Chapter 54
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Bell's One-Shot Limit
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But there was one problem.
Acquiring a new trait was great, but to use it, I'd need an extra trait slot.
To get that, the user—Sohee's mom—would need to level up by at least 10. From what I'd seen of Sohee's behavior so far, there was no way she'd let her own mother risk zombie hunting. So her mom's level was probably still 1.
Getting from level 1 to 10 would require killing a ton of zombies, and making Sohee's mom do that from now on seemed like it'd be pretty damn tough.
Even for her mom, I'd need to prepare thousands of zombies with their limbs chopped off so she could finish them off easily. Hoarding zombies like that without killing them? Yeah, that's ridiculous.
Might as well just kill them all myself and spend my own coins.
If I had to use the new trait right now, that'd be one thing, but it wasn't valuable enough to rush leveling for. No need to hurry.
For now, I'd hold onto it. Once I got home, I should check out the Farmer's skills too. Just like how Yejin earned XP by healing the injured with her skills, maybe the Farmer gets XP from producing food or something.
Excluding the Combat Specialist trait directly tied to fighting, it seemed like the system was set up for other jobs to earn XP through their skills, not just zombie kills.
So, should I stash the new Chef trait in my Subspace and gather more zombies to test it out?
I replayed the school bell sound that had drawn the massive zombie horde earlier.
If this pulled in as many as before, great. Do it two or three times, and the coins would pile up.
But something felt off.
Zombies were coming, sure, but way fewer than last time.
The first time, I'd seen over a thousand swarming at once. Now? Maybe a little over a hundred, tops.
I kept it playing just in case, but the horde around the school barely hit over two hundred.
Only one conclusion: I'd wiped out every zombie the bell could attract earlier.
The ones trickling in now were from the edge of the sound's range, barely hearing it. Anything within range was gone.
The buildings must've muffled it before; now that they were gone, the sound spread farther, pulling in this many.
Basically, the bell was a one-time deal.
Shoving aside the disappointment, I pulled out my sword and applied Mana Drain. No point wasting Demonic Energy on mid-tier magic for just over two hundred zombies.
Better to get some exercise and hunt them by hand.
I left the bell ringing and leaped out of the school. Zombies spotted me and charged, but one by one, they fell to my blade.
About five minutes later by my count, not a single one was left. The bell kept tolling, but nothing came.
Too bad zombies don't respawn daily. If they did infinitely, I could've sat here, waited for a bunch to gather, swept them with magic, and repeated.
Today alone, I'd have raked in tens of thousands of coins, easy.
No point sticking around—no more zombies to kill. I shut off the bell and headed farther out.
The area within three hundred meters of the school was a barren wasteland now. Time to scout beyond that.
I wanted to check where the zombies were clustering and find spots to draw huge hordes like this one—prime hunting grounds.
From my house, I'd come north, so I'd keep going that way.
North led to the Han River, so maybe more people around.
While at it, I swung toward Yeouido. Sohee mentioned some weird group advertising a "paradise" there last time.
If possible, I'd check it out.
I moved fast and reached Guro, spotting a zombie horde. Roughly under a thousand, by the look.
The zombies were piling up against an apartment—couldn't tell how many people were inside—stacking into a tower to climb. Folks on the rooftop were desperately fighting back.
Some fired guns nonstop; those without chucked heavy objects down.
But the horde was overwhelming. No way they held out.
From the looks, every sound-sensitive zombie nearby had piled here.
About five had guns. Farther back, someone shooting arrows?
She wielded what looked like an Olympic recurve bow, firing precise shots at zombies. Slim build, long hair past her shoulders—woman, probably.
Was she an archer? Every arrow nailed a zombie head. She'd even target load-bearers in the pile, shaking the tower.
Way better than the gun nuts spraying wildly.
The shooters barely aimed, just hosing down. Plenty of zombies below, so they hit something, but no one-shots—just holes.
Headshots? Pure luck.
Despite their efforts, the numbers were too much—no breaking the siege. Some gave up, slumping on the roof, dropping guns.
Only the archer kept fighting till her arrows ran out.
What to do?
Option one: Let the apartment folks get overrun. Option two: Step in, wipe the zombies, save them.
Not really about saving—just farming the horde for coins.
Even if I picked one, I'd clear them all. Difference? Let the Awakeners get bitten, see if they turn mutant, then finish them.
Thinking back, when I lured that horde before, the few swept up didn't just turn—they got torn and trampled beyond zombifying.
So odds of proper mutants from this crew? Low. No waiting—wipe now.
The people at Dawon Apartment were mostly in full panic.
"Argh! We're done for! Totally screwed!"
"I don't wanna die! Waaah!"
"That's why I said be careful! Who was it? Who pulled the zombies here?!"
From screaming death-haters to those bawling helplessly on the spot, to finger-pointing in crisis—everyone ignoring the horde climbing up.
Park Mina sighed, gripping her compound bow. Truth was, the guy blaming others was the one who drew the horde here.
Midday, he'd spotted hordes moving one way and yelled it was their chance to scavenge outside. Most opposed, fearing it'd agro zombies here.
They'd watched next-door survivors get hit live that morning for making noise—too scared of the same fate.
But he dragged his yes-men out anyway.
Time passed. He returned.
Trailing countless zombies.
If they'd died out there from aggro, fine. But he doomed the hiders too.
'That bastard's gonna get us all killed.'
Mina wanted to arrow him, but no ammo left—and no killer instinct. Impossible.
Resigned to the horde sweeping them, she peered down. Then—
Suddenly, a man landed on the rooftop like he'd dropped from the sky.
"Huh? What?"
Not just the impossible descent—his actions weirder.
He strolled casually toward the climbing zombies, hand outstretched, face blank.
Who was he? What now? The apartment folks held breath, watching.
Mina edged closer, curious, glanced down. Unbelievable.
Zombies stacking towers—gone. Vanished without trace.
Like they'd never been.
"What? What's happening? Hey? The zombies—gone!"
Lee Kangin, her archery training buddy, saw Mina's shock, checked below. Horde that'd nearly topped the roof? Nothing. She gasped.
"What? Zombies gone?"
"No zombies?"
"For real? Seriously?!"
Hearing Kangin, others rushed, confirmed. Safe now, they collapsed in relief, tension draining.
Some clasped hands, praying to the newcomer.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
"God, we thank you!"
Others joined, praying alike.
As all prayed, Mina squinted at him, uncomprehending.
They called him god? She wouldn't drop her guard on this mystery man.
'Just who the hell is he?'