Escape from the 32nd Floor
Quests come in every color under the sun—black, white, the whole spectrum—but the ones that show up in webtoons boil down to just two kinds.
The ordinary blue quests.
And the red ones that spell death.
Why do red quests call death? Because unless you’ve got the protagonist’s plot armor, you simply cannot survive them.
Hell, even the protagonist fails sometimes. He scrapes by with his life, sure, but every time it happens his companions die or a mountain of people get wiped out.
They’re the devices that force the hero to awaken, the ones that forge him into something stronger. That’s what a red quest is.
And one of those had just popped up right in front of my eyes.
"Hyung!!!!"
"KRAAAAH!!!"
"......"
The mutant’s blank stare locked on me vanished behind the wave of charging zombies.
Whish—
Thud—
I twisted my head clear of a snatching hand, shoved aside another that lunged for my shoulder, and drove my elbow into it.
CRACK!!!
The zombie that went flying sideways cleared my line of sight, and my eyes met the mutant’s again.
No time for a staring contest, though.
"KRAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAAH!!!"
"KRAAH!!!"
"KRAAH!!"
"KRAAAAAH!!!!"
I dodged the oncoming zombies, bolted into the apartment, and slammed the front door shut.
Click!
Clack!!
I locked every extra bolt beyond the digital lock and hooked the safety chain.
"Hyung… the quest…"
"Jaeyeol."
"Y-yes..!"
"No time. Do exactly what I say."
"…Yes."
"Juhan!!"
"Hyung!!"
"Oppa!!"
"Jaeyeol! This quest…"
"Back to the living room!!"
I shouted at the group rushing toward me, snatched the weapons leaning against the shoe cabinet, and sprinted into the living room.
"Short version. We have to escape this place. Holding out is impossible."
"E-escape…?"
"But the zombie noises…"
No need to spell it out.
The zombies were already hammering the door like they meant to break it down.
BANG BANG!! BANG BANG BANG BANG!!! BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!!!
Everyone understood opening that front door and walking out was suicide.
But we had a problem.
"We’re on the thirty-second floor!!"
Yeah. Not the third floor, not the second—the thirty-second.
Stairs were out. Elevator was out. And none of us could fly.
Think of a way. Think.
"W-wait a second…! Everyone…"
Park Mingu lowered his voice and pressed a finger to his lips.
Silence.
The furious pounding that had been shaking the door just moments ago was gone.
"Th-they left…?"
"Already?? It’s been less than a minute…"
"So we’re good, right? Hyung, if we just stay quiet…"
No. That doesn’t work.
Ordinary zombies? Sure. But if that thing really was a mutant, silence wouldn’t save us.
BOOOOM!!!!!
The thunderous crash made everyone flinch and whip their heads toward the front door.
We couldn’t see it from here.
But we could guess exactly what was happening—no need to go look.
"Th-th-the door…"
"What about the door..!!"
"It’s… it’s dented… like a fist punched straight through…"
Curiosity got the better of Park Mingu. He edged toward the entrance, then twisted back to report to the rest of us in the living room.
Then he dropped onto the floor.
Another boom rolled through the apartment.
BOOOOM!!!!!!
Legs gone, Mingu crawled back on all fours like he no longer had the strength to stand.
He delivered the news like he was spinning a war story.
"Th-the door opened..!!"
"It opened??"
"Not all the way…! It crumpled and a gap cracked open..!!! Wh-what the hell is out there…? What the hell is it..!!!!"
Every eye turned to me and Yang Jaeyeol.
We were the only two who’d been outside and could answer.
No time for that.
"Go to the rooms. Pull out every blanket."
"Yes."
"What are you standing around for?! Move!!"
"Ah..! Yes!!"
Jaeyeol moved instantly; the rest jumped at my bark and scrambled.
Blankets piled high in the living room. Meanwhile I handed out kitchen knives and scissors I’d grabbed from the kitchen.
"Cut them. As long as you can. We’re weaving these into a rope."
"You crazy bastard..!! We’re on the thirty-second floor!!"
"Then do what I say if you don’t want to just jump!!"
"Augh, for real..!!"
On one side they sliced blankets into long strips. I watched the YouTube tutorial Han Nari pulled up and started knotting the cut pieces with a method that would never come undone.
Thud!! Thud-thud-thud!!
Done.
Rock solid.
I lashed the finished blanket-rope tight to the frame of the shattered living-room window.
"Jaeyeol goes first. Secure the elevator as quietly as you can. Give me that and take this."
I took his machete, handed him Park Mingu’s axe and a thin cushion, then cinched another length of blanket-rope hard around his waist.
"Go down slow."
"J-Jaeyeol… you gonna be okay…?"
"No time. Get down. Hyung, lower me."
"Got it."
Even though it was tied to the frame, we still had to get the length exact.
So the five of us men grabbed the rope and eased him down hand over hand.
"Hyung!!"
"Stop. Hold there."
Dangling at the end with the rope around his waist, Jaeyeol pressed the thin cushion against the window below and started hammering with the axe.
He muffled the noise, cracked the glass as quietly as possible, then swung like a pendulum and slipped inside.
"Phone?"
"Got it!"
"Jaeyeol, hold the end tight. We’ll pull it taut and set the length."
-Yes.
While he gripped the rope we hauled until it went rigid.
Then we untied the knot from the frame and re-secured it rock-solid.
BANG!!! BANG BANG BANG!!!!!
Shit… only one person down so far..!!
No telling how long the door would last.
We had to hurry.
"Women first. Gihun, you, Mingu, and Yeonghun—hold the rope and lower them. One at a time. Got it?"
"What about you?"
"Jaemin, stick with me."
"Yes..!"
"I’ll help too!"
"Me too!"
Since we were sending people down one by one, only Choi Huijin—who was going first—stayed out; the rest of the women pitched in.
"Push!!"
"Ugh..!!"
"Nn..!!"
"Augh!!!"
"A little more..!!"
"Haa… haa… done…"
"Not even close."
"Huh…?"
We jammed the refrigerator, the sofa, and every scrap of furniture we could find into the narrow hallway leading to the front door.
We could have barricaded the door itself, but a door already half-crushed might simply tear free under the weight. Safer this way.
As we sealed the corridor the women helping peeled off one by one until only Jihye remained.
"Nuna!"
"Hurry!"
"I-I’m going first..!"
"Go."
"Don’t do anything reckless again..!! Got it?! Come down fast!"
"Just go!!"
I barked and she finally bolted for the window—right as the sound I least wanted to hear arrived.
THUNK!!!
Something being ripped free.
Then the heavy crash of a massive object toppling.
KUUUNG!!!
The door that had done its job finally gave way.
No—it was gone.
Through the tiny gap between the upright fridge and the sofa, our eyes met again.
The silent mutant.
"You’re still weak, huh?"
"......"
"Took you that long to tear off one door. Haven’t been a monster very long, have you?"
"......"
"That’s why you just stood there staring earlier. Because you’re weak. Because I might be stronger than you. So what’s the verdict? Stronger than me? Or weaker?"
Even through the slit I could see it clearly—the mutant’s expressionless face.
Then—
Sssssss—
The sofa we’d propped up toppled toward the mutant with absurd ease, turning the tiny gap into a gaping hole.
And—
KUUUNG!!!
The sofa hit the floor and the thing came through.
Whoosh!!
Its face, wearing a grotesque smile, filled my vision.
"Weak…"
This bastard.
It had read the room perfectly.
Too bad for it.
Whish!!!!
My hand shot up from the heavy wooden desk bracing the sofa and the machete carved toward the mutant’s face as it shoved forward.
It simply leaned back, dodging with ridiculous ease, and in the same instant its hand clamped onto my shoulder.
CRUSH!!!!
Fuck, that hurts!!
The strength was monstrous.
Enough to crumple a thick front door.
Not just raw power, either. Its durability stat had to be sky-high—otherwise that hand would already be shattered.
"Ugh..!!!!"
"Weak… human… eat… devour…"
The grip kept tightening; my shoulder felt ready to snap.
I shoved upward with my left hand locked around its forearm, but the hand on my shoulder refused to budge.
That’s why it got careless.
It thought this was all the strength I had.
Whish!!
Grab!!!
I thrust the machete in a last-ditch stab—only for it to snatch my wrist instead.
My right arm was wrenched wide as the mutant climbed over the sofa, its face now barely a handspan from mine.
"Eat… devour…"
Christ, its breath reeked!
What the hell has this thing been eating?!
But I could take it.
This was exactly the setup I wanted.
"Stat Amplification."
Stat Amplification
Physical stats (Strength / Agility) temporarily boosted at the cost of Mental.
"......"
"No idea what that means, right? Just feel it… now!!!!"
I slammed Stat Amplification and jacked my Strength all the way to 9.
Then the left hand that had been shoving its arm shot out, seized the back of its head, and yanked.
No way it could dodge the forehead flying at it full force.
CRUNCH!!!!
I drove it home.
Hard enough that something burst against my brow.
"KRAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
A beautiful scream rang out as the mutant reeled backward.
The hands that had locked my shoulder and wrist now clutched its own right eye.
Because that was exactly where my forehead had landed.
Finish it while it’s down—
"Fuck!!!"
"KRAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAAH!!!"
"KRAAH!!!"
"KRAAH!!"
"KRAAAAAH!!!!"
"KRAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAAH!!!"
As if they’d been waiting for the cue, zombies poured through, trampling the sofa the mutant had knocked over.
Thud! Thud-thud!
Slash!!!
I checked behind me.
Then spun and ran.
Grab!
I seized the rope still tied to the window frame and sprinted toward the wall with the TV.
"KRAAH!!!"
"KRAH!!"
"KRAAAH!!"
I reversed direction, charged back toward the entrance, and carved into the zombies lunging at me with the machete.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!"
"Aigoo. Looks like you’re a one-eyed freak now."
I skidded to a halt, smirked at the mutant that had already reached the living room, then took off running again.
"See you around."
"KRAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
Blind in one eye and raging, the mutant gave chase.
Fast.
But I only needed a few seconds.
I hit my mark—
CRUNCH-CRACKLE!!!!!
—and stomped hard through the carpet of shattered glass before launching myself straight out the window.
Cool wind and warm sunlight wrapped my whole body; for a heartbeat flying felt like pure freedom.
Then pure terror.
"SHIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!"
Gravity seized me and I plummeted. I clenched the rope in my left hand like my life depended on it—because it did.
Strength at 9.
Even if the rope snapped taut and the rebound hit hard, I could hold.
No—please hold!!!
Jerk!!!
The rope went rigid; my body bobbed upward for a fraction of a second.
I nearly lost my grip, but the momentum swung me hard back toward the building.
"Move!!!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
"Get clear!!!"
"Kyaaaak!!!"
The girls who’d been standing by the window to help screamed and dove left and right. I let go of the rope before I even landed.
Why?
Whooosh!!!!
Because the mutant had yanked it from above.
That’s why mutants are so damn dangerous.
Why the hell is a monster this smart?!!
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!!"
"Kang Juhan!!!!"
"Oppa!!!!"
Haa… barely made it again…
The wound on my left arm felt like it had torn wider, but—
Thud-thud-thud-thud!!!
—my body shot through the broken window of the floor below and rolled hard across the floor.
Pain lanced up my left arm hard enough to make my hair stand on end, but the second I got my feet under me I roared,
"Run!!!"
One floor down.
If it was a mutant, it was already dropping after us.
No time to waste.
"Hurry!!"
"Faster!!"
"Move!!"
We stomped over the zombies littering the floor and piled into the elevator Jaeyeol and the guys had secured.
And—
BOOM!!!
With a sound like something shattering, the emergency stairwell door burst open and the mutant’s gaze locked onto mine.
Only one eye left now.
"Going down. Doors closing."
"Nice try."
"KRAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"
Pity.
A second faster and it could have jammed a hand into the gap.
Would it have lost an arm too?
Anyway—now what?
Where the hell do we go?
"Hyung!"
"Give me a second to think!"
While the elevator dropped toward the first floor I sorted my options.
And decided.
"First floor. Doors opening."
That was the place.
"Let’s go. Mapo Bridge."