Chapter 16 : Library

I headed to the library with the survivors.

Their leader, Lee Ki-cheol, had invited me to join them if I had nowhere to stay, and I accepted.

Honestly, I’d planned to turn down the offer originally.

With my conspicuous appearance, living with others would be a hassle.

‘But that’s not the only issue.’
Let’s think about it.
If I keep saving people with my strength and join a survivor camp like this, they’ll thank me.
They might even praise me, awed by my power.

Then what?

They’ll start relying on me.
As a force to ensure their survival.

They’ll ask for things.
Get food, save someone, do this, do that.
Requests that are hard to refuse.

Like I’m some easy-to-use pack mule.
How many people could coldly reject someone begging for their life?

A sappy life of sacrificing myself for others?
Sorry, but… no thanks.
I know it’s selfish to think only of myself with this kind of power.
Call me a witch—I’ve got no defense.

But what am I supposed to do?

‘I’ve always been a bad person.’
I haven’t robbed anyone, and I don’t deserve flak for not helping.

My plan was to live well on my own until the Korean military wipes out the zombies and restores society.

‘That was the plan, anyway.’
Until I found this.

[Eleph
A Divine Letter imbued with Mystic. Used to enhance the Signature Weapon or unleash Mystic.
Current Count: 1]

A new system gained from saving people.
From the description, it seemed to be for strengthening me or my weapon.

I had a hunch about how to obtain it, but I wasn’t certain.

[Would you like to enhance Quis ut Deus?]

[Required Eleph: 120]

One thing was clear: I’d need a lot of Eleph.

To get more, I needed to experiment.
That’s why I was heading to the library.

I’d figure out exactly how to obtain Eleph there.

‘Power’s one of those things—the more, the better.’
The Korean military still had a good chance of wiping out the zombies and rebuilding society.
Zombies can’t destroy tanks, after all.
But I wasn’t dumb enough to sit around banking on that alone.
My goal was to become so strong no one could threaten me.

“Mika-ssi? Is something on your mind?”

Someone interrupted my thoughts.
It was Ki-cheol, glancing at me with flushed cheeks.

…Creepy.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go. People are waiting.”

“Okay!”

We hurried to the library, wary of zombies rushing back.

“Phew. Good thing no one got hurt.”
Ki-cheol wiped sweat from his brow as we arrived.
The other survivors let out sighs of relief too.
They hadn’t said it, but they’d clearly been terrified.

Passing the now-useless security office, I saw a white four-story building on the left.

“Gimpo Library” was written on the wall.

A bit further, I noticed bookshelves stacked in front of the main entrance.

‘A barricade?’
It looked flimsy.
Even if zombies were weak, a barricade like that would collapse under a few dozen.
Plus, the tightly packed bookshelves blocked visibility.
It’d be hard to notice zombies approaching.
Cars from the parking lot would’ve been better for durability and sightlines.

Ki-cheol tapped the bookshelves in a pattern—tap, tap.
A voice came from inside, hearing the signal.

“Ki-cheol?”

“Yeah. Lower the ladder.”

“Got it. Hold on.”

With that, a window at the entrance opened, and a ladder clattered down.

I see.
That’s why they blocked the entrance so tightly.
Not completely thoughtless, then.

“I’ll go up first.”
Ki-cheol and the survivors began climbing the ladder awkwardly.

…Do I have to climb that too?

It looked pretty embarrassing, scrambling up like that.

“Mika-ssi, come on up.”

Ki-cheol, already at the top, waved at me, speaking softly in case zombies overheard.

Ugh.

I sighed.

Instead of the ladder, I walked to the base of the window.

“Huh? Mika-ssi, the ladder’s not there…”

Ignoring Ki-cheol’s call, I—

Hop!

Lightly jumped to the second floor of the library.

“…”

The people on the second floor stared, stunned.
They hadn’t expected me to leap up in one go.

“Haha, as expected, incredible.”
Ki-cheol, who’d seen me in action before, nodded.

I’d drawn attention, but I didn’t regret it.
In fact, it was part of the plan.
To get Eleph, attracting some attention didn’t seem like a bad move.

As I sorted my thoughts, I noticed someone coming down the stairs.

A woman dressed like a librarian, in a suit and glasses.
Her clothes were disheveled, her face weary from lack of rest.
But her beauty was undeniable—she could pass for an actress.

“Ki-cheol!”

Spotting him, she rushed over, checking him for injuries.

“You okay? No wounds? I knew going to the city was too dangerous!”

She asked with worried eyes.
What’s this?
Are they a couple or something?

Ki-cheol patted her shoulders to reassure her.

“Everyone’s fine, don’t worry. And the city trip paid off. Look, we got this much food. Plus some tools we needed.”

He proudly set down his bag, showing its contents.
The library survivors couldn’t hide their joy at the sight.

But the woman’s expression didn’t brighten.

“That’s a lot. You worked hard. But… the city’s too dangerous. Let’s use this to wait for government rescue.”

“To do that… Okay, got it.”
Ki-cheol started to say something but closed his mouth and agreed.

I could guess what he wanted to say.

Probably that the library had too many people.

Four people had gone for food, but there were over 40 on the second floor alone.
Even a fully packed bag would run dry in two days.
This place had way too many mouths to feed.

Could they hold out until the government restored order?
I didn’t think so.

“You worked hard today. I’ve got water ready, so wash up… Oh? Who’s this?”

Her gaze finally landed on me.
She’d been so worried about Ki-cheol she hadn’t noticed me.

Realizing her attention, Ki-cheol let out an “Ah” and gestured toward me.

“I forgot to introduce. This is Mika-ssi. She saved us when we were being chased by zombies. Mika-ssi, this is my friend, Lee Ji-ah.”

“Nice to meet you, Ji-ah-ssi.”
I greeted her, following Ki-cheol’s introduction.

“Oh, uh… N-Nice to meet you.”
Ji-ah stammered, flustered by my appearance.

Well, my look is pretty unusual.
I’m used to these reactions by now.

While Ki-cheol talked with the survivors who’d gone scavenging, I ended up alone with Ji-ah.

“Please, make yourself comfortable. I’m sorry we only have water to offer the person who saved Ki-cheol…”

She led me to the librarian’s office, where I sat on a sofa.

As she said, there was just a glass of water on the table.

The environment here must be so harsh they barely had water to spare.

Water wasn’t free anymore.

“No, I’m grateful for fresh water.”
Knowing this, I expressed my thanks.

“I’m glad you feel that way. But… I have a question.”
Ji-ah spoke hesitantly, as if weighing her words.

“Yes?”

“Mika-ssi… What are you? Are you… human?”

A sharp question, the first of its kind.
But I wasn’t fazed.
If anything, it was overdue.

I had a perfect plan for this.

“Hm… Who knows?”

Operation: Mysterious Aura.

“What about those wings?”

“Hard to say…”

“I heard you used a gun as a weapon with Ki-cheol. Is that a skill?”

“Could be, could not be.”

I answered every question vaguely, as if I had some untold story.

“…”
Ji-ah’s eyes narrowed at my constant deflections, but I kept a shameless expression.

So what?
What’re you gonna do if I don’t answer?

“Haa…”
She sighed, quickly realizing she wouldn’t get anywhere.

“Fine. I won’t pry. Ki-cheol’s probably waiting outside to show you around.”

With that dismissal, Ji-ah opened the door to see me out.

As she said, Ki-cheol was waiting.

He gave me a tour of the library.

“The library has two basement floors and four above ground. People live on the third and fourth floors for safety.”

The first and second floors were blocked off at the stairs and unused.

“We cleared out the reading room bookshelves to make living spaces.”

The bookshelves that once filled the reading rooms were gone.
Instead, they’d used them as walls to create personal spaces.

No curtains or privacy—just bare, harsh setups.

I could clearly see the people inside.

Most stared blankly at the ceiling.

It was like a war refugee camp.
And… what’s that smell?

I wrinkled my nose at a foul odor.

“Haha… Sorry, it smells a bit. The toilets don’t have water…”
Ki-cheol answered, noticing my expression.
So it was the bathrooms.

…Wait.
Bathrooms?

It hit me.

“For bathrooms, we use the black plastic bags by the doors… Mika-ssi?”

…

I haven’t used a bathroom once.