FRAP 05

Chapter 05

The Power of Science

“Ugh, seriously—fuck…”

A curse slipped out of Daesik’s mouth on its own.

He’d just gotten back and eaten a bowl of sundae gukbap, and now it was an apocalypse? Even if half of Buddha himself showed up, this was a situation where you couldn’t not swear.

After slamming the car door shut, he sprinted onto the sidewalk and reinforced the makeshift plastic cord he’d crafted by hand.

[ Ability activated. ]
[ The durability of the plastic cord increases. ]
[ Satiety decreases. ]
[ Current satiety: 100 → 90 ]

He raised his police baton and rapped it against the hood of a car parked in the road.

People were too busy fleeing from zombies and infected to notice anything else.

In a situation like this, the only lunatic deliberately drawing the monsters’ attention was Daesik.

— Bang, bang-bang!

He then nudged the materials he’d checked earlier—what would become his “ammo”—into position with his foot.

The next step was turning that material into projectiles.

[ Ability activated. ]
[ The baton’s form is altered. ]
[ The baton becomes sturdier. ]
[ Satiety decreases. 90 → 70 ]

With the prep work done, he squatted down and began smashing sidewalk tiles with the baton, now reshaped like a hammer.

Maybe because it was an old, underdeveloped neighborhood—or because of some past accident—several broken paving stones were already scattered near the sidewalk.

And stone-throwing was one of the attacks he was most confident in.

In Archaea, you had to turn anything lying around into a weapon.

Back then, I was basically a walking catapult.

Reminiscing briefly about his glory days(?), Daesik placed a stone broken down to a suitable size onto the sling made from reinforced plastic cord and began spinning it.

Overcoming physical shortcomings with technique and tools—that was humanity’s way of survival, wasn’t it?

Die.

The plastic sling spat out its projectile—

— Screee!

The shard of stone tore through the air with a vicious whistle.

— Thud!

The zombie struck dead-on collapsed to the ground, its body twitching violently like an insect sprayed with pesticide.

“Hell yes!”

Confidence surging, Daesik drew even more aggro from the zombies as he prepared his next shot.

“Come on! Let’s go!”

“Kraaaargh!”

At that moment, an infected blocking the police car’s path charged toward him at frightening speed.

Thanks to its enhanced physical abilities, the distance between them closed in an instant.

Did you work out when you were alive or something? Why’re you so fast?

Daesik quickly released his third shot.

But what followed wasn’t what he’d expected.

— Smack!

The infected swatted the stone aside with its arm.

“Huh?”

Daesik’s eyes widened slightly.

“KRAAAARGH!”

Having deflected the attack, the infected shrieked in rage and accelerated even more.

But Daesik didn’t retreat. He activated his ability once again.

If he’d thought he’d lose to a single infected, he wouldn’t have even gotten out of the car in the first place.

[ Ability activated. ]
[ Sidewalk tile is reinforced. ]
[ Satiety decreases. 60 → 55 ]

Three… two…

Spinning the reinforced projectile, Daesik waited for the infected to come just a bit closer.

And the instant it entered the right range—

One! Die!

He released the sling with perfect timing.

— Thud!

“G—grrk…”

The reinforced projectile shattered through the infected’s defense and crushed its head in one blow.

“Whew…”

The result was a success.

Still, spending five satiety just to make one reinforced projectile was no small burden.

Better not use this too often.

While he dealt with the infected, the slower zombies had crept quite close.

About ten of them.

A bit too many to handle by standing in place and relying solely on stone throws.

But a faint smile crept onto Daesik’s lips.

The fact that they’d gathered like this meant the plan had worked.

— Vroooom!

As the path opened, Juhun immediately gunned the police car forward.

“Huh?”

The smile vanished, deep creases forming between Daesik’s brows.

Hey, mister, why’re you going that way? That’s not it. Why are you coming over here?!

The car’s direction was… wrong.

“Hey!”

The shout burst from Daesik’s mouth just as—

— BAM!

“Thank you! I’ll definitely persuade my superiors!”

Juhun shouted through the open window after ramming two zombies from the side and sending them flying.

“…Ha. Kid’s got guts.”

Daesik muttered with a snort.

“Shut up! Get going!”

As he waved his hand and ran backward, the police car rapidly reversed, turned, and sped off toward the police station.

I like you. Survive—let’s meet again.

Watching the taillights fade, Daesik immediately fired another reinforced projectile, smashing an infected’s skull.

— Thud!

Alright, looks like all the infected are dealt with.

That left only the slower zombies.

Whew. Guess I should start pulling back too.

Mixing in the occasional stone throw, Daesik retreated toward his predetermined position.

“Haah, haah…”

— Thud, thud!

Despite the chilly weather, playing tag with zombies had left his whole body burning hot, sweat pouring down like rain.

His arms ached, and his grip felt numb.

Still, he’d successfully reached the first destination.

The sweet spot he’d marked was an old commercial building with a hardware store on the first floor.

You know the type—every old neighborhood has one.

A dusty hardware store that made you wonder if it was even still open, lights barely ever on.

“Whew…”

As expected, the staircase was so narrow only one person could pass at a time.

Thanks to that, dealing with zombies became much easier.

— Thud!

First, crack the skull of the one that reaches the top and roll it back down.

“Guhk!”

A few others get caught up and tumble down with it.

— Crash!

Then one particularly brave zombie that didn’t fall will start climbing up front.

— Thud, thud-thud!

Crack its skull too.

“Nggh…”

Roll it down just right.

“Guhk!”

Repeat this a few times, and cleanup’s done.

Haah, haah… Easy, right?

Of course, this wasn’t something newbies should try.

Mess it up and get grabbed even once, and you’d be crossing the River Styx for real.

Especially if there’s an infected mixed in—try this stunt and you’ll get overpowered and die on the spot.

This method only works after you’ve dealt with the infected.

And another thing: with a half-baked weapon, you couldn’t smash heads this cleanly.

This was only possible because of the magic hammer he’d created at the cost of precious satiety.

“Man, I’m exhausted.”

After handing out one-way tickets to the afterlife, he started climbing the stairs again.

Inside the building, there wasn’t a soul in sight—not even a rat.

Well, he’d chosen this place because there probably weren’t any people.

First floor: an old hardware store.
Second floor: an old tax office.
Third floor: a loan shark’s sign.
Fourth floor: an empty floor without even a sign.

No restaurants. No convenience stores. No residences.

In other words, at this late hour, the chance of anyone being inside was extremely low.

Let’s catch my breath for a bit.

Panting, he sat down in a corner of the stairwell.

No people inside meant no zombies or infected either.

This made it the perfect place to regroup.

Office worker Kim Daesik, with his lousy stamina, needed a proper break.

— Grrrk…

Maybe because the tension finally eased, his stomach growled again.

Haah… I should rest a bit, then look for food.

Fortunately, it was still the early stages of the apocalypse.

And even more fortunately, he was in modern society, overflowing with food.

Everyone was too busy running from zombies to loot supplies properly.

Finding food wouldn’t be that hard.

And best of all—

[ Trait “Blacksmith” has leveled up. (Lv1 → Lv2) ]
[ You may choose one of the target’s traits to enhance. ]
[ The range of form transformation expands. ]
[ Enhancement effects increase. ]
[ Satiety consumption decreases. ]

His abilities had grown stronger.

There were still many hurdles ahead, but getting stronger while everyone else was busy running for their lives—that was what mattered.

Alright. Time to move.

Once his breathing steadied, he got up and headed for the top floor.

The next plan was to reach the rooftop and survey the surroundings.

The biggest problem right now was that he barely remembered the local geography.

Two hundred years was more than enough time to forget your hometown.

First, get to the rooftop, check the terrain, and find a place suitable for a safe house.

Obviously, you couldn’t just pick anywhere.

Somewhere with few or no people, low population density nearby, but not too far from places where food and daily necessities could be obtained.

That kind of place.

“Haah, haah…”

He finally reached the rooftop door and grabbed the handle.

— Click, click.

……

Wait. Is this locked?

Aren’t rooftop doors supposed to be unlocked?!

Damn it!

Cursing the building owner’s utter disregard for fire safety laws, he let out a deep sigh and activated his ability while gripping the handle.

[ The door handle is altered. ]
[ Satiety decreases. ]

What choice do I have? The thirsty dig the well themselves.

He planted his foot against the door and yanked the altered handle hard.

With a pop, it came right off in his hand.

Brings back memories.

He’d done this plenty of times in Ikeya too.

Granted, doors there were far more primitive than Earth’s.

“Whew…”

The next step was simple.

Slightly alter the shape of the locking mechanism and pull it out entirely.

[ Satiety decreases. ]
[ Current satiety: 45 ]

He’d managed to open the door, but the cost was steep.

Still, surveying the terrain was that important.

In a disaster, wandering around without proper information was basically suicide.

Ugh, I’m dead… Let’s hurry up and find a fried chicken place or something.

First, get up there and recover some stamina.

While he was at it, check the surroundings for useful locations and supplies.

Weapons I can get from the hardware store…

The police baton wasn’t bad, but its length was awkward.

It’d be better to get a different weapon.

— Whoosh!

The moment he stepped onto the rooftop, dreaming of a hopeful tomorrow—

A chilling sound slicing through the wind brushed past his ear.