12. Gather Points (3)

“Ah, fuck.”

The dismantling process went relatively quickly since there weren’t many creatures with intact gallbladders left.

Still, I managed to properly obtain four hobgoblin gallbladders and the shaman’s gallbladder. I’ll take them home later to make healing potions.

‘559 points…’

Now that I’ve earned some tasty points by killing goblins, it’s time to head to a real clothing store. This Elena girl’s wardrobe is way too Instagram-focused.

I don’t need pretty clothes right now. What I need is survival gear-something warm and practical.

‘I think there was a decent clothing store around here…’

I passed through the residential area and entered the shopping district in search of suitable clothes.

Everywhere I looked, there were stores with shattered windows and already-looted grocery shops. Worse yet, the streets were littered with corpses.

Some were human, others were monsters.

Wherever corpses piled up, insects swarmed. Flies and some kind of naked bugs were wreaking havoc, and from the open stores, I could sense unidentified presences.

‘What the hell is that…’

I saw people walking around with bugs clinging to their backs. They weren’t completely dead yet-just living hosts for the parasites.

Those bugs were probably Machung from the Underworld. Likely classified as parasitic entities. I decided to avoid them since provoking them might trigger a seizure.

Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be setting up nests in that restaurant… I’ll have to burn them all to death once I get stronger. If I mess with them now, nearby Machung might swarm me, and the backlash would be too risky.

‘Ah, there it is.’

Just then, I found a decent women’s clothing store. It’d be best to grab some clothes and get out of here quickly. This place is a corpse field and bug hell-staying longer won’t do me any good.

‘Get a bomber jacket. A wool coat. A flight jacket sounds good. Hmm… leather jacket? Take it…’

I also grabbed several pairs of jeans and other clothes that looked practical for movement. There were even tracksuits in different colors, so I stuffed every single one I saw into my inventory.

“This should be enough for clothes…”

With over ten sets, I should have enough to rotate for a while.

Now it’s time to scavenge the corpses scattered on the streets. Many of them looked like they’d fetch a decent price if I stripped and sold them. My mouth’s watering.

Then it happened.

-THUD.

“Huh…?”

Just as I was sawing off the horns of a dead Sathiros, a heavy impact shook the ground, like something massive had fallen.

Did an elephant just drop from the sky? I even felt a faint tremor… What the hell? Did something land behind that building?

‘What the fuck… Why did the bugs suddenly stop buzzing… This is terrifying…’

Feeling uneasy, I quickly yanked off the Sathiros’ horns, stuffed them into my inventory, and ducked into an open café to hide.

-KRRRAAAAAHHHH!!!!!

-BOOM!!!!!

‘Fuck!!’

I don’t know what it was, but flames briefly erupted from the opposite street. Did something explode? Or what? Don’t tell me… a dragon?

‘Fuck, a dragon invading a beginner zone is just unfair.’

I bolted toward the café’s back exit. Right now, this world is like an open-world game where levels are completely scrambled.

Meaning, Level 1 and Level 100 creatures are just wandering around randomly.

So, there’s a very real possibility that a dragon is wreaking havoc on that street right now.

“Huff… Huff…”

I ran as far as I could from the source of the noise.

I didn’t want to run into a dragon and become its plaything. Let it enjoy hunting bugs by itself while I stay the hell away.

‘Since I’m already here…’

I decided to check out a nearby warehouse-style store. Those places are packed with goods. I could grab some food and useful daily necessities.

“Holy shit.”

But there were already quite a few “guests.” No, scratch that-they looked more like squatters who had claimed the place.

‘They have guns… Hunters, maybe?’

Possibly. Either way, those bastards got to the warehouse first. If I get too close, I’ll definitely become their prey. Who knows what they’d do if they caught me.

‘They have guns, so no way around it.’

In most Hunter stories, firearms are depicted as useless trash against monsters, but in this work, guns are still powerful weapons.

They might not work on monsters with barriers, but for an untrained Awakened like me, one bullet to the gut would be game over.

‘Where the hell did they even get guns…’

The military? Or maybe a nearby police station. That would mean the police station has already been taken over by Awakened groups.

‘Fuck this.’

Nothing I can do. I’ll have to head home, regroup, and come back later…

‘What the hell is that?!’

Just as I was about to turn back, I spotted a group heading toward the warehouse.

‘Those are… Holy shit.’

Demons from the Demon Realm. Judging by their appearance, it was a legion consisting of a Balrog commander, lesser demons, and imps.

They were marching straight for the warehouse. Are they planning to turn it into an outpost for an altar?

‘Tch.’

Among the various dimensions connected to Earth, the Demon Realm is uniquely dangerous.

Demons from there are incredibly powerful-some, like succubi, freely wield dark magic, necromancy, and curses, while others, like that Balrog, have insane physical prowess.

Their hierarchy is also rigid. Lower-ranked demons will kill themselves without hesitation if ordered by a superior.

They’re creatures ruled by terror.

‘If a named demon gets summoned… it’ll be a nightmare.’

If human sacrifices summon a named demon, this entire area is as good as doomed.

The moment a demon emerges, the Otherworld’s corruption will accelerate, and some humans might go insane from indirect possession.

Even beings from other dimensions could mutate into demonic forms-like unicorns turning into bicorns.

Unicorns that only chase virgins are bad enough, but bicorns that try to rape anything female are even worse. I hate bestiality crap.

Anyway, it’d be best to wipe them out before they settle in, but I don’t have the strength yet.

All I can do is watch helplessly. I wish the original protagonist would hurry up with his harem and clean this mess up.

‘Ah, they spotted them…’

Just then, one of the Awakened patrolling near the warehouse discovered the imp scouting party. Gunfire erupted, and as the imps were mowed down, the Awakened group and the demons began a full-scale battle.

‘Ooh. Fight!’

I sat down and munched on some popcorn I’d stolen earlier from a convenience store. I was starving. Plus, since there’s nothing I can do right now, I might as well observe their combat style and how they handle guns.

‘Hmm… As expected, bullets don’t work on the Balrog.’

Unsurprisingly, the Awakened scrubs stood no chance. The warehouse was completely overrun by demons in less than ten minutes.

“Sigh.”

The imps charged like mad, acting as bullet sponges, while the demons steadily whittled down the Awakened numbers with dark magic. The few Hunter-level fighters turned into minced meat against the Balrog.

No matter how many guns they had, a Balrog isn’t something you can take down with bullets. Plus, with hundreds of imps, they were just swept away like driftwood.

From the looks of it, there weren’t even three real Academy-trained Hunters among the group that had occupied the warehouse.

If they’d had at least five A-rank Hunters, they could’ve beheaded the Balrog and held off the demon waves with ease.

‘This is destruction.’

At least it’s a bit far from my place. That’s a relief.

‘The shopping district became a bug nest because of all the corpses, the warehouse got taken over by demons after the humans moved in… Oh, and a dragon showed up too. Damn, it’s really the apocalypse.’

The survivors from that battle will probably suffer fates worse than death. That’s the terrifying thing about demons.

They capture people alive for sacrificial offerings, turn them into livestock, or subject them to unimaginable torture and psychological torment until they’re reborn as new demonic entities.

In the novel, it was called the “demonization” process. Those who don’t die end up completely corrupted in even greater suffering.

I think one of the protagonist’s harem members was dragged into a demon nest and demonized. I remember quite a few readers dropping the story over that.

The author probably thought using a minor character as protagonist development material was fine, but some readers who hated seeing the protagonist broken posted backlash until an apology notice went up.

“Sigh. Fuck.”

Come to think of it, I think I was one of those who commented about dropping the story, gently scratching the author’s mental state. Now karma’s come back around, and I might get dragged off to be demonized. Shouldn’t have left that comment.

‘Anyway, I’ve seen enough…’

I should avoid this neighborhood for a while.

First, I’ll go home, empty my inventory a bit, then head back out…

“Kishaa.”

“Oh, fuck!!!”

-FWOOOSH!!!

While I was distracted, a massive spider snuck up behind me and shot out a web.

“You fucking bastard!!!”

The sticky threads wrapped around me, and I toppled forward.

-THUNK…

At the same time, the spider’s stinger pierced my back, injecting paralyzing venom.

‘Th-this can’t be…’

I didn’t sense its presence at all. Who knew something that big could move so silently?

Soon, the spider began “packaging” me as my body grew limp.

It doesn’t seem like it plans to eat me right away. Probably wants to take me to its nest where it feels safe.

‘This bastard… It’s a Silent Spider, isn’t it?’

Through my fading consciousness, I recognized it. I think around chapter 200, this thing dragged away one of the protagonist’s classmates to feed its young.

‘This bastard doesn’t release pheromones even when dying…’

Meaning I only have to deal with the young in the nest.

‘Is this maybe…’

An opportunity to gather points?

I forced down the despair.

Panicking in a crisis only makes it harder to find a way out.

For now, I’ll treat this as an opportunity.

I need to gather points anyway. Stay sharp. Giving up means death.

I absolutely won’t give up.

I refuse to let the bastard author who threw me into this world enjoy my suffering. I won’t break. I won’t despair.

I’ll survive out of sheer spite. Even if I die, I won’t stay dead.

‘First…’

I bought Night Vision.

Soon, excruciating pain shot through my eyes as the engraving took effect.

Since Silent Spiders prefer dark places, I needed Night Vision ready for when the opportunity came.

’59 points left.’

941 more to go until 1000.

Alright, let’s do this.

I can make it.

If I keep my wits about me, I can gather 1000 points and survive.