episode_0002

Keye!

Upon arriving on the 6th floor, I saw a chaotic house through an open door, with a well-built man subduing a zombie.

“Ahhhh!”

A young woman screamed upon seeing me enter, and beside the subdued zombie, I noticed another zombie lying on the ground, bleeding.

“Ahhhh….”

As I watched the zombie die, a man who seemed to be the family member of the unconscious woman asked me, coming down from the zombie he had just killed.

“Do you also know that there are zombies here?”

“In fact, I also killed a zombie on my way here.”

“Sigh….”

The man sighed at my response and ran his hand through his hair.

“I was skeptical of the fake news, but now there are zombies in front of me, and my mom turned into a zombie….”

It seemed like the zombie he just killed was his recently infected mother.

“Even though she was a zombie, she was your mother. Are you okay?”

“If not, we would have been infected.”

With a strong body and a strong mind, he didn’t seem to be shaken even after killing his own mother who turned into a zombie. I smiled inwardly and slowly approached the man.

“So, have you awakened too?”

“Yes, it seems so. My strength and stamina stats increased by 10 each.”

“Oh, I had a 5-point increase in strength, agility, and stamina.”

I nodded slightly at the awakening that was slightly different from mine and suggested we travel together.

“There are zombies outside, so we need to stick together to survive, right? Let’s travel together.”

“Wait, I need some time to think.”

“How about we exchange names for now? I’m 29-year-old Cheonsangil.”

Starting a natural introduction, the man introduced himself slightly flustered.

“I’m 26-year-old Go Kanghyun.”

“You can just call me ‘hyung’ comfortably. But, who is the woman who fainted over there…?”

“Oh, she’s my younger sister, 23-year-old Go Ayoung.”

We closed the door and locked it, laid Ayoung on the bed, and started a conversation.

“Kanghyun, we’re only 3 years apart in age, so let’s be comfortable with each other, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Then, call me ‘hyung’ for now.”

“Hyung…”

“Good job! Since we have to travel together, we should get along well, right?”

Although we hadn’t officially agreed to travel together, Kanghyun seemed to be swept away by the natural atmosphere. I smiled gently at him.

“I plan to go to the nursing home to rescue the elderly living there.”

“Rescuing others in this world is very risky.”

“The most vulnerable people in this world are the elderly and children. Helping each other is natural, isn’t it?”

“But still…”

“Kanghyun, the nursing home can be a protective barrier for us since it’s a residential facility. There are also other facilities that can help us survive.”

Impressed by my explanation of the benefits of the nursing home, Kanghyun slightly opened his mouth in admiration. I continued the conversation with a smile.

“Plus, there are convenience stores and supermarkets nearby, so it’s easy to get groceries.”

“You’re really smart.”

“I just want to help people.”

“You’re kind…”

“It’s just natural for humans. I’ll go up for a moment to get some supplies and come back down.”

After picking up the items on the floor, I returned to Kanghyun’s house on the 6th floor and woke up Ayoung to explain the situation.

“What’s going on…?”

Unable to believe that her mother had died, Go Ah-young looked at her older brother, Go Kang-hyun, with a face filled with disbelief. Entrusting Go Ah-young to Kang-hyun, she left the room to check for any useful information on her phone.

[Breaking News] Members of the National Assembly leaving Seoul due to a swarm of zombies…

[Breaking News] People claiming to level up by killing zombies like in comics or novels…

[Breaking News] Official announcement of ‘Awakened Individuals’ by the government

Shocked by the situation where most of society had been paralyzed by zombies, Go Ah-young, unable to quickly regain her composure, was considering moving to the elderly care center alone when she opened the door and found Go Ah-young and Go Kang-hyun looking at her.

“My sister is okay now. Let’s hurry to the elderly care center.”

“Are you okay, Go Ah-young?”

“Yes… Please take me with you.”

Concerned about her mental state, I looked at Go Ah-young, and my ability was triggered.

[Stats]

Strength (D): 14 Agility (D): 15 Stamina (D): 11

Intelligence (D): 33 Spirit (D): 30 Magic (F): 0

Charm (E): 93

[Traits (0)]

[Skills (0)]

‘Is this an unknown perspective…?’

Surprised by the unexpectedly activated ability, I looked at Go Kang-hyun and decided to activate my ability.

[Stats]

Strength (D): 42 Agility (D): 30 Stamina (D): 42

Intelligence (D): 28 Spirit (D): 35 Magic (F): 0

Charm (F): 62

[Traits (0)]

[Skills (0)]

‘So this ability is about stealing information from others.’

Having discovered the ability of the only trait that was previously unknown to me, I happily set off with the Go siblings towards the apartment.

“It’s quiet here…”

“It’s already 7 o’clock, time for everyone to go to work.”

“Let’s be more vigilant as we move.”

“Okay. Hyung.”

Despite seeing sporadic bodies, Go Ah-young, although vomiting a few times, did not give up and followed us.

*Squelch*

“Shh…!”

Thanks to our vigilance, we were able to spot three zombies in the center of the playground.

“It might take a while to go around the playground…”

“Let’s take down the zombies together.”

“What?”

Surprised by my suggestion to take down the zombies, Go Kang-hyun replied, “We already killed two zombies at home.”

“No, that was different…”

“I’ll take two, and let’s awaken Go Ah-young too.”

“Ah…”

Agreeing with my plan, I picked up a brick next to a tree in the playground and approached the zombies.

*Squelch!*

I threw the brick at one of the zombies running towards me.

*Thud!*

The brick hit the zombie’s face, scoring 6 points.

Confirming the points earned, I dodged the approaching zombie’s arms, wrapped my arms around it, and subdued it.

*Squelch!*

The remaining zombie attacked, but Go Kang-hyun swiftly took it down.

“Go Ah-young?”

“Oh, yes?”

“Grab the knife on the ground and stab the zombie’s head that I subdued.”

“Uh… okay.”

“I told you before. You can awaken when you kill a zombie for the first time. Go Ah-young, you need to awaken to survive in this world.”

“Hyung…”

As I urged Go Ah-young to kill the zombie, Go Kang-hyun intervened, hesitating. The three of us were in a standoff, creating a strange atmosphere. And the unexpected event that shattered our expectations happened first.

“Okay. I won’t just be a burden.”

*Splurt!*

“Ugh!”

Despite feeling nauseous at the gruesome scene, Go Ah-young resolutely stabbed the zombie’s head again, triggering an alert.

First believer has appeared.

[Faith Points: 4]

Briefly celebrating the first believer, I looked at Go Ah-young for a strong awakening.

“Miss Go Ayeong, listen to me carefully. When you want to awaken, think about the awakening you desire while awakening. The more specific and powerful your thoughts are, the stronger your awakening will be. If you’re not sure, imagine abilities like a superhero in your mind.”

I had been waiting, protecting Go Ayeong from the zombies, as she closed her eyes tightly and pondered deeply.

“Strong power… overpowering force… the ability to pressurize opponents without dirtying my hands…”

As it seemed like her thoughts had ended, Go Ayeong turned towards us with a smile, and I immediately used my abilities to awaken her power.

[Stats]

Strength (D): 14 Agility (D): 15 Stamina (D): 11

Intelligence (D): 33 Spirit (D): 30 Magic Power (D): 10

Charm (E): 93

[Traits (0)]

[Skills (1)]

[Lv_5 Telekinesis]

– Use magic power to wield intangible force through willpower.

Seeing the increased magic power from a successful awakening and the newly acquired skill, I embraced Go Ayeong warmly.

Hug!

“Um, excuse me…”

“I’m sorry for putting you through an uncomfortable experience, you did really well.”

“Hyung…”

Seeing Go Ayeong blush in embarrassment, perhaps influenced by becoming my first believer, and her body tensing as she didn’t resist my embrace, I felt that maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

[Faith: 9]

“It seems like mutual liking affects faith between individuals.”

Utilizing the social skills I had acquired in my daily life, I slightly adjusted my approach towards Go Ayeong, releasing her from the embrace and looking into her eyes.

“Ayeong, look at me.”

“Yes…?”

“I’ll protect you. Don’t worry too much, Ayeong, including your brother Kang Hyun.”

“Jinil Hyung is really kind, ugh…!”

Although Go Ayeong was the target of my strategy, I couldn’t miss the opportunity presented by Kang Hyun, who was shedding tears unexpectedly. I quickly put on a warm smile and patted his head.

“Kang Hyun, you did really well too. I’ll make sure to protect both of you no matter what.”

“Oh, Hyung…”

Continuing to comfort Kang Hyun as he teared up, I detached him from my body to successfully reach our destination.

[Faith: 7]

Seeing the rapidly rising faith, which wasn’t due to mutual liking, I glanced at Go Ayeong with a slight suspicion of Kang Hyun’s preferences.

“And Ayeong, should we speak more comfortably?”

“Oh, yes!”

Smiling at her stiff response, I spoke in a gentle voice.

“Then Ayeong, can you tell us what awakening you had?”

“Yes, Oppa…”

As I watched Go Ayeong blush slightly, I inwardly smiled at the successful strategy and listened to the details of her awakening.

“My magic power upgraded to D grade, and I acquired a skill called Telekinesis.”

“Oh, I only had an increase in stats.”

“I didn’t get any skills or traits, Ayeong is amazing.”

“Oh, yes… hehe.”

“Then, can you show us how you can use this Telekinesis skill?”

Upon receiving my small praise, Go Ayeong happily confirmed her willingness to use her ability.

“Yes! I can do it.”

Whoosh-

As soon as she awakened, she instinctively understood how to use her ability and swiftly moved the bricks she had used to deal with zombies into the air, demonstrating her ability to manipulate them rapidly.

“If it’s just throwing bricks, I think I can do it more than ten times.”

“Wow, our Ayeong is amazing, right?”

Impressed by her incredible ability, we hurried towards our destination.

Thud-

When we arrived at the nursing home, six zombies were lurking near the entrance, and seeing them, I thought they would be good practice targets, so I looked at Go Ayeong.

“Ayoung, do you want to try killing some zombies?”

“M-me?”

“You need to catch zombies to grow mentally, use your abilities better, and earn points.”

“Yes! I’ll give it a try.”

Watching Ayoung smashing zombies’ heads with a brick, Gokanghyun and I could see just how powerful telekinesis really was.