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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Crack!
Seventeen!
I immediately pulled the swords out and turned, running.
I entered the partitioned area and sprinted down the clear path, bodies blurring past me.
“–Kr-augh!”
[Leveled up 2 times.]
Hearing the sound of collapsing bodies, I ran straight into the restroom and closed the stall door.
Click.
I locked it.
“Hoo… ha…”
I needed to catch my breath.
I put my hand on my chest and took deep breaths.
My heart pounded, demanding more oxygen, and sweat, mixed with blood, trickled down my skin.
“Kraaagh! Kyararara!”
They growled outside.
The growls echoed off the walls.
But they weren’t getting closer.
Some seemed to have wandered into the partitioned area, but even seeing the scattered bodies, they didn’t seem to register that anything was there.
They just growled.
Hoo—ha—
I took deep breaths to calm myself.
Weeks of training, running, and sword fighting had significantly strengthened my body.
My heart rate quickly slowed after a few minutes.
4 Accelerate charges, 0 Strength.
Definitely low on Strength.
I’d felt like my growth was slow, wanting to kill faster and in greater numbers, but the numbers told a different story.
This was a slight concern.
Increasing Strength would definitely help with leveling up.
But the desire to shorten my recovery time by increasing Health was also strong.
With 100 Health, I could easily manage three raids a day.
Three raids meant 90 kills a day at the current rate.
That was a substantial amount.
The Cockroaches gathered in groups of dozens just to kill one or two, risking being beaten to death by their own comrades if bitten.
And I was wiping out dozens at a time, alone.
Strength.
I wanted to raise it.
But for now, I would raise Health and think about Strength later.
I put 2 points into Health.
Now at 61 Health, level 37.
Leveling up quite well.
Recovery time…
40 Spirit, 8 hours?
I chuckled.
Definitely faster.
Before Survival Specialist, it would have taken me over 13 hours to recover 40 Spirit; now it was down to 8.
12 hours for a full 60 Spirit recovery.
The number of kills per Accelerate use was also increasing, from 3 to 4, and gradually to 5.
Not bad.
Slow.
But steady.
And surely, I was becoming stronger.
The numbers proved it.
I sat on the toilet and leaned back.
5 a.m.
All stats fully recovered.
Soo-hyun sent a worried message around midnight, but having seen how I handled the human beasts, she seemed easily reassured when I told her I was fine.
She was cute.
I chuckled, thinking of Soo-hyun, and stood up.
Now then.
Let’s go.
I left the restroom and walked down the hallway.
I swung the swords, still stained with blood and other matter.
Whoosh! Splat!
I’d taken care of most of the nearby ones.
I wondered how many were left.
I passed the partition and entered the supermarket.
It suddenly became brighter.
Bodies and pools of blood littered the floor.
I pulled the bodies aside, clearing a path to the restroom, and took a deep breath.
However many were left, bring it on.
“Scatman!”
Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dub dub
Yo da dub dub
“I’m the Scatmaaan~”
“Kraaagh! Kyaaagh!”
The audience was enthusiastic.
I smiled and looked around.
Running zombies. Human beasts.
They were coming.
Knocking over shelves, smashing displays, they charged towards me.
“Kyaaagh! Kraw!”
Crash! Thud!
They slammed into walls, shelves, and each other, creating chaos.
I waited.
I waited for them to approach, feeling relaxed.
Come on, come on.
“Kraaagh!”
Oh.
There they were.
I could see their gaping maws.
Their raised hands clawed at the air.
Their leaping bodies were ferocious.
I smiled.
I raised my swords.
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
The human beasts, swarming around me like a pack of wild dogs,
froze like statues.
I took a step forward and swung.
“Ha!”
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
I quickly moved among them, pushing off the ground, shifting to the side.
And stabbed.
I kept stabbing, repeatedly activating Accelerate.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
They were so slow; even blinking seemed to take too long.
Crack!
Blood droplets shimmered and rose into the air.
I moved quickly among them, wielding the swords.
I was skilled.
Proficient.
I could feel my own precision, piercing their heads, ending their lives instantly.
The pity, the fear, the confusion I once felt.
Gone.
In fact,
I was smiling.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
“Haha.”
Thirty.
I took them out in an instant and immediately turned and ran for the supermarket entrance.
I didn’t know how many were left.
It didn’t seem like many.
I didn’t know if it was just a feeling or if there actually weren’t many.
I thought I could probably finish them off in one more raid, but, damn it, I was sick of the restroom.
I wanted to eat a warm meal and wash up properly.
Let’s go back.
“—Kya–r-”
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
I dodged the occasional human beast blocking my path and sprinted to the entrance.
I grabbed the door and pulled.
I went through and let go, and the glass door slowly slid back into place.
I activated Accelerate again and ran to the elevator.
“-Kraw!”
Rumble, crash!
I heard them collapsing in the distance.
And the thud of the glass door closing.
I pressed the elevator button and looked back.
I still had some Accelerate left.
If they came, I would use the stairs.
“Hoo.”
They growled.
But they didn’t come.
The sound wasn’t getting closer.
They didn’t know where I was.
I smiled and swung the swords.
Whoosh—splatter!
The blood flew off.
The elevator arrived.
I sheathed the swords as I entered.
Shing-
I pressed the button for the 10th floor.
Let’s go back.
The elevator doors closed.
And I smiled.
A strange feeling.
Smiling after all that killing.
Was it the adrenaline?
I didn’t know, but I felt… exhilarated.
I leveled up 3 times.
I put all 3 points into Health, reaching 64.
I got off on the 10th floor, but…
…what was the apartment number again?
I scratched my head and walked down the hallway, looking at the doors.
1021… 22… 23…
…It was around here.
I tried the door to 1024.
Was this it?
It was dark.
I couldn’t see anything.
There was a computer…
I needed to see to know if there was a computer.
Whatever, this must be it.
It was just past 5 a.m., I didn’t want to wake anyone.
I shrugged, went inside, and straight to the bathroom.
Ugh, I was covered in blood.
I took off my clothes and turned on the shower; the water felt amazing.
The blood washed away, it was refreshing.
The owner of this apartment used good body wash.
It seemed like a Japanese brand.
I shampooed my hair, lathered up with body wash, and rinsed off the foam.
Oh, so refreshing.
“Ha…”
I looked in the mirror… hmm.
I was in pretty good shape.
Weeks of intense activity had given me abs.
They were more defined when I flexed.
I had lost fat and gained muscle.
Definitely.
I felt a surge of happiness.
Should I go and bother Soo-hyun, hug her from behind while she was sleeping?
The thought made my groin stir.
I chuckled.
Thinking about sex after all that killing. Men were definitely beasts.
Just then, the bathroom door opened.
“Yes? Who…?”
“…Huh?”
I made eye contact with the person who opened the door.
We both froze.
It was Ye-eun.
Ye-eun’s eyes widened as she looked at my face, my body, and then my lower half.
And then she immediately slammed the door shut.
Bang!
“Oh! I-I’m so sorry!”
…What just happened?
Wasn’t this my apartment?
…Ah!
It was 1023!
Next door!
Damn it, I went into the wrong apartment.
With no locks, this was…
…awkward.
I quickly grabbed a towel from the closet, dried myself, grabbed my blood-soaked clothes, and went outside.
Ye-eun was standing awkwardly in front of the bathroom.
…What should I say?
“Sorry. Wrong apartment.”
“O-oh, no.”
Hmm…
I was naked.
Only my lower half covered by the blood-soaked clothes.
This was awkward.
I picked up my swords and lifting belt from the floor and smiled. “I’ll… be going.”
“O-okay.”
Ye-eun’s face was completely red.
Hmm…
Nothing to say in this situation.
Let’s go.
I slipped out and went next door.
…Ah.
This was it.
Definitely.
I could smell Soo-hyun’s body wash.
And I could vaguely see something dark, like a computer, in the distance.
I quietly put down my clothes and swords and went back into the bathroom to wash off the remaining blood.
…That was quite awkward.
I had to remember this.
It was a good thing it was Ye-eun; what if it had been Grandma?
…No, it wasn’t a good thing it was Ye-eun.
Whatever, shit.
I was so flustered that my erection went away.
I should just sleep.
I dried myself and went to the bed.
As I lay down next to Soo-hyun, she mumbled sleepily, “Mmm… oppa…?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
She turned towards me, rustling the blankets.
And snuggled into my arms.
“…You worked hard…”
She was completely asleep.
Hmm…
I should sleep too.
I woke up around lunchtime the next day.
I splashed some water on my face and ate ramen with Soo-hyun.
Come to think of it, we weren’t eating together anymore.
I missed the lively meals at the boarding house.
“Oppa, how was the supermarket? Was it too dangerous?”
“It’s fine. The first floor should be manageable today.”
Soo-hyun smiled. “Then we’ll have a lot of food.”
I chuckled. “It’s better to just throw away the fish and meat. There might be some that are still edible, but…”
“Hmm… that’s a shame. It would be good to stock up on meat. But I’ll bring back anything useful.”
Ah, right.
I saw something while escaping.
“They had those there. Fruit and vegetable seeds. You know, those small packets they sell for a thousand or two won.”
Soo-hyun’s face lit up. “Grandma will be happy. Ye-eun and So-eun were talking about farming too.”
…Hmm, Ye-eun.
I smiled and ate my ramen.
Nothing to say.
After a leisurely lunch, 4:30 p.m.
My stats were fully recovered.
Everyone was busy stripping car parts and reinforcing the building. Soo-hyun was out too.
I should get going too.
I opened the door and ran into Ye-eun.
She was holding a trash bag.
Our eyes met.
Ye-eun blushed.
“H-hello.”
“Ah, yeah. Hi.”
Ye-eun bowed and hurried past me.
…Hmm.
I didn’t know.
…She went to the elevators.
…I’d go down later.
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