episode_0004

004

Underground Prison

Rumble – Rumbling –

Perhaps because it was a boss battle, sounds a bit noisier than before were heard.

The direction was across from my room.

Soon the reverberation ended.

Beyond there, the boss must have spawned.

I gazed at the door and waited for the enemies.

But no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of anyone coming over.

Only silence continued.

‘…What?’

I approached the door and put my ear to it.

It was quiet.

I checked the CCTV, but maybe because it’s a boss round, the screen isn’t showing anything.

Looking at the situation unfolding, it seems like this time we have to go over.

‘What kind of great thing is about to come out…’

I was about to open the door naturally but stopped.

And I called the zombie.

“Zombie. You know ‘ladies first’, right?”

“Kekek.”

The zombie opened the door.

But nothing flew out.

I poked my head out and looked beyond the door.

A dark and long corridor stretched on.

‘Corridor?’

We walked along the corridor for now.

Feeling sorry for forcing ‘ladies first’, this time I stood in front.

Step – Step –

Splish – Splish –

The zombie has no shoes.

What could be called clothes were just the rag-like top and bottom it wore initially.

‘Hmm… Isn’t there something like a shop? Seeing it has no shoes makes me feel a bit sorry for it.’

Seeing that all of this takes the form of a game, there must be a shop somewhere.

I thought that when that time came, I would get it a pair of shoes.

After walking along the corridor for some distance, stairs leading downwards appeared.

‘Ah… that’s what it was?’

I had been wondering what this space was for, and my questions are somewhat answered.

Below the stairs, numerous prison cells are visible.

Inside the prison cells, dwarfs with dead eyes are sitting one by one.

And far away, a single guard is seen snoring and sleeping.

‘That must be the boss.’

Behind the guard, a battle axe is hanging.

A serious weapon incomparable to something like a dagger.

‘Wow… I want it.’

I licked my lips.

If I had one of those, I wouldn’t envy ten zombies.

Tang – !

‘What is this sound?’

It was the sound of the zombie hitting the prison bars with its claw.

It seems like it wanted to eat the dwarf inside the prison cell.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Kkaeruk…”

It just hit it once, but when I said something, the zombie became glum.

“Hmm…”

But thanks to the zombie’s unexpected action, there was something I could find out.

Even though the sound was quite loud, the guard was sleeping.

‘Ah.’

I roughly grasped the situation.

This round seems to have a structure where you rescue the dwarfs in the prison cells and fight together.

As an experiment, I opened one prison cell.

Clang. Squeak –

As if confirming my prediction, the prison cell was structured so it could only be opened from the outside.

As we entered the prison cell, the dwarf raised its head.

‘What are you looking at?’

Bang!

I brought down the chair and killed the dwarf.

“Zombie, let’s eat mama.”

“Keke!”

Gobble gobble –

That’s a ridiculous notion.

Team up with the dwarfs who were swinging daggers to kill me just a moment ago?

Unfortunately, I am not that generous a person.

And now, if it eats just a few more, the zombie’s arm regeneration will also be finished.

There is absolutely no reason to take unnecessary risks.

There are a total of 10 prison cells.

The zombie devoured 10 more dwarfs.

Crunch crunch.

“Oh dear, is our zombie tasty?”

“Kekekek.”

“Yes, yes. Eat a lot and grow big and strong.”

Maybe it’s just a feeling, but the zombie’s body seems to have gotten slightly bigger.

Or maybe it just gained weight.

‘Hmm… if it gained weight, it just needs to exercise that much.’

The zombie suddenly shivers.

Is it a bit cold?

We came out of the last prison cell and headed towards the guard.

As expected, when we got close, he rubbed his eyes and got up.

‘The enemy is right in front, yet he’s complacent.’

I immediately darted forward.

The guard saw me and quickly swung his fist, but I twisted my body and dodged it.

My goal wasn’t the guard in the first place.

I passed right by him and grabbed the battle axe hanging behind him.

A heavy sensation.

“Heh heh heh… This is it. This is it!”

The guard tried to charge with an angry face, but my axe was not about to let that happen.

Whoosh –

The guard rolled on the floor and dodged the axe.

‘Oh… he dodged? Definitely different from a regular dwarf.’

His physique is one thing, but his body is very agile.

If this guy had been holding the battle axe, the dwarfs in the prison cells probably wouldn’t have even served properly as meat shields.

‘But it’s in my hands now, isn’t it?’

Every time I swung the axe, the guard recoiled in fright.

His eyes were full of bewilderment.

“Huh? If you keep only going backward like that?”

Thud!

The zombie’s claw pierced the guard’s neck.

The guard, who had been trembling, collapsed weakly to the floor.

“Ah… I didn’t even get to have much fun.”

As if to announce that it was truly over, messages popped up on my phone.

“Tsk…”

I let the zombie have its 11th meal.

For a brief moment, I considered turning the guard into a zombie, but decided against it.

As I just felt again, the difference between having a weapon or not is immense.

If I had been bare-handed, could I have won against the axe-wielding guard without getting hurt?

I guess I could have used the chair.

But bare hands… I can’t say.

The same goes for the zombie.

The difference in combat power between a bare-handed zombie and a claw zombie is incomparable.

Securing a weapon first and then creating a suitable zombie according to it is the correct order.

“Kekek.”

The zombie again pulled out the guard’s brain and brought it.

I have no idea when this guy will realize that ‘summoners don’t eat brains’.

‘Ah, I don’t know. It’ll happen sometime.’

Let’s just look forward to the reward.

If my prediction is right, I should receive a big one this time.

Crunch. Crunch.

After confirming that the zombie had eaten all of the guard’s brain, I pressed [Check Reward].

Bright light enveloped my body.

Knowing that basking in this light strengthens the body, I even feel somewhat refreshed.

‘Going there again.’

Before I knew it, the dark room had become familiar.

But when I opened my eyes, it was a completely different space.

[Stage 1 Completed]

[Community is unlocked]

I was in a forest, not a room.

‘No… No! This can’t be happening!’

I was sitting on the stump of a cut tree.

That’s right. The chair was gone.

Regret dominated my body.

Having received such a nerf, will I truly be able to overcome Stage 2?

The shock is even greater because I just realized the importance of weapons.

‘Phew… Huh? What’s that?’

While frantically turning my head in distress, I discovered a small cabin behind me.

I first collected myself and headed towards the cabin.

Due to the nature of games, I don’t think enemies will appear during the waiting phase.

But for now, I opened the door while being cautious.

“Is anyone there?”

Creak –

The wooden door scraped against the floor and opened.

There was no one inside. It seemed to be an empty house.

“Ah? Oh!”

The cabin was very small.

Inside were just a small bed, a table, and a chair.

I immediately checked the state of the chair.

First off, the feel is passing grade.

The one I used until now was a bit rough, but this one had a bit of leather wrapped around it, making it smooth.

Whoosh – Whoosh – Bang!

The weight is also just right, and the durability is good.

And finally, it’s time to check the most important thing.

“Aah… Ah.”

This feeling of comfort in my butt.

The sitting feel is truly excellent.

It was a tremendous buff.

As a result of looking around the cabin, I discovered an interesting fact.

If you move a certain distance away from the cabin, there are dense trees blocking the way, making it impossible to pass.

This seems to have the same function as the door in Stage 1.

The basis for this judgment is that when I summoned the zombie, a path was created in that direction.

‘The map has expanded…’

This is not good news at all.

I have no immediate alternative for ranged weapons.

When indoors, I could block arrows simply by closing the door.

But with this kind of structure, even with just 10 archers, it would be a hardship.

‘Well, Stage 1 was too easy.’

It seems to mean that getting things easily is over now.

‘Let’s distribute the reward.’

The rewards were 100 gold, [Lowest Grade Zombie Enhancement Potion], and something called [Regeneration Cell].

Actually, there’s nothing much to distribute.

Except for the gold, everything belongs to the zombie right in front of me.

I granted each item to the zombie.

‘Ah? So this was it?’

If I look at my phone, there are 3 empty slots next to the icon representing the zombie’s status.

Until now, I didn’t know what these were, but [Regeneration Cell] fit right into one of those slots.

Seeing that the skill [Leap] is not displayed separately, [Regeneration Cell] seems to be a limited ability.

“Alright! Then I’ll have to check out the Regeneration Cell, right?”

“Kkaeruk?”

Muscles grow through the process of constantly tearing and recovering.

Oh my? But zombie, they say your regeneration is fast?

That’s right. Infinite exercise has become possible.

I lay down on the floor and made the zombie assume the same posture.

“Okay. Then, shall we start with a light 10 sets?”

“Kki… Kek.”

The forest is a truly great place.

In the room, there was nothing so I could only do bodyweight exercises, but here, aren’t there so many trees and rocks?

This is the forest gym.

What? Community?

If you have time for things like that, do one more set of push-ups.