Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 40

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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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Chapter 40
40. Im Jae-beom (3)
“…….”
As the two of them stood silent and motionless, Im Jae-beom let his frustration show.
“Are you just planning to die like that? I was hoping you’d react to something, the way you did on the broadcast……. Very disappointing. Should I make the first move then?”
With those words, Im Jae-beom gestured, and the Aqua Barrier’s form dissolved before beginning to transform into the shape of a snake.
But something didn’t look quite right about it.
How to put it—the snake was too thick and sluggish. Like watching a bloated moray eel.
“Hmm.”
Realizing why it wouldn’t transform into his desired shape, Im Jae-beom looked at Seo A-rin and chuckled softly.
“She’s making an effort, I suppose……. But how amusing.”
Thanks to Seo A-rin’s interference, the water snake had become a moray eel instead, but he seemed unconcerned. He extended his hand and opened his Core.
Splash—!
The moment the moray eel-transformed water snake attacked, Seo A-rin released her power and tore the water snake apart on the spot.
Splash—!
“Oh? You can block that?”
As the water snake was torn apart, Im Jae-beom looked delighted, surprised, and smiled broadly.
Her resistance seemed to be entertaining him.
‘A-rin is being pushed back, but she hasn’t lost complete control.’
Understanding from this that Seo A-rin was resisting hard, Lee Kang-hyeok tried using a skill again against Im Jae-beom.
“Flesh Melt!”
“Didn’t I say it was useless?”
The subsequent attack was blocked far too easily.
He seemed well prepared against Flesh Melt.
But Lee Kang-hyeok wasn’t panicked.
He had used Flesh Melt knowing it would be blocked.
‘He blocked the attack without even using a skill, even while fighting for control. It seems like a passive skill, like Command Realm……. Should I test if he can block Lightning Attribute too?’
Seeing him block the attack without using a skill, Lee Kang-hyeok became confident in his assessment and ordered Electric to attack.
“Screech—!”
Crackle—!
“Lightning Bolt? Good judgment, but…….”
When Electric, receiving orders through the Command Realm, activated the skill, Im Jae-beom laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
Whoosh—!
At the same time, a water column erupted from the ground, blocking the incoming sphere of electricity.
Crackle.
As the Lightning Bolt flowed downward along the water column, Im Jae-beom spoke again.
“Just let it flow elsewhere. Didn’t I already tell you? We were in the same group before. The only thing missing was attachment—I know that creature’s skills well. That’s not your best, is it? Then I’m very disappointed, Survivor.”
Having said that, Im Jae-beom yawned and began stretching, looking even less interested in Seo A-rin than before. But then—!
Bang—!
“Screech—!”
The firmly closed door suddenly swung wide open, and zombies trapped in the Emergency Exit let out horrific shrieks as they poured inside.
“What—what? Aqua Barrier!”
Apparently, he hadn’t anticipated the door opening.
Caught off guard for the first time, Im Jae-beom used Aqua Barrier to push the zombies back.
It was at that moment.
Seo Hwa-rin, who had received Seo A-rin’s note and rushed down to the 3rd Floor, used a skill to attack Im Jae-beom.
“Fire!”
Whoosh.
“No way!”
Bang—!
Hiss.
Confirming that his opponent was Fire Attribute, Im Jae-beom took the flames Seo Hwa-rin fired without any particular defense.
The Aqua Barrier surrounding his body was more than enough to block that attack.
“Attack!”
“Screech—!”
“Hold on!”
Splash—!”
Believing that now, with Seo Hwa-rin’s arrival, he finally had something worth trying, Lee Kang-hyeok ordered the zombies forward. Im Jae-beom retreated backward and summoned an enormous amount of water.
Shortly after…….
Just as with Seo A-rin’s Aqua Field, the water covering the ground soon rose to knee height.
Then the water spreading across the floor surged like waves, pushing back the charging zombies.
“I didn’t know you had more allies……. Now it’s finally getting interesting. Then shall we play properly now? Water Ball!”
Splosh-splash.
Despite the unexpected situation, Im Jae-beom seemed to find it even more amusing. He chuckled and used a skill for the first time.
A basic skill of a Water Attribute Awakener that Seo A-rin often used.
Just as he was trying to prepare for the attack by remembering how she used it—!
A water snake leaped into the Water Ball and suddenly swelled up like a massive python.
Then, opening its enormous jaws, it rushed toward Lee Kang-hyeok. Seo Hwa-rin fired flames, vaporizing the python.
That instant—!
The massive python broke apart into dozens of smaller water snakes.
As dozens of water snakes flew forward with their mouths gaping wide, Seo A-rin released her power again to block them.
“Ugh…….”
But blocking all dozens of water snakes proved too much. Only half scattered, and the rest charged straight through.
“Fire Wall!”
Unable to just take it, Seo Hwa-rin deployed Fire Wall on the ceiling the way she had when attacking Gro’la’s Bear, immediately following up with flames.
“Flame Stream!”
Whoosh—!
“Screech—!”
Crackle-crackle.
As she poured out her flames, Electric, standing in the water covering the floor, fired Lightning Bolts wildly.
“Cute.”
Flames came from the air, and the power of lightning surged through the water toward him. Im Jae-beom pushed the water away and activated a skill.
“Aqua Jet!”
Splash—!”
Hiss…….
The water around him whirled up into the air, and the lightning got caught in the rising vortex. The flames Seo Hwa-rin unleashed were also blocked by the vortex and disappeared entirely.
“Ugh, Flame Stream!”
Splash—!
Hiss-hiss-hiss—!
Yet Seo Hwa-rin refused to give up. She unleashed flames again to attack.
But blocked once more by the rising vortex, it created a massive amount of steam before disappearing.
Instantly, Lee Kang-hyeok’s eyes gleamed.
The moment he saw the steam rising, a way to defeat him came to mind.
Of course…….
Whether that method would work on him was still an unknown.
“Go!”
“Screech—!”
But what if it worked now, while he was being arrogant?
Thinking that way, Lee Kang-hyeok sent the zombies charging. Im Jae-beom shook his head as if baffled.
“All you can manage……. The women beside you are far more interesting.”
The moment those words left his lips, the vortex intensified, pushing back the charging zombies. Then—!
Lee Kang-hyeok reached out and used a skill.
“Flesh Melt!”
Hiss—!
When Flesh Melt activated, steam erupted from Im Jae-beom’s face.
“Tsk, this is ridiculous…….”
The moment Im Jae-beom’s face showed exasperation, Lee Kang-hyeok immediately targeted his face again with a skill.
“Flesh Melt!”
Hiss—!
“Ugh!”
Swish—!
Thud!
As steam rose from his face once more, an irritated Im Jae-beom waved his hand to disperse the vapor. But his zombie, moving beside another zombie, cleanly severed its neck.
“What?”
Did the zombie fail trying to attack him? Why were they suddenly attacking each other?
Baffled by the incomprehensible situation, Im Jae-beom furrowed his brow and retreated backward.
‘There’s something here.’
The Lee Kang-hyeok he knew didn’t do pointless things.
And the one he’d seen on broadcasts had a knack for solving difficult situations in games with creative methods no one else had anticipated.
This situation was probably similar.
Without question, he was planning to attack using some special method Im Jae-beom himself hadn’t conceived of.
Reflexively recalling this about Lee Kang-hyeok, Im Jae-beom retreated. Lee Kang-hyeok immediately used Flesh Melt again.
Hiss—!
As steam rose and blocked his vision, another zombie severed the chest of a zombie beside it.
That made two now.
It was absurd.
It was ridiculous.
When even his full power wasn’t enough, what was this nonsense? Dead zombies couldn’t be revived, could they?
“Just what…….”
Dead zombies drifted across the water’s surface. He voiced his confusion, but only for a moment.
Without any real threat to speak of, Im Jae-beom quickly lost interest and shook his head.
Then—!
Lee Kang-hyeok extended his hand just as he had when using Flesh Melt, but activated a different skill.
“Tactical Crafting!”
“Again the same……. What?”
Seeing the repeated motion, Im Jae-beom had assumed he would use Flesh Melt. But when he realized the skill name was different, panic seized him, and he hastily retreated.
Immediately after, a corpse nearby began emitting light, and Im Jae-beom fell into confusion.
Tactical Crafting?
Did Necromancers have such a skill?
He couldn’t understand it, but his eyes were dazzled by the light the corpse emitted, preventing him from properly assessing the situation. So he raised a vortex to defend.
In the meantime, the corpse that had emitted the light transformed, and a long spear was created.
To block Im Jae-beom’s vision, Lee Kang-hyeok used Flesh Melt on his face.
As steam rose and blocked his vision once more, a single zombie picked up the spear and thrust it at Im Jae-beom with all its strength.
But the zombie lacked the strength. It couldn’t pierce the vortex protecting Im Jae-beom and ended up dropping the spear.
“!!”
As the steam dispersed and Im Jae-beom understood the situation, he summoned a water snake. Seo A-rin frantically released her power, trying to seize control of the water snake. Once the snake’s movement stopped, Seo Hwa-rin activated Fire Wall, vaporizing the vortex around Im Jae-beom.
“Ha—!”
Seo Hwa-rin picked up the spear the zombie had dropped and attacked Im Jae-beom. But the moment Fire Wall activated, he quickly retreated and the spear didn’t reach him.
Having evaded all the successive attacks, Im Jae-beom broke through Seo A-rin’s interference, then began clapping with a look of surprise before speaking mockingly.
“Hah. Creating weapons mid-combat with a skill……. It’s a method I’ve never heard of, but you think that would work on me? It’s novel enough, but…….”
Hehehehe—!
“Wh—what…….”
As he was clapping and mocking them, Im Jae-beom felt a sudden pain in his back and turned around.
There stood the zombie whose chest had been slashed moments before, holding a bone dagger.
“A zombie, no less…….”
The dagger had pierced his lung. Breathing, speaking—none of it came easy.
‘Damn it.’
He’d ignored it because it was drifting lifeless on the water. But had the zombie actually been playing dead?
How could such a thing be possible?
Unable to comprehend the current situation at all, Im Jae-beom glared at Lee Kang-hyeok.
And well he might.
He had faced countless Necromancers before, but never—not once—had he encountered a Necromancer like Lee Kang-hyeok.
Or was he even a Necromancer to begin with? Some other profession that merely resembled it?
“Damn…….”
How had it come to this? He was beginning to regret his choices.
Im Jae-beom’s typical method of attack was to gather as much information as possible about his opponent before the ambush, then launch a surprise strike and savor their helplessness.
But this time, he had truly met them by chance.
His opponent had a lower Level, possessed the same Water Attribute, and had no zombies to command. Because of these circumstances, he’d revealed his true nature far too quickly.
If only…….
If he hadn’t tried to seize control then, he could have deceived Lee Kang-hyeok, gathered information, and enjoyed himself as he usually did.
Or perhaps…….
No…….
If not for that woman who had intervened late…….
He could have savored his opponent’s helplessness the way he always did.
She’d ruined it by butting in.
‘Yes, if only that bitch hadn’t shown up.’
Even as death approached, Im Jae-beom thought that way. As if he would not die alone, he released all the power from his Core.
“Pressurize!”
The moment Im Jae-beom activated the skill, water around him rushed toward him and began being drawn in.
But it didn’t stop there. The water being drawn in was absorbed into his body.
And with that, Im Jae-beom’s body began glowing blue, forming a column of water.
“!!”
The moment she saw this, Seo A-rin’s eyes widened in alarm, and she tried to stop it. But the difference in Core power due to the Level gap was too stark.
Rather than seizing control of the water, she was overwhelmed by Im Jae-beom. Her face turned pale, and she collapsed onto the ground.
“Hahaha—!!”
Pat-pat-pat.
Yet Seo A-rin showed no signs of giving up. She continued to pour out the power from her Core, interfering with him.
Seo Hwa-rin also seemed intent on helping her. She poured out her Core’s power to restrain Im Jae-beom, but it still wasn’t enough. The expressions on both their faces grew increasingly grim.
Electric also tried to help by firing Lightning Bolts.
But even the sphere of electricity was absorbed by him.
It seemed to be a skill that absorbed Core power itself to attack an opponent.

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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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