Chapter 14
The corners of Nam Gyu-il’s mouth were stretched so wide he felt like dancing. Unexpected fortune had come to him. He pulled a smooth stone from the zombie’s chest and examined it every which way.
‘As expected, it’s a Heart of Decay!’
It was something obtainable from only an extremely small number of zombies.
‘It possesses a truly terrifying effect.’
If consumed, it causes flesh to rot and induces severe hallucinations. Simply put, it was a solid lump of poison.
‘But if processed, the toxicity can be removed. And a processed Heart of Decay becomes an ingredient for an elixir. An elixir ingredient that builds poison resistance!!’
Nam Gyu-il couldn’t wipe the smile from his lips. He had happened to acquire the remaining ingredient, the Cobra Stone, from the previous Gate as well.
‘With this, I’ve got all the materials in hand.’
Now he just had to make the poison resistance elixir. When Nam Gyu-il grinned, Lee Chan-woo, who was beside him, tilted his head and cautiously spoke to him.
“Hyung, what’s wrong? Was there a problem with the yukhoe we ate today? See, we really should have eaten Chef Kim Baek’s course meal. Right?”
Lee Chan-woo, ever earnest about food, feigned concern and brought up the subject of eating.
Nam Gyu-il cleared his throat and composed his expression.
“Ahem. You’re talking about food again?”
“They say even ghosts who died eating look good. You have to eat well to die pretty.”
“Goodness, be quiet.”
“Yes~”
Nam Gyu-il looked at Lee Chan-woo. And shifted his gaze to the Heart of Decay clutched in his hand.
The one who had discovered this wasn’t him.
It was Lee Chan-woo.
Therefore, the ownership effectively belonged to him. He could have tricked him with this and that to take the Heart of Decay, but he didn’t want to con a teammate.
‘We’ve crossed life-or-death lines together in the Gate! I absolutely cannot tell such lies.’
So Nam Gyu-il called out to him. With a very grave expression, at that.
“Chan-woo.”
“Yes.”
“This jewel-like thing you discovered is an extremely valuable item.”
“This thing?”
Lee Chan-woo narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, looking at the Heart of Decay.
Nam Gyu-il calmly continued the conversation.
“Yes, if it’s processed properly, it can be used as medicine.”
“This thing?”
Lee Chan-woo acted indifferent. In his eyes, it looked like nothing more than a black pebble plucked from a zombie’s chest. No matter how much he thought about it, he had never heard of a stone obtained from a zombie becoming medicine.
Lee Chan-woo scoffed.
“Hyung, you’re joking because you’re bored, right?”
“What?”
“How can something like this be used as medicine?”
“Damn, do you know how valuable this is right now….”
“Then you take it, Hyung.”
Lee Chan-woo promptly handed over ownership of the Heart of Decay to him.
Nam Gyu-il was dumbfounded. It was so absurd that his mouth fell wide open and wouldn’t close.
Lee Chan-woo threw an arm around Nam Gyu-il’s shoulder.
“In exchange for giving you that weird stone, just buy me one thing I want.”
“What is it?”
“Chef Kim Baek’s course meal.”
“…….”
Nam Gyu-il was at a loss for words. He would trade this precious Heart of Decay for just one meal?
Unable to believe it, he asked again.
“You won’t be able to do anything even if you regret it later. I won’t be able to give it back even if you ask!”
“I wouldn’t take it even if you gave it back.”
Lee Chan-woo didn’t spare the Heart of Decay a single glance. And added a word.
“And if it’s that good, isn’t it better for you to have it than me? You’re our team’s ace, right?”
Lee Chan-woo smiled slyly and sent a wink. He was usually a playful guy, but the moment he noticed Nam Gyu-il wanted it, he yielded. And in a way that wouldn’t burden the other party.
Nam Gyu-il smirked.
“Alright. I’ll treat you to a meal as you wish.”
“I will never forget that promise. Nam Gyu-il Hyung-nim!!”
The two bumped fists. They lightly pressed their fists together like stamping a seal.
Thus, the Heart of Decay became Nam Gyu-il’s property.
***
Having taken sufficient rest, Team 01 rose from their spots and advanced forward again.
The further they went, the thicker the fog became.
The temperature was also dropping little by little.
“It’s chilly.”
Hwang Il-su sniffled. He spoke to Nam Gyu-il with a grave expression.
“Doesn’t something feel strange?”
“You think so too?”
Nam Gyu-il nodded.
Gates where zombies appear are notorious for spawning far more monsters than other places.
Yet they had been walking for over thirty minutes and hadn’t seen a single monster.
Since the first battle upon entering the Gate, there had been no significant danger at all.
Nam Gyu-il was extremely tense. From experience, he knew that such cases usually meant a trap.
The silent, dead silence amplified his anxiety.
Nam Gyu-il called out to Hwang Il-su.
“Il-su. Do you remember when you enlisted as a rookie at the Hunter Bureau? Zombies came out in the first Gate you entered.”
“You mean that terrible time?”
“Yes, back then we didn’t even have proper armor like this, so we almost fell victim to the zombies.”
“Most of the kids who entered the Gate with us died. Or they became zombies and attacked us.”
A dark shadow fell over Hwang Il-su’s face. It was terrible enough to see comrades die, but fighting comrades who had turned into zombies was a tragedy beyond that. He couldn’t forget it.
Nam Gyu-il continued the broken conversation.
“Back then, zombies swarmed in droves at fifteen-minute intervals, right?”
“Yes. They rushed at us disgustingly.”
“At that time, we couldn’t advance this unscathed. Why aren’t the zombies appearing? What could be the reason?”
“I don’t know either. For now, let’s maintain a thorough perimeter and be careful.”
Hwang Il-su firmly adjusted his grip on his shield.
He let out a long breath.
Because of the fog, they couldn’t see an inch ahead.
It was the perfect situation for an ambush.
Nam Gyu-il slowly surveyed his surroundings, vigilantly watching for any suspicious movements.
‘Zombies are beings incapable of thought. It’s possible they’re simply missing this opportunity to ambush.’
Zombies are monsters that move on instinct alone.
Because they cannot think, they don’t know how to fight strategically.
Then. A sudden squelching sound was heard.
Hwang Il-su, who had been walking ahead, suddenly sank ankle-deep.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
Hwang Il-su also hurriedly looked at his foot and blinked.
“Mud?!”
His foot was caught in mud heavy with moisture, like a mudflat.
It wasn’t deep like a swamp, so his life wasn’t in danger, but it became a significant obstacle to movement.
It was then.
“Guuhhh-!!”
“Guuh.”
The sounds of zombies came from all directions.
Nam Gyu-il opened his eyes wide and looked around.
‘Zombies, now of all times?!’
Caught off guard when movement was already difficult due to the waterlogged mud.
Retreat and advance were both difficult.
No matter how he looked at it, this was an ambush.
‘What? Zombies are beings incapable of thought? Using this situation to ambush?!’
Nam Gyu-il’s expression crumpled.
The zombies that had been lying in ambush until now suddenly appeared.
This meant only one thing.
‘An intelligent monster is controlling the zombies!!’
Nam Gyu-il clicked his tongue.
In Gates where zombies appeared, the boss monster was mostly a Giant Zombie.
It was nearly 2 meters in size with little muscle decay, possessing tremendous monstrous strength.
But it too moved purely on instinct, so it was stupid.
‘Wait? Then is the boss monster this time not a Giant Zombie?’
Nam Gyu-il’s thoughts reached that far.
He didn’t know what kind of fellow the boss monster was, but he was certain that it was smart.
He looked around.
Everyone’s movements were slowed as they fought in the mud.
The saving grace was that thanks to their armor, the zombies’ attacks wouldn’t work.
‘Thank goodness for that.’
Nam Gyu-il regained his focus and calmly assessed the situation.
Fighting in this mud caused great stamina consumption.
In an instant, his eyes narrowed.
He now understood what the boss monster was aiming for.
In an environment with such heavy stamina consumption, zombies with their superior stamina held more of an advantage than humans.
Moreover, it was hard to run away because of the mud.
‘It’s the perfect environment for zombies to bite. If we didn’t have armor, we would have suffered greatly. If we fought in this mud, most would have been bitten by zombies.’
They had avoided the worst, but that didn’t mean they could relax.
The National Hunters of Team 01 couldn’t fight in an organized manner due to the mud and were fighting individually.
The zombies held overwhelming numerical superiority; at this rate, everyone would tire quickly.
Nam Gyu-il took a deep breath.
“Huuup.”
Moist, humid air entered his lungs.
He put strength into his calves.
Assuming a horizontal slash stance, he reinforced his body with mana to the utmost.
Pat.
Throwing his body toward where the zombies were gathered, he fiercely swung his longsword.
Even in the squelching mud, his footwork was quick.
Shhk-!!
Nam Gyu-il split a zombie’s head in two in an instant.
His movements were astonishingly light and agile, as if he were running across level ground.
The trajectory of the blade was sharp as well.
Each time the longsword moved, a zombie’s head separated from its body and fell to the ground with a thud.
It was truly exhilarating swordsmanship.
The zombies were helplessly cut down without even landing a proper attack on him.
On the other hand, Team 01 members kept getting their feet stuck in the mud and had to fight the approaching zombies in place.
They couldn’t fight proactively.
The saving grace was that Nam Gyu-il had taken down most of them before they even got close.
Everyone on Team 01 watched Nam Gyu-il fighting while moving freely.
Without realizing it, exclamations of admiration escaped them.
“Ah…….”
Truly amazing.
Nam Gyu-il was slaughtering the zombies.
Hwang Il-su’s jaw dropped.
‘I knew Gyu-il Hyung got stronger after being discharged, but it seems like he’s growing more and more as time goes on?!’
The other Team 01 members were feeling it too.
Even if only vaguely.
Lee Chan-woo also opened his eyes wide.
“I knew Gyu-il Hyung suddenly got stronger, but to that extent?!”
Then, Hong Sin-woo spoke up.
“I don’t know the secret to how Staff Sergeant Nam Gyu-il got so strong. We secretly followed along with his training, but we haven’t gotten that strong.”
Everyone nodded.
They were secretly copying his training, so they couldn’t understand why the gap was so wide.
Han Gang-su, who knew the answer, kept his mouth firmly shut.
Lee Chan-woo took down a zombie and wiped the sweat gathering along his jawline with the back of his hand.
He suddenly recalled the drink Nam Gyu-il had been drinking.
“That weird brown drink. Is that the secret?”
Lee Chan-woo mentioned the elixir, but no one responded.
You get dramatically stronger just from eating something?
They dismissed it as a joke.
Earth had absolutely no knowledge of elixirs, so no one could have predicted that Nam Gyu-il’s secret was the drink he consumed daily.
Since no one responded, Lee Chan-woo didn’t speak of the elixir anymore.
The Team 01 members thought of the training Nam Gyu-il did every day.
Then Hwang Il-su muttered quietly.
“Could it be that there’s some principle we don’t know, so it had no effect even when we copied him?”
Because it was coming from Hwang Il-su, who was usually taciturn and serious, it carried different weight.
Hong Sin-woo casually threw the conversation to everyone.
“How about we ask Staff Sergeant Nam Gyu-il to teach us his training method when we get out of this Gate?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“That sounds good.”
“If we get stronger that way, we can be discharged safely.”
If they could be discharged with their limbs intact, they were prepared to grab Nam Gyu-il by the pant legs and beg.
Han Gang-su snorted in absurdity.
‘You think he’ll teach us just because we ask? How much money could he make by monopolizing the training method?’
Han Gang-su hid his inner thoughts and fought the zombies.
“Guh.”
“Guh.”
When another horde of zombies charged from a different direction, Hwang Il-su shouted to everyone.
“We’ll think about that later. Focus only on the battle right now!!”
***
The second battle was over.
Nam Gyu-il turned back and checked on his comrades’ condition.
‘The armor really is something.’
Everyone was perfectly fine without a scratch.
Though the sound of labored breathing from fighting zombies could be heard here and there.
Nam Gyu-il looked ahead.
The muddy path was hard to walk on.
Thick fog.
Only conditions that made advancing difficult.
If they hadn’t had armor, they wouldn’t have dared to proceed.
Because a situation where comrades could get bitten and infected by zombies could have easily unfolded.
‘We merely put on armor, yet the battle is this easy.’
He was satisfied for now, but there was one thing bothering him.
It was the existence of the boss monster.
‘It’s definitely no easy opponent. I need to stay on my toes.’
Nam Gyu-il looked at his comrades again.
And made a vow.
That today as well, he would get these guys out of the Gate safely.