I couldn’t hide the emotion in my voice as I pleaded.
“Please, just pack one batch quickly.”
“Baby Lizard, unlike the other lizards, you don’t yap like kkadeuri. Are you a noble lizard?”
The artisan’s sharp gaze, laced with suspicion, landed on me. I hurriedly added,
“Please kkadeuri. I’ll pay whatever it costs kkadeuri.”
“It seems I was mistaken. The cost of cabbage is too high. Bring five of your comrades who’ll sign my survival list. Then I’ll give you one container of fresh kimchi.”
“Then wait for me kkadeuri.”
Lizards were scattered everywhere, and when he turned his head, they were all ones who greeted him.
—Fox Lizard, hi kkadeuri.
“LizardRoll Mister, please sign this once.”
—Got itkkadeuri.
“LizardKim Auntie, just one signature please.”
—Got itkkadeuri.
—Hey, Baby Fox Lizard, can I join too kkadeuri?
The Fresh Kimchi Artisan looked baffled, like he hadn’t expected me to round them up so easily—his face read, “Should’ve asked for ten.”
“Baby Fox Lizard, you really have a lot of friends. Here you go.”
“Thanks kkadeuri.”
[System]: A batch of delicious fresh kimchi has been placed in your bag.
I also bought a tray of tasty new eggs, freshly harvested from the nest. Perfect for tonight’s kimchi party with the crew.
While some users like the Kimchi Artisan were out here hustling for survival points, others were lounging in hammocks enjoying the swamp’s slow vibe, or surfing down at the river.
—Why are you guys just lazing around when everyone’s going wild kkadeuri? Don’t you want to leave a mark in our neighborhood kkadeuri?
“Eh, we just need to trigger ‘Switch Position’~”
At that moment, my softly swaying tail froze. I’d heard of ‘Switch Position’ before.
Title: Everyone, be careful of Switch Position (62)
Made it to the final 12, but someone who got eliminated used Switch Position and I got eliminated instead.
└ My friend experienced that too, even at the point of winning, you can’t let your guard down.
└ Please remove these cheap skills;
It had recently gone viral in the community. Apparently, a user who’d qualified for the next round got switched out and eliminated because someone else used the skill.
No one knows exactly how it activates or how to get it, but if that skill is usable in this Swamp City too, then the ones most at risk are definitely our team—since we settled early here.
“Nyang nyang!”
In one corner, foxes were holding a performance with a signature box set up in front. All five team members were foxes, and they danced with star-shaped confetti on their front paws like professional cheerleaders.
A few folks watched them warmly and recorded it with their cameras.
“Hm?”
While most people were captivated by the fox dance, one user stood off to the side, quietly focused on their task, looking like they couldn’t care less about the foxes. But something about that posture looked strangely familiar.
I approached a guy furiously digging through a muddy garlic field with a pickaxe.
“Hello, young lizard. I’m ‘Soft Onion.’ Would you be interested in funding this? Who knows whether money is buried in this garlic field or not? No one can say. But one thing is certain. I’m going to dig up every last bit of this field. And if there is money, I’ll distribute it equally only to the residents who signed. How about it?”
I tilted my head.
“What did you say your name was?”
“Soft Onion.”
The persuasive tone, the way he emphasized every word—it felt all too familiar. I looked him over from head to toe. The way he bent one leg politely to meet my eye level, the smile he wore to seem likable. This guy was definitely…
“Are you perhaps PeeledGarlicUnpeeledGarlic?”
At my probing question, his fingertips trembled. That same little habit—yep, it’s him.
“I don’t know anyone by that name. You must be a user. I’m in the middle of business, so please step aside.”
Even his voice was shaky, clearly rattled. I stared at him as he frantically waved his hands in denial.
“…Seriously, I’m not that person?”
“I didn’t say anything though?”
“Ugh… Who are you?”
“Knew it.”
“Gasp… I mean, no I’m not.”
“Cool nickname. ‘Soft Onion,’ huh.”
Garlic and onions, huh. While I was chuckling with him, a quest notification suddenly popped up.
Additional Quest: <No Two Jobs Under the Same Sky>
Due to the flood of signature forms, the lizards held an emergency meeting. They wished for a wider variety of talent to remain in the city for its revival. The decisions made through the meeting were as follows:
—If there is a group of players with the same job, only one with the most exceptional ability among them may remain in the city. Therefore, if there is someone nearby with the same job as you, either change your job or eliminate the other.
※ Bug Exterminators are excluded from this quest. The lizards are fully prepared to accept all Bug Exterminators.
Upon reading the quest description, PeeledGarlic—no, Soft Onion—wore a dumbfounded expression.
“A Bug Exterminator? I’ve never even heard of that job, so why?”
“Because bugs are the natural enemy of lizards.”
“Hoo. Then how did you become a lizard? Shall we share our jobs among ourselves? And if we discover someone with a duplicate job, let’s inform each other.”
I turned and flicked my tail at him.
“If you remove the bugs stuck to my tail, I’ll tell you.”
His hand gently combed through my tail fur.
“My job is Undertaker. After liberating the souls of lizards, I was able to become one. I’ve done a lot of service.”
“Hoo! An Undertaker, that’s fascinating, Fox Lizard. I haven’t seen any players with that job yet.”
“Wouldn’t matter even if there were. What’s your job, Mr. Onion? You don’t seem worried at all, so I suspect it’s some outrageous profession.”
“I’m a ‘Garlic Field Treasure Collector.’”
“Are you bullshitting me?”
“Ha, damn. I’m serious. Uniquely, this city has lots of garlic fields, so I’m sustaining it.”
“So if you dig in a garlic field, money always comes out? That’s nonsense…… huh?”
At that moment, the tip of his ceaselessly moving hoe caught on something, and up came a leather pouch.
“See? A lump of resonance pills someone hid a long time ago.”
……
He opened the small shed snakeskin pouch, and a cascade of Resonance Pills spilled out. Still stunned, I stood there as he tucked one pill into my side pouch and spoke with complete certainty:
“Yeo Woo-rim, it’s good to see you again. Please send my regards to Murderer Jung Da-hoon.”
***
Once the new additional quest was activated, chaos erupted in the bustling market cooperative, which had been frantically promoting businesses. People, wary of each other, began hiding their professions and clutching their heads in confusion, but eventually grouped together.
“First off, Painters, gather! Let’s hold an art contest to peacefully determine who stays!”
“Seekers, assemble!! Let’s quickly eliminate each other and secure new jobs first!”
“Time travelers, gather up!! We can all fit by disturbing space-time!! We’ll set time slots to play, so everyone get together now! Cooperate!!!”
While job classifications were sorted out on the bulletin board for efficient handling, our team simply sat back and enjoyed the show. Even if someone showed up with a duplicate class, none of them could possibly beat our team—who’d been here for months and had already gone full endgame.
On top of that, I’d recently earned major recognition for exterminating red ants and had been appointed as the youngest lizard to attend the Elder Council. I had another meeting scheduled for that afternoon.
“Make way for the Baby Fox Lizard!”
“The sovereign approaches, huh?”
I was being cradled gently in Kessler’s arms on my way to the Council. He had equipped my Medal of Merit with a special visual effect so that as we moved, the glowing medal floated along beside us.
At the center of the chamber sat Snake Rim, surrounded by the Elder Lizards. My designated seat was the very last one—on Kessler’s knee.
“The youngest has arrived.”
—The youngest has arrived kkadeuri?
I had only one reason for visiting today.
“I have a petition to submit as the youngest.”
—Go ahead and speak kkadeuri.
Kessler lifted me up and set me gently on the table.
“Unfortunately, among the players, no one else has the qualifications to become a Bug Exterminator. The ants only respond to my tail.”
Deep wrinkles appeared on the elder lizards’ foreheads. Not a single player capable of exterminating bugs? Useless beings.
“Therefore, I propose this. I currently rank first in contribution. But I can be ousted from this land at any time.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Snake Rim flinched and asked back.
“There are players who can activate ‘Switch Position.’ I’m ranked number one right now, and if someone learns my identity, they’ll try to pull me down.”
—Bring that bastard here. We’ll just kill him kkatturi!!
“That won’t work. We don’t know how many have the Switch Position skill or who they are. That’s why I’ve come here.”
I made eye contact with each of the Elders one by one and continued.
“I request that the bulletin board rankings for contributions remain hidden until the number of accepted residents is finalized. And please cancel the planned installation of the ‘Cool Fox Lizard Who Exterminated the Ants’ statue.”
I’d been set to receive a hero’s statue next to Snake Rim’s. But I couldn’t let that happen now.
Kessler, agreeing with his words, nodded and added:
“Even if the ants seem gone for now, the hidden eggs can hatch and swarm back in no time. You folks still need me and the Baby Fox Lizard.”
—Kkatturi!!
Voices of agreement echoed through the council hall.
That afternoon, as planned, a public contribution ranking board was set up where one could roughly guess who would be chosen if there were duplicate jobs.
“What the—? Why are all the names hidden?”
“What’s the top score……. Who is it?”
<Hall of Honor>
1) ???: 12,020,221 – This is your rank!
2) ???: 98,842
3) ???: 97,333
…
1511) ???: -33,551
“Top score is one thing, but what’s up with the negative score?”
“Must be a glitch?”
Faced with this question from someone, Kessler remained tightly lipped.
