A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 7. Player Perks

Thinking back, even though a whole day had passed since I had possessed this body and eaten nothing, I didn’t feel hungry.

I hadn’t even thought about eating, nor had I gone to the bathroom.

The sudden darkness in TaejongTaese’s expression when meals were mentioned also caught my attention.

“Come to think of it, you were still here.”

Perhaps because my gaze shifted to TaejongTaese, the Commander finally noticed TaejongTaese’s presence, as if only just realizing someone else was there.

When their eyes met, TaejongTaese immediately knelt down in front of the Commander.

He was probably going to say that he was deceived, just as I had advised.

“I-I really didn’t know!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! I was just so hungry… I’m such a fool! I’m a worthless bastard!!”

…Ah, this guy can’t speak English either.

“I’m truly sorry…!”

Although TaejongTaese’s apology lacked context, his sincerity seemed to come through, as the Commander fell silent, wearing a slightly pensive expression.

Even though it was infuriating that someone came claiming to be his son, the Commander might be thinking that this kid couldn’t have done much, especially since he was deceived as well.

Besides, the one who did the deceiving had died a short while ago, as if struck by divine retribution.

It would be awkward to punish the remaining companions.

If I asked for forgiveness, he would probably grant it…

But if I forgave this guy and asked the Commander to let him stay here, it might count against my three rewards.

Fortunately, the Commander likely didn’t want to send TaejongTaese outside either.

There could be problems if this guy went out and recklessly talked about the illegitimate child.

And it would be troublesome if it became known that the impersonator kid who came here had met a bad end.

I spoke cautiously.

“Um, if you followed us because you were hungry, why don’t you eat here before you go?”

Asking the Commander directly risked deducting from my reward count, but indirectly suggesting it like this wouldn’t.

It was a passive request, implying that I hoped he would understand and do what I wanted.

The Commander looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.

“Are you protecting that child?”

“It’s cold and he’s hungry out there…”

“…”

When I, who had been a cold and hungry orphan until a short while ago, said that, the Commander seemed to resonate with it. He helped TaejongTaese up and told him to join us for a meal.

“I have many questions about how you’ve been and what happened to Luna Moon, but let’s talk in detail after dinner. I need to step out for a while. There are urgent matters I need to attend to if you’re going to stay here.”

When I played the game, the Commander was always busy, so I rarely had the chance to meet him alone.

If he was going to come to see me again tonight, I needed to think about the second reward.

“When dinner is ready, a servant will come to inform you. Wait quietly… and if anyone disrespects or doubts you, feel free to deal with them as you see fit.”

With those words, the Commander left the room again.

TaejongTaese let out a long sigh of relief as the tension left his body.

“I should have studied English more.”

“It’s more natural for a kid to speak like that than to be fluent.”

There were many kids who hadn’t received proper education since the apocalypse, so it was rarer for people like me or Safe8 to speak properly.

“By the way… do you not feel hunger either?”

TaejongTaese blinked at my question.

“Oh, the part about being hungry was just an excuse. I was wondering if only you could feel hunger.”

“By ‘only you,’ do you mean Safe8 didn’t feel hunger either?”

“Yes, it seems players don’t feel hunger at all…”

As TaejongTaese continued, his expression turned somber.

“…You haven’t had a meal in this world yet, have you? You’ll understand once you eat.”

What?

Was the taste just horribly bad?

Well, considering the severe food shortages in this world…

Before long, a servant appeared, and guided us to the dining area where only TaejongTaese and I were seated.

The servant said, “His Excellency will join you late for dinner,” and then disappeared from the dining room.

TaejongTaese looked at the food on the table with a gaze as if he was staring at garbage.

‘Why is he reacting like that?’

Contrary to TaejongTaese’s disdainful look, the food on the table seemed fine.

Of course, in this post-apocalyptic world, saying it was abundant would be a lie.

Most of the meat was from alien creatures outside the zone, which might be a bit off-putting.

One of the biggest problems in the Apocalypse world was food shortages.

In the game, most safe zones solved their food problems with monster meat or plants that grew from monsters outside the zones, and rarely with vegetables or fruits harvested after subjugating the outside.

The reason bodies were disposed of outside was also because monsters needed to grow a bit to produce meat.

Everyone knew that monsters grew by eating corpses, but they had no choice.

To survive, they had to eat.

Some NPCs showed reluctance towards meat, but no residents found it strange to eat monster meat.

Some zones were self-sufficient within their boundaries, but that was impossible in the particularly cold Cola Zone.

Perhaps there was a small greenhouse in the Commander’s place.

Eating vegetables or fruits other than monster by-products here was a privilege of high-ranking officials.

The food in front of us consisted of cornbread, potatoes, meat tied with thread and boiled, and a salad mixed with at least two kinds of vegetables.

For a meal in this world, it was excellent.

Yet TaejongTaese still looked distressed.

‘Could he be one of those types who are bothered by the fact that the meat came from monsters that ate corpses?’

But TaejongTaese was moving the meat to his plate without touching the vegetables.

Was it really a taste issue… I thought as I put some salad in my mouth.

“…?”

The ‘meal’ in this world exceeded my expectations.

* * *

After finishing the meal.

Or rather, I’m not sure if it could be called a ‘meal.’

Anyway, TaejongTaese and I were guided to a place with soft sofas and served refreshments.

But neither of us touched the refreshments.

I spoke with a serious face.

“This isn’t just about taste. It’s more like ‘absorbing’ rather than ‘eating.'”

The reason I said this was because.

As soon as the food touched my mouth, I felt a warm energy spreading and being absorbed into my body.

It was the same whether it was water or meat.

It was just like in the game, where food turned into blue particles and disappeared instead of being truly eaten.

“Did both you and Safe8 experience this?”

“Yes, we had dinner with the Commander last night. We were both surprised and watched the other NPCs eat, but they ate normally. Safe8 told me not to panic and to pretend to eat by chewing, so we managed to avoid suspicion.”

“I see…”

‘Was there really a need to implement something like this, just like in the game?’

There were too many strange things.

A body that didn’t feel hunger.

Even though I tried to ‘absorb’ some food a little while ago, I didn’t feel full or anything.

‘Then it’s not that we don’t feel hunger, but that we have bodies that don’t need to eat, to begin with.’

Even more strangely, though I didn’t feel full after eating.

Another phenomenon occurred.

“The small cuts on my fingers have disappeared.”

My fingertips had blistered while digging up Luna Moon’s grave with my hands last night, but after ‘eating,’ they were perfectly healed.

TaejongTaese looked surprised, as if he didn’t know about this phenomenon.

“Really?”

“Did this not happen to you?”

“Um…”

TaejongTaese thought for a moment and then shook his head.

“Actually, I don’t know. I didn’t have any injuries to begin with…”

“Then we should test it.”

“Test?”

I picked up a fork from the table and stabbed it hard into my hand.

“Crazy!!”

I ignored TaejongTaese’s horrified shout and shoved a cookie from the table into my mouth.

As soon as the cookie touched my mouth, it disappeared and I felt the warm energy spreading into my body.

“…Oh.”

After a moment, I saw the wound healing.

The speed was a bit slow, but it confirmed that eating healed injuries.

“Alright, now you stab yourself.”

“What?!”

“We need to see if it’s an ability only I have, or if others have it too.”

“N-no, but with a fork…”

TaejongTaese hesitated for a long time but finally managed to stab his hand enough to cause a wound.

He whimpered a lot and put a cookie in his mouth, and I saw the wound on his hand slowly begin to heal.

“This is a common player perk.”

“A perk?”

“Not needing to eat in the Apocalypse is a huge advantage. When the second apocalypse begins, this kind of normal food will be hard to come by. Hunting monsters for food is no easy task either. But we don’t need to eat unless we need to heal injuries. Just bring the food to our mouths and it heals. I don’t know how much food is needed to heal what kind of injury, but…”

Eating food to heal the body.

It was natural in the game, but to see it applied in reality.

I thought they had thrown us into the game without any perks.

But it turns out, players were given special privileges from the start.

‘But it’s not

a perfect privilege.’

‘Taste’ is an important aspect of life.

But players had become beings who couldn’t taste food.

We had to eat only for the purpose of healing.

Such beings were more like ‘tools’ than ‘living beings.’

‘I thought there was a reason we were possessed.’

The status window that only opened when approaching the ‘secret of the apocalypse.’

The perks given only to me, the conqueror of all zones.

And the ability to heal the body through food.

Combining all these facts.

There was clearly a purpose behind possessing us.

‘Who did this… for what reason. Why choose shut-ins like us?’

Whether it was the secret of the apocalypse or the true purpose of our possession.

We would find out as we continued to conquer the game.

Having successfully tackled the illegitimate child issue, and knowing we had efficient bodies, I decided to be satisfied with that for now.

I thought so.

Late at night, the Commander came to see me, looked at the tips of my fingers, and said with a trembling voice.

“This healing ability… you really are Luna Moon’s child.”