novelraw Chapter 61 : How to Survive in the Apocalypse (2)
Chapter 61 : How to Survive in the Apocalypse (2)
Chapter 61: How to Survive the Apocalypse (2)
“What? What did that guy just say?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Did someone really lose their mind after just one day?”
“Hey, enough talk. Come over here. I’ll shove that branch right through your skull, so get your ass over here!”
The place was in utter chaos.
Hmm, usually this method worked pretty well.
Maybe it didn’t fit because of his looks?
Yohan looked at Go Hanil.
No hair. Tanned skin. If he just got himself some glasses and a white cloth, he’d resemble that man quite a bit.
What was that one Indian phrase he knew again?
“I know what you’re thinking, but I absolutely refuse to do it.”
Unfortunately, Go Hanil was quick-witted.
“Kahahaha! I like your spirit. Leave it to me. I’ll smash through that wall in a single blow!”
Ragnar Lodbrok gripped his axe tightly.
As expected of our single-celled Viking descendant—his mindset was basically, if it bothers me, I’ll crack its skull.
Violence could be a useful form of communication, but doing it too loudly could attract the monsters’ attention.
If they wanted to fight while keeping things under control…
Just as Yohan was counting the number of people around the barricade and gauging their abilities—
“Let them in.”
A new voice came from inside the barricade.
“But, sir—”
“It’s fine. We have plenty of food. Even if a few more people join, we have enough that we couldn’t possibly finish it all within thirty days.”
“…Understood.”
The bearded man obeyed immediately, not daring to resist.
Hmm. For them to follow so easily with just a word, that meant this guy had quite the leadership. Who was he?
Aside from the fact that it was a middle-aged man’s voice, there were no other clues.
Clatter! Clatter!
As the barricade opened to one side, Yohan and the rest of the group entered the mart.
Passing through the wary onlookers, the owner of the voice stepped forward to greet them.
He looked to be around forty.
About 178cm tall, with thick horn-rimmed glasses that made quite an impression.
Oh, him. So this guy was here too, huh?
Yoo Gimyung.
One of the few Vampire Followers left in Korea.
Normally, these types didn’t move much during the early stages of an episode, so this was unexpected.
If there was a variable here…
‘…It would be me.’
The reason was obvious—he had taken care of the Vampire Baron Garbiten de Rohar in the Withered Garden.
Of course, from their perspective, this incident was nothing more than a matter of curiosity.
Killing just one baron wasn’t enough to make the big ones move.
‘Most likely, someone was ordered to find out who in Korea killed a lower noble.’
They hadn’t pinpointed him yet.
Only a handful of people even knew what had happened there.
Yoo Gimyung, who had been looking Yohan up and down, let out a crooked smile.
“You seem to prefer quite the… aggressive approach. Just now, I believe you were about to blow up our barricade.”
“Come on now. You don’t really think I’d do that, do you? I just wanted to test things a little. If it didn’t work, I figured, ‘let’s just run for it.’ Fortunately, we met a kind soul and can fill our empty stomachs now.”
Yohan replied with a bright smile.
“Stay quietly for just one day. When dawn breaks, you’ll have to leave. No exceptions.”
“Of course. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
“…Manager Song will show you around.”
Yoo Gimyung nodded toward another man standing beside him.
“Follow me.”
The muscular man called Manager Song, cigarette dangling from his lips, led the way.
＊＊＊
A short while later, they arrived at the mart’s food section.
The electricity was still running, so a good number of fresh products remained.
Snacks and frozen foods were also overflowing.
“You’re free to eat whatever you want, the boss said so. But listen—don’t you dare go to any other floor. Stay on this one.”
“Why’s that?”
“Damn it, what do you mean why? You don’t go snooping around someone else’s house, do you? It’s called manners, man. Manners.”
Manager Song scowled deeply.
As he spoke, he crossed his arms—showing off the flashy tattoos running down them.
Ragnar Lodbrok smacked his lips like he’d just spotted a juicy newbie.
And Vivian licked her lips for an entirely different reason.
Hmm. Manager Song had no idea.
That he was now being targeted by two predators.
If Yohan were to give advice, it would definitely be—spend the night with the muscle-bound Viking.
It looked much harder for the other side to keep all their limbs intact.
“I clearly warned you. Don’t leave this floor.”
But perhaps luck was on his side, because Manager Song quickly disappeared before anything happened.
“Um, can we at least eat something? We haven’t eaten all day, I feel like I’m going to faint.”
“Hair tonic. And let’s see, do they sell wigs at Daiso…?”
Park Juhee and Go Hanil each threw in a comment.
“Oh! There’s beer too! How about we wet our throats a little?”
“Brother, I’ll pass on horse piss. Get me Ilpum Jinro or whatever it’s called. I heard it has a decent aroma.”
Everyone looked unusually excited for once.
But—
“Wait a moment. Before you eat, let me tell you how to get a Hidden Piece. Make sure to keep this in mind when you pick your food.”
Even though they only planned to stay for a single day, there was a reason they came to a large mart instead of raiding a convenience store.
Because there was a Hidden Piece that could only be obtained here.
—Combine three or more foods, hold them in your mouth for exactly 31 seconds, and then swallow them in a single gulp.
The combinations were endless, and the items that could be gained were just as varied.
It was like a gacha game, much like a Fortune Cookie, except there were no Great Misfortunes or Misfortunes.
You might get something useless, but at least nothing that could threaten your life.
“Remember, the more unique the combination, the higher the chance of getting something good.”
“Ooh! Three items, huh?”
“Me too! I wanna try it too!”
The mention of a Hidden Piece immediately lifted the mood.
After about fifteen minutes, everyone had piled up their chosen food items.
The Vikings picked meat, alcohol, and more meat.
Apparently, they thought “unique combination” meant washing it down with booze.
And they had long forgotten the rule about keeping it in their mouths for 31 seconds.
“Kahahaha! The drink tastes sweet! Hm? This one’s called Yonggari Chicken! As expected, a perfect side dish for a mighty warrior such as myself!”
Was even his uvula made of muscle? He was practically pulverizing the food and blasting it straight into his stomach.
Go Hanil picked chicken gangjeong, dumplings, cold jellyfish salad, and eight treasures stir-fry—safe choices.
Park Juhee, the only one who paid attention to color harmony, picked chocolate ice cream, black bean sauce tteokbokki, and kudzu noodles.
“Hmph. You’re all still far from it.”
Yohan brushed his hair back.
Well, finding the perfect combination on the first attempt was nearly impossible anyway.
“What did you choose, Yohan?”
Vivian asked curiously.
“This.”
A bowl of mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), carbonated water, Mentos, and a can of Pine Bud Drink.
A fizzy combination—
The ultimate sweet-and-sour set that could revive even the most runaway appetite.
“…Ah. I see.”
For the first time, Vivian’s expression showed a trace of disgust.
She had taken nothing but different kinds of tea—yet she dared to judge others?
Arrowroot tea, green tea, black tea, buckwheat tea, and so on.
There wasn’t a single trace of creativity or uniqueness in her selection.
“Fufu. Considering my contributions, this kind of meal hardly seems enough. But a steak or lobster wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Hehe! Jungbok! Eat! Time to eat!”
“Of course there’s a fluffy bed and bubble bath ready too, right? Hmm?”
For Sambokie, whose tail was spinning like a propeller, Yohan poured cat food topped with Churu.
If it hadn’t opened its mouth, he would’ve given it dog food instead.
A fitting punishment for insolence.
And so, each of them began their own feast.
Laughter filled the air as they enjoyed a precious moment to relax their weary bodies.
Only Yohan maintained a tension sharper than when he was in battle.
He sat down in a quiet aisle with few people around and took a deep breath.
‘Even if it’s for a Hidden Piece… I can’t get used to this.’
It would be horrible, no doubt.
His tongue would scream and curse its master.
But there was no other choice.
To grow stronger—
To conquer each episode perfectly—
Such sacrifices were necessary.
Yohan dropped the Mentos into the carbonated water, then threw the mulhoe and Pine Bud Drink into his mouth all at once.
“Ugh!?”
At that instant, an unbearable taste exploded in his mouth.
1 second. 2 seconds. 10 seconds.
Time flowed like an eternity.
Cold sweat streamed down his face, and his complexion turned pale, yet he kept his noble and composed demeanor.
And finally, when the thirty-first second arrived—
Gulp!
He left all responsibility to his stomach.
At the same time.
Wuuung!
A cute raincoat with a chick printed on it fell in front of Yohan.
[You have acquired ‘Acidic Raincoat (Yellow)’!]
Acquisition Difficulty: BBB
Description: Increases resistance to acidic-type abilities by up to +50%. (Applies up to A-rank abilities and lasts for 30 minutes.)
An Acidic Raincoat, huh.
Not bad.
In Daejeon, there were quite a few monsters that mainly used acidic fluids.
[Because you consumed a gourmet-level bizarre dish, your hunger will decrease by 30% for the next seven days.]
That was the one he wanted most.
The maximum reduction was 35%, so 30% was an excellent result.
‘Still… I wonder if anyone’s ever managed to hit that 35% mark.’
It was hard to even imagine what kind of horrific combination one would have to eat for that.
Next up—
Time to check the items obtained from defeating the Gravedigger.
[1x Lower-grade Skill Book]
[1x Skill Stone]
[Fairy’s Shoes Soaked in Wax]
Three solid drops in total.
And not the lowest grade either—a lower-grade Skill Book.
That was thanks to the Saintess using her Sacred Relic to subdue the Gravedigger.
Naturally, that had caused the difficulty to spike dramatically.
Unfortunately, the Skill Book contained ‘Ambush,’ an assassination-type skill, so he couldn’t learn it himself.
‘I’ll store it safely and either trade or sell it later. The value of Skill Books and Skill Stones will only keep rising.’
Still, a lower-grade Skill Book was an incredible reward.
Yohan’s gaze moved to the final item.
[Fairy’s Shoes Soaked in Wax]
Now, this was quite an interesting one.
[Acquisition Difficulty: BB]
Description: Shoes accidentally dropped into a wax vat by a young fairy. Currently, they cannot fully exhibit their original performance.
Durability: 85 / 250
Movement Speed +1
Movement speed was one of the rarest and most valuable options out there.
‘Speed’ was a crucial factor that could decide life or death in battle.
‘It might not be a huge difference, but it should cut about 0.1 seconds off a 100-meter run.’
Even that alone wasn’t bad.
However, the item’s original capability was far superior.
‘Finally, I can put this to use.’
Yohan took out a match from the Salamander’s Matchbox he had first obtained at Daejeon Station.
Fwoosh!
The flame touched the wax.
The important part here was not to recklessly apply the fire directly.
Doing so would only consume a huge chunk of durability and eventually destroy the item.
He had to start from the edges—
Slowly.
Melting away the layers of time little by little.
For about ten minutes, Yohan worked with beads of sweat dripping down his face.
And finally—
Ding!
[All the wax has melted!]
[Movement Speed +3 increased!]
[Endurance +3 increased!]
[Active Skill: Nature’s Sprint has been added!]
[Upon activation, instantly close the distance to a target within 3 meters.]
Not only had his movement speed increased, but his endurance as well.
Most importantly—an active skill on top of that!
Ahh… yes. This was the feeling.
＊＊＊
When night fell, the people inside the mart followed directions and headed in small groups toward the furniture section.
Those called by titles like Assistant Manager, Manager, and Department Head led the refugees.
“Alright, I’m pulling down the shutters now, so everyone get some good sleep. If you need to use the restroom, tell the night watch. Don’t go wandering around unless you want trouble, got it?”
With Manager Song’s threat, the lights went out.
Yohan picked a bed at random and lay down, tapping the pillow lightly with his fingers.
They were only staying for a day anyway—he could just play along and disappear in the morning.
However—
‘If there’s a Vampire Follower here… then maybe that thing could be here too.’
The odds were low, but if he happened to be right, it would be a jackpot.
If he could obtain Pure Blood, which enhanced the Power of Blood, he might be able to reproduce a portion of the abilities he had shown during the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
After a moment of thought, Yohan made his decision.
He would check—just once.
‘If things get noisy, it’ll be bad, so I should wait for the right timing.’
About two hours passed, and the night watch’s patrol routes became repetitive.
Their focus would start slipping about now.
It was time.
Yohan quietly rose from his bed.
Swiftly and silently—
He slipped out, choosing a path with no signs of people.
But then—
“Hmm?”
When he reached the area near the escalators, he ran into someone.
“Yohan…?”
It was Park Juhee.
“Ms. Juhee? What are you doing here…?”
“Ah, I just went to the restroom and got lost on the way back. I’m really bad with directions.”
Park Juhee lightly tapped her head with her fist and let out a small laugh.
It was an innocent smile.
The kind anyone would see and think, Ah, I see, and accept without doubt.
Well, since there was no rush, he had planned to ask slowly later—
But with no one else around, it was about time to clear things up.
“Ms. Juhee.”
“Yes?”
“The name Reina Blaze. Do you know it?”
Yohan finally asked the question he had been holding back.