—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Sung-hoon, what are you going to do now?”
Soo-hyun asked.
Grandma, Ye-eun, and So-eun also looked at me, awaiting my answer.
Hmm.
I couldn’t tell them about the status window or leveling up, but I should at least tell them what I planned to do.
“I’m going to go out every day and bring back what we need.”
And of course, level up.
No, leveling up was the priority.
Bringing things back was secondary.
The women seemed quite surprised by my words.
Ye-eun looked at me with wide eyes.
“Y-You’re… going out?”
I nodded.
“We’ll need various things.”
More than anything, I needed a weapon.
Something durable that wouldn’t break easily while dealing with those human beasts’ heads.
Soo-hyun stared at me, her eyes wide.
“You’re very brave. I’m kind of a shut-in, so I prefer staying home and playing games. After seeing the news, I decided not to go out at all.”
I chuckled as I ate my dumpling soup.
Staying home and playing games was nice.
I wanted to do that too.
“We need food. And toilet paper. I saw earlier that all the stores were open. We can just go in and grab things.”
“If you don’t get caught by the infected, that is.”
Soo-hyun said.
She looked at me with innocent eyes as she chewed on a dumpling.
I smiled and nodded.
“Right. If I don’t get caught, I’ll come back.”
Grandma sighed and said,
“Oh dear, sir. Just stay home. Why would you go out? They say those monstrous things are attacking and biting people.”
This grandma was different from Soo-hyun.
Even though she said that, her eyes seemed to be smiling slightly.
She was hoping I would go out and bring things back.
Grandma.
You sly fox.
I smiled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
As long as it was five or less, that was.
That damn Strength stat…
What would happen if my Strength reached 0?
…I didn’t want to find out.
…Come to think of it, I just took out three of them.
I slurped down the rest of the dumpling soup and said,
“Phew. I feel much better now. I was so hungry earlier, I wasn’t feeling well.”
…Shit.
My Strength decreased by 3.
My body felt fine.
Only my Strength decreased.
So, 1 point per kill.
Holy shit!
Why were my ominous premonitions always right?
What would happen if my Strength reached 0?
Would I be unable to kill them even with Accelerate and hitting them in the head?
I forced a smile, trying not to sigh.
I could only handle a maximum of five human beasts a day.
To recover quickly, Health.
To kill more, Strength.
To increase Accelerate uses, Spirit.
…I didn’t know what Senses and Agility were for, but judging by the importance of Health, Strength, and Spirit, they must have some role to play.
And Intelligence was N/A.
My intelligence wasn’t that low!
So, it wasn’t referring to my intelligence, but to some function as a stat.
I didn’t know what that was yet.
I also didn’t know what the 5 Soul Stones I had collected were for.
I was full of unknowns.
Damn it, Chosen One, they said.
Couldn’t they be a little more helpful?
“Sung-hoon, so when are you going out? What are you planning to bring back?”
Soo-hyun asked.
I tried to calm myself as I replied,
“Well…”
Hmm.
I needed a weapon.
There was no need to hide or lie here.
“I think I need a weapon. I have this pipe right now, but…”
…Huh?
Oh!
Holy shit, I left the baton in the storage room!
I subtly closed my eyes, cursed myself for being an idiot, and then subtly opened them again.
Soo-hyun was tapping her chin, deep in thought.
“A weapon… I think I can help you with that.”
“Really?”
Soo-hyun shrugged.
“I can make simple things if I have the equipment. You said you have a pipe? That dirty thing in front of the door?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Soo-hyun looked in that direction, hummed, and then said,
“Let’s go to the hardware store, then.”
…!
H… Hardware store!
That was it!
Shit, why was I so stupid? I was thinking about Daiso!
There were hardware stores everywhere!
In this situation, there was no better place than a hardware store!
It was the perfect place to find a weapon!
I grinned.
A genuine smile.
Ah, this was good.
I liked this girl.
“That’s a great idea. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a hardware store. What should I bring back?”
Soo-hyun smiled and said,
“Look at you smiling. Hmm, at the hardware store… you might be able to find an axe or a machete. And knives.”
…Axe…!
Machete…!
I asked in surprise,
“You can get a machete at a hardware store?”
Soo-hyun laughed.
“Of course. A machete is a tool. Not a weapon. It looks like a weapon, but it’s not.”
I really didn’t know!
They sold machetes at hardware stores!
I nodded and looked at Soo-hyun.
I liked this girl.
Mechanical Engineering, she said?
I bit my lip and smiled. As I looked at Soo-hyun with that expression, she gave me a slightly coy look, as if asking why I was looking at her like that.
Shit, she was cute.
Soo-hyun said, “Ah,” and then,
“If they have a welder and welding rods, bring those back too. So I can attach them to the pipe and a kitchen knife. If it has a blade, you can use it properly as a spear, right?”
“…I like the way you think. I’m not familiar with this area, so could you draw me a map?”
“Of course.”
I really liked her.
What was her name again?
“Sorry, what was your name again?”
“Ahn Soo-hyun.”
She extended her hand to me again.
I shook Soo-hyun’s hand again.
“Han Sung-hoon. Nice to meet you.”
It really was nice to meet her.
A Mechanical Engineering student.
I had found a treasure.
This girl would be a great help to me.
After finishing the meal, I received the key from Grandma and went up to the rooftop room.
The rooftop room was empty.
There was really nothing there.
Just an empty room.
In the kitchen, there was a refrigerator and a gas stove.
In the room, there were curtains on the window.
As I stood there, looking around the empty room, Ye-eun and So-eun came up with blankets and pillows.
“H-Here, for now…”
“Ah, thank you.”
Blankets and pillows.
Hoo.
I probably smelled pretty bad.
I had been sweating a lot.
I’d have to get some clothes tomorrow too.
“Are you… really going out?”
Ye-eun asked, her face filled with worry.
She was quite pretty, looking at her like this.
I nodded.
“I have to. Don’t worry.”
So-eun, standing behind Ye-eun, shyly extended her hand towards me.
A chocolate bar.
“…Thank you.”
A small voice.
I took the chocolate and smiled.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Then I said to the two girls,
“Goodnight.”
“Yes…”
Ye-eun’s face was still slightly dark.
After closing the door, I think I understood why Ye-eun looked like that.
Grandma wanted me to go out and bring things back.
Soo-hyun knew it was dangerous outside, but she didn’t seem to be too worried.
The common point between these two was that they hadn’t experienced it firsthand. So, they were grateful or relieved that someone else would go out for them.
But Ye-eun and So-eun knew exactly what would happen outside.
Especially Ye-eun, she had seen me stabbing the human beasts to death right in front of her.
She had experienced the real possibility of death.
Their level of fear was different.
It was the apocalypse, after all.
Whether it was Grandma or Soo-hyun, they would eventually encounter it firsthand.
It would be best if they didn’t, but there was no guarantee of safety in this situation.
Because it was the apocalypse.
Whoosh.
The shower felt refreshing.
“Ha…”
Cool.
Right.
I shouldn’t think about what might happen in the future.
It would only complicate things.
Tomorrow, the hardware store.
And getting some clothes.
The next day, I woke up in the late afternoon.
I had put 2 points into Spirit and 1 point into Health, making them 10 and 8 respectively, and then passed out.
I slept for a long time.
It felt like 12 hours.
I washed up and tried to put on my clothes, but the shirt was stiff from dried sweat. Damn it. It smelled bad, and I didn’t want to wear it.
I forced myself to put it on and munched on the chocolate So-eun gave me.
Good.
Let’s go.
If I got hungry, I could grab something from a convenience store.
As I went down the stairs, I heard a rumbling sound.
It sounded like the washing machine was running downstairs.
When I got to the first floor, Soo-hyun was hanging laundry on the clothesline in the yard.
Seeing her outside, she was quite brave too.
Soo-hyun spotted me and whispered,
“Hello. Are you going out now?”
I nodded silently.
Soo-hyun handed me a folded piece of paper.
It looked like it was torn from a notebook.
“The map you asked for.”
…Hmm.
I really liked this girl.
“Be careful, Sung-hoon.”
I smiled and nodded again.
Ah.
“Um, what was the gate code again?”
“I’ll give you my phone number. Call me when you come back.”
Soo-hyun and I exchanged numbers.
…Damn it. 20% battery left.
I had to charge it.
20%… It should last until tonight.
“I’ll be back.”
“Be careful, Sung-hoon.”
I nodded and opened the door, stepping outside.
An empty Adidas backpack and a pipe spear.
And two uses of Accelerate.
“Hoo…”
Let’s go. To the hardware store.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Damn, it’s starting to look like the MC is going to be taken advantage of by the two ignorant women and not knowing the gate key seems to be going to create unnecessary trouble.