Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Nothing But Bluff
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"I need to get down there quick."
"You here to help?"
"......Yeah."
It wasn't exactly said with that intention.
If anything, it was the opposite.
If he really was the protagonist, I had to meet him somehow.
Before he finished off all the zombies and left.
'But maybe helping out would be better.'
Rather than just tagging along like that.
Pretending it was coincidence and fighting together might look better.
Meeting the protagonist right now was a gamble.
There was no guarantee he'd play nice.
But if what I'd seen through 'Comment Check' was true,
then the odds were higher that he had a rotten personality.
Still, I couldn't afford to just play it safe.
I had to clash and see.
"Keep holding onto that shotgun as a weapon. And this dagger too."
"You could just take it yourself?"
"Can't do that."
Sure, more weapons were always better.
But I wasn't so lacking in conscience that I'd take it outright.
"Stick right behind me and follow."
"Got it! I won't fall behind!"
We cautiously stepped out into the hallway.
No sounds, not even a hint of presence.
A heavy silence blanketed everything.
The path I'd walked hundreds of times felt strangely unfamiliar.
'Looks like no more zombies on the fourth floor.'
Those guys who'd broken in must've been all of them.
Of course, I couldn't let my guard down.
One had shattered a window and flown at us earlier.
"We're going straight down. Can you keep up?"
"I'm good."
We quickly descended to the floor below.
Being on the fourth, we had to hustle to reach the athletic field.
".....Damn it."
But the moment we got down, zombies blocked our path.
Zombies writhing in grotesque shapes.
Their gazes turned toward us in perfect unison.
Right at us.
I silently gripped the baseball bat with both hands.
Hye-na raised her shotgun beside me.
"Kreeeeeh!"
With a scream that pierced our eardrums,
they charged, arms outstretched.
But we'd fought these things plenty of times by now.
We weren't going down easy.
-Thwack!
I twisted my body to dodge the lunging one.
Swinging straight into its head from the side.
A dull rupture echoed as its head exploded.
The face-smashed zombie crumpled to the floor.
"Hyah!"
Meanwhile, Hye-na swung her shotgun at a zombie.
She couldn't one-shot it like me.
But the zombie's leg buckled,
and she didn't miss, smashing its head.
A few drops of blood splattered her cheek.
"Hah, hah!"
Yoo Hye-na panted, looking my way.
I flashed her a thumbs-up.
She grinned happily and swung the shotgun again.
'Hye-na's getting used to fighting too.'
We methodically cleared the zombies in the hallway one by one.
Soon, quite a pile lay at our feet.
"Heok! Heok! W-We gotta get down quick, right?"
"Nah, let's catch our breath first. Grab some water from the dispenser."
"Ehehe. Hearing that makes me thirsty all of a sudden."
We went to the water dispenser and quenched our throats.
And washed the blood and sweat from our faces while we were at it.
'Starting to tire out a bit.'
The trait 'Metafiction' reliably bolstered my mental strength.
But it couldn't handle physical fatigue.
Hye-na, gulping down water, asked,
"Didn't you say we have to hurry before that guy leaves?"
"Yeah, but if we die first, it won't matter."
There were more zombies left than expected.
Looked like people got massacred without much resistance.
'Probably a similar situation to ours.'
The third floor had that card-draw time too.
Panicking without bullets, they got taken out by zombies.
The fourth floor had been better off, at least.
People had banded together to fight back.
If not for the mid-boss 'Tentacle Monster,'
way more might've survived.
'But hypotheticals like that don't matter.'
This world was kill or be killed.
Better to worry about the future than the past.
'Zombies aren't that strong one-on-one. But in numbers, they're dangerous.'
Zombies knew no fear of death.
They just charged mindlessly at people.
That's why stamina management was key.
The reason we rested instead of pushing down right away.
'But like Hye-na said, can't rest too long.'
I stood using the bat as a cane.
Seeing that, Hye-na rose too.
"You good?"
"No problem!"
We took the stairs down to the second floor.
Sure enough, zombies there too.
"Grraaah!"
We calmly swung our weapons.
Getting the hang of it, it took less effort now.
Coins steadily piled up with each kill.
Totaling around 1500 now.
Pretty good for early game, I figured.
Felt like I was slowly adapting to this damned novel.
After a long fight, we finally escaped the building.
Confirming no zombies nearby, we bolted.
"That way!"
Was the protagonist really handling all the athletic field zombies alone?
I prayed he hadn't left yet.
-Splat! Crack!
-Crunch! Snap!
Then, from afar, came the sound of human bodies breaking.
Shockingly, he was still fighting solo.
Or was it even a fight?
'......No joke.'
What do you call that?
Dynasty Warriors? Overkill? Massacre?
Every sword swing sent zombie heads flying.
Hordes surrounded him, but no issue.
Before their attacks could land.
He crushed them all with overwhelming force.
-Spluuurt!
Zombies burst with every move.
Was that really a human like me?
'A monster.'
I'd killed plenty of zombies too.
But her combat was on another level.
"H-Hey, that's Lee Yoo-ri, right?"
"You know her?"
"No way you don't? She was the talk of the school as a total beauty!"
I didn't.
Honestly, I wasn't big on rumors like that.
'Beauty, huh. Yeah, she fits the bill.'
Long legs peeking from her skirt.
Insane proportions at waist and chest.
Neatly tied-back hair.
And an icy-cool expression.
Like staring at a TV celebrity.
Unrealistically gorgeous.
'Guess she's the protagonist after all.'
From fighting style to looks.
I could feel she was born different from me.
Even if not the protagonist, didn't matter.
She clearly had something special.
-Slash!
While I thought that, the fight ended.
The last zombie's head rolled to our feet.
"......What are you two?"
Lee Yoo-ri's chilling gaze turned our way.
I took a deep breath to reply.
That instant, my world flipped.
"Huh?"
My body slammed into the ground.
Too late, I realized.
Lee Yoo-ri had grabbed my collar and thrown me down.
"Guhk!"
It didn't end there—her foot stomped my chest.
The terrifying pressure from her toe kept me pinned.
"Why do you have the Devourer's Essence?"
Wow, readers sure are spot on.
Total thug.
Didn't expect her to stomp someone right off the bat, though.
"If you don't wanna die, answer."
"Ugh!"
The pressure on my chest choked my breath.
I met her eyes as she looked down slowly.
Managed to force my mouth open.
"Black lace, huh. Bolder taste than it looks?"
"......Maybe just killing you is better."
Lee Yoo-ri's face turned frosty.
More force into her leg.
"L-Let him go! We're not here to fight!"
Hye-na aimed her gun with trembling hands.
Lee Yoo-ri just smirked like it was ridiculous.
"Threatening me with an empty gun?"
So she knew.
Makes sense she'd pick the sword then.
"What, then you knew about the zombie raid just now too."
I gritted my teeth and spat it out.
"We fought hard and got it as a reward."
"You got coins from killing zombies too, right?"
Lee Yoo-ri narrowed her eyes.
"A human with zero magic power killed the mid-boss?"
My turn to be shocked.
I'd deliberately avoided mentioning the mid-boss.
Yet she knew. Even that its reward was the Devourer's Essence.
'Not the protagonist for nothing, huh?'
The reincarnator info too.
She definitely knew something about this crisis.
"Why the grin?"
"Nah, I didn't say what I killed. Looks like you know more than us?"
Lee Yoo-ri's face flickered with realization.
But she regained composure fast.
"Clever one. Doesn't change anything."
"Krrk!"
She pressed harder with her foot.
Looked like an ordinary girl.
But the strength was no joke.
"Gotta go on a diet. Feels like an elephant sat down."
"Still got that mouth on you."
No, seriously?
Heavier than when zombies piled on me.
"Fine, like you said, I knew about the mid-boss. Planned to kill it for the Devourer's Essence."
Her sharp eyes glared down.
"If not for you."
"Sorry, what to do? Should I puke it up?"
"Who knows, might come out if I gut you."
She's coming in hot.
Fitting for a psycho protagonist from an apocalypse novel.
".......You won't, Lee Yoo-ri."
My knowing her name made her eyebrow twitch.
"Why? Think I can't kill?"
"Nah, you'd kill if needed, just like me. I can tell from your eyes."
I forced a grin,
praying to look as relaxed as possible.
"But you know killing me won't get the essence back, right?"
"........"
Honestly, I had no clue.
But her reaction said yes.
"No need to waste energy on pointless murder."
"......."
"What do you say? Better to team up instead?"
"Could just see you as a threat to eliminate."
Even after that, no interest in cooperating.
But I was certain.
Had to snag her here.
I steeled myself.
"Don't be like that. You were a knight in your past life—killing an innocent?"
"!!"
-Shing!!
Lee Yoo-ri drew her sword.
Draw speed too fast to track.
The razor edge aimed at my throat.
"Kyaaah!"
Thankfully, it stopped right before my neck.
Still too soon to relax.
One twitch, and my head was gone.
But I didn't blink.
Even had room to smile.
Hye-na beside me fidgeted anxiously.
Wanting to intervene,
but held back by my earlier "stay put."
"You... how do you know that?"
Lee Yoo-ri glared with eyes sharper than her blade.
For the first time, she looked rattled.
Intense eyes laced with cold killing intent.
Instinct screamed:
One wrong word,
and she'd kill without hesitation.
'But I'm desperate too.'
Had to get Lee Yoo-ri here.
She was this novel's protagonist.
Unlike us, guaranteed to survive to the end.
But I had nothing to offer.
Unlike her, I was just a generic extra.
"How? Isn't it obvious?"
No chips, bad hand, can't fold?
All that's left is bluff.
"Cause I'm a reincarnator just like you."
So bite the bait already.
You damn protagonist bitch.