Chapter 9
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Price of Salvation
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"Uwaaaah!! Save me!!"
The man darting through the alleyway ran for his life, desperate to shake off the horde of zombies chasing him.
Convinced that getting caught by those fast-approaching zombies would mean being torn apart without even a bone left behind, he pushed his body to its absolute limits, ignoring the burning in his lungs as he sprinted at full speed.
When the zombies first appeared, he'd been thrilled to become an Awakener after smashing one's head with a nearby boulder while it was attacking someone else.
It felt just like becoming the protagonist in a comic or movie.
In this chaotic world overrun by zombies, he'd thought he was special—the only one who could level up alone.
On top of that, he'd chosen the Combat Specialist trait, figuring it'd let him take down zombies with ease.
But then he learned that anyone who personally killed a zombie for the first time became an Awakener, and his trait wasn't anything special either. His excitement quickly faded.
Still, he didn't regret picking Combat Specialist.
To survive in this world, you had to be good at killing zombies, no matter what.
He'd heard from others that Awakening boosted your basic physical stats, and Combat Specialist gave an extra edge on top of that, just as you'd expect from a trait.
So he'd thought he was ahead of the curve, using his abilities to kill zombies and reaching level 3...
But taking on a horde of over ten was impossible. He could handle one or two, maybe, but he lacked the strength and skill for that many. Normally, he'd just avoid them.
Clang~
Unfortunately, while backing away, he kicked an unnoticed can, the noise drawing the zombie horde straight to him—and now here he was, in full chase.
'No, I don't want to die! Somebody save me!'
Unlike the man, whose strength was fading fast, the zombies showed no signs of tiring. The gap between them was closing.
Suddenly, his foot caught on a rock mid-stride, and he tumbled forward.
The pain of hitting the ground was brief. Realizing it was too late to escape the zombies now bearing down, he squeezed his eyes shut. It was the only way to block out the terror of death.
- Kwaaak!
- Kieeek!
- Splurt!
He braced for the zombies to tear into him, but after a few seconds with no sensation of pain or fangs, he cautiously opened his eyes. Standing right in front of him was a man, planted there like a mountain.
"Wh-what? Where are the zombies..."
Glancing around, he saw no sign of his pursuers. Instead, there were zombies scattered about—some with severed necks, sprawled lifelessly, others shriveled and twisted like mummies.
He wasn't an idiot. He instantly realized this newcomer had taken them all out.
The zombie slayer approached slowly, extending a hand to the fallen man.
As the man reached up to take it, the sunlight from above created a halo effect behind the savior, giving him the aura of a hero destined to save the world.
About to express his gratitude...
"Th-thank you for sav..."
Smack!
To his shock, the zombie killer swatted his hand aside.
Stunned, his mind blank, the man heard him say:
"Why the hell are you sticking your hand out, dude? Forget that—hand over your coins, punk."
@@@
The pathetic guy stares at me with a dumbfounded look after hearing my demand.
"C-coins?"
"Yeah. Cough up every last one you've got."
After parting ways with Yejin, I dove into serious zombie hunting to level up and gather demonic energy. While clearing out small clusters, I spotted this idiot leading around a pack of ten.
I figured he was pulling aggro to take them all at once, so I watched quietly. But when he tripped over that rock, it was obvious he was just running scared. I stepped in and wiped them out.
I made great use of the kitchen knife that dead guy at the convenience store gifted me—slicing throats or sucking out their demonic energy with Mana Drain to finish them off easily.
In return for saving his ass, I held out my hand for coins. Guess he thought I was helping him up.
"Give you everything...? What the hell?"
"If I hadn't, you'd be zombie chow right now. No coins, nothing. I saved you before that happened, so think of it as coming back from the dead and hand 'em over."
I see him grimace a little at my words.
Ha, check out this punk.
His eyes are darting—he's scheming something obvious. He's gonna pretend to give everything, but hold back.
"Listen, if you don't wanna die, give it all up straight. I know you can share your status window with others. Once I get the coins, I'll check it. If even one's left, you're dead meat."
While hanging with Yejin, I'd experimented: you can share your status window with others—partial or full.
Right now, checking his coin count that way will confirm everything.
He looks shocked. Guess he didn't know.
"I-I didn't know that... Here's everything I have."
He hands them over without a fuss: a whopping 24 coins.
"Oh? Not bad. Thanks, I'll put these to good use~"
I wave and head off.
After taking his coins, my total's now... 31 coins.
I'd gathered 9 from sniping zombie clusters from rooftops before running into him.
One thing confirmed: even after Awakening, killing zombies with Mana Drain doesn't count as "my kill" in the system.
I figured it out from the achievement counter, which ticks up every direct kill.
Zombie Slayer 1
Defeat 100 zombies.
Reward: 10 Coins
Current Kills: 18 / 100
From escorting Yejin back to the apartment today and saving that guy just now, I've taken out at least 40 zombies by hand.
Yet the count's only 18.
What does that mean? Mana Drain kills don't register. I have to slice throats myself for the system to acknowledge it.
This morning, focusing on Mana Drain meant no system credit for kills—and no coins.
It's like using a glitch in a game to kill monsters outside the allowed methods.
Once I realized that, I switched to the knife, and coins started coming in.
Man, it's annoying. I need to level up skills via the system and absorb demonic energy for free black magic use—but I can't do both at once.
Hunting efficiency's cut in half compared to others.
But going all-in on one side feels wrong.
I want both rabbits if I can get 'em.
I pondered briefly, then found the answer.
Simple: if my efficiency's lower than other Awakeners, just double—triple—the zombies I wipe out.
That way, I grow both without dropping either.
So I charged into every zombie-packed spot, massacring them indiscriminately.
Most folks are probably just Awakening now, barely handling one-on-one. Me? I'm beyond human weapon levels, slaughtering zombies like it's nothing.
Primary goals:
1. Level to 5, whatever EXP it takes.
2. Farm max coins to upgrade Equipment Crafting and Repair to level 2.
3. Gather demonic energy for Subspace.
Hand-killing zombies levels me up and gives coins. Use coins to boost skills.
For Subspace, not my prime-era size, but around 300 sq ft warehouse should work. In that other world, it was at least 20x bigger—wish I had the demonic energy for it.
Quantifying: if 1 unit per zombie via Mana Drain, Subspace needs about 300 units.
Steep now, but once made, opening/closing costs just 0.1. Worth it.
No more lugging food and gear awkwardly. Capacity dwarfs bags, and food inside doesn't spoil. Essential for early game.
Problem: farming that many zombies...
As I debate yelling to aggro hordes, I spot a massive zombie swarm in the distance.
Huh? That's... oh! K Mart, the big supermarket.
Hopping rooftops toward it, I see hundreds of zombies besieging the outside.
3-400 easy.
This... could be enough demonic energy for Subspace if I clear 'em all.