Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: What is an Awakener?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The dying bastard suddenly spouted some incomprehensible nonsense, and I couldn't help but freeze up.
"Awakener? What the hell is that?"
"A-Awak... cough! You're not an Awakener?"
The man clutched the wound on his throat with his hand, staring at me like he couldn't believe it. Like it was impossible that someone who wasn't an Awakener had gotten the drop on him.
But I have no idea what you're talking about.
What am I supposed to say when you out of nowhere ask if I'm an Awakener?
One thing's for sure—I'm definitely not whatever "Awakener" this guy's talking about.
The word itself makes me think of people who gained some new power when the zombie apocalypse hit.
I mean, it's literally "Awakener," right?
Zombies infused with demonic energy probably aren't the pushovers you see in movies that any regular person could take down easily. I've been treating them like demonic energy piñatas with one shot of Mana Drain, but for normal folks, they might have to risk their lives just to fight them off.
Thinking back on the zombies' movements so far, they seemed way faster than the shambling types you usually see in films...
"For starters, I'm not an Awakener. Thanks for letting me know those things exist around here. As a reward, I'll put you out of your misery cleanly since you're suffering so much."
I could ask this guy what an Awakener is, but that would mean treating his wound first, and I don't have a good way to do that. As a Black Magician, my spells are geared toward destruction, not healing—recovery magic isn't exactly my strong suit.
Besides, there have to be more than just this one guy calling himself an Awakener, right? There are probably others like him out there. I can just grill one of them later when I find one.
"No! Sp-Spare..."
Realizing I was about to kill him, the man desperately crawled across the floor toward me, trailing blood in his wake. But with his throat already slashed and a fatal wound to boot, escaping me was impossible.
Like he could get away from me at that crawling speed?
I followed behind him, grabbed him by the hair, yanked his head up, and slashed his throat completely with the knife. Much deeper than before.
"Gurk! Gah!"
I severed more than half his neck, tossed him to the floor, and quickly absorbed the demonic energy from his corpse.
Every little bit adds up to make a mountain, right? I could gather demonic energy from zombies, but it's best to stockpile it from anything I can. Who knows—this small habit might butterfly into something big later.
Leaving the now-useless corpse on the floor, I went back to gathering the rest of the supplies when I locked eyes with the zombies outside.
Not sure if they followed the guy here or got drawn by our brief scuffle.
Eh, doesn't matter either way.
They came to refill my demonic energy reserves? Jackpot for me.
The three zombies spotted me and charged straight in, invading the convenience store.
Three of them? Piece of cake. I turned them into mummies in an instant with Mana Drain.
So people right now are living in fear of trash like these?
Truly tragic.
Well, everyone has to fend for themselves, don't they?
Better loot this place quick and go.
As I finished packing up the items, I felt someone's gaze on me. Turning toward it, I noticed a door inside the store—slightly ajar. Probably the storage room. Peering through the narrow gap were a pair of eyes watching the outside.
Come to think of it, that zombie I grabbed earlier was slamming itself against that door. Guess there was someone inside, and that's why.
Recalling how the zombies at my apartment acted, maybe they lock onto a target and pursue relentlessly until something else catches their attention? Or perhaps they give up after a set time if they can't find their prey and move on.
Whatever their behavior patterns are, I can figure that out later. For now, what to do about this person cautiously eyeing me?
I could rush over, fling the door open, and see who it is. But I decided to just ignore them for now.
Whoever it is, if they can't even come out because of zombies, they're probably useless. If they could fight them off, they wouldn't be hiding. And there was only one zombie anyway—not like there was a horde forcing them to hide.
So, ignore and get on with my business.
I crammed my bag full of food items and figured I could stuff a few more plastic bags to carry out. There still seemed to be some left, so I could leave, drop this off at home, and come back for another haul.
The more supplies like this, the better.
Plus, convenience stores aren't just food—they've got all sorts of random stuff. Might as well grab some of that too. In a world where you can't easily get anything anymore, having a variety means it'll come in handy eventually.
Just as I slung the bag over my shoulder, grabbed the plastic bags in both hands, and stood to leave,
"W-Wait!"
A human voice called from behind. Naturally, it came from the storage room direction.
I couldn't see her clearly through the narrow gap before, but from the voice, it sounded like a woman.
If I were some sex-crazed maniac, I'd probably head straight for the storage room the moment I realized there was a woman inside to rape her.
Or maybe there are those naive types who think they have to protect women in a crisis-ridden world.
But I'm not interested in any of that. I just need to look out for myself—no reason to save or protect anyone.
So my plan is to ignore the woman and head home.
"Please, just wait a second!"
Desperate cries followed as I ignored her and tried to leave the store. She must have been really panicked, because I heard the storage door—which she'd been safely hiding behind—fly open as she rushed out.
She's yelling that urgently... maybe I should at least glance back?
I stopped just before stepping outside and turned around. A woman was walking toward me, her face a mess of tears and snot, like she'd been crying nonstop.
Her face was a wreck, but even through it, I could tell she was pretty for a regular person. And her figure wasn't bad either.
Wearing a light t-shirt, jeans, and the convenience store vest, she must be an employee who worked here.
Probably got stuck hiding in the storage room when the zombie outbreak hit and one broke in.
"Um... can we talk for a sec? Eek!"
Thud!
She approached me cautiously, then spotted the man's corpse I'd just killed and yelped in shock, tumbling backward. Guess she didn't see me do it from inside the storage room.
Zombies vanish on their own when killed, but human corpses don't? I absorbed demonic energy from both, but this is different. Wonder what the principle behind that is.
She's trembling uncontrollably, like it's her first time seeing a dead body, too stunned to speak. It's starting to get annoying. If you're gonna talk to someone, spit it out quick.
Well, fair enough for her first corpse—plus she nearly died chased by a zombie.
But I don't have the time or use for wasting on her, so I'll just leave her be and get going.
I was really about to leave this time when her voice came from behind again.
"Um... are you an Awakener by any chance?"
She seemed totally useless, so I was gonna ditch her, but then she drops that unexpected word—the same one I'd been curious about earlier. Now I'm intrigued.
I halted my steps out the door and turned back.
"Awakener? What's that supposed to mean—are you one?"
"W-Well... I am an Awakener..."
She looks this useless and she's claiming to be an Awakener?
Is she lying just to save her skin?
Guess I need to chat a bit to check. I set the plastic bags down and walked toward her.
"You're really an Awakener?"
"Yes, really!"
I looked down at her as she sat frozen on the floor, and she nodded frantically in response.
Doesn't seem like she's lying from the way she talks. But how much useful info can I get out of her about Awakeners?
I'll ask about Awakeners first and decide after. If she's no use, I can just leave her here.
"Explain what an Awakener is."
"Y-Yes? What do you..."
"Cut the crap and explain!"
"Eek! O-Okay!"
I snapped at her for dragging her feet, and she quickly answered.
"I don't know much either... Some weird window popped up saying I was an Awakener."
"Hm... a weird window appeared?"
"Yeah. It said the end of the world had come, to survive, and pick a trait... Um, are you not an Awakener?"
"Nope, not me."
Her eyes went wide at my words as she stared at me.
"Huh? But you took out those monsters in one hit... You're not?"
She must have seen me wipe out the three zombies with Mana Drain.
Hard to believe I'm just a normal person after that.
It'd actually be more natural to assume I was an Awakener.
So why wasn't I chosen as one?
"Hey, what were you doing right before that window popped up saying you're an Awakener?"
"Well, um... I killed one monster, and then it appeared."
"Monster? You mean zombie?"
Killing one zombie triggered it for her?
I've been killing them nonstop, and nothing like that has shown up for me.
What's the difference? I've taken down over twenty zombies easy.
She gets it after one, but not me? Why?
Then a thought flashed through my mind.
No way, is this it?
- Grrr...
Oh, perfect timing—a zombie just wandered by.
Like a beast spotting good prey, I rushed toward it.
But unlike before, I didn't use Mana Drain. Instead, gripping the same knife I'd used on the man earlier, I slashed the zombie's neck.
The zombie dropped instantly from my attack, and right then—a window I'd never seen before appeared before my eyes.