NOVEL NEXT Chapter 462
With the list of modes received, installing and running them was quick.
“Okay, so it’s all set, right?”
– Yup, yup.
– Wow, I’m impressed!
– How are you so good with computers?
“That’s just how it is.”
There were a few errors along the way, but with various bits of help, I managed to get it installed.
Whoa, there’s definitely a lot more weight to it with so many mods.
“By the way, does adding the Raiders make it super hard? Should I set a lot of initial points?”
– Yup.
– It’s super tough, lol.
– You should reduce the ratio and set a lot of points in that setting.
“Alright, got it.”
From my last experience, having plenty of points was definitely helpful.
This game gives you points for adding negative traits, which you then use to get good traits.
Of course, adding negative traits is part of the fun of the game, but it’s always better to have more points, right?
Besides, good traits usually never stop increasing.
So, I decided to generously pile on the initial points during the setup before starting the game.
“Is this enough?”
– LOL!
– Are you John Wick or something?
– It’s tough, so I had to put in that much, haha.
“Exactly. If I’m going for hard mode, I gotta be strong too.”
Normally, this wouldn’t be fun in vanilla, but…
With so many mods, the difficulty is significantly higher.
Moreover, while I have played the game before, I’m not a veteran, so I need to start strong.
After setting the basic server settings, I was met with the character trait selection window before really starting.
“Shall we pick all the good ones first?”
– Let’s go!
– Make sure to pick traits for handling the situation.
“Yes, I plan to pick everything.”
Since my role requires me to handle zombies alone, I went for combat traits.
Plus, I selected all the good traits available.
“Oh, I’m short on points…”
– LOL!
– Did you really use them all?
– You’ve really maxed out all the good ones haha.
This looks good, and that also looks good, what do I do?
In the end, I found myself short on points to the point where I had to select a few negative traits.
While examining the negative traits, one stood out: starting with one arm missing.
Will I be able to attach a prosthetic later?
“Can I start with this missing arm trait and later attach a prosthetic?”
– Yup, that’s allowed, lol.
– That’s what it’s for!
Wow…
Attaching a prosthetic arm sounds cool, doesn’t it?
In an apocalypse world, a survivor fighting zombies with a prosthetic arm.
That’s kind of poetic, right?
“If I get a prosthetic later and die, I can just add this then.”
Though I don’t plan to immediately go and chop my arm off.
If I get a prosthetic and resurrect, I’ll just add it then.
Chopping off an arm brings a huge penalty and gives lots of points, so I guess I’ll have to use it one day.
Anyway, after putting all that together…
“What do you think?”
– No way lol.
– You look super strong!
– Just look at the number of traits!
A versatile survivor was born, having few downsides and immense abilities.
“Let’s see how well I can survive.”
After that, I began in the supposed easiest starter area—a small town.
If I loot the fire station and police station here, the basic farming will be done.
As the game began, I first grabbed some food and clothes from the house where I was born and headed outside.
Before me stood a few zombies.
Usually, I’d clear them one by one and head to the fire station, but this time, I just ran straight at them.
– ???
– Won’t the zombies swarm me if I do this?
“I’m a superhuman now, so it’s fine!”
Having invested trait points heavily, my character already possessed virtually endless stamina and strength.
I’m not going to get caught by zombies in this beginning town.
Dodging the zombies trying to grab me, I sprinted towards the fire station.
I jumped over the wall, shoved a zombie aside, and stomped on it to death.
Then I boldly swung open the window and entered the fire station.
“Let’s grab some clothes and weapons, then hit the police station.”
– Whoa.
– Look at that speed!
– Things are moving along nicely.
“Since there are Raiders, I need to arm up quickly.”
There’s a reason I’m rushing.
From what I saw during setup, those Raiders come out with guns.
Plus, since I’ve advanced the spawn time of the higher-tier Raiders for broadcast tempo, I need to arm up fast.
Once inside the fire station, I gathered sturdy clothes, a bag, and a fire axe.
Then I headed straight for the police station next door.
“Wow, there’s a lot of zombies here, huh?”
– Police zombies, YIKES!
– For real, that’s a lot.
– Should we ignore this?
“I’ll handle it.”
There were quite a few zombies that were police officers around the station, but this time I didn’t ignore them and immediately swung my axe.
“Cutting through the law!”
Even with many zombies, it was still pretty manageable for the early game.
I quickly swept through them all with the fire axe and made my way inside the police station.
– Whoa, that’s police!
– Wow, that guy’s just pure evil, eh?
– Miro/Controversy.
“In here, I’m the law.”
In a world where law and ethics have crumbled, I am the law and morality now.
Anyway, I used the key obtained from the police corpses to unlock the weapons cache inside the police station.
“Wow, why do police have so many guns like a military stash?”
– For real, lol.
– This place is a total treasure trove.
– Must be because of the mods.
Although it was a small police station, thanks to mods, I managed to gather automatic rifles and ammo you’d expect to find in an army.
Oh, since my firearm proficiency is low at the start, I also slung a shotgun over my back.
I needed to take out some weak zombies while leveling up my proficiency.
“Alright… now I just need to find a car and some food.”
Because of my previous experience in multiplayer, I moved through the early stages really quickly…
But from here, I started to hesitate a bit.
Should I just grab some food and a car, then hit the military base right away?
No matter how much ammo I have, it’s never enough in this game.
Especially since I’ve installed both the Raider mod and a zombie spawning mod from the last multiplayer session.
Raiders invade periodically, so I really need to stock up on bullets.
So, while on the way to search for food or a car…
[Hey! You there!]
Ahead, I spotted someone fighting a zombie alone.
“A person, huh?”
– Oh.
– Should we shoot them right away?
– It’s a person!
“Wow, that’s fascinating.”
Seeing a person while playing this game solo is quite unique.
More than that…
“They’re speaking Korean! Are they a fellow countryman?”
– Countryman, LOL.
– They’re really speaking Korean.
– LOL.
– Help me out here while fighting zombies?
It was nice to run into someone after all.
Well, for now…
Bang!!
[Ahh!!]
I got close and shot both the zombie and the person, who instantly fell lifeless.
– ? LOL.
– You just shot first, huh? LOL.
– This guy has no mercy.
“Wow, they went down in one hit?”
To be honest, I was just testing the durability.
Surprisingly, they went down in one shot, huh?
As long as there aren’t too many, this should be manageable.
– OMG…
– Of course they’d go down with a shotgun shot, LOL.
Anyway, after that, I began looting nearby shops for food and medical supplies.
– Be careful here!
– There are often zombies inside.
“Don’t worry, I’m experienced.”
I think the first time I played solo, I was pretty scared, but now that’s in the past.
Plus, I’m well-armed now, so there’s no reason to be scared in this small town…
“I’m not surprised by anything anymore… uh!”
…that shouldn’t be the case.
Did I let my guard down too much?
Suddenly startled by a zombie’s attack and the sound effects, I ended up raising my voice.
– LOL!!!!!
– O-Oh wow.
– That scream was delicious.
– LOL!
“Ah, let me lower the game volume a bit.”
Hah~ I really wasn’t going to get surprised…
But that sound just startled me!
Besides, being alone does bring some different vibes.
It really captures the essence of a zombie apocalypse.
The drama featuring zombies that will be airing soon also set the right atmosphere.
After taking down a decent amount of zombies and farming items around, I thought about my role for a moment.
Lee Yeon-ah, 18 years old.
An impressive high school character known for smashing zombie heads with a baseball bat.
Well, I can’t quite rampage like in this game, but I’m looking forward to the acting of hunting zombies.
I heard she’ll really be swinging a bat.
I hope the scenes turn out great.
Anyway, while collecting my thoughts and items…
“Hey, there’s a car… Oh, there’s a key!”
– Wow, that’s perfect!
– Let’s stash some items, shall we?
– The condition looks good too!
“We can set off right away.”
Just as I found a car with a key stuck in it near the shopping district, shots rang out nearby.
Bang!! Bang!!
“Huh?”
Gunfire sounded right next to me.
– ??
– Whoa!
– What’s happening?
– Already people shooting guns?
I had seen raiders earlier, but gunfire is a different issue.
Even accidental shots could take a player down, so the tension escalated immediately.
“Well, it sounds like they’re using a pistol…”
At least it sounded like just a pistol, right?
I have a better gun, so mustering my courage, I headed toward the sound.
Then…
“Huh? It’s the police, huh?”
Two police officers were shooting at zombies.
– Oh, they’re police!
– The authority is still here!
– Should we hurry and help?
“Why should I run when I haven’t done anything wrong?”
During setup, I had configured the police to generally be friendly, so it should be okay.
Even though this is the Raider mode, there are still benevolent raiders who are friendly players.
One of those is clearly the police in front of me.
But they’re holding guns, so I cautiously approached and got out of the car.
[Nice to meet you!]
[So, there are survivors!]
Hearing them address me, they seemed to be friendly raiders.
“Oh wow, Koreans in uniform.”
– Wow.
– All the raiders here speak Korean, lol.
– Nice to meet you, let’s travel together!
“Shall we?”
Looking closer, it seemed I could fit them into my car.
I hit the shortcut key I had verified earlier and tried giving them commands.
And then…
[Okay!]
[Follow me.]
The two police officers obediently followed me.
“This feels secure!”
– For real.
– If they’re police, it’s a true safety blanket, LOL.
– Let’s make them fight for us, right?
“Well… I’m not sure how much help they will be, but I’ll take them with me for now.”
Honestly, they felt like an unnecessary burden making noise, but having them in the car gave me a sense of security.
Thus, accompanied by the two police officers, I arrived at the nearby military base.
“From here, we need to get out of the car.”
The entrance was blocked by barbed wire, so when I got out, the police joined me.
“Alright, let’s go.”
I commanded them to follow and led them through the barbed wire.
Immediately, military zombies appeared, and the police drew their guns and started firing.
“Whoa, they’re fighting.”
– LOL!
– Don’t just watch, go help them! LOL.
– Why aren’t you assisting?
“Well… it’s just fun to watch.”
Seeing NPCs fight besides me in this game was quite entertaining.
And surprisingly, they fought quite well.
…Will the hostile raiders fight so well later too?
I think I could handle those with pistols easily, but those coming with rifles are going to be somewhat scary.
Regardless, I was relaxed enough, so as I assisted the police in taking down zombies while headed into the military base, I noticed more people ahead.
“Whoa, those don’t look like zombies.”
At first, I thought they were a cluster of zombies due to their numbers—but they were indeed people.
[Come here!]
[Help us!]
“Hmm… should I go help them?”
Since they were calling for aid, they seemed to likely be on our side.
I ordered the police to engage and fought nearby zombies with my gun.
With our firepower and numbers, we quickly took down the nearby zombies, and after…
“Alright, now let’s command these people to follow…”
Just as I was about to order them to follow me and absorb them into my group…
[Die!]
[You trash!]
Suddenly, these guys swung their weapons at me.
“Huh? Huh?!”
I hurriedly aimed my gun, but I got too close while helping earlier, and it was quicker for their clubs to hit me.
All of a sudden, the blows rained down from above, and my character couldn’t keep up with it.
“Help me!”
The only hope, the police, were already on the ground, getting beaten.
“Huh? What’s happening?”
Is this how I go out?
I’d managed to farm everything without a single bite from a zombie, yet…
Ultimately, as a human being, I couldn’t handle the sudden onslaught of multiple attackers.
In the end…
[You died.]
My character became a cold corpse.
– LOL!
– You actually died, haha.
– You should’ve been more careful, LOL.
“Uh…”
In that moment of confusion and absurdity, I stared blankly at the screen.
[Sorry, lol could’ve toned it down.]
[You fell so fast.]
[That was simple enough~]
Through the gray, tattered screen, I could hear the raiders chatting.
“…?”
Wait, these guys? Are they teabagging me?
– LOL!
– Wow, look at their banter, haha.
– They really are irritating.
“Hah, what a joke.”
How dare these data fragments overlook me, the king of the internet, Buhwang Miro?
These raider scumbags are going to regret this.
“I’m going to make a new character and come back for revenge.”
My head spun.
The lingering hangover in my mind faded, replaced by a surge of anger.
– LOL!
– Revenge declaration from Buhwang, huh?
I thought I could keep a friendly relationship with those raiders, but…
This world is an apocalyptic nightmare.
Experience tells me, in a realm where the slight good is outnumbered by evil, collaboration is nothing but a daydream.
“From now on, I will see all humans as raiders.”
The formerly compassionate survivor Miro, drifting through the desolate apocalypse, was no more.
Now, I’ll be reborn as a ruthless raider hunter, determined to correct the crumbled morality.