Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Corrupted Being
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For now, I decided to find a place to kill some time.
The apartment seemed smaller than my house back home—probably around 660 square feet.
The spot with the zombie corpse was out right away.
I slowly walked the fifteenth-floor hallway, searching each apartment one by one.
Sometimes I could sense zombies stirring behind locked doors, but I didn't bother opening them.
I found room 1514, the cleanest one at the very end.
The door was ajar, signs of a hasty evacuation—maybe there was some kind of shelter nearby.
I closed and locked the door, cleared the living room a bit, and looked around, but nothing stood out.
I set up my tent on the living room floor.
I considered placing a save point here too, but the rooftop wasn't far—only a short distance away.
No need to waste the reuse cooldown.
I laid out a mattress inside the tent and lay down.
I thought about my next moves.
'First, I need to find people.'
That was the only way to get intel on this world.
This was Daejeon.
Best to head toward Seoul or Busan while looking for survivors.
If I stumbled on a survivor group along the way, that'd be ideal.
I decided to go for Seoul first.
Seoul was Korea's biggest city and capital, packed with people.
Either they'd defended it or it had fallen—those were the only options. Honestly, if Seoul was in trouble, everywhere else probably was too.
Even in my original world, they'd fought tooth and nail to hold it.
Though against zombies, islands might be easier to defend than inland areas, upping survival odds...
Not that it mattered to me.
The power was out, leaving the world unnaturally quiet.
In that eerie stillness, I had Suni memorize the local terrain from the balcony while messing around with the drone, flying it here and there.
I could've gone out myself, but I had no interest in scrapping with those low-level zombies that barely gave any XP.
I planned to farm them out later anyway.
'Gotta focus on shopping malls and warehouses while moving.'
Large malls were treasure troves of supplies.
If survivors were around, they'd probably target those spots.
Stomach rumbling, I pulled steaming black bean noodles from my inventory and ate.
Inventory stopped time, perfect for storing food—I'd stocked up on delivery grub.
I had to kill time until the save point reactivated tomorrow.
Plenty to do.
My original world overflowed with media I'd never finish in a lifetime, and it kept pouring out even now.
Lying in the tent, I read the manhwa Attack on Titan.
It was decent enough to pass the time.
.
.
.
Suni's voice woke me from sleep.
I'd dozed off reading the manhwa.
Pitch black outside—the sun had set.
An oppressive darkness I couldn't get used to.
With Suni's words, the suit came alive, covering my face.
A black-and-white world unfolded before my eyes.
'Which way?'
Suni marked it in my vision.
I went to the balcony and looked down.
A wolf-like silhouette prowled the apartment complex.
Too big for a wolf—more like a bull.
'A wolf? Nah... What's its rank?'
'D-Rank. Should be doable.'
'Let's go.'
Level up and rewards were calling.
From fighting through rifts, I knew I was top-tier among D-Ranks.
My awakening was different from others' anyway.
Same rank, I could solo it.
Still, no getting cocky.
'No way a monster's got some hidden power, right?'
I quietly headed downstairs.
The massive wolf-like beast wandered the complex, sniffing around for something.
Patchy fur with grotesque fleshy bubbles protruding here and there.
Up close, it was hideous.
-Sniff sniff.
Hiding behind a car barricade, I crept closer. The monster wolf twitched its nose, catching a scent.
I summoned a javelin and gripped it tight.
Awakeners' gear—solid and heavy.
I hurled it at the twitching beast.
-Whoosh!
It sliced through the air and struck home.
-Thud!
A dull impact, unnatural for flesh.
-Yelp!
The monster wolf screeched, rolled once, and stood right back up.
Second javelin flew.
As if learning, it dodged effortlessly.
Then it kicked off the ground, charging like a rabid dog.
-Woof!
Its howl echoed through the complex.
Terrifying for a normie, but I sidestepped casually, raising my hand.
A massive greatsword from inventory was already in grip.
I swung down hard.
Feedback different from F-Rank fodder.
-Boom!
The beast tumbled aside from the impact.
-Yeeowl!
It screamed, so it felt that.
But tough.
'D-Rank durability? Not enough, huh?'
Needed more power.
-Grrrr.
Now wary, it held back.
Corrupted Beings in my world acted on pure slaughter instinct, mindless.
But this one's smarts suggested a subtle difference.
-Awoooo~!
Sudden howl.
Not random—bad feeling.
I'd seen something like this on Nutube.
Wolves howling to call packmates, right?
'Gotta hurry.'
I closed in, swinging the greatsword.
It leaped back, keeping distance.
'Whoa? Stalling?'
A monster using tactics? Surreal.
Blatant time-wasting put me in a bind.
Considered retreating.
If it called backups, who knew how many.
Suni's alert—I asked quick.
'Ranks?'
'Three D-Ranks. Can I take 'em?'
Not tired.
This one wasn't that strong.
Should be fine.
Still, checked with Suni.
Save point wasn't up yet.
Suni prioritized my safety.
'Alert me if anything else shows up beyond these.'
We were on the same page.
If doable, no reason to run.
While conferring with Suni, I hesitated—the beast thought I was scared and lunged.
Finish before backups arrived.
Light greatsword swing.
It dodged as expected.
Then, from above, a massive hammer dropped from inventory.
Mjolnir.
Caught off guard, it got smashed flat.
-Yelp!
One-shot before the others came.
I raised the greatsword high.
"Hup!"
All my strength, smashed down.
-Boom!
Dull crunch—shattered skull, blade bit asphalt.
Nice message. Confirmed D-Rank as lesser.
-Woof! Woof woof!
Suni's warning synced with the two charging in.
Coordinated strike: head and legs.
I backpedaled, stowed hammer and sword.
Pulled a massive rectangular shield, blocked, and shoved.
-Bang! Bang! Yelp! Yelp!
Two impacts, both flung back.
One pit bull... one Doberman?
Patchy fur, twisted skin—gross as the first.
'Not wolves—dogs?'
Zombies rushed from behind.
Our fight drew them.
"Scram."
Kicked one tumbling away.
Not one or two—dozens swarming.
"Ugh, these useless zombies."
Weak, but annoying obstacles.
Zombies ignored the dog monsters, as expected.
Fighting here sucked.
'Narrow spot first.'
I bolted for the apartment entrance.