episode_0010

Right now, I possess physical abilities that easily surpass those of ordinary people. It’s not just Olympic-class; it’s fair to call them superhuman. If I were to fight the zombies head-on, I could even clear them out with a crowbar. Despite this, there’s a simple reason why I’m cautious.

First, I’m not a rescue team, nor am I a soldier or an extermination squad. There’s no particular reason for me to risk my life dealing with zombies. Unless I’m in immediate danger or forced to confront them while acquiring supplies, there’s no need to seek out fights. There’s also no benefit to it…

‘If I get bitten, I’m screwed.’

How great would it be if I had immunity to zombie infection? I’m curious, but there’s no way to confirm. What if I relied on my high physical abilities and charged in? It’s just a guess, but I might not die easily. However, I’d probably slowly turn into a zombie and then die.

In other words, I’m currently playing a real-life roguelike where retries are impossible.

If you look at YouTube, there are various roguelike gameplay videos. Elaborate play honed by dozens, hundreds of hours of playtime and repeated experience. A genre where if things go wrong, you have to pour time and passion into repeating the routine from the beginning to reach the ending in one go.

I’m playing such a genre in real-time, staking my single life. That’s why I need to be careful even with simple movements. It’s also why I have to rack my not-so-great brain.

How should I overcome that surging sea of zombies right now…?

VROOOM-!!

“…Huh?”

From the front, where I had been watching, an engine sound that seemed about to burst roared loudly. I turned my gaze and saw a large dump truck, crushing and flattening the zombie horde as it drove towards me. It was moving, but not particularly fast.

Perhaps because of the scattered cars abandoned on the road, the dump truck, which was tearing down the sidewalk, wasn’t fast, but it was heavily ramming into everything, attempting a forceful breakthrough.

The roaring engine sound, as if the accelerator was pressed hard, buried the zombies’ groans.

Its sight, crushing and cutting through the zombie horde, was utterly magnificent, like a whale traversing the ocean.

“Oh!! Go! Go go!”

Without realizing it, I clenched both fists, maintaining my watching posture.

A common dump truck is heavy equipment that can carry over 17 tons. If such movement was possible, hope surged that it might be worth taking some risks. More than anything, seeing it tear through the middle of the zombie horde as if parting water gave me the illusion of having drunk a refreshing soda.

Just as I was nervously wishing for its successful escape.

Pshhh-

A hissing sound of air escaping was heard, and the dump truck began to lose power. Slowly reducing its speed, the noticeably sluggish dump truck soon came to a stop.

“…Ah.”

The driver didn’t seem to give up, continuously trying to start the engine, but it only rattled. The engine wouldn’t turn over again.

The clinging zombies soon seemed to break the windows and attack the driver. The windshield of the shaking vehicle was stained red with blood.

Failure.

The courageous gamble of an unknown person ended in failure. Before long, the zombies became quiet, as if nothing had happened.

It seemed a bit reckless, but it was a challenge that also seemed to have potential. Because I had thought the same thing.

“It’s not that I hadn’t thought about pushing through with heavy equipment….”

The result is right there in front of me. This limits my means of transportation.

“In movies, don’t protagonists usually escape well by car, though…?!” It was a rough guess, but a hypothesis formed.

In movies or American dramas, when protagonists escaped by car, it was usually when they were leaving the city. In the city, scenes of them shouting “WTF,” abandoning their cars, picking up children, and sprinting into buildings replayed in my mind.

“Population density? Hmm… that seems roughly right?”

It’s well-known that the United States is so vast that people even drive to the supermarket. Except for major cities, houses are sparsely spread out, meaning security is also riskier.

If I contrast the conditions with Korea… There are few places with as high a population density as Korea’s major cities. Also, for such a small country, there are many cars. If the roads above cannot be cleared, car usage will be severely limited.

“Getting away from the city is the answer.”

But not yet. I can’t survive without stocking up on food and other supplies. After pondering for a moment, I decided to somehow get to Holy Sale. After hoarding supplies, I would head somewhere uninhabited and endure.

“My course of action is decided… Ah, but how do I actually deal with that?”

I’ve walked along Gyeongin-ro until now. Gyeongin-ro has a subway line running right beside it, which somewhat restricts residential areas in the direction I’m going. The calculation was that the number of zombies would decrease.

“Walking is obviously impossible, and there’s no answer but a helicopter… Oh dear….” If even that heavy equipment couldn’t clear a path, I can’t clear one by swinging a crowbar.

“…Do I necessarily need to clear a path? There’s no law saying I have to go on the ground, right?”

A light bulb popped on in my head.

“Let’s try it! If I fail, well….” It wasn’t something that risked my life. So, the burden was small. I just expected it would hurt like hell if I failed.

***

“Hoooo-up-!!”

Thud-!

“Alright…!”

I safely arrived on the next building’s rooftop.

Thinking simply, the answer appeared. If I couldn’t clear a path, I could go around. If I couldn’t go on the ground, I could go underground or through the sky. If even that wasn’t possible…

“I just don’t have to go on the ground. Jumping is the answer.”

It was thanks to the densely constructed buildings in the city. A jump from rooftop to rooftop! I could overcome differences in height with a powerful, forceful jump.

Like a character using a great leap skill in an action game. Like Neo making his first big jump in the movie.

Before starting, I checked. A standing jump could propel me about 4 meters high. If it was the same height or lower on the other side, I could cross it by sprinting and then jumping.

In cases where there was a road in between, making the distance far or the height much greater. With a feeling of concentrating my strength and pushing off the ground with powerful leg strength. Imaging a thick, strong spring compressing to its maximum.

CRASH-!

A crashing roar as the floor cracked and broke. Simultaneously, I shot off in the direction I wanted to go. A floating sensation defying gravity was felt in my chest.

The feeling of accomplishment from “Operation Success!” and the exhilarating sensation of experiencing a raw feeling difficult for a land creature to feel made me cheer spontaneously.

“Hee-ha! Uwahahahaha!”

Thud-

My worries about getting hurt upon landing were unfounded; I felt completely fine. The sensation of my feet hitting the ground. There was no problem other than a slight feeling of weight. My body’s durability seemed better than I expected.

“Now I know why Spider-Boy always goes ‘Hoo-wee!’ when he jumps. Heh heh.”

It didn’t suit the current situation, but I was subtly excited, feeling like I was doing an extreme sport. In my giddy mood, I decided to call the simple jump a ‘leap’ to make it sound more impressive.

It was such fast movement that what I had been worrying about just moments ago felt foolish. It was clear that if I had moved like this from the beginning, I would have arrived quickly.

Just as my mind was leaning towards the idea that being smart was indeed best.

“……Oh.”

The next building’s rooftop was far.

“One lane is 2.5 meters? If I estimate that and consider the sidewalk too… Hmm…” It was a three-lane round trip, so roughly, all combined, it had to be at least 25 meters. The building also looked two stories taller. Since I had passed through quite a bit of the city, zombies were swarming below.

I looked down and shook my head. Roughly estimating the distance, I decided to try one more thing.

‘It feels like it’s going to work. I can do it.’

It was a vague feeling I got while moving with leaps. When jumping a slightly longer distance. When needing to exert a little more strength.

The sensation of generating explosive power through body reinforcement came alive. Of course, I had practically no mana right now, but I felt a strong conviction.

“It’s possible. Like squeezing out stamina instead of mana….”

To add running acceleration, I stood at the far end of the opposite direction. I stared intently at my destination, the rooftop I needed to reach with a leap.

The trick was the same as before. Just adding the sensation of body reinforcement. I took a couple of deep breaths and then sprinted forward.

Mana was real, but an intangible energy. And also, it wasn’t here now.

‘With the sensation of circulating blood throughout my entire body. Quickly!’

THUMP-THUMP-!!

Unlike before, my heart pounded wildly. I didn’t know if it was just a feeling, but I could feel blood vigorously circulating throughout my body.

THUM-! THUM-!

The surge of vitality, powerful enough to make me feel as if my entire body had become a heart, pounded against my eardrums. An overwhelming, unprecedented power enveloping my entire body stimulated my cells.

CRASHHHH-!

Due to the brutal acceleration, I instantly reached the edge of the rooftop, and with an explosion of sound, my body launched into the air. Perhaps because I strongly defied gravity, the plummeting sensation in my gut was fleeting. My airborne body swiftly, glidingly, moved high towards the opposite building’s rooftop.

“!!”

Contrary to my expectation that I would barely make it to the edge, I flew several more meters and landed, perhaps having flown further than I thought.

“Ugh!”

Thud-! WHOOSH-!

An ungraceful scream escaped me, and I rolled several times upon landing.

“Hup! Hup! Cough! *Gasp*…!”

I was breathless as if I had just finished an all-out sprint, and my entire body felt stiff. My legs, especially, from thighs to calves, were sore and aching slightly.

“Huf! Huf! Oh, *gasp*! Damn, it worked. Ughh…”

I changed my approach and tried using stamina instead of mana, and it succeeded. It was as if I had re-acquired a powerful skill.

Of course, there were some side effects. When I used mana, there were no problems as long as I didn’t overuse it, but now that I was substituting it with stamina, it consumed a considerable amount. Perhaps because of the sudden strain, muscle pain followed.

It was an output that could be more than double the power I could exert now, depending on control…

“If it’s like this, I can’t overuse it. I’ll have to use it sparingly, only when it’s dangerous…”

It was like acquiring a double-edged sword, and I felt worried about its use, but I couldn’t help the corners of my mouth turning up. I felt like I had somewhat regained my old martial prowess, and having a special move to bet on in a desperate situation made me feel good.

A quite heavy fatigue washed over me, but my lips wanted to grin. Feeling not bad, I took out an isotonic drink and chugged it down.

As for using the skill, I would adjust it as I experienced it further. Although it wasn’t as good as before, I could still rely on my strong recovery ability. The relief of having regained something I had lost made me feel quite good.

“Hmm… My current location is… Gyeongin-ro… the end.”

Taking a short break, I checked the map on my smartphone and saw that I had come quite far. Location-wise, I wasn’t far from my destination.

“Looks like it’s over there?”

A place that looked like the building marked on the map began to appear in my peripheral vision.

If I moved a little further with leaps, I could arrive quickly. Just as I thought that and was about to take a leaping stance.

“WAAAAAAAAH-!”

“!!”

A man’s scream came from down below. I quickly leaned on the railing, searching for where the scream came from.

My gaze landed on the sidewalk across the road. A man, seemingly caught while fleeing, was tangled up with a zombie and had fallen.

The sight of the man cursing and struggling desperately to somehow get the zombie off him looked frantic and pitiful. I wanted to help his desperate struggle, but the distance was too great. Also…

‘He’s already been bitten….’

Perhaps he had just been attacked, as a stream of blood was gushing like a fountain from his bitten calf.

The man, who appeared to be in his thirties, didn’t give up until the end, continuously kicking the zombie’s face with his remaining foot, and finally succeeded in shaking it off. Then he immediately picked up the dropped kitchen knife and mercilessly stabbed the zombie’s neck.

“Die! Die!”

Even from a height of over ten stories, the man’s enraged shouts were clearly audible. It was a cry tinged not only with anger but also with despair and resentment.

A moment later.

Whether from exhaustion or blood loss, the man who had been shakily trying to get up eventually collapsed. He then struggled a few more times to rise before his movements ceased.

Perhaps the suffering of the man who resisted until the very end had concluded. Around the man who had breathed his last were a scattered kitchen knife and bloodstains. What appeared to be food supplies spilled out, cluttering the surroundings.

Following the long trail of bloodstains with my eyes, I saw zombies that had been following the man appearing late, and at the end, a grocery store was visible. From the circumstances, it seemed he had met his end while coming out after getting food.

‘It’s regrettable, but it wasn’t the right time for me to help… Hmm?’ The man, who hadn’t even twitched, twisted here and there in a way that made me frown, then suddenly shot up in a posture that would have been extremely uncomfortable for a normal person.

I narrowed my brows and strained my eyes, trying to see clearly. Even if I couldn’t see perfectly, I confirmed that his skin color had turned pale like a corpse.

’10… no, between 15 seconds?’ The time it took for the man to die and then reanimate as a zombie. I couldn’t be certain since I had looked away for a moment, but it was roughly less than 15 seconds.

‘The zombies following behind stopped and lost interest when he died. Why?’ Until now, I had only beaten down those who had already turned into zombies; I hadn’t seen the process. I wasn’t a mad scientist, and I hadn’t intended to observe.

But thinking about the future, it might be good to understand it. Although it wasn’t in my plans yet, I might end up living in a group…

I turned my gaze to the sky. It was still cloudy. And hot. I took out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, and lit it.

“Hooo…”

I decided to rest for a moment and then resume moving, so I quietly smoked.

I don’t know why. The desperate struggle of the man who resisted until the very end came to mind again. I snuffed out the cigarette and stood up, beginning to move by leaping.

Perhaps it was because I had seen the death of a man of similar age.

‘I will survive until the very end.’

I reaffirmed my will to survive once more.