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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“Graaagh!”
They were coming!
The moment I saw the human beasts, jaws agape, arms outstretched, I turned and ran.
I burst out of the alley, past the clothing store.
Crash!
A deafening roar erupted behind me. The glass side door of the supermarket shattered, sending shards flying.
“Gaaagh! Graaagh!”
They were chasing me!
Shit!
I ran past the Korean medicine clinic.
“Graaagh! Gaaagh!”
They were getting closer! These human beasts were fast!
I was about to pass the rice cake shop when…
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
“Gaaa—aa—aa—aa—”
What?!
Damn it! I hadn’t activated it! That meant they were incredibly close!
…Shit!
I hurled the large axe forward and pulled the two tomahawks from my belt. I turned around, and several human beasts were right behind me, their movements slowed in mid-air.
I swung a tomahawk with all my might.
“Hyaah!”
Thwack!
The human beast, a middle-aged woman carrying a shopping basket, took a direct hit to the head!
I didn’t have time to hesitate!
I swung again!
Thwack!
A supermarket employee wearing an apron. The tomahawk embedded itself in the top of her head.
Even the smaller axes were still axes. But they didn’t penetrate as deeply as the large axe. This was different. I didn’t know if these hits would kill them, but I didn’t have time for a second swing. I didn’t even try to retrieve the tomahawks; I just turned and ran.
And then I realized… objects that left my hand were also affected by Accelerate.
The large axe I had thrown was floating in mid-air ahead of me, moving slowly.
I sprinted and grabbed the axe.
“—Aa—aa—raagh!”
The effect of Accelerate wore off!
I ran forward with all my might.
Crash!
I heard the sound of bodies collapsing and something crashing behind me. The human beasts I’d hit must have fallen. Were they dead?!
[Leveled up 2 times.]
Oh!
The head was definitely their weak point! Any damage to the brain seemed to kill them easily! I was learning more with each kill!
“Gaaagh! Gyaaagh!”
Damn it, they were relentless. They were closing in fast! The two swords and the axe were weighing me down!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
Ugh, shit!
Again!
Damn it, I didn’t have time!
Five seconds of running!
I sprinted towards the convenience store.
“Huff… huff…”
I glanced to the side, and the human beasts were moving slowly about ten meters away. I immediately ran into the convenience store and threw open the storage room door. I saw the bodies next to the counter—the human beasts I had killed earlier. I tossed the heavy axe into the storage room and turned around.
Right.
Here!
“—Aaraagh! Graaagh!”
I heard the pounding of feet behind me. I grabbed the storage room door and looked outside. The human beasts were running towards me. I took a deep breath.
“Over here, you bastards!”
The human beasts turned to look at me. And then, they tripped and fell, their momentum carrying them forward. They stumbled over each other, a tangled mess of bodies.
They saw me.
They knew where I was!
They scrambled to their feet.
I dove into the storage room and slammed the door shut, locking it immediately.
Screech!
I shoved the drinks shelf against the door, wedging it between the door and the wall.
Done.
“Gasp… gasp…!”
At that moment, I heard roars.
“Graaagh! Gaaagh!”
Crash!
The door rattled violently, and I heard a cracking sound.
Holy shit!
“Gaaagh! Gyaaagh!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door shook violently.
“Huff… huff…”
Chills ran down my spine.
I hoped the door wouldn’t break.
If it did, it was all over.
I grabbed another shelf and wedged it against the door.
Hold!
Hold!
I picked up the axe from the floor.
“…!”
Shit.
This axe was different from the spear. The spear was for thrusting; the axe was for swinging. It wasn’t suited for the cramped space of the storage room. It would hit the walls and the shelves.
I saw the shelf where I had placed the baton. I put the large axe there too.
And then, I drew a sword.
Shing—
This was a sword.
I had never practiced kendo, but I had seen it on YouTube. You could thrust with this too. It wasn’t a spear, but it was much sharper than the pipe spear. Thrusting with this would be much more effective.
“Hoo… hoo…”
As long as the door held…
As long as the hinges held…
I gripped the sword with both hands and stared at the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Gaaagh! Graaagh!”
The human beasts roared and pounded on the door. I knew their habits by now. They would calm down in thirty minutes, an hour at most. They would either collapse or wander off somewhere nearby.
All I had to do was hold out here.
As long as the door held!
“Gaaagh! Graaagh!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Hoo… hoo…”
I wanted to open the door, crack it, and stab them through the head, but I couldn’t—I had already used Accelerate twice.
“Ha… ha…”
I was tense. That door… It was a metal door, so it was sturdy. They couldn’t break through it. But the hinges were the problem. The screws were under constant stress. The door had already been creaking when I left earlier. How long would the hinges last?
“Hoo… hoo…”
I took deep breaths, listening to the roars and the banging. This plan was reckless, to say the least. But I was confident. I didn’t have any other choice and I had a feeling this would work.
The enclosed space of the convenience store storage room.
A relatively sturdy metal door.
Lure them in, then pick them off.
I had come up with this plan because of their tendency to gather in groups. If they were roaming around in twos or threes, I wouldn’t have taken this risk. But they didn’t roam. They gathered in hordes.
I had to move around to find food, tools, and equipment. And I had to kill them to level up.
How could I deal with the hordes?
Lure them in and take them out one by one.
That was the only way.
“Graaagh! Gaaagh!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Ha… ha…”
About ten minutes had passed. The door was still holding.
Lure and eliminate.
It was my own idea, the only method I could use right now, but it was incredibly reckless. I knew that. I wished I had a gun.
…A gun…?
A gun…
Would a gun even be a good idea?
Guns were loud. You could hear them from hundreds of meters away.
…A gun…
Useful.
But also dangerous.
…Something that wasn’t a gun, but could take them out from a distance…
…What was there?
The door rattled, the roars continued, but my mind calmed. I gripped the sword with both hands, stared at the door, and took a deep breath.
…I remembered.
A bow.
A bow… or a crossbow. With that, I could silently eliminate them from a distance, one by one.
…Once I was stronger, I’d look for a bow or a crossbow.
I couldn’t go now. I was too weak for a long journey. I needed to get stronger.
“Hoo… hoo…”
The banging on the door gradually subsided. About thirty minutes had passed. If I waited a little longer, it would become completely quiet.
…It was a good thing the door had held.
…Good.
I needed to recover my Spirit, so I should rest too.
“Ha… ha…”
I sheathed the sword, sat down on the floor, and leaned against the wall. It would probably be nightfall before I fully recovered.
…Oh, right.
I had leveled up.
I was currently level 13.
…I had killed twelve people.
I allocated 1 point to Spirit, bringing it to 15.
Good. Three uses of Accelerate.
I had 2 points left.
…Faster recovery was important, so I’d allocate them to HP.
…Huh?
Why was my Spirit at 1?
Ah, it had recovered.
1 HP had been consumed.
Hmm… that meant… I had only used 1 HP. Well, I had only walked about a block from the house, climbed some stairs, and run for a bit. All in all, less than ten minutes.
1 point. I got it.
The problem was…
…Strength.
I had three uses of Accelerate. But Strength… Sigh… I could only kill five at a time.
No, wait. I must be losing my mind after just a few days of this apocalypse. Killing five people at once wasn’t normal. Most people, even those who were physically fit, couldn’t even kill one of those things. How could you defend against something that lunged at you with all its might, intent on biting you? It was because I could kill five that I felt it wasn’t enough.
Damn it, that was ridiculous.
“…Heh…”
I buried my face in my knees and chuckled, then pulled out my phone.
[Soo-hyun, I think I’ll be late today. Don’t wait for me; eat dinner without me.]
A moment later…
Buzz.
A reply.
[Where are you?]
[Just around the corner. I’ll be back as soon as possible.]
[Is everything alright?]
[Yeah, I’m fine. Just around the corner. Something came up.]
[Okay. We’ll eat without you then.]
[Okay, see you later.]
Hmm…
…That conversation seemed pretty normal. It didn’t feel like the kind of conversation you’d have in this situation, but… whatever.
I looked around. Dozens of boxes filled with canned drinks, bottled drinks, and snacks were piled up here. I could grab something to eat if I got hungry. I’d wait here until I recovered.
With that thought, I leisurely lit another cigarette.
“Hoo…”
The smoke curled and dissipated in the air.
This was good.
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