Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 112

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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 112
112. The Beginning of War (3)
“That’s incredible.”
“…Now I’m starting to understand why that reaction.”
Just as the two watching Tae-san’s performance seemed amazed, Lee Gang-hyuk caught his breath as well, his eyes fixed on the Death Knight with evident astonishment.
It was both extraordinary and awe-inspiring.
‘Even at the lowest rank, he’s performing this well. If he grows beyond this…. It’ll be incredible.’
Despite the lowest-rank designation, Tae-san’s performance was living up to the Death Knight name entirely, and Lee Gang-hyuk found himself nodding involuntarily.
But the momentum lasted only briefly.
Fighting ten zombies alone proved too much; before long, he began giving ground.
Yet even as the zombies pressed their attacks, Tae-san continued fending them off and counterattacking stubbornly.
By the time he’d severed the necks of five zombies—
As he retreated while allowing the zombies to land blows, Lee Gang-hyuk, having assessed his strength, sent out the Skeletons he’d positioned at the Barricade to dispatch the remaining undead.
“In an instant. I’ll draw more in.”
After killing all the zombies, Kang Pil-du concealed himself once more and climbed the stairs. Soon he returned with another ten zombies, at which point Lee Gang-hyuk shook his head in disbelief.
“Your skill at luring zombies is remarkable.”
“It’s child’s play compared to the swarms of undead.”
With a shrug at those words, he watched the Skeletons surge forward and chuckled quietly.
“Do-hui wasn’t this strong either…. Thanks to this, the quest should complete without issue.”
“…Right.”
The moment Lee Gang-hyuk heard the name Do-hui—realizing this was the lover Electric had killed in life—he showed reluctance, prompting Kang Pil-du to shrug.
“Enough of that. Just kill them already.”
“Will do.”
With that brief response, Lee Gang-hyuk signaled Seo A-rin to keep attacking, then steadily continued slaying the zombies Kang Pil-du brought forth.
And so….
How many times did they repeat this?
After killing forty zombies—
As the sun set and the building darkened, they halted the hunt and returned to the Safe House.
* * *
“…It’s my turn now.”
Once the three returned safely, Seo Hwa-rin, who had spent time with the children, smiled wryly and exhaled deeply.
It was time to proceed with her own quest.
After mentally preparing herself, Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin descended to the Underground Parking Lot.
Since the sun had set, they descended to prevent light from leaking out—worried that if Seo Hwa-rin spammed Skills until Exhaustion, they might expose the Safe House’s location.
The others waited on the third floor.
It was decided to keep watch in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Thus only Lee Gang-hyuk descended to the Underground Parking Lot with her.
Afterward, Lee Gang-hyuk set up a Tent in one corner of the parking lot so she could rest comfortably once Exhaustion set in, then—
He retrieved every Accessory he’d crafted so far and handed them to her.
“…Equip them the moment your Core Power runs dry.”
“Thank you.”
Taking the Accessories and drawing a deep breath, Seo Hwa-rin immediately began pouring out her Skills.
Whoosh.
Whoosh-whoosh.
Among the Skills Seo Hwa-rin possessed, Ignite consumed the most Core Power.
But due to its severe recoil, she opted not to use Ignite and instead drained her Core Power with other Skills instead.
And so….
While indiscriminately unloading Skills into empty air—
“Ugh.”
When her Core finally depleted and she let out a small groan, sinking to her knees, Lee Gang-hyuk quickly equipped the Accessories and laid her down in the Tent he’d prepared.
At that moment….
“Haa, haa…. Really……. Why me of all people….”
Her expression now much more relaxed, she frowned irritably and shook her head.
Not like everyone else reaching a certain Level, not hunting zombies—but exhausting herself ten times as the goal….
What did this have to do with becoming stronger?
Why had such a quest appeared for her?
She couldn’t understand it at all.
“…I’m struggling to explain this myself.”
“There’s no help for it. We can only see it through…. I’ll take a brief rest now.”
“Yes. Rest well.”
Though he’d roughly figured out the conditions for Job-Exclusive Quests to appear, Lee Gang-hyuk couldn’t determine why such quests manifested. Now he smiled wryly in comfort.
Seo Hwa-rin sighed once more, then reluctantly nodded and closed her eyes.
And so….
Once she fell asleep, Lee Gang-hyuk draped a Blanket over her and sent a Note to those waiting on the third floor updating them.
[All clear here. No activity detected.]
Fortunately, the creatures around the area didn’t sense the energy and swarm over.
Whether they sensed it but chose to stay still—
Or simply weren’t nearby at the time—
‘Either way, good.’
Whatever the reason, Lee Gang-hyuk was reassured and waited silently for sleeping Seo Hwa-rin to wake.
About ten minutes later….
Perhaps thanks to the Accessories?
As her depleted Core Power recovered somewhat, Seo Hwa-rin’s eyes snapped open and she bolted upright in alarm.
Then, eyes wide, she began feeling around her own body with urgency.
“…….”
Did she worry he’d done something improper while she slept? At that thought, Seo Hwa-rin looked at Lee Gang-hyuk with startled eyes.
“My… my Core seems larger than before.”
“What?”
At her sudden words, Lee Gang-hyuk tilted his head. Seo Hwa-rin examined herself again, and seeing it wasn’t a mistake, she nodded and repeated herself.
“My Core is definitely bigger than before Exhaustion. No, it’s grown!”
“Then that’s truly fortunate.”
Lee Gang-hyuk offered congratulations, but his expression soon grew thoughtful as he stroked his chin.
Seo Hwa-rin felt the same way.
They didn’t understand why her Core had expanded.
If anything, it was thanks to spamming Skills until Exhaustion.
But she’d done that before—many times—and it never caused this. So why had her Core suddenly grown now?
Puzzled, the two stroked their chins and, coming to the same conclusion, looked at each other and spoke in unison.
“The quest?”
“Maybe the quest is responsible.”
“Certainly, but why in that form…. Ah!”
Even as they spoke, confusion flickered in their eyes—until Seo Hwa-rin spoke up first.
“Now I think I understand why such a quest came to me. It’s a manifestation of my desire to grow stronger. So each person receives a method suited to how they can become stronger, right?”
“That could very well be the answer. Everyone has different standards for strength…. I, for instance, think higher Levels mean greater strength. Seo A-rin might have set her standard on freely wielding her Abilities without relying on Skills—the way Lim Jae-beom did.”
“Right! I always thought strength came from having more Core Power than Level.”
“Now it’s becoming clear.”
As the conversation continued, the reason behind Job-Exclusive Quests differing for each person became clearer, and both their expressions brightened.
Meanwhile….
Lee Gang-hyuk observed her with a somewhat rueful expression.
“This is a strange thing to say, but…. If that’s the case, you’ll really need to exhaust yourself diligently until the quest completes.”
“Y-yes, I suppose.”
At those words, Seo Hwa-rin grasped her own situation and nodded, her expression turning glum.
Still, now that she understood the reason—rather than exhausting herself blindly—her eyes gleamed with determination.
* * *
“My standard for strength? Well, obviously Level. The higher your Level, the greater your Ability.”
When Lee Gang-hyuk posed his sudden question upstairs, Kang Pil-du paused before nodding and responding.
Higher Level meant greater strength.
Realizing they shared the same thinking, he found himself nodding involuntarily.
Then he turned to Seo A-rin and asked.
“So you must view strength as freely wielding your Abilities rather than relying on Skills.”
“Huh? I, I mean, yes. How did you know?”
When the startled Seo A-rin asked back, Kang Pil-du spoke first.
“Looks like you’ve figured out why the quest appeared.”
“Exactly.”
When Lee Gang-hyuk nodded at the question, Seo A-rin finally understood and found herself looking at Lim Jae-beom without meaning to.
The person she’d used as her standard for strength in life was none other than Lim Jae-beom.
Confirming her gaze, Kang Pil-du turned back to Lee Gang-hyuk and asked.
“Then others could also receive Job-Exclusive Quests through willpower the same way, right?”
“Likely.”
“Planning to share this with the Jungnang-gu Alliance?”
“Of course. So they grow stronger too and we can defeat Chungmuro.”
The reason Lee Gang-hyuk and everyone else wanted to grow stronger was a burning desire to protect all from the Chungmuro Alliance.
Kang Pil-du’s motivations weren’t substantially different.
Hearing Lee Gang-hyuk’s words, he sighed and then lowered his head, speaking.
“As the leader wishes.”
“…All right.”
Momentarily at a loss for words at being recognized as leader, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded and sent a Note to Park Mu-jin.
* * *
“Just a moment….”
While holding a meeting about the Chungmuro Alliance, Park Mu-jin suddenly asked for a pause, prompting Kim Tae-sik to ask back.
“You received a Note from Lee Gang-hyuk?”
“Yes. He says he has a theory about Job-Exclusive Quests and wants to share it.”
“Job-Exclusive Quests?”
Startled by the unexpected mention, Kim Tae-sik asked again. Park Mu-jin checked the Note and immediately explained.
“According to the message….”
“A desire to grow stronger?”
“Yes. He suggests that each person’s standard for strength manifests as a quest.”
“The desire to grow stronger manifests according to each person’s standard? I see. So that was why.”
The moment Kim Tae-sik heard the explanation, his eyes began to tremble.
And no wonder—
The last time he’d received a Job-Exclusive Quest was when he’d desperately wanted power to avenge his brother.
But even the Ability he’d gained from completing that quest couldn’t kill Hwang Gyeong-sik.
After fleeing that place and settling in Myeonmok-dong, no Job-Exclusive Quest appeared again—which he’d thought was because he’d failed to complete his brother’s revenge by running away…. But now—
Having heard Lee Gang-hyuk’s theory, Kim Tae-sik realized something.
All this time, rather than truly desiring his own growth, he’d been focused on building a force to oppose Hwang Gyeong-sik.
He’d obsessed over building a faction powerful enough to overwhelm Chungmuro, believing that a dominant force could match Hwang Gyeong-sik’s overwhelming might.
But the key was the desire to grow stronger….
‘How cowardly I’ve been.’
He’d never tried to strengthen himself, only to bring strong people to his side and eliminate Hwang Gyeong-sik.
Believing that was the only way to defeat him….
He’d obsessed only over expanding and developing the Jungnang-gu Alliance….
His own weakness.
His fear of Hwang Gyeong-sik.
They’d been holding back his growth all along.
“…….”
Crunch.
Ashamed of himself, Kim Tae-sik kindled a desire to grow stronger for the first time in ages and ground his teeth.
‘This time I won’t run.’
For his brother’s revenge, he needed to grow stronger himself—not rely on a strong man’s hand. The moment this realization struck, a notification appeared before his eyes for the first time in ages.
[You have received a Job-Exclusive Quest.]

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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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