Every step felt like dozens of swords piercing his body. The smell of blood and burning flesh stung his nostrils, making his head feel dizzy.
He leaned against the half-collapsed wall of a minimarket, gasping for breath, trying to suppress the nausea. The world around him looked like hell—ruins, lifeless bodies, and smoke rising from small fires everywhere.
He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the world before the tentacles appeared, before this world was destroyed.
Kaelan Riverwind was a junior accountant at a renowned public accounting firm in the city. He spent his days in an office cubicle, typing reports, avoiding all forms of exercise and physical activity, and returning to his small apartment just to sleep.
His life was monotonous, safe, and never close to danger. Until this morning.
Kael remembered it clearly, though recalling it made his head throb even more. He was sitting at a table in a cafe located in the courtyard of a shopping mall, staring at his phone, annoyed because his boss had sent work messages on his day off.
He didn't notice the screaming crowd when the sky split open, and gigantic tentacles stretched out from the rift. He didn't realize people were starting to panic.
Until a massive earthquake struck—the floor swayed, glass shattered, and then a blinding light made him unable to see anything. He remembered the sound of screams, the smell of smoke, and then everything went dark.
At that moment, when he regained consciousness, he was already lying on the street, his body covered in wounds, and the clear blue sky made everything that had happened seem like just a dream.
Bitterly, he now dragged himself into the small minimarket, which somehow remained intact amidst the collapsed tall buildings around it. Its glass door was cracked but still whole, and the lock still worked.
He pushed the door open, then entered, and locked the door behind him. Inside, shelves were overturned, canned food and bottles of drinks scattered on the floor.
The scent of antiseptic from a fallen and broken bottle wafted through the air, mixed with the smell of dust from the rubble. Kael dropped himself onto the floor at the back of the cashier's counter, trying to regain his breath.
After a few minutes, he tore a sleeve from his shirt, examining the deep gash on his arm. Blood flowed slowly from the edges of his wound, sticky and mixed with dust.
On a shelf behind the cashier's counter, he found a first aid kit—antiseptic, bandages, and medical tape. With trembling hands, he poured the antiseptic into the wound.
He bit down on the fabric of his shirt, holding back a groan as the liquid stung his wound. He forced himself to focus.
After all parts of the wound were antisepticized, he took scissors from the cashier's drawer and cut clean cloth and bandages from the first aid kit to dress his wound. Every movement felt heavy due to the pain throughout his body, but he had no time to complain.
And after all his wounds were cleaned with antiseptic, Kael leaned against the cabinet at the back of the cashier's counter. He then closed his eyes, trying to delve into his Soul Sea.
As a regressor, he knew and understood how to check his progress in rank in this post-apocalyptic world. But what he saw in his Soul Sea now was only emptiness, no ocean, and no light within it.
"Damn it, why did I have to return to the very beginning?" he grumbled, his hands clenched. He wanted to be angry, wanted to destroy something, but he knew it wouldn't help him.
He had to think, and he had to plan what to do next. Monsters would come, the first horde that would sweep through the city this afternoon, precisely at three o'clock.
The monsters that would attack, he remembered them all, their descriptions, their weaknesses, and their patterns of habits and attacks.
He glanced at the cracked wall clock in the minimarket. One o'clock in the afternoon. Two more hours, and he had to be ready.
Kael stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain in his legs. He began to explore the minimarket, collecting anything useful to him.
On the floor, he found several bottles of water, some chocolate bars, and other foods. He put everything into a backpack he found under the cashier's counter.
Then he took all the medicines because he didn't know when he would find supplies again, especially pain relievers, antibiotics. Then he returned to the cashier's counter, and his eyes fell on a small locked cabinet with the key still hanging.
He opened it, and his eyes widened. Inside were a shotgun and a small pistol, along with several boxes of ammunition. This minimarket was apparently equipped with firearms for emergencies.
He checked the weapons, his hands moving by instinct. As Kael, he had never touched a weapon, but as Argos, he skillfully checked the magazines to ensure they were fully loaded, and could be used.
Then he slung the shotgun over his shoulder and tucked the pistol into his waistband. The weight of the shotgun on his shoulder gave him a slight sense of relief. His Soul Rank was too low to fight those monsters head-on later, so he had to be smart to avoid them and survive if necessary.
Kael sat back behind the cashier's counter and opened a can of beer he had picked up earlier. He stared at the yellow liquid, remembering how he hadn't drunk beer for years as Argos.
He took a sip, grimacing at the bitter taste, but the beer helped to calm his nerves. He looked at the ruins outside the glass door.
He closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of rest. Two more hours, the monster horde would arrive.
And at the very least, he had to be ready.