Dawn After the Black Rain

It wasn't until nearly dawn the day after my second job change that the rain showed any signs of letting up. At most, it'd stop within an hour, so we started preparing to head back home.

Reeech—.Roll, roll, reech—. The Hunting Dogs were wrapping tape around the shields we'd gotten from the police station, making damn sure they wouldn't drop them. Seeing them do the same to their weapon hands and forearms, I began my own preparations.

The two free stats from my level 5 reward. Stamina could be covered by Doksayeon's potions, and Agility was already plenty. 'Dump both into Strength...'

The core skill of my new job. Thanks to the job passive skill Fifth Wall, I'd spent the night figuring out who had what skills and how to tweak them.

Once I confirmed the skill was copied, I drew the knife from my belt and swung it around. Shing—.Swish, swish.'Definitely lighter.'

But it wasn't enough yet.

I started swapping out the effects of the copied skill from Jeong Da-jeong. Changed the 'carried weight' part to 'equipped weapon'.

Swish, swish—. The sword felt noticeably lighter than before. I went ahead and copied Doksayeon's skill too, then remade it.

Gripping a vial of vital fluid, I tested Doksayeon's skill. Wriggle, wriggle, shhh—. The bright red vital fluid from the vial clumped together, then turned black and floated into the air before I knew it. Whoosh, shhh. Whoosh, shhh—. The black mass moved following my gaze. 'Feels like telekinesis.'

Zing—. Imagining stabbing the store's mannequin, the mass instantly turned into needles and shot off. Pok, pffft, pok—. The vital fluid needles easily pierced and embedded into the mannequin. I'd seen Doksayeon kill zombies with this, so it was satisfying but not surprising. Shhh, whoosh—. The vital fluid was noticeably less than before it hit. Decent power, but the consumption was higher than expected. 'Good for emergencies.'

I copied one more skill from the Hunting Dog Leader. My Conviction stat had hit rock bottom, so no Remake.

Whoooosh—!'This the feel?' Testing Head Bash, I got a sense and pictured the formation: Hunting Dogs around Doksayeon, me clearing the front, Jeong Da-jeong covering the rear. 'Crescent Slash to break through, Head Bash and pistol for sniping mutants.'

With preparations done, we headed to the first floor.

"…………"

Zombies standing motionless all night, soaking up the black rain in the same pose. Visible 1st mutation Running Zombies—about one per twenty at a glance.

"Stick close. They'll handle the runners. Just focus on not getting pushed back with your shields."

From the map earlier, the shopping district in front of this apartment wouldn't be a big issue. Plenty of alleys to turn into, not too many blocking cars or obstacles. The problem would be crossing the main road after exiting the shops. Zombies would swarm from the noise by then, and we'd have to weave through the wrecked cars.

'Just brute force through.' I had a gun, potions. Hell, even without stats back then, I'd escaped the apartment with Jeong Da-jeong. No worries.

"Fall behind, get left."

The issue was how many of these pathetic fucks to save. If need be, I'd use all the Hunting Dogs as bait to drag the slaves out.

I gripped the copied sword in one hand and the pistol in the other with Mary Sue's Quill Pen, and set off for home.

… Drip, drip—.Drip—.

The messages popped up the moment we touched the lingering raindrops.

"Guhk...—"

One of the Hunting Dogs instinctively swallowed, but I kept walking regardless. Thud thud thud, thud thud thud thud…

"Grraaah?"

A few aggroed midway. Ignoring any but the ones right in front, I focused back on the black rain.

"Graaah!"

Pok—.Stab—.Pok. Pok…

I dashed through the intersection in front of the shops, slicing zombies blocking the alley. Whack, whaaack… Occasional sounds from behind—Hunting Dogs or Jeong Da-jeong bashing the ones I missed.

"Hahk, hahk—. Hahk—."

"Haa, haa...—"

Their breaths growing ragged, about one block from the main road. As the rain tapered off and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aggro picked up, a window appeared.

"Huh? Shop?"

"Achievement...?"

Confused voices from behind. At the sudden halt in footsteps, I barked in irritation,

"The fuck's that matter now, you idiots!"

Crash… Bang—.Whoosh—.

A mutation zombie bursting through a window had its head explode. Splat. It dropped right in front of a Hunting Dog, momentum intact.

"Gahk..."

The Hunting Dog gulped, realizing I'd barely reacted in time to save him from being tackled.

'Tch—, wasted a shot.' Forgot about the vital fluid for a sec and fired on instinct.

Gulp gulp.

Before the gunshot fully drew the horde, I downed a potion and exited the alley first. The main road welcomed me with zombies glistening wet in the rain, eyes glazed.

"""Kiyaaaaah—!"""

The mutation zombies' shrieks were a whole different tone from normal ones—boomed loud after soaking all night.

Step, step… Thud—!Tat tat tat tat, ta ta ta tat, ta ta ta tat, ta tat…

Shoulder-checking normal zombies, mutations leaped from all sides.

"Suffered all night in the rain, huh…"

Click, click—.

"Die already!"

I dual-wielded pistols and sprayed like a maniac. Bang, bang, bang, baaang, baaang, bang bang, bang, baaang…

The message popped as my last bullet blew a Running Zombie's head off. Sheathing the pistols, I drew my sword and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immediately felt the upgraded skill. 'Front 3, 2.5, 1.5 steps, rear 3.5, 1.5, 0.5, diagonal…'

Fourteen zombies charging from all directions. Counting their remaining steps, I decided the order to slice and moved.

Slash—, severing the one behind me.

…Crack! Forcing my body to spin with the skill, I caved in the forehead of the left-front zombie. Thud—.

Planting my foot deep rightward, I shredded three at once… Then, reversing my grip on the left sword to stab an eye socket—

Whiiiirrr—...!

A dot streaking through the edge of my vision, tearing air. By the time I reacted, it was a line.

Claaang—!

'Rebar...?'Scraaape—. Sparks flew wildly as it grazed my blade. Clang, ting— ching—. The rebar, just under a meter, rolled on the ground.

"Ugh!"

Barely deflected, but my palm tingled. Looking toward where it came from, a zombie atop a car held more rebar, staring at me.

"Hah—?"

Its right arm and left leg swollen like an elephant's, while left arm and right leg were skeletal. 'That thing...' The familiar fluorescent vest on the Asymmetrical Zombie.

As I hesitated—

"Gaaaaaaaah—!"

The Asymmetrical Zombie bellowed.

"""Kiyaaaaah—!"""

"""Graaah, grraaah. Graaah!"""

Zombies echoed in resonance. Some started gathering near it. That confirmed it.

"Hah, ate well, didn't ya…"

This Asymmetrical Zombie was one I'd fed the corpses of those main road ambushers to—and a 2nd mutation zombie.

"...Didn't wish you that happy, though."

As if responding, it raised its elephant arm. Its mismatched fingers gripped the rebar's end like a spear from a launcher.

Whiiiirrr—. Knocking aside the flying rebar mass, I thought things had taken a weird turn.