Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 34

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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 34
34. Team (1)
[As a completion reward for the Class-Exclusive Quest, you receive the Necro Smith’s exclusive skill.]
[The skill ‘Tactical Crafting’ has been added.]
[Tactical Crafting][Active/Passive]
– During combat, you can craft desired items.
(Active) Crafting materials are sourced from the bones of corpses within a 20-meter radius of the user, and mana consumption is determined by the power of the crafted item.
(Passive) If the user is in combat, crafting cannot be interrupted or fail due to external interference such as hits, status abnormalities, or sudden environmental changes.
“Tactical Crafting, huh…….”
It was vague.
To be honest, he’d hoped for a skill like the one Seo Hwarin possessed—something flashy and direct in its offensive power.
Or even a support skill like Seo Arin’s would have been acceptable…….
He’d thought that level of hope was reasonable.
It had been such a grueling quest to complete…….
But when he opened the lid, out popped a skill that was neither offensive nor supportive—something vaguely in-between.
‘Is it because the job combines necromancer and blacksmith? Why do all the skills I get end up half-baked like this?’
The more he read the skill description, the more ridiculous and infuriating it felt.
“Still, it’s better to have learned a skill than nothing.”
What good would frustration do him?
What could dissatisfaction change?
After nothing but long sighs, he decided to be grateful for at least obtaining one skill.
Opportunities to gain skills were rare. Of course, if he dug deep enough, there might be other methods people hadn’t shared—quests specific to classes, perhaps.
Not knowing those existed, Lee Ganghyeok had obtained this skill completely by chance, so he chose to be content with that fact and looked up to check the sun’s position.
‘The sun is already……. I should head back today, shouldn’t I? Hmm, I can’t do that. I should at least grab some gas canisters before I go.’
He’d only left the Hideout and fought some zombies, yet the sun was already beginning to set.
Though he hadn’t acquired all the necessary supplies, having nowhere proper to stay, Lee Ganghyeok decided to return before the sun fully set and hurried toward the Gas Station.
He’d eliminated all the zombies that had been nearby.
He planned to return tomorrow at sunrise to search again, and while heading toward the Gas Station——
He spotted a truck parked next to the Recycling Center building right beside him.
Judging by the steel reinforcements piled high in the cargo bed, it seemed to have belonged to someone who worked at a construction site.
If that was the case…….
Wouldn’t there be supplies he needed in there?
Filled with inexplicable anticipation, he approached the truck and examined the cargo bed, but——
It held nothing but scrap metal; no welding equipment was visible. He was disappointed, when suddenly——
A space hidden behind the truck caught his eye.
There, scattered about, were welding supplies—as if someone had been working on something with the scrap metal the truck had brought.
“Oh!”
What incredible luck!
His eyes wide at this unexpected turn, Lee Ganghyeok consulted the note Seo Hwarin had written and gathered what he needed.
As he loaded items onto a cart that happened to be nearby, he noticed something odd: despite someone having been welding, there was no gas canister in sight.
“Can you weld without a gas canister? In the game, you needed one……. Well, if I just take everything, she’ll figure it out.”
Though there was a discrepancy between what was written on the note and the actual items that had been in use, he reasoned that taking everything would let Seo Hwarin handle it herself. He loaded the cart and surveyed the area.
In just a short time, the surroundings had grown much darker.
If he stopped by the Gas Station in this state, the sun would set completely, so Lee Ganghyeok decided to return and pulled the cart toward the Hideout.
“Hmm.”
Then, suddenly, the spot where he’d buried the Bulldozer caught his attention.
He planned to come back here tomorrow anyway.
Could it be that the Bone Accessories had proven more helpful than expected?
Rather than return as he was, crafting Bone Accessories and coming back tomorrow in a stronger state to retrieve the gas canister seemed preferable, so he naturally found himself heading to where the Bulldozer was buried. He invested all his unallocated points into Craftsmanship and used the skill.
“Bone Accessory crafting! Bone Bracelet!”
[You are crafting a Bone Bracelet.]
[Your Craftsmanship affects the crafting outcome.]
[Your Craftsmanship is too low; some of the power imbued in the materials is damaged.]
[The power is adjusted to match your Craftsmanship level.]
He’d considered crafting a ring but found it awkward, and wearing two Necklaces at once seemed strange, so he decided to craft a bracelet again. The moment he used the skill, the notification about insufficient Craftsmanship appeared, as expected.
“Tsk.”
Even with 12 Craftsmanship, it still wasn’t enough, apparently.
“When will I be able to draw out all the power imbued in these materials?”
That thought made him sigh involuntarily.
But that was brief…….
The corpse of the Bulldozer, crushed beneath the pillar fragment, glinted as the crafting completed.
[Crafting successful!]
[You have crafted a Bone Bracelet.]
[Bone Bracelet]
– A bracelet made from the Core of a mutated zombie.
– The wearer’s vitality and strength are enhanced (+2).
– When vitality drops to 50% or lower, the bracelet stimulates the wearer’s nerves, raising strength by 5 points for 20 seconds.
(Cooldown: 10 hours.)
Thanks to using the Bulldozer’s Core, a bracelet that enhanced vitality and strength had been created.
Notably, like the bracelet made from the spider, it boosted abilities when vitality grew low.
‘Just reaction speed was vague, but if strength increases too, it might be worth trying? If I hunt the others and craft more Bone Accessories like this…….’
It would be incredible.
The options differed somewhat from the Necklace made with Grolar Bear’s Core.
But with the spider followed by the Bulldozer having similar options, for some reason greed stirred in him.
If different creatures’ unique traits boosted different abilities when vitality dropped, his survival rate would increase dramatically.
‘That’s good.’
As greed took root, his head nodded of its own accord.
‘The Hideout is stabilizing too, so I should invest in Craftsmanship going forward.’
Having just fought dozens of zombies including the Bulldozer, he felt his Charisma was sufficient as it stood.
The enhanced Corpse Manipulation skill was responsible for that.
Meanwhile, mana and physical abilities were lacking.
So he decided that all future stat points would go into Craftsmanship, allowing him to craft high-performance items that would compensate for his mana and ability deficits.
‘Time to head back.’
He’d crafted the Bone Bracelet from the Bulldozer’s corpse.
Heading back to the Hideout, he knew that if he encountered zombies in the alleys, it would eat up too much time.
So just as he’d come, he climbed to the rooftops, commanded the zombies below to follow him, and ran toward where the Hideout was located.
After a while…….
By the time he reached the Hideout, the sun had completely set.
Though he’d left empty-handed, the cart carrying welding supplies seemed to slow the zombies, and they struggled to keep up, delaying his return more than expected.
But midway, just to be safe, he put on the bracelet crafted from the Bulldozer’s Core, and his newfound strength let him pull the cart much faster than before.
Thanks to that, Lee Ganghyeok was able to return without being too late, and as he climbed upward, he reaffirmed the importance of items.
“Ganghyeok?”
As he was ascending the stairs, Seo Hwarin’s voice suddenly came from above.
It was tinged with worry and anxiety.
Apparently, hearing someone climbing, she’d come down to check, fearing an intruder.
To reassure her, Lee Ganghyeok smiled and answered promptly to her questioning tone.
“Yes. It’s me. I’m sorry for being so late.”
At his reply, Seo Hwarin emerged from where she’d been hiding.
As the flames dancing in both her palms dissipated, a smile bloomed on Lee Ganghyeok’s face.
It seemed the two of them were trusted enough to defend the Hideout now.
“You were waiting here this whole time?”
“Since you hadn’t contacted me, I was worried something might have happened……. But seeing you safe puts my mind at ease. You’ve worked hard.”
“Things got a bit complicated midway……. But I managed to bring what I could. If you could check and let me know if anything’s missing, I’ll grab the rest tomorrow.”
“That must have been difficult to find…….”
As he showed her the items the zombies had been carrying, Seo Hwarin, feeling as though she’d troubled him, bowed her head apologetically.
Well…….
To be honest, it had been difficult, but that was only because of the sudden quest and the Bulldozer at the Transfer Center.
So Lee Ganghyeok shrugged with a smile, saying she needn’t feel that way.
“It’s fine. I found the items easily, but a Class-Exclusive Quest popped up suddenly, and I was delayed getting back after completing it. So don’t worry too much.”
“A Class-Exclusive Quest? Something like that exists?”
At his words, Seo Hwarin tilted her head with a questioning expression.
From her reaction, it was clear she knew nothing about Class-Exclusive Quests.
“Well, it popped up for me suddenly too. If either of you gets one later, please let me know. I’ll help with what I can.”
“Of course!”
By her bright expression, the quest reward must have been good.
Setting aside her curiosity, Seo Hwarin examined the items Lee Ganghyeok had brought.
Not knowing what welding equipment entailed, she wasn’t sure if everything was perfect, but since he’d clearly worked hard, she decided to offer at least a warm word. As she looked over the items, her eyes went wide.
“Oh?”
“There’s no gas canister, right? I was going to grab that too, but it would’ve made me too late……. I’ll get the gas canister first thing tomorrow morning. I’ve cleared out all the zombies nearby, so I just need to go and retrieve it.”
Anticipating her surprise, Lee Ganghyeok spoke sheepishly, but Seo Hwarin hurriedly shook her head.
“Oh, no. You got everything we needed. I don’t think you need to go.”
“Excuse me?”
Everything?
Without the gas canister?
At her words, Lee Ganghyeok tilted his head in confusion, and Seo Hwarin, with a delighted expression, pointed to the welding machine.
“It’s an electric welding machine, so I just need to borrow some electricity and I can start right away! You’ve truly worked so hard!”
“Ah! That’s why……. I thought someone had been welding, but since I couldn’t see a gas canister, something felt off. So electricity alone would’ve worked?”
In the game Lee Ganghyeok played, a gas canister was always necessary for welding, so he’d assumed the same held true in reality. But apparently, it varied by type.
“I’m glad everything was gathered correctly.”
Understanding at last, he nodded, and Seo Hwarin smiled as she spoke.
“I’ll start working on it first thing tomorrow. Oh! You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll go prepare something. Go wash up and come back!”
“What? You two haven’t eaten either?”
“No. We wanted to eat together once you returned……. You seemed like you’d be back soon, and besides, we weren’t that hungry……. I’ll go upstairs and get ready. Come up slowly.”
They’d waited without eating?
Why not just eat first?
“There’s no need to——”
Before he could finish, saying they should go ahead——
“It’s nicer to eat together, isn’t it?”
Seo Hwarin, as if she already knew what he was about to say, didn’t listen to the rest. She smiled brightly and headed upstairs.
Left alone on the stairs, Lee Ganghyeok let out a bewildered sigh.
But soon, a strange feeling washed over him, and a smile slowly bloomed. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
‘Definitely more comfortable than being alone.’

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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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