Chapter 29 – 29. Leave It to the Majority

I explained to my companions what I experienced at the purple gate.

First, I met a bizarre store manager in a very unpleasant store. The manager, who seemed to have forced that cosmic horror into the human body, was kinder than I expected, and told me that I had bought a skill enhancement card because I could only buy one of the items on sale.

“You’ve been through something… Something terrible?”

“Okay.”

Everyone looked surprised at my explanation.

Except for Ayun, the people in the group who had never been beyond the gate had a hard time even imagining my story. Even if it were me, I think it would be difficult to understand if I just explained it in words. I’m not that good at explaining things.

“Huh… Um, Inho… So did you use that skill enhancement card?”

“Yes. “I wrote it right away.”

“Well, that’s right..”

Junho, who didn’t know exactly what skills I had, nodded his head and looked as if he was asking for more explanation. Because I haven’t properly told him about my skill theft yet.

‘Is it time to let you know… ‘

If there are too many secrets or things to hide when living in a community, misunderstandings and suspicions deepen, so I decided to explain to Junho about my skill being stolen.

Looking at his actions yesterday and today, it didn’t seem like he would betray us. After moving in with him for a few days, you can see that a little trust has been built.

“So.. Inho’s skills are..”

“Yes. It is a skill that kills the opponent and steals the skill.”

“Huh.. So you hid it..”

Uncle Junho nodded his head with an expression of understanding. This is a skill that is dangerous in many ways to readily share with others. Still, he was vaguely anticipating my skill, so I wasn’t overly surprised.

“What’s important is the effect of the enhanced skills.”

“Yes, brother. “Actually, I’ve been most curious about that since a while ago.”

“That’s right, Inho. How on earth has everything changed? “Your hair isn’t falling out anymore?”

“Ah.. It’s not that it won’t fall out..”

I explained the new skill to everyone.

They informed me that skills can now be acquired selectively, can be transferred, and penalties have been reduced. I don’t think there will be any major problems if I share this level of information with Junho and Seunghee. Because I haven’t mentioned any other skills directly related to combat yet.

“Then.. I can give you In-ho’s skills..”

“Yes, we can collect a lot of skills by killing other awakened people and then share them among ourselves. Survivability will increase dramatically. Seunghee will also be able to have abilities that will be helpful in battle.”

“Huh…”

When told that her daughter’s chances of survival would increase, Junho nodded her head enthusiastically. In my view, the reason why the weak Jun-ho does not commit suicide and lives on is because it is for the sake of his daughter, Seung-hee.

‘Increasing power by transferring skills is quite good…But…’

One thing to note is that once you give a skill, you cannot get it back until you kill it.

Yes, this is only a one-way donation. You can only give, but you cannot take it back. If you want to get the skill back, you must kill the opponent. So, it is better to hand it over carefully.

‘Currently I have seven skills..’

Among these, the only skill that can be given out right now is sense of reason.

‘I got it because I thought it would be useful, but… ‘

It wasn’t very useful. To begin with, most of the crazy guys walking the streets are men, and their skills in finding women are not very good. It is more efficient to give this to a woman to find a hidden man.

‘Especially.. Those guys from Dongyeong High School are roaming the streets.. And deserters will soon start roaming around as well.. So finding men is better for survival.’

All you have to do is detect hidden enemies in advance and kill them before they are taken by surprise. Yes, I think it would be a good idea to give the sense of reason to Baek A-yoon. You already have to use the Hunting Command skill to find your prey, but if you had this, it would be easier to find.

‘I still have the rest of the abilities…’

If you get a support skill, it would be good to give it to Saeyeon, and it would be good to give the ability to shoot projectiles to Hyuna and make her like a wizard.

“For now, that’s how it happened. So… In order to increase our power…”

“All hostile awakened people must be killed..”

“That’s right.”

Even if it is non-hostile, if you have to take away its abilities, you have no choice but to kill it. For example, like the curly hair I met in the labyrinth. The insight into his ability was so useful that I had no choice but to steal it.

“B-But Inho-gun… There are also soldiers walking around… If we wait a little longer, maybe the government will step in and sort out the situation again?”

Junho’s uncle shows his aversion to the fact that he has to kill people.

The survivor’s diary has not yet been shown to Junho and Seunghee. So, the two people are not sure how the disaster will progress in the future. So, you probably think that the soldiers can simply save us and the government can regain its function.

‘When eternal winter and endless night begin… Vampires and all kinds of strange things will roam around… Armed soldiers are likely to turn into cannibalistic robbers when food runs out and hope is lost… Also, according to a mention in the journal, It was said that strange religions would arise among people who were not awakened..’

When religions emerge and fanatics begin to roam, it becomes difficult for even survivors to believe. It would be better to regard all non-certified personnel as enemies.

Yes, I think it would be easier to hide or run away from external threats if we formed a small group with a small number of awakened people.

Moreover, with the power I have, I feel like I can lead a group without having to bow down.

‘It’s better to hold back until you get the Infinite Labyrinth and can start growing your group in earnest. And the biggest problem at this point is the safety of my women…’

Saeyeon, Ayun, and Hyuna are pretty. The same goes for Seunghee. Would the robbers just leave these fair-faced women alone? I can confidently say that it will definitely not be the case.

There are definitely people out there who are trying to kill Junho and me and rape women. In a world where the apocalypse has begun, women are the exclusive property of the strong.

In fact, you don’t have to go far, that’s what the psycho bullies from Dongyeong High School are doing right now. You can get a rough estimate just by looking at the fact that those young bastards are already looking for women and hunting down survivors.

‘Even soldiers cannot be easily trusted.’

Armed thugs alone are dangerous, but when soldiers with guns turn into murderous robbers, it becomes a real headache.

Moreover, it was written in the log that intelligent monsters enjoy murder, rape, and indiscriminate torture. In order to better protect my women from those guys, I need to be able to move independently.

It may actually be more dangerous to follow the military’s control.

‘First of all, it would be hard to believe if I just explained it in words…’

I have to show the survivor’s diary to Junho and Seunghee. It is better to share this information quickly.

“Uncle Junho… It’s better not to trust the soldiers too much. Here, read this.”

“That’s…”

“This is an item obtained after conquering the labyrinth. It is a journal written about things that may happen in the future.”

“Huh.. Is this true?”

“Yes. There is a very high possibility that it will go as written there. Of course, I can’t guarantee it’s 100 percent.”

“Hmm…”

Uncle Junho read the journal with Seunghee. Various events, monsters, and all kinds of disasters are written in the not-so-long content. Perhaps that’s why Junho’s face became more and more stern as he turned page after page.

“If this article is really true… I’m going crazy. Haa.. Seunghee, maybe we’ll be good.. Haa..”

Junho sighed and wiped her face. It must be stuffy. When I first read that journal, I didn’t want to believe it either. It was so hopeless that my will to live almost broke.

At that time, Hyuna said to go down slowly.

“Hey, shall we go down first? Rather than staying here… I think it would be better to go down…”

As she said, now that the sun has risen, it is time to start doing outdoor activities. It is better to quickly rob empty stores and stock up on supplies.

“Hmm. But what about this person? Are you going to leave it like this?”

“Ha.. That’s right.”

Ayun asks what to do with the man in room 1003. He still has not come to his senses.

What should I do? Should I take him with me? Or should I just leave it alone? If not that too…

‘It might be better to kill him cleanly.’

Even if you keep him alive, it may not be of much help. There is no solid evidence, but somehow my instinctive intuition is telling me.

‘Hmm… I could just leave it like this, but… We’ve already become aware of each other’s existence. I’m sure if they run out of food, they’ll try to borrow from us. Even if that’s not the case, a third party that cannot be clearly controlled is quite dangerous in this situation… Because you never know what kind of antics they might do. If you see zombies and scream in shock… It’s dizzying.’

Moreover, there is a possibility that this man may not want to continue with us. Because he probably has bad feelings about us. That’s right, he broke into our house, beat us up, knocked us out, and even tied us up… So he probably doesn’t have any good feelings towards us. It means that the first impression was completely wrong.

Maybe they will leave us or run away and join another group and then target us. So, if other people find out about Saeyeon’s infinite inventory… It’s dizzying just to imagine it. The inventory battle will begin. How many people will attack Saeyeon?

In short, I cannot trust this man at all. I might have been able to trust him a little if he had a family like Junho, who has a daughter to protect, but it’s too risky to blindly accept a single adult man with no connections as a team member. Because there is no way to control it. The same goes for this man.

‘If you decide to run away or cause trouble with the intention of backstabbing us, there is a very high chance that an accident will occur before you can stop it.’

However, that doesn’t mean I can pull out a knife and just stab the man to death… I feel like the rest of the group will think I’m a crazy psychopath, so it’s a bit odd. There is no law that says my anxiety will become reality. I have to follow the majority opinion on this. There is no reason to act arbitrarily and take all the responsibility.

“We vote on whether to kill them cleanly or not.”

“Uh…”

“Hmm..”

Everyone is in a conflicted mood. These are natural reactions since Ayun and I are probably the only people here who are familiar with murder. I expressed my opinion to my companions who were reluctant to open their mouths.

“First of all, if I were to express my thoughts… I think there would be no harm in killing me here. If this man later betrays us or runs away and joins a group that has not been able to get back, for example, the kids from Dongyeong High School, we could be in danger. So I think it’s right to just kill them. Don’t cause trouble by keeping him alive for no reason. Just deal with it now and move on. “If you have similar thoughts as me, please raise your hand.”

Me, Baek Ayun, and Seunghee raised our hands. Uncle Junho, older sister Saeyeon, and Hyuna Kim were confused. It won’t be easy to kill him right away. Can’t help it. It’s natural. Because they want to execute a weak person who is not a threat and has already been subdued. That’s because I’m afraid of the future, which may or may not happen yet.

In fact, I know very well that what I say is not morally or ethically right at all. Of course, I also know that this man is ignoring the very possibility of becoming a great colleague and is trying to crush it.

But even so, I had no choice but to think calmly to protect my people. This is an age where benevolence or harmony cannot necessarily be considered the right answer. It’s easier to just get rid of uncertain elements. This is especially true if you have completely screwed up your first impression.

‘Still.. I thought no one would agree with me except Ayun..’

One surprising thing about the current vote is that Seunghee raised her hand. She chose to kill the man in room 1003. It was a completely different decision from her father to her, Han Jun-ho. This was nothing short of a total opposition to my father’s opinion.

“S-Seunghee…”

Mr. Junho looked at his daughter’s face as she calmly asked to kill her man and asked if she really wanted to kill this unrelated man. Seunghee, whose unlock penalty had not yet gone away, was unable to speak and nodded her head instead of answering. It was a clear expression of intention.

I’ve felt this since last time, but he’s more outspoken than I thought. Perhaps because he is still young, he has a stubborn personality. Maybe Seunghee has stronger mental power than Junho.

“Hmm. “The position is that the three should not be killed.”

“That’s it, Inho. Me, I… I’m not really sure. It may be dangerous, but… You haven’t actually done anything wrong yet. And we were the ones who broke into this person’s house… Yeah, it’s a bit weird because there’s no reason to kill him… I think we can resolve the situation through some kind of conversation. It’s just… That’s what I think. I don’t want to strongly assert my opinion… I’ll leave it to Inho’s choice. I’m sorry..”

“I completely understand, sister. The other two…”

Hyuna opened her mouth to my question.

“I have the same thoughts as Sae-yeon. There’s something about it.. It’s not like killing someone while fighting, but suddenly breaking in and killing them.. I don’t think that’s right. Then there’s no difference between us and those crazy bullies from Dongyeong High School. Of course, this person may do something dangerous to us. I don’t think he just kills them without giving them any chance. Of course, like Saeyeon, this is just my opinion. “I will also follow your opinion…”

Uncle Junho must have been worried, so he rubbed his face several times and finally opened his mouth.

“I agree with these two. And since he is a man who hasn’t awakened yet… He can awaken by killing zombies. I think I can make him a colleague by teaching him well. And more than anything… I just don’t feel like killing someone so young. It’s so… Such a waste. The fact that this young life has no meaning and is disappearing from here… I’m sorry… It’s just that I keep thinking about the baker who died yesterday… Ugh, my nose is like that. I wonder if I have unnecessary sympathy..”

I nodded to the three people’s opinions. As the three people said, it is difficult to completely rule out the possibility that this man is a really good person.

Yes, as Mr. Junho said, I don’t think it’s too late to take him around and have him kill zombies first, and then deal with him after turning him into an awakened person. Even at that time, I calculated that if I felt like I was no longer a human being and was not a spirit, I would be able to kill him at that time. Moreover, it is true that awakened companions are also necessary to some extent.

“Then it’s half and half.. I guess I should have a conversation with this guy first.”

“Well, that sounds good… Thanks. “Thank you for listening to my opinion..”

“What. I don’t want to live alone. Coordination of opinions is necessary for everyone to survive together. And it was a situation where it was difficult to say who was the right answer.”

I smiled at my companions. The heavy atmosphere eased a little.

With this, the man in room 1003 survived for now.

When we just broke into the house, we couldn’t communicate well because we were both in a heated state, but if we calm down a bit and have an honest conversation, I think we’ll get a good idea of ​​what to do with this man.