Chapter 28: Unexpected Windfall (3)

Three men armed with pistols and bulletproof vests.

Wearing police uniforms, they aimed their guns at the vehicle and shouted threateningly:

“Turn off the engine and wait in the car!”

“Don’t make any sudden moves.”

Their demeanor suggested they would pull the trigger at the slightest suspicious movement. Assistant Manager Kim swallowed hard, turned off the engine, and raised his hands.

Young-cheol and the other employees did the same.

Han-seong watched this scene with interest.

‘They seem to have a system in place.’

There were four police officers at the main gate.

Three came out for inspection, while the fourth ran inside the school grounds. Probably to report the situation or request backup.

‘I suppose that’s because there are three hundred of them?’

Han-seong observed the unfolding scene while keeping the Collector’s body crouched as low as possible. At that moment, the police officers continued their questioning.

“State your name, level, and job.”

“Also tell us where you came from, and be truthful.”

Young-cheol was the one who answered the questions.

He leaned his head out the window and replied as politely as possible.

“My name is Park Young-cheol. I’m a level 8 Axe Warrior, and we’ve been staying at Yeoksam Station until now. We came here through Jamsil Bridge.”

“What? You passed through Jamsil Station?”

“So you’re saying you crossed Jamsil Bridge?”

“That’s correct.”

Young-cheol nodded.

Suspicion bloomed in the police officers’ eyes.

“There must have been monsters swarming everywhere, how did you…”

“The Mage helped us.”

“Mage…?”

“Ah! Could you be talking about the Mage of Fire Thunder? The one who posted information about the Vampire Tree on the Information Strategy Board?”

“Yes, that’s probably right.”

Young-cheol answered as if he had been waiting for this.

The police officers looked back and forth between the Collector and the truck with surprised faces. Then, with a look of disbelief, they asked another question.

“Is the Mage in the car by any chance?”

“No, he’s not. Instead…”

“Instead?”

“We came with a monster that the Mage controls as his subordinate. Thanks to that, we were able to safely cross Jamsil Bridge.”

“…A monster controlled by the Mage?”

Young-cheol looked towards the truck bed.

Oh, is it about time to come out now?

Han-seong stood up the Collector’s body that had been crouching in the truck bed. Then he waved its hand towards the police officers to ease the tension, but…

“Eek! M-monster!”

“There’s a monster! In the truck…!”

Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect.

The police officers who made eye contact with the Collector screamed as if they had seen a ghost.

The scene instantly fell into chaos.

The police officers aimed their guns at the Collector instead of the truck. In this tense situation, Young-cheol tried to mediate.

“No, it’s not! This monster is a minion controlled by the Mage. It’s on our side!”

Despite his desperate plea, the gun barrels showed no signs of lowering. As the police officers’ wariness reached its peak and the situation continued to deteriorate, something unexpected was observed on the map.

‘Huh? That’s…’

Suddenly appearing red dots.

Just like when crossing Jamsil Bridge earlier, dozens of dots were detected near the Han River. They were probably the Vampire Tree’s minions that had been at the bottom of the river.

The creatures, having quickly formed ranks, immediately approached Kangil Girls’ High School. Seeing this, Han-seong smiled slightly.

‘Well, this works out nicely.’

It’s an opportunity to prove that the Collector is an ally.

Han-seong moved the Collector towards the direction from which the vine zombies were approaching. The police officers flinched in surprise and gripped their pistols tightly.

“Th-the monster is moving!”

“This bastard! Finally showing its true colors…”

Just as they were about to pull the triggers, another monster appeared.

“Graa, ah, ahhh!”

Vine zombies charged in, screaming bizarrely with intermittent voices.

They rushed towards the main gate, which had been slightly opened for inspection. The police officers who belatedly noticed this turned pale.

“Damn it, of all times…!”

“Officer Han! Request backup! Hurry!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The Collector and the vine zombies.

Between the two monsters, the police officers seemed to judge the vine zombies as more dangerous.

The evidence was that their gun barrels were now pointed at them.

But there was something that moved even faster – the Collector controlled by Han-seong.

Kwagagaga! Eujik!

The Collector stretched out its arm and smashed a vine zombie’s head into the ground. With its powerful strength, the head instantly exploded.

Then the Collector started literally grinding the vine zombies by rotating its arm.

“Uh, uhh?”

The police officers wore bewildered expressions at this.

Even Officer Han, who had turned to request backup, stood dumbfounded watching this scene.

“…What am I seeing right now?”

“A monster attacking other monsters?”

“W-why…”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

Young-cheol grinned.

“They’re on our side.”

As if to prove his words, the Collector continued to relentlessly swing its arms, turning the vine zombies into pulp.

After dealing with about half of the zombies,

Suddenly, the vine zombies threw themselves at the Collector’s arms and clung to them. Then they immediately started gnawing at the arms with their yellow teeth.

Following this, a warning message appeared.

[Warning: You have been poisoned.]

[Blood Poison (Lowest Grade)]

[Status Effect: Bleeding occurs.]

[Health is temporarily reduced.]

‘What? Poison?’

He didn’t expect there to be poison.

Han-seong was a bit surprised. However, he didn’t show any further reaction. After all, the Collector had a skill to counter poison.

[Activating Replica-Collector’s Skill]

[Skill: Deadly Poison Absorption]

A skill acquired thanks to fusing Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok’s heart. The bitten area, which had turned dark purple, instantly regained its original color.

[Absorbing Blood Poison (Lowest Grade)]

[Current Absorption Rate: 2.5%]

[Bleeding effect disappears.]

From the moment the poison became ineffective, the vine zombies were just zombies with slightly higher levels. The Collector began a fierce massacre.

Soon after, the Collector tore apart the last remaining vine zombie. As the battle ended, Young-cheol bowed his head respectfully as always.

“Thank you, Mage-nim.”

The Collector waved its hand lightly.

As if to say it was no big deal.

The police officers, who had been watching this scene blankly, soon seemed to come to their senses and approached Young-cheol.

“Would you mind giving us a detailed explanation?”

“Of course. Well…”

Young-cheol recounted with a smile the day he first met the Collector. He told them everything, including the various ways Han-seong had helped them afterwards.

The police officers looked back and forth between the Collector and Young-cheol with half-doubting faces. After the entire story was finished, they muttered as if amazed.

“Hmm, I see.”

“To think such things happened.”

Their eyes now showed more curiosity than wariness.

Indeed, showing through actions was more effective than words. To avoid causing further alarm, Han-seong kept the Collector at a distance.

Some time later.

The three police officers conversed in low voices. The conversation didn’t last long, and soon Officer Han stood up.

“Then I’ll be back.”

As Officer Han headed inside Kangil Girls’ High School,

The remaining two police officers spoke while watching his retreating figure.

“He’s gone to report what we’ve heard so far, so wait here for a moment.”

“It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Perhaps because they complied with the instructions?

Or was it because the Collector had attacked the vine zombies, proving it was an ally? The police officers seemed much less wary than before.

“By the way, how did you know to come here?”

“The Mage told us.”

“…The Mage again?”

“I wonder what kind of skill he has to know the situation here so clearly.”

“Haha, well, even I don’t really…”

Young-cheol laughed awkwardly.

Various conversations continued after that.

Most of the questions were about the situation beyond Jamsil Bridge, in Gangnam. Young-cheol answered honestly, and the police officers listened with interest.

How much time had passed like that?

“Inspector Oh!”

A familiar voice was heard from afar.

It was Officer Han, who had left earlier.

“We’ve been granted permission to enter!”

“Good. Everyone get out of the car.”

“We’ll conduct a body search before entering.”

At those words, Young-cheol obediently followed the instructions.

The police officers conducted body searches on the group, then suddenly blocked the Collector’s path. With slightly tense faces, they addressed it.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you in.”

“Even if it can be controlled, that appearance could cause fear in other survivors.”

“We ask for your understanding.”

The police officers bowed their heads.

It was an understandable decision.

He hadn’t planned on entering anyway.

Han-seong moved the Collector’s body up and down, then made it step back. Then he lightly waved at Young-cheol’s group.

“Ah, Mage-nim.”

Did they realize it was time to part?

Young-cheol and the employees, without anyone taking the lead, bowed their heads towards the Collector.

“We’re deeply grateful for everything.”

“Hope to see you again!”

“We’ll definitely repay this debt!”

Young-cheol’s group disappeared into Kangil Girls’ High School, guided by Officer Han. The Collector watched their retreating figures until the end before turning away.

After leaving Kangil Girls’ High School,

Han-seong moved the Collector to the 24-story residence building he had spotted earlier.

The Collector quickly reached its destination, climbed the exterior wall on all fours to the top floor, and soon discovered the zombies filling the interior.

“Grrrr…”

“Gruk? Graaah!”

The zombies charged with monstrous cries.

The Collector swung its arms.

Puk! Kwajik! Wudeuk!

Then silence fell.

The zombies rolled on the floor with their bodies in pieces, and the Collector stuffed them into its pouch. For later use with the Puppetry or Devour skills.

After finishing all the cleanup,

Han-seong looked around the interior.

“Hmm, let’s see…”

A spacious 50-pyeong interior. The living room was bloodstained from the recent battle, and the other rooms didn’t look much cleaner either.

The master bedroom was the cleanest, and thanks to the open veranda, there was a good view of the Han River area.

‘This place will do.’

Having finalized the candidate location, he decided to set up a temporary base at these coordinates.

[Activating skill.]

[Unique: Temporary Base]

Two colored flags appeared on the map.

The blue flag seemed to mark the officetel where Han-seong was currently staying, and the gray flag marked the master bedroom of the residence.

Han-seong stared blankly at the changes on the map before tilting his head in confusion.

“Huh? Is this it?”

It didn’t seem to allow instant teleportation to those coordinates. Han-seong was quite taken aback by the situation, which was different from what he had initially thought.

“…How do I get over there?”

Should I summon the Collector again?

As he frowned and pondered, a notification appeared that solved his dilemma.

[A special function is added to the temporary base.]

[Special Function: Warp Gate]

[Gate usage is now available.]

“Warp Gate?”

[Temporary Base: Warp Gate]

-Installs a dimensional gate to travel between bases. Only those with the user’s permission can use the Warp Gate.

▷Mana Cost: 200

▷Duration: 30 minutes

▷Cooldown: 120 minutes

Fortunately, there was a way to move.

Realizing he didn’t need to move directly, Han-seong let out a sigh of relief.

‘But when the duration ends…’

Does that mean he can only return to the original base after two hours have passed? It’s a bit inconvenient that he can’t go back and forth in real-time.

Still, it’s better than having no function at all.

Han-seong activated the special function Warp Gate towards the center of the room. Then the air distorted, and a gray glowing rift appeared.

[Warp Gate has been installed.]

[Time remaining until disappearance: 30 minutes]

Its appearance reminiscent of a vortex.

The thought of departing for an unknown space brought an inexplicable tension.

Han-seong swallowed hard.

“Whew, shall we go then.”

After exhaling briefly,

He moved through the rift with his wheelchair.

As soon as he passed through the rift, a familiar sight entered his view. It was the Collector.

‘Ah, it connects directly.’

He thought he would pass through some kind of passage.

Who would have thought he’d arrive at the temporary base immediately after crossing the rift? Han-seong reached the center of the master bedroom, guiding his wheelchair.

Then a notification message appeared.

[Notice: Entering Temporary Base]

-The Blessing of Remote Support is activated.

▷Open Map (+Precise Observation)

▷Magic Castle (+Dimensional Isolation)

▷Temporary Base (+Warp Gate)

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

The moment he arrived at the temporary base, the observation range of Open Map changed.

The distance between the officetel and the temporary base was 4.5km.

The observation range of Open Map also expanded about 4km to the north. Conversely, it decreased by the same distance to the south.

‘This is as I expected.’

Open Map is affected by the base’s location.

If he were to set up a base in Daejeon, it means the observation range would shift from Seoul to Daejeon.

Han-seong smiled with satisfaction.

After successfully setting up the temporary base, he gazed at the Vampire Tree beyond the window.

‘The distance to the Vampire Tree is about 800 meters.’

Even Wind Cutter can reach that distance.

In other words, it’s the optimal environment to unleash all attack skills. He could launch an attack right away, but Han-seong didn’t.

For an even more perfect victory.

‘I want to learn a fire attribute skill.’

The Vampire Tree’s weakness is fire.

On the other hand, the only fire attribute skill he had acquired was Tinder. So he wanted to acquire another attack skill before engaging in battle.

‘Currently, I have…’

About 12,000 Coins.

With this amount, he should be able to buy anything.

Preferably, a wide-area attack skill like Tinder would be good. With a hint of expectation, Han-seong entered the auction house.

But his expectations were quickly shattered.

“…There’s nothing.”

There were no fire attribute skillbooks.

In fact, there were only a handful of skillbooks that Mages could learn in the first place.

Looking through all the registered skillbooks, there were only four. Moreover, he had already learned three of them.

‘I checked the shop just in case, but…’

The only fire attribute skill sold in the shop was Tinder. Above all, the skillbooks in the shop were only up to Tier 2.

On the other hand, what he wanted was a Tier 3 or higher fire attribute skillbook with high destructive power. As Han-seong pondered, he turned his attention back to the auction house.

“I guess this is the only one worth learning.”

[Item for Sale]: Skillbook – Magic Field

[Acquisition Condition]: Tier 3

[Starting Bid]: 800 Coins

[Buy Now Price]: 3,000 Coins

A Tier 3 skillbook that Han-seong wanted.

However, just by the name, it seemed far from a fire attribute. As he sighed, the comments below the item caught his attention.

-Isn’t this too expensive?

-800 Coins isn’t pocket change.

-Isn’t this pricier than the market price?

-This will probably go unsold again lol

The majority of comments were negative.

Then the seller’s reply caught his eye.

[Seller]: I think 800 Coins is the average price for a 3-star skillbook?

↳ That’s for skillbooks of jobs in high demand.

↳ Skillbooks for jobs with few numbers like Mage or Spirit User are unpopular items.

↳ With few or no buyers, how could it be affected by market price? lol

↳ Well, putting it nicely, the price is whatever you ask; putting it badly, there’s no bottom.

‘Average price for skillbooks?’

Was there such a thing?

Han-seong tilted his head.

Curious, he looked at the comments on other items and as a result, was able to grasp the market prices for skillbooks that survivors were talking about.

1-star Skillbook: 100~200 Coins

2-star Skillbook: 400~500 Coins

3-star Skillbook: 800~900 Coins

All types of skillbooks registered in the auction house seemed to be traded at these prices.

Of course, this was based on the starting bid, and the Buy Now prices varied greatly depending on the seller. Anyway, thanks to this, he realized a new fact.

‘I guess there are no 4-star skillbooks yet.’

Come to think of it, Han-seong hadn’t seen one either.

Are the drop conditions different?

Maybe they drop with an extremely low probability when defeating elite monsters?

‘No, that’s not the important thing right now.’

For now, the skillbook comes first.

Han-seong opened the detailed information of the Magic Field skill, the only one he could learn, to examine its effects.

[Skillbook: Magic Field]

▷Summons a magic area. Targets within the area receive additional magic damage.

▷Cooldown: 12 hours

▶Grade Restriction: Tier 3, 3-star

▶Acquisition Job: Mage

“Oh? This isn’t bad.”

It’s especially perfect for dealing with immobile enemies like the Vampire Tree.

If he sets up Magic Field and then unleashes all attack skills during its duration, he could deal considerable damage.

“Hmm, the key is how much additional magic damage it does, but…”

Still, having it is better than not having it.

And it seems well worth the minimum bid of 800 Coins. Having finished his deliberation, Han-seong immediately placed a bid on the item.

Did they notice this?

People started leaving comments.

↳ Huh? What’s this? Someone placed a bid?

↳ It’s true? Wow lol

↳ You’re burning 800 Coins on this?

↳ Sir, if it’s not too much trouble, could you buy me a cheeseburger?

While browsing through various comments,

The item registration time eventually ended.

[Congratulations!]

[The item has been successfully bid on.]

Han-seong immediately learned the skill.

Soon after, the skill information, modified to fit the Remote Support Mage, unfolded before his eyes.

[Remote: Magic Field (Lv.4)]

-Creates a magic area at specific coordinates. Targets within the area have reduced magic resistance and receive additional magic damage.

▷Effective Range: Up to 4km

▷Area Range: 200m radius

▷Additional Damage: +160%

▷Mana Cost: 600

Han-seong was shocked.

He had thought it would be fine if the additional damage was about half of the original damage, but it deals more than double the damage?

There’s no reason not to use this skill.

‘If I had to point out a drawback…’

The long cooldown.

And the considerable mana consumption.

Excluding Tinder and controlling the Collector, it consumes the most mana for a single skill.

“I’ll need more potions.”

Han-seong looked at the clock.

The current time was 4 PM.

He had used Poison Fog around noon, so he would have to wait until 8 PM to use it again.

And by then, all other attack skills would be available as well.

‘…4 hours from now.’

Let’s start the attack when all preparations are complete.

Looking towards the direction of the Vampire Tree, Han-seong made this resolution.