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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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7:00 PM.
All my stats had fully recovered.
The recovery was definitely getting faster.
It had taken about thirteen hours to recover 54 Spirit.
The reduction seemed insignificant, but I could definitely feel the difference.
My Accelerate was recharged, so it was time to go again.
I strapped on my swords and left the rooftop room.
My target this time was the fifth floor.
I activated Accelerate in front of the hypermarket, ran inside, and sprinted up to the fifth floor.
I heard growls from below when Accelerate wore off mid-flight, but they didn’t follow me up the stairs.
“Hoo…”
Fifth floor: karaoke and DVD rooms.
I carefully opened the metal door and peeked inside.
…It was dark.
Incredibly dark.
It looked like the lights were off.
I listened intently.
I could hear the whooshing of wind, but no growls.
…What was this?
I pulled out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and stepped inside.
To the right, the karaoke.
…Lights off?
To the left, the DVD room.
…What?
A sheet of paper was taped to the entrance.
“Business for Sale.”
…It must have gone out of business.
…Ha.
Maybe they weren’t allowed to put “Business for Sale” signs outside the building because it looked bad.
What about the karaoke?
…No “Business for Sale” sign.
I peered through the door and saw a refrigerator stocked with drinks and alcohol.
So, it was still in business.
It just wasn’t open yet.
It probably opened late in the afternoon or evening and stayed open until dawn.
…Nothing on the fifth floor then.
“…Tsk.”
Whatever.
If there was nothing here, there was nothing here.
Time to go upstairs.
I carefully made my way to the sixth floor.
“…!”
…Holy shit.
The air vibrated even after just a few steps.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
How many were there?!
It sounded like a subwoofer.
The air itself was trembling.
I cautiously climbed the stairs, and the metal door to the sixth floor was wide open.
The window on the stairwell landing was also open.
…And a standing ashtray…
…Ah.
The PC room.
…Holy shit…
How many people had been gaming here in the middle of the day?
The growls were intense.
A thin, standing advertisement boasted about the new high-spec monitors.
Who cared about that?
People went to PC rooms for comfortable seating and a good gaming environment.
“…Hoo…”
I sat down on the stairs leading up to the sixth floor and looked up.
The open metal door.
The glass door beyond it.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
There were a lot of them.
I couldn’t tell how many, but a lot.
I drew my swords.
Shing—
The metal door was already open.
One step up the stairs, and I’d be exposed.
“…Ha…”
…Let’s go.
“…Haa…”
I stood up, took a large step up the stairs, and pushed the glass door open with my shoulder.
Thud!
“Graaaagh! Gyaa—”
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
“—Aa—”
“Ugh!”
Holy shit!
Was there an employee standing right by the door?!
Damn, that startled me.
I immediately stabbed him in the head.
Thwack!
It auto-cast even before I thought about it.
Damn, there were a lot of them.
No time to waste!
I immediately jumped to the side and stabbed again.
Thwack!
“—Gr—wow!”
Damn it!
Accelerate!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
There were at least two hundred computers here, at a glance.
The restrooms and the smoking area were in the middle of the PC room.
I leaped over the rows of computers, stabbing as I went.
Thwack! Thwack!
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Accelerate!
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
Damn it, I was out of Accelerate!
I sprinted towards the open glass door and down the stairs, reaching the fifth floor and throwing open the metal door.
“—Graaagh! Gyaaagh!”
Damn it!
I slammed the door shut and turned the lock.
Click!
“Ha… ha…”
A message was floating before my eyes.
[Leveled up 3 times.]
Thirty kills.
I had killed thirty, and there were still plenty left.
Crazy.
This must have been a popular PC room if there were this many people here in the middle of the day.
Was the service that good?
Did they have top-of-the-line equipment, cute employees, and free iced coffee?
What did that employee look like?
I had stabbed him so quickly, I couldn’t even remember.
Damn it.
“Graaaagh! Gyaaagh!”
Thump, thud, crash!
A chaotic mix of footsteps and growls surged towards the door.
Damn it… stay back…!
“Gaaagh! Gyaaagh!”
I could hear growls beyond the metal door.
“Ha… hoo…”
Damn it.
This PC room… wasn’t easy.
The rows of computers had obscured my view of the floor, and I’d been spotted immediately, leaving me no time to taunt and gather them.
I had used all twelve of my Accelerate charges.
“Hoo… ha…”
At least I had gained three levels.
“Gyaaagh! Graaagh!”
They were still raging beyond the metal door.
Damn it.
Fifth floor: karaoke.
It was too dark.
I turned on my phone’s flashlight.
This place was definitely empty.
I didn’t care what they were doing behind that metal door; they couldn’t break through.
“Hoo…”
I sheathed my swords.
Shing—click.
I sat down, leaning against the metal door, and caught my breath.
Something was dripping from my chin.
Ah, blood.
Damn it.
Right…
I had some decisions to make.
This metal door was safe for now.
The karaoke next door had glass walls and doors; I could easily break in with my sword.
There would be large sofas inside, and restrooms.
And, of course, snacks and drinks.
…Hmm…
Should I wait here, clear out the PC room on the sixth floor, and then go back?
Or should I recover some Accelerate charges and then go home?
…I needed at least two charges to escape from here.
Four charges for a round trip.
Right.
I’d stay here tonight.
My blood-soaked clothes were uncomfortable, but I didn’t have a choice.
I wiped my hands on the least bloody part of my pants and sent a message to Soo-hyun.
[Soo-hyun, I don’t think I can come back tonight. Don’t worry about me; have dinner and rest.]
I pressed send and stood up.
Right, the karaoke…
I walked over and tried the door; it was locked.
I drew my sword and placed it against the glass door, then slid it downwards.
Screech—
…Hmm…
Slashing wouldn’t work.
It only left a shallow scratch.
I tried thrusting.
Thwack!
The sword pierced through easily.
…Thanks to the Maintenance Gloves, I supposed.
It would have normally chipped the blade, but it had gone straight through.
Right.
I’d stab.
Buzz.
My phone vibrated.
A message.
I’d check it later.
I stabbed repeatedly at the glass door, creating a large hole, then kicked it with all my might.
“Hah!”
Crash!
The glass shattered, creating a person-sized hole.
Like in an American cartoon.
I stepped through the hole.
The scent of karaoke filled the air—a slightly musty, cloying smell.
I could see the interior thanks to the light from the drinks refrigerator, but the back of the room was completely dark.
Was there a light switch somewhere?
I pointed my phone’s flashlight around and found the light switches behind the counter.
Four of them.
I flicked them all on.
Click, click, click, click.
The lights flickered on with a dull buzzing sound.
Oh.
Bright.
A karaoke room with red leather sofas and posters of the latest songs.
It had been a while.
“…I’ll stay here tonight.”
I grabbed a can of cola from the refrigerator and explored the karaoke.
There were six rooms in total.
I couldn’t hear anything, but I checked them all, just in case.
Empty.
Just an empty karaoke.
I opened one of the rooms and collapsed onto the sofa.
“Hoo… I’m tired.”
Repeatedly stabbing things took a toll on you.
I checked my phone; there was a message from Soo-hyun.
[What happened? Why can’t you come back?]
She seemed worried.
I chuckled and replied,
[Don’t worry. I’m fine. Make me a delicious breakfast; I’ll be back in the morning.]
[Are you really okay? Are you hurt?]
[I’m really fine. I’m at a karaoke.]
I took a picture of the room and sent it to her, making a V-sign with my fingers.
There was some blood on my hand, but she probably wouldn’t mind.
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen me covered in blood.
[Be careful, okay? Don’t get hurt.]
[Okay, don’t worry. See you in the morning.]
I sent the reply and lay down.
Oh, right.
I had leveled up.
I put all 3 points into HP, bringing it to 43.
Hoo… time to sleep.
The next morning, 9:00 AM.
Damn it, it had taken forever to recharge to 60 Spirit.
Fourteen hours!
I needed to increase my HP quickly.
The moment it was fully recharged, I got up and left the karaoke, checking outside carefully before continuing upstairs.
…The PC room.
I had killed thirty of them, and there were still more.
I didn’t know how many.
The door was still open, just as I had left it.
Bodies lay sprawled on the floor.
I couldn’t see much of the PC room from the bottom of the stairs…
I went up and looked inside through the open glass door.
A few of them were standing.
…I seemed to have killed all the ones nearby.
This would be easier.
“…Hoo…”
I stepped over the bodies and entered the PC room, taking a deep breath.
“Ah! Kimochi!”
…What the hell had I just said?
“Graaagh!”
The human beasts’ heads snapped towards me.
…This seemed manageable.
Different from yesterday.
“Gyaaagh! Graaagh!”
They swarmed me, trampling over chairs and desks.
I smiled.
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
I drew my swords.
Shing—
“Hah!”
Thwack! Thwack!
Nine Accelerate charges.
I must have killed about thirty.
[Leveled up 2 times.]
…No.
I didn’t know how many I had killed.
I had just stabbed indiscriminately.
Nine Accelerate charges used, so probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight?
Something like that.
“…Hoo…”
Damn it, I was hungry.
The snacks from the karaoke weren’t enough.
Was there anything here…?
…Oh!
The PC room had a lot of food.
Hot bars in the refrigerator.
I liked those.
I grabbed three and heated them up in the microwave.
“Status.”
I put the 2 stat points into HP.
45!
Good!
Faster recovery tick!
I sat down, ate the hot bars, and rested.
Ugh, damn, I was covered in blood.
My face looked like something out of a horror movie.
Should I at least wash my face?
Ah, shit.
Even if I washed my face, my clothes were still soaked in blood.
I wasn’t exaggerating; if I squeezed my shirt, blood would drip out.
Washing my face was pointless.
Damn it, blood was dripping from my hair.
I’d just go home and shower.
…Hmm…
I found a computer that was still logged in, the bill probably in the hundreds of thousands of won after being left on for almost two weeks, and sat down.
Was there any news?
Most online communities were dead.
The sites didn’t even exist anymore.
The servers must have gone down.
The few communities that were still active were a mess.
…This was crazy.
Every post was filled with despair.
People looking for the president, looking for the military, saying their mother hadn’t come home, saying they were scared…
…Some people had even committed suicide.
Posting about their plans, uploading pictures, and then jumping off buildings…
…Right.
This… was the apocalypse.
“Hoo…”
…Should I write something…?
No.
What would I even say?
“Don’t worry, everyone, I can kill these things really fast with my powers”?
Or, “I’m on a killing spree, but you’ll die if you go outside, so just stay put”?
I had nothing to say.
I couldn’t save everyone beyond this monitor.
And I didn’t want to.
After spending some time browsing the communities,
I hadn’t noticed the time passing.
My Accelerate charges had gone from three to four.
Ah, I was hungry, damn it.
I’d go back, shower, and eat.
I went down the stairs, activated Accelerate, and ran.
—Grrr?!
I heard growls in the distance.
I was running so fast, they didn’t even know what had passed by.
They probably just heard a rapid thump thump thump.
I chuckled and headed towards the convenience store.
Just as I was about to turn into the alley…
“Open the fucking door! Huh?!
You guys took everything!
Are you trying to kill everyone?!
Does this make any sense?!”
“Open the door! Open the door!”
A crowd had gathered in front of the boarding house.
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