"My friend, what should we do now?" I stammered, still in a state of shock.
"What do you mean by what we should do now and should I know about this, do you think I would still be here in this chaos? Park Deokgu replied with frustration evident in his voice.
My confidence wavered as I gave him this uncertain answer. His incessant chatter since the starting point incident ceased, and he silently observed me. It appeared that he finally acknowledged my words.
"Since we don't have any idea about this strange place, I think the most important thing to do is to accumulate information about this place at first! " I said.
"So You think it's a nice idea to go outside?"
"No, No , I don't want to go as of now ! " I said with full confidence.
"Then you're saying we might leave someday?" he asked, trying to grasp the possibilities.
"I am telling you not as of now! " I repeated firmly.
We gathered in a shadowy spot and blended into the background of the maze. Although it was small, it provided, at least temporarily, a feeling of safety.
My mind raced, contemplating our situation. "Water, food, and weapons," I thought, "we have those, but will they sustain us?"
How long would we have to endure this confinement? Was this place genuinely secure?
"Never thought something like this could ever happen to me in any chance" I murmured, expressing my disbelief.
"You witnessed the wildest Monsters and the 'Show Details'. It's not a fantasy. This isn't an online game. While struggling with the facts, Park Deokgu admitted, "It's reality, but I also wish it were a dream."
I agreed, acknowledging that denying reality wouldn't alter our circumstances.
"This Seminar's primary objective is survival, right? It was mentioned by that odd woman. So, if we continue to hide here…"
"It's not that simple," he interjected.
Confused, I asked, "What do you mean?"
"The issue is that we are unsure of how long this will go on for. We won't have enough food or water for a week, and we don't know for sure that this location is secure. "Those monsters we previously encountered might be hiding somewhere," he said, his face laced with worry.
"Hmmmmmm Are you sure?" I inquired skeptically.
"Yes, I think so. And even if we manage to leave this Seminar... how will we survive afterward?" he questioned, his uncertainty mirroring my own.
"What the hell are you trying to say man?" I asked, bewildered.
"After this lesson, we'll enter a place in the Mainland(Continent). This place could be like heaven compared to what awaits us there. There's no guarantee it'll be any safer than here. Simply hiding won't be enough," he confessed, making me realize the gravity of our situation.
His silence sealed my apprehensions, for he could not deny the reality of our predicament.
What would happen in the future was unknown. But as she had said, if we were really chosen to save the Mainland, our adventure wouldn't finish with sitting through Seminars. Not only would we have to deal with the monsters we had already encountered, but also difficulties inside our own company.
In the days to come, we might encounter even more perilous situations.
"Right now, we're huddled up here, but when we finally venture out, there's only one outcome awaiting us," I explained to my companion.
He questioned, "What do you mean?"
"That we will have to fight furiously against those freaking Monsters! " I responded.
"With those monsters?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"Have you ever played Online-Games or the Play-Station?" I inquired.
"Is there anyone in the world who has never played those games?" he replied.
"A Show Details, Stats, Titles, Equipment, Class. Don't you find these terms familiar? Imagine that we are inside a game now. How should we proceed?" I urged.
"I' m sorry bro, it's hard for me to get! ' he admitted.
"We must advance. We must fortify ourselves to fend off the creatures. Just as the woman had said, facing and beating them will provide us stats and classes that will enhance our powers. We won't have to fear those monsters any more, even if it won't be easy because the attributes will naturally open," I said.
"Ah...." he murmured, slowly comprehending.
"Before we fled, we managed to grab weapons, water, and food. Our situation is better than some others'," he continued hesitantly.
"Yes, but..." I trailed off, clearly hesitant about leaving the safety of our current location.
I knew he, like most humans, dreaded the idea of facing man-eating monsters. But we had no choice. It was a matter of survival—eat or be eaten.
"This is what I think," he asked, seeking my advice.
"If you don't have a solution, you should create one," I replied.
"Actually, the solution for this problem is simpler than one might think. We can defeat them."
"But how do you defeat man-eating monsters?" he questioned.
"If you think about it, we do have a way to defeat them," I reasoned.
"In the first battle, fear clouded our judgment, and we lost the will to fight. But it doesn't mean we can't win."
He seemed uncertain, but I continued, "You need to consider it clearly. Simplest manner conceivable. Face them as they are without fear. It won't be simple, and I'm afraid right now too. We have a chance, though, if we can keep from being encircled or ambushed. They have delicate skin and are not extremely agile. When we fled, none of them stayed behind; instead, they all barged into the room we had been in earlier. Due to their lack of numbers and fear, the beginning location saw a large number of fatalities."
Though I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I believed my guess was accurate. Compared to humans, they possessed physical advantages like sharp jaws and claws, but we had the advantage of weapons within our reach.
"Believe me, if we think calmly, we can win," I reassured him.
My companion still struggled to grasp the bigger picture, his anxiety evident. It was time to demonstrate that we could indeed triumph over these creatures.
"Geeek," we heard voices approaching.
My heart pounded, and Park Deokgu and I held our breaths. The moment had come; we had to face the monsters. With determination, I reminded myself that we had to overcome our fear, or we would never escape this predicament.
[Checking the Show Details of Monster Crawfish.] [Name: None] [Title: None. You should try a little harder.] [Age: 5] [Disposition: Instinct] [Class: None] [Stats] [Strength: 11] [Agility: 15] [Stamina: 14] [Endurance: 12] [Luck: 10] [Magic Power: 00]
I used my ability to check the Show Details of the Monster Crawfish through the narrow gap in the wall.
"It worked," I thought, relieved that the ability also worked on monsters.
"I can win," I told myself, steeling my nerves.
As the monster drew nearer, I readied my spear. In a swift motion, I rushed out and attacked the creature. My fear momentarily paralyzed me, but I managed to strike it in the shoulder.
"Aeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkk!" the monster howled in pain.
Pushing past my fear, I continued my assault, landing blows on its head with a nearby stone. It was a gruesome and unsettling experience, but I couldn't stop; I had to prove to Park Deokgu that we could win.
After the intense struggle, the monster lay lifeless before me. My heart raced, and my body was covered in its blood and mucus.
[Strength stat increased by 1.]
My expectations were met. The successful battle boosted my strength.
Seeing my victory, Park Deokgu asked, "What's your name?"
"Kee Miyoung "
"Kee Miyoung, May I call you Hyung-nim?" he asked.
I nodded in response, recognizing his newfound respect.
"If I can do it, you can do it too. No, you can do it even better," I encouraged him.
He hesitated before saying, "I think I understand what you mean. hyung-nim, leave it to me. What do we do from now on?"
With a sense of relief and pride, I replied, "For now, let's try to escape from here. Obtaining a class should be our first priority."
(hyung-nim here means a Friend)