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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Step.
Broken glass crunched under my feet.
“Grrr?!”
Heads snapped towards the sound.
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
Everything slowed down.
I immediately ran towards the external stairwell, passing through the shattered glass wall.
Then turned and grabbed the railing, leaping upward.
Five seconds.
I reached the second floor in five seconds.
Thump, thump, thump!
My footsteps echoed belatedly, like a burst of gunfire.
“Graagh! Grrr?!”
The human beasts growled.
They had heard something, but they couldn’t see me.
They were searching.
I couldn’t stay here.
They might come up the stairs.
I had to keep moving.
“…Hoo… haa…”
I took a deep breath and continued up the stairs.
Third floor: supermarket storage and offices.
I’d deal with this later.
Fourth floor: kendo dojo and pilates studio.
I carefully opened the metal door and listened.
I could hear faint, high-pitched growls—the sounds of women.
I cautiously stepped inside.
The kendo dojo was on the right—the place where I had found the swords.
That place was empty.
I couldn’t see inside the pilates studio from the hallway.
They probably had changing rooms or something, and people would be wearing workout clothes.
I carefully walked along the wall towards the pilates studio.
The growls grew louder as I approached the entrance, a sliding glass door.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
I could hear them clearly now.
I peeked inside and saw the reception desk, and beyond it, two female human beasts.
They had nice figures.
They must have been pretty when they were alive.
Now, one side of their faces had been ripped off, and dried blood caked their hair and faces.
I looked back at the kendo dojo.
…That wouldn’t work as a hiding place.
The interior was visible from the hallway.
They could easily break in.
…I’d use the stairwell as a fallback point.
I had to conserve my Accelerate charges.
I’d need them to escape if things went south.
I drew my swords.
Shing—
…Just two?
…Hoo…
“…Haa…”
I slammed my shoulder against the door and burst inside.
Thud!
“Grrrr?!”
The women’s heads snapped towards me.
One of them, who had been lying down, jumped up.
“Gyaaagh!”
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
I took a step forward!
“Hah!”
I thrust with all my might, piercing both women’s heads simultaneously.
Then I pulled out my left sword and stabbed the other human beast.
Thwack! Thwack!
I retrieved my swords. Blood droplets hung suspended in the air.
I looked around.
Lockers on the right, changing rooms beyond them.
The pilates studio itself on the left.
I stepped towards the right.
“—Gyaa—hah.”
The women collapsed against the reception desk. Blood splattered against my cheek and ear.
Damn it.
I didn’t know how many more were inside.
Would they come out?
I waited, listening intently.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
…No reaction.
As I’d noticed while killing them, they didn’t seem to react much to their own kind’s growls.
Good.
I carefully walked towards the changing rooms. I could hear growls.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
…This was strange.
Was there only one changing room?
Where was the men’s changing room?
I looked around and saw a flyer on the wall: “Women’s Only Pilates.”
Ah, so it was only for women. I see.
I opened the changing room door.
Rows of wooden lockers lined the walls.
And then…
“Grrrr?!”
The women’s heads turned sharply.
Their eyes.
Staring at me with wide, hostile eyes, their faces and bodies mangled. Their faces twisted into snarls.
“Gyaaagh!”
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
I took a large step and thrust with all my might.
“Hah!”
Thwack! Thwack!
Seven women in the changing room.
I took them all out and left the changing room, blood dripping from my hair.
Damn it. Their blood was drying and turning black on their skin, but inside, they still had fresh, red blood.
Strange creatures.
[Level Up.]
“Hoo…”
Three Accelerate charges used in the pilates studio, and one to get in.
Ten kills.
Seventeen more to go.
I had to keep track.
I couldn’t see inside the pilates studio either.
I walked over and carefully opened the door.
Cloth… things… were hanging from the ceiling. And some kind of equipment I didn’t recognize.
Grrrr… Grrrr… One… two… three… …Sixteen.
…That was a shame.
One short. Damn it.
…No need to get greedy.
I couldn’t waste Accelerate on just one.
I pushed the door open with my shoulder and stepped inside.
“Grrrr?!”
The human beasts’ heads snapped towards me.
“Gyaaagh!”
I smiled.
Accelerate.
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I stood on the second-floor landing, looking down at the first floor through the railing.
I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them—growls.
If I went down the stairs and turned right, they would be right there.
“…Hoo…”
I carefully descended the stairs, one step at a time, and reached the corner on the first floor.
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
I ran out of the supermarket, across the lanes, and onto the sidewalk. I heard growls behind me.
Accelerate!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
I sprinted forward. Accelerate wore off just as I reached the convenience store. My running speed had also improved. My stamina must be increasing from all the killing. One Accelerate charge left.
“Hoo… ha…”
I returned to the boarding house and opened the gate.
“Ah!”
Someone was there. I flinched and stepped back, startled.
It was Jung Eun-seo.
I glanced at her and chuckled.
“Why are you so jumpy?”
I turned and walked towards the stairs, catching my breath. Running had winded me.
“Ah… s… sorry… the blood…”
Huh? Ah.
I was covered in blood. It was dripping from my hair.
I glanced at Jung Eun-seo.
“You’ve seen me fight before. Don’t be so surprised.”
“Oh… right…”
She probably wasn’t comfortable with the sight of all the blood.
I didn’t like the smell either.
It was time for a shower. Oh, right.
“How are the men doing?” I asked.
Jung Eun-seo avoided my gaze as she replied,
“They… they seem a little better. We have a lot of medicine… They had high fevers all night, so we kept changing their cold compresses…”
Hmm.
I nodded.
“Don’t worry. They’ll recover soon. We have the nurse ahjumma too. Ah, how was she?”
“She… she stitched their wounds well…”
Hmm.
So, she was skilled.
“Okay.”
I took a deep breath and said, “It must be uncomfortable with so many people in one room. I’m clearing out that supermarket across the street, but it’ll take some time before we can move. I’ve cleared out the house across the street; you can stay there for now.”
Jung Eun-seo bowed.
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”
Ugh, I felt sticky.
“I’m going to shower,” I said, and went up to the rooftop room.
Damn these stairs.
To clear out that entire building… ugh.
When I got back to my room, Soo-hyun was still asleep. She must not have gotten enough sleep after waking up so many times last night.
I stripped off my blood-soaked clothes, tossed them into the trash can, and went into the bathroom to wash off the blood.
“Ha…” This felt good.
Ah, right.
“Status.”
3 levels. 3 stat points.
I put all 3 points into Strength, bringing it to 30.
30 Strength.
3 levels per raid. Not guaranteed, but I had laid the groundwork.
Ah, it was going to be a long journey to max out the Survival Specialist specialization.
Damn it.
After breakfast, the new residents started moving into the house across the street.
The grandma nurse looked exhausted; she must have been working hard all night. But she seemed much better than yesterday. Was she the type who thrived on helping others? Maybe she wasn’t so different from the inline skaters.
Soo-hyun used a cutting tool to remove the lock and doorknob from the locked door of the new house and installed new hinges. Hoon helped by carrying the heavy door, and they finished preparing the new house before lunch. The lock was an old-fashioned one. Soo-hyun drilled holes in the doorframe and inserted metal rods to secure the door. She was truly a jack-of-all-trades.
The injured inline skaters were helped into the new house, their faces swollen and bruised. They looked like battered, disfigured versions of Anpanman. Still, it was better for them to have separate spaces—couples together, men together, women together—than to be crammed into one room. And they needed someone to care for their injuries.
The nurse grandma ended up staying in the main house, in Grandma’s room. She had no one and nothing to go back to. No family waiting, no food left. No reason to return. She seemed reluctant, but it was probably better for her to be around other people.
I helped them move, then went out with Hoon to collect the bodies. We couldn’t leave them rotting on the street. A rat infestation in this situation would be disastrous. There were no hospitals, no ambulances, no doctors. A disease outbreak would be the end of us all. Even if we couldn’t burn them yet, we needed to start clearing them out.
After several hours of collecting bodies, I returned to the house and rested. It seemed like today would be a relatively normal day. I smoked on the rooftop, watching the streets, but there was no sign of anything unusual.
I wondered what that other survivor group was doing. Had they destroyed themselves fighting amongst each other? But I hadn’t heard any screams.
Hmm…
Not my problem. I’d rest and then go on another raid tonight.
I leaned my elbows against the rooftop railing and looked at the hypermarket building.
The fourth floor was completely clear.
One floor per day…
Could I manage that?
I flicked my cigarette away and went back to my room.
Time to rest.
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