After the situation calmed down, Kim Dokja organized his thoughts.
For now, the reader decided to try talking to this man named Gehrman. Depending on the situation, he would need to adjust his plans and could maybe recruit him as an ally.
He was also somewhat curious about how Shin Yoosoung had arrived here.
Approaching the man, Kim Dokja reached out his hand.
"I heard you helped my group members. Thank you."
Facing him up close, he was indeed quite intimidating. Kim Dokja understood why others were scared. Thankfully, the Fourth Wall offset the fear for him.
Gehrman watched his hand in silence but didn't seize it.
Strangely, Kim Dokja gave him the same vibes as Cheon Inho.
Awkwardly lowering his arm, Kim Dokja continued, "We won't have food to eat forever, so we need to find another reliable food source—for example, monster meat. Fighting monsters could also be an important experience and we need to get stronger to face this apocalypse, so me and my group plan to go hunting in the tunnels. I heard that Gehrman-ssi is quite strong himself. Would you like to join us?"
Gehrman still didn't respond, his gaze coldly fixed on him.
Kim Dokja got chills.
Then, Yoo Sangah next to him intervened.
"Right, it would be nice if Gehrman-ssi could come with us."
Gehrman—who was close to Yoo Sangah compared to the man making the proposal whom he had never talked to—finally moved his head, making a slight nod. Then, he walked away.
At this point, Kim Dokja didn't know whether to feel thankful or unlucky. Why was this person as hard to deal with as Yoo Joonghyuk?
Kim Dokja turned to Yoo Sangah, who questioningly looked back at him.
Was this the effect of a pretty face?
"Does hyung feel jealous because Gehrman listened to the pretty noona and not hyung?"
Kim Dokja felt stabbed by Lee Gilyoung's innocent words.
In front of Klein, a window popped up.
[The skill, 'Faceless Lv.3', has leveled up!]
It seemed that his act as Gehrman was convincing.
Fortunately, getting stronger seemed to follow the same way as his old world. Following the Acting Method was enough.
Gehrman Sparrow was also the identity that was most different from his original personality and suited this apocalyptic situation, so acting as Gehrman was a good way.
After getting ready, a party consisting of Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Jung Heewon, Shin Yoosoung and Gehrman Sparrow gathered.
Snapping him out of his thoughts, Yoo Sangah broke the silence.
"What was Gehrman-ssi's job before?"
At Yoo Sangah's question, Jung Heewon's interest was piqued.
"That's right, you also said something like 'Praise The Fool'. Were you religious?"
Eavesdropping on their conversation, Kim Dokja paid attention to Gehrman's words as well.
"I was a historian."
Jung Heewon was surprised.
"That's more normal than expected."
Kim Dokja mentally agreed with her.
As soon as they stepped foot in the tunnel, a sub scenario flew in.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Second Scenario – Food Acquisition]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Directly hunt the monsters that can be used as food and cook them.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 500 coins
Failure: ???
+
[A few constellations are anticipating your performance.]
"Dokja-ssi, wait a minute. It is really dangerous from here on."
Jung Heewon stopped first.
"Are we really going this way? No matter how I look, it seems like suicide. There are also Gilyoung and Yoosoung."
Shin Yoosoung innocently looked up toward Jung Heewon.
"In fact, I was concerned from the beginning. It isn't too late so how about we leave Gilyoung and Yoosoung behind? And if possible, the women…"
"Lee Hyunsung-ssi, I'm not as good as you but I know how to fight. I took some kendo lessons."
"But…"
Kim Dokja interrupted the two.
"Lee Hyunsung-ssi. I told you before. The world has changed. It is biased that a woman is physically weak. Right now, everyone can become stronger by raising their stats. But Jung Heewon-ssi, there is also a problem with your words."
"…What is it?"
"Just as a woman isn't weak, a child also isn't weak. Gilyoung, show them."
Lee Gilyoung came forward. He looked around for a while before sitting on the tunnel floor and reaching out his hand. Jung Heewon's eyes widened.
"Oh my god, what is that?"
A cockroach appeared in the distance, connected to Lee Gilyoung's fingertips with a faint solid line. The cockroach listened to Lee Gilyoung's words like a well-behaved dog and disappeared into the darkness.
"My attribute is Insect Collector. There is nothing in front of us. It is safe for 100 steps forward."
Lee Gilyoung showed an overwhelming scouting power and the other people looked stunned. Lee Gilyoung spoke to them with a bold expression.
"Thank you for your concern. But I didn't follow all of you for you to take care of me."
"Ah, yes."
At that moment, Shin Yoosoung also spoke up.
"I can help too."
As the child focused, rats squeaked and approached her.
"I can communicate with animals."
In a way, their two skills overlapped.
Lee Gilyoung glared at Shin Yoosoung, finally acknowledging the other child.
It was the beginning of the two children's rivalry.
The group passed a clear barrier and entered the full-fledged darkness.
[You have entered a dangerous area.]
The air inside the curtain was sticky from the humidity.
"Reduce the light."
Yoo Sangah immediately covered the flashlight. Since this model didn't have a light control function, she had to adjust the light with her hand.
"Ouch. Don't shine it downwards."
On the ground, torn bodies laid there. Gehrman used his clown abilities to not frown at the sight.
"There is something that isn't human."
There were also corpses of monsters. Someone must have passed through here before and massacred the monsters they came across.
As for who would have left the station and have the power the create such a scene…
Jung Heewon sighed, "…Who the hell did this?"
Gehrman thought it might have been Yoo Joonghyuk.
After cutting the body of a ground rat and handing the spine bones to Jung Heewon, Kim Dokja hesitated and addressed Gehrman, "Do you also want one?"
Although he was intimidating, he would need a weapon to defend himself with.
Klein considered it for a moment. If he ran out of spirituality, it would be better to have another weapon. However, accepting it didn't suit Gehrman's character.
…But his life was more important.
Thus, Gehrman accepted.
Seeing Gehrman nod, Kim Dokja turned his eyes away. Somehow, standing in the dark with the cold man staying silent gave the reader some chills, even more so since he wasn't a character in Ways of Survival.
Especially when Gehrman continued staring at him as he made the weapons for everyone, his thoughts unreadable.
However, the Fourth Wall immediately blocked those feelings.
[You have succeeded in acquiring weapons by yourself.]
[A very small number of constellations are interested in the primitive nature of humanity.]
[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]
'He is too calm,' Klein thought.
Being so nonchalant in front of corpses, cutting off a monster's body and being so collected…
In a previous conversation with Yoo Sangah, Gehrman had learned that her and Kim Dokja had worked together for a game company.
How could a 'normal employee', not even a butcher or someone who had experience dealing with corpses, be so calm?
From experience, it had taken himself a while to get used to gruesome sights, so Klein knew how much Kim Dokja's attitude was unnatural. Even if he indeed knew something about this situation, being so composed was another matter.
Since the answers he received from divination were vague, it was hard to interpret their meanings—there also seemed to be interference at work, meaning that a powerful existence was involved. Maybe it was Kim Dokja's constellation?
Klein had to find the answer himself, then.
However, the guesses that came to mind weren't very pleasant.
The best possibility was that he had a mental barrier and his knowledge came from a skill—probably related to his phone—or that he had seen corpses many times before the apocalypse and was used to it.
Another possibility was that he had time traveled and experienced this situation for the second time, which would explain both his knowledge and calmness—and maybe why his divinations had guided him to Kim Dokja.
Or… Gehrman remembered the way Kim Dokja had laughed when everyone's food was taken away and they had to pay fees to survive.
Maybe Kim Dokja was a psychopath.