Chapter 78
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Taker Emerges
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On the seventh and final day of the Zombie Wave, the system window delivered some truly intriguing news.
Mutant Zombie Taker cannot be defeated at the current Awakener level.
One might complain about why the system would introduce something like this during the Zombie Wave—something no ordinary Awakener could possibly handle. If I were just a regular Awakener, I'd definitely be voicing that gripe right now.
Honestly, even I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why trot out a mutant zombie that's impossible to take down at this exact moment?
Most Awakeners would probably celebrate surviving the massive ordeal of the final Zombie Wave, but if something like this popped up out of nowhere, it'd be pure despair.
And the system had straight-up declared that no current Awakener could beat it, which would only amplify that hopelessness.
Then the system window kept going with more messages.
Mutant Zombie Takers generated during the Zombie Wave will automatically vanish when the wave ends.
Regular zombies will not disappear after the Zombie Wave ends.
Upon the Zombie Wave's conclusion, regular zombies' stats will revert to pre-wave levels.
So that's how they handle these powerhouse mutant zombies—they just auto-delete at the end of the wave.
Whatever's behind the Zombie Wave seems intent on making us Awakeners see it as an insanely grueling, suffocating trial.
Otherwise, why bother introducing a Taker and declaring it unbeatable right now?
The Taker is probably a mutant zombie slated to show up later, once we've grown stronger.
Even the Smashers from the early wave were beasts that folks without natural talent like Sohui or Ha Dong-seok couldn't solo—group raids were the only way.
If they'd thrown those in right at the start?
Sohui and Ha Dong-seok probably would've gotten wrecked.
It's RPG gospel: monsters scale with player growth.
I figure the system's architect plans to roll out progressively tougher zombies over time.
"Whoa... Oppa, what do we do about this? Isn't this a huge problem?"
While I was lost in thought reading the system window, Yejin woke up in the morning sunlight, spotted it herself, and put on a shocked face.
"A mutant zombie that no current Awakener can beat... I haven't faced one myself yet, but Sohui told me they're insanely strong. And now there's a Taker that's even tougher? Shouldn't we just hole up in the house today?"
Yejin poured out her words in a worried tone, trying to gently persuade me.
She looked like she was fretting that coin-obsessed me might head out zombie-hunting again and run into a Taker.
"Yeah. Guess we shouldn't go outside today."
"Right? Let's just lie in bed, read those comics you brought back, and kill time quietly. The Takers all vanish when the wave ends anyway, yeah?"
I got up from the bed while listening to a relieved, chipper Yejin. As I opened the door to head out, she asked in a dazed voice.
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"Can you pass the word to Sohui and Ha Dong-seok not to wander outside today for no reason?"
"...What about you, Oppa?"
"I'm obviously going out to farm coins."
Yejin froze, staring at me like her screen had glitched into blue-screen-of-death mode. Then she snapped out of it and yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Whaaat? No way, Oppa! The system just warned about a super-strong mutant zombie! Even you could die if you bump into that thing!"
It was natural for Yejin to worry about me. She'd been able to live safe and comfy in this zombie apocalypse thanks to me.
I knew she saw me toddling innocently into a treacherous jungle like a naive baby—that's why she said stuff like that.
But there was one thing Yejin didn't know about me.
That I possessed a special power utterly unlike any other Awakener's.
A power so overwhelmingly superior it wasn't even comparable.
"Don't worry. I'm never gonna die. You just tell everyone to hunker down safe at my base today like I said. Got it?"
"B-but... Are you really okay?"
Yejin walked over, eyes full of concern. I placed a hand on her head, smiled, and said,
"Of course. Who do you think I am? Worrying about me is the most pointless thing in the world. Now go do what I told you."
"Okay... I got it."
"Oh, Ha Dong-seok'll probably listen if you say it's from me, but Sohui might sneak out anyway. So tell her this: if she goes outside today, I'll destroy her precious stuff."
Sohui might risk it all to farm coins today. Better to over-warn ahead of time, so I threw in Miyoung as collateral.
Yejin nodded like she'd gotten the message, then headed to her room to change before stepping out of the building.
"Right on time, all gathered as usual. Perfect."
Outside the base, fresh zombies spawned during the wave were swarming the barricade, desperate to get in. Naturally, these chumps couldn't scratch it.
The only slight worry was if a Taker showed up and hammered the barricade—would it chip away at the HP?
Still, I'd pumped so many points into Base Reinforcement that its durability was insane.
If a Taker showed up and smashed it, and the HP plummeted instantly? That'd be a problem.
Better test it just in case.
Find a Taker, lure it back to base, make it whack the barricade. If no HP loss, I can roam freely and hunt zombies. If there is damage, decide based on how much.
First up: hunt down a Taker...
Figure out what it looks like and where it is.
I vaulted over the base barricade and hit the streets, aggroing zombies while circling the area.
Somehow, the zombie horde trailing me felt a tad thinner. Imagination?
Nah, their numbers seemed down.
I pondered why, then double-checked that morning's system announcement.
"Ah... no wonder the zombie count dropped."
Looking back, it mentioned a slight decrease in zombie spawns.
I'd been so fixated on the Taker that I skimmed it wrong—thought it was an increase, but nope, decrease.
Probably figured Awakeners were already struggling with Takers; piling on more zombies would've been too much, so they dialed it back.
"Sigh... I don't need that kind of mercy!!"
More zombies means more coins for me.
But nerfing the numbers? That slashes my potential earnings on the last day of the wave.
A total disaster.
Fine. I'll make up for the lost zombies by slaughtering every Taker I can find.
Takers drop coins too, right?
No other way to offset the loss!
Fuming to myself, I magic'd the trailing zombies into oblivion and prowled the city until I spotted a massive, never-before-seen brute.
"Whoa... yeah, no current Awakener could handle that thing."
The presumed Taker exuded an overwhelming presence.
Size-wise, it dwarfed normal zombies.
Easily over 5 meters tall, its body was a bulging mass of muscles screaming raw destructive power.
Just its arms rivaled a Smasher's—maybe bigger. Difference? Smashers were just arm-freaks; Taker was muscle-bound head to toe.
Oddly, while regular zombies vaguely resembled humans, this one had no face. Just a massive maw on its head—no eyes, nose, or ears.
Instead, human-ear-looking things plastered its body.
Skin that's all one big ear? Something like that?
Up close, it looked pieced together from mangled humans—hand-shaped flaps on the skin too.
What a freakish design.
Visually, it was way beyond what current Awakeners could dream of tackling. Rush it, and one swing of those arms would sweep you into oblivion.
Watching from afar, a pebble under my foot clattered down as I shifted— and the Taker whipped its head my way.
"What? It heard that tiny noise from there?"
We were a good ten meters apart. Picking up a pebble drop from that range?
Those myriad body-ears caught every whisper.
Perfect. I needed to test it anyway once I found one.
"Yeah, you ugly bastard! Over here! Blind freak!"
I bellowed loud enough for it to hear. Sure enough, it gaped its maw and charged my direction, bulldozing buildings in its path without a care.
"Ha, crazy son of a bitch. Come on, chase me good!"
I bolted toward my base with the Taker hot on my heels, then dashed inside once I arrived.
"Oh, Jaehwan-ssi. I heard you went out... Gah! What the hell is that?!"
Ha Dong-seok was chatting with his crew inside when I entered. He spotted the oncoming Taker and freaked, his men right behind him.
"What is that thing? No—evacuate now, quick!"
"Chill. Just verifying something."
I ignored Ha Dong-seok's shouts and watched the Taker barrel toward the base. It slammed into my invisible barricade at full speed.
- Boom!
The impact roared like thunder, sending the Taker tumbling back.
Let's see—barricade HP?
"Nice. Zero HP loss."
I checked if other attacks beyond a charge would dent it—nope, HP stayed rock-solid.
Perfect. Now it's prime hunting time.