Chapter : 5
Zombie City (2)
The timing matched almost exactly with when his preparations were finished.
[The next stage will begin.]
[Stage 3 – Move to Safe Zone]
[Clear Condition: Move to the location marked on the map.]
[Description: Break through the zombie horde and move to the safe zone. If you stay in your current location, you will die.]
[Time until Stage 2 closes: 2 minutes 59 seconds]
[Failure Penalty: Death]
The three minutes were probably meant for preparation, but Dan-yoon had already finished everything.
He quickly memorized the map. Reading minimaps was his specialty, and he was confident in his short-term memory.
Without hesitation, Dan-yoon opened the apartment door.
It seemed he wasn’t the only player in the building. Doors from several units on the same floor suddenly opened.
“Hey! Excuse me!”
One survivor who spotted him called out, but Dan-yoon lightly ignored him and ran down the hallway.
If many people headed to the safe zone, they would gather at the entrance, and as time passed, zombies would gather there too, making it harder to enter.
‘If needed, I can use Stealth.’
He didn’t know the cooldown after using a skill.
So he had to assume he could only use it once for now.
Reaching the apartment’s main entrance faster than anyone else, Dan-yoon used [Trap Detection].
Like using a map hack, zombies within a 200-meter radius were highlighted in red.
He quickly opened and closed his status window.
‘About 5% mana per use. Zombies are treated as traps too. That’s good news.’
There were many zombies spread throughout the complex. If he chose the wrong direction, he would be surrounded and die—or waste his antidotes.
Dan-yoon chose the path where zombies were scattered sparsely.
A cool wind brushed against his face.
His body felt light.
Maybe it was because of [Physical Enhancement], but he was clearly different now. Faster. More agile.
After running for about three minutes, [Trap Detection] turned off.
It seemed most level 1 skills lasted around three minutes.
But he had already memorized the zombie positions.
Before long, Dan-yoon reached the exit of the apartment complex.
“P-please, save me!”
At the entrance, a man who had arrived earlier was being grabbed by a zombie.
The man had fallen and was struggling, using something like a sack handle to block the zombie’s mouth while trying to push it away.
He didn’t look strong enough to get up on his own.
If left like that, he would become prey the moment another zombie appeared.
Dan-yoon felt it was unfortunate—but he passed by without stopping.
“You bastard!”
A curse was shouted behind him.
He didn’t even look back.
In a world like this, who could help who?
Even if he were in danger, he didn’t expect anyone to save him.
“Huff… huff…”
Dan-yoon moved forward steadily, checking the map from time to time.
‘Main road or alley?’
He chose the alley.
If he encountered a group of zombies there, it would be more dangerous than on a main road.
But the main road would definitely be crowded with players. He didn’t want extra variables besides zombies.
At the entrance of a narrow alley, one zombie blocked his path.
Without slowing down, Dan-yoon thrust his spear.
Whoosh! Thud!
The force behind the thrust drove the crude spear straight through the zombie’s head.
Its head slammed into the wall and was completely crushed.
Instant death.
‘One at a time is manageable.’
He had covered about a quarter of the distance to his destination. He still had enough mana, and three antidote ampoules.
He could do this.
Dan-yoon quickened his pace.
Even though his stamina didn’t drop sharply, his breathing became heavy, and his body started to ache.
The problem was that it was decreasing—just not noticeably.
“Trap Detection.”
He used [Trap Detection] again to check if he could walk slowly while recovering stamina.
Only one zombie was on his path.
‘This is fine. I can move slowly.’
Reassured, Dan-yoon walked forward. His stamina began to recover little by little.
After walking for a while—
The narrow alley widened slightly, and he reached a street lined with tall buildings.
The zombie he had detected earlier stood in the middle.
Dan-yoon tightened his grip on the spear, feeling uneasy.
At this distance, the zombie should have already rushed him.
But it only turned around and stared at him.
‘This feels wrong.’
Dan-yoon pressed his body close to the building.
He wanted to avoid fighting if possible.
Slowly. One step at a time.
He tried to pass by while keeping his distance.
Then suddenly—the zombie charged like lightning.
Dan-yoon instinctively thrust his spear, but something flashed—
Blood burst from his arm.
“Damn!”
The zombie’s arm had turned into something like a sharp sword.
A sword zombie? What kind of zombie is this?!
While he complained, signs of infection already appeared on his arm.
A bluish bruise spread from the wound.
He quickly stepped back, took out an antidote ampoule from his inventory, and drank it.
“Appraisal.”
[Zombie Warrior (D): An evolved zombie. Its physical abilities are far superior to normal zombies, and it can transform its arms into blades to use advanced swordsmanship.]
A D-rank monster.
The same level as the Phantom Worm from Stage 1.
The memory of that deadly battle made him shiver.
If he treated it like a normal zombie, he would waste all his ampoules and die here.
He would go all out from the start.
“Potential Release.”
[Select a target.]
The skill activated, and a voice prompted him.
“Target: Physical Enhancement.”
[‘Gambler (Passive)’ is being applied.]
[‘Physical Enhancement’ increases from Lv.1 to Lv.5.]
He had planned to combine these skills from the moment he saw them.
He didn’t expect [Gambler] to also apply.
‘Since the increase is random, this counts as gambling… even better.’
His mana dropped below 50% instantly.
It was a mythic skill, so it consumed a lot.
Duration: 3 minutes.
He would finish it within that time.
Dan-yoon leaped forward and thrust his spear.
In an instant, he reached right in front of the Zombie Warrior.
‘Whoa—too far!’
Even he didn’t expect that jump. He couldn’t control his strength properly at level 5.
The Zombie Warrior was also surprised and hesitated for a moment before swinging its arm.
Slow.
What was invisible before now felt slow.
Whoosh!
Dan-yoon lowered his body, and the attack cut through the air above him.
He immediately swung the spear diagonally and struck the back of the zombie’s knee.
Thud!
With a dull impact, the Zombie Warrior’s body tilted.
Even as it fell, it attacked, but Dan-yoon simply tilted his head and avoided it.
Then he slammed his spear down onto its head.
Crunch!
A satisfying sound.
Dan-yoon pulled his spear out. The knife tip was completely damaged from the force.
[You are the first in the area to hunt a ‘Zombie Warrior’.]
[You have obtained 500 coins.]
[‘Physical Enhancement’ has increased from Lv.1 to Lv.2.]
A pleasant system message appeared.
And that wasn’t all.
Where the corpse disappeared, one arm remained.
Dan-yoon picked it up. It had a C-shaped groove like a handle under the blade.
He tapped it on the ground. It was quite sturdy.
[You have obtained ‘Zombie Warrior Blade (D)’.]
Since his knife was damaged, he could use this for now.
[Constellation Master Stella is showing interest in you.]
[Stella sponsors you with 100 coins.]
The master who briefly appeared after Stage 1 showed up again.
Throwing coins like charity.
His presence felt even stronger than before.
“What? Do I look useful now?”
[Stella smiles faintly.]
He spoke half-jokingly, but Stella responded calmly.
Seems like not a bad-tempered god.
“I have a lot to ask, but I’m busy. I’ll ask later.”
Dan-yoon muttered as he moved forward.
Soon, the presence disappeared.
Tap, tap.
Dan-yoon was running at full speed.
He had been moving fine while dealing with zombies one by one, but at some point, groups of two or three started appearing.
Now, a pack of zombies chased behind him.
Thanks to his improved Physical Enhancement, they couldn’t catch him—but he couldn’t lose them either.
He kept running at a constant distance.
He had come far, but he couldn’t bring them to the destination.
That would make it extremely difficult for the players behind him.
It wasn’t kindness.
If all players in this area died, the next stage might become a problem.
After solo stages, team stages usually followed.
Like a rule in RPG games.
Some players might already be forming teams.
Dan-yoon looked around and pushed his legs harder.
Then he found a suitable place and ran up to a building rooftop.
He worried if he could enter, but thankfully, he could.
“Can I do this…?”
He looked down from the high rooftop, wiping cold sweat.
If he fell, it would be instant death.
He glanced at the zombies climbing up behind him and jumped to the next building.
“Uaaah!”
Barely, he grabbed the edge and pulled himself up.
Then he looked at the zombies jumping toward him.
Their physical abilities were similar to his now.
Which meant none of them could cross the gap in one jump.
As expected, zombies began hanging onto the edge one by one.
Dan-yoon cut their arms off as they hung.
The zombies fell to the ground and burst apart.
Some still moved even after their insides spilled out, but most died instantly after hitting headfirst.
[You have defeated ‘Zombie (F)’.]
[You have defeated ‘Zombie (F)’.]
[You have defeated ‘Zombie (F)’.]
Notifications kept appearing.
It reminded him of the zombie mode from the games he used to play.
After all the zombies fell, Dan-yoon sat down heavily on the rooftop.
Between the two buildings, zombie corpses were piled up like a mountain.
