Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Farming First
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I looked around the convenience store.
The part-timer and the women were still trembling.
Outside the window, the monsters were now fighting among themselves.
There was a similar description in the novel. Territorial disputes, they called it.
Those monsters were the kaiju that had suddenly tumbled into Seoul when the gates ripped open out of nowhere.
From their perspective, it was no different from being dropped into some alien world, faced with unfamiliar sights and creatures.
Confused and scared, they lashed out at any humans they came across.
But given time, they'd carve out their own territories, secure their domains, and stabilize.
I figured the author threw that in just to clear the stage for the protagonist's rampage...
If things played out exactly like that, the monsters' activity would die down soon enough—as long as no one encroached on their turf.
Fortunately, I remembered the main haunts of the big ones. Just steer clear of those spots.
Of course, we were still in the thick of it right now, so staying alive took priority.
Let me run through the novel again.
What did the protagonist do at the start?
He got his ability right away, smashed his boss's head in, then headed underground to survive.
He traversed the connecting passages to the subway, bouncing between stations for over 50 chapters.
Pulling out all sorts of items, abilities, and a horde of heroines along the way. By the time he resurfaced, he was already in the top ranks of the survivor leaderboard.
The first heroine he met was Hilde, right? Some foreign tourist back then.
She ended up as a powerhouse partner he could trust with his back—and a harem member to boot. Her illustrations were killer.
Of course, she had nothing to do with the current me. Hell, I wasn't even sure if the protagonist and his heroines actually existed.
Was the novel turning into reality wholesale, or were we just following its setup? Still too early to tell.
Besides, the protagonist's stomping grounds were north of the Han River—Gangbuk. This was Gangnam. Crossing meant dealing with the river.
And right now, the highest-grade monsters were busy demolishing the bridges there. No way to verify in person.
Not that I had any reason to meet him anyway.
Even if I went looking... No guarantee that chuunibyou-ridden protagonist would welcome me with open arms. Lucky if he didn't kill me for getting in his way.
Especially considering his ability... Yeah, better steer clear.
Far better for me to just figure out how to survive here on my own.
Survival was possible without tangling with the protagonist anyway.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ - That day, Seoul's survivors dwindled to half of half. According to the novel, today's survivors would number around 2 million. The rest? Dead.
To avoid being one of them, I had to claw my way through somehow.
Small mercy: this was a semi-basement convenience store tucked in a building corner.
The monsters weren't paying it any mind—maybe it was too out of sight.
Not that humans came here much either.
Not a bad starting spot.
Even in that survival game, the early game culled the weak. Best to hunker down, endure, and farm.
That's me right now: camp-and-farm time.
Problem was... how to farm with this ability?
I glanced back at the women.
They'd huddled together, shrinking into themselves, murmuring among themselves.
Eavesdropping: not discussing plans or anything. Just family talk, friends, worries. Comforting each other. One started crying, and they all patted her.
Watching from the sidelines was a sight. Girls' talk in the apocalypse flowed like that, huh?
I wanted to ignore them and do my thing, but no dice.
Duplicate store goods? Great idea.
Issue was volume and storage.
Me wandering around, fiddling and duplicating? They'd notice for sure.
Even if I duplicated stacks, hauling them? No way.
No truck on hand, and it'd draw eyes. Fuel by duplicating gas cans? Sure, but people and monsters would swarm it.
Next thing, the car's looted—or turned into mouse chow like that bus.
If only I had some sub-space storage ability.
Too bad: one ability per person. Protagonist excluded. Wait, he got one too.
Just happened to be 'Ability Theft.'
That bastard.
A straight-up thief.
Reason number one to never cross paths.
"What are we gonna do now? Huh?"
"First... just calm down."
Should I ask them? Got sub-space powers?
...Nah.
Could spark weird misunderstandings. No guarantee anyway.
"Damn it..."
Scratching my head in frustration, I pulled up the status window again.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ [Seoul Area - 'Survivors' 10,454,160] Several hundred thousand dead already?
War-scale casualties in hours.
Every explosion or crash nearby? Someone dying.
God, I hope this building holds.
"...?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Someone has acquired the first coin!] It was then.
A notification popped up.
"Coins already...?"
Coins.
The currency for trading items in [Survival Game].
Had zilch to do with real money—worthless paper now.
To get coins, you hunted monsters.
Meaning someone in Seoul had just killed one.
Probably the protagonist.
His title was [First Coin Acquirer].
Not bad. Thanks to him, a new option opened up.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [From now on, the 'Trading Post' is activated!] [Trade items with others using coins in the 'Trading Post'!] Trading Post.
Basically a secondhand marketplace.
Remote trading platform for Seoul survivors.
Protagonist swept up scam-tier items there early on.
'Hold up.'
Trading Post?
A lightbulb went off.
[Welcome to the Seoul Area Trading Post!] [Currently registered items: 0] I opened the Trading Post and hit register quick.
The original cigarette I'd held in my right hand earlier, pre-dupe.
[Cannot register this item for sale.] 'Figures.'
Trading Post only took items, monster drops/rewards, or ability-created goods.
This cig? Factory-made. No go.
'But this...'
I gripped the duplicated one in my left hand and hit register.
['Duplicated Manboro Bronze 1 cigarette' registered for sale.] [Please set the sale price.] 'Yes...!'
Just like I thought—duplicated goods registered fine.
The cig in my hand vanished, replaced by an image in the Trading Post.
This way, listing duplicates gave me sub-space storage.
'What if I mass-dupe and dump 'em all here...?'
My personal warehouse.
Like that inventory workaround in games.
'Catch is, others could buy 'em.'
No helping that.
[Sale price: 9999 coins] Set to max to block buys.
Early game, protag scraped 10-20 coins tops. Broke a brutal mission for 300 once?
9999? Untouchable for a while.
Burn 9999 on one cig? Insane. Lives hinged on 100 coins here.
Seller names anonymized too—no tracing.
'Still, folks'll see [Someone's] selling essentials.'
Unavoidable. Penalty for leveraging this ability.
Might even help.
Rumor of [Someone Making Essentials With Powers]? Could net me buyers.
Them buying my stuff with coins? Win-win.
'Perfect.'
Storage solved.
Time to farm everything in sight.