Feeling embarrassed about tensing up, I pretended I hadn’t, but he tilted his head, slightly puzzled, and focused again on tightening the waist belt.

After making a little space by inserting his forefinger, he finished setting it up.

“This should be good. You can take it off now.”

“Thank you. You seem to be taking great care of everything. It’s really reassuring.”

He even helped me take off the backpack. Despite his stern manner of speaking, his actions were gentle. He was earnest and helpful whenever I asked for something.

Why did my brother treat such a decent person as strange and tell me not to reveal that he’s my brother?

He’s such a good person.

“I’m just following what my senior taught me. He used to take care of things this way.”

“Your senior?”

“Yes. I didn’t know anything when I first awakened, but that person helped me a lot.”

Could that senior be… my brother?

I had heard that Chae Donghwa joined the association right after graduating from the academy.

If he’s imitating the way my brother helped him, it makes sense that he takes care of others like this. My brother used to take care of me all the time in place of our busy parents.

“He must be a good person…”

“Yes, he was.”

After a brief conversation, a moment of silence followed. It felt awkward to ask or add anything about this.

“Oh! What should we take for food?”

I clapped my hands and changed the topic to break the slightly awkward air.

“How about a refreshing fish cake soup with radish?”

“Sounds good.”

We busied ourselves preparing food. I decided to pack food for three, just in case.

‘But is the tent spacious enough?’

[Backpacking Lightweight Tent

Suitable for 2 people

Setup instructions (Fold ▼)]

At least it was suitable for two people. The medium-sized tent used at the campground was for two people but spacious enough for four.

Since the tent would serve as a shelter while the skill was active, it seemed necessary to share it with him.

But two tents would be too much to carry along with the other gear, exceeding the 10kg limit. And I couldn’t let someone who helped me sleep outside.

‘Is it okay…?’

Despite the necessity of the situation, I hesitated about sharing a tent with him.

‘Ah, what could possibly happen?’

But soon, I shook my head, dismissing my concerns.

We would be sleeping in separate sleeping bags anyway, so even if we rolled around in our sleep, we wouldn’t touch each other.

Besides, someone as focused on the quest buff as him didn’t seem likely to do anything inappropriate.

Although I hadn’t known him long, he seemed trustworthy to me.

The day arrived. It was the first time in a long while that I was leaving the campground.

I had thought there would be no need to leave before reaching level 10.

“Owner, how many egg salad sandwiches did you pack?”

“Five.”

“Did you pack your gear? Is the crafting hammer okay? I wonder if it can handle the tough skins of the monsters.”

As I was about to leave the campground with my packed gear, Teddy seemed worried and restless.

“I probably won’t need to fight monsters. I’m carrying this to use the ‘Wasn’t That a Pack’ skill for binding if we encounter them. And I have someone to help me.”

“But…”

Chae Donghwa had already finished preparing and was waiting for me, leaning against a tree.

“It’s going to be very cold at night…”

“I’m fine. Please take good care of the campground while I’m away. You can do it, right?”

“Yes, Owner.”

I waved goodbye and left the campground. Teddy watched me until I was out of sight.

As I turned the corner and Teddy was out of view, Chae Donghwa approached me.

“I’ll set up the group first.”

“Okay.”

The system had a ‘group’ feature that linked multiple people into a team.

Setting up a group allowed the sharing of skill usage information and the application of group buffs by designating the group as the target of the skill.

[‘Chae Donghwa(S)’ has sent a group request to ‘Yubom(F)’.

Accept / Decline] [The group has been formed.]

“I’ll use the ‘Invincible Backpacker’ skill.”

“Okay.”

[Yubom(F) used ‘Invincible Backpacker(S)’.] [Invincible Backpacking Quest

Thoroughly read the LNT guideline manual.

Reward: Invincibility for 3 hours]

The quest arrived immediately.

“What’s this? The quest says to thoroughly read the LNT guideline manual?”

It was something unknown from the very first step.

“LNT stands for Leave No Trace. It signifies the practice of not leaving any trace when visiting nature. These are essential principles that should be applied to all outdoor activities, regardless of location and situation.”

“Oh, I see.”

[LNT Seven Ethical Guidelines

Plan ahead and prepare.

Camp on durable and stable grounds.

Minimize waste and dispose of it properly.

Be content with observing.

Minimize campfire impacts.

Respect wildlife.

Be considerate of other visitors.]

Detailed explanations popped up. If it’s just about reading, then the quest seemed easy.

[Yubom(F) has completed the ‘Invincible Backpacking Quest’.]