As everyone rested, each of them took the time to check their Systems. Keeping in mind what they would buy later while purchasing what they could. Jang-book had sold his sword and added the Coins to purchase a hammer worth 15,000 Coins.
A weapon better suited to his fighting style.
The twins held off on purchasing any weapons. Instead, they purchased the Commoner's Armor.
Im-hee on the other hand, purchased four bottles of Blood Burner. While keeping everything else at the back of her mind.
"Is anyone awake?" Min-ho asked, his voice cutting through the thick silence.
"I am," Im-hee was the first to respond.
It had taken a second before anyone else spoke.
"Can't sleep," Dok-su said.
"Me too," Ji-su added.
Jang-book hesitated, still feeling out of place. He sighed, then answered.
"Can't sleep either," he said with a flat tone.
"Okay," Min-ho said, then he took in a deep breath. "I just wanted to say that there shouldn't be any bad blood between anyone. Having negative feelings toward each other will only get us killed. We're all in this together for the time being, and I would like it if we didn't do anything to compromise each other's safety."
He paused.
"I know what having a Second Tier in our ranks means. But if we don't tell Gun-hee, there'd be none the wiser."
He propped himself on one elbow as he prepped for the next part of what he wanted to say.
"If any of you would like, you could leave this group once we run into another. But as of now, please try your best to work as a team."
Once he was done talking, quiet flooded the room. His words were mostly aimed toward Dok-su, so he hoped that he would get a response from him.
"If you're worried I'd snitch on Jang-book to get a payday, then don't. One of the reasons I'm even here is because I hate that bastard, so you can cool your boosters," Dok-su said, practically causing a sigh of relief to escape Min-ho.
A faint smile curled on Min-ho's face, then he laid back on the floor.
"Good then," he said, and no one else said anything.
Jang-book felt a hint of annoyance at the whole matter, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Yet he did know that if anyone ratted him out, he'd make sure that person would die a painful death before he did.
As Min-ho laid, he kept thinking about the group. Now having let out everything that was bothering him, he felt a small sense of relief regarding them.
Yet he couldn't shake the dread in the pit of his stomach regarding his Affinity.
He shook the thought off and tried to forget it for now. There were more important things to think about.
"Can I say something?" Ji-su's voice emanated, pulling everyone's attention.
"Of course," Min-ho said, anxious to hear what he had to say.
'Please don't be about Jang-book,' he thought.
"I… I uh, I'm worried… about our upcoming journey," Ji-su said, piquing Min-ho's interest.
"What about it?" Min-ho inquired, once again propping himself up on one elbow as he listened.
"The distance separating Z-Streamers from the Heart, is usually 500 kilometers," Ji-su said, his voice shaken.
"And?" Min-ho asked.
"Making it there shouldn't be a problem if we walked at least eight hours a day, but with variables like the Fog, the Events and Spectors… I uh… I'm afraid it won't be enough," Ji-su said, his words a catalyst for dread to take root.
Min-ho frowned as he contemplated what Ji-su had said. Funny enough, this was what had been on his mind.
The group needed to get to the Heart within 30 days at all cost. They had already spent this day on that Event from hell. And though the sun was still high in the sky, with a lot of time left before darkness, he doubted anyone here was fit for travels as of now.
They were now down to 29 days.
Which sounded substantial, but factoring in Ji-su's concerns, reaching Heart would be an impossible task.
"Do you think it's possible to avoid all Events and as many Spectors as possible?" Im-hee asked.
"Since the Events return every four days, they shouldn't be a big issue," Ji-su said.
"Unless one of us gets badly injured and has to waste time recovering," Dok-su chimed in.
"We'll have to avoid the most dangerous Events. And if there's only that, then we'll miss that set of Events."
Everyone went quiet.
"That's a lot of Coins wasted though," Dok-su said, his tone somber.
"Our safety is more important," Min-ho said.
"Our safety depends on those Coins," Jang-book finally spoke up. "None of us can level up without them."
Everyone paused as his words sank in.
They didn't want to admit it, but he was right. If they wanted to grow, they needed as much Coins as possible.
This was most crucial when one considered the fact that the Spectors would only get stronger the further into the city they went.
Avoiding the Events and Spectors would enable them travel faster even while factoring in the Fog, but would halt their growth.
And if they delayed and spent time killing Spectors and completing Events. They would grow stronger but possibly wouldn't make it in time.
It was a conundrum which carried a heavy consequence.
Not to mention the various detours they would have to make thanks to the uneven layout of the world.
No matter how Min-ho looked at it, they were going to lose. Death was imminent.
This would have been a solvable problem if they had a much larger group. But that wasn't the case. And because they went for that Event, they missed any opportunities they had to gather more Z-Streamers into their team.
This was an oversight on Min-ho's part, which made him feel like shit.
"There's always a chance to find more Z-Streamers on our way to Heart," Im-hee's gentle and soft voice echoed, pulling Min-ho out of his thoughts.
"Most of the Z-Streamers are already ahead of us. And those that aren't have likely been killed off by the Events," Ji-su said, stating the cold hard facts.
"But there is a chance," Im-hee insisted, and Ji-su hesitated.
"I… I guess," Ji-su said.
Min-ho and the others remained quiet.
Though he appreciated Im-hee's optimism, he wanted a more practical solution to their dilemma.
As he pondered, a sudden noise disrupted his thought process.
GRUMBLE!