I Gained Powers as the World Ended – Chapter 102

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“Take care, okay? Watch out for cars, okay? Don’t get hurt, okay?”

“Right.”

She was treating him like a child. I looked down at Soo-hyun, who was fastening my lifting belt, and chuckled.

“What do you want for dinner?”

“You don’t know how to cook.”

“Ye-eun taught me.”

Soo-hyun punched my stomach playfully. Her glare was cute. I smiled, caressing her breast.

“Make whatever you want.”

“Wasabi and soy sauce on rice.”

…Hmm.

Was that even edible?

“You… you eat that?”

“Hey!”

This time, she kicked my shin.

I chuckled and left the house.

The first floor was bustling with women.

The ice cream seemed popular, probably because of the heat. But it was starting to run out. Maybe I should clear out a nearby convenience store. I’d do it later when I had time.

“I’m off.”

Soo-hyun waved at me.

“Take care, sir!”

Hoon-ajae spotted me as he was coming out with his wife, carrying a shopping basket. He waved enthusiastically.

I looked up at the rooftop and saw Jun-hyuk and Tae-young, rifles slung over their shoulders, looking down at me. They wouldn’t shout from up there. They waved, and I waved back.

I got on my bike and started pedaling. The road to Seorae Village. I’d been commuting this way for a week now. I couldn’t tell if the bike was helping with my stamina. With the assistance of the Stamina 100 Achievement Skill, I barely got tired even after riding for a long time.

The provisional government, or whatever they called themselves. Thanks to the special forces’ continuous rescue efforts, the Seorae Village faction had grown quite large. With a population of over 100, it was a veritable metropolis in these circumstances. With little need for the helicopter or light aircraft, Sergeant Song Kyu-tae had taken the lead in building extensive barricades around the motel block in Seorae Village.

They were using the surrounding blocks as a wall, blocking off the alleys and the spaces between buildings with cars. Then, they were stacking materials they’d scavenged to create barricades. It probably wouldn’t be enough to stop a zombie wave. But they didn’t need to hold out forever.

The zombie waves would go berserk when there was noise, but they would quiet down and disperse soon after. Then, they’d crawl away somewhere. They just needed to hold out until things calmed down. For that purpose, the barricades they were building were quite impressive. It would still take some time to completely enclose the blocks with barricades, but the work was progressing steadily.

My level had also risen quite a bit from clearing out the nearby hotels, villas, and other shops and buildings to house the survivors.

Current level: 44.

Strength: 80.

Another 20 points, and the Strength Achievement would unlock.

I crossed Banpo Bridge and entered Seorae Village. A bus blocked the entrance. Metal chairs and desks had been welded on top of it, creating a rather sturdy barricade.

“Hey.”

Captain Kim, who was on guard duty, spotted me and lowered a ladder. I slung the bike over my shoulder and climbed up.

“Sung-hoon. Why don’t you just bring your people here? Isn’t the commute inconvenient?”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and chuckled. “How’s the work coming along?”

“It’s going well.”

Captain Kim pointed. At the end of the block, where they had blocked the road with cars and stacked materials, a crowd of people was gathered. At a glance, there were at least thirty of them. All rescued civilians.

“The barricades have gotten higher. They weren’t this high when I left last night.”

“They all came back from the brink of death. They’re fighting to survive. Ah, this.”

Captain Kim handed me a letter. A heart sticker was on the pink envelope.

“What’s this?”

“One of the rescued kids saw you walking around covered in blood. After hearing why you do it, she wrote you a letter. Read it.”

I took the letter and opened it. In crooked handwriting, it said, “To the Swordsman Ajussi.”

Thank you, Swordsman Ajussi.

Bad people were trying to get into our house.

I was hungry.

The chocolate was delicious.

Bye.

…Hmm. The chocolate was delicious.

I smiled and put the letter in my back pocket. “I’ll have to get more chocolate.”

Captain Kim smiled and nodded. “So, another market today, then?”

“Yes. I need to clear out as many as I can. We don’t know how many more people will be rescued.”

“Right. You’re working hard. Keep it up.”

“Yes. See you later.”

Alright. Time to level up.

Whoosh!

It rushed towards me with incredible speed.

A sword appeared in my hand.

As soon as I grasped it, the Shadow Warrior scattered into the air and disappeared.

The inside of the market was clear. All that was left was the restroom. I walked through the corpses littering the floor and slammed my shoulder into the restroom door.

Bang!

“Roarrr!”

Acceleration.

“Heave!”

I swung my sword as if flinging something. The human beast, frozen in a tiger-like pounce, didn’t even realize its skull had been split open as its face contorted. I killed the other two with a slice and a stab, then kicked open the remaining stall. Three was the limit.

Acceleration ended.

“–Ke-rack!”

Plip Plop

Blood splattered. All three collapsed with a loud thud.

“Phew…” I took a short breath and turned my head.

“Status.”

I immediately put the point into Strength, bringing it to 100. Now, the achievement.

14. Strength 100 Reached.

I had acquired a new skill. I tapped the Limit Break tab to check. …Double Strength efficiency.

I gritted my teeth softly. With the Shadow Warrior, I could now kill 200 creatures in one spot without even needing Acceleration. My combat power was increasing. Noticeably. I was getting stronger.

I flicked my sword, shaking off the blood, and sheathed it. Shing Click

Time to go back.

As I walked towards the government block in Seorae Village, Sung Ga-yeon, who was on guard duty, saw me and smiled. “You’re always covered in blood.”

I smiled. “I guess so. Is your ankle better now?”

Sung Ga-yeon wiggled her foot. “How does it look?”

Hmm. Looking up from below, the view was… something. I chuckled and didn’t answer.

Sung Ga-yeon lowered the ladder. “Sung-hoon, there’s talk of going to Pyeongtaek soon. You’re going too, right?”

“Of course.” There was no reason not to go if I could get weapons. If possible, I wanted to get an RPG or a bazooka for my group. To blow up all the human beasts and zombie waves. Anti-personnel mines would be nice too. No, considering how they swarmed, anti-tank mines would be a good choice. They’d pack a heavy punch.

“When are they planning to go?”

“I don’t know. It’s not being discussed seriously yet. Just talk among the special forces.”

I looked at Sung Ga-yeon. “Is the search for survivors over?”

She tilted her head slightly. “Not over, but it’s getting harder to find anyone. They say there’s almost no one left in the apartment complex up ahead.”

…Hmm. If the survivor search was over, it was about time. I looked at Seorae Village, which was being transformed into a fortress, from behind the barricade. Cars blocking the roads, alleys piled high with all sorts of things. A truly apocalyptic scene. Was this what they called post-apocalyptic? I glanced at Sung Ga-yeon. “I should get going. It’s getting late.”

“Ah, Sung-hoon.”

“Yes?”

Sung Ga-yeon smiled. “I’d like to meet your people sometime. Will you introduce me?”

I smiled and nodded. “Of course. My people are quite curious about you guys as well.”

Sung Ga-yeon smiled wryly. “It’s strange, isn’t it? ‘Your people,’ ‘our people.’ It wasn’t like this just a little while ago.”

I didn’t answer. I just said, as I was climbing down the barricade, “See you in the morning.”

“Take care.”

I waved and crossed over to the barricade on the other side. Right. There was no more Korea. Just people surviving among monsters.

The third week of this peaceful daily life passed. I reached Spirit 100. The Spirit 100 achievement was quite different from what I had expected.

…Double Soul Stones?

Current Soul Stones: 7551.

…I’d killed so damn many. And now I was getting double? What were these even for?

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