Chapter 22: Zombie Core
[ Zombie Core ]
[ Grade: Rare ]
[ Description: A crystal left behind after a zombie’s death. A fairly valuable material. After undergoing special processing methods, it can be used for weapon forging and alchemy. It also seems capable of raising the life level of certain specific organisms. ]
"Crystal Core?"
The moment Joo Joowon saw the diamond shaped crystal displayed on the card, that thought immediately surfaced in his mind.
However, he quickly shook his head.
Although the two were similar, they were fundamentally different things.
At the very least, Zombie Cores clearly could not be used like the experience granting crystal cores he often seen in the novels.
Instead, they were more like crafting materials.
Still, the final sentence in the description drew Joo Joowon’s attention greatly.
Raise life level?
That probably referred to leveling up, right?
But there was also the condition mentioning certain specific organisms.
What exactly did that mean?
Did it refer to zombies, humans, or perhaps cats?
Or could all three use it?
In any case, before fully understanding the Zombie Core’s actual effects, Joo Joowon definitely did not dare use it on himself.
His gaze could not help drifting toward Byeol who was currently drinking water nearby.
The fur on Byeol’s body instantly puffed up like a sea urchin as it stared at Joo Joowon warily.
Joo Joowon slowly shifted his gaze away.
Forget it.
He did not want to use Byeol as a test subject either.
Although he hoped Byeol could at least gain enough strength to protect itself even if it could not help him directly, and although he had already mentally prepared himself for the possibility that both he and Byeol might die someday, he still did not want Byeol to die without understanding why.
He also wondered whether the crystal could dissolve in water or perhaps be scraped into powder.
If that was possible, then he could find some lab rats to experiment on first.
For the time being, Joo Joowon placed the Zombie Core aside.
Then he picked up the Beginner Shirt and took out a pair of scissors, he then carefully testing them against the edge of the clothing.
There was absolutely no resistance.
It felt exactly like cutting ordinary fabric.
The T shirt was quickly cut into a tattered mess that looked like beggar clothing and could barely cover anything at all.
It was clearly fireproof, waterproof, and dustproof.
Yet it could not resist physical destruction.
Was that why it did not possess durability?
Joo Joowon removed the Beginner Shirt he was wearing and replaced it with the ruined beggar version.
After checking his status panel, he noticed that the glow surrounding the bonus attribute shown in parentheses beside Physique had dimmed considerably.
However, it still continued increasing his stats.
Clearly, as long as the equipment was not damaged beyond a certain level, its effects would continue functioning.
After taking the shirt off again, Joo Joowon could not help curling his lips upward slightly.
He had already tested the thing he wanted to confirm.
Beginner Equipment could indeed be destroyed.
That meant if a weapon broke, then the attribute bonus provided by that weapon would disappear as well.
Therefore, the true purpose of Beginner Equipment was simply to provide players with attribute points.
Its actual functionality was secondary.
Which also meant there was no need for him to choose a highly lethal Beginner Weapon.
The only thing that truly mattered was the single point of Strength it provided.
Now that he understood this, he already knew exactly what type of weapon he should choose.
With the compound crossbow already in his possession, Joo Joowon no longer needed to prioritize the killing power of his Beginner Weapon.
Instead, portability became far more important.
Of course, for players who still lacked a reliable weapon, portability naturally would not be a consideration at all.
After thinking for a moment, Joo Joowon chose to exchange the weapon card for an arm shield.
Although he was not pursuing offensive power from the Beginner Weapon, he still felt it would be a waste if the item had absolutely no practical use.
After hesitating for a while between a pair of Crescent Moon Knives and the arm shield, he ultimately chose the arm shield that could be strapped directly onto the forearm in order to improve his margin for error and survivability.
The Crescent Moon Knives were somewhat similar to foreign brass knuckles.
Their purposes were also quite alike, both mainly designed to improve close combat ability and extremely effective against nearby enemies.
However, after thinking about it for a while, Joo Joowon felt that if he truly encountered other players, the chances of him using such weapons would probably not be very high.
In the end, he still chose the arm shield.
At the very least, holding a shield while facing zombies would allow him to remain calmer.
Moreover, the arm shield itself was not very large.
It would not affect his mobility too much, nor would it interfere with shooting.
After organizing all of tonight’s gains, Joo Joowon stopped messing around further.
After locking the door securely and blocking it with the sofa, he went to take a shower before climbing into bed to sleep.
The moment he switched off the small bedside lamp and pulled the curtains shut, the bedroom instantly fell into complete darkness.
Byeol quietly jumped down from the cat tower.
Sharp claws slowly extended from its soft paw pads.
Cats were creatures with extremely strong grudges.
Offend a cat?
As for this cat, there were ten thousand different ways to torment you!
Joo Joowon did not notice anything unusual about Byeol.
It had already been a very long time since he had exercised this intensely, so the moment he touched the bed, overwhelming exhaustion surged over him uncontrollably.
In addition, his nerves had remained tense the entire time outside.
The instant he returned to a comfortable environment, his body immediately began desperately urging him to rest.
Byeol crouched beside the bed completely motionless.
(Clenches fist)
(Sneaky cat mode)
(Patient waiting)
(Confirm target is asleep)
(Hunting time)
(Parkour begins)
"Bang!"
"Crash!"
"Clang!"
Joo Joowon: Zzz...
Byeol: "..."
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