Chapter 8
Chapter 8
I tried to use the remaining Peanut Butter to expand Mom's inventory, but
"We're just going to be at home anyway, so let's not waste it."
She refused, saying that.
I agreed with her and thought about other uses.
"Water can be obtained from rivers or rain, but there's no answer for electricity other than buying it..."
Even back in the days of the Ruined Game, countless veterans had tried to generate electricity by making solar generators, oil, and generators instead of buying it, but they had a history of failure.
"I should go to the nearby market tomorrow and grab some basins to catch water.
And it would be nice if there were an NPC Village nearby..."
In the game, the world itself was a fantasy world and there were many NPC Villages, but this is reality.
I had no idea where the NPCs might be.
Still, I should use it while I have it.
I opened the My Home system and purchased 7 days' worth of power, and 5 jars of Peanut Butter vanished before my eyes.
"Mom, I extended the electricity for another week. We have plenty of bottled water, so we'll get by with that, and I'll go get a bunch of basins tomorrow."
"That's good. We can manage with the water somehow. I'm going to start preparing dinner now, so you get some rest."
"I've got nothing to do, so I'm going to go hunt a bit more in front of the house."
"Okay... always be careful, alright?"
"Don't worry."
Mom went to the kitchen and started preparing dinner, and I grabbed the newly made spear and stepped out of the house.
Looking at the yard, the weeds around the vegetable garden had been cleanly removed, and the seed packets I brought were torn and gathered in one corner.
"Wow... she's really serious about farming, huh...?"
Thanks to Mom's burning desire for farming, it seemed like we wouldn't have to worry about food.
Bang!
"How should I handle this door...?"
When I opened the front gate, the sound of iron rang out, and I worried about it, but seeing the zombies walking from afar, I shook my head to clear my distracting thoughts and gripped the spear tightly.
Grrr....!!
The zombies that were walking slowly showed a completely different appearance from the morning.
They were still slow, but they started running, and their arms were stretched forward, approaching threateningly.
"It's already night?!"
In the Ruined Game, morning zombies were like rabbits in other fantasy games that even beginners could easily trample,
But at night, they became a bit stronger, and their numbers would double.
"They gave a lot of experience points, so the veterans loved it, though!!"
Stab!
Unlike in the morning, I aimed for the zombies' heads, which were shaking rapidly, and barely managed to hit them.
Grrr... Crackle!
Pretty polygons like fireflies in the darkening evening rose into the sky.
[Experience Gained: 20]
Considering the morning zombies were 5, that's four times the experience.
But the mental fatigue seemed to be more than four times as much.
"Phew... can I... handle this...?"
I saw the jars filled with Peanut Butter, a larger amount than in the morning, lying on the ground, and
"Heh heh... gotta handle it, what else..."
I stuffed them into my now very spacious inventory and boosted my morale.
At that moment,
Aaaah!!!! H-help me!!!
A woman's scream could be heard from not too far away, and the zombies in the vicinity all flocked to the source of the sound.
"It might be hell for that person... but for me, it's a sweet deal!!"
I lowered my body and followed the zombies flocking in one direction, and I started by stabbing and bursting the heads of the ones at the very back.
Stab! Stab! Staaab!!
[Due to repeated skill usage,
Spearmanship grows into Low-level Spearmanship.]
'This is it!!'
I was thrilled by the suddenly lighter spear and burst the zombies' heads,
Stab! Stab!
And continued to stab the backs of the zombies' heads at an even faster speed.
[Level Up!
You have obtained new Free Points.]
[Confirming Traveler's actions.
You have obtained a new skill.]
'As expected, you have to milk the burning time!! Heh heh heh'
I was intoxicated by the refreshing alarm sounds that kept ringing as I caught the zombies, and before I knew it,
I had arrived in front of a building surrounded by zombies.
'Crazy... it would be a sweet deal if I had an area-of-effect skill right now...'
Since I didn't have a skill to deal with all the zombies gathered in front of me, I quietly returned home.
--
Bang!
Grrr...
Even though I had just cleaned them up, the zombies that had respawned were drawn to the sound of our front gate and ran toward the house,
Stab!
And evaporated into polygons by my spear.
'I don't have to worry about a small number of normal zombies anymore... but I'm worried about mutants and humans.'
I closed the gate and went inside the house.
"Son! Why are you so late? The food is all cold."
Mom must have prepared the food again to match the sound of the gate, because contrary to her words,
A steaming meal was prepared.
"Sorry, Mom. I meant to just do a quick run, but I lost track of time, haha..."
"Well, I'm glad you came back without getting hurt. I drew water in the bathroom, so go wash your hands and come sit down."
"Okay~"
I entered the bathroom and was taken aback by the water bucket, which was so full of bubbles that I wondered if I should even wash with this water.
"Uh... Mom? Why is there so much foam in this?"
"It must be because it's the water from doing the dishes this morning!
We have to save water now!"
At Mom's words, I used the Peanut Butter I had farmed from the hunt just now to pay for 1 day's worth of water for My Home and turned on the faucet.
Whoosh!!
When the sound of water, which shouldn't be heard, rang out, Mom was startled and opened the bathroom door,
And she got angry at the sight of me washing my hands with clean water.
"Son!! You have to save when you have it!!"
"Mom... we're not exactly destitute, so this is a bit much...."
"Oh my.. I can't live like this, really...
Fine.. you've already used it, so it can't be helped, but... from now on, consult with Mom before using it, okay?"
"Okay..."
Even though I paid with the money I earned, I got scolded, so
I started to wonder if I should move out.
But that was only for a moment; as I ate the food Mom prepared,
I thought that living with Mom was good after all.
On the table, there was a cucumber side dish that wasn't there in the morning, and
I moved my chopsticks without much thought.
Crunch!
I bit into a cucumber that was cut larger than usual.
At that moment, a mysterious buff mark started to twinkle in the bottom right corner of my vision, just like when I used the Magnifying Glass of Confirmation.
'Huh..? What is this?'
Wondering what was going on, I used Blessing on the chili powder-covered cucumber,
[Well-Seasoned Cucumber Salad]
Info 1: Grants Vitality Regeneration buff for 30 minutes upon consumption
Info 2: Duration and effect increased by 2 times due to a skilled chef
'?!'
I was flustered by the information window that popped up in front of me, and I felt my tired body gradually becoming lighter.
"Uh... Mom? Did you cook this with cucumbers picked from the yard?"
"Yes~ Isn't it delicious? It's a cucumber filled with Mom's love."
"Uh... Mom? Could I also see the lettuce you harvested yesterday?"
"Lettuce? Why all of a sudden?"
Mom stood up from her seat, looking puzzled, and went to the refrigerator, then brought out the washed lettuce.
I immediately used Blessing on the lettuce,
[Lettuce Harvested by a Skilled Farmer]
Info 1: Grants Concentration Enhancement buff for 30 minutes upon consumption
Info 2: Grants Stamina Enhancement buff for 30 minutes upon consumption
'What the... what is this lettuce that men would go crazy for...?'
Even in the days of the Ruined Game, there were many items in the game that enhanced stamina,
But most of them could only be obtained through trading with NPCs, and the price was also very high.
Also, among the mutant zombies, there was the Erect Zombie, which had a terrible respawn rate but was always aroused, so it would drop with a very low probability when caught, and it sometimes became a biological dildo for female veteran users.
But for lettuce grown in the front yard to give a 30-minute stamina enhancement buff...
If it were in the game world, it would have been an effect that would have made a fortune.
"Mom... please plant a lot of lettuce from now on..."
"Yes? Sure, I can do that. It grows fast and is easy to raise, so~"
"Heh heh heh..."
"What's with him? He likes perilla leaves more than lettuce, so why is he like that all of a sudden?"
Even under Mom's gaze, I laughed deviously and focused on eating the cucumber side dish.
--
Burp..
"Oh.. I'm so full.. Thanks for the meal."
I sat in the living room, patting my stomach that felt like it was going to burst again today, and turned on the TV for the first time in a while.
But there were no broadcasts on the TV.
Ugh..
I turned off the TV and lay down on the sofa, but perhaps because of the cucumber's effect, my body, which had recovered completely, didn't feel sleepy at all.
'There's about 50 minutes left until the cucumber buff disappears... it's a waste, so I should go hunt some more..'
"Mom! I'm going outside for a moment!"
"Again?!"
"I'll be right back!!"
Mom said something or other after that, but I hurriedly came out to the yard, and
Bang!
I opened the gate.
The street without streetlights was helped by the moonlight, but it was still dark.
There were houses where lights were on, perhaps because they had collected enough Peanut Butter to buy electricity, and as expected, zombies were swarming around those houses.
Stab!
I burst the head of a zombie that had run over, drawn by the sound of the gate, and after picking up the dropped jar, I slowly left the dark alley.
'Phew... I really can't see anything...'
In the dark street, all I could see were
The glow-in-the-dark markers attached to the streetlights and the eyes of the zombies floating in red light.
But as time passed, my eyes got used to the darkness, and with the help of the moonlight, I was able to secure a certain amount of visibility.
'With this, I can hunt without any issues..... Crazy!?'
In front of my eyes, which had become accustomed to the darkness,
A completely different existence appeared, not the normal zombies I had caught so far.
Kiiik! Kiik!
Its whole body was full of stitch marks, as if several human corpses had been cut and sewn together, and
There was a zombie walking slowly along the roadside with its hands and legs bent in strange directions.
'Why is that bastard appearing on day 2!!
No matter how much Absolute Protection there is, this is fucking dangerous...'
Kiii!!!!
When the zombie in front of me shrieked loudly, the surrounding zombies moved as if to escort the mutant zombie.
'A Remote Control Zombie, huh.. It's a huge gain if I catch it, but... is it possible..?'
The strangely shaped zombie was called a Remote Control Zombie because it controlled a large number of zombies back in the Ruined Game days, and it was the worst mutant zombie for newbies.
But because it gave items that randomly increased stats,
It was the best mutant zombie that veterans would seek out and hunt.
'Screw it, the house is close, so if it doesn't work out, I'll just run.'
I gripped the Trifoliate Orange Shears tightly and quietly stabbed the head of a zombie guarding the Remote Control Zombie.
Stab!!
Kiik?! Kiiiing!!!!
When the zombie it was controlling disappeared, the Remote Control Zombie noticed immediately, and
The surrounding zombies rushed at me.
Damn it!!
Since there was no chance of winning in a head-on battle, I trusted the cucumber's buff and moved quickly, wielding my spear.
Stab!! Slash!! Stab!!
Until now, I had focused as much as possible to kill zombies in one hit, but
With my lousy spear skills, I couldn't just aim for the heads of the countless zombies rushing at me from all sides.
I aimed for the heads if I could,
And if there were too many around, I cut their legs to reduce their numbers.
Kiiik!!!
Crazy!!
I had barely caught 7 zombies, and the Remote Control Zombie shrieked again,
And refilled with new friends.
'I have to take that bastard out first!!'
I moved as far away as possible to make the zombies increase the distance from the Remote Control Zombie, and
Grrr!
Swish!! Slash!
I cut the legs of the zombies in the front, making them crawl on the ground.
Thud... Crash..
The zombies chasing behind stepped on the ones on the ground,
And lost their balance and fell due to the squishy bodies of their comrades they suddenly felt.
'Now is the time!'
Ignoring those zombies, I ran at full speed and approached the Remote Control Zombie, which was left alone, and
Kiiik?! Kiiiik!!
The Remote Control Zombie shrieked loudly, but the number of zombies it could control was limited.
'This is the Remote Control Zombie hunting method used by veterans!!!!'
Staaab!!
Ki..kiik.... Pop!
[Level Up!
You have obtained new Free Points.]
My Trifoliate Orange Shears went into the only head it had, despite its huge body, and
The Remote Control Zombie decomposed and disappeared.
Huff... Huff.. Phew...
My heart, which felt like it was going to burst, recovered quickly thanks to the cucumber buff, and without even having time to check the items dropped on the ground, I shoved them into my inventory and returned home.
"As expected.. amazing... Heh heh"
Grrr...
"Take care of it"
Crunch!! Crrrunch!!
--
Bang! Click, clack!
In the dark night, Mom was planting lettuce in the yard, borrowing the moonlight, and she stood up in surprise at the sound of the gate opening suddenly.
"Son? Oh my? Why are you sweating so much?"
"Phew... it's nothing. By the way, Mom, what are you doing in the yard?"
"You asked me to plant lettuce, remember? I had nothing else to do, so I was planting it~"
"Ah... heh heh, thanks, Mom.
Phew..."
At that moment, perhaps because the cucumber's buff had ended, the mark that was twinkling in my vision disappeared, and the vitality that felt like it would last forever vanished.
"Mom, please make the cucumber side dish again tomorrow morning."
"Yes? Was the cucumber that delicious? Ho ho"
I smiled and went inside the house, and Mom hummed a tune and watered the planted lettuce.