Chapter 11: Phase 2 (2)

Ha-eun’s daily routine had become monotonous recently.

From the moment she opened her eyes until sunset, she repeated zombie hunting, then took turns standing watch before opening her eyes again in the morning.

Of course, adequate meals and rest were essential. And recently, a new schedule had been added to this.

“Hmm, there’s nothing really worth buying.”

It was browsing the auction house.

Ha-eun’s group used their spare time to look through the auction house. Their goal was to purchase skillbooks for more efficient hunting.

However, the skillbooks registered in the auction house started at a minimum of 300 Coins, while the skillbooks sold in the shop weren’t very useful.

“Same here. Too expensive.”

“I know. Where do these skillbook buyers get so many Coins from?”

Min-cheol and Tae-min also frowned.

Meanwhile, everyone in the group except for Eun-ji, who was a Healer, had succeeded in ranking up. That’s why they could all look at the auction house like this.

On the other hand, Eun-ji, who couldn’t see the auction house, sat next to Ha-eun and asked with a curious face.

“Are there any skillbooks I could learn?”

“Ah, come to think of it, there was one.”

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s a skill called Healing Aura.”

“What’s the effect?”

“It heals the target’s wounds for 1 minute. It also additionally recovers 5% of mana, energy, health, and spirit power every 10 seconds.”

Judging by the effect alone, it was a moderately useful skill, but Eun-ji’s expression wasn’t bright.

“Hmm, are there no attack skills?”

“I don’t see any in particular… Ah!”

Ha-eun’s eyes widened.

As if she had discovered something new.

“One just got listed. It’s Turn Undead.”

“Turn Undead?”

“It says it’s a powerful attack skill that can be used on undead-type monsters. The cooldown is short, so you could use it often.”

An attack skill usable every 15 minutes.

This looked quite good. Eun-ji’s eyes sparkled as she asked again.

“How much does it cost?”

“Hmm, the bidding price is 300 Coins, and the immediate purchase price is 900 Coins.”

“That much? It’s really expensive.”

Eun-ji’s current funds were just over 200 Coins.

It was an amount that made even bidding difficult. Perhaps feeling frustrated, Eun-ji hugged her knees and kept sighing.

“Sigh, I want to rank up quickly too…”

Eun-ji’s job was Healer.

She had heard it was the rarest job among all professions. Maybe that’s why? Unlike the others in the group, it was difficult for her to gather rank experience.

It was healing wounds with her skill.

Every time she healed a wound, 0.5% experience accumulated. The problem was that the cooldown of the healing skill was 1 hour.

And given the group’s combat style, hardly anyone got injured.

‘Of course, it’s best that everyone is safe, but…’

Since no one got hurt, there was naturally no way to increase rank experience.

She had tried using it on Tae-min’s zombies just in case, but no experience accumulated. As frustration built up like this, at that moment.

Ha-eun looked around at the group.

“Ah, right. Speaking of which, when are we moving to Kangil Girls’ High School? Shouldn’t we be leaving soon according to the original plan?”

When Ha-eun first joined the group, Tae-min and Min-cheol had set going to Kangil Girls’ High School as their primary goal.

But since zombie hunting began, at some point there had been no mention of this. That’s when Tae-min answered Ha-eun’s question.

“Hmm, we did say that back then. But now my thoughts have changed a bit.”

“How so?”

“We could cross the bridge right away if we wanted to, but if we get surrounded on the bridge, that would be the end of us, right?”

“Oh, that’s…”

An undeniable assumption.

Ha-eun trailed off, and Tae-min continued with a slight smile.

“So I want to learn skills that will let us escape in urgent situations before we move. Or learn more attack skills.”

“I agree. It’s dangerous to move carelessly when we don’t know how many zombies there are across the Han River.”

“Hmm, that would be best.”

Ha-eun nodded.

After all, you can only survive when a crisis hits if you’re always prepared for the worst.

“Well then, shall we get back to hunting?”

The group, having recovered their mana and energy through rest, was about to resume hunting. As everyone was getting up following Tae-min’s words, at that moment.

Beep! Beep! Beep beep beep!

An unidentified sound was heard.

At the sudden noise, the group froze in the posture of getting up from their seats.

“Did everyone just hear that?”

“Yes, it sounded like some kind of warning…”

As Ha-eun was nodding, at that moment.

Suddenly, Eun-ji’s eyes widened.

“Look over there! The, the sky…”

Eun-ji pointed at the sky outside the window.

Following this, everyone’s gaze turned to the sky, and they all made similar expressions to Eun-ji.

It couldn’t be helped.

The sky that had just been cloudy moments ago had turned red. As bewilderment settled on everyone’s faces at this inexplicable change, at that moment.

[Notice]

▷Ten days have passed since the Upheaval.

▷Phase 2 will begin soon.

“Huh, what does this mean?”

Phase 2 is starting?

No, what does Phase 2 even mean in the first place?

As Ha-eun wore an expression of not understanding, Tae-min’s muttering reached her ears.

“Oh, usually in games, this signals the appearance of a harsher environment and stronger enemies…”

A harsher environment and stronger enemies.

It sounded ominous just hearing it.

With her heart beating rapidly, she looked up at the sky again, when suddenly.

“Wait, what’s that?”

Min-cheol pointed in one direction.

Near the subway station exit. The zombies that had been wandering around gathered one by one, forming a circle.

These beings, which shouldn’t have any self-awareness, held hands and bowed as if in worship, and at that moment, the ground suddenly began to shake.

And the ground split open.

Crack! Rrrip!

As the asphalt broke apart, something surged up from underground. A grotesquely twisted arm. A moment later, the owner of the arm revealed itself.

A massive body approaching 3 meters in height.

Its arms and legs were long and thin, reminiscent of spider legs, and its back looked as hard as a turtle’s shell at first glance.

“…It doesn’t look like a zombie, does it?”

“No. It looks even more hideous.”

Min-cheol’s face contorted.

Additionally, two peculiar points were noticeable.

The part where the head should be attached was empty. And its lower abdomen was split open vertically.

As everyone was closely observing this clearly unusual appearance, suddenly a notification message revealed its identity.

[Warning! Warning!]

[Elite Monster: ‘Collector’ has appeared]

[Area of appearance: 100km²]

▷Elite Monsters are powerful beings.

▷Everyone must cooperate to subjugate it.

“Collector…?”

What exactly is it collecting?

Ha-eun approached the window.

To examine the Collector more closely.

But at that moment, Min-cheol suddenly grabbed Ha-eun’s hand. Then he tripped her, making her fall forward.

“Stay down like this for a while.”

“Huh? Why suddenly…”

“It seems to be looking for survivors. If we’re discovered, it won’t end at just being troublesome.”

True to his words, the Collector wandered around the station area, turning its body this way and that as if searching for something.

Eventually, it pressed its body close to the ground, shuddered, then suddenly stood up.

Creak! Creak!

Its arms and legs bent grotesquely.

Unlike when it first appeared on two legs, it suddenly started moving on all fours.

Then it moved towards another stairway leading underground, close to the station exit. At this sight, everyone in the group widened their eyes.

“That direction is…”

The place where many survivors gathered to live.

It was where the underground shopping mall was located.

Bae Hyeon-seok, an organized crime member.

At forty-two years old, he was a criminal wanted for robbery and murder charges. Later, as the investigation net tightened and he was on the verge of being caught, one day.

The world changed.

The appearance of zombies like something out of a movie. And the survivors were given jobs and skills. Hyeon-seok was no exception.

“Status.”

[Name]: Bae Hyeon-seok

[Job]: Poison Master

[Grade]: 2-Star Rank

Hyeon-seok, who had obtained the job of Poison Master.

He had escaped the zombies and gone down to the underground shopping mall, using the fire shutters to secure a safe zone.

That’s how life underground began.

‘The Poison Master’s skills are largely twofold.’

One was a skill to create poison that worked on both humans and zombies. Targets poisoned by the Poison Master’s toxin suffer various penalties and pain.

This varies depending on the amount of poison injected, and if an excessive amount enters the body, it can lead to death within hours.

‘And the other is…’

A skill to create a universal antidote.

It can neutralize not only the Poison Master’s own poisons but even the toxin that manifests when zombies bite humans.

In other words, with Hyeon-seok’s antidote, one wouldn’t turn into a zombie even if bitten. Thus, Hyeon-seok quickly became the de facto leader of the underground shopping mall.

And the domination began.

‘By poisoning everyone.’

All the survivors in the underground shopping mall were in a state of poisoning from Hyeon-seok’s toxins.

Hyeon-seok only provided small amounts of antidote to those who followed his orders, and through this process, he maintained an appropriate level of poisoning while controlling people.

“Heh, truly a convenient skill.”

A distorted smile formed on Hyeon-seok’s lips.

He used this skill to dominate numerous survivors and assigned them quotas.

Going outside to gather food.

And all the Coins obtained from killing zombies were also managed by Hyeon-seok. Thanks to this, Hyeon-seok was able to amass a considerable amount of Coins.

However, even Hyeon-seok had his concerns.

‘On the second day after the world changed.’

While roaming around with his subordinates to gather food, Hyeon-seok happened to encounter a high school girl.

The high school girl had the job of Healer and could use a skill that completely healed wounds and poison from zombie bites.

And this is where the problem arose.

‘The healing skill.’

At the time, one of his subordinates had been injured while fighting a zombie, and noticing this, the Healer willingly used her healing skill on the subordinate.

The subordinate who received the healing not only recovered from his wounds but was also completely freed from Hyeon-seok’s poison.

Of course, after returning to the underground shopping mall, he was poisoned again, but due to this incident, Hyeon-seok began to find the existence of Healers bothersome.

‘Only I should possess the antidote.’

To maintain this organization, if nothing else.

So he ordered all his subordinates to capture the Healer. There was a reason he said to bring her alive, not to kill her.

‘It would be convenient to have a Healer around.’

If they could heal the poison and wounds from zombie bites at any time, his subordinates would be more proactive in hunting zombies than before.

It’s beneficial to keep her alive.

Of course, since it mustn’t be known that she can neutralize the poison, measures would be needed to keep her confined in a sealed room and only use her healing skill.

‘If she’s uncooperative, I can just kill her.’

Even if she’s killed, it’s not a loss.

If the Healer disappears, there won’t be anyone to interfere with Hyeon-seok. As he was checking his future goals with a sinister smile, at that moment.

Along with a loud warning sound.

An unidentified message appeared.

What is this? Hyeon-seok frowned as he read the content in front of him again.

That’s when an additional message appeared.

“Collector?”

Elite monster, Collector.

It said it was a powerful enemy, so everyone should gather their strength to subjugate it. As Hyeon-seok furrowed his brow again at this sudden explanation, at that moment.

“B-Boss!”

Suddenly, an urgent voice was heard.

A burly man came running, out of breath. It was Choi Jeongtae, who had been beaten by Hyeon-seok earlier.

“Outside, something’s wrong outside!”

“You bastard, don’t make a fuss and speak properly. What’s wrong outside?”

“Th-the sky has turned red!”

“That’s natural since it’s evening.”

“No! It’s not at that level…! And, and there’s a strange thing wandering around. It looks different from zombies, with no head…”

Thud!

As Jeongtae was continuing his report with a pale face, his words suddenly cut off. And something rolled over and touched Hyeon-seok’s feet.

It was Jeongtae’s head.

“…Huh?”

At that moment, Hyeon-seok’s thoughts froze.

What just happened? How can a head be separated from the body like this?

As all sorts of questions surged, at that moment.

“Ugh, uwaaaaah!”

“Crazy, wh-what is that?!”

Suddenly, screams erupted.

What appeared next was a monster with a grotesque appearance. A monster with a 3-meter-tall body, long arms, and a split abdomen.

Creak! Creeeak!

It grabbed Jeongtae’s rolling head and stuck it onto the top part of its body.

Then, as the stiff facial muscles began to move wildly, a familiar voice flowed out.

“B-bo-bo-boss? Boss.”

Hyeon-seok’s face hardened like stone.

It was clearly Jeongtae’s voice, but he realized the source was the monster.

“What the… Don’t tell me Jeongtae…”

“Boss, what on earth is that monster?”

Meanwhile, his subordinates seemed unable to grasp the situation and wore bewildered expressions. Hyeon-seok, having regained his senses, shouted fiercely as if barking.

“You bastards! Don’t just stand there, attack!”

Hyeon-seok sensed it.

The intuition that if they didn’t stop this monster now, everyone underground would die. At this, the survivors began to use their skills one by one.

And Hyeon-seok also added his strength.

[Activating skill.]

[Inject: Potent Poison (Low-grade)]

[Target: Collector]

Hyeon-seok’s poison works on zombies too.

So he believed without a doubt that it would work on the monster named Collector.

[Potent Poison injection failed.]

“Wh-what?! Why!”

[The level gap with the target is too large.]

[Collector (Lv.20)]

Level 20. A figure more than twice Hyeon-seok’s level. And it wasn’t just Hyeon-seok whose skills didn’t work.

“Damn it! Why aren’t the skills working?”

“Die! Die, you monster… Ugh!”

The subordinates’ skills also failed to inflict any damage on the Collector. Meanwhile, the Collector, which had been crouching, rushed towards the nearest subordinate and blew off his head.

A head separated from the body with a single blow.

The Collector gathered up the head with its long arms. Then, as if storing it, it kept it in its split lower abdomen before speaking with a grinning face.

“Di-di-die. Die. Die.”

As if imitating the victim’s last words.

This scene was enough to break the fighting spirit of the survivors in the underground shopping mall.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Ru-run away! Aaaagh!”

“Uwaaaaaaah! Don’t come!”

The underground turned into pandemonium in an instant.

The survivors began to flee to the surface to escape the Collector’s attack.

Hyeon-seok was no exception.

He realized that staying underground in a situation where control was impossible would only lead to a dog’s death.

‘Damn, damn! What the hell is it?!’

Hyeon-seok headed to the surface while inwardly spewing a string of curses. As if fleeing from the sudden intrusion of the fear of death.

Meanwhile, at that time.

Han-seong, who had been watching this entire scene from the officetel, turned pale.

‘What’s happening right now?’

The notification that Phase 2 was starting.

Soon after, a warning message appeared saying that the elite monster Collector would appear.

Shortly after that.

The Collector invaded the underground shopping mall and began indiscriminately slaughtering people. Hyeon-seok counterattacked, but it seemed insufficient to stop it.

‘It’s on a completely different level from zombies.’

Unlike zombies whose only means of attack were scratching or biting, the Collector used tremendous strength to blow off heads and even used its legs like whips to cut bodies in half.

As it displayed various attack patterns and massacred the survivors, suddenly the head attached to the Collector’s body turned 180 degrees.

And its eyes met Han-seong’s.

“What…”

[The duration has ended.]

[Open Map: Precise Observation is terminating.]

But at that moment, the duration of Precise Observation ended. The scene underground was no longer shared, and only the familiar view of the room entered his sight.

Han-seong recalled what had just happened.

“…Did it just look at me?”

No way. That can’t be.

He had used Precise Observation dozens of times so far, and his observation had never been detected.

At that moment, screams were heard from beyond the window.

It was the survivors from the underground shopping mall who had fled to the surface. Not long after, the Collector chasing the survivors also appeared.

“Sa-sa-sa-save, save me. Save me. Ah! Kyaaaah! Ple-please, please, kyaaak!”

By now, over a dozen heads were stuck on top of the Collector’s body. Screams presumed to be from the victims continued from all the heads.

On the other hand, it didn’t seem particularly interested in the survivors scattering and fleeing.

“…Where?”

Instead, it looked around as if searching for something.

The dozen or so heads also rolled their eyeballs, thoroughly scanning the surroundings.

“Wh-wh-where, where, are, are you? Wh-where, are you, wa-watching from?”

Watching?

At the words that followed, Han-seong felt a chill run down his spine.

‘No way, really…’

Did it really see through my observation?

With an inexplicable ominous feeling, Han-seong tried to move away from the window right then.

But at that moment.

His eyes met the Collector’s once again.

More precisely, the dozen heads spotted Han-seong first. Han-seong quickly averted his gaze, but it was already too late.

“Found you.”

The corners of all the mouths on the heads stretched wide.

Soon, a cry of joy followed.

“Fo-found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you. Found you!”

The Collector, rushing madly.

Its destination was clearly Han-seong’s officetel, as anyone could see.