Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: 15. Logically Speaking. (1)
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10 PM.
Damn it, that's a long time.
Way too long!
Having to rest for 15 hours to fully recover.
If I didn't have the recovery skill, it'd take 20 hours.
Thanks to it, I shaved off a good five hours, but still, it's too damn long.
Shit, I need to pump up my Stamina quick to lock in some real recovery power.
I got up, slipped on my underwear and clothes, and the noise must've woken Su-hyun, who rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Unngh... Oppa... where are you going?"
Su-hyun was naked.
Her breasts out in the open as she sat up all disheveled... it was pretty damn...
cute.
I chuckled, pushed her back down, and took a nipple in my mouth.
Su-hyun twitched and let out a moan.
"...Ahng."
I swirled my tongue around it a bit, sucked, then popped off my lips with a smack.
"I'll be right back, so keep sleeping."
Su-hyun looked at me with sleepy eyes, then buried her head in the pillow with a pof.
"Uung... be careful... okay...?"
"Got it."
I strapped on my lifting belt and headed out.
Alright then...
Mart's a mart, house is a house, but I should still use up what's on hand, right?
I walked toward the convenience store.
The streetlights still bathed the road in their yellow glow.
Second week since the Apocalypse hit... right?
Short time, really, but so much has gone down.
And yet the streetlights shine on bright.
...Will the power ever cut out?
When?
...Life without electricity...
Never even imagined it.
I crossed the road, eyes on the streetlights.
No more growls from the underground parking of the mixed-use building.
They're huddled deep down there.
I stepped over the scattered corpses and descended into the basement.
Rrr... rrr...
Faint growls echoed.
The echoes make 'em sound louder.
Actually farther in.
I drew my sword.
Shing...
These maintenance gloves? Grip's insane.
I crept slowly through the basement and reached the parking lot.
Pillars lined up in neat rows, lights bright as day inside.
I took a deep breath.
"Never gonna give you up~ Never gonna let you down~"
"Grrrk?!"
Cars parked all around.
Heads popping up from behind them.
I grinned.
"Come at me."
"Kraaaak!"
They came charging in a horde.
Swarming like ants spotting food from every direction.
Here they come, here they come!
Acceleration
[Auto-cast: Acceleration]
I spread both swords wide.
Swoosh...
The air-ripping sound rang out slow and deliberate.
Stepped sideways and thrust with all my might.
"Hup!"
Splat!
"Hoo."
I swung the sword lightly through the air.
Blood and gunk splattered off, leaving it gleaming like new.
These maintenance gloves keep any weapon you hold in top condition—no need to wipe the blood off manually.
One shake in the air, and it's clean.
Perfect.
Piles of corpses everywhere.
22 of 'em.
Acceleration ate up 7 casts.
Left hand's getting the hang of it—fewer casts needed each time.
Good sign.
"Status."
Current Stamina at 38.
Got 2 points, so let's make it 40.
Dumped 2 into Stamina and left the parking lot.
Stamina recovery tick per hour: 48 minutes.
Stat recovery tick: 14 minutes.
It's shrinking bit by bit, for sure.
Heading out of the basement lot, I mulled it over.
Keep dumping into Stamina?
Or beef up Strength and Mental Power a bit?
...Stamina's priority one, no doubt.
With new survivor groups popping up and levels to grind, faster stat recovery means I'm ready for anything.
Need at least 60 or 70 Stamina to raid twice a day smooth and handle emergencies.
But...
Bump Strength by 3 to hit 30, and that's a guaranteed 3 levels per raid.
...Yeah.
Strength +3 it is.
5 Acceleration casts left.
Maybe secure the house like this?
Kya-aa-aak!
A woman's scream echoing from afar.
I barely notice anymore, but they hit about once an hour.
People still risking it all for a single ramen pack.
While I'm out massacring.
I smirked and passed the convenience store, heading to the single-family home across from the boarding house.
Grrr... grrr...
...Hmm.
Hear 'em.
Layout's not much different from the boarding house.
Front gate's ajar.
Someone bolted when shit hit the fan?
Sheathed one sword, kept the other in my right hand, and eased the gate open.
Growls louder for sure.
First floor...
Both houses feel empty.
No sounds.
Knocked, no response.
Apocalypse hit midday.
Probably empty—folks at work or school.
So, second floor.
Up the stairs.
Each step, growls getting louder.
...Door locked?
Click, click.
...Nope.
...Now what.
Master bedroom light's on.
...Hmm...
Beyond the security bars on the window, it's shut tight.
...Window locked too?
Slid my sword through the bars and nudged the window—it gave way, denting the blade.
Window cracked open too.
Oh.
Window wasn't locked.
I grabbed the frame, swung sideways through.
Scraaape!
A face lunged at me that instant.
"Kraaaak!"
Old man.
Half his face torn off, crusted blood.
Muscles dangling loose.
"Kya-aaak! Kraaaak!"
...Any more?
Room door wide open.
Thud thud thud!
Frantic footsteps.
"Haaak! Kraaaak!"
Old lady.
She barreled in, grabbed gramps' head, shoved his face out the window.
Thunk! Hit the bars.
Nose snapped sideways instantly.
No blood.
"Kraaak! Kyaaak!"
...Huh.
Just the old couple, looks like.
Acceleration
[Auto-cast: Acceleration]
"Kra—aa—aah—..."
The two old faces jammed through the bars.
Baring teeth with everything they had.
I raised my sword and thrust.
Splat! Splat!
"—A—glurk."
They slammed jaws on the frame and flopped sideways, backward onto the floor.
Blood speckled my cheek.
Wiped it with the back of my hand and stood still, listening.
Sounds.
Any more growls nearby?
...Quiet.
...Good.
Can't pick locks.
Gonna have to ask Su-hyun for help.
That makes 24 kills tonight total.
...Head back.
Back at the rooftop room, showered, and lay down next to Su-hyun. She looked a bit teary-eyed—couldn't sleep proper with me in and out, plus the shower racket.
Hmm.
Can't help it with my schedule.
She's got hers too.
Living together's great, but the downsides are stuff like this.
Keep it up, and she won't sleep right either. Better to use separate rooms.
Talk tomorrow morning, move her to that empty house right away.
Current Mental Power: 20.
Rest till morning, fully recovered.
Big mart raids starting tomorrow.
Morning.
Dawn at 6 AM, sun stretching.
I got up, dressed, and slipped out.
Thought about groping and sucking on Su-hyun a bit, but didn't wanna wake her just to mess around, so I left quiet.
Raids take priority.
Need levels fast.
Right from the convenience store path.
Passed the herbal clinic, rice cake shop.
Then the now-empty clothing store.
Crossed into the first lane beside the clothing store building—big mart.
Corpses littered the road to the big mart.
The ones I killed.
Lured 'em out the entrance, picked 'em off on the run.
Rotting stench, fuck.
Sat behind the clothing store's portable sign, eyeing the mart.
One glass panel on the side door shattered.
...Hold up.
Why so many human silhouettes?
Last time at the big mart, only about ten at that entrance.
I dragged most out and killed 'em.
Now nearly twenty milling at the entrance.
Plus the downed ones on the ground—close to thirty.
Can't be that many at the entrance.
These things have some weird homing instinct—lose the target after a lure, they shuffle back to their spot.
Why so many now?
Looked around.
Business as usual.
Dead quiet.
...Not stragglers from elsewhere.
Eyes up, scanned the building closer.
Floors 1-3: mart signs and banners everywhere. Yeah, mart zone up to there.
4th: sword dojo, Pilates.
5th: karaoke, DVD bang...
DVD bang... nice...
Quick break with a girl...
...Ahem.
6th: PC bang.
Takes the whole floor, no other signs.
7th: cooking academy, calligraphy.
8th: hair salon, comic cafe.
That one's a brand salon, probably.
Never been to one, but the sign's fancier than the local clip joint.
9th, 10th... no signs.
...Wait.
...9th and 10th...
No way that's residential?
...For real?
Looked back down at the mart entrance.
Twenty-plus visible.
Residential above, more Human Beasts at the mart door.
Means the ones from upstairs came down and got bit.
No other explanation.
...What a mess.
Looked up at the building again.
So first, the mart...
Started to stand, then stopped.
Sat back down.
Hold on.
Right to clear the mart first?
Cleared the mid-size one, left it alone—people swarmed in and took everything.
We got the lion's share, sure, but still.
Clear the big mart first, it catches other groups' eyes—they'll scavenge it clean.
...No good.
Looked up the building.
Tall for a 10-story—pretty big.
We've got plenty of food stocked.
Enough for a couple months easy.
Hit the upper floors first, then sweep the mart entrance on moving day.
...Fuck, that's a lotta stairs.
Gonna be one hell of a workout.
Sighed deep and stood from the sign, heading for the big mart.