Two days after becoming a bit closer to Im Chan emotionally, the infected people began showing early signs of mutation as a result of the zombie purge.
Upon hearing the news, Seongho imdiately grabbed his outer coat.
The place he arrived at was the main building where food was being distributed. It was crowded with people waiting to receive their evening als.
Seongho quickly found Ahn Hee-seob among the crowd and approached him.
"...What exactly can you do?"
Seongho repeated the sa words he had just told Ahn Hee-seob, who now wore a tense expression.
"I can treat people infected with the zombie virus. I’m asking you to open the priest's residence, which we’re using as an isolation room."
As Seongho spoke, a flash of light radiated from his palm.
The people around them gasped, and a hushed murmur spread through the crowd. They began whispering to each other, wondering if Seongho’s words were true or just a lie.
Ahn Hee-seob’s eyes narrowed.
"Are you asking to believe that? If it’s true, why haven’t you said anything until now?"
The emotions Ahn Hee-seob displayed—suspicion, distrust, and faint hope—were emotions Seongho was already familiar with.
Seongho, in contrast to Ahn Hee-seob’s complex state, responded calmly.
"If I had told you earlier, would you have believed ?"
"Well..."
Ahn Hee-seob closed his mouth, suddenly aware of how he had reacted, keeping silent.
Seongho, however, kept his resolve, continuing with his words.
"If you don’t believe , watch for yourself. When the mutation symptoms appear, you’ll see for yourself whether my power is real or just a lie."
A long silence hung in the air as Ahn Hee-seob hesitated.
Seongho let out a deliberately exaggerated sigh and pushed him further.
"So, can I treat the infected?"
A loud gulp echoed as Ahn Hee-seob, his face a mix of distrust and hope, stood up.
"If there’s a chance to save them, we should try."
Finally, the door to the priest’s residence, which was being used as the isolation room, opened.
A crowd, filled with curiosity, doubt, and anticipation, rushed toward the priest's residence.
Thanks to that, Seongho was able to treat the infected in front of dozens of witnesses with little effort.
Soon, he was bombarded with an overwhelming amount of ssages.
"1 Reputation Point earned."
"mbers of the world witnessed the Fate Pioneer’s actions."
"mbers of the world are affected by the Fate Pioneer."
"The Fate Pioneer’s influence has slightly increased."
"Corruption Score decreased by 7 points."
"Corruption Score decreased by 5 points."
"Corruption Score decreased by 5 points."
...
As Seongho skimd through the ssages, the people who had been infected with the zombie virus slowly began to regain consciousness.
Their families and friends rushed to their sides.
For those who had thought they would have to part with their loved ones forever, this mont was nothing short of a miracle.
They shed tears as they embraced their family and friends again.
anwhile, Seongho, who had gifted them this miracle, was lost in thought.
‘I tried to experint, just in case, to see if the virus could be extracted without direct contact...’
But it wasn’t very effective.
There was a feeling that the virus was retreating, but it wasn’t as cleanly separated as when his ability was used with direct contact.
‘This thod won’t work for long-range attacks.’
It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be done.
Seongho clicked his tongue and opened his status window.
‘Nine people were infected during the process of clearing the barriers.’
As he treated them, his reputation increased, and his Corruption Score dropped dramatically to the 100s.
‘Just like in the hospital, when there are witnesses, the effect is good.’
Now, the next task was to widen the scope.
Seongho observed the ecstatic people around him and Ahn Hee-seob, who stood stiffly among them.
Seongho purposely made so noise and raised his voice.
"Now that the treatnt is done, I’m going to rest."
Before anyone could stop him, Seongho quickly walked away, descending the stairs.
But before he could leave the priest’s residence, he stopped.
"Wait, Han Seongho, just a mont!"
Ahn Hee-seob, who had rushed down the stairs, urgently called out to him.
Seongho turned around with his usual calm expression.
Ahn Hee-seob’s request was simple.
"So... you want to have you treat ? After intentionally infecting yourself?"
Seongho replied, deliberately taken aback.
Thinking back to how Ahn Hee-seob had reacted when he first ntioned the ability to cure the virus, it was a natural response.
Ahn Hee-seob knew this, and yet he did not back down from repeating his request.
"Not just , but everyone in the camp. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m asking you, please."
He bowed his head deeply, and desperation was evident in his voice.
He was also carefully watching Seongho, trying to gauge if his request might offend him.
But Seongho wasn’t offended at all.
In fact, he was quite satisfied with how things were progressing.
‘Ahn Hee-seob is soone with a strong desire for immunity.’
He had shown his treatnt ability openly in front of such a person, so it was expected that there would be so sort of reaction.
And indeed, the expected reaction ca.
Thanks to that, Seongho was able to easily confirm the immunity of the people in the hospital.
In the hospital, they hadn’t had ti to check, but when considering the future, the number of awakened people should be kept to a minimum.
That way, when ‘it’ appeared, the damage to humanity could be minimized.
Of course, once they started selecting awakened ones, risks would follow.
But Seongho believed it was worth taking those risks.
Looking at Ahn Hee-seob, who was nervously watching him, Seongho spoke up.
"You’re not asking to do this for free, are you? I’ve already done enough for you."
Seongho didn’t plan to do any more free work, even if this situation was what he had hoped for.
He decided to hear how much Ahn Hee-seob thought his services were worth.
"...Tell what you want, and I’ll do my best to et your request."
Ahn Hee-seob swallowed nervously, unable to hide his tension.
anwhile, Seongho smiled brightly.
---
The treatnt of the camp mbers and the infected was carried out according to a thorough plan.
- I can only treat a limited number of people at once.
- If anyone purposely infects themselves before their turn, they will not be treated.
The people in the camp, now excited about the possibility of checking their immunity, hurriedly went to find zombies.
Since they had to wait for the mutation symptoms to appear, Seongho headed back to his quarters.
"Ah, Seongho."
Just as he was about to enter the convent, he ran into Jeong Han-su.
Jeong Han-su imdiately stepped back and made way for him, even bowing slightly.
‘He’s doing that again.’
Jeong Han-su had been excessively polite toward Seongho for a while now.
Every ti they t, he would bow, repeatedly thanking Seongho for saving him and the people at the cathedral.
While politeness isn’t a bad thing, it made Seongho uncomfortable, so he usually avoided him.
Today was no different.
Seongho tried to pass by as quickly as possible to avoid further interaction.
But just as he passed Jeong Han-su, a word popped into his mind.
‘Quest...’
He stopped in his tracks after two steps.
Then, he opened the Pioneer’s Cradle again.
This ti, it wasn’t a question-and-answer chapter but a chapter dedicated to a Pioneer-exclusive quest.
[Recruit Followers]
- Make non-immune survivors sincerely ntion the follower keywords.
- Keywords: believe, trust, follow, obey, loyal.
- Success reward: Character Information
This was the only quest among the Fate Pioneer-exclusive quests that had an ambiguous reward.
It wasn’t a stat boost, nor was it a useful item.
‘Character information...’
What was this supposed to be used for?
But since it was a Pioneer-exclusive quest, it might have so use.
He quickly dismissed the thought and decided to try it.
‘If I fail, I’ll just be considered a madman, right?’
It didn’t matter—he wouldn’t see these people again once he left the camp.
Resolving himself, Seongho turned around.
"Out of the blue, but..."
As soon as he spoke, he knew the success of the quest would be confird.
"Would you believe if I said I ca to save this world?"
Until that mont, Jeong Han-su was still bowing politely, not raising his head.
---
Back in his quarters, Seongho examined his system window.
[Follower List (1)]
- Jeong Han-su
At first, it seed like a simple quest attempt, but the success ca with a bit of surprise.
[Follower 1]
- Na: Jeong Han-su
- Age: 58
- Status: Worships the Fate Pioneer. Believes that the Fate Pioneer is both the savior and the ssenger of the gods, and is prepared to offer his life if necessary.
- Location: Myeongdong Cathedral
‘ssenger of the gods...’
Seongho was at a loss for words every ti he saw this status.
It was hard to believe that soone could beco like this just because he saved his life.
But considering the special circumstances Jeong Han-su had gone through, it made so sense.
What caught Seongho’s attention more than the status information was the "Location."
When he clicked on the location "Myeongdong Cathedral," a holographic map appeared.
A red dot marked the exact location of the cathedral on the map.
The location of the follower was being provided to Seongho in real-ti.
At first, it seed like a strange reward, but the mont he clicked the red dot on the map, all doubts vanished.
[Move to Follower (Jeong Han-su)]
[Deliver to Follower (Jeong Han-su)]
The two absurd options made Seongho smile wryly.
The reward for the follower quest was the ability to overco physical distances.
It allowed Seongho to move or send items to a follower from far away.
‘This is insane.’
The only downside was the high cost in reputation points.
But if it allowed him to ignore physical distance, it was well worth the cost.
This was more than enough motivation to gather more followers.
Taking a deep breath, Seongho closed the system window and checked his reputation.
‘Finally, my reputation exceeds 50.’
He could now ask about the system administrator or the issues regarding the Corruption Score.
What should he check first? The decision didn’t take long.
‘Unfortunately, I’ll put that off for now.’
After finishing things at the cathedral, he had to head to Seogang-dong, where the New Humanity Society was.
This place, where there was only one awakened person, was different from the other areas.
Seongho decided to address the imdiate issue first.
Not worried about anyone watching, he comfortably opened the Pioneer’s Cradle again.
“How many awakened people are there in the New Humanity Society camp?”
"To answer your question, 15 reputation points are required. Would you like to use them?"
Instead of clicking yes right away, Seongho decided to rephrase the question.
Ten, twenty, then fifteen.
By presenting specific numbers, he guided the answer.
With a cost of 4 reputation points, Seongho confird that there were 12 awakened people in the New Humanity Society.
‘Damn, that’s a lot.’
To analyze the power structure, Seongho knew that the current reputation points wouldn’t be enough, and he would need more.
He sighed deeply as he decided to refine his next question.
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