Trauma

I jolted awake at the sound of a gentle voice.

"Suhyuk, wake up."

"Huh? Yeah?"

"I woke you because I was worried you might have slept too long."

"What time is it?"

"It's noon. Twelve o'clock."

I really had slept for a long time. The auntie had gone to bed before ten last night, after all. I'd been the only one lost in a night of wild frenzy, drowning in pleasure until I passed out. But I didn't regret a single second of it. It had felt insanely fucking good.

"Um..."

"Yes?"

"Do I smell?"

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flinched. Her question made my body twitch with sudden guilt.

"N-no? You don't smell at all."

"I haven't showered in two days, so I was worried I might stink."

The auntie smiled faintly as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Don't worry. You don't smell at all. If anything, you smell sweet."

"Sweet?"

"Ah, I mean, I bet you would. Haha."

I'd almost said something stupid. I quickly changed the subject.

"Have you eaten breakfast?"

"No. I was waiting for you so we could eat together."

"You could've eaten first... Well, let's eat quickly then."

Our brunch consisted of canned food. Tuna and braised beef cans that filled us up nicely and left us satisfied.

"Is it really okay to eat this fast?"

"It's fine. The food we have now won't last anyway. We'll need to scavenge more."

"But..."

"Don't worry. I explained it yesterday, remember? The towers are taking care of the zombies, so we're in no danger."

Maybe it was because of last night's passionate sex, but I no longer hesitated to take her hand.

"That's really reassuring."

Her cheeks flushed as she averted her gaze. Even so, she didn't pull her hand away from mine. That shy little smile made my heart race.

Damn. She's bewitching me. Straight-up seducing me.

I wanted to push her down right then and climb on top of her.

I wish night would come soon. Or maybe I won't even last until then...

If I was already this worked up, I wasn't sure I'd make it. I shook my head and asked her,

"Do you want to wash up?"

"Huh? Yes... but how?"

"Let's turn on the water first and see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how the zombies react."

"What if, um, the zombies? What if they start banging on the walls?"

"We'll stop immediately and take out any zombies attacking the shelter first."

I checked the situation outside through the tower. The fallen zombies had spikes densely embedded in their heads. It looked like stakes driven in out of fear that the corpses might rise again.

Who would've thought this tiny shelter's bathroom would have a shower.

I left the water running and observed the zombies near the jungle gym.

No reaction at all.

The noise from the zombie horde was so loud that the sound of running water didn't register.

"Auntie, you can wash up. Just keep the water low."

"That's a relief."

When she smiled brightly, I couldn't help but smile back.

"Take your time. We've got plenty of it."

"Thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you. I'll go first."

Click.

She said she'll wash first...

Even a casual remark like that kept stirring my lust.

Wait a second!

A sudden idea struck me.

What if I shrink a tower and summon it inside the bathroom?

When I'd tried installing one on the traffic light before, I'd been able to reduce its size. Maybe I could make it even smaller.

I minimized the summoning range as much as possible and targeted the inside of the bathroom.

Confirm.

Shhhk.

I felt a tiny toothpick-sized object rise up.

Not bad.

The Wooden Spear Tower would be useful against zombies. Nothing beats a spear when dealing with them. I'd save the remaining stacks for later. For now, I switched it to manual mode for its original purpose.

The water was still running. Splash, splash.

I'd already known when she was wearing that tight dress, but her body was truly insane. Seeing her completely naked made precum leak endlessly from my cock. I watched through the low-angle view, licking her body with my gaze. From her slender ankles to her smooth legs, plump ass, and slim waist. The sensation from last night came rushing back.

Her arms were raised as she washed her hair, causing her massive breasts to bounce and sway between them. I wanted to grab those soft tits and suck on her nipples right this instant.

Fuck!

If I kept watching, I might burst in there and jump her. I've got time. Just hold out until nightfall.

I barely managed to let go of the bathroom door I'd been gripping. I also relocated the Wooden Spear Tower I'd installed in the bathroom to the shelter entrance.

To shake off the dirty thoughts, I opened my status window.

Level 5 already.

The leveling speed was definitely fast. It was incomparable not only to other WAW users but even to the characters I'd raised in the game. There were several reasons for that.

Towers never rest. They automatically killed zombies even when I did nothing. The volume was massive. Normally, you only gained experience equal to what you personally hunted. But my towers funneled experience to me. Plus, I could upgrade them. It was only natural that my leveling speed was insane.

While I was at it, I checked the skill window too.

Five towers had already hit max level.

How did the Web Tower level up?

Thinking about the cause and effect, it seemed like an assist. Maybe when another tower finished off a zombie caught in its web, it gained a portion of the experience? WAW had a party hunting system, after all.

I pressed the UP button on the Web Tower.

"What condition?"

When I focused on the condition, a message appeared. It required the essence of an arachnid monster.

It even needs an essence?

Essences were materials used for crafting equipment. Since the drop rate was extremely low, I hadn't collected many myself.

If it's spiders, I'll have to wait until the next wave.

If things followed WAW exactly, a new wave would begin in two months. That monster wave would likely include arachnid types.

Can't do it right now.

It wasn't that disappointing. The Hunting Bow Tower was far more important anyway.

In the upgrade tab, I selected [3rd Tier Tower Unlock] and immediately upgraded the Hunting Bow Tower.

When I switched it to manual, the view changed to the rooftop of an apartment building. Looking down at the streets, they were packed with zombies. Most of them had formed large groups. Probably due to their nature. When one zombie reacted to noise and started running, its footsteps would draw in the others.

This clustering works in my favor. Even if I miss, another zombie might get hit.

I aimed at the zombies gathered around the jungle gym as a test. The view immediately zoomed in.

Whoa! It can snipe too?!

The Hunting Bow Tower didn't have this function. It must have been added with the upgrade.

I placed a zombie's head in the crosshairs and fired.

Twang!

With the sound of a released bowstring, an arrow flew at incredible speed and buried itself up to the fletching in a zombie's head. Unable to withstand the physical force, the zombie was knocked backward and collapsed.

The accuracy and penetration power have improved dramatically!

The Hunting Bow Tower had been strong compared to the Spike Tower, but it occasionally missed, and even when it hit, it sometimes failed to pierce the skull. But the Longbow Tower buried arrows in heads with every shot. At this rate, I could quickly clear out the zombies near the apartment. The range had increased significantly too.

"Hehehe."

I was starting to truly feel the power of the Random Tower Summon skill. Next, I upgraded all the Spike Towers into Hunting Bow Towers and Light Crossbow Towers.

"I should be able to finish clearing the apartment today."

Once the apartment was cleared, I'd expand my territory across the entire area. While I was scouting the surroundings, the auntie finished washing up.

"I'm done."

Those words made heat flare in my lower belly. I wanted to grab her wet ass wrapped in that dress.

"Was the water too cold?"

"It was fine. The weather's warm."

It was early June, so it was indeed warm.

"You might catch a cold, so cover yourself with a blanket."

And if she fell asleep like that, even better.

"Thank you."

Seeing her bright smile made me want to pull her into my arms. After she came out, I used the Longbow Tower to scout the area. Thanks to the zoom function, I could spot things I might have missed. People being chased by zombies, people throwing empty cans to lure them away, people who had set up sunbeds on rooftops and were lounging comfortably. All sorts of people.

As I rotated the view, I witnessed a battle scene. A group of ten people were fighting zombies together like a team, wielding various weapons.

It's starting.

Groups that utilized skills had begun to form.

In WAW, survivor groups that hunted zombies started appearing around this time too.

If you used stats and skills properly, hunting zombies wasn't that difficult. The problem was that their hunting method was flawed. Beginners often mistakenly believed that gathering people together made hunting safer. It was fine if their numbers weren't overwhelmingly outnumbered by the zombies. But ten people were far too few.

The noise and shouting stimulated every zombie in the vicinity. A massive wave of zombies came surging in like a tidal wave. The person leading them shouted in panic. They improvised by fleeing into a narrow alley between buildings, but it wasn't a good move. They might hold out for now, but how long would that last? Zombies didn't get tired, unlike my towers.

"What the...?"

Their solid formation was broken through in an instant. I'd thought they could hold out longer. But when one zombie shoved aside a door they were using as a shield, the entire survivor group collapsed.

"Did a zombie just use a skill?"

An unexpected variable.

Is this also because of the update?

Once a formation broke, it couldn't be restored. The fallen survivors were dragged into the zombie horde and torn apart alive. Panic drove the situation to its worst in seconds. They should've calmly climbed the walls to escape, but instead they tried to push through the zombies and ended up surrounded and annihilated.

"This is bad for the survivors."

Of course, that didn't apply to me. I wouldn't be fighting directly anyway.

"They're too far away. It'll be hard to go farm them."

It was a shame to leave behind the items the survivors had dropped, but there was nothing I could do. I ordered the towers to mark any zombies using skills if they spotted them, then ended the reconnaissance.

After that, I spent time chatting casually with the auntie.

"Auntie, do you have trouble waking up once you fall asleep?"

"Ah..."

I'd only asked casually, but she looked visibly flustered. It actually made me more flustered.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hide it."

She lowered her head like a criminal and apologized. Had she thought she'd become a burden during an emergency escape?

"How did it happen?"

After a long silence, she finally spoke.

"It was around the time the victims of that coin scam started getting more persistent when they came to my house."

She continued speaking in a detached tone, as if recalling a memory.

"They took turns banging on the door every hour like clockwork. After suffering like that for months, I couldn't fall asleep anymore."

Had they mentally cornered her?

"I prayed desperately... I just wanted to sleep peacefully. I wished I wouldn't wake up. Sometimes I even thought it would be better if I never woke up at all."

To be honest, I couldn't really relate. She could've just left the house.

"At some point, I really stopped waking up once I fell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asleep. But one day I woke up to firefighters shaking me. The soup had boiled dry and burned, filling the house with smoke. That's when I realized I was sick."

"Are you taking medication?"

"No. I was too scared of running into the victims, so I couldn't go to the hospital."

Now I understood why she hadn't woken up. That also explained why she sometimes seemed a bit dazed. Hiding something like this was definitely dangerous. In an emergency, trying to wake her might cause us to miss our chance to escape. It didn't apply to me since I was a veteran of WAW, but still.

"Don't worry. You'll be safe as long as you're with me."

I took her hand reassuringly. Someday I'd hold that hand while fucking her. Until then, I'd just have to wait for her to fall asleep.

"Thank you. Really."

Seeing her bright smile glistening with tears made the urge to kiss her surge up.

"It's nothing."

By now, my cock was so hard it ached. I was looking forward to nightfall.