The Apocalypse Has Been Downloaded – Chapter 2

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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I was dumbfounded.

In just three days, the world had become bizarre.

“Phew. At least I awakened.”

Gaining some kind of ability in a world overrun by zombies was incredibly fortunate. It was lucky enough that I was still alive, but to awaken on top of that? Judging by my status window, my luck stat seemed incredibly high. Was that the reason?

A luck stat of 666… Wait a minute? That number looked familiar… Wasn’t 666 the number of the devil?

If I remembered correctly, it was the number symbolizing Satan’s child in the movie ‘The Omen.’ So, was that why my job was Cultist…? I wasn’t sure whether to interpret it as a heretic or a priest of another world, but either way, it was a strange job, huh?

This felt ominous from the start. The luck stat felt like foreshadowing, and screamed “You will fall,” which made me uneasy.

‘This is unsettling.’

I felt a little scared, like some divine being was watching and laughing at me from somewhere I couldn’t see. Was it giving me these hints because it wanted something from me? Or was I merely a plaything of the gods? Either way, I had no intention of playing along.

“But how do I choose a skill?”

As soon as I had that thought, a window popped up before my eyes.

“Holy shit… What is this?”

Perhaps because my job was Cultist, even the skill names were… unusual. I seriously began to suspect I had become some kind of devil’s spawn.

‘Human Sacrifice? And Summon Tentacles?’

As if answering my question, a new window appeared.

It was a brief description of the skill.

‘That’s a pretty brutal description. Getting closer to ‘God’ sounds like a terrible idea…’

I’d probably have to kill people often in this ruined world, but this skill felt like a demonic revelation, urging me to go around and commit murder voluntarily. That didn’t sit well with me. I’d be mistaken for a lunatic and get killed myself if I did that.

A useful skill for navigating dark places or at night. I had no idea how my eyes would transform, but based on its effect alone, it seemed like a good skill.

“Ooh. A good skill… right? Or not?”

This one, like Night Vision, had a decent effect. The phrase “accompanied by slight pain” was a bit concerning, but it still seemed like a good skill to acquire. Who knew how many injuries I’d sustain in the future? The real problem was the last skill.

Summon Tentacles seemed quite powerful based on its effect.

The skill names were all a bit off, but this Cultist/Otherworldly Priest/whatever job might be unexpectedly good. Was it a hidden, overpowered class?

“First…”

I had no intention of learning Human Sacrifice right now. To use it, I’d have to go around killing people, and that didn’t seem right, especially in the early stages of the apocalypse. I’d be branded as a serial killer and hunted down. And getting closer to ‘God’? I didn’t even know what kind of god it was. Also, what good could come from getting close to a god who told you to kill people? It felt like it would only lead me to more terrible things.

What if I received some ridiculous quest to wipe out a survivor camp? That would be the end for me. Absolutely not. Destroying a survivor camp would require so much effort…

I didn’t need Altered Vision right now either. If it was too dark, I could just find a flashlight. Of course, it probably wasn’t a skill that merely allowed you to see in the dark, but I didn’t feel like learning it right now.

That left Surging Flesh and Summon Tentacles.

“Summon Tentacles.”

I wasn’t injured anywhere at the moment, and it seemed better to learn an offensive skill first. Surging Flesh would allow me to self-heal, which was definitely good, but it didn’t appeal to me right now. The description mentioning pain was also off-putting. It sounded like the pain would be inflicted maliciously.

The moment I acquired the skill, instructions on how to use it were imprinted into my mind. It felt like an awl was briefly jabbed into my brain, and it hurt so much that I momentarily collapsed on the floor.

“Agh!”

Various unidentified characters floated in my head. And I instinctively understood how to use the skill.

The sharp pain subsided, and a few drops of drool dripped from my mouth.

I had to draw a pentagram with my hand while chanting an incantation. Then, a circular summoning circle would appear, and tentacles would sprout, grabbing and crushing or smashing enemies in front of me. It seemed like I could even create the summoning circle beneath an enemy’s feet if I used it cleverly.

“Whoa, this is awesome.”

I wanted to try it out immediately, but I couldn’t. It consumed a whopping 6 mana and had a limit of 3 summons per day. I couldn’t waste it when there were no enemies to kill. This was a skill to be used as a last resort; an instant kill move.

“Next, achievement reward…”

Rewards obtained by completing achievements or challenges.

Since there was no detailed information on how to achieve them, it seemed best to just consider it as a lucky bonus if I happened to complete one.

“Oh.”

Zombie Repellent was a spray that kept zombies from attacking for two hours. It could be used three times, for a total of six hours. That was amazing!

Zombie Antidote was an incredible item that neutralized the zombie virus if consumed within five minutes of being bitten.

And 5 Inventory Slots literally meant gaining five inventory slots.

“Ha… This is a tough choice.”

Each reward was either useful or immediately necessary. Moreover, I didn’t know when I’d achieve another achievement, and there was no guarantee that the next reward would be this luxurious.

‘Zombie Repellent…’

With Zombie Repellent, I could go outside. Since zombies wouldn’t attack me, I could beat them to death until the effect wore off, and level up quickly, right? Plus, it had three uses. It was a considerably good reward.

‘The antidote is hard to pass up too.’

This was a truly amazing item. It was like getting an extra life. I could keep it and use it immediately if I got bitten. If I had valuable companions later, this single bottle would save them from a zombie bite without any tears.

‘5 Inventory Slots too.’

This was also a fantastic reward in terms of utility. Being able to carry five more items… Plus, the previous rewards were consumables that disappeared after use, but the inventory slots were permanent. I could put anything in them and use them until I died.

“This is driving me crazy.”

These items were directly linked to my survival, so my head felt like it was about to explode.

‘Okay. Let’s go with the Zombie Repellent. The antidote… Well, I just won’t get bitten. And the inventory slots… damn, that’s a shame. I can just carry a bag.’

The repellent was the priority. I only had a few packs of ramen left at home. To survive, I needed to go out and raid a supermarket or a store before I ran out of food. Even if I chose the inventory slots, it would be meaningless if I couldn’t deal with the zombies right now.

I didn’t want to miss out on the spray because I was too fixated on inventory slots when I needed a way to avoid being detected by zombies. Inventory slots would only be useful if I could survive those abnormal creatures.

‘Two hours per use… six hours total. If I use this strategically, I could loot enough supplies to last me for over a month…’

As for weapons, I could either make one or find one. If I raided a hardware store, I could easily get a crowbar. Six hours would fly by fast when I loot my neighborhood, but I’d be able to gather a lot of useful stuff.

“Zombie Repellent, please.”

As the window disappeared, a small spray can appeared. It came with instructions, which basically said to spray it once on my face.

“Alright…”

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

-Grooooan!!

“Phew… I hope I made the right choice…”

Now I had a way to deal with those zombie bastards trying to break down my door. I just had to spray myself and push them off the balcony.

I should prepare thoroughly before going outside and using the spray. Wasting time would be frustrating.

“I should also get a weapon…”

The frying pan was already mangled, so I couldn’t use it anymore. Was there anything else here that I could use as a weapon?

I searched the kitchen for something usable.

“A kitchen knife…”

A kitchen knife didn’t seem like a very effective weapon against zombies. Inflicting minor wounds on already dead creatures wouldn’t kill them. The messages said that I had to smash their heads or sever their necks to kill them. A kitchen knife had too short a reach and couldn’t be used as a blunt weapon. Still, it was decent for killing people, so I kept it for now.

While searching the house for a weapon of suitable length, I found a baseball bat in the closet.

“Ah, I forgot I had this.”

Since I lived alone, I bought the baseball bat two years ago for self-defense in case something happened. This should be enough to crush zombie skulls. I just had to spray myself, go out, and then bash their heads in.

‘So, this is my weapon… is there any food left in the house?’

The refrigerator only contained two cans of beer and three bottles of water. There wasn’t even any kimchi left.

I had been so engrossed in my gaming for the past few days, to the point of even skipping meals, that I didn’t notice that my refrigerator was already empty. All I had left were two instant rice packs and a cup of ramen.

It wouldn’t even last me a week. I definitely needed to go out and scavenge for food.

‘Getting food is urgent… and if the water, electricity, and gas get cut off, it’ll be a real struggle, so stocking up on water would be good too…’

Climate change, including global warming, had reached its peak in the 2020s, and by 2022, winters and summers had become extremely cold and hot.

To exaggerate slightly, it was so hot in the summer that it was difficult to go outside during the day, and in the winter, it was so cold at night that you could easily get hypothermia.

‘If it’s cold, I’ll just have to layer up…’

Hypothermia could kill you quickly. I knew this relatively well, having played similar survival games several times. People died surprisingly easily.

Since I didn’t have a woman to cuddle up with to keep warm, I had to dress as warmly as possible.

‘A long padded coat would hinder movement, so no… I think I read somewhere to wear multiple thin layers.’

As I recalled the survival tips I had seen online and continued checking the closet, I heard a strange sound.

-Knock, knock, knock.

Unlike the mindless scratching of zombies at my front door, this was a rhythmic sound. It was coming from next door.

“What… Is my neighbor still alive?”

A woman lived alone next door. I didn’t know her age, but I occasionally saw her when I left for work. We didn’t really greet each other. I had heard her and her boyfriend arguing sometimes though. They fought like they were trying to kill each other. However, it had quieted down in the past two months or so.

Intrigued by the rhythmic knocking, I put my ear to the wall.

-Knock, knock, knock. Hello…

I could hear the woman’s voice through the wall.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

-Oh, yes! Thank goodness…!

The woman sounded relieved and delighted.

-Excuse me… Would you come over to my apartment?

This woman must have had some interesting experiences over the past three days… to so easily invite a male stranger over. What should I do? Should I go? What if it’s a trap…?

“Uh, there are a lot of zombies outside…”

-Um… Come through the balcony. You can break the emergency escape panel and come in.

“Oh!”

I pulled out all the junk from the balcony storage and smashed the panel with my baseball bat. With a bit of force, the wall crumbled, connecting my apartment to hers.

“Oh, welcome.”

The woman greeted me awkwardly.

Having not seen her for a while, my neighbor looked quite pretty now that I looked closely.

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T/N – Summon tentacles… I’ve seen enough hentai to know where this is going. 😏

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.