“The last survivors of Daejeon are me and my buddies—twenty-something people. And hey, a representative is still a representative.”
In this world, the scale categories divided by the number of Awakeners come in three types at the current point in time.
A party of five.
A clan of thirty or more.
A [Guild] of one hundred or more.
‘A group that can’t even qualify as a clan.’
Now I understood why he said he had no affiliation.
Our own guild at least got the temporary name [423rd Battalion], but.
That was a name assigned temporarily because we succeeded in the Occupation War before we even reached the [Guild] scale.
We only chose a proper group name after founding the [Guild].
Before that, even if you called it a party or a clan, it was still just a temporary group.
You don’t get assigned an official group name.
“Of course, it’s not like everyone died overnight. There were plenty who formed big groups at the [Guild] level too.”
That was what “no affiliation” meant.
Since the survivors of Daejeon didn’t even reach thirty, they weren’t recognized as a proper faction.
“......I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? The ones who died were the kind of bastards who deserved to die. They went out pretty damn ugly, sure. But honestly, it felt good.”
In the System message, Gangwon was expressed as [ROK.17].
That meant the Republic of Korea’s local regions were at least seventeen.
The factions that came here, including us, totaled only five.
Some may have ignored the message, but.
Just thinking that there were regions that never even received it made my stomach burn.
‘I thought we finished the Occupation War as fast as possible.’
That one year.
In only one year, it meant there were many regions that had been completely wiped out.
“My intro’s done. To people who built some big impressive faction, I probably look pathetic.”
Like his explanation was over.
He leaned back again with his arms crossed and put a cigarette in his mouth.
Watching him, I thought.
‘What matters is...... that there are survivors.’
The same was true for Daejeon, where that man came from.
Not many, but survivors clearly existed.
GRIT.
If so.
What I had to do right now wasn’t grieve over how many people had died.
What I had to do was.......
[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]
‘Confirm the survivors’ combat power.’
*****
-In the end, doesn’t that just mean he’s a vagrant with no real faction?
-What is he even relying on to act that cocky.......
When Gang Shincheol finished explaining Daejeon’s situation.
I could hear the big shots on the Seoul side whispering.
-Only thirty-something people. He wasn’t even worth inviting here.
But.
I didn’t agree with them.
‘Just because he doesn’t belong to a big faction doesn’t mean he’s someone you can look down on.’
Because.
He was also fighting the monsters that hit this place.
In the first place, he got here from Daejeon with only a small number of people.
[Gang Shincheol]
[Lv.34 Counterattack Weapon Specialist]
‘That’s a seriously high level.’
It meant he was someone with the ability to survive to that point.
As I examined his status window, I thought.
‘Getting buried in the dead doesn’t help. What matters right now is grasping information on the living.’
The reason I accepted this suspicious invitation to Seoul.
Was to find allies.
Or to get information on the others who would come here.
If we could join forces and fight together, that would be best.
But what I was doing right now also included preparation for the opposite case.
‘It’s possible...... we might end up fighting them.’
[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)] is among the strongest abilities I have.
If you can confirm the other side’s abilities in advance, you can also prepare a response.
And my specialty is that through cooking, I ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) can prepare all kinds of responses.
Among the people gathered here, there might be those we end up hostile with later.
I needed to get as much information as possible here, and prepare measures as well.
Seoul’s side had little Awakener combat power, so it wasn’t very meaningful.
The other survivors were different.
And in fact.
‘What the hell...... did Daejeon go through?’
Looking at Gang Shincheol’s status window, I couldn’t hide my shock.
‘Assuming he isn’t borrowing [Belsnickel]’s power...... this guy is stronger than Gangsan.’
Gang Shincheol was the kind of person who might even be able to compete with our squad leaders.
And the two men and women standing behind him, too.
They had flashy specs that made me think of our squad leaders.
‘Only thirty people?’
It wasn’t that “only thirty-something” survived.
It was that in this hell of a world, they survived with a tiny group of only thirty.
*****
“What a heartbreaking thing...... truly.”
Next to speak was a grandmother with a neat, refined impression.
“I’m an old lady named Yoo Jeongsuk from Gyeongsangbuk-do. I lead a guild called White Tiger.”
Hearing that, my eyes widened.
Gyeongsangbuk-do.
‘It borders Gangwon, too.’
Before heading to Seoul like this.
It was one of the closest regions I’d considered moving into with troops.
“Unfortunately, in a slightly different sense from that young fellow earlier, it’s hard to call me the representative of a whole region.”
“May I ask what you mean?”
“We gave up on the Occupation War and focused only on survival. Until the Occupation War ended, the territory we held didn’t even reach ten percent of Gyeongsangbuk-do.”
Even Gyeonggi, where they couldn’t even enter the outskirts because of the Demon Realm, had a higher Occupation Rate than that.
Meaning they didn’t even attempt the Occupation War except for the bare minimum footholds needed to survive.
“I’m ashamed to say it, but I think it was a decent choice. There were a few other guilds actively pushing the Occupation War, but now they’re all gone and only we’re left. Some of them even had people stronger than me. But hey—doesn’t that mean the side that survives is the strongest?”
She seemed proud that she was the only surviving faction.
And honestly, I also thought it was a good thing anywhere there were humans who survived.
But.
[Yoo Jeongsuk]
[Lv.27 Gladiator]
‘She’s weak.’
The exact opposite of that man, Gang Shincheol.
I didn’t know whether it was just her personally, or whether the guild she led was the same way.
But at least her strength was lacking for someone who was the head of a region that survived for over a year.
‘If you only chase safety, you won’t last.’
Maybe they managed to survive up to now somehow.
But considering how the threats in this world only keep getting worse, it was extremely dangerous.
The one fortunate part was.
“Since I managed to come here alive and join the government, that means my judgment was right! Originally, I wanted to join up with Gangwon, but.”
She said it with a bright laugh.
Just as she said.
Her faction didn’t build strength, yet survived through luck and succeeded in joining another faction.
......If that wall had opened even a little later, it might have turned out differently, but anyway.
And then.
“I came from Chungcheongnam-do.”
The last remaining faction, besides us.
A middle-aged man who looked like their leader opened his mouth.
“Unlike that brother over there, we succeeded in surviving together with as many people as possible. I am Jeong Suhwan, and I currently serve in the role of cardinal for our Church.”
A middle-aged man with a calm impression continued in a soft, measured voice.
A strangely soothing voice.
‘The Church.’
Going by the name, they looked like some kind of religious group.
‘It’s not exactly strange, considering [Myoyang Temple] exists too.’
Religion binds people together.
And in this collapsed world, the most important thing for survival was managing your mind.
Religion had always performed that role better than anything.
‘[Myoyang Temple] had some issues too, but there’s a reason they survived.’
Even among the survivors we encountered in Gangwon, there were many who clustered around churches and the like.
Religious factions had a fairly high survival rate in this world.
[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]
[Jeong Suhwan]
[Lv.35 Order Paladin]
And.
They didn’t look like they merely “managed to survive.”
‘Level thirty-five.’
Among the people I met here.
No.
Among all the Awakeners I’ve ever met, aside from me, he was the highest level.
“We fought as a group around the churches of Chungcheongnam-do. As a result, most of the survivors in the Chungcheongnam-do region are now with us.”
On top of that.
Unlike Gang Shincheol, they seemed to be a faction of considerable size.
‘Along with Seoul...... one of the few large-scale groups among those gathered here.’
Whether they became allies or enemies later.
It was certain I needed to pay attention to them.
And.
Lastly.......
“.......”
“.......”
Everyone’s gaze gathered in one place.
And that gaze wasn’t on anyone but us.
“From Gangwon.”
When First Lieutenant Kim spoke evenly.
I could feel everyone concentrating on the shape of his mouth.
*****
First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.
At first, he served as the figurehead simply because he was the only officer left in the unit.
But even after that, the external leadership position continued to be his.
“Any detailed explanation.......”
The reason was simple.
“Won’t be necessary.”
He was.
The most “leader-like” person in our unit.
Even though First Lieutenant Kim was only continuing in a steady voice.
I could feel tension piling into the gazes watching him.
“Hm. The Legion.”
“.......”
Even Gang Shincheol, who’d been acting unruly the entire time, held the cigarette in his hand and stared at First Lieutenant Kim.
And the heads of every other faction also observed his face with expressions full of tension.
It made sense.
‘The Legion is the first faction in this world to succeed in the Occupation War.’
Most of the Republic of Korea’s military power was in the army.
And most of that army power had been concentrated in Gangwon.
We were the successor of that Gangwon army.
Through the radio, we announced our existence to each region.
And even against the monsters that suddenly hit this place, we showed the most outstanding performance.
‘We were surprised by Seoul, but.’
I remembered what Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan said when he looked at us.
Heroes who survived in Gangwon.
‘They’re probably surprised looking at us, too.’
Objectively speaking.
The name “Legion” we carried.......
Had weight that every faction on this land would have reason to fear.
“As we have stated through several radio broadcasts, we operate with Chuncheon, Gangwon as our base. At present, we have all key areas across Gangwon under our management, and.......”
And the head of that faction, on the outside, was First Lieutenant Kim.
Of course everyone focused on his words.
‘He’s always been good at looking the part.’
I watched First Lieutenant Kim with eyes that were, in a way, a little proud.
Early in the collapse, he was a pretty troublesome person.
But now he looked the part of the Legion’s leader.
‘......Right. This isn’t the time for that.’
Whether I felt proud or not.
I had a task: confirm the other Awakeners’ abilities.
I immediately turned my head and looked at the other Awakeners.
Most of them were staring at First Lieutenant Kim’s mouth.
Faces full of tension, focusing on First Lieutenant Kim’s words.
‘......Huh?’
But then.
Among them, just one.
Not a tense expression at all.
There was a woman smiling lightly while looking at First Lieutenant Kim.
*****
-Huh.
There was a woman watching First Lieutenant Kim with a faint, mocking smile.
‘The woman who was standing behind that cardinal.’
Because everyone else’s attention was fixed on First Lieutenant Kim.
It felt like I was the only one who could see her.
-Puhuh.......
She openly snickered after looking at Yoo Jeongsuk, the grandmother from Gyeongsangbuk-do.
And after looking at Jo Beomseok, the Chair of the Association in Gyeonggi.
-......Hmm!
Then this time she looked at Gang Shincheol’s face.
And made an expression like she found it extremely interesting.
‘......What is that?’
I’ll say it myself, but.
First Lieutenant Kim right now had a lot of charisma as the head of a group.
It wasn’t easy for anyone to take him lightly.
That was exactly why I put him in the position of the Legion’s external leader.
If anything, in this room’s atmosphere, it would be normal for Gang Shincheol—who had no proper faction—to be the one everyone dismissed.
But she looked at Gang Shincheol like he was interesting.
And she was sending First Lieutenant Kim a gaze like she was laughing at him.
‘That’s weird.’
I felt a strange sense of incongruity and looked at her.
[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]
[Lv.31 Order Evangelist]
And.
The instant I was about to quickly scan down her status window.
“......?”
‘Damn.’
As if she noticed I was watching her.
Her gaze snapped toward me.
We exchanged a brief look.
......And then.
“F...... forty......!?”
Her eyes.
Filled with shock.
