Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: 4. Securing Weapons (1)
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"Mr. Seong-hun, what are we going to do from now on?"
The girl with glasses asked.
Grandmother, Ye-eun, and So-eun all turned to look at me in response to her question.
Hm.
I couldn't mention the status window or level-ups, but I figured I should at least say something about our plans going forward.
"I'll head out every day and bring back whatever we need."
Of course, I'll be leveling up too.
No, actually, leveling up comes first.
Gathering supplies can come after.
The women looked pretty shocked by my words.
Ye-eun stared at me with wide eyes.
"Y-You're... going out there?"
I nodded.
"We've got all sorts of things we need, after all."
Above all, I needed a weapon.
Something that could smash those human beasts' heads in without its durability dropping too fast.
The girl with glasses stared at me, her eyes round.
"You've got some guts. I'm kind of a shut-in by nature—always preferred gaming at home. After seeing the news, I swore I'd never step outside."
I slurped up some dumpling soup and chuckled.
Staying home gaming sounds nice.
God, I want to do that too.
"We've got food for now, but we'll need more. Toilet paper too. The stores I saw earlier were all wide open. We can just walk in and grab what we need."
"As long as the infected don't grab us first," the girl with glasses said.
She chewed on a dumpling, gazing at me innocently.
I smiled and nodded.
"Exactly. If they don't catch me, I'll come back."
Grandmother sighed.
"Oh dear, young man. Just stay inside. Huh? Why go out there? Those monstrous things are beating and biting people."
This grandma was different from the girl with glasses.
Her words sounded worried, but her eyes held a faint smile.
She was hoping I'd bring something back.
Grandma.
What a sly old fox.
I smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
As long as it's no more than five at a time.
My Strength stat, fuck...
What happens if it hits zero?
...I don't want to find out.
...Come to think of it, I just took down three a minute ago.
I slurped down the rest of the dumpling soup in one go.
"Whew. Now I feel alive. Earlier, I was so starved my condition was in the gutter."
Chosen One
[Specialization - Time Adjuster][Level - 6]
[Title - Ordinary Person]
Distribution Points:3
Skills
[Active - Acceleration](Auto-casting)
...Fuck.
Strength dropped by 3.
My body's fine.
Just Strength went down by 3.
Meaning 1 point per beast.
What the actual fuck!
Why do my worst fears always come true?
What happens at zero Strength?
Will Acceleration and smashing their heads not kill them anymore?
I forced a smile, trying not to sigh.
That meant I could take down a maximum of five human beasts per day right now.
To recover fast: Stamina.
To kill more: Strength.
To increase Acceleration uses: Mental Power.
...No idea what Senses or Agility do yet, but judging by how crucial Stamina, Strength, and Mental Power are, those two must have roles too.
And Intelligence is N/A.
I'm not that dumb!
So it's not my personal smarts—it's some stat function called Intelligence.
Whatever that means, I don't know yet.
Don't even know what those five Soul Stones I collected are for.
Nothing but unknowns.
Fuck, "Chosen One" my ass.
Could've at least explained shit nicely.
"Mr. Seong-hun, so when are you heading out? What do you plan to bring back?"
The girl with glasses asked.
I tried to calm myself as much as possible before answering.
"Well..."
Hm.
I need a weapon.
No point hiding it here.
"I've been thinking we need a proper weapon. I've got this pipe now, but..."
...Huh?
Oh shit!
Fucking hell, I left the telescopic baton in the storage room!
I closed my eyes for a second, cursed myself out internally as a dumbass, and opened them again.
The girl with glasses was tapping her chin, deep in thought.
"A weapon... I think I could help with that."
"Pardon?"
She shrugged.
"If you've got the gear, I can make something simple. You have that pipe? The dirty one by the door?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
She glanced that way, hummed thoughtfully, then said,
"Go to the hardware store."
...!
Ha... hardware store!
That's it!
Fuck, why am I so dense? I was thinking Daiso or some shit!
Every neighborhood has a hardware store!
Nothing better for our situation!
Perfect for weapons!
I grinned wide.
A genuine smile.
Ah, this is good.
I like this woman.
"Great idea. Been ages since I hit up a hardware store. What should I grab?"
She smiled back.
"Look at you smiling, Mr. Seong-hun. Hardware stores should have axes or machetes. Maybe some knives."
...Axes...!
Machetes...!
I asked, astonished,
"You can get machetes at a hardware store?"
She laughed.
"Of course. Machetes are tools, not weapons. Though they sure look the part."
I had no idea!
Hardware stores sell machetes!
I nodded, looking at her.
I like her.
Mechanical engineering major?
She bit her lip and smiled. As I gazed at her with that expression, she shot me a slightly haughty glance, like what're you staring at?
Fuck, she's cute.
She went, "Oh," then said,
"If they have a welder or welding rods, grab those too. I can weld your pipe to that kitchen knife. With a blade on it, it'd make a proper spear, right?"
"...I like that. I don't know the area well—could you draw me a map?"
"Of course."
I really like her.
This woman... what was her name again?
"Sorry, what was your name again?"
"An Su-hyun."
She extended her hand again.
I shook Su-hyun's hand once more.
"Han Seong-hun. Nice to meet you."
Really nice.
Mechanical engineering college student.
Jackpot.
She's going to be a real help.
After finishing the meal, I got the key from Grandmother and headed up to the rooftop room.
The rooftop room was empty.
Truly nothing there.
Just a bare room.
Kitchen had a fridge and gas stove.
Room had curtains on the window.
I stood there, surveying the empty space, when Ye-eun and So-eun came up with blankets and pillows.
"Um, here for now..."
"Ah, thanks."
Blankets and pillows.
Whew.
My body reeked pretty bad too.
Sweated buckets.
Tomorrow when I go out, I need to sort out some clothes.
"You're... really going out there?"
Ye-eun asked, her face full of worry.
Looking at her like this, she's pretty cute.
I nodded.
"Have to. Don't worry."
So-eun hesitated behind Ye-eun and held out her hand.
Chocolate.
"...Thank you."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
I took the chocolate and smiled.
"I'll enjoy it."
Then I looked at the two and said,
"Good night."
"Yeah..."
Ye-eun's face was still a bit dark.
After closing the door, I started to get why Ye-eun looked like that.
Grandmother hoped I'd bring stuff back.
Su-hyun knew it was dangerous outside but didn't seem to dwell on it.
These two had never faced it directly. So they'd feel grateful or happy if someone else went out for them.
But Ye-eun and So-eun knew exactly what could happen outside.
Especially Ye-eun—she saw me stab those human beasts up close.
She knew death was real.
Different levels of fear.
It was the apocalypse anyway.
Grandmother or Su-hyun—they'd have to face it eventually.
Best if they never did, but no guarantees we could just coast safely.
Apocalypse.
Shwaaa.
The shower felt refreshing.
"Haa..."
Nice and cool.
Yeah.
No more thinking about the future.
Just complicates things.
Tomorrow: hardware store.
And grab some clothes.
The next day, I woke up in the late afternoon.
I'd dumped 2 into Mental Power and 1 into Stamina, making them 10 and 8, then crashed.
Slept a long time.
Like 12 hours?
When I went to wash up and change, my shirt was stiff from dried sweat. Damn. Smells bad, don't wanna wear it.
Forced it on and munched on the chocolate So-eun gave me.
Alright.
Time to head out.
If I get hungry, snag something from a convenience store.
Heading down the stairs, I heard a hum.
Like a washing machine in the main house?
On the first floor, An Su-hyun was hanging laundry on the yard line.
Out in the open—she had guts too.
She spotted me and whispered,
"Hey. Heading out now?"
I nodded without a word.
She handed me a folded note—torn from a notebook.
"The map you asked for."
......Yeah.
I really like this girl.
"Be careful, Mr. Seong-hun."
I nodded with a smile.
Ah.
"Hey, what's the gate passcode again?"
"I'll give you my number. Text when you're back."
We swapped numbers.
...Damn. Battery at 20%.
Need to charge it.
20%... should last till tonight.
"I'm off."
"Be careful, Mr. Seong-hun."
I nodded, opened the door, and stepped outside.
Empty Adidas backpack, pipe spear.
And two Acceleration uses.
"Hoo..."
Let's go. To the hardware store.