Chapter 13
Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: How Can a Person's Talent Be...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, they'd taken down the zone boss and survived.
But Yoo Hye-na's expression wasn't bright at all.
'...It feels like I'm just constantly receiving help from Ji-hoon.'
It had been that way ever since the zombies first appeared.
Thanks to Ji-hoon's help, she'd barely managed to survive and escape.
Even during the fight with the mid-boss, she'd just watched from behind.
She'd made excuses to herself, telling herself there was no helping it, that stepping up would only get in the way.
But those thoughts had completely shattered when she saw Lee Yoo-ri.
'Yoo-ri's swordsmanship... it was truly amazing.'
Lee Yoo-ri, the same age as her, had displayed overwhelming strength.
Looks, ability, resilient personality—there wasn't a single thing where Hye-na came out ahead.
The two of them kindly said it was fine.
But Hye-na couldn't bear the shame of her own uselessness.
'I have to be helpful somehow.'
That was actually the reason she'd chosen the "Best Driver" job.
At the time of job selection, only one option had appeared before her.
'What should I do?'
Yoo Hye-na was smart, too.
She'd immediately realized there would be another chance to choose a job.
Maybe even better ones would appear given time.
But what if she still had no job by then?
Wouldn't she just be a burden to the other two?
Worse, might they abandon her as useless?
"Wh-what do I do? I already chose a job..."
In the end, she'd picked Best Driver.
Believing it would somehow help in the upcoming fights.
But she'd passed out the moment the boss fight began.
When she woke up, the two of them had already taken it down.
'I want to die...'
While the two of them fought so fiercely.
She hated herself for only receiving help.
But she couldn't let it show.
She was already nothing but a hindrance.
She couldn't afford to dampen the mood, too.
And so, as emotions piled up layer by layer within her...
'...What is this?'
Yoo Hye-na tried to ignore the trait floating before her eyes.
She didn't need a message to tell her.
She knew her own state better than anyone.
Regardless of Lee Ji-hoon's thoughts or judgment.
As one of the story's characters, she too was gradually changing.
Whether that change was for better or worse...
Only the gods knew for now.
We wandered the parking lot and picked out a car to climb into.
It was a Torres, probably used by one of the faculty.
"Too bad it's not a truck."
"Can't be helped."
Being a school parking lot, most were personal cars.
This was the sturdiest one available.
I took shotgun, Yoo-ri the back seat.
And of course, Hye-na slid into the driver's seat.
"Alright then, Driver Hye-na. Take good care of us."
"Y-yeah! Leave it to me!"
Hye-na started driving with a determined look.
Unlike her anxious face, the car moved incredibly smoothly.
'Is this the power of Best Driver?'
It felt like riding with a veteran chauffeur who'd been driving for 30 years.
Hard to believe my childhood friend was pulling this off.
'Seeing this makes me a little regret not picking a job.'
Well, nothing that good had appeared for me, so no choice.
This is why innate talent matters.
I swallowed my regret and opened my status window.
Player Info
▶ Name: Lee Ji-hoon
▶ Gender: Male
▶ Level: 5
▶ Job: None
▶ Title: Great Pioneer
▶ HP: 100/100
▶ MP: 50/50
▶ Coins: 4030
▶ Traits: Metafiction, Poison Resistance
▶ Skills: Comment Search, Monster Devour
Compared to the start, the status window was definitely filling up.
All stats except magic power were over 10.
Traits and skills had each increased by one.
Still, some shortcomings stood out.
For starters, no direct attack abilities at all.
Zombies would be easy to overwhelm.
But against a strong boss like last time, I'd be helpless.
'Come to think of it, I don't even have a weapon anymore... Oh, right. That thing.'
I suddenly remembered and rummaged in my pocket.
A crumpled piece of paper slipped out.
The summon ticket from killing the last boss.
I'd kept it but missed the timing to use it.
'How good is D-grade?'
My previous baseball bat was E-grade.
And it had some special effect.
This time, it'd be something better.
"Yoo-ri, can you use this right now?"
"Hm? What is it?"
I unfolded and showed her the summon ticket.
Lee Yoo-ri examined it briefly and nodded.
"Ah, yeah. From what I know, summon tickets can be used independently of the shop."
So, usable now.
Of course, being random, no guarantee it'd be good.
"Any weapon with a grade means it holds magic power. Naturally, it has special abilities."
"Different from normal weapons?"
"Totally. Even a D-grade spatula would snap an ordinary sword in a clash."
Hoo, better than I'd thought.
As I marveled, Yoo-ri shrugged and added,
"For reference, my sword is S-grade."
"Ah, I see."
"...Hey, what's with that lukewarm reaction?"
No, even if it's S-grade...
A sword that straight-up kills its user is a bit much.
I still remembered the feeling of life draining away.
Honestly, never want to go through that again.
'Maybe weapons take after their owners.'
I swallowed those words, keeping them in my mind.
Yoo-ri would 100% get mad if she heard.
"Ji-hoon, what weapon would you like to get?"
Hye-na asked from the driver's seat.
"Anything but a gun would be fine."
"Ahh."
Memories of the weapon selection and zombie raid must've resurfaced.
Hye-na shook her head with a disgusted look.
In this world, it'd probably pull the "No bullets~" crap again.
Of course, with ammo, nothing beats a gun.
"Or a sword like Yoo-ri's. It's the classic in fantasy novels."
Web novel protagonists mostly used swords.
Often magic swords or holy swords—special stuff.
Hoping for something nice like that,
I tore the weapon summon ticket.
A pop sounded, and the ticket vanished.
An item dropped into my hand.
'Wh-what's this?'
Full Power Heavy Hit
Consumes 50 MP for a very powerful attack.
I stared blankly at the exact same baseball bat as before.
A strange silence filled the car.
For a moment—
"........Pfft."
"Hey, don't laugh."
"Puhahaha! Sorry! I can't help it!"
Even Hye-na burst out laughing in the end.
The two giggled away for a good while, clearly having a blast.
'Argh, this again.'
I'd hoped for a sword or spear at least.
First time was whatever, but from a summon ticket? Baseball bat again?
At this point, is it fate or something?
"Why not make it your main weapon? It suited you pretty well last time."
"Stop joking."
Zombie apocalypse character wielding a baseball bat?
No matter how I think about it, only villains come to mind.
'Well, no helping it.'
I had taken down a ton of zombies with this bat, after all.
As Yoo-ri said, it was starting to feel familiar in my hands.
No other weapons, so this'd have to do.
"Whoa, chaos here too."
By then, the car had passed the school gates into the city.
No surprise, it was a mess there too.
Smashed and exploded vehicles.
Bodies of people and monsters littering the ground.
Streets half in ruins.
A landscape straight out of the apocalypse textbook.
"How many survivors do you think there are?"
"10%? Nah, probably under 5%."
Even that was optimistic.
In that huge school, we three were the only ones left.
"What if we spot survivors?"
"Ignore them."
Lee Yoo-ri stated firmly.
"No spare capacity to look after others. No guarantee they won't betray us."
Wonder if something happened in her previous life.
Her tone was ice-cold as she said it.
Like she was cutting something off.
"But they might be helpful to us..."
"No, I think Yoo-ri's right."
I cut into Hye-na's words.
"In a world where anyone can die anytime, trusting others is risky."
Apocalypse rule number one.
Humans are more dangerous than monsters.
If this is an apocalypse web novel...
They'd shove in villains nonstop for that satisfying plot.
'No need to take needless risks.'
Sure, web novels add companions eventually.
But not in the early game like now.
"That unnecessarily cheery, polite tone is annoying."
"Agreed."
Yoo-ri nodded at my complaint.
As soon as the message ended, new ones appeared before us.
"Ugh, my potential's C-grade. Talent is driving. I knew it, but it's still a shock."
Hye-na's shoulders slumped as she read the message.
The straight-A student probably never scored below B in her life.
"What's yours, Yoo-ri?"
Hye-na asked, and Yoo-ri grinned.
"A-grade for me. Talent: swordsmanship."
"Ugh, figures. Makes sense."
This novel's protagonist and reincarnator.
If she wanted, she could solo bosses.
Not that surprising.
"What about you, Ji-hoon?"
"Me? Same as you, Hye-na. C-grade."
"Huh? Really?!"
Hye-na was more shocked than when she saw her own.
Even Yoo-ri's eyes went wide.
"You sure you read it right?"
"Why so surprised? I'm not some amazing swordmaster like someone."
I shrugged casually, but
they still looked unconvinced.
"Still, after all that impressive stuff you did..."
"I'd have figured at least B-grade. Surprising."
Their reactions made me chuckle.
"It was all luck, I told you. The system's measurement is accurate."
"Hmm."
"It's not that important anyway. Surviving matters more. I'm just a reincarnator, not some amazing human who's endured apocalypse like you."
"Well, the system's judgment isn't everything."
I steered the conversation away and closed the message.
I knew others couldn't see it, thanks to Metafiction.
But still, better safe.
Lee Ji-hoon's potential is S-Grade!
Talent: 'Web Novel Reading'