TRTP 04

Chapter : 4

Zombie City (1)

The air was slightly cold.

The season felt like early spring or late autumn. The time was late at night.

Since the stage was called “Zombie City,” the objective would obviously be related to zombies.

Dan-yoon quickly moved to the kitchen and searched for something he could use as a weapon.

Normally, a zombie’s weakness is the head.

Its strength is its infection—just a scratch or bite can infect you.

He needed a weapon that could strike the brain in one hit while keeping a safe distance.

“This will do.”

He pulled out the pole from a standing lamp. After removing the shade, it became a decent spear.

“A kitchen knife is too short.”

If he had time, he could sharpen the end or attach a blade.

Then he tucked a small fruit knife into his waist as a backup weapon.

“The mission should appear soon.”

In the previous stage, the mission had started about five minutes after the start notification.

Right on cue, a system message appeared.

[Stage 2 – Combat Training]
[Clear Condition: Eliminate Zombies]
[Description: This is a light combat training stage. Try not to die stupidly.]
[Time Remaining: 30:59]
[Failure Penalty: Death]

Grrr—

A beast-like sound followed.

A zombie had appeared on the terrace.

It looked almost exactly like what he had imagined.

Red eyes, grayish skin, bulging veins, and drooling saliva.

Bang! Bang!

It slammed against the glass wall, as if trying to break in.

“Can I get more information? I have that [Appraisal] skill…”

The moment he thought that—

Ding!

The skill activated.

[Zombie (F): A human who has become a living corpse after being infected by a virus. Its physical abilities are greatly enhanced compared to when it was human. Bites or scratches will cause infection.]

“Oh.”

Using skills was simple.

He just had to will it and say the skill’s name.

It didn’t show weaknesses, so the information probably depended on the skill level.

Still, it was enough.

Based on what he knew, he could handle at least one zombie.

This was a race against time.

The faster he cleared the mission, the better the reward.

Dan-yoon tightened his grip on the spear and approached the glass wall.

As he got closer, the zombie became even more aggressive.

Crack—crack!

The glass began to fracture.

Then—

Crash!

The glass shattered, and the zombie lost its balance and stumbled forward.

Thud!

Dan-yoon thrust the pole into its stomach and pushed it back toward the broken glass.

“What strength…!”

The zombie’s head was just inches from the sharp glass.

At first, he pushed forward—

But gradually, he was overpowered.

Then—

The pole suddenly pierced through the zombie’s body, coming out its back.

Whoosh—!

Its black claws swung toward him.

He barely let go of the pole and jumped back, dodging the attack.

“Huff… huff…”

“Grrr…”

It had only been a short struggle, but it drained him.

He had to admit it.

His physical condition was below average.

After spending so much time indoors gaming and reading, his stamina had weakened.

So the phrase “physically stronger than humans” wasn’t something to take lightly.

Dan-yoon quickly moved backward, pushing himself along the ground.

It wasn’t easy.

But it wasn’t impossible either.

Watch, dodge, strike.

Simple.

The zombie, even with a pole stuck in it, moved quickly toward him.

He barely dodged again.

He could avoid attacks—but counterattacking was risky.

If he got caught, it was over.

“What should I do…?”

If only he had an attack skill—

Wait. Skills.

He remembered the ones he got earlier.

[Gambler], [Stealth], [Potential Release], [Trap Detection], [Rapid Growth].

He already knew how to use them.

And right now, there was one perfect skill.

“Stealth.”

[‘Stealth’ activated. Duration: 3 minutes]

His body became semi-transparent.

His vision felt slightly off, but the effect was clear.

The zombie stopped moving and began looking around.

“Three minutes is short… but enough.”

Dan-yoon threw a nearby object behind the zombie to test it.

Crash!

The zombie immediately turned toward the sound.

Its hearing and vision were sharp—but its sense of smell wasn’t.

He confirmed it and slowly approached from behind.

One strike.

He grabbed the zombie’s hair and stabbed upward into the back of its neck with the knife.

Thud!

Then he quickly jumped back.

The zombie twitched briefly—

Then collapsed.

[Stage 2 Cleared.]
[Evaluation in progress.]

Dan-yoon let out a dry laugh.

“It was ‘combat training’ from the start.”

This wasn’t the real world.

Fighting here had different rules.

Enhance your body. Use skills. Adapt.

That was the rule of this world.

This stage was meant to teach that.

[Stage 2 Cleared.]
[Your body has been fully restored.]
[Clear Rank: C]
[You made an easy stage difficult.]
[You have received 10 coins.]
[Bonus reward: ‘Physical Enhancement Lv.1’ skill acquired.]
[Bonus reward: ‘Virus Antidote Ampoule x3’ acquired.]
[Bonus reward: ‘Zombie City Map’ acquired.]

“You made it difficult…”

He couldn’t argue with that.

If he had used his skills from the start, he could’ve finished in three minutes.

This stage was actually easier than the first.

But only if you knew how to use skills.

Dan-yoon opened his skill window and reviewed everything.

[Gambler Lv.1]: (Passive) Increases the chance of making successful choices in gambling situations.
[Stealth Lv.1]: (Active) Hides your presence and body for 3 minutes.
[Potential Release Lv.1]: (Active) Temporarily increases a skill’s level for 3 minutes.
[Trap Detection Lv.1]: (Active) Detects traps within 200m (3 uses per day).
[Appraisal Lv.1]: (Active) Checks the condition of objects and living beings.
[Rapid Growth]: (Passive) ① Skill EXP gains are tripled. ② Skills that meet certain conditions evolve to higher tiers.
[Translation]: (Passive) Automatically translates and interprets languages.
[Pain Resistance Lv.1]: (Passive) Reduces pain when hit.
[Adaptability Lv.1]: (Passive) Quickly adapts to changing environments.
[Physical Enhancement Lv.1]: (Passive) Improves physical abilities.

Some skills seemed useless.

Some looked very strong.

But the best one was—

“This is completely broken.”

[Rapid Growth].

As expected of a mythic trait skill.

It had two powerful effects.

Even just gaining EXP three times faster was insane.

“I didn’t expect rewards like this…”

He had always thought of his past as something meaningless.

Something he could never return to.

But now—

It felt like that past wasn’t wasted.

A strange thought.

He still had time, so he checked his items.

[Zombie City Map (D): Map of Zone 36-E]
[Virus Antidote Ampoule (C) x3: Prevents infection if used within 30 seconds.]

“These are for the next stage.”

The map meant movement would be required.

The ampoules meant he would likely get infected multiple times.

Since he got a low rating, he needed to do better next time.

He tightened the knife at his waist and replaced the fragile spear with a sturdier one made from a sack handle and knife.

He wanted something like a fire axe, but the apartment door wouldn’t open.

So he wore thick clothes and used duct tape to reinforce his arms as protection.

“Keep it minimal.”

Too much armor would slow him down.

These zombies were faster than humans.

“Item window.”

He tried the command.

“Oh.”

An inventory window appeared.

When he stored the items, they turned into icons.

“This is really useful.”

He tried storing other objects, but they didn’t go in.

Only system-recognized items could be stored.

“What about stats?”

<Dan-yoon – Status>
Health: 100%
Mana: 100%
Stamina: 85%

“It works.”

The stat window was simple.

No detailed numbers like strength or agility.

Just basic percentages.

He checked “Stamina.”

It meant hunger.

Higher stamina meant faster recovery.

Low stamina meant reduced health and mana.

“So basically energy.”

He immediately opened the fridge.

Thankfully, there was food.

He quickly ate while checking the remaining time.

Then he packed the rest into a backpack.

This apartment had everything needed for survival.

Not normal living items—but survival supplies, hidden like a shelter.

If he left carelessly, it would be a problem.

Then—

A system message appeared.