A Modest Welcome
The ones who'd cleared their quests were Jaeyeol, Kim Jincheol's group, and Elder Choi.
Jaeyeol's quest had been to stop the raid. Kim Jincheol's party and Elder Choi had been told to escape the threat of the attack.
Everyone else — myself and Jaeyeol excluded — had received a quest to prove their worth, but none of us had even found a clue about the clear conditions yet.
But right now, something more important than that was the meaning behind Gihun's words: a fight they could never win.
"That bastard Suho never even intended to fight, okay?"
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I don't know. He just kept taking hits like a total loser."
"Why would he do that?"
"That's what I want to know the most! Then all of a sudden he shoved me out the window, yelling at me to run even if it was just me!"
Apparently Suho never attacked the raiders — he just kept defending, soaking up every hit. That was why it had been a fight they could never win.
So why the hell had Suho done that?
Could it have something to do with a quest?
"What quest did Suho get?"
"No idea. He wouldn't tell me."
"Then what do you know?"
"The guy wouldn't say a word — how am I supposed to know?!"
Maybe he'd gotten a quest like mine, one he couldn't talk about to anyone else?
No way. I'd never seen a quest like that in the webtoon.
Sure, sometimes people kept their quests secret for personal reasons — but what kind of personal reason would there be for a quest like that?
Didn't seem likely.
"Well, we can just go ask him."
"So we're all going this time?"
At Jaeyeol's question, I looked over at the women. Their own will mattered more than anything.
"You want to come? It could be dangerous."
"I'm going. I didn't grind those stats just to lose them."
"I'm going too."
"Me too!"
"If we go, we can handle the women on their side."
"Exactly. We're good at grabbing hair."
Even the women all decided to come along.
Kim Jincheol's group, of course, was staying behind. They'd already cleared their quests, and with Kim Soyeong and the other kids — plus the wives — they were better off remaining at the shelter.
Even if they'd offered to help, I would have stopped them.
But there was one person being dragged along whether he wanted to or not.
Elder Choi.
Originally I'd planned to leave him in the hospital he'd set on fire and let him die a natural death, but somehow I still had him with me.
"I can't fool the zombies' eyes with my Illusion skill anymore!"
"Don't lie!"
"You can still do it!"
"Old man, you want to do it after a beating, or just do it?"
"I-I'm telling the truth!!!"
"He's right. He is telling the truth."
I took Elder Choi's side as he protested his innocence. Because what he said was actually true.
The only reason a mere Level 1 skill had been able to cast illusions over that many people and fool the eyes of hundreds — thousands — of zombies was because the right conditions had been met.
"Everyone wait here a second. Elder Choi, come with me."
"Yes."
"W-wait! Why me?! Where are we going?!!"
I took Elder Choi and the hostage who'd spilled everything, slipped out of the shelter, and moved to the building next door. Then I handed Elder Choi a military greatsword.
"You need a sacrifice, don't you?"
"How did you..."
"You think I kept you around without knowing that much? And I already told you — I'm the real deal, sent by God."
"......"
"What are you waiting for? We're short on time."
"Ah... yes."
"W-what are you doing?! What's with that knife?! You said if I talked you'd spare me— ghk..!!"
"The pain will fade soon enough, heh heh heh..!"
Elder Choi stabbed the hostage in the gut without the slightest hesitation. Stabbed him again and again. And he did it with a smile on his face.
"Keh-heh-heh...!!"
"Crazy bastard."
Illusion, Faith, Sacrifice.
Of those three, Faith and Sacrifice were essentially buff skills. Faith grew stronger the more believers you had following you, but on its own the effect wasn't particularly impressive — not unless a truly massive number of people believed and obeyed.
But the Sacrifice skill amplified that effect enormously, which was how a mere Level 1 skill could produce absurd results. The catch was that it required a truly enormous number of sacrifices.
When we'd gone after the Spawning Ground at the hospital, it had only been possible because the sacrifice effects Elder Choi had been stockpiling all along were still active. A single human life was nowhere near enough.
(Everyone listen carefully. It'll wear off while we're crossing the park.)
(What will?)
(Elder Choi's skill.)
(Is he betraying us??)
(No. The effect just doesn't last. Elder Choi doesn't know that either.)
(Then what do we do..?)
(There's nothing to do. I'll give the signal — from that moment, run full speed.)
From the shelter, we covered about three hundred meters using cars and buildings for cover. From here on, though, we'd be moving under Elder Choi's Illusion skill — the same Elder Choi currently squatting alone at the back of the truck like a social outcast.
"Elder Choi, start."
"Yes."
Elder Choi activated his Illusion skill, making us appear to the zombies as a massive ball of fire. The zombies surrounding the truck scattered in a hurry. Carefully, we climbed down from the truck, crossed the road, and entered Yeouido Park.
Honestly, if it had just been the guys, we could have crossed Yeouido Park barehanded the same way the raiders had. The women might have managed it too. But when there was a way to minimize the risk, there was no reason to take every risk available.
"Ah..."
Already? We hadn't even made it halfway.
The zombies that had been wandering the park all turned their heads toward us at once.
"Th-the skill..."
"Run!!"
At my signal, the group broke into a sprint. I left the front to Jaeyeol — who'd cleared a quest solo and come out stronger for it — and I didn't move until I'd confirmed the last of the Female College Trio had taken off running.
I still had something left to do.
"Take me with—"
"Go apologize. To those little kids you killed. No — you won't get the chance. You're going to hell."
"......"
Elder Choi froze mid-reach, hand still stretched toward me. I swung my mace.
CRACK!!!
His skull caved in under the blow and he crumpled. Messages flooded my vision in a chaotic cascade.
◈ Select a skill to acquire:
◈ Illusion (LV.1)
◈ Faith (LV.1)
◈ Sacrifice (LV.1)
Skills that were useless to me anyway — just noise. The real prize was this:
470P acquired.
Not bad.
Crossing Yeouido Park turned out easier than expected. The women, especially, moved with surprising skill.
They'd broken past the limits of disbelief they'd set for themselves — trading that for faith in their stats and in their own ability — and that shift in mindset had completely transformed the way they moved.
Thud-thud!!
BOOM!
Thrust!!
Stab-stab!!
Squelch!!
Without even being told, they were leaping across car roofs on their own, spearing and smashing the heads of zombies reaching up from below, securing their own safety. Watching them, I almost felt moved.
"Mingu, is this the right apartme— KYAA!!"
"Don't look away!!"
"You son of a—!! Die! Die!! Die!!!!"
"It's dead! Stop stabbing it!!"
"......"
A hand had shot up and briefly snagged Seonye's ankle. She'd turned the zombie's head into a honeycomb with her spear.
Was this really the same timid Seonye?
Her and the rest of the girls — they were all getting a little too savage. Still better than freezing in terror or just screaming their heads off, though...
Leap!!!
I planted a foot on a car roof and vaulted into the next lane. One more jump and I launched myself toward the car Seonye was on.
"Oppa..."
Seonye stared at me, startled — but my eyes were fixed on the air above her. On the Molotov cocktail sailing in from behind her.
I snagged it out of the air.
These sons of bitches.
BOOM!!!
The second my feet hit the roof beside a hastily dodging Seonye, I hurled the Molotov I was still gripping — straight at the aging apartment building standing by the road.
CRASH!!!
WHOOOOSH!!!
The bottle smashed through a window and flames erupted inside the unit.
"Go ahead. Throw another one."
"......"
From three floors higher, a guy locked eyes with me, flicked a lighter in his left hand, and lit the wick of the Molotov in his right.
Fine. Let's do this. I'll burn that whole building down for you.
Whoosh!!
Another Molotov flew from the window — but this time it didn't come our way. It landed farther ahead.
WHOOSH!!!!
Flames roared up in front of the wall surrounding the old apartment complex. And it wasn't just one.
FWOOSH!! FWOOSH!! FWOOSH!! FWOOSH!! FWOOSH!!
Molotovs flew from every open window, turning the long stretch of wall into a sea of fire. They were trying to keep us from getting inside.
But apartment complexes are big. We could just go around.
Just how many Molotovs had they prepared, though?
Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!
Like a sky blackened with arrows in some Chinese war epic, Molotovs poured from the open apartment windows and rained down over our heads.
"Follow me!!"
I shouted and took the lead. But the firebombs falling from above weren't the only problem.
"GRAAAAH!!!"
"GRAAH!!"
"GRAAAAAH!!!"
The moment we jumped down from the cars, zombies charged from every direction. I swung my mace like a madman, smashing them aside, and Gihun and Mingu fell in on either side of me — gauntleted fists and the hammer we'd taken last time — carving a path together.
Meanwhile Jaeyeol was snatching the Molotovs falling toward the group and throwing them back, while Jaemin and Yeonghun crouched low against the barred fence, flattened against the ground.
"Over!"
"Hurry!!"
The women used the two of them as stepping stones and scrambled over fast. Gihun grabbed Jaemin and Yeonghun by their shirts and hauled them upright.
"They're all over!"
"We're going over too!"
"Hurry up, hyungs! Jaeyeol!!!"
But had this whole situation been engineered?
"KYAA!!"
"AAAH!!"
"Ah!!"
Screams erupted from the women who'd gone over first. By the time we cleared the fence, blood was already flowing — from Jihye's arm, Seonye's hand, Jeongyeon's leg, Huijin's shoulder.
At least Nari, hanging back with her bow, looked unharmed.
"Oh~ these bitches are pretty good?"
"Looks like they cleared a quest or two?"
"Hey, if your Strength stat's high, does that make it tighter down there too?"
"You sick bastard. Why don't you check for yourself~ heh heh heh"
"Haa...!"
"These perverted assholes..!"
"Disgusting..!!"
"That fucking hurts..!!!"
A neat four-on-four matchup. Was this the quest?
"Can you handle them yourselves?"
"Hyung!"
"Hey, man! What are you talking about?!"
"It's dangerous!"
"He's right! You can't!"
"They're already hurt!"
"Who asked any of you? O Jihye. Kim Seonye. Lee Jeongyeon. Choi Huijin. Can you do it?"
"What the fuck is this crazy bastard saying?"
"Don't tell me he's so scared he's dumping it on the girls?"
"Scared?? For real??"
"What a fucking coward."
I ignored the jeering and kept my eyes on the injured women. Jihye nodded.
"We can do it."
Maybe her words gave the others courage.
"Me too."
"I am not losing to scum like that. No — I can't lose."
"You pay back what you get..!!"
"Good."
"Hyung, you're seriously not going to help?!"
"I'm done babysitting."
"Hyung!!"
"Why are you doing this?!"
"What if they get badly hurt?!"
"They said they can do it. So trust them. How long are you going to keep wrapping them in cotton? And if they can't even handle losers like these, they won't survive anyway."
The guys who'd been smirking bristled at that.
"What? Losers?"
"Ah... this little shit..!"
"Hey, get over here. I'll kill you first."
"You take out a few scouts and suddenly you're full of yourself? You think we're the same as those guys?"
They did look different. These ones looked a bit stronger. At full strength, the women probably wouldn't stand a chance.
"Arm. Hand. Leg. Shoulder."
"What?"
"We should even the conditions."
"What is this bastard talking abou—"
I'd just match the conditions. Equal footing, nothing more.
Leap!!
I shot forward. They reacted — give them that much — but that was all.
Whoosh!!!
I ducked under a swinging blade and brought my mace into his thigh.
THUD!!!
CRACK!!!!
I watched the thigh bend in a direction thighs aren't supposed to bend, then snapped upright and twisted sideways.
Whoosh!!!
An axe came dropping toward my face. The instant it fell past, I seized the wrist with my left hand, hauled it back up, and brought the mace down.
CRACK!!!!
Leg, arm. What was next again?
Ah — shoulder and the back of the hand.
"Die!!!!!"
"You son of a bitch!!!"
"Shoulder and hand still left."
I ignored the two charging me. I could afford to.
SQUELCH!!!
Jaeyeol's machete punched through the shoulder of the one with his weapon raised high. Gihun's gauntleted hand clamped onto the other guy's skull and slammed him face-first into the ground.
"Hey. I said shoulder and hand."
"I know, man."
Still pinning the guy's head, Gihun grabbed his right wrist with his free hand and pinned it to the ground. Mingu walked over, hammer raised high.
"You, from the first hand— is this a fucking game!!!!"
"AAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!"
That one would never hold a hwatu deck again — or a weapon, for that matter.
"There. Matching injuries. Fair enough, right?"
"How the hell is this fair?!!!"
"AAAAAGH!!!!!"
"Fuck!!!!!"
"Ghhhhhk...!!!!"
So that was it for the Molotovs?
Pretty modest for a welcome.