17. Plan (1)

When I opened the door to the boarding house, the scene was quite a sight.

Soo-hyeon and Hoon were pinching their noses, looking at Han-tae, who was standing awkwardly with a troubled expression, reeking of feces.

The two of them greeted me cheerfully, though their voices were muffled by their pinched noses.

“Bro. I heard a sound, so I came out… I recognized you… Come on?”

“Mor… more stinky. T, this is r, really b, bad…”

Ugh…

I can’t really blame them for talking like that…

His hair, unwashed for weeks, was matted like Lego, and his body was covered in sweat and feces…

He looked like someone even a homeless person at Seoul Station would run away from.

I pointed at the stairs and said,

“We’ll talk later. Go take a shower first. Hey, follow me.”

“…Yes, hyung.”

That ‘hyung’ is damn annoying.

I don’t have a brother like you.

I sighed and started climbing the stairs, and Soo-hyeon said,

“Op… oppa.”

I turned around to see Soo-hyeun pointing at Han-tae.

“This is… this is the only clothes he has… No, no laundry.”

I nodded and gave a thumbs-up before heading to the attic.

I waited for Han-tae to come in and pointed to the bathroom.

“Take off your clothes and go in. I’ll give you a bag to put your dirty clothes in. I’ll throw them away.”

Han-tae hesitated and said,

“B, but… this is the only clothes I have…”

“Ah, I’ll give you something to wear. Hurry up and take them off. Your room reeks, damn it.”

“Y, yes, hyung.”

I grabbed a plastic bag I had left by the trash can and stuffed his clothes in it as soon as he took them off.

Ugh, the smell.

I can’t breathe, damn it.

“Cough. Damn… Get in quickly.”

“Y, yes, hyung.”

Han-tae went into the bathroom, and I wrapped the bag and left the attic.

Damn, I need to air this place out.

I left the bag on the roof, the door still open.

It doesn’t matter anyway since we’re moving out soon, damn it.

“Phew, haa.”

I took a deep breath of fresh air and went back to the room.

Ugh, it’s so gross.

I picked up something I shouldn’t have. Damn it.

I threw some clothes and a towel in front of the bathroom and said,

“Hey. I left some clothes and a towel.”

I don’t care if they fit or not.

With that, I went down to Soo-hyeon’s room and knocked.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

Soo-hyeon chuckled and let me in.

Phew.

Now I can breathe a bit.

 * * *

“What’s your name?”

Han-tae, who was eagerly eating the ramen, answered,

“I’m Park Han-tae. Hyung.”

Park Han-tae…

He looks more human now that he’s clean.

He’s chubby and pudgy, like a baby pig.

It was already 10 AM, so the only meal available was the ramen Ye-eun had cooked.

But Han-tae was eating it with gratitude, slurping away.

The clothes fit him quite well.

He can’t hide his chubby belly, but he’s not that tall, only about 160 cm.

I took a bite of ramen and asked Ye-eun,

“Is there any room left in the house?”

Ye-eun tilted her head and said,

“It seems they have separate rooms for men and women. The nurse auntie has her own room too. I think he can stay in the men’s room…”

…Men’s room…

Are they all recovering well?

“How are the men doing?”

Ye-eun smiled.

“They’re much better. One of them is still a bit dizzy, but the other two will help with the corpse collection today.”

I nodded.

“Good. Han-tae, you stay with the guys for now.”

Han-tae looked at me and Ye-eun nervously.

“B, but, my house…”

“Your house is gone now.”

I said while eating ramen.

“You have a phone, right? Did you try calling your parents?”

Han-tae slowly lowered his head.

They probably didn’t answer.

…Damn.

Our parents… that bitch…

…Tsk…

I sighed and put down my chopsticks.

“If you wander around carelessly, you’ll be caught and killed by those human beasts in no time. You can leave if you want. We’re not keeping you here, and no one is forcing you to stay. But if you want to survive, stay with people. You’ll die if you go alone.”

Han-tae clutched his ramen bowl and started crying.

Oh man…

Oh dear…

I shook my head and stood up.

“Ye-eun, I’m done eating. I’ll rest a bit and go out again.”

“You’re going out again?”

I nodded as I left the house.

“We need to clear the building quickly if we’re moving. Oh, take him to the house in front.”

Ye-eun followed me and said,

“Yes, oppa. Be careful.”

I stopped and looked at Ye-eun.

…Oppa?

It’s the first time she’s called me that, right?

Ye-eun met my gaze and tilted her head, then blushed.

“W, why are you looking at me like that?”

I chuckled and said,

“See you later.”

Oppa.

Hmm.

It sounds good.

Will So-eun call me oppa someday?

But she’s so shy…

She barely talks to me.

I lay down in the attic.

“Status.”

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Chosen One

[Specialization – Survival Expert] [Level – 23]

[Title – The Empowered]

Status

[Health – 44/45] [Senses – 2/2]

[Strength – 30/30] [Agility – 4/4]

[Spirit – 57/60] [Intelligence – N/A]

[Unallocated Points – 4]

Skills

[Passive – Soul Tattoo Lv. 2]

[Passive – Recovery]

[Active – Acceleration] (Auto-cast)

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Hmm…

Level 23…

Not bad, considering.

I put 4 points into Health, making it 49.

Just one more point and it would have been 50, damn it.

Han-tae!

Anyway, I’ll rest a bit and go out again once I have 12 uses of Acceleration.

11 AM.

I left the house.

In case I end up staying out all night again, I brought quite a bit of emergency food this time.

Maybe I should have eaten lunch…

…No.

I need to level up.

Does food matter at this level?

A large mart.

A huge chair is lying grotesquely on the ground.

The glass is broken, and the side door looks like it’s been abandoned.

I used Acceleration and rushed in, reaching the 4th floor in one go.

“Phew.”

This time, my goal is the 8th floor.

Once I clear the 8th floor, only the residential floors will be left.

We can bring everyone in and clean up. Anyway, we need Soo-hyeon and Hoon to open the doors.

If I try to cut the door handles with a cutter, I might end up breaking them and making it impossible to open them.

It’s better to leave it to someone who knows what they’re doing.

I arrived at the 8th floor and caught my breath.

What’s in here?

rrrr- rrrr-

…Hmm…

Quite a few.

I drew a sword.

Swoosh-

I slightly opened the door.

Grumble, grumble-

The growling makes the air vibrate.

There are a lot.

Just by opening the door a bit.

I peeked inside.

On the left is a beauty salon.

On the right is a manga café.

Both are places where people sit for a long time.

No wonder there are so many.

…I’m both excited and nervous.

If things go wrong, I can hide on the 7th floor.

“Phew…”

I took a deep breath and went in.

The manga café is dark inside.

But the beauty salon has a translucent lower part, so I can see inside clearly.

One… two…

…nine.

Some might be lying down too.

I drew another sword.

Swoosh-

“…Sigh.”

I stood up and pushed the beauty salon door with my shoulder and went in.

“Kyaa?!”

The heads turned.

All of them are women.

Not a single man.

Acceleration.

[Auto-cast: Acceleration]

“Kyaa—“

I stabbed the heads of the women lying on the floor.

Crack, crack!

I immediately twisted my body and stabbed the woman at the counter, then took a large step and stabbed again.

The timing of Acceleration.

I’ve mastered it completely.

I can instinctively tell when to use it.

Acceleration!

[Auto-cast: Acceleration]

The human beasts can only flinch and are frozen, unable to do anything.

I quickly moved around the beauty salon, stabbing endlessly.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

I pulled out my sword from the last human beast’s head and caught my breath.

“…Phew.”

“–Kyaa!”

Crash, bang!

The ajummas, young women, designers, staff, and cashiers all collapsed in a heap.

Blood splattered everywhere.

It dripped onto my face and body.

Acceleration used: 4 times.

Human beasts eliminated: 16.

Thanks to my improved left-handed sword skills.

I’m getting faster at eliminating them.

[Level increased by 1.]

Hmm.

I immediately opened the status window and increased my Health to 50.

Good.

Now I have 45 minutes of Health recovery.

12 minutes and 30 seconds for Stat recovery.

I’ve reduced it significantly.

I have 7 uses of Acceleration left.

…Should I go?

I left the beauty salon and walked to the manga café entrance.

Various manga and character posters are plastered all over, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

“Phew… Sigh.”

I caught my breath, then burst into the room.

“Roar?!”

The numerous manga books lined up on the walls.

The 1- and 2-person sofas lined up.

And the counter.

At a glance, there are over 20.

“Kyaaah! Roar!”

They’re coming.

Acceleration!

[Auto-cast: Acceleration]

“Hiss!”

I stabbed the head of the ajusshi jumping from the counter.

Crack!

I immediately pulled it out and charged at the surrounding human beasts.

One head per sword swing.

I stabbed them without hesitation.

Acceleration used: 2.

Three, and four!

Crack, crack!

Acceleration five, six!

Crack, crack!

I pulled out my sword and immediately ran to the manga café entrance.

As I left the room, the bodies I stabbed collapsed with a thud.

“Roar! Kyaaah!”

Acceleration.

[Auto-cast: Acceleration]

I ran to the stairs and closed the metal door.

Clang!

I immediately went down to the lower floor, grabbed the metal door, and pushed it with one foot.

I looked up.

They won’t be able to open the door.

The human beasts won’t be able to open the metal door and come down the stairs.

But just in case.

If I see any sign of the door opening, I’ll immediately go in and hide in the calligraphy academy.

I waited for a moment.

The roars of the human beasts can be heard.

But nothing happened.

“…Phew.”

It seems they can’t open the door.

I knew from experience that they couldn’t open doors, but now it’s confirmed.

They can be easily killed, but the danger remains. Better to be sure.

A message appeared in front of me.

[Level increased by 3.]

I chuckled and walked to the calligraphy academy.

I’ve used all my Acceleration.

Now I’ll rest and recover, then finish the 8th floor.

Only a few are left.