Chapter 15: Contact (1)

A few days after defeating the Collector.

Ha-eun’s group returned to their base at the shopping mall after finishing their zombie hunt as usual.

On their way, they encountered some survivors.

“Um, excuse me…”

“I’m sorry, but could you spare some food? My wife is starving…”

These were none other than survivors from the underground shopping arcade.

At first, they ignored or were wary of them.

It was a natural attitude. On the second day after the world changed strangely, the group had been attacked by survivors from the underground shopping arcade.

However, as days passed, the number of survivors lingering near the shopping mall increased. Seeing this scene, Tae-min muttered with narrowed eyes.

“It seems their organization has collapsed.”

“Hmm, it’s understandable since they were directly attacked by the Collector.”

As they said, the underground shopping arcade survivor group was the first to be attacked by the Collector. In the process, at least a dozen people died.

The man who was likely their leader might have also died in the fight. Of course, they couldn’t be sure until they confirmed it directly.

As time passed like this.

“Please help us!”

An old man who looked to be in his late 60s prostrated himself towards the shopping mall. The old man, whose body was covered in bruises, was carrying a young child on his back, and at a glance, the child’s condition looked quite serious.

“My only grandchild has been poisoned and is fighting for his life. If you help us, I will never forget this kindness…!”

The plea rang out like a sob.

This was clearly heard by Ha-eun’s group.

“Poisoned? What does that mean?”

“Did the Collector spray some kind of poison?”

“I don’t think so. A monster that can cut off people’s necks just by swinging its arms wouldn’t have sprayed poison just to kill a child.”

While Min-cheol and Tae-min were focusing their conversation on the poison, Ha-eun and Eun-ji checked the child’s condition and paced back and forth anxiously.

“Shouldn’t we treat him first?”

“That’s right. He looks in bad shape…”

The child was already unconscious.

Black spots had bloomed all over his body. It seemed the old man wasn’t lying when he said the child was fighting for his life.

Tae-min, also recognizing the seriousness of the situation, shouted towards the old man.

“Bring the child to the entrance. But only you and your grandchild can come!”

There were several survivors from the underground shopping arcade near the shopping mall besides the old man and the child.

Since they couldn’t rule out the possibility that this situation itself might be a trap, Tae-min showed a cautious attitude.

The old man, fearing Tae-min might change his mind, rushed to the entrance carrying the child, and soon Eun-ji, facing the child, immediately activated her healing skill.

Fwoosh!

As dazzling light enveloped the child’s body, the black spots gradually disappeared. Also, his irregular breathing slowly became more stable.

Some time later.

The child’s condition had noticeably improved, and only then did the old man sit down in relief.

“Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.”

The old man, shedding tears, kept bowing his head, and Ha-eun and Eun-ji helped him up. At this, Tae-min spoke to him with a rather serious face.

“Can we hear the details?”

About what happened in the underground shopping arcade.

And who the leader was who controlled that group. At Tae-min’s request, the old man nodded and spilled everything.

“What? A man with the job of Poison Master forcibly poisoned the survivors?”

“That’s right. A guy named Bae Hyeon-seok, he forcibly injected poison into everyone, including me and my grandson…”

The leader of the underground shopping arcade, Bae Hyeon-seok.

Estimated to be around forty years old, with the job of Poison Master. His skills were to create poison that worked on both humans and zombies, and to create the corresponding antidote.

Hyeon-seok had injected poison into the survivors to make them work, and if they didn’t comply, he would inflict ruthless violence and not give them the antidote.

“Th-then the people who rebelled…”

“…They all died. I’ve personally seen at least ten people die.”

Min-cheol’s face crumpled in anger.

“What kind of trash…”

“Instead of helping fellow survivors, he treated them like slaves. He’s truly a bad person.”

Ha-eun’s expression also hardened.

After the old man’s wounds and poison were completely healed, Eun-ji looked around at everyone and asked.

“So, what do we do now?”

Now that they knew the situation in the underground shopping arcade, they couldn’t just ignore it. As Tae-min was lost in thought, Min-cheol and Ha-eun spoke up.

“We should help them.”

“Of course we should help.”

The answers came out simultaneously without anyone going first. Tae-min asked them for their reasons, and Min-cheol answered first.

“If we heal the poisoned survivors, the underground shopping arcade group will collapse on its own. They’ll lose the power to maintain their organization.”

“Hmm, that’s certainly…”

It was a reasonable inference.

If they ignored or disregarded the survivors, they would have no choice but to go back to Bae Hyeon-seok to survive.

Then nothing would change, and they would remain a group to be wary of as before. As Tae-min nodded, this time Ha-eun spoke up.

“It’s also for unni’s growth.”

“Huh? My, my growth?”

“Yes, didn’t you say that Healers accumulate rank experience by healing wounds? If we heal all the survivors, it will surely help.”

As she said, unlike the rest of the group, Eun-ji was still stuck at 1-star rank. At this rate, they would inevitably be delayed in heading to Kangil Girls’ High School.

Tae-min nodded at their opinions.

“Alright. But let’s limit using the healing skill to survivors who voluntarily come to us, like that elderly gentleman.”

“Agreed. We don’t need to take unnecessary risks by actively seeking them out.”

“I agree too.”

“Me, me too!”

The matter was decided unanimously.

Tae-min conveyed this news to the survivors wandering nearby. After some time passed, survivors began to gather one by one.

Towards the shopping mall where Ha-eun’s group was.

That evening.

Han-seong, who had just finished hunting, focused on meditation. Even when he heard the notification that his mana had fully recovered, he ignored it and continued meditating.

It was a long time later when Han-seong finished meditating. It was when his stomach started making noises, demanding food.

“Phew.”

Feeling hungry, Han-seong exhaled and woke from his meditation. Then a small system notification appeared before his eyes.

[You have ended meditation.]

[There has been a change in your rank experience.]

An increase of almost 10 percent.

Han-seong wore a faint smile.

“Good. At this rate…”

He could reach the 3rd tier soon.

The reason he could gather rank experience so quickly in such a short time was thanks to a piece of equipment he had purchased from the auction house a few days ago.

[Name]: Monk’s Necklace

[Effect]: When meditating with mana at maximum capacity, rank experience increases significantly. However, the effect is halved from 3rd tier and above.

[Job Restriction]: Mage, Sorcerer

Originally, Han-seong only gained 0.1% rank experience per 10 minutes of meditation.

On the other hand, when meditating while wearing the necklace, the rank experience gain reached 0.5% per 10 minutes, five times the original acquisition amount.

‘It was worth spending 1,000 Coins.’

Although he paid quite a high price, it’s good that he can gather experience so quickly.

If there’s a downside, it’s that it’s essentially meaningless to use from the 4th tier onwards.

Still, Han-seong was satisfied.

‘I can buy different equipment then.’

Equipment with special powers and abilities.

After examining the auction house for several days, he learned that such equipment could only be obtained as rare loot from elite monsters.

So far, the highest grade equipment released in the auction house was three stars. The same grade as the bracelet Han-seong was wearing.

Grumble!

The sound from his stomach at that moment.

Finishing his contemplation, Han-seong chuckled.

“I guess I’ll eat something first.”

Come to think of it, he had taken out some canned food from his inventory yesterday. Han-seong emptied the can of corn on the desk.

After satisfying his hunger to some extent.

Next, he immediately unfolded the map.

“Open Map.”

There had been many changes on the map.

First, the red dots had noticeably disappeared.

Especially within a 500-meter radius centered on the officetel where Han-seong was staying, groups of zombies could no longer be found.

While the disappearance of threats was certainly a good thing, Han-seong’s expression wasn’t particularly bright.

‘The hunting efficiency isn’t good.’

Han-seong had been continuing his hunts targeting groups of zombies. That’s how he was able to gather Coins faster than anyone else in a short time.

However, after repeating this hunting routine for over two weeks, approaching a month, the zombies nearby were almost completely wiped out.

‘It’s not that there are no zombies at all, but…’

It’s just that the groups of zombies have been depleted, but groups of less than ten zombies can still be found quite often.

However, using Call Lightning or Tinder against these is inefficient. Pondering, Han-seong looked towards the outskirts of the map.

“That place is just ripe for the picking.”

A residential area about 1.5km away from the officetel where Han-seong was. That place was currently teeming with hundreds of zombies.

Also, going south about the same distance, there was a quite famous downtown area. That area too was full of hundreds of zombie groups.

‘But the problem is…’

His skills don’t reach.

More precisely, the range was insufficient.

The skills Han-seong had acquired so far were only those with low mana consumption or short cooldown times. He hadn’t acquired any with range in mind.

‘Even Call Lightning, which has the longest range among my skills, is limited to 1km.’

Even this distance had increased due to the effect of the skill level rising. At this, Han-seong looked at the outskirts like a pie in the sky.

Then he slapped his cheeks hard.

“No, let’s focus on ranking up for now.”

Efficient hunting is important, but what’s crucial right now is ranking up. He needs to reach the 3rd tier to learn the newly acquired skillbook, Replica.

Also, when he reaches the 3rd tier, the Open Map will expand, and the effective range of skills will increase.

Then the problem will be somewhat resolved.

‘And…’

There’s something he needs to do first when the map expands. Checking his original home. More precisely, confirming if his family is safe.

Han-seong’s family home is about 3.3km away in a straight line from this officetel.

Han-seong clasped his hands together, looking at the unexplored area of the Open Map covered in darkness.

“Please, let everyone be safe…”

After muttering this with a desperate heart.

Han-seong focused his mind and entered meditation. He had to reach the 3rd tier as soon as possible to solve all problems.

And so time continued to flow.

Meanwhile, at that time.

On a night when darkness had heavily settled.

A bonfire was lit inside an abandoned building.

Soon after, a large pot was placed over the bonfire, and when the water boiled, the men around poured in about a dozen packets of ramen.

Bubble bubble!

An appetizing smell spread around. The men sat around the bonfire, swallowing their saliva, waiting for the meal to be ready.

In contrast to them, there was someone intensely focused on something in a corner. A man with a fierce expression. It was Bae Hyeon-seok.

“Hmm.”

After browsing the auction house for a while.

Hyeon-seok learned one useful piece of information based on the content of the comments in the auction house.

“The Mage of Fire Thunder…”

Hyeon-seok’s gaze turned eastward.

A few days ago, the survivors of the underground shopping arcade who had been attacked by the Collector scattered to survive, and this was the same for Hyeon-seok.

Rather than trying to rebuild the collapsed organization, he chose to move to a different area altogether. To avoid encountering elite monsters.

But recently, he heard an intriguing rumor.

“The Mage of Fire Thunder single-handedly defeated the elite monster Collector!”

Information obtained from comments posted in the auction house.

There were also quite a few eyewitness accounts of actually seeing lightning strike the Collector.

Through this, Hyeon-seok gathered additional information and soon reached one conclusion.

‘A high-level survivor called the Mage of Fire Thunder is residing in a building near the underground shopping arcade.’

This was quite meaningful information.

At least for Hyeon-seok. He had the power and ability to subjugate others.

‘If he could practically defeat that monster alone, it means he’s at least level 20.’

Maybe even a bit higher than that.

He didn’t know how he could level up so quickly, but that wasn’t the important thing.

‘First, I need to level up too.’

He needs to narrow the level gap to less than 10 levels for his skills to work on the Mage.

If he could find the Mage hiding somewhere in the building and inject poison? It would be like getting his hands on a monster comparable to an elite monster.

‘Then I could have anything I want.’

Food, women, even power, everything.

A sinister smile formed on Hyeon-seok’s lips. Just then, he heard the survivors near the bonfire calling him.

“Hey, you! Bae!”

“The ramen’s ready, come eat with us!”

Hyeon-seok stood up.

Then, with a somewhat artificial, friendly smile, he answered.

“Yes, yes! I’m coming now!”

[Activating skill.]

[Inject: Potent Poison (Low-grade)]

While secretly activating his skill behind his back.

And that night, Hyeon-seok’s new organization, succeeding the underground shopping arcade, was born.