18. A New Home. (3)

Between the right shelves.

The main aisle straight ahead.

From the left display.

“Kyaah?!”

The heads of the human beasts turned sharply.

They aren’t my concern right now.

I quickly scanned the surroundings.

Left corner, restroom sign.

“Kraaaah! Kyaahhh!”

They rushed from the left, right, and front.

I immediately sprinted forward.

Left aisle!

No one there!

Tap tap.

My footsteps sounded strange.

If I had been in Acceleration, they would have been drawn out.

I dashed between the aisles.

“Kraaaah! Kraaaah!”

The beasts chased after me.

Crash, bang!

The sound of them colliding with the shelves.

The displayed items tumbling down.

They were closing in from all sides.

I ran to the wall and followed the sign.

“Kyaah!”

The heads of the human beasts in front turned sharply.

Their hands rose.

I glared at them and continued sprinting.

“Kraah!”

They were close.

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

Crack!

I pulled the sword out and immediately twisted my body to stab to the side.

Between the shelves.

A human beast lunging with its mouth wide open.

Crack!

I immediately darted forward and stabbed again.

Crack!

The restroom was close.

I pulled the sword out and ran forward.

After a few steps, the Acceleration ended.

“-Kraah!”

Crash, bang!

The stabbed beasts fell, and the ones chasing behind stumbled and crashed into each other, falling over.

They were definitely chasing me.

They didn’t go in any other direction.

“Kraah!”

The restroom was right in front.

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

I pierced two heads again.

Crack, crack!

I immediately turned into the restroom.

Tap tap.

My footsteps were drawn out.

A wide stall in front of the restroom.

The structure was quite deep, with turns to the left and right. The left was the women’s restroom, and the right was the men’s.

The structure was in a QP shape.

I ran in and turned right.

Finding the men’s restroom was instinctive.

I was familiar with it.

The restroom had no doors, just tall external partitions.

Inside, I saw two men.

I immediately swung my sword.

“–Kraah?!”

Crack!

The Acceleration ended.

“Kraah!”

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

I pulled the sword out and took a step forward, stabbing with my other hand.

Crack!

Done.

No time wasted.

I immediately kicked open the stall doors to check if anyone was inside.

Four stalls.

All empty.

The doors swung open slowly.

I immediately entered one and closed the door.

Thud! Crash!

The stall doors closed, and the bodies fell with a loud noise.

Click.

I locked the door.

“…Phew.”

Done.

I’ll use this as a base to clear the mart.

“Kraaaah! Kyaahhh!”

Something was rushing toward me.

“Kyaahhh! Kraahhh!”

They were coming in, but from the growls and footsteps, it didn’t seem like too many had entered.

They probably gathered near the restroom entrance.

I looked at the restroom door.

It didn’t look very sturdy.

But there were almost no gaps.

They couldn’t see me from outside.

I held the sword and caught my breath.

Phew… Sigh…

Quietly.

I’ll wait until they calm down.

“Kraah, kraahhh!”

The growling continued.

But the sound had changed slightly.

The beasts didn’t understand the concept of doors and stalls.

They couldn’t open a closed door and would try to break through glass walls even if a door was right there.

They weren’t human.

I listened to the growls from outside and slowly caught my breath.

A message appeared in front of me.

[Level up.]

Hmm.

The 2 levels I gained from clearing the mart entrance.

I put the points into stamina while showering.

Stamina 56.

The 1 level I just gained. Again, into stamina.

Current stamina 57, level 34.

When I realized it was 1 level per 10 kills, it felt daunting, but the levels are steadily increasing.

The recovery rate is getting faster with each level.

Not bad.

By the way, I used Acceleration three times…

Checking my stats, I had 9 Accelerations left and 23 Strength.

I just killed 7.

A bit short.

I’ll take a short break and then clear 30 at once.

But I don’t know how many are here.

At a glance, it looked like about 100.

I took out my phone and messaged Soo-hyeon.

[Soo-hyeon, how’s it going? Did you finish the work?]

[Still working. Bro, what happened? You said you ran inside. Are you okay?]

[I’m fine. I’m in the restroom.]

[Are you hurt?]

[No, I’m not hurt. 😂]

[Why did you go to the restroom?]

Hmm…

I thought for a moment before replying.

[I had to go.]

The reply came a bit later.

[You’re something else, bro. I’ve never seen such a strong heart. Who in the world would go to the restroom in a place full of zombies?]

I almost laughed.

I chuckled faintly and replied.

[Finish the work and come up right away. It’ll take some time.]

[Okay. Come back safely, got it?]

[OK, don’t worry.]

I put my phone back in my pocket and thought.

Alright.

Here’s the homework.

First floor.

There’s a restroom, and the mart has plenty of food.

The problem is the number of raids…

If there are more than 100, I’ll need to do four raids.

Almost two days.

…It’s going to be tough.

I’ll do two raids and return in the morning.

Nine PM.

I was fully recovered.

It was quiet outside.

Sitting in the restroom for three hours is quite a feat.

I stretched my stiff body and stepped out of the stall.

Two dead bodies on the floor.

I stepped over the pools of blood and walked out of the restroom.

The squelching was unpleasant.

Looking outside, the distance from the restroom entrance to the mart was about 5 meters.

This seems enough to lure them in and take them out.

I nodded and entered the women’s restroom.

“Kyaah?!”

Oh, there are some in the women’s restroom.

About seven or eight.

They probably ran in here when the chaos started and were caught.

“Kyaahhh!”

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

“Kya–ah–“

I immediately drew two swords and lunged at them.

Crack, crack!

I cleared them all with two Accelerations and immediately pushed open the stalls.

They didn’t open.

Six stalls.

None of them opened.

“–Kyaah!”

Crash, bang!

The women fell, spewing blood from their heads.

Splat, splat!

Blood splattered everywhere.

Creak, creak!

The doors I pushed all shook and made noise.

[Level up.]

The small restroom was drenched in blood.

Blood dripped from my head and face.

But I’m used to being covered in blood now.

More concerning were the closed doors.

Growl, growl–

Some stalls made noise, others didn’t.

…Is someone in there?

…Hmm…

It’s been over two weeks since the apocalypse began.

Anyone in there is unlikely to be alive.

Forget it.

I put 1 point into stamina, making it 58, and walked out.

60, here I come?

I walked to the stalls at the end of the restroom corridor and looked around. Listening, it seemed there were quite a few nearby.

Provoking all of them would be too risky…

I cleared my throat.

“Ahem!”

“Kraah?!”

An immediate response.

“Kyaah, kraah.”

They were coming.

I heard several footsteps.

Not as loud as a roar, but the nearby ones were definitely lured in.

I cleared my throat again.

“Kraah!”

This time, the response was definite.

The beasts appeared between the stalls.

They saw me.

Their faces contorted.

Their mouths opened wide.

Their hands rose.

“Kraaaah! Kyaahhh!”

I smiled and took a step back.

“Good, come on.”

The beasts pushed and shoved each other, trying to squeeze through the narrow gap between the stalls and the wall. Too many had gathered in a space meant for only two people.

They couldn’t all rush in at once.

“Kraaaah! Kraaaah!”

They were coming, they were here!

Acceleration!

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

I immediately lunged in and stabbed.

Crack, crack!

I quickly moved through the beasts, continuously stabbing. The feeling of skulls cracking transmitted through my hands.

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

About a dozen beasts were squeezing through the stalls. I used Acceleration and advanced, continuously stabbing.

“Hiss!”

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

I took a step back.

I stepped back and waited.

“–Kraah!”

The stabbed beasts fell, spraying blood everywhere.

Splat, splat!

Blood splattered all over me.

“Kraaaah! Kyaahhh!”

Four, no, five beasts squeezed through.

That seemed to be all the nearby ones.

Acceleration.

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

I immediately lunged in and pierced their heads.

Quickly, faster!

No waste of Acceleration!

Crack!

I pulled the sword out, and the Acceleration ended.

“–Kraah!”

The five beasts fell.

Five with one Acceleration.

I’m getting faster.

Becoming more skilled, more familiar.

“…Phew…”

[Level up.]

Good.

The preparation for the main raid is complete.

I dragged the bodies scattered in the restroom corridor to the women’s restroom side, clearing the path to the men’s restroom.

After the raid, I’ll hide in the men’s restroom along this path.

Acceleration: 9 uses.

Strength: 17.

I’m running low on Strength compared to Acceleration.

I put another point into stamina.

Stamina 59.

…Good.

17 more kills, and I’ll hit 60.

I immediately walked out of the stall and looked around.

The beasts near the restroom were all lured in and killed.

Beasts farther away noticed me.

They tilted their heads, swaying their bodies.

They took a step toward me.

I smiled and whistled.

Whistle!

“Kraah?!”

The footsteps of the distant beasts quickened.

There’s something over there!

They growled.

The growls became more aggressive as they approached.

And they roared.

“Kraaaah! Kyaahhh!”

Good.

Come on.

I swung my sword in the air.

Swish! Splat!

Blood droplets left whip-like marks.

“Kyaahhh!”

The beasts were coming.

They were coming, they were here!

Acceleration!

[Automatic activation: Acceleration]

“Hiss!”

I pierced the heads of the beasts lunging at me and charged forward.

Crack, crack!