ALL NOVEL chapter 7
7 – The high school girl suggested merging.
Throughout my life, I’ve drawn lines and lived with a demeanor that, even to my own ears, didn’t sound particularly friendly. However, the formally dressed couple began their conversation without showing any signs of displeasure.
“We’ve been watching from the sidelines. Of course, Ms. Eunyeon was probably doing the same. Although I couldn’t see it accurately since you always cleared stages faster than me… You seem to have some remarkable abilities.”
As they spoke, they casually glanced at my shelter and equipment.
“hehehehe, what do you think? Impressive, right?”
“Get to the point.”
Despite their satisfied inner thoughts, when I coldly cut them off, they exchanged glances and the woman made the proposal.
“We’ve come to suggest joining forces with us. We believe that the combination of our abilities will undoubtedly be a great help in clearing the game!”
Finally, it has come.
“… Joining forces may not be all advantages, though.”
Give it a brief consideration.
“Well, of course, Ms. Eunyeon will have all the shelter authority. While you may lose some points in acquiring them… we promise not to cause any disturbances! We just… want to live.”
‘Why would points decrease? Is it because the number of appearing bosses decreases? Let’s just ask.’
“Why do points decrease?”
“Huh? Well, since the boss monsters merge and appear as one…”
‘Boss monsters? Ah, they must be talking about that spider from earlier.’
Three people, but the boss monsters are merged into one, so the points obtained for defeating them decrease, I suppose?
Hmm…
Brazenly, I asked once more.
“Well, is it easy to defeat the merged monster? It will probably take a long time, right?”
I wonder?
“That, that could be true! If the three of us coordinate well, it might be easier to catch. No, it will definitely be like that. Jinseok, right?”
Eunji urgently signaled to the man.
“I’ll extend my finger for a moment…”
Looking at Jinseok suddenly offering his index finger, she hesitated for a moment and then extended hers as well.
Tock-
– Would you like to share special information? Y/N
“Oh, there’s something like this. Of course, I’ll take it.”
Parasite of Death (Advanced)
– When delivering the final blow leading to death to an enemy, the same blow is immediately dealt to the closest enemy. (Up to 5 times)
“Wow, advanced. A good ability for dealing with small fries. It’s not bad, even if it’s a bit of luck compared to the student’s ability…”
Did they notice that my expression wasn’t bad? A bit of expectation and anxiety showed in their expressions. Looking intently at the woman, the office lady hesitated for a while, then slowly extended her index finger.
Tock-
1+1 (Intermediate)
– When purchasing items from a store priced below 5P, receive an additional one. (Up to 5 times a day)
“Ha…”
Hmm-!
The woman’s shoulders shook greatly at my slightly disappointed sigh.
In a way, it’s a useful ability that can consistently save 25P every day.
“Well… unless the resident population increases significantly, it doesn’t seem to be very useful.”
After a moment of contemplation.
“If only gentlemen are coming, we’ll accept.”
“What?! But it’s already fused, so it’s impossible now, right?”
‘Oh, did I not know that it can’t be torn apart once it’s merged? Saying it can’t be done now implies that it might be possible someday.’
Slightly puzzled by the response that seemed to question the nonsense of what I just said, I casually replied.
“That’s right… Well then, merging is not possible. Please check with someone else.”
“No? After examining even our characteristics, isn’t that a bit much?”
A slightly indignant reaction from Park Eunji.
Perhaps feeling sorry for causing the rupture herself, she seemed even more upset.
“What you showed us first is from your side, and that’s it.”
“Excuse me, Miss Eun.”
When I tried to turn back to the shelter, Seo Jinseok’s calm voice stopped me in my tracks.
“This won’t be the only chance. Take your time and let us know anytime. We’re always welcoming.”
“Uh… Well, um…”
Slightly flustered, the well-dressed lady seemed taken aback as Jinseok kindly came forward.
“Of course. You are always welcome, Mr. Jinseok.”
With that, she gave a lip service and headed towards the shelter.
Will you enter? Y/N
“Well then.”
As if passing through a thin curtain of water, the sensation swept by, and I re-entered the shelter.
If separation is impossible after fusion, I’ll have to choose my partner more carefully.
“Is Jinseok okay?”
Even people find him calm and likable.
Outside the shelter, a woman is seen, lightly engaging in skinship with Jinseok’s arm and earnestly saying something.
“Were you acquainted from before?”
Well, it’s not important.
＜00:00＞
＜Stage 5 has ended! Seriously! The first round was a stage that completely dominated, considering the tears shed witnessing everyone’s growth. ㅜ^ㅜ Perhaps thanks to the regression, now you can even go outside the neutral zone of the shelter, so try various strategies! I’ll be off now~＞
This time, surprisingly, no drooling emoji was used.
＜Stage 5 casualties: 2,709,130＞
As the dramatically increased death toll appeared, there was a moment of silence in the world.
Hmm~ How about checking the rankings for a change of mood?
Planet-20685 Points Ranking
1. Cutie (5090P)
2. Team Ring Ring (4020P)
3. Team Fineman (3200P)
“Huh? Ring Ring rose to 2nd place?”
Everyone must have formed teams. But how did the gap narrow so much at once? Last time I checked, it was almost double the difference, but now it seems you could fall behind with just a blink.
“Well··· even if you lose points due to overlapping boss mobs, considering that zombies come out as many as the number of people, it’s natural to be caught up, right? In reality, the point ranking may not have much meaning now.”
The more shelters merge, the higher the team points will go.
– Ding!
“Hmm?!”
A notification sound echoed in my head.
– A comment has been posted on your writing.
“Oh wow!”
I hastily entered the forum and saw that comments were appearing in real-time.
“Oh! It even auto-translates. Everything’s readable.”
The sudden influx of comments was probably due to a significant increase in earned points, reducing the burden of 1P.
– Second place! But is the author still alive? George from Denver-Boulder, are you still alive?
– Third place! The author’s madness is terrifying. Came to Osaka for sightseeing, stuck in Taiwan. Please save me ㅜ
– Are you playing rankings in this situation? Team Minchi is in front of the Melbourne Marunda Hospital.
– Carrying 6P after finishing Stage 1? It’s practically a will.
– Rest in peace. It’s okay; we’re all going to die anyway 🙂
– Why the 35-character limit! Don’t want to die, don’t want to die, don’t want to die, don’t want to die, don’t want to die, don’t want to die, don’t want to die, don’t want to die…
– Wow, they’ve blocked all information about the remaining stages. So malicious!
They’ve blocked information about the stages…
“Why are you doing this to me? Spare the newbie a bit…”
As I scrolled down, most of the posts were either revealing their locations or trying to find friends. Were they looking for people they couldn’t contact other than their family and lovers during the hour before the game started?
– I’ve already reached Intermediate in front of my shelter. Is this a scam? Did this attribute exist?
“Huh?”
Wait a minute… Could this be that obnoxious school uniform? The ID is “Su-Yeonggu Doljumeok,” right? It’s you, isn’t it? Ugh, cringe. You have such a cheesy ID.
“How could I spot it among all these comments? Where did you go, Su-yeonggu Water Fist? Can’t even see this punk anywhere.”
Huh.. Anyway, there’s nothing to gain from reading the comments, but it’s still quite amusing to see.
– The first-place lump? What kind of person is he? Is it possible to earn that many points alone?
– I can’t even guess the characteristics of the first place. Could it be the last survivor from the previous round?
– He’s Korean, lol. Does anyone know where this person is?
– If you know, can you go? It’s still a long way to lift the restrictions.
– Wait, does it make sense for there to be almost a 10-fold difference between the first place and the points? Are there other rewards?
– How can 5090 and 875 be 10 times different? If that’s your brain, I recommend just committing suicide now.
“Interest in me is quite hot, huhu-“
But why don’t they know that the person who wrote the post and the first place are the same?
Puzzled, I rummaged through the messenger window and saw a tiny gear-shaped icon.
– ID Hidden ON/OFF When Writing
“Ugh… unnecessarily detailed again.”
But it seems better to just leave it ON, so I left it as it is.
＜01:59:59＞
“It starts in two hours.”
Leaning back in my chair, I absentmindedly gaze at the sky lost in thought. Night operations are possible···
“If there’s someone outside drawing aggro, it might be advantageous for defense···”
I don’t know who would go outside and play that role, but considering the expectation of various strategies, it must be what they’re talking about, right?
If you draw aggro and get sent to another team’s shelter and die from the other team’s attack, whose points will that be converted to?
“Hmm, there’s too much I don’t know.”
Anyway, it doesn’t seem like I can insist on doing it alone.
“It’s not easy to become like the protagonist in a novel…”
I wonder if there are people with the same traits as a necromancer. It seems too enviable.
– Thud! Thud!
“Oh, surprise! Who is it again?”
Caught off guard by the sound that interrupted my thoughts, I turned my head towards the source of the noise.
There stood two high school girls in uniforms.
Breathing heavily as if they had just finished jogging? Seeing their uniforms, I felt a sense of distance, so I walked with a slightly stern expression. Then the two girls took a few steps back.
I know that despite having a soft and fluffy personality like marshmallows, I exude quite an intimidating atmosphere on the outside. My 190cm, nearly 100kg physique comes in handy at times like this.
Frowning, I asked them what they wanted from inside the shelter. Or maybe they’re scared to be inside.
In response, the two girls showed me a towel with red pepper paste written on it using their fingers.
– Would you like to join our team?
Hmm, popularity doesn’t discriminate by age.
At first, I thought I wouldn’t even consider kids who look like troublemakers, but they seem a bit sincere on the surface, so I’ll accept.
I quickly wrote on a tissue with the pen I just bought and showed it to them.
– Revealing my trait.
The kids exchanged whispers for a moment and then the girl with short hair nodded and extended her finger.
Tap-
Dasan (Intermediate)
– Every time a baby is born in the shelter, the ability score increases by 15%.
Huh? Why is this coming up here?