Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: 22. Third Specialization. (2)
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Hmm.
I'd racked up four more achievements.
The title one was probably the storage, right?
I pressed 9.
Yeah.
That made four storage slots total.
9 was done. The others...
"Ugh."
Damn, I had to piss.
I headed into the bathroom, let loose a refreshing stream, and since going back out felt like a hassle, I just plopped down on the toilet seat.
Then I tapped the Stamina 100 achievement.
Hm?!
A skill?!
I pulled up my status window right away.
A new passive had appeared.
I tapped Limit Achieved.
Hm?
Enhanced physical abilities—what the hell did that mean?
I glanced down at my hand.
I turned it over to look at the back.
Through the hole in the back of my maintenance glove, my tattoo was visible.
...Didn't look any different?
I scanned the surroundings.
Just a toilet stall—nothing much.
I gripped the toilet lid and squeezed.
Crack!
The corner of the lid splintered off.
I stared at my hand.
Chunks and debris from the toilet lid corner tumbled off into my palm.
"...Crazy."
Was this something I could smash with one hand?
No way.
This thing was insanely tough.
I stood up and grabbed the top of the door.
I clenched my fist tight.
The bathroom door shattered and came away in my hand.
I stood there dumbfounded, holding the chunk of what used to be a door, and let out a chuckle.
My strength had improved a lot.
...Strength improved, huh?
I glanced down at the sword on my waist.
This thing—I'd been thrusting with it all this time.
Thrusts guaranteed a kill.
I'd avoided slashing because even with the sharpest blade, I worried whether my strength could cleave straight through a skull.
Slicing a skull open and just piercing a hole weren't the same at all.
Even thinking simply, swinging to cut took way more force.
The maintenance glove kept the edge sharp indefinitely. The problem had been the power in my arms and back.
What if the blade got stuck midway through a skull while slashing?
I'd waste the timing for one or two extra thrusts.
So I'd stuck to thrusting...
But now? I could probably slash just fine.
I stepped out of the bathroom and experimentally slashed the door from top to bottom.
Shwick!
It sliced clean through.
No real effort at all.
I grinned.
"...Now this I like."
I'd been bummed about not hitting Stamina 135, but this more than made up for it.
Feeling satisfied, I swung the sword through the empty air a few times for no reason, then slid it back into the scabbard.
Shing—click.
Good.
Next.
"Achievements."
Whatever, might as well open them in order.
I tapped 7.
What was the human beast slaying reward again?
...I'd forgotten.
Right. The human beast slaying achievement gave a tattoo.
"...Sigh..."
Hand on my hip, I let out a deep breath, and then faint wisps of smoke rose from my right arm.
I looked down. The flame tattoo that had reached my elbow now stretched all the way to my shoulder.
Rings had formed near my deltoid.
"Haa... tsk."
Yeah.
I knew it'd be something like this.
I'd already thrown my fit the last time I got tattooed. Just sigh it off.
I opened my status window, and sure enough,
[Passive - Soul Tattoo - Lv. 3]
The tattoo had leveled up.
I tapped the tattoo.
Hm...
Disease resistance added.
Injury recovery speed somewhat boosted.
These two got upgrades.
Minor diseases—probably stuff like colds and sniffles?
Common diseases—what qualified?
Maybe malaria or something?
No clue.
Still, better than nothing.
I nodded and pulled up achievements again, tapping the next one.
8—the new specialization achievement.
...Huh.
An item.
Projectile Duplication Belt?
"Inventory."
[Soul Stone - 1,119] [Projectile Duplication Belt] [] []
Soul stones—touching them did nothing.
I tapped the Projectile Duplication Belt right away.
The next instant, smoke puffed up over my hand, and a long strap materialized.
The strap was slightly blunt-tipped at one end, thickening gradually downward before tapering to another blunt point.
If I had to compare it to something... a feather?
It looked pretty similar.
Though the dull, shimmering silver metal color made it nothing like a real feather.
About 30 cm long.
Pretty thin.
But solid.
Felt just like a 30 cm plastic ruler.
A belt, they said?
What kind of belt was this?
I held the ruler-like thing and smacked my palm with it.
Perfectly shaped for it.
Crack.
The moment it hit my palm, the strap bent and coiled around my hand.
"...Oh."
So that's how it worked.
I tugged it free, and it snapped back to its rigid, elongated form.
But...
Projectile Duplication Belt?
Projectiles—like arrows or whatever.
How did it duplicate them?
This was just a strap.
I slapped it against my forearm.
It coiled around.
Pulled it free—straight and rigid again.
Fun.
Slap, slap.
I messed around with the feathery strap clinging tightly to my forearm, but I had no idea.
What the hell was it supposed to duplicate?
If I had something projectile-like, I could experiment, but right now I only had my phone, bag, and sword.
...Throwing a sword would count as a projectile, right?
Slap, slap.
I wrapped it around my arm a bit, then peeled it off and smacked the scabbard.
Thud, and it coiled around.
"............"
Nothing happened.
The maintenance gloves were the same. So damn inconvenient—no explanations.
I shrugged and just wrapped the feather strap around my scabbard before heading out of the bathroom.
Whatever.
I'd figure it out when the time came.
Achievements all opened, specialization obtained.
Time to head back.
The area near the bathroom was clean.
Well, not clean. Corpses littered everywhere.
I'd wiped out the fountain area and everything around it.
Next task: snag a ranged weapon.
And figure out how to use this Projectile Duplication Belt feather strap thing.
I sighed.
Swordplay was plenty strong already—did I really need ranged? Pump up Senses, which was sitting at a measly 2 points?
Maybe just push Strength to 100.
"...Sigh."
Back at the big mart building, in the alley by the convenience store.
I stood there staring toward the supermarket.
No sign near the utility pole...
Did they scout sometimes and not others?
Unpredictable bastards.
Pouring.
The rain was coming down pretty hard.
Raining, so they were holing up?
Convenient for them.
I chuckled and strolled back to the building at a leisurely pace, letting the rain wash the blood off me.
10th floor.
The scene on the 10th floor was...
Pretty bizarre.
Something you'd never see under normal circumstances.
Because every single door was wide open.
Only the empty rooms were shut.
From the open doors came murmurs of casual chatter, sounds of people eating.
A sight hard to come by in the apocalypse—no, maybe only possible because of the apocalypse.
Outside teemed with things that'd rip people apart, but up here on the 10th floor, true neighborly bonds were forming.
At the end of the hall by the window, two people stood.
The woman who'd been scared of me before.
And the inline guy who worked in real estate.
The vibe between them wasn't bad at all.
The woman's face, once etched with fear, worry, and exhaustion, had brightened up considerably.
The real estate inline was smiling too.
Maybe trying to flirt a little.
A scene like this, in times like these.
I chuckled and kept walking.
They spotted me and waved.
"Seong-hun, you're back?"
"Raining hard out there, right?"
I waved back and replied.
"Yeah, pouring. Gonna wash up."
"Um, the landlady granny made some really tasty miso soup. Want me to bring some over later?"
Miso soup sounded great.
I was about to say thanks when Su-hyun burst out of Jeong Eun-seo's room.
Ye-eun came out with her.
"Oppa! Oppa's back?"
"Welcome home, Seong-hun oppa."
So-eun peeked her head out.
I smiled and said,
"Heard the miso soup's good? Wash up and bring me a bowl."
With that, I headed to Su-hyun's place.
Su-hyun called from behind.
"Got it. Be right there."
Slippers squeaking, I shuffled next door.
Next door's door was wide open too.
No need to knock or call out. Just walk in.
Hoon ajussi and the married woman emerged from the front room, baby in her arms. They greeted me.
"Back? Must be tough."
"Welcome home, sir. You need to eat."
I nodded back.
"Yes. Gonna wash up and rest."
Hmm...
Everyone with doors flung wide, not a care who came or went.
Even in these standalone apartments with iron doors, they acted like one big family under one roof.
One hell of a...
bizarre scene.
Jeong Eun-seo holding up okay?
Probably not.
But with all these neighbors around, her mental state wouldn't crash through the floor.
Good people.