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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Two kills in the parking lot.
Level 38, 2 stat points. I allocated them to HP, bringing it to 28. My goal was 30 HP, a decent amount of Strength, and, most importantly, more Accelerate charges.
…But what was the max level? How long could I keep gaining stats? Based on my gaming experience, some games had a level cap of 50, while others had caps at 60 or 80.
What about this one?
I didn’t know.
…I’d find out eventually.
This was frustrating. Damn it. Couldn’t they have provided a manual with the status screen? Did I have to figure everything out by trial and error?
Seriously.
I leaned back in the chair and grumbled, waiting for Accelerate to recharge. Four charges, fully recharged.
I left the parking attendant’s booth. It was still morning, hours before lunchtime. I carefully made my way towards the supermarket, hugging the wall. I didn’t know how many were inside. I shouldn’t get greedy. I had to take them out one by one.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
A low, rumbling sound vibrated through the air.
I passed the wall and saw a small shop attached to the supermarket, selling grilled squid. I crouched down next to the shop and listened intently.
“Grrrr… grrrr…”
…The shop owner? Or a supermarket employee?
I could hear one of them growling.
Past this shop was the main entrance.
…Should I use Accelerate?
I slowly drew my sword.
Shing—
“…Hoo… haa…”
I stood up abruptly, pulling the sword back, and peered into the shop!
Empty!
Right, it was lying on the floor. I leaned over and saw a woman in an apron lying face down.
I gripped the sword with both hands, slowly extended it, and positioned it above the woman’s head.
“Hah!”
Thwack!
I pierced the back of her head.
[Level Up.]
Good.
It was a good thing I hadn’t used Accelerate.
Now, the main entrance. It was a double glass door. You stepped on a mat that read “Welcome,” and the doors opened automatically.
…That was tricky. I might not be able to escape even with Accelerate.
I had to keep the doors open. With something heavy…
…Damn it.
There was only one thing I could use.
I looked around.
The sun was shining brightly.
Silence.
No one around.
“…Damn it.”
I sheathed the sword and stepped over the grilled squid display, entering the small shop.
Ah, it was cramped. Damn it.
The smell of squid was strong. I grabbed handfuls of the cold, grilled squid and stuffed them into my bag. About ten, it seemed. The women would like this.
Zip—
I carefully closed the zipper.
I looked to the side…
The door was open…?
…Ah. There was another entrance to the supermarket here. Bloodstains marked the doorframe. The shop owner must have been open for business when the human beasts attacked. They had tried to close the door but couldn’t. And then they were bitten. …Right?
I looked down at the woman’s body. The flesh on the back of her hand had been ripped off, exposing muscle and bone. Clear bite marks.
That was it.
Even though I could enter through here, it would be better to keep the main entrance open. I picked up the woman’s body and dragged it towards the grilled squid display.
Damn it, she was heavy. Probably over 50kg. Since she was already dead, grabbing her breasts didn’t feel like anything.
I draped her body over the display, like a wet blanket. I grabbed her by the waistband of her pants.
“Hah!” I pushed her towards the door with all my might.
Crash!
Crack!
“Ha… huff…”
Damn it.
I was sweating.
She was heavy.
I hoped nothing would come. I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and waited for a moment, but there was no reaction. It seemed like the human beasts didn’t react to sounds they perceived as natural—like a box falling over, or something collapsing.
…How loud did a sound have to be for them to react?
I was curious, but I didn’t want to experiment. I’d find out eventually.
Anyway, what was that cracking sound?
I stepped over the display and saw that the woman’s neck was twisted at an unnatural angle. It must have broken when she fell headfirst. She was already dead, so I didn’t feel too bad.
I picked up the body, blood oozing from her forehead and the back of her head, and slowly walked towards the main entrance.
…It was a glass door. Would they see me?
I could see inside the supermarket through the glass. The restrooms were to the right of the entrance, quite large—separate men’s and women’s facilities, plus an accessible restroom. Next to the restrooms was a long partition with boxes stacked in front of it. The supermarket was spacious and brightly lit. Even from this distance, it was clear the store was well-maintained—aside from the overturned and collapsed display shelves scattered about, creating a chaotic scene. Heads popped up here and there—more than I’d expected.
A packing station was located to the left of the entrance. The place where customers could pack their purchases into boxes. I could see at least eight human beasts standing between the restrooms and the packing station. Whether it was luck or poor eyesight, they didn’t seem to notice me moving slowly behind the double glass doors. The sale posters plastered on the automatic doors probably helped.
“Hoo… hoo…”
The body was heavy, I was worried they would see me, and I was tense.
I finally reached the mat.
I stepped onto the mat, still holding the body, and let go.
The automatic doors opened.
“Grrr?!”
They all turned to look at me!
“Shit!”
I immediately turned and ran.
“Graaagh! Gaaagh!”
Thud! Crash!
I heard the sounds of them slamming against the sliding glass doors. But I didn’t hear any shattering! The glass must have been pretty thick! Damn it, that was a relief!
I ran back to the parking attendant’s booth. “Huff… huff…”
I could have charged in with Accelerate, but safety was my priority. I would only attack when I was certain of victory. If anyone asked if I was scared, yes, I was. Being scared was important! It was a survival instinct! To get stronger, I had to level up, and to level up quickly, I couldn’t afford to get injured.
I had to be cautious, strike quickly, and escape quickly.
That was all.
I heard banging in the distance. The glass doors were still holding up.
“Hoo…”
…Damn it.
The glass doors…
…Wait a minute.
If they were banging on the doors but they weren’t opening, that meant they were locked.
…Why?
The human beasts couldn’t have locked them…
Someone had locked them.
…Who?
…There was someone else.
A survivor.
Someone familiar with this area.
Someone who knew that places like supermarkets, swarming with human beasts, were dangerous.
…Ha.
A survivor…
I had only heard screams in the distance. I hadn’t thought there would be anyone else actively doing something in this situation.
I wanted to meet them. I wanted to know how they had locked the doors.
…Anyway…
If the glass doors were that sturdy, I couldn’t go in through the main entrance. They would see me before I even got inside.
…The automatic doors were the problem anyway.
I’d leave the inner glass doors to the beasts.
…Good.
I left the booth and walked towards the front of the supermarket. The banging grew louder. I stepped over the grilled squid display, careful not to make any noise. I reached the floor and drew my sword.
Shing—
“Gaaagh! Gaaagh!”
Bang! Crash! Thud!
The sounds of them pounding on the glass doors were even louder inside the small shop. I gripped the sword and cautiously stepped outside. The growls were close now. “Graaagh! Graaagh!” Thud! Bang! Thump!
…Those glass doors wouldn’t last much longer.
There was a wall right in front of the doors. A narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person, and the packing station was right there. I leaned against the wall of the small shop and peeked outside. …There were more of them. I had seen eight earlier, but now there were at least twice as many. The ones nearby must have been drawn to the noise. Were they from the restrooms? They were all gathered in front of the glass doors, pounding and roaring as if the doors themselves were the enemy.
“…Hoo…”
This was it. …Deep breath. “…Haa…” The distance to the nearest human beast was about three meters! I activated Accelerate as I ran.
Accelerate!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
“Graaa—aa—aa—” Thoom—thoom— Everything slowed down. My footsteps, the roars of the human beasts, the cacophony of banging against the glass—everything unfolded before me in slow motion. I took two large steps forward. Then one more. Thoom—thwack— I gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands and thrust with all my might.
“Hah!” Thwack! Thwack! Two down in an instant! “—Aa—aagh!” It wore off.
Accelerate!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
They hadn’t noticed me yet! I thrust the sword! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Four more down! “—R-raagh!” Accelerate!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
I aimed for the back of the old man with glasses’ graying head! Clang! …?! Damn it! My Strength was already gone! I immediately turned and ran back to the squid shop. The moment I turned the corner, Accelerate wore off. Thud! Crash! I heard the sound of multiple bodies collapsing. “Gaaagh!” Shit! They were close! Had they seen me?! Accelerate! [Auto-cast: Accelerate] I wasn’t taking any risks! I leaped over the squid display and ran. The moment my feet hit the ground, Accelerate wore off. “Grrrr!” I didn’t know if they had seen me or not. I was out of Accelerate charges! I sprinted towards the parking lot, turning the corner past the supermarket. Just then, I heard the sound of shattering glass behind me. The glass doors had broken! “Huff… huff…” I immediately ran into the parking attendant’s booth and slammed the door shut. Click! I locked it and pressed my ear against the door, listening. “Gasp… hoo… ha…” I could hear roars—but not from inside the supermarket. They were coming from the street. They had gone outside. “Hoo… hoo…”
…At least I had locked the door. They were roaring outside, but they didn’t seem to know where I’d gone. They were just wandering around. I felt a small sense of relief. I pulled a chair over and sat down, leaning against the wall by the door.
“…Hoo…”
A message was floating before my eyes.
[Leveled up 6 times.] Seven levels in total, including the woman from the squid shop.
…Good.
“Ha… hoo… Status.”
Level 45 already.
Good.
First… 2 points to HP. That would bring it to 30. I was done with HP for now. The remaining 5 points… …Another Accelerate charge would definitely help with hit-and-run tactics… But it would take nine hours to fully recharge. …Nine hours… …Right. I’d play it safe, even if it was frustrating. I allocated the 5 points to Spirit. Survival. Survival and leveling up. That was what mattered. I checked my phone; it was 10:34 AM. …I might be cutting it close for dinner. I should let Soo-hyun know.
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