Episode 2
[Seong Eunha (Pseudo Zombie Type)]
‘I’m sure it said “Human” in those parentheses just yesterday…?’
That’s where my race should be written. Not this nonsensical “Pseudo Zombie Type.”
But the status window didn’t change no matter how long I stared at it, so I hurriedly checked the next section.
[STATUS]
Stamina: S
Strength: D
Mana: C
Agility: F
‘S-Rank?!’
The first thing I did after seeing the contents of the status window was to doubt my own eyes.
I was a low-level Hunter with useless skills, and the letter “S” had never once appeared on my status window.
‘And Stamina, of all things?’
Would it have made more sense if it was Mana? As a Healer Awakener, the highest stat I originally had was C-rank Mana. My Stamina was only a measly D-rank, and my overall rank was also just a D-rank.
‘What in the world happened?’
Not only was it surprising enough that I hadn’t died in that situation, but my stats and even my race had changed.
‘Come to think of it, it also said my class had changed.’
Remembering the notification window, I took a deep breath. Surely it would be filled with more nonsense. I needed to prepare myself.
After regaining some composure, I cautiously switched the window.
[Class: Tank (Healer)]
The word “Tank” had been added to my class, which used to simply say “Healer.”
‘Seeing as “Healer” is still in parentheses, it seems like my Healer skills haven’t disappeared.’
Even if I didn’t consider Detoxification, Self-Recovery was a pretty useful skill. There was nothing better for recovering from exhaustion after working in low-level dungeons. Thanks to that, I could run dungeons much more frequently than others.
With a trembling heart, I slowly scrolled down the window and checked my skills.
[Self-Recovery]
My most useful skill remained the same without any changes. The difference was in the skill below it.
[Self-Detoxification (Activated)]
‘Activated?’
There was only one case where the “Activated” mark appeared on the Detoxification skill. Low-level Detoxification skills often failed to detoxify poisons instantly, and when the skill was activated due to poisoning but failed to complete detoxification, the “Activated” mark appeared.
Simply put, it was like a sign that detoxification was still in progress.
‘But I haven’t been poisoned by anything…’
With a strange feeling, I clicked on the Details tab.
[Self-Detoxification (Activated)]
C-Rank
Target Toxicity: Zombie Virus
※ The rank of the Detoxification skill is low. This skill cannot completely detoxify the target toxicity. Some lesions of the Zombie Virus will appear on the user’s body.
“What?”
A bewildered sound escaped my lips without me realizing it. As expected, me being bitten by a zombie wasn’t a dream or an illusion. The memory of being bitten on the back of my neck made my body stiffen instantly.
But I was still human. At least on the outside. Even if the system said otherwise.
I looked at the skill window with a confused mind. The dud card I had drawn was finally proving its worth. And at such a crucial moment, too.
‘If I didn’t have the Detoxification skill, I would have really become a zombie, right?’
It was a bit creepy.
‘But what does it mean by “some lesions”…’
I hadn’t taken off my clothes to check, but at least the skin I could see hadn’t melted or anything. My reasoning abilities were fine too.
The answer to my unknown physical condition was always in the status window. I cautiously scrolled down the screen.
‘As expected, I have a Tank skill now.’
I was wondering after seeing that my class had changed, and as expected, a Tank skill I hadn’t seen before had been created below the Detoxification skill. But the name of the skill was strange.
[Zombie Regeneration (Passive)]
The word “Zombie” was unsettling. With trembling hands, I checked the details.
[Zombie Regeneration (Passive)]
S-Rank
The abnormal regenerative ability possessed only by zombies. The skill user naturally recovers from all damage inflicted on the body.
※ However, this excludes damage inflicted on the head.
I stared at the skill description with my mouth agape. Unlike its eerie name, it was an absurdly good skill. Besides, it was S-rank, what more explanation was needed?
Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses.
‘I really have become a half-zombie… haven’t I?’
The regenerative ability possessed only by zombies. The fact that I, of all people, had that skill was obvious. More than anything else, hadn’t my race name changed? To the bizarre name of “Pseudo Zombie Type.” The status window didn’t lie.
‘When I was bitten by the zombie and got infected, the Detoxification skill must have activated. But since its rank is low, it couldn’t completely block the infection and left behind the Zombie Regeneration.’
This is totally like winning the lottery!
Of course, it wasn’t like I wasn’t creeped out by the fact that I had become a zombie. But the world was in this state. It was far more important that my chances of survival had increased than the fact that the text of my race name had changed.
‘My wounds are all healed, and there’s no more risk of becoming a zombie, right? Because I’m already a zombie. So that means I’m basically invincible?’
…That’s what I thought, until an hour ago.
“Argh!”
A sharp zombie claw slashed my arm. I stared at the shredded flesh of my forearm, wondering what had gone wrong.
After I came to my senses from the shock of becoming a zombie, I tried to find something to eat again. I guess I let my guard down a bit because I thought I wouldn’t die.
Now that I had encountered zombies again, I realized how wrong I had been.
‘I may not die, but it hurts like hell!’
Even when my flesh was torn and blood splattered, I didn’t die. The flesh that had just been torn was already regenerating.
The problem was that I didn’t have the power to instantly wipe out the zombies.
‘And when I woke up after passing out, my gun was gone…’
No matter how much stronger a Hunter’s physical abilities were compared to an ordinary person, I wasn’t a close-range dealer. I had no attack skills or weapons, so I didn’t have the strength to defeat a zombie.
“Grooooowl.”
The zombie bared its teeth again at my regenerating arm.
‘These guys don’t see me as some kind of all-you-can-eat buffet, do they?’
If, as stated in my skill description, the zombie’s regenerative ability didn’t apply to the head, it wasn’t like there was no way to escape. I wouldn’t die anyway, so if I just kept punching the zombie’s head, I would eventually be able to kill it.
But that was an incredibly dangerous choice. Because…
‘This isn’t a back alley anymore. If a passing Hunter sees me being bitten by zombies, they’ll think I’m infected and try to kill me too.’
I wanted to avoid being chased by Hunters on top of monsters.
After calculating my options, I quickly began to distance myself. Before, I had a gun, so I was willing to fight, but not now. I ran with all my might in the opposite direction of the zombies.
“Groan, Grooooowl!”
Of course, the zombies weren’t going to let their delicious, refillable prey go that easily.
Zombies weren’t particularly fast monsters. The problem was that my Agility was only F-rank. No matter how desperately I ran, it was just a parallel line, and the distance between us didn’t widen.
‘I have to do something…!’
But no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a good solution. I had no attack power, no speed, all I had was stamina, and I couldn’t even fight in close combat. What kind of strategy could I possibly come up with in this situation?
Just then, I heard a thudding sound nearby.
“Seriously. They’re endless. Are there any survivors left?”
“Let’s take another look around. We can’t leave anyone behind.”
Then, I heard human voices. Without a second thought, I shouted as loud as I could.
“Over here! Help me!”
If they were looking for survivors, they couldn’t be bad people, right? Thankful for the second stroke of luck I had today, I prayed that they were strong Hunters.
“Speak of the devil.”
“We’re on our way!”
A gruff voice that sounded like a complaint was followed by a shout in my direction.
Before the people who said they would come arrived, a white magic sphere reached me first. The zombie’s skin that came into contact with it burned. It regenerated quickly, but there were still magic spheres left, so it couldn’t approach me recklessly.
Then, a brown-haired man who came running from somewhere stood protectively in front of me. The man, who had a gentle impression, was holding a greatsword that didn’t suit him at all.
“Protect!”
The red-haired man who arrived next cast a defensive spell. A translucent barrier was created around me and the man with the sword.
“Just hold on a moment.”
The man with the sword slashed a zombie and spoke to me calmly, as if to reassure me.
I was worried that he might get hurt if he took his eyes off me, but the man wielded the sword as if it were a part of his body and effortlessly blocked all the attacks.
“See, it’s not dead!”
But no matter how many times he cut them down, the zombies regenerated. The red-haired man clicked his tongue and spoke irritably. His words brought me to my senses.
“The head, you have to hit the head!”
At my sudden outburst, the brown-haired man nodded slightly and attacked the zombie’s head. With a single blow, the zombie’s head was cleanly split in half, and it disappeared without regenerating.
‘As expected.’
The head doesn’t regenerate. The exception in my skill description applied to zombies as well.
After that, it was over in an instant. The greatsword that moved so lightly it was hard to believe, and the light magic that poured in from behind, instantly wiped out the horde of zombies. As I had prayed, no, they were definitely Hunters of an even higher rank than I had imagined.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
The man who had wiped the zombie’s flesh from his sword approached me. The red-haired man with the fierce impression followed behind him.
“May I ask how you ended up here alone? It must have been difficult to even get in with the zombies occupying the entrance.”
The man’s voice was gentle, but it contained clear suspicion.
‘The crisis isn’t over yet.’
How could I possibly explain my situation of almost dying and becoming a zombie in just a few hours and make it sound like I was just an ordinary person?
I racked my brains as I met his suspicious gaze.