Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 5



Only Noblemtl

Episode 5

The translucent control panel that had been glowing red had regained its original color. Jincheol was confused.

I looked back at Atukai, but he too couldn’t hide his trembling expression.

It was an appearance.

“···Is this okay?”

“···No. What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

Atukai pushed Jincheol away and approached the translucent panel, trying to manipulate the screen.

But then the color of the panel turned reddish and the voice of Mother Tree came into the room.

It resonated.

[You do not have permission to contact us.]

“···”

It was the first time Jincheol saw the expression of fear and confusion on the faces of the Camponi tribe. Just

It was heartbreaking to see Bok-sil, who was always innocent and easygoing, so scared.

It was so lovely that I felt affectionate towards it.

“Are you okay? Something seems off.”

“···What did you say? I suddenly can’t understand what you’re saying··· I see. Th, th

“It’s not like Mother Tree is whispering to me···”

Atukai said so with his hands shaking slightly. The artifact attached to the nape of his neck

It seemed like the trout wasn’t working properly. Jincheol, who saw that, said something hastily.

Instead of speaking, he kept his mouth shut and became lost in thought.

Elder Bok-sil held his head with trembling hands.

“The warning from the Mother Tree just now was supposed to come out when you touched the altar.

If someone other than our race touches the altar, there should be a warning sound… I

No… how could this happen… in my generation… today of all days, mother

“The tree has abandoned us… What is this…?”

He seemed to be falling into a deeper and deeper panic. His round eyes were glaring.

Tears began to well up in my eyes.

Jincheol, who had been lost in thought for a moment, came to his senses upon seeing that sight. He became translucent again.

I put my hand on the panel.

“···Hey, what is that? What should I call it?”

[Welcome, Admin. Would you like to check the current status of your farm?]

“No. I want to hand over those administrator rights.”

[Request for transfer of administrator rights… Unconditional acceptance of user opinions in accordance with the ‘final law’

Dragon. The only user currently confirmed is the administrator. Therefore, you currently have administrator rights.

If you give up, the authority will be transferred to the farm’s management bioroid. Really

Do you want to give up your administrator rights?]

“okay.”

[Command confirmed. The user’s administrator rights have been transferred to the 495th generation management bioroid.

Thank you for visiting our farm.]

Is that okay? Jincheol took his hand off the translucent panel and looked at Atukai. But that

He was still in a panic, holding his head in his hands.

“Atukai.”

“···This can’t be happening. Why should it be happening when I’m an elder···”

“Atukai!”

Jincheol’s voice gained strength. Then Atukai looked up in surprise.

D. Jincheol continued speaking in a calm voice.

“Do you understand what I am saying now?”

“What, what?”

“I’m asking if the artifact you’re currently wearing on the back of your neck is working properly.

“I’m not speaking Camponi right now.”

Atukai’s face, who had been listening to Jincheol with a blank expression, brightened up in the next moment.

The face looked like a puppy smiling brightly.

“Oh, oh! I can understand you! Mother Tree whispers again,

“You are here!”

He shouted as he did so and then clung to the translucent panel again. It had turned red a moment ago.

The panel that had rejected him was again showing the state of the farm in tables and numbers.

Atukai, who had come to his senses, turned around and grabbed Jincheol’s hand.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“No, if I hadn’t touched it in the first place, it wouldn’t have happened. You don’t have to do that.

“It is.”

Atukai’s round eyes looked at Jincheol without saying a word. Atukai was so bright.

For a while, she just looked at Jincheol without saying anything.

Jincheol, who had been blinking and receiving the gaze, shook the hand he had been carefully holding for a while.

It was.

“Atukai?”

“···They are wise and good rulers and guardians of order who will return one day,

He is the true master of the world… But there is no true name to call him before all those names.

You, you are our ‘friend’···”

“yes?”

Atukai, whose lips were moving, slowly shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing.”

He wiped his nose with his hand and changed the subject.

“Yes, as you said, if you hadn’t touched it without reason, this wouldn’t have happened!

How are we going to take responsibility for Tae? If we did something wrong, we might all have to leave this town.

“I don’t know!”

“Yes? No, what if you only hold me responsible? Atukai, touch it first.

“While you were talking?”

“Oh, is that so?”

Atukai laughed out loud. Then he nodded and said.

“Then it’s my fault too, so let’s just quietly let go of what happened earlier. Other villagers

“It would be a problem if they found out.”

“What’s the use of me going somewhere and talking about it? I’ve already forgotten it all.”

“okay?”

“yes.”

Atukkai smiled brightly at Jincheol’s slightly indifferent attitude and stood at the bottom of the altar.

I took something out and put it in his arms.

It was a ripe banana.

“···Are you keeping my mouth shut?”

“You know a lot. Is it lacking?”

“No. There’s enough to share with the kids.”

“Should I share it? I don’t think it’ll be enough even if I eat it alone.”

Jincheol also smiled brightly.

“It’s too sweet to eat it all by myself.”

*

After Jincheol, holding a banana, left the room, Atukai went to the very bottom of the Mother Tree altar.

I opened a hidden space. What was in that space was a thick book.

Atukai, who had placed the book on the desk, blew wind on the cover. During that time,

The dust that had piled up on top was swept away, revealing the title. If Jincheol had seen the letters,

You must have been surprised to read it. [Farm Manager’s Guide]

“Ahem···”

When I opened the book, a very messy interior was revealed. The contents of the book were very long.

Old paper that looked like it had been torn off, paper that was less worn, newly pasted pictures, etc. were all tattered.

It was a single figure. Among them, the part that Atukai was looking for was the most back, and most of it was less

It was a page made of old paper.

The page had two contrasting pictures drawn in the middle of the book.

One is the back of a large, sturdy man standing looking into the distance and the other is his

It was a sight of campions smiling brightly all around.

And on the other side, there is a picture of a black shadow giant burning the forest and the world.

It was.

Atukai was looking at the two paintings with clear eyes.

*

Jincheol left Atukai’s room and climbed the stairs to return to his room.

But at some point his steps up the bamboo stairs began to slow down, and

The country stopped without taking a few steps.

“···”

His face, which had stopped, was deeply sunken. His face was silent.

The dark shadows that were cast made it seem as if the shadows of the primeval forest had rushed in and devoured his face.

It was the same.

“I don’t know what’s going on.”

Jincheol whispered like that. The scenes he had seen and experienced just a moment ago were running through his mind.

I was making it complicated.

User, Admin, Bioroid, Mother Tree, Semi-Automatic Underground Farm, Arabian Number

Java diagrams, etc. If this is really another world, then those familiar concepts and words are there.

Why do we welcome it? If this place is really a different world from reality, then the idea and him

Shouldn’t the words that represent it also be different?

If so, then what is his current situation if this isn’t another world? He’s clearly crazy.

My last memory was of shooting an old man and being swept into a collapsing lab.

But why did Bok-sil, who resembles a puppy, open her eyes in the village? That Bok-sil said

What other races are there in this world?

Jincheol’s eyes turned to the side. There were stairs and buildings where there were no safety regulations.

Beyond the village of Camponi, a dense primeval forest spread out. A thick layer of trees and grass.

Silver bluish shade covers the sky, casting deep and distinct shadows in contrast to the bright sky above.

was created.

It seemed as if someone was watching him in the darkness.

Is he crazy? Or is he experiencing some kind of hallucination right before he dies? It could be both.

It could have been either way. It was clear that it wasn’t going to be fun.

No, maybe. He might have died a long time ago. Like a super soldier research institute.

Not in a grand place, just in a corner of the barracks. Living alone with other squad members.

For Anam, the word squad leader might just be a cross-section of purgatory.

A figure appeared in the dark shadows facing him as if his thoughts were correct.

It’s out.

They were dead. Their last moments. The barracks were in shambles and covered in blood.

Chunks of flesh. Soldiers who couldn’t close their eyes even after becoming corpses.

Their eyes, lying as corpses, looked at Jincheol. Their mouths whispered.

All of them said they wanted to do business together, do YouTube, and introduce me to their younger sister.

If you don’t like it, let’s just meet up at a nice bar and have a drink once this fucking war is over.

Let’s have some more.

Come join us. We’re waiting for you.

“shut up.”

As soon as Jincheol whispered, the illusion disappeared. Jincheol silently stared into the primeval forest with dark eyes.

I looked into the darkness. The illusion that disappeared for a moment did not appear again. And

For some reason, Jincheol felt a little sad about that fact.

“···What a fucking mess.”

Jincheol was standing on the side of the stairs, muttering to himself, holding a bunch of bananas.

I recognized the appearance of the mouth. I couldn’t tell if it was a laugh, a hollow laugh, or both.

A smile spread across his face.

Jincheol, who had been shaking his head alone, soon began to walk briskly. He

The shadow of the thick primeval forest I was looking at was still dark. I couldn’t even try to catch him.

Didn’t.

Jincheol ran up the stairs. It was too hard to climb the stairs at Camponi’s pace.

He was so big. Thanks to that, I was able to quickly jump up three or four steps and get to the room where Toby was waiting.

could arrive quickly.

I opened the slightly open door and went in, and saw Toby sitting at the desk fiddling around with something.

The moisture was visible.

“Toby.”

The guy who was concentrating on fiddling turned around and looked at Jincheol. He gave him a banana.

I showed it to him. Toby quickly ran over and snatched it.

“Wow! @#$%! Banana!”

“Where are your friends?”

“I went to the forest to play.”

Toby said that calmly while picking at a banana. Jincheol let out a hollow laugh.

“The forest is dangerous?”

“That’s right. But the village is boring.”

“The thrill is outside the village? These are really kids… no, kids, right?”

Jincheol shook his head and looked at the desk where Toby was fiddling around. There was Toby.

There was a green picture. It was a crude drawing, as if it had been drawn by a kindergarten child.

“What is this? Is it a dinosaur?”

“!@#!@#. What is a dinosaur?”

“Kaal, Tissara… This is also difficult to pronounce. Anyway, what is this?”

“The Beast of Terror.”

“···It looks like a dinosaur.”

“What is a dinosaur?”

Instead of explaining, Jincheol smiled and patted Tobi’s head. The guy was asking a question.

I forgot about that and stuck my tongue out, panting as I enjoyed Jincheol’s touch.

“Shall we go eat?”

“Jincheol, are you hungry?”

“Yes. I’m hungry. Very hungry.”

“Then let’s go.”

Tobi, who was looking up at Jincheol, nodded as if he understood and took the lead. Jincheol

I followed him slowly. Whether this moment was a vision seen immediately after death or not,

Either you’re crazy and seeing things, or you had to eat anyway.

Afterwards, Jincheol ate a full meal prepared by the village restaurant and returned to his room.

I even took a nap. I made Toby, who was whining about studying, sleep next to me. I played like that.

He was a great bum who ate well.

After a while, I woke up leisurely and the village was already dark and the sky was dyed red.

“It’s already time for dinner.”

“Huh? Already?”

Toby, who was sleeping next to me, woke up half-asleep and blinked his eyes. He was wiping the boogers from his eyes.

Jincheol, who was giggling, got up from the bed (two beds were put together just for Jincheol).

I opened the door and went out. Standing on the stairs/balcony, I could see the whole view of Camponi village.

I saw him standing there, stretching, and taking a deep breath.

There was something coming in.

“···what?”

The village was chaotic. Jincheol saw that the camps, which were usually laid-back, were in a state of urgency.

I saw him running up stairs and a suspension bridge.

“Hwaaam… Are you going to go eat dinner right away, Jincheol?”

Toby yawned and came over to Jincheol. Jincheol thought for a moment and didn’t think twice.

And picked up Toby.

“Huh? Why?”

“I guess something is going on.”

Jincheol, who had just said that, started running up the village stairs. Below the village, that is.

It was directed at the campions gathered at the base of the mother tree and making a fuss.

“Ji, Jincheol! It’s too fast!”

“Really? Then we should go faster!”

“Eww-!”

I ran up the village stairs with Toby’s screams as the background music, and soon I reached the ground.

Iron put Toby down, thinking that his body was too light.

Seok stood on the ground and drew a staggering zigzag pattern.

Jincheol, who was smiling and looking at the staggering guy, turned his gaze. There was a village on the ground.

The ponies had almost all come down and were circling around somewhere.

If they were human, it would have been difficult for Jincheol to see the situation beyond that, but the Camponi

Since he was only as tall as Jincheol’s waist, it was easy to grasp the situation. He just nodded.

Just listen to it.

In the center of the circle drawn by the camponi were two people: the elder Atukai and the young

It was Camponi and Chakai.

Atukai had a serious expression and Chakai was kneeling with his head bowed.

It was.

“You were getting scolded for secretly going out to play in the forest? Where did the other guy go?”

Jincheol, who saw the situation, was shocked. These innocent Boksils couldn’t even scold a single child.

It was so uncommon that everyone seemed to watch when something like this happened.

But at that time, Toby heard a story from another campouni and pushed the people away.

He started running forward, throwing himself at the wall.

That was the first time Jincheol saw Toby’s rough appearance while staying in this village. So the two

I opened my eyes wide and watched as Tobi pushed his way through the crowd.

He was seen kneeling before Kai.

“You’re going to defend your friends? Bok-sil is a lawyer. It’s like a children’s cartoon.”

At that moment, Atukai’s voice was heard.

“I can’t allow it. Otherwise… just pretend you died of illness.”

“Huh?”

Jincheol tilted his head at the unexpected sound. He blinked and turned his head.

When I looked around, the faces of the other campers were all dark. I felt sorry.

But they had no intention of stepping forward and doing anything about it.

Jincheol observed their expressions for a moment, then moved forward with some thought in his mind.

Whether it was because they were much larger or because they were so conspicuous, the camponi

The road opened up like a river parting.

Thanks to the commotion, Atukai also discovered that Jincheol had come down.

“Jincheol.”

“Elder.”

As Jincheol slightly bent his waist, a small smile appeared on Atukai’s lips. However,

Unlike during the day, it just seemed bitter now.

“What’s going on?”

“···ha.”

Atukai sighed and looked at Chakai. Chakai was already sobbing.

At that gaze, he finally burst into tears. Even though Toby, who was next to him, tried to comfort him, he couldn’t stop crying.

It didn’t stop easily.

“What is it?”

“···It seems that Chakai and Daramba went deep into the forest and encountered some wandering Ologs.”

“If you come all the way···”

Allog. According to Jincheol’s memory, they were cannibals. They were intelligent but had no

Cannibals who prey on other people without any intention of killing them.

“They say that Darumba was caught on the spot. Chakai, who ran away and ran, is now here.

“There is.”

“···So?”

Atukai’s eyes turned to Jincheol. The eyes that had been shining brightly were now cloudy and sunken.

Oh, there it was.

“So that’s why?”

“Aren’t you going to save the child?”

“···I’m not going.”

Jincheol’s face also sank at the slightly late answer. He looked at the camponis there.

I looked around. All I could see were the frightened faces of the Boksils.

“We are not warriors.”

It was a belated remark that came as an excuse.

“We are not people who are used to fighting. The Ologs are three times our size.

They are bigger than the fish and ten times more violent. And if Chakai is right, they are

There are three wandering Ologs. So even if thirty villagers gather, it will be in vain.

“It’s just a matter of getting hurt. The damage that ends up being done alone increases by dozens of times···”

“Then are you just going to watch the child get eaten?”

A bitter smile appeared on Atukai’s lips again.

“···We have lived like this. Thanks to the grace of the Mother Tree, we have been able to avoid the dangers of the forest.

But sometimes we lose our relatives to unavoidable disasters. We are dangerous animals.

If they invade, cut off the bridge leading up to the mother tree and wait until they disappear.

All they can do is chase them away with arrows or legs. Fortunately, the mother tree is not malicious.

This place is safe because you protect us and punish those who touch you with stinging punishment.

“I did it.”

“No, but I think everyone has hunted animals or something. We all do something together.

underneath···”

“Fighting an Olog is not like hunting an unintelligent animal. They are

They can, and they can think. They are also much stronger warriors than us. Simple

It’s not like hunting for water. It takes a lot more people to save one person.

I’m going to die. So this incident… is just an accident. We all love each other so much.

“They send away the person who does it. The previous elders and Toby’s parents did the same.”

Jincheol’s eyes turned to Tobi. The face of the guy who had been comforting Chakai became stiff.

Oh, there it was.

“It may seem like cowards to you, but this is how we live.”

At Atukai’s words, Jincheol’s eyes looked at him again. Then, he looked innocent and relaxed.

The old fear and helplessness that was deeply embedded in Dunn Boksil’s eyes was visible. It was not easily erased.

Feelings like a stigma that won’t go away.

At that moment, Jincheol felt like he had caught a glimpse of the dark side of the camp. Mother Tree

They lead a leisurely and pastoral life on their underground farm, but they are obsessed with the fruit and other

A way of life that is not even dreamed of by those who are members of a community, even by other races.

Cowards who consider even being hit as an inevitable natural disaster.

A village child was captured and eaten by a hundred people, even though they knew that they would be eaten in the end.

None of the people close to me took up arms. Some even took up arms.

He was turning around and going back up the tree. The child who was different from them was already dead.

This was it.

And Jincheol, who was looking at it, did not criticize these innocent Boksils as cowards.

He didn’t even force him to step forward with even a weak weapon.

I think that was too harsh. I was the one who made such accusations in the first place.

I didn’t even believe there was a hierarchy.

So instead of criticizing, I just smiled blandly.

“Sometimes life is about accepting things you don’t understand and moving on.”

“···what?”

“It’s finally time to pay for the meal.”

Atukai’s eyes widened.