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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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I couldn’t even make it to the second floor. I collapsed on the landing, gasping for air.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
In my hands, I clutched my phone and the baton. My phone was slick with sweat. I wiped it on my pants and pulled the half-empty Gatorade from my bag, gulping it down.
“Ha…”
That was better. I tossed the empty bottle aside, grabbed the water bottle, and twisted off the cap. I took a sip and looked at my phone.
There had to be some kind of response to this situation.
There had to be.
We had an army, fighter jets, damn it, we had everything!
YouTube was already flooded with videos.
…Wait.
This… looked like it was from Japan?
Maybe uploaded by a Korean living there?
…America…
China…
Russia… Germany… Malaysia…
…It was happening all over the world.
All over the world…
These… these beast-like things were appearing.
Even just one of these crazed, biting beasts could spread the infection this rapidly. I had just experienced it firsthand.
But this was happening everywhere?
…Crazy… What was going on?
What the hell was happening?
[President’s Emergency Press Conference]
News.
A press conference? It didn’t seem to be live yet.
I clicked on the headline.
[The president is expected to declare a state of emergency at 6:00 PM today. Government officials have indicated the possibility of martial law and military deployment.]
Short and to the point. Another breaking news report.
Martial law?
The military?
“Huff… huff…”
This was insane.
Fine.
Do whatever it takes.
Do whatever you have to to stop people from dying.
Mobilize everything! Martial law, the military, everything!
“Huff… huff…”
Oh, shit.
I was so exhausted.
I put down my phone and lay down on the stairs.
The stick in my left hand was uncomfortable.
I lifted it.
The baton… it was quite heavy.
But it just looked like a small stick?
In movies, when you swung it forward, it would extend with a whoosh…
Click!
Oh! That was loud!
The baton extended, transforming into a solid club.
Ooh… that looked pretty useful.
Did it hurt?
I smacked it against my palm.
Ouch.
It was solid.
I had thought it was just a piece of plastic, but I was wrong.
A good swing with this could probably crack someone’s skull.
…This was suddenly getting tense.
I looked up the stairs.
Silence.
I peered through the stair railing at the street.
No one there.
Phew, that was a relief.
…No one?
I peeked outside again.
Cars were parked on the road.
The traffic light changed from red to green.
The cars didn’t move.
No people, nothing.
It was eerily quiet.
…This was getting scary.
“Ha… ha…”
I moved away from the railing and leaned against the wall of the stairwell. My back was damp with sweat. Ah, the cool wall felt good.
But…
Why wasn’t there anyone around…?
I had clearly seen those beast-like things chasing people…
…Still, it was probably a good thing there was no one around. I could call a taxi and…
…A taxi?
Would there even be any taxis?
If those human beasts were running around, wouldn’t everyone desperate to escape be trying to flag down every taxi in sight?
Besides… people with cars would probably be trying to drive far away.
I picked up my phone. I searched for traffic and roads, and images from highway cameras popped up. I clicked on one, and it took me to a news article.
[Extreme Congestion on Highways]
…It was a news article, but there was no content.
Just a picture.
A picture of a highway jammed with cars.
So packed, there didn’t seem to be any space to even walk.
…Where were all those cars going?
I had seen it on the news earlier.
It wasn’t just Seoul.
It was happening all over the country.
All over the world, simultaneously.
…Call a taxi?
Call a taxi and go where?
…Where was safe?
Where the hell was safe…?
…Wait a minute.
Mom. Dad.
That bitch.
Were they alright?
I tried calling my parents.
No answer.
The bitch didn’t answer either.
“Ha… Shit…”
Wringing my hands and lamenting wouldn’t solve anything. Damn, my hair was completely soaked. I felt like I’d just stepped out of the shower. I ran a hand through my hair and took another sip of water.
My body felt heavy and limp.
I was too tense, too exhausted.
I just wanted to lie down and sleep, damn it.
… I needed to calm down. I could worry and panic all I wanted once this was over, but right now, it wouldn’t help.
Calm down.
“Hoo… hoo…”
The apocalypse.
The apocalypse had arrived.
“Hoo… ha—hoo…”
Calmly.
Think it through, one step at a time. What had I seen earlier?
I’d seen those transformed humans, then the police station, and then several things had appeared before my eyes.
Definitely…
“…Status.”
Right. This was it!
…Wait.
My stats seemed to have changed.
I thought my HP was 3 or 4 earlier…
Now it was only 1.
Strength and Agility had dropped too.
…Because of the… debuff.
Damn it.
Time Controller…
What was that?
Specialization?
I didn’t understand any of this.
Active Skill…
Accelerate…
The officer had suddenly slowed down in mid-air.
Accelerate…
…It wasn’t the officer who had slowed down.
It was me who had sped up.
If it hadn’t been for Accelerate, I would probably have been caught and killed.
“Ha…”
I guess I should be grateful.
I tapped on Accelerate.
It was a good thing I had this.
[Accelerate – Accelerates for 5 seconds. Consumes 5 Spirit.]
…5 Spirit?
Wait a minute.
I only had 7 Spirit.
…Did that mean I could only use it once?
How was I supposed to recover Spirit?
Were there any more explanations?
Damn it.
This was so unhelpful.
Sigh. This wouldn’t do.
I was too exhausted to think straight. It seemed quiet up above, so I’d go up a little further and rest…
I’d think about what to do next after I rested.
I stood up, my body aching all over.
Sprinting for a long time wasn’t good for you.
Ugh.
The spot where I had been sitting was damp. I pulled myself up the stairs, practically crawling, and went up two more flights.
Then, I collapsed again.
What was this building?
A residential building? Or a commercial building?
“Huff… huff…”
Ah, I didn’t know.
I’d just rest for a bit…
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Cold!
I woke up with a start.
God, it was cold!
“Shiver… shiver…”
It was dark!
Damn it, was it night?
How long had I been asleep?
Then, I heard a strange sound in the distance. Like a wolf howling…
…No.
It was… screaming.
I reached for my phone, then stopped. It was almost instinctive. The stairwell wall next to where I sat was made of glass, offering a view of the street below. If I turned on my phone, it would illuminate my position. Anyone outside would be able to see the light.
“…Shit…”
I cursed silently, just moving my lips.
This whole situation felt so surreal.
The street below was a strange sight. Cars were parked haphazardly along the brightly lit road, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Not even a single delivery scooter, which were usually so common.
Where had everyone gone?
Had they all turned into those beasts and run off to bite people?
…Wait.
Cars?
…Cars…
“Hoo…”
Damn it.
I had to get myself together!
I couldn’t stay trapped on these stairs forever!
Oh, right.
“…Status.”
Oh.
The debuff was gone, and my stats had recovered quite a bit? I must have fallen asleep between floors and slept for a while. Thank god nothing happened while I was out.
Wait a minute.
HP, Strength, and Spirit were all at 5?
That couldn’t be right.
Strength was at 2 when I checked earlier.
…Ah.
They recovered based on something.
In that case…
It must be HP.
It seemed like the other stats recovered along with HP.
I wished there was a manual or something to explain all this, but the damn message window wasn’t showing up anymore. Anyway, I got the gist of it.
Oh?
Wait.
Wasn’t there another command?
Status, and…
“…Achievements?”
Ooh!
1/???
It looked like there were a lot of achievements.
Number 1 kept blinking.
What was that?
I touched number 1 with my finger.
[1. Acquired First Specialization.]
[Reward – Inventory.]
?!
What was this?
“Inventory?”
Two slots… I guess?
Inventory… What was I supposed to store in it?
I tried moving the water bottle towards an empty slot.
Nothing happened.
What was this inventory?
I needed some explanations!
“Hoo…”
Whatever.
I didn’t know, and getting out of here was more important.
I turned my head, and the inventory window disappeared. It seemed like there wasn’t a way to close it; it just vanished when I looked away.
Right…
I had a rough idea of what was going on.
Time to go.
I slowly descended the stairs.
A cool breeze brushed against my face. I walked towards the streetlights.
Baton in hand,
Hugging the wall,
Peering outside,
Carefully.
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