Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 99
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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 99
99. Yu Ha-neul, Yu Bit-na (5)
The next morning.
Lee Gang-hyuk opened his eyes early and gazed out the window with a heavy sigh.
“Looks like I’ll be clearing snow again for a while.”
The snowfall had intensified overnight, deepening his worry. He changed clothes and hurried up to the rooftop.
Tsk.
Clicking his tongue at the snow piled waist-high, Lee Gang-hyuk glanced at Bon Mage before the others woke—better to handle this now.
Was it thanks to the Command Domain?
Bon Mage, already mid-casting, raised his staff and Flaming Arrows scattered in all directions.
“Im Jae-beom.”
“Grrgh!”
As the snow melted into water, Im Jae-beom shaped it into a Water Snake and expelled it outside.
And so…….
After roughly an hour of clearing snow, Lee Gang-hyuk surveyed the pristine rooftop and shook his head.
‘If the fire mage’s firepower had been stronger, we could’ve finished much faster.’
Would anything change if his crafting skill improved?
‘Even at level 20, we’re only getting this much. How high do I have to raise it to unlock all the abilities dwelling in the core…….’
A sigh escaped Lee Gang-hyuk’s lips. He turned to head back.
At that moment…….
His eyes met Seo Hwa-rin’s as she pushed open the rooftop door.
She must have been worried about the snow too.
“You cleared it all alone? You should’ve called for help.”
“I woke up early, and it just happened. But you came up here alone too, didn’t you?”
“Well, that’s…….”
Flustered by his counter-question, Seo Hwa-rin glanced away, and Lee Gang-hyuk chuckled.
“Let’s head down. Oh, I wanted to visit the 3rd Floor for a bit. That’s fine, right?”
“Sure. Should we have breakfast in two hours then?”
“If the kids say they’re hungry, eat without me. I’ll be back soon though.”
“Got it. I’ll finish clearing the snow up here and head down. See you later!”
With that, Lee Gang-hyuk descended the stairs, and Seo Hwa-rin melted the remaining snow in moments.
Shortly after…….
Arriving at the 3rd Floor where bodies were stored, Lee Gang-hyuk examined the charred corpses of the snowmen from the day before.
“This should work. Bone Armor Crafting!”
He activated the skill, and familiar notifications appeared.
Even though the flesh was charred black, the bones remained intact, so there were no issues with crafting.
‘Good.’
Satisfied, Lee Gang-hyuk crafted a Bone Armor imbued with chill for Kang Pil-du. Then he stroked his chin, thinking of the children.
His hand went to his chin.
“Hmm.”
There was still material left.
He considered crafting armor for the kids as well, but the moment he saw the bone armor, he worried they’d be frightened. Better to have Seo A-rin modify it first.
‘……I should ask A-rin to decorate it.’
If he padded the bone armor with cotton like last time, wouldn’t that make it less unsettling?
With that in mind, Lee Gang-hyuk completed the Bone Armor as a gift for the children and sent Seo A-rin a note.
[Got it! The kids aren’t here right now, so come on up. I’ll have it ready.]
At her prompt reply, Lee Gang-hyuk hurried to the 23rd Floor and handed over the armor to Seo A-rin, speaking in a low voice.
“Hide the bone as much as possible.”
“Don’t worry.”
Amused by the spy-like way he was passing the armor while pressed against the wall, Seo A-rin chuckled and nodded.
“I’ll go fetch that person for you.”
Descending to the 22nd Floor, he delivered the Bone Armor to Kang Pil-du with a grumble.
“Wear it carefully.”
“……How can I control that? Anyway, thanks.”
It seemed absurd that he was grumbling the moment he saw Kang Pil-du’s face.
But interpreting “wear it carefully” as “don’t get hurt,” Kang Pil-du’s expression brightened as he took the armor.
That smile of his wasn’t half bad.
Somehow, affection had grown between them through their fights.
But not wanting to show it, Lee Gang-hyuk clicked his tongue and pointed upward.
“Tsk. Anyway, come on up for breakfast.”
“Will do.”
* * *
After breakfast, when Lee Gang-hyuk suggested they all go to the rooftop to clear snow, the children eagerly followed along.
There was nothing particularly dangerous about it. Allowing the children to repay the debt they’d imposed on themselves, Lee Gang-hyuk watched Yu Ha-neul blow the snow away with his skill, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Ha-neul.”
“Yes?”
Responding to the sudden call, Yu Ha-neul scurried to Lee Gang-hyuk’s side.
“Want to try raising wind without using a skill?”
“Without a skill? Is that possible?”
At Yu Ha-neul’s question, Lee Gang-hyuk pointed to Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin.
“It is. Look at them. They’ve been using their abilities without skills this whole time.”
“Oh! I’ll try!”
Yu Ha-neul had found something odd about clearing the snow, and now he understood why. He attempted to raise wind without using his skill.
Uugh.
Seeing Yu Ha-neul struggle with strained sounds, Seo A-rin came over and taught him the method.
“You have to open your core first. Then think of drawing Core Power from the core, and use that power to move the wind.”
“The core…….”
After hearing the explanation, Yu Ha-neul muttered softly and tried to open his core.
But unable to grasp the sensation, he closed his eyes instead.
He needed to concentrate.
Still struggling, Yu Ha-neul strained again, and Seo A-rin continued her explanation.
“Think back to when you used your skill.”
“When I used my skill…… I opened my core…….”
Following her words, Yu Ha-neul refocused, and massive Core Power erupted from his body.
“Yes! Now move the wind in that state!”
Excited by the meaningful breakthrough, Seo A-rin cried out as Yu Ha-neul’s Core Power began to move slowly.
But perhaps because he’d released far too much Core Power at once—
Yu Ha-neul grew exhausted before the wind even began to move, and he collapsed to the ground.
The Core Power hovering in the air scattered and dissipated.
“Ha…… ha…… it’s harder than I thought.”
He’d succeeded in opening his core and releasing Core Power.
But failing to follow through with creating wind, Yu Ha-neul panted heavily, managing a wry smile.
Then Seo A-rin gave him a thumbs up and spoke.
“Still, you did great. First, let’s practice controlling the amount of Core Power. Once you get used to it, it’ll come naturally.”
“Okay!”
At her encouragement, Yu Ha-neul’s expression brightened.
Though he’d failed, he’d discovered how to release Core Power.
Believing that practicing this would make him as strong as his brother and sisters, he looked at Yu Bit-na and nodded.
“Thank you! I’ll practice hard!”
“You will. Looking at your face, you’ll get it soon.”
“I will!”
He could grow stronger.
And the stronger he became, the better he could protect his sister.
With newfound motivation, Yu Ha-neul’s eyes gleamed with determination, then closed again as he concentrated.
“You seem to have a talent for teaching.”
“I did tutoring every school break. I wonder how those kids are doing now.”
As Lee Gang-hyuk spoke quietly, Seo A-rin smiled bitterly.
The faces of those children whose contact had been cut off when the Catastrophe struck came to mind.
“Well, they were all sharp kids, so they’re probably doing fine.”
But soon shaking off the memory, Seo A-rin grinned and shrugged her shoulders.
At that moment…….
Yu Bit-na, who’d been watching, approached. She hesitated for a moment, as if something was on her mind, then asked carefully.
“Um, could I practice like my brother too?”
At the unexpected question, Lee Gang-hyuk countered.
“You use Mana, don’t you?”
“Huh? Yes…….”
“Then you don’t need to practice like Ha-neul does. This method requires a core.”
…….
At his words, Yu Bit-na’s expression fell, but Lee Gang-hyuk stroked his chin for a moment, then smiled and continued.
“That doesn’t mean there’s no way for you though.”
“What? There’s a way for me to get stronger too?”
“Since you’re a healer, practice observing the flow of battle and using skills suited to each situation.”
“……The flow of battle?”
Unable to grasp the explanation, she tilted her head in confusion, and Lee Gang-hyuk spoke while recalling Yu Seol-hwa from the Jungnang-gu Alliance.
“For example, like how Kang Pil-du did yesterday—if someone’s about to get hit, you predict it and heal them. And sometimes you alert the others to the situation so they can dodge attacks.”
“Predict…….”
At his words, Yu Bit-na murmured just like her brother.
Like true siblings.
Even their thoughtful expressions were identical, which made Lee Gang-hyuk chuckle and nod.
“We’ll practice that together later. If you train against Skeletons, you’ll naturally understand.”
“Okay!”
The gloom vanished from Yu Bit-na’s face as she answered brightly and gazed at Yu Ha-neul, who was concentrating with his eyes closed.
As much as her brother was trying.
She too would work hard and become stronger!
With that resolve, she burned with determination.
* * *
After clearing the rooftop snow and warming up in the sauna, Lee Gang-hyuk had plenty of time before lunch, so he took Kang Pil-du and the children down to the Lobby.
The Lobby was suitable for the Skeletons to split into groups and conduct mock combat.
In case of emergency, Lee Gang-hyuk asked Kang Pil-du to keep watch while he divided the Skeletons into teams and turned to Yu Bit-na.
“Ready?”
“Yes!”
Satisfied by her determined expression, he nodded and pointed to the Skeletons wearing hooded scarves with numbers.
“When the Skeletons wearing hoods are about to get hit, just call out the number on the hood. Simple, right?”
“O-okay, I’ll try!”
“Go ahead.”
Yu Bit-na nodded at his words and stared intently at the Skeletons.
“Ha-neul, keep practicing opening your core and controlling your Core Power like you did earlier.”
“Got it!”
“Then we start.”
The moment Lee Gang-hyuk finished speaking, the Skeletons slowly advanced toward each other.
Since it was their first time, they’d agreed to proceed slowly.
And so…….
As the Skeletons clashed sluggishly, Yu Bit-na opened her mouth.
“Number three!”
The Skeleton marked with three was hit by its opponent’s attack at precisely the right moment.
Of course…….
In reality, it was just the opponent bringing their weapon to bear—nothing that would actually harm the Skeleton’s body.
“Good work. Keep going.”
“Yes! Four, two.”
As the practice continued, Yu Bit-na grew more accustomed to it, her calls gradually quickening.
“You’re adapting well. Let’s speed things up.”
“Okay!”
As the Skeletons’ movements accelerated, Yu Bit-na’s eyes tracked them relentlessly.
‘She’s doing better than expected.’
Impressed by her flawless tracking, Lee Gang-hyuk gradually increased the Skeletons’ speed.
Soon, as the Skeletons moved at their normal pace, she began to struggle and make mistakes.
“Number two! Oh, no, three.”
Still, Lee Gang-hyuk didn’t stop.
Not until she figured it out herself.
He kept the practice going until her mistakes diminished, then finally halted the Skeletons.
“Good. That’s enough.”
Thud.
“Ha……”
As the training ended, exhausted, Yu Bit-na collapsed to the ground and looked up at Lee Gang-hyuk, breathing heavily.
She hadn’t used any skill or moved her body.
But keeping her mind focused while constantly calling out numbers had left her winded.
“Did you play any sports?”
“Huh?”
Taken aback by the unexpected question, Yu Bit-na turned it back on him, and Lee Gang-hyuk elaborated.
“For someone doing this for the first time, you were too good. Usually this requires excellent dynamic vision, but yours was so sharp I wondered if you’d done sports.”
“Oh…… I was on the tennis team in middle school.”
Upon learning the reason, Yu Bit-na’s expression brightened, and she spoke shyly, her face flushed.
“Ah, that explains it. There was a reason you were good.”
“……Thank you.”
Whoosh.
As his praise reached her, Yu Bit-na lowered her head, and a breeze drifted in from somewhere.
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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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