Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“What’s a Mutation?”
I knew what variants were.
But this was the first time I had ever heard the word mutation.
I looked again through the glass.
There were four of them.
“Four of them, and they’re all mutations?”
“What’s a mutation?”
When I asked the visibly shaken Lee Sua, she hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Mutations are above variants. In simple terms… they’re insanely strong.”
“Ah…”
Yeah.
They definitely looked the part.
The numbers in the status window proved it.
Mutation — Cost 5
Each one had a cost of 5.
Compared to Variant Zombies, which only cost 2, they were at least two and a half times stronger.
But the numbers weren’t the scary part.
The things themselves were.
They looked absurdly powerful.
Their bodies trembled constantly, so subtly that it was hard to tell whether they were standing still or vibrating.
I could tell instinctively.
They were fast.
“What do we do?”
We entered an emergency strategy meeting while staring through the reinforced glass on Basement Level 1.
Lee Sua spoke in a low voice.
“Can’t you tame them?”
“I can’t. One is the limit. If I take one of those, I’d have to give up three Variant Zombies.”
“…Even I’m scared of those things.”
Even Lee Sua tightened her lips nervously.
Seeing someone normally so fearless actually intimidated made the situation feel far more real.
And then—
Beeeeep—
A mechanical sound came from the door behind us.
The locking system activated.
“What?”
“Huh?”
We turned instinctively.
Beyond the glass stood Lee Hyunjae.
Smiling.
“That bastard—”
Lee Sua lunged toward the door.
But instead of grabbing her arm, I quietly raised my hand toward Lee Hyunjae through the closing doorway.
Between my fingers was a keycard.
The same grade as his.
Right before the door completely shut, Lee Hyunjae’s expression froze.
His bright smile twisted instantly into panic.
Clang!
Then he disappeared from sight.
“Leave him. We can open it again anyway.”
I could kill him later.
Besides, that door wasn’t even an important route.
If we really wanted to, we could break through it.
And if we planned on using this place as a shelter, we’d have to wipe out every zombie inside eventually anyway.
All Lee Hyunjae had done was add one extra task to our list.
No real loss.
“We don’t have any information on mutations.”
That was the biggest problem right now.
I had experience dealing with Variant Zombies.
But mutations were completely new.
There was only one solution.
‘The Gallery.’
[Need help ASAP… how do you deal with mutations? Their cost is too high.]
└ [Advancing Necromancer]: Hmm… mutations… If I were you, I’d use bait.
└ [Necro Newbie]: Use Corpse Explosion!
└ [Corpse Maniac]: Just kill it, tame it, kill it again, tame it again lol
└ [No. 20]: Can’t even handle a mutation? Disappointing.
Only two suggestions were useful.
Use bait.
Or use Corpse Explosion.
Mutations were still undead in the end, so Corpse Explosion might work.
But—
“Isn’t that way too dangerous? What if the building collapses?”
Even if I bought Corpse Explosion, it would start at Level 1.
I wasn’t some high-level necromancer like “Necro Newbie.”
If I used it recklessly, I might not even be able to control the blast radius.
“We’ll go with bait.”
Then what kind of bait would work?
[What kind of bait do mutations like?]
└ [Advancing Necromancer]: Mutations love Variant Zombies and humans the most.
“Variant Zombies and humans…”
I expected as much.
Predators always desired stronger prey.
We had time.
There was no reason to rush.
It was better to handle this carefully.
“What are you planning?”
Lee Sua watched as I began positioning the Variant Zombies.
“I’m using them as bait.”
“Bait?”
I pulled Lee Sua into the Night Veil skill.
We had to avoid drawing aggro ourselves as much as possible.
“Go, Armored Type.”
The first mutation we encountered was the fast one.
“Kiaaaah…”
The mutation spotted the Armored Type.
Drool dripped from its mouth as it crouched slightly, watching cautiously—
“Kyaaaak!”
Then it vanished.
So fast it left afterimages.
Lee Sua unconsciously grabbed my arm.
“Whoa… that thing…”
“It’s insanely fast.”
In the blink of an eye, the mutation appeared behind the Armored Type.
Like it had skipped through space itself.
Slash! Slash!
Long black claws ripped into the Armored Type’s back.
The thick hide said to deflect bullets tore apart like paper.
“KRRRRAAAAH!”
The Armored Type struggled violently, but the mutation didn’t care.
Its claws stabbed repeatedly into the zombie before both hands seized its head.
Roll…
The head fell to the floor.
Neither Lee Sua nor I could say anything.
‘Holy shit… it’s ridiculously strong.’
It wasn’t just speed.
The Armored Type’s skin could stop bullets.
That mutation shredded it with claws.
Its attack power was insane too.
“Let’s move.”
We already knew we couldn’t win.
That was why it was bait.
Crunch, crunch—
Leaving the mutation feasting on the Armored Type’s corpse, we moved on.
“Go, Claw Type.”
The next mutation was female.
Its hair writhed as if alive.
Like snakes.
Or tentacles.
Dozens of strands whipped through the air independently.
The Claw Type’s razor-sharp claws slashed toward the hair—
But failed to cut it.
Instead, the hair wrapped around the Claw Type’s arm.
“Your sacrifice will be remembered.”
Next was the Tentacle Type.
The opposing mutation’s hands were no longer human.
Everything below the wrists had transformed into blade-like weapons.
The Tentacle Type lashed out.
The blades flashed.
Slice. Slice. Slice—
Severed tentacles dropped to the floor.
The result was the same again.
Now only one remained.
The last Variant Zombie under my command.
“Bone Type… yeah, I should keep you alive.”
The final mutation didn’t need bait.
Mutation — Cost 5
Two meters tall.
Massive muscles covered its body.
It still resembled a human shape, but calling it human felt wrong.
Too huge.
Too solid.
This one fought with pure physical force.
I stared directly at it and activated my skill.
“Zombie Domination.”
The mutation’s body trembled violently.
Its muscles contracted in spasms before suddenly going limp.
The focus vanished from its eyes.
A blank expression spread across its face.
The exact same reaction ordinary zombies had when affected by the skill.
“Okay…”
“It worked? Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank god…”
Lee Sua let out a long breath.
Honestly, so did I.
Obtaining the strongest-looking mutation relieved some of the tension tightening my nerves.
“Let’s move first.”
This wasn’t the time to relax yet.
The next area was empty.
Only a single door remained.
A door leading downward.
“Basement Level 2…”
“Should we go?”
The atmosphere felt completely different.
But now we had both the Bone Type and the Mutation.
Step… step…
Our footsteps echoed off the concrete walls as we carefully descended the stairs one step at a time.
Eventually, we arrived.
“So this is Basement Level 2.”
“That’s the door?”
A reinforced glass door stood before us.
It had probably once been transparent.
Not anymore.
Blood, dust, and some black substance covered it so thickly that nothing inside could be seen.
No amount of wiping would help.
“Huu…”
I took a deep breath and held the keycard up.
Clunk—
The door opened.
The smell came first.
Rotting flesh.
Moisture.
And that heavy, disgusting stench only possible in sealed spaces left untouched for ages.
It felt like it crawled directly into my lungs.
“Ugh… seriously.”
“Blegh!”
Still, we moved forward.
Covering our mouths.
Frowning.
Forcing ourselves to breathe.
Then—
“Is this it?”
The space was enormous.
The core of Basement Level 2.
It was hard to believe this place existed beneath the surface.
The ceiling was high.
The walls were distant.
And in the center—
“Hssss… fwooo…”
Breathing filled the entire chamber.
It was gigantic.
The size of two trucks fused together.
Its body was made entirely of corpses.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of corpses compressed into a single mass.
Limbs twisted together.
Flesh fused into one grotesque mound.
Its massive chest slowly rose and fell.
Hands and feet protruded randomly from its surface.
I checked the status window.
Abomination — Cost 20
“……”
Neither of us could speak.
Cost 20.
My Zombie Domination skill would need to reach Level 10 just to match that number.
Right now, controlling it was impossible.
“No fucking way… what do we do?”
“I don’t know… can’t we use the mutation?”
Silence answered instead.
If that thing woke up and started chasing us, I wasn’t confident we could escape.
I couldn’t even imagine how much force something that huge could produce.
But—
I slowly scanned the area.
“This place is wide.”
“So?”
“I think I can use a skill here.”
There was one skill this space allowed me to use.
Corpse Explosion.
The problem was Ether.
‘I don’t have enough…’
Corpse Explosion cost ten million Ether.
My current balance wasn’t even close.
I looked at the Mutation.
Mutation — 20 million Ether.
Expensive.
Way too expensive.
But in Ether value, it was possible.
‘I absolutely can’t sell the Mutation.’
If I sold it, we’d never survive the other mutations waiting outside.
And if Corpse Explosion went out of control, I needed something to shield me.
After hesitating, I looked toward the Dark Room.
“No choice.”
I opened the Dark Room and pulled out seventy percent of our food supplies, stacking them on the floor.
Every item leaving my hands made my heart shrink a little.
“Haah… damn it.”
Then I sold everything.
Twenty million Ether filled my balance.
Painful.
But this wasn’t the time to hesitate.
“Purchase. Corpse Explosion.”
[Skill Name]: Corpse Explosion Lv.1
[Cooldown]: 1 minute
“I’m using it immediately. Get ready.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. Better while it’s still sitting still.”
I positioned the Mutation and the Bone Type in front of us.
Human shields.
If the explosion spread, they’d block the impact.
Most of the Abomination’s body was made of corpses.
Which meant—
Every corpse in that body could become an explosion trigger.
I inhaled deeply.
‘Huu…’
“Corpse Explosion.”
The skill activated.
KWAHHHHHNG—!
The entire Abomination exploded from within.
Chunks of flesh burst apart violently.
Rotting meat and blood erupted like a volcano, splattering across the walls and ceiling.
The shockwave blasted through the air hard enough to whip our hair backward.
The smell became even worse.
But something reached us before that.
— Level Up! —
【Name】: Choi Han Lv.5
— A new Gallery region has been unlocked.
“Whew…”
“Good work.”
The Abomination was dead.
We got lucky.
Partly because it stayed still.
And partly because Corpse Explosion was the perfect counter.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
We had already cleared nearly every zombie in this place.
Only the three remaining mutations were left.
“Mutation, let’s go.”
The muscular mutation we controlled from Basement Level 1 stepped forward.
The other mutations couldn’t even fight back properly.
The female mutation using hair had her head ripped clean off.
The blade-handed mutation had its arms shattered.
The fast mutation exploded from a single punch.
“Knew it.”
The strongest one is always saved for last.
My prediction had been correct.
By intentionally sacrificing three bait monsters, I was able to secure this muscular mutation.
And then—
Beeeeep…
As we opened the door leading out of Basement Level 1—
“Huh…?”
Lee Hyunjae was standing there.