Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: 13. Survivors. (1)
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...Level 2?!
No way, I killed 27 of them?!
...One level up every 10 kills?
...Wow...
This is bullshit.
Going from one level per kill to one every 10? That's way too harsh.
Totally kills my motivation.
"Status."
...Fuck.
One point per level up, huh.
...Goddamn it...
I pressed my forehead and let out a sigh.
I'd thought it was weird how leveling up got faster the higher I went.
When I first got the Time Adjuster specialization and started leveling, I barely hit level 2 or 4 on the first day, right?
Couldn't level up much at the start.
Then from the second day, it sped up, and by the end, I was gaining over 20 levels at a time. Yeah, I knew something was off.
New specialization starts at level 1.
And since I've been pumping stamina to shorten recovery time, I can kill more per day in the long run.
So leveling speeds up over time.
Yeah...
Fine, putting some restrictions on leveling is okay. But jumping straight to one level every 10 kills? That's too much, fuck.
I need to get stronger fast, but at this rate, when the hell will that happen?
"...Haa..."
Damn, I'm getting impatient for real.
Can I even make it back home?
Mom and Dad, that bitch sister, my friends.
...Fuck.
Just sitting here sighing with my hand on my forehead is draining my energy.
Recover a bit with Acceleration, then head out again at night.
I climbed up to the rooftop room and flopped down.
Mental power needs 50 to recover.
Stamina at 30, so...
About 13 hours of rest for full recovery.
...Can't rest 13 hours.
Rest till night, then head out again.
Securing recovery fast is key.
Put 2 into stamina, went to the bathroom to wash off the blood, and lay down.
Taking off the maintenance gloves, the tattoo was ridiculously vivid.
This damn thing.
Wonder what my hometown friends would say if they saw it.
If they're even alive.
Back in high school, there was this punk who got out of juvie or some correctional facility after causing trouble. He had shit like this on his forearm.
Some crap like "Heaven on Earth" in hanja, all retarded-looking. He was sniffing glue, extorting kids, hanging with delinquents, acting all tough until I beat his ass like a dog.
Well, the message window told me how, so it wasn't really a fair win.
After that, the tattoo loser got ragged on nonstop by me and my friends until he dropped out and vanished.
Can't even remember his name.
Just Tattoo Loser.
And now here I am with this on my hand. My friends would lose their shit.
"Ah, fuck, this is such bullshit."
...The design isn't half bad, though.
Something like a flower burning inside, wrapped by overlapping rings.
Couldn't tell what exactly is burning in there.
Still looks weird as hell.
But hate is hate.
Even those street punk old-ass thugs had tattoos sometimes.
Fuck.
Feels like I'm lumped in with tattoo losers and washed-up delinquent trash. Makes me sick.
Fuck it.
Watch some YouTube and sleep.
Just woke up, but maybe I can doze off.
...YouTube was in chaos.
Not just Korea—channels worldwide pleading and screaming, "What are the presidents doing? What about the military?"
With this shit happening globally, what can presidents even do...
From what I've seen wandering around, every third or fourth house has growling.
Roughly one in 30 or 40 people turned.
Crowded spots or barracks would be total disasters.
Hell, barracks are worse since they share rooms.
Quick-response units might have survivors, but some probably got wiped in hours.
Telling the president to fix that? He's not Superman.
......Huh?
...Something weird on this channel...
What the hell?
Looks like a World Cup final crowd.
Massive throng filling the whole city.
Where's this?
Steep hillside slum vibe.
...Rio de Janeiro?
Brazil?
Why so many people?
Old footage?
...Uploaded yesterday.
...Yesterday?
No way...
Channel owner rambling frantically in Portuguese or whatever. Can't understand a word.
...Drone?
Hears "drone" a lot.
Filmed by drone, seems like.
...Watching this insane favela crowd is making me nauseous.
Check another channel.
...Oh, this is the US.
...New York?
Skyscrapers look like Madison Square from some movie.
The crowd...
Insane.
Like Rio, filling the downtown completely.
Yelling in English, but no clue what.
Upload time...
8 hours ago?
...What...
...Bad feeling.
The people who vanished from roads, the ones who should be more numerous but aren't.
Thought about that earlier.
Find a Korean channel.
...Got one.
"...Fucking insane..."
...Where's this?
Incheon?!
Someone filmed with a drone again.
Incheon streets...
Packed with people.
Tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands at a glance.
Filling every gap between buildings and roads, no space left.
Channel owner whispering.
"L-look at this, everyone. I-I always scout with the drone first before going out for food. T-today... our street... i-it's completely full of... zombies, can't... can't get out at all."
The owner was trembling in extreme terror, teeth chattering between words.
Guttural growls like "Kraaak, grrr" overwhelmed even the audio levels.
Loud enough to shake the house.
His place was fully surrounded.
The owner whispered again.
"Th-these... zombies are moving now. D-don't know where to... endlessly coming from somewhere, heading somewhere. L-looks like toward Suwon maybe? Not sure. H-hope those over there are okay. If you see this, be careful. L-let's all survive and meet again."
The owner waved.
Video ended.
Uploaded 4 hours ago.
......The human beasts vanished from streets and gathered up.
...Dangerous.
No horde like that here yet.
But if one shows up...
Not good.
A week, a month.
Or longer.
Might not step outside at all.
Even if I clear them fast, can't handle infinite numbers alone.
Can't solo tens or hundreds of thousands.
I shot up from my seat.
Put on gloves, grabbed my sword, headed out.
...Growls still from the mixed-use building side, but much quieter.
Timing to head back soon.
...Is Su-hyun okay?
Probably at the hardware store. Check on her first.
Crouched low heading to the convenience store, arrived at hardware store.
Clattering sounds and voices inside.
"Ah, those are welding rods. Take those too."
"Yes, Su-hyun. Just say the word."
...Relief washed over me.
Seeing that footage ramped up my tension.
"Su-hyun."
"Huh? Oppa."
Su-hyun smiled brightly at me.
Hun hyung next to her greeted me normally, teacher this and that.
"How's it going? Got the stuff?"
"Yeah. Gonna head back soon, then come once more."
I nodded and asked.
"Su-hyun. How's the boarding house fortification coming?"
"Going well. Why?"
I pulled out my phone and held it to her.
"...You see this?"
Su-hyun smiled happily.
"Whoa, YouTube. Been too busy hammering these days to check. Something fun pop up...? Uh...?"
Her expression changed.
Hun hyung's face shifted instantly too.
"T-teacher... th-this..."
I nodded.
"Incheon isn't far for them. We need proper defenses."
"...Not just Incheon."
Su-hyun said.
"Oppa. Seoul must have massive hordes too. Probably tons nationwide."
...She's right.
The Rio footage isn't all of Brazil's human beasts, nor Madison Square all of America's.
...Is this horde only in Incheon?
No way.
Tens or hundreds of thousands gathering nationwide, moving somewhere.
"T-teacher. Wh-what do we do?"
What do we do? What else.
Grind levels like hell, fuck!
But one every 10 kills? Bullshit!
I squeezed my eyes shut then open.
"Help Su-hyun first. And stock the house full of food. Just in case."
"Yes, teacher. That's right."
I nodded and told Su-hyun.
"I'll help too. Grab everything you need."
"Got it."
Su-hyun nodded with a determined face.
At first, half hobby, half serious, swinging that hammer lazily.
Later, full-time job grinding away.
Now, all-out turning the house into a fortress.
That kind of face.