Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 21

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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 21
21. Surviving Winter (2)
‘Food at this level should be enough… and maybe I can have a beer for once in a while?’
He’d cleared out the Parking Lot, which had been packed with Zombies.
Even the Combat Expert who had been herding Zombies around was dead.
And he’d secured a large quantity of cars that could provide electricity.
Lee Kang-hyuk, feeling that today alone he could eat and relax without worry, picked up the beer he’d obtained recently and headed to the house where those two were staying.
Of course, even as he did, he stationed the Zombies he’d tamed on the 20th Floor to prepare for any unexpected intrusions.
Well…
Thanks to the blackout curtains, outsiders couldn’t tell anyone was inside.
But it was better to prepare in advance anyway.
When Lee Kang-hyuk arrived with food and beer, stationing Zombies within his Command Radius, both women’s eyes went wide.
“There was beer in this world?”
“Alcohol? Would that be alright?”
This time too, the two women’s reactions were different.
Lee Kang-hyuk brushed past the surprised Seo A-rin and reassured the worry-filled Seo Hwa-rin once more.
“Yes. The Zombies are keeping watch, so you can rest easy. Besides, on a day like today, I thought we needed this… A can or two should be fine, right?”
“For our sake, you’ve gone to such trouble… Really, thank you so much…”
As Seo Hwa-rin, seemingly reassured, began apologizing again and trying to express gratitude, Lee Kang-hyuk cut her off.
“You don’t need to thank me anymore. Anyway, after today’s hard work you must be hungry, so let’s eat first.”
Saying this, Lee Kang-hyuk filled the Coffee Pot with water and arranged the food he’d brought on the table.
To be honest, all he had were a few packages of Ramen and some Canned Tuna, but the two women smiled brightly as if satisfied.
It wasn’t because there was so much food.
Since arriving here, they’d always eaten together just the two of them—now they were smiling because Lee Kang-hyuk had joined them for a meal.
It felt…
like they’d found a new home.
In that moment.
Seo Hwa-rin, recalling something Lee Kang-hyuk had said earlier, asked with curiosity.
“Oh right, didn’t you say earlier you had something to tell us?”
“Yes? Ah! I mentioned it in passing, but it seems the nearby Shelters have formed an alliance. If they could eliminate even a Combat Expert herding Zombies, the scale must be considerable.”
Though Lee Kang-hyuk hadn’t even broached the main point, Seo Hwa-rin’s expression hardened as she grasped the implication.
“…You’re saying we have to choose whether to stay here or go to a Shelter.”
“Yes. I prefer to stay here and intend to continue, but unlike me, the two of you have a choice. As I said when you first arrived, I have no intention of forcing you. So please think carefully about your futures and let me know—”
Before Lee Kang-hyuk could finish, Seo A-rin gulped down the beer and then let out a sigh.
“I’m staying. If you were going to say that, why didn’t you say it before we fixed up the field! I repaired everything the rain damaged, and I want to see it sprout, if only out of spite!”
Because of the field?
Finding the reason rather absurd, Lee Kang-hyuk scratched his cheek and looked at Seo Hwa-rin.
Then Seo Hwa-rin, who had been silent for a moment, shrugged and nodded.
“That’s what she says.”
On the surface, it seemed like she was respecting her sister’s choice,
but a faint smile played at the corners of Seo Hwa-rin’s lips.
Like someone who’d already made up her mind.
Satisfied that she didn’t need to persuade her younger sister, Seo Hwa-rin smiled and stared intently at Lee Kang-hyuk.
As if hoping he would make the decision for her. When their eyes met, Lee Kang-hyuk exhaled a laugh and nodded.
“Good. Then let’s set some rules for living here.”
“Yes!”
When Lee Kang-hyuk accepted their decision, both women’s faces brightened even more.
Soon after…
“So can we have more beer now? A toast together to commemorate us all being here?”
When Seo A-rin held up a can and proposed a toast, Lee Kang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin laughed in unison, as if they’d been thinking the same thing.
* * *
The next day.
When Lee Kang-hyuk came up to the 23rd Floor and handed over a Notebook, both women looked puzzled.
“What is this?”
“My Survival Rules written down. I wanted you to refer to them before we set the actual rules. They’re also the driving force behind how I’ve managed to survive all this time.”
Survival Rules?
The reason Lee Kang-hyuk managed to survive?
The two women, now curious, took the Notebook and immediately examined its contents.
“Eat when you can eat. Carelessness is death… Pity others… I am never a hero. You lived by all of these? But you broke several of your own rules to save us. We really can’t thank you enough!”
As she read the Survival Rules, Seo A-rin’s eyes widened with emotion upon reaching the seventh and eleventh rules, and she expressed her gratitude with a moved expression.
It seemed she believed he had broken his own Survival Rules to save them.
“Ha ha…”
Lee Kang-hyuk didn’t know what to say, so he laughed awkwardly.
Seo Hwa-rin, watching him, thought about what choice she herself would have made, and looking at him as if she’d realized something, she spoke.
“That… surely you weren’t thinking of…”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“…”
He dodged the question immediately.
Which only confirmed it further.
That he had meant to kill them before they turned into Mutant Zombies, but changed his mind.
That luck had saved them.
Or perhaps that wasn’t about coincidentally finding them while building a field on the Rooftop—perhaps there was some catalyst that changed his heart.
“Well, either way you saved us.”
Setting aside her racing thoughts and simply accepting the outcome, Seo Hwa-rin expressed her gratitude, and Lee Kang-hyuk smiled and shrugged.
“Anyway, we’ll set the rules after the day’s work is done. For now, let’s deal with the ones inside the building.”
“Sounds good. Let’s work hard and clean today too.”
“Yes! I’m ready anytime!”
The two women answered energetically at his words.
After sharing dinner together the night before, they finally felt like a team.
A smile rose unbidden as Lee Kang-hyuk felt that sentiment expressed naturally, and he spread three fingers.
“Before the weather gets colder, we need to find the Car Keys quickly, so let’s split into three teams. The lineup: I’ll be one team, Hwa-rin will be another, and A-rin and Electric will form a team, each with five Zombies. How does that sound?”
“Doesn’t sound bad. But will the Zombies follow our commands?”
There probably aren’t more than a few Zombies in the building. Certainly, dividing up to clean the building would be efficient.
But that’s only possible if the Zombies actually follow orders.
When Seo Hwa-rin asked, uncertain, Lee Kang-hyuk shrugged again and pointed to the Zombies.
“Might as well try.”
“Raise your right arm.”
“Grraaah…”
The moment she heard that, Seo Hwa-rin issued a command to a Zombie standing nearby. The Zombie obeyed, raising its right arm as she instructed.
“Turn around, right arm still raised.”
“…Skrk.”
Seeming uncertain with just one test, she gave another command, and as the Zombie turned around, Seo Hwa-rin looked at Lee Kang-hyuk as if fascinated.
At the same time, Lee Kang-hyuk cautioned her.
“I did issue them a command to obey you both, but my Skill has some influence too, so don’t go more than 30 meters from me. Beyond that, they might bite you. Also, there could be Mutant Zombies inside the building, so be careful. Never let your guard down—stay alert right through to the end. Understood?”
“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’ll move as safely as I can. And that aside, we’ve always just suffered at the hands of Zombies, and now comes a day when we control them… It’s strange, isn’t it? Come on, Zombies, let’s go!”
“Grraaah.”
Unlike Seo Hwa-rin, who answered calmly to his warning, Seo A-rin set off immediately after responding, leading the Zombies along.
Did they really understand her commands properly?
His concern was brief.
“Aqua Field!”
Splash.
Standing before a door, Seo A-rin sent water through the gap, then naturally stepped back, and as the Zombies began smashing the doorlock, Electric released a massive discharge.
Attacking the Zombies inside before even entering the building.
Even when the door opened, Seo A-rin hid behind it to protect herself from any danger, letting the Zombies and Electric enter first to finish off those inside.
“I don’t think we need to worry.”
“You’re right. Then let’s get started too.”
“Yes!”
With that, both women each led their Zombies and began searching the building.
While Lee Kang-hyuk opened doors and used Flesh Melting to eliminate Zombies, Seo Hwa-rin breathed flames as if she’d become a flamethrower herself, cutting down the Zombies inside.
‘Calm most of the time, but when fighting, she adapts well to her attribute.’
The more he watched the sisters, the more interesting they became.
‘Man, what a mess.’
After clearing his section and stepping into the hallway, Lee Kang-hyuk shook his head in disbelief at the sight of flames on one side and a flood on the other.
And so…
Starting from the innermost apartment on the 30th Floor and clearing down to the 28th Floor, Lee Kang-hyuk stopped for the day to conserve the Mana and Core Power of the two women.
Should someone try to break in during the night, he wanted them to have strength held in reserve to face the threat.
“Let’s call it a day here.”
“Phew, good work today!”
“Thanks to you both, I got to have an interesting experience. Well, I’ll go check on the Rooftop for a bit!”
The moment the search ended, Seo A-rin headed up to the Rooftop, saying she needed to check on the field.
“She’s always busy.”
“She’s that devoted to the field. I’m going down to continue building the bridge—what about you, Kang-hyuk?”
It was remarkable enough that a Water-attribute Awakener was present at all, let alone one so dedicated to farming.
As Seo Hwa-rin spoke, Lee Kang-hyuk thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to share the materials he’d gathered so far, but at her following question, he pulled out the Car Keys he’d obtained today.
“I got the Car Keys, so I should go check them out.”
The two Car Keys he’d acquired today were for vehicles parked in the 4th Basement Level and the 5th Basement Level respectively.
“Will you be alright? The cleaning is done so it should be safe, but there won’t be any lighting—it’ll be pretty dark. Should we come along and help? We can light it up for you.”
Concerned that he was going down to the Parking Lot, she suggested coming along.
Lee Kang-hyuk waved his hand with a smile.
“Just have the Zombies make some Torches for me. That should be enough. Besides, it’s better to rest when we can than to exhaust ourselves all moving together. We don’t know what might happen.”
There wouldn’t be any Zombies down there anyway.
The sound of the engine starting wouldn’t leak outside.
Judging that it was better to move alone than waste all three of their stamina, Lee Kang-hyuk’s logic made sense to Seo Hwa-rin, and she nodded in understanding.
“You’re right… Saving stamina to be ready for an attack is important. Got it. Then wait just a moment!”
“Yes.”
With that, Seo Hwa-rin went down to the 23rd Floor and returned with five Torches.
But since they differed from the method he usually knew, Lee Kang-hyuk tilted his head, and Seo Hwa-rin explained.
“I connected Water Barrels to Wooden Beams. This way it’s easy to replace the wicks. And I put cloth soaked in cooking oil in these containers, so when the flame starts to dim you just replace it.”
“Ah… Even I didn’t know that method. How clever. Thank you so much.”
He hadn’t known Water Barrels could be used that way.
Having gained new knowledge, Lee Kang-hyuk accepted the Torches and expressed his gratitude.
“I’ll be going then.”
“Yes. I’ll finish up while you’re at the Parking Lot. Take care out there.”
As he bid goodbye and stepped into the stairwell, Seo A-rin, who had come down from the Rooftop, waved with a smile on her face.
“Be careful, and come back safe!”
I’m going. Come back safe.
For some reason, a smile rose unbidden at those words.
“Yes. See you in a bit. If anything happens, I’ll contact you through the Community. Leave the messaging function open.”
“Will do!”

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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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