Chapter 1
The Status window that had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
It seemed to be a condensed summary of information about Hanseong himself. The problem was that, aside from his name, he had no idea what any of it meant.
“A mage? A level?”
Taken at face value, it looked similar to the profile of a character in a game. Just as he was struggling to make sense of the situation, Hanseong suddenly widened his eyes.
The hallway, which had been filled with screams and shouting, had suddenly gone quiet.
Feeling uneasy, he looked toward the screen displaying the view of the hallway. At that moment—
[Graaahhhh!]
Along with a thunderous roar from the speakers, the corpse that had been torn apart and eaten by the monsters suddenly sprang to its feet.
Just like the monsters that had attacked it, it began moving in search of prey. As Hanseong watched the monsters wandering through the hallway beyond the screen, something caught his eye.
‘Wait, now that I think about it…!’
A memory suddenly came to him.
It was what Hanseong had been about to do right before the monsters appeared.
He had been about to open the front door and step outside for the first time in ten years.
Remembering this, Hanseong looked toward the front door and soon realized that the lock was still undone.
‘I need to lock the door first!’
Rather than trying to understand the current situation, his safety had to come first.
Hanseong swallowed nervously and moved his wheelchair as quietly as possible.
Fortunately, the monsters showed no reaction.
Eventually, Hanseong reached his destination and activated the lock with trembling hands.
Beep! Click!
And at that very moment.
Dozens of footsteps could be heard from beyond the front door.
Then, the monsters all began letting out howls at once.
“Graaahhh! Aaaah!”
“Grrrraaaah!”
The sound of fists pounding against the door.
Even the sound of fingernails scraping against it hard enough to break them.
The horrifying noises made Hanseong instinctively cover his ears. Then, from the emergency staircase beside the hallway, he heard someone's footsteps.
“H-Hic!”
It was presumably the voice of a survivor who had been trying to escape the officetel.
Upon seeing the monsters gathered in front of Hanseong's door, the man screamed, and that was enough to draw the monsters' attention.
“GRAAAAAH!”
“No-No! Aaaah!”
The desperate screams continued for some time.
Eventually, the screaming man became a corpse, and a little while later, he transformed into the same kind of monster that had attacked him.
Fortunately, the monsters did not have very good memories.
The fact that they had completely forgotten about pounding on Hanseong's door was proof of that.
“Gasp! Haaah!”
The monsters that had been wandering the hallway had gone down the emergency stairs.
Feeling cold sweat running down his entire body, Hanseong finally let out the breath he had been holding.
And then he realized something new.
‘The monsters have sensitive hearing.’
He didn't know whether they only reacted to sound or whether some other sense was at work.
Either way, as long as he didn't make any noise, they shouldn't have any reason to notice him.
Hanseong moved his wheelchair as quietly as possible and returned to where he had been.
Just then—
[The Blessing of Remote Support has been granted.]
[Remote Support: All acquired skills are modified to suit your class. However, the effects of the blessing cannot be received outside the base.]
A new message appeared in the messenger floating in midair.
As he stared blankly at it, additional messages appeared one after another.
[You have acquired the qualification of a Mage.]
[Unique Skill: ‘Meditation’ has been acquired.]
─────
[Meditation (Lv.1)]
-Recovers mana through meditation.
▷Recovery: 5 mana per minute
▷Tier: 1st Tier
─────
The description looked just like a skill from a game.
Hanseong, who still couldn't make sense of anything that was happening, stared at it with trembling eyes.
Meanwhile, the messenger continued displaying messages.
[Remote Support Mage: Basic Skills Unlocked]
[Active Skill: Open Map]
[Passive Skill: Magic Castle]
─────
[Open Map (Lv.1)]
-Allows you to observe the surrounding terrain and landmarks.
▷Effective Range: 500m radius
▷Command: Open Map
▷Tier: 1st Tier
─────
“Open Map?”
The moment he muttered the words without realizing it—
A map suddenly unfolded before his eyes.
Hanseong stared at the three-dimensional map for a moment before realizing what location was displayed on it.
“That's my home, isn't it?”
More precisely, it was a map showing the area surrounding the officetel where Hanseong lived.
The displayed area extended up to a 500-meter radius, just as the skill description stated.
As he stared blankly at it—
The second skill was revealed.
─────
[Magic Castle (Lv.1)]
-Fortifies the mage's place of residence into a fortress.
▷Effective Range: 10m radius around the base
▷Additional Function: Concealment Field
▷Tier: 1st Tier
─────
“W-What?”
The moment he checked the skill, a gigantic magic circle appeared in the center of the room.
Then, like a balloon inflating, a bluish membrane spread out and soon enveloped the room.
It was probably the Magic Castle skill taking effect.
[All skills have been reviewed.]
[Tutorial Quest completed.]
[A bonus will be provided.]
A tutorial quest.
Just as Hanseong was thinking that this really was like a game—
The bonus was revealed.
[An additional skill will be provided.]
[Choose the skill you want.]
《Magic Sniping》
《Call Lightning》
《Strength》
He could choose only one of the three skills.
Hanseong pinched his cheek hard with his fingers.
As the sting in his cheek cleared his dazed mind, he clenched his fist and regained some of his composure.
‘…Let's think of it as a game.’
He could figure out the situation later.
For now, he would simply think of this as the moment he had started a game and choose a skill.
Hanseong repeatedly convinced himself of this as he looked over the list of skills.
─────
[Remote: Magic Sniping (Lv.1)]
-Snipes a single target on the map.
▷Effective Range: Up to 500m
▷Impact Range: Within 0.5m
▷Mana Cost: 10
▷Activation Time: Instant
▷Cooldown: 15 minutes
─────
A skill capable of striking enemies from a great distance.
In effect, it was a skill that could attack almost any enemy on the map.
The effective range looked good, but the fact that it could only target a single enemy bothered him.
So he looked at the next skill.
─────
[Remote: Call Lightning (Lv.1)]
-Strikes the designated coordinates with lightning.
▷Effective Range: Up to 300m
▷Impact Range: Within 3m
▷Mana Cost: 50
▷Activation Time: 5 seconds
▷Cooldown: 120 minutes
─────
A spell that summoned a bolt of lightning.
Unlike Magic Sniping, which he had seen first, its impact range was fairly wide, making it seem well suited for dealing with multiple enemies.
Its disadvantages were its high mana cost and long cooldown.
After pondering for a moment, Hanseong looked at the third and final skill.
─────
[Remote: Strength (Lv.1)]
-Strengthens a single target on the map.
▷Effect: +300% of maximum strength
▷Effective Range: Up to 500m
▷Mana Cost: 15
▷Duration: 10 minutes
▷Cooldown: 30 minutes
─────
In game terms, it was a kind of buff.
And the fact that it targeted a single target on the map presumably meant that Hanseong himself was included.
‘But this isn't it.’
It was completely useless to him right now.
Besides, with Hanseong's limited mobility without his wheelchair, he couldn't exactly go out and fight.
As a result, Hanseong decided to choose between Magic Sniping and Call Lightning.
It didn't take long for him to make his decision.
[Additional skill selected.]
[Remote: Call Lightning (Lv.1)]
A skill that could strike multiple enemies at once.
And since it involved lightning, he somehow felt that it would have tremendous destructive power.
Once his selection was complete, a new message appeared.
[Tutorial guidance has ended.]
[Overcome the trials and pass.]
[We wish all participants good luck.]
With that, the messenger disappeared.
In the darkened room, Hanseong was left sitting alone, silently staring into the air.
***
Some time later.
After quite a while had passed, Hanseong had a clear understanding of the situation he was in.
‘A strange phenomenon has engulfed the world.’
People were turning into monsters and attacking others.
Those attacked by the monsters would, after some time passed, transform into the exact same kind of monster.
‘Yeah, just like zombies.’
It felt as though he had become the protagonist of a disaster scenario.
No, since Hanseong couldn't move his legs, he was probably better suited to the role of a pitiful extra who got attacked by zombies than the protagonist.
Hanseong gave a self-deprecating smile.
But he couldn't simply despair.
He had to act now.
The first thing Hanseong did was fill the bathtub with water.
‘The water is still running for now, but after a little more time passes, the water supply will be cut off.’
Next, he checked his food supplies.
Fortunately, he had recently purchased groceries from the supermarket, so he had plenty of food.
‘I can easily last about two weeks.’
If he rationed it, he could survive even longer.
After finishing his food inspection, Hanseong looked out the window.
It was an evening commute home no different from any other day.
However, instead of office workers returning home, the streets outside were filled with zombies.
As he silently watched the scene, he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
‘Right. Now that I think about it, I got a class, didn't I?’
Those who survived by avoiding the zombies had probably been given a class.
He didn't know whether it was an opportunity granted equally to everyone.
And Hanseong's class was…
‘Mage.’
A being that wielded mysterious powers.
It was the kind of thing that would only appear in novels or webtoons.
But the situation he was in was reality, and in the end, Hanseong decided to accept that fact.
So once again, he looked at his Status.
His class was Remote Support Mage.
After examining his skills, it seemed that this class was designed to strike enemies from a distance rather than confront enemies directly.
‘The basic skill is Open Map.’
When activated, the skill displayed the surrounding terrain as a three-dimensional map.
Its effective range was a 500-meter radius centered on Hanseong.
And he discovered an additional function that he hadn't noticed earlier.
Points representing what appeared to be monsters and survivors were displayed on the map.
‘Judging from the scenery outside, the red dots are monsters, and the blue dots are probably survivors.’
Indeed, the red dots wandered around outside erratically, while the blue dots remained almost completely still, hiding inside buildings or underground.
Next, Hanseong examined the passive skill that came with Open Map.
‘Magic Castle.’
A skill that fortified the mage's place of residence.
When he touched the part labeled ‘Concealment Field’ under the additional functions, an additional explanation appeared.
─────
[Additional Function: Concealment Field]
▷Increases the rate at which recognition from outside is hindered.
─────
It was a somewhat difficult explanation, but essentially, it could be understood as an ability to disguise and conceal the place of residence so that it would not be easily discovered.
He wouldn't have to worry about attracting the zombies' attention by making noises such as locking the door like before.
‘Lastly…’
The skill he had chosen as his tutorial completion reward.
He examined Call Lightning.
The effect of the skill was simple and straightforward.
Summon lightning from the sky to strike an enemy on the map.
He didn't know how powerful it was, but he could assume that it was certainly quite powerful.
‘It uses half my mana, and more than anything, lightning is supposed to be powerful.’
So why not try using it once?
Hanseong made up his mind.
He had a rough idea of how to use the skill.
Whenever he touched a location on the map, a list of skills that could be used there appeared before his eyes.
‘Where would be a good place?’
Since the impact range was five meters, somewhere where the zombies were gathered as closely together as possible would probably be best.
Hanseong carefully examined the red dots scattered across the map.
Then—
“…Huh?”
A sight caught his attention.
Near a construction site not far from the officetel, a blue dot was fleeing from a red dot.