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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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If you asked me if we were perfectly prepared, the only answer I could give was “no.”
Because no matter how much you prepared or made precautions, it would never be enough. No matter how much you prepared, reality would always present you with an even bigger wall.
“Still… with this much…”
“The moment you think that, you’ll jinx it, you idiot. Never let your guard down. The guy who lets his guard down is the first one to die.”
You would die if you let your guard down. That was a fact that had already been proven in numerous games, dramas, novels, and even movies.
Of course, there were many guys who died even if they didn’t let their guard down.
“It’s not enough. It’s not enough at all.”
“Ah… yes.”
Ha Jin-seong, who had been looking at the barricades that were haphazardly made of furniture and the cars that had been parked at the entrance of the supermarket as a substitute for barricades with a satisfied expression, immediately closed his mouth at my words.
In a situation where zombies might be able to do parkour, there was no telling when those flimsy barriers that we had built ourselves would be breached.
We had also boiled oil and piled up a lot of things that we could drop on them if they climbed up the walls, but I still felt uneasy.
Even though they had become disciplined, looking at the punks, who still looked sloppy as they smoked, and the women, who were far away from them and looked frightened, made me wonder if we could really make it.
“Huu…”
When I actually looked at them like this, the fact that the number of people we could mobilize was less than fifty made my spine tingle.
The moment it became 12 o’clock, “Death Monday” would start, and I couldn’t shake off my unease.
We had worked quite hard to prepare this past weekend, but… I didn’t know how far we could go with what we had.
I also didn’t know how many zombies would rush at us, or how many special zombies would appear. If there was even just one person here who was a regressor, a transmigrator, or some main character from a novel, it would have been great.
Unfortunately, everyone here was facing the disaster for the first time.
“The kids are definitely keeping watch around the area, right?”
“Yes. I’ve warned them several times. They must be on their toes.”
“Yeah… That’s how it should be…”
In the end, we decided to spend this night with our eyes wide open.
The moment it became “Monday,” meaning the moment it passed midnight, normal zombies would start to turn into special zombies, and the intelligence and ferocity of normal zombies would also increase drastically.
“Huu…”
It was still a relief that two more Awakened had appeared from the women’s group.
Only two out of the nine had become Awakened, but that was still a high number judging by the overall statistics.
The two new Awakened were Hwang Soo-min, who had been strangely proactive, and Lee Eun-hye, a woman who was very quiet.
‘It’s unfortunate that I can’t use both of them right away…’
Surprisingly, Hwang Soo-min wasn’t a normal class like a warrior, archer, or fighter.
She had the pretty rare “Mage” class, and judging by her skill tree, it was a class that focused on one of the elemental magics.
The problem was that mages were completely useless at low levels.
Their initial mana was too low, so if they used a couple of spells with a basic mana consumption of 6 or 7, they would become useless.
It seemed that skills like “Magic Power Increase” or “Mana Recovery Increase” appeared only when they reached higher levels… But I shouldn’t expect high level magical prowess from a level 4 mage.
It was a typical late-bloomer class.
Still, it was a relief that she had gained the power of an adult male as a result of her stats thanks to her awakening.
‘And Lee Eun-hye is an archer without a bow…’
The archer was a class that was extremely dependent on equipment. If they didn’t have a bow and some arrows, the archer class was nothing more than just a tower guard because they were so reliant on equipment.
She had no usable combat skills if she didn’t have a bow. It was truly surprising and shocking.
The warriors who were also a normal class were running around and smashing zombie heads just fine even when they were holding just a steel pipe.
Even though she had better vision and dynamic visual acuity, and had obtained a self-propulsion skill, if she wanted to fight properly, a bow and some arrows were essential for her.
Of course, assuming that they had a bow, an archer would have higher single-target damage than a normal warrior, and they would be a more troublesome opponent, but since there was only one bow right now…
Ha-rin only had one bow, and it was naturally given to Kim Min-joon.
It was more efficient to give it to Kim Min-joon who was already level 7, rather than Lee Eun-hye who was still level 4. He was so happy when I gave him the bow.
‘It’s not like I can just make a bow if I want to.’
It was a disappointing situation in many ways. I had internally hoped that a hidden class like Eun-ji and Ha-rin would appear. It seemed like my luck of 666 wasn’t working right now.
“Huu…”
Anyway, we had a total of nine Awakened.
Me, Eun-ji, Ha-rin, the Ha brothers, the level 5 warrior Kim Il-woo, the level 7 archer Kim Min-joon, the level 4 mage Hwang Soo-min, and the level 4 archer Lee Eun-hye.
We also had 33 non-Awakened. The total number of people we had was 42.
‘As expected, we need more people…’
I couldn’t shake off the feeling that we didn’t have enough people to defend the supermarket. Now that Monday was coming, I missed Park Seong-oh and the two warriors who had died.
‘We have enough food and water for now, but I wish we had at least 20 more people…’
We needed over 60 people to keep watch at night without any gaps.
With only 42 people keeping watch, there were gaps everywhere.
‘I have to capture those guys who have settled in the Daiso store too…’
The distance to the Daiso store from the supermarket was about 10 minutes on foot.
It was a short distance. If there were no zombies in the middle, there would be no problem going back and forth.
‘For now, let’s just get through tonight. We’ll contact them during the day.’
I didn’t know what their situation was, but maybe they would want to join us after surviving tonight.
Because even though it wasn’t midnight yet, zombies were already gathering and forming groups.
We had clearly killed as many zombies as we could in the area to reduce their numbers, but zombies were still appearing from everywhere, as if they had been hiding all this time.
“Hyungnim, 5 minutes left.”
“Haa… Damn Monday is coming… You also go to your post and wait.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Me, Eun-ji, and Ha-rin were in charge of the front of the supermarket.
I had to see how those crazy zombies would act in 5 minutes.
‘Let’s see… I have one use left of my zombie repellent, and Ha-rin also has one, and Eun-ji has two.’
Hwang Soo-min and Lee Eun-hye received two when they became newly Awakened and had achieved the “First Kill” achievement, so we had a total of 10 uses of zombie repellent.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Awakened at the supermarket had already used up all of their zombie repellents in the first and second days of the apocalypse.
Stupid bastards. It seemed like they had used them all up without thinking.
‘I have to use these 10 opportunities well.’
I forcefully took the sprays from Hwang Soo-min and Lee Eun-hye.
Honestly, those two weren’t part of my harem, and unlike Eun-ji and Ha-rin, they were just slaves, so I didn’t hesitate in taking their repellents.
‘Hmm… 2 minutes left…’
My breathing became rough.
My hand was trembling slightly. I must be quite tense right now.
“Oppa.”
Eun-ji, who had noticed that I was tense, grabbed my hand tightly. When I turned my head to look at her expression, I couldn’t see it well because it was dark, but it was clear that she was also nervous.
Ha-rin was the same.
“Master, will we… be able to survive?”
“Of course… Honestly, I don’t know about the other guys, but the three of us will definitely survive.”
I was a little uneasy, but we would definitely be able to survive. We also had the sprays. If it didn’t work out, we could just sacrifice all the humans here to the zombies and run away.
While I was thinking about abandoning the forty or so survivors here and running away if the situation became too hopeless, the Human Sacrifice skill suddenly came to my mind.
‘Should I have chosen the Human Sacrifice skill…?’
A strange skill where you offered up living sacrifices to accumulate karma and get closer to a god.
I understood that this “karma,” which I could get from Human Sacrifice, was a resource that was consumed when I used my other skills. I would probably need karma to use the Abyssal Observation skill as well.
But I was hesitant to choose it because I didn’t know the meaning of “getting closer to a god.”
The “god” that was written in the description was too suspicious. I was suspicious of whether the unknown entity, whose name I didn’t even know, was a real god or not, and above all, I had a feeling that it would merely play with me.
‘But since my class is a Cultist… maybe Human Sacrifice is the beginning and end of my class?’
When a crisis was approaching, all kinds of thoughts would come to one’s mind. I wondered if my choices had been right, or if I had gone down the wrong path.
‘If it’s for my survival in the future… why do I have this strong feeling that I have to choose Human Sacrifice? Should I follow my gut feeling?’
This wasn’t a logical judgment or a deduction based on analyzing the situation, but an instinctive gut feeling.
I had a feeling that I would be able to become incomparably stronger than I was now if I chose Human Sacrifice and looked into the abyss. It was as if my skill was urging me to choose it. The unease in my heart grew.
‘The next time I level up… maybe it would be more beneficial for me to choose Human Sacrifice, rather than Mana Eye of Egolessness…’
I was thinking that when it happened.
-Ding! Ding! Ding!
The alarms on our phones went off all at once.
It was finally 12 o’clock.
The date had changed, and Monday had arrived.
This damn Monday, which I had desperately hoped wouldn’t come, had arrived.
I had desperately hoped that Monday wouldn’t come when I was a salaryman, but just like back then, time had flowed by mercilessly and informed us that Monday had come again.
And the changes that appeared among the zombies the moment the clock struck 12 o’clock were so horrific and were clearly visible to us.
“Uoooohaaaaa!!!!!”
“Kiahhhhh!!!!”
“Kieeeaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!”
“Damn it…!”
The zombies screamed and shrieked, making noises that were much louder than before.
And…
Pshoo!
“Sh, shit…”
“Wh, what in the world…”
Among the hundreds of zombies, some of them started twisting their bodies, and their original forms were torn and burst apart as they turned into special zombies with grotesque appearances.
The scene that I saw on the street from the roof of the supermarket was… a living hell.
“Th, there are zombie centipedes…”
Over ten zombie centipedes were twisting their bodies as they walked around the street…
“Ma, Master… th, those… those things…”
There were muscular zombies where Ha-rin was pointing at that were about 3 meters tall, and were roaring.
“War, War Boy…”
Special zombies that had first been discovered in America. Among the information about the special zombies that I had downloaded on the third day of the apocalypse when the internet was still working, these guys were the ones who had been evaluated as being particularly dangerous.
“There’s a Bitch too… Uh… Those are guys I’ve never seen before… Ma, Master… What do we do?”
Not only zombie centipedes and War Boys, but there were also countless zombies that turned into special zombies, and they were roaring and starting to move, searching for places where survivors were still hiding.
And the most terrifying thing was that most of those countless zombies were gunning for the supermarket where we were waiting.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!!!
Giant War Boys mercilessly slammed the barricades that we had set up at the entrance of the supermarket.
The cars that had been placed at the entrance were being torn apart by those guys’ hands, shaking the entrance as they did so, and the furniture that had been brought out there to block the entrance was gradually being pushed back.
And through the gaps, the zombie centipedes with dozens of wriggling arms were climbing up the walls.
“Hy, Hyungnim!!! It seems like the first floor is going to be breached!!!”
“Uaaah!!!! Damn it!!! They’re coming up!!! Pour the oil!!!”
“Z, ZOMBIE CENTIPEDES!!!!”
Shrill screams were heard from everywhere. The pained cries of the despairing survivors were making my mind go crazy.
“Haha… hahahahaha…”
I started laughing because the hopeless situation we were in was too absurd.
What was the point of all the preparations that we had made up until now?
I had thought that I had tried my best. But reality seemed to be mocking our efforts, bringing us even bigger trials and disasters.
It seemed that all the things that we had prepared, to some extent, were about to be destroyed and made useless by the army of hundreds or thousands of zombies in front of me.
‘The problem isn’t the normal zombies… It’s those damn special zombies…’
Would we really be able to survive?
Against those monsters?
Against that many special zombies?
“O… Oppa… What, what do we do…?”
“W, we’re done for. In this situation… Ru, run away, Master…”
Despair had descended on the faces of my two companions.
‘Damn it… should we start using the sprays now…?’
I had to save myself, Eun-ji, and Ha-rin no matter what.
We could use the sprays a total of 10 times… We could use them for 6 hours each for the three of us.
‘Should we abandon the supermarket… and run away somewhere else…?’
Honestly, I had settled down at the supermarket because our food situation was quite urgent, and I didn’t care about what happened to the others besides the three of us.
The Awakened slaves were merely useful, and I didn’t have to cherish or save them.
If we could survive by sacrificing the thirty-three normal humans, I was prepared to make that choice.
Then, a notification appeared before our eyes.
A new week of disaster has begun!
We hope that you will obtain great loot and experience among the more powerful zombies.
Changes in the Habits of Zombies.
Zombies have become more aggressive and intelligent!
Zombies become more aggressive when large numbers of humans are gathered.
Also, zombies more actively track and attack survivors at night.
Lastly, some of the special zombies ignore the effects of the zombie repellent!
Increased Reward for Killing Zombies.
Up until now, you have only received experience and coins from killing zombies! With this update, the rewards will increase.
Special zombies will now randomly drop items such as weapons, armor, and accessories.
The dropped items can be sold to peddler NPCs.
Appearance of Named Entities.
Some of the special zombies that meet certain requirements will evolve into ‘named’ entities.
When you kill a named entity, you will receive a guaranteed larger reward and additional stats.
Named entities are treated as semi-field bosses and will exert a slight influence on the area where they are staying.
Conditions for the Appearance of Peddlers.
If the number of survivors in a group is over 10, peddlers will randomly appear nearby.
If the number of survivors in a group exceeds 100, peddlers will be summoned nearby.
Also, if a player has over 10,000 coins, peddlers will appear around the player.
The situation was too urgent, so I couldn’t focus on the update details at all.
It was currently more important to kill the zombie centipedes that were climbing up the walls and to run away.
‘Right, shit… There’s no solution here.’
I never imagined that they would rush at us in such crazy numbers.
The world would always easily exceed my expectations negatively.
Was everything we had going to collapse like this in front of the huge storm of this disaster?
‘Let’s run away.’
Right when I was about to abandon the supermarket and choose to flee in order to plan for the future.
-Pshoo!
In the middle of the supermarket rooftop.
A bright ray of light flashed and a bolt of lightning struck down.
“Wh, what is that!?”
“Sh, shit!!! Is it a glowing zombie!?”
At that moment when the survivors were screaming and shrieking, the light faded and a man who was carrying a large bag walked out of the center of it.
A man with a strange aura, he looked like a beggar with shabby clothes and a hiking hat pulled down low. I couldn’t tell his age from where I was.
He had a bag that was much bigger than a person, and he sat down after looking over the startled survivors.
“Huu. It’s a disaster.”
The man who had sat down rummaged through his bag as if he wasn’t afraid at all, even though the crazy special zombies were screaming and climbing up the supermarket, as he laid out his wares.
‘What is this bastard…’
All the items that he had taken out felt and looked alien.
A ring with a green jewel, a syringe with a blue liquid, and strange cards that didn’t have anything written on them. They all looked like “items.”
Right, items like the ones in games.
“No way…”
He spread the items out on his mat and then sighed deeply and talked to us as if he was forced to say a predetermined line.
“No matter how big of a disaster comes, my mission doesn’t change. It seems like your situation is very urgent. Take a look at my wares, young people.”
He was a “peddler” who smiled and talked to us while in front of thousands of zombies.
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T/N – Dang, that was worse than I thought. The peddler will most likely have a solution for their problem though, with the MC’s luck being so high. His 666 luck is actually his plot armor quantified, now that I think about it. Also, did the MC and his harem really not level up over the weekend? That’s like 2 to 3 days of grinding… Even if they weren’t grinding all the time during those days, they should have at least leveled up once or twice.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
