The Effect of Achievements
"Kyaaak!"
A scream rang out from somewhere. In the apocalypse, screams were common enough, but it was enough to jolt Kang Dohyun awake. He glanced at the clock.
Ten o'clock.
Ten in the morning. A perfectly ordinary day in the zombie apocalypse had begun.
Dohyun went straight to the bathroom to shower.
Shhhhh...
The water was cold — winter cold, biting cold — but he let it beat against his body while opening his status window.
Satisfying.
He'd earned four achievements in just one month — and they were all excellent ones.
The two exercise-related achievements would continuously boost his physical capabilities and help him acquire related skills and traits. Zombie Slayer was perfect for hunting zombies, and Reasonable Rapist was ideal for managing women.
The skills turned out well too.
Four skills before even reaching level ten — three combat-related, one speed-related.
By current standards, this makes me world-class.
People with four achievements were counted on one hand worldwide, and fewer than ten percent had four skills — and all of his were useful. He was ready to become a top-tier elite in the zombie apocalypse.
Dohyun finished his shower, dried off, dressed, and went to check on his brother's room.
"Zzzzzzz"
Kang Dohun was still deep in sleep. Looking at him, Dohyun felt both pride and pity.
He really worked hard for a whole month. It must have been boring.
Staying inside the house for thirty-one days, enduring it, and training hard — that wasn't something anyone could do without extraordinary patience. Especially in the last ten days, when he barely slept at all, just training.
Thanks to that, Dohun got three exercise-related achievements.
He'd definitely gotten his reward for the suffering.
With those three achievements, if you considered growth potential in pure combat alone, his brother had surpassed him.
It was a bit late for breakfast, but Dohyun prepared a meal anyway. With no electricity and no gas, he couldn't cook, but he laid out a hearty breakfast of combat rations and canned food.
Once breakfast was ready, he went into his brother's room to wake him.
"Dohun, Dohun! Wake up."
"Huh... hyung..."
"Let's eat. Come to the living room."
"Yeah."
Dohun struggled to sit up. In a state bordering on unconsciousness, he followed his brother's words and went to the living room, where he began eating the prepared breakfast.
Combat rations — they'd eaten them to the point of boredom — but the two brothers ate without complaint, chatting as they went.
"Hyung, what do we do now?"
For the first month, he'd trained hard, exactly as his brother had told him to. He'd gotten achievements thanks to it, but they'd never talked about what came next.
"First, let's go hunting today."
Dohyun was curious to see what good skills his brother would get as he leveled up. And Dohyun himself was close to level ten — reaching it would grant a new trait. He was curious about that too.
"Hunting means zombie hunting, right?"
"Obviously."
Dohun nodded and went back to eating. But his hand was trembling slightly.
Right. Newbies can't help it.
For someone who'd never been near violence in his life, facing zombies wasn't easy — physically or psychologically.
After lunch, Dohyun helped his brother prepare for the hunt.
"Put this on."
First, the top and bottom — leather pants and a leather jacket. Made from high-quality leather, the outfit offered some protection against zombie bites.
"Wear a helmet too."
To protect his head and face, Dohun put on a motorcycle helmet.
"You're a size 280 in shoes. Wear these Walkers."
For footwear, Walkers. Dohyun preferred military boots, but since his brother hadn't served, he'd prepared Walkers for him.
"Put on leather gloves. And for weapons..."
Dohyun pondered what weapon to recommend.
"I'll use an axe too."
"What? You too?"
Axes had excellent attack power for one-shot kills on zombies, but they consumed a lot of stamina and were cumbersome against humans. Still —
"I want to use the same weapon as hyung."
At Dohun's emphasis on using the same weapon —
"Hahaha, alright. Let's be the axe brothers."
With weapons chosen, preparations were complete.
The two, fully armed, came down to the first floor of the apartment building. And outside —
Grrr...
Several zombies were wandering within the apartment complex.
Apartment areas were places where zombies congregated, so just because you saw few with the naked eye didn't mean you could let your guard down.
Dohyun pulled out his sling.
Swish, swish, swish... Thwack!
"Kuek!"
He took out a distant zombie.
"Kweok."
"Kuh..."
The surrounding zombies moved toward the source of the noise.
"Run."
The two brothers escaped the apartment building safely.
Residential areas were ideal for hunting one at a time. The two entered a neighborhood of houses and villas.
Dohyun checked the surroundings with Presence Detection and said,
"Alright. Just turn that corner and you'll see one zombie. Ready?"
At his brother's words, Dohun gripped his weapon tightly and nodded.
The two brothers turned the corner.
Grrr...
There was a single zombie sitting down.
Dohun walked silently toward the zombie. Then he raised his axe.
Just one proper swing.
He swung the axe toward the zombie's head.
Thwack!
"Kuek!"
He'd struck the head cleanly from behind, and the zombie collapsed in one hit.
"Haa... haa..."
After finishing his first kill, Dohun's tension released. His body trembled, and he exhaled in ragged breaths.
"Good job."
His brother praised him, but the words didn't quite register in Dohun's ears.
But then —
You have defeated a zombie.
You have gained 1 experience point. You have acquired one Zombie Coin.
Your level has increased.
Congratulations. You have acquired your first skill: Monster Strength.
The messages came in rapid succession, confirming the hunt was over.
Dohun took a sip of the water his brother handed him and calmed his wildly pounding heart.
"Leveled up? Got a skill?"
"Yeah."
When Dohun said he'd gotten Monster Strength as a skill —
"That's a really good skill."
The description was simple: a skill that made your existing strength extremely powerful. If your body's strength increased, naturally your attack power went up too, and your stamina increased as well.
It was perfect for surviving in the apocalypse.
"As expected, getting three exercise-related achievements paid off."
His very first skill was already excellent. And the likelihood of getting good skills afterward was high.
Dohyun and Dohun wandered through the residential area, hunting.
At first, Dohyun helped with Dohun's kills. Dohun started out trembling as he hunted zombies, but gradually grew accustomed to it.
After taking down twenty of them —
"Hyung, I hit level three and got my second skill."
"What was it?"
Dohun's second skill was Steel Muscles.
"This is insane?"
It was a cheat-level skill that strengthened muscle power while also granting a defense bonus.
"It really is light."
Watching his brother lift a nearby rock with ease —
"Should I have been working out for a month instead?"
At his brother's joke, Dohun laughed.
Once Dohun had awakened his second skill, Dohyun joined the zombie hunt himself.
I wonder what trait I'll get.
The two brothers wandered the streets, avoiding humans and hunting only zombies. After about five hours of hunting, the message Dohyun had been waiting for appeared.
You have defeated a zombie.
You have gained 1 experience point. You have acquired one Zombie Coin.
Your level has increased.
Congratulations. You have acquired the trait: One Strike.
One Strike?
Even Dohyun, who had spent a long time active in the apocalypse world before his regression, had never seen this trait. So he checked the description.
"Insane!"
It was a trait that, upon attacking, had a low probability of dealing ten times the damage.
Traits and skills involving probability had limitations, which was disappointing — but ten times the damage... no matter how low the probability, it was an incredible trait.
If I figure out how to use this well, it'll be an amazing trait.
With his experience, Dohyun immediately recognized how good this trait was.
They hunted all day long, and before the sun set, the two brothers returned home.
"Phew..."
The moment they entered the house, Dohun let out a sigh of relief.
"I'll shower first."
Dohyun stripped off his clothes and went straight into the bathroom.
Shhhhh...
As the cold water hit him, he thought.
It's time to leave Suwon.
Soon, zombies from Seoul would begin descending. Suwon would become a hell far worse than it already was.
But I can't just leave quietly.
He had no intention of simply walking away.
I need to take proper revenge before I go.
Revenge. Taking revenge for what had been done to him before his regression — that was his final goal.