1.
"What the hell?"
A sharp scream pierced the air from outside, jolting me upright in bed. I peered out the window, but the darkness made it hard to see anything clearly.
Keyaaaaak―!
In the faint gloom, I spotted a woman sprinting down the street. Her legs wobbled precariously, on the verge of collapse at any moment, but she barely dodged the zombies nipping at her heels.
'How the hell has she survived this long?'
It was shocking enough that anyone was still alive in the village, but even more so that she'd scream her head off in the dead of night.
'No way I can save her.'
I was way stronger than before, sure, but when zombies swarmed from every direction like that, it didn't mean squat.
Kirrrrk―!
See? Even now, more were bursting out from between buildings and charging after her. Trying to rescue her would've been idiotic. Reckless.
I'd never claimed to be some noble saint. If humanity's ultimate goal boiled down to survival and reproduction, heading out there right now wasn't a smart play.
'Still, seeing a woman has me feeling a bit... hungry.'
I was just pulling away from the window to flop back onto the bed when―
Fwoosh―!
Flames erupted not far from the woman. Not magic—a torch.
The sudden blaze made her whip her head around, then bolt straight toward it.
'Whoever that is, they're an idiot.'
A man stood at the torch's glow.
Too distant to make out details, but he wore proper armor and carried a weapon. Several comrades flanked him too.
"Hurry, over here―!"
Their voices carried all the way to me. And that meant drawing even more zombies their way.
Keyaaaaaak―!
The moonlit street, quiet moments ago, erupted in chaos again. Far more zombies than before flooded the road.
The group in the distance waited for the woman. Watching them fight, they targeted hearts and heads—decently experienced in combat.
"This way―"
They suddenly veered uphill and vanished from sight. The torchlight flickered briefly before fading.
'Dead?'
No clue.
Not too far off, but I wasn't about to rush in. Even if they survived, not sure it'd benefit me to make contact.
Lonely? Yeah. But not enough to risk my neck. I'd gotten used to this isolation anyway.
'Never dreamed survivors were still holed up here.'
Judging by their gear, probably the local vigilantes. Or they stole it—who cares?
'I'll find out once I clear more zombies.'
Whether they lived or died. Threat or ally.
If useful, no need to bother them. If not...
'Gotta kill 'em.'
*
Splat―!
I kicked the zombie head off the floor and sank into a chair.
"Finally done."
Last zombies in the tavern—wiped out. Village wasn't huge, and not many mercenaries left, so doable.
'Time to expand. Which way?'
Two choices.
Uphill or downhill.
Inn and tavern sat smack in the middle, hence the dilemma.
Up: village chief's place, rich folks.
Down: farmers' homes, fields, shops.
Pros and cons either way.
'For leveling... downhill it is.'
Plus, that group from last night headed up. Only tangle with them by chance later—no need to force it now.
Gulp gulp―
⚡ Strength: [19 → 20]
I chugged the milk, dumped points in, and stood. Stepping outside, I scanned the downhill street.
'Kinda bleak.'
Zombies dotted the area sparsely. Glancing uphill, way more up there—probably from last night's racket.
'They won't come down for a while.'
Kraaaak―!
Leaving the inn-and-tavern district, heading downhill, a zombie lunged right away.
Swoosh―!
My sword arced cleanly, severing its neck. I shoved the next with my foot and thrust deep.
Shwick―
Air whistled as it froze. I yanked back, black blood and gore splattering the ground.
💨 Agility: [19 → 20]
Two more for level-up, so I popped the status window and allocated. Striding openly down the street, I methodically cut down every charger.
Splat―
'Zombies are a joke now.'
One or two at once? No sweat.
Kraaaak― Boom!
Of course, couldn't drop my guard for ambushers like this.
Bam!
I smashed the half-caved-in skull, then crushed its legs underfoot.
Crunch―
It twitched and stilled.
Mechanical routine. Too easy for boredom, but experience and gold made it fun again.
Splat!
Staying alert, pushing forward, houses appeared. Below them, rotting corpses everywhere.
This sight screamed it:
'Jackpot experience farm.'
Grinning, I approached the bodies.
Kruuuh―
A light kick, and a "dead" one grabbed my ankle.
"Knew it."
Crunch―
Smashed its head, black blood spraying.
Kraaaaak―
Bodies stirred one by one. Eyes flashed, then they charged en masse.
Horde Gatherer.
First appeared in Korea. Mutant, but no special powers—except endlessly assaulting anything splashed with its black blood until dead.
Kraaa―!
The shambling horde picked up speed. I turned tail.
'Need a good building...'
I poked them on purpose. They were prime experience fodder.
Creak―
Rushed a house, yanked the door—locked. Kicked it open.
Kwaaa―!
Two zombies inside. One-slashed them, spun back.
Kraaaa―!!!
Black masses bore down—over twenty easy.
Thud―!
Barricaded the door with a table, stabbed through. Black blood splattered my face—no time to wipe.
Splat―
One down, next, endless like ants.
Crash―!
Glass shards hit my leg. Rear window—more pouring in.
Boom―!!
Swung shield to stall front-runners—not kill, just block. Spun, stomped the window intruder's head.
Crunch―
Tomato-burst of black pulp. Killed the Horde Gatherer outside, pivoted to entrance.
Kruuuuh―!
Table shoved aside, zombies in the bedroom now.
'This place is toast.'
Smashed nearest head, dove out window. Landed quick, scanned—no rear threats.
Temporary. They were climbing through, others sniffing blood.
Spotted fields, bolted.
'Better fight in the open.'
Glanced back—Horde Gatherers swarming.
⚡ Strength: [21 → 22] 💨 Agility: [20 → 22]
Dumped points fast, gripped hilt tighter. Stronger, faster now.
Splat―!
Sliced lead Horde Gatherer, advanced instead. Blocked incoming arm with shield, bashed it down.
Crunch―
Stomped skull, swung again.
Advance, retreat, endless combat. Result?
"Hoo―"
Just me in the field. No more incoming— all cleared.
"Fucking horde."
Corpses everywhere—thirty-plus. More than expected, but stat bumps mid-fight clinched it.
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: 23💨 Agility: 23✨ Mana: 7
'Chest swelling with pride.'
Sitting in the field, status window open—pure satisfaction.
'No exp requirement hike yet, so level 50 next.'
Cap Strength and Agility at 25, then save points. Plenty for now; might need Mana or others later.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Lv.3 Basic Swordsmanship
Skills tab: swordsmanship hit level 3 somehow.
'No wonder it felt smoother.'
No useless skills, huh.
Current Gold: 1084G
Last, checked earnings, closed windows.
'Few more grabs, and I can buy new skills.'
Stood, headed back to streets. Horde Gatherers done—harvest time.