“This feels really off,” I muttered.
“What do you mean by that?” Seungju asked, puzzled.
“Just talking to myself. Don’t worry about it.”
Even as I spoke, the middle-aged man continued to argue with Seungju, his tone sharp and accusatory.
“Weren’t we supposed to make important decisions together as a group? But once again, the monks are acting unilaterally. ‘Leave it to the Awakened,’ you say, as if the rest of us don’t matter. Do you even care what the people think?”
“These individuals aren’t what you think they are,” Seungju said, trying to pacify him. “They’re Awakened travelers from another region.”
“Awakened?” the man repeated, his focus shifting toward us. Then, to my dismay, his finger pointed directly at me. “Hey, you there, old man!”
‘Old man?’ The guy looked old enough to call me “young man” instead, yet here he was calling me *that.*
“Yes, that’s correct,” I replied, managing to keep my annoyance in check.
“If you’re Awakened, you must have a job, right? What’s your job?”
The question irritated me. Among Awakened, asking about someone’s job or stats was considered rude. But this man, being unawakened, likely didn’t understand the etiquette.
“...I’m a chef.”
“A chef?” he said, incredulous. “There are Awakened with jobs like that? Or are you just pretending you’re not some kind of demon?”
“Enough, Jinsu,” Seungju interrupted sharply. “Stop this at once.”
“Oh, so now you’re defending outsiders?” Jinsu scoffed. “Back before all this, I owned several restaurants. Does that make all my chefs Awakened too?”
“Jinsu,” Seungju said firmly, cutting him off. “That’s enough.”
“Tch.” Jinsu clicked his tongue and finally stepped back. “Fine, I’ll drop it for now. But mark my words—I’ll bring this up at tomorrow’s meeting.”
With those words, he left, his hostility lingering in the air.
---
“I’m sorry for his behavior,” Seungju said with a sigh, turning toward me. “Jinsu wasn’t always like this. The stress of these times must have gotten to him.”
“It’s fine,” I replied. “You don’t need to apologize on his behalf.”
“Your patience is admirable,” Seungju said with a faint smile. “An Awakened chef... that must have been a difficult path in a world overrun by monsters.”
I shrugged, not bothering to elaborate. His interpretation of my patience, however, was far from the truth.
‘It’s not that I’m patient. It’s just... his words were too insignificant to be worth getting angry about.’
If anything, I felt confident in my abilities and the path I’d walked. No matter what someone like him thought, I knew the truth about my skills and their worth.
---
Later, we were finally brought before the abbot.
“So, you’ve come to trade?” the abbot asked.
“Yes, Venerable One. I am Sanghyup, an Awakened merchant,” Sanghyup began, bowing respectfully.
“A merchant, you say? You mean as an Awakened profession?” the abbot asked with a knowing smile.
“Ah, yes, of course,” Sanghyup replied, slightly flustered.
The abbot chuckled. “Regardless, we welcome trade. Our food stores are dwindling, and we are in desperate need. The question is whether we can afford the price.”
“There’s another small issue,” Sanghyup said, opening his [N O V E L I G H T] bag and revealing its contents—packets of jerky. “This is the food we’ve brought.”
“Jerky,” the abbot said thoughtfully.
“Yes. I didn’t realize this was a temple when I prepared it,” Sanghyup admitted nervously.
The abbot waved away his concern with a gentle laugh. “Do not worry about that.”
“Wait... you’re saying it’s fine?” Sanghyup asked, blinking in surprise.
“Indeed. Contrary to popular belief, the Buddha’s teachings do not prohibit the consumption of meat. Rather, we are instructed to accept whatever we are given, even if it includes meat. The prohibition against meat came later, as part of the precept against taking life.”
“Ah, I see...”
The abbot smiled. “Besides, we long ago broke such precepts ourselves.”
---
That much was obvious. Scanning the monks with my skill confirmed it.
[Ingredient Analysis (Enhanced)]
[Awakened: Beophyeon]
[Job: Low-Rank Priest Lv. 17]
Unlike the refugees, the monks were all Awakened—and not just Awakened, but high-level. Their power rivaled some of our most seasoned soldiers.
‘Given their levels, they must’ve Awakened early after Doomsday, just like us.’
The real issue was the glaringly small number of Awakened compared to the temple’s population.
‘They didn’t manage to increase their numbers,’ I thought grimly, my suspicions solidifying.
---
The abbot continued, “We are monks who have taken lives. Whether those lives belonged to demons or not, we’ve already broken our vows. Eating meat won’t make much of a difference.”
“Ah, of course!” Sanghyup exclaimed, clearly relieved. “In that case, let’s discuss the details of the trade. This jerky isn’t ordinary—it’s especially beneficial for Awakened individuals.”
“Hmm. A valuable item, then. I wonder if we have anything worth exchanging for it,” the abbot mused.
“Don’t worry about that,” Sanghyup said confidently. “I’ll make sure to set a fair price, even if it means taking a loss.”
---
The discussion ended with Sanghyup arranging to meet another monk who managed the temple’s inventory. Unfortunately, that monk was away hunting monsters and wouldn’t return for three days.
After Sanghyup left, I remained behind, catching the abbot’s attention.
“Do you have another reason for staying?” he asked curiously.
I adjusted my posture and met his gaze. “The trade is Sanghyup’s concern. I have a different matter to discuss.”
“Go on,” the abbot said, his tone growing serious.
“I understand you’ve heard rumors of a surviving military unit in the south?”
“Yes... though we dismissed them as hearsay.”
“They’re true,” I said plainly. “We’ve been operating in the Chuncheon and Inje regions. Recently, we’ve been engaged in battles against a dangerous group of monsters.”
I explained the situation without holding back, detailing the threat posed by the Green Mane Tribe and the difficulty of dealing with them alone.
“So you’re proposing an alliance,” the abbot concluded.
“That was the plan,” I said. Then I hesitated, glancing at Seungju’s puzzled expression.
“Was?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, was.”
Looking out the window at the massive population below and recalling everything I’d observed, I made my decision.
“An alliance is only possible with a capable partner.”
“What are you implying?” Seungju demanded, his tone sharp.
“Apologies if this sounds harsh,” I said, my voice steady. “But while you have numbers, your strength is lacking. Too few Awakened.”
The abbot raised a hand to calm Seungju before addressing me. “You’ve noticed, then. Yes, we have just over a hundred Awakened among our ranks.”
‘As I expected.’
---
Early in the apocalypse, my unit had prioritized Awakening every soldier to ensure survival. Forcing even the most reluctant, like Gwangil, to Awaken had been necessary to prevent division.
A group split between Awakened and unawakened inevitably fractures, weakening itself.
This temple had failed to address that division, and the consequences were evident.
---
“You must already know what I’m about to say,” I said, meeting the abbot’s gaze directly. “If this continues, your temple will fall.”
