A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 46

Chapter 46

 

Now, along with the boulder rolling in behind us, we began dealing with things that were like dogs. They really were dog-like things. They were actual dogs.

Dogs with six horns burst out of thin air like mad. The already-injured woman barely managed to block their attacks, and just as I cut down one of them and flung it aside…

 

— 

[Rage: 38%]

— 

 

My ‘Rage’ rose. This dog… It’s a demon. And the percentage was rising much faster than before. Earlier, it went up by 2% each time I killed one, but now it was increasing by 4%.

4%. Why?

‘Ah shi-, give me some time to analyze.’

For now, as a stopgap, I struck them away with the blunt side instead of killing them. Thankfully, with the acceleration we had, knocking them aside wasn’t difficult.

 

— 

Distance to destination: 65%

Cargo durability: 87%

— 

 

65%. It was about time to rotate.

“I’ll switch!”

Just as I was about to shout that, the fragile balance finally broke.

“AAAGH!”

The middle-aged man, who had been barely holding on, fell off.

Thud! Crash!

“Sir!”

The moment Lee Hoin shouted, I shouted as well. It was already out of our hands. We couldn’t save him. Falling off a cart moving at this speed, there was almost no chance he would survive.

There was nothing we could do.

“Lee Hoin, get over here!”

As soon as I shouted that, the cart plunged fully into darkness.

Now, one of the four sides was empty. Lee Hoin, who had been near the handle, moved to cover that side, and I switched with Lee Hyun.

‘Ha.’

This was bad. The woman was barely holding on. But we couldn’t ask the others to cover for her either. Lee Hoin and Lee Hyun were already nearing their limits.

 

— 

Distance to destination: 60%

Cargo durability: 80%

— 

 

As the distance dropped sharply, so did the durability. Everything was falling apart. We were falling apart, too.

“Just a little more! We’re almost there!”

No one actually believed we were almost there. We were just enduring in silence. Everything depends on how you think about it.

After several rotations, the distance dropped to 50%.

The speed, which had been uncontrollable at first, was gradually stabilizing… but we couldn’t relax. The boulder was still rolling behind us.

 

— 

!Second checkpoint cleared!

[Clear reward!]

[〉 Giant wolfhound

[〉 Silent shadow

[〉 Restoring durability

[〉 Short rest

— 

 

Lee Hyun was exhausted, I was exhausted, Lee Hoin was exhausted… but the one in the worst condition was the woman. The spot where she’d been bitten by the insect at the first checkpoint was severely swollen, and she was covered in scratches and bites from the dogs.

And in the middle of that, the reward appeared. All four of us stared at it like it was our mortal enemy.

Well, it kind of was.

 

— 

[Now, now, this is no time to relax. Don’t forget, the boulder is still coming from behind!]

— 

 

Yeah. That was true.

Right now, Lee Hoin was holding the handle, and we couldn’t just stand around.

‘Is something even coming from the other side?’

There was no way to confirm.

And something felt different from the first checkpoint. Not the choices themselves…

‘I don’t remember clearly because things were chaotic, but wasn’t the description longer before?’

Back then, everything was clear. Now it was vague. Just “choose a reward.” That was it.

“What even are these? Wolfhound? Shadow? What are they supposed to be?”

Lee Hoin said.

And he was right.

If it worked like before, the top two would be offensive options and the bottom two would be recovery, but compared to “boulder” and “arrow rain,” “wolfhound” and “shadow” were too vague.

‘No clue what they are.’

“We have to choose.”

Lee Hyun said. I agreed, but still…

“Huff… haa…”

The woman, breathing heavily while wrapping her arm and shoulder with a bandage, spoke.

“Let’s just rest. Worst case, it’s a gamble… but isn’t it better to pick something we can at least understand rather than something we can’t?”

That made sense. Whether it affected us or the other team was a gamble.

But it was a gamble worth taking. Everyone was too exhausted.

‘…And my ‘Rage’ is already pretty high.’

46%. Almost at 50%. It felt like a blade was at my throat. The problem was, I couldn’t tell if it was a toy knife or a real one.

 

— 

[Someone is watching you. (Awareness)]

— 

 

Anyway.

“If we’re choosing, rest seems better than durability.”

If we chose durability and it healed the other team instead, we’d be at a huge disadvantage at the end.

So rest was better.

“Then we’ll go with the rest?”

Lee Hyun asked one last time. The woman nodded immediately, her face full of pain. Lee Hoin nodded quietly, and I nodded as well.

Our second choice was rest.

The door opened again.

Clank.

And then a window appeared before my eyes.

 

— 

[Rage: 56%]

— 

 

What?

 

— 

[Your ‘Rage’ has exceeded the threshold.]

[It may become enraged. Please, be careful.]

[It has fully recognized you.]

[It may come to find you.]

— 

 

What? What is coming for me?

I frowned immediately. But after those messages, nothing happened. No changes, no status effects.

‘Are you messing with me?’

Still, I didn’t relax. The phrase “may come to find you” was too unsettling.

While I was dealing with that unknown notification, the remaining distance kept decreasing. 49, 48. But unlike before, there were no intense attacks. Just silence. Stillness.

“…It really seems like we got rest. I’ll take the handle.”

We sat down to catch our breath, maintaining some level of vigilance. I handed the woman a few painkillers from my palm and quietly asked the others:

“How many tickets did you all get?”

Lee Hyun and the woman both said six. That meant I was the only one who picked something other than ‘6’.

“When you kill demons, do you get any other messages? Like Rage or something?”

The woman tilted her head.

“Other messages? Not really.”

Lee Hyun and Lee Hoin also shook their heads.

‘So I’m the only one?’

The difference between them and me was that I chose ‘3’.

While I sank into thought, the others began talking quietly.

“…If you’re tired, we can switch. It’s manageable anyway.”

Lee Hoin awkwardly said to Lee Hyun. Lee Hyun shook his head slightly.

“We’re not being chased, so it’s fine.”

Silence returned. One was injured, and the other two had a strained relationship.

Eventually, Lee Hyun spoke first.

“…I’m sorry. As an adult, I know I showed you something disgraceful.”

At that, I broke from my thoughts and looked at Lee Hyun and Lee Hoin. Lee Hoin blinked, as if surprised by the easy admission.

“…Ah, yeah, well…”

Lee Hoin awkwardly nodded, and I asked Lee Hyun:

“Then… what happened? Did you leave the mart?”

Lee Hyun hesitated.

“…I’m not sure.”

Not sure? What does that even mean?

“I did leave. But I haven’t decided where to go yet. So…”

So he might go back. Probably hasn’t been long since he left.

“…I see.”

I nodded once.

Lee Hyun paused, then spoke again.

“…I thought about it.”

He thought about it.

“Am I really that lacking, even in the eyes of someone who just turned twenty?”

…Right. From his perspective, he got called out by someone wearing a school uniform.

‘…If it were me, too…’

I remembered something from my volunteering days.

 

— 

“Hyung, I won’t go into psychology. With your grades and certifications, you could go anywhere… so why can’t you?”

— 

 

I couldn’t bring myself to explain about job scarcity or how counseling careers work.

Lee Hyun had taken that kind of shock… but on a deeper level, affecting his beliefs and values.

“So I asked Teacher Do Yoseol.”

Lee Hyun paused. What did that guy say this time?

“…I couldn’t accept it. So I left. I figured I’d meet you again someday.”

He looked at me.

“Nam Muyeong.”

…Me?