I’m the Only One with Powers in the Apocalypse – Chapter 9

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Gasping for breath, I muttered, “…Let’s… let’s rest a bit… then… again.”

I had made up my mind to kill them all, but my jaw still trembled. My teeth chattered.

I’d been in fights before. But killing someone?

I’d never even considered it.

I had just killed someone.

No, not a person.

…It was a high school student.

He was wearing a uniform.

No, he wasn’t a person!

I gripped the spear and slowly sank to the floor.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

So-eun whimpered softly. Ye-eun comforted her, stroking her hair and back. Then, she looked at me.

“…Thank you.”

Thank you?

I looked at Ye-eun. Her eyes… Despite being teary, on the verge of crying, she stared straight at me without blinking. Her face was set with determination. The determination to survive and, at the same time, a willingness to trust me.

…Seeing that look in her eyes gave me strength.

I nodded.

I had to forget the horrific feeling of the metal pipe piercing through bone. I would have to do it dozens, no, hundreds, thousands of times more.

I pressed my lips together, stared into space, and took slow, deep breaths.

“…Sung-hoon.”

A hoarse voice. I looked at Ye-eun again.

“How many more are there… outside?”

I silently held up three fingers.

Then I said, “…I just killed someone.”

I heard both Ye-eun and So-eun gasp.

I spoke softly, “…I’ll rest for a bit, then we’ll do it again.”

Neither of them responded.

I looked at Ye-eun. She was looking at me, tears streaming down her face. I didn’t know why she was crying, and I didn’t feel like telling her to stop.

I said, “…Let’s get out of here alive. Together.”

Ye-eun gave a small nod.

Right.

Let’s get out of here alive.

I set the spear down and closed my eyes. We had rushed into this storage room. It was cramped with just three people inside. Neither I nor the girls had imagined we’d be trapped in this small space for so long.

We had to endure.

Endure and survive.

“Hoo…”

Sitting here for a while, I felt my composure returning. As I rested, Ye-eun spoke.

“Um… Sung-hoon.”

I looked at her.

“Those… those three outside… are they… very dangerous? My… my grandmother… she’s home alone…”

…Hmm…

Judging by her tone and expression… she wanted me to do something about it quickly… Did she think I wanted to be stuck here? I wanted to stretch my legs too. How could I explain that I was waiting for Accelerate to recharge?

I thought for a moment, then replied, “I’m waiting for them to calm down. They were just lying there earlier. And I’m not sure if those shelves would hold if they all rushed us at once.”

“…Ah…”

Ye-eun nodded, seemingly convinced.

Right, just stay put.

Oh, right.

I had leveled up earlier. I opened my status screen.

…Stat points…

…Shit, I was torn again. Increasing the number of times I could use Accelerate was important, but so was recovery. Increasing my Spirit wouldn’t help if my recovery rate couldn’t keep up; I’d just have to rest longer. And I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

…There were three of them outside…

If I killed them all, that would be four, including the one I’d already killed.

…Right.

I allocated the point to HP and closed my eyes again. Even a 0.1 increase in recovery per hour would be good. I wanted to recover quickly and get out of here.

After allocating the point to HP… Ugh… my HP was at 3. It had been at 5 earlier. About an hour had passed. So, it should have been at 6. But it was at 3. …That meant it recovered three times per hour. Every twenty minutes, 1 HP was consumed to restore the other stats? …If that was the case, HP was incredibly efficient.

HP…

Anyway, I got it.

My Strength had also decreased by 1. Probably from thrusting the spear earlier. But my body felt fine.

…Did killing one of them cost me 1

Strength…?

…Please, no.

If that was the case, no matter how much I increased my Spirit, I would only be able to kill five at a time. If that was true, increasing my Spirit wasn’t enough.

No matter how many times I could use Accelerate, what would happen when my Strength reached zero?

Shit!

Please, let that not be the case!

“Hoo…”

Frustration welled up, and I frowned, leaning my head against the wall. Ye-eun seemed to think I was afraid.

“…C… Cheer up… okay?”

I chuckled and looked at Ye-eun. I just nodded. What else could I say? She told me to cheer up, so I nodded.

“I’ll just rest a little longer.”

“…Okay…”

Two more hours passed before my Spirit reached 5. I checked my phone; it was 3:00 AM. So-eun seemed to have fallen asleep in Ye-eun’s arms.

Sorry, but it was time to wake up.

“…Let’s do this.”

I stood up. Ye-eun and So-eun startled awake. Ye-eun stroked her sister’s hair, then stood up and came to stand behind me.

Huh?

Ye-eun looked at me and said, “I’ll help. With… closing the door.”

Oh.

Good.

I stepped aside and pointed at the shelves.

“Stand here.”

Ye-eun pressed herself against the shelves. I gripped the spear and reached for the door handle. I had to remember how much force I’d used to stab the high school student’s head. One at a time.

A sharpened spearhead would have made this easier. But I didn’t have one. This was all I had. I had to thrust with all my might. One at a time. Five seconds. That’s all the time I had.

“…Opening.”

“Okay.”

She sounded determined. I liked her tone.

I unlocked the door.

Click.

Ooh

And slowly turned the handle. …Creak… Ugh. The hinges were damaged. From all the banging. Hours had passed, and it was quiet again. I looked down. As expected, the three were sprawled on the floor. Right by the counter. Practically at my feet.

…Wait.

They were right at my feet. Their heads… were a bit far. About a meter away. They were piled on top of each other, making it awkward. I could only see the legs of two of them; only the back of the third one’s head was visible. I slowly extended the spear. Maybe I could take out one without using Accelerate.

I aimed at him and slowly pulled the spear back. I could kill one without Accelerate. I had one chance. I inhaled. And inhaled again. Until my lungs were full. I held my breath. I tightened my grip. I would strike down in one swift motion. With all my might!

“…Hah!” The metal pipe connected squarely with the back of his head. Crack! The spearhead pierced through! Pull it out! Quickly!

“Hah!” I exhaled and yanked the spear back. At the same time, the other two roared and sprang to their feet.

“Raaagh!”

“Graaagh! Raaagh!”

They turned their heads towards me. I pulled the spear free! They lunged! Their mangled faces rushed towards me!

Shit, Accelerate!

“Groaa—aa—aa—”

The one in the checkered shirt lunged like a frog, and the salaryman in the suit—I could only see his grotesque face and hands. They froze simultaneously.

I gritted my teeth and thrust the spear at the checkered shirt guy with all my might. “Hah!”

Thud!

The metal pipe plunged into the top of his head. I tried to pull it out, but it was stuck!

“Ugh!”

I yanked with all my strength!

It came loose!

I had no time!

I aimed the spear at the salaryman’s face.

“—aa—aa—”

Shit!

“Ha!”

I slammed the spear down onto his head. Crack! The feeling of something hard shattering, followed by the sensation of piercing something soft, traveled through my hand. It was a horrific feeling.

Damn it!

“—aa—raagh!”

Crash!

The two roaring beasts slammed into the door and collapsed.

And then, silence.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

My mind was blank. I couldn’t think.

I stood there, gripping the spear, eyes wide, staring into space. My breathing was ragged. Was that my breathing?

After a moment, I heard a sound.

“…Whimper… sob…”

…Someone was crying?

It sounded like crying. “Huff… ha… ha… hoo…”

I turned my head. My neck was stiff. So-eun was crying. Ye-eun, I hadn’t noticed when she moved, was holding her sister close.

“Don’t cry. Don’t cry. It’s over now.”

I watched them, gasping for breath. I was barely coherent. I had… I had killed three of them in quick succession.

Oh.

I leveled up.

“Ha… ha… hoo… ha…”

Clang.

The spear clattered to the floor. My grip had loosened, all strength draining from my hands. Shit, I couldn’t let that happen! I bent down and picked up the spear.

“…Ugh!”

Shit, I was going to be sick! I clapped both hands over my mouth and lifted my head.

“Ugh!” Damn it! I hadn’t even eaten anything, and I was throwing up! I kept my hands over my mouth and held on. Damn it, don’t throw up. Swallow it! There was nothing in my stomach anyway!

Ah.

It passed. The nausea subsided. I removed my hands and knelt down.

“Ha… ha… hoo… ha…”

I felt like my head was spinning.

I had… I had killed three people. No, four. No, five.

…I had killed five people.

In this convenience store.

…No.

Don’t think like that. I kept making that mistake; I had to snap out of it.

They weren’t people.

They weren’t people.

“Hoo… hoo…”

I grabbed the shelf and stood up, spear in hand.

“Hoo… hoo…”

So-eun was still whimpering beside me.

Get a grip.

It was over.

Now, all I had to do was get out of here.

“Hoo… hah!” Get it together!

I pulled on the spear.

Thud!

Something was stuck on the spearhead. …Shit, it was the salaryman’s head. It was still impaled on the spear.

I looked at Ye-eun and So-eun and said, “…Don’t look.”

Ye-eun’s face was ashen as she nodded. She hugged So-eun tightly, burying her face in her sister’s hair.

I pushed the door open and pulled on the spear at the same time.

Thud! The spear came loose.

“Hoo… ha…”

…It was done. It was finally over. I was numb. I couldn’t think anymore. I had killed five people in one day. I’d never imagined I’d do something like this. …This was going to give me trauma… I tapped my forehead with my fist. Get a grip. Get a grip. I was alive. That’s all that mattered. I was alive.

“Ha… hoo…” I took a deep breath and looked at the girls. They must be in shock. Especially Ye-eun; she had seen everything. I said, “…Let’s go. Home.”

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