Chapter 128

The effect of [Everything Growth (EX)] even affected the trees.

Thanks to that, I could easily gather building materials.

I turned on the crafting system.

Just like in other games, in [Apocalypse Chef], if you had the materials, you could whip up whatever you wanted.

The list of craftable items was diverse, including defensive walls, traps, and even various weapons like arrows.

Seeing this, my architectural desires surged for the first time in a while.

In the apocalypse, a fortress is essential to open a store. I just decided that.

However, you couldn’t make everything just because you wanted to; you needed additional materials, and those were hard to get right now.

First of all, [Everything Growth (EX)] wasn’t an ability you could use infinitely.

You needed seeds, and there was also an MP limitation.

Of course, MP was a resource that recovered over time, but the speed wasn’t that fast. There was a limit to how many times you could use the skill in a day.

Honestly, this part wasn’t a big deal since it could be solved with time. The real problem was the special materials. I hadn’t found the seeds I needed yet.

I don’t know why cherry and birch trees are essential for traps, but hey, it’s a game. You just gotta roll with it.

But why do I need tulips? Seriously, why?

Well, crafting games like this always ask for slightly unrealistic recipes. Overthinking it just makes you a bad gamer.

Currently, I had three types of seeds: potatoes, rice, and pine.

And the rice seeds? I found them in a zombie’s pocket.

Why would a zombie carry rice seeds, you ask? Well, in apocalypse games, zombies carry all sorts of items.

Sometimes they even carry vaccines, so seeds are no big deal.

Even after killing countless zombies, I only got one rice seed. The drop rate for seeds was pretty low.

In a game where you’re supposed to build a fortress, getting one seed per 100 zombies?

They could’ve made this part a bit easier. It’s a little disappointing.

But I didn’t completely hate the drop system.

I looked down at the new shoes I just got.

They had a leap function and came with a special feature that prevented fall damage.

Hearing the specs, you’d know it was a kind of magic item. In a world where people have Awakening Abilities, it wasn’t that strange for such items to exist.

This expanded my combat options.

In other words…

“It’s time to go hunting.”

It became easier to gather materials for my fortress.

<ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won>

Just curious, is this really how the game works?

“Yep.”

I shook my head.

Can’t you see the subtle design that naturally adjusts the difficulty to encourage combat?

This was a kind of message from the developer to the player.

A message telling you to achieve your goals through repeated combat.

And I’m a diligent gamer. I thoroughly follow the developer’s intentions.

Sure, I might go wild sometimes, but that’s only in the second playthrough. The first playthrough is all about enjoying the game as the developer intended.

Unless the developer hates the players, their intention is usually to make the players have fun.

I left the base equipped with my Japanese Sword.

First, I planned to complete the seed encyclopedia.

*

Exploring the world of [Apocalypse Chef] was pretty tough.

The world had ended, but humanity was still alive and kicking within the game’s lore.

A classic apocalypse trope: zombies are scary at first, but then it’s the people who scare you.

Whoosh. Flames erupted. I pulled the trigger at the snake-like flames shooting toward me.

Bang! The gunpowder exploded, and the flaming snake was shot down.

But it wasn’t over yet.

The flames reignited, lighting up the dark night.

The flaming snake spun around. With each rotation, it grew larger.

By the time the flaming snake was as big as a house, it released its tail and charged at me.

Boom—! A massive crater formed where the flaming snake landed. I quickly dodged, but its attack didn’t end there.

Whoosh! The giant flaming snake split into countless smaller snakes, all shooting toward me.

For a moment, it felt like the world turned red.

Just before the wave of flames engulfed me,

I slowly drew my sword.

As I focused, it felt like time slowed down.

I slashed the sword from left to right.

The flaming snake was cut in half.

I slashed upward.

The flaming snake was cut in half again.

Down, right, up, diagonally, left, in a circle, in a semicircle.

The sword moved in perfect arcs, cutting through countless flaming snakes.

Time returned to normal.

I lunged toward the now-open front.

The man controlling the flames hastily created a fiery shield, but it was too late.

I threw the sword I was holding upward and lightly stomped the ground.

Then, I placed my hand on the Japanese Sword at my waist.

Swoosh.

The Japanese Sword, swung like a beam of light, cut through the man still engulfed in flames.

Phew. I exhaled lightly and quickly searched the man’s body.

A kidney-shaped black seed popped out.

I checked the seed’s info.

[Baobab Tree Seed]

Nice. Now I could make an infinite water generator.

You might wonder what a baobab tree has to do with an infinite water generator, but hey, crafting games (you know the rest).

I checked the seed encyclopedia.

Thanks to hunting all sorts of special zombies and ability users, I finally completed it.

It was really tough.

Especially, the special ability users kept bothering me, and even though I didn’t want to fight, the opponent refused to negotiate, so there was no solution.

Even if I wanted to talk, they just attacked blindly, leaving me with no choice but to fight.

Apparently, they were after the power of my [All Things Growth (EX)], but still, every NPC acting like that was a bit much.

It’s all because the AI is lacking.

At least if there were negotiation options, it would’ve been more immersive. It was slightly disappointing.

Well, it’s an indie game, so there’s only so much they can do.

They probably didn’t have enough development resources for such advanced interactions.

Please make a lot of money with this game and put more effort into the next one. Thank you.

I crossed my arms.

So, I filled out the seed encyclopedia, but is there no special event?

Right after that thought crossed my mind.

A cutscene started.

“I always wished a meteor would fall from the sky. That was the thought I carried with me.

There’s no particular reason why I became a pessimist.

I just hated the world.

To be precise, I hated the world that wouldn’t accept me.”

The player character plants all sorts of seeds in the ground.

Starting from pine trees, sunflowers, dandelions, tulips, lilies, azaleas, tomatoes, pumpkins, strawberries, and so on.

The player character, who planted the source of all life in the ground, desperately wished.

“That’s right. The world ended up like this because of me.

I wished for it. And the gods granted my wish.

That’s all there is to it.

—So, I must atone.

Take responsibility for what I’ve done.

It’s what any human should do.”

The player character recalls the past.

A child who looks about fifth grade in elementary school speaks to the player character.

“The food Jun makes is always delicious.”

“Jun. I want to see the sea.”

“Jun. You don’t look very happy.”

“Jun.” “Jun?” “Jun. Actually, I—”

“Jun, please. Bring the world back.”

The moment the child kisses the player character’s forehead, the clock hands spin, and time rewinds.

The rapidly rewinding time reaches the first starting scene—the rooftop tent.

“This is the opportunity Yuna sacrificed herself to create. No matter what it takes, I’ll succeed.”

The player character offers the countless sources of life that have grown to themselves.

The world’s greatest farmer’s finest crops are offered, and divinity is completed.

The God of Abundance and Life is born.

The still small and weak God of Abundance and Life closes their eyes.

And with their hand, they pull out their own heart.

They offer the god to the world.

And with that, they wish.

For the world to return to how it was.

To undo the chaos caused by my selfish wish—!

Kiiing—. The world stops and rapidly rewinds.

“Epilogue.

Bang—. Deep in the dawn, a car speeds by. The headlights are the only source of light, occasionally illuminating the dark view—”

Click. I paused the game and blinked.

I said,

“Sorry, everyone. Who exactly is this Yuna person?”

I thought some special ability would appear, but suddenly it rushed to the true ending, and the story just progressed on its own.

Even the cutscenes assumed I already knew Yuna and had experienced a regression event, which was a first for me and kind of refreshing.

A chat message popped up in response to my question.

———

Yuna is the companion NPC you meet at the beginning.

———

This was the first time I’d heard of it.

So, this game has companion NPCs? I had no idea.

“I’ve never met her though?”

———

That’s because you’ve never cooked anything, you idiot.

———

Summarizing what the viewers who’ve played the game said, that was it.

Apparently, the normal progression is to cook something, and Yuna, drawn by the smell, slaughters the nearby zombies and settles in the base.

……Seriously?

———

But what’s with that regression event? I’ve never experienced that even when playing normally.

Wasn’t Yuna supposed to be a quiet, overpowered character?

What did you do to mess up the route like this?

———

I felt wronged.

I was just playing normally, and now I’m being called a route destroyer.

“First of all, such an important event should only trigger after seeing the prerequisite events. It’s not my fault.”

I confidently stated and resumed the game.

The player character stands on the bridge, just like in the intro. As they’re about to jump into the river again, someone calls from behind.

It was Yuna.

“You granted my wish, didn’t you?”

END

…….

“Everyone, this is a touching scene. Give it a round of applause.”

———

Touching? LMAO

I’m dead.

Note: Han Yoorim gets moved by strangers talking about things she doesn’t know.

———

<ㅇㅇ님이 1000원 후원>

So, is this how I’m supposed to play the game?

“Well, I did get the true ending, so isn’t that right?”

No?

<ㅇㅇ님이 1000원 후원>

Yeah, right.

Whatever.