Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 91

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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 91
91. The Apartment Complex (3)
“Hmm.”
Lee Gang-hyuk, his mind growing tangled, stroked his chin and let out a thoughtful hum.
What exactly had changed?
‘A difference in attribute? Or in performance? Or is it a difference in mana?’
If there was a reason for the job class difference, it had to be one of the things he’d just considered.
Attribute, performance, mana.
‘Perhaps all three.’
It could be the sum of the attribute embedded in the Obsidian, the Staff’s performance, and the mana.
And if that were true, it meant the Lesser Lich’s performance was superior to the Bone Mage’s.
“It would’ve been nice to have Obsidian…….”
To verify the hypothesis he’d just formed, having Obsidian would solve everything.
If he crafted a skeleton using a Staff made of Obsidian, he could immediately see what appeared, but the problem was that he didn’t have any Obsidian on hand to test with.
In that moment…….
Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
“Should I ask for Obsidian or a Staff as repayment for saving Jeong A-ram this time?”
The gleam in his eyes lasted only briefly before the sudden thought faded.
The moment he thought that without their help, he and his group wouldn’t have made it out unscathed either, the sparkle in his gaze dimmed.
‘There’s no need to be greedy about it.’
Still, though…….
“……I should at least try asking.”
A gift might be shameless, but an exchange was possible.
Having decided to at least mention it, Lee Gang-hyuk watched the notification continue to blink insistently, then finally nodded.
“Bone Mage creation.”
Having roughly organized his thoughts, he nodded at the notification to craft a Bone Mage.
Whether Lesser Lich or Bone Mage, he needed both anyway.
Because he needed power to take down the unidentified Mutated Zombie in Building 1.
Whatever that creature was, whatever abilities it possessed, he needed overwhelming power to win.
And so…….
When he created two Bone Mages, information about them seeped into his mind just as it had when the Lesser Lich was made.
“……Right. It was the difference between gem and mana. Performance can’t be excluded either. Everything I predicted from the start was necessary.”
He could tell immediately upon receiving the information.
Gem and mana.
More precisely, the size of the gem and the difference in mana embedded in the Staff were the criteria that distinguished Bone Mages from Liches.
The Staff’s performance wasn’t necessary to craft a Lich.
The Lich’s performance.
In other words, it was a crucial factor determining the spell’s tier.
“That’s fortunate.”
His question was resolved without needing to run an experiment.
Thanks to that, he didn’t have to make an awkward request of Park Mu-jin, which put his mind at ease.
Without realizing it, Lee Gang-hyuk exhaled a breath of relief and looked over the minions he’d tamed.
“Now that I think about it, there are no zombies left.”
With the addition of the Bone Archer and Bone Mage, only two zombies remained.
Electric and Im Jae-beom.
“I should’ve invested in Charisma instead of Craftsmanship Skill this time.”
He’d focused only on expanding the skeletons’ job classes and neglected the zombies.
He couldn’t remove the skeletons now.
The only options were to invest in Charisma for a while, or craft and equip an item that raised Charisma…….
‘I can raise the level anytime I want.’
The problem was that he hadn’t yet discovered which materials would grant Charisma properties to an item.
“There has to be something among the gems or Cores…….”
He was thinking there must be a material among the gems or Mutated Zombie Cores that raised Charisma, when
Lee Gang-hyuk’s gaze naturally turned to Electric and Im Jae-beom.
“Now that I think about it……. You’re zombies too, aren’t you?”
At the suddenly occurring thought, Lee Gang-hyuk opened the category and tried assigning them a skill.
“I wasted time worrying over nothing.”
Once the Farming Skill was applied to Electric and Im Jae-beom, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed at the absurdity and shook his head.
‘But I should still look before spring comes.’
For now, just Electric, Im Jae-beom, and Seo A-rin provided enough manpower.
But when spring arrived and they expanded the fields, they’d be short-handed. Until then, Lee Gang-hyuk decided to search for materials that granted Charisma properties, and retrieved the birds he’d caught from Suraksan Mountain.
He’d made the Bone Mage, so now it was time to craft arrows for the Bone Archers to use.
“Definitely, the feathers are much stiffer than pigeons.”
The first thing Lee Gang-hyuk pulled out was a magpie.
[Bone Arrow]
– An arrow crafted using someone’s bone and magpie feathers.
– The feather balance is excellent, making it suitable for mid-range combat.
‘The weakness is gone.’
Examining the arrow made from magpie feathers with satisfaction, Lee Gang-hyuk immediately proceeded to make arrows using a crow.
[Bone Arrow]
– An arrow crafted using someone’s bone and crow feathers.
– Thanks to sturdy arrow feathers, it boasts excellent straightness and penetrative power.
“!!”
For a moment, Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes widened.
The arrow made from crow feathers was far superior in performance to the one made from magpie feathers.
If magpie and crow were this good…….
What about pheasant?
Eager now, Lee Gang-hyuk pulled out a pheasant and crafted an arrow, and
upon confirming the arrow’s performance, his smile naturally deepened with amazement.
[Bone Arrow]
– An arrow crafted using someone’s bone and pheasant feathers.
– The long arrow feathers maintain stable flight balance, boasting a high accuracy rate.
‘Remarkable.’
Given its specialization in ranged combat, it would be advantageous for sniping as well.
Of course, he wasn’t sure if the Bone Archer was skilled enough for sniping.
At least, judging from the arrow alone, it seemed possible.
“I can fight normally with Pigeon Arrows and Wood Pigeon Arrows, then mix these in appropriately.”
Having decided after seeing the performance, Lee Gang-hyuk continued crafting with the remaining materials.
The number of arrows he ended up with was…….
Twelve arrows from four magpies.
Eight arrows from two crows.
Six arrows from three wood pigeons.
Six arrows from one pheasant.
This gave him a total of thirty-two arrows.
‘If I could catch pheasants, that’d definitely be a jackpot…….’
In the countryside, maybe.
Finding a pheasant in Seoul was close to luck.
So Lee Gang-hyuk decided to catch as many magpies and crows as possible and nodded, then scratched his cheek as his gaze met a pigeon’s outside the window.
“……Well, it’s not completely useless at close range either.”
Magpies and crows were a whole different story.
Feeling like he’d probably keep using Pigeon Arrows from now on, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed, and Im Jae-beom summoned a Water Snake.
* * *
“Excluding strength-type, there were no Mutated Zombies that could break through walls or pass through them. There were no mentions of anything related either. It’s likely a form we haven’t discovered yet, or as you said, it might be using passages to move between floors.”
While Lee Gang-hyuk was crafting, Seo Hwa-rin’s analysis of the Mutated Zombie, which she’d researched, made his expression harden involuntarily.
“Another unknown creature—this place really must be a prime location. You can tell from the variety showing up.”
“Ha ha…….”
“There’s a mountain, water, and good feng shui.”
At his words that didn’t match his expression, the women couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or joking, so they laughed awkwardly and went along with him.
He then dismissed the playful tone from his face and continued.
“If I mention one more characteristic, it’s that it didn’t attack while we were searching.”
“Then it might be like a spider or cricket—one that lures prey to hunt. Or maybe it can’t hear sounds?”
“Right. It’s possible it tried to lure us like you said, or it couldn’t hear. But on the other hand, it might not have been in there from the start.”
“It ran away from the giant zombie?”
At the follow-up remark, Seo Hwa-rin naturally stroked her chin with the thought that had occurred to her, and Lee Gang-hyuk immediately nodded.
“Possibly. Still, I think it’s still in there. Tomorrow, let’s move the corpse from the Baseball Field to Building 1.”
“It’s certainly good to prepare.”
They’d cleared Buildings 1 and 2 now, and though the complex was small, Building 5 still remained. At Lee Gang-hyuk’s words about continuing the search, the women expressed agreement.
At the same time, Seo A-rin, nodding along, asked back.
“Gang-hyuk, can you make a pole from Bone Orbs?”
“A pole? I think I could……. But why suddenly? What would you use it for? A vinyl greenhouse? The rooftop?”
Flustered by the sudden question, Lee Gang-hyuk asked the reason, and Seo A-rin answered right away.
“Well, I saw a video on YouTube once about the origins of Jiangshi. There was a scene where they put a pole through the sleeves of a corpse to move it. So I wondered if we could try that when moving the corpse tomorrow.”
“Hmm?”
In that moment, the image of a bouncing Jiangshi floated through Lee Gang-hyuk’s mind.
‘Putting a pole through the sleeves……. So that’s why the corpse looked like it was hopping around?’
He wasn’t sure about the exact origin, but it certainly seemed convenient for moving a corpse.
“Well……. Understood. Let’s try it first, and if it doesn’t work, we can make a cart instead. Let’s give it a shot.”
“Yes!”
* * *
The next day.
The three arrived at the Baseball Field early in the morning and warmed up their bodies to move the corpse.
“…….”
Splash—!
Thunk!
“Tactical Processing!”
Just as the day before, Lee Gang-hyuk used the Water Snake to meet the condition and crafted the pole Seo A-rin had mentioned, then approached her.
“Just thread the pole through the sleeves like you said, connect them in a line like a train, and you’re good.”
“Like a train. Understood. Let’s begin.”
At the explanation, Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin nodded and moved quickly.
The method worked well for moving the corpses, but the problem was that the zombies’ clothes were too worn, and the sleeves kept tearing.
“The method was good, but we have no choice.”
“Ugh.”
Eventually abandoning the pole method, the three moved the corpses using a cart and looked up at Building 1 with a nod.
“A-rin.”
“Yes!”
Splash—!
Today’s objective was more about exterminating the Mutated Zombie than finding resources.
On the other hand, since this creature was presumed to break through walls, fighting it in a narrow space would be heavily disadvantageous.
So before entering the apartment, they decided to use the Water Snake to survey the interior and lure the Mutated Zombie outside if found.
As if to make up for the pole mishap, Seo A-rin concentrated intently and examined the apartment interior as thoroughly as she could.
But…….
All that was discovered inside were ordinary zombies.
The creature presumed to be a Mutated Zombie was nowhere to be seen.
‘Why? Did it really run away like he said?’
Having thoroughly checked the interior without missing a spot, Seo A-rin was convinced it had fled elsewhere and was about to withdraw the Water Snakes when
‘Huh?’
she noticed blood dripping from the arm of a zombie in Unit 312. She frowned and continued the search.
“I can’t pinpoint the location, but it’s definitely somewhere in here.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes!”
A confident answer.
Though she hadn’t said it outright, Lee Gang-hyuk judged that she’d found a definite clue during the search, so he trusted her and continued waiting.
However, contrary to her certainty, more than ten minutes passed, and the creature still hadn’t appeared.
Because of that perhaps?
“It’s definitely here……. Where is it? Where did it hide?”
The panicked Seo A-rin continued muttering with her eyes closed, and unable to bear it, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed and asked again.
“Could you tell me the reason for your certainty?”
“The zombie’s arm. Its arm had just been torn open and was dripping blood.”
“Hmm.”
Blood dripping from a torn arm? Then it’s certain. Just as she said, the unidentified Mutated Zombie is still in here.
‘But A-rin can’t find it? That means it’s in a place I never would’ve thought of…….’
Where could it be? A hidden place in there where it could hide. A secret location so concealed that even the Water Snakes, which checked every space a person could enter, couldn’t find it.
“…….”
“Hmm.”
Like twins, Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin stroked their chins identically, their eyes suddenly widening as they cried out simultaneously.
“The Underground Parking Lot!”
“The interior connects to the basement, doesn’t it?”
With neither getting ahead of the other, both asking the same question, Seo A-rin, now certain, closed her eyes and cried out.
“I’ll check!”
Barely had she sent Water Snakes scattered in all directions toward the Underground Parking Lot when
something was discovered. Seo A-rin’s expression darkened rapidly and she gnashed her teeth.

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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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