First Battle
I stared at the Status Window for a while. "Status Window. Status Window." But it wasn't some hallucination. Even after splashing cold water on my face, it floated right there in front of my eyes. Did this make any sense? Well, no, but zombies didn't make sense either. No one in modern society had ever imagined the world collapsing because of them.
With zombies, Status Windows, and all this incomprehensible shit happening overnight, it was no wonder reality felt numb. Still, I let out a sigh and stopped denying it.
"Fuck."
So I decided to just chalk it up to lucky me awakening like some novel protagonist. It wasn't like I could cross-check with anyone else right now anyway. Plus, unlike those novel characters, my Status Window didn't force quests down my throat. Just a vague quest floating there, some skills, and my stats.
"Fine, since it's like this, let's experiment."
I immediately resolved to test out everything in the Status Window. Even if this power was pure coincidence, I had to use it to survive.
I turned my eyes back to it.
"Stats look pretty mediocre, except maybe mana."
The stats seemed to just reflect my current condition, minus mana. Strength and stamina were my natural abilities. Mental strength probably meant something I wasn't aware of. And with my class as Mage, I figured I didn't need to worry about that one.
"Ice Spear."
Under skills, there was only one: Ice Spear. Just as the name suggested, it summoned an ice spear. As soon as I said it, one appeared exactly where I wanted.
The spear was a sharp icicle about 30cm long. When I thought launch, it shot forward.
BOOM!
It flew to my target spot and exploded. Chunks of white wallpaper and chunks of the inner concrete rained down onto the floor with a clatter.
From the destructive power, it was clear this would blow a zombie's head clean off in one hit. But unlike the Status Window, it wouldn't activate just by imagining—no need to speak it aloud. Still, as long as I could open my mouth, I could fire it anywhere I wanted, so it wasn't a huge drawback.
"Strong as hell, that's good."
But the noise was another story. Way too loud. If I fired this carelessly outside and shattered some glass, every zombie in the area would come swarming.
Great power, but limited quantity and that racket meant I had to be careful when using it.
"Status Window."
It popped up, proficiency up by 01%, mana down by 1. Looked like each use bumped proficiency by 1%.
With a rough idea of how this skill worked, I kept experimenting.
"Ice Spear."
I tried summoning one far away, out on the balcony past the living room. When I thought don't launch, just drop, it fell to the floor with a clink.
"It just pops out wherever, huh."
What kind of convenient-ass magic was this? I walked over to the cold-feeling spear, picked it up, and examined it closely. Didn't dare taste it—looked like it'd stick to my tongue—but when I hit it with the hairdryer, it started melting away, losing shape. It didn't melt easily, holding its chill well, but yeah, it melted.
"Water supply sorted, at least."
No proficiency gain since I hadn't launched it. With a solid grasp on my Ice Spear skill, I sighed, lay back on the bed, and pulled out my smartphone to KakaoTalk Mom again.
But the "1" never went away, no matter how long I waited. She was probably still helping with whatever she mentioned earlier. Made sense—Grandma's place was so isolated, like living off the grid. The three of them would be fine. Food? Mountains and sea nearby; they'd figure it out. Smart folks, they'd survive.
"Good enough."
The problem was me in Seoul. I texted my parents to try saying "Status Window" and tossed the phone aside. Then I opened the Status Window again and checked the quest tab last.
Main Quest
Chapter 1: City of the Dead
NO1. Find the Savior. [0/1]
Sub Quest
NO1. Collect the Ruin Fragments. [0/10]
Quests and Savior. And Ruin. What the hell did "find the Savior" even mean? Honestly, I had no clue how this Status Window operated, even as I used it. That sub quest—"Ruin Fragments"—sounded extremely suspicious.
Status Window and quests were better than nothing, but it was frustrating as fuck.
"Hey."
I tried talking to myself. If there was a quest, there had to be something behind it.
Nothing.
"What the hell is this? What do you want me to do?"
Tried casual commands, still nothing.
"System! Assistant!"
More tries, zero response. Reality crashed in hard.
"Tch..."
Frustrating. If Chapter 1 Mission 1 was "find the Savior," there was probably a Mission 2, Chapter 2, and so on. Was it okay to leave it this vague from the start? City of the Dead and Savior—what was Chapter 2? What kind of game was this? Wrong number?
Honestly, I figured the Status Window belonged to someone else, or it was meant for some distant entity and got dumped on me. But nothing changed. It stayed in front of my eyes, quest and all.
So I was stuck with nothing to do.
"Right."
Then I remembered that internet post about Status Windows. If I had one, odds were others did too. I rushed to log into the [COVID-23 Zombie Emergency Discussion Room].
"No way."
Coincidence or not, the internet cut out right then. "Unstable connection" on my phone screen. No more pages loading.
KakaoTalk was the same. Fuck. Worst timing ever. If I hadn't skipped gaming last night for that late sleep, or if I hadn't wasted time testing the Status Window, I could've asked and gotten answers.
Gurgle.
And my gut picked now to rumble like an idiot. I'd woken up and eaten nothing, so yeah, I was starving. Problem was, no food in the house.
"Shit."
Daily delivery orders had left me with this. As an unemployed guy skipping breakfast and ordering lunch, the fridge had only a few sodas and barley tea.
No point ordering now—no stores, no owners, no staff. Hell, the whole country was fucked.
"Nothing goes right."
Internet down. Zombies outside. But skipping a meal today? I was too hungry.
Gulp gulp.
I grabbed some barley tea from the fridge and chugged it. The cool liquid calmed me down. Body cooler, mind clearer—and stomach hungrier.
"Gotta go out."
I'd tried escaping reality, but no other way. Locked in here? Starvation. I rummaged for tools, steeled myself, and headed out.
"Tch... this it?"
Brief hesitation. But yeah. Skip today, what about tomorrow? Humans die without food. To get food, go out. Zombies out there, but still gotta go. Have to face them eventually. Might as well rip the Band-Aid off early.
Terrifying, hated it, wanted to hole up forever—but with my damn Ice Spear, I could handle from range. Good odds, so I rolled the dice.
"Clothes, check. Bag, check. No noisy shit."
Target: convenience store across the street. Deadline: before sunset. Outbreak recent, power and water still on. No humans around, seemed safe. Store had to have supplies.
Couldn't half-ass prep even for close range. Bundled up in thick clothes, grabbed a backpack, frying pan, and took deep breaths at the door.
A baseball bat would've been nice, but no such luck.
Creeeak.
After a pause, I slowly opened 202's door.
"Holy fuck."
Second floor was a slaughterhouse already. Bloodstains and chunks of flesh everywhere.
Screech.
I stayed inside, scanning the hallway first. Corridor-style building, so biggest threat was 201 to the left. Peeked through the gap—clear. Right side...
"Three, no four."
Four zombies near the 205 stairs. Probably tried fleeing down the central stairs at night and got got. One twitching on its stomach, another with legs bent wrong, shambling.
Short distance to 205, so I observed without stepping out.
Shhh.
"Grulk!"
"Grrrk!"
They didn't notice me. Just wandering their last spots.
...Classic zombie look and shuffle. I pondered. Had to kill them, but curiosity hit: how did they track humans? Internet only said indiscriminate attacks. No clue on senses—sight range? Hearing? Smell?
"Perfect chance to test for survival."
Felt insane, but my nature demanded safe and thorough. Zombies real? Double so. Blindly rushing out could mean swarms from everywhere. Safe here—close door if needed, Ice Spear for any rushers. As long as I didn't freeze up, I wouldn't die.
"Slowly now..."
Stuck a foot out the gap, made shoe noise in the quiet hall.
Thud.
Echoed. Pulled back, checked zombies.
"Grrrk."
"Grulk."
No reaction. Same patrolling. Too quiet? Louder this time.
Smack!
Loud echo, like yelling "I'm here!"
"Keeek?"
"Grrrk?!"
Eyes met with all four.
"KEEEEEEK!"
"KEEEEEEK!"
Thud thud thud.
They charged like starved maniacs. No time for more tests.
"Tch..."
I summoned in a panic.
"Ice Spear, Ice Spear."
BOOM!
BOOM!
SPLASH!
No aiming needed—spears went by will, popping two heads. Two zombies crumpled with wet crunches, fluids painting the hall red.
But not over.
Thud thud thud.
Last two ignored it, barreling in.
"Ice Spear, Ice Spear."
In the chaos, one to the chest, one to the waist.
BOOM!
Chest zombie exploded blood, collapsed. Waist one...
"KEEEEEEK!"
Legless, half-torso, but crawling, bleeding toward me. Slow, but alive.
Scrape scrape.
Gross sound on bloody floor. I calmly incanted.
"Ice Spear."
Splat!
Spear from point-blank burst its head. Finally stopped.