Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 90

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 90
90. Apartment Complex (2)
‘A decent find.’
Having secured the box, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression brightened considerably.
The world had collapsed, and the value of gold and jewels had vanished with it.
Yet there were those who occasionally sought to purchase such things, clinging to hopes of civilization’s restoration.
But Lee Gang-hyuk wasn’t pleased at the prospect of selling to them—he was pleased because he saw potential materials for crafting.
And rightfully so.
Jewels were necessary for manufacturing magical items like staves.
He’d realized this the moment he saw the Obsidian Staff.
So he’d been planning to raid a jewelry shop soon—but having these materials drop into his lap like this was, from his perspective, an absolute godsend.
Thump.
The Zombies that had been inside the house had just died, and his Experience Points ticked up fractionally.
“Did you find anything?”
“Just some gold and jewels so far. Shall we check the kitchen?”
At Seo Hwa-rin’s question, Lee Gang-hyuk shrugged and headed toward the kitchen.
At the same time…
Seo A-rin, having already torn through the kitchen upon arrival, shook her head with a wry smile.
“This is about all that’s worth eating.”
“…Liquor again.”
As she spoke, holding out two bottles of Liquor, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression grew bitter.
With each passing day, the storehouse accumulated more alcohol while food supplies dwindled.
Of course, they still had enough provisions that concern wasn’t yet warranted, but the thought of food disappearing entirely while the warehouse filled with nothing but drink prompted all three to exhale in frustration.
“It’s better than nothing. This place seems picked clean anyway, so let’s move on. There’s plenty more to loot.”
“That sounds good.”
They’d cleared one apartment. With many more to go, Lee Gang-hyuk saw no reason to dwell on this one and moved to the next unit.
No Zombies here.
But…
Whoever lived here had fled the moment the catastrophe struck, leaving nothing worth taking.
If anything, there was only a blanket with thick quilting.
“…Next apartment.”
Since they already had serviceable bedding, he headed straight upstairs.
After thoroughly searching roughly half of Building 1’s units on the first and second floors, they’d found little of note.
“Apartment complexes really don’t have much.”
“I didn’t expect this little. Going forward, I think we should avoid these kinds of lairs.”
Beyond the jewels and Liquor from the ground floor, they’d found nothing else. Having only cleared out Zombies, the three’s expressions had soured.
Perhaps for that reason…
Seo Hwa-rin spoke brightly, hoping to lift the spirits of her two companions.
“Still, if we search everything thoroughly, won’t useful things turn up? Honestly, we found a famous painter’s work on the fourth floor earlier. We didn’t need it, but it was still there.”
“…I’m guessing we won’t need it in the future either, but let’s note the location. If our circumstances change, we can come back for it then.”
Truthfully, Seo Hwa-rin was right—there wasn’t a complete absence of goods.
Works by renowned artists, golf bags filled with clubs, classical porcelain—there were plenty of high-value items.
They simply weren’t useful to the three of them.
“Next apartment.”
Moving to the next unit, the three naturally deployed the Water Snake and waited.
After a moment, Seo A-rin finished her reconnaissance and tilted her head in confusion.
“Two Zombies again. But something’s odd. One of them has had its arm torn off. Like it’s been eaten by something…”
“Hmm…”
An arm torn off?
It might be evidence of predation.
Which meant there could be a Mutant Zombie inside. Lee Gang-hyuk stroked his chin thoughtfully, then pointed upward decisively.
“We’ll skip this one and check other apartments first.”
“Got it!”
They couldn’t afford to open the door not knowing whether a Mutant Zombie existed within, what it was, or what its weaknesses might be.
Leaving that door closed, the three moved to the next apartment and used the Water Snake again to scout inside—and Seo A-rin’s expression hardened instantly.
“…This Zombie has a torn arm too.”
“Again?”
“Hmm.”
Another Zombie with a torn arm, just like the previous apartment?
Perhaps the Mutant Zombie inside burrows through walls like a mole, moving freely between units.
‘Or there could be a passage connecting the upper and lower apartments. Either way, we should retreat now and search for any creature related to this.’
Zombie predation.
The ability to move freely through walls.
They’d gathered clues about the mystery Mutant Zombie.
Continuing to search Building 1 was riskier than moving to another building entirely.
“Let’s end our search of Building 1 here and move to another building immediately.”
“Understood.”
“Just to be safe, I’ll send the Water Snake ahead first!”
At her words, Seo Hwa-rin immediately summoned the Flame and sent it upward along the stairwell, while Seo A-rin sent the Water Snake downward.
Even if they didn’t understand how it passed through walls, they knew it moved freely.
So they were preparing to block a potential rear approach—like a cricket striking from behind—and securing an escape route to get out quickly.
Thanks to their quick thinking, the three safely and rapidly exited Building 1, and their eyes turned skyward.
“It might be an entirely new species, but for now let’s try to find related information.”
“I really hope there’s something out there.”
After the global alert went out, posts on the community had dropped dramatically.
With information sources dwindling, Seo Hwa-rin murmured despondently at their inability to find what they sought—and Lee Gang-hyuk answered with a bitter smile.
“…Can’t be helped. Everyone’s in chaos right now. Let’s keep looking.”
* * *
Building 2 didn’t have nearly as many Zombies as Building 1.
Most apartments were empty, and every one they entered had shattered windows.
They understood it was the Giant Zombie’s doing, but…
Why had Building 1 swarmed with Zombies?
And why such a difference between buildings standing right next to each other?
Was it because of the unknown Mutant Zombie in Building 1?
“Sigh.”
“Ugh…”
Their contemplation lingered, but with still no useful supplies appearing, sighs multiplied.
‘Was the whole point of clearing this apartment complex just to eliminate Zombies? Or are we just unlucky?’
He didn’t know.
Would continuing the search yield better results?
The doubt faded quickly enough.
When Lee Gang-hyuk found gold and jewels in another jewelry box, he stroked his chin.
But as the sun began to set, he set aside his thoughts and spoke to his companions.
“Let’s call it a day and head back.”
“Finally…”
Having worked hard with little to show for it, Seo A-rin’s face brightened immediately.
“…Not all lairs will be like this, right?”
“No way to know. But we did get something out of this.”
At those words, Seo Hwa-rin nodded, the Mutant Zombie from Building 1 coming to mind before the jewels. She asked again.
“You’re still planning to take down that creature in Building 1?”
“Yes. Once we know what it is and understand its weaknesses.”
“And if we can’t find that information?”
“Then we just overwhelm it with numbers.”
Sometimes when answers don’t exist, brute force methods work.
Like solving a math problem through tedious calculation when you don’t know the formula.
The kind where a test sheet fills with drawings because you’re working it out by hand.
“If we don’t know what it is, we just keep sending corpses from that Baseball Stadium next door until it dies from attrition.”
As Lee Gang-hyuk spoke, gazing out the window at the Baseball Stadium visible beyond, Seo Hwa-rin shook her head in astonishment.
“…A Necromancer having access to an abundance of corpses is quite the asset.”
“Quite so.”
His smile deepened at her words.
* * *
Upon arriving at the Hideout, as Lee Gang-hyuk climbed the stairs, he reached the layer where corpses were kept and turned back to speak.
“Get some rest. I have things to do.”
“Huh?”
At his words, Seo A-rin, who’d been tilting her head in confusion, suddenly understood and cried out.
“Oh! The staffs. Jewels were the materials, weren’t they?”
At her words, Seo Hwa-rin nodded knowingly and smiled.
“We’ll look into that Mutant Zombie from Building 1. And we were planning dinner around nine, so let me know if you think you’ll be late.”
“Got it.”
That wasn’t an offer to eat without him.
It was a promise to wait and eat together.
Lee Gang-hyuk nodded at the time and repeated “nine” to himself. As the two headed upstairs, he stood in the space where the corpses lay gathered and stroked his own chin.
“I should make a staff for myself while I’m at it.”
He needed a weapon like the Obsidian Staff.
Of course, it wasn’t as though he had no weapons. He currently used a Bone Sword crafted from a Cricket’s Core as a temporary option, but…
‘A staff suits a Necromancer better than a sword.’
If he crafted a staff to equip himself and made a Bone Swordsman using the Cricket’s sword, his overall power would increase.
‘I was originally saving it for that man when he arrives, but I can’t just wait indefinitely.’
Lee Gang-hyuk briefly recalled the man currently in Chuncheon, then shook his head and used the skill.
“Bone Weapon Crafting!”
[You have sufficient materials for crafting.]
[Here is the craftable list.]
– Bone Sword x 2
……
……
– Bone Staff x 1
“Hm?”
Fortunately the staff appeared in the list, but his brow furrowed when it didn’t have the name of a jewel attached like the Obsidian Staff did.
‘Is it because the jewel’s too small? Or because there’s no Core?’
Since this was his first attempt, he wasn’t sure what the problem was.
Would using a Core solve it?
“Hmm.”
A moment of thought.
But then, deeming it pointless, his expression grew conflicted.
“I can’t even properly handle a Mutant Zombie’s Core yet—there’s no way I’m using a Giant Zombie’s Core.”
Unless he defeats another Giant Zombie, it wasn’t worth the risk now.
‘Let me raise Dexterity first.’
After investing his newly earned Points into Dexterity upon leveling up, Lee Gang-hyuk continued with the staff’s crafting.
[Bone Ruby Staff]
– A staff crafted from someone’s bone and combined with a Ruby Ring.
– Magic Power + 2
– Natural recovery speed of Mana and Core Power slightly increased.
– When using Fire Attribute skills, their potency increases slightly.
– Allows for stable control of Magic Power.
“This suits Hwa-rin better than me.”
As the staff was completed, Seo Hwa-rin naturally came to mind. At the same time, now knowing that the Ruby’s attribute was Fire, Lee Gang-hyuk examined the jewels he’d obtained.
‘If Ruby’s Fire, is this one Water? That would be good for A-rin too…’
While inspecting the Sapphire Necklace, a question arose, so he resolved it by crafting a Sapphire staff.
[Bone Sapphire Staff]
– A staff crafted from someone’s bone and combined with a Sapphire Necklace.
– Magic Power + 2
– Natural recovery speed of Mana and Core Power slightly increased.
– When using Water Attribute skills, their potency increases slightly.
– Allows for stable control of Magic Power.
“As expected.”
With the Water Attribute staff complete, a smile naturally spread across Lee Gang-hyuk’s face.
In that moment…
His gaze naturally turned toward the Lesser Lich.
“Hmm.”
A new dilemma arose at the sight of the Lich.
Should he give the staves to his two companions, or create a new Lesser Lich?
Which was truly more efficient?
‘In cases like this, think simply.’
After brief deliberation, Lee Gang-hyuk chose to think simply and made his decision.
‘Four skills are far more threatening than two skills with slightly higher power.’
Had the word “slightly” not appeared in the staff descriptions, he would have given them away.
But since four skills seemed more potent than two with only marginally increased power, he set the staffs down beside the corpses and ended his deliberation.
“Undead Creation!”
[Creating Undead.]
[Your possessed skills influence the creation.]
[Here is the list of creatable Undead.]
Bone Mage (Fire) x 1
Bone Mage (Water) x 1
“…Bone Mage? Not a Lesser Lich?”
After checking the list following the skill’s use, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression went rigid.
He simply couldn’t comprehend it.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————