"…Here we go again," Nathan muttered.
He awkwardly raised his pistol with his left hand while his wounded right hand held the flashlight in a reverse grip, positioned below the the barrel to support it.
The motion felt wrong — like trying to write with the wrong hand while someone poked your ribs — but it worked well enough to keep the beam steady.
Night had fully claimed the world.
The lingering indigo glow of sunset was gone, swallowed by a darkness so complete it felt physical. Only faint orange flickers leaked from the campfire inside his wooden fortress, mostly blocked by the walls and turning the clearing outside into a shifting sea of shadows.
Without the flashlight, he would've been blind beyond a few meters.
Fantastic.
Apocalypse difficulty increased: now with horror-game lighting.
Following the high-pitched growl echoing from the northwest, Nathan turned slightly, sweeping the flashlight beam across the clearing.
Grass shimmered silver under the light. Fallen zombie corpses cast long, grotesque silhouettes that looked disturbingly alive whenever the beam moved.
His finger rested on the trigger.
Ready to fire.
Waiting.
Then—
He spotted movement.
A fast one.
It burst from the edge of the clearing — a zombie sprinting toward him with terrifying speed, its limbs pumping with unnatural coordination.
"What the…?"
Nathan blinked.
The thing ran as fast as an Olympic gold medalist.
No staggering. No dragging feet. No clumsy lurching.
Just raw, efficient motion.
Instinctively, he activated Hunter's Mark.
A faint indicator appeared above the creature, and a new tab opened in his peripheral vision.
[Runner — E-Rank]
"Another E-rank zombie," Nathan murmured. "It'd be really funny if it could jump like the previous Bastard, considering its name."
His shoulders tensed as he steadied his breathing.
The Runner closed the distance rapidly, covering ground in seconds. Nathan forced himself not to fire too early. Ammo mattered, accuracy mattered, and slow reloads mattered even more.
Optimal range.
He observes silently.
Fifteen meters… twelve…
Then, at roughly ten meters (33 ft) from the wall—
The Runner stopped abruptly.
Nathan frowned.
The zombie tilted its head, scanning the area.
"What's it doing?" he whispered. Did it realize it can't jump like its cousin… or climb the wall?
Its glowing yellow eyes moved with deliberate intent, as if searching.
Nathan's stomach tightened.
Then its gaze locked onto something beside the wall. One of the corpses — the zombie that had carried a sword earlier.
Nathan watched carefully as the Runner approached the body. Its movements slowed — not cautious, but purposeful.
It bent down and picked up the sword.
Nathan's brain stalled for half a second.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The Runner straightened. Its neck creaked as it turned toward him.
Their eyes met.
A cold awareness passed between hunter and hunted.
The zombie stepped back once.
Then twice.
It lowered its stance, sword drawn behind its head, arm angled in a balanced throwing posture.
Nathan's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me—?!"
The Runner's eyes flared faintly.
It sprinted forward.
Five meters (16 ft) from the wall, it planted its foot and hurled the sword with terrifying precision — like a professional javelin thrower.
Except the javelin was a sword.
The weapon cut through the air in a perfectly straight trajectory, spinning slightly as it flew toward Nathan's chest.
Time seemed to slow.
Oh. That's clever.
Instead of panicking, Nathan smirked.
"Not today!"
He extended his hand and instantly stored his pistol inside inventory storage.
The sword rushed closer—
Then—
A thick wooden block materialized in front of him.
*SCHLUCK!*
The blade buried deep into the wood, stopping inches from his face.
Nathan grinned behind cover.
"Inventory mechanics," he said smugly, "are absolutely broken."
He immediately resummoned his pistol and leaned sideways, peek-aiming from behind the block.
"Get a taste of The Revenant's newest addition!"
During his earlier rest period, Nathan had sold another 100 m³ of wood to gather enough SC for an upgrade.
A small but glorious one.
Mounted atop his pistol was a sleek red-dot sight.
Simple and elegant.
Aiming one-handed had been miserable without it — especially with his dominant hand injured. Even now, his left hand trembled slightly from strain, but he steadied it by bracing against the flashlight grip.
The glowing red dot hovered over the Runner's torso.
No need to aim for the head, he reminded himself.
He fired.
The shot struck the Runner's shoulder, snapping it backward mid-stride.
The recoil kicked harder with only one hand on the grip, but it was manageable.
Nathan fired again.
*BANG!*
[Runner — HP: 52%]
Again.
*BANG!*
[HP: 28%]
The zombie snarled and pushed forward.
Nathan exhaled slowly.
*BANG!*
[HP: 4%]
"One more…"
*BANG!*
The Runner collapsed face-first into the dirt, momentum carrying it another meter before it finally stopped moving.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Then came the familiar cascade of notifications.
[You have slain a Runner — E-Rank]
[EXP +10]
[Hunter's Gallery Kill Count — Runner: 0/1 → 1/1]
[Runner kill quota fulfilled — Agility: 1.4 → 1.6]
Nathan lowered the gun slightly and sighed.
He flexed his injured arm experimentally while reviewing the fight.
"Seems like it has the same HP as the Jumper," he said thoughtfully. "That one took four critical hits with Hunter's Mark active… this one needed five shots without a crit — but with level-two Hunter's Mark."
Before fighting the Runner, Nathan had spent the two SP gained from leveling up.
Each SP could increase a stat by 1.0 point or upgrade a skill. After internal debate — and a brief existential crisis about min-maxing during the apocalypse — he invested one point into Vitality and the other into Hunter's Mark.
Best purchase of my life.
The Vitality increase was immediate.
His maximum HP rose — not fully recovered, it only kept the same percentage value as before the upgrade. But thanks to that, the constant gnawing pain dulled noticeably.
Not gone — but bearable.
His Stamina also expanded.
Skill upgrades, however, required certain conditions. Hunter's Mark demanded ten kills of marked targets before upgrade is enable.
Now at Level 2, it displayed:
—————————————
Hunter's Mark (Lv.1 → 2)
Marks a visible target.
• Marked targets take 10% → 20% increased firearm damage.
• Critical damage bonus on marked target increased to 60%. (New)
• Displays a pointer above the marked target.
• Active marks: 1 → 2 targets.
• Mana Cost: 1
Lv.3 requirement: 1/150 marked target kills, 5 SP, Host reached level 10
—————————————
Nathan whistled softly.
"Now I can mark two targets at once…"
That alone could change combat flow entirely.
He glanced toward the dead Runner, then into the surrounding darkness.
The forest felt different now.
Walkers shuffled uselessly below the wall.
Jumpers could leap from ten meters away.
Runners… threw weapons.
And somehow, instead of fear, excitement stirred in his chest.
Things just keep getting better, he thought dryly.
Danger meant growth.
Growth meant survival.
And survival meant this nightmare might actually have rules he could learn.
Nathan rested the pistol briefly against his shoulder, scanning the clearing illuminated by his flashlight.
No movement.
No unusual growls.
Only wind brushing through grass and distant campfire crackles.
—————————————
Name: Nathan Nightshade
Class: Hunter
Level: 1 — EXP: 21/100
Condition: Wounded
HP: 17/25 | Stamina: 22/25 | Mana: 9/12
———
Vitality: 2.5
Strength: 1.3
Agility: 1.6
Magic: 1.2
Dexterity: 2.2
———
SP: 0
—————————————
Despite everything this world had thrown at him, Nathan allowed himself a small, genuine smile.
"It's looking like my future won't be so grim after all."