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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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After saying this, Jung Eun-seo covered her forehead with both hands again.
She seemed distraught.
He leaned lightly against the wall by the stairs.
His hand went naturally to the hilt of his sword, as if it had become a habit.
He crossed his arms and asked,
“Is he very ill? Your brother.”
“…Yes. He said he was in pain… and couldn’t sleep at all last night.”
Her only remaining family member was sick…
He didn’t know what to say to her.
He wasn’t a doctor.
A hospital was out of the question.
This woman seemed to care a lot about her brother.
Phones still worked.
If she cared about her brother, she would have contacted every hospital in the vicinity. If any of them had answered, she would have asked them to take him in.
The fact that she was sitting here meant that the nearby hospitals were devastated and gone.
It was difficult to offer condolences or tell her to stay strong. Saying he was sorry would sound like he was telling her to give up because there was no hope. Telling her to stay strong would only ring hollow to her.
He just stood there silently, looking at her.
Jung Eun-seo raised her head.
Her eyes were moist.
It looked like she was holding back tears.
She forced a smile and stood up.
“I’m sorry. Everyone’s busy, and I’m just sitting here…”
He shook his head.
“Don’t worry about that. Go upstairs and be with your brother. Everyone will understand.”
Jung Eun-seo just stood there, not saying yes or no. She seemed genuinely sorry to be the only one not working.
She was kind.
He’d noticed it when she was diligently distributing food to everyone; she was a truly kind person.
…It would be difficult for her to survive the apocalypse.
He said,
“Is your brother alone right now?”
“…Yes.”
“Go on up.”
Jung Eun-seo looked at him.
She stood there for a moment, then lowered her head.
“…Excuse me… then… thank you.”
“There’s nothing to excuse. Come on.”
He nodded his head, gesturing for her to follow, and escorted her to the elevator.
The inline skaters, Han-tae, Hoon, and the women, working in the distance, occasionally glanced over.
He waved to them and subtly gestured towards Jung Eun-seo.
They nodded back in understanding.
They were all good people.
Jung Eun-seo bowed to him as she entered the elevator.
He smiled and nodded back, then went out the side entrance.
The inline skaters were still clearing away the bodies.
There were bodies upstairs as well, and over a hundred dead in the supermarket, so just clearing the bodies would take a long time.
The grandmothers were tending the vegetable garden, and Soo-hyun and the others were reinforcing the shutters.
He hadn’t said a word, but they had divided the labor quite effectively amongst themselves.
Everyone was busy.
He watched them work as he left the building.
He, too, needed to be busy leveling up.
Jung Eun-seo’s brother was probably her only remaining family. Like the others here, she probably didn’t know whether her family was alive or dead, or they had become zombies.
How must it feel to have your only remaining family member sick and bedridden?
…He wondered what had become of his own family.
A heaviness settled in his heart.
He had resolved to search for his family, but the more time he spent with these people, the less he could bear to leave them.
Could he leave them behind?
Soo-hyun, Ye-eun.
The others.
“…Tsk.”
He didn’t know, dammit.
All he knew was that now wasn’t the time to leave. Having people around he enjoyed being with was enough for now.
He needed to level up.
Next to the convenience store.
He glanced at the alley towards the boarding house.
No one was there.
It seemed they weren’t spying on him 24/7.
He turned and went down into the subway.
“Huu…”
Sitting on the toilet, he wiped the blood dripping down his chin.
It was currently around 9 PM.
Two raids.
He was already Level 75.
He had put 3 points into HP earlier, making it 98.
He had 3 points left.
…Finally, he would break through 100.
To 135…!
He raised his hand and tapped HP.
99, 100.
And then…
…?!
What?
It wouldn’t go past 100.
He tried again.
And again.
No matter how many times he tried, his HP wouldn’t increase.
He had 1 point remaining.
Why?
“…Damn it.”
A sense of emptiness washed over him.
Was there a status cap?
Was 100 the limit?
“…Ha.”
He wanted to curse.
He closed his eyes, clicked his tongue, and looked at the status window again.
HP 100.
…A status cap.
If HP stopped at 100, it was reasonable to assume that the limit for other stats was also 100.
If he maxed out his Strength, would he be able to kill 100 in a single raid? Was that it?
“…Tsk.”
He was disappointed.
Truly disappointed.
He put the remaining point into Strength and sighed.
He had hoped…
That he might be able to wipe out all those human beasts, those running zombies, in one fell swoop.
He felt betrayed.
It wasn’t that there were no gains.
100 HP meant an incredible recovery rate.
Compared to before, he could recover almost four times faster, which meant he could raid four times a day if he wanted to.
If his Strength was 100, would that mean 400 kills a day?
This underground shopping center…
Assuming there were a thousand, he could wipe them out in three days, give or take.
It was…
Significant progress.
But he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
He’d wanted to reach 135 HP.
He took out his phone and checked the time.
9:02 PM.
…9:02 PM…
It was a bit early.
He would do one more raid before heading back.
He wasn’t in the best mood, but discovering the existence of the status cap was a kind of harvest in itself.
He needed to level up and acquire a new specialization.
Yes.
The next specialization.
He needed to hurry up and level up to get the specialization quickly.
1 AM.
All his stats had recharged in just four hours.
…50 points recovered in four hours.
It felt like only a week ago that he had to wait all day for his stats to recharge.
Disappointment aside, he certainly liked the faster recovery.
He should start thinking about his growth direction.
He was definitely lacking in Strength right now.
He always had 2 Accelerates left over.
But 2 Accelerates…
It was hard to consider that a surplus.
Something was bothering him.
The Cockroaches who were spying on them.
They seemed to be killing each other and raiding small stores in the distance, but their numbers hadn’t decreased.
It was partly because they were becoming more skilled, but it also meant that they were continuously drawing people out of their homes.
Their forces were growing.
Saving Accelerate for emergencies wasn’t a bad idea in the current situation.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he needed to focus on leveling up, he could have gone and dealt with them for spying.
He didn’t have the time for that right now.
He couldn’t waste Accelerate on that.
He needed to get a new specialization.
As soon as possible.
So, he’d divide the points by 5.
5 to Strength, then 5 to Spirit.
He would secure Accelerate while increasing his kill count.
He nodded and stood up.
Damn, this toilet.
He really hated it.
His butt hurt from sitting on it for so long.
Until now, he’d been dealing with large hordes in wide-open spaces, so now he should find a place where he could rest and sweep through them.
Yes.
The park with the fountain would be good.
The second-floor terrace with the bookstore would be good too.
He smiled and left the restroom.
Stepping over the dozen or so bodies strewn across the restroom hallway, he entered the underground shopping center.
Over a hundred and fifty corpses lay scattered across dozens of meters.
The human beasts he had killed.
The dead zombies.
…It made him feel a sense of accomplishment.
He smiled and looked towards the bookstore in the distance.
He could vaguely see zombies moving around.
He walked towards them and took a deep breath.
“Come here!”
“Groar?!”
Countless stores connected to the bookstore.
They poured out.
Their heads swiveled.
Their eyes met.
“Kraaa! Kyaaa!”
They rushed towards him.
He walked.
They charged simultaneously.
Their footsteps were loud.
Their growls reverberated through the air.
They ran, tripping, grabbing, trampling.
They surged towards him, forming a human wave.
He drew his sword.
Shwing
He took a step and bent his knees.
He lowered his body.
They crashed into him.
Countless mouths gaped open before his eyes.
“Kraaaaaa!”
He whirled through them.
The next moment, he was standing at the subway entrance.
It was quite a distance to the subway entrance.
He’d used Accelerate eleven times.
Rumble.
A sound like a landslide echoed through the walls from deep within the subway.
Roars filled with screams reverberated through the air.
He smiled and walked towards the supermarket building.
His clothes.
He’d have to throw them away again.
Looking towards the alley, he saw a human-like shadow flickering by the utility pole again.
Persistent, weren’t they?
He scoffed and continued walking.
The building entrance was now completely blocked off.
The side entrance he used was shut.
“Hmm.”
What should he do?
As he tilted his head, looking at the shutter, a voice called down from above.
“Ah, Sung-hoon. Are you back?”
Huh?
He looked up; it was one of the men from the inline skating club.
It seemed to be the man who had a girlfriend in the same club.
He’d diligently forgotten his name.
He waved.
The inline skater said,
“I’ll tell them to open it for you. Just a moment.”
He waited for a moment, and then he heard a metallic sound.
The shutter rattled upwards.
Hoon greeted him with a smile.
“S…Sir. You’re back.”
“Yes. I see you’re locking up now?”
“Ah, yes. Soo-hyun worked very hard. Come on in, Sir.”
As he stepped inside, Hoon rattled the shutter down.
Then, he inserted a metal pipe into the round rings welded between the shutter and the wall.
That must have been the metallic sound he’d heard.
“Thank you. Keep up the good work.”
They seemed to be taking turns standing guard in pairs.
He wanted to rest.
As he started to walk away, Hoon spoke.
“S…Sir. My wife wanted to give you this…”
He held out a Lock & Lock container.
“What is it?”
“Ah, it’s chive pancakes. We had to use up the vegetables before they spoiled. So the women made a few things. My wife wanted to give this to you.”
He smiled and accepted the container.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yes, Sir. The soy sauce is inside. Enjoy your meal. And get some good rest, Sir.”
He smiled, nodded, and walked towards the elevator.
…Not bad.
…Could he really leave them behind?
These people…
A slight weight settled on his heart.
He took a deep breath and entered the elevator.
For now, he would level up.
There was no need for unnecessary thoughts.
He put 3 points into Strength, bringing it to 34, and got off on the 10th floor.
Then, he went into the room where Ye-eun was sleeping.
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Thanks for the chappie!