Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: When a Whale Joins a Shrimp Fight - 1
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We returned to the shelter and hashed out our next plan.
After hearing my explanation, Da-jeong was somewhat skeptical.
"Can bullets even pierce wyvern hide?"
"You're underestimating modern firearms. Without the Metal Plague, every monster would get shredded by machine guns."
I figured guns would be lethal against most monsters, ogres and higher-tier ones aside.
Her face grew worried.
"Once the Metal Plague fades, I'll have to watch my back too, huh? Never know when a sniper might take a shot."
Not many had guns, but better safe than sorry.
"Always move with your ghouls, handle business inside buildings. Pick spots without windows."
"Guess I'll have to keep this gripped tight."
Revival scroll.
A precious item that added one extra life.
I launched the drone.
To use a wild boar as bait.
Even with the drone luring the wyvern, we needed appetizing bait to draw it down.
Then Da-jeong's ghouls would swarm and ground it.
Unlike griffons, wyverns rarely descended.
Da-jeong peered at the laptop screen in fascination.
"So this is how you've been hunting..."
"Haven't caught many this way. I've got so much farmed up lately."
Ju Seung-chul's shelter had been a jackpot.
I flew the drone to the potato field I'd planted earlier.
Sure enough, a herd of wild boars was grubbing up and devouring the potatoes.
"Those are my potatoes. There are a few fields like that in these woods."
Da-jeong looked floored.
"You're using potatoes to lure wild boars?"
"Such a waste."
"Eh. Once you see how well crops grow in this forest, you won't say that."
"How well?"
"Go to sleep for two nights, and the lettuce is fully grown."
"...For real?"
She clearly couldn't believe it.
Whatever, I'd show her later.
I marked the exact location on the map.
"Follow the trees with white lacquer marks from this spring. Dingo will sniff it out once you're close."
"Got it. Sit tight."
"Catch it alive."
She headed out with her ghouls.
Getting involved myself would've been tricky for a live capture.
Not impossible, but better to let her handle it while I tackled other tasks.
"Wonder if I have a spare skill slot."
I called up my status window and checked the skill slots.
With Da-jeong holding the cold resistance straw sandals, that left 12 slots total.
Light Steps applied when worn, so I could equip and unequip freely.
Wear them for marches, swap for city entry.
"Perfect."
I launched a second drone.
The wyvern was still searching for us.
Would be nice if an elemental resistance skill dropped.
It boosted resistance to non-physical attacks like fire or lightning.
How common were those in the apocalypse? But the game was blending in.
"That thug used lightning powers before..."
Hadn't seen another since, but I'd run into one eventually.
Might even get a fireball-slinging mage.
That'd be a real wizard.
Suddenly, anything but elemental resistance felt like a problem.
"Wyvern, you jerk, don't drop Hard Skin, got it?"
Hard Skin at level 3 would be great, but I wasn't hunting for it.
I checked my gear.
The pepper bomb coating issue resolved surprisingly cleanly—make more in the real world.
Opposite seasons had perks.
I loaded the AK-74 rifle.
The moment the wyvern descended, it had to end fast.
Otherwise, its thrashing would devastate the area.
Prep complete, Da-jeong returned with a live wild boar.
It had one injured leg and was squealing in pain.
"Keep it quiet for now. When I signal, whack it with a branch."
"To draw the wyvern's attention, right?"
"Spot on."
She had her ghouls muzzle the boar.
Time to call the wyvern.
I maneuvered the drone near the rampaging beast.
It hated the mosquito-like buzzing and snapped its jaws.
Now!
I zipped the drone to the clearing with the boar.
No speed contest, but close enough.
Kwaaaaa—
The wyvern's roar echoed from above.
Just descend the drone and...
"Da-jeong, now!"
Kweeek!
The limp boar somehow bolted up, squealing wildly.
The cry reverberated through the forest.
Hey, wyvern, don't you want fresh boar? Super tasty.
As if hearing my thoughts, it folded its wings and dove.
No trees nearby made landing easy.
Thud!
The wyvern touched down.
The instant it eyed the thrashing prey, Da-jeong snapped her fingers.
Kyaak!
Thirty ghouls swarmed.
Wyvern stats matched griffons.
But these ghouls were far stronger than before.
With hulks and locust-types piling on, even a wyvern couldn't hold.
It spread its wings to flee, but ghouls clung tight.
"Nice!"
I charged forward, slinging two pepper bombs from the sling, yanking hard and releasing.
They shattered on the wyvern's snout, spraying powder.
Kruk!
It flinched, then writhed in agony.
Ignoring ghouls, it rubbed its head in the dirt, mind broken.
I knew that pain well.
I aimed the rifle at its head.
"Ghouls, back off!"
Da-jeong recalled them. I pulled the trigger.
Tat-tat-tat-tat—!
The AK-74 unleashed 600 rounds per minute.
The wyvern's hide shredded despite holding briefly.
Two seconds of leadstorm later, it spewed blood and slumped.
The air cooled the moment I acquired it.
Elemental Resistance blocked the forest swelter.
My jungle hat transformed into an item.
No skill attached, but dual stats made it usable.
"Elemental Resistance dropped?"
"Yeah. Item's this."
I took off the hat and plopped it on Da-jeong's head.
She seemed genuinely touched.
"Thought you just hogged everything... didn't know you could share."
"Keeps you cool while working. Time to build that cabin."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She hopped on my back and choked my neck playfully.
With her piggybacked, I grabbed the saw and sliced off the wyvern's claws.
"What's that for?"
"Selling."
"You have a long knife. Gonna use claws?"
"Niche buyers exist. Sold owl bear claws before; these'll go too."
Better than mass-produced long knives for some.
Long knife outperformed, but cheap price would attract buyers.
Sixteen total... minimum 1,600 points.
I even cut the front ankles.
Da-jeong asked about rope, then had ghouls bind the body.
"Can't eat wyvern, right?"
"Toss it."
Griffon was edible well-cooked, but wyvern meat was too tough.
Faint toxicity too—better not.
Ghouls dragged the carcass far off.
Monsters would swarm it.
Large monster corpses drew others like magnets.
Time to clean up.
I slit the still-squealing boar's throat.
Then with Da-jeong, we hung it on the stand and drained it.
She stripped her windbreaker in the heat, smacking her lips.
"Let's boil some boiled pork."
"I'll handle that. You build the cabin and install the valley pump. Everything's here."
Da-jeong tilted her head.
"Feels like our roles swapped."
"I keep moving, can't build cabins."
"Hold up, how exactly does the dimension gate work? If you close it and move, what happens to me?"
"Here's the deal."
I explained the dimension gate in detail.
"Ah... So I'm inside the gate, you move and reopen it..."
"Same as you moving with me. Counts as marching together."
"Total cheat."
Now others could join too—huge upgrade.
Imagine relocating 30 enhanced ghouls tracelessly.
Seok-hyun joins? Mobile fortress.
I dipped my hand into the cave's steady brazier.
Da-jeong flinched despite knowing.
Probably hadn't seen it done.
Flames engulfed my hand, but pain was minimal.
Not indefinite—burns came eventually.
Pulled out: slightly singed, otherwise fine.
Good.
We huddled over cabin blueprints.
Da-jeong, usually agreeable, dug in her heels here.
"My house, my tastes. Got it?"
"Whatever."
The oversized bathroom bugged me.
Bathroom business outside anyway...
She ordered the beetles for a two-person tub.
They rubbed claws, drawing it'd be tough, but emperor honey bait hooked them.
Such pushovers.
I butchered the boar and started smoking.
Best for long-term storage beyond immediate eats.
Da-jeong leaned her head on my shoulder.
"This place is amazing."
Yeah, it was.
.
.
.
Sun set, January rolled in.
I pulled out a metal shelf—not nails.
To check Metal Plague status.
It held shape during my Gwangju trip.
Slight pressure bent but didn't crumble.
"Almost gone."
Next month, most metal tools usable.
Pots, shovels, etc.
By March, guns too.
"So long, so long."
Metal Plague stole metal from humanity for nearly six months.
Even gone, aftermath loomed.
All turned to sand—how to recover?
"No blast furnace, no dice..."
Few spots had that, government shelters included.
And it'd be scrap at best.
"Beetles said they could make one..."
Their identity solidified.
A race handling metal freely, building furnaces came to mind.
Jelly and emperor honey didn't fit, but side effect of beetle form.
"Need iron secured."
Pure iron sand, no impurities.
Shipyards had plenty.
After Gwangju scout, head north to Gunsan Shipyard.
"Weather warmer by then, hit Incheon for Time Shelter and backup..."
Da-jeong expanding shelter inside gate—no space issues.
Perfect.
I packed, hit the road with Dingo.
Destination: Gwangju.
Hadn't cared before, but it was a mess.
Chinese from West Sea landings flooded in.
Not just Gwangju—most West Coast cities suffered.
Wanted to tell them to go home, but fat chance.
Auction house blazed with Koreans yelling scram, Chinese retorting bullshit.
The comment war veered off-topic.
Koreans bickered facts among themselves; Chinese jumped in claiming wrong history.
"Auction house, am I right."
I slipped into position near Chonnam National University under night cover.
Noisier than Seoul—turns out, survivors packed the area.
Crowded zone meant constant zombie raids, screams nonstop.
Even Seoul's east wasn't this bad—must be the Chinese numbers.
Auction updates: Lizardmen from Yeongsan River hunting survivors.
"Total shitshow."
Key Time Shelter: department store basement.
Most entrances breached, final seal door left.
But too many people and monsters in tight space—hard to breach.
Auction flooded with "stop fighting, breach it together" pleas.
Time Shelter = supplies galore, plenty for all.
"Yeah, and I'm an angel."
No bigger foolery than yielding in apocalypse.
Grab a bite? Faint presence below.
Perception low, I'd have missed it.
I ducked into the dimension gate with growling Dingo.
Soon, three crept up cautiously.
"Nobody here?"
"That old guy's bolted."
"Definitely a new face, right?"
"Yessir. First time around here. Huge build."
"...Maybe Kimbap Lover? They say he's built like that."
"Why would he be here? Was at Sindorim Station days ago. Maze incident ring a bell?"
"Super famous."
The leader scanned around.
"Old guy's still nearby for sure. No blink escape angle."
"Stealthed?"
"Probably... Hey, old man! Listen up. No idea how you got here, but watch yourself. When whales fight, the shrimp's back breaks."
Me, a shrimp?
When a Whale Joins a Shrimp Fight - 1 End