EP.5 Hidden Special Weapon
"It must be introducing it because the stats increase dramatically. There's no way the status window would be bluffing."
It's rare for a game to reveal detailed stat abilities.
It must be so impressive that it's worth introducing.
『Power』
[F] Has the strength of a 650kg total in the big three lifts. Has punching power on par with a heavyweight professional boxer.
『Agility』
[F] Can dodge punches at the level of a lightweight pro boxer. Can run 100 meters in 11.5 seconds.
『Endurance』
[F] Can withstand F-level punching power. Can endure F-level physical abilities.
『Stamina』
[F] Can fight at full power for 40 minutes.
『Mana』
[F] Forms 300 mana points, which activates special traits.
At last, the status window presented the detailed F-level stat abilities.
'Oh~ Even just being F-grade, my physical abilities are way higher than before?'
I felt my shoulders rise with pride for a moment.
Was it because the F-grade stats I was given seemed amazing?
That's part of it, sure.
But the real reason my shoulders lifted was something else.
Looking at the stats the status window presented, I got a feeling.
It was an area where I actually had some expertise.
'All those years of lifting are finally paying off here!'
I'm a gym rat.
I like weight training and other sports too.
The secret to my explosive happy times isn't just youth.
It's because I've built up my testosterone through steady exercise.
Sometimes, there are gym rats who hold back on happy time because they're afraid of losing muscle.
That's not the kind of fitness life I want.
I work out to be happy in life.
For happiness, sometimes you have to stimulate your prostate and let it all out.
Anyway, I really enjoyed working out as more than just a hobby up to age 24.
Whether it rained or snowed, whether it was scorching hot or during a drought,
I always exercised consistently.
That's why I could truly feel what F-grade abilities meant.
"I used to lift a total of 570kg in the big three, and I ran 100 meters in 11.8 seconds."
I kept up my workouts even after coming to this world.
It was only natural, with the apocalypse looming.
So I kept up those records even after reincarnation.
I'm 186cm tall and weigh 90kg.
At 90kg, a 570kg total in the big three lifts is top amateur level.
My 100m time is about the same.
Comparing those records to the F-grade power of a 650kg total in the big three, I can estimate what it means.
It's like someone in the 100–110kg weight class putting up elite-level big three numbers.
If you link it to punching power instead of the big three, it becomes even clearer.
For F-grade punching power, it literally says, "Has the punching power of a heavyweight pro boxer."
"But the real core of these detailed stats isn't just that... look at agility and stamina. This is really not ordinary!"
I was amazed.
Not just power, but seeing the agility and stamina stats made me even more interested.
Usually, even if someone is heavy, they can still run 100m fast.
But agility related to dodging is a different story.
No matter how fast a heavyweight is, there's a limit to their class as a human.
Similarly, it's hard for a lightweight to surpass a heavyweight's punching power.
But the awakening ability gave me both heavyweight power and lightweight agility.
And I can fight for 40 minutes in that state.
That's about the length of 12 rounds of boxing.
So even if F-grade is the lowest level in the status window,
if you add up F-grade power/agility/endurance/stamina, the synergy makes you a superhuman who surpasses the limits of weight class.
"These are abilities worthy of a status window."
The last general stat is 'Mana.'
Maybe it's the power of mana that lets me have strength close to a superhuman.
If I were to compare it to my crazy masturbation ability:
it's like going at it full power for an hour, not climaxing, but maintaining huge pleasure the whole time.
It's truly amazing.
Shushushut! Shuk! Shushushushuk!
I got up for a bit and tried shadowboxing.
This sound wasn't coming from my mouth.
My mouth was still.
It was my lightning-fast fists cutting through the air.
"Oh... it's definitely different! I'm moving like a game character!"
I wasn't even doing proper form for shadowboxing.
Even so, I threw nine punches in an instant.
That's how tangible the physical abilities granted by the status window felt.
I swung a very heavy fist nine times in a row.
My body didn't lose balance during the process.
My overall stats were higher, so my body's balance was maintained.
"And now that I try shadowboxing, I can really feel the traits too."
When I was just sitting on the sofa thinking about it, it was vague.
But after standing up and throwing punches, I could feel traits like [Evasion Skill Mastery], [General Combat Skill Mastery], and [Combat Mentality Mastery] activating.
I'd done a lot of weightlifting, but only dabbled in martial arts at gyms and dojos.
But now, after gaining these traits, it was clear when I shadowboxed.
I could automatically see evasion routes and body movement paths,
and I felt my body move accordingly.
Plus, I felt calm.
Anyone would normally panic after such a drastic physical change.
But maybe because [Combat Mentality Mastery] was active, I was taking it all in stride.
"I think I can use my physical abilities to the max."
Even if you have the ability to dodge a lightweight boxer's punch, it doesn't mean you'll always dodge it.
Dodging also depends on evasion skill.
With these traits, I think I can use my enhanced physical abilities 100%.
"I feel like in real combat, I'll notice it even more."
Even just from the image, I could feel the effect.
If it works in real combat, I'll probably feel it even more than I do now.
Shuak! Shuk! Shushushushu! Shushushushuk! Shuk! Shuaaaak!
I got carried away and threw a few more shadow punches, high on the feeling of my new traits.
"My physical abilities are definitely amazing. Even just this much is honestly incredible. But, the opponent isn't human, it's a zombie."
But even after some great shadowboxing, I couldn't just laugh it off.
Superhuman physical abilities,
skilled martial arts
if my enemies were humans, I might have gone out right away and smashed their heads in.
If I threw heavyweight punches at lightweight boxer speed,
unless I ran into athletes of similar caliber, it would be hard for anyone to stop me, the special hidden awakened Kim Taesik.
But the opponent is a zombie.
The way zombies become incapacitated is different from humans.
In time, since it's the apocalypse, I might have to fight humans too not just other awakened, but regular people as well.
But since zombie points are important to me, I have to consider zombies as my main enemies.
"If you're fighting zombies, you have to be prepared for group attacks."
One of the situations that maximizes the danger of zombies is fighting several at once.
When I start hunting zombies, the situations I have to be most careful of are ambushes and being swarmed.
Especially being swarmed by zombies is very different from with humans.
For example, a human doesn't have to be killed to be incapacitated.
Even if you don't kill them, if you hit their jaw just right, you can knock them out and render them unable to fight.
Especially if, like me, you can throw a heavyweight pro boxer's punch, that becomes even easier.
You can knock someone out with a single punch.
That's why, if a heavyweight pro fighter faces off against ten ordinary people, the fighter is favored.
Most ordinary people would get one-shot KO'd if they took a clean punch from a heavyweight pro.
You don't even have to knock everyone out.
If you brutally knock out just a few in the front, the rest will probably give up.
Humans are creatures of fear.
So if I had to fight unarmed regular humans right now, I could go out and take them down immediately.
Of course, I mean technically.
But zombies are different.
Zombies don't get knocked out from a jaw shot.
Even if you smash their head hard, they don't get knocked out.
I killed a few zombies on my way here, and the ones roaming outside now are like movie zombies they only stop moving if their brain is severely damaged.
So unless you inflict serious trauma and shatter their skull, they don't become incapacitated.
I myself had a close call when fighting zombies before I got here.
I smashed a zombie's head, but it only fell over it didn't get knocked out.
While I was dealing with another one, I couldn't finish it off, and the first one attacked me again.
If the opponent had been human, eight or nine out of ten would have been knocked out or lost the will to fight after the first pipe blow.
But since it was a zombie, that situation happened.
That's what fighting zombies is like.
Attacks that would knock someone out aren't enough.
"In the end, if you're going to openly hunt zombies for points, you absolutely need one-shot-one-kill ability."
If you get bitten even once, you're screwed,
and they don't become incapacitated from most impacts.
To be a point hunter against these guys, you must have one-shot-one-kill capability.
"So what I'm counting on right now is, of course, my weapon."
Yes, the weapon.
If my base stats go up several times from here, maybe I could beat zombies with just my physique.
But that's a long way off.
For now, my weapon has to deliver the one-shot-one-kill.
That's why I decided to stake everything on the special weapon, the "Nano Awakened Metal Pipe."
Tremble... tremble... tremble...
My fingers, full of anticipation for my weapon,
Click!
With those fingers, I pressed the [Special Weapon Details] button.