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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Crunch.
Broken glass underfoot.
“Krew?!”
Their heads snapped around.
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
Everything slowed down.
I immediately ran up the outside stairs, through the shattered glass wall.
I turned and grabbed the stair railing, leaping upwards.
5 seconds!
I reached the second floor in 5 seconds.
Thump, thump, thump!
My footsteps echoed belatedly.
Like a machine gun.
“Kragh! Krew?!”
The human beasts growled.
Something was there. But they couldn’t see it.
They were searching.
I couldn’t stay here.
They might come up the stairs.
I had to move.
“…Hoo… inhale.”
I took a breath and climbed the stairs.
3rd floor.
The supermarket storage and office area.
I’d come back here later.
4th floor, kendo dojo and Pilates center.
I gently opened the metal door.
And listened.
I could faintly hear it.
High-pitched growls.
The sounds of women.
I cautiously stepped inside.
The kendo dojo was on the right.
Where I got the real swords.
That place was empty.
I couldn’t see inside the Pilates center from outside. Probably because the women changed clothes there and wore tights.
I carefully walked along the wall of the Pilates center.
The growls grew louder as I approached the entrance.
The Pilates center entrance was a sliding glass door.
Grrrr… grrrr…
I could hear them.
I peeked through the glass door and saw the reception desk. And beyond it, two female human beasts were standing.
They had good figures.
They must have been quite pretty when they were alive.
Now, one side of their faces was torn off, and dried blood caked their faces.
I looked back at the kendo dojo.
…I couldn’t use that as a hiding place.
It was visible from the outside.
They could break in if they wanted to.
…I’d use the stairwell as a hiding place.
I had to conserve Accelerate charges.
I would have to use Accelerate consecutively to escape if necessary.
I drew my sword.
Shing-
…Just two?
…Hoo…
“…Inhale.”
I slammed my shoulder against the door and went inside.
Thud!
“Kyaa?!”
The women’s heads snapped around.
One woman, who had been lying down, jumped up.
“Kyaaagh!”
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
One step forward!
“Ha!”
I thrust with all my might.
I pierced both women’s heads at the same time, then pulled out my left sword and stabbed the human beast next to them.
Crack! Crack!
I pulled the swords out.
Blood droplets floated into the air.
I looked around.
Lockers on the right, and the changing room beyond them.
The Pilates studio on the left.
I took a step to the right.
“-Kya-huh.”
The women collapsed against the reception desk. Blood splattered onto my cheeks and ears.
Damn it.
I didn’t know how many were inside.
Would they come out?
I waited for a moment.
I focused and listened.
Grrrr… grrrr…
…No reaction.
As I’d noticed while killing them, they didn’t seem to react to their own kind’s sounds.
Good.
I carefully walked towards the changing room.
I could hear growls.
Grrrr… grrrr…
…Strange.
Was there only one changing room?
Where was the men’s changing room?
I looked around and saw a flyer on the wall advertising “Women’s Only Pilates.”
Ah, so it was only for women.
I see.
I opened the changing room door and went inside.
Rows of wooden lockers.
And then,
“Kyaa?!”
The women’s heads whipped around.
Eyes.
Staring, wide-eyed, with torn and mangled faces and bodies.
The human beasts’ faces contorted.
“Kyaaagh!”
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
I took a large step and thrust with all my might.
“Ha!”
Crack, crack!
Seven women in the changing room.
I took care of them all and left the changing room.
Blood dripped from my hair.
Damn it.
Their blood had dried and blackened on my skin, yet they still had fresh blood inside their bodies.
Strange monsters.
[Level Up.]
“Hoo…”
3 Accelerate charges used in the Pilates center.
1 used on the way in.
10 kills.
17 more to go.
I had to calculate carefully.
I couldn’t see inside the Pilates studio either.
I walked over and slightly opened the door.
Some blanket-like things were hanging from the ceiling.
And some equipment I didn’t know how to use.
Grrrr… grrrr…
One… two… three…
…16.
…A bit disappointing.
One short, damn it.
…Don’t be greedy.
I couldn’t use Accelerate just for one kill.
I pushed the door open with my shoulder and entered the Pilates studio.
“Kyaa?!”
The human beasts’ heads snapped around.
“Kyaaagh!”
I smiled.
Accelerate.
2nd-floor stairwell.
I looked down at the first floor from 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 in front of me.
“…Hoo…”
I carefully went down the stairs one by one, to the corner on the first floor.
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
I sprinted out of the supermarket.
I crossed the road, ran onto the sidewalk, and then heard growls behind me.
Accelerate!
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
I continued running forward.
Accelerate wore off when I reached the convenience store.
I was getting faster at running.
Constantly killing must have improved my stamina.
I had 1 Accelerate charge left.
“Hoo… ha…”
I returned to the boarding house and opened the gate.
“Ah!”
Someone was there.
They gasped in surprise and stepped back.
It was Jung Eun-seo.
I glanced at her and chuckled. “Why are you so surprised to see me?”
I turned towards the stairs, catching my breath.
I was out of breath from running.
Jung Eun-seo said, “Ah, I-I’m sorry. The blood…”
Huh?
Ah.
I was covered in blood.
It was even dripping from my hair.
I glanced back at Jung Eun-seo. “You’ve seen me fight before. What’s the big deal?”
“Ah… yes…”
She probably wasn’t comfortable with my blood-soaked appearance.
I also felt disgusted by the smell and stickiness of the blood.
I needed to wash up.
Ah, right.
“How are the men?”
Jung Eun-seo avoided my gaze and replied, “Ah… 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 a nurse. Ah, how was that ahjumma?”
“She stitched their wounds well…”
Hmm.
She seemed skilled.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and said, “It must be uncomfortable with so many people in one room. I’m clearing out the supermarket, but it will take some time before we can move. I’ve cleared out the house across the street, so stay there for now.”
Jung Eun-seo bowed. “Ah, yes, I understand. Thank you.”
Ugh, I felt disgusting.
“I’m going to wash up.”
I said that and went up to the rooftop room.
I was going up and down these stairs so much.
To clear that entire building…
Ugh.
When I returned to my room, Soo-hyun was still asleep.
She must have been sleep-deprived after being woken up several times last night.
I took off my blood-soaked clothes, threw them into the trash can, and went straight to the bathroom to wash off the blood.
“Ha…”
That felt good.
Ah, right.
“Status.”
3 levels gained.
3 points.
I put all 3 into Strength, making it 30.
30 kills.
3 levels per raid.
It wasn’t guaranteed, but at least I had laid the foundation.
Ah, it was a long way off.
Max level for Survival Specialist, so far away.
Damn it.
After breakfast, the new residents started moving.
The elderly woman, Grandma 2, looked exhausted after taking care of the injured men all night. But her face looked much better than yesterday.
Was she the type who gained energy from caring for others?
She might not be so different from the inline skating club members.
Soo-hyun used a metal cutter to remove the doorknob and hinges from the locked door of the new house and installed new ones.
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 door frame with an electric drill and inserted metal rods to lock the door.
Soo-hyun was truly multi-talented.
The inline skating men were moved to the new house; their faces were so swollen, they looked like Hoppang Man.
Still, it was much better for the couples, the men, and the women to have separate spaces than to be crammed together in a small room.
And of course, someone had to take care of the injured men.
Grandma 2 ended up staying in the main house’s spare room.
She had no one at home.
No one waiting for her, no food.
No reason to go back.
She seemed reluctant to agree, but it was probably better for her to be around people.
I helped them move and then went out with Hoon to collect the bodies.
We couldn’t leave them rotting like that.
If rats started infesting the area in this situation, we would be screwed.
There were no hospitals, no ambulances, no doctors.
A disease outbreak would be the end.
Even if we burned them later, we had to move the bodies.
We spent a few hours collecting bodies, returned to the house, and rested.
Today seemed to be a pretty normal day.
I smoked a cigarette on the rooftop and checked the streets, but there was no sign of anything unusual.
What was that other survivor group doing?
Did they fight amongst themselves and wipe each other out?
I didn’t hear any screams.
Hmm…
Not my problem.
Anyway, I would rest and then go on another raid tonight.
I rested my elbow on the rooftop railing and looked at the hypermarket building.
The 4th floor was completely clear.
One floor per day…
Was that possible?
I flicked my cigarette butt away.
And went back to the rooftop room.
Time to rest.
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