Chapter 77: 3-Star Dungeon Fastest Record
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: 3-Star Dungeon Fastest Record
Level 3 zombies are fast.
But I was faster.
Kieeeek!
The thrill of running faster than a female zombie—who was particularly high in agility—and grabbing her by the scruff of her neck was incredible.
Even though I was surrounded by zombies, I didn't feel like the weaker one at all.
I felt like a human standing in an anthill.
No matter how I walked or swung my fists.
I wasn't the one who had to dodge; it was the zombies.
Bang!
Whenever the number of zombies around me started to thin out, I fired off a pistol shot.
They were precious bullets, but now was not the time to hoard them.
I had thought about bringing a megaphone siren, but that would hurt my own ears, so I just substituted it with a pistol.
The effect was clear.
In a zombie apocalypse, a gun without even a suppressor was a reliable magnet for drawing zombies in.
How many had I killed?
At some point, even the Level 3 zombies started swarming in groups of two or three.
With 25 of them in total, these Level 3 zombies were so powerful that I wondered if I could have cleared this dungeon at all without my Cheat Mode active.
One was tough enough, but two, then three...
When creatures with different traits gathered, their synergy multiplied, putting immense pressure on me.
Crunch!
If my stats were even half of what they are now, I would have been the one in danger.
The average base stats of Level 3 zombies were 5★.
Depending on their individual traits, some might have higher agility, while others had higher strength.
So, when a few of these zombies grouped up, you couldn't let your guard down even if you were at the conventional stat limit of 10★.
But since I had double that stat value, I was fine.
After a certain point, no more zombies came rushing even when I fired the pistol.
– Clear Condition: Defeat all zombies (★: 481 / 500) (★★: 89 / 99) (★★★: 23 / 25)
The station, filled to the brim with zombie corpses, reeked of blood.
The smell of blood mixed with a stench so foul it made my head spin.
All that was left was to hunt down and eliminate the stragglers that hadn't shown up yet.
It didn't take long.
[Quest Complete!]
[4,000 Coins acquired]
[3 Points acquired]
[Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x5 acquired]
[ZA Cure (★★★) x2 acquired]
[Fastest Record Broken!]
[A 100% bonus reward has been distributed.]
No message appearing in the darkness could have been more welcome.
"Phew. Fuck."
So refreshing.
[Current South Korea ★★★ Dungeon Fastest Record: 58m 41s 10]
I finished it in just under an hour.
Clean.
If I had my way, I'd want to clear it in a few minutes.
I wanted to set a record like that, but this wasn't a game.
Real combat doesn't end with a few clicks like in a game.
I had killed a whopping 624 zombies.
Even if I only hit each one once, that would require 624 strikes. Clearing it this fast was only possible because I didn't rest for a single second; normally, a dungeon of this scale would have required camping out and tackling it over several days.
"Phew."
The sense of accomplishment was fucking insane.
I pulled a cigarette out of my backpack and lit it.
I don't actually smoke.
I barely had enough money to feed myself and survive the zombie apocalypse, so why the hell would I buy cigarettes that cost nearly 5,000 won a pack?
Even in the zombie apocalypse, I rarely picked the Chain Smoker trait.
It was basically a free stat boost with almost no penalty, making it a convenient mode once you became a veteran player.
But above all, smoking just didn't look cool, and it tasted awful, so I simply didn't want to do it.
Yet, every now and then, I'd get a sudden craving like this.
"Cough, cough."
Though every single time, I'd take one drag, grimace at the shitty taste, and throw it away.
"Phew."
Instead, I pulled out the ice cup and cola I had packed in my thermal pouch, poured it, and chugged it down.
"Ahhhh."
It felt like my thirst was completely washed away.
It made sense to be thirsty after fighting non-stop for nearly an hour.
In a sealed space with thin air, the stench of rotting corpses, and the smell of blood.
I wanted to get out of here quickly, but unfortunately, this was just the beginning.
Farming.
This was a Level 3 dungeon. Leaving without farming after clearing it would be as insane as taking a shit and walking away without wiping.
I started searching the zombies.
Given the sheer number of zombies, looting them naturally took much longer than killing them.
One thing was for sure: looting this time was far more satisfying than any farming I'd done before.
– Grants a 10% (+5%) chance to obtain 3 kg (+1.5 kg) of random animal meat from zombies.
– The meat will be randomly selected from beef, pork, or chicken, and the cut is also random.
Since I had 10 Normal Points from the doubled rewards of completing the dungeon quest, I upgraded my Level 6 Zombie Meat Mode all the way to Level 10.
A whopping 15% chance for 4.5 kg of meat.
Although the increase in meat quantity felt rather stingy, I shrugged it off, reminding myself that this mode was highly efficient in the early game anyway.
Besides, 4.5 kg was actually a massive amount of meat.
After searching just a few corpses, meat started dropping left and right.
"Looks like we're having a meat party."
Before long, I might end up with more meat than the Hetbahn we get rationed.
Then again, since the supply had upgraded to a Super-large Supply and we were getting more boxes, maybe not.
Level 1 and Level 2 items also dropped from the zombies.
Everything from weapons and armor to general survival gear.
The rare item drop rate was also 5%, so if any of these got a rare option, they'd be highly sought after.
I steadily filled my Level 4 Backpack, and just in case, I also stuffed items into the Level 3 Backpack I had brought along.
Once that was full, I could just put it inside the Level 4 Backpack.
Even with weight reduction, carrying two fully loaded backpacks would normally be heavy, but my Level 20 Strength made it a breeze to handle.
"Wow. Vaccines are just pouring out."
While "pouring out" might be a slight exaggeration, I had already picked up three Level 2 Vaccines—which would cost 200 Coins each from a Visiting Black Market Merchant. A Level 3 dungeon was definitely a goldmine.
By the time both of my bags were stuffed to the brim with meat and looted items,
I finally stepped out of the dungeon.
"Phew. So refreshing."
After spending nearly an hour in the pitch black relying on a single light source, the sunlight outside had never looked so welcoming.
Outside, I saw the Delivery Riders gathered around the entrance, holding their weapons and looking incredibly anxious.
"What are you guys doing?"
"C-Captain!"
The Left-hand Man rushed toward me with a deeply moved expression, but suddenly froze.
He probably found it unsettling to get too close to me, drenched in blood as I was.
"What?"
"A-Are you alright?"
"Did you think I'd kicked the bucket?"
"T-The blood..."
"Did I get bitten, or did I not?"
"Gasp!"
Teasing him just enough to give him a scare, I pointed at the iron door I had kicked open and broken earlier.
"Block it up again."
"Yes, sir!!"
I had cleared the Seongsu Station Dungeon Quest, but there was one more Event Quest.
Clear the Seongsu Station Dungeon and seal the station entrance.
Now that all the zombies inside Seongsu Station were cleared, I didn't really see the point of sealing it off, but since those were the clear conditions, I figured I'd just wrap it up by blocking it.
Screeech.
Fortunately, the door was only broken, not completely detached, so it still closed.
Though we'd have to redo the lock.
But the moment the door shut, the quest was marked complete.
[3 Points acquired]
[5,000 Coins acquired]
[Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x4 acquired]
[ZA Cure (★★★) x1 acquired]
The rewards were practically duplicating themselves.
It had only been a few hours since I reached Level 8 for my Safe Base, and my Points had already reached 10. My Normal Mode Points, which I had just spent 4 of to max out my Zombie Meat Mode to Level 10, were also restored back to 10.
The speed at which rewards were piling up was insane.
My Coins had easily surpassed 40,000. With the Paradise Membership bringing in thousands of fixed Coins every week, I didn't have to worry about money anymore.
I had gathered five Level 3 Vaccines, and by a rough estimate, eight Level 2 Vaccines.
I stopped counting the Level 1 Vaccines after ten.
On top of that, rewards from minor quests were waiting for my confirmation.
[Repeat Quest 1-4]
– Defeat zombies (★)
– 581 / 800
– Reward: 1 Point, Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x1
[Repeat Quest 2-2]
– Defeat zombies (★★)
– 100 / 100
– Reward: 1 Point, Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x1
[Repeat Quest 2-3]
– Defeat zombies (★★)
– 0 / 200
– Reward: 1 Point, Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x2
[Tutorial Quest 3]
– Defeat zombies (★★★)
– 5 / 5
– Reward: 1 Point
[Repeat Quest 3-1]
– Defeat zombies (★★★)
– 20 / 20
– Reward: 1 Point, Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x3
[Repeat Quest 3-2]
– Defeat zombies (★★★)
– 0 / 100
– Reward: 2 Points, Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x5, 19+ Mode Level (★) Selection Ticket x3
Because I had killed so many zombies in this dungeon, a flood of quests was completed all at once.
A massive amount of rewards poured in. Adding them all up...
3 Points, and 4 Points' worth of Normal Mode Level (★) Selection Tickets.
Repeat quests definitely offered formidable rewards.
"Am I going straight to Level 10...?"
For the past few days, I had done absolutely nothing but clash with the Seongsu Station Faction, and without a moment's rest, I had gone straight into the Seongsu Station Dungeon and back.
All of this was to raise the level of my Safe Base, which was right on the cusp of Level 10.
13 Points would be more than enough.
If it wasn't... fuck... well, it's not like I could do anything about it anyway, so I just prayed fervently.
I immediately leveled up my Safe Base twice in a row.
[Safe Base has reached 10★.]
[Base Invincibility has reached 10★.]
[Maximum level reached. You can no longer level up.]
Max level Cheat Mode!
Rather than joy, my eyes darted straight to my remaining Points.
Points Held: 1
"What? You've got to be fucking kidding me. Level 10 costs 7 points?!"