Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Skills Are Strange
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I was dumbfounded.
In just three days, the world had turned strange.
"Huu... At least I awakened, so that's a relief..."
In a world crawling with zombies, managing to obtain some sort of ability is tremendous luck. Surviving by chance alone is already great luck, but to even awaken... Looking at my status window, my luck stat seems incredibly high. Maybe that's why?
The luck stat is a whopping 666... Huh? That number looks familiar... Isn't 666 the number of the beast?
In my memory, it was the number symbolizing Satan's child in the movie 'Omen'. Is that why my class is the strange 'Cultist'?
This feels bad from the start. Just looking at the luck stat, it feels like foreshadowing that says 'You will rot,' so my mood isn't good.
'It feels gritty...'
I felt like some divine being was watching me and laughing from a place I didn't know. Is it hinting at something because it wants something from me? Or did I simply become a plaything for a god? Either way, I have no intention of playing along.
"By the way, how do I choose skills?"
The moment I had that question, a window appeared before me.
📜 SELECT SKILL 📜
[1. Human Sacrifice]
[2. Altered Vision]
[3. Surging Flesh]
[4. Tentacle Summon]
"Huh... What the hell... What is this?"
Perhaps because my class is Cultist, the skill names alone were ominous. I couldn't help but suspect if I had really become a demon's child.
'Wait, Human Sacrifice... And Tentacle Summon...'
The moment I wondered again, a new window appeared as if to answer.
[Human Sacrifice]: Offers the living as a sacrifice to accumulate karma, hoping to draw closer to 'God'.
It was a brief description of the skill.
'The description is brutal... If I get closer to God, it definitely won't be good...'
In a ruined world, killing people will surely happen often, but this skill feels like a demonic revelation telling me to voluntarily go around committing murder. It's a bit of a turn-off. If I mess up, I'll get caught and killed as a crazy person...
[Altered Vision]: The pupils change. You can see through dark spaces.
A skill good for moving around in dark places or at night. I have no idea how the pupils will change, but looking only at the effect, it's a good skill.
[Surging Flesh]: Wounds heal rapidly. Accompanied by slight pain.
"Ooh. A good skill... right?"
This is also a skill that is perfectly fine regarding its effect, just like night vision. The phrase 'accompanied by slight pain' is a bit concerning... but still, it seems like a good skill to learn. You never know how many times you'll get injured in the future. The real problem is the last skill...
[Tentacle Summon]: Summons a tentacle from the other dimension. Enemies near the summoning circle are crushed.
Tentacle Summon also looks quite good looking only at the effect.
Every skill name has a screw loose somewhere, but this Cultist class might be an unexpectedly amazing class. Is it a hidden class that lets you do everything alone?
"For now..."
For now, I have no intention of learning Human Sacrifice. To use it, I'd have to find and kill people without a doubt, but killing people from the start of the apocalypse feels wrong. I'd get caught as a serial killer and killed. And drawing closer to God? I don't even know what kind of god it is, and what good would come from getting close to a god that tells people to kill? Something terrifying would probably just happen...
If I received a stupid quest like wiping out a survivor camp, it would be the end. This is no good. Absolutely not. How much effort would it take to destroy a survivor camp?
I don't need Altered Vision right away. If it's dark, I can just find and use a flashlight. Of course, it doesn't seem like a skill that just lets me see well in the dark, but I don't feel like learning it right now.
What's left is Surging Flesh and Tentacle Summon.
"I'll choose Tentacle Summon."
I don't have any injuries right now, so wouldn't it be better to learn an attack skill first? If I learn Surging Flesh, self-recovery is possible, so it's definitely good, but it doesn't appeal to me. The description that it's accompanied by pain is also a bit off-putting. It feels like it would inflict pain maliciously.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Tentacle Summon
Skill applied.
The moment I learned the skill, the method of using it was engraved in my mind. It felt like an awl poking my brain slightly, to the point where I almost collapsed on the floor.
"Kuaaak...!"
Various unidentified characters floated around in my head. And I naturally figured out how to use the skill.
The intense pain subsided, and a few drops of saliva dripped from my mouth.
I just need to chant the incantation and draw a pentagram with my hand. Then a circular circle appears, and a tentacle extends out to grab and crush or smash the enemy in front. If I use it well, I might be able to create a summoning circle under the enemy's feet.
"This is insane..."
I want to try it right now, but I can't. The mana consumption is a whopping 6, and there's a limit of 3 summons per day. There's no one to kill right now, so I can't waste the skill. This is a skill to use as a finishing move in a desperate moment.
"Next, achievement rewards..."
Achievements, or rewards you can get by completing challenges.
Since there's no detailed information on how to achieve them, I should just accept it as luck if I achieve them.
📜 SELECT REWARD 📜
[1. Zombie Repellent]
[2. Zombie Antidote]
[3. Inventory +5 slots]
"Oh..."
Zombie Repellent is a spray that prevents zombies from attacking for 2 hours. It can be used a total of 3 times. Total usage of 6 hours is a jackpot. Zombie Antidote is an amazing item that neutralizes the poison if eaten or fed within 5 minutes of being bitten. Inventory +5 slots means exactly that, 5 slots are added to the inventory.
"Haa... This is tough."
All of them are useful or immediately necessary rewards. Besides, who knows when I'll be able to achieve another achievement, and there's no guarantee that such lavish rewards will come out next time.
'Zombie Repellent...'
The moment I get Zombie Repellent, I can go outside. Since zombies won't attack me, I can beat up zombies until the effect wears off and level up quickly, right? Moreover, it can be used 3 times. It's a very good reward.
'The antidote is also hard to give up.'
Actually, this is the real jackpot item. It feels like carrying an extra life. If I get this and get bitten by a zombie, I can just drink it immediately. If I have a valuable companion later, one bottle of this will do; if they get bitten by a zombie, there's no need to cry, just drink it.
'Inventory +5 slots also...'
Again, it's a utility reward that's amazing. Being able to put anything in 5 slots. Moreover, the previous rewards are consumables that disappear when used, but the inventory is a permanent reward. You can put anything in it and use it until you die.
"I feel like I'm going crazy..."
Perhaps because these items are directly linked to my life right now, my head feels like it's going to explode.
'Alright. Let's go with Zombie Repellent. The antidote... well, if I don't get bitten, it's fine. The inventory... ah, damn, it's a shame... I'll just carry a bag.'
The repellent is the priority. Right now, the only food at home is a few packs of ramen. Whether it's a supermarket or a grocery store, I need to go out and loot before the food runs out to have a tomorrow. Even if I choose the inventory, it's meaningless if I can't do anything about those zombies right now.
I don't want to get distracted by the inventory and miss the spray when I have a way to avoid being spotted by zombies right in front of me. The inventory is only meaningful if I can survive against those abnormal beings.
'2 hours per use... if used consecutively, 6 hours. If I use this well, I can loot efficiently and survive for over a month...'
For weapons, whether I make them or pick them up, just looting a hardware store will easily get me a crowbar. If I just loot around my neighborhood, 6 hours will pass quickly, but I'll be able to loot quite a bit.
"Give me the Zombie Repellent."
Reward granted.
The window disappeared, and a small spray appeared. There was a manual attached, saying roughly to spray it once on the face.
"Good..."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Uwoooh!!
"Huu... My choice wasn't wrong..."
Now I have a way to deal with those zombie bastards trying to break down my front door. I just need to spray the repellent, go out, and push them off the railing.
I need to prepare thoroughly to go outside and use the spray. It's annoying if I waste time.
"I should probably get a weapon too..."
The frying pan is unusable because the handle is loose. Is there anything I can use as a weapon? First, I rummaged through the kitchen and found the most usable item.
"A kitchen knife..."
A kitchen knife doesn't seem like a very useful weapon against zombies. It won't kill them even if I inflict minor wounds on the already dead guys, and according to the manga, you have to smash the head or cut the neck to kill them, but the kitchen knife is too short and can't be used as a blunt weapon. Still, it's a decent tool for killing people, so I'll keep it for now.
I rummaged through the house again to find a weapon of appropriate length and found a baseball bat in the closet.
"Ah, I completely forgot about this."
Since I live alone, I thought I needed a bat for self-defense in case something happened, so I bought this baseball bat last year. This should be enough to smash the skulls of zombies. I'll spray the repellent, go out, and smash their heads.
'So the weapon is settled... Is there anything to eat at home?'
In the refrigerator, there were only 2 canned beers and 3 bottles of water. There wasn't even kimchi.
Perhaps because I've been playing games for the past few days, saving even the time to eat, the refrigerator was empty, and the only things to eat were 2 instant rice bowls and 1 cup noodle.
It seems I can't even last a week. I definitely need to go out and loot something.
'As expected, securing food is urgent... If water, electricity, and gas get cut off, it'll be a real nightmare, so it would be good to stock up on bottled water...'
Entering the 2020s, climate change including global warming peaked, and by 2022, winter and summer became extremely cold and hot.
To be honest, in summer, it's so hot during the day that it's hard to move around outside, and in winter, it's so cold at night that it's perfect for hypothermia.
'If it's cold, the only way is to wear as many clothes as possible...'
Hypothermia kills you in an instant. I know this relatively well because I've played similar survival games several times. The fact that humans die surprisingly easily.
Since there's no woman to sleep skin-to-skin with, I need to dress as warmly as possible.
'Long padding is hard to move in, so I'll pass... It seems like I should wear many thin layers of clothing.'
As I recalled survival knowledge I saw on the internet somewhere and continued to check the closet, I heard a strange sound.
Knock knock knock.
Unlike the zombies scratching the front door randomly, it was a regular noise. It came from the next room.
"What... Is the neighbor alive?"
A woman lives alone in the next room. I don't know her age, but I've met her occasionally when going to work. We didn't greet each other much, but I sometimes heard the neighbor woman and her boyfriend fighting. They were fighting like they were going to kill each other. It seemed to have subsided a bit about 2 months ago.
Anyway, I put my ear to the wall at the regular knocking sound.
Knock knock knock. "Excuse me..."
Putting my ear to the wall, I heard the neighbor woman's voice.
"Are you alive in there?"
"Ah, yes! Thank goodness...!"
The woman sounded very pleased.
"Excuse me... Would you like to come to our house?"
This woman seems to have had quite a unique experience for 3 days... Calling a strange man so easily. What should I do? Should I go? What if it's a trap...
"Uh, there are tons of zombies outside the door..."
"Excuse me... Come through the veranda. Break the lightweight fire escape partition there and come in."
"Okay!"
I pulled out all the junk in the veranda storage and smashed the partition with the baseball bat. I hit it with a bit of force, and the wall broke easily, connecting to the next room.
"Uh, welcome."
The neighbor woman awkwardly welcomed me.
The neighbor woman I saw after a long time was quite pretty.