The Military Chef of a Ruined World - Chapter 67.2

One of the soldiers who had arrived nearby opened his mouth while pointing to a corner.

Seemingly surprised at something.

“What’s that disgusting thing!”

“Some kind of bug, looks like it’s two or three times the size of a person. Ugh.”

“It’s not just disgusting; it also looks incredibly strong. Why is it lying dead here?”

They were talking about the corpse of the ‘Swarm Mother’.

“That was the boss monster of this dungeon.”

“Huh?”

“It seemed like this guy was the one who was creating that quicksand that devours enemies. When I defeated it, the dungeon collapsed.”

Since the soldiers seemed curious about the identity of the Swarm Mother’s corpse,

I decided to inform them of its nature.

The soldiers were muttering something as they looked at me.

Their gazes had changed in a strange way – there was a look of astonishment in their eyes.

Lee Sang-ah, who was alternately looking at the corpse of the Swarm Mother and me, asked in a peculiar tone:

“Didn’t you just send a guild message saying you had defeated the boss?”

“That’s right.”

“I was thinking it couldn’t be that you single-handedly charged into enemy territory.”

Lee Sang-ah muttered dejectedly.

“So that’s why you were so confident.”

After joining the main force,

The post-battle cleanup began in earnest.

While sorting through the monster corpses to find parts suitable for cooking,

“Come to think of it, it seems like I monopolized the rewards. I’m sorry about that.”

I suddenly had that thought and spoke up.

The dungeon conquest was a choice for the growth of our guild.

The squad members had unhesitatingly participated in the dangerous dungeon conquest, likely for their own growth as well.

But in the end, I alone reaped the rewards.

“What are you talking about?”

“We’ve grown tremendously as well.”

However,

Min-jae and Gwang-il shook their heads as if I was saying something strange.

“The titles and traits you gained as rewards are incredible, you know.”

“And on top of that, the squad members gained a substantial amount of experience.”

“Most of them have likely leveled up several times.”

The experience and points granted as rewards for the dungeon conquest were distributed proportionally according to contribution.

Most of which would have been monopolized by me.

How?

“With so many monsters, it was hard not to level up.”

Ah.

Hearing that, I finally understood.

The countless larvae that had swarmed the walls and ceiling of the subway station, as well as burrowing in the sand.

“The experience gained from each individual monster wasn’t that much, but a single swing of our weapons could take down three or four at a time.”

“It was practically a hunting spree. Especially the mages must have grown tremendously.”

It was the squad members, not me, who had cleared the monsters that were rampaging as the dungeon collapsed.

And that experience gain must have been substantial.

‘If I hadn’t gained [Absolute Palate], we might not have been able to conquer this dungeon at all.’

High-risk, high return.

The rewards were certainly substantial, commensurate with the high difficulty.

And there was an even more important achievement left.

“There’s something like a room here!”

“Was this meant to be a restroom or something?”

The space that had been transformed into a desert reverted back to the appearance of a normal, unfinished subway station after the death of the Swarm Mother.

Of course, it was still just an unfinished station.

We had assumed that weren’t be anything useful for us.

“Young-joon.”

“What is it, Squad leader Min-jae?”

“Come over here for a bit.”

Following Min-jae hyung, I arrived at a massive communal space.

“What’s this place?”

“Look over there, at the back.”

Looking where he pointed, I saw an enormous, cylindrical passage.

A passage so huge that several trains could pass through it.

“That’s the subway tunnel.”

Though an unfinished station, the construction seemed quite advanced.

“So, the passage connecting to other stations is open now?”

“Yes, though the tracks don’t seem to be laid yet.”

I think I understand why Min-jae hyung showed me this tunnel.

“Do you remember what I said before?”

“…You said that railways have traditionally been used as military transport routes.”

“That’s right.”

We plan to continue growing our forces.

But the Inje-gun where we’re currently located is just a small city-level military unit.

‘To increase our manpower, we’ll eventually need to expand our influence to other cities.’

Traveling such long distances is no easy task.

In this world where monster and zombie attacks are constant, major highways are likely blocked by abandoned vehicles.

In contrast, the subway tunnels, apart from the stations, are closed-off passages.

Not only are they less susceptible to monster attacks, but the direct rail routes also provide the shortest paths to our destinations.

‘A path to other cities.’

It’s not just about expanding our forces.

Our families, whose fates we may not even know, are somewhere out there.

Someday, when we return to our hometowns, these straight railway lines could be the fastest way.

Perhaps, securing this subway system itself could be an achievement that rivals the other rewards.

Upon successfully completing the dungeon conquest and returning,

“Sir, there’s something I need to report…”

The few soldiers guarding the camp approached me with troubled expressions.

I wondered what could be wrong.

“Survivors have started settling around the camp.”