Episode 9.
Episode 9.
I quickly nocked an arrow. As I activated Hawk's Eye, time slowed down.
The movements of the five that had been charging like crazy slowed down as if they were swimming underwater. Distorted expressions, flailing limbs, and flying saliva flowed in slow motion.
I fired the first arrow and slowly stepped back. The arrow pierced the head of the one in the lead, and it toppled forward.
I nocked the second arrow and stepped back another pace. Fired. Hit the second one in the forehead. It went down.
Third, fourth. While stepping backward, I used the Slavic Draw, which is advantageous for rapid fire, shooting almost one arrow per second. In the slowed time, the motions of nocking, aiming, and firing flowed naturally.
It was a speed that would have been impossible normally, but thanks to Hawk's Eye, I could do it easily.
Four had fallen, and only one remained. It was charging like crazy, not caring that its companions were falling. Even in the slowed time, the distance closed rapidly. 5 meters, 4 meters.
I nocked the last arrow and aimed at its face. When I released the string, the arrow pierced through its eye socket. It fell and slid just 3 meters in front of me. It was a distance that almost touched my toes.
Time returned to normal. Sounds sped up, and the noises of nature rushed into my ears all at once.
I stopped in my tracks, catching my breath. I scanned the surroundings. I had to make sure there were no other zombies.
Sound, airflow, movement. I mobilized all my senses to check the surroundings. There might be one popping out from inside a building. Fortunately, there were no signs of anything else approaching.
My eyes felt bloodshot. There was a stinging, gritty, uncomfortable sensation, like sand had gotten in them.
As I blinked a few times and caught my breath, the pain gradually eased. Using Hawk's Eye in succession seemed to put more strain on me. But it wasn't at an unmanageable level.
I looked at the five fallen ones. All of them had arrows stuck in their heads. I killed five with rapid fire. All headshots.
I had wiped out five zombies charging from 15 meters away while stepping backward, shooting one arrow per second.
Even though I did it, it was hard to believe.
I thought while retrieving the arrows. One of them had its shaft completely broken. Even if broken, the arrowhead and fletching could still be used, so I took them.
With this ability, I felt like I could survive in most situations.
Of course, if too many zombies swarmed at once, I would run out of arrows, but then I could just avoid them. The important thing was that I was getting stronger.
As I was about to return to the kickboard, the villas lined up next to me caught my eye.
There were five or six four-story villas standing in a row. Some had broken windows, and some had curtains fluttering. Most of them would be empty.
What if I made arrows myself...
Until now, my arrows had been constantly decreasing. I retrieved what I could, but some were broken or lost.
If this continued, I would eventually run out of arrows.
I have to make them myself. I knew how. I had even seen it on the internet. Carve wood to make a shaft, attach a tip to the end, and attach fletching to the back. The problem was the materials.
I looked at the villas. Empty houses were everywhere, and there would be furniture inside. If it was solid wood furniture, I could get hard wood. It would be enough to use as arrow shafts.
I parked the kickboard and entered the villa building. On the first floor, there were four front doors side by side. Naturally, most were locked. Even when I tried turning the handles, they didn't budge.
I went upstairs to check more. I found a house with the door slightly ajar. Through the half-open gap, I could see the dark interior.
Holding my bow with an arrow nocked, I carefully went inside.
The inside was messy. The shoe rack was knocked over, and clothes and items were scattered on the living room floor.
I went inside, muffling my footsteps. Living room, kitchen, bedroom. I checked one by one. There were no zombies, and no people. It was completely empty.
I opened the fridge, but there was no usable food. I searched the cupboards, but not even a pack of ramen remained.
Instead, the dining table in the living room caught my eye. It was a solid wood table. It was hard-looking wood with a clear grain visible on the surface.
I examined the table legs. The thickness was appropriate, and the length was sufficient. This would be enough to use as arrow shafts. I unscrewed all the table legs and took them.
Next was tools. The hyung-nim had packed a toolbox in the camper, but it would be good to get more here.
To make arrow shafts, I need to carve, smooth, and groove the wood.
I searched the house. When I opened the storage cabinet on the veranda, there was a toolbox. Inside were basic things like a screwdriver set, pliers, a hammer, and a tape measure.
And something caught my eye. An electric drill. With this, I could easily do various tasks.
There was also a woodworking carving knife and a bundle of sandpaper next to it. Various types, from coarse to fine. I could use them to smooth the surface of the arrow shafts.
And there was also a small saw. It was needed to cut the table legs to the appropriate length.
I found a duffel bag-style bag in the house and put them inside. It was enough to hold all the tools and table legs.
I left the villa and got on the kickboard.
Suddenly, I felt a gaze, and when I looked, I met someone's eyes from a window in the villa. I saw them quickly hide inside and pull the curtains.
It was a short moment, but I could read a lot from the person's eyes in the window.
Surprise, fear, and wariness.
They probably saw me hunting zombies. Well, my ability wouldn't be at a normal level anymore.
And in a world like this, anyone could be a looter, so it's natural to be wary.
After lightly scanning the surroundings, I headed toward the camper.
After returning to the camper, I made another round trip on the kickboard to transport the remaining food and supplies.
The rice, flour, canned goods, and daily necessities I had left at the restaurant.
This time, I transported a large quantity of goods at once using the duffel bag.
Backpack on my back, duffel bag in one hand, bow in the other. In combat, there's no problem as long as I quickly put the duffel bag on the ground and fight.
Even though it was a long distance, thanks to the kickboard, it didn't take very long.
There were zombies here and there, but a small number of zombies were no longer a threat to me.
I feel like my combat power has increased several times over because of Hawk's Eye. Being able to control time also meant that I could maintain the same accuracy in any urgent situation.
Just a few days ago, my hands were shaking and my heart felt like it would burst, but now zombie hunting started to feel like a daily routine.
After moving all the supplies, I set out to hunt for zombies until late afternoon.
After scouting with the drone, I went around quiet country houses and alleys, dealing with them one by one.
I quietly approached from behind those standing with their arms spread toward the sun, shot them, retrieved the arrows, and moved to the next target. Repeating that process, I hunted until I surpassed my goal of 50 kills.
However, in the process, four arrows broke, and one arrow flew off somewhere and couldn't be found.
The zombies' skulls were hard, so there were cases where the arrow shaft couldn't withstand the impact and split, and arrows shot in a hurry missed and got stuck in walls or rocks, damaging the tips.
As expected, the consumption of arrows is the biggest problem. No matter how much my skill improves, it's useless if I don't have arrows.
Late in the afternoon, I returned to the camper and started making arrows myself with the solid wood I had brought.
First, I re-checked and learned how to make arrows with tools through videos.
I set up a folding table in front of the camper and started preparing a workspace.
I took out four table legs, a woodworking carving knife, sandpaper, a saw, and even an electric drill and laid them out. Thanks to the solar panels, there was no problem using power tools.
And I also took out the broken arrows. The shafts were ruined, but the tips and fletching were mostly intact, so I would be able to recycle them.
First, I cut the table legs to the appropriate length with a saw. The length of one arrow was about 70 centimeters.
It seemed like I could get about ten arrow shafts from one table leg. As I sawed, a savory scent unique to wood spread. It was hard and the grain was dense. It was a good material to use as an arrow shaft.
I started to trim the cut pieces of wood with a carving knife. It was a task of carving the square cross-section into a round shape, and as I pushed with force, thin wood shavings were carved away.
It seemed like a simple task, but it required concentration. If I carved too deeply, the shaft would become thin and lose strength, and if I carved too shallowly, it would be bumpy and the trajectory would wobble when flying.
After roughly carving it into a cylindrical shape, I wrapped sandpaper around the electric drill and smoothed the surface.
As I ran the drill at low speed and held the arrow shaft against it, rotating it slowly, the surface became smoother and smoother.
I trimmed it with coarse sandpaper first, then finished with fine sandpaper, and when I touched it with my hand, I could feel a smooth texture. At this level, air resistance would be reduced, and the flight trajectory would be stable.
The next step was to carve a groove for the bowstring at the back of the arrow. I chose the thinnest carving knife and carved a shallow groove at the end of the shaft.
If it's too deep, the arrow splits, and if it's too shallow, the string doesn't catch properly. After some trial and error, I found the right depth.
I disassembled the broken arrows one by one. I twisted the tips out and carefully removed the fletching.
Most of the tips and fletching were in good condition. I was able to salvage four tips and four sets of fletching from the five broken arrows.
I drilled a small hole in the front end of the shaft with the electric drill and inserted the tip into it.
By the time the sun set, the first arrow was completed. When I held it, the weight balance was decent, and it felt similar to the existing arrows. When I put it on the string, the groove fit properly.
I did a test shot in the vacant lot in front of the camper. I set up a wooden board at a distance of 30 meters and aimed.
As I drew the string and focused, Hawk's Eye activated, and time slowed down. In the slowed time, I aimed at the target and released the string.
The arrow stuck into the wooden board. It was almost dead center. The quality might be lower than the existing arrows, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.
Perhaps there would be a difference in long-distance shooting. But anyway, since I can stick them all accurately even at close range, it doesn't matter much.
I pulled out the arrow stuck in the wooden board and examined it. The shaft, tip, and fletching were all fine. It's a success.
The time it took to make this one arrow was about an hour.
Even if it gets cut in half once I get skilled, it's definitely a very difficult and time-consuming task.
'I can see why there were separate arrow craftsmen in the old days...'
I made one more arrow before darkness fell.
Still, it was the first step toward self-sufficiency. There are still plenty of materials left, so I can just make them little by little whenever I have time.
Couldn't I make arrowheads myself using pieces of iron or nails? And for fletching, there's plenty of plastic around, so I can just cut it into a similar shape.
Time and effort are the problem, but materials don't seem to be much of an issue.
I tidied up the tools and went inside the camper. My hands smelled like wood, and my fingertips were slightly stinging from being cut by the carving knife, but I felt proud.
That night, I had a dream again.
A green meadow was spread out, and a Giant Existence could be felt from the endlessly high sky.
It was a familiar scene now. The feeling that I had no body and only my spirit existed here.
The sound of grass leaves swaying in the wind could be heard from afar, but I couldn't actually feel the wind.
A voice rang out.
It was giving me a reward for fulfilling the 50-kill condition.
Physical ability enhancement. I wanted to ask specifically what would change and how, but it didn't wait for an answer like last time.
The Giant Existence was already moving away, and the green meadow began to fade.
A new condition was heard.
100... The number was getting bigger, but with the Hawk's Eye ability, it wouldn't be impossible.
When I opened my eyes in the morning, my body felt strangely light. The fatigue from last night seemed to have disappeared completely, and my muscles felt full of power.
I went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. I took off my top and looked at my body.
"...What is this?"
What was reflected in the mirror was not the me from a few days ago.