"Tsk."
The atmosphere among the people gathered in the mountains grew tense.
The man who had just fired a gun at someone’s feet stood there as if it were nothing. No, more than that—his expression suggested he was annoyed.
Nobody dared to challenge him, and whispers spread among the crowd.
—"D-Did he really shoot?"
—"What do you think? That was no fake shot."
—"Q-Quiet! Don’t provoke him!"
At that moment, Sergeant Shin Youngjun spoke.
"So, they call you Father Jinsu, huh?"
"Y-Yes, that’s me."
"Just because I’m speaking politely, you think soldiers are easy to push around?"
"......"
Just moments ago, Hong Jeongsu had been exuding confidence and authority. But now, standing in a situation where a bullet had embedded itself between his legs and with a warning that the next one wouldn’t miss, he couldn’t maintain his composure.
"If you value your life, stay quiet. Don’t annoy me."
"Y-Yes, I understand. My apologies." ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt)
At this moment, a certain image formed in everyone’s minds.
A trope often seen in movies about post-apocalyptic worlds—
*Corrupt soldiers.*
The kind who misuse their military strength to exploit civilians, enslaving or pillaging them.
"Now, where was I...? Sigh. See what happens when you interrupt?"
"......"
The sharp-featured man, Sergeant Shin Youngjun, looked every bit the embodiment of this stereotype.
‘That soldier is running wild... so why aren’t the monks doing anything?’
People glanced around, wondering what the monks—those who should have been protecting them—were doing.
“...Khh. To think we can only watch.”
“Fuu!”
“Let it be. Provoking them will only bring disaster.”
The Awakened monks, who should have been their defenders, could do nothing but clench their fists and sigh, watching helplessly.
‘What happened between that soldier and the monks?’
It was a mystery, and no one had the means to figure it out.
"As I said earlier, many military units have been destroyed, and our resources are stretched thin. Especially our manpower—we’re critically short on soldiers."
"......"
"Right now, most of our forces are tied up holding back a massive monster horde in the northwest. If that front collapses, the monsters will spread across the entire Gangwon Province. We can’t afford to pull back any troops."
At this, someone cautiously raised a hand.
"E-Excuse me. May I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Why are you telling us all this?"
At the question, Shin Youngjun scratched the back of his head with his pistol.
"Didn’t I just say? We’re short on resources, especially soldiers."
"Y-Yes, I understand that much."
"Then the conclusion should be obvious. We’re here to conscript soldiers."
"...!"
"W-What!"
The sudden statement caused an uproar among the crowd.
"Silence!"
The noise died immediately as Shin Youngjun shouted, his gun in hand.
"I said conscription, but most of you don’t need to worry. Civilians aren’t included in our draft."
"Then... who are you drafting?"
"We’ll only be taking the Awakened."
"...!"
All eyes turned toward the monks and those who had Awakened under their guidance.
"Ordinary humans aren’t useful in battle. In the past, we might have trained them, but we don’t have the resources for that anymore. So, we’ll only be conscripting those with combat experience—Awakened who’ve fought monsters."
Shin Youngjun looked directly at the Awakened as he continued.
"Calling it conscription might sound harsh, but it’s not a bad deal."
"How can you say it’s not bad?"
"We have a substantial stockpile of food and weapons. We’ve stabilized farmland in some areas, ensuring a long-term food supply. At the very least, you won’t starve."
"......"
"Also, our corps already has a significant number of Awakened. Myself included."
As he spoke, he bent down and picked up a stone from the ground.
With a simple squeeze, the rock crumbled into dust.
The sight turned the onlookers’ faces pale.
"I’m a Level 30 Awakened."
"Strong Awakened mean lower chances of death in battle," he added.
While the word "conscription" was alarming, the terms weren’t entirely unreasonable.
Realizing the Awakened might actually leave, fear began to spread among the survivors.
"W-What about us?"
"What do you mean?"
"We’ve survived because the Awakened protect us. If they leave..."
Shin Youngjun turned his gaze to the man who had spoken, his expression twisting in disgust.
"And why exactly should we care about that?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"I said there’s a massive monster horde in the northwest. If that front collapses, every survivor in the region will be wiped out. We’re bolstering our forces to prevent that."
"......"
"And what? You want to stop us because you’re scared? You don’t care about anyone else as long as you’re safe?"
*Spit.*
Shin Youngjun spat on the ground with disdain.
"Actually, I’m curious. Do you not know how to Awaken?"
"W-We do... by hunting monsters..."
"Then why are you still civilians? In a group with over 30 Awakened, it shouldn’t be hard to increase the number."
"That’s..."
"Heh. Obvious. You refused, didn’t you? Fighting monsters is scary, so you asked to be protected instead. You’re not the only ones like that."
His eyes glinted with scorn.
"In a ruined world like this, selfish bastards like you—who only care about their own comfort—expect to be treated the same as those who fought to survive. Trash like you disgust me."
"......"
"Our corps’ goal is to protect Gangwon Province. We don’t have the luxury to worry about useless humans who can’t keep up."
"U-Useless?!"
"If I had my way, I’d get rid of you right now. So do me a favor and stop pissing me off."
Shin Youngjun turned away from the survivors, dismissing their protests, and looked at the Awakened.
"We don’t take Awakened lightly. Unlike this trash, you’ve fought to survive. Join us, and we’ll provide everything you need to grow stronger."
"......"
"I understand it’s not an easy decision. We’ll return in three days."
"Three days..."
"I trust you’ll make the right choice. Until then."
With that, Sergeant Shin Youngjun left, his soldiers following him out of the temple.
As they departed, one of the towering soldiers paused and addressed the survivors.
"You’ve only been active around this area, haven’t you?"
"Y-Yes, for now..."
"I figured."
The soldier sighed and continued, "Consider yourselves lucky we’re the ones who found you."
"Lucky? You almost shot someone!"
"But we didn’t kill anyone. Nor did we drag anyone away by force."
Looking at them with pity, the large man spoke again.
"If it had been another faction... this wouldn’t have ended so peacefully."
Peaceful?
The survivors couldn’t believe their ears.
"It’s simple," the soldier explained. "We respect civilians and prioritize fighting monsters. That’s thanks to our commander’s principles."
"......"
"But let me ask you this: do you think everyone else would act the same?"
Unlike Shin Youngjun, this soldier had a gentler demeanor.
"Our corps only conscripts Awakened. Other factions won’t care if you’re a civilian. They’ll see your value as slaves or toys instead."
His gaze was filled with genuine concern as he gave his final advice.
"You’ve been living under the illusion that this temple can protect you forever. But even if it wasn’t us, someone else would have found you eventually."
"T-That’s..."
"The world is changing. Awakened now control both production and power. Soon, your status will depend on how strong you are as an Awakened."
"Then... what should we do?"
"I understand your fear. I felt the same at first. But this change is inevitable. That’s why..."
"Why?"
"You’d be better off deciding quickly."
If you can’t stop the change, the only option is to adapt.
"Those who fail to adapt will simply be left behind."
With those parting words, the soldier turned and walked away.
The survivors watched his back, speechless.
"Sigh."
"What on earth just happened?"
The soldiers had left, and the Awakened monks returned to their quarters, but the survivors remained in the same spot, too stunned to move.
"We don’t know anything yet," said Hong Jeongsu, the middle-aged man seated among them.
"What do you mean? What don’t we know?"
"I told you. The monks might have brought those deserters in to change the situation."
"...Are we still on about that?"
"Think about it! We don’t even have proof that those people are actual soldiers. How do we know they’re not lying to us?"
His words weren’t completely baseless.
But another middle-aged woman shook her head and responded.
"Even if it’s a lie, if the monks are truly planning to betray us, isn’t there nothing we can do to stop them?"
"That’s... true, but..."
A wave of helplessness swept through the group.
"What the lady says might be true, but I don’t think those soldiers were lying."
"Huh?"
"You all know I only recently came here from the south, right?"
"Ah... yes, you mentioned that."
"Before the monks rescued me, I’d been planning to head even further south. There was a rumor about a large military base there."
"...!"
"According to the people I met, that city supposedly had over a thousand Awakened. They said the military distributed food, so at least no one was starving."
The man, who had spent weeks blending in with the survivors, had no reason to lie.
This suggested the rumor was likely true.
And now, the reality of it had just appeared before them.
"Fine, let’s assume they are soldiers. But why did the monks let them in? Unless they intended to turn against us, shouldn’t they have stopped them at the gates?"
"The monks probably didn’t want them here, either."
"What?"
"You know my tent is near the monks’ armory, right?"
Another man chimed in.
"This is what I found lying around there today."
He held up a battered, twisted steel helmet.
"See these marks?"
"Those are..."
"Fingerprints. Big ones, but definitely human."
"......"
Helmets are meant to protect heads.
The fact that such marks were on this helmet...
"Wait. Are you saying..."
"Whoever left these prints tried to crush someone’s head with their bare hands."
"Most likely, yes."
*Gulp.*
The brutality was one thing, but the implication of such overwhelming strength was chilling.
The person wearing the helmet and the one who left those marks were on completely different levels.
"This helmet belonged to Monk Hyeyeon, the second-strongest among the Awakened monks. He was guarding the gate today and is now bedridden with severe bruises all over his body."
"Which means..."
"The monks did try to stop the soldiers. This is the result."
Hearing this, Hong Jeongsu felt sweat trickle down his back.
‘That soldier I spoke rudely to earlier—that was their sergeant, wasn’t it?’
When Jeongsu confronted the soldier, Monk Seungju had intervened to stop him.
‘If I had kept pushing back then...’
He recalled the sergeant’s cold, emotionless expression as he fired a warning shot.
The memory sent chills down Jeongsu’s spine.
‘Wait. That means...’
At the time, Jeongsu had assumed the monks had brought the outsiders in for some nefarious reason.
Even when he saw Seungju’s grim expression as he approached the soldier, he had smugly thought, *I’ve caught you now.*
But now that he thought about it...
‘Monk Seungju wasn’t trying to protect the soldier.’
The monk’s sour expression hadn’t been one of guilt.
It was the expression of someone watching a child approach a wild beast without a shred of fear.
The man who had blindly rushed forward, oblivious to the danger.
‘...He was trying to protect me.’
Jeongsu, who had no faith in Buddhism and saw the monks as nothing more than naive fools to exploit, now realized the truth.
‘The one who was nothing but a hindrance... was me.’
A heavy sense of debt settled in his heart.
______________________
TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!
