TRPM 346

chapter 346

“…One hit for you, one hit for me? That’s the name of this rock?”

“No, it’s just a nickname.”

At my muttered words, Lee Ha-eun reacted.

Well, of course.

Anyone would find it strange to hear that a plain-looking rock had such a name.

But if anyone had ever seen what this stone-shaped mine could do, they would agree with me.

The description says it “explodes,” but in reality, it’s different.

When it activates, it simply erases everything around it.

Not figuratively—literally erases everything within range.

The mine detects monsters, waits a set time… and then when enough have gathered, it triggers.

Everything within about a 20-meter radius gets erased.

It can be activated remotely, but—

“To be honest… even I wouldn’t survive if this rock hit me directly.”

“…Gun-woo, even you?”

At my words, Ha-eun stared at the rock in disbelief.

But it was true.

Right now, even if I took a direct hit from Headmaster Shin Han-ji, the Archmage, my body would only suffer minor skin damage.

Yet I had no confidence in surviving this rock’s power.

Even if I wrapped myself in protective qi using all of my inner energy.

Strictly speaking, it’s not even an explosion.

This stone is a result of research into erosion-type dungeons.

When such dungeons appear, everything that was originally there disappears, overwritten by the dungeon’s environment.

In other words, it completely wipes out existing facilities.

This rock was made by harnessing that principle.

Even I can’t block something like that.

Of course, it’s not like there’s no way to survive.

“It does take a bit of time before it activates, and it gives off a loud warning sound—as if telling you to get out.”

“Oh, so you can run away?”

“Exactly.”

You just can’t block it, but avoiding it isn’t hard.

Monsters hear the sound and approach to check it out, but people know what that sound means and can run away.

You also don’t have to worry about things like shockwaves that come with normal mines.

It’s extremely destructive, yet relatively safe at the same time.

“Other than the fact that one costs close to a billion won, it’s pretty useful.”

“A… a billion?!”

Ha-eun looked stunned.

Sure, if she really tried, she could earn that much easily, but she’d never actually handled money like that before.

Ah, not that I never paid her when I used her help.

I just gave the payment directly to her parents instead of to her.

Anyway—

Honestly, there’s no denying it’s not cost-effective.

Some equipment awakened ones use easily costs more than a billion won.

Even mass-produced weapons sometimes exceed that price.

But the important thing is—a mine is a consumable.

A billion-won disposable item… it’s ridiculously expensive for something you can only use once.

Still, it was invaluable against monster armies led by chimeras.

Especially against chimeras.

And for good reason.

In my previous life, most of the suddenly appearing chimeras were either too tough or too fast at regenerating, making normal mines useless.

But “erase everything in range” doesn’t care about toughness or regeneration.

Though in this timeline, I already killed the doctor who created chimeras…

The technology still exists in the world.

For instance, the doppelgängers used by Oracle and Mars’ organization are technically chimeras.

So I still have to prepare for the possibility of fighting an army of them someday.

“Yeah. I should definitely invest in this company.”

That means investing capital into the company that made not just this rock, but all the other equipment I saw earlier.

“…I don’t know what you mean, but it sounds like a good thing, right?”

“Yeah. I’m glad we came.”

“Then I’m glad too.”

When I heard Ha-eun mumble that, it hit me.

What she wanted was a date.

But instead of focusing on her, I was pouring all my attention into equipment….

“…Are you mad?”

“Yeah.”

But then—

“Gun-woo, as long as you’re happy, I’m fine.”

“…Sorry.”

I apologized to Ha-eun.

And decided to focus on what she wanted to see instead of what I wanted.

Though what she wanted to see was…

“Would you like to sample it?”

“Yes.”

—sampling combat rations made by the same company.

“This product was developed with a focus on a more tangy flavor compared to previous ones…”

“Wow…”

“They’re designed to stimulate the appetite of awakened ones who stay long-term in dungeons, especially those who struggle with appetite.”

The employee handed out small portions of the rations while explaining.

I put mine in my mouth—

…Hm. Not really my taste.

Sure, if you were tired of the usual rations or jerky, this might help, but I didn’t think it suited combat rations.

Still, if I mix just a little of this with other rations, it could make for a nice change.

Or just eat it as a snack.

With that in mind, I told the clerk I’d buy around a hundred packs.

Ha-eun, the people around us, and even the staff were shocked by my order.

Well, yeah. It’s rare for someone to buy so many at once unless it’s for a guild.

“Uh… where should we deliver them?”

“Just give them to me. I’ll put them in my subspace.”

I took five boxes, each holding twenty packs, and stored them away.

People nearby began murmuring.

“Isn’t he an Artist?”

“Yeah? And he’s personally buying rations here… what’s special about them?”

“Excuse me! I’ll take one—no, ten packs too!”

“Me too! Me too!”

I’d accidentally given them free promotion, but whatever.

“Why’d you buy so many?”

“To eat later. They don’t spoil.”

Of course, rations have expiration dates.

But I heard if stored properly, they can last a hundred years without quality loss.

And in my subspace, nothing will go bad.

“You want to eat one now?”

“No. If I eat now, I’ll be too full for dinner.”

“True.”

One of the big traits of rations is their calories.

One pack could keep you full for a whole day.

Even just the sample I’d eaten earlier left me feeling a little stuffed.

“But I still want dessert.”

“…Didn’t you just say you’d be too full?”

“Dessert stomach is separate.”

…Right.

Judging by how she always eats desserts after meals at school, I guess she really does have a separate dessert stomach.

We bought snacks from stalls inside the festival grounds, then returned to the hotel where the others were staying.

There, we found Ryu A-min and Ryu A-young packing their things.

We could guess what was happening.

“Heading home?”

“Yeah. We told our parents about the stalker, and they told us to come back right away.”

“Well… yeah, that sounds like something they’d say.”

At A-young’s words, Ha-eun muttered that, and I thought to myself—

…What were their parents like again? Wait, did I ever even meet them?

Hmm… Ha-eun seems to have, but I haven’t.

“So A-min and I are taking the train home.”

Well, if you’re normal parents and find out your kids had a stalker, telling them to come home makes sense.

So I understood why the two were leaving.

“We wanted to keep hanging out, sorry.”

“…Hey, we’re just collecting valley water and enjoying the festival while we’re at it. You make it sound like you’re dropping out of some grueling expedition.”

At A-min’s words, I reassured him.

And realized something.

Only those two are leaving. The rest of us are staying.

So—me, Ha-eun, and Teacher Son Ji-hye would continue gathering water for another couple of days.

“Do you two want me to drive you to the station?”

“No, it’s really close by. We’ll be fine. And you guys—have fun for us too, okay?”

“…Yeah.”

I wondered if we’d really be able to enjoy ourselves in this mood, but I agreed with A-young.

We still planned to enjoy tonight’s fire-spinning event and tomorrow’s festival.

“A-min! Let’s go!”

“Yeah, coming.”

And so A-young and A-min left with their bags.

Not that they had much—just some souvenirs from yesterday’s rose festival.

“Well then…”

Once they were gone, our group was down to three.

And Teacher spoke.

“It’s a little early, but should we eat dinner?”

Ha-eun and I hesitated.

We’d filled ourselves with rations and street snacks, but Teacher hadn’t eaten anything since a light lunch at the highway rest stop.

“I’m fine with it.”

“Ugh… me too…”

I agreed out of consideration, and Ha-eun nodded reluctantly because I said yes.

…She’d insisted earlier that dessert stomach was separate, but it looked like she really was full.

“…Looks like you ate a lot already. Then how about we wait until your stomachs settle, and go out for dinner later?”

And Teacher had caught on.

Ha-eun bowed her head shyly.