Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“What do I do now?”
Coming into the apartment had definitely been the right choice.
If I had stayed outside, I never would have escaped the mutant zombie’s tracking anyway.
Honestly, being inside this zombie-infested building was safer.
Mutant zombies had a tendency to avoid staying in the same space as regular zombies.
In that sense, this place was actually secure.
“The most important thing right now is a proper hideout.”
I couldn’t keep living in this apartment forever.
I needed a place where I could truly relax.
A shelter would be ideal, but getting into one required a special entry permit.
Of course, Awakened could enter without one.
Still, I had no intention of going.
I’d heard stories about how brutally shelters worked their Awakened, to the point where they barely even had time to rest.
I wanted no part of that kind of life.
“First, I should clear the surroundings.”
Sounds seeped through the cracks in the door.
Low groaning noises mixed with scratching sounds.
The smell must have leaked outside.
Which meant zombies were gathering in the hallway.
“Guess I’ll need Mutie to do some work.”
Mutant zombie.
I decided to shorten it to Mutie.
“Come here.”
I stood in front of the door and pressed my ear against it.
“Uuugh…”
“Grrr…”
There were quite a few.
At least five or six right outside the door.
But it had to be done.
More importantly—
【Name】: Choi Han Lv.1
My level was still far too low.
Mutie had already killed more than ten zombies for me, yet I still hadn’t leveled up.
But I could feel it.
That sensation that it was right around the corner.
“Let’s go, Mutie.”
I opened the door.
The mutant zombie burst outside—
“KRAAAAH!”
—and immediately started tearing through everything.
The five zombies crowded outside the door were taken down in an instant, their heads ripped apart one by one.
The zombies barely had time to react before it was over.
[Level Up!]
“Oh ho!”
Just as expected.
My instincts had been right.
“Status window.”
【Name】: Choi Han Lv.2
【Stats】: F
【Unique Ability】: Trading Gallery Lv.2
【Unique Skill】: Zombie Control Lv.1
【Points】: 1
“Invest the point into the gallery.”
【Unique Ability】: Trading Gallery Lv.2
【Updated Effect】: Trade Cooldown reduced from 7 days → 3 days
“Nice.”
The biggest issue had been the trading cooldown.
And now it had dropped to three days.
Meaning I could use it again much sooner.
“Should I try it right away?”
There were several things I currently needed.
Spatial magic for storing supplies.
X-ray vision or detection magic for seeing through walls.
And various useful utility spells.
Among them, the most urgent was detection magic.
Safety came first.
I immediately posted on the gallery.
[Anyone got detection magic or something similar? My current situation’s pretty dangerous.]
└ [Corpse Lover]: I do, but it’s considered extremely high-tier magic…
└ [Advance of the Necromancer]: Gallery owner, you should start from the basics. Learning skills like that too early will only cause problems later.
└ [Necro Newbie]: The old man’s right this time! It’s not that we don’t want to give it to you, but it could ruin your growth later!
Detection magic was really that advanced?
Damn it. My plan just collapsed.
Then the next most important thing—
[Then does anyone at least have spatial magic?]
└ [Necro Newbie]: That’s easy! Open a trade!
└ [Advance of the Necromancer]: This time, let the youngster take the reward.
That was unexpected.
Advance Necro seemed different today.
Maybe he really felt guilty about before.
Well, whatever.
I opened the trade.
[Trade Item: 1 Can of Cola]
Current Bidders: None
-Starting auction.
└ [Necro Newbie]: The bid won’t go through!
“Huh?”
Why not?
-The bidder’s offered value exceeds the value of the trade item.
“Ah…”
So spatial magic was too valuable to exchange for just one can of cola.
Then—
[Looks like one can isn’t enough. Anything else you want?]
└ [Necro Newbie]: I heard your world has lots of zombies! I want one mutant zombie!
He wanted a mutant zombie?
Honestly, even better.
I glanced over at Mutie, who had just returned after cleaning the hallway.
Its condition was terrible.
Half its claws were broken.
Chunks of muscle had been torn from its arms.
Even its teeth were damaged and hanging loose.
I would’ve liked to repair it somehow, but I had no skill for that.
If he wanted this battered Mutie, then honestly, I should be the grateful one.
[Trade Item: 1 Can of Cola + 1 Mutant Zombie]
Current Bidders: None
-Starting auction.
-Bid: [Necro Newbie] – Dark Room. Bid successful.
The cola can and Mutie disappeared without leaving a trace.
And then—
Skill: Dark Room
Description: Creates a dark storage space roughly the size of one room.
Cooldown: None
“Dark Room.”
The moment I activated the skill, a black space opened in midair.
It was darkness with sharply defined edges.
Like a hole had been torn open in reality itself.
Nothing could be seen inside.
When I reached my hand in, a chilly sensation wrapped around my skin.
“Perfect.”
Losing Mutie was unfortunate, but this trade was absolutely worth it.
“Now then, let’s finish cleaning up.”
A few regular zombies remained alive after Mutie had exhausted itself.
I decided to finish them using Zombie No.1 and Zombie No.2 from Corpse Control.
“Done.”
Every zombie on my floor had been cleared.
I ordered Zombies 1 and 2 to pile all the corpses into one corner.
Seeing bodies scattered everywhere was terrible for mental health.
“Huu…”
But it still wasn’t over.
The second floor above me was the real issue.
If zombies came down from there, I’d have to clean everything all over again.
“First, scouting.”
Using Zombies 1 and 2 as vanguards, I slowly opened the emergency stairwell door.
But—
“There’s nothing?”
Not a single zombie was on the stairs.
It was silent.
No footsteps.
No groans.
Then I looked downward and understood why.
“They all fell down there.”
The basement.
Zombie corpses were piled up layer after layer below.
Looks like they’d slammed into the railing and fallen.
“This is peaceful.”
I casually headed up to the second floor.
I grabbed the emergency exit door handle and slowly opened it.
Then I carefully peeked my head out.
“Huh?”
Something was strange.
“There are… no zombies?”
The first floor had been overflowing with them.
Even the basement stairs had enough corpses piled up to prove it.
Yet the second floor was completely quiet.
The hallway stretched out clearly before me, with nothing moving anywhere.
“What’s going on?”
I stepped forward.
At that exact moment—
Shiiing…
“…Hhk!”
Something cold touched my neck.
The sharp sensation of metal.
A blade.
“I… surrender.”
I slowly raised both hands.
Right now, I was basically a mage.
I knew perfectly well I was useless in close combat.
The other person spoke.
“Why did you come here?”
A woman.
Her voice was low and clear.
Steady.
Her pupils trembled slightly, but her expression remained calm.
“Do you think just because I’m a woman, I can’t kill you?”
The blade pressed deeper into my neck.
Cold and merciless.
“Talk. What’s your purpose?”
“I just… came looking for somewhere to rest.”
“A place to rest?”
“There weren’t any good hideouts nearby, so I came here. I didn’t even know someone was already living here.”
“Hm… That’s true.”
How did she know that?
Wait.
Could she be—
“Are you an Awak—”
“Shut up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
That confirmed it.
She was an Awakened.
And probably had some kind of lie detection ability.
“Did you come alone? Or do you have a crew?”
“Alone. I got kicked out recently.”
“Hm… True again. Why?”
“Because I suck at politics.”
“……”
The moment she confirmed it was true, the pressure from the blade weakened slightly.
She probably judged me as non-threatening.
“Do you intend to harm me?”
“Not at all.”
“Good.”
Shhk.
The blade withdrew.
Only then did the tension around my neck finally ease.
I survived.
She stepped forward.
A ponytail.
Sharp eyes.
A combat suit with tights underneath.
The outfit emphasized her figure, but what stood out more was the dagger in her hand.
The way her wrist handled it looked far too practiced.
She glanced at me before speaking.
“So how long are you planning to stay? Also, the first floor still isn’t cleared yet.”
“I already cleared the entire first floor.”
She looked genuinely shocked.
“What? There were dozens of zombies down there. Didn’t you just arrive a few hours ago?”
“Well… yeah.”
“You’re pretty capable.”
Something changed in her gaze.
“And you’re Awakened too?”
“Aren’t you the same?”
“Hehe…”
Instead of answering, she simply smiled.
Awakened were supposed to be extremely rare.
Yet there were two of them inside this apartment building.
“I kind of like you. I’ll let you live, so stay on the first floor.”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“Got it.”
Damn it.
Still, she wasn’t wrong.
I was the intruder here, and she had been here first.
It made sense to follow the homeowner’s rules.
“What’s your name?”
“Choi Han.”
“Only two syllables. I’m Lee Sua. Nice to meet you.”
“…Yeah.”
Lee Sua.
The moment Choi Han left, she immediately locked the door behind him.
“Huu…”
Only then did she lean against the wall and let out a deep sigh.
Strength slowly left her legs.
Thank goodness.
He wasn’t a bad person.
A few hours earlier, when she first saw him entering the apartment, Lee Sua had immediately planned to kill him.
This area was the territory she had survived in alone.
There was no reason to spare an intruder.
But the moment she saw what was standing beside him, she changed her mind.
A mutant zombie.
And among all the mutant zombies she had seen, this one appeared to have the greatest mobility.
Its body was clearly damaged, yet its movements showed no weakness at all.
‘He can control zombies.’
That ability was absurd.
There was also the possibility he possessed even more hidden abilities.
So Lee Sua chose not to act recklessly.
Instead, she waited.
Around two hours later, she heard footsteps climbing up through the emergency stairs.
And this time, the mutant zombie wasn’t with him.
This was her chance.
Lee Sua pressed herself beside the emergency exit door, and the moment he peeked his head out, she placed the dagger against his throat.
His reaction speed startled her for a second, but he quickly raised both hands.
A smart man.
“Why did you come here?”
The moment he moved slightly after hearing her voice, Lee Sua immediately pushed the dagger deeper.
“Do you think just because I’m a woman, I can’t kill you?”
She couldn’t afford to look weak here.
If she lost control even once, it would all be over.
He answered that he was simply looking for a place to rest.
Lee Sua activated her skill.
Her Assassin class had granted her several abilities upon awakening.
One of them was Truth Detection.
A skill that sensed lies like tiny ripples in the air.
There was no deception in his words.
“There weren’t any good hideouts nearby, so I came here. I didn’t even know someone was living here.”
Everything he said was true.
Then this man wasn’t a threat.
“Did you come alone? Or do you have a crew?”
“Alone. I got kicked out recently.”
“Why?”
“Because I suck at politics.”
Lee Sua almost burst out laughing.
He really got kicked out over politics.
And that was apparently true too.
“Do you intend to harm me?”
“Not at all.”
Truth again.
Lee Sua lowered her dagger.
And for the first time, she properly looked at his face.
Ordinary.
Gentle eyes.
Nothing threatening about him at all.
A person with that kind of appearance probably suffered a lot in survivor groups.
Getting kicked out suddenly made perfect sense.
But—
He had wiped out dozens of zombies on the first floor by himself within just a few hours.
That alone proved he was far from ordinary.
He didn’t seem to have a bad personality either.
And he was capable.
This would be temporary cooperation.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
“I kind of like you. I’ll let you live, so stay on the first floor.”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“Got it.”
As Lee Sua closed the door, she thought to herself—
A new wave had entered her boring apartment life.
And honestly, it didn’t seem so bad.