Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Old-Timer VS Newbie - 2
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Traveling between cities in the apocalypse wasn't easy.
There were no moving companies or trucks.
Monsters threatened survivors at every moment, and at night, visibility dropped to near zero.
Because of that, most people avoided traveling.
They had no reason to, anyway.
But even in these conditions, some people had to move.
The weak pushed out of cities, and small groups with specific goals.
The latter moved with clear destinations and objectives, making them hard to mess with.
But the former were fair game.
Yeong-seok had been holed up in Sammun-dong and had encountered a few of those types.
They were all low-level weaklings, easy to recruit as underlings.
Someone might ask what use they were, but in the apocalypse, manpower itself was valuable.
Worst case, they could scout, and who knew—they might grow stronger.
In that sense, Yeong-seok was lucky.
Sammun-dong was like an island, making it convenient to secure supplies from the marts.
The past three months had been spent gathering all the goods from every mart in Sammun-dong.
Thanks to that, his crew lived more abundantly than anyone in Milyang.
For the time being, at least.
"Man... that guy's built."
Yeong-seok eyed the burly man rowing, licking his lips.
With that physique, his traits were probably top-notch too.
He was dressed like the textbook survivor, well-armed.
Constantly scanning his surroundings showed he was vigilant.
The guy next to him, though, looked poorly equipped.
Fine, clothes aside—but just a single long knife?
"Thinks he's hot stuff? What do you think, Gyeong-hun?"
"Too relaxed. Might just be an idiot."
"Hm... yeah, could be."
Gyeong-hun figured Sung-ho wouldn't hang with someone like that, but he let it slide.
Anyway, Yeong-seok seemed interested in the pair.
Makes sense— to stand against the other two factions, the clan needed to grow.
Stockpiling supplies wasn't enough anymore; it was time to nurture talent.
Gyeong-hun probed casually.
"Want me to go talk to them?"
"You know them?"
"Sort of."
Gyeong-hun recalled they hadn't parted on good terms.
No fight, but the vibe was tense...
To smooth it over, he'd need Bora.
No deep friendship, but she'd make a good mediator.
Yeong-seok nodded at the suggestion.
"If you can, bring the other guy too. He's got quick moves—potential there."
"Got it."
Gyeong-hun dashed off and returned with his girlfriend, Kim Bora.
By then, the boat had already reached the park.
Bora lit up seeing Sung-ho pull the boat ashore.
"Whoa, that uncle's lost a ton of weight."
"Must've been working out."
"I get why you called me. You'd probably fight if you went alone."
"Nah, not that bad. Just figured it'd go smoother with a woman."
"Heh, fair enough. Anyway, Bora, you're up."
"Okay."
"If you two can't seal it, we'll get forceful. So try to convince them."
Once they knew Yeong-seok's combat prowess, they'd agree.
The guy could brawl orcs hand-to-hand.
The pair headed to the monster-free apartment ruins.
Waiting a bit, the two men arrived with what looked like a husky.
"Where's the boat?"
"No sign... hidden it, probably."
Bora tossed a rock to draw eyes, then stepped out quietly.
Their gazes locked on her instantly.
Like they'd expected her.
"Sung-ho, long time no see."
"...Bora? You were here?"
Luckily, Sung-ho remembered her.
Busan gym crew hadn't been that long ago.
Gyeong-hun emerged for greetings; Sung-ho frowned slightly but said nothing.
Water under the bridge.
"Anyway, why are you here? Something to say?"
Gyeong-hun glanced at Bora; she took the lead.
"We have a proposal. You know there's a clan in Sammun-dong, right?"
"Where there are people, there's a faction."
This'll be easy.
She explained the clan and leader Yeong-seok.
And didn't skip their abundant supplies.
But their expressions didn't change.
The guy and dog next to him even yawned.
Looked like brothers, almost.
"Join our clan, and we'll treat you well. We're short on numbers."
"Sorry to cut in, but we're not looking to join anyone. Just passing through."
Sung-ho skipped the vine dungeon mention.
Sneak in, loot, sneak out—no need for waves.
His sharp words soured Gyeong-hun's face.
"You'll regret it... Ah, not saying we'll do anything. We have a boss."
"Sure. You serve yours, we go ours. Simple."
As the trio turned to leave, Bora blurted desperately.
"Sung-ho, think it over. Sammun-dong's great for living. Yeong-seok's decent too."
"Got our own business."
Sung-ho waved goodbye, deal off.
The two reported back to Yeong-seok honestly.
The vine apartment in Sammun-dong was infamous—every survivor in Milyang knew it.
And that touching it unleashed monsters.
Like a wasp nest.
So even the other two factions eyed it warily, despite not being Sammun-dong clan.
Sammun-dong was sealed off, but crises could open opportunities.
Then word came: two clueless fools entered the vine apartment.
Naiidong clan's Oh Hyun-hwa flipped out.
"What the hell are those Sammun-dong boars doing? Letting them waltz in?"
"W-We don't know that far."
"Driving me nuts."
Hyun-hwa leaped out the window.
Asphalt chunk from the road caught her fall.
Floating mid-air, she was a level 15 telekinetic.
Rare in Milyang; high-level? Just her.
Her combat power was insane—mowed down zombie hordes, dispatched ghouls easily.
Thus, she naturally ruled Naiidong clan.
Post-zombie queen rampage, of course.
Riding debris across the river, she headed for the vine apartment.
Sammun-dong had few monsters—great living spot, thanks to the vine apartment sucking them all in.
One building absorbed them, leaving surroundings empty.
No one knew what lurked inside.
All who entered died.
Vines wrapped the whole thing, hard to scout.
Hyun-hwa's high perception found the gathered crowd.
Descending, she saw the boar—Yeong-seok—and his crew anxiously staring at the vines.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"...Hyun-hwa."
"Yeah, me. Came 'cause I'm dying of frustration. Why didn't you block the vine apartment intruders?"
Yeong-seok, the Sammun-dong boar, waved it off.
"Don't be like that. They were too fast..."
"Fast?"
"Slipped in like eels, avoiding us. You should've seen it, Hyun-hwa. Tsk."
Absurd.
They accidentally herded them in?
"Unbelievable. You killed healthy people."
"Who knows if they were healthy. Anyway, inside means no survivors. Been 20 minutes?"
"About."
His underling confirmed; Yeong-seok clucked his tongue.
"Dumbasses came at feeding time."
Something felt off.
20 minutes? Should be dead, monsters swarming out.
Nothing.
What the hell was happening inside?
The dungeon we stumbled into was a real monster den.
Welcomed at the entrance by poisonless goblins charging us.
"You guys nuts?"
Seok-hyun clenched his fist, ran the wall, and pounced on them.
Bang-crash—fists flew; goblins writhed, squealing weirdly.
Kiiiee—
I stabbed a long knife into one's back.
"Giving me a free ride?"
"Not a bus—a taxi. I'll get you to 20. No worries."
Thanks, buddy.
Seok-hyun led, mowing through like a one-man army.
Dungeon-buffed monsters? No match.
Zombies one-shot, goblins one-shot.
Ghouls tanked a few, down in five.
My job: long knife finishes for points.
They piled up fast.
Dungeon brimmed with vines and bizarre plants.
Hard to tell it was once a stairwell apartment.
Layout warped beyond recognition.
Suddenly, a deer—no, roe deer—burst from a corner, headbutted the wall, KO'd.
Seok-hyun grinned back.
"Dinner delivered itself."
Yeah.
Roe deer wasn't tasty, but apocalypse gold.
I roped its legs, tossed through the dimension gate.
Too messy to butcher now.
Seeing meat energized Seok-hyun; he roared, smashing monsters.
But resistance ramped up higher we climbed.
Hobgoblins swarmed.
Five of 'em.
Kiieek!
Seok-hyun jumped, slammed one down—but they fought back.
Blocked his punch, another swung a stone axe.
Even tough Seok-hyun gritted through it.
Had to pull punches to not die—tougher that way.
Thud, thud!
He took hits, flew back.
Three hobgoblins down, drooling.
Lying there, he looked up.
"Get off here, mister."
"Said 1 klick more."
"Wanna, but blocked. Better run."
Screw the level 20 taxi.
Kicked off the ride halfway.
Shaking out fists, Seok-hyun rolled up, pointing at two hobgoblins.
"Let's see your brawling."
"Not as good as you. Slot 2."
Shield out; he jeered from behind.
"Kang Sung-ho using a shield in a holy bout?!"
"Deal with their axes first!"
I charged, timed a shield bash.
Clang!
Dull thud—axes and clubs bounced off.
No arm or shoulder strain.
Smug, I straight-punched one's face.
Plain jab, brutal result.
Hobgoblin's mug caved; it crumpled.
"Ooh."
Seok-hyun whistled softly.
Me and the nearby hobgoblin were shocked too.
Two skills stacked? Insane power.
This one's out for the count.
Last hobgoblin bared teeth.
Really.
"Attack instead of posing."
Ducked club, uppercut its jaw.
Big body lifted slightly airborne.
Few hits later, staggering senseless.
Long knife to the neck.
Finished the downed ones; Seok-hyun clapped.
"Splendid, earthling. But remember—they're the Four Heavenly Kings' weakest..."
Now Demon King act?
We climbed, clearing monsters.
Boss probably top floor.
Monsters thickened, spaces narrowed.
Finally, faced it.
Seok-hyun tapped my shoulder.
"Boss vibes?"
"Big for an orc..."
Thumping the hall: orc? Massive.
Nearly 2.5 meters, crude emerald axe, armor.
Who forged that?
Definitely vine dungeon boss.
Killing it wouldn't clear the dungeon or cause big changes.
But strong meant good rewards.
Worth it.
"Leave it to me."
Seok-hyun crouched, sprang like a spring, tackled it.
Tap-tap-thud!
Brief clash; he retreated.
Face bruised blue.
"L-Let's fight together."
Switch-up too quick.
The vine apartment was a hornet's nest.
Intruders died; monsters poured out.
Knowing folks watched tense.
Then glass shattered; something flew at them.
Hyun-hwa perceived, halted it mid-air telekinetically.
Twisted orc head greeted her.
"Eek!"
She shrieked oddly, dropped it; crowd recoiled.
"Th-That's an orc head?"
"Huge for an orc."
"..."
Yeong-seok ground teeth, looked up.
Those two from earlier did this.
But two breaking through? Impossible.
He knew how hellish it was.
Milyang's top levels would need to brace for death.
"What the hell's going on...?"
No one could answer.
Old-Timer VS Newbie - 2 End