Chapter 17: Contact (3)

The one-on-one interviews with the survivors began.

First up was a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard. Tae-min stared intently at him as he nervously wiped away sweat.

“Let’s see. Mr. Go Hyung-seok?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“You wrote that your job is Architect. This is the job you got after the Upheaval, right? Not your previous occupation.”

“That’s correct! My previous job was also in construction.”

To think his previous and current jobs would match.

Tae-min nodded and continued reading the document Hyung-seok had filled out.

“Your skill is Wall Creation. Is this the only one?”

“Ah! No. I wrote on the back that I also have the Repair and Maintenance skill.”

So there was a back page too.

Tae-min checked the back of the document. But there weren’t any particularly noteworthy skills listed. After finishing his review, Tae-min looked back at Hyung-seok with a slight smile.

“Then, can I see your skill once?”

“Should I use it here?”

“No. We need to go outside.”

“What? B-but there are zombies outside…”

“There aren’t any. The Mage cleared them all out.”

As Tae-min said, there were no zombies to be found around the officetel and shopping mall. They had all been subjugated by the Mage of Fire Thunder.

It should be safe within a 200-meter radius.

Even if a hidden zombie were to appear, Tae-min and Min-cheol could handle it. And so, the three of them went outside the shopping mall.

“Shall we begin then?”

Hyung-seok stepped forward.

Swallowing hard, he spread his palm wide and placed it on the ground. Then, staring straight ahead, he forcefully activated his skill.

“Wall Creation!”

Rumble! Rumble!

As soon as his shout ended.

The ground shook violently and then rose up, forming a massive wall.

The scale was considerable. Just looking at the width of the barrier, it seemed to easily exceed 10 meters. Tae-min asked with wide eyes:

“This is quite impressive. The material of the wall is…”

“Concrete. The material is determined by what my palm touches.”

“Can you only make walls in this shape?”

“No. I can change the shape as I think of it. However, the width and height are fixed, so if I exceed that, it collapses.”

“What about the cooldown?”

“One hour.”

After learning all the additional information.

Tae-min told Hyung-seok the interview was over and sent him out. Then he turned to Min-cheol, who had been watching this scene.

“What do you think, sir?”

“I think it’s useful. The ability to create a barricade of this size in 5 seconds could be used not only for defense but also for offense.”

“I thought the same.”

Tae-min grinned.

The reason he was taking the time to conduct these interviews was not only because he didn’t fully trust the underground mall survivors, but also to allocate manpower.

To understand what jobs and skills each survivor had in advance, so they could be deployed appropriately in emergency situations.

‘For now, we’re safe thanks to the Mage, but…’

You never know what the future holds.

And since they couldn’t rule out the possibility of new elite monsters appearing, Tae-min intended to make the most of the underground mall survivors.

In that sense, Hyung-seok’s Wall Creation skill was highly versatile. It could be used to simply block enemy advances or to trap their feet and lead them into the Mage’s attacks.

“Let’s continue with the rest.”

The two continued conducting interviews, learning about the survivors’ jobs and skills. After a considerable amount of time had passed, it was finally the last turn.

As Tae-min looked at the document, his eyes lit up.

The job he had been keeping an eye on since first skimming through the papers had finally appeared.

“Lee Ji-hye?”

“Y-yes! Here!”

Ji-hye answered nervously.

She looked to be about a college freshman, not much younger than Tae-min. Tae-min alternated between looking at Ji-hye and the document.

“Your job is Alchemist, and your skills are listed as Component Analysis, Material Decomposition, and Potion Crafting. Is this correct?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Then, could you tell me what effects the potions you can make have?”

There are many types of potions.

The first that comes to mind is a Healing Potion that can cure all wounds. There are also potions that recover various types of energy, and potions used for attack or defense.

Tae-min looked at Ji-hye with curious eyes, and soon her answer came.

“…Energy Recovery Potion.”

“Energy? Not a Healing Potion?”

“Th-that’s, well! When I was told to choose a skill, I accidentally pressed the wrong one…”

Ji-hye explained the whole story in a fluster.

When the Upheaval first struck, as she was fleeing from zombies, a notification appeared before her asking her to choose one of three skills.

Befitting the Alchemist job, all three skills were for crafting potions. However, each had different effects.

The first was a Healing Potion that cured all wounds.

The second was a Flame Potion that exploded when thrown.

Lastly, the third was an Energy Recovery Potion that restored mana, energy, spirit power, and health consumed by skills.

“I was originally going to choose the second potion, but I accidentally… Sigh.”

“I see. I understand.”

Tae-min swallowed his disappointment inwardly. In truth, what he had hoped for most was the Healing Potion.

‘If Healing Potion crafting had been possible…’

It could have sufficiently substituted for Eun-ji when she was absent or unavailable. Or they could have mass-produced them to sell on the auction house.

So he felt disappointed, but he didn’t show it. Eventually, as they leveled up, they would probably be able to make Healing Potions someday.

“Then, could I see your skill once?”

“N-not right now. I need ingredients…”

“Ingredients? What kind?”

“One liter of clean water, salt, sugar, and a few Coins.”

“Coins?”

Coins are needed for potion crafting?

Tae-min tilted his head. Ji-hye, thinking he doubted her, hastily exclaimed:

“I-it’s true!”

“How many Coins are needed?”

“Ten Coins per potion…”

It wasn’t a small amount.

After pondering for a moment, Tae-min held out his palm.

“Let’s give it a try. Take my hand.”

“Huh? O-okay!”

Survivors could exchange Coins with each other.

By opening their palms with the Coin amount engraved and pressing them together. Then, following the screen that appeared before their eyes, they just had to input the amount.

Tae-min transferred 10 Coins to Ji-hye, and also handed over clean water and sugar bought from the shop. Soon after, potion crafting began.

Bubble bubble!

As soon as Ji-hye’s hand touched it, the water immediately began to boil. After adding appropriate amounts of sugar and salt, she activated her skill.

Then something amazing happened.

The clear water gradually became cloudy and started turning blue. Its appearance reminded one of the energy drinks commonly seen before the Upheaval.

Some time later.

“It’s done!”

Ji-hye handed over the completed potion.

[Name]: Lowest Grade Energy Potion

[Effect]: Recovers 30 HP/Mana/Energy/Spirit Power

[Creator]: Lee Ji-hye

“Oh, so for every 10mL drunk, the energy listed here recovers by 30?”

“I think so.”

“…You think so?”

“Ah, well! A-actually, this is the first time I’ve made a potion.”

Ji-hye hung her head low.

Well, if it weren’t for other ingredients, it would be difficult to make easily if Coins were consumed. It didn’t seem like the Alchemist had any other attack skills either.

Tae-min wore an understanding expression.

“Ah…!”

Then suddenly his eyes widened.

As if he had thought of a clever idea. A moment later, Tae-min grabbed Ji-hye’s hands and said:

“Ji-hye.”

“Y-yes?”

“Could you make about ten more potions exactly like this one?”

“Huh? T-ten more?”

“I’ll provide the ingredients.”

As long as she had the ingredients, making any number of potions wasn’t particularly difficult. Ji-hye nodded without hesitation, and Tae-min immediately bought and handed over a hundred Coins and ten bottles of water.

“Here you go.”

“Um, there’s a cooldown, so I think I can only finish them by tomorrow.”

“That’s fine. I’ll leave it to you then.”

“O-okay…!”

And so the interview with Ji-hye ended.

After finishing interviews with all the survivors, Tae-min stretched as if stiff. Meanwhile, Min-cheol, who had been watching this scene, voiced his doubts.

“Is there any reason to make ten bottles when it’s not even a Healing Potion? It doesn’t seem like we have much use for them?”

“That’s true for us. Since we have few skills, we don’t have many chances to use up our mana or health.”

Currently, Tae-min was level 11. Min-cheol was level 10.

They only had two skills each, excluding their unique skills. Even if they used all their skills at once, their energy wouldn’t drop below half.

“But what about the Mage?”

“The Mage?”

“Yes, the Mage has a high enough level to subjugate the Collector, and uses many skills at once. So he’ll inevitably run low on mana.”

“Hmm, that’s certainly true.”

The Mage uses various skills.

Fire and lightning, shining arrows and wind blades, not to mention dolls that draw enemy attention, and so on. As Tae-min said, the mana consumption must be considerable.

As he nodded silently in agreement, Min-cheol suddenly looked as if he had realized something.

“Wait, don’t tell me you…”

“Yes, you’ve guessed correctly.”

A smile spread across his lips.

Tae-min revealed his true purpose as he looked at the Energy Recovery Potion Ji-hye had created.

“I’m going to trade these with the Mage.”

A full day had passed since creating the Replica.

Han-seong, who had been intensely focused on his work with bloodshot eyes, was only able to finish after a considerable amount of time had passed.

[Replica: Collector has been completed.]

“F-finally…!”

His eyes grew wider and wider.

Han-seong, who had been staring blankly at the message, shuddered as if the tension had finally left his body. Then he let out a deep sigh he had been holding in.

“Whew, I thought I was going to die from exhaustion.”

Total production time: 28 hours.

It was an achievement made possible by repeatedly meditating to endure the massive mana consumption.

Moreover, he had to deal with the penalty of mana deficiency, suffering from headaches and nosebleeds throughout the production period.

‘But the most difficult part was…’

The terrible smell. The stench.

Currently, an indescribable stench was lingering in Han-seong’s room.

It was because the Collector’s corpse was lying in the middle of the room. It was an unavoidable part of the creation process.

‘Thanks to that, I couldn’t eat anything.’

At first, just smelling it made him want to vomit. In other words, it wasn’t a situation where he could force himself to eat.

To make matters worse, he couldn’t sleep either.

There aren’t many people who could sleep comfortably with the smell of a rotting corpse right next to them.

“…Well, at least it’s finished now.”

After letting out another sigh of relief.

Han-seong placed his hand on the magic formula engraved on the Collector’s back. Then brief information about the Collector appeared before his eyes.

[Replica: Collector (Lv.25)]

▷Grade: Elite

▶Mode: Manual / Automatic

▶Skills: Fusion, Devour, Discernment, Puppetry

There were three points to note.

Firstly, the Collector’s level was the same as Han-seong’s. It seemed to inherit the owner’s level.

Secondly, health and mana were displayed as gauges rather than numerical values. Currently, all five bars were full. And lastly, the third point…

“Skills?”

The Collector had four skills.

Since they were all unfamiliar, Han-seong decided to examine them one by one. Starting with Fusion:

『Fusion: Extracts parts of the target’s body and transplants them onto the Collector’s main body for fusion. Depending on the part, the Collector’s abilities are enhanced.』

He understood what kind of skill it was as soon as he read it.

In the past, the Collector had torn off survivors’ heads and attached them to its body.

‘At first I thought it was some kind of bizarre act, but it was a skill.’

Moreover, if it was a skill that increased stats, he could somewhat understand why it behaved that way.

Next to examine were Devour and Discernment.

『Devour: Slowly dissolves and devours corpses stored in the stomach pouch. The Collector’s HP and MP recover at regular intervals.』

『Discernment: Sees through all types of stealth, clone, observation, and illusion skills. However, this is only possible if the opponent’s skill level is 3 or lower.』

‘Ah! So that’s why.’

The reason the Collector could detect the Precise Observation skill. It also made sense why it could penetrate the Magic Castle’s concealment field and pinpoint the location.

After all, the skills Han-seong had used at the time were all only level 2. Of course they would be detected.

‘Then lastly…’

『Puppetry: Turns corpses into zombies and controls them. Can control up to 10 zombies simultaneously, with the zombies’ levels set to about 20% of the Collector’s.』

Seeing this, a memory suddenly came to mind.

The scene where the Collector, struck by lightning, took out corpses from its stomach and turned them into zombies. Recalling what happened then made things clearer.

While examining the skills one by one.

A familiar message appeared.

[Manual and Automatic modes have been added.]

[Acquisition Target: Remote Support Mage]

[Skills will be modified to fit the job.]

[Remote: Replica Manual Mode (Lv.3)]

-Can remotely control and move owned Replicas manually. The owner shares all vision with the Replica during this time.

▷Activity Range: Maximum 10km

▷Mana Consumption: 50 per minute

“Manual mode?”

The moment he muttered without thinking.

The Collector’s body vibrated once.

[Replica: Collector]

[Switching to Manual Mode.]

Then familiar objects appeared.

A monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Han-seong stared at them blankly for a moment before muttering with a look of disbelief:

“Don’t tell me I’m supposed to control it with these…”

After pondering for a moment, Han-seong grabbed the keyboard and mouse. The Collector moved around like a game character according to Han-seong’s controls.

Meanwhile, the monitor displayed the Collector’s movements in a quarter view. It really felt like playing a game.

‘Oh, this is quite interesting.’

After continuing to test for a while, Han-seong soon exited manual mode. His room wasn’t spacious enough for the Collector to move around freely.

Just that brief movement had already made quite a mess of the room. Sighing, Han-seong moved on to examine the automatic mode.

[Remote: Replica Automatic Mode (Lv.3)]

-Sets the owned Replica to move automatically. If a restricted area is set, it will not go beyond that area.

▷Activity Range: Maximum 5km

▷Restricted Area: Needs to be set

▶Stance Change: Attack / Patrol / Defense / Vigilance

Soon he noticed the difference.

There was an added function called Stance Change that didn’t exist in manual mode.

Han-seong examined each function.

[Stance Change: Attack]

▷Attacks all targets except the owner.

▷Effect: Greatly increases attack power and attack speed

▷Mana Consumption: 80 per minute

[Stance Change: Patrol]

▷Repeatedly patrols a specific area.

▷Effect: Greatly increases movement speed

▷Mana Consumption: 60 per minute

[Stance Change: Defense]

▷Sets the owner’s safety as the top priority.

▷Effect: Maximum HP increases by 2 times

▷Mana Consumption: 30 per minute

[Stance Change: Vigilance]

▷Stands by at a designated coordinate.

▷Attacks all enemies within recognition range.

▷Mana Consumption: 20 per minute

Each Stance Change function had its own independent effect. One peculiar point was that the mana consumption varied greatly between functions.

‘The Attack stance consumes a lot of mana.’

On the other hand, the Vigilance stance consumed little mana.

It seemed to be related to the amount of activity.

The Attack stance required movement to attack enemies, while the Vigilance stance involved waiting in the same spot without moving.

Then a question suddenly occurred to him.

“What happens if the mana runs out?”

The Replica skill consumed a considerable amount of mana.

What if the mana ran out while it was actively operating? Surely it wouldn’t revert back to an elite monster or something like that?

Han-seong carefully examined the skill for any related explanations, and soon found the answer he was looking for.

[Caution]

▷When the owner’s mana is depleted, the Replica enters hibernation until further instructions. During hibernation, all HP and defense increase up to 3 times.

Fortunately, it seemed it wouldn’t revert to an elite monster. Han-seong quietly sighed in relief. However, that relief was short-lived as a major concern overtook him.

“Ugh, everything’s good except the mana issue…”

Han-seong’s current maximum mana was 1,300.

Even if he poured it all in, he could only move the Collector for about 20 minutes. What good was a wide activity range if this was the case?

“I need to find a solution.”

Either increase the maximum mana capacity or find a way to recover mana quickly.

The first thing Han-seong thought of was to check the auction house. Hoping that perhaps they were selling equipment related to mana.

But at that moment.

“Excuse me!”

A energetic shout was heard from outside the window.

The sudden sound of a person’s voice. Han-seong snapped out of his thoughts and looked down.

What entered his view was a large delivery box and a familiar face of a girl. She looked up at the officetel and shouted again loudly.

“If you have time, I’d like to talk! I have something to say to the Mage!”

A high school girl in gym clothes.

It was Seo Ha-eun.