Chapter 19: Contact (5)

The appearance of the elite monster, the Collector.

Ha-eun’s face turned pale at the sight of the massive monster blocking her path. Soon, a flood of questions followed one after another.

‘Why? How…?’

Why is the Collector here?

Didn’t we defeat it last time?

A feeling of bewilderment froze her thoughts. Along with it, her instincts fiercely warned her.

‘I need to run away!’

Ha-eun possessed the Quick Step skill.

She needed to activate it and get away from this place as quickly as possible. Her mind made that judgment, but strangely, her legs wouldn’t move.

It must be because her body was frozen in fear.

Creeeeak!

At that moment, the Collector’s lower abdomen opened wide.

It rummaged inside with its whip-like hands and quickly pulled something out.

However, she couldn’t identify what it was.

Unable to overcome her intensifying fear, she had tightly shut her eyes before seeing it. But then, a little while later.

Tap tap!

Something tapped her forehead.

A slimy sensation. Not a particularly pleasant feeling.

Ha-eun cautiously opened her eyes, and what entered her view was the Collector holding a sketchbook.

“…Huh?”

What kind of situation is this now?

As she stopped thinking due to this unexpected sight, she noticed a sentence written on the sketchbook.

「Hello. I’m the Mage.」

Hmm? The Mage?

Ha-eun looked at the officetel with surprised eyes and then back up at the Collector. Meanwhile, the Collector turned to the next page of the sketchbook.

「This is something I control like a subordinate. I apologize if I startled you.」

It seems to be similar to how Tae-min controls zombies. Ha-eun quickly understood the situation and nodded.

「First, I’ve checked the mana potions you brought. They’re not bad, but they’re not particularly necessary for me.」

It was the moment Tae-min’s prediction missed the mark.

He had thought the Mage would surely be short on mana from using skills excessively. Ha-eun also looked a bit surprised at this unexpected response.

「However, since I’ve already used the potions, I judged it would be difficult to return them, so I’ve prepared appropriate compensation.」

The Collector handed over two things.

A few cans of food and a skillbook.

The skill name was Turn Undead. It was written that it was an attack skill for the Healer job.

‘Eun-ji will be happy about this.’

Healers had no attack skills at all.

So Eun-ji had always wanted to acquire an attack skill, but who would have thought such an opportunity would come?

Ha-eun quickly bowed her head.

“Thank you. I’ll deliver it well.”

Now that she had received compensation, the business was finished, right?

Ha-eun stood up, gripping her trembling legs. She was about to use the Quick Step skill to return to where her group was waiting.

However, the Collector did not move aside.

「I have something I want to ask.」

“M-me?”

「You mentioned Coins as compensation earlier, I’d like to know how to hand over Coins to others.」

Ah, come to think of it, the Mage has been staying in the officetel since the Upheaval, so he probably never had a chance to meet others.

Then it makes sense that he wouldn’t know.

Understanding the question, Ha-eun spread her palm wide. Then she said to the Collector:

“You just need to press your palms together.”

At those words, the Collector immediately spread its palm and held it out to Ha-eun. Of course, nothing happened, and Ha-eun smiled awkwardly.

She explained that it had to be between survivors, and additionally told him all about what kind of message appears.

After finishing her detailed explanation.

“If you’re done with questions, I’ll be…”

Ha-eun moved her feet again.

Even though it was a subordinate controlled by the Mage, facing the Collector was putting too much strain on her heart.

So she tried to bypass the Collector blocking the way and head towards the shopping mall. But the Collector blocked her path once again.

“D-do you have any more business…?”

「I have something to give you.」

“What? To me?”

Ha-eun’s eyes widened a little.

The Collector took out a skillbook from its lower abdomen and handed it to her. Ha-eun, who received it reflexively, immediately examined the skillbook.

“Shadow Doppelganger?”

An Assassin-exclusive skillbook.

It was a skill that created a clone, and just looking at the effect, it seemed quite good. After confirming this fact, Ha-eun asked with a surprised face:

“Why are you giving this to me…?”

It probably wasn’t compensation for the mana recovery potions. If it were, he would have given it along with the Turn Undead skillbook.

Then the answer appeared before her eyes.

「It’s a token of gratitude for telling me about the Collector’s weakness. It was very helpful.」

Now she understood.

In other words, this skillbook was purely out of the Mage’s goodwill. Ha-eun carefully hugged the skillbook and looked up at the Collector, asking:

“Is it really okay for me to take this? You could probably get quite a bit if you put it up for auction…”

「It’s fine. Please accept it.」

Did he even anticipate her refusal?

Seeing the next page’s message, Ha-eun couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Soon after, she smiled brightly, not hiding her joy.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it. Thank you.”

Ha-eun bowed her head politely.

Was all business finished now? The Collector put the sketchbook back into its lower abdomen, then slightly moved aside. As if saying she could go back now.

Ha-eun also bowed once towards the officetel. Then, hugging the compensation to her chest, she returned to where her group was waiting.

“Ha-eun!”

As she arrived at the entrance of the shopping mall.

Eun-ji came running first. She examined Ha-eun’s body with a face that had turned completely white.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Why did that monster appear again?”

Min-cheol followed, frowning.

An expression full of wariness. Ha-eun couldn’t help but laugh. Because she had the exact same reaction as Min-cheol at first.

“It’s the Mage.”

“…What?”

“It’s a subordinate controlled by the Mage.”

“The, the Collector became a subordinate?!”

Eun-ji was startled.

Ha-eun nodded with a smiling face.

“I’ll tell you everything inside.”

What had just happened.

And there was also something to give to Eun-ji. Ha-eun entered the shopping mall with her group.

The Alchemist, Lee Ji-hye.

At twenty years old, she had just started her college life as a freshman. And currently, she was also in a mentally cornered state.

The world that suddenly changed with the Upheaval.

The unexpected job of Alchemist that was given to her.

Unfamiliar place. Unfamiliar situation. Unfamiliar events were enough to make her tense.

Ji-hye, who had been chased by zombies, was swept along with a group of survivors and took shelter in the underground shopping mall, fortunately managing to save her life from the zombie attacks.

But the underground shopping mall was not a safe zone.

Because there was an evil person waiting there who would not hesitate to use any means for his own purposes.

『Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok』

The one who had poisoned the survivors in the underground shopping mall and kept them under his control. A man who demanded daily quotas of food and exercised violence.

Ji-hye was no exception.

She too was exposed to ruthless violence if she couldn’t meet the quota, and thus began a hellish, terrible life.

But one day, an incident occurred.

『Elite Monster, Collector』

This monster, with an appearance completely different from zombies, suddenly attacked the underground shopping mall and massacred over ten survivors in an instant.

Those who barely escaped with their lives fled in panic. Ji-hye was one of them.

At that time, the Collector also came up to the surface.

At first, she thought it had come out chasing after the people who had fled. But the Collector went straight to the nearby officetel, and soon lightning struck.

And then flames that spread. At the time, she couldn’t understand the situation, but later realized it was the work of the being known as the Mage.

‘Thanks to that, I survived.’

But it was too early to feel relieved.

After all, Hyeon-seok’s poison was still flowing through Ji-hye’s body. As she was quietly waiting for the day of her death, someone appeared who said they could neutralize the poison.

Healer Kang Eun-ji.

Thanks to her skill, Ji-hye, who had the poison neutralized, joined a new survivor group. Soon after, she was given a task.

「From today, Ji-hye, you’ll be making potions here. Of course, we’ll provide all the ingredients and Coins.」

Necromancer Kim Tae-min.

The leader who led the survivor group.

He was a year younger than Ji-hye, but had a much more mature and decisive personality.

As soon as he understood Ji-hye’s skills, he let her use the top floor of the shopping mall alone. Along with the request to focus on potion crafting.

「If the deal with the Mage goes well, we’ll need a larger quantity of potions, so please continue steady potion production for the time being.」

Potion Crafting skill.

It can create potions that recover energy needed for skill activation, and consumes 10 concentration along with various ingredients.

There was something she realized here, which was that the Alchemist’s concentration is not recovered through energy recovery potions.

‘Concentration only recovers through rest or sleep.’

What if you keep making potions without recovering? Serious side effects occur.

[Current Concentration: 50/100]

-As concentration decreases, the probability of headaches and dizziness increases. Recover concentration through sufficient rest and sleep.

She first became aware of this after making the fifth potion, when such a message appeared along with a sudden intense headache.

To the point of almost collapsing on the spot.

With this, Ji-hye realized. The limit of potions that could be made at once was five.

After that, she even started getting nosebleeds out of nowhere, so it was too much to force herself to continue working.

‘So I told him…’

She informed Tae-min of this fact.

At first, she thought he would tell her to work while taking rest periods. But the response that came back was a little different from what Ji-hye had expected.

「It’s fine. We have a Healer on our side. Please craft with peace of mind.」

Tae-min called Eun-ji and had her use the healing skill on Ji-hye. As she was enveloped in a dazzling light, the headache disappeared and the nosebleed also stopped.

But this phenomenon was temporary.

Because when she crafted the eighth potion, the headache returned. A much stronger headache than before. This time, along with the nosebleed, nausea also hit her.

‘…It was terrible.’

Unable to endure this, Ji-hye once again poured out her situation to Tae-min. She said that if she could rest just a little, her concentration would recover, so please give her some rest time.

Then Tae-min said this:

「You’re not the only one having a hard time.」

His expression had turned much colder than before.

The corners of his mouth, which always smiled, were now rigidly fixed, and his voice had also grown chilly.

「I, and the others, are risking our lives to fight. Compared to that, your treatment is already quite good. Don’t you think it’s too much to ask for more convenience here?」

Tae-min spoke sharply.

Ji-hye was momentarily frozen and couldn’t say anything. Then Tae-min, still with a coldly fixed face, pointed to the first floor of the shopping mall.

「If potion crafting is really too hard, please tell me. I’ll put you in the collection squad.」

Attack squad, and collection squad.

The attack squad was, as the name suggests, in charge of direct combat with zombies. The collection squad’s role was to avoid zombies and collect food or items that would be helpful for survival.

Meanwhile, Ji-hye was at a loss for words.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to work, she was just asking for time to rest because it was taking a toll on her body, but to receive such a response made her flustered.

Tae-min continued speaking:

「Moreover, energy recovery potions, which aren’t even healing potions, are not very useful. Even if we register them on the auction house, they probably won’t sell.」

Unless you spam skills like the Mage of Fire Thunder, there’s no reason to use such potions. Tae-min disparaged Ji-hye’s potions like this.

「It’s only because it’s me that you’re being treated this well. Think back to how you were treated in the underground shopping mall. Then you’ll find the answer.」

The moment the underground shopping mall was mentioned, Ji-hye was considerably shaken. Soon after, she realized. If she went against Tae-min’s instructions or rebelled here, she might be kicked out of this group.

Some time after that.

Ji-hye eventually said she would focus on potion production again. Only then did Tae-min smile brightly.

「You’ve thought well. For everyone’s sake, please work hard on production.」

The conversation with Tae-min ended like that.

And Ji-hye, who had made eye contact with Tae-min for the last time then, was suddenly engulfed by this thought.

‘His eyes are similar to that man’s.’

Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok. Necromancer Kim Tae-min.

Both men had similar looks in their eyes. How should I put it? A considerable lust for power? Or maybe ambition could be felt?

‘I can’t explain it clearly, but…’

From her perspective, Tae-min didn’t seem much different from Hyeon-seok. Just without the violence, he seemed to be trying to dominate the survivors in the same way.

Anyway, Ji-hye focused on potion production without rest. When making the ninth potion, she felt a headache like being hit on the head with a hammer, and she also vomited several times.

Finally, when making the tenth potion.

[Your level has increased.]

[Current Concentration: 0]

[All active skills are canceled.]

[A penalty is activated.]

The penalty of concentration depletion came.

[Penalty: Concentration Depletion]

[You enter a state where concentration cannot be recovered by any means except sleep.]

[The body enters a state of pseudo-death.]

[Forced sleep begins.]

And so Ji-hye lost consciousness.

She woke up again after several hours had passed.

The potions she had made were gone. Tae-min had probably come up and taken them.

“Status.”

[Name]: Lee Ji-hye

[Grade]: 1-Star Rank

With the level increase, her concentration stat had also increased from before. Now she wouldn’t experience the same pain just from making ten bottles.

But Ji-hye let out a bitter laugh.

‘If the deal with the Mage goes through, I’ll have to make many more potions than before.’

He had actually said something similar.

Thinking that she might experience such pain again made her chest feel tight. Wanting some fresh air, Ji-hye headed to the rooftop of the shopping mall.

Clank! Creeeeak!

As the door opened, a gust of wind hit her.

Seeing the open view made her feel a little better. Ji-hye took a deep breath and then exhaled forcefully.

“Haaa.”

She thought sighing deeply might make the stuffy feeling go away, but it seems that was a misconception.

Ji-hye rested her arms on the rooftop railing and looked down with a blank face. Then suddenly, her life before the Upheaval came to mind.

‘…I wonder if my parents are safe?’

In the process of fleeing from zombies, Ji-hye had lost her smartphone. So she didn’t know about her parents’ well-being.

She also had no news about the friends she was supposed to meet in this area on the day of the Upheaval.

A completely isolated situation.

The fact that there was no one to lean on emotionally in this hell-like world was enough to gradually wear down her mental state.

‘Maybe I should just…’

Fall and die?

Then I wouldn’t have to feel like this anymore.

Ji-hye, who had been in a daze, stepped over the railing to the edge of the building. One step forward and empty air would greet her.

‘In the past, I’m sure my legs would have trembled just standing in front of the railing.’

But now she feels nothing.

To the point where she could jump off without hesitation.

At that moment, she spotted Ha-eun, Eun-ji, and Min-cheol walking towards the shopping mall. Judging by their bright expressions, it seems the deal with the Mage went well.

‘The Mage.’

The strong one who defeated the Collector and the person responsible for sweeping away all the zombies in this area.

Commonly known as the Mage of Fire Thunder.

As she thought about him, a sudden idea came to mind. Come to think of it, isn’t it the Mage who’s protecting the survivors, not Tae-min?

‘What if I go and negotiate directly?’

If I say I’ll supply potions without going through Tae-min, how would the Mage react? Would he accept the negotiation, thinking the potions are valuable?

‘No, that’s not likely.’

Ji-hye let out a hollow laugh.

The Mage possesses the most powerful strength among all the survivors in this area.

He probably wouldn’t even accept negotiations in the first place.

After all, deals and negotiations are established when both parties are on equal terms.

‘The Mage is probably the same.’

The same kind as Hyeon-seok or Tae-min.

Someone who tries to dominate people using violence, gaslighting, or force.

‘I can’t even go outside in the first place.’

The place where Ji-hye stays is the top floor of the shopping mall.

She can’t go down. Because the zombies controlled by Tae-min have completely taken over the escalators, emergency exits, and stairs.

A perfect imprisonment.

Ji-hye, with a bitter smile, looked down from the rooftop again. Still contemplating whether to jump or not.

But then.

“Huh?”

The officetel opposite the shopping mall.

Something burst out from the back door of the building where the Mage was said to stay. A being sprinting at high speed. Ji-hye’s eyes widened.

“Co-Collector?!”

A body approaching 3 meters in height.

The unique, grotesque quadrupedal gait. No matter how you look at it, it was the Collector. The memory of briefly encountering it in the underground shopping mall came back, and her body reflexively trembled.

“Wh-why is that monster here…?”

Didn’t they say the Mage had defeated it?

Ji-hye’s pupils shook violently like a candle in the wind. Meanwhile, witnessing the subsequent scene, she was startled out of her wits.

She saw the Collector, having arrived at the shopping mall building, suddenly start climbing up the outer wall.

Her mind turning pale.

As she stood frozen, unable to think or act, in that moment. The Collector, which had climbed up in an instant, stretched out its whip-like arm and snatched Ji-hye.

They say you can’t even speak when you’re too surprised, right?

That was exactly Ji-hye’s situation.

“Ah, uh…”

After arriving at the center of the rooftop with the Collector.

Ji-hye felt all strength leave her body. Then she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, and looked at the approaching Collector with trembling eyes.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die!

The fear of death that bloomed inside turned into dew and gathered at the corners of her eyes.

But the Collector showed no signs of attacking Ji-hye. Instead, it widely opened its lower abdomen and took out an unexpected object from inside.

It was a sketchbook.

“…Huh?”

Faced with this completely unexpected object, Ji-hye stared at it with a blank expression.

Meanwhile, the Collector turned the pages of the sketchbook one by one with its large hand. Soon, as if finding the desired section, it opened that page to Ji-hye.

「Alchemist. Lee Ji-hye. Is that correct?」

A short sentence written in Korean.

Unable to grasp the situation, Ji-hye stared at it blankly, and the Collector took another step closer to her, holding out the sketchbook.

So she hurriedly nodded.

“Yes? Th-that’s right. But… Kyaah!”

Ji-hye screamed.

Because the Collector suddenly hugged her waist. Then its lower abdomen opened wide once again, and it abruptly swallowed her.

Gulp!

Her vision turned dark.

Her body wouldn’t move as she wanted.

Soon, along with the sensation of the world turning upside down, nausea began to hit her, and Ji-hye, her reason paralyzed by fear, finally lost consciousness.