—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Breakfast was delicious.
Grandma was quite a good cook.
Red pepper flakes and dried anchovies, she said?
Understood.
Soo-hyun, sitting next to me, was acting as usual.
Chattering about how delicious the side dishes were, she ate heartily.
But Ye-eun and So-eun had strange expressions on their faces.
…They seemed to know what happened last night.
Did my moans leak out?
Ahem.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Oppa, are you heading out right away?”
“I have to.”
“Then oppa, go to the kendo dojo.”
I stopped as I was about to leave.
“…Kendo dojo?”
…Kendo dojo!
Soo-hyun nodded as she chewed her food.
“They might have real swords there.”
That’s right!
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
I was so focused on leveling up and encountering human beasts that all I could think about was survival.
A kendo dojo!
Soo-hyun smiled sheepishly and handed me a piece of paper.
“I was lying in bed, thinking about you looking for weapons, and I remembered it. Here’s a map. It’s on the 4th floor of the supermarket building.”
“Ah, thanks.”
I took the map and smiled.
Soo-hyun looked at me coyly and said,
“Don’t smile at me. I’m starting to like you. You need to stay safe, oppa, so you can keep bringing us things.”
“Okay, okay.”
I laughed and patted Soo-hyun’s shoulder.
Then I looked at Ye-eun and So-eun and said,
“I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
“Mmm. Come back safe. Don’t get hurt.”
Ye-eun said, but So-eun just glanced at me repeatedly. Her face was slightly flushed.
…She definitely heard the moans last night.
Tsk.
Let’s go.
Even though it was morning, the streets were deserted.
Except for the occasional scream echoing from somewhere.
I checked my phone this morning, and Soo-hyun was right. There were hardly any news updates anymore.
Most of the media outlets, including broadcasting stations, had fallen in just a few days.
I didn’t know how YouTube was still managed, but it was still working.
It was the only way to get news now.
First of all, the WHO was done for.
No, rather than being done for, it was more accurate to say they were practically useless.
Pharmaceutical companies and other businesses were collapsing, and even doctors were turning into infected, wreaking havoc in hospitals. What infectious disease research?
Maybe it was happening somewhere, but as a global health organization, the WHO could no longer function.
It was finished.
Government leaders seemed to be surviving in bunkers, but that was only in stable countries.
Third-world countries, like Honduras, Syria, or Myanmar, no longer had functioning governments.
Many developing countries had effectively disappeared from the map in just a few days.
Some survivors were posting updates on YouTube.
“I’m going out to look for food. I’ll upload another video when I get back.” And then there would be no follow-up video.
There were hundreds, thousands of channels like that.
The world was rapidly collapsing.
But there were still survivors.
I was one of them.
I carefully walked down the street, leaving the convenience store behind.
Damn, it was strangely relaxing in the morning.
I couldn’t let my guard down.
The supermarket was relatively close.
Past a Korean medicine clinic, a rice cake shop, and a clothing store, and then the supermarket.
The thing about these kinds of stores was that it was difficult to see inside. Naturally, it was hard to see outside from the inside as well.
The clothing store had all sorts of clothes hanging on display.
Even though I couldn’t see inside, I could see what kinds of clothes they had. There were a few I could wear.
I’d have to stop by there if I had the chance.
For now, the kendo dojo.
The supermarket drew closer.
Grrrr… grrrr…
“…”
They were there.
A lot of them.
The Korean medicine clinic, the rice cake shop, and the clothing store were unlikely to be crowded, so I had walked casually, but the supermarket was a different story.
The low growls sent chills down my spine, vibrating through the air.
Judging by the sound, there were at least a hundred of them inside.
…No good.
That was too dangerous.
I gripped the large axe tightly and carefully approached the side entrance of the supermarket, opening the door.
The entire first floor was the supermarket.
Even with the side door open, I could see the supermarket entrance and the checkout counters.
About ten human beasts were standing or lying there.
I had to be careful.
If they spotted me, they would charge instantly.
Careful.
Holding the axe, I slowly climbed the stairs.
It would have been nice to take the elevator, but to do that, I would have to go through the supermarket entrance.
Too risky.
I was too weak to get past them.
“Hoo…”
I breathed quietly as I slowly climbed the stairs. Soo-hyun said it was on the 4th floor.
What was on the 2nd floor?
…The 2nd floor was also part of the supermarket.
The metal door was closed, but supermarket sale posters and schedules were plastered on the wall, indicating that this was still the supermarket area.
Let’s go up.
The 3rd floor was some kind of office.
…The supermarket office?
I put my ear against the metal door.
Grrrr… grrrr…
…Shit, they were in here too.
The entire building was filled with human beasts.
It was more accurate to think of these buildings as dungeons.
Seriously.
By the time I reached the 4th floor, I was slightly out of breath.
Walking cautiously, tensing my leg muscles, was twice as tiring as normal.
Damn it.
“Hoo… hoo…”
I slowly caught my breath and stood in front of the metal door.
Behind this door was probably the kendo dojo.
Since the building was quite large, there might be other things besides the dojo.
“Ha… hoo…”
After catching my breath, I slightly opened the metal door.
Quiet.
Silent.
I listened intently.
…I didn’t hear anything…?
I slowly opened the door, and a Pilates center and the kendo dojo were located on either side of a hallway.
…Pilates…
I wondered if there were female human beasts inside.
…I shouldn’t think about that.
Whether male or female, I had to kill them all if they attacked.
“Hoo…”
I slowly walked towards the kendo dojo.
I wondered how many people were inside.
It happened in broad daylight a few days ago.
Would there have been people at the dojo in the middle of the day?
I grabbed the dojo door and slowly opened it. An unfamiliar smell wafted out. It smelled like ointment and rubber.
Most training facilities smelled like this.
I looked around, but there was nothing unusual.
I cautiously entered the dojo.
It was spacious.
A Korean flag, protective gear, bamboo swords, and other items were hanging on the wall, and certificates and awards were displayed in a row.
Besides mannequins wearing kendo gear, it was empty.
Hmm…
It seemed like no one was here.
I walked further inside and saw what looked like an office.
Grrrr… grrrr…
“…”
There was something in the office.
I gripped the axe and peeked into the office.
Through the office window…
Someone was lying on the floor.
Wearing a kendo uniform?
He was alone.
…Ah.
The human beasts that caused the apocalypse…
Someone must have been the first to turn.
…This man must have been one of them.
If he was alone like this, there was no other explanation.
He turned by himself.
…Right.
Let’s take care of him.
I gripped the axe and slowly opened the office door.
Grrrr… grrrr…
The man hadn’t noticed me yet.
As long as I didn’t make any noise, it would be fine.
I opened the door as slowly as possible, staring intently at the man.
The door opened.
Hoo…
I inhaled slowly without making a sound.
And raised the axe.
The head.
One strike.
Inhale-
I inhaled and held my breath.
“Ha!”
Thwack!
The axe blade plunged into the man’s head in one swift motion.
The man in the kendo uniform twitched and then went limp.
He didn’t growl anymore.
Blood flowed out, forming a pool.
[Level Up.]
“Hoo…”
I leveled up.
Currently level 11.
…I felt relieved.
…No!
There might be more.
Stay alert!
Pulling the axe out might make a loud noise.
I put down the large axe and took a tomahawk from my waist.
Was there anything behind the desk?
I looked around the office, but there was no one else.
He really was alone.
…That was a relief.
“Ha. Shit.”
I muttered quietly, put the tomahawk back on my belt, and pulled the large axe out of the man’s head.
Splat!
Damn.
A horrifying sound every time I pulled it out.
So…
Where would the real swords be…?
I looked around the office.
I saw a large wardrobe-like drawer.
I opened each drawer one by one.
Creak.
There were some documents.
Ah, membership certificates.
The next drawer was filled with kendo uniforms.
The next drawer, and the next.
So many uniforms, shit.
I opened the last drawer.
“…Oh!”
I couldn’t help but gasp.
Wooden swords and bamboo swords were piled up.
And among them, swords in scabbards.
Two of them.
I took one out of its scabbard.
Heavy.
Shing-
…A real sword.
“…Hoo…”
A real sword. A real sword!
Could this split a head open?
Was it that sharp?
…I’d find out when I used it.
I took the scabbard and attached it to my belt.
…Ugh.
Uncomfortable, shit…!
I wished I had something to carry them on my back.
With two tomahawks, two real swords, and a large axe, just moving around was uncomfortable.
Damn it, if this were a game, I’d just put them all in my inventory.
Ugh.
Well, I did have something like that.
I opened the storage space that held the Soul Stones and tried putting the axe in an empty slot, but nothing happened. This had a different purpose. I didn’t know what yet, but it was different.
Anyway, I got the swords, now let’s go down.
I felt nervous again as I went down to the first floor.
The supermarket was right there if I turned right.
There were about ten human beasts gathered there.
There were probably countless more inside the supermarket.
“…”
The supermarket…
I had to come back and raid this place someday.
Then…
I carefully opened the side door and went outside.
They hadn’t noticed me. That was a relief.
I looked around the alley.
Both left and right were quiet.
…Good.
Holding onto the side door, I pursed my lips and faced the supermarket.
And whistled.
Whew!
“Grrr!”
The human beasts turned their heads towards me in unison.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
