Chapter 85: Zombie And The City (2)

CREEEEEAK—

A grating screech burst from the rusty hinges.

At the same time.

[1700—]

[Urrrrrgh—]

[GRRRRRRR—]

Three barnacle zombies standing on the stairs turned their heads toward us.

They charged, howling.

An aluminum bat flew straight into the skull of the first one.

CRACK!

Its neck bent at a perfect right angle.

At the same instant, the mop-handle spear plunged deep into an eye socket.

SQUELCH—!

The sensation of piercing was clearly transmitted to my fingertips.

As expected.

THUD!

The barnacle zombie collapsed like a deflated balloon.

“What the… This is actually… doable?”

Barnacle zombies were B-rank monsters.

They weren’t something a civilian-level me should be able to take down.

Then the system message flashed again.

Ding-dong!

<In the Pathological Safety Needs section, items and skills cannot be used.>

<In the current section, all beings’ stats are forcibly downgraded.>

“Aha.”

The phrase “all beings” caught my eye.

The weakening curse didn’t apply only to humans.

“That changes everything.”

At that moment, another barnacle zombie lunged.

And then.

WHACK!!

Jeanne smashed it away with the aluminum bat.

CRASH!

The barnacle zombie with its skull caved in flew far back.

Jeanne spun once and swung the bat at the last one.

CRACK—!

The sound of a skull shattering rang out clearly.

In just a few seconds.

Jeanne had wiped out all three barnacle zombies in the blink of an eye.

…Even if raw physical ability dropped, combat technique and experience remain.

So this is why the elders always said to learn skills.

Then.

[GRRURK, KRRGURK~!]

Dozens of barnacle zombies began pouring out from the far end of the alley.

They started sprinting toward us ferociously.

I reflexively tried to spray Gigasnail oil slime.

But.

Ding-dong!

<In the Pathological Safety Needs section, items and skills cannot be used.>

<In the current section, all beings’ stats are downgraded to 1%.>

“As expected, no good.”

Can’t be helped.

I thrust the mop spear into a barnacle zombie’s head with all my strength.

SPLURCH!

The spear tip pierced through the mouth and out the back of the skull.

When I pulled it out, the zombie crumpled powerlessly.

…At this level, it might actually be possible.

Even with weakened stats, hitting vital points worked.

All the combat data I’d accumulated until now was shining.

Then.

Patter— Patter-patter-patter—

Thick raindrops began pouring from the overcast sky.

A musty, fishy stench filled the air.

At the same time, the barnacle zombies suddenly froze.

[……]

[……]

[………]

[……]

They stared blankly up at the sky.

Wriggle-wriggle-wriggle-wriggle—

Thin threads began sprouting from their bodies.

More precisely, from the barnacles attached to them.

Cirri.

The feeding tentacles barnacles use to catch prey.

Hundreds of cirri greedily sucked in the raindrops.

At that moment, an ominous notification appeared.

Ding-dong!

<Monster mutation detected in the vicinity!>

<Presence of “moisture” accelerates monster mutation!>

<All stats of 『Parasitic Barnacle Zombie』 greatly increased!>

“Are you kidding me? That’s just too much.”

The barnacle zombies that had spread their cirri began moving slowly.

Splish— Splish— Splish—

One step. Another step. One more.

Every time they stepped in the puddles, soft splashing sounds echoed.

But only for a moment.

SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH—!

The barnacle zombies charged like madmen.

Raindrops splashed in every direction.

Their movements were on a completely different level from before.

They closed the distance at a visibly faster speed.

“Ugh!”

I stabbed one in the forehead with the spear.

THUNK!

My hand vibrated painfully.

It felt like stabbing solid rock.

The spear tip didn’t even pierce the skin.

Not just speed—their durability had skyrocketed too.

Then.

THUNK!

I turned toward the dull sound.

A barnacle zombie had caught Jeanne’s aluminum bat with one hand.

This is dangerous.

Even before, we were barely killing them.

Now that they’d powered up a tier, we were obviously being pushed back.

I pointed to the alley and shouted.

“Run! That way! Now!”

[Understood, Master!]

The place I pointed to was a shabby hardware store tucked in the corner of the alley.

Jeanne swung the bat horizontally in a wide arc.

WHOOSH!

The zombies struck by the bat tangled with the ones behind and collapsed.

Jeanne and I sprinted toward the hardware store.

The store’s entrance had a metal shutter half-lowered.

We slipped inside and immediately pulled it down.

SCREEEEECH— CLACK! RRRRRRRRR—!

The jammed parts released, and the shutter slammed down in an instant.

At the same time.

BAM! BOOM! BAM!

Furious pounding came from the other side.

If we’d been even slightly slower, we’d have been swarmed.

[Urrrrrrrrgh—]

[Uwoooooo000—]

[1700—]

The barnacle zombies’ howls echoed beyond the shutter.

But that lasted only a moment.

Perhaps because we were out of sight.

The howling gradually died down.

Their intelligence is low—that’s a relief at least.

I peeked outside through a gap in the shutter.

Dozens of barnacle zombies filled the alley.

They stood with mouths wide open, gulping down the falling rain.

The cirri sprouting from the parasitic barnacles wriggled like dancing seaweed.

…We’ll have to stay here until the rain stops.

I checked the inside of the hardware store for any threats.

………………

Fortunately, not even a single bug was inside.

Then something leaning against the wall caught my eye.

“This is… a military entrenching tool?”

The old model famous for rarely breaking and being ridiculously sturdy.

A military shovel with a sturdy wooden handle, one side a pickaxe, the other a spade.

Reminds me of the army. I dug like hell with one of these.

Its original purpose was digging.

But the blade’s strength, durability, and sharpness made it perfectly viable as a lethal weapon.

Get hit cleanly by that heavy chunk of metal and you’re dead.

The kitchen knife taped to my mop handle was already falling apart anyway.

Perfect timing.

I tossed the mop spear aside and picked up the entrenching tool.

Then Jeanne’s voice came from deeper inside the store.

[Master. I found something. You should see it yourself.]

In the very back corner of the hardware store.

A massive, heavy steel door stood there like a bank vault.

“A safe or something?”

No matter how I looked, there was no handle.

I pushed just in case—nothing.

BAM! BAM!

I kicked it, rammed it with my shoulder—no reaction.

No choice.

No point wasting strength on something that won’t open.

“It’s gotten pretty quiet outside. Maybe we should head out soon.”

At that moment.

BAM! BOOM! BAM!

Something started pounding the metal shutter with terrifying force.

But this time it was different.

CRACK!

“…!”

A tiny crack appeared in the center of the shutter.

Cold wind leaked through the gap.

CRACK! CRUNCH! CRAAACK!

Something was tearing the shutter apart.

The crack grew larger, and the steel plate began bending inward.

CRACK! CRUNCH! BOOM!

The center tore open like paper, creating a huge hole.

What appeared beyond it was a mass of red flesh.

Flutter—

<Parasitic Barnacle—Octopus Mutant>

– Threat Level: A

– Discovered in: Maslow’s Tower, Pathological Safety Needs Section

A specimen that has perfectly fused with the parasitic barnacle.

An entity mutated after a barnacle zombie underwent “metamorphosis.”

The octopus mutant has eight thick, flexible legs beneath its grotesquely swollen head, each leg possessing leg strength capable of bending rebar.

“Mutant…!”

A completely different creature from the hermit-crab-like one I saw at Haeundae Station.

Eight legs made of red flesh.

A massive, smooth, round head rising from glossy tentacles.

Seaweed-like hair drooping limply around the head.

An octopus mutant.

CRUNCH!

The octopus mutant ripped the shutter completely off and stepped inside.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Ding-dong!

<Would you like to use the skill 『Open』? … (Y/N)>

“…Oh?”

An unexpected event in the very best way.

“That changes everything again.”

Ding-dong!

<Would you like to open Morgue’s Magical Warehouse? … (Y/N)>