The Veteran Hunter

There was still one way out. 'Yeah, that was it.' Heading straight up to the second floor. There were two ticket gates at Hongje Station. One led to the exit, and the other was the entrance to the next floor. 'But going up to the second floor is way too dangerous.' The density of zombies increased in proportion to population density. And the second floor was right in the middle of a densely populated downtown area. The risk level was several times higher. 'Plus, I heard the second-floor zones rotate on a schedule.' If I got lucky and ran into other hunters right after entering the second floor, it might be manageable. 'But I could get surrounded and killed before that happens.' There was no need to decide in a hurry. After all, this was a setup where I was entering an already activated zone late. 'Let's farm some more first.' I could go when it was time, but farming came first. I still didn't have proper armor, and there were plenty of things I needed. Most of all, I still had one last card to play.

Three hours after the start, the zombies would respawn. Maybe the escape gate's capacity would reset then too. It was worth checking at least once. I quietly slipped into the convenience store near the station.

"Grrrk."

I smashed the skull of the first sleeping zombie.

Thwack!

I rummaged through the sparsely stocked shelves, which looked different from what I'd seen before.

'Not bad at all.' The exact food and drinks I was looking for had appeared. Especially the chocolate—that was lucky. It could give me an instant boost. The cigarettes were worth taking too. Cigarettes inside the Tower didn't produce any harmful substances besides nicotine when burned, so they sold for a decent price. 'Hmm, maybe I should just smoke them myself?'

I also grabbed three empty beer bottles.

'They're starting to respawn.' I paused my search of the restaurant and checked outside. Zombies didn't just pop out of thin air. They shuffled out from dark alleys between buildings. Then they wandered around for a bit before lowering their heads and falling asleep. I carefully picked up a stone pot and a frying pan while keeping an eye on the situation.

Twenty minutes had passed since I started camping out in the restaurant.

'I can head out now.' My next destination was the residential area. 'The shops along the main road are better for farming, but...' There were too many zombies now for me to handle alone. Rather than risk it, I chose safety. I had time to spare anyway.

Crunch. Crack. Crickle.

I deliberately stepped on glass shards to make noise.

"Krrk?"

There were more than seven zombies visible nearby. Since I couldn't fight them all at once, I'd have to lure them one by one.

Shuffle. Shuffle.

A zombie entered the restaurant barefoot. I stayed hidden under the counter, then quietly slipped out.

Thwack!— Thud.

The noise from the collapsing zombie woke the others.

"Krrk?"

"Kwoar."

'Hurry up and come at me.' I'd take care of these guys first, then head out and clean up the rest quickly. Four left. It was getting annoying to watch them so carefully. I slowly crept up behind one zombie first.

Thwack!— I struck the back of its head and dashed—

"Krrk?!"

Thwack!— Next.

"Kwoaaaaar!"

"Kweeeek!"

Crack! I knocked aside the arm swinging at me with the axe and brought it down again.

Crunch! Crack!

I finished off the last one that had approached late.

'Whew.' I'd already gotten used to this. And it hadn't even been that long since I entered the Tower.

'Oh!? Holy shit!' I never expected to get another skill! 'You could get two skills from a single entry?' At least from what I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew, that wasn't the case. Most people didn't even get one, let alone two. 'First, let's check the skill description.'

Stealthy Strike was a skill that reduced the sound of attacks made against unaware targets from behind and increased the duration of the hit stun.

'Is today really my lucky day?' It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worked out perfectly. I'd felt cheated about getting dragged in here while sleep-talking, but at least I was reaping some benefits. With that thought in mind, I headed toward the residential area when—

'What the—?!' I spotted a figure walking toward me from the darkness, keeping low to the ground. 'It's a person?' And not just any person—a fully geared hunter. They wore a bike helmet similar to mine, a black full-body leather suit, sturdy work boots, and carried a fairly large backpack. In one hand was a hammer, and in the other, a carbon-fiber shield.

They must have noticed me too, because they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stopped walking.

'Did no one else use the personal escape gate?' Strangely, that put me at ease. So I wasn't the only one left behind. Feeling glad, I waved, but the hunter didn't react at all. Then they started walking toward me.

'Huh?' A chill ran down the back of my neck. No way. 'They're not going to attack me, right?' Right now, I was basically a walking golden goblin. Had they figured that out?

Swish—

Contrary to my worries, the hunter simply walked past me at a distance.

'Damn, you scared me. If you were just going to walk by, you could've at least waved back.' I'd been startled because they approached without any reaction. Still, it didn't seem like they had any intention of attacking.

"Excuse me."

The hunter only slightly turned their head to look at me.

"Hello? Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Instead of answering, the hunter lowered their head. After staring at me intently for a moment...

Nod.

They finally nodded.

"Would you like to sit here for now?"

I wiped off a dusty chair with some spare clothes I'd set aside.

"Just get to the point."

'Huh? Their voice...?' Despite the cold attitude, the voice was surprisingly pretty. 'It's a woman?' The thick black suit had made it hard to tell.

"Um... Oh! Do you know that the escape gate is already at full capacity?"

I shared the information first. But there was no reaction. Just as the silence was getting awkward...

"And?"

"I was wondering what your plans are moving forward..."

She looked like a veteran hunter at first glance. Maybe she knew a way out?

"Sigh... How many times have you entered?"

This time, I was the one who fell silent. If I said it was my first time and she went, 'A newbie walking around with gear like that?' and tried to rob me, what then?

"If you don't want to answer, that's fine. I'm heading to the second floor."

"Then... would you like to go up together?"

"No thanks."

She rejected me instantly. That kind of hurt.

"The second floor is dangerous, isn't it? So going together would—"

It would at least raise our survival rate a little, right?

"Have you been to the second floor before?"

"Uh, no..."

She let out another sigh.

"Then why didn't you leave earlier?"

It's not like I knew this would happen. I never expected the gate to fill up.

"I went through all that trouble clearing the area..."

Was she the one who had cleared out the zombies along the main road? No wonder no one had used the personal escape gate. Normally, there would've been people using it despite the sprinting zombies nearby.

"I could've escaped, but I gave up my spot to a beginner who came looking for medicine for his mother..."

Maybe appealing to her sympathy would work? I'd embellished it a bit, but it wasn't that far from the truth.

"Sigh, fine. Let's go up together."

"Oh! Thank you!"

I'd thought she was a prickly person, but she turned out to have a warm heart after all.

"Right, my name is Yoon Jaeha."

"Ah, okay."

She nodded and walked straight out the door.

Hey, aren't you going to tell me your name? I hurriedly followed after her.

We walked toward Hongje Station when she suddenly asked,

"Is that all the farming you're doing?"

"Well... it'd be nice to do more."

I was the one asking for a ride, so saying 'Let's farm a bit more before we go' felt wrong.

"Then let's farm first."

"Is that really okay?"

"I was planning to farm a bit more anyway."

"Thank you."

The hunter lady walked ahead without paying me any mind. Then suddenly—

"Take your time."

Tap tap— She suddenly broke into a run.

"What?!"

Her footsteps shattered the silence of the city, echoing off the building walls.

"Krrk?!"

"Kwoooargh."

"Kuuuuuu."

"Krrrrrk."

Even the sprinting zombies wandering around Hongje Station reacted.

'Oh no...' If I left her like this, the teammate I'd barely managed to recruit would—!

Smash!!— Starting with the stone pot that exploded on impact.

Thud!— Crack!— Crunch!— Smash!—

She smashed the skulls of every zombie that charged at her. Sprinting ones, shambling ones—she didn't discriminate.

"Whoa..."

I'd watched countless hunter videos before, but I'd never seen combat like this.

"That's so cool."

My inner hunter fanboy blood was boiling. I was ready to become her fan on the spot.

We entered the largest supermarket in the neighborhood.

"Hurry up and search."

"Yes, ma'am!"

This scene felt strangely familiar.

"Don't call me that."

"Yes, sis."

She shook her head. Being able to farm so freely like this... Yeah, talking to her back then was definitely the right call.

While we were looting the shopping district on the opposite side from KC Bank, I found something useful.

'The hooded zip-up is pretty decent too.' The leather jacket alone hadn't been enough, so this was perfect. The black jeans were obviously good. The trail running shoes were sturdier than what I'd been wearing and made less noise. And if I reinforced them with some junk items?

I first layered magazines over my legs and wrapped them with duct tape.

Creak. Creak. I pulled wires out of a fan safety guard and added another layer of reinforcement over the magazines.

"What are you doing?"

"Reinforcing my armor."

I answered casually, but I could feel her staring. Don't laugh at me! This is how newbies survive! It might not be necessary for a monster like you, but—

'Ugh.' This is a little embarrassing, isn't it? No, it's fine to feel embarrassed for a moment. It's better than getting bitten to death.

I finished reinforcing my arms the same way.

'Her gaze is burning into me.' The hunter lady watched me for a long time before going off to do her own farming.

'Reinforcing my upper body would be difficult.' If I wrapped magazines around my torso, it'd be too heavy and restrict my movement. I'd have a hard time running away in an emergency.

'Should I just grab some more food?' I'd already gathered plenty of useful junk items. All that was left was food for boosting. I didn't know how long we'd be stuck on the second floor, but at the very least, leisurely farming like this would be impossible. The second-floor zombies were stronger and more agile than the ones on the first floor. Even their post-wakeup stun duration was reduced to two minutes.

While I was busy farming, the hunter lady returned.

"Are you done farming now?"

"Yes, ma'am... Huh? Whaaat?"

She had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strange things attached to her arms and legs. She even turned her gaze away, as if embarrassed.