NOVEL NEXT chapter 5
5 – The Alliance Begins, But I Am Still Alone.
After completing all the upgrades, I looked around for a moment while being in a disadvantage.
“Ahem- As expected, the bigger the shelter, the better.”
As the shelter expanded, the corners of diagonal shelters that were not visible before became slightly visible. And now, there was the uneasy uncle and the sportswear guy who still shouted something desperately when our eyes met.
The student avoiding my gaze, and the polite suited man nodding lightly while greeting. Since I might have to merge with one of them someday, it was inevitable that I carefully observed them.
“You’re the same, right? So, you keep observing me. Seeing that all the upgraded concretes are installed and considering they might have unknown features, there might not be much difference between us.”
＜01:07＞
It’s about to start.
– Phew~
A mix of tension and excitement fills me with anticipation.
“I wonder how much the upgraded Wilsons will contribute.”
– Bwaaang!
“The zombies are here.”
– Thud!
“Mom, you’re here too.”
– Thud!
“Uh… Are there two of you, Mom?”
There are a total of two corrupted mastiffs.
“Alright, let’s tear them apart first!”
– Synchronization initiated.
– Kiiiiing- Bang! Bang!
“Whoa?! A double kill right from the start!”
The consecutive shots hit the corrupted mastiff’s abdomen right at the front.
– Boom! Boom!
– Kooheeek-!
“Stop making weird pig noises and just die already!”
– Qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-thump!
After delivering eight more shots, the shield of the opponent was finally stripped away, succumbing to the concentrated fire from Wilson’s unit. The same fate befell the next one.
The impact of the sporadic double shots was more palpable than anticipated. The sound of the hits resonated distinctly in the ears, a stark contrast to the previous stage. Satisfied, I nodded my head as the fully loaded firing sound echoed, then released the synchronization.
Stamina: 7 (-23)
Precisely stopping at 7 stamina.
“Heck, this stamina drain is not something I can get used to.”
Taking a breath, I took a sip of water in the bathroom and returned to my seat.
“Lieutenant Wilson! How’s the situation on the battlefield?”
…
No news is good news!
“Ah, refreshing!”
-1P
Biting into a green apple, I leisurely surveyed the battlefield. Now accustomed to the flying chunks of flesh and blood, humans indeed seemed to be creatures of adaptation, not even a day had passed.
-Thump. Thump-thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump-thump!
-Kwaaack!
-Boom! Boom! Boom! Clang-!
Durability: 582/700
Clearly, their attack and defense have increased. Despite killing them quickly, the rate at which durability depletes has significantly accelerated.
The attack power has surged, but it seemed necessary to find a means to increase defense.
＜Congratulations! You have cleared Stage 4 for the first time. You’ve gained 1100P.＞
＜You have cleared Stage 4. You have obtained 100P.＞
＜Some items on the shop purchase list are unlocked at random.＞
＜User search function is activated.＞
＜Resident population function is activated.＞
＜Shelter fusion function is activated.＞
User search, huh…
“Should I try looking for that guy?”
The kind brother who gave me a novel when I was working part-time at the car wash.
“Kim, Kim, what was his name again… I can’t remember his name, hahahahaha… Should I search for Mr. Hwang?”
Search for Hwang Chunjae.
– No matching ID found.
“Is it because it’s not his name but his ID that I can’t find him? Hm, what’s a condition search?”
In a condition search, you could select a few specific conditions to search.
“Gender is obviously [female]… Why would I bother looking for a guy?
And of course, higher magic power would be better, right? It seems like magic power value adds additional damage. Also, [Magic power 100 or higher] and at least [2 or more traits].”
Let’s just search like this for now.
Cost: 1P
“Ugh, I get it!”
-1P
– Total of 0 results found.
“Huh? Something’s strange about this. Is this really working?”
[Female] Only search.
-1P
– Total search results: 3,637,779,013 people
“It does work, doesn’t it? Then, only females with magic power of 100 or higher.”
-1P
– Total search results: 3,981,122 people.
“Huh? Only about 0.1% have magic power of 100 or higher. My magic power must be extremely high, then?”
So, it means no one has two abilities. The conclusion is that even regressors can only receive one ability.
Heh-
There’s not much difference between me and others, just that I lag behind in information.
I randomly touched one of the search results, but the ‘request 1:1 chat’ button was grayed out.
“Later on, even this will be possible…”
Anyway, the search results were left as they were.
“Fusion… Should I scout?”
According to the arrogant kid from the neighbor’s house, it’s possible for shelters to merge, and it would be much easier to defend if we recruit people with strong magic power.
Maybe they are already forming alliances. I don’t feel like it now, but someday it might become necessary.
-Ughhh!
“Oh my, sir, go over there and throw up.”
Sometimes, there are people who get pushed from the crowd all the way to near my house and end up vomiting.
– Ugh…
Right, go back home.
Staggering, I can see the anxious gentleman’s house across the street.
“The other houses seem dangerous.”
Clear, but the durability must have been reduced to around 300, right?
– Shiiiiiiiiit!
“Hmm?!”
What’s that sound of extinguishing? Turning around, I see a fierce fire engulfing the zombies.
Like a flamethrower.
“It seems to be the special trait of that stubborn guy. Certainly… he wasn’t lying. I acknowledge it’s a good trait.”
The fire quickly died down, but the clinging flames were sequentially burning the zombies.
“With that level of trait, it seems to be at least advanced or higher.”
As I stare blankly at the zombies burning in the fire, unexpectedly, the first one to clear is the well-dressed man in the shelter on the right. He looks to be in his mid-30s, and the suit fits him quite well.
“I’m curious about his trait, I can roughly guess it though.”
‘It’s probably similar to the shotgun ability of the concrete option… Ugh, we made eye contact.’
The well-dressed man casually nods and takes a seat right away.
“Seems tough for the regressor too.”
Well, trying it once probably doesn’t make it feel easy.
“Resident Population”
0/30
“Resident population… expansion?”
– Purchase a Shelter Upgrade or Shelter Option Ticket.
“Hmm, so upgrading will increase the capacity to 30 people. That’s more than I thought we could accommodate, right? The shelter owner doesn’t count toward the resident population. But with 30 people, they should all fit in here, shouldn’t they?”
“Is that even livable? It’s not a pigsty!”
＜Stage 4 completed! It’s getting more interesting bit by bit! Please keep up the good work ^ㅠ^ From now on, the stage that becomes a turning point will begin! Looking forward to it~~ Meow~＞
＜Stage 4 casualties: 1678＞
＜10:00:00＞
“The casualties have increased again… Are these people whose abilities are unrelated to combat? Hm-“
It must be because of the turning point, right? The shelter fusion.
– Kugugugugung!
“Huh?! Huh?”
As I looked in the direction where the vibration was coming from, the shelters of the arrogant student and the athletic man gradually approached each other and then suddenly emitted a bright light.
Bbaaahh―!
“Ah! My eyes!”
Rubbing my eyes for a while, I looked back.
“Wow~ It’s gotten huge, hasn’t it?”
The combined shelter looked bigger than mine just by looking at it. And two men were looking at me with triumphant smiles.
“W-what, what’s going on, you rascals.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem exactly doubled, but the scale has increased, and the structure… Hmm? Why are there only eight?”
It seems that the concrete slot isn’t fully maintained. But since two people can attack by combining with the concrete, their power will definitely be strengthened more than mine.
– Kugugugung!
“Huh? What? Again?”
The shelter of the well-dressed man receded and emitted light.
Pah—!
“Ah! Have some manners with the headlights!”
– Kugugugugung!
– Kugugugung!
A symphony of booming sounds and light echoed from all directions. Even the anxious disorder gentleman was getting farther away. Come to think of it, the people around me must have had relationships with those around them, but I was so focused on myself that I never even thought something like this could happen.
“One thing’s for sure, it’ll be tough to proceed to the next stage without joining forces, right?”
Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to risk joining forces with people I’ve never seen before. It’s also a judgment from the reincarnated ones I’ve experienced.
‘But what if they join forces and come after me? I don’t know if I can commit murder inside the shelter, but what if…’
“Wait, is there some kind of restriction that prevents us from fighting?”
For a swift explanation of forming an alliance, there should be a premise that the merits outweigh the demerits.
For example…
“There’s only one owner of the shelter, and we can’t oppose the owner, or something like that?”
Huh, how would I know.
“You all better be prepared!”
I didn’t reject the love call in the first place to suffer a big shock. There’s roughly ten hours left as the message pops up.
“If it starts in ten hours, at least it guarantees sleep time. Thank you, I might cry out of gratitude, damn it…”
In this situation, I wonder if I can get a proper sleep, but it seems like the other shelter residents are already lying down, asleep?
“Why don’t we exchange opinions or something? Or are we just going to sleep and wake up later? Seems like they’re really laid-back?”
Well then, I should prepare too.
Shelter (Lower Tier)
– Durability: 700/700
– 50m²
– Concrete Slots: 8/8
– Bathroom Slots: 1/2
– Bedroom Slots: 0/2
– Upgrade? Y/N (Cost: 3500P)
“In that case, let’s show the dignity of a reckless spender!”
– Shelter upgrade begins.
– Dddrrriinngg!
As the upgrade began, the ground started to ripple like waves.
“Wow! Disco bang bang, yes!”
– Cccrrruuunnnccchhh!
The room noticeably expanded. People inside the nearby shelters, who had been lying down, jumped up in surprise at the noise.
“We met troublesome neighbors, didn’t we? hehehehe, we should at least return the favor with some rice cakes.”
Shelter (Intermediate)
– Durability: 2000/2000
– 160m²
– Concrete Slot 8/18
– Bathroom Slot 1/3
– Toilet Slot 0/1
– Bedroom Slot 0/5
– Kitchen Slot 0/1
– Resident Population 0/90