-ryong, about to grumble something, saw Lee Hyun-muk’s gaze and shut his mouth tightly. Yohan decided to look into what vegetables could be grown hydroponically at home. Or perhaps find a field within a short distance…
In any case, he was relieved that everyone, despite their slight obsessions with specific things, seemed to be doing well.
A palpable silence filled the interior of the vehicle. Clutching the weapons provided by the guild, the members of the Little Sheep team glanced at Lee Hyun-muk and Seo Yakrin.
Today was the scheduled Rift exploration day. The rookies, with little experience in Rift exploration, were nervous yet had eagerly awaited this day. The seniors who would assist their exploration were none other than Lee Hyun-muk and Seo Yakrin. As Lee Hyun-muk and the other team members were objects of admiration, this was one of the guild’s tasks to foster a sense of belonging and loyalty to the guild.
This was something that not only the Little Sheep team but also the Any-Sheep team and any other new teams recruited later would experience.
“Let’s not be too nervous, everyone. If you act according to the pre-training, there won’t be any danger, at least for today.”
Seo Yakrin offered a reassuring smile to the team members, who looked like nervous chicks. He cast an affectionate glance once more at Yohan, who was pretending not to notice.
“Yes, Sunbae!”
The Little Sheep team members responded with voices full of determination. If they received a poor evaluation from today’s Rift exploration, they could be demoted to temporary guild members or even expelled, so everyone had a resolute look on their faces.
Seo Yakrin scanned each of the new recruits with a gaze that seemed to say, ‘I must raise these young lambs well and make them toil in the guild for a long, long time.’ Whenever their eyes met his, the rookies swallowed nervously.
The van, rattling along a somewhat dilapidated road, soon stopped. The gazes of the rookies, including Yohan, all turned towards the black-tinted car windows. There stood a massive concrete wall. It was a barrier erected to surround the Rift area, preventing other organisms from entering and becoming monsters.
Between the walls was a large steel gate. Lee Hyun-muk, who was driving, took out his Awakened registration card from his pocket and scanned it on the device, causing the gate to move. Originally, they had considered stationing guards, but since no one wanted to stay near the Rift area, it was eventually controlled by machines. As the van passed through the gate, it closed with a clanging, rumbling sound. The rookies instinctively looked back.
The van, driving on the damaged road, stopped just before entering the Rift zone. Seo Yakrin was the first to get out of the van and beckoned, and the Little Sheep team followed. One of them was visibly trembling with fear, so Yohan encouraged him.
“Don’t worry too much. You have the Sunbaes here.”
“R-right? It’ll be okay…”
At Yohan’s words, the team member, after looking at Lee Hyun-muk and Seo Yakrin, composed himself. He then looked at Yohan, who seemed almost completely unconcerned, with curiosity. Wasn’t the Rift zone right in front of them? It was a dangerous area contaminated all around, where monsters could pop out at any moment, like a radioactive zone where one couldn’t stay long. Yohan, the rookie-not-a-rookie, looked at the Rift zone and thought to himself.
‘I can’t get nervous even if I wanted to.’