TCF X ORV - The Rise of Caleism in Another World

CHAPTER 14 - The Power of Mob

Kwajijijik!

    The air split apart and a familiar figure was revealed.

[H-How are you all doing? Haven’t you been free for a while?]

The Dokkaebi.

[T-Then everyone. D-Don’t you look very peaceful? A-Anyway, I came for you guys…]

    The Dokkaebi look nervous.

“For us?”

    The Dokkaebi moved his hand.

[A scenario penalty has been added.]

[From now on, food stockpiling is limited.]

[Everyone, let’s have fun from now on. Hehe…]

    The Dokkaebi said while thinking Cale group food will start to disappearing.

    But the scene that he hopes for never happened.

    Cale group put those food inside the spacial pocket and it seems to be unaffected by the penalty so they just listen to the notification calmly.

It was followed by system messages.

[A scenario penalty has been added.]

[The ‘survival cost’ clause has been added.]

[From now on, 100 coins will be deducted every night for the ‘survival cost’. If you can’t pay the ‘survival cost’, you will die.]

[The ‘survival cost’ penalty will be maintained until the second main scenario is cleared.]

“Oh, it’s only 100 coins. I’m relieved. I thought it would be something difficult because I got the chills. I’m rich. I’m very wealthy.”

“Pfff..., you’re always very wealthy wherever you go Dongsaeng.”

“But I can’t be compared to our strong, wise and beautiful sun that I could only cry in admiration.”

“You are the first son of Henituse Duchy and Duke Fredo always called you son. They’re both very wealthy. So you’re always wealthy in Western Continent or Eastern Continent.”

“How can I compare myself with the Sun of Roan Kingdom and you will become Arch-duke when Duke Fredo become King of Endable Kingdom.”

    They keep bantering in Western Continent language while the other just watching their bantering with smile.

    The Dokkaebi seems dumbfounded by listening to Cale statements.

How many coins that they possess?

[T-Then I will let everyone take care of it!]
     The dokkaebi said these words and disappeared.

     The Bureau seems to have discussing about this group of cheat like existence but there are many constellations supporting them and made petition for letting them do whatever they want.

      Some constellations are making that petition after being threatened by the incarnation that they give sponsorship because they are from Cale group fans. They are making the petition after those fans keep cursing them because they don’t understand Cale group greatness. Those constellations are having a great headache because of the stress and anger they also regret to choose those fans and feel hopeless in their current situation.
____________________________________________
{Kim Dokja POV}

    Despite the disappearance of the food, hope remained on Cheon Inho’s face. As the situation became worse, more control was passed onto the mainstream group.

    Lee Hyunsung became anxious when he saw this and opened his mouth.

“Dokja-ssi, what now?”

“Of course, we have to go and get food.”

    The expressions of the party members became tense at these words. Obtain food. This meant only one thing.

“Then we have to be scouts? There is still food remaining aboveground.”

“Nope, we won’t go aboveground. If we go there, we will unconditionally die.”

    I looked at a gas mask on the floor. This tattered gas mask couldn’t stop the poisonous fog.

“But we need to obtain food aboveground…”

“Lee Hyunsung-ssi. The world has changed. Then the food needs to change.”

    I looked at the tunnel to Yaksu Station.
“Wait a minute. Dokja-ssi…don’t tell me?”
“That’s right.”

     In this world, humans were no longer the top predators. Even if we weren’t predators, we didn’t necessarily have to be prey.
“We will hunt monsters.”

     After a while, several people from the marginalized group, including myself, were standing in front of the tunnel towards Yaksu Station.

“I see. You are going to enter the railway track?”

     I thought Cheon Inho would challenge us when we refused to join the scouting group, but he seemed relieved that I was out of the group. He might think I was a threat to his own power.

“Well, looking at it in the long run, a team dedicated to attacking the scenario is required. Come back safely.”

    He was a funny guy. He spoke like he was the captain. But the time for him to be finished wasn’t far off.

[Your understanding of the character ‘Cheon Inho’ has increased.]

[Your understanding of the character ‘Cheon Inho’ has reached a certain level.]

     I see…I got it now. There were two major cases of character ‘understanding’ rising.

   One was when I got the liking or trust of the character.  The second was when I accurately guessed what the character was thinking. Maybe now was the latter case.

[The character ‘Cheon Inho’ is suspicious of you.]

    According to the accumulated understanding value, a vague idea of the person’s emotions could be obtained.

“Oh, can one of my group members join? I’d like to get some information on the attack.”

    Indeed, Cheon Inho wouldn’t let us go so easily. I stared at the man behind him. It was the person who would go with us and an unlucky fellow.

“I-I have to go with them?”

“Eh, why else are you here, Han hyung? Didn’t you want to reconcile with Dokja-ssi last night?”

“T-That…”

    Cheon Inho’s party member who joined us was Department Head Han Myungoh.

“D-Dokja-ssi.” If you don’t mind, I will go…”

“I understand. Let’s go together.”

    Han Myungoh was surprised when I responded readily. He thought I would refuse. Lee Hyunsung had a worried face but I had an idea.

     In any case, the survivors party of five people from Carriage 3807, consisting of me, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh was reformed.

“Can I come as well?”

“…Is it okay even if your body isn’t fully healed?”

“This much is fine.”

    There was one more. Including Jung Heewon, there was a total of six people in the party. It was a lot for a small number.

     Of course, the number of people wasn’t much in front of the upcoming crisis.

[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Second Scenario – Food Acquisition]
Category: Sub

Difficulty: E

Clear Conditions: Directly hunt the monsters that can be used as food and cook them.

Time Limit: None

Compensation: 500 coins

Failure: ???
+

    As soon as they stepped foot in the tunnel, a sub scenario flew in.

    Food acquisition. It was a sub scenario we had to go through before entering the second main scenario.

[A few constellations are anticipating your performance.]

    The darkness of the tunnel became apparent before we even moved 10 steps. I lit up the tunnel with a flashlight but the outline of the surrounding area wasn’t visible at all.

    It was proof of a curtain that was blocking the light. The real thing would be beyond this curtain.

“Dokja-ssi, wait a minute. It is really dangerous from here on.”

    Jung Heewon, who walked beside me, stopped first.

“Are we really going this way? No matter how I look, it seems like suicide. There is also Gilyoung.”

“In fact, I was concerned from the beginning. It isn’t too late so how about we leave Gilyoung behind? And if possible, the women…”

“Lee Hyunsung-ssi, I’m not as good as you but I know how to fight. I took some kendo lessons.”

“But…”

    An unnecessary controversy was about to heat up the atmosphere so I interrupted.

“Lee Hyunsung-ssi. I told you before. The world has changed. It is biased that a woman is physically weak. Right now, everyone can become stronger by raising their stats. But Jung Heewon-ssi, there is also a problem with your words.”

“…What is it?”

“Just as a woman isn’t weak, a child also isn’t weak. Gilyoung, show them.”

    Lee Gilyoung came forward. He looked around for a while before sitting on the tunnel floor and reaching out his hand. Jung Heewon’s eyes widened.

“Oh my god, what is that?”

“S-Shit! Cockroaches!”

    Han Myungoh cried out with fear.

    The cockroach that appeared in the distance was connected to Lee Gilyoung’s fingertips with a faint solid line. The cockroach listened to Lee Gilyoung’s words like a well-behaved dog and disappeared into the darkness.

“My attribute is Insect Collector.”

    Insect Collector. Lee Gilyoung possessed the rare ability to communicate simply with insects through his ‘Diverse Communication’ skill.

“This is nothing in front of us. It is safe for 100 steps forward.”

    Lee Gilyoung showed an overwhelming scouting power and the other people made a stunned expression. Lee Gilyoung spoke to them with a bold expression.

“Thank you for your concern. But I didn’t follow all of you for you to take care of me.”

“Ah, yes.”

    Jung Heewon nodded with a sour expression. Lee Gilyoung came to my side and I stroked his hair.

     Lee Gilyoung’s attribute hadn’t been seen in the original Ways of Survival. It wasn’t a wrong choice to save Lee Gilyoung in the beginning. We passed a clear barrier and entered the full-fledged darkness.

[You have entered a dangerous area.]

“Y-Yoo Sangah-ssi. It is dangerous to hold my hand while walking.”

“…Aren’t you more afraid than I am?”
“N-No!”

    The air inside the curtain was sticky from the humidity.

“Reduce the light.”

    Yoo Sangah immediate covered the flashlight. Since this model didn’t have a light control function, she had to adjust the light with her hand.

“Ouch. Don’t shine it downwards.”

    Jung Heewon felt nauseous when she checked the ground. There were torn bodies. The bodies of those who tried to move through here were arranged at their feet.

    Yoo Sangah closed her eyes tightly, Han Myungoh shook and even the bold Lee Hyunsung started sweating.

    Lee Gilyoung was surprisingly calm, with not the slightest bit of fear on his face. I felt a bit worried. This guy, did he think it was all a game?

“There is something that isn’t human.”

    As Lee Gilyoung said, it wasn’t only the bodies of humans on the ground. There was something the size of a fully-grown wolf. The bodies of the mole-like creatures were scattered all over the place.

     The 9th grade underground species, the ground rat. It was a name reminiscent of bug on Earth, but a name was just a name.  They were underground piranhas. The ground rats were persistent hunters who burrowed through the ground in groups and aimed at their prey.

    However, the ground rats collapsed like they had received a bombardment. Jung Heewon sighed.

“…Who the hell did this?”

    Obviously, there was only one human who could turn the ground rats into this. Yoo Jonghyuk. He proceeded to the next station through this path alone.

    But I couldn’t help wondering. Originally, it was supposed to be tonight or tomorrow when the third turn Yoo Jonghyuk moved to the next station.

    Why was he so hasty? Did he become impatient? What was the reason?

“Dokja-ssi, can we use this for food?”

“The scenario said that we have to ‘hunt’ it ourselves so maybe it isn’t possible.”

“…Well, it is kind of uncomfortable. What about cooking? Do you want to bake it on a fire?”

   It could be baked. The problem was that it must be a special fire.

“Heewon-ssi, you said you were good at kendo?”

“Uh, it is a bit much to say I am good…but what are you doing now?”

    I stabbed the body of the ground rat and started to cut it with a knife. I didn’t know when I read it in the novel but it didn’t go as well as I thought.

    After somehow getting rid of the tough skin, I managed to remove the spine bones. This was the first time so I left many scratches, but it was useable.

“Why are you taking that?”

“You need a weapon for kendo.”

    The stone hog’s thorn wasn’t enough but the spine of the ground rat consisted of a single bone, making it a pretty good weapon at the beginning of the scenario.

    After cutting the cartilage leading to the leg and shaping it, the bone actually took the shape of a knife. I gave it to Jung Heewon.

“Thank you. Suddenly I feel like I’m back to the Paleolithic age.”

“You need to grind it a bit more for it to be useful. There are rocks around so skillfully grind the blade.

“Huhu, understood. Captain.”

    Jung Heewon started to grind the blade with a slightly excited voice. I looked up and saw Lee Hyunsung watching the scene with a bit of envy.

“Do you want one?”

“Eh, you will make me one?”

“All of you come closer. It is better if you learn how to do it. Let’s make it together.”

    In fact, this was also my first time trying it. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if the details hadn’t been included in Ways of Survival.

     Why wasn’t Ways of Survival popular? It was simple. The author wrote too much of the setting.

“…Dokja-ssi, you are a beginner but you are good at it.”

     We sat down and made weapons together. This time it was a spear, not a sword. They didn’t have the Kendo skill so I decided it was more stable to make a long spear.

     Lee Hyunsung’s spear was made with the spine of the largest ground rat while Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh’s weapons were made with the spine of average sized ground rats. Finally, Lee Gilyoung’s weapon was made with the head bone of a young ground rat.

[You have succeeded in acquiring weapons by yourself.]

[A very small number of constellations are interested in the primitive nature of humanity.]

[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]

Everyone received these messages.
“We receive coins even for this type of thing.”

“I don’t want you to die. You have your own coins?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Whenever possible, leave enough coins for the survival cost and invest the rest in your strength, stamina and agility. Otherwise, you won’t survive.”

“Ah, I’ll keep that in mind.”

    We finished the preparations and started to move forward again. The 100 steps that Lee Gilyoung mentioned was right in front of us now.

[The sub scenario – Food Acquisition has begun!]

    The ground rats crawled out from the ground. I quickly counted the numbers. One, two, three…there were exactly 13. It was more than I thought.

Grrr…

   The group of land rats drew a line and started threatening us. The moment we crossed the line, the fight would begin.

“There is no plan. We are beginners. It might sound cruel but honestly, I don’t expect you to survive.”

“T-That…”

“Still, all of you survive. Please.”

    Han Myungoh was the only upset one in the party. Everyone else was nervous but looked determined. In particular, Jung Heewon’s eyes were very impressive.

“Okay, let’s try it. Everybody, please live!”

    Just as Yoo Jonghyuk tested me, I also had expectations for them. No matter how good a mentor, a person who wasn’t determined couldn’t survive in this world.

   In the end, it was up to a person to save themselves. Everyone should use this opportunity to realize it clearly.
“Then let’s go.”

    I also knew who I must take among these people.

    As we took one more step, the ground rats moved. The battle began.

     The party fought well. It was actually a little bit surprising. In particular, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon who stepped forward with me were very influential.

     The battle composition naturally became the three of us in front with the other three in the rear. Less than a minute after the battle began, a few ground rats were stuck on the ground with their necks pierced.

    Lee Hyunsung overpowered another ground rat, wiped the sweat on his forehead and said.

“…I think I can live.”

    Once they raised their overall stats, the human race wasn’t that weak.

     Even so, Lee Hyunsung’s mentality was very special in this world. A normal human couldn’t be so nonchalant when encountering monsters.

    There was a reason why he got the name of Steel Sword in the future. However, the more amazing person was Jung Heewon.
“The pattern is simpler than I thought?”

   Maybe it was due to the Kendo skill but every time her sword stretched out, the ground rat was cut somewhere on their legs or tail.

“Hap!”

    It was a case where Jung Heewon invested most of her coins into strength. Her endurance declined due to it but the power of one blow was better than I thought.

   Her sword moved in a terrifying manner through the air.

“Damn, I lost one! Please!”

   Her voice trembled as she spoke. Her only weakness was that her stamina was low so her endurance fell.

Grrr!

   The ground rats who moved between the party members were moderately smart. After succeeding in scattering the ranks, they ran towards the opponent who seemed the weakest using a hunter’s instincts.
“Leave it to me.”

    However, the ground rats didn’t know that they had picked the wrong opponent.

   A blunt instrument thrown by Lee Gilyoung’s hands struck the head of a ground rat. The impact was lacking because he was a child but it was enough. The others could help him finish it.

   Yoo Sangah’s spear pierced the body of the ground rat. The ground rat twisted several times. Yoo Sangah made a confused expression but she didn’t remove her hand from the spear.

   The ground rat lost its energy and fell down.

   I honestly thought it would be difficult for Yoo Sangah to adapt but I was really surprised. Usually, it was normal to panic like Han Myungoh standing over here.
“U-Uhhhh…”

   As the people were struggling, one person was hiding in the rear. He couldn’t even hide properly and was bleeding near the shins.

    I pierced the last ground rat with the thorn and the surroundings became quiet.
    I shook the blood off the thorn and looked at everyone. Everyone suffered from minor abrasions except for Han Myungoh, but there were no major injuries.

It was a great first victory.

    Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung relaxed and sat down, while Lee Hyunsung stabbed his spear into the ground and wiped at the sweat on his forehead. Jung Heewon lamented as she countered the number of ground rats in the vicinity.

“…Dokja-ssi, how many did you take care of?”

“Four of them.”

“Che, I killed two.”

“I got three.”

    My pride was somehow hurt when I heard Lee Hyunsung’s proud declaration. There was only one difference despite my stats. I used a skill and looked at Lee Hyunsung’s attributes window.

    Hah, the starter pack. This was why he was strong. The Master of Steel seemed to quite like Lee Hyunsung.

    The Starter Pack was a coin package that could be used when the average overall stats of the incarnation was less than level 10.

    It was a good item that allowed you to learn Weapons Training, a useful skill in the beginning, while raising the level of the overall stats by one.

    Considering the fact that most incarnations were being exploited for nothing, Lee Hyunsung was lucky to receive the Starter Pack.

“Dokja-ssi, your complexion doesn’t look good…”

“Ah, no. I was just thinking for a moment.”

    Now I was a little bit envious…well, I had the money to buy it. I didn’t buy it. My average stats exceeded level 10 so buying it would only damage me.

    Damn, I opened the Dokkaebi Bag a bit early.

“Let’s gather up the ground rats. We need to prepare today’s food.”

“Ummm…by the way, how will we cook it? We can’t eat it like this.”

“We can’t eat it now but there will be a way.”

    I guessed I answered too calmly. There was silence among my party members. Lee Hyunsung was the first one to open his mouth.

“Excuse me, I would like to ask you one thing.”

“Yes?”

“Dokja-ssi, perhaps…do you know something about this situation?”

    Whoops, I made a mistake.
“That…”

    Suddenly, I remembered the regressors in the novel I read, followed by Yoo Jonghyuk’s words.

    It was like this. The feeling of a regressor. Usually, these types of things happened to a regressor.

   Some replies came to mind. I could shamelessly say that it was a hunch or I could lie like Yoo Jonghyuk.

[The constellation Secretive Plotter is anticipating your choice.]

[A few constellations are anticipating your answer.]

   But from a reader’s point of view, the best answer was…
“A-Aaaack!”

    It was to create a situation where I didn’t need to say anything.

[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ nods at your choice.]

“There is still one left!”

    Jung Heewon shouted and Lee Hyunsung ran. However, the action of the hidden ground rats was faster than anyone else. It was much bigger than the other creatures.
“S-Save me…!”

     It dragged Han Myungoh into a tunnel by one of his legs. The nearest Yoo Sangah swung her spear but the situation got worse because Han Myungoh held onto her.

“Grab this!”
    Lee Hyunsung stretched out the handle of his spear but it only hit the ground. The ground rat and the two people had already disappeared into the ground.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ resents this frustrating person.]

Jung Heewon burst out.
“Ah…I knew I was going to get cancer because of that uncle.”

“…I’m sorry. I was too late.”
     Lee Hyunsung spoke in a sad voice. I tapped his shoulder to show it was okay.

“No one could’ve done anything.”

“Should we chase after them?”

<to be continue>

Author's note: I wish that I can have a slacker life for writing. Like Cale said slacker life is hard to get T.T.
Hope you enjoy the story.