How much time had passed?
I opened my eyes from within the folds of a white goose down comforter.
Thanks to the firm mattress cushion, my previously stiff shoulders moved as smoothly as if they had been oiled.
On the bedside table, there was a clear water bottle.
Gulp, gulp…
As I drank the water from the bottle, I thought to myself.
'This is way better than when I lived in my own place…'
Who would see this as life in the Apocalypse?
Even the underground bunkers of the wealthy in Saudi Arabia couldn't compare to this PAX Fulfillment Center.
My warehouse isn't infinite, after all.
As I got up and adjusted my clothes, I heard a knock at the door.
"Jeong-gyeom ssi, it's me."
"Yes, Yong-su ssi. Come in."
"My wife is preparing breakfast. I thought you might want to join us if you're awake."
"Sounds good."
With that, I tightened the laces of my combat boots.
The feel of brand-new socks gently wrapped around my feet.
Outside the break room, Lee Yong-su, already prepared, was waiting for me.
I followed him to the dining hall on the second floor.
He spoke as we walked.
"My wife is excited. She says there's nothing missing from this kitchen…"
It was usually a cafeteria that catered to hundreds of people at a time.
It probably had all the equipment anyone could need.
And even if something were missing, the logistics center below was overflowing with cooking tools.
Click.
As we opened the door to the dining hall,
Sniff, sniff.
My nose reacted instinctively.
At the table near the kitchen, the meal for Lee Yong-su and me was already prepared.
Head chef Oh Ji-su began explaining the dish of the day.
"This time, I kept it simple. I got a bit short on time while looking around the kitchen and Fresh Center… but it should still be pretty good for breakfast."
Each of us had a wide plate in front of us.
Just as she said, it wasn't a complicated dish.
Three fried eggs with perfectly intact yolks, German sausages with lightly charred edges, three thick slices of bacon, hearty baked beans, and finally, moist pancakes that looked as soft as soufflé.
She revealed the name of this grand symphony of flavors.
"It's called a Lumberjack Breakfast, something we often make for ourselves."
"Lumber… what?"
Next to me, Lee Yong-su whispered some advice on how to handle this.
"…Just assume it's something that exists in the world and eat it."
"Ah…"
As expected from someone experienced, his wisdom showed.
With a slightly awkward expression, I picked up the fork and knife.
"Thank you for the meal!"
"There's more, so let me know if you need seconds."
She smiled brightly and poured maple syrup over the pancakes on my plate.
I cut into the moist pancake with my fork.
Then I scooped up some of the half-burst yolk, bacon, and baked beans together.
"…!"
The pancake dissolved in my mouth like cream.
Its place was quickly filled by the rich flavor of the baked beans.
The firm texture of the bacon added a nice bite, and finally, when I bit into the well-cooked German sausage…
"This… is insane."
That was all I could say.
But I had spoken too soon.
The true final highlight was still to come.
Plop.
Oh Ji-su placed a steaming cup of black coffee in front of both me and Lee Yong-su.
"I found the coffee machine I've been wanting so badly at the logistics center. When we were setting up our newlywed home, I kept begging him to buy it…"
The coffee in the white cup gave off a gentle, rich aroma.
Coffee with a brunch like this.
It was the finishing touch, the perfect complement.
Sip.
As if in sync, the two of us raised our cups at the same time…
"This… is insane."
"This… is insane."
That was all we could say.
***
I returned to the first floor and gave my now fully stuffed belly a satisfied pat.
However, that happiness didn't come for free.
[Approximately 36 hours remaining until power shutdown.]
[Approximately 43 hours remaining until gas/water supply shutdown.]
The time left was about a day and a half.
And the amount of mana stones I had left… was only sixteen.
"This thing's a real money pit…"
It was great that my level had gone up, but the maintenance costs had skyrocketed.
I now needed a whopping six mana stones per day.
Even with simple math, it was clear I wouldn't last more than three days.
And that wasn't the only problem.
"I need to upgrade my skills… and unlock new abilities too."
Ding!
PAX brought up a screen.
—-[Enhancement Options]—-
[Cost: 5]
◈ Shipping Time [5 seconds] [+]
◈ Shipping Range [10 meters] [+] (Note: For up to 15 meters, the cost is 1.)
◈ Shipping Speed [Maximum 100 km/h] [+]
————————-
—-[Unlockable Options]—-
[Cost: 50]
◈ Simultaneous Shipping (2)
– You can ship up to four items simultaneously.
◈ Tracking Delivery
– The shipped item automatically tracks the set destination.
◈ Item Retrieval
– Opens a separate portal to retrieve the item. (Note: Only applicable to objects registered in subspace.)
————————-
Thanks to reaching Subspace Level 2, I could either enhance my shipping skills or unlock new abilities.
However…
"…Is this price for real?"
The cost for upgrades was 5, while unlocking new abilities cost 50.
That was five times the previous cost.
But the most ridiculous part was…
[To reach Level 3, 1,000 mana stones are required.]
A thousand.
That was ten times the cost of the previous upgrade.
"I won't be able to dream about that for a while."
Still, I figured it would be possible someday.
I was starting to gather mana stones at a faster pace, after all.
Especially now that I had…
"A new weapon."
I ordered an item from the picking station.
Clunk!
Without any fancy packaging, the item came wrapped in plain, transparent plastic.
As I hefted the weighty object in my hands, PAX announced its name.
[K2 Rifle, price not set.]
And along with it, a few other things.
[5.56mm NATO Rounds, 10 pcs x 3 sets]
[STANAG 30-round Magazines]
[K413 Fragmentation Grenades x 3 sets]
The sharp metallic smell hit me.
I could feel, more than ever, that my firepower had drastically increased.
This was no mere camping hatchet—this was a real weapon of destruction.
Click! Click!
I loaded the 5.56mm rounds one by one into the magazine.
Remembering the stories that fully loading the magazine could cause malfunctions, I stopped at exactly twenty-eight rounds.
Then, I handed the now heavier magazine to PAX.
"Is it possible to ship something like this?"
[You can combine the two items into a set for shipping.]
[Shall I register it as a set?]
"Yes, please do."
[Understood.]
After ordering a combat vest, combat boots, and an additional rifle, I called for Lee Yong-su.
"You called for me?"
"Here, take this. You've served in the military, right?"
"Ah, yes, of course. I've served."
He took the rifle with practiced ease.
"I think it's time for us to head out. It could get dangerous, so if worse comes to worst, we'll fight with these."
"A rifle, huh… Now, there's nothing left to fear."
We were slowly becoming the strongest in this Apocalypse.
"Still, don't get too complacent. If things get dangerous, jump into the portal immediately."
"I'll keep that in mind. There's no way I'm getting hurt now."
He, too, steeled his resolve.
As the portal leading outside opened, Lee Yong-su spoke.
"Luckily, it seems like everything's cleared out now."
The creatures that had once swarmed the sky like a cloud were nowhere to be seen. All that greeted us now was the dark, blue twilight of the early evening.
We slowly stepped out of the portal,
Whoooosh-
A desolate wind blew.
As I scanned the surroundings, I noticed something.
"It's those thugs."
The commander, the regimental commander, the battalion commander, and the other lackeys.
Their clothes were torn to shreds.
Dried, dark red bloodstains replaced their corpses.
"Let's get out of here quickly for now."
We had to hurry.
The creatures would return once time passed.
But just as I was getting ready to leave,
"…Damn it."
I stopped in my tracks.
"What's wrong?"
Lee Yong-su asked, but,
Whirr-
I opened the portal again, just in case we needed to escape at a moment's notice.
"They haven't left yet."
"…Who? You mean those wyverns from earlier?"
"Probably…"
Suddenly, I remembered the look in the dragon's eyes from before.
"…It seems they've been waiting for us this whole time."
Kiiiiiiieeeee-!
Kiiiiiek!
A chilling scream echoed from the dense forest.
Flap! Flap!
The sound of countless wings flapping filled the air.
The creatures began to darken the sky once more.
Lee Yong-su hurried me to jump back into the portal.
"Jeong-gyeom ssi, it seems we came out too early. For now, let's just…"
But that wasn't an option.
"They'll keep waiting. And we can't leave from any other spot."
That was the biggest weakness of my subspace ability.
If the portal's location wasn't safe, I'd end up trapped in subspace instead.
But…
"There's one thing they don't know yet."
Click!
With my back to the portal, I aimed the rifle at the approaching wyverns.
And then,
Ratatatatatata-!
I fired wildly.
It was the automatic firing mode I had never once used during my time in the military.
Of course, the bullets ran out in mere seconds.
Thunk.
The empty magazine dropped to the ground.
But then,
Shhhk!
A freshly shipped magazine appeared in my hand.
It was the pre-loaded, twenty-eight-round magazine.
Click!
I reloaded the rifle and,
Ratatatatata!
Fired again.
Each time the bullets whizzed through the early evening sky,
Kieeeek!
Kiek!
The creatures responded with bloodcurdling screams.
Lee Yong-su also aimed at the sky, firing off sharp, smoky rounds.
Utilizing my Simultaneous Shipping skill, I provided him with a new magazine every five seconds.
Thus, the two rifles unleashed a torrent of fire.
Ting! Click! Thud! Clank! Jingle…
Empty shell casings and magazines piled up at our feet.
And it wasn't just our ammunition littering the ground—the wyverns were falling too.
Kieek!
Boom!
The creatures struck by bullets crashed down into the open field.
As the bodies began to pile up, they slowly formed a hill, keeping pace with the sound of gunfire.
We were tearing them apart, but I never let my guard down.
The leader was still out there.
Flap.
A different kind of presence took flight.
It rose into the sky.
Gulp.
I shuddered for a moment.
Its bright, yellow eyes were locked onto me.
Somehow…
It seemed like it was glancing between me and the portal.
Lee Yong-su delivered some good news.
"Jeong-gyeom ssi…! It looks like they're leaving!"
And sure enough, just as he said, the black dragon snorted a rough breath and flew off into the distance, with the wyverns following behind, ceasing their attack.
The black dragon.
Though a monster, it was a creature with intelligence.
Perhaps it realized that as long as my subspace portal was active, there was no way to catch me.
I summed up the situation in one word.
"…We survived."
Now, all that remained was to clean up the aftermath.
Lee Yong-su looked at the wyvern corpses and spoke with a hint of dread.
"When are we ever going to harvest all these? There must be at least a hundred of them…"
"For that, I've got something in mind. Let's quickly gather fifty for now."
I was short thirty-four mana stones.
Thud!
I pierced through the chest of a wyvern and pulled out the mana stones.
Most of them contained three stones, and occasionally, four.
"That should do it."
After butchering exactly ten wyverns, I managed to gather the fifty mana stones I needed.
Even after processing ten, there were still dozens of corpses piled up in heaps.
I immediately called PAX.
[Yes, how can I help you?]
"Among the abilities that can be unlocked this time, there's one called 'Item Retrieval', right?"
[That's correct.]
The exact description was as follows:
◈ Item Retrieval
– Opens a separate portal to retrieve items. (Note: Only applies to objects registered in subspace.)
What caught my attention was the phrase "objects registered in subspace".
Originally, it was a handy ability meant for retrieving items I had shipped out back into subspace.
The only downside was the high cost.
"Can mana stones be retrieved too? They're technically registered in subspace, right? After all, I was given mana stones when I first awakened this power."
[Let me check.]
[Calculating…]
After a brief pause, PAX finally responded.
[The classification code for mana stones has been identified.]
[The classification code is…]
[Non-sellable item. Since it's a registered item in subspace, retrieval is possible.]
I clenched my fist in triumph.
"Unlock Item Retrieval right now."
[50 mana stones received.]
From there, everything moved swiftly.
I immediately activated Item Retrieval.
The retrieval range matched my shipping skill's range, 10 meters.
I walked among the piles of wyvern corpses.
And with each step, an incredible sight unfolded.
"…My God."
Lee Yong-su couldn't keep his mouth shut.
A portal for retrieval appeared above my head.
Spent shell casings and used, empty magazines were swiftly sucked into the portal.
And then…
Pop!
Pop-pop!
The mana stones burst out from the wyvern corpses, soaring into the air.
Shwoooo!
The portal sucked in the mana stones, like a black hole.
The total number of mana stones retrieved?
A staggering 311.
.
.
.
"Are we leaving right away?"
"We have to."
I called up PAX and checked the product page.
Lee Yong-su's truck had been wrecked by the wyverns, but I planned to ship out a new military vehicle and drive it out of here.
I opened up a map and showed Lee Yong-su our destination.
Gangnam Severance Hospital.
It was where my eldest sister worked.
Even with the world in chaos, she was surely holed up in the hospital, going on about her duty as a medical professional.
"You'd better still be alive, Kim Sister No. 1."
Now, we'd drive full speed to Gangnam.
But even while driving, there was work to be done.
'Gotta earn mana stones.'
While speeding down the road, I'd shoot monsters with my rifle.
At the same time, I planned to use Item Retrieval to suck up the mana stones from their bodies.
You could call it something like this:
The Apocalypse's Harvester.
That name would suit me just fine.