A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 63

Chapter 63

 

The moment I could become a casualty came sooner than expected. Just one day. Yeah, one damn day.

[This is Veston, Veston. H-1, Gate 1 has opened!!]

[This is Veston, Veston. Y-6, requesting support!!]

[This is Juden, Juden. A-9, requesting additional support!]

It was the day everything came crashing in like madness, as if everything before had only been a warm-up.

Except for the northern region, Norden, signal flares were rising everywhere. And I spent the entire time jamming my spear into anything that climbed up the wall.

Rotting corpses began to appear… ‘Schneefresser’. Their charred black skin hung loose, their eyeballs seemingly fallen out, yet they mindlessly climbed the walls.

In the distance, a 2-meter monstrous bird ‘Kaltklaue’ continued to whip up blizzards.

Below the Schneefressers, several ‘Laufel’ rotting corpses resembling polar bears, each about one-third the height of the wall were slamming their bodies against it like maniacs.

The blizzard howled.

The walls shook.

“KYAAAGH!”

The screams of the Schneefressers echoed.

BOOM!

SPLAT

The Laufel kept throwing itself into the wall, producing heavy thuds and grotesque squelching sounds.

Not really the sound of a “body”… more like decaying flesh grinding down under impact.

SPLAT, SQUELCH.

But what truly pounded in my head wasn’t the storm or the beasts.

[This is Juden, Juden. E-3, Gate 1 has opened!!]

[This is Juden, Juden. Y-5, all personnel in Y-4 are dead! We need reinforcements!!]

[This is Osten, Osten!! L-9, requesting additional support!!!]

Desperate voices screaming for salvation.

At the same time…

“AAARGH!”

Through the blizzard, comrades screamed as they were thrown off the wall.

In the glance I turned…

One comrade cried desperately, stabbing his spear to survive.

Another was dragged by a corpse’s hand, hanging from the ledge, screaming for help.

And yet… no one had the capacity to help.

“Motherfu-!”

It was completely, utterly fucked.

My sector was L-5.

[This is Osten, Osten!! L-8!!! Reporting all personnel in L-9 and L-7 dead! Requesting reinforcements!!]

What kept getting closer wasn’t reinforcements.

It was death.

And then…

Suddenly…

A Schneefresser grabbed my spear hard and yanked it.

By sheer coincidence, it clutched the spear with both hands and began falling off the wall.

I tried to let go.

Too late.

My upper body was already completely outside the wall.

Too late.

Yeah.

Too damn late.

 

—

[Perfect height to die from! Haha!]

—

 

I wasn’t going to become a casualty.

I was going to become a corpse.

 

***

 

Lee Hoin exhaled sharply and swung his sword, cutting down whatever climbed up.

He didn’t know what they were.

Only that they were disgusting.

Every time he swung his massive greatsword, he heard the sound of his skill increasing.

Meanwhile, the communicator kept blaring nonstop.

Someone died.

Someone screamed for help.

Someone reported a gate breach.

Even while fighting, he thought…

‘Where should I go first once this situation stabilizes?’

He reviewed Johanna’s likely commands in his head.

Then…

A tearing noise rang in his ears.

No…

It wasn’t really tearing.

It only ‘felt’ like it.

A hallucination. Phantom pain.

He knew it.

It was just a voice.

[This is Osten, Osten! L-6!!! Reporting all personnel in L-5 dead or missing! Requesting reinforcements!!]

L-5.

Nam Muyeong, you bastard.

 

***

 

As I fell, I immediately let go of the spear.

The moment I pushed it away, the Schneefresser plunged first.

No time to think.

Observation requires distance from the situation.

But right now…

Shit-Shit-Shit

I grabbed whatever was in my hand.

A small dagger I always carried.

I swung it wildly, trying to stab it into the wall to stop my fall.

And realized…

That thought was ridiculously arrogant.

 

—

[Oh dear. Like a penguin attempting flight. I applaud the effort.]

—

 

The wall could withstand those massive monsters.

Did I really think a dagger would stick into it?

And I couldn’t cling to the wall either.

Because Schneefressers were packed all over it.

The blizzard tossed my body around midair.

So I stabbed the dagger into anything nearby just to slow down.

“KYAAAGH!”

A Schneefresser screamed as the dagger pierced its back, lost balance, and fell.

I gritted my teeth and yanked the dagger back out of its body.

The disgusting sensation of rotting flesh filled my hand.

I gripped the dagger again and repeated the process.

Anything to slow my fall.

Finally, I stabbed into the back of a Laufel…

But the impact didn’t hold.

The blade slid through its flesh, tearing it open as I slid down.

Despite its back splitting open, the Laufel showed no pain.

Its decaying flesh offered little resistance.

I could feel it in my grip.

THUD–CRASH!

I rolled onto a snowfield piled with corpses.

 

—

[Stamina decreased by 1.]

—

 

The bodies cushioned the fall, but not perfectly.

Several fallen spears grazed my arm.

I survived because of my winter gear.

Because of all the armor I wore.

No time to reflect.

I had to move before they noticed me.

Johanna’s voice echoed in my ringing head:

“Let me teach you survival tips. First, don’t fall off the wall. About 80% of those who fall die. If you’re in the 20%, congratulations. Maybe deep snow, maybe a pile of corpses, maybe something large broke your fall. Either way, you might survive.”

“Then immediately head toward a wall pillar. Dig beneath it, and you’ll find a small bunker entrance. Enter it and wait until everything ends. If your communicator still works, report in. We’ll come rescue you.”

A bunker.

I had to get there.

Grabbing my ringing head, I tightened my grip on the dagger.

The pillar was far.

And…

“KYAAAGH!”

They noticed me.

 

—

[Using Skill: Beginner Dagger Technique.]

[Your body may experience overload!]

—

 

I exhaled, looking at the warning window.

Didn’t matter.

Whether I lived or died, I had to move.

From above, I heard shouting.

Burning Schneefressers fell to the ground.

Ssssshh

They cooled quickly in the snow.

Before the flames died, I snapped a fallen spear and wrapped cloth around its tip.

Would it ignite?

Who knows.

The cloth was wet.

No oil.

Still, I pressed it to the fire.

Perhaps mixing with grease from the corpses…

Flames slowly caught.

A burning stick.

I swung it once.

The nearest Schneefresser caught fire.

Nothing fancy.

They were mindless attackers.

I already knew that.

And I knew they couldn’t control fire.

But right now, I couldn’t see anything.

I needed visibility first.

Otherwise, I’d freeze to death in the blizzard before even finding the pillar.

“KYAAAGH!!”

The burning Schneefresser thrashed wildly.

That single fireball illuminated the surroundings.

I gripped my dagger.

Kept the wall on my left.

Swung the fire.

Moved forward.

Toward the pillar.

With soaked winter gear and armor weighing me down, I stabbed forward.

Each horizontal slash dulled the blade… but still cut through their rotting flesh.

“Haah…”

A long breath escaped me.

Cold clung to it like a ghost.

Still…

I didn’t let go of the dagger.

Melted snow made it slippery.

So I tore cloth and tied it to my hand.

Like a vow never to drop it.

My imperfect dagger strikes kept cutting sideways.

Stepping on corpses.

Feeling rotting flesh splatter across my face and body.

SPLAT!

I cut through.

Was I advancing?

Or retreating?

 

—

[Even before death, you indulge in sentimentality.]

[You’ve grown complacent.]

—

 

I wanted to close my eyes.