I’m the Only One with Powers in the Apocalypse – Chapter 50

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

I opened the boarding house gate and went inside, and the scene was… something else.

Soo-hyun and Hoon were covering their noses, looking at Stinky, who was standing there awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

They greeted me cheerfully when they saw me.

Their voices were muffled.

“Oppa. We heard the door, so we came out… we thought it was you… who’s this?”

“H-he’s… Stinky. I… f-found him…”

Hmm…

I couldn’t blame him for how he spoke.

His hair, unwashed for weeks, was matted like LEGO bricks, his body grimy from not showering, and the stench of feces…

…even a homeless person from Seoul Station would run away.

I pointed at the stairs and said, “Explanations later. Let’s get him cleaned up first. Hey, follow me.”

“…Okay, hyung.”

That damn “hyung.”

I didn’t have a younger brother like you.

I sighed and went up the stairs, and Soo-hyun said, “O-oppa.”

I turned around, and Soo-hyun pointed at Stinky. “Don’t… don’t ruin the clothes… okay? No laundry.”

I nodded and gave her a thumbs-up, then went up to the rooftop room.

I waited for Stinky to come in and pointed at the bathroom. “Take off your clothes and go wash up. I’ll give you a bag to put them in. So I can throw them away.”

Stinky hesitated and said, “B-but… these are… the only clothes I…”

“I’ll give you something to wear, so just take them off. Your stench is filling the room, shit.”

“O-okay, hyung.”

I grabbed the plastic bag lining the trash can and stuffed his clothes in as he undressed.

Ugh, the smell.

Suffocating, shit.

“Cough. Damn it… hurry up and go in.”

“Okay, hyung.”

Stinky went into the bathroom, and I tied up the bag and left the rooftop room.

Damn it, I needed to air this place out.

I left the door open and tossed the bag onto the rooftop.

We were moving soon anyway, so it didn’t matter, shit.

“Hoo… ha…”

I took a deep breath of fresh air and went back inside.

Ugh, this was disgusting.

I picked up a stray, damn it.

I tossed some clothes and a towel in front of the bathroom door and said, “Hey. I left you some clothes and a towel.”

I didn’t care if they fit or not.

I said that and went down to Soo-hyun’s room and knocked. “Let me use your shower.”

Soo-hyun chuckled and let me in.

Hoo.

That was better.

“What’s your name?”

Stinky, who was diligently slurping ramen, replied, “Park Han-tae, hyung.”

Park Han-tae…

He looked somewhat human after washing up.

Pale and chubby, he looked like a piglet.

It was 10 a.m., long past breakfast, so the ramen Ye-eun made was all Han-tae and I could have.

But Han-tae seemed grateful for even ramen, slurping it down happily.

The clothes fit him quite well.

He couldn’t hide his chubby belly, but it seemed like his frame wasn’t that big.

Well, he was only about 160cm tall.

I took a bite of ramen and asked Ye-eun, “Is there a spare room in that house?”

Ye-eun tilted her head and said, “They have separate rooms for men and women. And the nurse ahjumma has her own room. You could probably share the men’s room…”

…The men’s room…

Were the injured men okay?

“How are the men doing?”

Ye-eun smiled. “They’re much better. One of them is still a bit dizzy. The other two will probably join the body collection team today.”

I nodded. “That’s good. Han-tae, stay with those hyungs for the time being.”

Han-tae looked nervously back and forth between Ye-eun and me. “My… h-house…”

“Your house is gone,” I said, eating my ramen. “You have a phone, right? Didn’t you try calling your parents?”

Han-tae slowly lowered his head at my words.

They must not have answered.

…Damn it.

My parents too… and that bitch…

…Tsk…

I sighed and put down my chopsticks.

“If you wander around carelessly and get spotted by those human beasts, you’ll be caught and killed instantly. You can go if you want. No one’s stopping you. But if you want to live, stay with others. You’ll die if you go alone.”

Han-tae clutched his ramen bowl and started to cry.

Seriously…

Ugh…

I shook my head and stood up.

“Ye-eun, thanks for the food. I’m going to rest a bit and then go back out.”

“You’re going again?”

I nodded as I left the main house. “I have to clear out the building quickly if we want to move. Ah, take him to that house across the street.”

Ye-eun followed me and said, “Okay, oppa. Be careful.”

I stopped.

And looked at Ye-eun.

…Oppa?

I think that was the first time she called me oppa.

Ye-eun looked at me and tilted her head.

And then she blushed.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that?”

I chuckled and said, “See you later.”

Oppa.

Hmm.

That sounded nice.

I wondered if So-eun would ever call me oppa.

But she was so shy.

She barely spoke to me.

I returned to the rooftop room and lay down.

“Status.”

Hmm…

Level 23…

I had leveled up quite a bit.

I put all 4 points into Health, making it 49.

Just 1 more point, and it would be 50, damn it.

That Stinky kid!

Anyway, my Accelerate would be fully charged with 12 uses soon, so I’d rest and then go back out.

11 p.m.

I left the house.

I packed a decent amount of emergency rations, just in case I had to stay out all night again.

Should I have eaten lunch?

…No.

I had to level up.

How could I eat at this level?!

The hypermarket.

A large chair was overturned.

Broken glass, the side entrance looked like ruins.

I activated Accelerate and sprinted up to the 4th floor.

“Hoo.”

The target this time was the 8th floor.

Once I cleared the 8th floor, only the residential floors would be left.

I could bring everyone and clear them out; I needed Soo-hyun and Hoon to unlock the doors anyway.

If I tried to use the metal cutter to cut the doorknobs, I might end up breaking them completely.

It was better to leave it to the experts.

I reached the 8th floor and caught my breath.

What was on this floor again?

Rrrr- rrrr-

…Hmm…

Quite a few.

I drew one sword.

Shing-

I slightly opened the door.

Grrrr… grrrr…

…The growls were vibrating the air.

A lot of them.

Just from opening the door slightly.

I peeked inside.

A hair salon on the left.

A comic book cafe on the right.

Both were places where people stayed for a long time.

It made sense there were many of them.

…I felt both excited and nervous.

The 7th floor was empty, so I could hide there if necessary.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath and went inside.

I couldn’t see inside the comic book cafe.

But the lower half of the hair salon was translucent.

I could see inside clearly.

One… two…

…nine.

There were probably more lying down.

I drew my other sword.

Shing-

“…Inhale.”

I stood up, pushed the hair salon door open with my shoulder, and went inside.

“Kyaa?!”

Heads turned.

All women.

No men.

Accelerate.

“Kya-a—a—–”

I stabbed the heads of the women lying at my feet.

Crack, crack!

I immediately twisted my body, stabbed the woman at the counter, and then leaped forward and stabbed again.

The timing of Accelerate.

I had completely mastered it.

I instinctively knew when to use it.

Accelerate!

The human beasts could only twitch, frozen and helpless.

I quickly moved around the hair salon, endlessly stabbing.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

I pierced the head of the last human beast and pulled out the swords.

And caught my breath.

“…Hoo.”

“–Kya-ugh!”

Thud! Crash!

Middle-aged women, young women, stylists, staff, cashier.

They all collapsed at once.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Plip, plip, it landed on my face and body.

4 Accelerate charges used.

16 human beasts killed.

Thanks to my improved left-hand swordsmanship.

I was getting faster at killing.

Hmm.

I immediately opened the status window and raised my Health to 50.

Good.

Now, a 45-minute Health recovery tick.

And a 12-minute 30-second stat recovery tick.

A significant reduction.

I had 7 Accelerate charges left.

…Should I go?

I left the hair salon and walked towards the comic book cafe entrance.

Posters of various comics and characters were plastered everywhere, making it impossible to see inside.

“Hoo… inhale.”

I took a deep breath, threw open the door, and went inside.

“Kragh?!”

Countless comic books lined the walls.

Rows of single and double sofas.

And the counter.

At least 20, at a glance.

“Kyaaagh! Kraaagh!”

They’re coming.

Accelerate!

“Ha!”

I pierced the head of the man leaping from behind the counter.

Crack!

I immediately pulled the sword out and charged towards the surrounding human beasts.

One head per sword strike.

I stabbed without hesitation.

Two Accelerate charges used.

Three, and then four!

Crack, crack!

Five, six!

Crack, crack!

I pulled out the swords and immediately ran towards the comic book cafe entrance.

The moment I went through the door, I heard the sound of the stabbed bodies collapsing.

“Kraaagh! Kyaagh!”

Accelerate.

I ran straight towards the stairs and closed the metal door.

Clang!

I immediately went downstairs, grabbed the metal door, and pushed it open with my foot.

Then I looked up.

It wouldn’t happen.

They wouldn’t open the metal door and come up the stairs.

But just in case.

If the door showed any sign of opening, I would immediately go back inside and hide in the calligraphy academy.

I waited for a moment.

I could hear their roars.

But nothing happened.

“…Hoo.”

It seemed like they couldn’t open doors.

I knew that from experience, but now I was certain.

I could easily kill them, but they were still dangerous. It was better to be safe.

A message was floating before my eyes.

I chuckled and walked towards the calligraphy academy.

I was out of Accelerate charges.

I’d rest and recover, and then finish the 8th floor.

Not many left.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇