Volcano Cannon
“Master, Master! The blueprints are ready!” Pink Dolphin came running, unable to contain her excitement. Ever since encountering the Destination, both she and No. 100 had entered a state of heightened focus. The engineers of the Equator, once paupers scraping by on a barren mountain, had suddenly become wealthy with floating debris and worked without rest.
“What is it?”
Pink Dolphin spread out the map. The Equator, shaped like a rounded triangle, had three volcanoes at its center. She pointed straight at them.
“Hehe. This is it!”
“Why are you making such a fuss? I don’t recall your excitement ever leading to good results…”
She paid no attention and shouted, “Behold! The Volcano Cannon! We’ve secured the technology and resources to convert the three central peaks into massive cannons! Kkik-kkik-kkik!”
‘Ooh… sounds idiotic?’ But seeing how thrilled Pink Dolphin, No. 100, and the priestly Dark Elf looked, I decided against saying anything unnecessary. Strictly speaking, the floating debris belonged to the Destination priest. If he was happy, that was enough. Still, there was one point I had to raise.
“But if the barrels are pointing upward, won’t the shells just fall right back on our heads? That seems dangerous.”
“Huk! That’s…! I only considered destructive power and efficiency and completely overlooked that. How could I make such a mistake!”
I had assumed they’d already thought of a solution, but it turned out they were just clever idiots. I decided to be understanding. Sometimes when you stare too closely at the trees, you miss the forest. No need to belittle their efforts.
“Hmm… If we install a device that finely adjusts the angle of the entire crater, we could probably use it like a howitzer. I just don’t know how many resources that would require.”
My suggestion sent them into raptures.
“Ooh! That’s it! That’ll work! Keke!!”
[It will! It will!]
“As expected of the one chosen by the Goddess!”
I was starting to think these idiots should just leave already. They had been among the smarter members of my forces, yet now they felt like their brains had short-circuited from overwork. Maybe they really did need a break.
“This is extremely delicate and precise work, so the three of you will each take a four-hour rest. That’s an order. Once you’ve rested properly, build the Volcano Cannon at a level that won’t interfere with the fortification of the Equator.”
They left while repeatedly chanting “Volcano Cannon.” Even if Pink Dolphin’s intelligence had regressed after becoming a zombie, why had the other two turned out like this? Overwork, surely. I remembered feeling the same drop in mental function whenever I overworked myself back at the company.
‘Well… as long as they’re doing their jobs properly, that’s all that matters.’
After sending the engineers away, I focused on the task I had been working on: the “Making Big Zombies” project.
Currently, there were three main ways to strengthen an individual. Arm them with high-grade firearms, grant them skills or imprints, or increase their body size. The first two didn’t suit zombies. It couldn’t be helped. Zombies with poor eyesight handling firearms was already questionable, and focusing on other abilities while possessing the infection trait was inefficient. Naturally, my eyes turned to option three.
However, increasing a zombie’s body size required one essential prerequisite. I remembered the “Deep-Sea Monster.” Even at a glance, it had been large enough to easily surpass a twenty-five-story apartment building. Why hadn’t I been able to turn it into a zombie? Simply put, I lacked enough poison. Creating a high-tier zombie required an enormous quantity of infection poison to match its size.
I could have considered catching random creatures and turning them into zombies to farm more poison. But that wasn’t the answer. I knew that the quality of infection poison was proportional to the strength of the original host. In other words, mass-producing low-quality zombies and grinding them down would only result in reproducing trash. A clear waste of corpses. It was obvious that using low-grade poison would only lead to creating giant corpses of poor quality—a net loss in every sense.
So what was the solution? After a long period of contemplation, I found the answer once I obtained the Steel Archipelago and its resources. The answer lay in the gift left behind by the Goddess.
“Bangsil-i, are you ready?”
“Bangsil-i is working hard!”
Among the higher-tier zombies, the ones with the least work were undoubtedly Baengnae and Bangsil-i. Their job was simply to eat and play. That was exactly why the two of them had been chosen for this plan.
At my signal, Bangsil-i began pouring her poison into the tank she had prepared. Though it was called infection poison, it was essentially bodily fluid. So it was simply a matter of creating a wound in the right spot and letting blood or saliva flow out.
Bweeeeh— Bangsil-i spewed infection poison from her mouth using her newly learned skill [Vomit]. Since she spent all day eating, her poison was far more concentrated and abundant than that of other zombies.
Soon she had expelled most of her poison and collapsed.
Thud—
“Jjuin… Bangsil-i is completely exhausted.”
I ordered her to be moved in front of the snacks I had prepared for her and proceeded to the next step.
“Alright, everyone, pour it in!”
What were the products of the Destination? Generally, various items, gunpowder, and—most commonly—potions. I had focused on those potions. What kind of principle allowed these strange objects to heal their targets? The truth I uncovered was shocking. Every supply provided by the Goddess transformed into a form suited to us. It parasitized our culture and mentality, faithfully carrying out its purpose of contributing to ultimate victory. Potions were the very essence of this phenomenon.
A consumed potion imitated its host. It altered itself into the target’s constituent materials, found the appropriate location, and filled in deficiencies—thereby “healing.” That was why simply pouring it on worked like magic.
So what if I mixed a large amount of zombie poison with potions? Exactly. High-grade infection poison would be replicated.
“Aah, the Goddess’s blessing indeed.”
There was an even more surprising fact. Normally, zombie poison would naturally decay if left exposed to the air. But this newly created “zombie potion” could be easily preserved, perhaps because the concept of a potion had been combined with it. Thus, a vast quantity of high-grade infection poison was produced. All I had to do was seal the lid and store it. It could be used to infect giant creatures or loaded into shells for long-range bombardment as zombie artillery rounds.
‘Good. Very good.’
Of course, it hadn’t been easy at first. Too much potion diluted the poison and reduced its effectiveness. But after repeated experiments, I was approaching the golden ratio. Mass production of poison had officially begun. There was no need to worry about running out of potions. Even now, the factories of the Destination were steadily producing them. As long as the Goddess’s power—the raw material for potions—remained, I could produce unlimited high-grade zombie poison.
‘At this rate, I should be able to zombify the Deep-Sea Monster before finishing Stage 5. And that’s not all…’
This ocean was home to many colossal creatures known as deep-sea class beings. And now, body size was no longer an obstacle to zombification. My army was going to grow without end.
The priest of the Destination, who had taken the form of a Dark Elf, wished to be called “Helper.” Helper acknowledged that the current forces could not eliminate all the sea kings and actively cooperated with the fortification of the Equator. That had already been five days ago.
Using materials from the Destination, the Equator had been fortified, and the conditions for creating giant zombies with potions had also been established. Preparations to welcome the “Golden Master” were complete.
‘But… where the hell did that guy go?’
And the “Golden Master” had disappeared. After suffering heavy damage from the Deep-Sea Monster, it had given up its pursuit of me and gone into hiding. Tired of waiting, we decided to go find it ourselves.
“Should we run a performance test before we leave?”
I pressed [Combat Start]. It was time to tackle the main quest I had been putting off. From Stage 4 to Stage 6, the enemies were the same. In my case, that meant Dark Elves.
Helper was startled when he saw the Dark Elves appearing on sailing ships.
“Huh? They look exactly like me.”
“Exactly. That’s why I was momentarily wondering whether I should suppress you along with the stage enemies.”
Helper, who had been staring blankly at the enemies, replied, “There is no race called Dark Elves in our world. If the enemies of the stages take that form… perhaps there are more fragments of the Goddess besides me.”
It was very good news. Finding Helper had already brought me great benefits, so there was no reason to refuse more if they were available. If the opportunity arose, I would dig into the origins of the elves.
Tatang— Dudududu—
While chatting with Helper, the enemies were instantly riddled with holes and wiped out. Without needing to use explosives, they were annihilated by the gunfire of the golems stationed on the beach. Since I had already surpassed the enemies’ strength back in Stage 4, they no longer posed any threat to me.
“Let’s push through to 5-4 like this.”
“I agree.”
Park Seona sighed as she watched me repeatedly pressing the [Combat Start] button.
“Aeng… I really struggled to clear it.”
I smirked. “No need to feel wronged. You’ll eventually return and deal with the Equator and Destination anyway, right? Find the Helper there and do some easy auto-hunting.”
“Aww, come on, that’s just a joke. I can never repay Nanggun-nim’s kindness no matter how much I try.”
“Yeah, pay it back later.”
I had shared the secrets of the Equator and Destination with Park Seona and the specialist. If reliable allies could benefit from it, there was no reason to hide the information.
“This is too easy.”
Even after reaching 5-4, not a single enemy had set foot on the island. The fortification had been a resounding success. I released the zombies to collect the enemies’ corpses.
“Since the performance test is over, let’s head out.”
“Setting sail! Wait, hold on… since we’re going to the harbor, is it really ‘setting sail’? What should I even call this?”
“Call it whatever you want.”
From now on, we would be heading to Villain’s Grave. There were peculiar straits in the ocean. Among them were places where reefs artificially formed specific paths. Following those winding reefs would eventually lead to the location known as Villain’s Grave. The native creatures there were seahorses. They possessed a unique trait: they could capture the memories of the dead and command them as ghosts. Because of this, the strait was filled with water ghosts. Since these water ghosts were extremely vicious, users had mockingly named the place Villain’s Grave.
The reason we were going there was because Villain’s Grave was the homeland of the “Golden Master.” According to Helper, the only place the traitor could hide after being injured was Villain’s Grave. Hearing this, one question occurred to me. Ghosts wouldn’t become zombies even if they died. So then, if a zombie died, would it become a ghost? Honestly, I hoped it would. Think about it. If I turned a seahorse into a zombie, the ability to extract memories and command ghosts would become mine. I could create a build that allowed two consecutive resurrections—once as a zombie, once as a ghost. How could I resist that? Deep inside, I earnestly prayed that zombies would become ghosts upon death.