Apocalypse Descends: I Win Effortlessly by Turning Trash into Treasure

Perry Yates plucked the last ripe Wood Oil Fruit. After confirming she hadn’t missed any, she prepared to climb down.

Just then, she suddenly heard the faint sound of footsteps. Something seemed to be approaching.

Seeing this, Perry Yates quickly froze, hiding herself among the Wood Oil Vines.

Thanks to her Weed Suit, she wasn’t worried about being discovered.

The faint footsteps grew closer. A moment later, a spider emerged from a round opening in the wall nearby. It had eight long legs and a pitch-black body, but with a streak of red on its head.

As soon as the spider appeared, it began searching its surroundings. It lingered for a long time over the patch of grass Perry Yates had hastily grown.

Seeing this, Perry Yates held her breath, terrified the spider would discover something.

The spider lingered around the patch of grass for a moment before turning to leave.

Seizing the opportunity, Perry Yates waited for the spider to pass directly beneath her. She swapped her dagger for the Chopping Blade and, using the momentum of her fall, swung it straight at the spider’s head.

CRACK!

Perry Yates’s aim was incredibly precise, landing right where the spider’s head connected to its body. With a crack, the spider’s head was chopped clean off.

Perry Yates immediately leaped back a few steps, dodging the fluid that sprayed from the spider’s wound.

The spider on the ground twitched a few times before going still.

A white light emerged from the spider’s corpse, coalescing into a card above it.

”A two-star!”

Perry Yates’s pupils contracted as she stared at the card’s color.

’And it’s an item card, too.’

[Spider Armor: Upon use, all aspects of the user’s body will be enhanced, granting them the ability to walk on walls like a spider.]

’Isn’t this just like Spider-Man?’

Perry Yates eagerly used the card.

The card dissolved into specks of starlight and flowed into her body. Perry Yates checked her clothes, but they hadn’t changed—she was still in the same pink sweatsuit.

’Though I should probably find a water source to wash up,’ she thought. ’It’s been ten days, and I stink.’

Perry Yates wrinkled her nose in disgust and did a couple of hops on the spot.

She was amazed to find that she could now easily pluck the Wood Oil Fruits with a light jump, even though they had been far out of her reach before.

Not only that, but she could also walk on walls.

’My Core Power probably needs some work, though.’

’With this item, I can finally leave this place.’

However, when she got to the spot where she’d first fallen in, she saw that it was already dark outside.

Seeing this, Perry Yates decided it was best to wait until dawn to leave.

「Day eleven of the game.」

After a good night’s sleep, Perry Yates finished off her last compressed biscuit, drank some water for a quick and simple breakfast, and prepared to leave.

Before she left, she also made sure to gather all the glowing mushrooms that grew there.

[Bright Mushroom: Glows in the dark; the darker the surroundings, the brighter the light. Mildly toxic. Can be eaten safely once cooked. Has a delicious flavor and long-term consumption enhances Night Vision.]

This was the information Perry Yates received after using Ascension.

Ever since using the Fusion Card, she had been able to get some information about plants even without using Ascension.

...

After climbing out of the cave, Perry Yates quickly realized something was wrong.

The area was covered in signs of a battle, and not far off lay the corpse of a massive animal.

’Is that... a wolf?’

The giant wolf’s corpse was a full five or six meters long. Its grayish-white fur was mottled with earthy brown, making it look incredibly filthy.

Next, Perry Yates examined the giant wolf’s wounds.

The wounds didn’t look like bites from another creature; they seemed to have been inflicted by a sharp weapon.

Her first thought was that another player had done this.

’But if someone killed the giant wolf, why didn’t they take the body?’

Just then, she recalled a class of players mentioned on the forums known as Card Hunters.

Like Bounty Hunters, they specialized in hunting monsters, collecting all sorts of cards, and then selling them.

Most players who became Card Hunters were experts with immense combat power.

For a Card Hunter, space in their System Backpack is extremely valuable, so they naturally wouldn’t carry useless things.

After all, not everyone was as lucky as Perry Yates, who had obtained a Space Backpack right at the start of the game.

However, looking at the wounds on the giant wolf, it seemed the person who killed it had taken some of the meat.

This discovery made Perry Yates’s eyes light up.

’Meat!’

’It’s only been one night. The meat on this giant wolf should still be fresh.’

Perry Yates used her dagger to cut away a portion of meat from the giant wolf’s leg. Then, with a wave of her hand, she stored the rest of the massive carcass in her System Space.

’Heh. Others might not want such a huge wolf carcass, but I’ll gladly take it.’

’For one thing, this wolf is massive. The pelt is thick and perfectly preserved. It’ll definitely sell for a lot of money.’

’Most importantly, even though the fur looks filthy, it’s unexpectedly smooth and soft to the touch.’

’Sleeping on this would probably be incredibly comfortable.’

Now that she had meat, Perry Yates decided to find a place to start a fire and cook it.

She conveyed her intent to the plants beneath her feet, and a moment later, she received their feedback.

”So it’s this way.”

Following the plants’ guidance, Perry Yates soon arrived at a small stream.

The moment she saw the stream, Perry Yates was thrilled. ’Water! Real water!’

But her excitement didn’t last long. She soon noticed signs that someone else had been here.

The evidence was a campfire not far off, its embers still glowing.

’Looks like they’ve already left. It wouldn’t be out of line to borrow an ember, would it?’

With that thought, Perry Yates walked toward the campfire.

’After all, I’ve only ever seen people make fire by drilling wood in videos. The chances of me succeeding on my own are slim.’

After successfully getting her own fire going, Perry Yates first cleaned the meat with stream water. Then, she cut it into small chunks and placed them over the flames to roast.

Watching the meat quickly start to SIZZLE and drip with fat, Perry Yates couldn’t help but swallow.

The roast meat already smelled wonderful, but on the principle of ’nothing ventured, nothing gained,’ Perry Yates decided to use Ascension on it anyway.

’There’s no harm in it, anyway. If I’m lucky, it might even increase my strength.’

’At the very least, it might improve the taste.’

[Giant Wolf Meat: All show and no substance. Non-toxic, but has a sour and astringent taste. After Ascension: The meat becomes tender, juicy, and naturally seasoned. Consumption restores energy.]