Chapter Index





    —————————————————————–
    Translated By Arcane Translations
    Translator: Xrecker
    —————————————————————–

    ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

     

    “…”

    I stared down at the body.

    A young woman.

    Pale, gaunt, emaciated – she lay lifeless, as if a touch would turn her to dust.

    Diet food wrappers littered the room.

    She’d been trying to lose weight.

    She wasn’t even overweight to begin with.

    Slender.

    I couldn’t understand.

    Not something I could grasp as a man.

    This woman, trapped in her apartment, hadn’t stepped outside since the apocalypse began, consumed by fear.

    Even peeking outside seemed to have terrified her; the curtains were drawn, plunging the room into a dim, gloomy twilight.

    The only food in sight was diet jelly, devoid of any real sustenance.

    The refrigerator held nothing but water and konjac.

    She must have resorted to drinking tap water after her meager supplies dwindled.

    And then, she starved.

    It was about time bodies like this began to appear.

    Three weeks had passed.

    Those without food reserves at home were starving.

    She seemed to have been well-off.

    Yoga flyers were scattered about, her face prominently displayed.

    She must have been an instructor at a popular Pilates or yoga studio in a wealthy area.

    I had opened every door on the 9th floor.

    No survivors.

    Just two dead women.

    The woman before me and another who’d ended her own life with a fatal cocktail of antidepressants and sleeping pills – a month’s supply swallowed in one desperate gulp.

    Those with the strength, the will to live, the courage to venture out… they went downstairs for food and joined the ranks of the infected.

    This floor was deserted, a floor of ghosts.

    Right.

    This was the apocalypse.

    Even if I slept with Soo-hyun every night, even if we all got along, laughing and chatting like normal…

    this was the apocalypse.

    The fact that we could live like that was the anomaly.

    I felt the weight of that reality as I looked down at the woman.

    “…Let’s go, oppa. I’ll ask the others to take care of the body.”

    “Okay.”

    I left the apartment and lit a cigarette.

    I’d thought I’d graduated from feeling melancholic over the dead, but that sentiment hadn’t entirely vanished.

    Seeing someone die alone like this left a bitter taste in my mouth.

    Hoo.

    The smoke curled and dissipated.

    “What are you going to do now?” Soo-hyun asked, gathering her tools.

    I took another drag.

    I’d cleared this entire building.

    Gained a fair number of levels.

    Just moving the bodies, and it would be perfect.

    But simply surviving wasn’t enough.

    I had to level up.

    “I’m going to rest a bit and then go outside,” I said, exhaling a plume of smoke.

    “Outside?”

    I put the cigarette back in my mouth.

    My mood was dark.

    “Yeah. You saw the YouTube videos, right? Those massive hordes. Inhale – exhale…”

    Soo-hyun nodded, watching me.

    “There’s no guarantee they won’t come here. From what I saw in the videos, when the hordes appear, the ones nearby also get riled up and swarm out. I’m not sure if it’s because of the sound or something else,” I continued, the cigarette a familiar comfort.

    Inhale – exhale.

    “I can’t check every single house,” I said, watching the smoke dissipate, “But I’ll at least take care of any large groups. If a horde comes, I don’t want everything in this area to get swept up in it. It’d be dangerous for us.”

    Soo-hyun slowly nodded, her expression thoughtful.

    “Where are you planning to go?”

    I already had a destination in mind.

    “The underpass.”

    The place where just being near the stairs made the ground vibrate with the force of their growls.

    The underpass, always packed with people, connected to the sprawling underground shopping center and the subway station.

    I didn’t know for certain.

    How many were there.

    I just vaguely estimated over a thousand.

    A thousand.

    My…

    …bountiful hunting ground.

    “…Then you might have to stay out all night again?” Soo-hyun’s voice was laced with worry.

    Hmm…

    It depended on the size and depth of the subway station and the underground shopping center. Even without knowing the details, I imagined it was at least ten times bigger than this hypermarket.

    I might have to stay out if I got engrossed in leveling.

    I nodded.

    “Maybe.”

    Soo-hyun’s face fell slightly.

    “…Be careful, okay?”

    Inhale – exhale.

    I dropped the cigarette and ground it out with my foot.

    I smiled.

    “When have I ever not come back safely? Don’t worry.”

    But Soo-hyun’s gaze lingered.

    Something unsaid played on her lips.

    I chuckled and pulled her into an embrace.

    Mmm, she fit so perfectly.

    Her ample breasts were soft and comforting.

    “If I don’t come back, I can’t hold you. That’d be a waste.”

    Soo-hyun pinched my side.

    “Ouch!”

    “Honestly…”

    She let go, shooting me a playful glare before walking away.

    “I’m going downstairs to finish the shutters. I need to weld now. Hmph!”

    I smiled and replied, “Okay. I’m going up to rest. Let me know if anything happens.”

    Soo-hyun turned and stuck her tongue out at me.

    Cute.

    I lazed around the house until Soo-hyun returned, and we had lunch together.

    We continued to relax afterward.

    Soo-hyun told me she planned to weld aluminum plates to the top of the shutters, making them impossible to open.

    She also intended to reinforce the shutters by welding on the aluminum panels we’d stripped from the cars.

    It was a monumental task.

    Reinforcing the exterior of a ten-story building, with each floor roughly 400 pyeong, most of the first floor being glass walls, by closing the shutters, applying silicone, attaching the panels, and welding… it wasn’t something that could be done quickly.

    Hoon was learning to apply silicone, but we were still severely short-handed.

    The inline skaters were helping, but even clearing the mountains of bodies from the 1st to the 9th floors was a huge undertaking, and on top of that, they were stripping car parts.

    Stinky was trying his best, but Han-tae… wasn’t much help. He was too weak.

    Seriously, for a guy… tsk.

    Meanwhile, Ye-eun, So-eun, Grandma, and the new mother were busy building a rooftop garden to grow vegetables.

    Hoon must have been hauling soil for them from the roadside gardens and trees.

    Everyone was constantly working.

    Of course, I continued to relax.

    Leveling up was my only job.

    I stepped outside for some fresh air and saw a woman sneaking out of an apartment with a plastic bag.

    Our eyes met.

    Ah, this woman.

    The one who’d been scared of me.

    Her eyes widened in recognition.

    Then, she bowed awkwardly.

    “Ah… hello.”

    I chuckled and nodded.

    “Yes. Are you feeling better now?”

    “Ah… yes.”

    “Are you eating alright?”

    The woman clasped her hands, still holding the bag, and nodded politely.

    “Yes. Thanks to all of you… I’m sorry about before. Thank you.”

    “Don’t mention it. You’re safe now. If you need anything, feel free to go to the supermarket downstairs and take it. It’s free.”

    I said that and chuckled.

    The woman gave a nervous laugh and bowed her head again.

    “Th-then…”

    “Yes. See you around.”

    We waved and went our separate ways.

    She was pretty.

    Long skirts looked good on her.

    She had the air of a housewife, but she was alone, so not married.

    Perhaps she simply preferred that style of dress.

    The bag she carried was likely filled with trash.

    I walked to the window at the end of the hallway, slid it open a crack, and lit a cigarette.

    The street was as peaceful as ever.

    The inline skating club members were busy stripping car parts, while two other pairs of men and women were carrying bodies outside.

    They were piling them on the roadside, presumably to burn later.

    Hmm…

    Was it going to rain?

    The sky was overcast.

    We should prepare.

    I finished my cigarette and flicked the butt out the window.

    I returned to the apartment, grabbed my bag and swords, and went down to the first floor.

    Soo-hyun was right.

    I might have to stay out tonight.

    Living with these people wasn’t bad.

    Soo-hyun welcomed my advances whenever I wanted, and she’d said the other women would too.

    The atmosphere during meals and whenever we ran into each other was pleasant, and everyone was easy to get along with.

    But more than staying here, the desire to level up burned within me.

    To recover faster, kill more, grow stronger.

    I wanted to unlock the next Specialization quickly; I was curious to see what I would become at the end of this path of constant growth.

    The hunger for growth outweighed the hunger for flesh.

    I could always have sex with women later.

    Leveling up had to be done now.

    That’s how I felt.

    I went to the first floor and packed some chocolate bars, energy bars, and bottled water from the snack and chocolate aisles.

    I filled my bag, anticipating a night out.

    Good.

    Let’s go.

    After confirming my stats were fully charged, I headed straight for the side entrance.

    Soo-hyun was welding.

    Zzzzt, zzzzt-

    “Soo-hyun, I’ll be back.”

    Soo-hyun, who was welding, lifted her mask and looked at me.

    “Huh? You’re going now? We’re having a barbecue on the rooftop tonight to celebrate moving into the supermarket. Can’t you go tomorrow, oppa?”

    I smiled and said, “Safety first.”

    And walked outside through the side entrance.

    Soo-hyun called out, “Oppa, be careful! Okay? Be careful!”

    “Okay.”

    I waved and stepped onto the sidewalk.

    The convenience store up ahead.

    The underpass entrance next to it.

    Time to raid again.

    Let’s level up.

    ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

     

    [Translator Notes]
    For Illustrations and Release Notifications join our Discord

    ⚙ System Notification ⚙


    Main Quest [God’s Apprentice] Unlocked!

    You have been granted an opportunity by the Arcane God’s to become a Korean Translator for Arcane Translations.

    Do you accept?

    YES/ NO