Chapter 16
Chapter 16
“How am I leveling up this fast already?”
The words slipped out before I realized it.
Before arriving in Sejong, we had wiped out the highway in one sweep.
And before feeding the mutants to Asura, the ones I temporarily controlled with Corpse Manipulation had apparently counted as kills too.
All of it stacked together and pushed me to Level 10.
I was about to close the status window when my finger stopped.
“But... what’s this?”
Honestly, the choice had been decided from the start.
Necromancer.
If I wanted to push my main class to the next stage, there was only one thing I needed right now.
Cyberpunk.
“I need basic implants.”
Someone walking beside me turned their head.
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s something.”
I answered shortly and pressed the selection window immediately.
Without hesitation.
[You have selected the Cyberpunk Dimension.]
[Gallery unlocked.]
At that moment, a translucent window opened at the corner of my vision.
It felt like someone had pasted a transparent film over reality itself.
[Cyberpunk]
[Cheap but Similar]: Did I mess up my implant? Why am I seeing this floating in the air?
└ [Doctor Repair]: Dumbass, I installed it myself. There’s no way I screwed up. This is probably some AI thing.
└ [T]: Boring.
└ [Nova]: All systems normal. Gallery abnormal.
“Ooooh.”
Cyberpunk.
In simple terms, humanity from the future.
A world where people viewed reality through cybernetic eyes, where brains connected directly to networks.
A remnant of humanity that had handed most authority over to AI.
A dystopia, sure.
But still a world held together by technology, where traces of human warmth barely remained.
And now that gallery was spread out before my eyes.
“Should I try it?”
First greetings were basically tradition.
[Good to meet you all. I’m the Gallery Master. Take care of me from now on.]
└ [Cheap but Similar]: Is this really an AI? That’s insane.
└ [Doctor Repair]: What the hell is this mechanism? I want to tear it apart piece by piece.
└ [T]: ...I might be a little interested now.
└ [Nova]: Gallery Master. Appointed as Main AI.
As I skimmed through the messages, a few useful-looking individuals stood out.
Doctor Repair.
Just from the name alone, he sounded like someone who lived surrounded by machines.
A guy who casually said he wanted to disassemble something had to be an engineer.
Nova was even more direct.
After one line of conversation, it immediately analyzed the system and started talking about becoming a Main AI.
It was literally an AI.
Blatantly so.
My very own AI.
“This is good.”
“What the hell are you even looking at?”
“That oppa’s weird...”
“Shhh!”
I had apparently been grinning and muttering to myself, because everyone nearby was staring at me now.
“Ahahaha, sorry, sorry.”
I waved my hand awkwardly, but the suspicious looks didn’t disappear easily.
I’d gotten too excited over the new gallery and ended up talking to myself in the middle of a zombie-infested underground zone.
“Let’s kill zombies and head back up first.”
The most important thing right now was still zombies.
“Sua-ssi, do your thing.”
“Haaah...”
The moment I sent her a look, Lee Sua let out a short sigh and flipped her dagger in reverse grip.
Then—
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The speed was so fast it didn’t even leave afterimages behind.
The zombies were sliced apart instantly, and she even returned with their noses already collected.
“Ooooh...”
No matter how many times I saw it, that speed was terrifying.
Kang Taesan and Kang Jua stared with their mouths hanging open.
“A-Awakener?!”
“Oppa! Shhh!”
Kang Jua hurriedly covered her brother’s mouth.
Her trembling eyes scanned the surroundings anxiously.
They were complete civilians.
“Kids, can you keep this a secret?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Don’t worry!”
If people found out we were Awakeners, things would become incredibly annoying.
The reason we came to this shelter was to find capable people.
I didn’t want attention gathering before that happened.
I needed people who could manage facilities.
Engineering majors would be ideal, but people like that weren’t exactly common.
“Should we head up?”
We handed the two zombie noses to the kids.
“W-Why are you giving these to us?”
“Y-You really don’t have to...”
Teenagers hunting zombies.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t normal.
It meant the shelter had already been pushed to its limits.
I wanted to ease their burden at least a little.
Well, the real reason was hush money.
“Just take them.”
We led the kids toward the upper level.
But then—
“Grrrrrrr...”
“What’s that?”
A gaze emerged from the darkness near the stairway corner.
Two glowing red eyes stared directly at us.
But it didn’t approach.
It had developed some degree of intelligence.
It instinctively knew it would die if it attacked.
Monsters like that couldn’t be left alive.
“Skeleton Type. Take care of it.”
The hidden Skeleton Type silently stepped forward.
In an instant, it melted into the swarm of zombies and disappeared.
“Ugh... this is exhausting.”
“No kidding.”
The ladder was a full thirty meters tall.
My arms trembled and my calves burned.
But then—
“Wow, you two have crazy stamina.”
“Seriously.”
Kang Taesan and Kang Jua climbed up effortlessly without even looking tired.
Was this just how teenagers were?
“...Thank you.”
“Thanks a lot.”
The siblings bowed deeply before running off to exchange the noses for money.
“Should we go too?”
At the exchange station, two soldiers wearing gloves stood guard in front of a giant container with their hands clasped behind their backs.
Both had guns hanging at their waists.
Since it involved money, security was naturally strict.
“Please hand over the zombie noses.”
One of the soldiers stepped forward immediately.
“Here you go.”
I handed over ten noses.
The soldiers’ eyes widened.
“Huh... ten? Is that even possible?”
“Insane. Five kills per person...”
“Shouldn’t we recruit them into the military?”
I could hear the murmurs clearly.
Whatever.
“Understood. We’ll charge 100,000 won. Which one of you will receive it?”
The soldier pulled out a barcode scanner.
“Put it on mine.”
I held out my electronic bracelet.
Beep!
A notification sound rang out from the bracelet.
“It’s done.”
I checked the screen.
Balance: 100,000 won.
“Ooooh.”
I walked away from the soldiers and approached Lee Sua.
“We made 100,000 won.”
“Really?”
She didn’t seem particularly impressed.
Shelters like this probably weren’t new to her.
“Come on. There’s a temporary residence.”
“Oh, really?”
But the temporary residence turned out to be underwhelming.
“What the hell is this?”
It looked exactly like a disaster shelter gymnasium.
A massive hall filled with blankets and bedding spread across the floor.
Strangers huddled together shoulder-to-shoulder everywhere.
“Umm... we’re supposed to live here?”
“Even I think this is a bit much.”
Lee Sua shook her head immediately.
“Should we look around some more?”
If money existed here, then lodging businesses probably did too.
But then—
“Oh oppaaa, come rest for a bit~”
“Unni, I’m really good. I’ve done it with girls before too.”
It was blatantly a red-light district.
Perfume and powder mixed together into a dizzying smell.
The buildings were old and worn, and even the signs hung crooked.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Agreed.”
We hurried away and stopped a passerby to ask for directions.
“There are places, but it’ll cost around 200,000 won per night.”
“Ah...”
100,000 wasn’t even close.
“What do we do now?”
“Hmmm...”
That was when—
“Huh? Mister!”
It was Kang Taesan.
The teenager recognized us and waved energetically.
“What? You guys live here?”
“Yep.”
He pointed toward a shabby building.
The outer walls were old and peeling, but strangely, the windows were spotless.
“It’s the only thing my father left me.”
“Hmm...”
An inheritance, huh.
“Could we stay one night?”
“Sure, but there’s no electricity. We couldn’t pay the bill.”
“That’s fine.”
“Then follow me.”
We followed Kang Taesan into the building.
The moment we stepped inside, I felt unexpected comfort.
“Ooooh.”
It was small, but clean.
You could tell they swept and cleaned it every single day.
It was obvious how desperately the siblings protected this one tiny space.
As Taesan unpacked, he spoke.
“Mister can sleep on the sofa over there, and auntie can use the bed.”
“I’m not an auntie!”
“O-Okay, noona...”
The moment Lee Sua glared at him, he corrected himself immediately.
The kid was sharp.
The sofa was old, but the cushions were still decent.
The bed assigned to Lee Sua looked unused for quite some time.
Probably their father’s bed.
“This place is honestly great.”
“Seriously.”
Neither Lee Sua nor I hid our satisfaction.
“Kids, come here.”
I called the siblings over and handed them something.
“Huh?! Is this... snacks?!”
“No way!”
The kids’ eyes widened as they tore open the bags immediately.
Snacks had become luxury items in this world.
“Why are you eating so fast?”
“Slow down a little.”
After I handed them more snacks, they finally started slowing down.
They must’ve gone hungry for a long time.
The sight bothered me, but I didn’t show it.
Leaving the children behind, I climbed up to the rooftop.
The night wind brushed past me.
Sejong at night was dark.
Only a few scattered lights remained, while distant zombie cries echoed faintly somewhere far away.
“Alright, now that I’m alone, should I take a proper look?”
I opened the Shop tab in the newly unlocked Cyberpunk Gallery.
The first item appeared.
[Name]: Blackcore Arm Implant
[Type]: Body Modification
[Functions]:
[Required Ether]: 1 Billion Ether
[Name]: Nemesis Eye Implant
[Type]: Body Modification
[Functions]:
[Required Ether]: 3 Billion Ether
“.....”
My mouth fell open.
“This shit’s insanely expensive!”
Artificial arms. Artificial eyes.
Equipment that literally replaced parts of the human body with machines.
The problem was Ether.
“1 billion... 3 billion...”
Compared to my current balance, those numbers were astronomical.
But then.
One item caught my eye.
[Head Transplant Chip]