Episode 45.
“It’s not a cemetery; it’s like the whole city just died.”
“The dungeon’s name already feels bad. The fact that they named this whole city a cemetery…”
Serien Cemetery was different in all aspects from the dungeons Jung Si-woo had been through. Of course, the fortified orc colony was quite spacious compared to a cave he used to think of as a dungeon, but this one was even wider. The moment he crossed the passage and came out into an open area, it gave him the feeling of being on the ground.
“It looks like the night sky, not a dungeon ceiling… Oh, it’s welcoming magic.”
“There also seems to be some space expansion magic too. It must have happened when they forcefully fit the huge dungeon of the Sky Castle underground.”
Jung Si-woo listened with one ear and shook his head back and forth as he listened to Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha’s explanations. When one turned around, there was a dungeon passage made of soil and stone, but as the entrance came to an end there were buildings that started from both sides. It seemed like the party should leave this city full of dense buildings, through a back alley… This was probably a setting.
“So what do we do from here? It seems like there are going to be only zombies in this city. Do I just have to kill them all?”
“That would be no different from your usual ways, Oppa!”
[No.]
The ghost slowly shook her head at Jung Si-woo, while intensely staring at the zombies that were fumbling and popping out of the building nearby.
[In this dungeon, there are an alarming number of zombies and skeletons, even those who have eaten those two and became ghouls. The souls of those who died with resentment were scammed by the undead, and ultimately fell from the race. A single party is not enough to face them.]
“And?”
[From the looks of it, the Banshee supports them, and is asleep deep in the cemetery. We must find and destroy the magic circle that is hiding the Banshee. Then the Banshee will appear, and if defeated will weaken the undead monsters that follow it.]
“Hmm…”
“You’re telling me to search through this huge city to find the Banshee’s sealed magic circle? In 12 hours?”
As Jung Si-woo’s complexion became tense, the ghost urgently added.
[But rest assured. When I was alive, I had already done some city exploration with my party members. Since this dungeon’s structure is the same, you will soon be able to find the magic circle if you search for the candidates.]
Jung Si-woo calmly organized his mind.
This dungeon was a monster den disguised as a city. Those that entered the dungeon without knowing the hidden secrets would try to escape the threat of the countless zombies, ghouls, and wraiths, breaking through the city to reach the boss room.
However, those knowing that Banshee was the monster that controlled this city would dodge the monsters’ threat, search the city in secret, and bring the Banshee sealed in the city to the surface. They would find and destroy the magic circle……
“Wait…”
Surprisingly, it was a fairly simple conclusion.
“In the end, you’re saying that I have to break everything.”
[…Yes?]
The ghost looked at him with an expression of “Did I hear you incorrectly?”. Jung Si-woo shrugged and spoke again.
“So if I destroy everything, the magic circle will also break, and the Banshee will appear. Right?”
[Uh, of course, but if you destroy everything, the undead monsters…]
The undead monsters would run wild. Jung Si-woo was fully aware of this fact.
“Very good. That’s what I want the most.”
[…]
The ghost was lost. Soo Ah-rin felt like patting the ghost on her head. As if it was nobody’s business, Jung Si-woo pulled a sledgehammer out of his inventory with a fearless expression.
The swap’s first level was to make the weapon available as soon as it’s taken out of inventory. It was possible to grab the sledgehammer’s handle and take it out by lightly focusing on one’s consciousness. It was possible to do this without any training.
“Ah-rin, first can you give me whatever it’s called, your divine power?”
“Yes, yes I will.”
Soo Ah-rin memorized the spell that she was gradually mastering with a feeling of resignation. For a moment within the center of her obsidian-like eyes, a golden cross opened. Shortly after, foreign mana was filled near Jung Si-woo’s heart.
[Buff Spell – Gains the power of Holy Strike.]
[Damage increases by 30% when dealing with the undead. You will be less susceptible to the poison and curse of the undead.]
“What? This is a damn scam. Can’t we just go to the undead dungeon if we have a priest?”
“I detest that!” Soo Ah-rin responded fervently. Yong Se-ha smiled bitterly, saying the undead were just that strong.
“It’s common sense not to attempt the undead dungeon without a priest, this is correct.”
[You had the power of a priest. I was feeling bad that I couldn’t be of help… What a relief.]
Somewhere in the voice of the ghost was regret. It seemed like she became slightly depressed, thinking of the party members she failed to protect. At this rate, the energy would drop and it’d be a straight shot to being ghosts. Having circled the Ant Cave a couple times, Jung Si-woo had some knowledge to deal with this situation.
“I know saying this won’t make you happy, but I’ll wipe everything clean. Don’t worry.”
After moderately calming her, Jung Si-woo lifted the hammer and tapped the building that met the alley they had just escaped.
[BAM!]
“What are you doing, the alley is collapsing!”
“Incredible, Hyeong-nim! All you did was tap the side, and the surrounding buildings fell like dominoes!”
[No way….]
There was no way that the impact of the hammer he lightly struck could result in the collapse of the multitude of buildings. The one met with direct impact turned into powder, and the building stacked next to it, and the building next to that, even those connected to these broke down immediately from the intense impact. The broken fragments from these buildings took down a couple more. All done with a mere blow!
[Seven buildings at once…]
“But this is not enough. If there are about 30,000 buildings in this city, it means that I’ll have to swing the hammer another 4,000 times… Ha, I might be able to do it.”
“Oppa…”
Jung Si-woo pounded his hammer straight toward the opposite building. This time, a total of ten buildings collapsed from its front, side, and back.
The shattered buildings along with the stone and trees became fragments that came crashing down, completely blocking the dungeon’s passage where Jung Si-woo and his party had passed. He didn’t care about that, as he was a man that knew not of retreat. The notification that floated above his retinas was more important than this.
[You have discovered a magical existence hidden in the city.]
[If you want to learn more about this magic, you’ll have to explore the city and find the hints.]
“Oh.”
Was this the normal way to explore such a dungeon? It was like detective work, scouring every inch of the city to find magic pieces and traps. Then, expanding the search range based on them.
Not that this information meant anything anymore. Soo Ah-rin screamed as Jung Si-woo was peacefully nodding.
“Oppa, they’re coming! I knew it, but still they’re coming out like the flood!”
“This… Oh my God, how many people have died here?”
[A huge number… !]
“Hmm, is that all of the zombies?”
Jung Si-woo did not enjoy watching zombie movies. It was boring; the amount of zombies in the movie coupled with the humans desperately confronting them, and attempting to escape. He couldn’t immerse himself into the movie at all.
If one is bitten by a zombie, one would be infected. Indeed, it is a scary thing to lose your life and become a moving corpse. But what about it. What is the difference between a zombie’s tooth and that of a human’s? No matter how strong its bite, it isn’t scarier than that of a blunt tool. Think about it for a hundred days, but the fact is their bite doesn’t leave marks on the skin.
Fear from zombie attacks? In the end, they’re still human bodies! Despite their portrayal of getting stronger and jumping and flailing about, there were actually more zombies that became weaker once turned.
Hero movies were more realistic for Jung Si-woo. The torture of heroes having to hide their power in daily life, and the catharsis when they finally reveal their secret power! These movies were incredible content for Jung Si-woo, whose life, despite resembling that of a hero’s, was far from free, as he was currently locked away, unable to move.
For Jung Si-woo, zombie movies were just watching how ordinary people die so ordinarily, carefree. People could have different feelings while watching the same thing, depending on their environment and state.
“Well, I thought there’d be something different if it were a real monster.”
“What are you even talking about? We’re in their turf! I’m telling you, they’ll even pull out their arms to throw at us!”
“What, how painful could that be?”
Jung Si-woo’s sentiment did not change, even as he faced a horde of zombies that started appearing from various places in the city of the eternal night.
“Well, since I don’t like dirty things… Good, let’s finish this lightly.”
Jung Si-woo lightly kicked one of the fallen debris that was nearby. It met the zombie who was running towards him with such absurd force, that soon thereafter there were wailing noises that accompanied the completely decimated zombies, 10m away from them. In what reality was that a ‘light kick’?
[Uhh… What…?]
The ghost was left speechless, as she blinked her eyes. What she had seen was Jung Si-woo kicking a meter-round rock just now.
However, it was still beyond impossible to know how it extinguished the hordes of zombies. More impossible than her, a live ghost.
[Gahhhhhhh]
[Kiii, Kiiiiik]
[It hurts, it hurts so much….!]
The corpses, who had no identity, and zombies, who weirdly had consciousness in dead bodies, flinched backward. Even the ghouls waiting for the right opportunity to strike in the midst of the zombies, retreated.
“Whenever those bastards group forward, they always pull back.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a zombie pull back…..”
However, Jung Si-woo wasn’t going to take it easy. There were still weapons to attack the enemy with. He lifted the debris with ease, but this time injected a bit of mana. He infused on it the divine power that Soo Ah-rin gave him.
“Wait, Oppa, how did you just do that?”
“I infused the divine power you gave me.”
“Yeah, how did you do that?”
“…… Am I not supposed to be able to do this?”
“Uh… No, it’s nothing. Yes, of course, you can. Absolutely.”
Soo Ah-rin had mastered the virtue of resignation! Paying no attention to her, Jung Si-woo slightly floated the rock filled with divine power, then sent it flying with his hammer. It landed on the zombies who were stumbling about. Talk about effective!
[Gyaahahahah!]
[It is getting purified!]
[Ah, Ahhhhhh…!]
With sheer violence and divine power, Jung Si-woo decimated more than a hundred zombies this time. Zombies cornered throughout the city watched still, as if they were stunned.
No way this guy was human. He wouldn’t be alive for this long, if he were tasty. For sure his skin was hard to bite through, and his flesh was dry.
At this moment, Jung Si-woo couldn’t do what he really wanted to. He, of course, did not have the heart to consider their circumstances.
It was the start of the zombie apocalypse.
