I settled in the classroom at the end of the 3rd floor hallway, farthest from the art room. I’d put some distance between us in my own way, thinking there might be a chance of running into him again.
It would take at least a few days for the wound on his thigh to heal, and even when he could move, surely he wouldn’t search through every classroom looking for me. On the 3rd floor crawling with monsters, moreover in a situation where he had to conserve even a little more food and water, he wouldn’t have the leisure to waste time on such trivial matters.
With my eyes closed, I closed the door and windows, and after going through a series of confirmation processes like I’d done in the art room earlier, only then did I open my vision. While scanning the interior of the classroom where chairs and desks were lined up in a familiar order, I fixed my gaze for a moment.
In the midst of soundless silence, thinking the bloody smell was particularly strong, the classroom was completely covered in blood and corpses. Since my sense of smell had been soaked in the smell of blood while passing through the hallway just now, I hadn’t noticed anything strange even after entering here.
After witnessing it with my own eyes, the disgusting stench seemed to feel even stronger.
What choice did I have?
‘Let’s just stay here.’
There was a high possibility that other classrooms would be the same as this place. There would be survivors residing to wipe blood and remove corpses, but on the 3rd floor where people’s footsteps hadn’t reached, most would be the same scenery as this place.
Swallowing a sigh, I crouched in a corner of the classroom where there was no blood. Then I leaned my throbbing head against the locker right next to me.
‘The art room was clean.’
Did that guy I encountered there clean it up before injuring himself?
‘The art room has a separate sink too.’
If he’d made that place his base early on, he might have done the clever thing of collecting water before the water supply was cut off. Of course, even that might be almost gone now that two weeks have passed, but you never know, right?
‘Should I go now and ask, and if he has some, get at least a sip to drink?’
Even so, I didn’t show any will to get up and return to the art room. It was hard to tell. Since he was injured enough that he couldn’t move easily, I had to consider the case where he was deliberately acting weak, pretending to be weak only then.
Still, it was reassuring for now. Since his wound had a form that looked like it was injured by a monster’s teeth rather than an artificial tool, that wound was probably likely caused during combat with a monster, not a person. Naturally, my thoughts leaned toward the idea that there didn’t seem to be other survivors staying on the 3rd floor. No matter how strong an ability one awakened, it didn’t seem like there would be two or more crazy people staying on the 3rd floor alone.
‘Should I think about it tomorrow?’
First, I should get some sleep. After blankly looking up at the red sunset spreading thickly outside the window, I turned my head. Soon I lay down on the floor oozing with cold energy and curled my body.
Quiet. Silent. Occasionally growling sounds could be heard from outside the classroom, but I didn’t dislike or find it unpleasant.
‘As expected.’
This thing called the apocalypse era.
“It seems nice……”
Muttering words that would make other survivors throw stones at me if they heard, I threw myself into the waves of sleepiness rushing over me.
***
At this rate, whether I starved to death or died of thirst, I was about to cross the River Styx before tomorrow came. Perhaps because I hadn’t been able to properly supplement nutrients until just before being kicked out by Kang Jekyung’s group, even though barely a day had passed since coming down to the 3rd floor, I was already at a point where I couldn’t endure anymore.
‘I was arrogant.’
What do they call it—baseless confidence? I was excessively overconfident without grounds. Even while belonging to Kang Jekyung’s group, I’d lived almost unable to eat water or food, so I was confident I could last a few days even if I lost even that minimum supply.
‘The ability I awakened belongs to the strong side, so my recovery power and everything was superior to others. I let my guard down more because of that.’
Blaming my arrogant past self, I arranged my school uniform and prepared to go out in my own way.
Whether obtaining items through trade or snatching them, to struggle to survive, I first had to meet others and interact with them. And fortunately within my misfortune, that ‘other’ existed near me.
‘How much has his wound recovered?’
Seeing that he had a wound on his thigh inflicted by a monster, unlike me, he seemed to have awakened a combat-type ability. If not, there would be no way he could have escaped with his life intact from a situation where a monster approached close and bit his leg.
That meant, no matter how much I racked my brain and tried, there was no future where I’d win in a fight against him. What I had wasn’t even a combat-type ability, and I was in a situation with the handicap of having to fight with my eyes closed, wasn’t I?
In other words, even if he had food or water, I had no way to extort it. So it was a very tragic situation where there was nothing I could do except desperately hope he would show me mercy.
‘Nothing to lose.’
Whether I went to the art room and got beaten to death for daring to covet his things, or stayed here moaning and died of thirst. The ending I could reach was only one anyway. Moreover, I had nothing else to lose, so there was no reason to be scared.
‘If worst comes to worst, let’s just jump out the window.’
The passage going down from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor was blocked and couldn’t be used. Because of that, I hadn’t thought about going down to the lower floor until I really reached the brink of death, but after being rejected by him in the art room, there would really be no other way. Then it seemed like hoping for the miracle of a fall accident might help extend my life. Since this is the 3rd floor, if I’m just careful not to fall head-first, couldn’t I get away with just breaking my legs?
Chewing over thoughts that were ridiculous even to myself, I opened the classroom door. My eyelids that had been firmly closed from before trembled. Taking a small breath, I listened carefully to check the hallway’s condition, then stepped forward into the quiet air.
‘…Now that I think about it, even if I go to the art room and meet him again, how do I have a conversation?’
If I could just close the door, close the windows, and go through personal procedures like yesterday, there would be nothing to worry about. However, yesterday he sat there blankly watching because he was flustered, and today’s meeting would be the second, so if he stepped forward saying he wouldn’t let the intruder act freely, the problem would get bigger.
That said, I couldn’t make a sound first while lacking confidence. Since I couldn’t see ahead, even if I brought pen and paper, it would be difficult to write long sentences to converse.
Before that, I’d be fortunate not to be tied up while being suspected of doing something suspicious. Getting beaten up a few times would be better. If my hands and feet were tied so I couldn’t budge at all, that’s when the path of communication would be completely blocked.
I let out a soundless sigh while standing still leaning against the wall.
The reason I so resolutely blocked my own vision and voice was closely related to the ability I awakened.
I awakened ‘an ability to not be threatened by monsters.’ But there was a condition—I must close my eyes and not make a sound.
Then if you ask whether the ability simply becomes invalid if I open my eyes or speak, I’d answer no. I already had experience from a week ago that something much worse and more extensive would befall me.
When I opened my eyes and spoke, it somehow became ‘bait’ and seemed to attract monsters. Thanks to that, I was able to accumulate the unfamiliar memory of all the monsters belonging to the ‘same territory’ as me rushing to where I was. That too might eventually become a nostalgic memory as time passes.
Fortunately, the standard for dividing and distinguishing what a ‘territory’ was was simple. Being blocked by something, the space being completely separated like that. It didn’t matter whether what acted as a wall was concrete, glass, or thin cloth. If there was just no passage to the outside, that is, no open areas, that place was recognized as one ‘territory.’
That was why I examined the door, examined the windows, and thoroughly checked if there were holes in the walls when I entered the art room and classroom yesterday. If I carelessly checked and opened my eyes only to have something open somewhere, all the monsters on the 3rd floor would rush here, to me.
Of course, even if I belatedly closed my eyes tightly, I wouldn’t be eaten to death by monsters. But I didn’t want to create unnecessary commotion and attract others’ attention. For instance, to quick-witted survivors who might make me into a living ‘monster bait.’
The path connecting the 3rd and 2nd floors was said to be blocked, but that was only blocked for me and Kang Jekyung’s group who were on the upper floor; from the lower floor survivors’ perspective, they had ‘blocked it’ with effort. They selectively sealed off the 3rd floor so that the monsters wouldn’t pour down all at once and ravage the lower floors. So unlike us who were isolated without will, I think they could unblock it and come up to the upper floor if they wanted.
What if the monsters rush to me and that commotion is noticed from the lower floor? If a group of survivors who felt something strange came up to the 3rd floor and noticed my ability?
‘I have absolutely no intention of being used as living bait.’
It was when I was trembling with hostility toward bad people who didn’t even exist yet.
Grab—something that appeared out of nowhere suddenly wrapped around my waist. Then it yanked me back.
Surprised by the sudden contact only briefly, a chilling sensation rushed over me in the dizzying feeling of my body tilting as if about to fall backward. Even in that situation, I unconsciously put all my strength into not opening my eyes and endured, but there was no way to help my body that was already tumbling backward.
Flailing my arms belatedly would only make me look ridiculous, so I gave up and curled my body.
Thud.
‘Thud?’
Something standing firm right behind me caught me as if it had been waiting. That broad thing appropriately embraced my back and conveyed warm body heat. Through my left shoulder blade, even a small thump thump pulse was transmitted, so the thing that caught me was like…
‘An embrace?’
It seems I’ve somehow ended up nestled in someone’s arms.
‘Whose?’
