Difficulty Far Too High
I had to judge this carefully.
Stats and skills could be raised and earned again. A life lost once could never be reclaimed.
"It's too dangerous. You all head back for now."
"No way!!"
"I refuse! Do you know how hard we worked to raise those stats and get those skills?!"
"Exactly! We can do this! And it's not like we're going alone!"
I looked at the three college girls as they rejected me with fierce determination.
"Are stats and skills more precious than your lives? You could die this time. And the odds of that are very high."
"Oppa, do you really think we're doing this just because of the stats and skills?"
"What?"
Seonye's sudden serious expression made Jeongyeon and Huijin beside her nod in agreement.
"It's true that the stats and skills would be a waste. But that's not the only reason."
"It's unfair that only you guys and the others keep taking all the risks every single time! We've just been receiving help this whole time! So please let us be useful for once! We won't whine about being scared, and we won't run away!"
"You said we could die. But that's the same for you and the others too. What if, by some terrible stroke of luck, you all die here? What are we supposed to do if we're left behind after hiding every time things got dangerous? We won't get in the way. We won't be a burden. If it gets too dangerous, we'll run. So please let us go with you. Please, oppa."
"......"
This wasn't the kind of stubbornness that words could break.
All three of them were far too resolute, and even Jihye and Nari joined their side.
"I-I'm a little anxious, but... I know better than anyone how dangerous this is... Still, I think I can do it... No—I will do it!"
"Please trust us, oppa."
In the end, I lost.
Kim Seojeong, who had grabbed her boyfriend Choi Junseok like she was catching a rat while telling him not to ignore her, decided to come along as well. And Seo Hayun, arguing that going back alone would be even more dangerous and that she'd just hide behind her sister, managed to talk Seo Hamin into letting her join.
"Fine. Then line up by the holes you're going to enter."
I'd lost the argument, but I still needed to check the final group composition.
If it looked truly impossible, I'd send back not just the girls but the guys too.
The split, though, turned out frustratingly ambiguous.
In front of the first tunnel on the left stood Suho, Yeonghun, Nari, Lee Jeongcheol, and Kim Seojeong.
I had no idea how useful Nari's bow would be in there, and even with Yeonghun working hard to support him, the burden on Suho looked far too heavy.
The other groups weren't much better.
In front of the second tunnel: Baek Sihyeon, Mingu, and the three college girls—Seonye, Jeongyeon, and Huijin.
Truly ambiguous.
With the protagonist buff and Mingu there, it looked decent enough on paper—but the college girls seemed like they might drag the whole group down.
And then there was one peculiar detail.
"I'm the only one??"
"You're going alone, oppa?"
"Poor thing..."
"He looks so lonely..."
"Are you okay..?"
"......"
In front of the third tunnel, only I was standing.
Yeah. Maybe alone was better.
It was only because I was going solo that the other groups could even be put together like this.
In front of the fourth tunnel stood Jaeyeol, Jaemin, Jihye, Choi Junseok, and An Gyeongsu.
This one was just as ambiguous.
But with four men in the group, the balance looked relatively solid.
Compared to that, the combination in front of the fifth tunnel was extremely unbalanced.
Gihun, Yu Eunseol, Seo Hamin, Seo Hayun.
Surrounded by a flower garden of women, Gihun was grinning like he loved it—but there were three girls in that group.
Yu Eunseol was strong, but she still hadn't fully grown. Seo Hamin, who hadn't undergone her dark awakening yet, felt far weaker than the version I'd seen in the webtoon. And then there was Seo Hayun, who had raised her stats decently enough but had the least combat experience of anyone here.
"Alright, see you all at the Spawning Ground~"
"Everyone be careful!"
"Don't anyone get hurt!"
"Make sure you get there in time!!"
"......"
Is this really going to be okay?
Instead of worrying, I needed to focus on what I could do.
Right now, there was only one thing I had to accomplish.
Reach the sanctuary at the end of this path as fast as possible, kill the Zombie Queen, and go help the others.
Thud-thud-thud!!
I pushed my speed even higher, racing through a tunnel wide enough that a tank could probably pass through.
After about a minute of that?
I regretted it.
I regretted not sending everyone back—not just the girls, but all of them.
"KRAAAAGH!!!"
"KRAAA!!!"
"KRAAAAAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!!"
The zombies charging at me while screaming weren't the problem.
"Don't tell me that thing is..."
"KRAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!"
A roughly two-meter zombie in a complete human form.
Unlike the others with their melting, decaying skin, this one had smooth skin, solid muscle, and a body glowing with a dark crimson light.
It was the one I'd told Gihun about.
The escort guarding the Zombie Queen.
A Spawning Ground with escorts was dangerous.
This wasn't a place that should appear this early.
I didn't care how many stats dropped or how many skills got wiped.
I needed to get out of here right now.
If that thing existed anywhere else too, they would never hold out.
Not until I could reach them.
The presence of an escort meant there were other special zombies as well...
Thud!!!
I quickly stepped back.
Something dropped right in front of my eyes.
BOOM!!!
A zombie landing on all fours.
But its form was hidden by the cloud of dirt it kicked up—and through that dust, a special zombie with unique advantages of its own came flying at me with both arms spread wide.
"KRAAAAAAH!!!!"
Movement like that meant stats of at least 10.
No—if I estimated high, I could call it 15.
Movement on a completely different level from ordinary zombies.
That was why they were called special zombies.
But get hit, and you still die the same way.
Whoosh!!
CRACK!!!!!
Mook smashed into the side of its head, driving all the way to the bridge of its nose and launching the rocket-like special zombie away.
But that was as far as it went.
I didn't have time to play with these things.
Thud—
I turned to head back the way I'd come.
In that instant.
WHAM!!!!!
Something flew out of the dark cave wall and slammed into me, sending me flying.
Thud!! Thud-thud!!
I shoved my hands against the rolling ground and scrambled back to my feet.
I dropped the flashlight in my left hand and instead caught the fist flying at my face.
WHAM!!!!
Heavy.
If the previous special zombie had been somewhat small and scrawny, this one had a build as big as Gihun's.
A special zombie strong enough to send me flying with a single attack.
But this one was the same.
CRACK!!!
Hit it, and it dies.
But while the two special zombies had delayed me, it arrived.
"KRAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"
"Damn it...!!"
I swung Mook at the escort as it slightly lifted its body and brought a fist down toward me.
Its descending fist and my swinging Mook collided in midair.
WHAM!!!!
Unlike the special zombies, the escort's fist remained intact even after clashing with Mook. Its right hand rebounded, and it used that recoil to swing its left leg.
CRUNCH!!!
Its foot slammed into the wall, sending rocks and dirt cascading down.
The moment I hurriedly ducked and lifted my head, the escort's left fist came flying at my face—but.
WHAM!!!!
My left fist drove into the escort's chest first and sent it flying.
The problem was—
"KRAAAAGH!!!"
"KRAAA!!!"
"KRAAAAAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!"
"KRAAA!!!"
"KRAAAAAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!!"
—that more than ten zombies had arrived in the meantime.
And the escort was walking toward me step by step as if it hadn't taken any damage at all.
"Fuck...!!"
Cha Suho, Lee Jeongcheol, Lee Yeonghun, Kim Seojeong, and Han Nari, who had entered the first tunnel, were carefully sweeping their flashlights across the interior as they advanced.
Then it happened.
Han Nari pulled the bow hanging from her body into her hands.
She had reacted instantly—to the way Cha Suho had suddenly stopped dead and adjusted his grip on his spear.
"They're coming."
At Cha Suho's terse voice, everyone stared ahead. A few seconds later, the zombies' howls began to echo.
"KRAAAAGH!!!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!"
"KRAAA!!!"
"KRAAAAAAH!!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!!"
More than twenty zombies.
Born from the Zombie Queen, they were faster and stronger than ordinary zombies—as if they'd already passed through several more inflection points. On top of that, it was night, making them even stronger and more ferocious.
The silver lining was that, compared to ordinary zombies transformed from humans, their bones, muscles, and skin were weaker, making them much easier to kill.
Whoosh!!!
Thud!! Thud!!
Arrows flew with vicious precision, piercing the foreheads of two zombies running one behind the other in succession, dropping them before the fight even properly began.
Thud!!
Taking that as his signal, Cha Suho charged forward, swinging his long spear with a focus on knocking zombies down rather than killing them outright. Thanks to that choice, Lee Yeonghun was free to go wild.
"KRAAGH!!!"
"KRAGH!!"
"KRAAAAH!!"
"Charge!"
Activating his skill, Lee Yeonghun sprinted forward, splitting a zombie's crown with the hand axe in his right hand before immediately swinging the one in his left sideways.
Slash!!!
Wielding two axes—the hand axe originally used by Park Mingu and the one that had belonged to Park Junggeon, killed by Kang Juhan's hand—Lee Yeonghun was literally massacring the zombies.
But the real battle with the zombies was only just beginning.
"Yeonghun, right side!!!"
At Han Nari's urgent cry, Lee Yeonghun turned his head to the right—but his body was already too late to react.
"KRAAAAAAH!!!!"
"Ugh..!!"
"Yeonghun!!!!"
"No!!!"
"Suho oppa!!!!"
"Damn it..!"
A special zombie with a strength in speed slammed into Lee Yeonghun, and the two of them tumbled across the ground in a tangled heap.
Lee Jeongcheol, occupied with the ever-increasing zombies, couldn't go help—and neither could Kim Seojeong, blocked by two zombies of her own.
They called for Cha Suho's help, but the moment he left his position to save Lee Yeonghun while still knocking down the continuous wave of zombies, the barely maintained balance would completely collapse.
It meant that trying to save one person could get them all wiped out.
Knowing that better than anyone, Cha Suho couldn't easily leave his post either. Then Lee Yeonghun's voice rang out.
"I'm fine!!"
"KRAAAAGH!!!"
"Get the hell off me!!!!"
Lee Yeonghun grabbed the special zombie's face as if covering its eyes and shoved it away, then swung his axe and severed its neck. He flung aside the special zombie's head—still clacking its teeth, still trying to bite—picked up the hand axe that had fallen to the ground, and rose to his feet.
"Are you okay?!"
"Keep shooting! Toward Suho hyung!"
"Got it!"
She was worried about Yeonghun, but Han Nari kept drawing her bowstring.
To lighten Cha Suho's burden.
But this wasn't the time to be reducing Cha Suho's burden.
Sssss—
Han Nari hadn't noticed it at all, but there was a gaze looking down at her.
The gaze of a special zombie hanging from the ceiling, watching only Han Nari.
If you didn't notice it in advance the way Kang Juhan would, you had no choice but to take the hit.
Han Nari's Agility stat was high at 15—but the special zombie hanging from the ceiling had the same.
Tuk—
It was luck.
That a tiny amount of dirt fell onto Han Nari's head.
"Ah..."
"KRAAAAAAH!!!!!"
The special zombie whose eyes met Han Nari's as she looked up shoved off the ceiling and flipped its inverted body.
Then it dropped at the speed Kang Juhan had estimated at a minimum of 10 stats and a maximum of 15.
No—it was a little faster than that.
Because acceleration built as it fell.
"Kyaah!!"
She managed to scramble backward with a scream, but she'd retreated so hastily that she couldn't keep her balance. Han Nari landed hard on her rear and sat down on the floor.
And from that position, she had to dodge.
A special zombie about to launch itself like a rocket with all its power concentrated in both legs.
Inside a dark cave where she'd even dropped her flashlight.
Thud!!!!
Without even properly confirming the special zombie's form as it burst through the dust, she thrust out the bow in her hands as a last resort.
Whether it was misfortune or fortune, the special zombie only snatched the bow and flew over Han Nari as she fell backward. Suddenly disarmed, Han Nari flipped onto her side and scrambled on all fours to grab the flashlight.
Got it!
Fortunately seizing the flashlight, Han Nari pushed off the floor and forced herself up. The moment she turned and shone the light on the special zombie, she was slammed into the wall.
"Aaaah...!!"
She provided support from the rear with her bow.
Because she didn't fight at the front, she hadn't raised her Endurance stat and had focused only on Agility.
If a dangerous situation arose, she could just run while shooting her bow.
So Han Nari's Endurance was still at its initial value of 1. When the special zombie grabbed her by the neck and shoulder and slammed her into the wall like it was throwing her, the impact was enough to nearly knock her unconscious.
"KRAAAAAH!!!!!!"
"......"
Her Strength was 6.
Enough for at least minimal resistance—but whether it was the heavy impact leaving her dazed, Han Nari's hands didn't grab the special zombie's face or throat to push it away. They just flailed uselessly through the air.
The special zombie, having seized prey that offered no resistance at all, thrust its wide-open mouth forward. Han Nari turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
Kang Juhan had said it was fine, but zombie blood getting in your eyes or mouth was still dangerous.
SHUNK!!!!!
She was truly lucky.
That zombies created by the Zombie Queen had softer bones, muscles, and skin than humans who had been infected.
"Haaah...!! Haaah...!!"
In the hand that had been flailing through empty air, Han Nari now gripped an arrow pulled from her Inventory. That arrow had pierced the special zombie's temple and driven deep into its skull.
Thud!!
Thump—
Collapsing to the floor along with the crumbling special zombie, Han Nari had to vomit from the dizziness in her head and the churning in her stomach.
"Haa..! Haa..!"
"Nari, are you okay?!!"
"Urgh..!!!"
Unable even to answer Kim Seojeong's cry, Han Nari gasped for breath, yanked out the embedded arrow, picked up the flashlight that had fallen again, and staggered toward where her bow lay.
Then she used the sharp arrowhead to tear her T-shirt open until her stomach was fully exposed.
Riiip!!!
Whip— Whip— Cinch!!!!
Using the torn T-shirt to fix the flashlight to her bow, Han Nari clenched her teeth again and nocked an arrow to the string.
And the flashlight fixed to her bow illuminated a single zombie walking step by step toward the fallen Cha Suho.
A zombie whose entire body was dark crimson—one that looked extremely dangerous.
Whoooosh!!!!