Episode 12 (Revised)
Episode 12 (Revised)
"Stupid bastard."
To think it would just charge straight at me.
Does it even know what kind of abilities I have?
"Corpse Control."
As soon as I used the skill.
Dudu... du... du..
The charging Centaur zombie stopped in its tracks.
It stood blankly in front of me.
Cost 15/16
It had come under my command.
"As expected."
In this apocalypse, the Corpse Control skill was basically broken.
"Hmm... A thought just occurred to me."
"What is it?"
Lee Su-ah looked at me as if I were acting strange.
"You know, there are times in a man's life when he has to gamble."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I think this is that time."
I had been thinking about it constantly.
How should I become stronger?
Honestly, handling hundreds of regular zombies isn't bad.
But as time goes on, with Variants, various Awakened, and zombies we don't even know about yet...
I don't think relying on human-wave tactics with regular zombies will work against them at all.
"I need a general of my own."
"You don't mean!"
"Yeah. I'm going to synthesize them all."
I'll synthesize every Variant I get my hands on.
If I do that, I'll create my own ultimate general.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah."
"Then go for it. I'll cheer you on."
She's going to cheer me on.
I was grateful.
Anyway.
I immediately synthesized the Centaur Variant with the Muscular Variant.
Then.
Udeudeuk...
The Muscular zombie became the base.
Its arms and legs swelled, and above all, its size grew even larger.
Unlike the Centaur Variant.
Two more arms were added to the Muscular zombie.
"Ooh...."
It felt like a lot had changed.
But it's still not enough.
The goal is evolution.
I'm going to evolve that guy to the very end.
I needed more Variants to do that.
"Skeletal Species. Go bring me one."
It nodded at my command.
Ttagdak! Ttagdak!
The giant reindeer Skeletal Species ran forward.
The sound of bone thorns cutting through the wind as it ran was audible.
In the meantime.
"Just deal with those guys for now."
I decided to test the Variant.
Hearing my command, the Muscular zombie went toward the radiation zombie.
It easily grabbed its head with one hand.
Peoseok!
It crushed the head just like that.
"Show me your hand."
I looked at its hand.
"It's fine?"
It was different from before.
Before, just touching the blood of a radiation zombie would cause its skin to peel off and cause all sorts of trouble.
But it had changed.
It was the result of synthesizing it with the radiation Centaur Variant.
And at that moment.
Dagdak! Dagdak!
In the distance, the Skeletal Species was bringing another Variant.
This one was a bit different.
It was a Variant with a whopping 8 arms.
Its arms were lined up like a centipede's legs.
"Corpse Control."
10 minutes had passed, so I easily brought it under my command.
And.
"Corpse Synthesis."
When I synthesized it with the Muscular Variant.
Likewise.
Udeuk! Udeudeuk!
This time, several arms started to grow.
But this time, the head did too.
Lee Su-ah was flustered by the sight and said.
"Hey.... this is an Asura."
"...Asura?"
"The mythical being with three heads and six arms."
".....Is that so? Isn't that a good thing?"
"You don't know what an Asura is, do you?"
"What is it?"
"It's the incarnation of anger, envy, and jealousy."
I gave a slightly blank look.
"Isn't that good? If it's an incarnation?"
"...I don't know. Do whatever you want."
She worries too much.
It's my minion anyway.
"I need to feed it more."
According to my calculations, about 2 more?
I kept ordering them to lure in Variants.
Finally.
After feeding it the last 2.
-The Variant has met the evolution requirements.
"Ooh."
"Did it work?"
"Yeah."
Lee Su-ah also approached, looking curious.
How would it change?
I was so curious.
"Here goes?"
"Wait. Can't we do this in a safe place?"
"Isn't it safe here?"
"....I'm just uneasy."
"It's fine. It doesn't take long to evolve anyway."
Anyway.
Putting Lee Su-ah's worries aside.
I used the Zombie Evolution skill.
Kkodeudeuk....
The cocoon that appeared this time was huge.
It felt like looking at the front of a large truck.
Blood vessel-like things were wriggling on the surface of the cocoon.
I could feel something changing rapidly inside.
But then.
"Kkiaaaak!"
A sound came from the other side.
As I turned my gaze.
"What is that?"
"Crazy! It's a horde of Variants!"
About 6 Variants were running toward us.
"Fuck!"
I was also surprised as soon as I saw them.
Why did 6 of them appear at once!
"Prepare for battle!"
I prepared for battle with Lee Su-ah.
They were about 100m away.
But then.
Ppagak!
Cracks started to appear on the cocoon.
And the cracks grew larger and larger.
Peoseoseok!
Someone burst out of the cocoon.
"......"
"....."
Lee Su-ah and I couldn't help but shut our mouths as soon as we saw the being.
3 heads.
6 arms.
The muscles covering its torso were on a completely different level from those of the Variants.
-Asura - 15 Cost
"Fif... fifteen?"
The cost was a whopping 15.
Compared to the Abomination, which is 20 cost, it was a very high cost.
At the same time.
[Corpse Control skill level increases.] [8 → 10]
Furthermore.
"Keureung!"
It was looking at me like a tamed beast, waiting for orders.
All 3 eyes were fixed on me.
It's reassuring.
I immediately ordered.
"Kill them all."
The 6 approaching Variants.
It looked at them, nodded once, and then.
Tsupat!
It was a speed that didn't match its massive size.
The Asura turned its body with its 6 arms and grabbed the heads of the Variants one by one.
And then.
Peoseoseoseok!
It squeezed and burst their heads just like that.
6 of them.
It didn't even take a minute.
"Wow...."
It seemed like I had obtained an overpowered champion.
Back at the Research Complex, I was looking at the Asura proudly.
"Looks cool."
It was like looking at a giant figure.
Muscular all over, 3 heads, and 6 arms.
It would be perfect if I just gave it a weapon.
"Ah. Wouldn't it be possible with Soul Bind?"
Doesn't having 3 heads and 6 arms mean 3 souls could fit inside?
Well, I can look into that later.
"But there's a problem."
At my words, Lee Su-ah, who was next to me, turned her head quickly.
"What is it?"
"I don't have any zombies I can control."
"...."
Since the cost was expensive at 15, it took up most of the cost for Corpse Control.
The Corpse Control skill level went up to 10, so the cost is 20, but.
Asura - 15, Wolf - 4, Lee Hyeon-jae - 1.
The remaining cost is 0.
"Well, it'll be fine."
"What's fine?"
"There are ways."
I still have the Valkar Gallery, which has the potential to grow.
Anyway.
"Is there nothing to do but wait now?"
Lee Su-ah asked tentatively.
She seemed to be waiting for the special forces sent by the government.
"Wouldn't that be it? We can't go anywhere."
"How about we do this?"
"What is it?"
"This place is a bit of a weird spot anyway, isn't it?"
Lee Su-ah said, looking around.
"What's wrong with this place?"
"Isn't it a situation where we're short on water and electricity?"
I recalled the amount of reserve oil and water in the water tank for a moment and sighed.
"...That's true."
"Then how about we move?"
Her suggestion was quite reasonable.
Honestly, there weren't many places to live within the Research Complex.
The best was the Lounge, but this wasn't a dormitory.
There were no beds, and above all, we were severely lacking in oil and electricity to prepare for the coming winter.
Besides, all the core parts and equipment were taken away at the same time this place was abandoned.
The only things left were research records, maybe?
"That's true."
Thinking about it, this place didn't seem like a very good place to live.
In that case.
"Where do you want to go?"
"A shopping mall?"
"....That's a no."
Zombies would pop out from everywhere.
The best thing is to move to a place where we can live without worrying about living noise when we rest.
And a place where many things like water, electricity, oil, gas, etc., are available.
"Hmm, it's a shame."
Still, there was no place as good as the Research Complex.
Because it was very good at blocking the intrusion of other zombies.
But the fact that the research headquarters knows the location of this place means....
They can attack at any time.
Besides.
"I have a strange feeling. I don't think it's because of the data."
It was a bit strange that they came just for data.
Didn't they say they already took it?
That means they also took things like research records.
There's no reason to come back here.
In that case, one thing.
"They must be coming to erase the records."
"....."
"And since this guy Lee Hyeon-jae is also alive, they're definitely coming to kill him too."
The reason to move our residence becomes even clearer.
Then, Lee Su-ah said.
"How about we just kill all the special forces?"
"Then a bombardment might come."
"Ah..."
The fact that what they want to erase so badly is here.
If the special forces fail, they will bomb this place with missiles.
If they can mobilize helicopters and use special forces, wouldn't they be able to launch a bombardment too?
"This place was meant to be abandoned anyway."
"....."
"It's a shame to lose the hideout I worked so hard to get, though...."
There was no other way.
Then what would be good?
I need knowledge that can't even be obtained from the Gallery.
"Haa...."
My head started to ache.
But there was no other choice.
"Yeah, let's move."
"That's a good idea."
We still can't exert the power of a one-man army.
That's why we have to be careful.
But.
"But we can't just leave like this. What were they trying to hide?"
It was unfair.
How much trouble did I go through to get this place?
"That is....."
Unbelievable words flowed from Lee Hyeon-jae's mouth.