Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: 15. Logically Speaking. (3)
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Evening, seven o'clock.
All my stats had recovered.
It was definitely faster now.
About thirteen hours to restore Mental Power to 54.
It decreased so gradually that it didn't feel noticeable, but once you rested, the difference was clear.
With Acceleration charged up, it was time to head out again.
I strapped on my sword and left the rooftop room.
This time, the goal was the fifth floor.
I hit Acceleration in front of the big mart and charged straight up to the fifth floor.
Acceleration wore off midway, and I could hear something growling from below, but the bastards didn't climb the stairs.
"Hoo..."
Fifth floor.
Karaoke and DVD rooms.
I cracked open a door and peered inside.
...It was dark.
Really dark?
No lights on at all, it seemed.
I listened carefully.
A low whoosh of wind, like a hum.
No growling.
...What the hell?
I pulled out my phone, turned on the light, and stepped inside.
Right side, karaoke.
...Lights off?
Left side, DVD room.
...What is this?
An A4 paper stuck to the entrance door.
For Lease: Commercial Space.
...Guess business tanked and they shut down.
...Ha.
Putting up a "For Lease" sign outside would ruin the building's look, huh.
What about the karaoke place?
...No lease sign there.
Peering through the door, I could see refrigerators stocked with drinks and booze.
Looked like they were still in business.
Just not open right now.
Probably the type that opened late afternoon or evening and ran till dawn.
...So nothing on the fifth floor, then.
"Tch."
Fine.
Whatever.
Alright, let's go up.
I cautiously climbed to the sixth floor.
"...!"
...Holy shit.
Just a few steps up the stairs, and the air was vibrating.
Krrrngh— krrrngh—
How many of them were there?
It sounded like subwoofers thumping.
The air itself was rumbling.
I crept up the stairs. The sixth-floor steel door hung wide open.
And the stairwell window was open too.
...With a pillar-style standing ad for "superior new-model monitors."
...Ah.
PC bang.
...Fuck my life...
How many people were crammed in here gaming from broad daylight?
The growling was insane.
That stupid standing ad was propped up flimsily.
Who the hell comes for that?
People just want comfy seats to game.
"...Hoo..."
The stairs to the sixth floor.
I crouched there, peeking up.
Open steel door.
Beyond it, glass doors.
Krrrngh— krrrngh—
A lot.
No idea how many.
But a ton.
I drew my sword.
Shing—
The steel door was already open.
One step up, and I'd be exposed.
"...Haa..."
...Let's go.
"...Suuuuck."
I stood, strode up the stairs, and shoulder-slammed the glass door open.
Thud!
"Kraaaagh! Kyaa—"
"--Ah-----"
"Urgh!"
Holy fucking shit!
A part-timer right next to the door?
Scared the crap out of me.
I immediately stabbed its head with my sword.
Splurch!
I didn't even cast it; auto-cast kicked in.
Damn, there were a lot.
No time to waste!
I leaped sideways and stabbed again.
Splurch!
"--Kr--waaagh!"
Crazy!
Acceleration!
Over two hundred computers at a glance.
Bathrooms and smoking room in the middle.
I vaulted over seats, stabbing as I went.
Splurch, splurch!
Acceleration!
Goddamn it, I used up all my Acceleration!
I bolted like mad through the wide-open glass doors and down the stairs.
The moment I hit the fifth floor, I flung open the steel door.
"--Kr--aaagh! Kyaaagh!"
Fucking hell!
I slammed the door shut and locked the handle.
Click!
"Haa, haa."
A message floated before my eyes.
Thirty of them.
Killed thirty, and there were still plenty left.
Insane.
If it was that packed in broad daylight, it must've been a booming business.
Good service, maybe?
Top-spec rigs, hot part-timers, free cup coffee with every seat?
What'd that part-timer look like again? I was so startled I stabbed first and didn't check.
Fuck.
"Kraaaagh! Kyaaaagh!"
Crashing and banging, a horde of footsteps thundering closer.
Fucking hell.
Stay back...!
"Kaaagh! Kyaaagh!"
Growling from beyond the steel door.
"Haa, hoo..."
Damn.
PC bang.
Not an easy one.
Seats packed tight, hard to see the floor, and the moment I entered, they spotted me—no time to lure them out.
Blew all twelve Accelerations.
"Hoo... haa..."
Still, three levels up.
"Kyaaaagh! Kraaaagh!"
Still rioting beyond the door.
Damn.
Fifth floor, karaoke.
Too dark.
I turned on my phone light.
Confirmed.
Nothing here.
Whatever they're doing back there—freaking out or eating each other—they ain't getting through this door.
"Hoo..."
I sheathed my sword.
Shink—click.
Leaned against the steel door to catch my breath.
Drip, drip.
Something kept falling from my chin.
Oh, blood.
Damn.
Now...
Problem is staying here.
This steel door's secure for now.
The karaoke's got glass walls and doors—easy to smash with the sword.
Big sofas inside, for sure. Bathroom too.
Snacks and drinks, obviously.
...Hmm.
Hunker down here, clear the PC bang completely later?
Or recharge some Acceleration and head home?
...To escape, I'd need at least two Accelerations.
Round trip would waste four.
Yeah.
Tonight, crash here.
Blood-soaked clothes are uncomfortable, but oh well.
I wiped my hands on my less-bloody butt and messaged Su-hyun.
I hit send and stood.
Alright, karaoke...
Door was properly locked.
I drew my sword and pressed it to the glass.
Then dragged it down.
Screeech—
...Hmm...
Cutting's tricky.
Just a shallow scratch.
I thrust hard.
Thunch!
Straight through in one go.
...Thanks to the gauntlets?
Would've chipped normally.
Pierce, then.
Bzzz—
Phone vibrating.
Message, probably.
Later.
I kept stabbing, making a big hole.
Then kicked it hard.
"Hup!"
Crash!
Glass shattered, leaving a person-sized hole.
Like something out of an American cartoon.
Inside smelled like karaoke—bitter-sweet, cloyingly sticky.
Drink fridge glowing, so I could see that much, but the back was pitch black.
No light switches?
Shone my phone behind the counter—found them.
Four of 'em.
Flicked 'em all on.
Bzzz—click click.
Dull electric hum, lights flickered on.
Ooh.
Bright.
Red leather sofas, latest song posters. Proper karaoke joint.
Been a while.
"...Tonight, I'll stay here."
Grabbed a cola from the fridge and headed inside.
Six rooms total.
No sounds.
Checked anyway—empty.
Just a vacant karaoke spot.
Opened one room and flopped onto the sofa.
"Hoo... Tired."
Stabbing dozens of times takes stamina, surprisingly.
Checked my phone—message from Su-hyun.
She's worried sick.
I smirked and replied.
I snapped a pic of the room and sent it.
Threw up a V-sign with bloody fingers—eh, she's seen worse.
Sent that and lay back down.
Oh, right.
Just leveled up.
Dumped 3 points into Stamina, bringing it to 43.
Hoo, time to sleep.
Next morning, 9 AM.
Goddamn, 60 charges take forever.
Fourteen hours!
Gotta raise Stamina faster; this won't cut it.
The second it hit full, I bolted out of the karaoke room.
Checked outside the steel door carefully, then headed up again.
...PC bang.
Killed thirty, but a whole horde had swarmed.
No clue how many left.
Door still wide open from me.
Bodies strewn about.
From the lower stairs, couldn't see inside well...
Stepped up—through the busted glass doors, the whole PC bang in view.
A few standing around.
...I'd wiped the nearby ones, at least.
This might be doable.
"...Hoo..."
Stepped around the corpses.
Entered the PC bang, took a deep breath.
"Ack! Gimbap!"
...What the hell did I just mutter?
"Kraaaagh!"
Human Beasts whirled around.
...This could work.
Not like yesterday.
"Kyaaaagh! Kraaaagh!"
The beasts came charging.
Trampling seats, tripping over chairs, swarming me.
I grinned.
Acceleration.
Drew my sword.
Shing—
"Hup!"
Splurch, splurch!
Nine Accelerations.
Killed about thirty, I think.
...Not quite.
No clue how many exactly.
Just stabbed wildly.
Nine Accelerations—maybe twenty-seven or eight?
Something like that.
"...Hoo..."
Goddamn.
Hungry.
Karaoke snacks barely fill you up.
Anything here?
...Ooh.
PC bang's got decent grub.
Fish-shaped pastries in the fridge.
Nice.
Grabbed three, nuked 'em in the microwave.
"Status."
Two into Stamina.
45!
Nice.
Recovery ticks faster!
Plopped in a chair, ate the pastries, rested a bit.
Ugh, damn.
Blood caked everywhere, face like a horror movie extra.
Wash up?
Ah, fuck.
No point; clothes are dripping blood no matter what.
I'm serious—squeeze the T-shirt, and blood pours out.
Washing up like this? Fuck that.
Blood dripping from my hair.
Shower at home.
...Hmm...
PC bang...
Found a seat still running, meter racking up tens of thousands of won after two weeks.
Any news?
First...
Most communities were dead.
Sites just gone.
Servers probably fried.
The few alive were a mess.
...What a shitshow.
Every post dripping despair.
Looking for the president, military, mom not back, scared shitless...
...Suicides too.
Posts announcing it, proof pics, then jump...
...Yeah.
This... is the apocalypse.
"Hoo..."
...Post something?
Nah.
What to say?
"I'm fine 'cause I Acceleration-murder hordes, so chill"? Or "I'm massacring, but you'll die if you step out, so stay put"?
Nothing to say.
I can't save everyone beyond that monitor.
Don't even want to.
Lost track of time browsing communities.
Time flies.
Three Accelerations left—now four.
Starving, fuck.
Head home, shower, eat.
Down the stairs, Acceleration, sprinted like hell.
-Krrrngh?!
Growls from afar.
Too fast—they probably didn't even register what passed.
Just pattering feet.
Snickered and headed to the convenience store.
Then, as I turned into the alley—
"Open the fucking door already! Huh? You gonna hog it all? Trying to let everyone die? Huh? Does that make any goddamn sense?!"
"Open the door!"
A crowd in front of the boarding house.