The Devouring Genius of a Destroyed World

*Boom!*

The monster’s hand struck the spot where the man had been standing.

The asphalt cracked, and debris flew up.

Seizing the opportunity, the man quickly got to his feet and grabbed the knife that had fallen on the ground.

With that, he lunged toward the monster.

*Gwooo!*

The monster once again shattered the asphalt beneath it, but the man swiftly twisted his body and leaped high, using the monster’s arm as leverage.

*Grrrk!*

The monster, now with its remaining eye impaled, thrashed in agony.

The ground shook with the terrifying roar, freezing Seo Min-hee in place.

Meanwhile, the man calmly backed away from the monster, creating distance.

Blinded and furious, the monster swung its arms wildly.

*Crash! Smash!*

With each swing, a chilling noise reverberated, but the man, with his back turned to Seo Min-hee, seemed entirely unfazed.

While Seo Min-hee, still in a daze, watched his back, a mass of water floated toward her.

"Min-hee noona! Are you okay? I’m almost there!"

The familiar voice coming from the water snapped Seo Min-hee out of her trance.

Thanks to that, she could clearly see the incredible scene unfolding in front of her.

"I was wondering how much your body has changed. Seems like it’s working out."

The man, who had picked up the dagger from the ground, cracked his neck from side to side.

Then, with a confident step, he ran straight at the monster!

*Gasp!*

Startled, Seo Min-hee quickly took a sharp breath as the man reached the monster in an instant.

With a powerful jump, he kicked off the ground again, twisting in mid-air.

He landed a knee strike to the monster’s face.

*Gwooo!*

The monster staggered back, reeling from the knee strike, unable to see properly.

Taking advantage of the moment, the man landed safely on the ground and muttered in a frustrated tone.

"Shit, this thing is really tough."

Seeing someone trying to engage in hand-to-hand combat with that monster was astonishing to Seo Min-hee.

She was speechless from the shock when, just then, she heard a voice again from the water.

"Min-hee noona!"

The owner of the voice, Kyuhyun, had arrived.

"Kyuhyun...?"

Seo Min-hee, who had been staying at the same hideout as him, recognized him immediately.

"Min-hee, are you alright? No injuries...?"

*Boom!*

The sudden loud noise startled Kyuhyun, who had been frantically checking on Seo Min-hee.

Looking in the direction of the sound, his mouth dropped open in shock.

The unfamiliar man was kicking the monster.

*Thud!*

When the monster, struck by the man’s kick, crashed into a vehicle, Kyuhyun, clearly stunned, asked in disbelief.

"Is that guy seriously fighting that monster? With his bare hands?!"

It wasn’t just Kyuhyun who was perplexed by the situation.

Seo Min-hee herself thought that this was not the kind of situation one could even think of.

But somehow, she felt relief.

While Seo Min-hee quietly exhaled in relief, the monster, having collided with the vehicle, regained its balance and stood up again.

"My speed’s faster, my strength is equal, but that bastard’s durability is better."

The nameless man mumbled to himself.

Then, suddenly, a white light burst from his body, and the monster crumpled to the ground, collapsing in exhaustion.

The unreal scene left both Seo Min-hee and Kyuhyun frozen in place.

* * *

As soon as the evolved creature collapsed, Seongho frowned.

The creature he had just hunted was the kind with armor-like skin, as if it were covered in full-body plating.

**[You have successfully hunted the evolved species (Neck Guard).]**  
**[Claim your rewards.]**

The creature, known as *Neck Guard*, was a name given by a Pioneer-exclusive quest.

It was a creature Seongho knew well, as it was one that the original protagonist had fought multiple times.

*‘It’s that one with bark-like armor all over its body.’*

It was so tough that even other evolved creatures had trouble defeating it.

But it wasn’t without weaknesses.

Despite its toughness, the *Neck Guard* was highly flammable.

If you sprayed oil on it and set it on fire, it would be much easier to hunt than any other evolved creature.

The original protagonist’s group had even used it to make campfires on occasion.

But that was only possible because they were the main characters.

*‘For a regular survivor, hunting it would be quite challenging.’*

Still, aside from its toughness, there wasn’t much else remarkable about it.

Its strength was just above average compared to regular humans.

Seongho, with his physical ability raised to 10, had no trouble dodging around it.

If the creature had a special ability, hunting it would not have been so easy.

Seongho reflected on the *Neck Guard*’s information and checked his status window.

**Level:** 3 (111/125)  
**Physical Ability:** 10  
**Special Abilities:** 5/24

His special abilities were running low.

Fortunately, the virus extraction was completed before his special abilities ran out.

*‘19 per creature? That’s almost double what it was before.’*

Seongho recalled the guidelines he had received earlier.

**[The amount of special abilities needed to extract the virus from an evolved creature varies by individual, and the amount of virus increases depending on how much life the creature has consumed.]**

This meant that as time passed, the amount of special abilities needed to handle each evolved creature would increase.

Since the evolved creatures continued to consume something, the virus in them would grow as well.

*‘I really spent a lot of time at the cathedral camp.’*

Seongho clicked his tongue and placed the virus sphere from the *Neck Guard* in his mouth.

The sphere, smaller than a candy, smoothly dissolved and disappeared.

**Level:** 4 (5/250)  
**Physical Ability:** 10  
**Special Abilities:** 10/29

With the level increase, his special abilities rose by 5, and the experience gained, which had been increasing fivefold before, was now doubled.

It was definitely easier than before.

*‘According to the guide, experience required for levels 6 to 10 will increase threefold.’*

And from levels 11 to 15, it would increase fourfold.

The experience requirements were gradually increasing, but since the virus in evolved creatures was also rising, it could be managed somehow.

Seongho sighed heavily and turned away from the *Neck Guard’s* corpse.

At that moment, someone approached him, as if they had been waiting.

"Hey, hey."

It was Kyuhyun.

He walked over to Seongho, hesitating, and opened his mouth with a confused expression.

"I might have misunderstood, but did you happen to... pass by Myeongdong last week?"

"Do you remember now?"

Seongho had already noticed from the water mass that appeared beside Seo Min-hee.

Kyuhyun was the awakened individual who had warned him about the cannibal incident when they entered Myeongdong.

"Of course! It’s you! The guy I couldn’t stand!"

"If you stalk people like that, you have to take what comes with it."

"Ah, that... honestly, after a few days, I realized I should have reacted that way, so I get it now."

Kyuhyun awkwardly laughed and admitted to Seongho’s point, clearing his throat.

Then, suddenly, he extended his hand.

"Anyway, I didn’t get to thank you properly earlier. Thank you so much for saving Min-hee noona."

After a brief silence, Seongho shook Kyuhyun’s hand.

"I’m also thankful for the warning back in Myeongdong."

Thanks to that, he had easily found the cathedral camp.

It felt strange to be expressing gratitude for something he never expected.

"Ah, what’s your name? I’m Kyuhyun, by the way."

"Han Seongho."

With that short introduction, an urgent presence was felt.

"Seongho-ssi!"

Im Chan, with a first aid kit in one hand and Im Ji-hyo in the other, came rushing toward them.

"It seems like the danger has passed... Are you hurt anywhere? Let me see, I’ll start with disinfecting the wounds..."

"No major injuries. Just some skin abrasions..."

"How about contusions? Don’t take bruises lightly! The bones could have been affected!"

Seongho hesitated at the slightly overzealous questioning, stepping back.

"Calm down. Just calm down, and let’s treat Ji-hyo first."

In reality, Seongho wasn’t the one who needed immediate treatment.

Turning his head, he noticed that Im Chan’s gaze followed his.

Seo Min-hee, pale and sitting against a building, was still struggling to catch her breath.

"From the way she was crawling earlier, it seems like her leg might be broken. Do you think it’s treatable?"

"...Let me check."

Without a second thought, Im Chan approached her, with Seongho and Kyuhyun following behind.

"That guy from earlier... is he the one treating her? Is he a doctor?"

"He used to be a nurse."

Fortunately, Seo Min-hee’s injury wasn’t as severe as a fracture that broke through the skin.

But it wasn’t a simple

 injury either.

"Normally, this would require surgery... but right now, we have no choice but to set it ourselves and hope it heals well."

"Wait, are you going to set the bone while she’s still awake?"

"There’s no other choice. We have painkillers, but they’re oral, so they won’t take effect immediately."

If they left it untreated, the nerves and blood vessels could die.

"...That’s what he said. What should we do?"

With a gaze that seemed to ask for a decision, Seo Min-hee’s eyes trembled.

But after a moment’s thought, she swallowed hard and said, "P-Please."

Im Chan quickly placed a towel in Seo Min-hee’s mouth and set her bone.

The unimaginable pain caused her to roll her eyes back, and she passed out.

Im Chan used this opportunity to finish the additional treatments.

"We’ve done everything we can for now. We need to move her, but..."

If the leg shifted again, the bone could become misaligned.

The best option was to transport her on a stretcher.

But it wasn’t something Kyuhyun could manage on his own.

In the end, Seongho quickly made a stretcher from materials in a nearby abandoned building.

Together with Kyuhyun, they moved Seo Min-hee.

While moving, they had to transport their supplies and bicycles as well, which caused some inconvenience.

But thanks to the lack of zombies in the area, they faced no significant danger.

"Let’s go this way."

Kyuhyun guided them to a building opposite the one where he had been staying.

Once they reached the destination, more people started to gather.

Kyuhyun, who had summoned the water, began explaining to the new arrivals.

"It’s my ability. I can split the water I make into separate streams to share vision and sound. It’s like a video call, I guess? I call it ‘Water Vision.’"

Seongho looked at the people gathering inside the building.

*‘Including the two awakened individuals, there are six of them in total.’*

It was already clear that these people were not affiliated with the New Humanity camp.

That made it even more strange.

How was there such a small camp near the New Humanity camp?

They should have been hunted down by now, but they hadn’t.

Seongho mulled over it and decided to ask Kyuhyun.

"Did you leave Myeongdong and join here?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Originally, Kyuhyun had planned to leave Seoul, where the population was dense.

"Seriously, there were so many zombies, I couldn’t go any further. Luckily, I met a hunter, so I turned back."

The unusual choice of words made Seongho’s eyes narrow.

Im Chan, who was standing next to him, also noticed something odd and asked.

"A hunter? Is someone out there hunting?"

Kyuhyun casually responded.

"A slave hunter."

The term "slave" struck a chord of discomfort.

But Kyuhyun’s explanation didn’t end there.

"There are crazy people near Hongik University. They hunt people there. They use the ones who haven’t awakened as slaves."

"Slaves…?" 

"Yeah, Su-hyun and I almost got caught by them, but we managed to escape. Oh, Su-hyun is my younger brother. We ran away together and met Min-hee noona."

"That can’t be... why would they do that to people?"

Im Chan’s voice rose, clearly shocked by the explanation.

"I’m not exactly sure, but the awakened ones there are all crazy," Kyuhyun said.

"Crazy awakened ones… what do you mean... ugh!"

Im Chan suddenly turned to look at Seongho as he realized who Kyuhyun was talking about.

Instead of answering, Seongho gestured for Kyuhyun to continue.

"At Hongik University, there’s a camp run by awakened individuals. They call themselves the New Humans. The chosen superior race? Something like an evolved species."

"Where did you hear this?"

"Uh..."

At Seongho’s question, Kyuhyun’s gaze shifted to the direction of Seo Min-hee.