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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Immune to the Undead
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Thud.
The zombie that had been biting my shoulder suddenly collapsed limply to the floor.
A holographic message popped up in front of me, which was weird enough, but seeing the thing that had been trying to devour me drop like that left me even more flustered.
"What... what the hell is this?"
I clutched my bitten shoulder and stared at the zombie that had fallen away from me.
Its mouth hung open, and it showed no sign of moving again.
'Am I dreaming or something?'
The message floating in front of my eyes.
[You have received a job. Your job is Necromancer.]
[Player's desire confirmed. Configuring system and referencing data.]
"...Necromancer?"
The pain throbbing at the nape of my neck told me this wasn't a dream.
I even wondered if I might be losing my mind.
But the zombie that had suddenly stopped mid-bite...
I raised my still-trembling hand from the fear and touched the hologram with my finger.
Ding.
It made a sound as the translucent blue window vanished from in front of me.
I could even faintly feel it against my fingertip.
"This... no way."
Before the pandemic.
Back when I was still struggling to adjust to college and wandering the campus alone, I'd kill time on my smartphone with all sorts of entertainment.
And there was one thing that showed up a lot in that media.
"...Status window."
Ding.
As soon as I said the word I remembered, the window popped up again in front of me.
[Name: Lee Seo-ho.
Job: Necromancer.
Trait: Death's Aura – As a necromancer who commands the undead, you are unaffected by undead.]
'Zombies are ridiculous enough, and now a status window...? What the fuck.'
It didn't make any sense, and I let out a hollow laugh.
Even back in the dorm, starving through the days, I'd wished countless times that it was all just a dream.
That I'd just watched a zombie movie and had a nightmare.
"Well, with zombies real, fantasy crap like this isn't so far-fetched...."
Then something flashed through my mind.
The getup of the zombie lying next to me.
It was wearing a robe that perfectly matched a necromancer's job.
It looked like a black mage straight out of a fantasy comic, no question.
And this guy had turned into a zombie in a department store bathroom...?
'No way....'
One hypothesis popped into my head.
But the unbelievable sights unfolding before me lent it credibility.
"You bastard... were you the first infected?"
The corpse didn't answer my ridiculous mutter.
But if that was the case, even this absurd zombie outbreak made sense.
Because the zombie crisis hadn't started in America or Iran or China—it began in Seoul, South Korea.
The sudden zombie spread turned the country into hell, and eventually it went global.
And the culprit was lying right in front of me.
'Whatever, bitching about a dead guy won't change shit....'
More importantly, I focused on the message and status window floating before me.
Status window.
A system from game fantasies that shows all kinds of info.
And that system was telling me:
You've become a necromancer.
'And this description on my trait....'
Death's Aura.
As a necromancer who commands the undead, you are unaffected by undead.
Undead.
In other words, things that died but act like they're alive.
Which means...
"Zombie..."
According to the status window, as a necromancer, I'm unaffected by things that died and move.
'No way... for real?'
Dopamine surged through me suddenly, making me forget the pain in my shoulder as my lips twitched into a grin.
Unaffected by zombies.
In a world overrun by zombies, that meant my survival odds had skyrocketed.
'...And this is a department store.'
The very one where the first case broke out.
When the zombies spread like wildfire.
In that chaos, no idiot would have time to grab food or supplies.
Which meant this department store was a treasure trove untouched since the pandemic hit.
I got up and approached the bathroom door.
I placed my hand on the handle, keeping my tension high.
Beyond this door would be a horde of zombies.
But thinking about that line saying I'm unaffected by zombies.
It meant not getting infected, sure.
But even if I don't get infected, getting eaten alive is pointless.
They probably wouldn't attack me either.
I swallowed dryly and cracked the door handle open just a bit.
Then it hit me.
'...What if I'm wrong?'
Anxiety bubbled up in my head.
In this insane world, I was getting a little hyped thinking I was special.
Calm down and think: I might be hallucinating.
'I barely survived... I can't die now...?'
My hand started shaking.
And scenes from moments ago, right before death, replayed in my head unbidden.
Among them, the vengeful me, drowning in resentment, came to mind.
'Those motherfuckers....'
The ones who treated me like a slave, the ones who didn't treat me like a person, the ones who turned a blind eye, even that bitch who acted nice and then stabbed me in the back.
Rage surged, eating away at the anxiety that had been lingering.
"Fuck it, this life was fucked anyway—!!"
With my burning resolve, I trusted my hunch and flung the bathroom door open.
-Uh-euh, gruuuh....
-Euuk, awook, kruuuh....
What I saw was the department store's food section in ruins, packed with zombies.
But they hadn't reached the bathroom door.
The department store's shutters were blocking their path.
'Yeah, if they'd been right outside, they would've swarmed when I yelled earlier.'
Zombies sense humans through sound and smell.
Weird noises draw their attention, and they swarm toward the scent.
That's how scout soldiers exploit it to move through safer routes.
So when I got attacked by the robed zombie earlier.
'Hey—! You fuckers!! There's a zombie in here!! You motherfuckers—!!'
Normally, that scream would've brought zombies running.
But they were blocked by the shutters that had come down in the department store, just stretching out their arms and writhing.
Step, step.
"...This is fine, right?"
Even getting right up close, no reaction.
Countless zombies pressed against the shutters, arms outstretched.
But not one acknowledged me.
Gulp.
To confirm for sure, I extended my trembling hand toward them.
The zombie right in front of me.
Its jaw was torn off, dangling loosely.
I reached out and poked its head with my finger.
Tap.
No reaction, as expected.
"...Kh, khahaha."
Tension melted away, and laughter leaked out.
I clenched my fist.
And thrust my hand triumphantly into the air.
"Kahahahaha—!! I'm fucking invincible now, you motherfuckers—!!!"
All this time, I'd been unconsciously tense just to survive.
Hyper-vigilant, scanning surroundings, jumping at every little movement.
My body was constantly exhausted from the fear-fueled tension.
But now that it released, surging relief and massive joy made me shout.
-Kraaaah!!
-Uuuoooh!!
-Keeaat, kiyaah!!
The zombies, sensitive to noise, started howling at my loud voice.
But it was just reacting to the sound.
None showed any aggression.
"Louder!! Scream more, you retarded corpse shits!! Look at you!! Fucking losers!! I'm living a whole different life now!! Got it?!"
The pent-up pain from cowering all this time poured out as I screamed freely, and my chest felt lighter.
"Uh-heh, uhahaha...."
Laughter bubbled up, along with one thought that kept circling my mind.
"Just wait a bit, you bastards. ...I'll take good care of you, nice and slow."
I grinned happily, thinking of those assholes back at the dorm.
. . .
Zombie pandemic.
A common trope where the world ends from an unstoppable zombie virus.
So, what's the most essential thing to survive a zombie pandemic?
Avoiding zombies and securing food, clothing, and shelter.
"Fuck yeah. Shopping after all this time."
Rrrumble.
I leisurely pushed a cart through the wrecked department store food section.
"Hey, kiddo. Come shopping with mom?"
-Kiaoo....
A ten-year-old zombie kid with one arm missing wailed in response to my voice.
Yeah, in a world like this, a little kid wouldn't survive anyway.
Might be better off turning early.
Whistling a tune, I pushed the cart along.
First, swept the snack aisle clean of whatever was left.
Then grabbed a chocolate biscuit that looked highest in calories and ripped it open.
The kind often called an emergency ration in disasters.
"Hah.... Fucking delicious."
The high-calorie flavor filled my mouth, revitalizing my starved body.
Anyway, back to the point: in a pandemic, the key is avoiding zombies and gathering survival supplies.
In that sense, I was invincible right now.
Zombies not being a threat accounted for over 99% of it.
Zombie stories rarely run short on supplies anyway.
People go nuts when the virus spreads, leaving tons behind.
But the reason you can't get them? Zombies.
Just like this department store.
"This should do for now."
I'd filled the shopping cart with food.
I could've left it there and grabbed what I needed later, but this satisfied the urges I'd bottled up by making it feel like real shopping.
"Too bad the frozen and fresh stuff's all rotten."
Can't be helped.
The zombie outbreak was almost two months ago.
Power's out, tap water's rusty.
Even refrigerated stuff was iffy shelf-life wise; no way fresh food survived without power.
But it's fine.
Plenty of canned goods, snacks—stuff that keeps regardless of time or temp.
I stuffed the food into a backpack I found nearby and headed to the bedding section on the third floor.
This is a department store's advantage.
Your typical huge supermarket? Just food.
Half of it frozen or fresh.
But a place like this? Each floor has its theme.
"Whoa, fucking plush."
I dove onto the cleanest bed nearby.
Dorm beds exist, but how comfy can they be?
King-size mattress, luxury pillow—my fatigue melted away.
I got comfy, pulled a drink from the backpack beside me, and chugged.
Room temp since no refrigeration, but it quenched my thirst, and the sugary sweetness lifted my mood.
For the first time in forever, feeling human, I stared into space.
"Status window."
My stats from before popped up.
[Name: Lee Seo-ho.
Job: Necromancer.
Trait: Death's Aura – As a necromancer who commands the undead, you are unaffected by undead.]
"...Hmm, just status?"
In the media I'd seen, there were skills, inventory, all sorts of stuff besides stats.
"Let's see.... Skill window?"
I tried calling out experimentally, and a pleasant chime rang.
Ding.
[Cannot be accessed yet. Conditions not met.]
"Oh ho, so once conditions are met, I can see it?"
Not absent, just not ready.
Curiosity piqued by the message, I called up the next UI command that came to mind.
'Every game system has to have this one.'
Even if it needs conditions.
No way this one's missing.
"Quest."
My voice triggered an immediate response in the air.
Ding.
[Loading quests.]
[Survival Quest]
[Growth Quest]
[Main Quest]
Three options floated before my eyes.