Chapter 26

Looking over, he saw some of the other survivors still knocking on doors—trying to coax people outside.

But it wasn’t working.

“Not eating you! We’re here to help!”

The doors remained shut.

By now, it was clear.

Those who hadn’t left yet were too terrified to come out.

“Well… I guess this makes about a hundred of us.”

Adding the rescued survivors to the original quest recipients, they were hovering around that number.

And for some reason…

The number felt significant.

‘Wait a minute…’

He suddenly recalled something from World Breaker.

The default village population in that game was also a hundred.

A coincidence?

Maybe.

But it still bothered him.

“Fuck! I’m done! I can’t do this anymore!”

“Let’s just get some rest. I’m exhausted.”

Some of the remaining quest participants gave up, dragging themselves back into the village.

They had stayed up all night, and it showed.

Honestly, it was a smart decision.

Exhausted and sleep-deprived, they were more likely to make mistakes—mistakes that could be deadly.

But there was one problem.

The system wouldn’t wait forever.

And sure enough—

As the sun rose, a new notification appeared.

《A night has passed since the Undead Wave began.》
《Side Quest: Savior of the Weak has expired.》
《The village population has exceeded 100.》
《Migration conditions met. Dimensional Relocation will now commence.》

“…What?”

Migration?

Dimensional migration?

What the hell did that mean?

Unfortunately, Justin didn’t have time to think.

Because as soon as the message ended—

The world around them began to distort

The world twisted.

For a moment, Justin rubbed his eyes, wondering if exhaustion was making him hallucinate.

But no—this was real.

The entire space was distorting.

It wasn’t an illusion. It wasn’t a trick of the mind.

The swirling vortex ripped through the ground, tearing apart the asphalt and reshaping the very landscape.

As if some unseen hand was gripping the terrain and twisting it apart.

“What the hell is happening now!?”

“The sky! The sky looks weird!”

“Dear God, please—!”

It wasn’t just him.

The entire village had erupted into panic.

The survivors, already mentally exhausted from everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, finally snapped.

Some screamed.

Some prayed.

Some simply froze, unable to process the sheer impossibility of what was happening.

Fortunately, the chaos didn’t last long.

《Coordinate Lock Complete. Dimensional Migration Process Terminated.》
《Welcome, Earthlings, to a New Dimension and a New Continent.》
《Rebuild your civilization and thrive in this untouched land.》
《We will support you until the day your civilization stands on its own.》

One after another, system messages appeared.

And just like that, the distortion ceased.

The world stabilized.

But while the warping had stopped, the landscape had changed entirely.

“…A forest?”

A survivor muttered in disbelief.

They all looked around, stunned.

The tall buildings of the modern world were gone.

The endless roads and concrete had vanished.

Instead—There were trees.

Grass, shrubs, and the chirping of birds.

A vast, untouched wilderness surrounded them.

The first ones to recover were the initial survivors—those who had actively participated in the quests.

“Did… our whole village just get transported into a forest?”

“Wait, but where? Is this still Korea? Does a place like this even exist?”

“Unlikely. Korea doesn’t have forests like this—our climate makes it impossible.”

“Then… does that mean this is actually another dimension?”

At first, it was just murmurs.

But soon, the quiet speculation turned into heated discussion.

Despite their shock, these survivors were still trying to analyze the situation.

They had already learned that hesitation meant death.

Adapt or perish.

But not everyone was handling things well.

“Dad… where are we? Where’s our home?”

“It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay…!”

“Stay calm! Remember what they say—‘even when a tiger bites you, keep a level head—’”

“Oh, for God’s sake, shut up! Let me think!”

The rescued survivors were a different story.

Some were trying to calm themselves down.

But most?

Most were panicking.

Crying.

Frozen in shock.

Or worse—some were still in denial, refusing to accept what had happened.

Justin studied them, eyes narrowed.

‘So that’s the difference.’

The ones who had actively engaged with the system—those who had accepted quests, fought monsters, and adapted—were coping far better.

The ones who had avoided the system—the ones who refused to act—were falling apart.

It wasn’t even subtle.

It was stark.

As he processed this realization, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Mr. justin. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

It was Ethan.

“Not really,” Justin admitted.

He had considered many possibilities—

But he hadn’t expected the entire village to be relocated.

Even in World Breaker, a game that had mirrored many aspects of this situation, this had never happened.

“This is completely outside of my expectations,” he continued. “But one thing is certain.”

“…?”

Justin smirked.

“The system always provides direction.”

Even in chaos, the system had never just abandoned them.

The system didn’t throw them into the wild and say, ‘Figure it out yourself.’

It always gave quests—guiding survivors toward progression.

Some saw this as suspicious.

But Justin?

He saw it as design.

“Right now, we don’t know what to do. We’ve lost our quests, and our location has changed. We lack a goal.”

“But if we lack a goal, the system will provide one?”

“That’s my prediction.”

Shrugging, Justin smiled.

Just then—

“Greetings, pioneers!”

A booming voice rang out across the village.

A man had appeared in the center of town.

He was fat.

Not just overweight—plump, round, and well-fed in a way that suggested wealth rather than laziness.

His beard resembled that of a goat, and he wore ten rings—one on each finger.

His clothing was extravagant, made from shimmering fabric that stretched across his large frame.

Everything about him screamed “greedy merchant”—as if he had stepped right out of a fairy tale illustration.

The moment survivors laid eyes on him, their expressions hardened.

“Who the hell are you?”

“And how did you get here?”

The fat man raised his hands in mock surrender.

“My, my! Apologies for the abrupt introduction! Allow me to properly introduce myself!”

With exaggerated flair, he gave a deep bow—his movements theatrical, almost like an actor on stage.

“I am Algrim! A humble merchant!”

“Merchant? The hell are you talking about?”

“I mean exactly what I said! To put it in simpler terms… Hmm.”

His cheerful expression briefly twisted—as if he had tasted something unpleasant.