Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Catching a Slave on the Street
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I smashed the heads of the zombies blocking the stairs and headed down to the first floor. They were blocking the path, making movement inconvenient. It would be nice to clear them out completely on the way down.
Of course, I didn't waste too much time on zombie hunting. My immediate goal wasn't to hunt zombies. I just roughly smashed their heads and ran down to the first floor.
"Get the hell out of the way!"
I shoved the zombies down the stairs and stomped on the fallen ones' necks to make sure they wouldn't get back up, then ran to the convenience store. I didn't run at full speed. I conserved my stamina and ran at a moderate pace, and soon the convenience store with its wide-open door came into view.
'With the door wide open like that, it's probably already been looted...
As I expected, there were almost no items left in the convenience store, not just food or daily necessities. It had already been three days since the collapse started. The Awakened in this area must have looted the convenience store long ago.
"Damn it."
Still, I managed to grab the most important item I wanted from the convenience store: cigarettes. Only three packs. No, they took the whole carton. The guy who looted this place first must be a heavy smoker.
'The supply warehouse is completely empty too...
After roughly checking the convenience store's warehouse, I immediately smashed the heads of the two zombies lingering at the entrance and ran outside. Seeing coins come in, it seemed both were killed in one hit.
I crossed the road filled with stopped cars and entered the pharmacy on the first floor of the opposite commercial building. As expected, a few zombies were loitering inside, and I smashed all their heads as I went in. Hitting the zombies' heads consecutively without rest sent shockwaves to my wrist, making it ache a bit. I might sprain a ligament or my wrist might swell up if I'm not careful, so I need to be more cautious.
"Ha..."
The pharmacy had also been looted by previous visitors. Still, they seemed to have some conscience as they didn't take everything. I hurriedly swept all the pills into my bag before someone else came.
Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and cold medicine, antidiarrheals, dewormers, and more. Not only the visible medicines but also those inside the drawers. Bandages, band-aids, and wrist guards, along with other protective gear for joints, were left, so I took them all. It was quite full after packing everything. Unfortunately, there were no vitamins or supplements left.
I immediately put on the wrist guard I had captured.
"That's the pharmacy done with..."
I checked the time on my phone, and it had already been 30 minutes. Time was passing much faster than I thought. I had only looted the pharmacy so far... I felt rushed.
I conserved my stamina and ran to a nearby large supermarket. I arrived just as I was getting a bit breathless. The supermarket was already occupied by someone else. Cars were barricading the entrance.
"What, they've already set up camp."
There was a faction that had occupied the supermarket first. This was truly tragic news.
A guy on the supermarket rooftop spotted me and shouted.
"Don't come any closer! I'll shoot!"
There were two on the roof, and one glaring at me from the entrance. I immediately hid. I couldn't tell what they would do to me. He was holding a pistol that police used, which he must have acquired from somewhere. That looked quite dangerous. Awakened or not, I was still a level 1 noob, so if I got shot, I'd die just like any normal person.
I should leave without hesitation. If they managed to occupy that place and barricade it with cars in just three days, they must have quite a few Awakened inside. They weren't opponents I could handle alone.
I could only blame myself for starting later than them. Still, it was a blessing in disguise. It was a fortunate situation that they weren't chasing me to kill me.
"The supermarket is out too..."
I ran to a hardware store. It wasn't a very large hardware store. A local hardware store that would have a few faucets.
"Sh-, the shutter's down..."
The entrance was blocked.
"I can just open it and go in!"
As I groaned and tried to lift the shutter, a chilling voice came from inside.
"Get lost! If you open the shutter, I'll smash your head in! I'm an Awakened!"
That was the hardware store owner's voice. I had no desire to open the shutter to see if he was really an Awakened or not.
"Ah, sir! I just need one crowbar..."
"We don't have any! Get lost right now! Zombies will be attracted, so get the hell out of here!"
Damn it... Unexpected situations were happening one after another. The convenience store and pharmacy were almost completely looted, a group of survivors had already settled in the supermarket, and the hardware store owner was telling me to get lost.
There's no point in checking the Daiso either.
"Are you serious?"
People were already settled in the Daiso too. They were holding bows they must have gotten from somewhere; if I hadn't left quickly, I might have taken an arrow.
If this keeps up, I might see a turf war between the supermarket guys and the Daiso guys. Of course, that's only if I don't starve to death before then.
"Damn it."
As expected, in a collapsed world, other people are hell. I need to prepare myself to kill and take everything. Otherwise, I'll be the one to die.
Should I grit my teeth, sneak in, kill them all, and loot the place? Can I really barge into a place where I don't know how many people are waiting to kill me, holding just a baseball bat, kill them all, and get out?
That's impossible. Tentacle Summon has a limit of 3 times a day, and once I use it, I can't use it again until my mana is fully depleted. Should I have just picked Human Sacrifice to level up my skill instead? Or should I have picked Surging Flesh and charged in, taking hits? I don't know.
Meanwhile, the duration of the Zombie Repellent was constantly decreasing. I had to return home before the full 2 hours were up. I didn't want to use another spray if I could help it.
"Ha... I need to get something..."
All I had gained so far were some emergency meds and a few packs of cigarettes. I checked out a few restaurants, but they were all looted clean.
The Korean 'hurry-hurry' spirit was still alive even after the world had collapsed. The speed of looting was like the speed of light.
'Isn't that too fast?'
Still, it wasn't that I had no gains at all. A snack bar in an alley had its door open, so I went in, and a zombie wearing an apron greeted me. I easily smashed its head and searched the kitchen, finding a few bags of ramen on the verge of expiration.
'This place was only half-looted...!'
In the fridge, I found eggs, green onions, and other wilted vegetables, as well as fish cakes past their expiration date, and similar frozen dumplings. I also managed to take cooking oil and tteok for tteokbokki. Since almost everything was past or on the verge of expiration, it seemed they purposely didn't take it.
"So these things weren't even worth taking? This is so fucked up."
It doesn't seem like the situation will improve even if I go further.
Three days was a huge amount of time.
In just three days since the collapse, the Awakened had already formed groups, and the survivors were huddled together, establishing bases. Now that I'm trying to force my way in between them, it's incredibly difficult. Situations where the entrance is blocked as if kicking away a ladder keep happening. The only way to get in with them is to prove or show off my strength, but that's not so easy either.
Maybe I should just hunt some zombie heads since I'm already outside.
"Die!"
I smashed the heads of the zombies staggering around the street.
The more I killed them, the more coins I got, even though I didn't know what they were for.
After smashing the heads of about thirty rotten heads, a notification popped up.
✨ LEVEL UP! ✨
1 → 2
+ Select a Job Skill
⚔ STATUS ⚔
⚡ Strength: 17 (13+4)
💨 Agility: 15 (12+3)
✨ Magic Power: 20 (10+10)
💪 Stamina: 14 (11+3)
🍀 Luck: 666
🛡️ Willpower: 20 (18+2)
My stats had increased overall by a small margin. Thanks to that, I felt my body was a bit lighter. A strong force was put into the hand holding the baseball bat. I now felt confident that I could smash a zombie's head in one hit. And my mana had increased tremendously. It went up by 10 at once. Is it because my class is Cultist?
By the way, my luck stat didn't change. I don't know if it's a stat that doesn't change by nature or if I'm the only one fixed at 666, but I'll ignore it. It doesn't seem like having a high luck stat brings about joyful or happy events.
I entered an empty building to choose a skill.
📜 SKILL SELECTION 📜
1. Human Sacrifice
2. Altered Vision
3. Surging Flesh
4. Slave Mark
A new skill had appeared in the spot where I got Tentacle Summon. The naming was very interesting...
'Slave Mark... gulp.'
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Slave Mark
Turns a subjugated target into a slave. The slave will absolutely obey the master's commands.
This is an incredibly novel skill. I can make anyone a slave just by subjugating them. I could go back home right now, subjugate Lee Eun-ji, and make her my slave. Once she's my slave, I can do whatever I want with her. There's no worry of betrayal. I could even order her to commit suicide or carry out a terror attack.
Perfect. Not choosing this would be stupid.
"Slave Mark..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
You have acquired the skill.
"Kugh...!"
Again, the method for using the skill was etched into my mind as if it were digging through my brain. I couldn't stand the dizzying pain and let a drop of saliva fall.
"Gurgle..."
The skill was a bit complicated to use. I had to make the subjugated target kneel, draw blood from my thumb, and stamp their forehead. It wasn't a skill that was easy to use. It was a skill that required some kind of ritualistic action to use.
It consumed a whopping 10 mana.
"Ha... ha..."
I barely managed to collect my consciousness and got up from my spot.
Ding-ding-ding. My phone alarm went off.
Already an hour and thirty minutes had passed. It was a 15-minute run to my house. It was time to start heading back.
"Time flies so damn fast... Still, I need to go home and try the skill..."
"Hey there! Stop!"
As I was about to rush home, thinking about subjugating Lee Eun-ji, someone called out to me.
"Put down the bag and the baseball bat and get lost."
A woman holding a bow with an arrow nocked was glaring at me. It was a bow that only archers would use.
'Ha, damn it. They said my luck stat was 666. This is so unlucky... Or is it? Maybe... this is an opportunity...'
This woman seemed to be an Awakened like me. The fact that no zombies were swarming around her meant she must have used a Zombie Repellent spray.
I don't know what abilities she has, but it's fortunate she didn't shoot right away. If she had randomly shot me in the head, I might have died right there. My heart sank. I got too complacent because there were no people on the streets.
"..."
I silently put the bag and the baseball bat on the ground.
"Raise both hands! Now get lost."
It seemed the woman had no intention of letting go of the bowstring until I was sufficiently far away.
'This bitch...'
I trembled like a scaredy-cat and backed away, doing my best to act. My acting must have worked well because as soon as I was a sufficiently far distance away, she lowered the bowstring for a moment and quickly picked up the bag. She probably planned to run away with it right away.
How foolish of me to show mercy to others. What a pathetic woman. She should have shot me dead the moment she saw me. I'll make you realize just how dangerous a misplaced sense of pity can be.
"Allāhu Akbar."
I perfectly drew a pentagram with my right hand!
She sensed the danger and tried to raise her bow again, but I was faster. Before she could react, a glowing purple magic circle appeared in an instant, and from its center, a bundle of pink tentacles shot out and grabbed her body.
"Ugh!!!"
The woman, her limbs bound. Her mouth and throat were also wrapped in tentacles, trapping her perfectly. If I applied just a little more force here, she would be crushed to death. If I clenched my open palm into a fist, the tentacles would crush the target they were holding.
Of course, that wouldn't be a good ending. I had captured an Awakened woman so perfectly in this collapsed world. And I have the amazing Slave Mark skill right now. There's no other answer but to make her my slave. She seems to have worked out regularly, as her lower body looks quite sturdy... Her overall balance is well-built. She's very arousing.
She's not as outwardly beautiful as Lee Eun-ji, who is purely slender, but with a body like that, she's more than enough to put an end to my life as a virgin. It's not just enough; it's overflowing. Thank you. For giving me a reason to make her my slave instead of killing me right away. Maybe my luck stat of 666 is an incredible number.
To think I could make such a wonderful woman my property.
All sorts of wicked thoughts crossed my mind.
"Heh heh heh heh."
I approached the woman. I didn't let my guard down, just in case she also had a strange skill like me.
"Ugh! Ugh!!!"
The woman's eyes were filled with fear. A few tears fell as well. Well, it's understandable to be scared when sticky, slimy pink tentacles suddenly shoot out and bind your entire body, preventing you from moving. But I'm feeling thrilled right now. This is a historic moment where I'm about to get my first slave.
I slightly loosened the tentacle covering her mouth.
"Hey. Don't resist. I'll really kill you."
"Ugh... please... please spare me..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
The target has surrendered to you.
Good. A notification window even popped up as if telling me to make her my slave right now. This is over. Now I just need to draw blood with my left thumb.
My right hand is controlling the tentacles, so I can't move it. I thought about stabbing it with a kitchen knife to make a wound, but it seems biting is the only way.
Grit.
"Ugh... damn it... that hurts like hell..."
In anime, they just bite their thumb to draw blood when summoning a toad. Actually biting it to draw blood hurts more than I thought. The skin doesn't tear easily.
Still, I used my canine teeth to chew and draw blood. I don't have time to hesitate because it hurts. I need to make her my slave and take her home quickly.
"You, from now on, you're my slave."
I brought my thumb to her forehead.
Sizzle...
Smoke rose as if a brand was being stamped, and a notification window appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
You have made Player 'Seong Ha-rin' your slave.
Achievement Unlocked! 'Slave for 12 Years'
Achievement reward granted.
Ha... An achievement too. I'm feeling absolutely ecstatic.
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