The Hunter's carapace was hard.
Donghoon tried to strip it with an ax, but the blade slipped. The ax was dull, but the carapace itself was harder than ordinary metal. Just like he'd read in the novel.
In the novel, the protagonist dismantled the monster's joints to remove its carapace. He cut along the seams where the plates overlapped. Donghoon followed the same method.
A utility knife didn't work. He placed the ax blade against a seam and struck it with a hammer. Chisel work. It took an hour. He removed one plate from its back.
A piece of black carapace. About thirty centimeters wide and fifty centimeters long. Five millimeters thick. It was light—much lighter than a steel plate of the same size. But when Donghoon punched it, it didn't crack.
He had to make a knife out of it.
In the novel, the protagonist shaved the carapace down to make a blade. But he didn't have any tool capable of shaving it. He used a piece of another monster's carapace to grind it down. The same material could create friction against itself.
Donghoon had only one piece of carapace. He needed another.
Donghoon removed a smaller piece from the corpse. About the size of a finger. He used it in place of a whetstone.
He ground it down. He sharpened one end of the carapace piece with the smaller piece. It was slow. The friction between the same material was weak. But it gradually shaved away.
It took three hours.
One end of the carapace piece had become sharp. It wasn't a perfect blade. But it was sharp enough to draw blood if he pressed it against a finger.
Donghoon wrapped the opposite end with rope he'd brought from the hardware store. A handle. Primitive, but functional.
A black knife.
Donghoon lifted the knife and felt its weight. It was light—much lighter than the ax. And it was sharp. The ax blade couldn't compare.
Donghoon pressed the blade against a steel pipe beside him and drew it across. The pipe split apart. Like cutting through butter.
Donghoon set the knife down and stared at it for a long while.
With this knife, he could pierce a Howler's carapace. A Hunter's carapace, too. Now he understood why the protagonist's combat power had risen so sharply after making this weapon.
Donghoon strapped the knife to his waist. He put the ax in his backpack as a backup weapon.
Then he looked at the carapace that remained. There was still a lot of it. If he stripped the entire corpse, he could make several knives. No, not just knives. Armor was possible, too. If he layered pieces of carapace over clothing, it should be enough to block a Crawler's claws.
Donghoon removed more carapace from the corpse, carefully following the seams. It took another four hours. The sun began to sink.
Twelve pieces of carapace. They varied in size, but there was enough.
Donghoon put the pieces in his backpack and returned to the base.
Park Jeongsu was waiting when he got back.
“You stripped the carapace?”
“Yes. Twelve pieces.”
“What are you going to make?”
“Knives. And armor.”
Donghoon pulled the black knife from his waist and showed it to Park Jeongsu. Park Jeongsu took it, felt its weight, examined the edge, and tested it against the steel pipe beside him.
“…You can cut steel with this?”
“Yes.”
Park Jeongsu handed the knife back. His eyes had changed. They no longer measured its usefulness. They saw its potential.
“Can you make more knives?”
“If I have the carapace. It’ll take time, but yes.”
“Can you give one to every Empowered?”
Donghoon calculated. Five Empowered, including himself. Twelve pieces of carapace would be enough for five knives. He could make armor with the rest.
“I can.”
Park Jeongsu nodded.
“Do it. Make it your top priority.”
Donghoon started that night.
Shaving down the carapace was time-consuming. He had to grind it against the same material. Three hours per knife. Five knives meant fifteen hours. Even if he worked through the night, it would take two days.
Donghoon sat in his room and ground the carapace. Repetitive work. Monotonous, but he didn't dislike it. He could think while keeping his hands moving.
In the novel, the protagonist Jin Seoh a did this stage alone. He stripped the carapace, made weapons, and made armor. All alone. Starting from scratch every time over fifty regressions.
Donghoon was different. He had Zone 2. He had people. If Donghoon made weapons, the other Empowered could fight more efficiently. Then he wouldn't have to hunt alone.
Jin Seoh a had been alone. Donghoon wasn't.
Could that difference change the outcome?
Donghoon thought as he ground the carapace.
Dawn came. The second knife was finished. Donghoon stopped and picked it up. It was better than the first. The edge was more even, and the balance was better. Practice improved his skill. That was only natural.
Lee Jaehyuk came to his room in the morning.
“What did you do all night?”
“Made a knife.”
Lee Jaehyuk looked at the two knives on the table. Black knives made from a Hunter's carapace.
“Is one of those… for me, too?”
“That’s what I’m making them for.”
Donghoon handed the second knife to Lee Jaehyuk. Lee Jaehyuk took it, felt its weight, examined the edge, and swung it once through the air.
“It’s light. And sharp.”
“It should be better than a steel pipe.”
Lee Jaehyuk looked at Donghoon. His expression said he had been about to say something, then stopped himself. Finally, he spoke.
“Thanks.”
Donghoon nodded.
Over the next two days, Donghoon made knives. Five in total. One each for Donghoon, Lee Jaehyuk, Park Jeongsu, Kim Soyeon, and Choi Taeho. Every Empowered got one.
On the day he distributed them, Park Jeongsu gathered the Empowered in the representative's room on the second floor.
Donghoon handed out the knives one by one.
Park Jeongsu took his knife and examined the edge. Then he drew it across the back of the wooden chair beside him. The wood sliced cleanly.
“…Good.”
Park Jeongsu spoke without showing much emotion, but satisfaction showed in his eyes.
Soyeon took her knife. She weighed it, checked the edge, and gripped it in her hand. Then she looked at Donghoon.
“Good balance. Who taught you?”
“No one. I learned while making them.”
Soyeon studied Donghoon for a long moment. She didn't seem to believe him, but she didn't press further. That was the kind of person Soyeon was. She said what was necessary and asked no unnecessary questions. It was how she'd survived for three years. She didn't waste energy on useless things.
Taeho took his knife without saying a word. Instead, he strapped it to his waist beside his steel hammer. That was enough. It was how Taeho showed his approval.
Lee Jaehyuk spoke.
“Now we can pierce a Howler's carapace, too.”
“Yes. We don't have to aim for its mouth anymore. We can cut straight through the carapace.”
The Empowered's expressions changed. For three years, they'd struggled because they couldn't pierce a Howler's carapace. They'd been forced into dangerous fights targeting the creature's weak point—the inside of its mouth. With these knives, their entire approach to combat would fundamentally change.
Park Jeongsu looked at Donghoon.
“Han Donghoon.”
“Yes.”
“You said you could make armor with the remaining carapace, right?”
“Yes. It’ll take some time.”
“Do it. Make armor for every Empowered. And—”
Park Jeongsu paused. His expression showed that he was making a decision.
“I’ll lift the restrictions on nighttime hunting. Go out as much as you want. But report the results.”
Donghoon nodded.
Back in his room, he looked at the remaining pieces of carapace. Seven pieces. He had to make armor with them. A vest covering the chest and back. The same structure the protagonist had made in the novel.
Donghoon started working.
He cut the pieces to suitable sizes, punched holes in them, and connected them with rope. It was closer to assembly than sewing. Even punching holes in the carapace required a piece of the same material. He sharpened a piece of carapace and used it like an awl.
Four hours per set. Five sets meant twenty hours.
Donghoon made armor for three days. During the day, he participated in supply-gathering missions. At night, he went out on nighttime hunts. He returned at dawn and made armor. He slept three hours a day.
Yuna worried about him.
“Mr. Donghoon, if you don’t sleep, you’ll collapse.”
“Empowered don’t collapse easily.”
“You’re still human.”
Donghoon looked at Yuna. There was genuine concern in her eyes. That concern didn't make him uncomfortable. If anything, it felt strangely warm.
“Go to bed a little earlier tonight.”
Donghoon said it, and Yuna gave a small smile.
Three days later, the five sets of armor were finished.
Black vests. They covered the chest and back. They were light enough that he could barely feel their weight when wearing them. But when Donghoon stabbed one with a knife, the blade didn't pierce it. They should be able to block not only a Crawler's claws, but a Howler's, too.
Every Empowered put on the armor.
Park Jeongsu put his on and thumped his chest. It made a solid sound.
“…This should make a difference.”
Lee Jaehyuk put on his armor and moved around. He stretched his arms, turned, and ran.
“It doesn’t get in the way. Nice.”
Soyeon put on her armor and nodded silently. Taeho did the same.
Donghoon put on his own armor and thought.
Five black knives. Five sets of black armor. Every Empowered in Zone 2 was armed with a Hunter's carapace. Their combat power had fundamentally changed.
In the novel, the protagonist Jin Seoh a had done all of this alone. Hunted alone, made everything alone, and wore it alone. Over fifty regressions.
Donghoon had divided them among five people. Because he wasn't alone.
That evening, Park Jeongsu called for Donghoon.
“We heard from Zone 7.”
Donghoon listened closely.
“Choi Yeongjin, the representative of Zone 7, wants to meet. He says he wants to discuss an alliance.”
It was unfolding just like the novel. Donghoon didn't change his expression.
“Why now?”
“A Hunter appeared in Zone 7. More than we have. At least five. The Empowered in Zone 7 are holding them back, but they’re reaching their limit.”
Donghoon thought. In the novel, the alliance between Zones 2 and 7 had been a major turning point. When Zone 2's supplies joined Zone 7's combat power, the survivors finally gained the strength to stand against the monsters.
“I’ll go.”
Park Jeongsu looked at Donghoon.
“Lee Jaehyuk is going with you. And make two more black knives. We’ll give them to Zone 7.”
Donghoon nodded.
“We don’t have enough carapace. We need to take down one more.”
“One more?”
“There’s another Hunter in the western Block 5.”
Park Jeongsu stared at him for a long moment.
“…Go.”
Donghoon went west that night.
The remaining one. It had probably seen him kill its companion yesterday. It would be more cautious now.
He entered Block 5 and focused all his senses.
The smell was different. Different from yesterday. The Hunter's scent had grown faint. It had moved.
He found tracks. Three claw marks. They led south. Donghoon followed them.
Two blocks south, he found signs that it had entered a building. Donghoon didn't go inside. Instead, he began weakening the building's structure by stabbing its walls with his knife.
Ten minutes later, the Hunter burst out of the building.
It was smaller than yesterday's. But it was fast. It tried to run.
Donghoon chased it. He was faster. Faster than the Hunter. He reached its back and drove in the black knife. The spinal joint. A precise strike.
The Hunter collapsed.
Donghoon pulled out the knife and stepped back.
The sensation swept over him. A hot torrent. But it was shorter than yesterday. It settled down after fifteen seconds. His body was adapting.
Donghoon stripped the carapace from the corpse. With the knife, the work went quickly. In an hour, he'd secured ten pieces of carapace.
He returned to the base. It was dawn. Donghoon sat in his room and immediately started working.
Two knives. They were for Zone 7. He finished one before sunrise. He decided to make the other while traveling.
Lee Jaehyuk came in the morning.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
Donghoon put on his backpack and left the base with Lee Jaehyuk. They headed toward Zone 7.
As he walked, Donghoon thought.
Three Hunters eliminated in total. The threat to Zone 2 had been removed. Now it was Zone 7. Five or more Hunters. And there might be something beyond them.
In the novel, Hunters gathered in one place when a higher-rank creature was nearby. But it wasn't time for a fourth-rank monster to appear yet. According to the novel's timeline.
What if there was a difference in the regression count?
Donghoon stored the thought away and kept walking.
It would take a day to reach Zone 7. He had to make one more knife in the meantime.
Donghoon ground the carapace as he walked. Lee Jaehyuk watched from beside him.
“You make it while walking, too?”
“Time’s too valuable.”
Lee Jaehyuk snorted. But there was respect in his eyes.
Donghoon walked on. Through the ruined city, over cracked roads, and between abandoned cars. His hands ground the carapace, his eyes watched the surroundings, and his ears listened for sounds.
Donghoon was getting stronger every day. And preparing every day.
For the things that had yet to come.