EP.6 Nano Warrior: Ready to Deploy
The city center of Taewang Metropolitan City had been swept by zombies.
A few hours ago, the zombie riot that swallowed this city was on the level of a zombie wave. It wasn't just Taewang Metropolitan City this was happening all over South Korea.
"Lock the door!! Lock the door, you idiot!!!"
As the zombie virus spread throughout the city, people fell into a panic. They hid inside buildings.
When people disappeared from the streets, the zombies' behavior changed, too.
Instead of moving in groups to chase people, they started wandering around, scattered everywhere.
As the gathered zombies dispersed, the devastated state of Taewang Metropolitan City, ravaged by them, was revealed.
Overturned cars,
A large truck crashed into a building,
Buildings on fire,
Most of the ground floor shop windows were shattered.
There were also bodies strewn across the ruined streets.
Dozens or hundreds of people ran from the zombies. In the process, many were trampled to death.
Those bodies were stepped on by people fleeing. Their heads were crushed.
Because of that, they didn't become zombies.
Instead, they were eaten here and there without turning.
They rolled around the streets in that gruesome state.
It was truly an apocalypse.
A horrific scene, hard to look at with open eyes.
As the red sunset faded over the hellish streets, the entire city seemed dyed blood-red by the light.
"Fuck, this is awesome!!! Fuck, this is totally awesome!!"
That chaos didn't just mean the city's exterior was destroyed.
Human morality was collapsing as well.
The shop windows in the city center were completely shattered.
Beyond the broken glass lay a rock as big as an adult man's head.
It was looting.
It wasn't zombies breaking into the shops.
As chaos spread, some quick-witted survivors began to loot.
"Hey, you thieving bastards!!!!"
The shop owner shouted at the looters.
His voice was a mix of anger, despair, and fear
fear of the zombies, and fear of the apocalypse itself.
Because of that fear, the shop owner couldn't come outside.
Even as his store was being robbed, he could only scream desperately from inside.
"Who cares about owners now, the world's gone to shit! If you take it, it's yours!!!"
"Hehehe, what a coward! He can't even come out! Hehehe!!!"
Two punks, looking to be in their early twenties, rushed out of the shop with stolen goods.
"Now it's survival of the fittest~ Only the strong survive~!"
"Hehe! That's right. This is the time to take advantage. When everyone's distracted, that's when you can grab the high ground. Hehe!"
They snickered, egging each other on.
At that moment
"Keeeeeeek!"
"Kuek! Kieeeek!!!"
"Khaaaaaat!!!"
Three zombies suddenly ambushed the punks from a narrow alley near the shop.
"What the fucking hell!!!"
"Wow... what the hell is this??"
With both hands full of loot, they were caught off guard by the zombies and could only panic.
'Tsk! Can't be helped...!'
The punk on the outside's eyes flashed.
Thud!!!
He shoved the other punk with his shoulder.
"Khaap!!" "Terup!!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!!! You bastard!!!"
Two zombies bit into the neck and shoulder of the punk who was pushed toward them.
Thud!!!
"Argh!!! Fuck!! Fuck!!!"
The punk used as bait fell and was attacked by the zombies.
"Phwap!" "Crack!" "Crunch!" "Terhup!!!"
The zombies pounced and began to devour him in earnest.
"Fuck!!! How could you!!!"
The betrayed punk screamed in rage at his companion who had thrown him to the zombies.
"Hehehe! Idiot... survival of the fittest, remember!"
But the one who used him as bait only sneered, endlessly vicious in his response.
Humanity was crumbling like this in the apocalypse.
"What a mess."
A woman sighed lightly as she watched this collapse of humanity from inside a car.
"If they're like this already, things are going to get really interesting from here on out."
She had long, glossy, layered black hair, pale skin, and wore a black baseball cap pulled down low.
"Barricades are going up everywhere if I'd been a little later, I wouldn't have made it in. Who knows what will happen next, so I need to hurry."
She glanced behind.
Barricades for defensive purposes were being set up all over Taewang Metropolitan City.
"As long as cars aren't blocking the road like that, I should be able to get through..."
She muttered as she looked at a narrow street blocked by an overturned car.
"If zombies are blocking the road, I can just push through them."
Vroooom!
The car the woman was driving was a heavily armored vehicle.
『The special weapon given to Nano Warrior Kim Taesik is a metal pipe made of nanoparticles, called the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe.』
When I pressed [Special Weapon Details],
the status window explained the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe.
『Basically, the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe has tremendous durability. It's fairly light, but gives the Nano Warrior a solid sense of impact.』
『Normally, it has the destructive power of a regular metal pipe, but when Kim Taesik's mana is infused, it unleashes transcendent destructive power.』
"Oh... Mana infusion... it really is a special weapon!"
Nano Awakened Metal Pipe...
The name sounded vague and a bit lame.
Even as a special hidden warrior, a metal pipe felt needlessly humble.
But hearing it could be enhanced with mana made it sound pretty legit.
『When mana is infused, the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe delivers destructive power equivalent to a 25kg sledgehammer.』
『That power is adjusted according to the force Kim Taesik swings with.』
"A 25kg sledgehammer? The metal pipe? The pipe is like a 25kg sledgehammer???"
I was speechless at the specs the status window presented.
"If I swing a light-feeling metal pipe and it hits like a 25kg sledgehammer... what happens then???"
What happens? The zombie's head gets smashed.
It's similar to my stat synergy.
It means super-heavyweight destructive power at ultralight speed.
"Smashed! Zombie heads!!!"
The status window showed a hologram simulation.
It was a video showing what the Awakened Metal Pipe could do in action.
From the simulation, I could see that a downward strike smashed a zombie's head, and a swing tore a zombie's head clean off.
Even though it was just a hologram,
I could clearly feel the power of the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe.
『When the Nano Warrior's mana is infused, certain sections of the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe light up with mana.』
『When the light is on, transcendent destructive power is activated through mana.』
『Even if the pipe leaves the Nano Warrior's hand, the infused state is maintained for a certain time.』
『If anyone other than the Nano Warrior uses the pipe, the power boost from infusion does not apply.』
『The weapon's abilities improve further as the Nano Warrior's overall level increases.』
"Hmm... If the infusion stays after leaving my hand... does that mean I can throw it?"
Depending on the situation, I could throw it.
But since it's such a physically powerful weapon, that would be a bit risky.
『The Nano Awakened Metal Pipe looks like this.』
The function explanation ended.
The status window showed the pipe's appearance in full screen.
"It looks awesome!!!"
It's cool. I apologize for mocking it just because it's called a metal pipe.
The revealed Nano Awakened Metal Pipe didn't look like ordinary metal.
It had a dark gray, special material feel.
Maybe because it's made of nanoparticles, it has a mysterious vibe.
I like it. Totally my style.
Plus, the light that comes on when you hold it perfect for a hidden class.
Honestly, a blunt weapon suits me.
And for a zombie apocalypse, blunt weapons are best.
Even in zombie games, I always ditched guns and used blunt weapons.
The more I see it, the more the awakened abilities seem tailored to the user's personality.
[Receive Nano Awakened Metal Pipe]
After the explanation, a weapon claim button appeared at the bottom of the status window.
"No reason to hesitate! Claim it right away!"
Click!
With confidence, I pressed the [Receive Nano Awakened Metal Pipe] button.
『You can now claim the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe. You can grab the real object displayed on the screen with your hand.』
I was able to grab the real image of the pipe shown in the status window.
Grip!
I reached out and firmly grasped the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe in the screen.
'I can really feel it! The grip is real!!!!'
My hand went right into the status window.
I could definitely feel the grip of the pipe in my hand.
Shoooooooong !
As I grabbed the pipe in the status window, a dazzling effect played and the Nano Awakened Metal Pipe began to materialize.
Flash!
When the effect faded, the Awakened Metal Pipe appeared in the real world.
Then, from the bottom of the pipe I was holding, mana began to flow.
Golden circuits formed all over the pipe.
".....Wow....!"
It was beautiful. So cool.
I stared at it, dumbfounded, for a while.
"If it's like this... this is more than enough!!!"
I could feel it.
I could sense the power of the Awakened Metal Pipe.
The power the status window granted me truly felt mysterious like something from another world.
The moment I gripped the pipe,
and the moment my mana resonated with it,
information about what I could do with this pipe flooded into my mind.
From that information, I was sure.
With just this pipe, even at my current level,
I could easily slaughter zombies in one blow.
"If that's the case, there's no reason to hesitate. Time to head out and level up!"
Zombie point hunting begins.
Kieeeeeek!!!!
Kreeeeek!!!
And so, I stepped out of the bunker.