Chapter 5

Became a Game Character in the Apocalypse, Chapter 5

The stone steps came into view.

I’ve made it.

But not knowing what lay above the stairs, I gripped the iron pipe with both hands and ascended with wide-open eyes.

As I climbed up the stairs, a thick, hazy mist enveloped everything, making it impossible to see any shapes.

I could tell that this was an open dormitory complex, but I had no idea which direction to go.

It felt like drifting in a vast, directionless sea without a compass.

Kreeeeeee!

Behind me, the sound of the iron gate being pounded and the groans of zombies echoed.

At the sound, which was almost a scream, I swallowed hard and tried to steady my breath.

‘Focus.’

Don’t look too far ahead; focus on getting out of here.

I continued forward, entrusting my life to the lines of the visible pavement.

Is the sun setting already?

The mist began to thicken.

With my vision blocked, my hearing, sense of smell, and touch became overly sharp.

My vision swayed as the alarm bells in my head rang and the ringing in my ears intensified.

Each time, I blinked and shook my head vigorously to regain my composure.

I needed to stay focused.

I tightened my grip on the iron pipe.

Plop—

I looked down at the squishy sensation I felt under my feet.

‘Mud?’

Narrowing my eyes, I examined the ground and saw the blurry outline of a pond ahead.

‘A pond?’

The dormitory complex consisted of seven buildings surrounding a large central pond.

I thought I was moving through a rarely used side path, but I was crossing the center of the dormitory.

They say ignorance is bliss.

But seeing the pond means that if I go 300 meters further, I can leave the dormitory complex.

Kreeeeeee! Cough!

But it seemed they wouldn’t let me go easily, as the groans of zombies began to come from all directions.

Were there zombies outside the buildings too?

Thud-thud-thud-thud— thud-thud-thud-thud—

The sound of multiple footsteps came from nearby.

Judging by the volume, it was clear I would be surrounded before I could go 300 meters.

With the sunset already, it’s impossible to reach the club room today.

I need to hide in a nearby building and wait until morning.

The closest building to the pond is...

Kreeeeeee!

At that moment, a piercing roar came from the left, and a blurry figure appeared in my sight.

The distance to the zombie was less than 10 meters.

Plop! Plop!

The zombies, unable to distinguish between the ground and the pond, started falling into the water one after another.

Without the pond, I would have been caught by the zombies without any resistance.

Before the zombies could get out, I hurried to the nearest building.

The sound of splashing was heard more than ten times.

No matter how many iron pipes I had, I couldn’t handle such a large number.

If I get caught, it’s over.

Running through the mist for a while, the dark exterior of a building began to appear in the distance.

Cough!

As I reached the building, a zombie’s groan came from the right.

Turning my head to the right, I saw the zombie’s right hand extending out of the mist.

I quickly twisted my upper body to avoid the zombie’s hand and used the momentum to swing the iron pipe.

Thud!

Due to the awkward position, I couldn’t hit the zombie’s face directly, but I struck its chest.

I clearly heard the sound of ribs breaking, but the zombie lunged at me as if it hadn’t been hit.

Its sharp teeth were inches from my nose.

Realizing I couldn’t avoid it, I fell backward and threw the monkey wrench in my left hand.

Cough!

The monkey wrench penetrated the zombie’s mouth.

But since it didn’t reach the spinal cord, the zombie didn’t die and started gnawing on the wrench.

The heavy weight was transmitted to my fingertips.

Shaking my left arm, I kicked the zombie’s lower abdomen.

The monkey wrench fell out of the zombie’s mouth, and a stream of red blood gushed out.

The sound of the zombie’s blood splattering on my face made my heart pound.

The blood... it’s hot.

Suddenly, fear overwhelmed my rationality, causing confusion.

They say that when people are overly panicked, they react in two ways:

Some freeze, while others react instinctively.

I was the latter.

Kicking off the ground, I stood up and struck the zombie’s face with the iron pipe in my right hand.

The tingling sensation of the impact and the grating sound of muscle joints awakened my instincts.

Survival instinct.

If I don’t kill, I will be killed.

Kreeeeeee!

The groans of zombies and the squelching sound of footsteps approached.

The zombies that had fallen into the pond were already climbing out and running toward me.

Without stopping to breathe, I ran into the building.

Unlike my dormitory, the main door here was open.

Was it because the zombies had come out of the dormitory?

It seems the zombies came out because the doors were left open.

As soon as I entered the dormitory, I ran up the stairs non-stop.

Amidst countless thoughts, only one idea remained in my mind:

I needed to get out of the mist.

Running up the stairs frantically, I saw the sign “4F.”

I was already out of the mist, and a long corridor stretched out before me.

Grrrrrr...

A zombie in the corridor turned to look at the sound of my footsteps.

As soon as I saw the zombie, my body reacted instinctively.

I ran at the zombie and struck its face.

‘Die, die, die.’

I repeated in my mind, eyes wide.

How did I get out of the mist, but if this zombie groans loudly, nearby zombies will be attracted.

Thud-thud-thud— thud!

Cough!

The groan that followed made my neck tingle.

With all my senses heightened, I could gauge the distance to the zombie just by the sound.

Without even looking, I twisted my upper body and swung the iron pipe, seeing the zombie that was charging at me hit the pipe and fall to the side.

Was it in the bathroom?

At the same time, I saw a naked zombie at the end of the corridor.

It seemed to have been bitten while showering, as its intestines were spilling out of its side.

The naked zombie, having spotted me, started to hobble toward me.

I stood up, raised the iron pipe, and struck the zombie’s head like a sharp guillotine.

The impact defied gravity, and the zombie’s skull caved in.

I didn’t stop there and continued to strike the fallen zombies.

Swinging the iron pipe like a mad killer.

Even though there were no more zombies in the corridor, my heightened senses wouldn’t calm down.

They might survive like cockroaches and grab my ankles.

Creak, thud, creak.

The doors of the dormitory rooms on the fourth floor began to rattle.

The zombies trapped inside must have sensed the commotion.

This was a dormitory building at the entrance of the complex.

If my memory serves, this is a two-person room dormitory.

There are only two zombies per room.

Heading to 401, the room that was making the most noise, I could see the faces of two zombies through the glass at the top of the door.

I needed to clear a room to have a place to hide.

Stepping back from the door, I struck the top glass with the iron pipe.

Clang!

As the glass broke, the zombies trapped inside started to stick their heads through the gap.

They kept sticking their heads out, even as their faces were torn by the glass shards.

They were like rabid wild animals.

I stabbed the monkeys’ eyes with the wrench, and they started to thrash and shake their heads.

Some glass shards got stuck in my left hand during the process, but I didn’t feel the pain.

Driven by the compulsion to survive, I didn’t feel the pain.

After piercing the eyes, I pushed the door open with all my strength and entered.

The zombies that didn’t die fell to the floor and writhed.

It felt strange, like watching a flipped cockroach.

Gripping the iron pipe, I struck the zombies’ faces without hesitation.

Their skulls caved in, but the zombies, whose optic nerves were still alive, continued to twitch their fingers.

Not yet.

I can’t rest yet.

I dragged the two corpses into the corridor.

Stacking the corpses at the entrance to the stairs to block the smell, I entered the room and took out the newspapers from my bag.

I covered the broken glass with the newspapers and sealed the gaps with duct tape.

Finally, I used a shoe rack to prevent the door from opening and sat down, panting heavily.

I didn’t realize how hard I had been fighting for my life, but my heart and lungs were already beyond their limits.

I could taste metal in my throat, and my breathing was irregular and wouldn’t return to normal.

Feeling dizzy and weak, my limbs trembled.

As my rationality returned to my body, which had been dominated by instinct, my bones and muscles started to scream in pain.

Grrrrrr... Kreeeeeee...

The groans of the zombies in the next room, with their raspy throats, reached my ears.

Lacking the strength to resist, I closed my eyes tightly and tried to ignore their groans.

Please, let the commotion disappear, let the zombies give up their hunt.

After about ten minutes, the groans of the zombies stopped.

* * *

I don’t know how much time passed.

I remember eating two chocolate bars from my pocket and falling asleep, but when I woke up, the sky outside was already filled with the morning glow.

Exhausted, I had slept for ten hours.

As I slowly sat up, a groan escaped my lips reflexively.

My whole body ached.

I had lost a lot of weight, and my strength wasn’t what it used to be.

If I had eaten properly...

The only food I had eaten recently was snacks and chocolate bars.

Slapping my cheeks with both hands to clear my mind, I rubbed my stiff shoulders and checked my player information.

- Character Name: Adam White

- Ability: Enhancement

- Stats: Strength 5, Vitality 5, Reflexes 5, Dynamic Vision 5, Mental Strength 10

- Earn points by eliminating zombies.

- Zombies eliminated: 10/20

- Remaining points: 0

I’ve already eliminated 10?

It’s good that I’ve eliminated the zombies, but I need to avoid sudden situations like yesterday.

A more detailed plan is necessary.

Looking around, I noticed a notebook and a pen on the desk.

First, I need to organize my thoughts.

Sitting at the desk, I slowly wrote down what I had experienced yesterday.

To quickly grasp any changes in the zombies’ evolution, I need to organize their current abilities.

The zombies’ hearing wasn’t as good as I thought.

The zombies on the third floor didn’t react to the commotion on the fourth floor.

Their sense of smell only worked in the mist, so I should be safe as long as I stay out of sight.

When I played Last Ark, I didn’t pay attention to such minor details.

I thought all zombie games were the same and just went on a rampage with a rifle.

One of the features of zombies I learned from the game is that they evolve with each episode.

Since I have plenty of time, I need to focus on survival and enhance myself.

The distance from the dormitory to the (New) Student Council building where the club room is located is about 1 km.

Before going outside, I want to eliminate 20 zombies to gain an enhancement point, but is there a good way to do it?

Then I noticed the part I had covered with newspapers.

Right, this is a dormitory with only two-person rooms, and using the glass at the top of the door to eliminate zombies, like I did yesterday, would be a stable method.

It might seem reckless, but if I hesitate now, I won’t have the chance to get stronger in the future.

Didn’t I realize, after dying 128 times while playing Last Ark, that the first episode, where Adam is the weakest, is actually the best opportunity to become the strongest?