Chapter 16 : Stronger Than Before

“…Alright.”

After hearing Kang Dohee’s words, Ju Biyoung parted her lips slightly, then nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. If I could kill that bastard with my own hands… I’d do anything. If you promise me that, you can stay here as long as you want.”

Kang Dohee didn’t think Ju Biyoung’s request was unreasonable.

In fact, ever since the talk about the bugs started, she had already mentally prepared herself.

Because—

Ta-da!

[※ Important Quest ※]

Defeat the boss of this zone!

Everyone must join forces to defeat the boss of the current zone and move on to the next.

Reward upon success: Supply Box (A) / Unlock next zone

Penalty upon failure: Death

Time limit: 13 days, 23 hours, 41 minutes

It was because we had already received a new quest not long after completing the surprise one.

★★★

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

“Hyung! Are you okay?!”

Ironically, I was not okay at all.

Listening to Kang Dohee’s story, my body trembled.

My god.

That kind of horrifying monster exists?

I don’t even want to imagine it, and yet… we have to catch it?

We do?

“Hayul. Your big bro’s gonna die. Pour me some barley tea, would you?”

“Okay! Hyung, here, drink this.”

I slowly sat up to drink the barley tea Hayul handed me.

Hmm? Tastes pretty good.

No, wait.

How am I thinking about the taste of barley tea at a time like this… sigh.

I let out a natural sigh and calmly pulled up the quest window first.

Just like Kang Dohee said, the main quest to defeat the zone boss had been added, and the “Find a Shelter 2” quest that I’d already completed was blinking as if urging me to collect the reward.

‘So it updated already. It even has a blinking feature now.’

I selected the option to receive the quest reward.

Suddenly, a gift box appeared in mid-air—but it seemed only visible to me.

Supply Box (B)

Open the box to randomly receive one item of grade D to A.

The box disappears after one use.

Would you like to open the box?

[ Yes ] [ No ]

“A reward that’s also a gacha system? That’s just cruel.”

“Hyung, did you open the box? What’d you get?”

“Not yet. I’ll open it now.”

I opened the box under the intense scrutiny of Hayul and Kang Dohee.

As the lid lifted, a mysterious orb floated up from inside.

The softly glowing orb gently descended into my palm, and then—

Ba-ba-bam! Bam! Bam! Baaam~~~!

‘Ah! That scared me!’

A very familiar fanfare—like the kind you hear before a movie starts—blared loudly.

As the light faded, a small glass vial appeared in my hand.

‘Is that even copyright-safe?’

A random thought crossed my mind, but I focused on checking the item first.

Kang Dohee and Hayul’s gazes were also fixed on my palm.

[Grade A Stamina Enhancement Potion]

Increases stamina stat by 2 points when consumed.

Permanently applied. Bound item. Cannot be discarded or transferred.

“……”

Why did it feel less like a random box and more like something deliberately placed there just for me?

“Weird. Ha-jae, only yours says it can’t be traded.”

“Right? Just yours, hyung. But hey, that’s actually great. You should totally drink it! You have to drink it!”

Hayul, who had stopped crying, sniffled and urged me to drink the potion right then and there in front of him.

It felt a bit suspicious—like the potion was too good to be true—but if it raised my stats, I guess it was a good thing.

I uncapped the potion and chugged it in one go.

A strange taste lingered in my mouth.

“Ugh.”

“Tastes bad?”

“Ugh, mmf.”

I couldn’t answer right away and chugged some barley tea.

Even then, the aftertaste was awful.

“Tastes like rotten shellfish mixed with soap.”

“Ugh, that’s disgusting. Ah! Hyung, wait—I’ll bring you some candy!”

Hayul gently placed Bamtol—who’d been sitting quietly on his lap—onto mine and bolted out of the room.

‘Status window. My info.’

Swish—

[Character Info]

Name: Lee Haje

Level: 1

Skills: Expand

Quests: Expand

Stat Info: Strength: 3 / Agility: 3 / Intelligence: 0 / Stamina: 2

Stat Points: 1

+View More Info

So everything went up… except intelligence.

“Only strength, agility, and stamina went up by 2 points. Intelligence stayed the same.”

“Well, stamina and intelligence are separate, so no need to be disappointed. Most problems that can’t be solved with your head can usually be solved with brute force.”

“……”

Hmm.

In a way, that’s… kind of true.

Still, if my brain had gotten an upgrade too, I wouldn’t have minded…

“Kkiing?”

I looked down at the uncomfortable-sounding noise and saw Bamtol lying belly-up on my thigh, tilting his head.

“Hm? What’s wrong? Feeling uncomfortable?”

“Kkyang.”

Apparently not.

Bamtol grabbed my wrist with his front paws and pulled it onto his stomach.

Was he asking me to pet him?

Don’t most animals hate having their bellies touched?

I wasn’t sure, but I carefully and gently stroked his soft, fluffy belly.

His fur was so soft.

Fortunately, it seemed I had made the right move—Bamtol let out a soft piyo-ooh sound, like air slowly escaping a balloon, and closed his eyes as if pleased by my touch.

‘So cute…’

No matter how I looked at him, he was just too adorable for such a harsh world.

I was enthusiastically rubbing Bamtol’s belly when Hayul returned with a snack pouch.

“Hyung, have some candy.”

“Thanks. Did you give some to the old man and Biyoung too?”

“Yeah. I gave them chocolate too. Noona, do you want one?”

“No, I’m good. Then, Haje, you should get some rest. Hayul, stay with your brother a little longer, then go help the old man. He said he needs something cleared off the rooftop, so I’ll go help with that first.”

“Ah, then I’ll go too—”

“Haje.”

“Y-yes.”

“Lie down.”

“…Okay.”

“Even if you drank the potion, you should rest as much as possible. It’s not too late to help starting tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

As soon as Kang Dohee left the room, Hayul practically pushed me over and made me lie down.

Bamtol immediately climbed onto my stomach and stretched out, like he had been waiting for this exact moment.

I gently stroked his back as I looked at Hayul.

His eyes and nose were red—he must’ve cried a lot.

Even now, he was looking down at me with a face full of concern.

“Hayul-ah. I’m really okay now.”

“…Yeah.”

“You must’ve been really scared. I’m sorry.”

“I told you to stop putting off your health checkups…”

“…….”

“You dropped out of school and kept juggling part-time jobs… Never taking care of your health, always overworking yourself… That’s why your body gave out…”

Hmm. So I had done a lot of part-time jobs, huh? Though I thought I hadn’t worked for the past couple of months…

Since I wasn’t sure about that part, I just smiled instead of saying anything.

“It’s okay now. I drank the potion, so I should be fine. Even my stats went up, you know?”

“Still, don’t push yourself. Maybe it sounds a bit selfish, but… I really hope you don’t overdo it. I’m stronger than you now, so I’ll work harder from now on.”

“…Ah.”

I was speechless for a moment after hearing Hayul’s words.

Even my hand that had been stroking Bamtol froze, and he tapped my arm with his paw, seemingly displeased.

I started petting him again mechanically and forced a calm expression.

My Hayul… He wasn’t the frail and delicate boy I remembered. He was stronger than me now.

Somewhere deep in my chest, I felt a dull ache—not like the stabbing pain from before, but something emotional.

This kind, worried younger brother looking down at me…

‘Yeah. I guess things can’t all stay the same. Even my own body’s different now.’

Maybe it’s actually a good thing.

Unlike before, if Hayul was the healthy one now, if he was stronger than me—then honestly, I was relieved.

That thought helped me relax, and I could finally smile for real.

Just like I remembered, Hayul was still gentle and kind. He said he should help with the chores too, and left the room.

Now alone—well, with Bamtol still stretched across my belly—I absentmindedly stroked the warm fluff and fell into thought.

‘Joo Biyoung’s abilities… In most fantasy novels, they’d be similar to a druid or a spirit summoner.’

Each story had its own lore, but someone who communicates with spirits and has an affinity for animals would likely fall under one of those two archetypes.

There wasn’t a way to view other people’s status windows, so I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed likely.

‘Then, would Hayul’s abilities be similar too?’

Naturally, the scene of Hayul handling the stray dogs at the gas station came to mind.

He had said he was used to dogs because of volunteering at an animal shelter, but still…

To me, it felt like something more than just familiarity with animals—there was some kind of presence I sensed.

I couldn’t exactly define it, but…

‘More than empathy… it felt closer to actual conversation. Or persuasion, even.’

Yeah. That’s probably the best way to describe it.

Of course, Hayul hadn’t mentioned getting any specific skills or traits, so I couldn’t say anything for sure. But not all abilities are visible, right?

Maybe I was falling into old habits—treating reality like a webnovel to make sense of it all. But honestly, this situation was far from “real” to begin with. I had to frame it this way just to wrap my head around it.

‘Man, I really wish my intelligence stat had gone up…’

My thoughts were sluggish. Maybe it was the side effects of everything that happened yesterday, or maybe I was still recovering from being sick. Either way, I felt slower than usual.

Still, at least I’d gained some useful info after passing out.

‘If this really were a novel or a game, then the Kang siblings would be the protagonists. Not someone like me who just collapsed out of nowhere.’

Not that I’d ever wanted to be the main character of my life anyway—but if I were, it’d be a disaster. I’d be that guy everyone curses at for being useless.

Even now, I felt like all I’d done was receive help. I couldn’t help but feel pathetic.

And honestly, I did feel like I shouldn’t be lying around like this. My body wasn’t in agony like yesterday, but I was still sore all over—like that fuzzy feeling right before you catch the flu.

Maybe it was a good thing Kang Dohee made me rest so firmly.

‘Everyone else is doing their part… it feels wrong that I’m the only one resting…’

But no. It’s better to recover now than to get worse again later.

I’ll just have to work twice as hard once I’m back on my feet.

If I didn’t rest now and got worse again, that would be even more of a problem—

“Kki-ung.”

“Hmm? Ah—sorry, Bamtol. My hand stopped again. My bad, my bad.”

I resumed stroking Bamtol enthusiastically and started mentally organizing the current situation.

First, in order to move on to the next zone, we need to defeat this zone’s boss monster.

Second, the body I’ve inherited was apparently in poor health. Even with the potion, I don’t know how much it improved, so I should still be cautious.

Third, I used up the stamina recovery elixir that was originally Kang Dojin’s reward. So I need to find a way to repay him for it—if someone shows you kindness, it’s only right to repay it eventually.

Fourth, Joo Biyoung seems to have powers similar to a druid or a spirit summoner. Hayul might have a similar ability too, though that’s still unclear. I should try to find out more, maybe ask Biyoung directly if she can offer insight.

And fifth, the most important point of all is—