The Companions Struggle
There was probably no one who would welcome zombies trading lower defense for greater strength and faster movement.
They were already fighting with weapons, after all, and even if the skulls they needed to crack had grown softer, adjusting their force on the fly was no simple matter.
But there was exactly one person who welcomed the zombies growing stronger and faster.
Won Gihun.
Thud!!!
His gauntleted fist punched straight into a zombie's face, sinking deep into bone far softer than anything found in a human-turned undead.
Grab!
His left hand shot out, seized the zombie's head, and smashed it against the wall. The hard stone embedded there shattered the back of its skull, and the creature crumpled where it stood.
"Kraaaagh!!!"
"Kraaagh!!"
"Kraaaaaagh!!!"
"Kraaagh!!!"
"This never ends. Everyone okay?!"
Every swing of the heavy gauntlets sent another zombie to the afterlife. Won Gihun was putting on a far more overwhelming performance than usual.
The rest of his group was no different.
Thrust!! Thrust-thrust! Thrust! Thrust!!!
Seo Hamin moved like a blur, dual daggers flashing as she stabbed nothing but heads with surgical precision.
Slash— Slash— Slash— Whoosh!!!
Yu Eunseol didn't even need headshots. Every sweep of her Japanese sword dropped one zombie—sometimes two.
"Kraaaagh!!!"
"Hayun!"
"Unnie, I'm fine!"
Seo Hayun couldn't quite match Hamin or Eunseol, but she still held her own, darting and cutting with everything she had.
Excluding Kang Juhan, who had gone into the third tunnel alone, these four were the smallest team—yet they were currently the closest to the Zombie Queen's nest.
Closest in relative terms, of course, not absolute.
"Kraagh!!!"
"Shut up!"
Won Gihun clamped a hand over a screeching zombie's mouth, drove his fist into the crown of its head, and hurled the body aside. Then he glanced back the way they had come and muttered under his breath.
"At this rate... that other group might be in real trouble..."
He was worried.
About one team in particular.
But this was no time to worry about anyone else.
"Unnie!!!"
Seo Hayun's panicked cry spun him around. Seo Hamin—who until now had been too fast for any zombie to touch—was sliding across the floor, both daggers lost.
"Ugh...!!"
"What the hell is that?"
"Krrrrrrgh...!!!!!"
A dark crimson zombie stood amid the carpet of corpses, growling low as if furious at the slaughter. A royal guard of the Zombie Queen had appeared here as well.
"Eunseol! Hayun!"
"......"
"Yes!"
The two women raced toward the fallen Seo Hamin while Won Gihun strode straight at the guard.
"Hey. Come on. I'll take you."
"Be careful..! That thing is danger—"
"Guh!!!!"
"I told you to be careful!!!"
"Kraaaaaagh!!!!!!!"
The warning hadn't even finished before the guard's kick slammed into Won Gihun's chest and sent him tumbling across the ground. He shoved himself upright almost at once—though the earlier swagger had taken a serious hit.
"Ow, shit..!! A little help here..?"
"Haa..."
"Two minutes. We'll clear the rest of the zombies."
"Hang on just a little, Oppa!"
"W-wait! Help me!! If all three of you leave, what the hell am I supposed to do alone!!!!!"
"Kraaaaaagh!!!!"
"Fuck! Time-out!!!!"
The guard's strength was on an entirely different level.
The five who had entered the fourth tunnel were learning that same lesson the hard way.
"Jaeyeol!! This bastard!!!"
"Don't...!"
"Kraaaagh!!!!"
Yang Jaeyeol's eyes were already unfocused as he tried to stop him, but Kim Jaemin was already standing in front of the guard.
Whoosh!!!!!
A fist like a wrecking ball came swinging. Yet with an Agility of 16 and the Nimble Movement skill, Kim Jaemin simply dropped low to the left and let the blow whistle past. Instantly he activated Quick Strike and counterattacked.
"Like you're gonna hit—"
He even had the leisure to spin the knife into a reverse grip and talk while stabbing for the ribs. He should have just stabbed faster.
Before the guard's elbow could smash into his temple.
Thud!!!!
But that brief exchange was enough for Yang Jaeyeol's eyes to catch it.
The opening.
Flaw Detection (LV.1)
The skill flared. Yang Jaeyeol triggered Instant Acceleration, closed the distance in a blur, and brought his kukri down.
Slash!!!!
Blood sprayed from the diagonal gash across the guard's back.
Then, through the flying droplets, their eyes met.
The guard had already spun, left fist cocked, and locked gazes with Yang Jaeyeol.
CRACK!!!!!!
A massive fist crushed everything from temple to cheek. Yang Jaeyeol's body flew, slammed into the wall, and a cascade of dirt buried him where he fell—turning the spot into a ready-made grave.
"Goddamn it..!! Noona, go! At least you run!!"
"What the hell are you talking about!!! Get your head straight and kill these things!!"
"Noona!!!"
Choi Junseok had already decided they couldn't win and shouted for O Jihye to flee, but she never stopped swinging her blade, cutting down zombie after zombie.
Pull yourself together, O Jihye..! Pull yourself together..!! You can do this...! You can!!
The guard's presence had triggered her Protective Instinct skill. Her body shook violently and her mind went blank white, yet she somehow clung to the crumbling edges of her will and charged forward.
"Noona!!"
"Jaeyeol, get up!!!"
It was pure recklessness.
With her current stats, rushing a royal guard was suicide.
But if she wasn't going to run the way Choi Junseok wanted, then this was the only choice left.
If Yang Jaeyeol went down for good, it was over.
The rest of them had no chance.
Reckless or not, that didn't change.
Grab!
The blade she swung with every ounce of courage she could muster was caught in the guard's bare hand as easily as plucking a twig.
And then it snapped.
Crack!!
O Jihye had never held a sword before this apocalypse and had used this one hard, so the metal was already weakened—but the guard's grip strength was still monstrous enough to break a blade one-handed.
"Ah....."
The broken edge and the hilt she still clutched both clattered to the floor. Overwhelming fear had drained every drop of strength from her body.
"Kraaaaaaaaagh!!!!!!!"
"......"
The guard looked down at her with blazing red eyes and roared. O Jihye collapsed where she stood, unable even to scream, body trembling as she squeezed her eyes shut.
In that instant the dirt mound that had buried Yang Jaeyeol collapsed. He rose—no, he was already rising—and snatched the broken blade from the ground with bare hands, driving it into the guard's thigh.
Stab!!!
Against a human it would have been a solid hit.
But the opponent was a zombie.
Crunch!!!!
The guard's knee shot up and smashed into Yang Jaeyeol's jaw. It was the kind of blow that should have ended everything. An ordinary person—even Kang Juhan—would have had their brain rattled into unconsciousness.
Yet Yang Jaeyeol stood back up with a shattered jaw and blood pouring from his mouth as if nothing had happened.
Because it was already active.
Indomitable—the skill that refused to let him fall until either death or the duration ran out.
There was one fact Yang Jaeyeol didn't know, however.
Once the skill's duration ended, if the accumulated damage was beyond recovery, he could still die.
Of course.
"Kraaaaaagh!!!!!!"
"......"
Even if he had known, nothing would have changed.
Dash!!
Dash!!
Yang Jaeyeol and the guard locked eyes, then both exploded forward. In a heartbeat the distance vanished and their fists flew at each other.
Crunch!!!
CRACK!!!
Waves of zombies. Special variants that kept popping up like unexpected variables. And the royal guards whose strength was simply overwhelming.
Everyone was struggling.
But the ones in the worst shape were the five who had entered the second tunnel.
They were the very team Won Gihun had been fretting over before any guards appeared.
Especially Kim Seonye, Lee Jeongyeon, and Choi Huijin—the so-called Female College Trio.
"Aah..!!"
"Euk!!"
"Kyaa!!"
They were excellent companions in every other way. They jumped first on the annoying little chores, gave their absolute best to whatever task they were given, and—most of all—made everyone around them smile more often.
But while they made fine companions for daily life, they were far less useful when it came to pure survival.
That was only a relative judgment, of course.
Had they been with ordinary people, the group would have survived by clustering around them.
And without their current teammates—and without Kang Juhan—they never would have grown this strong in the first place.
"Over here!! You fucking bastards!!!!!"
"Kraaaagh!!!"
"Kraagh!!!"
"Kraaaa!!"
"Kraagh!!!"
"Kraaaaaagh!!!"
"Mingu..!"
Park Mingu was paying more attention to the zombies charging Kim Seonye, Lee Jeongyeon, and Choi Huijin than to the ones right in front of him.
The one silver lining was that the second tunnel had far fewer zombies than the others—though the special variants were actually more numerous here.
And above all, the royal guard here was a full step stronger than the ones elsewhere.
Strong enough that even the original protagonist, Baek Sihyeon, couldn't beat it.
"Kraaaagh!!!"
"Sihyeon, behind you!!"
"Ah..!"
At Park Mingu's shout Baek Sihyeon spun and cleaved a special zombie that had been racing for his back clean in half. It was the only choice he had—but the price was brutal.
Crack!!!
The guard's leg drove into his side and snapped three ribs. Baek Sihyeon's body folded nearly in half as he flew and slammed into the wall.
Thud!!
Dirt and stones rained down on him. He couldn't even draw a proper breath. Park Mingu made his decision.
"Hold on just a little! I'll be right there!"
"Just go!!"
"Don't worry about us!!"
"We can handle ourselves!!"
"Kraaaagh!!!"
"Out of the way!!!"
Park Mingu's hammer obliterated the special zombie's head that blocked his path, then he charged the guard already walking toward the downed Baek Sihyeon.
"Uwaaaaa!!!!!"
"Kraagh!!!!"
He didn't need the battle cry, but two reasons forced it out of him.
First, Baek Sihyeon might die before he arrived.
Second, even now he still needed to draw the zombies he had left behind.
But charging a royal guard head-on—when even a surprise attack rarely landed—was pure suicide.
Whoooosh!!!!!!
Crash!!!
The hammer came down with murderous force and only smashed empty dirt. The guard had simply twisted aside, then reached out and clamped a hand around Park Mingu's throat.
"Ghk...!!!"
"Mingu..."
"Kraagh!!!!"
Baek Sihyeon forced himself upright, one hand clutching his broken ribs, and snatched his sword from the ground—only for the guard to hurl Park Mingu straight into him.
Whoosh!!
Thud!!!!
The two men crashed into the wall together. The guard's foot followed immediately.
"Guh!!!!!"
"Ugh...!!!!!"
Park Mingu took the kick full in the gut; Baek Sihyeon, trapped between him and the wall, absorbed every ounce of the impact. Both coughed blood and collapsed.
"Mingu!!!"
"Don't!!!"
"Over here! You monster bastard!! Right here!!!!!"
Kim Seonye, Lee Jeongyeon, and Choi Huijin—already drowning under the zombies in front of them—screamed at the top of their lungs, trying to pull the guard's attention.
But the guard had no interest in invaders who posed no threat. It simply walked over to the fallen Park Mingu and Baek Sihyeon.
Grab— Grab—
It seized both helpless heads and lifted them to eye level, then roared as if performing a ritual before the meal.
"Kraaaaaaaaagh!!!!!!!"
"Sh..it..."
"Ugh..!"
"......"
The guard didn't even bother to dodge.
Baek Sihyeon's trembling fist, raised with the last of his strength, merely brushed its face.
It simply pondered.
Which prey to taste first.
Then it decided.
The one still resisting to the end—Baek Sihyeon—would be first. The guard tilted its head and opened its jaws wide.
That was when it happened.
Park Mingu, who had been hanging limp without a single struggle, suddenly shot his left arm out and wrapped it around the arm holding Baek Sihyeon's head.
He locked the wrist into his armpit and coiled his own arm tight.
Squeeze!!!!!
He crushed with everything he had. For the first time the guard actually looked at him.
Still, it showed no real reaction.
Park Mingu's action wasn't a threat.
"Sihyeon... Seonye... no—look after the kids for me."
"Hey.. Park Mingu..."
The words sounded like a last will. Instant reaction followed.
"Krrgh..!!!"
The guard that had ignored him until now scowled, eyes full of killing intent fixed on Park Mingu.
A face flushed dark red.
Veins bulging on neck and forehead.
Muscles and vessels swelling along the arm.
Strength Enhancement (LV.1)
The sudden surge of power squeezing its arm finally registered as wrong.
But it was already too late.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!"
Park Mingu had already achieved his goal.
Single Blow (LV.1)
CRACK!!!!!
Park Mingu's arm slammed down on the guard's. The sound of breaking bone rang out—not one crack, but two.
Snap!!!!
Snap!!!!
First Park Mingu's own arm shattered and jerked upward. Then the guard's arm—wrist still locked in his armpit, twisted with every last ounce of strength—snapped as well, broken bone tearing free through muscle and skin.
"You finish it. My arm's fucked."
"Mingu.."
"Kraaaaaaaa!!!!!"
"Guh!!!!!"
"Park Mingu!!!!!"
The guard slammed the head it still held into the wall, pure rage exploding free.
Thud!!!!
A kick drove Park Mingu's torso into the stone, then a left fist buried itself in his face and shoved his skull deep into the wall.
CRUNCH!!!!!!!