1.
"...This place is a bust too."
I'd figured there'd be plenty of useful stuff in people's homes. After all, most of them probably died when the zombies showed up.
That much was true. But what I hadn't considered was expiration dates.
Modern bread doesn't go bad easily thanks to preservatives, pesticides, or manufacturing methods. But this world? No such things existed here.
'This isn't even edible.'
I picked up a moldy loaf with my fingers and tossed it to the floor. The unsanitary conditions must have made everything rot faster.
"At this rate, I'm totally screwed."
The whole reason I'd chosen to search down here instead of up the hill was food. More houses meant more food, or so I'd thought.
But when I actually checked? Nothing useful at all—not even close to food. There were dishes and utensils, sure, but I didn't need those right now.
So I'd moved on to ransacking shops along the street, but they were either completely empty or full of junk.
Crunch—
'All I managed to scrounge up is this jerky, huh.'
It reeked of guts and tasted foul, but meat was precious right now. No choice but to force it down.
'I want some strawberry jam.'
I chewed the tough jerky and kicked open a door. As I rummaged through shelves and corners in the relatively clean interior—
"Y-You bastard!"
The door beside me flew open, and a man charged in wielding a farming tool.
Whoosh—
I sidestepped just enough and slammed my fist into his gut.
"Guhk—!"
He dropped to his knees, collapsing flat on the floor. The tool clattered away.
"Grk—"
Tears, snot, and spit dripped onto the ground. He clutched his stomach, trembling violently.
"P-Please, spare me!"
I just stared silently, and he blurted it out. His cracked voice was filled with desperation.
"I-I'm truly sorry! I thought you were from the village hall across the way, so I attacked just in case!"
"Village hall?"
My silence made him keep talking.
"Y-Yes...! There's a village hall across the street, not this side. Survivors are holed up there, and lately they've been rummaging everywhere...!"
"How do you know that?"
"I've been watching from the window! I saw them forcing doors open and dragging people out!"
"Zombies are thick around here—wouldn't they avoid it?"
I scowled, and he scrambled to explain.
"I-I'm good with my eyes. Used to help hunters back in the day!"
"Yeah?"
"Y-Yes!"
'Never imagined there'd be another group of survivors.'
I'd already spotted one group up the hill. Thought that was it, but there were more down here? No way.
The tavern district, packed with mercenaries, was wiped out, yet farmers survived. Ironic.
'Or maybe that's exactly why—they hunkered down tight.'
When others turned into zombies, mercenaries chose to fight instead of flee. Without proper armor, just a single sword.
That might've sealed their fate. Probably did.
'Not the point right now.'
From what the guy said, the village hall crew sounded rough. If we crossed paths, conflict was likely.
'Deal with it if it happens later.'
My stance hadn't changed.
Kill if they threaten me. Ignore if they help.
Stab—
I drove my sword into the shoulder of the man groveling below.
"Gaaaaah—!"
The kitchen knife fell from his hand. I twisted the hilt, mangling his flesh.
"Grh, guhk—!"
Blood dripped, chunks of meat sliding down his arm.
"P-Please, spare me! I was wrong! Truly wrong! Just give me one more chance—"
Slash!
I yanked the sword free and severed his neck. Terror froze on his face as his head hit the floor.
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: 42Name: Hanson | Lv. 42
Checking my level, it had gone up by one. Killing fellow humans gave EXP too, it seemed.
'Didn't plan to kill him.'
His initial attack caught me off guard. But when he started scheming, I had no choice.
'And he had no basic sense.'
Lucky I'd cleared the nearby zombies, or his screams would've drawn a horde.
I needed useful people. Not cowards hiding at home.
Current Gold: 1384G
"Huh?"
I checked my gold on a whim—up by a whopping 300G from before. Not an amount to ignore.
'Takes killing 15+ zombies for that much.'
Did killing living humans yield this much? Too few samples to confirm, but probable. All my recent kills were people.
'What about nobles—way more? Or same as zombies?'
Thoughts raced.
If humans gave this much gold...
'Village hall might be worth hitting.'
Greed surged, but I shook it off. Even in this world, I had to stay human.
'Hold off.'
Conflict would come eventually. Just wait quietly till then.
I stepped back into the street and resumed searching houses. Cleared the whole area—no more survivors.
'Too bad.'
Rooooar—!
I finished off the stragglers at the end and headed back up to the tavern district. Halfway up the hill—
A group in the distance, marveling at the zombies around them.
'Village hall crew? Or from up top?'
Hoping for the former, I approached slowly.
"Halt!"
One spotted me and shouted. Weapons raised in unison.
Creak—
One even had a bow. Hunters in their group, or looted.
"What?"
A man stepped forward at my question. Sneering slyly.
"These corpses. All your work?"
"Yeah."
"Nice skills. Which mercenary band?"
"Porter."
His eyes widened slightly.
"Porter? With this level? Whoever your band was, they were idiots. You fight better than them."
"So what's your business?"
"Eh, scouting mostly. Curious how many folks left in town, and we're short on supplies. Two birds, one stone."
"Wrong place for that."
"Wrong place?"
"Yeah. Nothing useful in any building around here."
True enough.
I'd taken most food; the rest rotted. No daily necessities either.
"Nah, nah. Mercs' weapons and armor are here."
My head buzzed.
They'd been useless to me, but yeah. In this world, weapons and armor weren't easy to come by anymore.
"Here for those?"
"Yep. This street housed most mercs in town."
'What to do.'
They outnumbered me—five to one. With a bow? Odds not great.
'One-on-one, I could take them all.'
They weren't dumb enough to give me that. Especially their talker—clear merc background.
⚔ STATUS UPDATE ⚔💨 Agility: [23 → 24]
I dumped my spare point into Agility, prepping for trouble. Strength was overkill for humans.
Drumming my fingers on the sword hilt, lost in thought—
"How about a trade?"
"Trade?"
"Yeah. Even if the owners are gone, you cleared the zombies and this street. Right?"
I neither confirmed nor denied.
"Guessing that's why you're hesitating. We don't want pointless fights."
"What can you offer?"
"Anything we have. Food's fine. People too."
I pondered.
Most wanted: spellbook. A ranged skill would rock any scenario.
But unlikely from village hall—maybe the upper group.
'Food's no good either.'
I had plenty of bread and jerky. Who knows what they'd done to it?
Nothing tempting. Then I spotted it.
"Bow."
"Bow?"
"Bow and arrows. Decent weapon and shield too?"
He frowned.
"That's why we're down here."
"No dice then."
"Can we talk it over?"
I shrugged indifferently; he glanced at his group.
"Need to discuss."
"Whatever."
"Wait a sec."
Bows lowered, weapons too—but I kept sword and shield ready. They could flip anytime.
"Here's the deal. Can't spare bow or arrows—we're short. But sword, shield, and boots."
"Better than these?"
"Not some random forge trash. You'll like 'em."
"Deal."
I nodded; their faces softened. Guess they didn't like me much.
"How we doing this?"
"Strip gear from tavern zombies, haul to village hall. Bring ours on the way back. Sound good?"
"Fine. But if you pretend it never happened... you know."
"This fucker—"
One bristled, but the leader stopped him.
"Obviously. No bad blood intended. Relax."
"I'll trust you."
"Alright, let's move."
He led them into the tavern. Soon, bloodied gear piled outside.
They eyed me warily while loading—less disdain now, more caution.
They hauled it down to the village hall, returned with sword, shield, boots.
"Here. Good?"
The sword gleamed sharper than mine on sight.
"Hm."
Shield heavier, but tougher, deadlier.
'Steel boots go without saying.'
Long-term keepers.
"Where'd you get these?"
"Saved 'em. Need other gear more now. Use well."
"Yeah, will do."
"We're off then."
He cut the chat, grabbed gear, and vanished downhill with the group.
'What's their angle.'
Prime stuff. Why trade for junk when they'd want it themselves?
'Arming the village hall folks?'
Why though? Zombies still infested town, but not urgent.
'No clue.'
Felt off, but whatever. I'd get stronger; this gear would accelerate it.
Their growth helped too—they'd face external threats first, living down here.
'Just watch and see.'
And that moment came sooner than expected.