Chapter 16: Contact (2)

The early dawn had not yet broken.

Han-seong had been in a deep state of meditation for a long time.

This was partly to make a final sprint towards achieving his goal, but more so because he simply wasn’t feeling sleepy.

‘It’s strange.’

Recently, Han-seong’s sleep time had drastically reduced.

In the past, he needed at least six hours of sleep to function normally, but lately, he felt refreshed even after just three or four hours. Either way, it was good news that he could maintain his condition with less sleep. It meant more time for meditation and using skills.

‘Just a little more and…’

He would be able to reach his target.

Han-seong continued his meditation, emptying his mind. As dawn passed and morning approached, he finally reached the desired state.

[Name]: Kang Han-seong

[Job]: Remote Support Mage

[Grade]: 3rd Tier

Having finally reached the 3rd Tier, Han-seong couldn’t hide his joyful smile. He also noticed a few changes.

[3rd Tier Achieved!]

[Acquired Skill Slots have increased.]

[Slots: 10 → 20]

‘The skill slots have greatly increased.’

At the 1st Tier, there were five acquired skill slots.

When he was promoted to the 2nd Tier, the slots increased to ten.

He had expected fifteen this time, but the result was even better at twenty. Han-seong was satisfied with this better-than-expected outcome.

Of course, not all changes were positive.

[Notice]

-From the 3rd Tier, the rank experience gained through meditation is greatly reduced.

▷Previous: 0.1% per 10 minutes

▶Changed: 0.01% per 10 minutes

The experience gain had been drastically reduced.

Now, to gain 1% experience, he would need to meditate for over 16 hours. Even wearing the Monk’s Necklace, it would still take 8 hours.

‘Then to reach 100%…’

It would take over a month.

And this was calculating pure meditation time, excluding sleep and meals. In reality, it would probably take about three months.

As he was sighing at the thought of such a long time, an additional notification appeared.

▷From the 3rd Tier, you gain a small amount of rank experience each time you use a skill.

▷Additionally, you can gain large amounts of experience by consuming rare elixirs, potions, or gaining insights into the Magic Way.

‘Well, of course!’

There had to be a way.

If experience accumulates with each skill use, it’s good news for Han-seong. He uses skills at least fifty times a day.

However, he didn’t understand what the second item meant by ‘insights’. He didn’t even know what the Magic Way (魔道) was.

“Well, I’ll find out eventually.”

So he decided to think optimistically.

Above all, it was time to check out another change that came with reaching the 3rd Tier. Han-seong carefully read the messages piled up before him.

[Your unique skills have been upgraded.]

[Existing special effects have been enhanced.]

Meditation, Open Map, and Magic Castle.

The three unique skills of the Remote Support Mage.

And each special effect was uniformly enhanced. The enhanced effects were displayed in an easy-to-understand summary.

[High-Speed Meditation]: Increased mana recovery rate

▷Previous: 1% per second for 30 seconds

▶Changed: 1.5% per second for 30 seconds

[Dimensional Isolation]: Reduced cooldown

▷Previous: 48 hours

▶Changed: 45 hours

There weren’t significant changes to High-Speed Meditation and Dimensional Isolation. On the other hand, the special function of the minimap, Expansion, underwent a noticeable change.

[Special Effect: Expansion]

-Expands the observation range of Open Map.

-Expands the effective range of [Remote] skills.

▷Open Map effective range: 12.5km radius

▷Skill effective range: +300%

▶Grade: 3rd Tier

Han-seong’s mouth fell open.

The previous observation range of Open Map was 2.5km. But now it had become five times that at 12.5km.

Honestly, he would have been satisfied with just doubling to 5km, but he never expected it to expand this much.

A vast map was completed, encompassing all of Gangnam to the west and south, Seongnam City, and extending to Guri City in the east and north.

‘The skill range has also expanded quite a bit.’

The range had expanded from twice to four times the original. Han-seong examined the effective ranges of his currently possessed skills one by one.

▷Call Lightning: 2.0km

▷Magic Arrow: 1.2km

▷Tinder: 2.0km

▷Wind Cutter: 600m

▷Inventory: 600m

▷Decoy Dummy: 2.4km

▷Detection: 6.0km

Although not as much as Open Map, Han-seong was satisfied that he could now strike enemies from a much greater distance than before.

As he continued examining the map, he spotted something noteworthy.

“…Elite monster.”

A red square dot.

This dot, different from other zombies, indicated an elite monster. He knew this well because the Collector had been marked the same way in the past.

“The closest one is…”

About 3.8km away from the officetel.

Near the back gate of Kangil Girls’ High School and adjacent to the ecological park bordering the Han River. A particularly large and bright square dot was marked there.

There were two other elite monsters, but they existed at least 8km away.

‘Unless it’s a flying monster like the Monstrous Bird, there’s no need to be particularly wary.’

As Han-seong was examining the expanded map, he soon shifted his gaze southward. It was to check on the house where his family resided.

[Activating Precise Observation.]

[Vision is shared.]

A large apartment complex.

Just 10 years ago, it was a newly built apartment with a clean exterior, but now it’s a horrific sight.

The familiar streets were filled with blood and corpses, and numerous zombies roamed the complex. Han-seong bit his lip hard and fervently hoped.

‘Please, please be safe…’

Han-seong had been an unfilial son who hadn’t shown a son-like appearance even once in the past 10 years.

A shut-in who wasted his youth and time in the officetel provided by his parents. That’s why he wished even more for his parents’ safety.

He wanted to be a proper son from now on. As he passed through the blood-stained corridor and entered beyond the front door.

“…Ah.”

Han-seong was enveloped by a strange sense of relief.

First, unlike the outside or the corridor, the inside of the house was intact. There were no traces of blood or flesh, and no beings presumed to be zombies.

The problem was that there was no one in the house.

This made it impossible to confirm whether they were safe or not. As he was blankly looking around the house, something caught his eye.

“That’s…”

It was a calendar. There was a date circled in red pen, which was exactly the day before the Upheaval began.

“…Grandmother’s death anniversary.”

Now he remembered.

Every year when his grandmother’s death anniversary came, they all went down to Daejeon together. If so, it means they went down to Daejeon this time too.

Indeed, his father’s car wasn’t in the parking lot, which made Han-seong’s guess increasingly certain.

“Daejeon…”

From where Han-seong was to where his grandmother’s grave was, it was over 100km. Far beyond the currently observable map.

Still, he had gained hope that his family might be safe. Han-seong stared intently at the southern sky with trembling hands.

‘Someday, I will definitely reach there.’

He would expand the map as much as possible by reaching higher tiers, and confirm his family’s safety. As he was setting his goal once again and strengthening his resolve, a new achievement notification appeared.

[You have achieved a new achievement!]

[Achievement]: First 3rd Tier Mage

[Condition]: First mage to reach 3rd Tier

[Reward]: [Job Quest: Mage]

“Quest?”

Han-seong tilted his head.

He knew what a quest was, but he didn’t understand why the reward was a quest.

Then the quest was arbitrarily assigned.

[Job Quest: Mage]

▷Content: Subjugate Elite Monsters

▷Subjugation Progress: 0/3

-Utilize your learned magic to the fullest to subjugate elite monsters. It will only be recognized as an official subjugation if your personal contribution exceeds 50%.

▶Reward:

-Choice between Mage’s Robe and Staff.

-Acquire qualification to enter ‘Mage’s Tower’

Han-seong wore a bewildered expression at the quest that was automatically assigned without even asking for acceptance. But he soon regained his composure.

He realized that the content and reward of the quest weren’t that bad.

‘I have to hunt elite monsters anyway.’

If left alone, they might return as a great threat. And subjugating elite monsters gives enormous rewards.

Perhaps equipment that could solve his concerns might drop. In that sense, the content of the quest itself wasn’t particularly difficult.

‘But the reward is a bit…’

Let’s say the Mage’s equipment is fine.

Well, it probably has effects or abilities that are helpful for mages. But he didn’t understand what the qualification to enter the Mage’s Tower meant.

Even touching it didn’t bring up a detailed explanation.

Han-seong finally raised the white flag.

“Sigh, I’ll find out eventually.”

He would know whether he wanted to or not after subjugating three elite monsters. Deciding there was no point in expending energy prematurely, he chose to ignore it.

Instead, he turned his attention elsewhere.

[Skillbook: Replica]

The limited product he had purchased last time.

It was time to learn the skill he couldn’t acquire because the learning condition was 3rd Tier. Han-seong placed his hand on the skillbook and immediately learned the skill.

[You have learned Replica.]

And he noticed something strange.

Unlike before, there was no notification that the skill would be modified to fit his job.

“Hmm, is it because it’s a production skill…”

It seems the skill of creating replicas itself isn’t affected by job. Having realized this new fact, Han-seong looked at the skill again.

He was surprised soon after.

[Craft: Replica (Lv.3)]

-Creates and controls a replica of an elite or higher monster. Manual and automatic control are possible, and the materials vary depending on the monster’s grade.

▷Essential material: Soul Stone

▷Body composition material: The body of the monster that becomes the model for the replica. (If you don’t have a body in possession, please open the detailed material page below.)

▷Crafting time: 12 hours

▷Mana consumption: 1,000 per hour

▷Cooldown: 120 hours

“It takes this long?”

Moreover, the mana consumption is enormous.

If it consumes 1,000 mana per hour, it means he would have to replenish mana through meditation in between. So the actual production time would far exceed twelve hours.

“Ugh, this is troublesome.”

Han-seong swallowed a groan.

However, the die had already been cast, and hesitation would only delay completion.

Realizing this, Han-seong immediately began crafting the replica. He continued until the sun that had just risen passed the center of the sky and set on the opposite side.

As the sun was slowly setting in the evening.

The front of the shopping mall was filled with about a dozen men and women.

They were survivors from the underground shopping mall who had gathered at the word that poison would be neutralized and wounds healed.

Eun-ji activated her healing skill on people in order of severity, while Ha-eun, who was with her, controlled the people surrounding them on all sides.

“Everyone, please keep to the order. As soon as the cooldown ends, I’ll see to you right away!”

The total number of survivors gathered was nineteen.

Originally, there were several times more, but they say many died or ran away. Additionally, Bae Hyeon-seok, the culprit behind everything, had also fled towards Gangnam.

Meanwhile, Eun-ji, who had been repeatedly using her healing skill, wiped the sweat from her forehead. Seeing her seemingly struggling appearance, Ha-eun asked worriedly.

“Are you okay, unni?”

“Yeah, I just leveled up.”

When you level up, all fatigue disappears and the energy needed for skill use is restored.

Also, a recently realized fact is that for Healers, the more they use their skills, the more rank experience and level-up experience they gain.

Just like when Ha-eun kills zombies.

“How much is left until promotion?”

“Hmm, about 20 percent?”

“It’s definitely fast. At this rate, you might be able to promote by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

A smile bloomed on Eun-ji’s lips.

It was a smile tinged with relief and pride that she would no longer be a burden to her teammates.

Ha-eun also agreed that it was good, and the two resumed treating the survivors.

Meanwhile, at that time.

Min-cheol and Tae-min were guiding the survivors who had finished recovering to the shopping mall.

They couldn’t tell them to go back to the underground shopping mall that had become hell. So they planned to live together until heading to Kangil Girls’ High School.

“You can all stay here.”

“A-are there no zombies?”

“There aren’t. We cleared them all out.”

Tae-min smiled brightly.

The place he guided the survivors to was the 5th floor.

It’s blocked now, but it’s also a place connected to the opposite building by a passageway. So it would be easy to escape in case of an emergency.

Of course, the 2nd floor with passageways connected in all directions would have been the optimal location, but this was Tae-min’s group’s base. They had no intention of giving it up to others.

“Well then, let’s move on to the next step.”

Tae-min put down the bag he had been carrying.

What he took out were papers and pens. Tae-min distributed these to all the survivors and said,

“Please write down your job and skills here. Ah, I’d appreciate it if you could also write down the conditions for accumulating level and rank experience.”

“Um, why do we have to write such things…?”

“Because we don’t know about you. Also, there’s no guarantee that there isn’t a Poison Master hiding among you.”

Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok.

As his existence was mentioned, the survivors all shook their heads.

“There is no Poison Master. I can assure you of that.”

“That’s right. That guy had such a rough-looking face that you could tell at a glance…”

“Ah, I misspoke.”

Tae-min smiled awkwardly.

“I mean that there might be someone among the gathered survivors who has different intentions, like the Poison Master, so let’s share our backgrounds with each other.”

The moment those words ended.

The atmosphere in the room turned as cold as if ice water had been poured over it. After a moment, the survivors frowned and spoke up.

“Are you saying…”

“That you don’t trust us?”

Their expressions clearly showed displeasure.

However, Tae-min wasn’t intimidated at all. Rather, he opened his eyes wide as if asking why they were questioning something so obvious and retorted.

“How can I trust you? We’re not comrades who’ve been together since the Upheaval, and we’ve only met a few days ago.”

“Hmm, I think the same.”

Min-cheol also nodded.

The survivors couldn’t refute, and Tae-min retrieved the papers he was about to hand out and said,

“If you don’t like my proposal, you can leave here. I won’t stop you.”

“Oh, and for reference, if you’re caught lying, you’ll be kicked out. After submitting the documents, we’ll call each person one by one for a skill demonstration session.”

If you’re not going to comply with the proposal, leave.

With this strong warning, the survivors’ complaints subsided instantly. They obediently wrote down their jobs and skills, and soon all the information was gathered.

“Well then, let’s start the interviews.”

Eight survivors. Eight jobs.

And skills that piqued curiosity. Thus began the one-on-one interviews with the survivors.