Chapter 7 – Player Perks

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Come to think of it, even though a day had passed without eating anything since being possessed, I wasn’t hungry.

I hadn’t even thought that I should eat something, nor did I go to the bathroom.

I was also concerned by the expression of Taejeongtaesebeyonce, which grew rapidly dark when the topic of meals came up.

“Come to think of it, you remained.”

Perhaps because my gaze turned toward Taejeongtaesebeyonce, the commander only then looked at him as if realizing another person’s presence.

As soon as his eyes met the commander’s, Taejeongtaesebeyonce plopped down on his knees before him.

He was probably trying to say that he was merely deceived as I advised.

“I… I really didn’t know!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! I was just hungry… I’m a really stupid guy! I’m the biggest bastard in the world!!”

…Ah, this guy can’t speak English either.

“I’m truly sorry…!”

Though Taejeongtaesebeyonce’s apology lacked context, the sincerity seemed to have been conveyed, as the commander was silent for a moment with a slightly contemplative expression.

Even if it was offensive that he came with the guy who impersonated his son, he probably thought what choice did a child have when he was also deceived.

Even more so since the one who did the deceiving had died just moments ago as if struck by divine punishment.

It would also be ambiguous to punish the remaining companion.

If I asked him to forgive him, he would forgive him, but…

If I ‘requested’ to forgive that guy and let him stay at the commander’s residence right now, it might be deducted from the Three Rewards.

The fortunate thing was that the commander also wouldn’t want to send Taejeongtaesebeyonce out of the commander’s residence.

It would be a problem if this guy went outside and rashly blabbed about the bastard child, and.

It would be troublesome if it became known that the imposter child who came with him met an unfortunate end at the commander’s residence.

I opened my mouth carefully.

“Um, if you followed because you were hungry, would you like to eat here before you go?”

Although asking the commander directly carried the risk of being deducted from the reward count, requesting indirectly like this wouldn’t be deducted.

In other words, it was a passive demand for him to discreetly do as I wished.

The commander looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.

“Are you shielding that child?”

“Because it is cold and hungry outside…”

“…”

When I, who had been a cold and hungry orphan until moments ago, spoke like that, perhaps the commander also felt touched, as he helped Taejeongtaesebeyonce up and ordered him to have a meal with me before leaving.

“I have many things I want to ask, like how you’ve been living until now and what happened to Luna Moon… but let’s talk in detail after dinner. I will step away for a moment. There are things that must be processed with priority if you are to stay here from now on.”

Come to think of it, even when playing the game, the commander was a busy person, so there was hardly any opportunity to meet him in private.

If the commander is coming to meet me again in the evening, I should think of the second reward.

“When the meal is ready, a servant will come to inform you. Wait quietly… and if anyone ignores or suspects you, you may treat them however you wish.”

The commander left the room again with those final words.

Taejeongtaesebeyonce let out a long sigh as if his tension was released.

“I should have studied English a bit.”

“That is more natural than a young child speaking fluently.”

Since there were many children who hadn’t received a proper education since the destruction, those who could formulate sentences properly like me or SafetyZone8 were the unusual cases.

“By the way… do you also not feel hunger?”

Taejeongtaesebeyonce blinked at my question.

“Ah, so the talk about being hungry was just an excuse. I wondered if only big brother could feel hunger.”

“Only big brother? Does that mean SafetyZone8 also didn’t feel hunger?”

“Yes, it seems that not only do players not feel hunger…”

Taejeongtaesebeyonce’s facial expression turned gloomy as he continued speaking.

“…You must not have eaten a meal in this world yet, big brother. You will know once you eat.”

What is it?

Is it terribly tasteless?

Indeed, the food shortage in this world was severe…

Not long after, a servant appeared, and guided by him, only Taejeongtaesebeyonce and I were present at the dining table.

Leaving only the words, “His Excellency will arrive late in the evening,” the servant disappeared from the dining room.

Taejeongtaesebeyonce was staring at the food laid out on the table as if it were garbage.

‘Why is he reacting like that?’

Contrary to Taejeongtaesebeyonce’s disdainful look, all the food on the table was perfectly fine.

Of course, since it was a post-apocalyptic world, it could not be called abundant even as a lip-service.

It might be a bit bothering that most of the meat was from alien creatures outside the zone.

The food shortage was the biggest problem in the apocalyptic world.

In the game, most safe zones resolved their food supply with monster meat from outside the zone or plants grown from monsters, and very rarely, wild vegetables or fruits from outside the zone were gathered and eaten after subjugation.

The reason corpses were thrown outside was also because monsters had to grow to a certain size for meat to be produced.

Everyone knew that monsters grew by eating corpses, but it couldn’t be helped.

To live, one had no choice but to eat.

Though there were occasionally NPCs who expressed aversion to the meat, no residents thought eating monster meat was strange in itself.

Although there were other zones that self-served within the zone, it was impossible in the exceptionally cold Cola zone.

Maybe there was a small greenhouse at the commander’s residence.

Eating vegetables or fruits other than monster byproducts inside here was a privilege of high-ranking officers.

The food set before us now was cornbread, potatoes, meat boiled and tied with string, and a salad tossed with two or more vegetables.

A meal of this level was excellent.

Yet Taejeongtaesebeyonce still had a gloomy expression.

‘Could he be the type who is bothered by the fact that it is monster meat grown from eating corpses?’

Rather than that, Taejeongtaesebeyonce was moving the meat to his plate first without even touching the vegetables.

Wondering if it was truly a problem of taste… the moment I shoved the salad into my mouth.

“…?”

‘Eating’ in this world was something that surpassed my expectations.

* * *

After finishing the meal.

No, I didn’t know if it could even be called ‘eating,’ but.

Anyway, Taejeongtaesebeyonce and I were guided to a place with a soft sofa and served refreshments.

But neither of us touched the refreshments.

I spoke with a serious face.

“This… is not a matter of it being tasteless or not. Rather than ‘eating,’ it would be correct to say ‘absorbing.'”

The reason I spoke like this was.

Because the moment I brought the food to my lips just now, I felt it scattering into some warm energy and being absorbed into my body.

It was the same whether it was water or meat.

It was exactly the same as when consuming food in the game, where it didn’t actually get eaten but disappeared while turning into blue particles.

“Was it like this for both you and SafetyZone8?”

“Yes, we had dinner with the commander last night. Both of us were surprised and watched the other NPCs eat, but they were eating normally. SafetyZone8 told me not to panic and to pretend to chew, acting as if I were eating normally, so we got through it without looking strange.”

“No way…”

‘Did they really need to implement this kind of thing like a game?’

There wasn’t just one or two strange things.

A body that did not feel hunger.

I tried to force myself to ‘absorb’ a few foods earlier, but it wasn’t as if I felt full.

‘If so, maybe we don’t just fail to feel hunger, but have bodies that don’t need to eat in the first place.’

What was even more bizarre was that although I didn’t feel full after eating.

Another strange phenomenon occurred.

“The small cuts on my fingers have disappeared.”

My fingertips had become raw as I dug up Luna Moon’s grave with my hands last night, but after finishing the ‘meal,’ they were healed without a trace.

Taejeongtaesebeyonce widened his eyes, perhaps unaware of this phenomenon.

“Huh? Really?”

“Did this phenomenon not happen to you guys?”

“Hmm…”

Taejeongtaesebeyonce thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Actually, I don’t really know. There were no injuries in the first place…”

“Testing it is indeed faster.”

“Yes?”

I picked up the fork resting on the tea table and stabbed it hard into the back of my hand.

“Crazy!!”

Although Taejeongtaesebeyonce’s shocked voice was heard beside me, I ignored it and popped a snack from the tea table into my mouth all at once.

The snack disappeared the moment it touched my lips, and soon, I felt a warm energy permeating my body.

“…Oh.”

Waiting a moment, I saw the wound closing.

The speed was a bit slow, but I confirmed that consuming food healed the wound.

“Now, you stab yourself too.”

“What?!”

“I have to see if this is an ability unique to me or if others have it too.”

“No, but still, stabbing with a fork…”

Taejeongtaesebeyonce hesitated for a very long time, but succeeded in stabbing the back of his hand enough to leave a wound.

While making a huge fuss, the guy popped a snack into his mouth, and I saw the wound on the back of his hand slowly beginning to close as well.

“This is a common player perk.”

“A perk?”

“Not having to eat in an apocalypse is a huge privilege. Once the Second Apocalypse begins, this kind of ordinary food will be hard to obtain. Hunting and eating monsters isn’t easy either. Yet unless we specifically need to heal wounds, we don’t have to eat. Even if we get injured, we just have to eat food… no, just bring it to our mouths and it will be healed. Though I don’t know how much of a wound can be recovered with how much food.”

Eating food to recover the body.

In the game, it was a matter of course, but for this to apply directly to reality.

I thought they had possessed us into the game without giving any perks.

So from the very beginning, all players had possessed with privileges.

‘No, is it not a complete privilege?’

‘Taste’ is a pretty important element in living life.

But the players had all become bodies that could not feel ‘taste.’

Existences that must eat solely for the purpose of healing.

Isn’t that closer to being a ‘tool’ rather than a ‘living organism’?

‘I did think there was a reason we got possessed, though.’

The status window that only opened when approaching the ‘secret of the apocalypse.’

The perk given only to me, the all-zone clearer.

And even the ability to recover the body through meals.

When synthesizing all of this.

The conclusion comes out that there is definitely a certain purpose for possessing us.

‘Just who… for what? Why did they possess shut-ins like us of all people?’

Whether it was the secret of the apocalypse or the real purpose behind possessing us.

I will find out as I clear the game in the future.

Since I succeeded in the bastard child strategy and learned that my body was highly efficient, let’s be satisfied with this for now.

Just when I thought that.

The commander, who visited me late at night, checked my fingertips and spoke with a trembling voice.

“This healing ability… Indeed, you are Luna Moon’s child.”