Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: 22. Third Specialization. (1)
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Seven in the morning.
A bit early.
I rubbed my eyes, got up, armed myself, and headed down to the mart on the first floor.
My eyes stung a little, but I'd slept quite a bit, so I felt refreshed.
The vegetable, fruit, meat, and seafood sections in the mart were completely empty. Some of it was because we couldn't eat the meat and seafood anymore, and the edible stuff had probably been devoured by people before it spoiled.
The vegetable and fruit sections had been emptied again after planting what could be planted and discarding what had to be thrown out.
I opened the freezer wondering if there was anything to eat, and it was packed with pre-chopped frozen vegetables. Probably the same in the other apartments.
The field teams must have gone back and forth sorting out the food supplies. The corpse cleanup team was still busy hauling bodies.
I stared at the empty shelves for a moment before heading to the snack aisle.
It was a pretty big mart.
Still overflowing with food.
I grabbed some energy bars and other eats, then stepped out through the shutter opened by the guy on watch duty.
"Have a safe trip."
"Yeah. See you later."
I gave a quick bow. He bowed back.
Twelve levels left.
I could probably wrap it up today.
It had been drizzling since morning.
No wonder the sky had felt so heavy and overcast for the past few days.
Rain falling the day after Jung Eun-seo's little sister died.
I didn't really want to read any meaning into it, but it felt strangely ominous.
A simple funeral.
People wiped away tears here and there, but no one seemed to have their mental state shattered by the death.
Too many people had already died for one more to come as a shock now.
We'd all grown accustomed to death without realizing it.
Meanwhile, Jung Eun-seo had been staring right at me.
She didn't say a word to me.
I didn't say anything to her either.
But her eyes were demanding something from me—pleading, even.
She wanted revenge.
She wanted those bastards to pay, her gaze screaming it at me silently.
Yeah.
Not hard.
When the time comes, it will happen.
I don't know what form it'll take.
But with her sister's death, people's patience had reached its breaking point. The moment those cockroaches made the slightest move, the collective thread of reason would snap.
And when that happened...
Well, it would.
For now, a new specialization.
Time to level up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A little past 9 p.m.
"...Hoo..."
Three raids.
And level 100.
I sat on the bench by the fountain, opened my status window, and distributed my stats.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Chosen One [Specialization - Survival Expert] [Level - Max.] [Title - One Who Gained Strength] Status [Stamina - 91/100] [Senses - 2/2] [Strength - 0/45] [Agility - 4/4] [Mental Power - 11/71] [Intelligence - N/A] [Distribution Points - 0] Skills [Passive - Soul Tattoo Lv. 2] [Passive - Recovery] [Active - Acceleration] (Auto-cast)
Mental Power at 71...
Pretty ambiguous.
Whatever.
Fourteen casts of Acceleration? Not bad.
The specialization tab was blinking.
I reached out and tapped Survival Expert.
⚙ SPECIALIZATION ⚙
—. Time Adjuster (Max) —. Survival Expert (Max) 1. Shadow Warrior. 2. Wild Hunter. 3. Space Explorer. 4. ??? (Unselectable)
Yeah...
This is it.
Shadow Warrior.
Wild Hunter.
Space Explorer.
I've gotta choose carefully this time.
No rash picks.
Time Adjuster corresponded to Mental Power, and Survival Expert to Stamina.
Remaining stats: Strength, Senses, Agility.
The fourth specialization was probably tied to the unlocked Intelligence stat.
Likely unlocking it would open Intelligence too.
So, what stats did 1, 2, and 3 correspond to?
And what features did each have?
The only clues were the names.
Warrior...
Hunter...
Explorer...
...Hm.
Wait.
One more thing to consider.
Rewards from specialization achievements.
Choosing Time Adjuster gave me Storage.
Still no clue what Storage does.
Sometimes I pull it up out of boredom, but the so-called Soul Stones are just numbers I can't even grab.
Survival Expert gave me Durable Gloves.
Pretty useful.
So new specializations come with new rewards.
The more I thought, the more my head hurt.
I crossed my arms and stared at the selection screen, pondering for a long while.
This time, I wanted something directly tied to combat.
But Space Explorer didn't sound combat-related at all from the name.
That left Shadow Warrior and Wild Hunter.
...Damn.
Can't decide.
Indecision hitting hard.
How the hell am I supposed to know which stat it ties to or what reward it gives just from the name?
Shadow Warrior feels like assassin vibes, so maybe Agility. Wild Hunter brings up axe-wielding barbarian, so Strength? Or bow hunter, Agility? Wild, so Senses? Fuck, no idea!
Just flip a coin.
No coins in my pockets.
Only my phone.
I let out a deep sigh and held the phone close to the ground.
I rested a finger lightly on the edge and steadied my breath.
"Please don't crack the screen. No service centers anymore."
Front side: Shadow Warrior.
Back side: Wild Hunter.
Alright.
Hoo, hoo.
Steady breath, then I raised my hand high and slammed it down.
Smack!
Crackle!
The phone spun wildly.
Shit, shoulda just spun it on the corner?
Don't break!
Thud, thud.
It landed.
Camera facing up.
Back side.
Wild Hunter.
Damn.
No clue if this fits my current situation or not.
Zero intuition.
If I overthink it now, I'll never choose.
I tapped Wild Hunter.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Acquired new specialization.] [Obtained new skill.]
Done.
"Hoo... Status."
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Chosen One [Specialization - Wild Hunter] [Level - 1] [Title - Growing] Status [Stamina - 91/100] [Senses - 2/2] [Strength - 0/45] [Agility - 4/4] [Mental Power - 11/71] [Intelligence - N/A] [Distribution Points - 0] Skills [Passive - Soul Tattoo Lv. 2] [Passive - Recovery] [Active - Hit] (Auto-cast) [Active - Acceleration] (Auto-cast)
...Oh.
New skill appeared.
Hit...
Feeling like I knew what it was, I tapped the skill.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Active - Hit
Projectiles always hit the enemy's weak point.
Senses -1 per shot.
...Senses -1?
So it corresponds to Senses.
Always hits the enemy's weak point.
Means guaranteed headshots on Human Beasts.
...Wait.
How many Senses points do I have right now?
[Senses - 2/2]
...Holy shit!
Two points?!
Just two shots?!
What after the two headshots?
"...I'm gonna lose it."
I pressed my forehead and let out a deep sigh.
I wanted a combat specialization.
Picked it, and it turned out to be a 2-point stat one.
If it'd been Strength-linked, with 45 points it'd at least be usable.
Maybe Shadow Warrior would've been better.
Can't undo it now.
And projectiles mean ranged weapons.
Where do I even get ranged weapons?
Guns?
Police substations are off-limits for now, and even at a big station, detectives use revolvers anyway.
Five-shot ones.
Five shots to do what? Better just Acceleration and hack them with a knife.
A proper gun would be in an armory or military base, but how the hell would I know where one is?
Military base...
Sounds good, but can't get there.
Too far, roads blocked in spots—no driving.
...Motorcycle...
That could cover distance.
Problem is riding one draws aggro like crazy. Could start a zombie wave solo.
Bikes are noisier than you think.
Even modded ones with gutted mufflers pull every nearby horde if you're careless.
Bicycle?
...Nah.
E-bike maybe, but uphill would kill me.
Even without that, no guaranteed safe spots to rest, cover, or food supplies intact—can't risk a long trip.
Plus the cockroaches.
I pressed my forehead and sighed.
I'd thought about asking Su-hyun for ranged weapon ideas before—should've brought it up.
But even as a mechanical engineering whiz, how's she supposed to whip up ranged weapons?
She's already working all day reinforcing the building.
Can't pile on more.
...Bow?
A bow...
I pulled out my phone and opened Google Maps.
Youtube still works, so Google should too.
Yep.
...Following Cheonggyecheon, a few spots pop up.
Traditional archery shops, field archery centers.
Can't cross to Gangnam—zombie wave. West is too far from here.
Cheonggyecheon is the best bet.
...Bow.
Not a bad pick.
...Arrows?
Arrows are the issue.
Like I thought before, if I have to retrieve them, might as well Acceleration-stab up close.
"...Ah."
Right.
Specialization achievement.
Something there?
I opened the achievements window.
"Achievements."
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