I Became The Necromancer In The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie World

Chapter 2

—–CROW—– 

“Then I’ll select the personnel who will join the next search party.”

Around lunchtime, the civilian group gathered in the dormitory’s second-floor lobby, listening to Private Yoo Jae-wook.  Among them, I stood with a pale face, staring at the floor, my hands trembling.

*Search party.*  That meant leaving the dormitory to explore the surrounding area.  Usually, a few soldiers and a few civilians were chosen.

But this time was different.  Su-ah’s betrayal had revealed that some of the civilians were planning a rebellion.  The bitch who spread her legs for Captain Kang Hae-seok.  She’d secured the safest position in the group by being his whore.  There was no way she *hadn’t* told him about our plan to kill him and the other soldiers.

Which meant the civilians chosen for this search party…were being sent to their deaths.

“Um…I have a suggestion.”

Professor Lee Sang-woon, our leader, raised his hand.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Could we choose the civilians for this search party ourselves?”

“Hmm…sure. But choose carefully. We only need one person.”

One person.  Fewer than usual.  A clear sign that this was an execution.

I looked up at Professor Lee.

‘He must…he must have a plan.’

He was a doctor, the most educated and knowledgeable person among us. Surely he had a way out of this.  I had to believe that.

We gathered around Professor Lee and began the selection process.

“How about…we vote?”

“Vote? What about the usual lottery?”

Ryu Da-hee tilted her head in confusion.  Even the regular search parties were dangerous, venturing out into zombie-infested territory.  So we usually drew lots made by the soldiers or chose someone physically fit.  But Professor Lee was suggesting a vote.

‘Yes…! He’s going to have us choose someone useless to avoid punishment.’

Someone like Shin Joo-ha, the whore, or one of the other indifferent survivors who hadn’t joined the rebellion.  That way, the rebels would survive and could try again later.  I desperately clung to that hopeful thought.

But I knew the truth. One of the rebels *had* to die.  Shin Joo-ha? The soldiers wouldn’t send her on a suicide mission.  They were deliberately choosing a rebel to execute.  If someone other than a rebel was chosen, the soldiers would refuse and choose one of us themselves.

I knew all this.

So perhaps…this outcome was inevitable.

“…Huh?”

“Then, Lee Seo-ho…be careful out there.”

The ballots were unfolded. The rebel chosen to die as an example…was me.

“W-Wait a minute! Seo-ho already does the most work.  It’s not fair to send him on the search party too!”

“I…I don’t think that’s right…”

Da-hee and Mo-a protested.  But the others looked down, silent.

“Don’t worry too much.  There will be soldiers with him. It won’t be that dangerous.”

Professor Lee reassured them. Da-hee and Mo-a, unaware of the rebellion, fell silent.  The majority had spoken, and they’d been told it was safe.  Besides, Professor Lee was a doctor. His words carried a certain weight.

“But it’s still too much…”

Da-hee looked at me with concern in her eyes.

I stared blankly at Professor Lee and the other rebels, my face pale with shock.  At the others who knew I was going to die.  At Su-ah, watching silently.

‘These…these fucking bastards.’

They’d planned the rebellion for the good of the group, but now that it had been discovered, they were abandoning me.  Even the ones who’d risked their lives alongside me were throwing me under the bus, knowing this search party was a death sentence.

“Hey…well, be careful out there.”

Da-hee, oblivious, patted my shoulder, her voice filled with worry.  I couldn’t respond, still reeling from the shock.

I couldn’t run.  Outside was swarming with zombies.  If I refused to go, they’d shoot me on the spot.  Even if I begged them to change their minds, no one would volunteer to take my place.

I had been sentenced to death.

—–CROW—–

“Hey, keep up.”

The search party consisted of five people: Sergeant Park Sung-ho, Corporal Choi Hee-jae, Corporal Joo Tae-eun, Private Yoo Jae-wook…and me, the cow being led to slaughter.

“Did you hear about that department store they found recently? The one with the cloaked zombie?”

“Yeah, idiot. That’s where we’re going.”

“Ah, we’re giving *him* to it?”

As we left the dormitory and navigated a safe route off campus, they spoke freely about their plans.  Essentially, how they were going to kill me.

“Serves you right for trying to start shit.”

—*Whack!*—

A hand slammed against the back of my head.

“What, do you want to live?  Then run.  Keke, it’s crawling with zombies anyway.”

They taunted me as we walked.

‘We’re heading to a department store.’

‘It’s full of zombies, so there should be plenty of food inside.’

‘Go on in and see if you can survive…’

…That’s what they kept saying.

But all I could think was, ‘I need to escape…I need to escape…’  I desperately searched for a way out, but nothing came to mind.

They’d threatened to shoot me in the legs and leave me to the zombies if I tried to run.  The threat, coupled with the certainty of death, paralyzed me.  I walked on, a puppet on their string, until we reached the department store.

“Damn, this place is huge.”

“If it weren’t for the zombies, we wouldn’t have to worry about food.”

“Keke, if I bring back enough food, maybe Su-ah will let me have a go at her.”

Sergeant Park slung an arm around my shoulder, his voice dripping with mockery.

“Hey, you were in the same department as Su-ah in college, right? Did you have a crush on her?”

“Haha, that would be pathetic.  Dying after being backstabbed by the girl you like.”

“Her pussy must be amazing if the Captain’s so obsessed with her.  Huh?  Lee Seo-ho, what do you think?”

He slapped my cheek.

“What a loser.  I’d at least ask her for one last fuck before I die.”

“Nah, Sergeant Park.  Even Su-ah wouldn’t give it up to a loser like him.”

Corporal Choi’s words were met with laughter.

My blood boiled, but I kept my mouth shut. The imminence of death had a strangely calming effect.

“Anyway, watch us from heaven. Once the Captain gets bored, we’ll all take turns fucking Su-ah.”

“Jerk off in heaven if you can, loser.  Keke.”

They continued their taunts as they led me through a familiar safe route.  They were experienced at navigating the zombie-infested streets, reaching the department store with little trouble.

There was a hole in the wall, where a bus had crashed into the building.  We approached it, and I saw a space below: the department store’s basement bathroom.

“So…this is…”

“Your final destination.”

Sergeant Park pointed his rifle at the hole.

“Down there is the basement level, the food court. Go in, assess the situation, grab some canned food, and come back the way you came.”

“Come back?  What do you…”

“If you bring back food, the Captain might let you live.  Hahaha!  Our Captain is so generous.”

I’d assumed they were just going to throw me to the zombies.  But they wanted to use me to test the department store for a possible entry point.  If I died, they’d be rid of a rebel. If I lived, they’d get a ton of food.

“Really…you’ll really let me live?”

“You’re so gullible. Yeah, if you bring back enough food, I’ll ask the Captain if I can fuck Su-ah.”

—–CROW—–

“Damn, I’d go straight in and grab all the Spam.”

They laughed, their words dripping with mockery.  But amidst the insults, one thought pierced through:

‘I…I can live…!’

A tiny sliver of hope.  Compared to certain death, it was an irresistible offer.

I looked down at the bathroom below.  It seemed safe enough.  I leaned closer to get a better look…

“Get in, loser.”

—*Wham!*—

“Whoa!”

Someone kicked me from behind, sending me tumbling into the darkness.

“Ugh, w-wait! I didn’t agree to this!”

“Who cares? You’re going in anyway. Hurry up. We’re leaving.”

Their shadows disappeared from the opening above.

“Wait…!”

I scrambled for a foothold, trying to climb back up.

“—Groan…ahh, groan…”

Behind me.  In the shadows.  A familiar sound.

“Eek…!”

I turned to see a zombie.  A strange-looking zombie wearing a robe, the hood pulled over its head.

“Hey—! You bastards!! There’s a zombie down here!! You sons of bitches—!!”

Terror choked my voice.  Tears and snot streamed down my face as I screamed up at the opening.  I didn’t want to die here. I wanted to live.  I couldn’t die like this.  My life couldn’t end here.

“—Roooaaar!!”

“Shit!!”

The zombie lunged, grabbing my arm.

“Eek—!!”

I had no time to react.

—*Crunch!*—

“Aaaaagh!!!”

Its teeth sank into my neck.

*Grind, grind.*

“It hurts!! It hurts, dammit!!  Help me!! I’m sorry!! I won’t do it again!! I’ll be good!! Please, please save me—!!”

Tears and snot mingled with blood as I screamed into the void.  But no one answered.

—*Thud.*—

*Grind, grind.*

“G-Guh…”

The zombie pulled me down, its weight pinning me to the floor.  It tore at my flesh like a wild animal.  I stared up at the bathroom ceiling, sinking into the abyss of death.

A burning pain in my shoulder, a sickeningly wet sensation.  My vision blurred as regret flooded my mind.

‘I should have raided the food storage and eaten my fill before dying.’

Maybe I should have charged them, even if it meant being shot.  Even as I died, I was still hungry.

I remembered the soldiers’ taunts.

‘What a loser. I’d at least ask her for one last fuck before I die.’

Stupid words, but they echoed in my dying mind.  If I’d known I was going to die like this…  I should have seduced the Captain, flattered him, like Su-ah, the bitch who betrayed me.  I should have forced myself on her before leaving the dormitory, filled her womb with my seed before being executed.  I hadn’t even lost my virginity yet.

“Fu…ck…!”

And finally…more than anything…the soldiers who treated me like a slave.  The survivors who used and abandoned me.  Su-ah, the whore who betrayed me.

‘Fuck…fuck you all…I should have killed you all.’

“Sob…sob…you bastards…all of you…”

*Grind, grind.*

Tears streamed down my face.  Not tears of fear, but of frustration, rage, a thirst for revenge.  Hot, bitter tears of blood.

As the zombie tore at my throat, I cursed them all, the ones who put me here.  I swore I would kill them, even in death.

My consciousness faded.  My vision dimmed.  Images of their hateful faces filled my dying mind.

Then…

—*Ding.*—

Something changed.

[You have inherited the Necromancer class.]

A translucent blue window appeared before my eyes.  I stared at the unexpected message.

“…What the fuck is this?”

—–CROW—–