Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Chapter 72

Bae Geom-in, or more well known as Survivor 1, looked around.

‘The preparation is perfect.’

For the Orc First Kill event, he had mobilized about 20 people. They were all scattered around the area of the shelter, monitoring the appearance of the kobolds. Once they found some kobolds who are unusually roaming around during the day, even though they’re supposed to be nocturnal creatures, Geom-in, together with the ‘Event Team’ would dispatch. This ‘Event Team’ consisted of the best members of the government shelter. They were all level 15 or higher. The team’s purpose was, as its name implies, the first rank in the event, that’s all.

Geom-in slowly scanned the faces of his comrades and said, “Even though I will be the one who gets first place in this event, I will definitely give it to one of you in the next event.”

“You’ve told us so a few times already.”

“We’re doing this because we believe in Geom-in-ssi. We are not worried.”

Geom-in smiled at their response. They were reliable. These people were survivors Geom-in had recently recruited. Even though he didn’t tell them that he’s a stagnant water, whenever he’s with them, they always treat him as a capable person.

By the way, his plan for this event was fighting 1:1 with the orc while the others keep the orc’s subordinates busy.

‘It’s easy to kill the orc when his subordinates were not present.’

First of all, orcs were not an extremely difficult monster to beat. Even though it had great stamina and attack power, their movement was slow. Though, because the orc in this event was an event monster, it would be moderately strengthened. However, it’s not a problem since with just a single flame can, he could still kill it.

(E/n: for those who are still confused (or maybe got sidetracked by my lack of skill in editing), in this event, nests will be spawning, of which had a single orc inside that rules over some other monsters like kobolds and goblins as subordinates. The way to find a nest was to find a kobold, a monster that usually only comes out at night, going around at day. Those kobolds are scouts sent by their leader, the orc, to scout around the area and find prey. Sorry for the long note.)

‘If I don’t get 1st place this time, I won’t be able to talk.’

His goal to put his ID, Survivor 1, in the ranking column was because he wanted to get the other survivors to pay attention to him.

‘I am not the president’s subordinate.’

Unfortunately for him, one of the biggest influencers in government shelters was the former president Jang Won-taek, a man that has a fame far exceeding himself, at least for now. Existing members and survivors who came to the shelters greeted Jang Won-taek with joy. He admitted that he’s admirable since he did not give up his post as a president until the very end.

However,

‘Then what about me? What about the things I did?’

Was the walkthrough he wrote worth nothing?

Why do the survivors only talk about other stagnant waters and not him?

‘If you don’t respect me, I will force you to do so.’

To do that, the achievement of the Orc First Kill event was necessary. The other stagnant waters were also definitely aiming for that record, but this time, the case would be different. After all, it was an event where everything was not decided by individual combat power.

‘Rapwi and Duck wouldn’t be able to easily penetrate through so many monsters.’ In other words, quantity was more important than quality in this event. On top of it, survivors had to clear the event as quickly as possible so that zombie raids wouldn’t happen.

For this event, Geom-in didn’t even care about Gimbap. He wasn’t sure how he managed to reach rank 1 in the speedrun event, but this time, the story will be different.

“Geom-in-ssi, we found it.” Someone spokes. Then, the survivors met Geom-in’s eyes.

He nodded.

“Let’s go set a record.”

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When five survivors gathered, the kobolds went into a state of excitement. In that state, those monsters would attack indiscriminately, so they wouldn’t be able to kite them. (E/n: Kite is a gaming term for a simple action of players who kills/hunts monsters by attacking them to keep their aggro on them, then runs back just a little bit before going out of the aggro range, repeating the process until the monster runs out of stamina and dies.)

Therefore, the best way to proceed was to fight them head on.

“Let’s go! Let’s win! Fighting!” The guys of JongSaMu gathered and shouted. After that, they ran towards the group of kobolds.

When they were already far enough from my portal, I went out. Currently, there were so many monsters in this place to the point that my Perception stat didn’t work well. My senses that got buffed by the Perception stat were blurred to the point where I was only able to detect the location of creatures without knowing what kind of creatures they are.

“Where’s the orc? Is it the first floor, the second floor, or the third floor?”

This building was quite large and spacious, so with the Perception stat malfunctioning, it seems like I would have to look on every corner of the building to find the orc. However, that wasn’t the case right now, since I have Dingo with me.

I used the hook to go straight up to the second floor.

“Dingo, find the orc’s smell.” I said as I took Dingo out from the portal. The guy sniffed around for a few moments before starting to rub. At that moment, I activated my Fighting Instinct skill. It would be best if the orc dies before the duration of this skill, which lasts for 3 minutes.

My vision turned red and I ran ahead of Dingo, who looked up at me in surprise.

“Go on, don’t worry!” In the lower floor, the survivors of JongSaMu were engaged in a fierce battle with the orc’s subordinates. Dingo started running up to the third floor. It seems like the boss monster was located at the very top.

When we were about to climb the stairs, a few goblins ran down. Without fighting them, we jumped through them and kept running. Normally, I would have kicked that bald head and killed them on sight, but I don’t have the time to do that right now.

I moved quickly behind Dingo. But suddenly, goblins rushed out to the open office. Each of them had red eyes and were dripping with saliva. It was evidence that they were currently not in their normal state. Those guys quickly formed a line and pulled out a pole from their back.

Unfortunately for them, me and Dingo had already come too close to them.

“Heup!” In a jumping posture, both me and Dingo attacked one goblin each. I kicked one guy who was in the process of taking his pole out and kicked it downstairs.

The rest of the goblins shot out some paralyzing darts. However, it didn’t hit us since we already took cover behind the wall of the office. It would take some time for them to reload. Rather than waiting for them and beating them down, it was wiser to just run away and find the orc.

When I patted his back, Dingo lowered his stance once again and ran through the hallway. Then, after some time, Dingo stopped in an office with a broken sign in front. I opened the portal, sent him inside, and prepared everything I had to use.

When I peeked inside, I could see an orc mottled with red lines all over its body. It was a higher variant of orcs, which was normally referred to as an orc shaman. Its physical abilities were the same as normal orcs, but it had a special ability that other orcs didn’t have. Around it, three hobgoblins were standing menacingly.

“I’m going to kill them all.” I turned around and opened the portal. The door was now blocked by my portal. Therefore, no other monsters on the 3rd floor could enter through it.

When the orc shaman growled, two hobgoblins approached me with a club in their hand. Now is the time to use the gun.

I waited for them to come closer and held their club high before jumping into the portal.

Kiek?

Tatatata-!!

Four bullets crossed the portal and buried itself on the hobgoblins’ head. The guys clasped their foreheads in agony. Without giving them any time to recuperate, I immediately ran out of the portal and swung my long knife towards their throats. With the two hobgoblins falling to the ground, only one hobgoblin and an orc shaman remain.

I pulled out a flame can from the slot. But, the moment I was about to light the wick, the orc shaman waved its staff. Then, the orc’s giant body popped and disappeared.

Was it a blink?

It seems like it was its special ability.

But I’m not that easy either. If he wanted to kill me, he would need more than just that ability alone. When I activated the Life Tracking and the Stigma of Death skill, the orc shaman’s position was instantly outlined in red in my vision. It’s actually running to another room.

“Dammit, just die!” I closed the portal after killing the one remaining hobgoblin who was rushing at me. The monsters that had been clamoring for being blocked by the portal instantly rushed at me.

In the midst of melee, a paralysing dart shot by a goblin somehow hit my knee. Because of it, I could feel my strength slipping away. But I clenched my teeth and swung my long knife to break through the encirclement.

The Paralysis Resistance skill finally shows its use here!

“Huh, huh!” My breath was ragged as I kept attacking the endless waves of monsters which came at me. The Survival Instinct skill had been activated since a while ago. Now, whether I live or die, I must finish this event before the skill expires.

When the last monster was dealt with, blood dripped from the long knife. At the same time, strength finally returned to my numb legs. However, I couldn’t rest here since I needed to chase after that orc shaman. If I give it enough time, it will use its ability again to run away even further.

“Open portal.” When Dingo came out, he licked me and my hand. Let’s try a little bit harder.

“Next time, I’ll catch a warthog and feed it to you.” He didn’t listen to all my rants and ran straight to the orc shaman. We were running towards the second floor.

Wasn’t the second floor a car showroom?

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a wasteland since all the furniture and cars were all destroyed.

“I hope it won’t be on the first floor.” Though, since orc shamans should still follow the unwritten rule for long-range support or DPS, which is to avoid any kinds of direct confrontation, I was sure its current location was the second floor, as it wouldn’t want to be at the first floor, where the JongSaMu guys were, still fighting the endless waves of monsters. Without hesitation, I grabbed the rope and went down to the second floor at once. I never learned anything like rappelling, but my amazing stats had made it possible for me to do it perfectly.

Now there’s just a little time left before my Survival Instinct skill wears off. I jumped through the window sill with full force. As I expected, the orc shaman sat down by the window on the second floor and then jumped up as soon as it saw me.

“Slot three.” I called the slot and took out the emeras spear before throwing it with every little bit of strength I could muster towards it. The extremely sharp emeras blade easily pierced through the skin and flesh of the orc shaman.

Keakkkk-!!

An intense scream resounded through the spacious car showroom.

While I was taking out a flame can from the slot, the orc shaman pulled out the spear from its body and entered the combat stance. But, unfortunately for it, I have no intention of fighting it directly.

“Here, a gift.” I threw the flame can to it. At the sight, it roared towards me, showing its teeth. However, soon after, its roar ended as it was surprised by the sudden explosion and flames.

Khaaakk-!!

The orc shaman let out a pained scream as it was swept away by the pillar of fire from the flame can. Nevertheless, the guy did not instantly die and moved its hand to the wand on its hips.

If it runs away with its special ability again, I wouldn’t be able to catch it.

I kicked the ground and picked up the emeras spear while running. Then, when I was close enough, I jumped and buried the spear on its body.

“Haab!” The spear pierced through the sturdy skin and buried itself on the stomach area. The guy fell backwards as its hands grabbed the spear.

“Ugh!” I let go of the spear, but I couldn’t stop it from being dragged out the window. The orc shaman fell to the first floor, landing back first with a loud thud.

“Keuk!” I groaned as I fell to the floor. Thanks to my high stats and skills, I suffered almost no fatal wounds. However, it didn’t mean that I would be free from exhaustion.

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Yoon-jeong, who travels together with Rapwi, realizes that he was a very impulsive person.

One time, when they were traveling relaxedly, he suddenly said that he was hungry and attacked the nearby goblin nest. If it stops there, it would be fine. But he even tried to roast a goblin and eat it!

A monster that no one eats!

‘Please! please! Don’t give up on being a human!’

Just because monsters eat humans doesn’t mean humans should eat monsters too, right?

In addition, the people’s evaluation of the monsters’ meat was bad. It smelled a lot and was actually quite poisonous, so it was impossible to eat it. At her persuasion, Rapwi, who was about to devour a goblin’s forearm, changed his mind. However, the very next moment, his eyes glinted as he saw some zombies in the distance.

‘This guy is totally crazy.’ Before they arrived in Sejong City, she thought that Rapwi was at least, a decent human being. But after he took off his panty in order to fight that other ‘princess’ guy, her evaluation of him took a 180 degree turn. Hwang Seokhyun, or Rabbit Pwincess, was just a crazy guy.

The madman suddenly ran into the military office. Yoon-jeong looked at him blankly, not even thinking of stopping him. In just a few more days, they would arrive at Jinju, and their journey would end.

But why? Why did her heart ask her to stop him?

“Seokhyun-ssi!”

As if he didn’t hear her shout, Rapwi jumped into the Sancheong County Office and fought the monsters there.

Kiiikk-!!

Kiek-!1

Countless monsters rushed towards him, but not even one of them could catch up to his shadow. Yoonjeong watched him blankly from the outside as he kept jumping around while stomping several monsters at once. Anyone who saw him at this moment would guess that his unique ability was levitation, not resurrection.

There was no monster that could properly withstand his attack. Seokhyun dodged a goblin’s attack like an acrobat and kicked them back. Those who attacked him were instantly thrown around in the parking lot. Once he landed, he kicked the ground again and rammed through the monster horde with his body. Countless spears and stones were flying at him, but none managed to pierce him.

“Giant Swing!” One swing of his fist deformed a kobold’s head strangely. He then grabbed its leg and wielded its body like a mace. At that moment, a few monsters broke through the window and jumped towards him while roaring.

Yoon-jeong was terrified out of her wits and avoided the incoming monsters by rolling on the floor.

“Just what kind of person are you…” She had seen Seokhyun fight a few times, but it’s the first time he’s been fighting as fiercely as today. He was much stronger than she originally thought. His power was something that no survivors in the government shelters could hope to imitate.

Soon, his stage was moved to the second floor.

“Shoulder Attack!”

Yoon-jeong sighed at his antics and sat down on the pavilion.

Moments later, something popped out from the window.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh…”

To her surprise, It was Seokhyun who was rolling on the floor this time. His skin reddened and smoke rose from it, evidence that he was struck by something.

“Seokhyun-ssi!” Yoojeong tried to feed him a potion, but she couldn’t do so, as she had to run away after seeing something jump off from the second floor.

Boom-!!

What landed on the ground from the second floor was an orc shaman. The orc shaman, who landed on the floor, tilted his head and approached Seokhyun. It seemed like it was wondering why the man hadn’t died yet. Needless to say, the lightning from its wand had enough power to kill any living thing at once. He even fell from the second floor, so the impact would be even greater.

Seokhyun, who was lying there then, opened his eyes. He jumped up and instantly rushed in while the orc shaman was still confused.

“SEEEXXXXX!!!!”

Kiekkkkk–!!

After that, a close battle between the two ensued. Looking at the scene, Yoon-jeong was left speechless. She could never have imagined that there would be a human who could fight evenly against an orc with just pure muscle strength.

After some time, the muscled, over 2 meters monster staggered as Seokhyun’s met its head.

Kiaaakkk-!!

The guy swung his wand in anger, but Seokhyun skilfully dodged it. It was as if he was reading its attack in advance.

“Oh my God.”

Puck, puck, puck!

The force behind Seokhyun’s fists was so strong to the point that sounds akin to the sound of punching bags being punched could be heard. Not wanting to take it without retaliating, the orc shaman hurled a streak of lightning towards Seokhyun’s chest. However, once again, Seokhyun avoided it by stepping to the side.

“I avoided it. You are dead now.”

Baba Bak!

Seokhyun’s attacks looked like afterimages to Yoon-jeong’s eyes. Then, he took away the orc’s wand and beat it with its own weapon.

Kiaaakkkk-!!

The orc screamed and fell to its knees after a few more attacks.

Then, as Seokhyun was about to stab the orc shaman in the eye with the tip of the wand, he stopped. He exhaled heavily and lowered the wand.

Yoon-jeong, who was watching, could not hide her confusion. The chance to kill the orc had presented itself in front of him, so why did he stop?

However, without knowing Yoon-jeong’s confusion, Seokhyun took a deep breath and called up his status window. It should be fine if he killed the orc right away. But he had to help a certain weak friend of his. That friend indeed had made an amazing record in the labyrinth speedrun event, but it’s an individual event. The trick he used in that event wouldn’t work anymore in this event, which depends heavily on the headcount.

Seokhyun was presuming that his friend, Gimbap, had gotten a non-combat unique ability, which made him unable to announce himself in the Auction House, and would struggle to complete this event. That’s why he thought that he would wait a little bit until his friend cleared it. He had no doubt that Duck would also think the same as him.

‘Our friend is weak, so we need to help him.’

However, when he opened the ranking page, a record that should not have existed was engraved there.

“Huh?” Seokhyun tilted his head at the sight.