Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 104
104. A Day in December (5)
“……It’s not just a keen sense of smell—the eyesight is sharp too, it seems.”
“…….”
Lee Gang-hyuk furrowed his brow in silence at Seo Hwa-rin’s murmur.
Then Yu Ha-neul asked.
“Should I try to mask the scent right now?”
“No, we might give away our position for nothing. Let’s just watch for now.”
He’d even detected a Yeti several hundred meters away, near Dobongsan Station.
Wary that their location might be exposed, Lee Gang-hyuk held Yu Ha-neul back and released a long, measured breath as he watched the attacked Yetis charge at the Bulldozer.
Just as the enormous Zombie had devoured the Yetis, it seemed the relationship between Zombies and Yetis was not particularly good—which came as a relief.
“Still, thanks to that creature, we should be able to clean up the Yetis in the vicinity.”
“……That’s not too bad, actually.”
Kang Pil-du, apparently sharing the same thought, spoke up reassuringly, and Lee Gang-hyuk responded with a wry smile, nodding in agreement.
While they spoke, the Yetis and the Bulldozer clashed on the railroad tracks, and combat erupted.
Flinging objects appeared to be the Bulldozer’s main tactic; as the Yetis swarmed it, the creature shrieked and tore up the railroad tracks again, hurling them at its attackers.
‘When I fight that thing, I’ll need to get as close as possible and keep the fight in an area without objects.’
Lee Gang-hyuk assessed the situation and mentally mapped out a strategy for taking down the Bulldozer.
He’d determined that the Yetis couldn’t overcome it.
As expected, despite their numerical advantage, the Yetis couldn’t overwhelm the creature and continued dying as railroad tracks struck them down.
Then, suddenly, an image came to Lee Gang-hyuk’s mind—an arrow fletched with pheasant feathers.
‘Now that I think about it…….’
Could he attack the Bulldozer without it noticing?
But there were only six arrows made with pheasant feathers.
Far too few.
He couldn’t kill the creature with those alone.
‘It’s better not to try.’
As he’d just told Yu Ha-neul, it was wiser to refrain from acting halfway rather than risk exposure.
Yet Lee Gang-hyuk turned to Yu Ha-neul and asked.
“Ha-neul. Could you guide an arrow all the way to the Bulldozer’s eyes?”
“Huh? I, I’ve never tried, but I’ll do my best to make it work!”
Though startled by the sudden question, the boy’s eyes gleamed with enthusiasm.
If…….
If this succeeded, they could blind the Bulldozer.
Without sight, it wouldn’t be able to pick up objects at all, and even if it managed to throw something, accuracy would suffer.
Deciding it was worth attempting, Lee Gang-hyuk equipped the Bone Archer with a Bone Bracelet crafted from the Bulldozer’s Core.
“Prepare to fire.”
Creak.
The Bone Archer nocked an arrow fletched with pheasant feathers and waited for the next command.
At the same time…….
Yu Ha-neul released Core Power that enveloped the arrow.
“……Ready!”
“Fire.”
Twang!
Whoosh!
The arrow, suffused with green energy, sliced through the air like a streak of lightning.
“Ugh.”
Was it thanks to the Bone Bracelet crafted from the Bulldozer’s Core?
The arrow shot by the Bone Archer, its strength enhanced, flew toward the Bulldozer at incredible speed.
But as the arrow moved faster than usual and began to slip beyond Yu Ha-neul’s control, the boy concentrated hard, desperately trying to keep it on course.
He didn’t close his eyes.
Closing them might cause him to lose the arrow; besides, to aim precisely at the Bulldozer’s eyes, he had to keep watching.
Thanks to his focused concentration with eyes wide open, the arrow traced the optimal path and struck the Bulldozer’s face directly.
“Gaaaaah!”
The Bulldozer, hit by the sudden attack, covered its face and shrieked wildly.
Yet Yu Ha-neul’s expression remained grim.
He’d hit somewhere other than the eyes.
The distance was too great to identify exactly by sight.
But because he’d maintained his focus on the Core Power embedded in the arrow all the way through, Yu Ha-neul now understood his failure. He turned to Lee Gang-hyuk and bit his lip.
“One more chance. Just one more time, please!”
“Wait. I’ll activate the bracelet’s ability.”
At Lee Gang-hyuk’s next words, he nodded and began attacking the Bone Archer.
His goal was to deplete its stamina and forcibly trigger the Bone Bracelet’s ability.
He’d first aimed for the eyes, but if the Bone Archer’s strength increased further, it might be able to pierce the Bulldozer’s skull.
And so…….
As he forced down the Bone Archer’s stamina, its hands glowed red.
Now for twenty seconds, the Bone Archer’s strength would be +7.
Let this succeed.
“Prepare to fire!”
Creak.
At the command, the Bone Archer nocked the pheasant-feathered arrow once more, and
as Yu Ha-neul’s Core Power infused it, a notification appeared before Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes.
[Bone Archer ‘Bone Archer’ has accumulated proficiency in archery through repeated combat. The ‘Basic Archery’ category is now activated for this entity.]
[Bone Archer has learned the skill ‘Full Power Archery’ from the Basic Archery category.]
“!!”
Startled by the notification, Lee Gang-hyuk looked at the Bone Archer just as the arrow began to glow red—the same as when the Bone Swordsman and Bone Spearman had used their skills.
It was using a skill it had just learned.
“……Fire.”
Though surprised, Lee Gang-hyuk had to attack before the bracelet’s ability faded, so
he issued the command.
The arrow, now glowing red from the skill and wrapped in green energy, shot toward the Bulldozer at tremendous speed.
Boom!
“Hgh, ugh.”
Yu Ha-neul’s face stiffened at the speed, several times faster than before.
The arrow was veering off its intended path.
“……Ungh.”
Crunch.
But he didn’t give up; gritting his teeth, he concentrated all his will on steering the arrow back on course.
Then it happened.
Buzz—buzz.
Buzz—buzz—buzz—buzz.
The green energy clinging to the arrow rippled and began spreading outward in all directions.
And in that moment,
the arrow that had veered off-course curved back onto its trajectory and drove straight into the Bulldozer’s eye.
Squelch!
“Gaaaaah!”
As the arrow struck, one eye bursting from its socket, the Bulldozer threw its head back and let loose a howl of savage agony.
Thud!
Staggering from the impact and losing its balance, the Bulldozer fell backward, and the Yetis shrieked as they rushed upon it.
“Graaaaah!”
Bang! Crash!
In the ensuing melee, the Bulldozer proved its resilience by tearing apart every Yeti that grabbed it, shrieking defiantly.
But Lee Gang-hyuk wasn’t about to sit idle watching.
“Prepare to fire.”
Creak.
Four arrows remained.
The bracelet’s ability had faded and the Bone Archer’s strength returned to normal, but if they fired in quick succession using the skill, the Yetis would handle the cleanup.
Having decided as much, the moment he gave the order, Yu Ha-neul extended trembling hands and released Core Power once more.
“……I can keep going. Keep attacking.”
Nod.
Though his face had gone pale from expending so much Core Power in succession, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded in agreement without hesitation.
He saw this as another opportunity for Yu Ha-neul to grow stronger.
The third shot followed.
Whoosh!
The arrow’s power seemed somewhat reduced due to the diminished strength,
but having learned the technique from the previous two shots, it flew true without veering, striking the Bulldozer directly.
Squelch!
“Gaaah!”
Thud.
Another arrow lodged in its face; despite the reduced impact, the creature staggered and fell again.
As the Yetis charged once more, it tore them apart with the same ferocity, shrieking.
Whoosh!
The fourth shot came in quick succession.
This time Yu Ha-neul struggled to concentrate, and the arrow missed the face.
But it struck the left shoulder, causing the Bulldozer to lose its grip on a Yeti.
The Yeti, nearly torn to pieces, seized the opportunity and shrieked as it fired icicles directly at the Bulldozer’s abdomen.
Thwack!
“Gaaaaah!”
Snap.
Riiip!
As the icicle pierced its abdomen, the Bulldozer seized the creature again and tore it in half.
“Gaaaah!”
“Graaaaah.”
Once the icicles proved effective, the Yetis all fired them at the Bulldozer at once, but each one that attacked was caught and killed.
“Gaaaaaaah!”
Having slaughtered all the Yetis that had swarmed it, the Bulldozer raised a victorious roar and began looking around.
The arrows lodged in its face carried the scent of those it had been hunting.
The creature sniffed the air, searching for them somewhere in this area.
Then the fifth arrow suddenly pierced its face, and before it could even cry out, the sixth arrow shot through the open maw and burrowed straight through its skull.
“Gagh, gak, gaagh…….”
Whoosh.
Crack.
The Bulldozer, lurching from the impact, suddenly fell below the railroad tracks. Soon, its own weight snapped its neck and it died.
As experience points rose, a relieved Lee Gang-hyuk turned to see Yu Ha-neul gasping for breath and gave him a thumbs up.
“Well done.”
“……Yes.”
At the praise, Yu Ha-neul grinned brightly, and the others gathered around him.
“Brother!”
“You really did great. Your skill was amazing!”
“It seems like only yesterday you didn’t even know how to open your Core, and now look at you!”
“You worked hard.”
As praise poured in, Yu Ha-neul scratched his head with embarrassment and laughed.
* * *
After the situation ended…….
Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin went outside to recover the Bulldozer’s Core.
The others insisted on going along,
but he easily overruled them by leaving Yu Ha-neul in Kang Pil-du’s care since his Core Power was depleted, and suggesting to Seo A-rin and Yu Bit-na that they had clothes to make.
After collecting the Core, Lee Gang-hyuk turned to Seo Hwa-rin and shrugged.
“We unexpectedly obtained a Mutated Zombie’s Core.”
“Don’t you think God gave us a Christmas gift?”
As Seo Hwa-rin smiled at those words, Lee Gang-hyuk looked up at the sky and let out a small laugh.
“A gift……. Perhaps it is.”
Remembering the prayer he’d made when the tree was finished, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed and spoke again.
“In any case, Ha-neul caught this, so I’ll give it to him.”
“Understood. Will you stop by the third floor on the way up?”
“Yes. I want to make it right away for him.”
“Then I’ll wait. Let’s go back up together.”
She meant they’d come down together, so they should go back up together,
but recalling that he’d gone to the greenhouse alone after breakfast, Lee Gang-hyuk tilted his head and asked carefully.
“Is something the matter?”
“No. Nothing’s wrong. Thank you for worrying about me.”
Ordinarily, Seo Hwa-rin would have paused a moment to understand his intent before answering, but her immediate response made Lee Gang-hyuk sense there was something, and he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
At that moment…….
Understanding the meaning of his gesture, Seo Hwa-rin shook her head as if conceding defeat.
“It really is nothing. Just……. I’m wondering if it’s okay to be this happy. I’m afraid something might happen, and I’m just being anxious. Anyway……. It’ll pass.”
Seo Hwa-rin laid bare her heart naturally and laughed awkwardly, yet her anxiety lingered; she couldn’t meet Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes directly.
Had something happened to her related to Christmas in the past? Or did something always go wrong whenever she felt happy?
Whichever it was, there was only one thing he could say to ease her worry.
“No matter what happens, if we all work together, I’m sure we can overcome anything.”
Unlike himself—who would immediately identify the problem and provide a solution—Lee Gang-hyuk offered pure words of encouragement, and Seo Hwa-rin looked at him in surprise.
“Mm.”
His words halting briefly, Lee Gang-hyuk scratched his head and added to what he’d said.
“Because we’re a team.”
At those words, Seo Hwa-rin’s anxiety vanished in an instant, and she smiled warmly.
Team.
That word, no matter how many times she heard it, carried such warmth and comfort.
‘Perhaps…….’
It was because Lee Gang-hyuk was the one who said it?
“Well, let’s head back then.”
Seo Hwa-rin, her cheeks flushed without realizing it from the thought that followed, stepped forward, while Lee Gang-hyuk, bewildered, scratched his head as he followed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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