Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 30

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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 30
30. Concealment-Type Awakener (3)
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
Lee Kanghyeok’s question only made the man’s laughter grow louder.
“Puh-hehe. How am I supposed to believe you, you ask?”
…….
“You don’t have to believe me. But I’ll tell you the locations of the Shelters, so please—just let me stay in the bathroom at least. Why not just keep me chained up like you are now? I’m not a dog. I’m a person. Every time, the bathroom—ugh, damn it all.”
The more he thought about it, the more pathetic he felt—those endless hours waiting for the door to open—and the more furious he became at the injustice of his treatment, as though he might lose his mind entirely.
Especially the periodic groaning of the Zombies outside the door and the bitter cold seeping from the cement floor only drove him deeper toward madness.
His stomach ached. If he opened the door, the Zombies would attack. And when he tried to sleep, the cold was unbearable.
Killing the Zombies themselves wasn’t difficult, honestly.
But he’d held back because anything after that seemed likely to spiral into an irreversible situation.
Since he never wanted to experience that again, when the man finally shouted in fury, Lee Kanghyeok simply nodded in agreement.
“Fine. Then I’ll wait a moment while we remodel the bathroom for you to stay in…….”
“I’ll wait! While you’re at it, I’d really appreciate some blankets too.”
“……All right.”
Before he could even finish speaking, the man answered as though he’d been waiting for this all along.
Was that the reason?
Lee Kanghyeok found himself worrying that he was treating this decent person—blinded by their desire for revenge—too harshly.
He hadn’t heard the full story, but from what the man had said so far, he’d simply been trying to kill a Necromancer-hunting Electric Awakener. Yet here Lee Kanghyeok was, locking him up just because he’d come after him.
‘……What am I thinking? Regardless, he came after me, and he tried to attack the moment he saw Electric. I can’t afford to pity him.’
Survival Law Number Seven: Do not pity others. My own life, which I might lose because of that pity, is far more pitiful.
The moment sympathy arose for the man, his own Survival Law resurfaced in his mind.
‘That’s right.’
Correct.
There’s no need to pity him.
After all, he’d followed Lee Kanghyeok, he could have exposed the hideout, and if the man had misunderstood Electric and ambushed while in Concealment, it would’ve been Lee Kanghyeok taking the damage.
Having steadied his wavering resolve, Lee Kanghyeok placed the man back in the Valve Room.
Then he called for Seo Hwarin and Seo Arin to ask their thoughts on remodeling the bathroom.
“It definitely…… seems like a good idea.”
“I agree.”
Both women consented immediately upon hearing the proposal.
It simply sounded too harsh to them.
Of course, that wasn’t to say they suggested releasing the man.
They shared Lee Kanghyeok’s view on that point.
Because someone had once been driven out of a Shelter and brought Zombies back to destroy it, they’d come to understand that releasing the man could put themselves in danger instead.
And so…….
With the three in agreement, they immediately began work on remodeling the bathroom.
Again, Seo Hwarin took the lead.
Lee Kanghyeok had requested this because she had plenty of experience with such work.
Seo Hwarin, having been asked, seemed pleased.
It felt like she was returning to her days as a carpenter and architect—not an Awaker, but a builder.
And so, with eager eyes, she inspected the space where the man would be confined, then stroked her chin and asked Lee Kanghyeok a question.
“Kanghyeok, do you happen to have a Welding Machine?”
“A Welding Machine? We didn’t specially acquire one……. Do we really need a Welding Machine for this?”
“Yes. The bathroom door is too weak—if he decides to, he could break through and escape anytime. So I want to replace it with a metal door, like the Valve Room.”
“Hmm…….”
A wooden door could certainly be shattered by any Awakener. Even if there were ways to block the stairs to stop him from escaping, there was no need to create such a situation in the first place.
“Then I’ll go look for one in the area. Just tell me what else we’ll need for welding.”
“Are you sure? The Union is right around the corner.”
Since there was no Welding Machine, he’d go find one himself.
The moment he said that, Seo Hwarin asked with a worried expression.
With the Union’s Awakeners having moved on from their Zombie extermination operations, they’d decided to minimize ventures outside. So her concern was understandable when he said he’d go out.
Lee Kanghyeok answered with a smile.
“Yes. This time I’m planning to look upward, away from where the Union is. There are lots of factories in that direction. Shouldn’t we find a Welding Machine there?”
“Then it should be fine. Still, be careful.”
“Don’t worry. Oh! Arin.”
“Yes?”
“While I’m gone, could you keep watch? If there are no Zombies around, he might try to escape.”
The sudden call startled her only briefly.
When Lee Kanghyeok asked Seo Arin to keep watch over the man, she immediately nodded.
“Understood! Trust me completely. If he tries to escape, I’ll suppress him with water! I learned the technique before. So don’t worry—come back safely!”
A method of suppressing someone using water, then.
Though he’d never seen it himself, the moment she said it, he saw Seo Hwarin nod as if there were a reliable technique for it.
‘In that case…….’
I can trust them, then?
Honestly…….
He’d never entrusted anything to anyone else before, so he was anxious. But his worry wasn’t about their betrayal—it was about their safety.
Yet when he realized that Seo Hwarin’s Level was higher than his own, he felt reassured and smiled, nodding.
“That’s reassuring. Then I’ll be off. If anything happens while I’m gone, let me know through the community board.”
“Yes! Here, take this.”
“I have something for you too!”
As they spoke and turned, both women handed him the Accessories they’d been wearing.
These were items crafted from Zombies hunted and processed by the two of them.
Both women, having handed over the Accessories as naturally as breathing, still showed concern, wishing him well despite their lingering worry.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep a close eye on things from here. So be careful. We trust you to do well, but safety comes first above all else.”
“That’s right! Safety first!”
“Yes. No matter what anyone says, safety comes first. I’ll take my time and return as safely as possible. If it looks like I’ll be delayed, I’ll send a note.”
“Okay!”
“I’ll be watching the message box all day.”
As the two women smiled with effort at his words, Lee Kanghyeok felt reassured and headed down the stairs.
* * *
“Attack!”
“Fireball!”
“Lightning Bolt!”
The Union’s suppression team, having by now advanced from Gongneung Station to Junggye Station, lured Zombies and unleashed a barrage of attacks as always.
Even as they did, Jang Manho, who should have been commanding them, exhaled a sigh of frustration and recalled what Kim Taesik had said.
‘The knowledge and resources he possesses will make us stronger. So when you meet him, try to please him as much as possible and recruit him. I trust you, so I’ve given you this task—this time you must complete it without fail.’
The more he thought about it, the less he understood.
“Can a single person really make that much of a difference?”
“Sir?”
When Jang Manho, who’d been sighing continuously, murmured something, the man beside him asked in confusion.
It seemed he’d decided Jang Manho had said something he hadn’t quite caught.
Normally, he’d have flown into a rage at that kind of inattention, and so the man trembled and closed his eyes, dreading the scolding to come. But Jang Manho simply waved his hand dismissively.
“Never mind. Keep searching and luring them back.”
“Yes, sir!”
Whatever it was, the man knew he had to get away quickly or face punishment.
So the moment Jang Manho spoke, he ran without even looking back.
Yet Jang Manho showed no interest, merely stroking his chin as he sighed.
‘What exactly is that guy that big brother is so focused on? Tsk. I’ll understand once I meet him.’
Convinced that his questions would be answered when he met the person Kim Taesik had spoken of, Jang Manho rose and slowly stretched.
To advance to Madel Station, where the informant was supposedly located, all the Zombies ahead would need to be cleared.
So the moment his mana recovered, he stood to kill the Zombies. But the man who’d headed forward moments earlier suddenly came running back with a startled expression.
“Captain! We’ve found signs of Zombie hunting near Nowon Station!”
“Nowon Station? Is there a Shelter in that area?”
“None confirmed.”
Zombie hunting signs with no confirmed Shelter nearby? The moment Jang Manho heard the report, he realized this must be a trace of the person Kim Taesik was searching for. His face broke into a smile as he nodded.
“Then he must be in that area. Hurry! We’ll advance to Nowon Station the moment dawn breaks tomorrow!”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
‘Where could these things possibly be found?’
Lee Kanghyeok, having ventured outside to gather welding supplies as requested by Seo Hwarin, climbed northward while checking the list she’d written.
“Tsk.”
He’d been moving via rooftops and narrow alleys to avoid Zombies as much as possible. When he found neither rooftops to vault across nor narrow passages near the Transfer Center, he immediately unfolded a map.
As he was checking which direction to proceed, he suddenly recalled a Gas Charging Station in the vicinity.
‘Let me stop by the station and secure some Gas Canisters first.’
Gas Canisters were on the list anyway.
So, having remembered it, he decided to secure the canisters first. He raised his head and gazed toward the distant Transfer Center.
‘I should probably avoid that, right?’
It was too large to truly call a Lair like an apartment complex or a mega-store, but it had been a place where countless people passed through, so Zombies would be plentiful there.
Rather than risk being spotted and fighting them while passing by, moving via the hills behind would be far safer.
‘The Gas Charging Station should be around here. If I move this way through there, it should work. So before I head down…….’
Whoosh.
Crash!
Having plotted his route via map, he dropped a Flowerpot that was sitting on the rooftop down below to check if any Zombies were hiding that he’d missed.
At that moment…….
Zombies that had clearly been invisible moments before revealed themselves.
‘If I’d gone down without thinking, it would’ve been a disaster.’
Seeing about a dozen Zombies gathered around where the Flowerpot fell, groaning, he breathed a sigh of relief and issued a kill order to the Tamed Zombies standing by at the mouth of the alley.
“Graaaagh!”
Thwack! Thwack!
The moment he issued the command, the Zombies moved with purpose.
Those carrying Shields split to the front and rear to protect their allies, while those wielding Bone Spears and Bone Axes positioned themselves between the Shields, lowering their stances.
At the center stood Electric.
This was the Formation Lee Kanghyeok had conceived in his mind, and even before he spoke, the effect of Command Authority transmitted it to the Zombies, causing them to construct the Formation.
“Kyaaaaagh!”
“Graaaaaaagh!”
As his Tamed Zombies were forming up according to his intention, wild Zombies that had drawn near attacked first.
But their attacks—armed only with claws and teeth—were meaningless against those equipped with Shields.
Instead, their claws broke and their teeth were knocked loose.
The creatures they’d attacked rapidly weakened. Yet the wild Zombies didn’t stop, continuing to charge.
This was because they’d spotted Lee Kanghyeok descending from the rooftop.
“Graaaaaagh!!”
“Gurgle-gurgle.”
Whoosh!
Smash! Crunch!
Having found an appetizing morsel, the Zombies tried desperately to breach the Formation.
But their skulls were crushed by the ensuing storm of Bone Axes and Bone Spears, and they fell dead.
[Congratulations. Your level has increased. All physical attributes rise by 1.]
…….
[Your consumed stamina and mana are restored.]
The moment he’d killed the Zombies in the alley, a notification of a level increase appeared.
‘About time.’
Since he’d reached Level 15 as promised and had killed quite a few Zombies since then, it was only natural his level would rise. Lee Kanghyeok smiled, and soon another notification began to appear before his eyes.

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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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