Lord Of Ashes

"Next up is the last item. I hope I can get a soul point..."

Although John said he hoped to gain soul points, his expectations were fairly low. After dealing with the outcomes of the previous items, he thought that as long as he didn't end up with anything related to junk, it would be a blessing. He dared not ask for much more.

[Item 5]

[Option 1: Single-Tube Infrared Night Vision Device, Quality: Gray, Type: Junk]

[Option 2: Head-Mounted Thermal Imaging Night Vision Device, Quality: White, Type: Equipment]

[Option 3: Tracking Enemy Radar, Quality: Green, Type: Equipment]

"Enemy-tracking radar? That sounds really useful," John thought, surprised. He hadn't expected to get something unrelated to junk. Honestly, he'd assumed there was a good chance of receiving another odd item like goblin-made tools with questionable reliability.

[Enemy-Tracking Radar]

[Quality: Green]

[Type: Equipment]

[Origin: Ash World, Farris Fortress, A-15 Military Factory, Assembly Line 3]

[Durability: 30/30]

[Defense: 10]

[Special Attribute: Search]

Search: Detects hostile lifeforms within a 500-meter radius. If the density of hostile entities is too high, the radar may malfunction. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Energy Cost: 1 point.

[Requirements: Intelligence 5]

[Score: 30 (Green items range from 11 to 30)]

[Note: Warning! Do not use in crowded areas or large-scale battlefields (over 1,000 entities). Radar malfunction may result in severe consequences, including crashes, smoke, fire, and explosions. –Final words of a soldier injured 30 meters away from a radar explosion.]

"Wait, is this a radar or a bomb?" John muttered in disbelief. "Killed even after running 30 meters away? That's insane! And the warning note makes it sound like a one-stop disaster. First, it crashes, then it smokes and catches fire, and finally, it explodes. What a chain reaction!"

John could vividly imagine the chaos that would follow such a failure. Soldiers nearby wouldn't even have enough time to escape. Helplessness and despair would be written all over their faces.

"Still, even if it might break down when surrounded by too many enemies, it's a radar. It should be much more useful than a thermal imaging night vision device."

John had a strong dislike for the thermal imaging night vision device, mostly because it was useless against zombies. Since zombies were already dead, their body temperature matched the surrounding environment, making them practically invisible on thermal imaging.

Using a thermal imaging device against zombies would be like handing them invisibility cloaks. This would increase the risk of getting attacked or bitten by one hiding in plain sight. While the device could show the outline of a humanoid figure, it wouldn't offer any real advantage in combat. Without the device, John could see not just the outline but also the distinct colors of the zombies, making it easier to fight them.

So, in situations involving zombies, the thermal imaging night vision device felt like an unnecessary hassle. However, against goblins or other creatures with body heat, it would likely outperform the infrared night vision device.

Still, John wasn't entirely sure if nights even existed in the Ash World. Earlier, when he had looked at the sky, he hadn't seen a sun or a blue sky—only a thick haze blanketing everything above.

"So," John decided, "I'll choose '300 soul points,' 'Alchemy [Incomplete],' 'Small Mana Restoration Potion (One Pouch),' and 'Enemy-Tracking Radar.'"

After finalizing his choices, the time pause ended. John retrieved the alchemy skill, the small mana restoration potions, and the radar from the small box. As for the 300 soul points, they had already been added to his balance.

First, John examined the alchemy skill, which appeared as a small golden ball of light about the size of a lychee. When he touched it, he instantly learned the skill. He figured it would come in handy sooner or later.

Curious, John checked the skill's effects on his data list.

[Alchemy [Incomplete] (Active Skill)]

[Effect: Transforms one item into another. No cooldown. Energy cost depends on the complexity, size, and volume of the transformation (1–??? points).]

[Additional Attribute: Manufacturing]

[Additional Attribute: Fusion]

"Okay, so it's marked 'incomplete,' but the description is ridiculously vague. Thirteen words, and none of them help me understand how to use it," John complained. "And these 'manufacturing' and 'fusion' attributes—what are they even supposed to mean? Couldn't they include a single word of explanation?"

Although his intuition told him the skill could be valuable, the lack of details was frustrating. He figured he'd only understand its potential after experimenting with it.

Next, John examined the small mana restoration potions. The nine bottles were neatly packed in a small cloth pouch, cushioned with straw to prevent them from breaking during transport.

Finally, John turned his attention to the enemy radar. It resembled the dragon radar from Dragon Ball but appeared more advanced. After activating it, John discovered it could not only mark the locations of enemies but also map out the surrounding buildings. This made the enemy markers highly precise.

Using the radar, John learned that the apartment building he was in had six floors, each with 20 rooms. Most rooms didn't contain zombies, but seven of them did. Altogether, there were over a dozen zombies in the building.

The room with the most zombies was 608. With eight zombies packed into a space of about 30–40 square meters, John couldn't help but wonder, "What were they doing before they turned into zombies?"

The radar also revealed an uneven distribution of zombies. The lower three floors had only about a dozen zombies combined, which was just one-sixth of the total. However, the density increased on higher floors, particularly on the sixth floor. More than 30 zombies were gathered there, making up nearly half the total number in the building.

"Why are there so many on the top floor?" John mused. "Was something important up there, or did they just randomly gather?"