Chapter 3
Three days after the world changed.
Hanseong methodically dealt with the zombies within a 500-meter radius. By using Call Lightning every two hours, except while he slept, Hanseong's level rose considerably.
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[Name]: Kang Hanseong
[Level]: 9
[Class]: Remote Support Mage
[Mana]: 500/500
[Tier]: 1st Tier
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And he had learned a few things.
First, whenever his level increased, all of his mana was fully restored. He also discovered that his maximum mana increased by 50 for every level.
Thanks to that, his mana had increased considerably, making things more convenient since he no longer needed to use Meditation as often.
Next, he realized the limitations of Call Lightning.
‘The cooldown is way too long.’
Once he used it, he had to wait a full two hours before he could use it again.
That wasn't all.
Since the lightning came down from the sky, zombies inside buildings or underground were completely unaffected, which was another drawback.
‘I need to get another offensive skill.’
Even if it was just to hunt zombies indoors.
So he continued hunting zombies and saving up coins. He wanted to purchase a skill book from the shop and learn a new offensive spell.
As a result, he had accumulated around 300 coins.
That was enough to buy thirty two-liter bottles of water. But since he still had plenty of food, now was the time to purchase a skill book.
Rumble! Kraaash!
[You have defeated a Starving Zombie.]
[You have acquired (6) coins.]
And after killing six zombies just now, he had accumulated a total of 352 coins.
The skill book he had been eyeing cost exactly 350 coins, so he immediately opened the shop.
The information for the skill book Hanseong wanted appeared.
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[Skill Book: Magic Arrow]
▷Upon activation, instantly loads 5 arrows and deals magic damage to a single target.
▷Cooldown: 30 minutes
▷Acquisition Requirement: [1st Tier, 1-Star]
▷Class Restriction: Mage, Spirit Master
▷Price: [350 Coins]
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Unlike Call Lightning, it was a spell that targeted a single enemy.
Instead, it could fire five arrows in succession with a single use, and its cooldown was relatively short, making it a skill Hanseong liked.
Hanseong purchased it without hesitation.
[You have acquired Magic Arrow.]
[Acquisition Target: Remote Support Mage]
[The skill will be modified to suit your class.]
‘The skill will be modified?’
He hadn't heard anything about this.
Hanseong was momentarily flustered, but his surprise soon subsided.
Contrary to his concerns, Magic Arrow had been modified in a favorable way.
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[Remote: Magic Arrow (Lv.1)]
-Attacks a single target on the map.
▷Effective Range: Up to 100m
▷Maximum Loads: 5 arrows
▷Mana Cost: 50
▷Activation Time: Instant
▷Cooldown: 30 minutes
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Soon, Hanseong realized something.
Every skill he had acquired so far had the word ‘Remote’ attached to the beginning.
The same was true of Call Lightning.
While other mages used magic right in front of them, Hanseong could designate an enemy on the map remotely and use magic on it.
‘Then this is even better.’
It was perfect for Hanseong, whose mobility was limited.
Then why not try it out?
Hanseong looked at the map.
As luck would have it, there were countless red dots in the subway station right in front of him, so he touched that area and activated the skill.
[Coordinates identified.]
[Select a skill to use.]
▷Magic Arrow (Lv.1)
The moment he selected the skill—
The darkened room became slightly brighter.
“This is…!”
Five fluorescent arrows appeared on the back of Hanseong's hand.
Apparently, this was how the remaining number of arrows was displayed.
“It really is like magic.”
Hanseong observed them with fascination before looking at the map again.
Just as when he had used Call Lightning, he touched one of the red dots on the map.
Whoosh!
With the sound of an arrow cutting through the air, one of the marks on the back of his hand disappeared.
At the same time, one of the red dots on the map disappeared as well.
[You have defeated a Rotting Zombie.]
[You have acquired (1) coin.]
So that's how it worked.
Just as he was figuring out how the skill functioned—
[Level Up!]
[Maximum mana has increased by (50).]
Before he knew it, he had reached Level 10.
However, Hanseong's expression remained indifferent.
After all, there shouldn't be any major difference aside from his increased mana.
But this time was a little different.
[Level 10 Achieved!]
[All skill levels have increased.]
▷Meditation (Lv.2)
▷Open Map (Lv.2)
▷Magic Castle (Lv.2)
▷Call Lightning (Lv.2)
▷Magic Arrow (Lv.2)
“Huh?”
All of Hanseong's skills had increased in level.
Did that mean skill levels increased every ten levels?
Along with this new discovery, Hanseong checked the information for Call Lightning.
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[Remote: Call Lightning (Lv.2)]
-Strikes the designated coordinates with lightning.
▷Effective Range: Up to 400m
▷Impact Range: Within 3.5m
▷Mana Cost: 75
▷Activation Time: 4.8 seconds
▷Cooldown: 110 minutes
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Changes had occurred along with the increase in skill level.
The effective range and impact range had increased, while the activation time and cooldown had decreased.
Instead, the mana cost had increased by 50% compared to before.
Most of his other skills had undergone similar changes.
All except one: Open Map.
[New function added to Open Map.]
[New Function: Detailed Observation.]
What's this now?
Just as Hanseong was making a puzzled expression, information about the new function appeared before his eyes.
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[Open Map: Detailed Observation (Lv.2)]
-Closely observes the designated coordinates.
▷Effective Range: Same as Open Map
▷Mana Cost: 50
▷Duration: 30 minutes
▷Cooldown: 1 hour
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Judging simply from the description, it seemed to visualize and show the scenery at a specific location.
Should he try it out?
After thinking for a moment, Hanseong selected the place where he wanted to use Detailed Observation.
It was the center of the officetel where he lived.
[Activating Detailed Observation.]
[Vision shared.]
And Hanseong's prediction was correct.
The internal structure of the officetel was projected at the bottom of Open Map, while the actual scenery of the designated coordinates unfolded before his eyes.
He soon discovered something new.
‘There were quite a few zombies on the rooftop.’
Hanseong lived in Unit 909.
It was the top floor of the officetel.
He had never imagined there would be so many zombies above the ceiling.
‘I should clear them all out soon.’
With that decision made, Hanseong touched the interior structure of the officetel to switch his viewpoint.
‘First, the ninth-floor hallway.’
There were no zombies in sight.
When he moved the viewpoint through the stairs, he saw a group of zombies clustered together between the eighth and seventh floors.
Then a question suddenly occurred to him.
‘Can I look inside the rooms too?’
The answer was yes.
By repeatedly touching the map as though he were looking at Street View, the viewpoint shifted, revealing the interiors of the rooms.
Most of them were horrific sights.
Zombies writhing on the floor.
They had probably been helplessly attacked after someone they had been living with suddenly turned into a zombie.
‘Are there really no survivors?’
When Hanseong looked at the officetel through Open Map, it was filled with red dots.
Among them, there was only one blue dot, shining like a star.
It was probably Hanseong himself.
Feeling depressed at this realization, Hanseong continued exploring.
Eventually, as he reached the second floor, which was essentially the last floor—
“Huh?”
He witnessed something unusual.
There was a gray eye symbol engraved on the front door of Unit 209.
It didn't look like graffiti, so Hanseong muttered without realizing it.
“Could it be a skill?”
If so, there had to be a survivor inside.
Hanseong shifted his viewpoint and widened his eyes.
His prediction had been correct once again.
What appeared on the screen was a petite girl wearing a red motorcycle helmet.
Then something about the girl's clothes caught his attention.
‘That's Jingwang High School's gym uniform, isn't it?’
Jingwang High School was the high school Hanseong had attended.
He had started living as a shut-in while he was still enrolled, so he never graduated.
Nevertheless, it was the gym uniform of the high school he had attended.
He also determined from her yellow name tag that the girl was a first-year high school student.
Jingwang High School distinguished grades by the color of the name tags.
‘Her name is Seo Haeun.’
Seo Haeun.
Seo Haeun.
Seo Haeun?
The name sounded familiar somehow.
Hanseong tilted his head.
But he had no time to continue pondering it.
Haeun suddenly unlocked the door.
“Don't tell me she's going outside…!”
Hanseong hurriedly switched his viewpoint.
There was only one zombie in the second-floor hallway.
However, it was quite close to the room where Haeun had been, so there was a high chance she would be attacked the moment she stepped outside.
Click! Creak!
In the meantime, the front door opened.
The zombie abruptly turned toward Unit 209.
But even though Haeun appeared, it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking her.
“What? How…?”
Why wasn't it attacking even though she was so close?
Just as Hanseong widened his eyes in confusion, Haeun had already reached the stairs leading to the first floor.
And then she encountered an unexpected situation.
“That…!”
She came face-to-face with a zombie hiding in a corner of the staircase.
Their bodies even came into contact.
The zombie bared its teeth at Haeun.
She was in a life-or-death crisis, yet Haeun instead reached out and grabbed the zombie by the head.
Then she simply twisted it.
Crack! Crunch!
Its head bent at an unnatural angle.
Soon, the head separated from the body, and the zombie collapsed where it stood.
Only then, upon seeing this, did Hanseong finally realize something he had forgotten.
‘Ah! She must have a class too.’
The eye engraved on the front door, the fact that the zombies hadn't noticed her, and the incredible strength she had used to twist the zombie's head—all of them must have been skills.
Meanwhile, Haeun crouched down and descended to the first floor.
She glanced at the zombies swarming beyond the main entrance before heading toward the rear entrance.
‘Huh? Wait, the rear entrance?’
Hanseong looked at Open Map.
Then he realized why he had reacted so strongly to the words ‘rear entrance.’
“Don't go there!”
Hanseong shouted without realizing it.
There was a very good reason for this.
There were several times more zombies wandering around the rear entrance than there were beyond the main entrance.
Haeun, however, seemed unaware of this as she continued walking.
If the rear entrance opened, Haeun would have no choice but to be attacked.
Skills had cooldowns.
‘I have to help her!’
But how?
He had no way to warn her.
As he anxiously bit his lip, a red warning message suddenly appeared before Hanseong's eyes.
[The skill's remaining duration is about to expire.]
[Remote: Magic Arrow]
[Time remaining: 5 minutes]
“…Ah!”
That's right. He had been testing Magic Arrow.
Hanseong looked at the back of his hand.
Four marks remained.
Could he somehow use these to warn her?
Just as he hurriedly considered his options—
-GRAAAAAH!
A zombie suddenly burst out of the restroom in the first-floor shops and lunged at Haeun.
Caught off guard, Haeun instinctively reached out and shoved it away, successfully preventing herself from being bitten.
However, she didn't seem to have any means of counterattacking.
The zombie lunged at Haeun again.
But it failed to accomplish what it wanted.
Thud!
An arrow suddenly appeared and pierced through the zombie's head.
The staggering zombie soon collapsed, and a message appeared before Hanseong's eyes.
[You have defeated a Keen-Eared Zombie.]
[You have acquired (2) coins.]
Having witnessed this from right in front of her, Haeun was so startled that she froze in place.
Fortunately, she seemed to be unharmed.
Hanseong silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Then a brilliant idea occurred to him.
‘That's it! I'll use Magic Arrow to tell her.’
The arrows created by Magic Arrow seemed to be visible to Haeun as well.
Hanseong fired the third Magic Arrow toward the side entrance, where there were almost no zombies, rather than toward the rear entrance where she had originally intended to go.
‘Notice it. Realize what I'm trying to say!’
Hoping that Haeun would understand his intention—
Haeun, who had been standing there blankly, took something out of her bag.
A small notebook.
She scribbled something in it, then held it up in front of her helmet.
-Is this telling me to go that way?
It worked.
She had understood his intention perfectly.
Hanseong nodded happily and used Magic Arrow once more.
Haeun nodded and headed toward the side entrance.
‘Good, and once she gets outside…’
The subway station was out of the question.
The entire underground area was crawling with zombies.
The nearby community center also had quite a few red dots.
Then a place caught Hanseong's eye.
‘The shopping mall that was supposed to open next week.’
The interior of the shopping mall, where construction had only just been completed.
There were noticeably fewer red dots there than elsewhere.
Instead, he could see three blue dots.
They were probably a group of survivors.
‘That place should work.’
Hanseong watched Haeun, who had just stepped outside through the side entrance.
Then he fired his final Magic Arrow toward the shopping mall.
Haeun didn't miss it and quickly headed toward the shopping mall.
The last thing Hanseong saw was her stepping onto an escalator and heading toward the second floor of the mall.
Then the vision they had shared went dark.
[Duration has ended.]
[Open Map: Detailed Observation has ended.]
With that—
Hanseong finally released the breath he had been holding.
“Phewww.”
Then his body went limp.
The tension that had built up inside him all at once faded away, replaced by a wave of relief.
Looking toward the shopping mall outside his window, Hanseong quietly prayed.
Hoping that Haeun had made it there safely.