Outside the supermarket, Lena walked up from my right. Her voice was small, almost afraid. “Why did you do that to Dad? Everyone inside is ughing at him now.”
She wasn’t quiet enough. The whole group heard her.
‘I can’t say it was just impulsive,’ Crow muttered in my head. ‘Let’s make it sound like leadership.’
I didn’t look at her. Just kept walking.
“Your father showed strength in front of everyone,” I said, my voice steady. “Now no one will dare push him around because they think he’s weak.”
I paused.
“And what if someone had pointed a gun at him?” I added. ‘At least he would’ve died with less pain,’ Crow whispered.
“Cough!” I coughed aloud, but it wasn’t just a cough—it was a message for Crow.
‘Shut up,’ I told him in my head.
“The worst part…” I began quietly, voice low enough only I could hear, “would be if we came back and he was dead.”
But I didn’t give the group time to react. I spoke louder, softening the truth just a little.
“Disarmed. Held hostage. By a group.”
Lena looked at me, confused, like she’d heard something else.
“Did you say something before the ‘disarmed’ part?” she asked quickly, her voice fast but clear.
I shrugged it off, a small grin hidden behind my mask.
“Well, everyone’s bound to know he’s got a beautiful daughter in this group. Makes him a valuable hostage, doesn’t it?”
It brushed away her worry with a touch of sarcasm—just enough to stop her from pushing the issue further.
I cpped my hands to get everyone’s attention. But when I gnced back, their expressions had shifted. I caught someone mutter, “Corny...”
Ignoring it, I pushed forward. Leading this group wasn’t going to be easy—especially if I needed to collect corpses ter.
“So, who among you knows where the school is in that direction?” I pointed toward it.
Turns out, everyone raised their hands.
I blinked. “Huh.”
Apparently, they all lived around here. Not my fault I didn’t ask. I’m not the kind of guy who digs into everything.
I kept my voice calm despite the surprise. “Alright. We’ll move in a duck formation. But…” I paused, doing a quick headcount—eight people, not including me.
“Two up front, three on each side.”
With that, the group moved out. Ethan and Naomi took the lead—maybe eager to kill, or maybe just wired differently.
The sun hung low but fierce, casting long shadows and pouring golden light that warmed the back of my hoodie. It wasn’t high yet, but its heat already clung to the sleeves of my jacket like a warning. For the first 100 meters past the supermarket, we didn’t see a single zombie. But after that, they started showing up.
I stayed at the rear, using [Decompose] on the corpses. Watching the others fight, it looked like they didn’t need my help, so I just focused on collecting.
That’s when I found it—a new type of zombie.
---
[Identification]
Creature: Zombie (Lv.14)
Css: Summoner
Ability: Reset Buff (Lv.5)
[?Passive: Extends the duration of all abilities by 1 minute + (ability level).
?Active: Refresh 1 + (0.ability level) abilities. Usable every 5 days.]
Skill: Summoned – Using its [Infection] ability, this creature can summon specific mutated creatures.
---
It looked like a regur zombie—shambling, unfocused, almost harmless at first gnce. But the three mutated dogs growling low at its sides told a different story. If you weren’t paying attention, you’d miss it. But the way they moved—always keeping the same pace, reacting subtly to its shifts—it was clearly commanding them.
Crow muttered in my head, “So it can summon creatures… but the prompt doesn’t mention control. Still, judging by this, looks like it can. Maybe the system’s just leaving out the details again.”
I raised my healing middle finger.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Swift Movement is harder than we thought. Looks like we can’t just infect something and expect that move to pop out.”
Crow knew exactly what I meant by showing the healed finger.
I didn’t even need to fight. Just five minutes—long enough to reach the creature. All I had to do was collect the summoner’s corpse and its mutated dogs.
---
> Ding!
+74 kg of atoms
+13 Ability Points
Gained ability: [Reset Buff] (Lv.5)
---
After that, we kept moving and ran into a tank-type zombie. Elias stepped up, swinging his oversized sledgehammer and crushing the creature’s skull in one brutal blow.
Of course, I wasn’t just dead weight—I caught a Hunter-type zombie trying to escape and nailed it with my signature throwing axe before it could vanish from sight.
The road we took was wide enough that we barely had to bump into any of the abandoned or stalled cars. Even if someone were driving, they’d still be able to maneuver without much trouble. It took us about an hour of travel, and while we made it without serious issues, I noticed the others looked a bit worn out. High level or not, marching while fighting nonstop isn’t a joke.
As the dungeon gate came into view, I spotted one groups stationed in front of it—one looked like guards, while the other stood up high, overseeing the area. A small crowd had also gathered around.
‘I think I know where this is going,’ Crow muttered in my head.
While we waited in line, I took stock of my gains: one new ability, 807 kilograms of atom, and 1,460 ability points—nearly 300 creatures were [Decomposed] during just an hour of travel.
When it was our turn, I realized they were asking for a single low-level core for solo entry, but if it was a group, they charged three low-level cores—regardless of the number. We chose to enter as a team. The people guarding the entrance were polite, so there was no need to stir up anything.
However, we didn't go in right away. My team needed a break, and the ones handling entry weren’t exactly helpful—they didn’t share any information about the dungeon. Not a huge issue, since I already knew: this dungeon might not py well with groups, no matter how friendly the gatekeepers seemed.
While my team rested, I moved to the side and finally opened the shop I’d been ignoring until now.
---
[Shop]
? Food
? Material
? Item
? Weapon
Coins: 2000
---
The weapon section immediately caught my attention.
---
[Weapon]
? Light
? Medium
? Heavy
---
Everything looked tempting, but naturally, I checked the first category.
---
[Light Weapon]
? Knife
? Gauntlet
? Short Sword
? Pistol
? Ammo
---
Seeing pistol in a magical world threw me off—but then again, I’d heard gunfire the first day I arrived, back at the hotel. Without wasting time, I tapped into the first option:
---
[Knife - Light Weapon]
? Whisper Fang – A sleek, silent dagger designed for assassins.
? Iron Bite – A dense utility bde known for its brutal edge.
? Crow’s Talon – Curved bck steel, perfect for swift sshes. (Fits my theme perfectly.)
? Ash Vein – Forged from darkened metal, said to stay hot after a kill.
? Frost Hook – A jagged, cold-tempered bde.
? Red Echo – Serrated, makes a distinct whine when swung.
? Vermin Splitter – Short and brutal; ideal for sewer or tunnel combat.
? Hollow Fang – A needle-thin bde with a channel for poison or infection.
? Grave Whisper – Ceremonial bde for silent finishes.
? Flint Heart – Rough-forged, chipped but unbreakable.
???
---
There are alot of good things thinking carefully I don't use knife but everything is tempting to see it's look like it's name given by who made this things and looking at the almost never ending choice it's impossible for one person but maybeits not impossible at the same time magic it self is impossible enough, but I still continue to look farther.
---
[Whisper Fang]
Weapon type:throwing knife Light weapon;
Weapon attributes:
Density points :30 (Note: 1 point is 8000 kg/m3)
Damage :300 (note: density points x10)
Durability :90 ( note: density points x3)
Element compatibility 100%
Special: sound absorption the more sound it absorbs the greater the damage +(1% to 50%)
Cost:260,000 coins ;
---
I choose the second one because it looks like the damage of a light weapon is the density.
---
[Iron Bite]
Weapon type: 13 inch bde knife;
Weapon attributes:
Density points :90 (Note: 1 point is 8000 kg/m3)
Damage :900 (note: density points x10)
Durability :180 ( note: density points x3)
Element compatibility 100%
Special:gain addition +50% damage if you're target is 10 meters below
Cost:500,000 coins ;
---
I just noticed the freaking price and I forgot the important thing maybe the 260k didn't hit my eye but this 500 hit "system converter atom to energy max and upgrading converter and choose coins converter as the option."
---
>Ding!
- 700 Metrix ton of atom
+700,000 energy
-400,000 energy
Converter is upgrading in 3... 2... 1...
Upgraded [Heat and Atom Converter] to[Heat,Atom and Coin Converter]
+50,000 daily cap
---
Calling the full status is felt like I didn't see it a long time
---
[Status]
Creature: Human LV 13 (370/400)
Css: Physic
Name: Marklester Perez
Age: 24
Attributes:15
- Strength: 22 + (30) (175%)
- Agility: 7 + (100 passive) (350% when active)
- Physic: 4 + (20 from css) + (30) (175%)
Ability Points: 1,802
Abilities:
- Infection LV 15
- Agility LV 50
- Physic LV 15
- Strength LV 15
- Regeneration LV 15
- Reproduction (special)
-
Death rage (special)
- Reset buff lv5
Skills:
- Heat, Mass Atom and Coin Converter (750,000 per day)
- Identification
- Decomposition (190 tons of atom)
- Item Creation (100 slots)
- Spatial Storage (5m3)
- Finger strengthening
Energy: 330,700
Items: None
