Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

As soon as the morning greetings came to a wrap, the fight began.
Once Rapwi and Sniffles started to face off against each other, I had to run straight into the main office.
After all, if I were to do something else instead and somehow took Sniffles’ aggro from Rapwi, I wouldn’t be able to do anything, and would be forced to run.

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The first bunch to rush towards Sniffles were Da-jeong’s reinforced zombies.
However, because of yesterday’s experimentation, their number had dwindled quite a bit.
But since they were currently running in a single group, their reduced number was not a problem since their group still looks overwhelming.

Sniffles roared and immediately responded by clawing towards the group.
But at that moment, arrows began to pour; digging themselves into Sniffles’ body.
However, the guy didn’t look like it cared, showing that the arrows had no effect at all to it, except for taking its aggro away from the zombies.
It was probably wondering where the shooter was shooting from.

As I ran to the main office, I came to realize that it was Mikyung who fired the arrow.
It’s a pretty bad shot.
Though, it’s understandable because she didn’t have much fighting experience as she was growing in something akin to a greenhouse without ever facing any real danger, a greenhouse I unknowingly made.

“SEEEEGGGGSSS!”

When that roar came from behind me, I moved my thoughts away from the battlefield and sprinted towards the main office.
Once I entered and went down to the 3rd basement floor of the main office, I found the opening I’ve been looking for on the floor.

“Here you are.” It was an airtight chamber which was sealed with a sturdy wood.
Without looking at the finer details, I got out of the way and let Da-jeong’s burly ghoul punch it.

Bang-!!

A hole was made because of the punch.
Inside, a reinforced plastic sealed door could be seen.

“Can you see that thing over there? You have to create a hole through it.” I summoned the scarabs and gave them a quick rundown of the plan.
Once they heard the plan, the guys moved and started working right away.

Unfortunately, even if all the sealing doors were opened, I wouldn’t be able to enter immediately as there’s still a lot of concrete cover I had to bypass first.
According to Lee Beom-seok, even if it wasn’t as good as the security on the government shelter’s storage room, there were still a total of 10 covers here.

If it was in normal circumstances, they would use a crane to lift the cover.
However, Lee Beom-seok said that the government shelter didn’t get a report on where it was so he couldn’t tell me.
Well, it was understandable because everything was in a state of extreme chaos back then.

The scarabs pierced one of the sealing doors as they were hanging by a rope tied around its body.
I pulled the airtight seal and set it aside.

I was really grateful to the scarabs that they gnawed at the sealing door.
“If it weren’t for you guys, I would have died already.”

Captain Scarab walked towards me and made eye contact with me for a moment.
He seems to have a lot to say, but unable to do so because he can’t speak.
Anyway, after some time, we broke through all three sealing doors.

“Great job.
Now go back in and rest.” I sent the scarabs back into the portal and looked inside the now-opened sealing door.
Just as what was written in the information Lee Beom-seok sent, there was a concrete cover and a fairly large room there.

“Is that something like a VIP room?”

Speaking of Gyeryongdae’s bunker… This storage place, which was now used as a bunker, used to be the President’s villa.
I should look into things in the room later and go down to the bunker first.
I tied the rope to the cover and went up to the ground to give the signal to Dajeong, Seokhyun and Mikyung.

Whiing-!! Bang-!!

Because of the sound, I flinched a little bit because I thought I had attracted Sniffies’ aggro, but even after I waited for several seconds, nothing could be heard.
Guess the guy was busy fighting right now.
I called the Auction House and entered a comment.

-Keep going, keep going, annnnnnd stop.

I have to give orders to Da-jeong’s big ghoul which she called Bulky, but the guy would only listen to Da-jeong’s orders.
Therefore, I had to inform Da-jeong using the Auction House for her to order the big ghoul around.

“Please, do your best in the fight…” I murmured.
Them fighting well would mean that I could spend as much time as possible in the bunker.
As long as Seokhyun didn’t go wild, it would be fine, I think.

Finally, all concrete covers were pulled up.
I used around 18 ropes so far, so the depth of this bunker should be almost 180 meters long.
Since I was currently on the 3rd basement floor, the bunker was about 200 meters deep from the surface.

“I hope 200 meters isn’t too shallow for the corrosive disease to take effect…” I said as I stared at the black hole underneath.
I typed a comment in the Auction House, grabbed the rope and went downstairs.

When I took out the glowstone and walked through the bunker, I saw several wooden boxes in the middle of the darkness.

There it is…

.
.
.

Oh boy…

My sky-high expectation of an enormous amount of weapons stocked inside the bunker crumbled to dust.
After all, other than several wooden boxes I saw as soon as I entered, there’s practically nothing.

“Is this all?”

Although the crates were quite large, it was far-cry from the list I received from the government shelter.
Just where did the countless live ammunition and heavy weapons that should be able to fill a few rooms with just their numbers go?

“Did they not have enough time?”

When I removed the lid of one of the crates, I could see quite a lot of ammunition boxes stacked inside.
From my rough estimation, the total amount would be at least in the tens of thousands.

However,

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“There’s no grenades… No grenade launcher too… And the only anti-tank weapon is the M72…”

Ah seriously!

Heat was rising inside me and my head started to throb.
But it wasn’t the appropriate time to do this, so I pushed it down.
I opened another wooden box and pulled out the M72 anti-tank rocket.

“Why is it so light?” I mused.
It’s about the same weight as a rifle.
For a second, I was suspicious that the inside was empty, so I proceeded to open the weapon’s back lid.
There, betraying my suspicion, I saw a rocket loaded.
I sighed at the view.
It was said that if the ammo was this light, its power would be weak.

 

“Still, it’s just Sniffles.” It was just a monster made of flesh and blood.
No matter how strong it is, it shouldn’t be able to withstand the power of modern weapons.

I learned how to operate the rocket while looking at the instruction picture lying next to it.

“Open the cover in advance and take out the tube…” When the tube was removed, the sights above the barrel would pop out.
After that, simply remove the safety device, aim and press the fire button.
It’s that easy.
Though, It couldn’t be said so when aiming at a moving target.

“I don’t know if I can really aim for it.” I sighed.
The opponent was not a large, dull-moving armored vehicle, but a living creature that is only 2.3 meters tall.
Even though I have pretty high stats, the problem was it was my first time using the weapon.

The sights only showed a crosshair and the numbers 200 and 300.
I looked into it for a while and found out it was the distance to the target.

“If it’s only 50 meters, I should be able to hit it easily.” However, I should not use it indoors due to the aftermath it would make.
Though, because the rocket was a molded peony bullet, the killing radius should not be that wide.

I took out a few M72s and put them in the dimension slot one by one.
The corrosive disease has not completely subsided yet, but it should be okay since the weapon only needs to withstand the brief shock upon firing.

Once I finished, my impulse to take care of other things surged, but I need to get my priorities straight.
Killing Sniffles came first.

However, before I could even leave the room, a comment appeared in the comment section floating in front of my eyes.
Its urgency was bare for my eyes to see as it wasn’t even written in coded words but just an ordinary one.

-Seongho! Sniffles went there!

That guy is coming here?

How?

The only way to get here was through the airtight room on the 3rd basement floor!

Immediately, I remembered turning on a flare torch in order to get a good look down here.
The guy probably smelled gunpowder…

The moment I remembered that, I heard a ruckus from above.
I couldn’t hear it in detail, but it was clear that the big ghoul was fighting Sniffles..

Kuaaaaaaa-!!

Together with the roar, the rope fell.
At that moment, the ugly face of Sniffles appeared briefly through the hole before it disappeared again.
At that brief glance, it looked like it was smiling.

“Did it just… smile?” At that very moment, I was certain.
That guy’s intelligence is high.
Very high when compared to other mindless monsters.

Looking at how casual it has been, it could only mean one thing: the big ghoul had died.
It also means that Da-jeong’s total strength, including her army, had dwindled even more than yesterday.
I’d like to let her kill Sniffles if possible, but we’ll have to look at the situation first before deciding.

I took the glowstone, summoned the dimension wall and climbed up.
At that moment, another comment from Da-jeong appeared.
He said that Sniffles had gone back up again and was fighting hard with Seokhyun again.

-Sorry, I’m in a pinch right now, so it’s hard to write a comment!
-I’m on my way.
-Come here fast!

Once I killed Sniffles, my skill list will change even if the experience and points are not.
Paralysis Poison Resistance 2 will disappear and a new skill will take its place.

“Though, it’s a pity for Paralysis Poison Resistance 2 to disappear…” Even if it’s not a unique skill, it was a skill that’s only available for me.
But at this point of time, it had become a skill with less importance.
After all, chances of being attacked by goblins had been greatly reduced.
I don’t know what the new skill would be, but I’m sure it would be much better than Paralysis Poison Resistance 2.

“It would be great if I get that guy’s regeneration skill.”

I hurried up to the top.
When I left the main office, a horrifying sight of countless ghoul bodies sprawling here and there greeted me.
Not far from the main office’s entrance, Da-jeong and Seokhyun were fighting Sniffles.
While Da-jeong was struggling as she only had a few grasshoppers left, Seokhyun’s performance was dazzling.

“Segggggssss!”

He was flying around, keeping Sniffles still.
By the looks of how the monster couldn’t even pull the arrows out of his body anymore, it was apparent that the monster is almost out of stamina.

Lowering my stance, I opened the dimension slot.
I took out the M72, disengaged the safety device, and aimed at Sniffles’ back.

“Move!”

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The moment I shouted that, Seokhyun rolled away from Sniffles and immediately started running away.

Kieek?

The guy seemed puzzled at his action.

Eventually, when all of them seemed to be at a safe distance, I fired the rocket.

Pooop-!!

A heavy shock transpired into my body as smoke came out from the barrel.
The rocket’s launch trajectory caught my eye as it flew.

Is it okay for anti-tank rockets to go this slow?

However, the moment I thought that, flames surged from the back of the rocket, sending itself towards Sniffles.

Bang-!!

When the smoke around the area on impact subsided, all that was left from Sniffles’ body was its lower body.
It squirmed, spouting blood, and then collapsed.

At that moment, a message appeared in front of me.

「Level has risen to 31」

「You have earned 100 points」

「You have acquired ‘Super Sense’ skill」

“100 points?”

Just how high was its level?

However, what took my attention the most was the fact that I had acquired ‘Super Sense’ skill.
The moment I got it, I began to hear the heartbeats of people around me.
On top of that, even though I didn’t turn my body, I could feel Seokhyun approaching my back.

Not bad… Not bad at all!

Seokhyun put his hand on my shoulder.

“Is it dead?”

“No, that word is dangerous…” (P/n revival flag lmaoo)

“Hm?”

Let’s make sure it is completely dead.
I know it was since the notification prompt had appeared, but since a flag-word has just been spoken, I want to make sure of it.

We walked forward and approached Sniffles’ lower body.
Mikyung and Da-jeong, who had run away, moved to our side with Mikyung’s blink.
When we arrived at where the leftover body part of Sniffles was, we saw something shiny on the floor.

“Isn’t this… Aether Stone?” Da-jeong asked as she picked up the sparkling stone.
Although it was small, it was clear that the Aether Stone was shining in a golden hue.

Dajeong showed people the stone and queried.
“Have you seen this thing drop from any monster?”

“No.”

“No.”

“I don’t know…”

Even ogres from the game did not drop Aether Stone.
Maybe Brutra and the other unknown monsters did… Though I’m not entirely sure since I haven’t been able to hunt any monsters that appeared in the expansion pack.

“If we ever meet this kind of monster again, I wonder how we will hunt it then…” Da-jeong muttered bitterly.
In this hunt, she had lost 20 ghouls.
It was a big hit for her power, especially because of Bulky’s death.
Fortunately, most of the grasshoppers we recently found were still alive.

I comforted her.
“Tell me if you need anything.
I’ll leave everything behind and help you.”

“Thank you… Let’s just rest here for a while.
I will go to Daejeon.”

It takes 20 days to replenish 20 ghouls.
Seems like the work of expanding the shelter will have to be postponed.

“I found a place to rest in the bunker.
We can rest there.”

“Oppa, I was so scared…” Mikyung pulled my collar clothes and murmured.

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“You’ve worked hard.
I saw earlier that you fought well.” I patted her on the back.

She jumped up at my words.

“Did you see that?”

“Yeah.
But not for too long.” I smiled at her.
“Your way of fighting is good.
Just run away with a blink if anything comes too close to you.”

“I think the same way.
At first, I was really scared… but when I realized nothing can keep up with me using blink, it became not so scary anymore.”

Da-jeong grabbed Mikyung’s cheek and stretched it.

“You are happy because your oppa compliments you, huh? Don’t you remember that you ran away when I asked for help earlier?”

“Ugh…”

Meanwhile, Seokhyun clenched and released his fist, unable to relax.

“It’s a pity that I can’t fight it properly.”

“There will be another chance later.
For some reason, I have a hunch that Sniffles wouldn’t be the last weird new monster we have to fight.”

An unidentified monster that is protecting the Gyeryongdae bunker.
Was it really a coincidence? I don’t think so.
Moreover, it was a monster which had a semblance of intelligence, and it also dropped an Aether Stone.
There were too many strange things to brush it off as mere coincidence.

And if it’s really the case, most likely, the one who was responsible for putting the monster here was the same one who gave Joo Seung-cheol a resurrection scroll and the information about the Stagnant Waters.

We need to be extra careful going forward.

We walked away from the site and headed towards the main office.
Just before I entered the main office, I turned around and looked at Sniffles’ lower body.
Hopefully, it won’t resurrect.

.
.
.

Turns out, the name of this bunker was the U-3 archive.
As it was supposed to be a facility that would be used by the President if war were to break out, the scale and splendor of the facility were no joke.

We walked down the hallway, opened the doors one by one, and couldn’t help but marvel.

“I’ve never seen a bed like that…”

“It looks like some kind of bed that European noblemen use…”

The amount of supplies stored here was also no joke.
Though most of them were military supplies.
But in these trying times, it was better than nothing.

After looking around, Seokhyun spoke.

“Now it’s ours.”

He’s right.
Winner takes all.
So it was now rightfully ‘ours’.
No one had the right to say anything.

We sat around the desk that should be used by the President and his aides and discussed our future plan.

“Everyone had worked hard… I think we’ll have to use this place as our hideout for the time being.”

“YEEEEESSSS!” Dajeong shouted.

“How about us?” Mikyung asked.

“If possible, I want Seokhyun to finish the quest here.”

“Did you mean your portal entrance quest?”

“Yeah.” I answered as I opened the portal.

Seokhyun stood up and pushed himself through the portal.

“A message has appeared.” He said.

“Now a dedicated portal for you will open.” As soon as I finished my words, a blue portal opened right next to my portal.

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Mikyung’s eyes widened at the sight.
“It looks like a real dungeon entrance…”

“My world is similar to a dungeon.” I answered Mikyung and turned towards Seokhyun.
“Go inside and secure 3 Aether Stones and you are done.”

“I will be back.”

“No! Wait, wait!” I quickly grab his arms and hold him back.
He’s strong, kind, and loyal.
Overall, he’s a fine guy.
However, he tends to forget that he’s….very bad with directions.

Since he was about to go to an unknown place which I personally don’t know how wide it was, I had to attach Dingo and one of the scarabs to him.
I summoned them both, packed some supplies in the bag, and handed it to him.

“If it’s you, the quest should be easy.”

At my words, Seokhyun smiled broadly.

“Thanks.
See you soon.”

When Seokhyun disappeared, Mikyung became nervous.

“Inside… I have to fight monsters, right?”

“Yeah.
Can you do it?” I asked.
I was thinking, if she’s confident, I will let her do the quest right away.

But she shook her head.

“I’m not confident… I think I’m going to die if I go in… Hiks.”

Meanwhile, Da-jeong secretly approached her from the back.
I hope she doesn’t intend to push her to the portal.
Thankfully, before I could even say anything, Mikyung noticed her and avoided her charge with a blink.

“UNNIEEEEE!”

“It’s for your own good.”

“I-I-I’m seriously not confident…”

Seems like she’s really afraid.
I guess I need to get her more experience first before letting her undertake the quest.

I told her.
“Tell me when you want to go in.
There is no penalty for entering later.”

Da-jeong patted her chin and muttered.
“There are so many good things inside, It seems like it will be a while before Mikyung can enjoy it.”

“What is in there?”

“There is a cool and breezy sea, there is a beautiful valley, and watermelons are growing in the garden.
You can lead a full country life there.”

“And there are also a lot of monsters who can educate people on fighting.” I added.

Mikyung shivered, perhaps frightened by my words.
It seems that it will take some time for the other members to enter.

Da-jeong asked softly.
“I didn’t ask before… What did you get from killing Sniffles?”

I told her everything.
She didn’t show any reaction on my level and points gained.
But when she heard I had acquired ‘Super Sense’ skill, she was startled.

“Can you hear my heartbeat, then?”

“If I decide to focus, yes.” I answered as I tapped the table in front of me at the same timing of her heartbeat.

Da-jeong’s face paled at my words.

“It’s a really scary skill…you can literally know everything that is happening around you if you decide to focus….”

“I can hear your toes…”

“Oh my god…”

I also heard Mikyung farted, maybe because she was nervous, but I pretended not to know.

After a lot of time passed, Seokhyun came out of the portal.
He rubbed his eyes and grinned.

“I tried to fight a troll and it was doable!”

Is that so?

Now it’s his turn to enter my shelter.
After paying 100 points, Seokhyun passed through the portal.