EP.3. Awakening
"Damn... I almost died again after five months..."
I ran like hell.
I really ran like a dog, sprinting all the way to the base camp.
"Keeeeeeek!"
"Kiek! Kuk, Kreek! Kieeeeeek!"
"Grrrrr... Grrrrr..."
After that, I started checking the situation in front of the camp from the monitoring room I'd set up at the base camp. There were seven zombies located about 50 meters ahead.
"Are these people who got caught while moving? There's no reason for there to be this many."
The area behind the hills of Taewang Metropolitan City, where the base camp is located, isn't a place where many people go.
Yet already, several zombies were wandering around.
It seemed the zombie outbreak started much earlier than when I first noticed it.
I suspect there was a lot of movement by people.
After checking the front of the camp, I used other external cameras to check the sides and back as well.
About ten zombies had gathered around the base camp.
"Damn... The sound is clear, the video quality is top-notch, spending all that money was worth it!"
I, who died while jerking off, reincarnated in a world on the brink of apocalypse.
My personal details are the same as before: Kim Taesik, 24 years old.
The place I reincarnated is South Korea on PH-Earth.
Not only is the name Korea the same, but the language is also Korean.
The difference is that this civilization has a bit of a cyberpunk vibe.
Like Gotham City from Batman?
It feels rather bleak.
It was five months after I reincarnated.
Five months from the day I was reborn, a zombie apocalypse broke out worldwide.
So I immediately used the lottery numbers and coin information the goddess gave me to prepare funds for the apocalypse.
The funds I secured were about several billion won.
With that huge sum, I built a massive bunker behind the hills on the outskirts of Taewang Metropolitan City.
My base camp it's a bunker worth billions.
"Now that things have calmed down, the smell of blood is really hitting me. Tsk..."
After checking the surroundings from the bunker's monitoring room,
I used the shower attached to the master bedroom to wash up and change clothes.
[Emergency Disaster Alert]
[Large and small disturbances are occurring nationwide, accompanied by violence and bleeding. Please absolutely refrain from going out or engaging in outdoor activities.]
[Emergency Disaster Alert]
[Large and small disturbances are occurring nationwide due to "the infected," accompanied by violence and bleeding. Please absolutely refrain from going out or engaging in outdoor activities.
If you witness infected individuals, please avoid contact.]
[Emergency Disaster Alert]
[Large and small disturbances caused by zombies are occurring nationwide. Please absolutely refrain from going out or engaging in outdoor activities.
If you are outside, please evacuate to your home or a safe area.
If you witness infected individuals, please avoid contact.]
Sitting on the central living room sofa in the bunker, I checked the outside situation on my smartphone.
The disaster escalation is happening very quickly.
It seems the zombie virus is spreading at a tremendous rate.
In fact, simultaneous zombie incidents were breaking out nationwide.
"If it's spreading simultaneously like this, it must be a mutated virus, right?"
After hearing from the goddess that the zombie apocalypse would start within five months, I really prepared hard.
I even speculated about the cause of the zombie virus.
It would be good if I could identify it in advance and stop the zombie virus.
Of course, that's not realistic.
Personally, I thought the most likely cause was a mutation of an existing virus.
In this world, just like the Earth I used to live on, the coronavirus would spread periodically.
Recently, the cycles have gotten shorter.
Even the media and YouTube here would sometimes mention the serious possibility of a mutated virus.
"Well, I'll have to wait and see for specifics. For now, the right thing to do is lay low and watch the storm pass."
The situation outside is truly Armageddon-level, just like the constantly escalating emergency alerts.
Since I've prepared for this disaster with a solid bunker base camp, the wise thing to do for now is to hole up here and ride out the storm.
Just as I was checking the outside situation on my smartphone and stepped into the living room of the bunker
"Kim Taesik, the one who has defeated zombies, you have defied the odds and become an Awakened."
A notification window, like something out of a computer game, popped up in front of my eyes.
"A notification window...?"
I immediately recognized the notification window.
"...What the hell is this...?"
At the same time, a certain phrase forcibly popped into my mind.
'Status window!!????'
A status window.
[Name] Kim Taesik
[Gender] Male [Age] 24
[Class] Warrior
[Level] F
[Rank] Normal [Detailed Ability Description]
[Trait] Normal Growth Possible [Detailed Description]
[Power] E [Agility] F
[Endurance] E [Stamina] F
[Mana] G260
◈Traits
[Evasion Skill Advanced][General Combat Skill Advanced][Combat Mentality Intermediate]
[Lifting Skill Advanced][Fast Recovery]
◈Special Skill
[Fist Enhancement] Mana 20 points [C-rank Destructive Power]
When I thought of the status window, a dazzlingly visual status screen appeared before my eyes.
"Fuck, God-tier status window! Fuck, God-tier status window!"
I cheered. I couldn't help but cheer.
I forgot all about almost dying because the zombie incident broke out earlier than expected,
and I, Kim Taesik, cheered at the appearance of the God-tier status window.
I shouted really loudly.
If it hadn't been for the bunker, the zombies 50 meters away would have come running at the sound.
"A God-tier status window, fuck, a God-tier status window!!!!"
Me, who died pathetically while jerking off,
Me, who was forced to kneel before a goddess and branded a psychopath,
Me, who almost had to fight the Demon King after being transported to another world,
Me, who nearly got reverse-raped after reincarnating in a gender-swapped world,
Me, who almost lost my precious happy times by losing my manhood,
Despite overcoming all those hardships, I still chose the apocalypse world.
I felt instinctively that this choice was right.
That's what a God-tier status window is.
Human Kim Taesik,
I'm a person with a high happiness index.
The secret to that happiness is, above all, accepting things quickly and moving on.
Sure, dying while jerking off is embarrassing, but what can I do... it already happened...
I reincarnated in a zombie apocalypse world, but what can I do... it's what I chose...
But a status window is a weapon to actively overcome this crisis. That's for sure.
Thanks to the goddess, I started with a fantastic bunker, bought with a fortune.
But the zombie apocalypse is an open-ended disaster.
There's no way to estimate when it will be resolved.
That's why I can't just keep holding out passively.
I really needed an active weapon.
And it seems I've got one in my hands.
"Of course, in another world or a portal, a status window is standard!"
Ah... This is what makes being a reincarnator fun.
"For now, my class is Warrior..."
I calmed down from the excitement of the God-tier status window's appearance.
Then I started to seriously examine the status window.
"The notification earlier said I became an Awakened by beating the odds..."
From the limited information, I guess I'm not the only Awakened.
"Usually, in apocalypse superpower battles, Warrior is a common class..."
The class name Warrior, the stats,
and the traits given all point to that.
A regular Warrior seems to be a class specializing in close combat.
Back on the previous Earth, I enjoyed a wide variety of hobbies.
The spectrum was broad.
I liked exercising, and I also enjoyed games, novels, webtoons, movies, and YouTube.
I enjoyed all sorts of genres: apocalypse, drama, romance, horror, gender-swap, TS, and so on.
Thanks to that, I wasn't lost when choosing my reincarnation location.
With such a solid background, analyzing my awakening ability makes me tilt my head.
In superpower battles, the Warrior class honestly doesn't have much merit.
Of course, I'll set aside cases with outright overpowered abilities.
In these situations, jobs that use tricks or stealth are usually advantageous especially in an apocalypse.
But this is just speculation.
I don't know how far the range of awakening abilities goes.
"Usually, they're used as cannon fodder. It's better than nothing, but it's just the reality."
"At least the ability can keep growing. Since it specifically says 'normal growth,' it doesn't look like I'll be growing at a ridiculous overpowered pace."
Still, the regular Warrior class is a growth type.
It looks like I can at least create some variables.
"Let's take a closer look, see what those numbers mean and how much I can grow."
The limits are clear.
But it's the ability I've been given.
So I should approach it with some affection.
"Do I just press the [Detailed Ability Description] button?"
I decided to press the [Detailed Ability Description] button to properly understand the regular Warrior's abilities.
But at that moment
"An external special privilege message has arrived."
An external message was delivered to my status window.
"This is the goddess. Mr. Kim Taesik, I have personally intervened in your status window and adjusted your rank to a specially privileged class. This reflects your special circumstances and the good deeds you have accumulated. It also reflects my apology for not predicting the date accurately."
It was a message from the goddess.
"The goddess sent a message to my status window? Is it the goddess I know?"
Judging by the content written in the notification, it seems to be the goddess I know.
"And... specially privileged class?"
I focused on the phrase "specially privileged class" in the goddess's message.
Right after the goddess's message arrived
[Name] Kim Taesik
[Gender] Male [Age] 24
[Class] Nano Warrior
[Level] F [Level Detailed Description] [Apply to All Levels]
[Rank] Specially Privileged [Detailed Ability Description]
[Trait] Special Growth Possible
◈Stats
[Power] F [0/5] [Agility] F [0/5]
[Endurance] F [0/5] [Stamina] F [0/5]
[Mana] F [0/5]300
◈Traits
[Evasion Skill Mastery][General Combat Skill Mastery][General Weapon Skill Mastery]
[Combat Mentality Mastery][Lifting Skill Mastery][Iron King][Fast Recovery]
◈Special Skill
[Inventory] [Inventory]
◈Equipment
[Special Weapon] [Nano Awakened Metal Pipe] [View Special Weapon]
[Points] 0 [Power][Agility][Stamina][Endurance][Mana]
[Daily Zombie Max Allocation] [F Level] 0/20 [per day, 12:00 am]
[Daily Training Points] [Low] 0/5 [Total 150 points] [per day, 12:00 am]
A new status window appeared for me.