## Chapter 81 – Free Range
‘Hmm.’
I sat in the shade by the coast, watching the other students.
The distance between us was now only about 30 minutes.
They were coming towards us, and we were going towards them. The gap that had once been hours was now close enough to touch.
‘Their condition has improved a lot. They still look tired, though.’
Unlike the women, who had eaten well, the men had survived the typhoon period on half a banana a day.
As a result, they had become skinny, dried anchovies by the time the typhoon ended.
Even Lee Min-hyuk, an athlete, had lost muscle.
They were now wandering around the coast, eating diligently and seemed to have regained some energy, but once the human body’s balance is disrupted, it’s not easy to recover.
‘They need to eat well and rest well.’
But it was terribly hot here, they had no time to rest, and most of what they were scavenging was snacks like cookies.
Perhaps that’s why, from a certain point on, the men went into the forest every night.
It seemed to be to catch chickens or rabbits.
‘I doubt they’ll succeed with that stamina.’
That’s what I thought at first, but surprisingly, they did succeed, and once they even showed us a chicken they had boiled and eaten.
After that, the men were busy sleeping when the sun was high in the sky.
They were active from early evening until morning, and slept from noon, when the sun was hottest, until sunset.
‘From my perspective, it’s gotten better. It’s become easier to hunt the women.’
Whatever the reason, it’s hard to approach when the guard is up.
But they’re busy sleeping during the day, and at night they leave the women on the coast to go hunting…
It was like asking me to sleep with their women.
‘Well, whatever about the other students.’
I lowered my binoculars and looked towards the forest.
Oink-
I had been hearing pig noises for a while. I got up from my seat and looked into the bushes, and saw a wild boar eating a snake.
I don’t know who added the wild boar to this island, but the purpose was clear.
‘They’re scared of going into the forest because of the snakes, so they chose a wild boar, which is a natural enemy and has a good appetite.’
In some ways, they’ve used their heads.
Rustle.
The wild boar turned around and looked at me, startled by the noise I accidentally made. Immediately, the wild boar was startled and disappeared into the forest.
Basically, wild boars are afraid of people. So much so that if they encounter a person on the street in the middle of the night, they will run away first.
‘There are some that attack, but that’s a very special case.’
Looking back, it could be said that they used their heads well.
Anyway, the forest has shade and is cool, so it’s perfect for escaping the heat.
If they could just get rid of those troublesome snakes, they could roam the island much more comfortably.
‘They’re not complete idiots after all.’
I was observing the other students and the animals, organizing my thoughts, when.
“Master.”
Lee Hyun-ji approached and spoke to me.
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to go on a long-distance farming trip… would that be okay?”
“Far?”
“Yes.”
Unlike her very cautious question, her eyes flickered with a firm and eerie energy.
I instinctively sensed it. The time had finally come.
Lee Hyun-ji’s stamina, which had been pushed to its limits during the typhoon, had now fully recovered.
So now she wanted to start moving.
To achieve her purpose.
‘Then I have to let her go. But before that.’
I went and bought a backpack and packed it full of essentials and food.
I also put in medical supplies. Of course, only light things that wouldn’t hinder her movement.
Then I put the backpack on her shoulders myself. Lee Hyun-ji blinked in confusion as I adjusted the strap length.
“Uh…”
“Lee Hyun-ji.”
“Yes, yes!”
“From now on, you don’t have to ask for permission every time, so feel free to go. Don’t worry too much if you think you’ll be late.”
Then I pointed to Han Ji-won, who was looking at us with half-closed eyes next to me.
“And if you need something and I’m not around or look busy, talk to Han Ji-won here. I’ll leave her in charge of food and essentials, so come and get them anytime.”
Then Lee Hyun-ji hesitated and barely said.
“T, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She’s going to take care of the men who are interfering with my hunt, so I’m more grateful.
“Take care of yourself. Don’t overdo it, and be sure to tell me if you need help.”
Then I hugged Lee Hyun-ji, who was just fidgeting with her hands, and patted her on the back.
Then Lee Hyun-ji’s eyes welled up with tears, as if she was about to cry.
“Sniff. N, no one on the island has ever treated me so warmly… T, thank you. I’ll be sure to repay this kindness.”
“You don’t have to repay it. Instead, I won’t tolerate you getting hurt or dying without my permission. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Lee Hyun-ji bowed deeply and hurried away as if running away.
Han Ji-won, who had seen the scene with me, said a word as she passed by.
“…Woo-jin, you’re a good actor.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I noticed it because it’s me, but other people would think you were sincerely caring.”
“I was sincerely caring.”
“Whatever you say.”
Then I stared at Lee Hyun-ji’s back.
-T, thank you. I’ll be sure to repay this kindness.
Gratitude and kindness…
Suddenly, Park So-young and Kim Yeon-joo came to mind.
The two people who had worked together as flight attendants would shake their heads as if they were fed up whenever Lee Hyun-ji was mentioned.
-Hyun-ji sunbae? She doesn’t know gratitude, and she’s never said that word once. As soon as she turns around, she forgets all the kindness she’s received. Sometimes I wonder if she’s even human.
-She always thought she could use any man as long as she spread her legs. She always thought of them as tools to satisfy her desires.
…For that Lee Hyun-ji to sincerely say thank you.
“Woo-jin, is something good happening?”
“No.”
“You’re smiling? And it’s quite eerie.”
I erased the smile that I had unknowingly put on my face. I moved my mouth around to organize my expression.
‘Anyway, I should pray for the souls of the boys. It’s a disaster they brought on themselves, so they should deal with it.’
Judging by the atmosphere, I don’t think she’ll just kill them, but it’s not my business.
Anyway, I saw hope thanks to Lee Hyun-ji.
Our classmates, who are so arrogant and full of themselves…
If I keep taming them, they might change like Lee Hyun-ji someday.
‘I’ll have to tame them enough to forget all their elegant habits and arrogance. I’ll have to help them live like commoners without them even knowing it.’
No, maybe I don’t even need to tame them on purpose.
Just like they did on Earth, I’ll just live the way I want, and they’ll be crawling on the ground on their own.
They’ll take it for granted that they’re living under my thumb, watching my every move.
‘I just need to give them tasks to do from time to time. I just need to give them appropriate rewards and whips so they can live like commoners.’
It’s literally free range.
I just need to let them know who the owner is and where to eat.
That’s all the livestock needs to know.
Then they’ll gradually be tamed, and once they get used to a life of being ordered and instructed, then they’re done for.
Humans are creatures trapped in the shackles of habit.
No matter how nobly they were born, if their habits are those of a slave, then their future will also be that of a slave, and there is no other future.
‘That’s right, my hunting dog has taken a leap forward for her purpose, so should I start taking my own?’
I sat down and recalled what happened yesterday.
When I slept with Kang Hye-rin yesterday.
I tried to hold out on my own, but she was so strong that I ended up getting help from Hyun-ji and Seo-hee.
‘I think it would be good if I could get stronger than I am now.’
In fact, I vaguely knew how to increase my strength.
+
[Daily Quest 2] Complete one of the given quests.
Choice 1: Catch 10 or more clams
Choice 2: Obtain 600ml or more of drinking water
Choice 3: Make clam soup with a grade of E or higher
Reward: 2 points + bonus points depending on score
+
When I cleared ‘Choice 2’ with an S grade, my stamina stat increased.
So if I clear items 1 and 3, wouldn’t that increase other stats?
‘Of course, it’s just a possibility.’
It was worth a try.
So I did the math.
‘It took 40 2L bottles of water to clear one daily quest. That means it takes 80L of water to clear one quest.’
The minimum amount of water needed to complete the quest is 600ml.
80L is about 133 times that amount.
So I can infer that the other optional quests require a similar amount.
‘I can’t do anything about cooking, so the only thing I can try is Choice 1, catching 10 or more clams.’
Theoretically, if I want to get an S grade, the required amount is as follows.
10 clams × 133 times = 1,330 clams
Since one clam weighs about 100g on average, that means I have to catch about 133kg in terms of weight.
“Crazy, that’s a lot. Even if I let all the kids loose, it would take them days to clear that.”
But unlike the curse words coming out of my mouth, my head was at peace.
Since I have a store window anyway, I can just buy whatever I need.
I quickly checked the price of clams in the store window.
+
[Clams 10kg]
8% discount!
187,200 won -〉 172,224 won
+
About 170,000 won for 10kg.
If I buy 133kg, it would cost a whopping 2.3 million won.
Just to clear one quest.
If I clear all the daily quests, it would cost me 23 million won.
‘It’s really a waste of money.’
The reason I knew about this but didn’t try it was because of this astronomical cost.
To waste tens of millions of won just to clear one daily quest.
‘But it doesn’t matter now.’
I’ve been struggling because I didn’t have any money, but these days I’m making 25 million won a day.
I can now spend that amount with a smile.
‘Then shall we try it?’
[You have completed ‘Daily Quest 2’.]
[2 points have been awarded.]
[An additional 5 points have been awarded as an S grade achievement bonus.]
First of all, I succeeded in achieving an S grade.
Actually, I didn’t doubt that I would succeed. I bought 2.3 million won worth of clams, so it would be a problem if I didn’t get an S grade.
‘Now the key is whether or not it gives me other stats.’
[You have completed ‘Daily Quest 2’.]
[2 points have been awarded.]
And then a notification message appeared.
[Strength increases by 0.1 as an S grade achievement bonus.]
‘Success.’
A different stat than stamina has increased.
It’s strength.
To be honest, I didn’t know whether agility or strength would increase.
It would be best if strength came out, but even if agility came out, it wouldn’t matter.
The important thing is whether or not I can receive other stats as a reward.
‘Strength 0.1. Ah, because there’s a [Quest Reward Bonus], it’s actually increased by 0.2.’
+
〈Status Window〉
Name: Jung Woo-jin
Strength: 12.2 (+0.2)
Agility: 11
Stamina: 25.5
Physical Resistance: 12%
+
A decimal point appeared in the strength stat, increasing it by 0.2.
I decided to check the probability while I was at it.
[Strength increases by 0.1 as an S grade achievement bonus.]
[Strength increases by 0.1 as an S grade achievement bonus.]
At first, it seemed to be coming out well, so I thought the probability was higher? But like a beginner’s luck, the strength stat reward that had been coming out well suddenly stopped coming out.
‘It seems like the probability is about 30% for this one too.’
I had already expected this result, so I wasn’t disappointed.
There was no reason why only this one should be special among the optional quests.
So I was clearing the daily quests one by one without much thought.
Suddenly, instead of the strength stat, something completely different popped out.
[Daily purchase amount has exceeded 20 million won.]
[A gift will be given.]
‘Oh. A new gift? What should I open this time?’
[Due to an event, the lock on certain products will be temporarily unlocked.]
[You will be able to purchase 〈Random Boxes〉 for 10 minutes.]
‘Huh?’
I looked closely at the hologram in front of me.
I closed my eyes and opened them, checking it several times.
Suddenly, the notification was updated and I was taken to the purchase page.
+
[Random Box]
Grade: Normal
Price: 1 million won
Description: A mysterious box filled with all sorts of junk. No one knows what will come out. Single use.
+
‘A random box?’
It was the moment I encountered the second random box since falling on this island.
