Mobile Game Character Cosplay

"A gate? An affiliated knight order? Lancers? What the hell is this?"

It was a structure from a completely different category than the towers I'd seen so far.

'A knight order, huh.'

Did that mean I could appoint people as knights and command them?

No, that didn't seem right. There was no mention of horses or anything.

The word "Lancer" suggested it was built for lance charges.

'First, let's check the unlock conditions.'

I pressed the locked button, but no conditions appeared.

'Of course it wouldn't be that easy.'

It looked like some special requirement was needed.

Well, it wasn't urgent. For now, I decided to upgrade the Cavalry Lance Tower first.

'What the...?'

The attack speed was way too slow.

Unlike the Unique towers, this one was a bit disappointing.

'At least the power should be decent.'

I upgraded just one for testing purposes.

After summoning it in an empty lot, I gave the command.

'Stab.'

Clang. Whoosh—!

The heavy sound of air being split.

It didn't look any stronger than the War Spear Tower.

The physical force was fine, but with that cooldown, it didn't mean much.

'What the hell am I supposed to use this for? ...Wait a second.'

A thought suddenly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crossed my mind.

When I reread the description, it clicked.

'Does this need Valain's Gate to be useful?'

In that case, I should keep the remaining War Spear Towers.

Upgrading them further wouldn't make much difference anyway.

Next, I upgraded the Cast Net, War Hammer, and Javelin Towers.

The Cast Net Tower became the Chain Net Tower.

The War Hammer Tower became the Battle Hammer Tower.

The Javelin became the War Javelin Tower.

I queued all three in the smithy.

'It's going to take quite a while for them to finish.'

Finally, I checked the Swing Log Trap.

This one looked pretty good too.

The old Swing Log Trap was meant to knock enemies down with massive physical force.

But a log covered in spikes could deal fatal damage.

I upgraded it and added it to the queue.

"All ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠done! Ugh..."

"Suhyuk, you've worked hard."

While I was stretching, my sister brought me a drink.

"Thanks, sis."

I wrapped an arm around her waist as she sat beside me.

Burying my face in her chest, I asked, "Want to go for a walk?"

I wanted to spend some time with her after so long.

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Her smile was bright enough to light up the whole world.

Good thing I suggested the walk.

It had been a long time since the two of us spent time alone together.

Morning assembly time.

I used to come out with Chaei, but coming alone felt a bit lonely.

More than anything, I missed the soft sensation of her clinging to my arm.

"Everyone here?"

"Yes!"

I started a simple briefing.

"Team leaders who went mutant hunting with Hana yesterday, step forward."

The ten team leaders came up.

"Today, do the same—go mutant hunting with Hana."

"Suhyuk, you're not coming?"

Hana asked with a slightly surprised expression.

"You guys should be able to handle it without me now."

"Still, it makes me nervous."

"Don't worry. Trust yourself. At this point, there are almost no humans stronger than you."

It was understandable that she'd feel anxious.

That's why I was sending the same members as yesterday.

Sending people she was even a little familiar with would prevent accidents.

Still, this was a necessary process.

The team leaders needed to hit level 10 so they could carry their members.

I couldn't babysit them forever.

"The rest of you, split into groups to secure stone materials—focus on granite—and gather supplies and equipment for the swimming pool construction."

I specifically ordered them to collect mostly granite.

They could gather it from flowerbed landscaping stones or construction sites.

"Before you leave, there's something we need to do. Chaei, come here."

"Hm?"

I called over Chaei, who had been standing at a distance.

"What?"

"We have to do what we did yesterday."

I needed to have her activate One Blade on the raid members beforehand.

"Ugh..."

Chaei didn't look thrilled.

But it couldn't be helped.

Even a graze from her blade could kill or cripple someone.

"Everyone, line up in front of Chaei."

"Captain, what exactly do we have to do?"

"Just think of it as a vaccination. I'll only make a tiny cut on the surface of your skin."

At my words, the raid members' faces turned pale.

We set up chairs and desks and began the process in earnest.

Chaei mechanically sliced their skin.

Beside her, residents disinfected the cuts and applied bandages.

It looked like a blood donation line had formed.

The raid members set out.

Chaei already looked completely drained.

She'd had to maintain focus the entire time.

"What do we do now?"

She stood up after resting enough.

"We're going zombie hunting."

Chaei's expression turned serious.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

I'd told her yesterday too, but her reaction wasn't as bad as I'd expected.

I'd wondered if she'd been bitten because she couldn't bring herself to kill zombies, but that wasn't it.

She'd simply been bitten by a friend who'd turned before she could react.

"By the way, how did the hair dyeing happen?"

"Ah, that..."

Chaei's cheeks flushed like she was embarrassed.

"Ugh! It's nothing special."

"If it's nothing special, you can tell me."

I was curious why she'd dyed her hair.

The articles I'd seen before the apocalypse definitely showed her with black hair.

"I actually got an offer to shoot a commercial for a mobile game character."

"What kind of commercial?"

"It was for a mobile game character ad, and I had to cosplay. They said a wig would be too obvious, so they asked if I'd dye my hair instead. The client got this sparkle in their eyes and loved the idea. Honestly, I kind of wanted to try dyeing it too."

"Wait, I want to see that too?!"

"Ugh! What do you mean you want to see?! Absolutely not!"

Cosplay, huh.

I really, really wanted to see it.

How could I make it happen?

"What kind of character?"

"A character that uses a Japanese sword. I was on my way to the shoot after dyeing my hair when all this happened."

Making a kendo tournament champion cosplay as a pink-haired Japanese sword character.

Client, are you a genius?

If the apocalypse hadn't hit, it would've been a massive hit.

Chaei's cosplay photos would have spread across every community online.

What a shame.

If the apocalypse hadn't happened, I could've seen Chaei in that cosplay.

Now I could only see it in my imagination.

Wouldn't it be something like this?

No, since it's a mobile game character, wouldn't it be more daring?

Then, something like this?

Still, even for cosplay, they wouldn't expose that much, right?

Wait a minute. I can see the cosplay now, can't I?

If I ordered her to cosplay, could she really refuse?

'Alright. I'll carry on your will.'

I swore to myself that I would make Chaei cosplay one day without fail.

"The pervert uncle's eyes are weird again! It's gross."

"Hehehe."

Whether she complained or not, my determination wouldn't change.

'First, I need to make a Japanese sword.'

The preparations for the cosplay had already begun.

"Let's head out now."

"Will just the two of us be okay?"

"We're only dealing with a few zombies, so it'll be fine."

This was for Chaei's combat experience, but it was also for me.

I needed to practice my skills too.

Until now, I hadn't had any close-range skills, so I'd avoided melee combat.

But things were different now.

I had to make active use of Reaper's Walk.

For a weapon, I took a regular dagger made in the smithy.

If I started with something too powerful, I wouldn't be able to gauge my own limits.

The weapon would end up swinging me instead of the other way around.

The same went for Chaei.

I'd actually thought about it a lot.

Whether to give her Mugeuk or use it myself.

'Honestly, I want to use it!'

No matter how I thought about it, the potential was much higher if Chaei used it.

Just imagining the scene made my spine tingle.

'But I want to try it too!'

It was a shame, but my skills were in a completely different category.

'Of course, Reaper's Walk will be thrilling in its own way.'

Human greed couldn't be helped.

Anyway, it would be better for Chaei to gain experience with a regular sword first rather than starting with something too powerful.

That was why I hadn't invested in my skill tree and had left my stats untouched.

"Move out."

"Yes."

I'd already scouted a suitable hunting spot using the towers.

A corner of an alley.

Two zombies stood with their heads drooping.

"Chaei, wait here."

I whispered softly and approached the zombies alone first.

The dagger hilt that should have felt light somehow seemed quite heavy.

"Grrr..."

The zombies' low breathing.

They hadn't noticed my presence at all.

I moved close behind one and observed it.

Where and how to stab. What would be the most effective way to attack.

'Stabbing the side of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the neck seems most fatal.'

No matter how much time I took, they wouldn't notice.

Not unless a third party made noise or drew their attention.

And that remained true even if I attacked directly.

Shunk!

Lukewarm blood splattered across my face.

But the zombie didn't die instantly.

Was this not enough?

The zombie still hadn't noticed me.

It had only staggered slightly from my attack.

Where did I need to stab for an instant kill?

'Around here?'

The side of the neck, a little further forward.

The area where the carotid artery was.

Crunch!

I caught the zombie as it started to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut.

Then I gently lowered it so it wouldn't make any noise.

I gestured for Chaei, who had been standing behind me, to come over.

'Can you handle it one-on-one?'

I mouthed the words.

Chaei looked a little frozen.

She'd seen blood splatter up close, so it couldn't have been easy to stay calm.

But it was a hurdle she had to overcome.

Chaei nodded and approached.

'As expected of a former kendo tournament champion.'

Her expression was focused, as if the momentary freeze had never happened.

Not a single part of her stance was out of place.

Even though she'd approached quietly, the zombie seemed to sense her presence and turned around.

"Kraaagh!"

The moment it lunged at her.

Slice—!

Thud.

The head fell.

Thump.

The body collapsed shortly after.

The cut was impossibly clean, the cross-section perfect.

More than the grotesque sight of blood spraying like a water gun, what caught my eye was Chaei's flawless posture.

"Haa."

I couldn't detect any disturbance in Chaei as she let out a short breath.

"Well done."

"It's harder than I thought."

"Of course it is. It's your first time killing, even if it was a zombie."

I deliberately hammered in the fact that she had intentionally killed it.

She needed to get used to killing.

She couldn't try to dodge the reality with tricks of the mind.

For now it was only zombies whose living or dead status was ambiguous, but that wouldn't always be the case.

"That's not what I meant. I was saying that kendo techniques alone seem insufficient."

"Why?"

"Because kendo is a sport. The strikes aren't meant to kill an opponent. The movements are too light to make deep cuts."

That made sense.

The motion for cutting someone with a real sword and the motion for striking with a bamboo sword couldn't possibly be the same.

"Still, I think I'll get used to it with practice."

"If it's you, Chaei, you'll adapt quickly."

The talent that had won her a kendo championship hadn't gone anywhere.

She'd get used to a real blade in no time.

After that, the zombie hunt continued.

I'd heard that killing something for the first time brought terrible guilt.

Chaei would probably feel that too.

To keep her from dwelling on that emotion, it was better to get her used to it quickly through continuous combat.

If I gave her time to fall into thought between fights, it would only get harder.

"This time, don't kill in one strike. Try to keep the fight going."

"Okay."

Maybe it was because of her kendo background.

When immersed in battle, Chaei became cold and sharp like a completely different person.

She showed not a hint of carelessness.

She was seriously immersed in martial arts itself.

Her sword strikes grew increasingly sharp and precise.

Her movements became bolder too.

She stepped in deep and sliced across the entire body.

Riiip—!

She bisected the zombie from shoulder to waist in a single strike.

But as expected, a young girl couldn't immediately get used to such a sight. She immediately looked away.

However, her next strike didn't lose any sharpness.

Once again, Chaei's blade severed a zombie at the waist.

Stab!

And the finishing blow.

There was no mercy in her hands.

"Shall we stop here?"

"Yeah, this should be enough. You're at the stage where you need separate practice now."

Contrary to my worries, Chaei didn't hesitate at all.

She was growing faster than anyone else.