1.
💥 Slash! 💥
Swinging the sword I'd grown accustomed to in no time flat sent the zombie's head tumbling straight to the floor.
"That's the last one."
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: [5 → 6]💨 Agility: [5]✨ Mana: [7]🛡️ Remaining Points: [0]
I dumped the points I'd earned without hesitation and plopped down on the bed nearby. The corpses scattered around weren't exactly a pleasant sight, but now wasn't the time for complaints.
There had been a total of five zombies on the second floor. Thanks to them, I'd managed to level up to 7.
'Should I be happy about this... or sad?'
If there had been more zombies, I could've boosted my stats even further. That would've let me grow stronger before heading downstairs—unlucky, in a way.
Still, more numbers would've meant greater danger too. So in another sense, it was lucky.
'Now I have to deal with the ones downstairs.'
Truth be told, this was where the real ordeal began. The second-floor zombies were basically a tutorial. From here on out, things got truly dangerous—who knew how many there were?
'Let's go.'
I didn't have any grand plan.
Most of the furniture in here was rickety anyway; it wouldn't hold up long against attacks, so it wasn't much use as cover.
'Not knowing when it'll shatter just makes it more terrifying.'
So all I could do was trust my body and fight.
I crept toward the stairs and peeked out cautiously. The state of the first floor was worse than I'd imagined—a total mess.
Chairs and tables lay overturned everywhere, and a bunch of zombies were sprawled on the ground. They twitched sporadically, so they weren't dead.
'This might actually work in my favor?'
The scattered furniture would tangle up their feet, turning it into a pretty decent situation. I decided not to dawdle and got right to it.
Creeeak—
Stepping on the top stair produced a grating noise. The zombies' heads snapped toward it in unison.
Their necks twisted unnaturally. The moment I entered their sight, they let out eerie wails.
💥 Kreeee!
A dog-like shriek pierced my ears. They scrambled up haphazardly and charged the stairs.
Thud!
Crashing into walls and railings, they made endless racket. That drew the attention of the other zombies on the first floor, their heads swiveling our way.
Rumble—
A small noise snowballed into a cacophony, summoning the horde. Once they figured out the stairs' purpose, they started climbing one by one.
Thud!
I blocked the lead zombie's attack with my shield, then thrust my sword straight in. My shoulders shuddered at the feel of the blade piercing its skull.
Bam!
Kicking the front one sent the ones behind tumbling back in a chain. They paused briefly, then trampled their own corpses to climb again.
⚔ STATUS ⚔💨 Agility: [5 → 6]
I pulled up the status window right beside me and slammed the points in quick. I felt a bit lighter, even if just slightly.
💥 Kyaaargh—
I bashed the one lunging with its jaws using my shield, then swung my sword. After a few swings, the arc felt pretty solid now.
💥 Slash!
I cleanly severed its neck. Blood and flesh splattered my face, but I ignored it.
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: [6 → 7]
I quickly allocated the points again. Another zombie reached out with its arm; I blocked with the shield. Normally, I'd swing right away, but...
Zing—
This attacker was huge, and the impact rocked me hard. I had no choice but to give half a step back from the stairs.
My arms trembled, but I bit my lip and forced strength into them.
'I absolutely can't get pushed back.'
If I was going to take them down, it had to be right here on these stairs. Getting shoved into the hallway, then all the way back to the inn room? That meant death.
This second floor might just be the safest spot in the village right now.
💥 Slash!
I thrust at it, but the blade caught on the thick cervical vertebra smack in the center. Its neck was just too beefy.
"Die already!"
I shoved off the one clinging to my shield and poured on the power again. It sliced clean, head rolling free.
"Huff... huff..."
⚔ STATUS ⚔💨 Agility: [6 → 7]
My breath came up to my throat. Sweat poured down, arms and legs quaking, but I leaned against the nearby wall and raised sword and shield once more.
Bam!
The zombie's heavy blow forced me back a step. But I stepped forward half a pace and stabbed deep.
Stab—
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: [7 → 8]
I was getting pushed back bit by bit, no denying it. But as long as I didn't give all the way to the end, it was fine. If I held...
'It's my win.'
Just endure like hell—that was the goal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hahk... hahk... hahk..."
I collapsed at the top of the stairs, gasping raggedly. Blood and chunks of flesh littered the area, but my nose was numb—no smell at all.
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: [12]💨 Agility: [12]✨ Mana: [7]
Looking at the floating status window, a smirk escaped me. In the end, I'd won. It was risky, but I'd achieved explosive growth.
'First... just a short break.'
I forced myself up and stumbled into one of the second-floor rooms, collapsing onto the bed.
Sleep crashed over me. My second night surrounded by corpses.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"So this is all the food in the inn."
I sighed deeply at the bread in front of me.
I'd figured a cheap dive like this wouldn't have proper meals, but I hadn't expected it to be this bad.
'There's beer, but that's worse than nothing.'
The prepared food in the kitchen had spoiled long ago, and the other ingredients were either filthy or bloodstained—nothing appealing.
This sack of bread in the corner was it, apparently.
'Gonna have to survive on this for a while?'
A sigh slipped out involuntarily.
I picked up a piece and was about to shove it in my mouth when...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙You have reached 'Lv.20', unlocking 'certain functions'. The 'Shop' is now available. Additionally, EXP required for level-ups will now increase!
Sudden windows popped up wildly in front of me. I panicked for a second, then frowned at the text.
"EXP needed for level-ups is increasing?"
That was a huge problem.
I was way stronger than before, sure. In raw stats, maybe six times over. But that didn't mean I was six times tougher overall.
'Still so many stats to raise, and now this...'
The situation had gone south in multiple ways. Not all bad, though.
"Shop, huh..."
The mumble slipped out. It was intriguing, after all.
"Shop."
⚙ General Shop ⚙Large, hard bread 50G Small but edible bread 75G ... Edible soup (1 bowl) 100G
The moment I said it aloud, a window appeared, filled with various foods.
The list wasn't impressive, but it wasn't entirely useless either.
A jar with a yellow lid and clear glass. Red fruit visible inside. A familiar logo and the name "OXXXG."
⚙ Strawberry Jam 500G ⚙
"Strawberry jam...?"
Modern goods were in the shop.
Strawberry jam—a staple at supermarkets back home that folks took for granted. They had no idea how precious it was.
Fresh, tasty fruit was nobility-only. Honey and sugar? Rare luxuries, insanely pricey.
'And jam's made entirely of that stuff.'
Even in the old world, fruit jam fetched top dollar. Versatile as hell, after all.
'I want it.'
My eyes locked on after so long without. Rationally, I should've browsed more, but my focus was all jam now.
With that, this crappy bread would taste amazing.
'But how do I get the currency?'
If it'd been "P," I'd assume points. But it was "G."
'Gold, probably. Where do I check mine?'
Current Gold: 541G
The thought brought up my gold total.
'From killing zombies?'
Probably dropped like EXP.
'Feels like a damn game.'
A chill ran through me for a split second, but I ignored it and bought the jam.
Whoosh—
I snatched the jar dropping from midair right in front of me.
"Whoa, shit... almost fucked up."
Nearly wasted 500G of jam—and the noise would've brought zombies running.
I set the jar down carefully. Peeling off the packaging made my hands shake for some reason. Twisting the lid...
Pop—
The lid opened with a hiss of air. I took off my glove and scooped some with the cleanest spoon handy.
Scoop—
The jam hit my tongue, and my whole body shivered. Strawberry aroma and sugary sweetness assaulted without mercy.
Sweetness after so damn long.
Munch—
Chewing carefully burst the fruit bits, intensifying the flavor.
"Holy shit..."
As it slid down my throat, regret flooded in. I scooped a huge glob next.
Insanely sweet. Cloyingly so, but I couldn't stop. Finally stopped after devouring a third.
"...Bread."
I split a loaf in half with both hands and slathered jam inside.
Crunch—
Zero flavor, hard and crumbly bread. But with jam? Didn't matter.
'Delicious.'
After polishing off one, superhuman willpower let me close the lid. Already half gone.
'Gotta ration it.'
No clue where more gold came from—couldn't blow through it like this. Tucked the jar inside my shirt and headed upstairs.
Creeeak—
The annoying stair creak felt tolerable now. I lay on the cleanest bed in the cleanest room.
"...Good."
Eyes closed on long-lost fullness.
Groooan—
Faint low moans drifted from beyond the window as I drifted off.
Apocalypse... might not be so bad.