Chapter 40

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 40

Chapter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Title: Taking Down the Smasher

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After talking with Kang Jin, I headed up to the rooftop of the Haedong Faction's building.

Looking around, I spotted a new type of mutant zombie shambling about a block away. Its arms were so grotesquely oversized that even though it clearly had legs, it wasn't walking on them—instead, it supported its body with those two massive arms. It felt less like a mutant zombie and more like some kind of demonic beast.

Still, it probably attacks and bites people just like the rest, right?

- Kraaah! Kraaaahhh!

Suddenly, the thing let out a guttural roar and bolted down another street.

"What the hell? Did it spot someone?"

Taking it down was part of my deal with Kang Jin anyway, and killing it would net me both coins and Demonic Energy. Plus, offing a new mutant zombie type was bound to clear another achievement quest with some sweet rewards. No way was I letting this one get away.

I sprinted after it and found the bastard propping itself up on one arm while shoving the other toward its mouth. Up close, I could see it was clutching something that looked human—but the head was already torn off. Too late for whoever that was.

Regular zombies seem to bite people just enough to infect them before letting go once they turn, like they're trying to spread the horde. But mutants? They don't give a damn about that. They just devour their prey outright.

It was tearing into the body like it was having dinner.

Alright then. Time to put this freak down.

I drew my kitchen knife and approached the mutant zombie slowly. Sensing me, it turned its head in my direction.

And to my shock... it smiled at me.

Like it was amused that its prey had come right to its doorstep.

Does this thing actually have some intelligence? It can't talk, sure, but maybe it's different from the mindless regular zombies that charge at anything human on sight.

Eager for fresh meat, it tossed the half-eaten corpse aside and lunged at me. As the distance closed and I entered its range, it swung its right arm sideways in a brutal swipe.

I leaped into the air to dodge the whistling strike, then landed on its arm.

From there, I scrambled up the limb and slashed at its neck with my knife.

Clang!

"Huh? What the—?"

I'd thought I'd cleaved its neck clean off in one go, but the blade barely pierced the flesh. Instead, it rang out like it'd struck solid iron.

- Krawaaaaahhh!

Maybe because I'd gone straight for the throat, or because it hadn't crushed me in one hit, its amused grin twisted into a furious scowl.

This time, it clenched both fists overhead and hammered them down.

I'd figured its legs had atrophied since it only walked on its arms, but nope—it stood just fine on them.

Wait, not the time for that.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

It was pounding away like it wanted to turn me into minced meat, alternating arms in a frenzy. Each fist cratered the concrete, splitting it wide open. A normal person would've been pulverized—bones shattered, instant death. Most folks probably couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even dodge it. But after countless brushes with death, slow swings like these were nothing to me.

Clang!

I dodged again, vaulted onto its arm, and slashed at the neck once more. Still no damage.

Worse, the blade chipped, a crack spiderwebbing across it.

This knife had been super handy since the apocalypse hit, but I guess its time was up.

Oh, right... this was the one I took from that guy charging me at the convenience store on day one. Eh, not a big loss.

As I chucked the useless knife aside, the mutant zombie raised its arm high for another smash. The ground should've split with a thunderous crack like before—but it got a nasty surprise instead.

Thud!

Its fist detached from the arm mid-swing, sailing through the air past my head before hitting the ground behind me. It had planted its legs this time, aiming to pin me flat. Now it stared at its stump in stunned disbelief, eyes bulging.

Its own fist was just... gone. From mid-forearm down, nothing.

All it could see was the cleanly severed cross-section.

I'd flung the kitchen knife away, so I had no choice but to dip into black magic.

This spell conjures a sword of black flames fueled by Demonic Energy. I timed it perfectly with its downward swing, slicing the arm clean off. If I had infinite Demonic Energy, I could've swept through zombies with just this—no physical blade needed. Sadly, it guzzles the stuff, so I can't keep it up long.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠charged the dumbfounded monster and slashed its neck just like before. This time, the head sheared off, parting from the body.

Mutant zombie down. I rushed to the corpse and cast Mana Drain to absorb its Demonic Energy. Tough enough to shrug off the knife, and it packed a serious payload.

Dark Flame Sword took about 150 to cast plus 2 per second to hold. This thing had roughly 100 Demonic Energy. Net loss numerically, but a zombie hoarding that much means it was a boss-tier freak—like a named enemy in a game.

Right then, a system window popped up.

So the mutant zombie I just bagged was called a Smasher. And popping it triggered an achievement quest worth a whopping 150 coins.

Checking my total: 1,773 coins now.

I had 1,573 before the Smasher, plus 150 from the quest—that means the kill itself dropped 50 coins.

If these things were everywhere, I'd be set. Sucks there's only the one.

A spell like Devouring Dread, which I used on that 1,000-zombie swarm today, could've one-shot this Smasher too. Same Demonic Energy cost, way better returns on energy and coins.

Curious if more Smashers lurked nearby, I poked around a bit. No luck—just regular zombies.

I cleared out every normal zombie in sight, then headed back to the Haedong Faction.

"Hey! Open the damn door!"

Too lazy to climb to the roof, I banged on the barricaded door. Footsteps scrambled from inside, and it swung open.

"O-oh, you're back?"

"Yeah, I handled what you wanted. Take me to Kang Jin."

Up on the roof, Kang Jin emerged from a room, waiting for me.

"Jaehwan! You're safe!"

"Of course. That thing's nothing to me. Might be a monster to you guys, though."

"Incredible... I couldn't even dream of facing it, but you took it down solo. You're amazing!"

"As a service, I checked for more around—no sign of any. No other mutants for now."

Kang Jin looked floored, like he hadn't expected me to go that far.

"Th-thank you! Truly, thank you!"

His injured leg kept him in the wheelchair, but he bowed deeply. The others followed suit, murmuring thanks.

I'd said it offhand, but they took it seriously. Not that it was a lie—I really had scouted around. Plus, they probably never dreamed I'd actually show up. Pressing a panic button like that? And magic alerting me? Unthinkable here.

With their problem solved, I figured I'd head out—then I noticed all the injured again.

And just like that, a way to farm coins hit me.

"I'm about to bounce, but look at you all—beat to hell. Think you can hold off another wave?"

"H-honestly... no guarantees."

Kang Jin hung his head, voice deflated.

"Figured. How're you supposed to fight with all those wounds? Tell you what—want me to heal you up?"

"W-what?! You can do that?"

"Not me personally, but yeah, I can make it happen. Won't be free, though. Coins."

"If healing's possible... we'll pay!"

I couldn't help smirking at his answer.

Perfect. Time to head home and pump up Yejin's skills.

Was gonna upgrade mine, but boosting hers works too. Turn her into an instant clinic.