43-30

EP.30 Mountain Dungeon [The Saintess’s Amazing Skills] 

『Name』 Yeon Dohee 

『Gender』 Female 『Age』 24 

『Class』 Saintess 

『Level』 E 

『Grade』 Hidden [Skill Details] 

『Trait』 Normal Growth Possible [Details] 

『Party Member & Status Window Sharing』 [ON]/[OFF] 

◈ Stats 

『Power』 E 『Agility』 E 

『Endurance』 E 『Stamina』 E 

『Mana』 D700 

◈ Traits 

『Evasion Skill Mastery』『General Combat Skill Mastery』『General Weapon Skill Mastery』 

『Combat Mental Mastery』『Blessing of Divine Power』『Fast Recovery』『State of Enlightenment』 

『Monster Detection』 

◈ Special Skills 

『Inventory』 [Inventory] 

『Mana Auto-Recovery』 Fully restores every 3 hours when mana is used [Passive] 

『Equipment Summon』 [Cooldown 15 seconds] 

『First Aid』 

『Low Heal』 Heals minor external/internal injuries and minor fractures [Mana 20 points] 

『Intermediate Heal』 Heals severe external/internal injuries and severe fractures [Mana 100 points] 

◈ Equipment 

『Special Weapon』 [Awakened Staff/Saintess’s Staff] [View Special Weapon] 

Dohee’s overall level also rose from F to E. 

Her detailed stats increased significantly. 

‘State of Enlightenment’ and ‘Monster Detection,’ 

as well as ‘Equipment Summon,’ are the same concepts as mine. 

The new unique skills added to Dohee are the special skills ‘First Aid’ and ‘Intermediate Heal.’ 

‘Intermediate Heal’ consumes 100 mana points and can heal severe trauma, severe fractures, and severe internal injuries. 

Honestly, with just Intermediate Heal, it felt like almost all general medical needs could be handled. 

Currently, the most important ability seems to be ‘First Aid.’ 

First Aid is a special skill limited to party members. 

If a party member is infected by a zombie scratch, as long as First Aid is used within 6 hours, they won’t turn into a zombie. 

In other words, as long as Dohee and I don’t get bitten, we’re safe. 

At first, the virus spread extremely quickly. 

If you got bitten, you’d turn into a zombie within minutes. 

But a few days later, the pattern changed. 

If bitten by a zombie, you’d turn in about 20 minutes. 

During those 20 minutes, symptoms like fever and skin color changes would appear. 

That’s why there are stories circulating online about people committing suicide after being bitten by zombies. 

The 20-minute window is just for a single bite; if you’re bitten multiple times, you turn even faster. 

For scratches, you turn into a zombie within 1–2 hours. 

So if your arm or leg is scratched, quickly amputating can prevent zombification. 

But Dohee’s special skill, First Aid, can heal up to 6 hours after infection. 

It’s unclear if this is based on Awakened or party member standards. 

Either way, it seems that for Dohee and me, the infection speed is about three times slower. 

“Let’s go into the forest today.” 

Leaving Dohee, who saw me off, I stepped outside the bunker. 

Even though I was just going a short distance, every time I went out, it felt like being sent off to war. 

Today is day 9. 

It’s been three days since I cleared out the zombies around the bunker on day 6. 

But contrary to expectations, there were hardly any zombies gathered around the bunker. 

Three days ago, there were 19, but today, only 4. 

After analyzing the reasons, I think it’s because people have started forming groups in earnest. 

As people started grouping up, they began to encounter zombies more often. 

So, it seems a lot of zombie aggro was drawn away in that direction. 

I came out to hunt zombies, but with only four, it felt lacking, so I decided to head into the forest. 

-Shwoooooong! 

After stepping outside, I summoned the Awakened Metal Pipe and Nano Shoes. 

You might wonder why bother using the summon function with the cooldown instead of just wearing them. 

It was purely to enjoy the cool factor. 

I like this sort of thing. 

Even with just four zombies, I didn’t plan to just bash them the usual way. 

“Kieeeeeek!!!!” 

‘Special lateral movement...’ 

I planned to use the Nano Shoes actively and take them down in style. 

-Swoooosh!!!! 

With a sharp 90-degree spin, I slipped into the first zombie’s blind spot. 

It was a truly beautiful 90-degree turn. 

-Powww!!! 

After executing the special lateral movement, I smashed the side of the zombie’s head. 

‘Clean... the cut!’ 

A clean special lateral move. 

A showcase of clean strike and cut surfaces. 

What I’d only imagined in training was now being used perfectly in real combat. 

-Splurt!!! 

-Thud!! 

The first zombie collapsed, spraying blood everywhere. 

“Krhaaaaaa!!!” 

Immediately, the second zombie charged at me. 

‘How should I take this one down...’ 

Normally, I wouldn’t be so flashy. 

But with four zombies in an open field, it was the perfect setup to test techniques one by one. 

-Papapapapapap!!!! 

I quickly stepped left and right about 3 meters as the second zombie rushed me. 

-Stumble, stumble 

The second zombie started stumbling around. 

-Powwwww!!!! 

After stepping left and right, 

I smashed the head of the confused, stumbling zombie with the Awakened Metal Pipe. 

-Thud!! 

The second zombie went down as well. 

“Keieeeek!!!” 

“Uwooooooh!!!” 

Two zombies left. 

-Dadatdadatdadat!!! 

-Dadatdadatdadat!!! 

The third and fourth zombies charged at me head-on from a distance, with a bit of space between them. 

With two zombies charging at me with a gap in between- 

-Shwoooooosh!!!!! 

I dashed straight through the gap, about 3 meters wide. 

‘Got behind them...!’ 

I perfectly slipped between them and got behind the zombies. 

-Pause! -Pause! 

Suddenly, I disappeared from their view, and the zombies froze like they were buffering. 

-Kheeeek!!! 

A smooth on-the-spot turn with the Nano Shoes! 

-Thrust!!! 

-Powww!!! 

As I turned, I smashed the back of the buffering zombie’s head. 

-Thud! 

-Flop! 

The third and fourth zombies also went down, dominated by the Nano Shoes’ footwork. 

“Racking up points little by little.” 

Including the four zombies I just killed, I’ve now earned 27 points since ranking up to D level. 

I had 3 points left after leveling up. 

I earned 20 training points over days 7 and 8. 

Then I killed four more zombies for 4 more points. 

◈ Stats 

『Power』 D [07/20] 『Agility』 C [20/20] 

『Endurance』 D [00/20] 『Stamina』 D [00/20] 

『Mana』 D [00/20]600 

With 27 points, I maxed out agility to 20 points and put 7 points into power. 

『Nano Warrior Kim Taesik can now view C-level detailed stat abilities.』 

『You can view abilities directly through the [Level Details] button.』 

Now that agility is at C level, I can see all the C-level abilities. 

“Looks like C level will have a different significance.” 

Each level-up range so far has had symbolic meaning. 

I expect C level will be quite special as well. 

『Power』 

《C》 Possesses big three lift strength of 2500KG. Has sledgehammer-level punching power. 

『Agility』 

《C》 Can easily dodge crossbow-level attacks. Can run 100 meters in 7.5 seconds. 

『Endurance』 

《C》 Can withstand C-level punching power. Endures C-level physical abilities. 

『Stamina』 

《C》 Can fight at full power for 120 minutes. 

『Mana』 

《C》 Grants 400 mana points. 

When I pressed the [Level Details] button, the details for C level appeared. 

“Clear concept.” 

D level’s concept was the maximum of human ability. 

A big three lift max of 1500KG, a 100M record close to 9.5 seconds-those were the benchmarks. 

C level represents a realm beyond human limits. 

It’s the superhuman domain. 

It’s like an albino gorilla lifting three times, or a tiger running 100 meters. 

And the punching power... it’s said to be like a sledgehammer, and now my punch is literally at sledgehammer level. 

If I reach C-level power, my bare fists will have the destructive power of the Awakened Metal Pipe. 

But smashing zombie heads barehanded still doesn’t seem safe yet. 

“So now my reflexes let me dodge a reverse-draw compound crossbow.” 

At least my agility is now at C level. 

The C-level agility ability is “can easily dodge crossbow-level attacks.” 

Looking at the details, it means I can dodge speeds of about 450–500 km/h. 

The fastest crossbows shoot at about 450 km/h. 

So it means I can easily dodge at that speed, or even a bit faster. 

“Okay... I basically holed up for a day to get this, and it turned out as expected.” 

After day 6, I didn’t see many zombies gathering around the bunker. 

So from the morning of day 8, I was already considering heading into the mountain. 

But going into the mountain is risky. 

That’s why I thought it’d be good to have insurance. 

That insurance was raising my agility to a superhuman level. 

After staying in for an extra day and using 10 more training points to boost my stats, I really did reach that level of agility. 

Scan... scan... scan... 

After killing the four zombies in front of the bunker, I scouted the surrounding mountains to find a good entry point. 

“That spot looks pretty safe.” 

After a careful look, I picked a spot. 

It was a place where the path was relatively clear. 

Zombies tend to gather in open areas. 

If I go where there’s a path, I’ll be more likely to run into zombies. 

Step... step... step... step... 

Having chosen the spot, I walked slowly into the mountain. 

“It really feels different from practicing in the bunker. I feel even quicker.” 

I savored the Monster Detection trait activating in the wooded area. 

That’s why I decided to come into the mountain instead of just fighting zombies on the road. 

I wanted to test my new traits and skills in real combat. 

Monster Detection is a trait that’s especially useful in complex structures or thick brush. 

The Nano Shoes’ step correction is the same. 

There’s a big difference between image training and real combat with these abilities. 

I plan to enjoy testing their performance to the fullest in the best possible situations. 

Of course, image training is important too. 

Training and real combat should go hand in hand. 

“30 meters in diameter is really wide. In these structures, at least.” 

“The wider it is, the more you detect, and the more you have to judge.” 

I was walking along a mountain path. 

Maybe because I was out to hunt zombies, my senses were much sharper than during image training in the bunker. 

I was scanning the entire 30-meter area around me with crystal clarity. 

Now I understand why Monster Detection is buffed by Combat Mental Mastery and Enhanced Senses. 

It’s such a detailed skill. 

Without mental buffs, it would be pretty stressful. 

“!!!!!” 

Just as I was marveling at the detail of the Monster Detection function- 

“Kieeeeeek!!!!!” 

A zombie was detected within the scan range.