Who was right, and who was wrong.
Who had the moral justification and cause.
That stuff didn't matter.
"Choose. You wanna go out? Or stay quiet?"
What mattered was that the slit-eyed guy and his crew numbered three in total.
Three men cornered the pharmacist, pressuring her.
A bit of shoving was just icing on the cake.
"Students. Come on, don't do this..."
Other people tried to intervene in the scuffle.
The slit-eyed guy snapped back sharply.
"Tch... seriously. What? You wanna go out too, lady?"
The people trying to break it up shut their mouths in the end.
"I'm reporting all of you. This is intimidation."
"Intimidation my ass. By that logic, mister, you're attempted murder."
I'd seen the fight brewing inside and quietly headed to the building corridor.
I'd told Jang Ho-seop to wait outside, then opened the pharmacy door.
The pharmacist had unlocked this door earlier, so I slipped inside easily.
"Huh?"
One of the people inside spotted me entering and looked shocked.
Then he backed away.
I strode forward and twisted the slit-eyed guy's wrist.
"Aaaagh! What the—? Let go!"
The slit-eyed guy's crew left the pharmacist and came at me.
I smeared the green goblin blood from my sleeve across the slit-eyed guy's face.
"Urgh! Ptui! Crazy! You fucking psycho! Aaaagh!"
I lifted his twisted wrist upward, and he screamed again.
One of his friends decided he couldn't just stand there and swung a fist at me.
Whoosh.
I tilted my head back to dodge and shoved the slit-eyed guy away.
I grabbed the head of the guy who'd punched at me and slammed it into the pharmacy counter.
Thud!
The man crumpled limply after his head hit the counter hard.
I strode toward the fallen slit-eyed guy and kicked him in the face.
Smack.
The slit-eyed guy went limp, unconscious.
I stared quietly at the remaining one.
Gulp.
He raised both hands and backed off.
The scuffle ended in an instant.
The others huddled against the walls, staring at me in stunned silence.
"Pharmacist. You okay?"
"Ah... yes. Thank you."
I was able to get treated inside the pharmacy.
#
I washed the wounds and disinfected them.
I took a broad-spectrum antibiotic too.
"Get to a hospital as soon as possible. This is just first aid. It might be fine now, but there's an incubation period to worry about."
"Yes. Thank you."
"And this is a moist dressing, okay? Keep it breathable like this..."
The pharmacist rattled off various precautions.
She packed me up with assorted meds at the same time.
She knew it too.
That getting to a hospital wasn't easy right now.
Once the first aid was done...
"Um... that monster. Was it a goblin? Are they...?"
The pharmacist cautiously asked about the goblins' whereabouts.
She seemed to have guessed from my wounds.
"I took care of them all."
"I figured as much. That's... impressive."
As we talked behind the counter, I felt a piercing glare.
The slit-eyed guy had woken up and was glaring daggers at me.
"No big deal. They're not as dangerous as wild beasts."
"Really?"
"Yeah. They're weaker than an adult man. Steel yourself, and you can fight and win."
I deliberately raised my voice a bit so everyone could hear.
"Want some good info as thanks?"
"Yes, please."
I had no way to pay for the meds right now.
So I shared what I'd learned the hard way.
"They have weak points like people do. Throat or head..."
I kept my voice steady.
Loud enough for everyone in the pharmacy to hear.
"And killing monsters can awaken a Fundamental Skill."
"Fundamental Skill?"
"Yeah. It's like..."
Everyone was hanging on my words.
"There are no goblins left in this block right now, but I don't know about the next one over."
"Really? Then rescue teams... ah."
The pharmacist trailed off.
I gave him some honest facts, then left the pharmacy.
#
Night fell.
Pitch-black darkness came as expected.
Heavy clouds blocked even the moonlight from the streets.
"BN Construction sure builds solid structures."
Jang Ho-seop muttered from the window ledge.
We were resting on the second floor of the pharmacy building.
"Even that big one hasn't collapsed."
We'd concluded we couldn't move at night.
So after leaving the pharmacy, we'd scouted a place to hole up.
We'd checked up to the rooftop—no monsters, luckily.
"You know, bro, big buildings like that have emergency generators, right?"
I listened to Jang Ho-seop while cleaning my rebar.
"No lights means either they turned them off on purpose..."
This wasn't idle chatter.
"Or they can't turn them on even if they have them."
"Can't?"
"Yeah. Not a physical issue—just literally can't."
I set the rebar down and looked at Jang Ho-seop.
He stared out the window.
"What if... just hypothetically. Electricity suddenly vanished one day?"
I'd never imagined it.
Society would probably grind to a halt.
"Lots of people would die. A ton. Like judgment from the heavens."
Jang Ho-seop was picturing worse than I had.
"So... huh?"
He cut himself off.
Turned to me.
"Bro. They're out. Whoa... they really went."
I stood up immediately.
"Stay here. I'll be back."
"Yeah. Be careful."
I hurried down to the first floor.
Outside the building, I saw light a short distance away.
I quietly followed it.
"Ugh... this right?"
"They ate well during the day, so they're probably sleeping. Safer now."
The slit-eyed crew.
One held an oil lantern they'd scrounged somewhere.
"Fuck, it's pitch black."
"Exactly. We should wait and go with others next time..."
"Shut your bullshit."
The slit-eyed crew headed to the next block.
Despite his two friends' protests, the slit-eyed guy was firm.
"Mark my words. Burst out early. That bastard definitely got his Fundamental Skill..."
I trailed them silently, eavesdropping.
They'd bitten the bait I'd tossed so easily.
'No caution.'
What were they thinking, wandering the dark with a light like that?
And chattering away—even after I said I'd cleared the area.
'Optimists?'
Swallowing my words whole didn't make sense either.
Sure, I'd primed the pharmacist with info instead of paying, nudging this situation.
But I'd figured the odds were low.
"Shh. Quiet from here. If we spot goblins, stick to the plan..."
Next corner, and it'd be unfamiliar territory for me too.
Time to wrap this up first.
The rough roads meant a stumble could maim or kill.
"Phew... goblins have crap smell, right?"
"Yeah. No biggie..."
I crept up behind them as they psyched themselves up.
Tap.
The last guy sensed something and turned.
I thrust the rebar.
Squelch—
The stabbed man's eyes bulged, body stiffening.
No scream.
"Huh?"
I kicked him aside and charged the other two.
One opened his mouth to yell but dodged reflexively.
Thwack!
I gripped the rebar short and smashed his head.
Then the slit-eyed guy swung his weapon.
Whoosh.
His pipe whistled over my head.
"Fuck!"
I dropped low and drove in.
Ditched the rebar, grabbed his leg, and tackled.
Clang—crash.
I mounted him.
Rained punches.
Smack smack smack smack.
The slit-eyed guy's face turned to mush in seconds.
Nose crushed, blood pouring from his mouth.
"Cough. Fuck... why."
He bucked hard, but the strength gap was too wide.
He gave up quick.
Faster than I'd expected.
"You'd do the opposite in my shoes."
Sounded like the pharmacy spat.
I stood without replying and grabbed my rebar.
"Spare me... please. I was wrong."
Then he begged, admitting fault.
Figured arguing was pointless now.
"Fuck, I'm sorry! No, forgive me. Sorry..."
I pointed the sharp rebar tip down and drove it home.
Squish—
That was it.
Finished the kill confirmation and grabbed the oil lantern.
#
I returned to the pharmacy building.
Two people stood in the corridor.
Jang Ho-seop and the pharmacist.
"Yi Hyun-ssi. No way..."
The pharmacist held a candle.
He staggered at my appearance.
Now red blood stained my clothes too.
"No, right? Those students..."
He steadied himself on the wall.
Then asked in a trembling voice.
I shook my head at him.
Thud.
The pharmacist sank to the floor.
"You killed them all? Those kids?"
He looked incredulous as he asked.
This time, I nodded.
"Why... did you have to?"
Truth was, I'd agonized over it.
Unlike the impulsive bridge kill, I had time to think this time.
What I pondered was the fallout after offing the slit-eyed crew.
There were others here.
So I worried about paying the price for breaking social norms.
"It was... because of me. I take responsibility too..."
The pharmacist muttered like he was lost.
Then he snapped, yelling at me.
"You didn't have to kill them. They were just kids... because of me..."
He blamed himself because I'd tipped him off privately.
Goblins are weak alone but dangerous in packs.
Fundamental Skill awakening is possible, not guaranteed.
Keep this to yourself.
To the group, I'd limited info on purpose.
Downplayed risks, hyped rewards.
To tempt them.
I only owed the pharmacist for meds anyway.
He kept quiet as requested, and this happened.
"I nearly died."
"Pardon?"
He stared blankly.
I explained why I'd lured and killed them.
"If I hadn't killed those three, I might've been the one dead."
I summed it up quick, then went up to the second floor with Jang Ho-seop.
"Uh... bro."
"Yeah."
In the empty office, Jang Ho-seop called me.
"Did they really almost kill you?"
Sounded doubtful.
"No."
"Then why tell the pharmacist... ah. To comfort him."
"Not that either."
It wasn't a white lie to soothe the pharmacist.
Our thinking just differed, that's all.
"If... it's okay, could you explain a bit more?"
I set my weapon down and met Jang Ho-seop's eyes.
He looked genuinely curious.
"That man glared at me like he wanted me dead."
"Well, you beat him... ah."
"The world's gone weird. Leaving loose ends is risky."
That was why I'd decided to clean up the slit-eyed crew.
I figured this country wouldn't stabilize quick.
Jang Ho-seop nodded.
"Oh, got it... You helped the pharmacist, and it ended up like this."
"No. I fought them because they got in my way, not to help anyone."
Unnecessary words.
Jang Ho-seop's face hardened.
He got it.
That I'd shown my true colors on purpose.
Whoosh.
Rain started falling then.
Spring rain.
"Whoa, bro! It's raining?"
Jang Ho-seop said brightly.
"Rooftop?"
"Yeah."
We paused the talk and headed up.
The pouring spring rain washed away the fight's heat and blood.
#
We took turns sleeping with Jang Ho-seop, and morning came.
"Stab it."
We survivors from the pharmacy building were out on the street.
We'd tied up a captured goblin's limbs and brought over a woman.
"I-I can't."
"Yes. Next."
We were testing how to awaken Fundamental Skills.
Did killing the monster matter regardless of method?
Related to age, gender, etc.?
Info gathering, but no forcing it.
"Yi Hyun-ssi, hold on."
As I called the next, the pharmacist asked to wait.
He persuaded the woman.
That she had to kill the goblin.
To be brave.
"Ugh..."
Squish.
She finally killed the goblin.
And awakened a Fundamental Skill.
"Then I'll catch more."
We cleared the next block all morning.
Goblins everywhere here too, and we learned some facts.
First, goblins barely leveled me up now.
EXP bar bigger, and efficiency down.
'Age and gender unrelated.'
Three pharmacy survivors awakened Fundamental Skills.
Pharmacist, young woman, and a 50s lady.
Small sample, but ages varied.
Pharmacist in his 30s, woman in 20s.
"What if killing multiples awakens more people?"
Jang Ho-seop peeked at my notebook memo.
"Could be."
"Shall we... keep going?"
Jang Ho-seop had leveled a bit too.
From tagging along and killing goblins hard.
"Nah. Let's loot this building."
I told the pharmacist we'd enter a storefront.
"We'll check and go up first."
"Yes. We'll search from the first floor."
Survivors would gather supplies.
I'd listed maps and essentials.
We reached the intact building's rooftop.
Found two people mid-way, sent them to the pharmacist.
"Bro, smoke? Picked up some cigs earlier."
"No."
"Got it. Toss 'em? Nah, I'll hold onto them."
This building taller than the pharmacy one.
Rain stopped at dawn, no obstructing structures.
I gazed at the slow-flowing Han River.
Most bridges collapsed.
"Oh? That bridge is intact. What's it called..."
Jang Ho-seop joined me, looking at the river.
"Han River Bridge."
"Huh? Oh... how'd you know?"
Line 1 runs over it.
I'd crossed it plenty.
"That's the one I'll cross."
Needed to head north of the river.
My home was there.
Something I had to retrieve.
But first, settle things with Jang Ho-seop.