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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Oh, there they were.
But there were no dried anchovies…
Were they in the refrigerator section?
I grabbed two bags of red pepper flakes from the shelf, put them in my bag, and headed towards the refrigerators.
Kimchi, pickled radish, and dried seafood were inside.
…I felt a gaze.
As I opened the refrigerator, I glanced to the side, and the large man was staring at me.
He flinched when our eyes met.
“…Why are you looking at me? Something you want to say?”
The large man looked away, then looked back at me and said,
“Ah… I… where do you live?”
…What was he talking about?
I found a large bag of dried anchovies in the refrigerator and took it out.
…Dried baby anchovies?
…Why did these flat anchovies have such a strange name?
I’d just grab whatever.
And some kimchi too.
As I put them one by one into my bag, I still felt his gaze.
I looked to the side, and the man was still staring at me.
…He seemed to be smiling slightly.
With his thick beard and awkward smile, he looked a bit…
“Where do you live?” I asked.
The man’s face lit up as he replied,
“I live just across the street with my wife. We have a newborn baby… I-I came here to get some food.”
Hmm… a baby.
They had a baby at a difficult time…
Of course, they couldn’t have known the apocalypse was coming.
The man continued,
“I-Isn’t it… a bit scary traveling alone…? I saw you have a sword… is that a real sword?”
…Ah.
I knew where this conversation was going.
He was scared and needed someone to travel with.
He said he had a wife and baby at home?
Hmm…
This man was large.
He was scared, but he seemed strong.
…A companion.
…I hadn’t really thought about having a companion, but just the other day, I wished I had someone who could fight with me in that storage room.
…Would this man be helpful?
I grabbed some canned tuna, dried squid snacks, and other things from the nearby shelves and stuffed them into my bag as I said,
“…Yes. It’s a real sword.”
It was pretty full.
Ziip-
I zipped up the bag, slung it over my shoulder, and walked towards the entrance of the supermarket.
Then I said to the man,
“I’ve got everything I need for today. What are you going to do now? Anything you need?”
The man wiped his sweat and said,
“Ah… I… I need some diapers…”
Diapers?
Ah.
I nodded and was about to say something when someone strode into the supermarket.
“Hey, Hoon! What’s taking so long?!”
A skinny, wiry man.
Early to mid-50s?
His hair was graying.
He had a stern face.
The skinny man stopped when he saw me.
He looked me up and down and said,
“…Who are you?”
Oh?
I also looked him up and down and replied,
“Who are you?”
The skinny man’s face contorted, and he opened his mouth to say something, his lips twisting.
I subtly moved my hand towards the hilt of my sword.
The man’s eyes followed my hand.
He closed his mouth.
…What an idiot.
Well, there were no police or anything now.
I glanced at the large man and said,
“Let’s meet here tomorrow morning, around eight? They should have them at a bigger place. Let’s go together.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
The stern-faced man raised his voice at the large man.
“You fucking idiot. You’re supposed to get what you need and come back quickly. Do you know how many people are waiting? Did I really have to come all the way here? Huh?”
Seriously.
I scoffed and left the supermarket.
I should just go my own way.
“Hurry up and get out here, you bastard!”
I heard a low shout from behind.
He was quite skilled.
He wasn’t yelling at the top of his lungs, but his tone clearly conveyed his anger.
I heard the large man reply meekly, apologizing.
Goodness.
So large, yet so timid.
As I walked away, I heard a thud behind me.
What?
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
Accelerate?!
I immediately turned around.
The stern-faced man was right in front of me.
His eyes were wide, staring at me.
He was grinning, his nose wrinkled.
He was sneering, his tongue sticking out.
And in his hand, he held a monkey wrench.
Raised in the perfect position to strike me down.
This…
This son of a bitch.
I ducked, instantly grabbed my sword, drew it with all my might, and slashed at the man’s neck.
Swish!
His neck split open, and blood splattered.
It was a deep cut.
Almost everything except the bone was severed.
I immediately turned and stepped aside after the slash.
“-Gurgle!”
Blood gushed forward, splattering the ground.
The man fell forward, making a strange, inhuman sound.
Clang!
The monkey wrench fell to the ground with a clear ringing sound.
“Gurgle, gurgle!”
The man clutched his neck, his legs twitching, as he lay face down. Blood gurgled out, quickly forming a pool.
…He seemed to be in pain.
I tilted my head, looking down at him.
…I didn’t feel anything.
Not shocked, not surprised.
I slashed him with the intention to kill, and he was dying.
Hmm…
Who the hell was this idiot?
Well, it didn’t matter now.
I glanced to the side, and the large man was staring at us, his face pale.
His hands were empty.
He must have taken the monkey wrench from the other man and planned to attack me with it.
“Gah! Gurg!”
The man on the ground was still clutching his neck, blood gurgling out. Almost his entire upper body was soaked in blood.
…He was taking a long time to die.
I should remember this.
“Gurg… gurgle…”
…Just die already.
Tsk.
If I left him like this, would he turn into a human beast?
Or would he just die?
…I was curious.
Let’s wait and see.
10 seconds?
After about that much time, the man’s movements gradually ceased.
I couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead.
I’d wait a bit longer.
I took a step back, careful not to step in the pool of blood, and watched him.
…I didn’t feel anything.
…Did human beasts only turn when bitten?
…Wait.
Then what about bodies that died naturally?
There must have been bodies of people who died of old age or illness in hospital morgues.
What happened to those bodies?
This man was dying here, but what if a human beast bit him?
What would happen then?
…Hmm…
So many unknowns.
Should I just leave him?
And see what happens?
…No.
This was too close to the boarding house.
It was dangerous to have a rampaging human beast near my base camp.
The man with the severed neck was no longer gushing blood. Instead, he was twitching slightly.
I didn’t know if it was a death throe or muscle spasms.
Anyway, his eyes were glazed over.
Hmm…
About three minutes must have passed.
His heart must have stopped by now.
He had lost a lot of blood.
He was definitely dead.
Since he wasn’t moving, it seemed like people who died without being bitten didn’t turn into human beasts.
…I couldn’t be sure.
Maybe he would turn after a while.
I’d find out eventually.
I raised the sword and brought it down on the man’s head.
Thwack!
I heard a gasp of surprise.
The large man was still staring at me.
I pulled the sword out and looked at him.
He flinched when our eyes met.
…The sword was dirty.
I wiped the blood off on the dead man’s clothes and sheathed it.
Shing-
A clear sound.
Good.
This sword.
I stepped over the body, went over, and picked up the monkey wrench.
Hmm. Quite heavy.
It seemed perfect for use as a short mace.
Tools were useful in many ways.
I held out the monkey wrench to the large man.
But he just stared at me, his face pale.
…Tsk.
Should I throw it to him?
No, I’d just leave it.
There was no need to make a loud noise.
I showed him the monkey wrench and placed it on the ground.
I stood up and said,
“…Eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Then I turned and walked away.
I had plenty of supplies, so I’d go back to the boarding house and then come back out.
That asshole in his 50s made me waste an Accelerate charge.
Damn it.
When I returned to the house, Soo-hyun, who was in the yard, greeted me with a surprised expression.
“Oppa, you’re back early?”
“Yeah. I’m going to rest a bit and then go out again.”
I showed her my full bag.
Soo-hyun smiled and followed me up the stairs.
“Oppa, can you get some nails and wire?”
“Okay. I’ll bring some back later.”
Almost all the downstairs windows were boarded up with wood.
Soo-hyun was the most hardworking here.
I smiled at her.
Good job.
Soo-hyun looked at me, then turned her head away and glanced back coyly.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Trying to seduce me?”
I chuckled.
“Yeah.”
Soo-hyun poked me in the butt and said,
“Okay. I’ll come up tonight.”
Hmm…
Good.
I smiled and entered the main house on the second floor.
Ye-eun greeted me.
“You’re back early today.”
“I’ll be leaving soon. Where’s Grandma?”
Grandma came out of the main room.
She smiled brightly when she saw me.
Maybe because I wasn’t covered in blood this time.
I took out the dried baby anchovies, kimchi, pickled radish, canned tuna, dried squid, and other things from my bag, and the women’s faces lit up.
Grandma smiled broadly and said,
“Oh my, young man. I don’t know how to thank you. Mmm?”
“I should be thanking you. You’re feeding me every day.”
I replied with a smile.
Grandma said,
“Mmm. Young man. Next time, could you bring back some vegetables and meat?”
…Vegetables and meat.
Hmm.
I smiled.
“Sure. I should be able to bring some back tomorrow.”
I was going to the mid-sized supermarket with the large man.
I left the main house, leaving the women snacking on dried squid.
So-eun seemed to like dried squid too.
It was quite cute how she glanced at me between bites while sitting with her sister and grandmother.
I went back to the rooftop room and lay down.
I’d rest for two or three hours, recover my Accelerate charge, and then go out again.
Hoo…
It was quiet.
I just… killed someone.
Not a human beast, but a real person.
…I didn’t feel anything.
I could come back after killing someone and talk normally.
Like usual.
Feeling relaxed.
…My emotions… were becoming numb.
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