The More You Eat, the Stronger You Get
I confirmed that [Feed] worked just by speaking the command—no need to tap the phone screen. “That guy sure eats with gusto.”
I watched the zombie devour its meal in silence. With its single remaining arm, it tore into the flesh with surprising efficiency. “Come to think of it, when did I become this desensitized?”
I’d spent my childhood in a place as wild as any jungle. To me, one life consuming another was simply the natural order of things—nothing more, nothing less. Still, watching one humanoid consume another was a first. If my common sense was intact, this sight should have stirred revulsion or at least discomfort. Yet I felt nothing of the sort.
“Zombies, huh…”
Objectively speaking, the zombie in front of me wasn’t what anyone would call attractive. Patches of skin had peeled away, its head was nearly gone, and dried blood clung to burst veins. But I felt no revulsion. If anything, I felt a strange fondness—almost the urge to treat its wounds.
“Was I always a zombie enthusiast?” Definitely not. The only explanation I could think of was that becoming a Zombie Summoner had rewired my survival instincts. I wasn’t complaining. In fact, I was grateful. If I was going to live as a Zombie Summoner, getting queasy around zombies would be a serious problem. This adjustment was clearly necessary.
“Kkaeruk!”
The zombie returned, carefully carrying the dwarfs’ brains. It held them out to me like precious offerings.
“Do zombies treat brains as a delicacy?”
The old saying claimed eating eyes improved eyesight. So maybe eating brains would boost intelligence? Until I decided to eat them myself, feeding them to this guy seemed worthwhile. After all, there was zero chance I’d ever eat dwarf brains.
“You eat it.”
“Keke!”
Crunch, crunch. I felt a twinge of guilt for wrecking the zombie’s arm, but there was another reason I’d used [Feed]. Since the broken arm hadn’t regenerated, summons were apparently consumable. Once dead, they didn’t come back. Strategically, it made more sense to raise a few strong individuals rather than many weak ones. Injuries could be recovered from; death was permanent loss.
Once the meal ended, I tapped [Check Rewards].
[1-1 Clear]
[Clear all of Stage 1.]
A familiar light enveloped me. When I blinked, I was once again alone in the dark room.
“How many stages are there, anyway?”
The three dwarfs from earlier had been labeled 1-1, and the single one had been the tutorial. I quickly dismissed the thought. Since quitting wasn’t an option, knowing the total number didn’t matter. I cleared my mind and checked the reward.
“Huh… that’s it?”
I didn’t know what it did, but it felt underwhelming. There was another disappointment besides the reward. I’d grabbed one of the dwarfs’ swords while tapping [Check Rewards], testing whether looting was possible. The result was a failure. My hands were empty when I returned to the room.
“So I can’t take enemy items…?”
But the chair was still there—brand new, in fact.
“Well, a chair’s good enough. What more could I ask for?”
With a chair, I didn’t need a dagger anyway. The reach difference was enormous. I placed the one-armed zombie in the front room as usual.
Rumble—
When I summoned it into my room, the damage had progressed. Now it was missing everything past the wrist. A few more feedings and it might fully recover.
“Come to think of it, I should give this guy a name…”
Too much trouble. Names existed to distinguish individuals, right? With only one zombie, calling it “Zombie” was fine. I could worry about names once I had more.
“Zombie, come here.”
The creature that had been wandering the room scurried over at my call. Maybe it recognized the name. I used the [Lowest-Grade Zombie Enhancement Potion].
“Kii… aaah…”
“Hmm… enjoying that, are you?”
Enjoyment wasn’t the goal. I believed growth required pain. Muscles only grew after being torn thousands of times and regenerating. What tasted good usually wasn’t good for the body. But soon I smiled. Listening closely, the zombie’s sounds were pained screams. The enhancement was working correctly.
The zombie collapsed after receiving the boost. I examined its body from various angles. Muscle mass and flexibility seemed slightly improved compared to before.
“Hmm…”
Then I discovered something surprising. This zombie was female. I could tell from the shape of its eyes and pelvis. I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
“Tch… no wonder it looked so feeble.”
I wasn’t into guys. Obviously, human women were my type. But what advantage did a female zombie offer? Zombies should be bulky and muscular, no exceptions.
“Kkae… kkaeruk. Kkik.”
“Yeah, yeah. Keep at it.”
I patted the zombie’s shoulder, then turned my attention to the screen and pressed [Start Combat].
Rumble—
At the sound, the zombie staggered to its feet. Its mental state still seemed stable. The enemies’ room connected in the opposite direction from the zombie’s room.
Click—
The door opened and three dwarfs entered, followed by two more carrying bows.
“Ranged attackers?”
I flinched, then quickly regained composure. Bows required strength. If their draw weight was mediocre, stabbing with a spear or sword would be far more effective. Judging by the dwarfs’ physiques, the threat level of those bows was quite low.
“Still, no need to take unnecessary risks.”
I dashed out, shoved the dagger-wielding dwarfs aside with the chair, and slammed the door shut.
Bang!
“Welcome.”
The three dwarfs separated from the archers were dispatched with ease. During the fight, I noticed an unexpected improvement in the zombie. The creature that had struggled against a single dwarf in the tutorial now overpowered one without difficulty. The enhancement potion and equipment were clearly having an effect.
“Ah, maybe feeding it the dwarfs helped too?”
“Kaerruk kaek kaek.”
“Good job.”
Now it was time to deal with the archers. I reached for the doorknob, then hesitated.
“Hmm…”
I called the zombie over.
“When I open the door, you go in first.”
“Kkaek?”
“There’s a saying in our world: ladies first. Since you’re a lady, you go first.”
The zombie nodded. A smooth agreement was reached between lady and master. I opened the door, and the zombie charged inside.
Two arrows flew. But the archers had apparently been aiming for me; the arrows sailed over the zombie’s head. Taking advantage of the opening, the zombie tackled one of them. The other frantically nocked another arrow, but my chair was faster.
Thud—
“Easy. Too easy.”
“Kaerek kaekgyeok.”
Three familiar messages appeared on the phone, followed by one more.
[Stage 1 Boss Stage]
I ordered the zombie to eat and sat down on the chair. It felt like eating took longer than fighting, but since eating was also training, I had no complaints.
“A boss, huh…”
Honestly, I wasn’t nervous at all. It was probably just the dwarfs’ leader. I started doing bodyweight exercises to loosen up. Still, it was a boss round, so maintaining some tension wouldn’t hurt.
Then I noticed something remarkable.
“Huh…? Whoa? Ah!”
My body had grown stronger.
As someone who exercised regularly, I knew exactly how much my body could handle. Yet even after surpassing the sets that should have left me exhausted, I still had energy to spare. This wasn’t mental. My body had genuinely become stronger—not as a Zombie Summoner, but as Baek Suhan himself. A direct, tangible reward.
I jumped up and threw my arms in the air.
“Whoa! Amazing! I love this!”
The zombie echoed my excitement.
“Kaek kaek kaek! Kaek kaek!”
“But when and how did this happen?”
The only thing I could think of was the bright light that had enveloped me at the end of each round. Since this was structured like a game, it had to be some form of level-up.
How many stages were there? What a stupid question. As long as death didn’t come, the sets would never end.
The zombie brought back five more brains. I smiled and patted its head.
“You eat them all.”
“Kaek kaek kaek!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Crunch, crunch.
While the zombie ate, I kept exercising until my stamina was completely drained. Sweat poured like rain, but all I felt was joy. After the meal, I checked the rewards and returned to the dark room. I immediately dropped to the floor and began push-ups, squats, and burpees.
“As expected, it reset. And… the quantity increased too!”
This was a miracle. A way to become this healthy existed in the world.
“Waaaaah! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!”
While I was exercising with tears of emotion, I suddenly realized something.
“Ah, I still have to beat the boss.”
I sat on the chair and summoned the zombie first. The reward this time was another [Lowest-Grade Zombie Enhancement Potion]. It seemed to be a fixed reward. I needed to rest for a bit. Since the zombie made up most of our combat power, there was only one conclusion.
“Zombie.”
“Kkaeruk?”
“Get down.”
The zombie was a beginner, so high-intensity training would be bad for its body. Starting light was important. Squats would be good. About thirty minutes later, the zombie was completely sprawled on the floor.
“Tch… how pathetic.”
“Ke… kek.”
“Since it’s the first day, let’s stop here.”
“Kkiee…”
While the zombie rested, I looked around the room. A light fixture hung high above. No CCTV cameras were visible.
“What’s monitoring us?”
It didn’t matter. If this space could automatically make people healthier, what did a little video feed matter?
“Come to think of it… I moved around quite a bit, but I’m not hungry. And I haven’t thought about the bathroom at all… have my bodily functions stopped?”
This was a bizarre space in many ways. At the same time, it was also promising. I wasn’t the only one experiencing this. Since I’d been dragged here during that dogshit trial, some of the others present might be in similar situations.
“Section Chief Park…”
I ground my teeth. I would definitely capture those bastards alive and feed them to the zombies.
“Kkaeruk.”
The zombie had recovered and approached.
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
I pressed [Start Combat].
It was time for the boss fight.