Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Translator: M.N 1391
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Translator : M.N 1391
Title: Abnormal Glutton
Chapter : 11
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Before the scream had even finished, both my eyes shot open.
Without a moment to think, my arms and legs moved first. No matter how deeply I slept, my ears always reacted instantly to screams or the noises monsters made.
‘Let me sleep, damn it, just let me sleep!’
I barely managed to swallow the curse that tried to spill out and dashed toward the door.
In my hand was already the Crowbar Calibur.
Even while sleeping, I never let go of my weapon, a habit ingrained in me since my time in Achaia.
By now, I couldn’t even fall asleep unless I had something in my hand.
I opened the door quickly and almost flew down the stairs. My thighs throbbed a little from overexerting myself all day yesterday, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“Kyaaaaa! Don’t come! Don’t come any closer!”
I’d barely found a good resting spot, and now she was screaming like that, she was going to attract every zombie in the area.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
But the moment I reached the second floor and looked down, my head started throbbing on its own.
‘Ha...’
There on the first floor stood an infected, its entire body drenched in blood. It wasn’t the blood that surprised me, seeing these things covered in blood was nothing new.
What made me stop was its body.
Its muscles were swollen like those of a gym rat who had just finished a workout, and black veins bulged beneath its skin.
That alone was enough proof that it wasn’t an ordinary infected.
‘Already? And how much did it eat overnight?’
Abnormal Glutton.
That was what we called those things back in Achaia.
When a human became infected, they usually felt an intense hunger, growing stronger each time they consumed human flesh or blood.
The one saving grace was that they usually felt full after even a small meal.
But, of course, there were exceptions.
An Abnormal Glutton ate several times more than a normal infected, and grew stronger just as quickly.
‘Shit, what rotten luck.’
The reason I was trying to get stronger as quickly as possible was precisely to avoid running into one of them.
‘But this is way too early for one to appear.’
Fortunately, it hadn’t noticed me yet and was slowly closing the distance between itself and the woman.
The premature appearance of an Abnormal Glutton was a serious problem even for me.
‘If I rush in, I might get myself killed...’
To be honest, that thing was too tough to deal with right now. And on top of that, the woman’s clothes were stained with blood.
I didn’t know if it was hers or someone else’s, but if she was injured, she’d likely turn into a zombie soon anyway.
“D-Don’t come near me! I said don’t come!”
The woman, still screaming, fell flat on her butt. Because of that, her eyes met mine as I looked down from the second floor.
‘Damn it.’
Now she was going to scream for help.
Then that monster would notice me, and after that, it would be a messy back-and-forth fight… But what she did next completely caught me off guard.
She clenched her teeth, trembling all over, as if deep in thought.
Then, instead of asking me for help, she squeezed her fists tightly shut and closed her eyes.
Her decision was clear.
* * *
‘Ha...’
Dae-shik let out a long sigh inwardly.
‘If I let her die, I’ll have nightmares about it later.’
Besides, her position was bad.
If that thing occupied the first floor, it’d make getting out of the building a huge problem. And that wasn’t all. If it ate her and got stronger, it’d be far more troublesome to deal with later.
Which meant it might be better to take care of it right now.
Dae-shik’s eyes quickly swept over the area below.
‘Can I pull this off?’
He had the high ground, which gave him an advantage.
And with the Crowbar Calibur, he could still deal damage to the Abnormal Glutton, so long as it hadn’t fully mutated yet.
‘There’s at least some chance.’
Just then, the Abnormal Glutton, its bloodshot eyes gleaming, began moving toward the woman.
“Grrrrr...”
The woman trembled violently, raising both hands to cover her ears as if convulsing. And just as the monster reached for her…
Whoosh!
A dark shadow shot down from the staircase above, aiming straight for its head.
Clang!
The monster reflexively raised an arm to block the incoming hunk of metal.
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring echoed through the air.
“Grrrk!”
Startled by the sheer impact, the monster staggered back, clutching its left arm.
‘Good. It works.’
Confirming that the Crowbar Calibur had effect, a faint smile crept across Dae-shik’s lips.
He immediately moved on to the next step.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
But the woman, still covering her ears, didn’t hear him.
“I said, are you hurt anywhere?!”
When Dae-shik shouted, she finally opened her eyes wide, dazed, and stammered,
“N-No!”
“Then get upstairs. You’re in the way.”
The words had barely left his mouth before the monster swung its massive right arm with a terrifying force.
Whoosh!
The sound it made was no ordinary punch, it was like a club cutting through the air.
Dae-shik twisted his body sharply, dodging the attack. The gust alone made his hair whip around. Its strength was far beyond that of a normal infected.
‘If I block that head-on, I’ll be sent flying.’
Relying on his long experience, Dae-shik made a quick judgment.
Then he immediately swung his crowbar at the monster’s left arm again.
Hit the same spot twice.
A time-honored, proven tactic.
“Graaah!”
Sure enough, the monster let out an enraged scream as the same wound was struck again.
What little reason it had left screamed at it. This weapon is dangerous. It wasn’t like the weapons the other humans had swung. Each hit sent a bone-deep shock through its body.
‘Come on, back off already.’
Dae-shik swung the crowbar again, emphasizing the threat of the weapon.
The monster flinched, hesitating like a wild beast confronted with a dangerous foe.
“Go! Upstairs, now!”
Taking advantage of the moment, Dae-shik shouted once more.
Terrified, the woman crawled up the stairs on all fours.
“Grrrrr...”
The monster’s eyes darted between Dae-shik and the woman.
The human in front was dangerous. The other one wasn’t.
Take care of the threat first, then chase the prey.
A simple, animal-like thought process.
Clang, clang!
Dae-shik struck the railing with his crowbar, drawing the creature’s attention.
“Hey, keep your eyes on me.”
“Graaaah!”
With a roar, the monster swung its right arm again, and Dae-shik, anticipating it, moved close to the railing and dodged.
Crunch!
The metal railing crumpled instantly.
‘So even that barely slows it down, huh.’
Dae-shik swallowed hard.
Still, at least it hadn’t torn the railing apart completely in one hit. Seizing the brief pause in its movement, Dae-shik swung the crowbar again with full force.
The Abnormal Glutton quickly blocked with its arm.
Clang!
When the crowbar met the creature’s fist, Dae-shik’s entire body shook violently.
His weapon was sturdy enough to withstand the impact, but his own body wasn’t. His balance faltered, and pain shot through his hands like they were being ripped apart.
If he got hit like that a few more times, he’d lose his grip on the weapon.
“Graaaah!”
Sensing its prey stumble, the monster lunged at Dae-shik.
The weapon was dangerous. But the human himself was weak. Just like the others it had devoured last night.
As long as it avoided that strange lump of metal, there was nothing to fear.
‘Come on!’
Calmly watching the creature’s movements, Dae-shik leapt backward down the stairs.
Crunch!
The monster’s attack struck again, and the already-bent railing broke off completely, clattering to the floor.
“Graaaah!”
Leaping down the stairs after him, the Abnormal Glutton unleashed a wild flurry of attacks. Dae-shik staggered backward, barely keeping his balance, while swinging his crowbar to counter.
Thud!
The black metal struck the creature’s thick arm, echoing with a dull sound.
“Graaaah!”
Roaring in pain, the monster grabbed the crowbar with its other hand.
“Ugh!”
Dae-shik gritted his teeth, trying to wrench it free.
But it wouldn’t budge.
“Grrrk...”
The thing actually laughed. A guttural, mockingly human sound.
Yes, this human was weak.
The only dangerous thing was that weird metal bar.
Then suddenly…
Stab!
A black iron spike pierced straight through the monster’s left eye.
“GRAAAAAHHHH!”
The monster shrieked, thrashing wildly.
“You bastard, got careless, didn’t you?”
Reflected in its remaining eye was Dae-shik, no longer holding the crowbar, but a sharp, black metal rod.
It was a weapon that hadn’t existed in his hands a moment ago. The monster, caught off guard, swung the stolen crowbar wildly and at that exact moment, the metal rod in Dae-shik’s hand drove clean through its left temple.
“Grr… grrk...?”
The creature collapsed where it stood, the light fading from its eyes. It never found out where those two black iron spikes had come from.
“Damn it, what a pain in the ass...”
Dae-shik exhaled heavily and sprawled on the floor.
‘Phew, good thing I made that call fast.’
He praised himself inwardly while catching his breath.
If the monster had eaten that woman first, it might’ve become too strong for even the crowbar to handle.
Striking first had been a divine move. His body was weak, and there’d been a few close calls, but had he hesitated even a little, things would’ve been hopeless.
Just then…
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps echoed from above.
Looking up, Dae-shik saw the woman running down the stairs, clutching something like a wooden club.
“Uh, huh?”
The moment she spotted the monster lying there, with a black iron pipe stuck through its temple and eye, her face went blank.
Then she missed her footing.
“Kyaa!”
She nearly tumbled down the stairs but managed to grab the railing just in time.
‘She really doesn’t make things easy.’
Dae-shik muttered to himself as he got up and retrieved his Crowbar Calibur from where the monster had dropped it.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”
He asked, staring straight at her, the crowbar still tightly in his hand.
“Huh? Oh, n-no...”
The woman nodded weakly, as if half in a daze.
‘He looks ordinary enough... How the hell did he kill a monster like that?’
What amazed her even more was that someone this selfless still existed in such a world.
But she had no idea that the man who’d just saved her was holding his weapon again not out of caution, but in case he needed to strike her.
“Phew... Alright. Any more of those things around here?”
Dae-shik asked, sinking down to the floor as though his strength had left him.
“N-No. None.”
“Sure?”
“Yes, but... are you okay?”
The woman looked at him with genuine concern, taking a step closer.
“Stay there. Don’t come any closer.”
Dae-shik raised a hand to stop her.
She hesitated for a moment, then froze in place.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Then she bowed deeply, again and again.
“Yeah.”
But Dae-shik wasn’t listening. His gaze was fixed elsewhere.
Floating before his eyes was a system window.
『You have defeated an Abnormal Glutton.』
『A special reward will be granted.』
Translator: M.N 1391