When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 129



Only Krnovel

129. Jumping Character

A mountainside covered in pitch-black smoke.

The smell of burning vibrated along with the peculiar, foul odor.

A sight of monsters scattered all over the place, melted by the bombardment.

But among them, there were large monsters with large shells that didn’t even have a soot mark left on them.

Corpses that showed signs of death only after being mutilated countless times.

It was a high-end model that even high-performance magic bullets were not effective against.

“It’s nice to see these guys again.”

Kang-seok muttered as he stood in front of the monster’s corpse.

It’s a monster species I’ve already encountered.

In China, not Korea.

“This is a species that has never been discovered before. It’s not in the data either.”

“That’s true. They’re not just monsters that were introduced, they’re direct subordinates of Lastus’s legion.”

“… Are you saying that these are individuals produced in the nest?”

Kang Seok nodded silently.

The fact that the species that disappeared along with the special species Lastus has reappeared like this means that it has already made a nest somewhere.

It is not yet known whether it is inland China or the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, but either way, it is a headache all the same.

“…their movements are unusual.”

Chief of Staff Park Sung-hwan, standing next to him, paused and then spoke.

“The movements of the legions he commands have become more active and they are digging much deeper. It’s as if they have noticed our movements.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of blatant.”

The military was currently preparing for a large-scale attack on the roots.

Instead of being postponed once, we were doing even more thorough preliminary work.

However, the recent movements of the legions that Lastus was moving seemed to be trying to disrupt the root attack.

Although they haven’t taken an active offensive yet, it’s obvious that they’ll be attacked from all sides the moment they start attacking the roots.

“If those guys get involved in earnest, the difficulty of attacking the roots will increase significantly. In order to prevent greater damage, we must push ahead with the operation now.”

“No, not yet.”

“Is it because of that method… that you can attack the roots without causing damage?”

“Yeah. It’s not time to talk about it yet.”

“Who the hell suggested that method?”

“Are you suspicious of me?”

“How could that be? I have believed your words so far, Commander, and have been willing to give up my life.”

“Then I will trust you this time too. This is the person I trusted and entrusted my life to.”

Park Sung-hwan became mute at his firm answer, and soon nodded obediently.

‘…’

Kang Seok let out a short, inaudible sigh.

I also recently heard that a National Security Agency helicopter was flying across the border.

At this point, the only person who can go back and forth unilaterally without worrying about what the military thinks is Baek Ji-soo.

However, it is unlikely that she would have suddenly come here on her own, and she would have had something to do with Oh Hyeon-seong.

‘I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but… whatever it is, hurry up.’

Given the current circumstances, there wasn’t much room to spare.

If the given time was exceeded, the operation had to proceed without delay, and the scale of the large-scale operation would inevitably result in many casualties.

Kang Seok also did not want to drive his subordinates into a corner.

More than anyone else, he hoped that Oh Hyeon-seong would bring good news.

*

When Oh Hyun-seong first met Baek Ji-su after being discharged from the hospital, she was in a state of total despair.

It was a time when I was torturing myself instead of resting, as my body was being consumed by the cold and most of my senses were paralyzed.

If you’re a hunter, you’ve almost reached the edge where you can’t avoid it.

But unlike then, my skin is shiny now.

Slurp!

Baek Ji-soo took a bite of ramen

A deep emotion follows.

Her expression slowly melted away.

“hmm…”

Baek Ji-soo nodded.

Although she was recognized within the team for her excellent facial expression management at work, it wasn’t easy now.

“What is this? It’s different from what I ate last time.”

“This is newly made kimchi.”

“… delicious.”

I brought some kimchi made with epic grade cabbage, and the crunchy texture was so artistic that you could tell the difference right away.

In addition to the main ingredient, cabbage, we used the best ingredients of the highest grade without sparing any effort, so the difference in taste was bound to be clear.

Baek Ji-su, who was born with a keen sense of taste, had the appearance of a gourmet.

Just encountering such high quality food was a great happiness in itself.

It wasn’t for nothing that I accepted his offer, which I absolutely refused.

But just because it was delicious wasn’t the only reason.

“…It tastes like the ramen I used to eat.”

“You mean the taste we used to eat when we were kids?”

“That’s right, I never thought I’d be able to eat this again.”

Baek Ji-soo nodded and lifted the chopsticks full of noodles.

The slightly spicy smell that rose with the steam rising in wisps brought back memories of the past.

After the Gate incident, the taste of all foods plummeted and it became the norm.

But even though I’ve lived in that world, I can’t forget the taste of the ramen I ate as a child.

It may not be exactly the same as the taste from back then, but even just the reproduction that is similar is enough to make you feel deeply moved.

Slurp!

But now, there was someone who felt even happier than her.

“… so combative.”

“I know.”

A man who has been fighting beside them for a while.

Jang Seo-jun was out of his mind due to the amazing taste of ramen that he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

He was eating his meal in a hurry, half out of his mind, and Oh Hyeon-seong, who had already anticipated that kind of reaction, let out a snicker.

He had gotten used to the taste to some extent by now, but he knew the shock he would feel the first time he encountered real food and not some cheap synthetic food.

“Senior, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“okay.”

When she spoke while tapping his shoulder, Oh Hyeon-seong nodded and got up from his seat.

Of course, Baek Ji-soo still took care of the ramen bowl and chopsticks while she was up there.

They moved away from Jang Seo-jun, who was eating diligently, and sat down side by side on camping chairs, leaving a lantern lit nearby.

“Since you’re talking about this separately, I guess you have something to say about training.”

“First of all, to summarize briefly, it was useful. I thought that the senior didn’t just pick it up. Oh, and from what I heard, he’s from North Korea.”

“What? I never had that kind of accent before, but it’s perfect.”

It wasn’t all that surprising that people from the North were living in Korean society.

When the Queen’s invasion occurred in the past, countless people died due to the North Korean regime’s incompetent response.

The damage could have been greatly reduced if they had not admitted that they could not afford it and refused to cooperate with Korea.

But even in the midst of such a catastrophe, millions of refugees who survived were able to safely reach Korea.

“I heard that you saved my life thanks to you, senior.”

“Yes, if we hadn’t stopped the Queen in Pyongyang back then, we would have all been wiped out.”

Oh Hyun-seong nodded and said.

Without having to be humble, I felt a certain sense of pride at times like this.

Because it was the clearest and most undeniable evidence that his blood-soaked past was not meaningless.

There is nothing more intuitive than saving a life with your own hands.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Baek Ji-soo tried to say something but swallowed the rest of her words.

She shrugged, slurped down her ramen, and continued speaking.

“How much did you know, senior?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Jang Seo-jun’s special constitution isn’t something like magical power expansion. You knew that, right, senior?”

She asked with a very serious look in her eyes.

Then Oh Hyeon-seong shook his head.

“No, I didn’t know. Instead, I thought there might be something else.”

Jang Seo-jun’s status window showed that his growth potential was SS rank.

At first glance, it was an extraordinary number, so I thought there must be something more to it than the potential that I could see right away.

Even if it were true that it was a common special ability called magic power expansion.

“What did you see during training?”

“That’s right.”

“Have you found out for sure what your special constitution really is?”

“No, from what I can see, it looks like the special constitution hasn’t fully developed yet.”

“Oh, so that’s the case.”

As an Awakened Person, you have already awakened, but your special constitution has not yet been fully expressed.

It wasn’t common, but it was found often.

In these cases, there is usually one reason.

Compared to the hardware currently equipped as a hunter, the level of the innate special constitution is too high for it to be expressed.

“But if it doesn’t manifest even though he’s not a 2nd or 3rd rank hunter, but a 7th rank hunter, which is pretty high, then it must be an unusual constitution, right?”

“It’s definitely a top-tier special ability in the minimal detection system. It’s a type I’ve never encountered before.”

Oh Hyun-seong nodded at her confident words.

I wasn’t sure what to expect since it was my first time seeing it, but it seems like the potential the status window was talking about wasn’t wrong.

As far as this is concerned, Baek Ji-soo’s eyes are accurate.

“Well… let’s find out what kind of ability it is.”

Oh Hyun-seong gave a simple answer.

If your level as a hunter is too low compared to your innate special constitution and it is not expressed, then all you have to do is raise your level as a hunter.

Of course, no matter how good a teacher you have, it is not easy to achieve such results in a short period of time.

But now he had another means.

“If you don’t have enough hardware, just feed them lots of food.”

*

“… Huh.”

The next morning.

Jang Seo-jun, who was lying inside the tent, suddenly woke up.

After checking his watch once, he got up and prepared to go out.

In the midst of all that, I remembered what happened yesterday, and the taste of the ramen I ate back then still lingered in my mouth.

A truly shocking taste that I still can’t believe.

‘Huh? Now that I think about it, my body doesn’t hurt at all.’

Yesterday’s intense training.

I thought I would be half-dead the next day after pushing myself to my limits both physically and mentally.

But rather the opposite was true.

Once I woke up, all my muscle pain was gone and I felt like I had more energy.

Even though I didn’t really sleep that much, I woke up feeling completely refreshed, as if I had slept the entire day.

Of course, this was thanks to the homemade ramen and side dishes made by Oh Hyun-seong himself.

Even in the case of ramen, since it uses special crops of unique grade or higher as ingredients, including noodles, soup, and flakes, the effects of the ingredients are comprehensively displayed.

Thanks to that, his physical and mental strength were completely replenished overnight, to the point where they overflowed.

“Are you awake?”

Oh Hyun-seong and Baek Ji-su are already up.

Jang Seo-jun greeted her politely, but his gaze turned to a smell wafting from somewhere.

“I was going to wake you up to eat breakfast anyway.”

“Morning… you say?”

A large bowl placed on top of the table.

There was a pile of steamed potatoes there.

But these weren’t any ordinary potatoes.

Oh Hyun-seong’s eyes were filled with a pile of potatoes emitting pure white light, and he picked up the one that was the brightest among them.

[potato]

[Rank – Epic (7)]

[When consumed, gain 3451 magic power.]

[A top-grade potato that can only grow in a perfect environment. It contains enormous magical power.]

“…It’s delicious.”

Oh Hyun-seong took a bite of a potato and let out a sly laugh.

The taste and texture that filled my mouth were satisfying, but more than anything, I felt the magical power rising from deep below my danjeon.

The effect was so great that even Oh Hyeon-seong, who boasted overwhelming magical powers greater than any other hunter, could feel it.

But what would happen if you gave those crops to a hunter who is still at a low level?

He wanted to get the answer to a question he had been wondering about all along.