The Death-Calling Quest

It was the safest option I could take.

If I'd tried to bat the knife away or lock her wrist and something went wrong, the kitchen knife could have plunged straight into Han Nari's stomach.

So I wrapped my left arm around her belly to shield her. Lucky or unlucky, the tip of the blade scraped across my forearm and blood poured out in a heavy stream.

"O-Oppa...!!!"

"Hyung!!"

"Juhan!!"

"Kang Juhan!!!!"

They all came sprinting the second they saw how much I was bleeding.

It was a lot of blood, sure, but it barely even hurt.

"I'm fine. Everyone calm down."

"W-What do you mean you're fine?! You're bleeding like that!!"

"Nari, hold on! You, get over here!"

"I said I'm fine."

"Get over here right now!!"

Gihun dragged me into the bathroom, cranked the shower, and blasted water over my blood-soaked forearm.

"Aaah..!"

"Just hang on a second! We have to disinfect it!"

"Hey, wipe the water off first—you crazy bastard!!!"

"Guh!!!"

My foot flew on pure instinct and drove into Gihun's side.

I couldn't help it.

The idiot who claimed he was going to disinfect me had just squeezed body wash into his palm and started working up a lather.

"Here's the first-aid kit!"

"First-aid..."

Han Nari beat Jihye by a full step.

Of course she did—pulling something from Inventory was always going to be faster than tearing the house apart looking for it.

Thanks to the two of them, we managed to disinfect and treat the wound with actual antiseptic instead of body wash.

"Are you an assassin?! Were you trying to kill me?!"

"You think rubbing a little soap on it would kill you? Besides, it cleans the body. Probably disinfects the cut too~"

"You absolute psycho..!!"

I wanted to kick him again, but the pain was climbing fast enough that all I could do was scowl.

"Augh..!"

"Does it hurt a lot..?"

"What do you think?"

"Watch your mouth!!"

"It hurts. It hurts like hell."

"Hiiing... what do we do...."

"I-I'm sorry.. because of me..."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Huh..?"

"You put yourself in danger because of me. If anyone should be saying sorry, it's me."

"N-No.."

"He's right, hyung."

"Huh??"

"This time it was your fault."

"Ah... yeah, fair enough. Nari, I'm sorry."

"I'm fine, really..."

Even while she said it, Han Nari kept glancing nervously at Yang Jaeyeol.

No—everyone was watching Yang Jaeyeol's face.

His expression was that bad.

Before the treatment he'd been staring at me with pure worry. Now he was stone-faced.

Honestly, I would've looked the same.

I'd just put the girl he liked in danger.

Should I cut ties with Yang Jaeyeol once we link up with the protagonist's group?

No. Too wasteful.

Jaeyeol himself was one thing, but Han Nari had the irreplaceable Inventory skill.

Even if the protagonist's party eventually recruited someone else with Inventory, until ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then—hell, even after—Inventory was something you could never have enough of.

So for Han Nari's sake alone, I could never cut Yang Jaeyeol loose.

"Th-There's way too much blood, isn't there..?"

"Ah.. yeah."

"Hyung! Why are you talking like it's someone else's arm?! That's your arm! That's your blood!"

"I know, damn it."

The bandage wrapped around my arm was already soaked crimson and blood was dripping steadily onto the floor.

Even Yang Jaeyeol, who had been stone-faced a second ago, finally dropped the cold look—though not quite as far as Park Mingu—and asked with real worry,

"Hyung.. are you okay..?"

"I already said I'm not."

"....I'm sorry.."

"What for this time?"

"I just... snapped at you.... even though you had to do it that way..."

"Forget it. More importantly—did you guys get the quest too?"

"Ah, no.. I didn't get anything..."

"Me neither."

"Same."

"Me too.."

"Looks like only Oppa got it?"

"That so?"

A quest that basically handed everyone free weapons, and only I got it. Shame.

No—better that at least I got it.

I could pass this entrenching shovel on to Kim Jaemin or Lee Yeonghun.

Anyway, what was going to come out?

After Stat Amplification and the Skill Acquisition Ticket back-to-back, my expectations were sky-high.

Still, I kept them in check.

I'd be happy with something decent—like the hand axe Park Mingu carried or the jungle knife Yang Jaeyeol used.

"Please..! Please...! Augh..!!"

"Keep your arm still! Nari, do you have a fresh bandage??"

"Yes! Here!"

While Jihye rewrapped my arm, I reached toward the random weapon box floating in front of me.

Tap—

It started to tremble.

A moment later the lid blasted open like an explosion.

"Ah...."

A short sigh slipped out of me.

Not because the weapon was bad.

It was actually an incredible weapon.

In a zombie apocalypse, the safest and most effective option you could ask for: a ranged weapon.

A bow.

And not just any bow—a compound bow with those round pulley-like cams mounted top and bottom.

"Whoa! Hyung, that's insane?! The internet says these are light, easy to draw, and the arrow speed is way faster!"

"I'm so jealous.. Hyung already has the entrenching shovel too..."

Lee Yeonghun and Kim Jaemin, both still without proper weapons, were practically drooling.

Yeah, it was a solid weapon.

"Then why the hell do you look like that?"

"Like what?"

"You just got something good. So why the face like you bit into shit?"

"......"

I wasn't satisfied with this weapon.

Two reasons.

"I've never shot a bow in my life. And it doesn't really fit my style either."

"Then give it to me!"

"Me! Me! I can shoot it well!"

"Yeah. That's the problem."

"Huh??"

"What is?"

"A bow needs arrows."

"Yeah."

"Right."

"So what are you going to shoot? Picked-up rocks? Or stick wooden chopsticks in it?"

"Ah...."

"Arrows..."

Exactly. Arrows.

I had a bow and zero arrows.

That was why the weapon left me cold.

A bow without arrows was pure trash.

There was a way to get arrows, of course.

It was right there in my Status Window.

The 50P listed under Points.

Those were the points you could spend once the shop system opened. The shop sold everything under the sun, including arrows.

Arrows were among the cheapest items, so you didn't need a mountain of points—but the problem was that the shop system still hadn't opened.

And even after it did, you couldn't just open the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shop whenever you felt like it.

No one knew where or when a shop would appear.

Of course, I knew.

Maybe that was where I'd run into the protagonist's group.

"Hyung, can't you just give this bow to Nari?"

"What?"

"No, Jaeyeol! I'm fine!"

"Yeah! We're better than Nari!"

"Right! Right!"

"Have any of you ever shot a bow?"

"Nope."

"Of course not."

"Exactly. You've never even held one, but Nari can actually shoot."

"What??"

"Her? Why?"

"Nari's mother was a national archery team athlete. She even won gold."

"So... good genes?"

"No. Nari herself was an archery athlete until middle school. She won gold at the national championships too."

"Holy crap!"

"For real?! What's her mother's name??"

"K-Kim Seyoung..."

"Whoa!!!"

"Insane!!! Why are you only telling us now?!"

"Y-You never asked..."

Apparently she was a pretty famous athlete in the setting.

Of course Gihun and I had never heard of her.

"Even if no one asked, you should've said something!"

"Yeah! If my mom was Kim Seyoung, three-time Olympic gold medalist, I'd brag about it every single day!"

Damn.

The Olympics were every four years, so that was twelve straight years of gold medals.

"Then why'd you quit?"

"You won gold too!"

"I-It just... didn't really suit me.."

"Didn't suit you, yet you still took gold at the National Sports Festival?"

"Talent monster..."

"It's not like that..."

"Hey, drop it. She quit because of people exactly like you."

According to Yang Jaeyeol, the constant attention was what made Han Nari put down the bow.

Always compared to her mother—the so-called Queen of Archery—receiving more spotlight and more opportunities than other athletes, and then drowning under the stares and comments the second she failed to take gold or made a single mistake.

A middle-schooler under that kind of pressure? Yeah, quitting made sense.

Anyway—bow plus Inventory.

Wasn't that the ultimate combo?

No hesitation. I held the bow out to Han Nari.

"Take it."

"N-No! It's been forever since I shot a bow.. and... I don't have any confidence..."

"Doesn't matter how long it's been or how little confidence you have—you'll still shoot better than anyone else here. And your skill pairs perfectly with a bow. So take it. In exchange, if you pull something good later, you give it to me, deal?"

"Ah... okay..."

The moment she took the bow, Han Nari shoved it straight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into her Inventory.

Did she hate it that much? Or did old memories come flooding back?

Neither.

The reason she dumped the bow into Inventory like trash was her mother.

Looking at a bow made her think of her mom.

"Hic.. hic.. Mom.... Mom.... hic..."

"......"

Sigh... so much for using the bathroom.

"Augh, I really need to pee..!!"

"No."

"Why?!"

"Just go outside the window."

"Hyung..!! I seriously think I'm gonna go!"

"Shut up and go..!!"

"Aaaah..! It's coming..!!! Hiiik!!"

I smacked Kim Jaemin's ass as he clutched his lower half and spun him around, sending him off, then leaned my back against the wall and stood guard for a while.

After a bit of time passed, Han Nari peeked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the slightly open door, blinking her faintly swollen eyes and staring straight at me.

"You done?"

"Thank you..."

"For what? I just waited my turn."

"......"

She fretted her lips, slowly pushed the door open, and slipped past me while glancing repeatedly toward the living room—

Chup—

Hey! The kids are all right there!

Rising onto her tiptoes, Han Nari pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, then ducked her head and fled into the living room.

Still wide-eyed with the lip print on my cheek, I reflexively checked Yang Jaeyeol sitting on the sofa, then hurried into the bathroom myself.

After I finished relieving myself and washed my hands,

"......"

"......"

Yang Jaeyeol stood in front of the door like a reaper, staring me down and blocking the way.

"Y-You want to go first..?"

"Hyung."

"Yeah??"

"Can we talk for a minute."

"Sure, talk... about what?"

"Let's step outside."

"Can't we do it here?"

"......"

"Haa... fine. Lead the way."

Yang Jaeyeol strode ahead and opened the front door with an uneasy air. I glanced at the entrenching shovel leaning against the shoe cabinet.

I considered taking it, but Yang Jaeyeol's jungle knife was standing right next to it, so I just walked out empty-handed.

My stats were higher anyway.

"We're not going any farther, right?"

"No."

"Okay. What did you want to say?"

"......"

Yang Jaeyeol, who had been facing away, slowly turned and stood face-to-face with me.

"Hyung, about Nari...."

He never finished the question he wanted to ask.

My fist was faster.

Thwack!!!!

The clean hit sent him flying backward. Yang Jaeyeol froze with his eyes blown wide and his half-open mouth twitching.

"What the hell are you doing, you bastard! Get inside!!!"

"H-Hyung...!"

"KRAAAAAAAK!!!!"

"KRAAAK!!"

"KRAAAAAK!!!"

"KRAAAAAA!!!"

"KRAAAAAAAAAK!!!!"

Why the hell were there zombies here?!

Don't tell me....

"......"

I could see them.

Zombies pouring in through the open emergency stairwell door.

And standing motionless among the zombies that charged without a care for anything in their path—a human figure, completely unshaken.

"Mutan—"

In that instant my vision flooded red.

From the quest window that rose before my eyes.

It appeared.

The red quest that called for death.