Chapter 63
The Capital Area Survivors Gallery was still buzzing with talk about the vaccine.
A post suddenly appeared there.
Title : Guys, I just escaped being a Muggle!!!
(Rough photo of a camping shovel, tent, and Spyam set laid out. JPG)
I just Awakened after surviving two days as a porter in an unexplored area!!
As soon as I Awakened, I was told my Gallery access had been unlocked, so I posted proof...
Then a portal opened in the sky and dropped this down ㄷㄷ
It looks like System-nim gave me a starter pack!!!
Oh, a newbie's here
ㄴ Hi
ㄴ Nice to meet you
But a starter pack?
ㄴ What does that mean?
ㄴ Did... something like that exist??
ㄴ Nah, we just Awakened?
ㄴ For real
But there was one concept the existing users couldn't understand.
It was the claim that a System portal had opened as soon as they Awakened and delivered supplies.
Starter pack?
ㄴ You're faking it!
ㄴ You are!!!!
No!! System-nim really gave me a present!!!
ㄴ He sent it after I Awakened and posted proof!!
Huh, what!
ㄴ I got one too!!ㄴ Me too!!
ㄴ The contents are identical too!
Huh?
ㄴ What!
ㄴ Something like that really exists?
While the existing survivors scratched their heads, unable to understand the fact, comments appeared saying that it contained mysterious pre-apocalypse goods.
A notice from Starplex went up.
Title : [★Starplex★] Once More, Even If You Hate Us! New Awakener Event Announcement!
Our company has prepared an event to encourage ordinary people to become Awakeners.
Event details : Free delivery of New Awakener Starter Packs!
Post proof in the Gallery after Awakening to receive a starter pack.
Starplex supports your first step as an Awakener.
We hope many of you Awaken.
?!!!
ㄴ It's System-nim!!!
ㄴ System-nim posted an announcement!!!!!!!
ㄴ How long has it been since the last one!!!
ㄴ We've been waiting for you, System-nim!!
But... a new Awakener event...?
ㄴ What!
ㄴ Wait, you really were giving out starter packs??
ㄴ Starter packs actually existed!!!
ㄴ What!!!!
Wait, so you're really giving out tents and... Spyam gift sets?
ㄴ You're giving out supplies just for Awakening...!!!!!!
ㄴ We don't have to pay 12,900 mana stones?
ㄴ You give us starter packs for free without even paying 3,900 mana stones?
Fuck, seeing it laid out like this, the monetization table is seriously confusing.
ㄴ How do we pay 12,900 mana stones?
ㄴ For real, how many trucks is that?
Fuck, this is a crazy generous game.
ㄴ What game encourages newbies this much!!!!
ㄴ Insane welfare item
ㄴ For real, System-nim's gift is insane lol
Fuck, after seeing this, I'm taking our party's porters straight to the outskirts of the Orange Zone ㅇㅇ
ㄴ I'm taking the ordinary people left in the guild straight to a danger zone
ㄴ Fuck!!! If we make ordinary people Awaken, do we get starter packs to share?
ㄴ We need tents too!!!
The Capital Area Survivors Gallery caught fire once again.
****
- I got a newbie starter pack!! [332]
- I got one too!!! [4443]
- A starter-pack newbie has arrived!!! [3333]
....
Posts about the starter packs were flooding the Gallery.
“Kyaa.”
I couldn't help marveling as I watched them.
“This is it.”
The reason I had gone so far as to write an announcement and hand out goods to newly Awakened newbies was simple.
The Camping branch and warehouse I'd acquired earlier were overflowing with supplies necessary for survival.
And I also had food that hadn't been registered in the Shop, so I had plenty to give the new Awakeners.
I assembled the cardboard boxes from ones in the Living branch.
In any case, this was a way to use the supplies I currently had as fully as possible to help them.
The stock refill time had been reduced to two days, so it was less of a burden too.
Besides, I didn't have to spend a single mana stone.
But what effect would it have?
The ordinary people in our party heard the rumor and immediately started clamoring to be included as porters in the farming team;;
ㄴ They said to use them as meat shields if necessary ㅇㅇ
ㄴ They're clamoring to Awaken ㅇㅇ
Fuck, applications for porters are overflowing;;
ㄴ But with that kind of setup, I can see why the normals would go crazy ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Never thought we'd see a porter employment crisis
A single Spyam is worth risking your life to follow them, for real
ㄴ We're insanely jealous too...
ㄴ Please give us some too...
ㄴ For real, give us some!!!!
ㄴ Add it to the Shop already!!
ㄴ When's the opening rush happening!! Kraaah!!!
It was so effective that the comments section was in an uproar.
“No matter how much the patches screw us over, we can just increase the region's population and overall strength.”
More Awakeners = more people who can obtain mana stones = more customers for my Shop and copied tiles.
In other words, it was a perfect virtuous cycle that created something from nothing.
“But that's not the end of it!”
I had thought of one more thing people would go crazy over.
Title : Guys... I just Awakened in the Orange Zone
(Rough proof photo. JPG)
I got lucky and survived three days as a porter in an unexplored area of the Orange Zone with a guild, and just Awakened;;
I posted proof right after getting Gallery access ㅇㅇ
And just as Starplex announced, System-nim sent me a starter pack right away ㅇㅇ
But...
The contents are different from the Yellow Zone newbie's...?
It has a tent and Odassu as the basics...
But there's a machete and a goose-down sleeping bag... and smoked sausages and cup rice...?
Is this right??
?!
ㄴ What!!!
ㄴ A machete??? A goose-down sleeping bag???
ㄴ No fucking way, a sleeping baaaag?
I mean, a machete is one thing...
ㄴ A sleeping bag?
ㄴ No, this is impossible!! A sleeping. Baaag...?
ㄴ You mean that legendary mobile lodging, now impossible to find, that cushions you against the cold and hardness of a concrete floor and provides the comfort of a mother's embrace with goose down...?
ㄴ Hey, lol
ㄴ “Legendary mobile lodging,” my ass;;
Wait, just by Awakening, you get your own mobile studio apartment?
ㄴ A private (sleeping bag) studio apartment (one-person)
ㄴ It's not technically wrong ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Damn, I'm jealous of newbies;;
ㄴ For real
Wait, are the rewards different depending on which Zone you came from?
ㄴ Is the starter pack given different depending on the Zone where you Awakened?
ㄴ Seems so...?
But surviving three days in the Orange Zone does deserve recognition ㅇㅇ
ㄴ For real, even we find the Orange Zone dangerous
ㄴ We can't protect ordinary people who go there to Awaken ㅇㅇ
If you get better items for Awakening in a dangerous place
ㄴ It really would be worth aiming for Awakening ㅇㅇ
ㄴ System-nim is genuinely encouraging ordinary people to Awaken...
ㄴ Simply the G O D-System
The fact was that the rewards differed according to the Zone where you Awakened.
“That's what it'll take to get people to go Awaken.”
The machete was one thing, but the sleeping bag was much more popular than I'd expected.
Can't you just sell us sleeping bags?
ㄴ For real, we need sleeping bags too
I'm jealous of the tents too ㅠ
ㄴ I was seriously jealous that ordinary people got free tents during Patch 2 ㅠ
ㄴ Exactly ㅠ
People were even calling for them to be registered as products.
“Okay, noted.”
But for now, handing out starter packs was the priority, so it was impossible for the moment.
“We might run short on supplies.”
Even though the stock refill period had been reduced to two days, I had no idea how many new newbies would Awaken, so I couldn't recklessly use up all my supplies.
But I'm curious: what are you planning to give Red Zone Awakeners?
ㄴ Gasp...
ㄴ I'm really curious...?
ㄴ You could even give them an item ㅇㅇ
ㄴ For real, that's possible too
ㄴ A weapon sold by the System?
ㄴ Kyaa << This is something I can't resist ㅇㅇ
But at this point, can a Red Zone Awakener even appear?
ㄴ Hmm;; Could there be one?
ㄴ Even Stalkers only have one or two out of ten come back alive lol
ㄴ If an ordinary person survives five days there, wouldn't they be capable of anything...?
The Red Zone had mutant creatures that could destroy the terrain as a baseline,
ㄴ and there were also things that tracked us...
ㄴ For real, ordinary people can't survive there, lol
Apparently, Awakeners from the Red Zone weren't likely to appear easily.
“Hmm.”
I thought so too, which was why I hadn't prepared starter packs for people who Awakened in the Red Zone.
“We'll think about it if one appears.”
But what about someone from the Black Zone?
It would probably be difficult.
Title : Newbies these days really have it good~~
When we Awakened, we had to survive on pure physical ability,
and we had to watch the world end in real time ㅇㅇ
These days, the moment they Awaken, System-nim drops a shovel, tent, and Spyam on them;;
Kyaa, it's really an easy world to become a Stalker in ㅇㅇ
The generation gap began immediately lol
ㄴ Back in my day~~
ㄴ Old man, can you straighten your spine? lol
Honestly, I am jealous lol
ㄴ Give us starter packs too
ㄴ Show some consideration for existing users too
[Head Mod] Hmm... The world certainly has changed a lot...
ㄴ [Head Mod] We couldn't even imagine support like this in our day... Kids these days are truly blessed ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Even the Head Mod's become a boomer lol
ㄴ Young boomer;; Head Mod;;
ㄴ Became a boomer six months after the apocalypse lol
[Speedrun]NewbiesmustrespectmeforenduringtwodaysintheYellowZoneandgettingastarterpackwhilewhiningthattheOrangeandRedZonesarescaryWhenIawakenedIenduredfivedaysinthemiddleoftheRedZoneandAwakenedbutnewbiesgeteasyAwakeningsbytravelingwithAwakenersandevenreceiveastarterpackThisisclearlyalackofnoooooo-effortandtheirmentalityisrottenRuntotheRedZoneandendurefivedaysproperlyrightnowandprovethyself
ㄴ Wow, this guy's spacing is infuriating;;
ㄴ For real, he only emphasized the important parts lol
ㄴ Delivery-runner Speedrun is absolutely furious lol ㄱㄱㅋ
ㄴ Kids these days really are lacking noooooo-effort ㅇㅇ
But then the generation gap erupted immediately.
“I was wondering why things had gotten so quiet.”
But the newly Awakened newbies weren't going to take it lying down either.
Title : Honestly, aren't all the existing Awakeners just house-raiding water rockets?
Seriously, are you telling me the difficulty when the old-timers Awakened was the same as it is now?
When the old-timers Awakened, it was basically just Runners and Walkers, and the Red Zone Heavy appearing was the easy-mode tutorial era, wasn't it?
Now we're already at Patch 2, those fucking bugs infect people, and no one can even enter the Red Zone lol
You're making a huge fuss just because you got a tent and shovel lol For real, what a water rocket squeak~
Kyaa, this is it
ㄴ For real, why are they acting like this over one starter pack lol
ㄴ Water rocket squeak~!
ㄴ House-raiding lol
Hey, we didn't have vaccines back then! lol
ㄴ In our day we had no vacciiiines~~
ㄴ Look at the newbies talking back lol
ㄴ The old-timers have no idea what reality is like now, for real
ㄴ The previous generation doesn't know how harsh things are these days, lol
[God of War] ...They're not exactly wrong;; Awakening these days is difficult ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Even the Guild Master admitted it lol
ㄴ Wait, what are we supposed to do if you admit it?
ㄴ For real, why did you admit it?
The Ares Guild Master is definitely a sweet middle-aged guy
ㄴ For real, trying to win the newbies' favor lol
ㄴ They're already ganging up on him lol
ㄴ Why won't you take our side? lol
[Diligent Young Man] These,,, days,,, are,,, muuuuch,,, harder,,, to,,, live,,, in,,, than,,, my,,, day,,, you,,, bas,,,tards,,,,
ㄴ lololol
ㄴ lol
ㄴ When exactly does this old man mean by “my day”...?
ㄴ Something has gone wrong, for real
ㄴ Reverse “back in my day”;
Wait, what are we supposed to do if the old man says something like this?
ㄴ Ah lol, stop breaking the cliché
ㄴ What, wasn't he doing a boomer gimmick?
Why aren't you showing any consideration for existing users?
ㄴ Why don't we get rations too lol
ㄴ You were invited
ㄴ You drank Odassu first
Fuck, we weren't invited either
ㄴ It's only at 10% so far
ㄴ Ah, please invite us already, ah lol
ㄴ ㅇㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Healer Union] I demand better treatment for newbies!!!!
ㄴ Fuck, you're a deputy mod
ㄴ You got carried too
[Myth] You're saying Healer Union really is a carried water rocket...
ㄴ lolololol
ㄴ Seo-jin is seriously going berserk
ㄴ ㅇㅋㅋㅋ
Thus, as the generation gap gradually began to flare up,
I fell into thought too.
“Fuck. When am I supposed to finish packing all this?”
I was using boxes from the Living branch on basement level 1 to pack the supplies.
But since this was all 100% manual labor, I had to do it all myself.
“Hmm.”
Still, there wasn't much else to do while I was here, so this should help pass the time.
“For now, the public sentiment is where I want it.”
Survivors Gallery users skyrocketing in real time lol
ㄴ Are we hitting 100,000 Survivors Gallery users??!!
ㄴ “Survivors Gallery,” my ass
Wow, but if the user count passes 100,000, that would be legendary in its own right
ㄴ For real, it would be amazing
ㄴ The more Awakeners there are, the better ㅇㅇ
I'm just waiting to be invited as a member now!!!!
ㄴ Me too!!!
ㄴ [Speedrun]NewbiesmustescapetheirdelusionsquicklyTheStalkerlifeyoudreamofisnotlivingoffrefreshingOdassuboughtfromtheShopandmixingramenintotunacansItisonlythestoryofthetop10percentofStalkerswhowerechosenbytheSystemandbrokethroughtheopening-rushcompetitionWelcometohellAndyoumustrespectme
ㄴ Huh...? No... once we become members, we can all buy it, can't we?
ㄴ I heard the number of products has increased a lot too...?
ㄴ [Speedrun]Firstyoumustdefeatme
ㄴ Uh...?
Hey, you insane Speedrun bastard lol
ㄴ Why are you discouraging the newbies? lol
But he wasn't wrong, either ㅇㅇ
ㄴ “First you must defeat me” << That's fucking terrifying lol
ㄴ It means it's something none of us has managed to do...
It seemed I had created the public sentiment I wanted: encouraging new Awakenings.
[Capital Area Survivors Gallery (Current users: 90,625) ▲ 1,420]
In fact, the number of Survivors Gallery users was climbing steeply.
The number of people trying to become Awakeners was rising too.
But there was still a problem.
Title : But... I don't think there's any point in Awakening now...
I really appreciate the tent and weapon, but...
Even if I Awaken now, how am I supposed to catch up to the existing Awakeners??
Most Stalkers have already pushed their main quests like crazy, so their basic stats are already on a completely different level
But newbies have to start from Main Quest 1 right now;;
So our mana-stone income is shit, and we might not even get much of a share in the party
And solo players aren't in a guild, so they don't even get mana-stone distributions
Is it even possible to clear quests alone?
Hmm...
ㄴ You hit the nail on the head
ㄴ For real, he just said the uncomfortable truth
People get sensitive when you hit a sore spottttt!!!
ㄴ ?
ㄴ [Troublemaker NEET] Get out
ㄴ lolol
ㄴ It's the deputy mod's tyranny!!!
ㄴ This is oppression!!
But he had a point ㅇㅇ
ㄴ It's practically impossible for someone who Awakened now to catch up to us in main quests ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Are latecomers just supposed to be meat shields forever? lol
ㄴ The newbie death zone is fucking long;;
Honestly, at this point, a Main Quest 1 newbie joining a farming team or operating solo is basically suicide
ㄴ Unless a guild power-levels them... it's difficult...
ㄴ But who's going to waste time mining their own mana stones to power-level a newbie? lol
ㄴ Exactly ㅇㅇ
For starters, guilds << have no training pipeline ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Why would they train anyone?
ㄴ They were too busy picking only Awakeners with prior experience lol
ㄴ Ah lol, even with the world ending, there's an employment crisis lol
This game is fucking doomed lololol
ㄴ A structure where only veterans survive lol
ㄴ The balance is completely fucked
Should I just not bother pushing my main quests... and keep working as a porter?
ㄴ That might be better ㅇㅇ
ㄴ You'd just die after getting the Stalker title and acting cocky for no reason
The problem was that, under the current structure, it was simply difficult to push main quests at all.
So the point was that Awakening now might not be of much use.
Title : [Troublemaker NEET] Hmm....
Is it really that difficult to push main quests after newly Awakening?
Hmm
ㄴ I guess so??
ㄴ The newbies calling us water rockets aren't exactly wrong
ㄴ It isn't that ordinary people didn't want to Awaken until now and therefore stayed un-Awakened ㅇㅇ
For one thing, Awakening itself has definitely become more difficult than it was at the beginning ㅇㅇ
ㄴ So far more people die trying to Awaken
ㄴ There are lots of ordinary people who refuse to Awaken at all
The places where you can still Awaken relatively easily in the first place are
ㄴ the outskirts of the Yellow Zone or the Green Zone
ㄴ [Troublemaker NEET] Isn't the Green Zone where those Hunters are?
Half right, half wrong.
ㄴ There are some areas inside the Green Zone that those Hunters cleared,
ㄴ and there's a city with intact infrastructure inside them.
ㄴ There are still unexplored areas of the Green Zone on the outskirts ㅇㅇ
ㄴ [Troublemaker NEET] Ohh
Anyway, the unexplored areas of the Yellow Zone are dangerous too,
ㄴ and from the Orange Zone onward, even we write our wills before entering.
ㄴ The Red Zone goes without saying;;
There are even people who use guns despite being mediocre Awakeners,
ㄴ If you can't push your main quests, you use a gun too ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Guns << These things quietly fill out the middle of the pyramid's balance pretty well
ㄴ The reason the Pangyo defensive line is still holding
ㄴ The reason we were at least able to stop the last wave of Red Zone mobs
There were even people arguing that guns were much better than mediocre Awakeners in the first place.
“Hmm.”
But we couldn't stop here.
To overcome the overwhelming catastrophe when the next patch inevitably came, we needed powerful Awakeners like Si-yeon, of course.
We also needed more people with purchasing power.
To that end, we needed plenty of Awakeners with a higher ceiling than ordinary people.
Of course, I had thought of a way.
“If newly Awakened newbies can't clear quests alone! Then everyone can help them!!”
I entered another post.
Title : [★Starplex★] 1st Mentorship Development Event Announcement!
To help newly Awakened people grow properly,
we are holding an event to encourage existing guilds and party members to mentor them.
[Event Details]
Rewards will be granted to the group or individual that helps new Awakeners clear the most Main Quests.
[Duration : 4 days]
[Rewards]
1st place : Free infrastructure installation within a designated area
2nd place : 100 kg of meat + grill set
3rd place : 100 bottles of single-malt whiskey
[God of War] ?!!
ㄴ [White Night] ????!
ㄴ [Ironclad] ...?
ㄴ [Gabungi] Blink blink blink blink!!
Mentoring??
ㄴ You're holding an event like this!!!!!!
ㄴ This is fucking insane
ㄴ Damn it! Kids these days!!!
ㄴ System-nim is spoon-feeding them everything and they've got it made!!!
ㄴ Kraaah!!
ㄴ Kraaahhh!!
I'm jealous!!!