Night passed, and the sun rose. I decided not to wake that lady again—she’d just come up with some excuse as usual.

‘… It’d be pointless anyway.’

Among the sleeping group, Cho Chan-ho was the first to wake.

“Yoon-sung, you’re up early,” he said.

“Yes… well… Did you sleep well, Byung-ok?”

I had to hide my suspicions about Cho Chan-ho. Even though I was so tired from lack of sleep that I felt like I might collapse, I started the conversation nonchalantly, pretending not to know anything.

“After what happened yesterday, I couldn’t sleep well, but I think I managed to recover some energy,” he replied.

“That’s good to hear,” I said.

“Yes. Before we move, we’ll need to eat. I’ll wake the others. Yoon-sung, could you check the area around the clearing for us?”

“Understood. I’ll bring a weapon, just in case.”

I grabbed a blunt weapon and a shield. Honestly, I wanted to take some food and run, but taking food would raise suspicions, so I didn’t. I didn’t need supplies to quickly check the area anyway. I started walking slowly, taking a quick look around.

‘Why aren’t there any monsters? Is it because we’re still far from the building? Maybe they haven’t reached here yet...’

I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. It just felt like hiking in a wooded mountain.

‘I need to get a job class. Only then will I have a chance to survive the worst.’

Rustle—!

I heard footsteps. It might be a monster, so I quickly hid in the bushes.

After a while, I started hearing voices.

“Noona… where are we going?”

“Anywhere, as long as it’s far from the building. Monsters aren’t the only danger. You saw what happened. You can’t trust people either—not even for food or water. Yu Hyun, you can’t trust just anyone. We… were just lucky.”

Looking closely, I realized it was the siblings I had seen at the building when I first woke up.

‘Lucky? Or just barely surviving? What should I do? Should I approach them? They might know something I don’t.’

The older sister, who seemed to be very cautious, worried me, but she seemed less dangerous than Cho Chan-ho. I didn’t know when I might meet other survivors, and these two didn’t look like they’d harm me as long as I wasn’t a threat. Slowly, I stepped out and spoke up.

“Wait a moment.”

The older sister, startled, pushed her brother behind her and brandished a dagger.

“Who are you?!” she shouted.

“… I mean no harm. Calm down. I just want to talk.”

“Don’t come closer! I’ll stab you if you do!”

‘Her guard is way too high… I need to calm her down first.’

I put my blunt weapon and shield on the ground and raised both hands to show I meant no harm. After standing still for several seconds, she finally spoke.

“Are you alone? Why did you approach us?”

“No, I’m not alone. I have a group, but they’re resting a little ways away. I just wanted to exchange information.”

“How many are in your group?”

“Five, including me. May I ask a question now? Have you seen anyone else or any monsters?”

“... The monsters haven’t reached here yet. They might come later, but as for others… we were too busy trying to survive to notice.”

“You said they might come later. What do you mean by that?”

“Now it’s my turn to ask. A little east from here, there’s a dead woman’s body… Was that your group’s doing?”

“... A dead woman? What are you talking about? If there’s a corpse, wouldn’t it be because of the monsters?”

I hadn’t been to the east yet. After all, it had only been a day since all hell broke loose.

‘Why would she suspect me? If there’s a corpse, shouldn’t she suspect the monsters instead?’

As I pondered her suspicion, she continued.

“The corpse… her clothes were torn off.”

‘... Cho Chan-ho?’

The moment she said that, I couldn’t help but suspect Cho Chan-ho, but after thinking for a moment, I dismissed the idea.

‘No, he was with me the whole time yesterday. It wasn’t him… It was someone else.’

“No, it wasn’t anyone in our group. We have three men and two women in total.”

“How can I believe you?”

“If I or my group had done it… do you think I’d be standing here alone? I’d have called my group to ambush you.”

“....”

“I hope you can believe me. I’m being very cautious with you right now, aren’t I? So, can I ask again—what did you mean by the monsters might come later?”

“Well….”

Rustle—

“Ah, there you are, Yoon-sung. Who are these two?”

As soon as I heard the voice, a chill ran down my spine. It was Cho Chan-ho.

‘Damn it… how the hell did he find me here?’

Feigning calm, I responded to his words.

“... Byung-ok, I was surveying the area and happened to find other survivors. We were just talking.”

The appearance of a grown man seemed to make the older sister visibly anxious. She shouted with a panicked expression.

“What…?! Didn’t you say your group was far away? So, it was you after all…!”

“Hm… I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Cho Chan-ho said with a soft smile. “Yoon-sung didn’t return after some time, so I came to look for him. Please, calm down.”

His mild demeanor and gentle tone seemed to somewhat ease the siblings’ tension, though they weren’t completely relaxed. They began to lower their guard slowly as he continued not to act threateningly.

“Byung-ok, how did you find me?” I asked.

“When you didn’t return after a while, I tracked you down. Fortunately, this is a mountain trail, so your footprints were easy to spot.”

‘Damn it… he tracked me by footprints?’

I was glad I hadn’t tried to run away recklessly. If I had, Cho Chan-ho would’ve undoubtedly noticed something was off and chased me. With my weak stats, I wouldn’t have gotten far before being caught.

Under normal circumstances, I might have been grateful for someone caring enough to look for me. But knowing it was this guy—a potential psychopath—tracking me down through footprints made my skin crawl.

“If you’re okay with it, why don’t you two join our group?” Cho Chan-ho suggested. “In a crisis like this, having more people provides peace of mind.”

“... Excuse me?”

“Of course, it’s not a demand. But to get through this ‘tutorial’ stage, it’s better to work together. There’s a limit to what anyone can do alone.”

The older sister hesitated at Cho Chan-ho’s suggestion. It made sense; two students surviving against monsters and murderers would be difficult.

From their perspective, if our group was normal, it would seem like a good offer. Although her brother, You-hyeon, seemed to have some magical ability and unique traits, his young age was likely a significant concern.

‘The older sister, Yu-lim , is young too. It’s natural for her to hesitate.’

As she pondered, You-hyeon whispered to her.

“Noona, wouldn’t it be okay to go with them? They don’t seem like bad people...”

From their viewpoint, joining our group probably seemed like a reasonable choice.

‘... I can guess what their decision will be.’

If Cho Chan-ho weren’t part of our group, it would have been the best option for them.

“Alright… but on one condition. If you force us to do dangerous tasks or demand we share food and water because we’re young, we’ll leave the group,” Yu-lim said firmly.

“Haha, of course. That’s perfectly reasonable. Welcome aboard! My name is Jo Byung-ok” Cho Chan-ho replied with a cheerful grin.

“My name is Yu-lim, and this is my younger brother, You-hyeon.”

“Hi… I’m You-hyeon. Nice to meet you,” You-hyeon said cautiously.

Cho Chan-ho beamed.

“Great. Then let’s move out, shall we? Yoon-sung, the others must be waiting.”

“... Yes.”

… I couldn’t bring myself to dissuade the siblings from their choice.

When we returned to the clearing, the rest of the group was awake and preparing a meal. It wasn’t much—just bread and water—but in this situation, we had to be grateful for anything.

As soon as Hyun-jin spotted me, he called out.

“Yoon Sung-hyung! Where did you go? I was worried about you!”

“I was just checking the area at Byung-ok’s request. Anyway, introduce yourself. We have new people here.”

“Huh… they’re kids?” Hyun-jin remarked.

‘Kid? You’re a kid yourself. Barely a year older than the girl, at most…’

“Hello, I’m Yu-lim. This is my younger brother, You-hyeon. Please take care of us.”

As Hyun Jin and Yu-lim exchanged greetings, the older woman in the group interjected, sounding displeased.

“Oh my… they’re just students. Byung-ok, I appreciate new members, but aren’t they a bit too young?”