Chapter 8 : Second Night

Back home, I first checked the state of my broken front door.

‘This’ll be tough to fix.’
The doorknob was dust, completely gone.
Hardly enough to protect a delicate girl like me.
But moving elsewhere wasn’t an option either—it was already evening.
After a long day, I just wanted to eat and rest.

‘Hm… Oh, I’ve got an idea.’
I headed to the kitchen, lifted the fridge with ease, and placed it in front of the door.

Perfect fit.

That solved the door issue.
A strong body really comes in handy.

I had no plans to fully repair the place.
As long as I could sleep safely tonight, I was good.

‘This isn’t somewhere I can stay long.’
The first floor was littered with hundreds of zombie corpses.
In time, the stench of decay would make this building uninhabitable.
Plus, the only food source nearby was that one convenience store.
Bad conditions, scarce resources.
I wasn’t planning to linger here.

Time to fill my stomach.

It was already evening.
I hadn’t eaten since yesterday—48 hours of fasting.
Luckily, this body seemed unbothered by hunger, but no need to push it.

‘You eat when you can.’
Especially in an apocalypse.

I pulled out the desserts and hot bars I’d grabbed from the store.
They’d spoil soon, so I planned to eat them today.

‘If only I had a gas burner, I could cook some ramen…’
Sadly, living alone meant no burner in my apartment.

Wait—could I use my halo like a flame?
It sparkled so brightly, it seemed perfect for heating water.

Excited, I reached for the halo.

Whoosh—

My hand passed through empty air.
Apparently, the halo couldn’t be physically touched.

‘Tch… Guess I’ll just eat as is.’
Deflated, I grabbed a hot bar.
Even without microwaving, it was decent.
These would spoil eventually, so I had to enjoy them now.

Savoring the hot bar, I turned on my smartphone.

‘The internet could die any moment, so I need to gather as much info as I can.’
The connection was growing shakier.
It wouldn’t be surprising if it cut out entirely.

While I was out, new videos and posts had flooded in.

[Find salvation through faith. Join New Heart Church for redemption.]

[Korea will not fall! Why Japan envies us!]

Cult propaganda and patriotic nonsense.

[I solo zombies! Easy ways to rack up kills.]

[Fast, safe awakening methods. You won’t awaken without this video.]

Awakeners were posting videos, hunting zombies for fame.

Lots of content, but nothing particularly useful.
It’s only day two of the zombie outbreak, so maybe that’s expected.

Videos weren’t cutting it, so I scoured community sites.
Same story there.

Maybe most people were infected, or they’d decided the internet was useless.
The forums were filled with garbage posts.

One caught my eye, though.

[I saw an angel.]
[Met an angel today.
Halo, wings, the whole divine package.
One gesture, and dozens of zombies vanished.
Wow… Thanks to the angel clearing the street, I got food from the convenience store.
(Picture of boxes stuffed with canned goods)]

A post about spotting an angel.

The comments were mostly skeptical.

No way.

You just saw an awakener.

Stop making sht up.*

The poster argued back fiercely, but few believed them.
Fair enough—most would assume it was an awakener with fancy powers.

But I didn’t think the post was fake.

‘There could be someone else who transformed into an angel like me.’
Wiping out zombies with a gesture—magic, maybe?
Or an awakening skill.
I read the post carefully, committing it to memory.

‘Phew… Less useful info than I hoped.’
I turned off the phone.
With no electricity, I had to conserve battery.
Instead, I opened my status window.
I hadn’t had time to check it while dodging zombies outside.

Level: 5

Health: 3288/3288
Mystic: 1641/1641
Attack: 1480
Defense: 371
Agility: 1501
Natural Recovery: 1810

Acquired Skills:
Dress Form LV.1

Skill Points: 4

Killing zombies had leveled me up.

‘I must’ve killed hundreds, and I’m only level 5?’
Lower than expected.
I was hoping for at least 10.

‘Stats went up across the board.’
They were already high, so it was hard to gauge the increase.

Something else stood out.
Skill Points.
Leveling to 5 gave me 4 points.

‘The problem is, the only skill I can use them on is Dress Form…’
I hesitated.
Invest in Dress Form?
Or save the points for a better skill later?
Logically, waiting for a good skill made sense.
But it wasn’t that simple.

‘Even a trash skill might improve with levels.’
It seems useless now, but points could make it better.
Plus, who knows when I’d get a new skill?
Hoarding points indefinitely didn’t feel right.

You know what they say—use it or lose it.

‘And Dress Form isn’t completely useless.’
It’s no combat skill, but keeping me clean is pretty handy in an apocalypse.

Decision made.

I’d level up Dress Form once.

It felt like a scam waiting to happen, but I’d take the risk.

[Would you like to consume a Skill Point to upgrade Dress Form LV.1?]

‘Yes.’

[Dress Form LV.1 -> LV.2]

[Dress Form LV.2
Consumes Mystic to equip the user with the most suitable outfit.
Protection: Clothes gain defensive properties.]

“Hell yeah!”
The gamble paid off big.

Leveling Dress Form to 2 unlocked a new effect.

Protection.

Just the name sounded reassuring.
I glanced around, eager to test it.

‘Maybe slice the clothes with a knife? If they tear, they’ll repair anyway.’
I grabbed a kitchen knife and carefully ran it over my outfit.

Scrape, scrape.

I moved the knife like a saw, gently.
But it didn’t cut—just slid over the fabric.
The clothes blocked the blade.

‘…’
Maybe the knife was dull?
I tested it on some old clothes from my wardrobe.
They sliced easily.
My outfit’s protective ability was confirmed.

“Jackpot…”
I marveled at the skill’s performance.
This could fend off zombie bites or surprise attacks.

Dress Form, you beautiful thing.
I knew I could count on you!

‘This is my skill.’
No stopping now.
I was ready to pump more levels into my trusty Dress Form.

I had confidence.

A skill this great had to unlock even better effects.
Maybe a dedicated weapon?
My brain spun with hopeful possibilities.

[Would you like to consume a Skill Point to upgrade Dress Form LV.2?]

‘Go for it.’

[Dress Form LV.2 -> LV.3]

[Dress Form LV.3
Consumes Mystic to equip the user with the most suitable outfit.
Protection: Clothes gain defensive properties.
New Outfit (1): School uniform added to Dress Form’s options.]

…

“You bastard! Give me my points back!”
I screamed at the status window, furious over my lost points.
My cries echoed in vain.

Yeah.

I’d been scammed.

Damn status window.

After eating, it was already evening.

Too restless to sleep, I opened the curtains to look outside.

—Grr…

The once-empty streets were now filled with zombies, appearing out of nowhere.

Are these things being summoned or what?
They just keep coming.

Aside from their groans, the city was deathly quiet.

And dark.
Normally, people coming home would light up the buildings, chasing away the night.

Lights flickering on.
Families reuniting.
Sharing stories of the day over dinner.

That warmth, once glowing in these buildings, was gone.

“…”

Ugh.

‘What am I even doing?’
Enough pointless thoughts.
Time to sleep.

I shook my head and climbed into bed, drifting off.

My first day—the world’s second day of ruin—came to an end.