Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 9



Only Noblemtl

Episode 9

Suddenly my eyes opened.

“···”

What I saw with my eyes wide open was an unfamiliar ceiling. No, it was a bamboo ceiling that I had become somewhat familiar with.

It was. Jincheol blankly stared at the continuous horizontal and vertical lines.

Then, I felt something wet on my chest and looked up, and Toby was there.

He was sleeping soundly, his head resting on the floor. The wet feeling was coming from his mouth.

It was flowing saliva.

“That bastard is so dirty···”

Jincheol said that, but he carefully lifted the boy’s head so as not to wake him up.

Oh, he moved to the side. Then, he naturally looked at his chest.

There was a scar there, smaller than a coin. It was a wound until yesterday.

“···Has your leather gotten thicker?”

When I returned to the village after saving the Toby guys, the first thing I checked was the wound.

A gunshot wound in the center of the chest. However, the bullet did not penetrate the muscle and went straight to the skin.

It came out from below, and the skin that was torn was half healed after a night.

It was a scar.

Of course, I could tell the extent of the gunshot wound. If I couldn’t even tell that much, it would be war.

It was a waste of time rolling around in the field. But with this recovery speed and the bullets that can’t penetrate it,

The muscle layer was incomprehensible.

No, come to think of it, there were guys like that. They got drugs and became superhuman soldiers and ran wild.

Dunn’s light warriors. They ran through rifle bullets with their bare bodies and tore their comrades to pieces with their bare hands.

Monsters.

“···Fuck. What the hell is going on?”

As Jincheol thought deeply, he felt as if some shadows were gathering around him that he couldn’t shake off.

I sat up. When I got up, I saw puppies scattered all over the restaurant.

I saw the bottles of alcohol rolling around. It was a sight that gave me a glimpse of last night’s madness.

It was.

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, the campones knew how to brew and drink alcohol.

I don’t eat, but when there is an important event or good thing happening, I sleep deep underground.

I took out the one I had been drinking and drank it. At first, I thought of the image of camponi and it was sweet fruit.

I thought it would be around 100ml, but when I put it in my mouth, it was a very strong drink.

The campons drank it whole, not matching its appearance.

For a moment, there were no drunkards. They were singing a lively song with a small drum and a flute.

I became very drunk while playing.

Jincheol sat up and looked at the campers who reeked of alcohol.

For some reason, a hearty laugh escaped my lips.

“Oh, why are you up?”

At that moment, a campouni appeared from the door with its back to the sunlight. It was different from the other campos.

The face was old and worn. It was Atukai. Jinjeol gave a slight nod.

“You’re here. I wish you could have joined us yesterday.”

“Haha. I have some dignity too. I’m an elder, but I can’t scream like those guys.

“Of course not. I drank moderately among the older guys, so don’t worry.”

“Then that’s good.”

Jincheol raised his hand and washed his face dry. A yawn naturally escaped his mouth. Ah

Tukai looked at Jincheol and the young camponi who still couldn’t come to their senses.

I exhaled.

“These guys haven’t come to their senses yet… We have to finish preparing by today to avoid tomorrow’s problems.

“There won’t be any.”

“Ready? What preparation?”

“What preparations? Preparations for a deal.”

Jincheol’s hand, which was half asleep and rubbing his face, stopped. Deal. Riding the river.

Coming biker merchants. A means of getting to the city.

“Are those merchants coming?”

“Actually, we should go. There’s a $#@$ we use to do business with them.”

“$#@$?”

Atukai explained using gestures with his hands and feet.

“A dock? Is there a dock where boats can dock?”

“Yes. If you wait there for one night, the Baika merchants will come to the boat. Then they

They take crops and preserved liquor, and give salt and daily necessities in return.

“Yeah.”

Jincheol jumped up. Because of that, Tobi, who had been sleeping, rolled out of bed.

The guy who fell to the floor and screamed, looked up with a bewildered expression.

“Huh, huh? What?”

“It’s time to get up.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Yeah, you little guy.”

As I approached Atukai, leaving the guy who was still not feeling well, he smiled and said,

“You rest. I can’t make the benefactor who saved the children do the work···”

“What are you talking about? Let’s just get this over with quickly.”

“Hmm. Well, then.”

“Hey, Elder? What’s going on this morning…”

Tobi, who followed him, was half-asleep and unable to come to his senses, so Atukai’s hand was on him.

He hit the guy on the head with a hammer. While the guy who got hit was struggling in pain,

Toukai started walking ahead. Jincheol picked up a shirt and strode behind him.

followed.

As I left the restaurant and slowly went down the wooden stairs, I saw various things already piled up at the base of the tree.

The dull thing was visible. The campos that were moving around diligently saw Jincheol.

Everyone raised their hands and greeted each other.

“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you.”

Jincheol waved his hand and greeted him. Then he took out his luggage from the storage room.

I followed the ponies down to the basement. The storage room was on the lowest floor, and the campos

There, they each carried a bundle the size of their upper body on their backs or shoulders and climbed the stairs.

Was going.

“Can I bring this upstairs?”

The old camponi who was asked the question nodded with a smile. Jincheol was one of the batteries.

After picking it up and roughly estimating its weight, he put two on each side and started moving.

It was small. Camponi, who saw it, laughed and clapped his hands as if it was amazing.

Jincheol lifted and moved the luggage of four or five campers at once. He also had long legs and was able to carry it.

Since the dodo was three or four times faster, it was like doing the work of more than ten people by himself.

Atukai asked with his eyes wide open.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s worth it. I guess it’s because the campo is a burden.”

“I see? You have good stamina.”

In fact, even if it is a load designed for a small camp, it is carried by four or five bags.

It was definitely not a small amount, but Jincheol did not want to show it.

I just carried one more sack. It’s funny to see someone boasting about a power that he doesn’t even know the source of.

It was because I won.

“You can take it out now.”

“Are you taking each of these?”

“That’s not true. If we do that, all the villagers will have to move in one transaction.”

The campons went back down and took out something. A frame structure that could be carried on the back like a bag.

It was. Jincheol muttered after seeing that.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Oh, do you know what this is?”

“Even though the shape is a little different, I think I know how to use it.”

“Really? It seems like it would have to be quite a mysterious object to surprise you.

Okay. Let’s see if you’re not surprised by this.”

“Yes? No, what···”

Actually, you guys are the most amazing. You are Maltese who walk on two legs. Stop talking.

As I was barely able to swallow it, Atukai walked to a corner of the bushes and started to move around.

All. I was wondering what he was doing, and then suddenly there was a vibrating sound like a whoosh.

The dock came to mind.

“oh.”

“In the city of the Esai there is a beast of burden. It is called an ox, and it is strong.

Silver is good, but you have to feed it and treat it when it gets sick. But

‘Our cow’ doesn’t have that. Thanks to the grace of the mother tree, it doesn’t eat food and gets sick.

“It won’t even work.”

“···It’s a bit much to call this a cow.”

The object that Atukai proudly showed off as ‘our cow’ was not a cow but just a cow in the air.

It was like a floating plank. Of course, it was about the size of a 5-ton truck, and what?

It was floating in the air without anything to support it, so it couldn’t be compared to a simple plank.

Couldn’t.

There was a stick sticking out of the head of that ‘airplane’ that looked like a control device or something.

As Atukai fiddled with it, the air plank slowly moved behind Atukai.

started moving along.

“Most of the luggage is carried here. But the rest is carried on the back.”

Food and alcohol taken from the storage were placed on the plank and held in place to prevent them from falling.

After tying the string, it was roughly lunchtime. Toby, who had joined in the middle, stuck out his tongue.

Pushed and panted.

“Is it hard?”

“Hehe, yeah. Isn’t it hard for Jincheol?”

It wasn’t hard. But I did get hot and sweaty because I kept moving.

Still, it was refreshing rather than difficult.

“No, shit. Am I the type of person who works hard?”

“Oh, damn it, Jincheol again.”

“Oh, shit. Shit is a bad word. A good camponey shouldn’t use it.”

Toby nodded his head, his expression not even listening. Pure.

What is the punishment for corrupting a puppy? The judgment will be given separately after death.

Oh, I should eat lunch. Jincheol thought so and lifted Tobi over his head.

We boarded the plane and headed to the restaurant.

After finishing lunch, I went back to my room and packed my bags. Actually, there was nothing I needed to pack.

All. It must have been because I came here naked. But the campos made it.

I took a simple bundle to put my clothes in. I put a sword on my belt, or rather a sword handle.

When I put it on and left the room, camps were already gathered at the bottom of the village.

“Are we leaving right away?”

Atukai, wearing slightly more active clothes than usual, nodded.

“Are you ready?”

“yes.”

“We’re ready too, Jincheol!”

Among the campers who packed their bags were Toby and his friends. They had been through such a difficult time two days ago.

Even after going through all that, the guys’ expressions were bright. How could they forget their difficult past so easily?

I thought that the power of the Camponi race might be that it could be done. My head

How nice it would be if the speed was that comfortable.

After a while, dogs carrying a heavy load on their backs centered around a plank in the air.

It started to move. A short procession passed through the village of Camponi.

The first thing I encountered was a dense bamboo forest. I cut bamboo here and brought it.

It seemed like they were building a house for the bamboo. The bamboo forest was dense, but not very large.

After that, a deep and gloomy primeval forest followed.

For a moment, I pushed through the grass and rotting leaves. At some point, the road became flat.

It’s become carbonized.

“···This is true.”

I walked over the thick layer of fallen leaves and found a solid floor with a stone texture.

The floor was black and smooth. I thought it might be asphalt, but when I looked closely, it was more like concrete.

It looked close to Crete.

“Is it strange?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Kind of.”

Atukai, who came up next to me, laughed heartily.

“The Sedalia River always flows without stopping, and the trees of the Cogante Forest survive the winter.

Even though it grows one inch at a time, the black land of the forgotten empire remains unchanged even after my entire life.

“There isn’t any.”

“···What are you talking about?”

“This is a saying left by the poet of Esai named Tokin. It is a story I heard when I was young.

“Well, it is said that these black stone paths remain all over the world.”

“Does that mean that if it remains, you don’t know who created it?”

“I know, I know. I just said it, the Forgotten Empire.”

Jincheol lowered his gaze and looked at the black road that was exposed outside. The man who was following him from the side

Toby and the others were also scurrying around, raking away fallen leaves and looking at the black floor.

“What is the Forgotten Empire?”

“Hey buddy, how would I know that much? It was just a long time ago, exactly how long ago?

There is a story that says there were such people in the old days, which may be long ago.

That’s all. They say they were mysterious people who built great cities and constructed black roads.

“Army. Anyway, now that the black path has appeared, it’s like our journey is halfway done.”

Atukai continued speaking, walking ahead leisurely.

“If you just keep going down this road, you’ll come to what you call a ‘pier.’”

Jincheol looked back and forth between the back of Atukai, who was leading the way, and the black floor. Long ago,

A relic of an ancient empire that has disappeared. It is a road that has not changed for a long time. It is strange, but

There are already similar Tyrannosaurus and two-legged puppies, and underground plants run by those puppies.

I wasn’t that surprised since I had already seen the factory.

Besides, this side is covered with fallen leaves and rotten soil, so it feels like a mysterious path.

It was even more so because it looked more like a forest path without trees.

“Jincheol, aren’t you going?”

“···I have to go.”

At Toby’s urging, Jincheol took another step. If possible, he would go to the city and learn about history.

I thought I should look into it. It just crossed my mind.

The ‘Black Road’ follows dense forests, valleys with thick shadows, and low hills.

It was long and straight, sometimes with gentle curves. Most of the road was covered with fallen leaves.

It was covered so there wasn’t much of a dark surface that could be seen, but it was wide.

There were no visible breaks in the long road.

“It’s the magic of the black path.”

“Is it magic?”

As Jincheol continued to show interest in the black road during the trip, Atukai spoke first.

“Yes. Magic that avoids fallen leaves and dust, rain and wind, sunlight and time. I am the black path.

I have never seen more fallen leaves piled up than now. It must have been a long time ago.

It is natural for decaying fallen leaves and dirt to cover and erase the road, but this ‘black

The road is one step away from such naturalness. And there are large and dangerous beasts.

Everyone is afraid to come near this road. That too is a strange magic.”

“oh···”

Now it’s a real magic. Underground smart farm and tree-mounted control

It was a much more mysterious story than the panel.

Even roads made of solid asphalt can crack and break over time without regular maintenance.

He sat down. He pushed away the rotten leaves and chased away the animals. Jincheol’s common sense.

It was a path that could never be made by road.

“This is real magic···”

Jincheol’s gaze, which had been looking at the black road, suddenly turned to the bottom of the hill ridge.

The forest sparkling green in the bright sunlight, the winding river tributaries, and the dark colors

From the gloomy valley to the blue sky with white clouds flowing by. Vast nature.

This was captured in his eyes. It was a scenery that somehow felt like true magic.

Burned and collapsed houses, concrete rubble, broken-down tanks, shell casings, and corpses littered the ground.

It was certainly so compared to the ruined city that Rudani was in.

“What are you looking at now?”

As I was staring blankly down the ridge, Toby came over and spoke to me.

Instead of answering, Jincheol ruffled the guy’s hair. The guy was angry.

As if he was barking, he barked once and ran after the line.

Jincheol’s gaze was directed to the guy’s back and the procession of campos. Their leisurely pace.

The line was as still as the scenery just a moment ago. It was a beautiful sight for a purgatory.

That’s what Cheol felt.

“Just go ahead.”

At that moment, Atukai, who had come up to Jincheol without him knowing, touched his arm and took the lead.

He went forward. Jincheol let out a deep sigh and followed him.

As the western sky began to turn a faint red, Jincheol and the camponi heard Atukai say

I was able to arrive at Dunn Pier.

The river there is a wide river that appears to be 100 meters wide and meanders in the upper reaches.

It was flowing. And on one side of the river, there was an artificial structure facing the middle of the river.

The wharf of the camponi was right there with its head sticking out.

Jincheol muttered.

“Damn, this place looks like a concrete structure again···”

The pier was a smooth, solid gray color that did not match the primeval forest we had passed through so far.

It was made. Of course, there were a lot of broken and dented places here and there, but at least

It was shaped like a boat that could dock.

Jincheol didn’t think about it any further. He asked Atukai again, but he had not heard of it until now.

This was because the only answer I could get was that it was a pier that had been used for generations.

He and the campers packed up their belongings, lit a fire, and made a campsite.

As the fire began to burn, the meal was ready. So the campers ate a hot mixed porridge.

When the meal started, Toby, who had been eating the porridge more passionately than anyone else, let the porridge fall to the floor.

He spoke while looking blankly at Jincheol, not even noticing what was happening.

“Leaving?”

“Huh? Didn’t I tell you?”

“I didn’t do it!”

“I think I’ve done this to Atukai before.”

“You didn’t tell me! I’m hearing it for the first time now!”

Jincheol shrugged his shoulders and sat down to eat.

“Then I said it now. I will follow those merchants called Byka tomorrow.”

“Why, why?”

“To find friends.”

To be exact, it was to understand this incomprehensible situation, but Jincheol went into more detail.

Rather than explaining it in detail, I wanted to fill my stomach first.

“Uh, us too, me too, Jincheol’s friend···”

But you can’t ignore the Maltese looking up at you with those clear eyes sparkling.

There wasn’t any.

“···Of course you are my friend too. The first friend I made when I came here, we risked our lives

“The friend who saved me.”

“Yeah, yeah! Then-”

“But I don’t fit in here. This forest belongs to Camponi.”

Toby’s mouth closed at Jincheol’s firm words. The guy kept his mouth shut like that.

I looked at Jincheol with my eyes wide open and teary, and then suddenly,

He turned around. Then he started eating the porridge without saying a word. Anyone could see that

It was a crooked look.

“Hi···”

Jincheol looked at Atukai, feeling his head hurt. He asked him to do something.

It was a gaze. Of course, Atukai smiled once and then focused on eating.

All I could do was do it.