What Can Be Gained in Yeouido

After long and careful deliberation, Captain Son Gijun and his soldiers decided to stand with the resistance.

But they had no intention of acting on that decision just yet.

These quests had forced them to think further ahead.

Both quests carried a time limit of 120 hours — a full five days.

Why so generous?

Was it a warning that the danger demanded that much preparation?

No. The system had never been that considerate when handing out quests before.

Which meant this might carry a different meaning entirely.

"Maybe..."

The story had completely derailed. But even if the plot had twisted itself into knots, the major fixed beats might still hold firm, right?

Looked at that way, this generous time limit could be read differently.

"The time to leave Yeouido."

In the webtoon, Baek Sihyeon's group hadn't even been part of the resistance, yet they'd still clashed with the military — and after that confrontation, they'd fled Yeouido like they were running for their lives.

What if that same beat applied to these quests?

No matter how cleanly we cleared them, some forced turn of events might still shove us out of Yeouido. And if that was the case, then everything worth taking from an island we might never return to needed to be taken now.

Whether that was for us — or for Baek Sihyeon's group, who still weren't quite allies.

"What are you muttering about?"

"Just thinking. What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost four."

"Still a long way till sundown."

"It doesn't start getting dark until after seven."

"Hey, Jihye unnie."

"Yeah, Nari?"

"How come you never call Juhan oppa 'oppa'?"

"Huh??"

"You call Suho oppa and Gihun oppa that. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with Juhan oppa it's always 'hey' and 'you' and stuff..."

"Ahh~ Nari really is the only one. Sweet, pretty, and actually polite — unlike someone."

"You little—!! We just talked casually from the start, that's all!!"

"You didn't 'talk casually.' You just dropped all manners and started talking down to me."

"Hey!!"

"Whatever. Don't worry about it. I don't expect manners from you anyway."

"You absolute—!!!"

I got up while still needling Jihye. Four o'clock left us with plenty of time.

"Hey, Baek Si—"

"Oppa..."

"......"

A chill shot straight down my spine. Goosebumps erupted across my entire body. I forced my locked-up muscles to turn my head, and Jihye's voice came again — lips twitching as she pretended to look elsewhere.

"Oppaah..."

"Uwaagh!! Stop that!!!! What the hell are you doing?!!"

"Y-you told me to call you oppa!!"

"When did I ever?! Ugh, the chills..!! Call me that one more time and you're dead!"

"You little—!!!! Oppa! Oppa oppa!!"

"I said stop!!!!"

Wow. This was on the same level of terror as the first time I met a Mutant. One word, and she could reduce a person to pure horror.

"Uuugh!!!!"

I shuddered hard, scratching furiously at the goosebumps on my arms, when I noticed Baek Sihyeon staring at me with a face full of dissatisfaction.

"......"

"What?"

"Weren't you about to call me?"

"Oh, right. Did you guys get a quest back then at the bank?"

"When you kidnapped Eunseol?"

"It wasn't a kidnapping. I took her temporarily because of a misunderstanding. To clear it up."

"......"

"Anyway! Stop dodging and just answer."

"We didn't get a quest."

"Not even a survival quest?"

"No."

"Good enough."

"What is?"

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"The bank."

"Y-you're not seriously... going after that monster..??"

"Obviously."

The ones who'd received the survival quest back then — me, Gihun, Suho, Jaeyeol, and Mingu — probably wouldn't get another one. But the rest would. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠maybe even I could get one again. There had definitely been a whole pile of soldiers turned into hosts back then.

We arrived at the bank at 4:30 p.m.

And just as I'd expected, everyone received a quest.

Though the quests weren't quite identical.

Figures — protagonist party privileges. Nice rewards. And failure doesn't even kill them.

Of course, they couldn't just run; they had to eliminate the target. But this was a quest with a guaranteed clear, which only made it feel more wasteful.

And sure enough, the system wasn't handing me another one just because I'd already gotten one last time.

"Hey, we can actually kill this thing, right..?"

"Hyung..! You're sure this is okay??"

"Never thought I'd be back here again.."

"Seriously..!"

Everyone was shaking. Specifically, the ones who'd faced the Licker with me last time. Baek Sihyeon's group was just as bad.

"What the hell comes out of this place to make you all like this?"

"Are the hyungs actually scared??"

"Is it scarier-looking than the mantises and ants?"

"Jaeyeol and Mingu look like they're genuinely trembling..?"

"Sigh... Don't worry. The noonas will take care of it. You kids just watch~"

"......"

"......"

"......"

"......"

Gihun, Mingu, Suho, and Jaeyeol didn't react at all to Jihye, Jaemin, or the Female College Trio. Then Mingu said exactly one thing.

"See for yourself."

"......"

"......"

"......"

Mingu's loaded words made the atmosphere a little heavier, but I walked over to the elevator like nothing was wrong and pressed the button.

Sure, the Licker was strong. Unlike the zombies that only powered up at inflection points, monsters like Lickers and Mutants grew stronger with every hour that passed and every person they ate.

But we'd gotten a lot stronger than that.

Well — not we. Me.

Doors opening.

The elevator doors rumbled open on the same floor where I'd first faced the Licker. I stepped out first, scanned the surroundings, then hit the light switch.

Click. Click.

Click. Click.

Nothing. I checked the ceiling — every single light fixture was smashed.

"Everyone, phones out."

"......"

"......"

"......"

Even the ones seeing this place for the first time went pale. The floor, the walls, the ceiling — every surface was caked black with dried blood, as if someone had taken a bucket and flung it into every corner.

"Sh-should we pull out the guns first..? Nari, the gu—"

"Forget it. Gunshots just make the exit a pain."

"Hyung..! You're really sure this is fine..?!"

Jaemin — who'd been teasing everyone for being scared — now clung to the back of my clothes, pressed tight against me. And behind him, the rest lined up like a human train. Everyone except Yeonghun, who stood beside me.

"Whatever it is, killing it makes us stronger, right?"

"Obviously."

"Hoo..."

His cousin's death seemed to have hardened Yeonghun's resolve. Once he finished his revenge, he'd be as strong as Mingu. I was only tagging along for his revenge, so my quest only gave +1 stat point — but Yeonghun, the one taking direct vengeance, had gotten a quest worth +3.

"Hy-hyung!!"

"Kyaah!!"

"What is that sound..?"

"What the hell..! Where is it...!!!"

It was coming from somewhere. The Licker's cry.

"Kyaaaaaah...!!!!"

Even after getting this strong, that sound still raised every hair on my body. And of course, it wasn't just one voice.

They'd hatched. The larvae that had used those soldiers as hosts back then.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!!"

"Kyaaaah!!!!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!!"

"Kyaaah!!! What is that?!!!"

"Disgusting!!!"

"Nari! Guns! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Get the guns out!!!"

"Oh, shit..!"

"Three of them..."

"Hey! What do we do n—"

What do we do?

We kill them all.

I launched myself at the Licker dead ahead.

My current stats weren't far off from Jaeyeol's, Suho's, or even Baek Sihyeon's. That was part of why I was confident. Those guys were as strong as I was. Though the thing I trusted most was still my own strength.

Stat Amplification. Acceleration.

Agility all the way up to 21. And with the Acceleration skill layered on top, my movements got even faster.

The force of a mace swung at that speed?

Enough to punch through the Licker's tough, dense hide and muscle — alien-looking as it was — and shatter the solid bone underneath.

"Kieeeeh..!!!!!"

"Kyaaaaaah!!!!!"

"Kyaaaaah!!!!"

Intelligent Lickers. Watching their packmate go down, they immediately marked me as the primary threat.

One swept a long arm at me, claws flashing. The other thrust with its tail — one of a Licker's deadliest weapons.

But these were the same attacks I'd reacted to back when Stat Amplification only got my Agility to 11. I was more than twice as fast now, and judging by their size, these things had been nothing more than host-controlling larvae until recently.

I twisted, pulling my face back to slip the claws, then kept spinning and brought the mace down on the incoming tail.

The moment I stopped the attack, I kicked off the floor and closed the distance, driving my clenched left fist straight into the Licker's chest.

The impact barely registered. The Sturdy Body skill from killing the beetles, plus the raised Durability stat, meant almost no shock reached my fist or wrist.

But come on — I'm soloing three of these things. Shouldn't that earn me a quest? This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is still early game. Fighting something this absurd and no quest?

Of course not. There it was.

A quest.

But why was it neither blue nor red — why was it black......

Hey! Forget it! Just don't give me a quest!!

I said don't give me one!!!

"Huh..?"

What? This wasn't the quest I'd expected at all...

That doesn't even make sense!!!!

And Huijin is the girl Yeonghun is into — the same Yeonghun still reeling from his cousin's death — and Kim Seojeong is Choi Junseok's ride-or-die girlfriend!!

Still... if it's just their chests, maybe it's not the worst quest? If I do it discreetly, nobody has to know.

"Huijin! Kim Seojeong! You two come finish this off!"