The newcomers were amazed at how much better the situation inside the building was than they had expected.

Kim Ho-won spoke up.

"This place... there are so many people gathered here. How... The food supply seems plentiful too… How is this possible?"

"...I wasn't here from the beginning, but from what I've heard, Seo Yu-ju led the people here and fought off the monsters."

"......"

The man fell silent after hearing my words. Hyun-jin's reaction wasn't much different.

Kang Iseo, surprised that the situation here was different from her expectations, muttered to herself.

"...Shit, we almost got screwed just leaving."

"Noona... please watch your mouth... there are others here."

"It's fine, considering we were suddenly thrown into this world from Earth, it's impossible not to swear. I curse a lot too, hahaha..."

"Oh... well, that's not exactly why I swear, but still, thanks for saying that."

"Noona... why are you speaking informally to someone you just met? Have you forgotten about basic manners?"

"You brat!"

Thunk!

"Argh! Why'd you hit me?! That hurts!"

"Because I wanted it to hurt! How dare you talk back to your noona?"

Hyun-jin and Kang Iseo seemed quite close. Kim Ho-won, apparently accustomed to this, showed no reaction.

Honestly, I didn't mind her speaking informally. In this place, that was nothing—there were people who would pull a knife on you as soon as they met you, so this was nothing in comparison.

'...She seems capable, so getting along with her wouldn't be a bad idea.'

"...Ahem, well, if my informal speech offended you, my bad... No, I mean... sorry. Anyway, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty-six." (MC speaking)

"Oh, we're the same age~ You can speak informally to me too. That works, right?"

'Well... she's easy to read.'

Personally, people like her don't suit me well.

I'm the type to separate my words from my true thoughts, whereas people like her just say whatever is on their mind without a filter.

I find it difficult to deal with such people.

'But the biggest reason is that it's exhausting.'

"No, I prefer speaking formally... Can I call you Iseo-ssi? You can speak informally to me if you'd like. I don't mind."

"Are you shy? From the looks of you, I'd have guessed you were a lady-killer back on Earth."

'...Is this woman insane?'

It seemed like she didn't filter her thoughts before speaking.

Hyun-jin put a hand on his forehead and said, "...Hyung, please understand. Noona isn't a bad person, she's just... got a few screws loose."

"Hahaha... It's fine. She's just straightforward."

"See? That's exactly why I said he looks like a lady-killer! He’s so kind! Whether it's genuine or not, that attitude, combined with his looks, would totally work on most women!"

"...Knock it off, you troublemaker. How is it that you haven't changed at all, even in this place?"

"Come on, old man, am I wrong? Just look at him, you can tell at a glance."

Ignoring her, I turned to Ho-won and asked, "Did you two know each other back on Earth?"

"Hmm... well..."

Before Ho-won could answer, she jumped in.

"He helped me a lot when I left the orphanage and was trying to live on my own. We were close back on Earth too."

As soon as Kang Iseo said that, the atmosphere changed. I hurriedly apologized.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it, it doesn't bother me."

"...I don’t know if this will comfort you, but I also grew up in an orphanage, so I understand your struggles. It must have been tough."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She clearly hadn't expected me to say that. Even Hyun-jin and Ho-won looked shocked.

"...We have something in common, huh? I take back what I said about you being a womanizer. I was just joking. You’re not upset, are you?"

"Hahaha. Not at all, if anything, I’m flattered."

"Pfft... Actually, I take back what I just said. You totally seem like a womanizer."

"Anyway, this is where you'll be staying. Food is distributed at regular intervals, with priority given to those who go out on expeditions."

"Expeditions? What do you mean by that?"

"Just like how we went out today, we plan to conduct regular expeditions. The goals are to kill monsters and grow stronger, secure food, and find clues to clear the tutorial... but since we gathered a lot of food today, food won’t be an issue for a while."

"...Hmm."

"I personally hope you’ll join us on these expeditions, but it’s not mandatory. Also, since you’re older, feel free to speak informally to me."

"...Thanks, I’ll do that. I think we will participate in the expeditions. We understand that clearing the tutorial is necessary, but I do have one question."

I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to ask—probably about what he had seen here. Most of the people weren’t doing anything except accepting food handouts.

"From what I’ve seen here, most of the people seem to have given up on fighting monsters. Are they... just doing nothing?"

"...They do move the stones blocking the entrance when we return, but to be honest, that’s about it."

"Hmm..."

Hearing my response, Ho-won let out a sigh.

"Ha... Then what’s the difference between them and livestock just waiting to be fed? You guys go out to secure food and distribute it to them? This is ridiculous... damn, they’re not even cattle."

He was just expressing, in harsher words, the same thing I had said to Seo Yu-ju before.

Well, at this point, we had surplus food. And if food shortages arose, we could always reduce or stop their rations.

Because eventually...

'When the tutorial ends, they'll have to pay the price for doing nothing here.'

It was just a theory, but I was certain it would come true. Eras wasn’t a place that would let people off easily, as we had already seen in the tutorial.

"...Honestly, I can’t deny it. Anyway, get some rest for now. We’ll gather again later to discuss future plans."

Leaving them behind, I moved toward Seo Yu-ju. By then, the rest of the team had finished moving the food and had begun gathering.

"Yu-ju-ssi, I’ve finished guiding them."

"Thank you for your hard work, Yun-seong-ssi. How were they? Did they seem alright?"

"Yes, they all seemed like good people. I also briefly introduced the topic of expeditions, so it should be easier to bring up later."

"Thank you, as always, Yun-seong-ssi. If you ever need anything from me, just say the word."

"No, it wasn’t that difficult."

"Either way, you did well. Everyone else too. Let’s take a short break. Ah! Everyone, please gather here again in two hours. We need to talk with our new members."

Two hours later, Seo Yu-ju confirmed that everyone had gathered and nodded.

Seeing that the new trio was also present, it seemed she had sent someone to notify them in advance.

"Thank you all for gathering, I called you here to discuss tomorrow's exploration."

Kim Ho-won started speaking to Seo Yu-ju.

"I’ve heard a rough explanation about the exploration. You’re looking for clues to clear the tutorial..."

"Yes, that’s right. I’ve made some assumptions about clearing the tutorial, and I plan to explore the central area in more detail."

"That’s unexpected, I thought you would be exploring the buildings..."

"I did consider that, but we already have enough food, and I don’t think we need to recruit more people. More importantly, I realized something."

I asked her, "May I ask what you realized?"

"Let me ask you all a question instead. Hasn’t anyone found anything strange about the terrain of this place?"

Everyone tilted their heads, not understanding what she meant.

I also had no clue, so I waited for her explanation. Then, she suddenly began drawing a map on the ground with her spear.

"This is where we are now—the northern starting area. And... this is the southern starting point where Yun-seong and the siblings began."

Watching her draw the map with her spear, I realized that, as a regressor, she was explaining to us what she already knew.

"And... this is the western area we visited yesterday. Everyone there was dead, but that’s not the important part. Hyun-jin, you said you came from the south, the same as Yun-seong, so the two new arrivals must have come from the eastern starting point."

Kim Ho-won nodded and answered.

"That’s correct."

"I believe this place is very similar to RPG-style games from Earth. If that’s the case... then clearing the tutorial might involve completing a dungeon."

This was the same discussion we had with Jo Chan-ho. Back then, people had also speculated about the existence of a dungeon.

‘Wait... Where is Jo Chan-ho?’

I suddenly thought about him, where the hell was that bastard and what was he doing?

The possibility that he had died to monsters wasn’t entirely out of the question, but I doubted it.

‘Then... is he out there killing people?’

It was highly likely, considering that the people in this camp were not the only survivors.

Since there was no way to reach a conclusion, I pushed the thought out of my mind.

"Anyway, if a dungeon does exist... Looking at this map, there are buildings in the east, west, north, and south, leaving the center empty. Some might say I’m oversimplifying, but if there is a dungeon, I believe it’s most likely located in the center."

A question came to mind, so I asked her, "Yu-ju, hold on. There must be people who have already been to the center, right?"

In fact, the place where she and I first met was near the central area. People from the north and south buildings had gathered there, meaning someone had passed through the center.

"That’s right. It’s not that no one has ever been there. But... what if the dungeon is hidden?"

‘Hidden?’

Since it was Seo Yu-ju saying it, this assumption wasn’t just speculation but likely fact. However, the question was—unless the dungeon was incredibly small, how had no one noticed it even if it was hidden?

"When I said it was hidden, I meant that it’s hidden in a way that makes sense in this world."

"What do you mean?"

Everyone waited curiously for her response.

"We can use mana here, something that didn’t exist on Earth. If we use mana, maybe we can uncover a hidden dungeon."