15. Common Sense. (3)

Seven o’clock in the evening.

All stamina has been restored.

It definitely recovered faster.

It took about 13 hours to restore mental strength to 54.

It decreases so little that it’s hard to notice, but it’s definitely noticeable when you rest.

Acceleration is charged, so I’ll go again.

I left the rooftop room with my sword.

Today’s goal is the 5th floor.

I rushed into the large supermarket and went straight up to the 5th floor.

Acceleration was released halfway, and something growled below, but they didn’t climb the stairs.

“Hoo…”

5th floor.

Karaoke rooms and DVD rooms.

I slightly opened the door and looked inside.

…It’s dark.

It’s pitch black.

I listened carefully.

The wind howled, but there was no growling.

…What is it?

I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight, then entered.

To the right, the karaoke room.

…The lights are off?

To the left, the DVD room.

…What’s this?

A4 paper is attached to the entrance.

For sale.

…I guess the business didn’t work out.

…Huh.

Putting up a “For Sale” sign outside the building doesn’t look good.

What about the karaoke room?

…There’s nothing like a “For Sale” sign.

Looking inside the door, I can see refrigerators filled with drinks and alcohol.

It seems they are still operating.

They probably just weren’t open during business hours.

Maybe it’s the kind of place that opens late at night and runs until dawn.

…But the 5th floor is empty.

“…Tsk.”

Whatever.

Never mind if it’s empty.

Let’s go up.

I carefully went up to the 6th floor.

“…!”

…Crazy.

Just climbing a few stairs makes the air vibrate.

Krrr-krrr-

How many are there?

A bass-like sound is coming, making the air tremble.

I carefully climbed the stairs, and the iron door on the 6th floor was wide open.

And the window by the stairs was also open.

…A pillar-type heater was placed.

…Ah.

It’s a PC room.

…Damn…

How many people were there playing games in the PC room all day?

The growling is insane.

A standing advertisement for new monitors is faintly standing.

Who would go there?

It’s just a place where you can sit comfortably and play games.

“…Hoo…”

The stairs leading to the 6th floor.

Sitting there and looking up.

The open iron door.

Beyond that, the glass door.

Krrr-krrr-

There are many.

I don’t know how many.

Anyway, a lot.

I drew my sword.

Shurur-

The iron door was already open.

One more flight of stairs and I would be exposed.

“…Haa…”

…Let’s go.

“…Heu-eup.”

I stood up, took a step, and shoved the glass door open with my shoulder.

Crash!

“Kya-a-a-ah! Kya-a-a-!”

[Auto Activation: Acceleration]

“–A—–“

“Ewot!”

Crazy shit!

There was a part-timer right next to the door.

He was so startled.

I immediately stabbed his face with my sword.

Pak!

It auto-activated without me even casting it.

Damn, there are a lot!

No time to waste!

I immediately dodged to the side and stabbed.

Pak!

“–Kya-a-a-! Chwa-a-a-!”

Crazy!

Acceleration!

[Auto Activation: Acceleration]

At a glance, there are over 200 computers.

The restrooms and smoking rooms are in the center of the PC room.

I jumped between the seats and stabbed.

Pak, pak!

 * * *

Acceleration!

[Auto Activation: Acceleration]

Gosh, I’ve used up all the acceleration!

I ran wildly and jumped out of the open glass door to the stairs below.

Upon reaching the 5th floor, I flung the iron door open.

“–Kya-a-a-! Chwa-a-a-!”

Fucking hell!

I slammed the door shut and locked the handle.

Clank!

“Haa, haa.”

A message appears before my eyes.

[Level increased by 3.]

30 zombies.

Even after killing 30, there are still plenty left.

Crazy.

If that many people were there since noon, the store must have been doing great business.

Was the service good?

Maybe it was a place where the part-timers were so nice that they gave you a free cup of coffee just for sitting down.

What did that part-timer look like earlier? I was so startled that I stabbed him without thinking.

Shit.

“Kya-a-a-! Chwa-a-a-!”

They fell and scrambled, making loud noises as they rushed in.

Fucking hell.

Don’t come…!

“Kya-a-a-! Chwa-a-a-!”

Growling sounds come from beyond the iron door.

“Haa, hoo…”

Damn.

PC room.

Not an easy place.

The seats are densely packed, making the floor hard to see, and upon entering, I was immediately detected and provoked, with no time to lure them.

Wasting all 12 accelerations.

“Hoo… haa…”

At least I leveled up 3 times.

“Kya-a-a-! Chwa-a-a-!”

They’re still raging beyond the iron door.

Damn.

5th floor, karaoke room.

Too dark.

I turned on the phone’s flashlight.

It’s clear.

There’s no one here.

They can’t break through the iron door, whether they’re messing around or eating each other.

“Hoo…”

I sheathed my sword.

Shurur-

Leaning against the iron door, I caught my breath.

Drip, drip.

Something keeps falling from my chin.

Oh, it’s blood.

Damn.

Well…

This iron door is safe.

The karaoke room has glass walls and doors, so I can easily break in with my sword.

Naturally, there will be a large sofa inside, and a restroom.

Snacks and drinks, of course.

…Hmm.

Should I stay here and clear the 6th floor PC room, or go home after charging some acceleration?

…I need at least two accelerations to escape.

It would waste two each way.

Yes.

I’ll stay here tonight.

Though my clothes are bloody and uncomfortable, I can manage.

I wiped the blood from the less bloody part of my butt and sent a message to Soo-hyeon.

[Soo-hyeon. I don’t think I can come back today. Don’t worry and have dinner.]

After sending it, I got up.

Well, it’s a karaoke room…

The door was properly locked.

I took out my sword and placed it on the glass door.

And slid it down.

Kiiik-

…Hmm…

It’s hard to cut, but a slight scratch appears.

I stabbed it with force.

Pak!

The sword pierced through in one go.

…Thanks to the zipper jacket.

It would have hurt otherwise.

But it went through in one thrust.

Yes, let’s stab.

Zing-

My phone vibrated.

A message arrived.

I’ll check it later.

I continued stabbing to make a large hole in the door.

Then I kicked it hard.

“Hup!”

Crash!

The glass shattered, creating a hole the size of a person.

Like in an American comic, the door was blown open.

Upon entering, the smell of the karaoke room hit me.

A slightly bitter smell, sticky and lingering.

The drink refrigerators were glowing, making the inside visible, but it was pitch black otherwise.

Where’s the light switch?

Shining my phone’s flashlight behind the counter, I found four switches.

I turned them all on with a click.

Zing-tik-tik.

With a dull electric sound, the lights flickered and turned on.

Oh.

Bright.

Red leather sofas and posters of the latest songs.

It’s been a while.

“…I’ll stay here tonight.”

I took a cola from the refrigerator and went inside.

There were six rooms in total.

No sounds anywhere.

I checked, but there was nothing.

Just an empty karaoke room.

I opened one room and flopped onto the sofa.

“Hoo… I’m tired.”

My phone showed a message from Soo-hyeon.

[What’s going on? Why can’t you come?]

She must be worried.

I smiled and replied.

[Don’t worry. I’m fine. I’ll come back in the morning. Have a good meal.]

[Are you really okay? Are you hurt?]

[I’m really fine. I’m in a karaoke room.]

I took a picture of the room and sent it.

I made a V sign with my bloody hand, but she’s probably used to it by now.

[Be careful. Okay? Don’t get hurt.]

[Got it. Don’t worry. See you in the morning.]

After replying, I lay down.

Ah, yes.

My recent level-up.

I put 3 points into strength, making it 43.

Hoo, let’s sleep.

The next morning at 9 AM.

Damn, it took 14 hours to fully charge!

I have to increase strength faster like this.

As soon as it was fully charged, I got up and left the karaoke room.

Checked outside the iron door and went back up.

…PC room.

Killing 30 zombies and still so many left.

How many are there?

The door was left open as I did before.

The corpses are lying around.

From the stairs below, the inside of the PC room isn’t visible well…

Upon climbing up, the open glass door revealed the wide PC room.

Some of them were standing.

…The ones nearby were all dead, though.

This might be manageable.

“…Hoo…”

I stepped over the corpses and moved on.

Entered the PC room, holding my breath.

“Ah! Gimojji!”

…What did I just say?

“Kya-a-a-!”

The human beasts turned around.

…This is manageable.

Different from yesterday.

“Kya-a-a-! Chwa-a-a-!”

The beasts rushed toward me.

They trampled the seats, knocked over chairs, and came at me.

I smiled.

Acceleration.

[Auto Activation: Acceleration]

I drew my sword.

Shurur-

“Hup!”

Pak, pak!

 * * *

9 accelerations.

Killed about 30.

[Level increased by 2.]

…No.

I don’t know how many I killed.

I just stabbed as much as I could.

Used 9 accelerations, so maybe 27 or 28.

That’s about it.

“…Hoo…”

Damn.

I’m starving.

The snacks in the karaoke room aren’t enough.

…Oh.

The PC room has plenty of food.

Hot bars, for one.

I liked that.

Took three out and microwaved them.

“Status.”

Put 2 points into strength.

45!

Great!

Healing is faster now!

Sat in a chair, eating hot bars and resting.

Ugh, damn.

My whole body is covered in blood, and my face looks like something from a horror movie.

Should I wash my face?

Ah, shit.

Washing won’t help with these bloody clothes; they’ll just drip blood if I touch them.

It’s not just talk; if I press the bloody shirt, blood pours out.

Washing is pointless.

Blood is dripping from my head.

I’ll just go home and shower.

…Hmm…

Since it’s a PC room…

Sitting in a still-operating seat, the kind that racks up tens of thousands in fees if left on for two weeks.

Looking for any news.

Most communities are dead.

They just don’t exist.

The few surviving communities are in chaos.

…Depressing.

Each post is filled with despair.

Looking for the president, looking for the military, posts about moms not coming home, scary posts…

…People who committed suicide too.

They wrote about their death and posted proof before jumping…

…Yes.

This is… the end.

“Hoo…”

…Should I write a post?

No.

What would I say?

That I can kill them all with acceleration, so they can be at ease? Or that they should stay inside because they’ll die if they go out?

No point.

I can’t save the people behind the monitor.

Nor do I want to.

I spent a lot of time browsing the communities.

Time flew by without me noticing.

The remaining acceleration was 3, but it became 4.

Damn, I’m starving.

Let’s go home, shower, and eat.

Ran down the stairs and accelerated, jumping away.

Krrr-?!

Their growls came from afar.

They were so fast that the beasts probably didn’t even notice what passed by.

Only the sound of something rushing by was heard.

Smiling, I walked toward the convenience store.

And when I was about to enter the alley…

“Open the door, damn it! Hey! You think everyone else should die? Is that common sense?!”

“Open the door!”

People were gathered in front of the boarding house.