Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Another Survivor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ah, the mana stat.”
The moment he saw the blue light enveloping his hand, the mana stat came to mind.
It was the only stat at zero, which had been bothering him, and the allure of a man's dreams had kicked in, so he'd dumped all his remaining points into it.
And the mana stat lived up to the whopping 27 points invested in it right away—the effect was immediate.
'This blue light must be mana, right?'
From the circumstances, it had to be.
When he clenched and unclenched his fist, the mana receded beneath his skin.
He tried to bring it back out, but naturally, being a power he'd just discovered, he failed.
Imagining moving an invisible force or sensing the flow of blood in his veins—none of that worked.
He got the feeling there must be a specific way to use it.
No instructions had popped into his head, so maybe there was a skill for handling mana.
'Hmm... In games, mana was usually treated as a consumable resource.'
This wasn't some fantasy web novel with cultivation techniques or mana breathing methods and all that specialized fantasy jargon.
Ajeol, the so-called original work(?), didn't have cases like his to begin with.
Instead, it felt more likely that mana itself wasn't the thing to use directly, but rather a fuel to activate or power something else, like in games.
'Maybe searching for skills in the shop will turn something up?'
To get some info on this, he opened the shop and searched for mana-related items.
■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■
Possessed Points: 0
'It's there.'
<Beginner Magic>: 30P
<Lower Magic>: 60P
<Intermediate Magic>: 190P
<Advanced Magic>: 800P
.
.
.
<■#%■&!>: 666666666P
The search results brought up countless skills that seemed related to mana.
Way more than he'd expected.
Even scrolling down endlessly, it never ended.
'Some of the text is glitched out here and there... What the heck is that?'
Something about them felt ominous, so he figured he should steer clear.
The required points were absurdly high anyway, so no chance of buying them, but better safe than sorry.
The numbers were plastered with sixes, making them look cursed just to glance at.
He searched items too, but disappointingly, nothing useful there.
Just fantasy books with "mana" in the title.
He'd secretly hoped for a magic tome or something helpful like that, so it was a letdown.
'Magic... My heart's racing.'
Still, that disappointment vanished the moment he saw the word "magic" in the skills tab.
Magic.
It hit a man's dreams right on the nose—a perfect ring.
Every guy harbors a desire deep in his heart to fire off a fireball.
'Once I farm points, magic's priority number one.'
He vowed to buy it no matter what.
Having acquired mana and learned of magic's existence, he spent the time until Yuri Sister finished dinner slowly browsing mana-related skills.
That night.
After a delicious dinner, with no internet, their only entertainment was chit-chat or physical games, so they just sat side by side on the sofa, talking the time away.
Movies or dramas downloaded right before doomsday?
Watching them now in the early days would leave nothing to enjoy later, so he was saving them.
Yuri Sister knew about the downloaded videos and agreed.
“—So when I barely became an adult, this height and looks made things really tough.”
“Even I'd think a middle schooler was trying to buy booze with a fake ID. It's just that you're so youthful-looking, Sis.”
“You too, Yuseong? Why's everyone ganging up on me! Do you have any idea how I felt getting chased out of that convenience store after confidently flashing my ID?!”
“Pfft...”
“Eek...! You! You just laughed at me!”
“Haha, no way.”
“Your speech sounds like a textbook recitation.”
“Busted.”
“Ugh!”
Such silly yet laughter-filled peaceful banter.
Their back-and-forth clicked surprisingly well, keeping the conversation flowing without a hitch.
And this kind of talk was an essential element for surviving in the despair of the apocalypse.
'Yuri Sister's way better at mental management.'
She had an aura that could positively influence even someone he couldn't.
He was influenced too, which was why he could laugh like this.
Honestly, it had been since elementary school that he'd laughed this freely.
That's why he really wanted Yuri Sister.
The next day.
True to form, he woke at dawn and lightly adjusted his outfit to prepare for going out.
Attracted by the commotion, Yuri Sister stood beside him in her disheveled state.
Today it was cute pink plain pajamas.
With his Clean skill eliminating laundry worries, she'd changed out of that first-day outfit right away.
“Mmm... You're heading out again today...? You could rest for a day...”
“I'm still good. No stamina issues, and you know how strong I am, Sis.”
She reluctantly nodded at his words.
“True, but... Yeah, got it.”
Having come out as a superhuman yesterday, complete with bending the hallway steel pipe with his finger, she accepted it right away this time, unlike before.
For reference, with his strength hitting 50 yesterday, his power had surged noticeably.
Bending it super casually, the steel pipe folded like a rubber balloon.
“Alright, I'm off.”
“Be careful out there, Yuseong. You have to come back, okay? I'll be waiting.”
“Yeah.”
Receiving her worried send-off at the door, he stepped back into the bleak gray world.
He didn't forget to lock the first-floor entrance on his way out.
Day three of the zombie outbreak—time to watch out not just for zombies, but people too.
'So, where to today?'
Mulling that over, he started walking aimlessly.
Of course, not wanting to get swarmed, he kept <Nameless> active.
Yesterday, he'd run into Sua like fate itself.
The moment her existence was confirmed, he'd already been certain other Ajeol heroines had survived in this overlaid world.
But he had no intention of seeking out the other Ajeol heroines.
Searching all of Korea for who-knows-where heroines? No need.
Know the trait of heroines in harem stories?
They're designed with distinct personalities to cater to various tastes, leading to divided opinions among readers.
And some readers have very strong likes and dislikes.
He was the same.
His top fave was naturally Sua, whom he'd claimed yesterday.
Next up...
None.
Not that he lacked interest or disliked them.
His standards had just gotten too high.
With the final heroine Lee Sua being so alluring and beautiful, plus Yuri Sister occupying much of his heart now, his bar for women had skyrocketed.
And the rest of the heroines didn't clear that raised bar—not worth the hassle and effort.
'If they were around, I'd enslave them, but if not, no real drive to hunt them down.'
That's exactly where they stood for him now.
Better to scout nearby for women to his taste—no hassle, way better.
So he wouldn't bother with the other Ajeol heroines.
As he strolled leisurely, smashing zombie skulls and racking up points, he found himself in a street lined with various restaurants.
True to self-employed Korea, even less-traveled roads were packed with eateries.
Restaurants would have stored ingredients, so plenty of food resupply there.
And apparently, he wasn't the only one thinking that.
'A person.'
The chaotic early-doomsday scene: half-wrecked cars, streets stained with blood everywhere.
In one corner, in a narrow alley out of zombie sightlines, a man trembled, glancing around furtively.
Age? High schooler at most.
No uniform, but since doomsday hit on a Sunday, probably a student.
His looks? "Average" summed it up perfectly.
From his angle, visible but not vice versa, so he stopped to observe and size up the guy.
The man's goal seemed to be food.
Crouching, rolling, desperately avoiding zombie sightlines, he headed toward a butcher shop with a "Dongane" sign.
Sticking to blind spots, hiding behind cover when spotted—impressively, he evaded detection the whole time.
'Pretty savvy. Surviving to day three and venturing out means he's got some game.'
But he shook his head at the man's zombie-vision-only focus.
Did the guy know?
That zombies, inhuman as they looked, still had a human sense of smell.
In Ajeol, many survivors fixated on zombie visuals, ignoring smell, and died from complacency—as a reader, he'd seen it countless times.
And proving it, zombies patrolling vaguely near the path the man took to approach the shop began inching closer.
Not intelligence—just instinct mixing into their aimless wandering at the scent of prey.
Shifting their patrols slightly toward the tasty smell.
But that slight instinct would massively boost their hunt's success.
“That guy's done for.”
He calmly voiced the man's death sentence.