Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Subspace Stockpile and Familiar Faces
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Items stored in my subspace are transported to an entirely different world, so things like food remain perfectly preserved in the exact state they were put in. Just this ability alone lets me live overwhelmingly more comfortably than anyone else.
My subspace can only be opened and closed by me, so there's no worry about thieves, and everything inside stays perfectly preserved. How convenient is that?
The only downside is that with its current size, I can't fit every single item from a massive supermarket.
If I could make it as big as the one I used in that other world, I'd be able to store everything from every floor of K Mart.
Well, given the situation, even a generous soul like me can hold off for now.
I opened my pre-made subspace and started stuffing it with as much food from the first floor of K Mart as possible. The first things I put in were room-temperature-stable items like canned tuna.
Since the subspace is still pretty small and can't hold everything, my plan is to first move over items that can fit in my apartment, then come back for more to store inside the subspace itself.
Using the entire supermarket as my base isn't a bad idea, but too many unwanted visitors would show up. I knew there were tons of useful supplies here when I came, and others will think the same— they'll come scavenging for anything edible.
Of course, entertaining such guests wouldn't be an issue. With my current strength, I could give any visitor the utmost hospitality. If they're a particularly nasty piece of work, I could even send them straight to heaven—literally.
But dealing with guests day and night, one after another, would get annoying fast.
It's better to just grab everything I need and take it back to my place.
I packed up what could fit at home and was about to head back quickly to unpack when a problem cropped up.
Oh right—my apartment is ridiculously tiny.
It's an officetel a bit smaller than the subspace size I think of as "small." If I unpacked everything from the subspace into my room, I'd have no living space left.
This was an unexpected issue.
But it was solved just as quickly.
If it won't fit in my room, I can use another room. Ever since the zombie apocalypse hit, it seems like I'm the only one left on my floor.
Empty rooms make perfect warehouses for my stuff—no problems there.
I grabbed the doorknob to the next-door apartment and opened it.
- Grrr...
- Kreaaak!
Two zombies inside greeted me. They looked like the original owners of the place, but I effortlessly converted them into precious demonic energy for myself.
To turn this into a warehouse, I figured I'd toss out anything unnecessary. I'm not living here anyway. To maximize space, I threw out all the appliances, wardrobes, and everything else.
If zombies get drawn here by the junk I tossed, even better.
To me right now, zombies are just walking experience points, coins, and lumps of demonic energy. Hundreds swarming at once might be a hassle, but otherwise, I wish they'd keep coming.
"Nice, it's all cleaned up now."
Once I cleared out all the junk, the cramped room suddenly felt spacious. For starters, I'll stash the stuff I just brought here.
I pulled everything out of the subspace and neatly stacked it in the room. Then, to keep anyone else from taking it, I set up a simple trap spell.
If someone forces their way in, arrows made of demonic energy will fly out and take care of the intruder.
I only have a little demonic energy right now, so I can only make 1-star level magic, which is a shame. Normally, I'd set up something far more intricate and powerful.
But considering the current level of Awakeners out there, this should be more than enough.
Once I finished sorting things out, I dashed back to K Mart. There's still plenty more to grab.
On the way, I casually took out any zombies I encountered, happily arriving at K Mart to load up more, then returned to the room to unpack. Rinse and repeat.
After a couple of trips, it feels like I've cleared out everything worth taking from the supermarket.
With this much, I won't have to worry about food for a while.
I spotted a few people heading to the mart along the way, but since I'd already taken all the good stuff, they can have whatever's left. I headed home.
Now, time to spend some coins.
Raiding the mart meant taking out zombies along the way, so my coin count finally broke past 100.
Now I can finally upgrade a skill.
Looking at the descriptions of my current skills, there's honestly nothing all that useful for the situation right now.
[Equipment Crafting Lv 1: Allows crafting of simple items. Current level too low for complex items.]
Under the skill description, there's a list of craftable items.
[Craftable List]
- Rope
- Portable Water Purifier Filter
- Flint
...
It's really just the bare minimum for survival. No way to craft modern conveniences like electronics or anything people used to rely on.
Plus, crafting isn't free—you need materials, gathered yourself, or you can burn coins instead. That's what I found out.
The moment I saw that, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.
The world's gone to hell—how am I supposed to scavenge all those materials? Better just kill zombies and use the coins they drop.
But crafting purely with coins costs way more than expected. Probably designed to be inefficient for easy stuff.
Take rope from the list: 20 coins to craft with coins alone.
For that.
And the other skill, Equipment Repair, is even worse.
[Equipment Repair Lv 1: Repairs broken items. Current level too low for complex items.]
Not only can't I fix the electronics I use daily if they break, but repairs cost coins too. Total garbage efficiency right now.
How's anyone supposed to survive picking Technician?
A Combat Specialist can directly kill zombies, rack up coins fast, and upgrade skills. But support types like Technician only get a slight physical boost—nothing for combat—so we can't farm zombies efficiently.
I don't know the system's creator's intent, but maybe it's meant for Combat Specialists to earn coins killing zombies, then upgrade support skills in a symbiotic setup.
Whatever. As a Technician, I can self-sustain my coins, so no big deal.
Alright, let's upgrade [Equipment Crafting Lv 1] first.
I spent 100 earned coins and hit skill upgrade.
Equipment Crafting Lv 2 skill upgrade successful!
Craftable equipment list expanded.
Coin cost for crafting slightly reduced.
Ah, so upgrading skills adds to the craftable list and reduces coin costs for existing items.
Higher skill levels mean crafting simple gear costs fewer coins for better efficiency, plus access to better stuff. In a crumbling zombie apocalypse, this trait becomes essential over time.
Right now, with civilization's tools still around, it might not seem helpful, but a few months in—when power and water cut out—it'll be invaluable.
Looks like I should keep killing zombies tomorrow and the day after to farm coins and upgrade.
But then, what's the point of my personal level? Still no clue.
Well, now that the zombie apocalypse has kicked off, maybe more info will come later.
About three days passed like that.
My daily routine is set: clear zombies around the apartment to stockpile coins and demonic energy.
No telling when something might happen, so this is always priority one.
One weird thing: I think I've wiped out all nearby zombies, but the next day, they're crawling around again.
These zombies probably aren't transformed humans—they're more like game monsters spawned from nothing. Otherwise, why do new ones keep appearing despite my daily cleanups?
Assuming zombies from other areas migrated here doesn't make sense either. No reason for them to gather.
Fine by me—more zombies mean more fun farming at home.
Thanks to that, I've built up a nice coin stash.
Leveled up twice more, and I spent 100 coins to upgrade Equipment Repair too. Next upgrade demands 200, so I'm farming hard. Plus, I've got about 150 demonic energy stockpiled.
A bit regrettable—I could've had more coins if I'd just killed those zombies outright instead of harvesting magi—but black magic lets me solo zombie massacres, so no complaints.
"Hum~ hum hum~"
Today, I'm on an expedition farther from home, clearing out all zombies in the area. It's so fun, I'm even humming without thinking.
Hm? I see people coming. A group heading this way: four guys and one woman.
Strangers, of cour—wait, no.
One of the women is someone I know. Wonder why she's here? Might as well go say hi.
They seem to be searching the surroundings...
"Hey~ what brings you here?"
"Y-You?!"
I approached and greeted her, and the woman—Yejin—who recognized me looked shocked.
Didn't expect to run into her again like this. But she looks... rough.
Her complexion is bad, and in just three days, she seems a bit thinner.
Plus, she looks kinda grimy.
Surely she didn't suffer after I sent her back to the apartment?
I told her to take care...
```