Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Shelter.
A fenced compound built by survivors.
A group of people had gathered inside, surrounded by armed guards.
I was among them.
At the very front stood a man holding a loudspeaker as he called out names.
“Lee Soonchu, Baek Sangsun, Choi Han. Step forward.”
The two people beside me immediately exploded in anger and pointed at the man.
“What?!”
“What kind of bullshit is this?!”
I frowned as well.
Because my name was Choi Han.
The man looked at our stunned expressions and sneered.
“You can walk out on your own, or we kill you ourselves. Choose.”
Just because there were two options didn’t mean there was a real choice.
“Damn it…”
“Shit. We should’ve joined the other side when we had the chance…”
The man looked down at us after we finally gave up and tossed something over.
Backpacks.
“Well, you still worked for the shelter all this time, so we packed some food for you.”
How generous of you, asshole.
Trying to act noble over this too?
Without another word, we slung the bags over our shoulders and turned around.
Creeeak…
The iron gate opened.
Air from outside rushed in.
The smell of rot, dust, and something else.
A smell too strange to properly describe.
If there was a fitting name for it, it would probably be death.
The moment we stepped outside the shelter—
Creeeak… Bang!
The gate slammed shut behind us.
None of us bothered turning back.
That door was never opening again anyway.
We looked at one another.
“So… what are you planning to do now?”
“I’m… going to wander around and look for another shelter. What about you?”
One of the men asked me the question.
It was obvious from his expression.
He wanted us to stick together.
But—
“I’m leaving to find someone I know.”
The truth was different.
These bastards were dead weight.
I had been kicked out because of politics inside the shelter.
Those two were another story entirely.
Lazy pieces of trash who avoided work and sexually harassed women whenever they got the chance.
So I made an excuse.
“Then why not travel with us until you find this acquaintance of yours?”
He asked casually, but my answer had already been decided.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hah… unbelievable. How are you planning to survive alone in a world like this? Come on, let’s go.”
“Yeah…”
One apology was all it took for their true colors to show.
The two men spat on the ground and walked away with ugly expressions on their faces.
I headed in the exact opposite direction.
“Fuck.”
The curse slipped out naturally.
No matter how I thought about it, this was unfair.
“They abandoned me? Hope none of those bastards survive.”
The reason for my exile was ridiculous.
All because I refused to join their stupid political games.
I knew politics naturally formed anywhere people gathered.
But still.
I hated that kind of thing, so I stayed out of it.
“Being neutral really gets you screwed over.”
The shelter had been divided into two factions.
They fought, one side won, and took complete control.
The leader changed.
The system changed.
And while purging the opposition, they also kicked out anyone neutral they didn’t like.
I was one of them.
“Sigh…”
I trudged forward with a dirty face and a backpack hanging from my shoulders.
I had no idea where I was going.
For now, I just planned to keep walking until I found somewhere usable as a hideout.
Crunch.
Broken glass cracked beneath my feet.
I immediately froze and scanned my surroundings.
Nothing.
I let out a breath.
“Grrrraaah…”
Then—
A strange sound came from the side.
A zombie.
“Fucking bastards.”
I quickly moved aside.
Holding my breath, suppressing every movement, I barely shifted my gaze to follow the creature’s path.
The zombie sniffed the air a few times before continuing on its way.
The reason modern civilization collapsed.
Well, technically not because of zombies themselves, but because of the other things born from them.
Though at the root of it all, zombies really were the cause.
“Huu…”
Only after the zombie disappeared from sight did I finally exhale.
“Let’s move.”
After walking a bit farther, I reached a road.
If I followed it, I would eventually reach a city.
“Cities are high risk, high reward…”
Where there had once been more people, there would naturally be more zombies too.
The same went for mutant zombies.
Unless you were an Awakened.
I had never personally seen one, but I heard they were practically superhumans beyond ordinary people.
Apparently a few existed in government-run shelters or massive survivor groups.
Rumors claimed they could accomplish things impossible for normal humans.
“Let’s just go.”
High risk, but high reward.
Given my current situation, it was the most realistic choice.
I started walking along the road.
Several hours later.
“So this is the place.”
I followed the road signs until I arrived.
Daejeon Metropolitan City.
The atmosphere at the entrance alone was terrible.
Corpses hung from every streetlight pole with ropes around their necks.
The ropes creaked whenever the wind blew.
I had no idea how long they had been hanging there, but the flesh was badly rotted.
“I should probably be even more careful now.”
Corpses like these meant violent survivors controlled the area.
I couldn’t afford to stand out.
Absolutely not.
Luckily, I was good at sneaking around.
As long as I kept to blind spots, I should be fine.
I stepped into the city.
Most of the buildings looked ready to collapse at any moment.
The outer walls were rusted and cracked, while the sky above remained a dull gray.
The air felt heavy, and abandoned vehicles lined the streets.
Here and there were blackened burn marks.
Maybe traces of old fires.
The faint smell of soot still lingered in the air.
The entire place felt eerie.
Fortunately, it seemed the zombies had moved elsewhere in groups, because there weren’t many in sight.
The few remaining ones were easy enough to avoid.
Then—
What’s that?
A TU convenience store.
“Let’s check it out.”
It had probably already been looted, but maybe there would still be scraps left behind.
The windows were completely covered in dust and bloodstains, making it impossible to see inside.
Slowly…
I opened the door just a crack.
Most convenience store doors had bells attached to them.
I peeked upward through the gap.
There was indeed a bell, but it was rusty and old enough that it probably no longer worked.
“Lucky.”
I quietly slipped inside.
The shelves were empty.
Exactly as expected.
Someone had already cleaned the place out.
I turned on my flashlight at the dimmest setting possible and moved deeper inside.
The light couldn’t leak outside.
Oh?
A bag of snacks.
Still unopened.
But those things crinkle too much.
The moment I touched the packaging, it would make noise.
And in this silence, one crinkling sound was enough.
Pass.
I headed toward the canned food section.
Oh ho.
A few small tuna cans had been left in the corner.
The size was disappointing, but it was far better than nothing.
I stuffed them into my backpack one by one.
Should I check the storage room too?
I searched for the storage door.
When I carefully twisted the handle, it didn’t budge.
Locked.
Actually, that was a good sign.
If it was locked, there was a high chance nobody had looted it yet.
Now where’s the key?
I slowly searched the surroundings without making a sound.
Every step was carefully controlled.
Thankfully, no other zombies were nearby.
That corpse…
A body wearing a convenience store employee vest lay collapsed in the corner.
It looked old, almost completely dried out.
I cautiously approached it.
But—
“Uuuaaaagh!”
“Fuck!”
It was alive.
No, more accurately, it had been hibernating.
A state zombies entered when they couldn’t find food.
Like a form of winter sleep.
There was no time to think.
Thud! Thud!
I smashed its head with everything I had.
A zombie’s weak point was the head.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Crunch!
The final kick finished it off.
Rotten blood and brain matter splattered across the floor.
“I’m screwed.”
That noise had been way too loud.
Thud thud thud thud…
Something was running toward the store.
Not just one or two.
“Quick, quick!”
I searched the dead zombie’s clothes.
Pants pocket.
Nothing.
Upper pocket.
Convenience store vest.
Jingle!
“Found it!”
I immediately sprinted toward the storage room.
I shoved the key into the lock.
Clack… clack…
The lock was so rusted the key barely fit.
My hands trembled.
“KIIIAAAAH!”
“KRAAAAH!”
The sounds were right outside now.
There was probably a mutant zombie among them too.
The cries sounded different.
Crash!
Glass shattered.
Light from outside flooded into the convenience store.
Click!
The storage room door opened.
I threw myself inside.
A mutant zombie lunged at the exact spot where I had just been standing and slammed into the wall.
The impact shook the building.
Crash!
Creeeak…
I slammed the steel door shut.
Through the crack, I saw dozens of zombies pouring in through the shattered entrance.
Bang!
The moment the steel door closed, I locked it.
Immediately—
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
The sound of zombie hands pounding against the metal door filled the storage room.
“Fu… fuck…”
The situation was so bad curses came out automatically.
First things first.
I quickly stood up and searched the storage room.
If there were zombies in here too, I’d be dead.
“Huu…”
After checking carefully, I confirmed there was nobody inside.
Still, the cramped storage room felt suffocating.
Damn it…
The outside was overflowing with zombies, meaning leaving anytime soon was impossible.
I’d have to eat, sleep, and survive in here for a while.
But maybe I was lucky.
“Whoa…”
The convenience store storage room was packed with food supplies.
Drinks filled entire cardboard boxes, and canned goods were stacked everywhere too.
The reason the room had felt cramped was because it was overflowing with inventory.
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped me.
For the first time in a while, I felt a little relieved.
But then—
[Beginning Awakening.]
“Huh?”
A blue screen suddenly appeared before my eyes.
This was… a status window?
Like the ones from novels and comics?
And now it was right in front of me.
Was I actually an Awakened?
The moment excitement hit me—
The status window updated.
【Name】: Choi Han Lv.1
【Stats】: F
【Unique Ability】: Trading Gallery Lv.1
“Huh?! What the hell is this?!”
Name? Level? Stats?
Those weren’t important.
The important thing was the unique ability.
“What’s a Trading Gallery?”
I could only stare blankly at the mysterious skill.
But—
“I should test it immediately.”
At the very least, it clearly wasn’t an active combat skill.
The important part was that it seemed to be a growth-type ability.
Just looking at the level attached to it made that obvious.
“Trading Gallery.”
I activated the skill.
Then—
-Please select a connected dimension.
“…What?”
A dimension?
What kind of nonsense was this?
Still—
“Let’s just choose.”
There was only one available option anyway.
“Fantasy.”
-You have selected the Fantasy Dimension.
-Please select a region.
The continent of warriors.
A land where strength is proven through steel and blood.
The federation of mages.
A region where mana and knowledge equal power.
A city-state of alchemists.
A place where equivalent exchange and experimentation are daily life.
The domain of necromancers.
A land ruled by those who make contracts with death.
“Uh…”
My eyes widened the moment I read the descriptions.
I could trade with places like these?!
So that’s why it was called Trading Gallery.
“Oh ho…”
First, I needed to choose a region.
But honestly, the answer was obvious.
The choice couldn’t have been clearer.
“Number 4. Nekra.”
Zombies were basically the most basic undead in necromancy.
And in this world, undead creatures were everywhere like stones on the ground.
Not choosing it would’ve been stranger.
-You have selected Nekra.
-Opening gallery.
Immediately afterward—
A gallery window appeared.
It strangely resembled a familiar internet forum.
At the same time—
[Advance of the Necromancer]: Oh ho, what is this? A gallery? Fascinating indeed.
└ [Necro Newbie]: This post smells ancient. Smells like old man dust.
└ [Corpse Lover]: You idiots seriously making the first comments like this? Reflect on yourselves.
└ [No.20]: Your names are strange. Foolish. I shall laugh for you.
“What the hell is this?”