Chapter 18 – Illness

-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of footsteps, getting closer and closer, finally came right in front of us.
Seungpil and I stared straight ahead, holding our breath.

I thought maybe a lion or a bear would come out.
But I never thought that dinosaurs would come out.

Tyrannosaurus Rex. Commonly known as T-Rex.
It is the most powerful predator and the most powerful terrestrial animal in Earth’s history.

However, since even such the strongest went extinct in the distant past, we have been able to come into contact with its existence only through creative works such as movies and games.

But now the T. Rex was actually coming in front of me, salivating at the smell of its prey.

Unrealistic size as if a house were walking around. Overwhelming majesty. And fear.
If Seungpil wasn’t by his side, he might have screamed and ran away. To that extent, the T-rex was a creature that evoked biological fear.

The head alone was several times the size of a human. Each tooth was the size of a forearm. It was so big that I could chew it up in one bite, like an anchovy.

Its forepaws are short, so it must be at a disadvantage for tagging. Contrary to what I saw on the internet, there were no feathers. Its body was surrounded by thick, hard skin, just like that of a rhinoceros.

The tail and hind feet were thicker and longer than expected. His gait was also large, moving several meters in one step. Once I started being chased, I was able to realize instinctively that I could never run away.

-Grrrr…

The T-rex came right in front of us and stopped in front of the wild boar liver we had left.

Did this guy smell it too…
Even if I eat, I don’t think I’ll even say goodbye. Wouldn’t it be a pity that the quantity is small?

I thought I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought it wouldn’t be strange if monsters from fantasy such as goblins and orcs appeared.

But dinosaurs.
It’s a dinosaur
A Tyrannosaurus!

Isn’t this too much? Rather, Goblins or Orcs were more realistic.
Besides, you want me to catch this? Are you presenting this as a mission?

I wanted to scream at the absurd reality.
In reality, I can’t even breathe.

– Concubines, concubines, concubines.

Reaching in front of the boar’s liver, the T. Rex rammed his head into the ground and began to chomp.

It didn’t take long either. Compared to that big mouth, the boar’s liver was the size of chestnuts.
He put a chunk of liver into his mouth, lifted his head, and gulped it down his throat. The pork liver that looked big was not even a bite away.

Then the T-rex turned around and started walking as if nothing had happened.

-Thump, thump, thump!

The sound of footsteps shaking the ground fades away.

Did they not notice that we were there, or did they not pay much attention to them when they did?
Lived anyway

It wasn’t until Seungpil and I could barely hear the sound that we could breathe a sigh of relief.

“Wow! Crazy! Corporal Kang Chang-jae. Did you see that now?”

Seungpil was excitedly talking as if he had seen a lion on a safari for the first time in his life.

“Are my eyes puffy? You can’t see it.”
“That is really crazy. Wow. I thought Tyrannosaurus really existed.”
“So it is.”

I checked the mission on my phone once again, letting Seungpil’s fussing words slip through my ears.

[Sudden Mission: Defeat the T-Rex-Kushtapa.]
[Limited time: 120 days]

[◎ Complete death of T-Rex-Kushtapa]
[Reward: 7,000 Coins]

“… Seungpil.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think the Tyrannosaurus skull will be pierced with K2?”
“Yes? No, did you not hear me?”

Considering the firepower of the rifle, it will surely be able to inflict damage.
But rifles aren’t made to kill dinosaurs. If you grind bullets like water, you might be able to kill them, but that would be a huge waste of coins.

Considering that each 5.56mm bullet costs 500 coins, even if you receive 7,000 coins as compensation, the loss will be greater.

That means…

“It means that you have to hold it in a different way, not with a gun…”
“… Corporal Kang Chang-jae? Do you really intend to catch that one?”

Seungpil looked at me with the expression of a low-level soldier who had seen the battalion commander who had been ordered by the division commander to move the mountain.

“Of course. You have something like that hanging around nearby, can you stretch out and sleep?”
“No… That’s how it is though…”
“And maybe not? Maybe even dinosaur meat. Where else would you eat dinosaur meat if not here?”
“Yeah, but that’s true…”

Seungpil was sweating profusely.
Of course he knew what Seungpil was worried about.

“Hey. Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to catch it.”
“… Are you serious?”
“Yeah dude. I’ll catch it myself. What do I believe in you and tell me to catch something like that?”
“Oh oh! As expected, Corporal Kang Chang-jae! Great ambition! The world’s first Tyranno Slayer! You are amazing too!”
“Young. I like it.”

I laughed out loud at the change in expression that was so easy to understand.

“Hey. All right, let’s hurry up and get back.”
“Yes.”

Seungpil and I each bought large 100-liter backpacks from the store and packed the drop items. Since there were so many things to catch, it was not an ordinary job to pack items.

“Corporate Kang Chang-jae. I will carry the heavier one.”
“Okay. I feel like I’m going to collapse if I carry this.”

There was no strength in the body. I wasn’t hurt, but it was too much work.

He threw bamboo spears with all his might and engaged in hand-to-hand combat several times with machetes. There was no way his body would be healthy because he suddenly overworked the muscles that an ordinary soldier did not use.

On the other hand, Seungpil was in much better shape than I was.
First I threw the javelin, then I rushed in first, and finally Seungpil did the same. Seung-pil, who was more comfortable than me, must have been relatively strong.

“You worked hard, Corporal Kang Chang-jae.”
“Okay. But thanks to you, I won’t have to worry about coins for the time being.”
“Lol.”

Seungpil rubbed his palms with a flattering look of treachery.
I chuckled.

“Don’t worry. We’re going to share coins anyway.”
“Yep! I will only trust Corporal Kang Chang-jae!”

There were several things that were verified through this hunt.
One of them is that ‘party members do not divide all coins in half’.

For example, the wild boar we caught for the first time in the hideout, I stabbed it with a bamboo spear and Seungpil broke its head with the finish. Seungpil’s and mine’s contributions were calculated in half, and I received 8 coins each.

However, the coin I hunted this time was almost mine.
After I hit the head with a bamboo spear, I cut off the head with a machete. However, only the unfinished one was finished off by Seungpil with an iron spear.

Naturally, my contribution by hitting the first bread was higher than Seungpil’s, and I received more coins at a ratio of 8:2.

Of course, I had no intention of monopolizing the coin alone. Because we got this together. If I act stingy and my feelings build up, I am the only one who suffers. At times like this, I had to give.

“Instead, Seungpil.”
“Yes.”
“You take responsibility for your brother and convince him. You know what I mean?”
“… Yes.”

Hunting is important, of course.
But it’s not the most important thing.

The most important thing.
That is to collect coins through lewd behavior with a partner.

It’s a sin not to know how to get a lot of coins safely and quickly.
It is an action that puts not only yourself and your partner at risk, but also your party members. Even if Seungpil felt nagging, he couldn’t help but talk about it.

“… Corporal Kang Chang-jae. Just if the two of us swap partners—”

-Fuck!
Seungpil hit him in the back of the head with a bamboo spear.

“Aww…”

Seungpil crouched on the floor with his large backpack wrapped around the back of his head.

“Say that one more time. Because next time I won’t hit you, I’ll stab you.”
“Kheuk. I’m sorry…”

Young. There are things to say and things not to say.
I don’t know if it’s possible to switch partners, but just because it’s possible doesn’t mean I’m going to do it.
Because that means exchanging Han Seung-hee with my mother.

Mother to such a horse-boned guy? It’s a no-brainer. Joy.

“… I’m sorry, Corporal Kang Chang-jae.”
“Done. Don’t do that in the future.”
“Yes…”

On the way back, Seungpil apologized again.

It wasn’t that Seungpil couldn’t understand. He might think it’s better to do it with strangers than with family. Maybe that’s what normal people think.

But, if that’s normal…

“…”

I don’t care if I’m abnormal

My mind thinking of my mother must be abnormal.
However, this is the only thing that can’t be helped. I will never tolerate such a thing.

No matter what. Never. I can’t tolerate it.

-Smart.
I walked silently and arrived at the hideout.
I knocked on the iron door with my bare hands.

“Mother. We went Please open the door.”

Wait a minute.
Ann was quiet.

“… Mother?”

There was no answer.
I was a little anxious.

-Smart.

When I knocked again, the iron door that was firmly locked opened only then.

“It’s Changjae.”
“I’m home. Mother.”

When I saw my mother’s face, I was relieved.
It really felt like coming home.

However, the mother’s expression was somehow not good.
Did something happen while we were gone?

“—Is that Seunghee?!”

While I was puzzled, Seung-pil suddenly threw the backpack he was carrying on his back and rushed into the hideout.

“… Mother. What’s going on?”

What is it It might not be normal to see Seungpil so flustered.

“That, that…”

But the mother also doesn’t know what it is. He was just looking at Seunghee and me with a worried expression.

Okay. Seunghee.
Seunghee was curled up on her frameless mattress, clutching at her breasts.
As if your heart hurts.

“It’s Seunghee, it’s Seunghee! What’s wrong, heart? Does your heart hurt?”
“Eww… !”

At Seungpil’s question, Seunghee bit her lower lip and shook her head.
But she didn’t see that as a sign that it was okay.

Seunghee’s face is contemplative, but sweat is running down her forehead. It was the face of a seriously ill person no matter how you look at it.

Come to think of it, Seungpil said that his younger brother underwent heart surgery. And he said that he had been in the hospital for a long time to see if the progress was not good.

So, is the heart still a problem?
… What? What should I do?

There is no hospital here. There is no medicine. I can’t even call 119. I don’t even know how to do first aid.
There was nothing we could do.

『Teeling♪』

Just like that, I was standing there, confused, when the alarm went off on Seung-pil’s cell phone.
The four of us listened together to the message that followed.

“My partner is experiencing severe postoperative complications. Patients who have undergone organ transplant surgery must take immunosuppressive drugs daily. If he does not take the medicine and the body’s rejection reaction is severe, he may die within 24 hours.』

“What?!”

Like when I was bitten by a hyena, my phone predicted death all too flat.

“No, wait, how? What?”

Hearing that Seung-hee was dying, Seung-pil was not in his right mind.
Rather, Seunghee, the person in charge, was calmly accepting it with an expression of “Yes, yes.”

『Sudden Mission Occurred! Ejaculate with the help of your partner. However, masturbation is invalid!』

And, the sudden mission that follows.

It was the same mission as when I injured my hand.
But this time, the mission was given to Seungpil and Seunghee, not me.

『If you succeed in an unexpected mission, you will receive a high-quality recovery medicine that can cure chronic diseases and sequelae at once.』

And the reward was the same.

Advanced recovery potion. It seems to be able to get rid of not only injuries but also diseases and post-operative complications.
Could this be the crystallization of alien technology?

[Sudden Mission: Ejaculate with the help of your partner.]
[Time limit: 10 minutes]

[◎Ejaculating with the help of a partner]
[Reward: Advanced Recovery Potion]
[Recovers all wounds and diseases of the user. (Usage period: 24 hours)]

That’s a familiar message to me.
It was the same road my mother and I went through.

Then, Seungpil.
What are you going to do?