How to Survive in a Fusion Punk

Chapter 222 – Build

The term “build” is an essential concept in RPGs.

Items, skills, stats, crafting recipes, and other growth factors.

There are also complex calculations derived from operations like addition and multiplication.

Modern people’s time is as precious as gold, so it is impossible to learn everything through direct experience in the game.

Thus, searching for character or class guides in advance is as natural as preparing a cool drink before eating spicy rice cakes.

Of course, people’s preferences vary.

Some want only a basic guideline, while others rely on every little detail for their decisions.

Managing this area is entirely up to the player.

In that sense, Jin was closer to the latter type.

He actively adopted the build methods packed with the know-how of others.

For him, playing games without stress and enjoying them comfortably was the best option, especially after a tiring day at work.

He’d been like this since his school days.

So, how was Project Neo?

Naturally, he read the guides.

That’s how he was able to adopt the “vagabond, irregular, and quick recovery” so-called zombie build.

The problem was that he didn’t know the detailed growth strategies that came after that.

Of course, such things are to be discovered gradually during gameplay, not pre-studied.

Why memorize something that could easily be solved by pressing Alt + Tab?

Now, here’s the excuse from a gamer’s perspective.

And now, a man found himself in the greatest dilemma of his life.

“…What should I choose?”

Jin grabbed his hair.

This was more painful than when, as a private, his squad leader asked in front of a senior sergeant, “Who’s more handsome?” (Both of them were troublemakers), or when he debated whether to ask for the AirPods he’d gifted his girlfriend a few days prior, after finding out his girlfriend cheated on him (he never got them back).

This was a chance to discover a new constellation.

Even now, if he closed his eyes, he could still see various constellations and the dark star that marked their beginning. With a sigh, he scanned them.

“They all seem okay.”

Of course, there was one that particularly caught his attention.

The [Psychic] one, which likely dealt with superpowers. Among the branching lines, there were stars related to telepathy and pyrokinesis, begging for attention.

Thinking back to how M Company’s superheroes, who once thrilled the world, were all users of this type of ability, it was hard not to be intrigued by it.

Still, the reason Jin hesitated to unlock Psychic abilities was one: it was an unknown power he’d never experienced before.

This went against Jin’s belief that experience was more trustworthy than any manual.

What if he chose poorly and the performance turned out weak?

“Definitely not.”

But still, his gaze kept wandering in that direction.

Ah, how he longed to be the Human Torch.

He’d loved him most in Fantastic Four.

But it couldn’t be helped.

In the end, according to his rigid values, only one option remained.

A power he had experienced first-hand, undoubtedly highly regarded under the name “family.”

Mana.

At last, Jin made his decision.

“Ah, screw it.”

Before his mind could waver, he quickly closed his eyes, found the star in the shape of a staff, and poured all his accumulated experience points into the first star.

At the same time, thunder struck in his mind.

“Ugh!”

Unfamiliar knowledge, insights he would have had to awaken through long training, began to spin through his body like a torrent.

The sensation of barriers being smashed was refreshing, but the intense pain almost felt like his head was splitting, putting a tremendous strain on his body.

His body shook uncontrollably, and saliva dripped from his mouth.

When he opened his eyes again, he didn’t even realize he was surrounded by blue light, struggling on the floor.

In the midst of the intense aftereffects, in his foggy mind, the new star kindly introduced itself.

[Mana Circuit]

There was no time to respond.

With what little consciousness remained, he sank into the darkness.

***

As a result, Jin had mastered the flow of mana.

It was like a fetus inside the womb taking its first breath upon entering the world—although it didn’t cry, it was hard to adjust at first.

However, humans are creatures of adaptation, and over time, Jin grew accustomed to the unfamiliar sensation.

In the process, he realized a few things.

First, when he activated the mana circuit, a faint blue glow surrounded his body.

It was surprisingly beautiful.

Second, while the mana circuit was active, his body became noticeably lighter.

At first, he wondered if it was a placebo effect, but after jumping lightly in place and accidentally hitting the ceiling with his forehead, he became certain that it wasn’t a trick of the mind.

The fact that he could feel the difference was satisfying for now.

From here on, as his experience points increased, he would learn one magic after another.

Khalifa had said that with a mana circuit, learning and using any magic was a matter of personal aptitude.

Honestly, at first, Jin was concerned he might lack the talent, but as he went through the experience, it turned out to be a needless worry.

He never imagined he would be able to force knowledge into his head like this.

Thanks to that, Jin had no trouble activating the mana circuit, something he hadn’t been taught, and his skill level was far beyond that of illegal practitioners.

If the deceased Nilsson had seen this, he would have kicked open his coffin lid and gone mad on the spot.

Of course, Jin didn’t care about that.

He was too hungry to worry about such things.

“Ugh, I’m starving.”

It was then that Jin realized he had gone an entire day without food since losing consciousness.

He immediately left the motel.

Homeless people huddled around a drum, raising their heads slowly at the sound of footsteps crossing the alley, only to quickly lower their eyes.

It was because of the old memories of trying to pickpocket Jin, only to end up getting severely beaten.

“Good morning.”

Even in his hunger, Jin waved his hand as he left the alley.

Afterward, at a hamburger shop he entered based only on the sign, he set a new personal record by eating nine Whoppers.

He then went to a nearby clothing store and bought a full set of new gear, including an aviation jumper, a t-shirt, and pants.

After changing into his new clothes, it was just around lunchtime.

Jin pulled out his device and checked the address in the text message.

Good Neighbor.

It was the gun shop Khalifa had recommended.

In fact, Jin hadn’t cared much about firearms until now.

Without a home to speak of, managing such things was difficult, and most importantly, he could never afford to buy ammunition regularly.

Once his fists and kicks could crush skulls, his interest in guns had vanished altogether.

Even when he did happen to use a gun, it was simply a case of picking up one dropped in the middle of a fight, and pulling the trigger on its owner’s forehead was about the extent of his gun usage.

However, his thoughts had recently begun to change.

Fenrir, was it?

That werewolf, when he was in human form, had been carrying a sword almost as tall as his body.

He wielded a sword over 1 meter in length with his 2.1-meter tall frame?

Close combat was entirely out of the question; it was impossible to fight at that range without having to close the distance.

That was when Jin started to feel the need for ranged weapons.

Things had escalated during his first request.

While Nilsson was running around shooting magic and bullets, all Jin did was chase him down—there was no other solution.

Of course, his physical stats were so overwhelming that he managed to catch up despite taking a beating, but the truth was that if he had had a handgun, the situation would have been resolved much more easily.

Scratching at his skin, which had started to peel off, Jin stepped into Junk Plaza.

No matter when he came, the place was dizzyingly chaotic.

This time, however, he didn’t get lost.

He had downloaded a navigation app on his device.

Why hadn’t he used this sooner?

Whoever invented this deserves an award.

Ah, the savior of all the directionally challenged.

Jin continued walking, clutching the device like a radar searching for Dragon Balls.

At some point, the navigation system notified him that his destination was only 100 meters away.

Jin then looked up from the screen and focused on the path ahead.

Two buildings were uncomfortably close together, creating a narrow alley.

The poor land-to-building ratio and the high building coverage resulted in a path that was entirely shaded, and at the end of this dark alley was a two-story building.

Above the entrance, a red LED sign blinked.

Good Neighbor.

It was the gun shop Khalifa had mentioned.

Jin put the device back in his pocket and clicked his tongue.

Seeing it tucked away like this, it was clear it would have been difficult to find on his own without asking around.

This was why connections mattered.

“Is anyone here?”

He opened the opaque glass door and entered, immediately greeted by the cold scent of metal.

The first thing that caught his eye was the wall lined with various types of guns.

And sitting with his back to the wall, staring intently at a small screen, was an elderly man.

“Oh! Wow… Hooh! This, this…”

The old man was so engrossed in whatever he was watching that he didn’t even notice Jin had gotten right up to him.

He was murmuring all kinds of exclamations, totally lost in the video.

Eventually, Jin, growing tired of waiting, coughed loudly to get his attention.

“Ahem-”

“Uwah!”

The old man scrambled, flipping the display as if he had been caught during a secret high school rendezvous.

“What are you doing!”

“I’m a customer.”

“When did you come in?”

“Since you started groaning.”

Jin pointed toward the flipped display with his chin, and sure enough, from it came some rather suggestive sounds.

“Ah! W-Why is this—”

The old man’s face turned bright red as he hastily tried to lower the volume, hide it, and even throw the device behind his shoulder in a panic.

He was in total chaos.

“Quite the moment.”

“What nonsense are you saying! You didn’t see anything!”

“Well, strong denials are…”

“Shut it! What do you want!”

The old man cut off Jin’s words with a sharp yell.

Jin answered, his voice indifferent.

“I came to buy a gun. What other reason could there be?”

The shopkeeper blinked a few times, then frowned, clearly skeptical.

“Hmph! What nonsense! I clearly told you I won’t sell to people like you!”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You just trying to embarrass me and kick me out?”

“Don’t talk nonsense and get out of here!”

“Alright then.”

Jin frowned.

There was something off about the situation.

If this wasn’t just a show, then it seemed like there was a misunderstanding.

When he thought about it more, it felt like a scenario he had seen before.

Right.

This kind of grumpy shopkeeper who makes a big fuss, saying they won’t sell anything to you even if dirt enters their grave, usually had something to do with low-quality thugs.

It wasn’t just a random trope.

Novels, comics, movies, dramas—history has always been like this.

And they say history repeats itself, right?

It felt like he was about to get caught up in some annoying situation, and the sense of impending doom crept up on him.

Jin quickly spoke up.

“Calm down. I’ll just…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt a sharp twinge at the back of his head.

His body’s instinctive warning signals fired off, and his head snapped around reflexively.

Thud—

A grenade rolled into the open door from outside the shop, heading straight for him.

Followed by an obnoxious quest window blocking his view.

「(Sudden!) Good Neighbor」──────────

Defend Good Neighbor.

*Reward: 1,500 XP──────────────────

“Damn it.”