A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

It was their first time seeing it, and since it also had the most people, they were bound to be confused.

“Eagle class? Hmm, how should I put it… they’re diiirty, unfaithful cheeeaters who lack pure devoootion! Sooo they were punished to feed on corpses!”

When you think of an eagle, you might imagine the ruler of the skies, soaring through the heavens…

‘No.’

Here, it was nothing more than a lowly creature that pecked at corpses to survive.

Even the rabbit, which had only been saying things like “I’m the cutest” when referring to other mascots, openly belittled the eagle this much.

Just as it said, the Eagle waiting room was where those who had once reversed their choice were sent.

They might have something you could barely call a supply zone… but they had no Home, no real benefits.

‘Which means they’re likely to charge in recklessly without thinking.’

A flicker of fear appeared in people’s eyes.

“…Wouldn’t the Eagle group be the strongest?”

“They said supply and ‘Home’ scale with the number of people, so…”

Even as confusion spread across everyone’s faces, the agent continued without caring.

“Gooood. Are you ready? Then, gooood luuuck!”

Speaking in a slightly clearer voice than before, the agent crawled back into the screen just like when it first appeared.

In its place, a large map appeared.

It resembled the layout of Olympic Park, but with unfamiliar symbols scattered throughout.

Six house icons, one box icon.

I took out my phone and snapped a picture of the display. With rough directions shown, there was no way we’d get lost.

“Let’s go.”

As Hoin followed me and took a picture of the map, he frowned slightly.

“Hey, there’s no signal here.”

I glanced at my phone.

It imitated our world… but in reality, it was completely different.

No signal.

The same went for electricity and water.

Even those would only exist if they were replicated.

“Still, there’s a compass app. Let’s use that.”

Hoin nodded and opened the waiting room door.

The people who had still been in confusion stared at us persistently. Only after Hoin opened the door did they cautiously approach it, as if reassured.

In other words…

They were using us as test subjects.

Since someone had already melted trying to leave recklessly.

‘Not that I like it.’

But trying to restrain Hoin would only lead to outcomes I already knew.

Better to let him act as he wants.

If things get dangerous…

‘Then I’ll step in first.’

 

***

 

The supply zone was located roughly 41 degrees northeast of the waiting room.

Fortunately, there was a walking path leading there.

Because the path was clear, reaching it was easy.

 

—

[Oh my, I wonder… are you the disaster to us, or are we the disaster to you?]

[Using remnants of your previous world like this may be fun for the ‘speaker,’ but for the ‘listener’ and ‘reader,’ other methods are more entertaining.]

—

 

There it goes again, rambling.

Then I spotted a tent.

A flag bearing the same symbol as the one engraved on our wrists fluttered above it.

 

—

You have arrived at the ‘Rabbit Class’ supply zone.

You are the first to arrive. Bonus time of 5 minutes granted.

[14:59]

—

 

The time allowed in the supply zone was 15 minutes, including the bonus.

Like the Home, the supply zone was treated as a safe zone.

‘If you could stay here indefinitely, Homes would be useless.’

On one side were food and water.

Crude-looking armor.

Weapons that barely qualified as weapons.

Various survival supplies.

But what caught my attention was only one thing…

The quality.

‘Garbage.’

Stuff that would break if you applied force just once or twice.

What scaled with numbers was quantity, not quality.

Meaning…

This whole “supply advantage” thing was just a trick to encourage competition.

After all, if everything were perfectly provided, wouldn’t the story become boring?

The kind the narrator hated most.

 

—

[It would be inaccurate to place all the blame on me.]

—

 

What a joke.

‘This is all about money anyway.’

If I only needed weapons, there was a better supply zone later.

I glanced at the clock.

That one wouldn’t be accessible until Day 2.

Still too early.

I looked over the weapons, then spoke to Hoin.

“Take dried food, not canned. Lightweight stuff. For water, find a canteen and transfer it. Don’t take too much… just what you can carry.”

There was a wide variety of food.

Fresh items, canned goods.

Plenty of it.

It looked generous, but that too was intentional.

‘In an event where you constantly run or fight across a huge map, carrying too much just becomes a burden.’

Self-imposed weights.

If we only came once, we could stock up… but I planned to return every 12 hours.

Hoin examined a canteen and a water bottle seriously.

“Hey, what exactly do you mean by ‘reasonable’?”

“The minimum you need to last 12 hours. Light enough that you can still run at full speed even when exhausted. Anything that needs cooking, ditch it.”

“Ah.”

He dumped food out of his bag.

Clearly, he had stuffed things in randomly.

As he reorganized, I picked up a weapon.

For Hoin…

Blunt weapons were best.

Blades were too fragile.

‘And he’s already used to blunt weapons.’

I grabbed a warhammer.

A bit too heavy for me.

“Hoin, done?”

“More or less.”

“Give me your bag. Try this.”

I reorganized his supplies and added essentials: flashlight, rope, binoculars.

Meanwhile, he swung the hammer a few times and adapted quickly.

“Usable?”

“Yeah.”

I handed his bag back.

Then packed my own similar items.

Weapons: a hatchet and a few daggers.

 

—

[At last, you are properly prepared for ‘survival.’]

—

 

“You done?”

As Hoin tied his shoelaces and looked toward the exit…

People started flooding into the supply zone.

Voices filled the once-quiet space.

“There’s food, tons of stuff! Weapons too!”

“Looks like armor!”

“Water!!”

Then…

A mutter cut through the noise.

“If third place gets this much… how much does first place get?”

That single, unclear voice silenced everything.

Hope spread across faces.

 

—

[Someone’s fortune becomes another’s misfortune. Never assume another’s gain is yours.]

—

 

That was the moment…

They gained a reason to hunt others’ marks.

“…If we get first place–”

 

—

Do you wish to leave the supply zone? Re-entry is not allowed.

Time remaining: 7 minutes 18 seconds.

—

 

Ignoring the uneasy silence and exchanged glances, we stepped outside.

Places like that weren’t good for people.

 

***

 

“A tourist guidebook? I thought that was just decoration.”

As soon as we exited, I opened one.

Hoin leaned in…

But my eyes were drawn elsewhere.

‘…Cha Hyeongseo.’

It was her.

She noticed us, paused briefly…

Glared sharply…

Then walked on.

Something felt rough in my throat.

The information I had was hers.

If I took it…

‘She’ll either be stuck here for ten days…’

Or die.

“There’s a map in the guidebook. Each zone is labeled.”

Not sure if she was listening.

Her uneven bob swayed above her shoulders.

“…And it shows Homes and supply zones. There aren’t many, so it’s better to grab one now. The next supply zone might not have them.”

Her steps stopped.

She definitely heard me.

“Oh, you’re right. When did you see this?”

“When you were stuffing your bag randomly.”

“…But what are you even looking at?”

Hoin followed my gaze.

Toward her.

A wreck of a person.

Drip. Drip.

Blood fell from her weapon.

Hoin looked at me awkwardly.

I ignored him and pulled out a bandage, handing it to her.

“…Clean the blood. Wrap it.”

She glared at me like I was her enemy.

“Do I know you?”

…Not personally.

Until a few days ago, I existed one or two dimensions above you.

“…No.”

“Then why are you meddling?”

Why?

I looked at her.

Her age wasn’t specified in the story.

Unlike Hoin, she always wore her school uniform… even when she could’ve changed it.

Even when she got adaptive armor, she mimicked her uniform.

The reason was unknown.

But because of that image, most assumed she was a minor.

Her speech supported that too.

I thought the same.

A minor, or barely an adult.

“Come to the wildflower field on Day 3.”

“…Why would I?”

“You want to get out, too.”

“What does that have to do with going there?”

Yeah.

Why was I doing this?

I remembered asking something similar once.

‘Don’t you trust me? Wondering why I’m doing this? That’s because you’re still a kid. When you become an adult, you’ll realize… adults are supposed to take care of kids.’

Her sharp voice.

Her defensive expression.

Still unmistakably that of a child.

“…I’ll find my own way out before then.”

Hoin glanced at me.

Another young face, full of unease.

But…

I had no intention of betraying either of them.

“You want to get out too, don’t you?”

Was I wrong?