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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“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 screen or leveling up, but I should at least tell them what I planned to do.
“I’m going out every day to gather supplies.”
And to level up, of course. No, leveling up came first. Gathering supplies came second.
The women seemed surprised by my declaration.
Ye-eun looked at me with wide eyes. “Y… You’re going… outside?”
I nodded. “We need a lot of things.”
Most importantly, I needed a weapon. Something durable that wouldn’t break easily while bashing in the heads of those human beasts.
Soo-hyun stared at me, her eyes wide. “You’re brave. I’m kind of a shut-in; I prefer staying home and playing games. After I saw the news, I decided not to go out at all.”
I chuckled, spooning up some more dumpling soup. Staying home and playing games was nice. I wished I could do that too.
“We need food. And toilet paper. I saw that the shops were all open earlier. We can just go in and take what we need.”
“If you don’t get caught by the infected,” Soo-hyun said, chewing on a dumpling and looking at me with an innocent expression.
I smiled and nodded. “Right. If I don’t get caught, I’ll come back.”
Grandma sighed. “Oh dear, sir. Just stay home. Why would you want to go out? Those monstrous things are attacking and biting people.”
Grandma was different from Soo-hyun. She said that, but there was a hint of a smile in her eyes. She wanted me to go out and bring things back.
Grandma.
You sly fox.
I smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
As long as it was only five at a time.
That damn Strength stat…
What would happen when it reached zero?
…I didn’t want to find out.
…Come to think of it, I had just killed three of them.
I slurped down the rest of my soup and said, “Phew. That’s much better. I was so hungry earlier; I wasn’t feeling too well.”
…Damn it.
My Strength had dropped by 3. But my body felt fine. Only my Strength had decreased. That meant 1 point per kill.
Damn it!
Why were my worst fears always confirmed?
What would happen when my Strength reached zero?
Would I be unable to kill them even with Accelerate and a headshot?
I forced a smile, trying not to sigh. I could only kill a maximum of five human beasts per day. HP for faster recovery. Strength to kill more. Spirit to use Accelerate more often.
…I didn’t know what Perception and Agility did, but judging by the importance of HP, Strength, and Spirit, they must have served some purpose. And Intelligence was still N/A. I wasn’t that unintelligent! It must have referred to some kind of stat function, not my actual intelligence. I didn’t know what that function was yet. I also didn’t know what the five Soul Stones I’d collected were for.
So many unknowns.
Damn, Chosen One, they said. They could have at least provided some instructions.
“Sung-hoon, when are you going out? What are you planning to bring back?” Soo-hyun asked.
I tried to calm myself and replied, “Well…”
Hmm.
I needed a weapon. There was no need to hide it or lie here.
“I was thinking we need weapons. I have this pipe, but…”
…Huh?
Oh!
Damn it, I’d left the baton in the storage room!
I closed my eyes briefly, cursed myself for being an idiot, and opened them again.
Soo-hyun was tapping her chin thoughtfully.
“Weapons… I think I can help with that.”
“Really?”
Soo-hyun shrugged.
“If I have the right equipment, I can make some simple weapons. You said you have a pipe? That dirty thing in front of the convenience store?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Soo-hyun looked in that direction, then said, “We need to go to a hardware store.”
…!
A… A hardware store!
That was it!
Damn it, why was I so stupid? I was thinking about Daiso!
There were hardware stores everywhere!
A hardware store was the perfect place in this situation!
The best place to find weapons!
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. “Look at you, smiling. Hmm, at the hardware store, you should be able to find an axe or a machete. And knives.”
…An axe…!
A machete…!
I asked, surprised, “You can get a machete at a hardware store?”
Soo-hyun laughed. “Of course. A machete is a tool. Not a weapon. Even though it looks like one.”
I had no idea!
They sold machetes at hardware stores!
I nodded, looking at Soo-hyun. I really liked this girl. Mechanical Engineering, she said? I bit my lip, suppressing a wider smile. As I stared at her, she gave me a slightly coy look, as if to say, “What are you looking at?”
Damn, she was cute.
Soo-hyun said, “Oh, and if you find a welding machine and welding rods, bring those back too. I can attach them to the pipe and a kitchen knife. Wouldn’t it be better to have a blade on your spear?”
“…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 again.
I shook her hand. “Han Sung-hoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
It really was a pleasure.
A mechanical engineering student.
I had found a treasure. This girl would be incredibly helpful.
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After dinner, I got the key from Grandma and went up to the rooftop room.
It was empty.
Completely empty.
Just a bare room.
A refrigerator and a gas stove in the kitchen area.
Curtains on the window in the main room.
As I stood there, looking around the empty room, Ye-eun and So-eun came up carrying blankets and pillows.
“Here… these are for you…”
“Oh, thank you.”
Blankets and pillows.
Sigh.
I probably smelled pretty bad from all the sweat.
I’d have to find some new clothes tomorrow.
“Are you… really going out?”
Ye-eun asked, her face etched with worry. She looked pretty like this.
I nodded. “I have to. Don’t worry.”
So-eun, standing behind Ye-eun, shyly offered me a chocolate bar.
“…Thank you.” She mumbled.
I took the chocolate and smiled. “Thanks.”
Then, I looked at both of them and said, “Good night.”
“Good night…”
Ye-eun’s face was still slightly clouded.
After closing the door, I understood why she looked that way. Grandma wanted me to go out and bring things back. Soo-hyun knew it was dangerous outside but didn’t seem too concerned. What they had in common was that they hadn’t experienced it firsthand. So, they were grateful for someone willing to go out for them.
But Ye-eun and So-eun knew exactly what happened outside. Ye-eun had seen me stab those 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 face it firsthand. I hoped it wouldn’t happen, but there was no guarantee of safety in this new world.
It was the apocalypse.
The shower felt refreshing.
“Ha…”
This felt good.
Right.
I shouldn’t think about what would happen next.
It would only make me anxious.
Tomorrow, the hardware store.
And new clothes.
The next day, I woke up late in the afternoon. I had allocated 2 points to Spirit and 1 point to HP, bringing them to 10 and 8 respectively, and then passed out.
I’d slept for a long time. Probably twelve hours.
I showered and tried to put on my clothes, but my t-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 had given me.
Good.
Time to 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 someone was running the washing machine downstairs.
When I reached the first floor, Soo-hyun was hanging laundry on a clothesline in the courtyard. Seeing her outside like this, she was braver than I thought.
Soo-hyun saw me and whispered, “Hello. Are you going out now?”
I simply nodded.
She handed me a folded piece of paper. It looked like it had been torn from a notebook.
“This is the map you asked for.”
…Hmm.
I really liked this girl.
“Be careful, Sung-hoon.”
I smiled and nodded again.
Oh.
“What was the gate code again?”
“I’ll give you my phone number. Call me when you get back.”
We exchanged numbers.
…Damn it. 20% battery left.
I needed to charge it.
20%… It should last until tonight.
“I’ll be back.”
“Be careful, Sung-hoon.”
I nodded and stepped outside.
An empty Adidas backpack, a makeshift spear, and two uses of Accelerate.
“Hoo…”
Let’s go. To the hardware store.
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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.