Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Variant Zombies
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Since the water supply hadn't been cut off yet, I took my time showering before heading up to the academy where the ladder team was working.
"Oh..."
The ladder was progressing faster than I'd anticipated.
They were smashing desks apart and linking them one by one, preserving the circular frames as much as possible.
With the buildings so close together, they didn't need much length—just enough to make it sturdy.
Being improvised from desks, though, it was bound to be pretty heavy.
"You've worked hard."
"Oh, Oppa! Su-a! You two are already here?"
"...Yeah..."
In truth, we'd finished hunting much earlier, but I saw no need to mention it.
Su-a glanced at So-yun with a complicated expression before replying.
"Let's eat first."
I purchased the meat, vegetables, frying pan, gas burner, and a butane canister set I'd scouted in the shop earlier.
Items bought from the shop materialized right out of thin air.
"Whoa! Pork belly!"
"Y-you bought all this? It must've cost a fortune..."
So-yun exclaimed at the sight of the meat.
As she'd said, it was a cut hard to distinguish from pork belly.
A little less fatty, though—probably pork neck.
Min-hyuk was thrilled too, but he sidled up to me with a worried whisper all the same.
Of course it was pricey.
It had eaten up nearly all of today's hunting points.
But there were solid reasons to justify it.
For one, I was sick of choking down instant noodles.
The hunts and the thing with Su-a had drained me more than a bit.
Even with my Stamina skill, it wasn't the sort of hunger and fatigue instant ramen could fix.
Plus, the frying pan and burner would come in handy long-term after just this one purchase.
Most of all, I could see the spark of energy and goodwill in their eyes.
"Eat up. Let me know if we run low..."
"Wow!"
"Hyung, you sure this is okay?"
"..."
So-yun was literally clapping with joy, while Min-hyuk voiced concern even as his lips curled into a grin.
Su-a, still reeling from earlier, avoided looking my way but nudged my leg lightly with her foot.
Her way of giving praise, perhaps.
At least, that's how I'd interpret it.
To them, who'd subsisted on instant noodles and water for days, this meat was priceless.
"I'll handle the grilling."
"Then Su-a and I will wash the veggies and pan! C'mon, Su-a!"
"Huh? Okay..."
Eager to dig in soon, the three of them divided up the tasks on their own without prompting and sprang into action.
Good investment, I thought.
With the extra time and Su-a out of sight, I seized the moment to head downstairs.
Straight to the back door.
I flung it open without hesitation and pulled the axe from my inventory.
"Big spending means it's time to restock."
Free from Su-a's watchful eyes, I unleashed my full abilities and dove into combat.
One swing of the fire axe pulverized the heads of two zombies at once.
What I hadn't shown the trio—including Su-a—was my skills, naturally.
Weapon Technique and Stamina were one thing.
But I'd held back Inventory and Strength in front of them.
Those two were blatantly anomalous.
Pulling weapons from nowhere or smashing zombie skulls barehanded would've ramped up Su-a's suspicions big time.
Time for the Strength and Weapon Technique synergy—that had crushed even a rock-hard villain's arm—to shine.
"Hup!"
Spotting the zombies charging, I stepped in and swung the axe.
Pouring in power naturally had me holding my breath.
Each swing tore two or three zombies into scattered meat chunks.
A brutal sight, but damn satisfying all the same.
This was it.
Unleashing full throttle after so long cleared the cobwebs from my mind.
Not even much noise.
Momentum building, I leaped into the horde and spun the axe in a near-full circle—more zombies swept away like autumn leaves.
Most lost their upper bodies and crumpled.
A few repetitions, and the back door was carpeted in zombie remnants instead of zombies.
Because I'd cleared them so fast?
Even by the time I'd wiped out the back-door stragglers, no horde had formed at the front.
Variant defeated.
Acquired 5 points.
Then, right around when I felled the final zombie, more message windows appeared.
They labeled it a Variant Zombie.
Hidden Quest Completed.
First Variant Zombie defeated.
Strength LV.2
This time, it was the familiar Quest Board interface.
"...Which one was it?"
The issue: I hadn't had a chance to ID the variant amid the frenzy.
Anyway, as expected.
This world had variant zombies.
And it resolved one lingering question too.
Skills costing 100 points each seemed brutal for skill-less civilians—but variants made it feasible.
Variants dropped a full 5 points.
Five regular zombies' worth.
"Hyung, meat's all grilled~ Where are you?"
"Oppa~"
Hearing Min-hyuk and So-yun call out, I hastily stowed the axe in my inventory.
I didn't skip washing off the battle traces in the bathroom either.
Heading back up revealed a surprisingly well-set scene.
Academies overflowed with paper, so the floor was lined with sheets like tarps to catch grease splatters.
Somehow they'd rustled up decent bowls for the perfectly grilled meat and cleaned veggies too.
"Where'd the bowls come from?"
"Oh, these are lunchbox containers from kids who pack meals."
"Ah..."
"Oppa, eat some quick!"
All three stared expectantly at me.
Since I'd provided the food, they were deferring the first bite.
I obliged without protest.
"Mm..."
Delicious.
That was all.
Tasty, sure—but it didn't move me much.
Just meat, basically.
But the trio's faces, once they saw me eat and tucked in themselves, told a different story.
"Wow..."
So-yun went speechless.
Stuffing her mouth silently with meat and veggies, she gazed at the dwindling pile with heartbreaking longing.
Anyone would've sworn she was in love with it.
Su-a clapped a hand over her mouth but crammed in mouthfuls all the same.
Their reactions tugged at me, so I ordered more meat from the shop and set it down.
Secret hunting had left me with points to burn.
"Plenty more. Dig in."
Mouths stuffed, they couldn't respond—but nodded enthusiastically instead.
I'd wondered if I'd overbought, but their gusto suggested they'd polish it off.
And they did, leaving just a single piece.
Perks of being the meat buyer?
I got excused from cleanup to relax, leaving the three to tidy up and resume ladder work—more free time for me.
I headed to the rooftop to scout the area.
Recalling the variant I'd unwittingly offed earlier, I examined the zombies below.
"Hmm..."
Honestly, no way to tell just by looking.
Hell, there might not even be any variants down there.
But if there were, appearance alone wouldn't cut it.
"...Huh? That's off."
Steady observation revealed a few acting oddly.
Took me a moment to pinpoint it at first, but persistence paid off.
Unlike the rest, some avoided bumping into walls or other zombies.
Shambling along, they'd smoothly twist aside when one approached from ahead.
And every so often, they'd raise their heads to glance left and right.
It looked like—
"...They can see?"
The variant zombies were ones with eyesight.
"Gonna need to lure 'em way farther."
A twinge of annoyance hit me.
Now I shifted focus from zombies to nearby buildings.
Luring was my job, so I needed their layout locked in.
"Restaurants clustered there... clothing shops, movie theater over yonder..."
Luring mattered, but grabbing supplies or food from interiors en route? Ideal.
Couldn't rely on points for meals forever.
With a rough mental route plotted, I descended to rejoin the three.
And shared my findings.
"Zombies that can see?"
"Yeah."
"We finally had a shot at escaping, and now..."
"No need to fret. Just lure 'em farther out."
Their faces fell at the variant news, so I downplayed it deliberately.
It really wasn't a crisis.
They still reacted to sound; luring wouldn't be tougher.
Just drag 'em beyond line of sight to our escape.
If anything, variants were good news for me.
Mobs dropping five times the points.
Just... other variants might crop up beyond the sighted ones, so best expedite our exit prep.
"Already done?"
"Yep."
Protagonists gonna protagonist.
In just one day, they'd crafted a convincingly solid ladder.
Heavy from the desks, but sturdy for it.
Three of them lined up atop it without a wobble—seemed safe.
"Alright, let's head out."
"Huh? Now? Night's falling soon..."
With the ladder ready, I floated trying the adjacent building, but So-yun panicked and held me back.
Su-a piped up too.
"Too late today..."
"Fair enough. Tomorrow it is."
I emphasized "tomorrow" on purpose; Su-a flushed and shot me a glare.
Middleman So-yun eyed Su-a oddly, flicking glances between us.
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