I’m the Only One with Powers in the Apocalypse – Chapter 39

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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My current Spirit was at 56. I could wait a bit longer to reach 60, but I decided to just go. Eleven Accelerate charges should be enough.

I crossed the road, heading straight for the mixed-use building. I passed the convenience store and the cars with their parts stripped off, and the stench of rotting corpses hit me.

…Ah.

I had been planning to call the inline skaters today to take care of the bodies, but that YouTube video had made me lose a whole day.

Whatever. Hoon and I had made two trips to the hardware store today, bringing back almost half the supplies. I didn’t need to go back there anymore. I could deal with the bodies tomorrow.

I drew my sword as I walked towards the back of the 5-ton truck.

Shing—

The road itself was clear. The parking garage entrance wasn’t. Bodies. Twenty-seven of them, sprawled and piled up.

…One level per ten kills…

Damn it.

I walked towards the parking garage entrance. Casually, confidently.

Step, step.

Maybe it was because I was walking so nonchalantly, but the human beasts standing beyond the bodies didn’t react.

“Hey, what are you doing? Come on.”

I slashed at the air with my sword as I walked.

Swoosh!

The sound of ripping paper—that’s what cutting through the air felt like.

“Grrrr?!”

The human beasts’ heads snapped towards me. Countless eyes focused on me, their faces contorting instantly.

“Graaagh! Gyaaagh!”

They charged, trampling over bodies, tripping, grabbing each other’s shoulders, colliding with each other.

They were here.

I smiled.

“Accelerate.”

The human beasts, lunging forward like a pack of wolves on the hunt, froze. I immediately stepped forward and thrust my swords.

“Hah!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

My left hand was still awkward. But it felt a little better. I definitely needed more practice.

I stepped back and listened.

“—Gyaa—raagh!”

Accelerate.

This time, I used only my left hand, piercing their heads.

Three down in an instant! No need to get greedy!

I thrust my left hand with all my might.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Accelerate again!

Blood droplets shimmered in the air where I had been standing.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

Done.

I had taken out the ones in front. I quickly took two steps back. “—Gr—raagh!”

Tap, tap. The sound of my footsteps echoed belatedly. The human beasts in front of me, blood spurting from their foreheads and the backs of their heads, collapsed in a heap. “Gyaaagh! Graaagh!” They were coming. Right. Left hand. Let’s do this again. I smiled.

Accelerate.

“Gaaa—aa—aa—” I gritted my teeth and stabbed. “Hah!”

Mixed-use building underground parking garage.

Total: 27 kills.

Accelerate charges used: 9.

I used another Accelerate charge to quickly cross the road and return to the boarding house. I was getting more proficient, more accustomed to this. No hesitation, no emotional turmoil.

Oh.

3 levels. From the twenty-seven kills earlier. I allocated all 3 points to HP as I climbed the stairs to the rooftop room, bringing it to 35. I wanted to invest more in Accelerate and Strength to increase the number of kills I could manage at once, but with one level per ten kills, I couldn’t afford to. I’d increase HP to at least 50 and then think about it. With 50 HP, my HP recovery tick would be 45 minutes, and my stat recovery tick would be 12 minutes and 30 seconds. I’d be able to fully recharge in a single night. There were still many human beasts left in the mixed-use building parking garage. I’d probably need at least two more raids to clear it out completely. That’s 5 levels.

…But was this enough?

The image of the horde of human beasts wouldn’t leave my mind. If they arrived in this neighborhood, everything would be shut down—no going outside, no sunlight, no leveling up. I wasn’t sure if I could even open the door without being overwhelmed. Even me.

…The sword.

It was useful. It had served me well as my primary weapon, and I wouldn’t be letting go of it anytime soon. But was a sword enough? Against tens, hundreds of thousands of human beasts?

I continued to think as I showered. I needed something else. Something more.

The lukewarm water washed away the blood, flowing down my hair and body, swirling down the drain.

“…A bow.”

Right.

A bow.

I had been thinking about getting one. With Accelerate, I could probably fire two arrows per charge. And retrieving the arrows wouldn’t be difficult with Accelerate either. The problem was the arrows themselves. How would I retrieve them? That was the key to using a bow effectively. And to retrieve the arrows safely, I needed enough Accelerate charges.

…Wait.

If I was going to use Accelerate to retrieve the arrows, did it even have to be a bow? Wouldn’t a sword be enough? I had to get close to retrieve the arrows anyway.

“…Ha…”

This was a dilemma.

I wanted a ranged weapon.

…Should I discuss it with Soo-hyun? Maybe her mechanical engineering knowledge could provide some answers.

…Something other than a bow, something I didn’t have to retrieve. That’s what I needed.

I finished showering and sent a message to Soo-hyun.
The reply came a while later.

[Ugh… sleepy… can we talk tomorrow?]

…Hmm. Soo-hyun had worked hard today too. Carrying heavy things from the hardware store, going to the supermarket, and organizing the materials we’d salvaged from the cars. Right. I’d let her rest. It was just past 8:00 PM. Early, but after such a busy day, the women and Hoon must have been tired. I should sleep too. The next morning, 7:00 AM.

I had slept for a long time. I must have been exhausted after stripping car parts, carrying things from the hardware store, and going on two raids.

Breakfast wasn’t ready yet. I’d go out and come back quickly. I attached the two swords to the lifting belt, put on the Maintenance Gloves, and left the house.

I heard the sounds of chopping from the main house and the sound of running water from downstairs.

Everyone was starting to wake up. I passed the convenience store, crossed the road, and headed straight for the mixed-use building. Fifty-four bodies lay sprawled all the way to the edge of the road.
Hmm… I seemed to have cleared out most of the ones at the entrance. But there were probably more inside the parking garage.

I walked between the bodies and entered the parking garage. This was strange. I wasn’t nervous. I hadn’t even drawn my swords; I just casually walked between the bodies, one hand resting on a hilt.

How many had I killed so far? Probably around 200 after this raid. …I was getting used to this. I suddenly wondered if there was anyone else in Korea who had killed 200 human beasts single-handedly.

…Maybe a soldier?

Special forces or something?

Someone with that kind of specialized training might be able to do it. If they had the skills to take out dozens of human beasts charging at them simultaneously.

…Maybe with a gun?

…Hmm, a gun… guns were loud… Even if the human beasts were sensitive to human voices, they wouldn’t ignore gunshots. They would all swarm at once.

As I walked deeper into the parking garage, rounding a corner, I started to hear growls.

Grrrr… Grrrr…

The growls echoed, amplified by the enclosed space, like a subwoofer. I couldn’t see them yet. I glanced back.

had come quite a distance. Fifteen, twenty meters? If I started killing from here and gradually retreated… that should work. I looked towards the interior of the parking garage and yelled, “Hey! Dildo! Broken!”

“Grrrr?!” …Yeah, sex. “Graaagh! Gyaaagh!” With roars, monstrous shadows undulated, crawling along the walls. Countless footsteps pounded the ground like a drumbeat. I drew my swords. Shing— “Graaaagh!” Heads popped out from around the corner. I smiled. Accelerate.

I stabbed with only my left hand. It felt more and more natural. I must have killed at least fifty with my left hand in the past couple of days. Once I could use both hands equally well, it would be… good.

“Hmm.”

I flexed my left hand, returned to the rooftop room, and washed the blood off in the shower.

Three levels from the last raid. HP, of course.

38 HP.

Hmm, I was running out of clothes. I’d be out in about three days.

I changed into clean clothes and went downstairs. A savory aroma wafted up from below. I entered the main house and said, “Something smells good.”

“Oh, you’re back! You weren’t here earlier,” Soo-hyun said, greeting me first.

Everyone was gathered around the dining table. They moved their chairs to make room for me as I arrived. It was getting crowded.

I smiled and sat down. “Yeah, I went out earlier. I woke up early.”

Ye-eun placed a bowl of soup and a bowl of rice in front of me. So-eun set down a spoon and chopsticks.

Oh, pollack soup for breakfast. A savory broth with the aroma of green onions. Nice. I scooped up a piece of tofu, blew on it, and put it in my mouth. The cool, savory flavor filled my mouth. “This is good.” Even a simple compliment made the women laugh. Hmm. The atmosphere at mealtimes was quite pleasant.

Hoon swallowed his food and asked, “Sir, what are your plans for today?”

“I was thinking of calling the inline skaters and… doing that thing… we talked about.”

Hoon said, “Ah,” and nodded. I looked at Soo-hyun, Ye-eun, and So-eun and asked, “Are you going to the supermarket again today?”

“Of course,” Soo-hyun nodded.
The new missus frowned and added,

“We need to stock up before it’s all gone. I’m sure a lot of people went there last night.”

…Hmm.

That made sense.

Once people realized that this street was safe, and that there were supplies at the supermarket, they would keep coming back.

I’d strip some more car parts today. I listened to the women discussing what was left at the supermarket and what they should bring back while I ate. Just then, the doorbell rang. Ye-eun looked up.

“Huh? The doorbell? No one should be coming here.”

The women’s faces tensed. It wasn’t a delivery or a courier. Those things were long gone.

“I’ll… I’ll go check,” Hoon said, getting up and leaving the house. I scooped up a spoonful of rice, and then Hoon returned, his face grim.

“Uh… sir… it’s… one of the inline skaters… Jung Eun-seo, I think… she’s here.”

I turned around. Jung Eun-seo? Ah, the ponytail girl. What was it? Hoon pointed at his cheek. “Sir, that woman… she has an injury on her face.”

…An injury?

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