Stagnant Water of Apocalypse - Chapter 15

There will always be trolls in every game. Survival Life was no exception. The trolls in Survival Life always pretend to be a normal user before joining a party and summoning monsters to annihilate the said party.

To the unsuspecting eyes, at first glance, they might seem to be helping a newbie doing their quest. However, while accompanying the newbie, the trolls would stab them in the back and steal their items.

Switching back and forth between two teams that were doing well on a quest to make them fight and entering the beginner area needlessly to rapidly increase the monster regen were their basic modus operandi. And as the management team had a policy of not interfering directly on what’s happening in the game except for patches and bugs, the trolls on Survival Life were particularly more active than any other games.

“The good news is, the game was hard to play even for trolls.” Being a troll in games like Survival Life means they have to take risks, too. Once they make a mistake, their character will be deleted immediately. And because it was too cumbersome to restart from the very beginning, most of them ended up quitting the game after a few deaths, which resulted in the number of trolls decreasing overtime.

“They were part of the game, too.” So did we who destroyed them. What was certain was once the zombie apocalypse actually happens in reality, there would be a lot of trolls roaming around. Afterall, Isn’t there a saying that says when five humans gather, one is bound to be trash?

“To prepare against a troll…” Preparation for direct combat was needed. So far, I’d only been concerned with fights against monsters in the forest. It was a different thing altogether with fighting in the city where various obstacles and terrain scattered all over the place and I wouldn’t be fighting just monsters, but humans as well.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell if my enemy is crazy or not.” It was of utmost importance to determine who or what you were fighting against. However, it wasn’t something which could be done perfectly every single time. So ultimately, a variety of coping methods would be needed.

What should I do if I meet someone who targets me?

First, let’s review the weapons I had.

“Eumm…” There were a lot of weapons in my arsenal. Nevertheless, when they’re classified between ranged and melee weapons, anyone can clearly see that I have a lot less ranged weapons than melee weapons. The 60lbs compound bow should be the strongest one I had. Although, it’s bulky and difficult to handle.

“It’s also a troublesome weapon to use as I have to put it down if the enemy moves closer to me.” Though, I could just throw it across the portal in case I was fighting alone with no one by my side.

While I was browsing through the MeTube, I saw a video of an American uncle playing with a slingshot.

“Slingshot? Isn’t it only useful to catch birds?” That’s what I thought, but turns out, I was completely wrong. Slingshots these days were powerful enough to pierce a human skull using a 20mm iron bead.

“Its power was no joke!” Of course, the power was only possible with a special firing method and the use of a special rubber band. Nonetheless, the strength of the slingshot really attracted me. As an icing on the cake, it was also easy to handle and had a small size, so it would be easy to conceal it.

“I could use it in situations where it’s difficult to shoot using the bow.” For example, if I need to attack through a small window.

Of course, the best ranged weapon amongst them all would be guns. If I could get my hand on a gun, I was pretty certain I wouldn’t dwindle on such trifling thoughts about bow and slingshot.

“If it wasn’t for the cursed corrosive disease…” Though, I could still get one if the Russian boat incident 5 days before the outbreak really came true.

As I was browsing through the list of videos related to the previous video, I saw a video of the same uncle using a primitive sling to throw a stone and instantly clicked on it. What I thought to be just a simple stone throwing turns out to be a completely different thing.

“You could hit a target that’s a hundred meters away? It’s no joke.” I also used to throw stones at monsters in Survival Life. However, compared to what the uncle could do using the sling, it was a child’s play. He boasted that after nearly 10 years of training, he was currently able to hit enemies from 300 meters away.

Although I wouldn’t be able to perfectly copy what he did with the remaining time I have before the apocalypse, it seems like it’s a good idea to follow his practice routine.

“Learning something new is always a good thing.” Let’s keep this video as well.

As I continue to browse through the list of related videos, a video about javelin throwing also caught my eye. After all, it was a ranged weapon which used a spear as a throwing weapon. The range might be shorter than most ranged weapons, but the penetration power against monsters was guaranteed. I know that fact better than anyone because I had used this weapon a lot of times in Survival Life against many kinds of monsters.

“but it’s expensive…” And modern steel javelins wouldn’t be usable. So, I would have to learn how to craft a wooden spear if I want to use one.

“I must have a javelin, too.” If I have it, the range as well as the destructive power would be secured. It would also work better than a bow against a medium-sized monster.

Anyway, it seems like there are a lot of people who were interested in these kinds of weapons as the videos were numerous. I downloaded dozens of videos which showed me how to make it, and use it.

“For now, I will buy what I can buy.” And would make my own if I couldn’t buy it.

I ordered the things I needed and started practicing the slingshot.

As it turns out, it’s really hard.

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“The time has come to use this.” I chose the mace from the pile of weapons for the close combat weapon in the future. I had chosen a fire axe, a machete, and an iron plumbing pipe for my melee weapon of choice so far, but all of them were still lacking. In the first place, those weapons weren’t designed to attack monsters.

But the mace was different. This weapon had been voted as the weapon with highest destructive power in the production company poll about zombie apocalypse.

It was made by attaching several pieces of iron to the end of a long wooden stick, which made its appearance intimidating.

“It’s more like a flanged mace.” There’s a slight protrusion on the tip of every iron, so you can concentrate the striking power on one point. With one swing of it, humans who didn’t wear any protection on their head would certainly be sent across river Styx. However, the sad thing was, I had to wait for at least 6 months before I could use it on Earth because of the corrosive disease. So, before that, I would have no choice but to use the war club or the ebony stick.

The fire axe and the machete were also a good weapon, but they have a drawback.

“It’s difficult to pull out once it digs into the skull…” I experienced it first hand in the previous battle against the kobolds and goblins. However, with the mace, I could be reassured as it could still smash the head without digging deep into the skull and getting stuck between it.

“Let’s practice.” I clicked the play button of the video downloaded from MeTube and used the nearby tree as the dummy.

This time, the video shows me an African-American man. With a serious expression on his face, the man teaches about the stance.

“When hitting towards the left, step forward with your left leg…” Then comes a big swing.

With a thump, the tree slightly swayed, pouring out leaves to my body as the mace connected to its bark.

After a few more swings, I compared his posture with mine.

“Strange…” It’s obviously the same, but somehow, I feel something was off.

After watching it over and over again, I was finally able to understand some of the differences.

“So, it was a matter of which rotates first, huh?” the ahjussi rotates his knee first whereas I rotate my shoulder first. That was why the impact after the mace hit was different.

With my new found knowledge, I entered the stance and hit the tree one more time. When the mace connected to the tree, the impact greatly changed; it was much better than earlier.

“But it’s gonna be hard to use this stance every time in a fight.”

Well, even if I weren’t able to do the stance, I should still be able to break the zombie’s head even with a one arm swing.

Then, for another hour or so, I keep alternating between the mace and the war clubs. Even though winter was approaching, I didn’t feel cold at all. All I knew was that the temperature was getting hotter and hotter from all the sweat.

“Nice.”

After feeling satisfied with the progress I made with those two weapons, I switched to the slingshot; A very useful ranged weapon which could attack from a distance with only a rubber-like string and a stone.

But when I tried it myself, it was difficult to even send the stone close to the target.

“This is hard!” It’s hard to turn the direction of the sling and drop the stone at the right spot even though the video said the basic way to use it was to turn one and a half circles over the head and release it. Moreover, the weight of the stone I used was around 300g when the professional slingshot thrower in the video uses a 500g stone.

“Hmmmm.” I watched the downloaded video over and over again.

Then, after I felt I knew enough, I took the pose the man told me to do, snapped my wrist the same way as him, suppressed the urge to turn three or four times and released the strap after turning only for one and a half turns.

Then, after trying it several dozen times, the stone I threw started to fly away at an invisible speed and hit near the target. My training finally bore some fruit.

“Whoa… it’s difficult.”

If someone asked me if I was really satisfied with this small progress, my answer would be ‘yes’. It was only possible because I had invested 5,500 hours in Survival Life. And as it was reality, not a game anymore, I was well aware of how hard and difficult using a weapon truly is.

“I’ll have to master it somehow…” in order not to die.

The prickling cold finally got to me as I was trying to cool off. At the same time, my stomach is fiercely demanding compensation for all the energy I had spent.

Should I boil some ramyun and eat it?

When I went into the cave, I was tired of seeing the warehouse full of ramen, spam and canned food.

“This is not it…” These foods were important for my survival, but for me right now, they looked like terrible monsters.

If you put spam in a ramyun, of course it would be delicious. But for long-term survival in the apocalypse, you would require a greater variety of food. One day in the future, I might crave some rice and one day I might be craving noodles.

People would become stressed if their needs were not met. And stress was the cause of all diseases and the enemy of survival.

“It is best to move the whole mart…” However, as it was difficult to do right now, I started with thinking of a variety of canned food. Currently, I have already stocked up canned tuna and spam among the many canned foods on the market.

“There is saury, mackerel and salmon…” In addition, there were also whelks, peaches, and pineapples. It was important to diversify my options rather than stockpiling a lot of one item.

“Let’s write some more things on the notes.” After all, all of this hard work is what was supposed to help me survive in the apocalypse. Without having enough nutrients by eating only one type of food only in the apocalypse, one wouldn’t have the strength to keep on living.

I returned to my house on the other side and put an additional order for canned goods.

After that, I looked for information about food from the survivor forum.

“Noodles are good for long-term storage… I guess it’s because they don’t have moisture.” It was a possible solution as noodles were delicious even when eaten only with soy sauce. If I grow some vegetables in front of the cave, I would be able to enjoy them more luxuriously.

“And if I have oil, I can cook various things as well.” Though, oil was difficult to store for a long time. At most, it could only last for 1 or 2 years before expiring. Which means, in the apocalyptic world two years from now, I would have to cook without oil at all.

Fortunately, it could be easily resolved as I have procured the plant which produces vegetable oil in the forest. It won’t be able to produce enough to serve as a frying oil, though.

“I need sauces too…” It really would be nice if I were able to loot a whole mart. The thought of opening the portal and throwing everything in the grocery section into it brought a smile on my face.

“But it’s difficult to do so.” Supermarkets were places where most zombies would gather. In particular, more than 100 zombies would easily be found in the grocery section. Going there would be synonymous to suicide.

“But the local mart…” Let’s think about it. What are the zombies’ favorite food? It was an easy-to-open item like something wrapped in plastic. It was almost impossible for them to eat canned food because they couldn’t bite it with their teeth, so they’re more likely to give up after a few tries.

Of course, they would easily eat it once the corrosive disease struck and disintegrated the metals.

“Glass bottles, too, are surprisingly good enough to survive.”

And when the zombie apocalypse broke out, there was a high probability that the local mart would be properly routed. People would either become zombies or run away, and all I had to do was lower the shutter.

“But even that would be difficult once the tutorial starts.” Once the tutorial starts, I need to be completely focused on it to get items that would help me in the future. In other words, the time allotted to me to loot anything I want was approximately 5 hours.

The hardware store, convenience store, pharmacy, neighborhood mart, and the motorcycle shop, all must be looted within this 5 hours.

“What else is there…” there’s firearms which matter more than all of those things. It was something that could be easily found in police stations and military bases, but it was difficult for ordinary people like me to get my hand on it.

If the situation breaks out, the troops would be dispatched, so there should be an opportunity…

I laughed out loud at the stupid thought of destroying the police arsenal with an oxygen cutter. I’m sure I would be shot to death if they found me doing something like that when they were already going crazy because of the zombies.

“No, wait a minute… If the police station is empty, that method is fine.” The police were not capable of responding to the zombie apocalypse. At first, they would be busy running around and directing people under the direction of their superiors, but then, they would gradually become zombies as well.

What if the police station was empty just before the corrosive disease spread?

“It would be a walk in the park once I get in.” If I could monopolize a lot of guns and ammunition. I would certainly become the king of the forest.

What a mouth watering thought!

Unfortunately, when I searched on PC, there was no police station in this town, only a district office was present. It was relatively small compared to the police station and had a small arsenal. However, I still need to have my eyes on the prize. Therefore, I marked the location of the district office on the map.

By the way, what was I thinking about earlier before reaching this point?

Ah right, I was hungry.

I put spam and tuna in ramen and boiled it.

This is delicious.