“Ah… They’re just kids, aren’t they? Byung-ok-ssi, it’s nice that we have new people, but… aren’t they a bit too young?”

It seemed she wasn’t too thrilled about the newcomers being kids.

Let me be clear—no matter how young those siblings might be, they’re far more useful than this woman.

The information from the status window doesn’t lie. Compared to the siblings, this woman’s stats are trash.

Actually, stats aren’t even the issue here. Her attitude is rotten to the core. If a dangerous situation arises, she’ll undoubtedly throw others into harm’s way to save herself.

If Cho Chan-ho had to pick his first target to kill, I’m sure he’d aim for her. She’s utterly useless.

“Hmm… Kyung-sil ajumma, even if the two of them are young, they’ll still be helpful. I’ve said it before—having more people is better than having fewer.”

“Ahm… I’m not saying I oppose it. I’m just… worried, that’s all.”

“Trust me. Let’s eat first. We need to move soon anyway, right? Since we have new members, let’s talk about what to do while eating.”

Everyone sat down and started taking out food from their bags to eat.

The conversation I had with Lee Yu-rim before Cho Chan-ho arrived lingered in my mind. I took a bite of bread and spoke to her.

“Um… Can I call you Yu-rim?”

“Yes, feel free to speak comfortably. Then, should I call you Yoon-sung oppa?”

“Sure, call me whatever you like. So, about earlier—you said the monsters haven’t reached here yet, but that they might come later. What did you mean by that?”

“… I escaped from that building pretty late. The people who came out after me… the monsters followed them and chased them down.”

‘… This means the clearing we’re in isn’t completely safe.’

The clearing might be hidden, but we couldn’t stay here forever.

‘The instructions said we need to conquer the tutorial. That means, sooner or later, we’ll have to fight the monsters. Is killing monsters the only way to get stronger?’

My thoughts became tangled. If this really was like a game, there was a high chance Cho Chan-ho gained his job by killing monsters.

‘I need to hunt. And I’m not alone—there are other people here. Cho Chan-ho is dangerous, but with so many of us, he can’t openly betray us. Even if he has a job and good stats, he can’t handle all of us at once.’

“Ah… and it’s not just the monsters we need to worry about. We brought food and water with us, but some people couldn’t grab anything in their rush to escape. They might target us.”

“Hmm… That’s true. We all managed to grab food and water, so it’s possible we’ll become their targets. Desperation can drive people to do anything.”

“Yes, Byung-ok oppa. I think we’ll be fine because we have numbers, but…”

“Better safe than sorry. Let’s stay vigilant. Now, let’s discuss where we should head next. Yu-rim, do you have any more information?”

“This is all I know. But since this is a tutorial, there’s probably a dungeon or something like that, right? Our situation feels a lot like a game.”

“… A dungeon, huh. That makes sense. In games, you usually kill monsters, gain experience, and clear dungeons.”

“Byung-ok oppa, I also think Yu-rim is right. Even if there’s no dungeon, wouldn’t fighting monsters make us stronger?”

“Yu-rim and So-young have a point. Let’s explore in another direction, and if we encounter monsters, we’ll try fighting them. If there are too many, we’ll retreat.”

“Uh… I think we can handle it, hyung. Now that I think about it, those monsters seemed slower than a running person.”

That’s right. Yesterday, we were too panicked to notice, but we managed to escape because the monsters were distracted by eating corpses. Their movement speed was slower than ours.

“Do we really need to fight the monsters? Can’t we just avoid them? I don’t know about dungeons or whatever, but if there is one, someone else will probably deal with it. Isn’t it safer for all of us to just hide together?”

Haa… This ajumma is useless. We should just leave her. Foolish woman.’

Sure, if immediate safety was the only concern, hiding instead of fighting the monsters or clearing the tutorial might be the safer option.

But we need to remember—this place is the tutorial.

This might feel like hell now, but after the tutorial, it could feel even worse. If that’s the case, hiding may seem safe for now, but in the long run, it’s practically suicide.

Even on Earth, if you don’t work on self-improvement, you fall behind. Here, where physical strength is everything, not growing stronger would only lead to death—or a fate worse than death.

‘The guide told us to choose carefully between fighting and running. That clearly implies we’ll have to fight in the end. I don’t know what that guide is or who they work for, but if they’re explicitly telling us to clear the tutorial, there’s no guarantee they’ll leave people who just hide alone.’

“Haha… Ajumma, staying still won’t solve everything. If you’re too scared to fight, you can stay behind. No one’s forcing you. We’ve decided to move.”

“No, Byung-ok-ssi, I didn’t mean that I’m scared or anything! I’m just worried about you all getting hurt!”

“Then I’ll take that as you’re coming with us.”

“Ay~ Fine!”

She reluctantly agreed. Judging by her expression, she hated the idea of moving but was too scared to stay alone.

Cho Chan-ho brushed off his clothes and stood up.

“Alright, let’s move. For now, let’s head straight.”

We had been walking for about an hour. Thankfully, although this was a forest, the terrain wasn’t steep, so we weren’t too exhausted.

“Shh, stop for a moment. I see monsters about 30 meters ahead.”

Everyone tensed up, holding their breath in fear. This was the first time we’d encountered monsters since escaping from the building.

“... Three of them.”

‘Three should be manageable… We’re seven people, so as long as no one makes a big mistake, we can take them down.’

These monsters were small in stature and build—something an adult man could handle alone if he kept calm. The problem was that this would be our first real fight against them.

While Cho Chan-ho had killed one before, I doubted he’d help us if things went south.

“Let’s try it, Byung-ok-ssi. Since we’re seven, let’s split into teams of two, two, and three.”

“Hmm… Is everyone okay with that?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“I’m fine, Byung-ok oppa.”

“I’m fine too… but could my brother’s group be the one with three people?”

“Noona, I’m fine. You should be with the group of three…”

“Alright, Yu-rim-ssi’s suggestion makes sense. Yoo Hyun is still young. Then, I’ll team up with Yoon-sung, So-young, Kyung-sil ajumma, and Yoo Hyun will form one team, and Hyun-jin and Yu-rim will form another. Does that work?”

“Yes, let’s do that, Byung-ok-ssi.”

“Good. Then let’s move closer to our assigned monsters…”

“KIEEEEK—!”

Suddenly, a monster screeched from behind us, and everyone froze in shock.

‘Shit, there were more of them behind the bushes!’

Because of their small size, we hadn’t seen the monsters hiding behind the bushes. We’d unknowingly walked straight into their vicinity. Everyone froze, caught off guard by the unexpected situation.

“Kyaaah—!”

‘Damn it, we’re screwed!’

One of them lunged at Kim So-young and bit into her arm. She screamed in pain, her cries echoing through the forest.

Soon, more of them would follow. Judging by Cho Chan-ho’s expression, even he realized things were bad. He hadn’t expected more monsters behind the bushes either.

In a panic, he shouted, “Everyone, run!”

“Aaaah! Save me! Don’t leave me! No! Stop, stop!”

“KIEEEEK!”

—Thud!

I swung my club desperately at the monster charging toward me, hitting it hard enough to knock it back.

But the problem was that there weren’t just five monsters behind the bushes. Others further away heard the noise and were starting to rush toward us.

If we could stay calm and fight together, we might stand a chance. But with one person already bitten and everyone else panicking, fighting now would only lead to casualties.

I grabbed the siblings’ arms and ran.

“Snap out of it! We need to head back the way we came—run!”

“Yes, yes…!”

Yu-rim managed to respond, while Yoo Hyun looked completely terrified. At 15 years old, it was no surprise he was struggling to stay composed. At least Yu-rim was running and keeping up.

As we sprinted, I couldn’t see the others. Everyone must have scattered in different directions in the chaos.

“KIEEEEK!”

—Thud!

“Urgh!”

A monster jumped out from another direction and knocked me to the ground, pinning me underneath.

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

It opened its mouth to bite me, but I shoved my club into its jaws, holding on with both hands to keep it from biting down. Fear of death made my heart pound wildly as the creature’s claws dug into my arms, sending sharp pain through my body.

“Ugh… Damn it…!”

“Yoon-sung oppa!”

—Stab!

“KIEEEEK! KRAAAK!”

—Thud!

Yu-rim stabbed the monster in the back with a dagger, causing it to release its grip. I kicked it away with all my strength.

“Hah… hah… Thanks.”

“No, it’s nothing. Oppa, your arm! You’re hurt!”

‘We need to finish it and get out of here… More could come any second.’

Despite the pain in my arm, I gripped my club tightly and swung it down at the writhing monster’s head.

—Crack!

[You have acquired a Job. Please check your status window.]

The monster’s skull shattered, brain matter splattering everywhere as a nauseating stench filled the air. My hands and feet trembled at the sensation of taking a life for the first time, but I couldn’t afford to dwell on it.

“Yu-rim, you saved my life… Let’s go. More of them might show up.”

“No, oppa. If it weren’t for you, Yoo Hyun and I would’ve been in danger earlier. I’m the one who should be thankful.”

“Alright… Let’s move. Yu-hyeon, can you keep running?”

“Yes… Yes, hyung.”

Ignoring the searing pain in my arm, we retraced our steps, running as fast as we could.