Arien's shelter is outside the city.
The System had been upgraded earlier into a reinforced structure hidden among broken land and dead trees—no nearby buildings. No streets. Just silence and distance.
That's why it is safe.
They arrived after nightfall.
Ash looked around slowly.
"This place…" he said. "It's quite far from the city, and it looks like a fortress.
"It is," Arien replied.
Sophia checked the entrance barriers and nodded in response. Everything was secure.
Only then did the System respond.
The air turned cold.
Quest Completed
Become the first person to kill 100 zombies
Sub-Quest Completed
Save a person and make him your subordinate
Rewards Acquired
Achievement Points: 100
Gold Coins: 1,000
50 % increase due to the golden membership card
Achievement Points: 150
Gold Coins: 1,500
Another notification followed.
Hidden Skill Unlocked
[Creation]
Arien frowned slightly.
Then the real reward appeared.
Hidden Reward Acquired
[Black Matter]
Description:
A rare material formed from the depths of the universe.
It can absorb energy, pressure, and impact.
When shaped, it can also release that stored power.
Used mainly as a weapon and armour forging element.
Arien stared at the dark mass floating before him.
It looked like thick black smoke frozen into solid form.
"So this is it," he muttered. "Something that absorbs… and creates."
It can be good material for forging weapons and armour.
One more message appeared.
Sub-Quest Reward Acquired
[ Blueprint creation ]
Description:
A special blueprint system.
When the user imagines a design and adds required materials,
The creation process completes automatically.
Simple. Clear.
Then it's great, I don't have to buy blueprints from the shop and wait to upgrade the shop for good weapons, I can create myself, it resonates well with the creation skill.
Another interface opened.
Store Available
Requirement: Level 10 ✔
Arien opened it briefly.
Weapons lined the screen.
Pistols. Rifles. Shotguns. Blades.
Basic armour sets.
All required gold coins and achievement points.
Useful.
But limited.
It also has good weapons, but not for me, it's no point to waste gold coins and points on simple weapons. I need weapons that can deal with a large number of monsters, which you can only get as a reward for clearing high-level quests or levelling up the store, which requires 100 points, which he has then upgraded.
Arien opened the store again.
A new line appeared at the top of the interface.
System Bonus Applied
Quest Completion Bonus: +50% Purchasing Efficiency
Store prices have been reduced.
Arien's eyes moved calmly through the list.
He stopped at a weapon glowing with a faint red light.
Ashfall Core Rifle
Tier: Purple
Type: Elemental Firearm
Description:
Shoots condensed fire bullets, ammunition requiredOnly usable by the bound user. Fire elemental damage increases with skill growth
Price: 1,000 Gold Coins
Discounted Price: 500 Gold Coins
Arien confirmed the purchase.
Purchase Complete
Gold Coins Remaining: 1000
He stored the rifle without calling Ash.
"I'll give it to him tomorrow," he said quietly. "After he rests."
He continued browsing.
Sophia had no elemental power.
But her long-range shooting was precise. Calm. Almost perfect.
Arien's eyes stopped again.
Shadowline Sniper
Tier: Purple
Type: Precision Rifle
Description:
Extreme long-range accuracy Increased damage on vital hits Stable firing even under pressure
Price: 1,000 Gold Coins
Discounted Price: 500 Gold Coins
He confirmed.
Purchase Complete
Gold Coins Remaining: 500
Sophia watched the weapon materialise.
"A sniper rifle?" she asked.
"You don't have any other skill, but you are good at using long-range weapons," Arien said. "Your accuracy is already your strength."
Sophia accepted it silently, then nodded.
"I will try not to miss a single target," she said.
Arien closed the store.
Store Interface Closed
Two weapons rested inside the shelter.
One powered by fire.
One built for precision.
Tomorrow, Ash would receive his gun.
Arien stood alone in the creation room.
Black Matter floated before him.
He activated Creation.
Text appeared in front of him.
Design Interface Opened
You may imagine a creation and supply materials.
You can improve the result through repeated refinement.
Arien thought of armour.
Not heavy.
Not flashy.
Clothing.
Black clothes made from Black Matter threads. Flexible. Light. Strong enough to absorb bites, claws, and bullets.
The system responded.
Creation in Progress…
The material moved on its own.
Minutes later, the armour was complete.
Simple black clothing.
Yet when Arien touched it, the impact force vanished into the fabric.
"Good," he said.
He created weapons next.
Firearms reinforced with Black Matter cores. Stable. Reliable. Reduced recoil. Increased durability.
Nothing extreme.
Everything practical.
Text appeared again.
Improvement Available
You can refine this creation further through experience and materials.
Arien smiled faintly.
"I'll improve it myself," he said.
He stored the gear carefully.
Outside, the world was still dead.
But inside the shelter, something had changed.
This was no longer just a place to hide.
It was a place where strength could be made.
Tomorrow, they would move forward.
Together.
The creation skill is quite good; you don't have to depend on the store fully, which costs a fortune for normal people. I will create a weapon for myself.
But what should I create: a gun, sword, or spear? I should go with a gun that has a feature where it doesn't need to be reloaded. Wait a minute, I have black matter, can I create from it?
There is nothing wrong with trying it.
Blueprint creation
So I have to think which gun I want, it doesn't need to be too long, also fire and damage rate is good, doesn't need to be reloaded, and easy to handle
Weapon making is in progress and needs 12 hr to complete
What, but the black armour clothing is ready in minutes, is it an orange tier weapon imagined, then it's good, I can wait for 12 hr
When Sophia Phone gets messages constantly, Arienn asks who it is, and Sophia tells him he is Kael Thornwick's
Oh, the same guy who told you to rob me, who is my best friend of mine, like not actually mine
Show me
When he read it
Where are you, Sophia
Why isn't your answering my call and replying
Are you with that simp?
Tell me
Where are you now
Arien told Sophia to tell him that you are trapped in a building and ask him to come to the location I give you.
_________________________________________________________________________
With Sophia, why hasn't she been replying to my calls and messages for more than a week? What is happening
Is she with that simp and trying to get money
What the fuck is going on outside? There are zombies and mutated beasts everywhere.
If I go out, I will definitely be dead.
I am running out of supplies.
Then his phone rang with a message's
When he sees, it's from Sophia after a long time.
I am trapped outside in the city, trapped in an abandoned building. There are zombies everywhere, but don't worry, I have a lot of supplies.
He replied Okay, I will come to save you tomorrow.
Okay, got it bye
That bitch why the fuck is she outside the city? How do I suppose to go if I don't need supplies? I don't have to go.
But how should we go now? Oh, have a car. Should take some people and give them money to come with me. Then he calls some thugs and offers them money, but they declined due to the danger outside, de so he tells them I can get you supplies, but you have to do it 50-50
Okay okay, we will come to pick you up.
_________________________________________________________________________
Master, why do you tell me to add that there are a lot of supplies, don't worry?
If not for supplies, he wouldn't come with his greedy nature.
But why do you need him to come?
Ohh, you don't know he is the one who told you to suck me dry, don't you?
Sorry, master, I didn't mean to anger you.
I am not angry at you , my precious slave.
Now go back and get some sleep.
I hope he doesn't come alone. If so, how should I check my weapons?
Although I have nothing to do it the grudge in the past, there is no harm in removing pests from sight, it is
And in-game, if you kill people, you get a special reward, of course, it's with a disadvantage, but I need it.
To be continues