Chapter 6

006. Outside the Well. (1)

006.

It has been exactly 72 hours since the sudden apocalypse began.

Ding!

'Finally.'

The moment I had been waiting for has finally arrived.

The time I spent waiting, achieving enlightenment by defeating the goblin monster, made my heart race when I heard that the review was complete.

Ding!

'I guess they even accept appeals.'

I thought they would just give me the insurance money and be done with it, but they said they would inform me of the review details.

At least I can understand why I'm getting this insurance money, so it's not a bad process.

Soon, a semi-transparent paper appeared in front of me.

Rustle.

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■ Summary of Comprehensive Apocalypse Insurance Payout Review

1. Insurance Name: Comprehensive Apocalypse Insurance

2. Recipient: Jang Seohu

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Fortunately, the 'Summary of Comprehensive Apocalypse Insurance Payout Review' was written in Korean.

The document, divided into several sections, was neatly organized for easy reading.

Skipping over the claim date and my home address, I moved straight to the important parts.

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7. Summary of Earth (MS00354) Damage

7-1. Damage Status: 42% loss of dominion and karma

7-2. Liability: 30% responsibility for damage

7-3. Main Reason for Liability: Negligence in controlling indigenous creatures

8. Summary of Recipient's Review

8-1. Damage Status: Complete destruction of the thread of fate / Survival probability dropped to 3%

8-2. Liability: 27% responsibility for damage

8-3. Main Reason for Liability: Excessive waste of energy and karma

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To receive the insurance money, it is crucial that the damage is accurately calculated.

And it is equally important to know how much of the damage is my fault.

'Thread of fate? What's that? And what? My survival probability is 3%?'

I, the party affected by the damage, am the one living on Earth and myself.

Even if I am at fault for 30%, which is higher than expected, I can't do anything without knowing the measurement criteria.

Something incredibly important, the 'thread of fate,' was completely destroyed, and my chance of survival is a mere '3%'.

It's a nice way of saying I'm almost dead.

Anyone would be scared and angry to hear such words.

However, since this damage will ultimately be compensated, I held back and continued reading.

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12. Final Insurance Payout Confirmation

12-1. Cash Compensation: 135,250,000 Gold

12-2. Safety Compensation: Unique-grade mercenary support

※ (Until the end of the third invasion)

12-3. Item Compensation: Unique-grade item or skill

Please sign if you agree with the insurance payout review.

Recipient: Jang Seohu (Seal)

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And finally, I confirmed the compensation from the insurance.

'I wonder if this is a good outcome. I can't tell.'

I read it several times, but I couldn't get a sense of it.

I couldn't tell if the gold offered as compensation was a lot or a little, and the same went for the mercenary and the item.

Since signing is irreversible, I hesitated to move my hand.

However, there was no way to avoid signing.

Even if I were to be taken advantage of here, I would need to know something to negotiate.

Refusing without a reason could put me at a disadvantage during renegotiation.

Ding!

I don't know if it was a good decision, but the insurance money has finally come in.

* * *

While I was pondering the insurance money, another change came.

"Ah."

"Huh?"

"Aah."

The three roommates who were using a meeting room as a room.

Jang Seohu, Lee Dongchan, and Tak Jinho, all exclaimed at the same time.

Ding!

The reason was the sudden popup message.

Since the insurance money was given because the 0th invasion ended, I was less surprised.

However, the other two, who were receiving a system message for the first time, were wide-eyed.

"Hey, what's this? Do you know anything about it?"

"I know it's a system message that just came in."

The system message and the 0th invasion.

I knew about the tutorial where goblins invaded and the system.

However, I didn't know that the 1st invasion would be delayed by four days.

For me, it was a moment to be more relaxed.

Although I felt sorry for the two shocked people, my heart felt lighter.

"But if this is the 0th invasion, does that mean even scarier monsters will come?"

"Probably. If you can't awaken, you won't be able to handle them. It's really messed up because of those old farts. What do we do?"

Tak Jinho's words filled Lee Dongchan's eyes with anger.

Having faced the goblins directly, it was inevitable that the future would be difficult.

The two disheartened people were looking at me subtly.

"I don't know. I didn't even see a goblin's face after awakening. If it's necessary, the only option is to leave here."

"Easy for you to say. Ah, I'm so frustrated."

The anger slowly turned to fear at the thought of having to leave.

There's a huge difference between facing a few monsters and jumping into the thick of it.

Knowing this, the anger turned to frustration.

'Will these two be okay?'

It was time to start forming a team to leave.

Although the two were filled with fear, I had long decided to leave.

So, I had been checking potential teammates.

Lee Dongchan, whom I had known for a long time, was naturally the first candidate.

He is diligent and has a straightforward personality, making him a good companion.

Tak Jinho was also a good candidate to awaken and bring to my side.

'Let's check first. Status check.'

Ding!

Before helping someone and bringing them to my side, I decided to recheck my own status.

The first thing to check was my status.

─── ◆ STATUS ◆ ───

▶[ Durability: 008 ]

▶[ Agility: 006 ]

▶[ Magic: 001 ]

※ [ Remaining: 005 ]

[ Gold ]

▶[ 135, 250, 000 ]

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'The gold item was added after receiving the insurance money.'

The 'Gold' item was added to my status after receiving over 100 million gold as insurance money.

Although there were no changes in other items, this gold would surely be a great help, which is why it was given as insurance money.

Even without knowing the price, over 100 million is a significant amount.

I tried to use this gold to increase my stats, but it didn't work.

I still hadn't allocated the remaining stats, so how should I use this?

The unhelpful system didn't please me.

"Everyone, gather in the auditorium! No one is to be absent!"

There were still two unconfirmed rewards, but the voice from outside called for a gathering.

Since a message was sent to everyone, there was no way to avoid being called.

I decided to move and check the rewards later.

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"Let's go."

Lee Dongchan and Tak Jinho followed me subtly.

The small fact that I had awakened brought a significant psychological change.

I naturally moved with the atmosphere.

On the way to the auditorium, people were bustling.

Hundreds of people were walking and talking non-stop.

It was natural for the message to suddenly appear in front of their eyes.

"It's true. I heard that killing the monster will make you awaken or something."

"Manager Kim. This isn't a webtoon; it's called awakening. Can you speak more sensibly?"

"Manager Yoon, it's true. Hey, there's Jang Seohu. Jang Seohu! Come here!"

A familiar voice full of displeasure called me, Manager Kim.

Turning slowly in the direction of the voice, I saw my department colleagues gathered.

Ignoring Manager Kim, who called me, I kept walking.

Now was not the time to pay attention to such people.

It was time to listen to what the old-timers, still immersed in the company game, had to say and make a decision.

Receiving a death stare from Manager Kim, I sat down on one side.

"Please take your seats. Team leaders, please check if all members are present."

Standing in front of the gathered people in the auditorium was Secretary Kim Ho-yeol.

People were diligently checking the attendance.

"Mr. Seohu."

"You're here. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. And I'm sorry."

The awkward greeting came from Cha Soohyun.

She seemed to be here as the leader of our group.

Seeing me smile and greet her, she bowed her head and apologized again, looking genuinely sorry.

'Cha Soohyun might not be a good fit... but it wouldn't be bad if she could.'

Cha Soohyun, another candidate to leave with.

If she, whose abilities have been proven, becomes one of mine, it would be perfect.

However, she is likely to be treated as important on the other side, so it won't be easy.

Therefore, it's important to make her feel indebted.

My expression of smiling and saying it's okay, though a bit forced, seemed to have some effect.

I hoped these small actions would lead to significant results.

"Sit here."

"Ah, yes."

"It's good to see your face looking well."

"Well, you see."

"It's okay. It's not your fault, Soohyun. It seems we're about to start."

"Ah, yes."

She was cold and stern when we first met, but now she seemed to be a complete novice.

Thinking about it, she is younger than me, so it's not surprising.

Feeling that it had some effect, I focused on the front.

"Everyone must have received the message that the 0th invasion has ended. You may not know, but this message is sent by the O-Halla system. Our executives have already gathered a lot of information and are prepared for what will happen today. So, there's no need to worry."

People murmured at Kim Ho-yeol's words.

Most were relieved to hear that preparations had been made.

Kim Ho-yeol seemed pleased with the reactions.

"However, there is some bad news. Communication with the government was cut off this morning, along with very bad news."

Kim Ho-yeol paused, taking a deep breath, as sighs of dismay erupted from the crowd.

"The front-line troops have suffered near-total destruction. Some survivors are holding out, but the situation is very dangerous. The last news we received is that the government has started moving south after learning of this situation."

The army's defeat.

The government's retreat.

The crowd was shocked by the terrible news in the short message.

'Just lost to goblins?'

Goblins are indeed monsters.

But they didn't seem like the kind of monsters that could defeat the army.

I strongly felt that something I didn't know was happening.

"Everyone, please calm down. We have gathered you here because we have a plan. So, please be quiet and take your seats."

The murmuring crowd quieted down at Kim Ho-yeol's words about having a plan.

People's faces were filled with fear, anxiety, and a glimmer of hope.

"As some of you may know, a few blessed individuals go through an awakening and gain power. Most of the executives here have completed this awakening. Especially our chairman, who has been granted special power."

Killing ten goblins will naturally lead to awakening.

Kim Ho-yeol was dressing it up as a blessing.

I wondered how Manager Kim knew about awakening, but it seemed he had laid the groundwork for this moment.

'But what is he trying to do?'

Awakening doesn't grant some incredible power.

It just opens various systems and allows you to choose one power as a reward.

At most, you get one item or skill.

But Kim Ho-yeol's confident expression suggested he had something else prepared.

And what he had prepared exceeded my imagination.

"Everyone will become true members of the Yeonggwang Group."

Ding!

Something strange was happening.