Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: 12. New Specialization. (1)
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Corpses piled up inside the McDonald's and at the entrance.
I stepped outside carefully, placing my feet with caution.
The burly middle-aged guy who'd been hiding by the car and watching me slowly stood up.
Come to think of it, what was that guy's name again?
Hoon-something?
I think that's what it was.
"T-Teacher... That's... incredible...!"
I chuckled and walked out onto the road, scanning the surroundings.
It was pretty quiet.
Screams echoed from the distance now and then, but this felt downright peaceful.
The big guy looked at me with an expression bordering on awe.
...I wonder how I look in his eyes?
How does activating Acceleration, stabbing, and moving around appear to others?
I'm fucking dying to know.
"It's safe inside for now."
"Yes, Teacher. What do we do next?"
The guy nodded subserviently and approached.
I glanced around at the nearby shops and said,
"For starters, the hardware store, the salon... Let's just clear out the corpses from those and stack them on that empty stretch of road. The sun's almost down, and if we keep going, we'll miss dinner. We'll do the rest tomorrow with more people."
"Yes, Teacher. Got it."
Hmm...
He listens well.
I grabbed two towels from the salon, handed one to the guy, and wrapped the other around my face. The corpse stench was way more intense than I'd expected—something like this was necessary just to move them.
If you mixed vinegar and rotten fish into a steaming pile of shit, it might come close to this smell.
With our noses and mouths covered by towels, we started hauling corpses from the hardware store to the road.
At least doing it with two people made it manageable.
The problem was that these bodies had been dead for days, so they were leaking this disgusting blackish ooze all over the ground.
It wasn't blood or anything identifiable... this slime...
I don't even want to fucking describe it.
It just made me want to puke.
After moving the bodies, I used the mop scattered around the hardware store, soaked it in the bathroom faucet, and gave the interior a quick wipe-down.
Fucking hell, even with my nose and mouth covered, this goddamn smell...
It's from the ooze.
There's no way to describe it other than filthy and horrific.
The Human Beasts going berserk with their faces torn off or the corpses themselves were tolerable by comparison. Relative to this stench, anyway.
Once we cleaned the floor a bit, it got somewhat better.
There's a reason I'm putting this much care into the hardware store.
It's for An Su-hyun, my top worker at the base camp—who's also helping me now and will keep helping in the future.
Making her life easier makes my life easier.
She's already hammering away from morning till night, dismantling everything to turn the boarding house into a fortress. This is the least I can do.
I wrung out the mop soaked with water and that fucking ooze and tossed it onto the corpse pile.
I let out a sigh and unwrapped my towel, throwing it toward the pile before saying,
"That's good enough. Let's head back."
"Yes, Teacher. Oooh..."
The big guy dry-heaved as he followed me.
This guy had watched people die right in front of him, seen pools of blood form, and only been scared—no puking.
His stomach isn't that weak.
Yet here he was, dry-heaving.
That's how bad the rotting corpse smell is.
We crossed the road back to the boarding house and took refreshing showers. I tossed the clothes I'd worn, obviously.
Blood smell? I could handle that.
But this? Fuck no.
I bagged up everything in the trash can and chucked it in the corner of the rooftop.
"Whew."
Time to go eat some pork belly.
Hmm, dinner.
I wouldn't say I ate my fill.
The women were chattering excitedly about whatever they'd brought today, dipping pork belly in ssamjang and wrapping it in lettuce like pros.
The big guy poked at it at first, then started grabbing three or four pieces at a time, wrapping them in lettuce, and shoving them in his mouth.
Tough stomach.
Me? On the other hand...
...Ugh.
I'll eat roughly and shower again upstairs.
After dinner and another shower, I came out to find Su-hyun sitting on my bedding, smirking.
"Oppa. You cleaned the hardware store?"
"Yeah."
"For me?"
"Yeah."
I flopped down next to her with a sigh.
Su-hyun stared at me intently, then smiled.
"Thanks, Oppa."
"If you're grateful..."
I unwrapped the towel from my waist.
Su-hyun shot me a glare, then chuckled and bent over.
Her head dipped between my legs.
A slick tongue and tight lips enveloped me from below.
"Haa..."
Ah, this feels amazing.
Su-hyun headed downstairs with a trot-trot-trot to sort the stuff she'd brought today.
She's impressive.
She'd ridden on top earlier, shaking her hips herself. I came inside her, then we showered together and I came in her mouth too.
And she swallowed it. Happily, even.
After doing it with me twice like that, she still had energy left to unpack. Definitely diligent.
Yeah.
Having a girl like that is essential.
Ye-eun and So-eun are starting to pitch in too, and once the young wife downstairs recovers a bit, she'll probably get swept up in the momentum and help maintain the house.
Honestly, I couldn't care less about that.
I've thought it since first coming here, and I still do: once I get stronger, I'm leaving.
I'll head back to my hometown to check on my family's fate.
Probably...
They're all dead.
My hometown friends too.
Either corpses or Human Beasts.
Either way...
...they're my family, my friends.
If they've turned...
...at the very least, I'll end them myself. With my own hands.
My parents, my little sister, my friends.
I can't leave them snarling around like they're not even human.
What if some survived somewhere?
...I'll protect them.
Either way, I'll leave here someday—probably soon. And since I've gotten familiar with these people and grown a bit attached while staying, if they can survive safely in this fortified house, it'll put my mind at ease.
Whether I come back after leaving...
Who knows.
If it happens, it happens. If not, whatever.
For now, there's work to do.
I lay back on my bedding and stared at the ceiling.
"Status."
Specialization: Time Adjuster [Lv. Max] Title: Ordinary Person Skills:
Good.
First things first...
Distribute the points.
That specialization is at max level and blinking, so a new one should unlock.
But no matter what comes next, I'll keep using Acceleration as the base.
And Strength.
To kill more, I need to secure more.
I put 5 into Mental Power and 2 into Strength.
Mental Power 60, Strength 27.
With 12 Accelerations, just running them through is enough to take down 27 in one go.
Good.
Next up...
That blinking thing.
I tapped Time Adjuster.
A new message appeared.
Time Adjuster (Max)
...What the fuck?!
What is this shit!
Survival Expert? What the hell?
Shadow Warrior?!
What is it!
Hold on.
What's that ??? at the bottom?
Why the fuck is it unavailable?
...No explanations, just a bunch of names dangling there...
...Do I tap for details?
I tapped 1.
...?!
The screen vanished!
Hey, fuck, wait!
I didn't select it!
I just wanted to see the description, damn it!
You fucking bitch!
......You goddamn...
This is fucking insane...
I didn't fucking choose it, you bitch...
Who the hell does this shit...
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped on its own.
I already knew this status window was a piece of shit—no explanations, maximally inconvenient.
But fuck, this is too much.
Touch it and it's bought? Like some shady merchant forcing a sale?
"Jeez..."
...Don't get mad.
It's done now, fuck it.
"...Status."
Specialization: Survival Expert [Lv. 1] Title: One Who Has Gained Strength Skills:
...Hmm...
Survival Expert... Starts at level 1, huh...
Damn it...
Well, the title changed.
Maybe it updates every time a specialization maxes out.
Chosen One Who Has Gained Strength...
Tch...
Fine, whatever.
Nothing else really changed.
Intelligence still locked.
Skills...
...Got a Recovery passive?
I tapped Recovery.
...?!
...Wait... what.
Stat recovery speed increases?!
Hold on.
Let me calculate.
HP recovery per hour: 1 min 30 sec.
So with 30 Stamina now, that's 9 minutes faster?
Originally 1 hour per tick, now 51 minutes per tick?
Stat recovery...
Total 4 minutes 30 seconds faster?
Was 20 minutes per tick before.
Now 15 minutes 30 seconds per tick.
......So then......
If Stamina hits 100...
HP every 30 minutes,
Stats every 5 minutes?
From 3 points per hour to 12 points per hour.
With Mental Power at 60, at 100 Stamina, full stats recharge in 5 hours of rest.
Even at 120 Mental Power, 10 hours for full recharge.
Right now, 20 hours to recover 60.
......This passive is perfect for the current situation.
"...Haa..."
Fuck.
Guess I got lucky.
Survival Expert?
Pretty damn useful.
...Hold on.
Wait a sec.
The previous one, Time Adjuster.
That was the Acceleration specialization.
One you pump Mental Power for.
Survival Expert.
This one's screaming to level Stamina.
...The others...
Shadow Warrior, Wild Hunter, Space Explorer.
Each probably ties to specific stats.
...This is insane, right?
I pinched my forehead and muttered,
"What the actual fuck is this bullshit."
Look, even if I mostly played RTS, I'm no RPG newbie.
But come on, the meta is pump one stat, right?
Warrior: Strength!
Mage: Intelligence!
Archer: Agility!
That's the fucking standard!
Why do I have to spread points everywhere!
"Ah, fuck."
Not even a jack-of-all-trades is this fucking spread thin.
1 point per level-up, and it wants balanced stats?
...No way.
Maybe new specializations give 2 points per level!
...Fuck...
As if...
"Haa..."
Ah, this pisses me off so much.