Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Rookie Grade
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"Zombie virus on modern Earth, huh..."
Just like in most movies or novels, when disaster strikes, the site of the catastrophe turns into utter chaos.
Of course, reality wouldn't be much different.
Especially with a zombie virus boasting a high infection rate like those in the movies—it would be as bad as, if not worse than, earthquakes or tsunamis.
The key point here is that unlike other disasters, the zombie virus only affects living creatures.
Facilities like buildings or pre-made supplies could be used freely without issue.
'The most powerful weapon would still be nukes, right.'
He thought it half-jokingly, half-seriously, but it was undeniably an appealing option.
If he could just press the nuke button, Fellios, the Tower system, everything—poof, all turned to ash in one go.
Of course, there was the fatal drawback that he'd likely get caught in the blast and die too.
'Suicide is always the last resort. Think of realistic solutions.'
A situation where he'd have to face hundreds of enemies at once. In that scenario, the most efficient weapon was undoubtedly a 'gun.'
With just one rifle and enough ammo, even buffed Summoners—unless their skin was literal steel—would all end up equally riddled with bullets, turned into Swiss cheese by dozens or hundreds of rounds.
Considering his own situation, though, a machine gun that could spray bullets rapidly would be the best fit.
'Alright. Then let's warp to that planet right now, grab a ton of weapons, head back to the Tower, and ventilate those Summoners' heads.'
The plan was perfect.
But there was one massive problem.
"Ah, fuck...! Inventory!"
The reason he could store and retrieve items in the Tower world was thanks to the 'Inventory' perk.
But Inventory wasn't a power he'd earned—it was a perk randomly granted when he hit 'Newbie' rank.
'Fuck, so even if I grab guns over there, I can't bring them back.'
That rendered his entire plan moot.
'Isn't there some way?'
He racked his brain. Then, one possibility came to mind.
'Right, the random draw!'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ★Dimensional Traveler's First Step Support★ One-time only on return! Random Draw 10+1! [Price: 1,000 DC] During his first settlement, he'd snagged the utility ability 【Third Eye C-】 through the random draw.
'But last time, Third Eye C- showed up with like a 0.01% chance or something.'
Roughly 10,000 attempts for a 100% shot at one ability. And the odds that the exact ability he wanted—Inventory—would pop up? Near zero.
'Damn, is there really no way?'
The random draw was pure gambling. Fortunately, he'd earned a decent haul of Dimensional Crystals this time, enough ammo to spare. But still, not enough for the result he needed.
'Hmm... Let's check the profile for now.'
Sorting through the abilities he'd gained in the Tower world might spark a solution.
⚔ PROFILE ⚔ 👤 Name: Kim Joo-hyuk ⚥ Gender: Male 💪 Strength: 1 💨 Agility: 1 🧠 Intelligence: 1 🍀 Luck: 1 💎 Dimensional Crystals: 99,695 DC [Ability Slots (2/2)]
【Warp SSS】 (Unique / Cannot Unequip) 【Third Eye C-】 [Skill Slots (2/3)]
【Strength F】 【Emperor's Mark Lv 1】 (Empty) [Ability/Skill Storage]
【Authority, Reversal】 ⚙ PROFILE UPGRADE AVAILABLE ⚙ Upgrades your Profile rank to the next stage. Higher rank unlocks more possibilities and benefits as a Dimensional Traveler. - Current Rank: Newbie - Next Rank: Rookie - Price: 50,000 DC [View Details] 'Profile rank upgrade, huh...'
50,000 DC. Not a small sum, but he could afford it now.
'The question is whether it's worth it.'
He tapped View Details without hesitation.
⚔ ROOKIE GRADE BENEFITS ⚔ 1. Slot Expansion: Ability and Skill slot max capacity permanently +1 each. 2. Stat Transfer: 10% of your highest stats across all worlds added to your real body. Conversely, 10% of real-body stats added to Profile. 3. Draw Probability Boost: Slightly reduces junk item odds, slightly increases good item odds in 'Random Draw'. 4. Starting Settings Unlock: Choose from various settings before entering each planet's scenario. 5. Time Compression Unlock: Skip unnecessary 'processes' and jump straight to 'results' from now on. 6. Additional Scenarios Unlock: More scenarios available for intervention. 7. Passive Abilities Unlock 8. Shop Update: Shop has been updated! There were a ton of perks. Reading them, it felt like not upgrading would be idiotic.
'Definitely worth it.'
He upgraded immediately.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Consumed 50,000 DC to upgrade Profile rank to 'Rookie'. New benefits unlocked. Profile updated. ⚔ PROFILE ⚔ 👤 Name: Kim Joo-hyuk ⚥ Gender: Male 💪 Strength: +3 💨 Agility: +2 🧠 Intelligence: +1 🍀 Luck: +2 💎 Dimensional Crystals: 49,695 DC 'Kinda pissed that I have to rebuild stats on the new planet... but better than starting from zero.'
Having 10% of his hard-earned Tower stats transferred to reality was a huge win. The Profile's real-body bonus was meager, but better than nothing.
He returned to the shop to see what had updated.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Shop system major update complete! Abilities and skills from perks now appear in shop. New category 'Passive Abilities' added. Random draw items now appear in shop. "Whoa!?"
He immediately checked the Passive Abilities tab.
⚔ PASSIVE ABILITIES ⚔ [Passive Abilities: Purchased items permanently stored in Profile, do not occupy slots.] 'Doesn't occupy slots?'
That alone was a massive merit. Containing his excitement, he scrolled the list.
⚔ PASSIVE ABILITY LIST ⚔ 【Inventory】: Creates a personal subsapce 1m x 1m x 1m. - Price: 40,000 DC
"Found it!"
A low exclamation escaped his lips. Right at the top of the list: the Inventory he'd craved. Price tag: a whopping 40,000 DC.
Most of his current 49,695 DC balance.
A normal person might hesitate. But not him.
'Real men don't flinch at this. Just buy it. I can farm more Dimensional Crystals!'
⚙ PURCHASE CONFIRMED ⚙ - Consumed 40,000 DC to purchase Inventory. - Inventory permanently stored in your Profile. Dimensional Crystals: 9,695 DC His balance hit rock bottom in an instant, but no regrets.
The moment he bought it, he felt a new space form in a corner of his mind. An empty cube, 1m in width, length, and height.
He briefly returned to reality, imagined stashing his tablet in the Inventory. The tablet in his hand vanished seamlessly. Imagining retrieving it brought it right back to his palm.
"Kuuh... This is it!"
Success. Now he had his own Inventory not just in the Tower, but in reality and other planets too.
He tapped Inventory in his Profile's skill slots. An upgrade option appeared.
⚔ INVENTORY EXPANSION ⚔ - Current Size: 1m x 1m x 1m - Next Stage: 3m x 3m x 3m - Price: 5,000 DC
'Can even expand it?'
He hit the expand button without hesitation. Go big or go home. 1 cubic meter was way too small for proper supplies.
This size could easily hold a light machine gun and a few ammo crates.
"Keke, now we're talking. Time to pack some real gear."
With a satisfied smile, he made final preparations before warping to the zombie virus planet.
Checking his bank: B-rank Hunter Lee Chae-ah had deposited 700,000 won as porter pay plus 2 million bonus—total 2.7 million won.
He hit up a nearby supermarket and pharmacy for basics: food, medicine. Back home, he stashed them in Inventory—ramen, bottled water, canned goods, gas burner, butane, Hunter first-aid kit for dungeons, etc.
'Rest can be scavenged on-site.'
This setup would handle early survival no problem.
So deciding, he warped to Planet #000549, the so-called Zombie Apocalypse planet.
⚙ ROOKIE GRADE PERK ⚙ Starting Settings activated. Select your starting role in this world. Each role has a unique starting point, initial relationships, and special objectives. "Hmm?"
Three options floated before his eyes. A far cry from the Tower world's starts—intriguing.
1. Researcher
Background: You were a key researcher at 'Global Pharma's' secret lab studying the 'alien virus' first discovered in China.
In the chaos of the virus leak, you barely escaped the lab. You know the virus's traits and infected weaknesses better than anyone.
Initial Skills:
【Weakness Analysis】: Discerns infected weaknesses. Massive critical hit chance boost when targeting those spots.
【Temporary Antidote Creation】: Combine nearby materials to craft chemicals that temporarily slow infection or reduce zombie aggression.
Objective: Create zombie virus vaccine