I’m the Only One with Powers in the Apocalypse – Chapter 30

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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They popped up here and there in the supermarket, like in a game of Whac-A-Mole. Their heads snapped towards me.

My heart pounded.

My mind went blank.

My vision sharpened.

Come on.

I gripped the sword with both hands and yelled, “Obi-Wan Kenobi!”

I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore. Words just flowed out of me.

“Graaagh! Gyaaagh!”

They roared and charged towards me.

I smiled, watching them come.

They were coming, they were coming…!

I stood still, raised the sword, and rested it against my shoulder, ready to strike.

“Gyaaagh! Graaagh!”

Crash! Thud! A display shelf toppled over.

They were closing in!

They were here!

Accelerate!

“Ah!”

‘Ah?’

I heard it from behind me, quite far away. What was that? Were there more behind me?

I didn’t know, damn it. I just had to kill them all!

One stepping on the checkout counter, one leaping over it, one diving towards me with outstretched claws, one about to trip over a body… at a glance, I could see fifteen of them frozen in mid-air.

The faces of the human beasts, barely a step away, swam slowly before my eyes.

Come on, whatever you are, I’ll stab you!

“Hah!”

I thrust the sword with all my might.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

I took a step back.

“—Aa—grrr!”

Accelerate.

They lurched forward, then froze again, like a video scrubbing forward, then pausing.

I stepped forward and thrust the sword.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

One more?!

No. Safety first!

I quickly took another step back.

They looked like red dots painted in the air.

The blood droplets shimmered.

“—Gyaa—raagh!”

Accelerate.

I had stabbed all the ones around me. The ones right behind me now!

I sidestepped a human beast and took a step forward. One had tripped over a body, another was about to fall!

Thwack! Thwack!

On top of the checkout counter!

“Hah!”

Thwack!

“—Gah—raagh!”

Accelerate.

I stepped over a body, to the right, the one that had slammed into the display shelf!

Thwack!

The one trying to get up from under the large shelf!

Thwack!

“—R-raagh!”

Accelerate.

The gum display in front of the checkout counter.

Two of them had collided!

Thwack! Thwack!

Done!

I immediately grabbed the pants of the human beast on the checkout counter and jumped up.

Accelerate wore off at the same time.

“—Aagh!”

Accelerate.

I leaped over the checkout counter, grabbed a handful of my brand of cigarettes from the display, divided them between my two hands, and ran.

“—Aa—ugh!”

Accelerate.

“Hup!”

I sprinted into the squid shop and leaped over the display shelf. The moment my feet hit the ground, I heard the sound of something collapsing behind the wall.

Run, damn it!

Oh, right.

I had heard something behind me earlier.

I quickly scanned my surroundings and saw a female human beast standing across the street, beyond the parked cars.

Accelerate!

…Shit?!

Damn it, no more Accelerate!

I couldn’t kill her!

Let’s go!

I turned the corner past the supermarket, entered the parking lot, and sprinted down the alley.

I had taken out thirteen in quick succession.

At this rate, I’d reach max level in no time!

Wherever that was!

“Hoo… ha… hoo!”

I was running down the alley when I heard roars behind me. They must have finally made it out of the supermarket. The bodies piled up at the entrance must have slowed them down. If it was difficult for me to walk, it was just as difficult for them. Now it was just a race. Damn it.

I glanced back as I ran. They didn’t know where I was.

Good.

I turned the corner at a utility pole, and the supermarket appeared.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

The bodies of the three thugs lay on the street. And one more further ahead.

The stench of rotting corpses. Damn it.

How many were left inside the supermarket?

I had seen about a dozen or so earlier.

I could wipe them all out tomorrow morning.

“Ha… ha…”

I was sweating from all that running. And I must have gotten splattered with blood without realizing it. My clothes were stained. Damn it.

I grabbed a chocolate bar from the supermarket freezer, tore it open, and ate it as I walked back to the boarding house.

Click. I closed the gate behind me, and a sense of relief washed over me.

I had returned to base camp.

“Aaaaagh!”

A scream echoed in the distance. It sounded a bit like an owl hooting in the night. The sound of an owl on a summer night was quite atmospheric. I hummed softly as I went up the stairs.

I opened the door to my room, and Soo-hyun was lying on my bedding, playing a game on her phone.

“Oh, you’re back.”

She looked up at me with a smile, then her expression changed.

Huh?

She must have seen the bloodstains on my clothes.

I grinned. “It’s okay, it’s not mine. I’m going to shower.”

I tossed my clothes into the trash can and went straight to the bathroom. I was feeling more and more confident now. I felt like I could take on anything.

When I came out of the shower, Soo-hyun was still lying on the bedding. I climbed on top of her. The feel of her ass against my groin… It felt good.

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This was strange.

I opened my status screen.

This was it. I had killed thirteen human beasts at the supermarket about two hours ago and gained thirteen levels. What was this status screen? Why did the leveling speed increase the higher my level got?

This was strange. More Accelerate charges were always a good thing—for attacking, scouting, and escaping. It was my lifeline. I needed more. I had run out of Accelerate while escaping earlier, and it had almost been dangerous. I put 10 points into Spirit and 3 into Strength.

45 Spirit, 16 Strength.

Soo-hyun didn’t even try to leave. She was lying naked next to me, fast asleep. I hugged her from behind, caressed her breasts, and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning.

After breakfast, I rested for a bit and then left the rooftop room. I ran into the large man coming out of his house, carrying an axe and a backpack, just like me. He must have been going out to scavenge.

“Good morning, sir! Have you had breakfast?”

“Yes. Where are you going?”

“Well, I’ve been scouting the neighborhood. The chicken restaurant is clear; you must have done that, right?”

Ah, the chicken restaurant. I nodded.

The man continued, “I was thinking of bringing back some chicken. The landlady said she’d like some meat and vegetables.”

Ah, meat and vegetables.

Damn it, I had forgotten.

“Then, I’ll be going now, sir.”

Hmm.

“Wait a second.”

“Yes?”

The man looked at me.

The mid-sized supermarket… how many were left? Less than twenty, it seemed. I might be able to wipe them all out today, either now or tonight.

I thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve almost cleared out the supermarket. It should be safe by the end of today… keep your evening free.”

The man’s face lit up. “Really? I understand, sir!”

“Yes. I’ll see you this evening.”

The man bowed deeply and left. He seemed much more cheerful these days, after going out for a few days. I didn’t know if it was because he felt like he was helping people, or because his wife was recovering, but he had even shaved. He didn’t smell anymore.

As I was about to leave, the door to the man’s unit opened, and his wife came out carrying a bag of trash.

“…H… Hello…”

Oh.

So that’s what she looked like.

She was quite beautiful. A little disheveled, as if she had just woken up. She looked much younger than I’d imagined. Early thirties, maybe?

“Hello. How are you feeling?”

“I… I keep hearing screams at night… and the baby wakes up and cries… it’s… a bit difficult…”

Hmm…

She was finally able to talk about her struggles. She hadn’t even responded when her husband had tried to talk to her before.

I nodded. “Don’t worry too much. Even if you hear things outside, nothing will happen to this house.”

“…Really…?”

She gave a weak smile. She must have lost contact with all her friends and family too.

I nodded. “Of course. Look, Soo-hyun has boarded up everything, and your husband goes out every day and comes back safely. Don’t worry.”

The woman just nodded without replying.

I opened the gate and said, “I should be able to bring you some diapers today. Enjoy your meal.”

“…Y… Yes… thank you…”

Hmm.

Good. At least she was able to talk now. It was a huge improvement compared to a few days ago.

I placed my hand on my sword and left, the gate clicking shut and locking automatically behind me.

Time to go to the supermarket.

I stopped by the parking attendant’s booth and plugged in my phone. I had forgotten to plug it in last night before falling asleep. That must have meant I’d enjoyed being with Soo-hyun. I could leave my phone here; no one would take it.

Current level: 74.

9 Accelerate charges.

13 kills possible.

Good.

I left the booth and went straight to the main entrance. Bodies were piled up everywhere, from the automatic doors to the checkout counters and beyond.

The stench of rotting corpses. Damn it. Ugh…

I carefully stepped over the bodies and made my way inside. It took forever to reach the checkout counters. Damn these bodies. I wished I could just clear them out, but it was too much for me to handle alone. There were at least thirty bodies here; even at 50kg each, that was well over a ton. I didn’t want to waste my energy. I’d rather save my strength for Soo-hyun than for dragging corpses around.

Crack!

“Damn it.”

…I had stepped on someone’s hand. The bones in his hand were crushed.

I climbed over the checkout counter, and I could see human shapes in the distance. These were the ones that had charged at me first and died first. The ones further back had gone back to their original positions.

I took a deep breath.

And yelled, “Yoshi! Grand Season!”

…Damn it, I needed some better lines.

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