episode_0003

Thud-

Whoosh-

Thud-

“This is insane….”

Gasping for breath, Oh Ah-young smashed the head of one zombie, then leaped into the air to smash another zombie’s head. She repeated this process until all six zombies were dead, then she turned to us, slightly out of breath, her chest heaving slightly as she looked at us.

“Hehe….”

The person who had just effortlessly taken down six zombies blushed slightly at our gaze, fidgeting awkwardly. Feeling a shiver of unease at the unknown creepiness, I swallowed hard.

“Well done, Ah-young.”

As I patted her head, Ah-young lowered her head in reverence, and seeing her devotion rise, I thought that having her on my side would be a great advantage. I walked towards the nursing home where the bodies of the zombies lay.

Creak!

“Ah-young, can you unlock the door with your telekinesis?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Click!

“There, it’s done!”

Ah-young used her telekinesis to open the locked door, then looked up at me with a glint in her eyes. Remembering a friend’s dog, I gently patted her head and headed towards the third floor where the elderly residents were staying.

“Hello.”

“….?!”

As we greeted them, the people inside recoiled in shock, as if they had seen a monster.

“Infected, get out quickly!”

“Everyone, please calm down and listen.”

“You guys must have been infected on your way here! Don’t sacrifice us, get out now!”

Observing the aggressive elderly person from the start, I turned my gaze to the gathered crowd and was surprised to see more people than expected. I smiled softly and gently, masking my laughter with a compassionate smile.

“We are here to rescue the people in this facility. We are not infected and have come here to provide food supplies to ensure your safety.”

“How can we trust you! You could be lying to avoid getting killed by the infected outside!”

Rumble-

“What is this…?”

I emptied the food bag I brought and showed them all the supplies, not losing my smile as I continued.

“You may think of it as you wish, but… The people here cannot leave freely, and the food supply in this nursing home is limited. Right now, you can survive on the food available, but eventually, it will run out. So, you will need to get food from outside… which will be very difficult for you all.”

As I finished speaking, an angry elderly person retorted.

“We know that much! Are you telling us to rot and die here like corpses?”

“As I said, we will provide you with food supplies.”

Approaching the aggressive and defensive elderly person, I looked at him calmly, impressed by his rational thinking in the midst of chaos.

“Such actions must not be done without any benefit. We have nothing to offer. I don’t think you have any reason to help us, and if you do, tell me the reason right now.”

“There is no benefit… We can stay safely and peacefully.”

“So, this nursing home was your target all along!”

“You can gain the goodwill and gratitude of everyone here.”

At my absurd words, the grandfather fell into a short silence.

“And we plan to rest here for about 30 minutes before going out to get food. Would it be okay for us to stay here?”

Continuing with my friendly attitude, the surrounding elderly people showed a subtle liking towards me, and even the aggressive ones seemed to soften towards us.

“Are you sure we won’t get infected?”

“Of course.”

I extended my hand with a smile, saying nothing.

“Geez… I don’t usually trust guys who look like this.”

“Haha…”

Unexpectedly, we all unloaded our bags and leaned against the wall to take a short break and have a brief meeting to relieve the fatigue that had accumulated from coming all the way to the elderly shelter.

“At that time, Ayeong used her ability… and Kanghyun, with his strength, carried the bags…”

After a meeting that lasted just over five minutes, consisting mostly of questions and answers and brief presentations, we were able to relax comfortably.

“Hey, Go Ayeong.”

“What, why?”

“Do you like Sangil hyung?”

“What, what are you talking about!”

“Sangil hyung, even though it hasn’t been long since we met, seems like a good person in terms of looks, personality, and abilities.”

“I know that too…”

“So, do well. I approve, hehe.”

A fist that flew towards my abdomen with quite a bit of sincerity.

“Ouch!”

“Who told you to hit me?”

Moving away from me as if offended, but unable to hide the flushed face.

“Really? My brother works there as a researcher.”

After hitting Kanghyun quite strongly in the midst of their conversation, Go Ayeong walked away to take a break, and I smoothly continued the conversation.

“When I first came here, there were only really beautiful people, so I briefly wondered if I had come to the right place at the elderly shelter.”

“Ah, the handsome young man has no filter. Haha.”

“Well, that’s what I mean. I wish my inspiration was even half as good as the young man’s.”

“Oh! These ladies have no filter!”

“Haha, maybe because you’re so beautiful, your husband is jealous.”

Focusing on the favorability of the women, the results were:

[Favorability: 8]

[Favorability: 6]

[Favorability: 9]

[Favorability: 11]

“But definitely, good-looking people have high standards. Even the husbands are all handsome and manly.”

“Of course. My wife has good taste…”

“I used to have women lining up for me.”

“Haha, this guy really likes you! You’re good. Marry my son!”

Meanwhile, focusing on the favorability of the men as well:

[Favorability: 6]

[Favorability: 7]

[Favorability: 4]

[Favorability: 3]

“Dad~”

“Haha, look at this guy?”

“Haha”

“Hoho”

Even in this good atmosphere, there was one person who did not activate their favorability:

“Ugh, what’s so great about sucking up to everyone…”

The elderly who had aggressively attacked me earlier.

“I need to strategize over there too.”

Using the entire break time to talk and raise favorability, I called Go Ayeong and Kanghyun to prepare to go to the market.

[Favorability: 19]

[Favorability: 14]

After confirming Go Ayeong’s favorability had already reached 20 and Kanghyun’s favorability was rapidly increasing to a suspicious level, I checked my information.

[Stats]

Strength (D): 32 Agility (D): 33 Stamina (D): 37

Intelligence (D): 32 Spirit (D): 40 Magic (F): 11

Charm (D): 22 Faith (F): 11

Points: 3 Faith: 0 (1695/6h)

To make understanding abilities easier, I used all points on Magic and Faith, and after working hard, I was able to secure 1695 faith every 6 hours.

“Faith can be exchanged for points at a 1:1 ratio.”

With a satisfied smile, I walked out of the elderly shelter towards the orphanage.

“Hyung!”

Kanghyun urgently called me, pointing to where dozens of zombies were blocked by an invisible barrier in front of the orphanage gate, unable to move forward.

“They’re awakened!”

A quick order was given to Go Ah-young, thinking that she must have a very useful ability, to quickly command her to deal with the zombies.

“Ugh… I don’t have any more mana… I’m sorry…”

“No, you did well enough.”

Thanks to Go Ah-young’s remarkable performance, the horde of zombies that numbered over dozens now only had about 7 left.

“I’ll go ahead and take care of 5, Kang Hyun, you handle the remaining 2, and if I seem to be in danger, help me out.”

Since we didn’t have convenient throwing weapons like stones, Go Ah-young controlled her sword to slaughter dozens of zombies, so she went ahead with a slightly tense body, expecting a bit of danger compared to the previous fight with the zombies.

“Here!”

Thud!

As I went ahead first to attract their attention, all 7 zombies turned their heads towards me and rushed towards me. I focused on the approaching zombies and put strength into the sword in my hand.

Swish!

I smoothly sliced the neck of the first zombie that rushed towards me, dodged the arm of the zombie behind it, and then punched its side. When another zombie swung both arms at me, I calmly stepped back to dodge the attack, then precisely stabbed the knife into its forehead.

“Ha!”

Meanwhile, Go Kang-hyun rushed towards the zombies, shouting to attract their attention, and the two zombies closest to Go Kang-hyun charged at him.

Thwack-

Confirming that, I deflected the incoming attack with my hand holding the knife, piercing its neck, and forcefully pushed away the zombie rushing towards me, then swiftly turned and struck the head of the zombie that had come close to me.

Thud!

I pushed it away and threw the knife at the approaching zombie, hitting it accurately in the head. I looked at Go Kang-hyun, and as the fight was about to end, our eyes met.

“Wow… Hyung, you’re really good at fighting.”

“I learned a bit of martial arts before.”

After dealing with all the zombies, we slowly walked towards the orphanage, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier at the door.

Whoosh-

“Hyung, is this also a skill of an awakened?”

“I think so.”

Seeing that the slightly greenish barrier disappeared as soon as I finished speaking, a frightened woman came out from inside.

“Really… you’re not infected, right?”

“Yes, we’re also awakened like you.”

The woman led us into the orphanage, believing my words. Judging from the situation, she might have been a teacher working at this orphanage. I followed her, thinking that she might be one of the teachers at the orphanage.

“Mom!”

As we went up to the second floor, the children were playing with toys, and the woman briefly played with the children before leading them into a large room and talking to us.

“How can you help us?”

“First, we will move everyone to the nursing home near the orphanage. And most importantly, we will bring food by fighting off the zombies and distribute it to the elderly, children, and teachers at the nursing home.”

The woman held my hand, tears of joy streaming down her face, too happy with my words. Ignoring the sinister gaze of Go Ah-young holding my hand, I comforted the crying woman.

“Sob… So, what about Director and the other teachers?”

“I see… You must have had a hard time all alone until now.”

Now, she was sobbing in my arms, and I comforted her.

[Faith: 14]

Seeing the significantly increased faith, I smiled slightly and continued to comfort her for another 10 minutes, pretending to be helpful in order to obtain any useful information.

Name is Si Hee-sun, 29 years old, the same age as me. The other teachers at the orphanage were all infected by the sudden arrival of zombies, but the awakened director, who gained the ability to control fire, managed to take care of all the zombies. However, the director, who was not bitten by the zombies, showed symptoms similar to the infected and asked Si Hee-sun to kill him when he felt his sanity slipping. Upon hearing this, Si Hee-sun, while crying, killed the director with her own hands in order to protect the children.

Sorting through the information in her mind, including the fact that she awakened an ability in defense that she needed and wanted, Si Hee-sun confirmed her abilities using her powers.