"Hard work today!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
The inn was rowdy. Mercenaries clinked their glasses together, chattering away like mad.
It was a pretty good vibe. If only I could join in. We'd clearly finished the job together, but there I was, sitting alone in a dim corner instead of right in the middle of it all.
Porter life fucking sucks...
Of course I did. I wasn't a mercenary—I was the porter who trailed after them, handling the grunt work.
Reincarnated into another world? Finally, my spring day had come... or so I thought. What the fuck is this shit?
No point hiding it.
I was born here with memories of my past life intact. Of course, I only realized it recently—after I'd already signed on as a porter for these mercenaries.
It sucks, sure. But it's bearable enough.
A month-plus of rolling with it, and it wasn't half bad. At least I never went hungry.
Compared to my old life? This is straight-up heaven. Heaven.
Still, if you're gonna reincarnate, it would've been nice to get some kind of power with the deal.
I was just mindlessly sipping my cheap beer when suddenly, a window popped up in front of me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙「1:00」
"Huh?"
I jerked back in a hurry. My lips and chin started trembling, my heart pounding like crazy. It felt like time itself had frozen.
No way... this is...
⚙ COUNTDOWN ⚙「0:59」 「0:58」 「0:57」
Watching the numbers tick down, my body went rigid. I shot up from my seat and scanned the room.
The cramped inn was packed with mercenaries. The mood was great, but it wouldn't take long for this place to turn into a bloodbath.
What do I do?
Even as I thought it over, time kept slipping away relentlessly. The moment I set foot on the stairs...
⚙ COUNTDOWN ⚙「0:00」
Boom!
A massive thud echoed from all directions.
"Wh-what? What's wrong with this asshole?"
"Did he drink this? Man, he's totally fucked now!"
A few mercenaries face-planted on the tables. The others just laughed it off, still yapping away.
"Hey, he's up!"
"Heh, this bastard faked it to dodge the tab?"
Grrrk—
They rose slowly, letting out low growls. Their heads spun a full 360 degrees, red eyes taking in the whole scene.
"F-fuck. What the hell?"
"What's wrong with him? Cursed or something?"
Sensing something off, the mercenaries edged back a bit. Big mistake. They should've bolted or drawn their swords for an instant kill.
Crunch—
Unfortunately, no one here was cold-blooded enough to hack down a comrade they'd worked with just that afternoon.
"Gaaahhh!"
And that birthed the disaster.
Red eyes flashed as it lunged at the nearest mercenary. Sharp teeth sank into his throat, blood spraying out.
Grraaawr—
The inn's air, once thick with booze and laughter, shifted in an instant. Still hot, but for a whole different reason.
Screams and tearing flesh filled the air nonstop.
"F-fuck, what is this!"
"You crazy bastards!!!"
Mercenaries scrambled for their swords. But drunkenness and panic sapped their strength.
Splat-crunch—
In the end, pulling a weapon just hurried them toward death.
"Aaaargh!"
The thick stench of blood hit my lungs deep. The nauseating smell made my head spin.
Not the time to gawk.
I gripped the wooden railing tight, steadying myself, then bolted up to the second floor.
Creak—creak—
The creaks boomed like thunder. Praying they wouldn't look my way, I reached the upstairs. Luckily, no sign of them up here—they'd all come down for drinks.
I sprinted to the end of the hall, flung open my door, and dragged the dresser over to barricade it.
"Huff... huff..."
Still uneasy, I slumped against it on the floor. Tension had my whole body shaking.
What the fuck is going on?
That countdown. Those things biting mercenaries. Zombies. The cause of my old world's downfall. The bastards that killed me.
But why the hell now?!
Some black mage rumor? Demon king invasion? No way. This wasn't a game world.
Then what?
"Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
My head was spinning.
"Fuuuuck!!!"
"What the hell is this?!"
Bang! Rumble—!
Screams and explosions kept pounding through the thin walls. Couldn't even imagine the carnage downstairs.
Trembling legs forced me to the window.
Below, under the blood-red sunset, the streets ran even redder.
The lady who'd thanked me that morning was getting torn apart. The Village Chief, famous for doting on his kid, was devouring his son alive.
"Father—! Father—!!!"
"Ha..."
Seeing that, it finally hit me.
This world stood at the brink of ruin too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Half a day.
It took less than half a day for Dina—the fourth-largest village in the Boris Region—to drown in blood.
Kieeeek!
Outside, zombie shrieks still mixed with human screams now and then, but that wouldn't last.
And in the end, it'd just be me. The cause didn't matter now—survival did.
First things first: secure the inn.
Step one: confirm no zombies on the second floor. If clear, barricade the stairs and hunker down.
This'll have to do.
A single shield—my only weapon. And it was mostly wood, not even iron.
Lucky break, really. A real mercenary iron shield? I couldn't even lift that.
Here goes.
I eased the dresser aside and cracked the door. The hallway looked relatively clean. Relatively.
Left the door open, strained my ears. Nothing. Swallowed hard and stepped out.
Seven doors wide open. No telling where a zombie might be hiding. They were dead silent unless hunting.
Start with the closest.
Shield gripped tight for instant reaction, I turned the knob.
Cheap inn, no latch. Peered in—empty. No zombie.
Not here.
Back to the hall, next door. Rinse and repeat a few times, until only the one with the blood trail remained.
This was it.
I let out a deep sigh, sucked in a lungful of air. Twisted my wrist, reached slowly for the knob.
Creeeak—
Fuck...!
Only this door's hinges were busted, screeching loud. Through the widening gap, a grotesquely twisted face peeked out.
Kiaaaah!
Door half-open, it kicked off the floor and flew at me—like a beast eyeing prey.
I hoisted the shield. Timed its leap, stepped forward, swung my arm.
Thwack—!
Loud thud, it tumbled. Neck snapped 180 degrees, but it writhed, trying to rise.
Thud!
Smashed its skull flat with the shield. Finally, it stopped moving.
"Fuck..."
I exhaled the breath I'd held.
Kieeeek—!
Kiaaaaaaah!
Tension easing, strength fading—then cries from the stairs. Multiple creaks followed.
I dashed into the hall. They were just about to climb up.
Quick thinking: bolted to the room across, eased the door shut. Braced it with my back, legs locked.
Rumble—thud thud thud!
Creaks again, then low growls through the flimsy wood.
Covered my mouth—afraid even my breathing would tip them off.
The grating noises faded, hall went quiet. I barricaded with the dresser again, set the shield down gently, sat on the bed.
Thought I was dead for sure...
Still, all that grunt work with the mercenaries had built up some experience and muscle—it went smoother than expected.
The real problem was next.
Now the second-floor hall was crawling with them. Trying to secure this place had backfired, making it riskier.
Not that I regretted it.
Now what the hell do I do?
The future looked bleak.
Back home, canned goods and MREs meant you wouldn't starve even if food got scarce.
But nothing like that existed here—not even the concept. The longer I lasted, the higher the odds of starving.
And that wasn't all. Unlike my old world with just zombies, monsters prowled here.
If those turned zombie too...
It's hopeless.
This was cheat-level difficulty. No way around it.
"If only I had a status window..."
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Name: Hanson📊 Level: Lv. 2📈 Stats⚡ Strength: [2]💨 Agility: [3]✨ Mana: [7]🎯 Remaining Points: [1]
"Fuck?"
I'd never tried before, so I had no clue.
Turns out, I had a cheat too.