Apocalypse Tyrant

I roughly pushed aside the chairs blocking between the 2nd and 1st floors and stepped down to the 1st floor.

Vivid fragments of memory that I probably won’t forget until I die.

Those fragments naturally occupied my mind centered on the ground I was stepping on.

The sound of breathing as I ran down the hallway with all my might back then, and the crazy ajussi waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

And the elevator I gritted my teeth and pressed again upon returning to the College of Humanities.

“Kieeeeek—!”

I lightly dealt with zombies rushing at me while wandering the 1st floor like idiots and quietly scanned the corridor walls.

Someone’s bloodstains already starting to fade even though not much time had passed.

The bloodstains of the zombie I just killed overlapped on top of those bloodstains.

I stared at the central lobby through the corridor for a moment after the zombies that rushed at me collapsed.

──────.

The 1st floor of the College of Humanities sinking into silence again after a few zombies.

After recognizing the cleanup was roughly finished, I left the College of Humanities via the exact same route as that day.

The wide open glass doors with black bloodstains dried and stuck all over them and small stairs.

I leisurely descended the stairs terdel terdel— and searched for any remaining zombies in front and behind.

“……”

Unfortunately or fortunately.

Not a single zombie visible at the side entrance of the College of Humanities.

Jijik— jijik—

I nodded my head while playfully rubbing the dried bloodstains of the bed-wetting ajussi with my shoe.

The reason I came outside after giving the 2nd floor survivors time to choose wasn’t just one.

Now that I’ve secured the library and College of Education new building, there was something very natural to consider.

That was the direction for the future.

I quietly took in the sidewalk I ran at full speed after raising Agility by one.

Where to target for the next land grab after the College of Education.

Go up or go down.

And the weight for that direction was already quite heavily tilted to one side.

There was no need to resolve everything inside the university.

I recalled the restaurants and convenience stores overflowing to the point of messiness around University Street.

A bonanza among bonanzas with completely different expected values from farming inside the university.

This was preliminary investigation and reconnaissance to suck out those gems.

Thud—!

The surroundings distorted at once with a light kick pushing off the ground.

Swish—!

A cutting wind quite different from the refreshing wind felt that day fiercely slapped my face and grabbed me.

Traces of that day faintly blurring along the long pushing kicks thud— thud—.

I sprinted down the road between the College of Humanities and main gate at a speed unreachable by the running of ‘Agility 2′ or electric kickboard.

Passing the streetlight where the electric kickboard owner who threw me as bait to zombies and ran away smashed his head, and greeting the corner of the road.

After turning that corner, I stared at Banseok University’s main gate through the long stretched road.

Thud—!

And instinctively stopped the two feet sprinting down the road.

“……”

The road between me and the main gate still quite far apart.

Boom—! Boom—!

Despite that distance, the vibrations from stomping feet were transmitted to me right through the road.

Something wandering around the main gate with a very huge body crushed down its butt as if flattening a fallen bus used as a chair.

Squeak—!

The bus frame screaming wildly as if already abused several times.

“Kroaaaaaaah—!”

A voice roaring while looking at the sky strikes not just the ears but the brain itself.

“Kieeeeek—!”

And zombies’ howling responding to that monstrous roar.

A number of zombies never seen before were very densely positioned as if guarding the main gate.

The scene at the main gate eliciting pure admiration before fear due to being too surreal.

“……”

An alarm rang in my mind after quite a long time.

I couldn’t be confident of victory in an imaginary battle with the visible enemies.

A sense of crisis felt for the first time since becoming half free from ‘infection’, the zombies’ greatest weapon.

Setting aside that wave of zombies impossible to compare with zombie groups seen inside the university—

Boom—! Boom—!

The crazy sized zombie getting up again and wandering around the main gate.

That huge mutant was the problem.

An appearance that seemed to compete with physical force rather than infection just from rough estimation.

I couldn’t easily predict the destructive power it possessed.

Boom—! Boom—!

The mutant wandering only around the main gate like a fixed pattern and countless zombies stuck in place as if guarding that mutant.

A few predictions flashed through my mind at the very blatant appearance of guarding the university main gate.

‘…An indirect warning not to leave the university? Go out after gaining the strength to take down that level of mutant? No— there were no such kind cases.’

I quietly nodded my head and looked around.

‘Then what happens if I ignore that mutant and just go out somewhere other than through the main gate? Does that mutant bastard chase after me?’

One new fact settled as a new question forming many branches.

It was curiosity that could somehow be resolved if I pushed a bit, but I didn’t feel like pushing myself for that resolution right now.

That wasn’t a careful experiment checking variables, but just gambling with my life as the stake.

For now, there was no need to clash with that mutant guarding the main gate.

I had no desire to do the idiotic act of rushing at a still beehive.

Thud—!

I quickly shook my head and kicked off the ground towards the College of Humanities again.

It was a light preliminary survey before going on an expedition to farm University Street, but—

I obtained quite troublesome information.

The biggest problem was the lack of confidence.

I wasn’t certain I could definitely win in battle with the hornet bastards that would burst out after poking that beehive.

‘…I’ll have to think about University Street farming after accumulating more Royal Authority and stats.’

Anyway, time is on my side as long as that crazy huge mutant doesn’t bulk up separately.

My stats will increase exponentially every time I expand territory within the university.

Swish—!

The exterior of the College of Humanities already coming into view while organizing my thoughts.

“Kiee—”

I discovered a zombie wandering on the road and twisted its neck in one go.

Crunch—!

A zombie that died with its neck snapped while stupidly wandering the road.

I quickly retraced the path I came while holding the corpse dangling from my hand.

Thud—! Thud—!

The corpse’s feet catching thud— thud— with each step on the stairs going up to the 2nd floor.

I looked the corpse in my hand up and down then moved my hand.

Splash—!

The iron pipe smashing the already dead bastard’s head in one go.

My brows involuntarily furrowed at the corpse’s head crushed so miserably it showed all its insides.

Crunch—! Crunch—!

The iron pipe still spewing savage sounds while grotesquely breaking the bastard’s limbs.

I threw the quite grotesquely completed zombie corpse in front of the general education lecture hall door.

After correcting the posture of the zombie corpse sprawled in front of the door with a thud— by tapping thud— thud— with my foot, I placed my hand on the lecture hall doorknob.

Squeak—!

Hot air rushing at me hook— and a somehow unsettled atmosphere as soon as I opened the general education lecture hall door.

I thoroughly scanned the survivors all gathered in front of the lecture hall door already.

The survivors stopping what they were doing and becoming mutes as soon as I entered.

Thud—!

I jerked my chin at the strike team tightly attached to the door while hearing the lecture hall door close.

“Th-that’s because this woman kept trying to leave the lecture hall—”

The strike team pointing forward while stumbling over words at my question.

Following the hand the strike team member was pointing, there was a female college student facing the strike team much further in front than the clustered women.

A tightly tied ponytail and quite small and pretty features.

It was Kim Areum.

“Then you should have let her leave.”
“…Pardon?!”

The strike team member asking back in a high octave at my lightly answered words.

He hurriedly continued speaking while looking at me with eyes wide open.

“B-but y-you—”
“I what.”

A slightly bent waist while cutting off his words.

Thanks to that, I met eyes in a straight line with him and asked him again.

“I what, you bastard.”

The bastard hurriedly avoided my eyes with a pale white face at the coldly asked question.

“…I-I’m sorry.”
“What did you do wrong?”
“……”

The strike team member closing his mouth tightly like a mute with honey and stuttering at my question.

Thud—! Thud—!

I mechanically tapped his shoulder twice.

“Do well, use your brain.”
“…Yes, I’m sorry.”

Thud—!

I pushed the bastard’s shoulder with the hand that was tapping his shoulder and stared at Kim Areum.

“I said those who want to leave should leave.”

Kim Areum just standing there nailed to the spot with her head deeply— bowed.

“…Is it true you said you want to leave?”

My eyes naturally narrowed at Kim Areum’s behavior of extreme passivity.

“Sh-she kept crying and begging to let her leave until just before you came in, sir— It was quite a fuss!”
“Th-that’s right, sir!”

The strike team members’ protests full of indignation at my suspicious gaze.

Kim Areum’s body flinched at those protests then she stepped forward with trembling dal dal— legs.

Kim Areum standing in front of me like that while creaking.

“……”

I just turned my body without saying anything.

Kim Areum carefully grasped the doorknob revealed through the space I stepped aside.

Her hand grasping the doorknob while fumbling, with her head deeply— bowed as if somehow not wanting to meet my eyes, turned white.

Squeak—!

The door opening with a soft old sound.

Kim Areum desperately looking down like that is greeted by the zombie corpse.

“……”

Kim Areum frozen as if time stopped while opening the door.

Only her pupils, the only moving part, shook very violently while fully taking in the miserably shattered zombie corpse.

“What are you doing?”

Kim Areum finally meeting my eyes while her shoulders bounced very greatly at my question.

“Not leaving?”

Kim Areum’s lips trembled padel padel— without spitting out any answer to my question.

I deliberately ignored her like that and stared forward again.

“Kim Areum is because of leaving— and what’s that over there?”
“Eueu— it seemed like they were having a bit of discussion among themselves about whether to leave or not.”

A strike team member answering my question while awkwardly smiling and drawing out his words with a perplexed expression.

“So are they saying they’ll leave or stay?”
“Th-that I don’t really—”

The bastard added words while panicking at my increasingly crumpling face.

“I had no thought of leaving at all! R-really!”
“……”

I ignored the bastard’s answer and looked around the lecture hall once more.

The strike team and Bang Daehwa guarding the lecture hall door.

And female students with their heads deeply— bowed in a posture similar to Kim Areum in front of them.

…Huh.

“…What a mess.”

I scratched my forehead with the hand holding the iron pipe along with an empty laugh rising from my lower abdomen.

The strike team members trembling their bodies in panic as the iron pipe suddenly rose.

Yeah— You still haven’t come to your senses, huh?

“It seems you all are seriously misunderstanding something.”

There should be a way to go nicely if treated nicely.

“Do you think I’m taking you because you’re absolutely necessary and important?”

Everyone started trembling their bodies parureu— at the question with temperature lowered quite a lot.

“I tried to go nicely but you’re already doing such ridiculous things.”

Thud—! Thud—!

The iron pipe quickly tapping my thigh on its own after noticing the emotional fluctuation.

“So is the result of huddling together like that that you’ll leave or stay?”
“……”
“…I told you to decide after careful consideration, but you mute bitches have completely set up camp.”

Haah—

Another sigh echoed in the lecture hall filled with just silence.

Yeah— Explaining kindly with words doesn’t feel real, huh.

If you insist on tasting to see if it’s shit or soybean paste, I have no choice.

I stared straight at them while showing my deeply furrowed brows.

“You fucking bitches.”