Warrior of the Limitless

I thought back over all the blessings I'd received so far.

I'd known about the zombie crisis in advance, and I'd been granted the Blessed Farmland to cultivate. In its astonishing kindness, Casar Aurelion had handed me exactly what I needed, right when I needed it, time and time again.

So what would this reward be?

Thud—

Thud—

I drove the hoe into the soil, all these thoughts churning through my head. When the dust settled, two more pyeong of Blessed Farmland had been added.

Oh! Not one reward but two — my anticipation doubled on the spot.

I turned my head to survey my surroundings.

Good heavens!

A prefabricated building had appeared right beside my tent, dead center of the farmland. It had materialized without a sound, as if it had been standing there all along.

It was a compact little cabin. A large window faced south, with additional windows on every other side, and a spacious terrace spread out before the entrance. Living out of a one-man tent had been a real hassle until now, but I could finally rest in comfort.

My jaw hung open and wouldn't close. Furniture and appliances included — and on top of that, water and electricity on demand, paid in coins. Five hundred liters and 20kWh far exceeded the average daily consumption of a single-person household in South Korea. Since I didn't need electric heating, that allowance would let me use power as freely as I pleased.

I examined the cabin closely. No generator. No pump, no water lines. And yet electricity and running water were being supplied to the interior. Like the Blessed Farmland's ultra-fast internet, it was something science simply couldn't explain.

But that wasn't all.

To all appearances, they were just ordinary walls and glass. Yet they could turn back fire from anti-materiel weapons capable of punching through armor — another mystery of Casar Aurelion!

I spoke toward the door. "Open."

Click—

The door swung open. I stepped inside and looked around. Six pyeong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't exactly spacious, but compared to a one-man tent, it might as well have been a royal palace. The single bed was small, but when I pressed my hand into the mattress, it was clearly top-quality.

And the ergonomic chair jumped right out at me — the kind worth over 2.5 million won apiece, the ones the company only gave to team leaders and above. I started to sit down, then stopped myself. The clothes I was wearing suddenly felt filthy. I'd try it out later, after a shower and a change into clean clothes.

Either way, my living conditions had improved beyond all recognition. And what pleased me even more was the security. If I locked myself inside, looters armed with ordinary rifles would never be able to break in.

It'd be perfect if it came with weapons too.

This was only the Basic Type Agricultural Shelter, after all. Maybe someday I'd receive an even grander, more formidable dwelling as a reward. I let myself dream of an iron fortress topped with automated machine guns and surface-to-air missiles.

I stepped back outside, then calmed my racing heart and checked the second reward. For all I knew, it might be something even greater.

Warrior — a word straight out of fantasy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠novels. I read the following message carefully.

Wow! The superhuman power I'd been dreaming of! My physical abilities could be enhanced — the only question was, how far could it go? Would I end up strong and fast like Superman?

Raising the coefficient from 1.0 to 1.1 meant a 10% boost to my physical abilities. But 10% of what, exactly? Strength? Speed? Endurance? Durability? Some composite of all of them? I had plenty of questions, and no detailed explanation was forthcoming. Which meant I'd just have to test it myself.

I spent 1 coin and raised the coefficient.

Boing—

I jumped in place. My body felt a touch lighter. My strength had apparently risen by 10%.

Going from 1.1 to 1.2 cost double the coins. So would 1.2 to 1.3 cost four times as much? If the coin cost doubled with every 0.1 increase, I'd hit a wall before long — geometric progressions start gentle and turn brutally steep fast.

I ran the numbers on my phone. Even with 100 million coins, I could only push the coefficient to about 3.6. Honestly, tripling-and-a-half my strength would already be tremendous — but next to the title Warrior of Mukgeuk, it seemed pitifully modest.

To check how the costs actually scaled, I spent 2 coins and raised the coefficient again.

Thankfully, it wasn't doubling each time. Whether it was a simple arithmetic progression adding 1 per step, I couldn't say for sure yet — it could be a modified Fibonacci sequence. In that case, even 100 million coins would only get me to 4.6. Better than a geometric progression, sure, but not exactly satisfying. Since hunting 100 million zombies single-handedly was a nonstarter, I'd never reach even that.

I spent 3 coins and pushed the coefficient up once more.

Yes! Thank goodness — not a Fibonacci curve either. The coin cost was climbing in a clean arithmetic progression, one at a time. With this, the title of Warrior of Mukgeuk had nothing to be ashamed of.

Now I was curious what my body at 1.3 was actually capable of. It would've been nice to test it on the weights at a gym or run a measured hundred meters, but that wasn't an option out here. There was, however, a perfectly intuitive way to gauge my strength.

I picked up my bow. The feel of drawing my 70-pound compound bow would tell me instantly how much my strength had changed. I nocked it and pulled. I'd done this exact motion hundreds upon hundreds of times, so I could feel the difference without a doubt. It drew far more easily than usual.

I've gotten stronger!

Zing—

A surge of electricity shot from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes. Watching my physical abilities improve at such speed filled me with an indescribable euphoria. I'd known raw, ecstatic joy a few times in my life — the day I got into the university I'd wanted, and when I landed my job at Hyunseong Group, I honestly felt like I was walking on clouds. But what I felt now was on a different plane entirely. Adrenaline was detonating through me, every cell in my body electrified and dancing.

Warrior of Mukgeuk, Ternusronan! With enough coins, I could grow strong without limit! Hunt zombies, earn coins, keep raising the Amplification Coefficient — and someday I'd reach the point where I could casually subdue lions and tigers with my bare hands. Push past even that, keep growing, and the day would come when I could stand alone against a battalion of heavy armor!

Hahaha! The joy bubbled over and laughter burst out of me.

Casar Aurelion really was considerate. It had given me the Blessed Farmland, safe from cold and zombies, and now it had handed me the means to keep looters out for good. The surest way to never be robbed or bullied was to become strong enough that no one would dare look at you as easy prey.

I could expand my farmland, or I could raise my coefficient. Let's boost my body first! There was no pressing need to widen the field at the moment, so I'd spend my coins efficiently.

I could push another 0.1, but that would leave me with just 2 coins. I'd committed to always keeping at least 7 in emergency reserve, so I stopped here.

I picked up the bow again and drew the string with an arrow nocked.

Hahaha! The laughter came spilling out on its own. A 70-pound bow now felt like 40 pounds. My strength really had grown 1.7-fold!

It can't just be strength, surely.

I aimed at the trunk of a tree in the distance. Well, that's too easy, isn't it. I raised my aim slightly and targeted a thin branch instead. I knew before I even loosed: my odds of hitting were 100 percent. It was as if my eyes had turned into a hawk's — the target leapt out in razor-sharp clarity. With the greater strength, the fine tremors in my shoulder and arm had all but vanished, and my legs stood planted like the roots of an ancient tree.

Thwip—

The arrow flew true and struck the exact spot I'd been aiming at.

I allowed myself a small smile and murmured, "Maybe I should enter the Olympics once this zombie business is over."

Just then, a new message appeared before my eyes.

The missions weren't over. And this time I had to satisfy two conditions: widen the farmland by another 900 pyeong and multiply my physical abilities fivefold. By my calculation, completing this mission would take roughly 1,700 coins — 900 for the land, and around 800 for the coefficient.

Seventeen hundred zombies, huh.

If I only picked off the ones that wandered near the Blessed Farmland, like I'd been doing, I'd never come close to that number.

In that case!

Spring was still a long way off — but it was time to begin the hunt in earnest.