A Chance to Escape
"Sia, I'll lend you this."
"...Why this?"
I handed Yu Sia an E-grade Sturdy Hand Axe.
"The hand axe makes a lot less noise."
The hammer Yu Sia used had great destructive power, but it was also incredibly loud.
It could literally smash a skull to pieces.
Since I had Silent Strike, I could use any weapon without issue.
"Plus, if we're lucky, you might even get Silent Strike yourself."
She stared at me silently for a while.
"Thanks."
She took the hand axe and offered me her hammer in return.
"Appreciate it."
I put my spare hammer back where it belonged.
This wasn't just for her sake.
If Yu Sia gained a skill, she'd be able to clear zombies more safely. That would make me safer too.
Hmm, this grip feels amazing. This has to be an item, right?
I didn't scan it with the app.
Neither did she.
It was a kind of courtesy.
Scanning someone's gear right in front of them was basically announcing that you were eyeing their items.
From what I'd seen of Yu Sia's fighting style, she only ever fought head-on.
Even in situations where she could have taken them down one by one, she always woke up every zombie around and brawled with all of them.
At first, I thought she was just trying to save time.
But that didn't explain why she kept making time for me.
Or maybe she actually enjoyed fighting?
That didn't seem right either.
Just what is it, then?
Still, this time she followed my suggestion.
Yu Sia had already crept up behind a zombie.
Crunch!――
She took it down quietly.
Thud!――
I used Silent Strike on the one sleeping beside it.
This was definitely safer.
She must have known that too.
So why had she stuck to that noisy method before?
I was lost in a chain of questions when—
Crack!
I finally made a mistake.
"Grrk?!"
"Shit."
A zombie wearing a hard hat, of all things!
"Grrrk!"
"Grrraaaah!"
"Gweeeaaagh!"
The breathing sounds hidden in the darkness woke up and surrounded us from all sides.
"This way!"
"I'm sorry."
"Save it for later."
I knocked away the grasping hands and ran after Yu Sia's back.
Fighting here was too dangerous.
The noise would pull in every zombie nearby.
Damn it, what a stupid mistake.
It was arrogance that had caused it.
After killing a few zombies, I'd let my guard down and started overthinking in the middle of combat.
Once we made it back to the cosmetics store—
"Stay back."
Yu Sia was once again trying to face the horde alone.
"I'll fight too!"
"There's no need."
It was true that the second-floor zombies were too dangerous for me to face head-on.
But at the very least—
"I'm sorry for messing up. Still, trust me. I won't drag you down."
Bam! Crack!――
I could at least cover her blind spots.
"Graaaawr!"
"Kehk!"
"Grrk."
Slice! Crunch! Crack!―
Her movements seemed to defy the laws of physics.
Zombies were sliced apart wherever her axe swung.
Watching Yu Sia fight always gave me a strange sense of unease.
Hunters had skills and items, but there were no levels.
You couldn't invest points into strength or agility stats.
Just what kind of unique skill does she have?
At the very least, it clearly amplified her physical abilities.
Even so, those movements were on another level.
"Hold on just a little longer."
"Don't worry about me."
She smashed the worn hard hat off a zombie's head.
Bam! Crack!
A crushing blow to the skull!
Crunch!
Even with a zombie right in front of me, I kept getting distracted by her movements.
In the blink of an eye, Yu Sia had slaughtered the entire horde.
I couldn't see her face, but the way she hung her head made her look somehow exhausted.
"I'm sorry."
"...."
An awkward silence fell.
She must be really angry.
If more had been pulled in back there—
"I'm sorry."
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, Yu Sia was the one apologizing.
"No, why are you—"
"I heard this was your first time on the second floor, but I didn't explain anything beforehand. That's my fault. Zombies wearing armor spawn on the second floor."
Ah, so that's why the zombie had been wearing a hard hat.
"That doesn't make it your fault. I was careless."
If I hadn't been distracted in the first place, none of this would have happened.
Just as the mood was about to grow heavy—
"Let's call it a draw this time. But if you mess up again, you're getting a flick to the forehead."
Yu Sia, who had been quiet for a moment, snapped her fingers playfully to lighten the atmosphere.
"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, right? Let's agree to cut each other some slack once in a while."
"Umm... Yes! I'll be more careful from now on."
I couldn't keep beating myself up when she was trying to let it go like this.
"Heh, I'll be careful too."
Yu Sia seemed different now.
Most people would look for someone else's fault first.
But she reflected on herself instead.
Even in a situation where anyone could see it was clearly my mistake.
I might actually become a real fan at this rate.
"Looks like we've cleared this area... Ah!"
"What is it?"
"An exit just appeared."
"Oh!"
I quickly opened my map too.
"It's not too far, is it?"
"We got lucky. Since we've already cleared a path, we should be able to reach it in about fifteen minutes. Let's go."
It was right in the direction we'd already cleared.
Were we finally escaping?
But then—
"Aren't you going to farm?"
I had come up here to escape, but Yu Sia had come to farm.
If we left now, she'd be going back with nothing to show for it.
"Don't worry about that. Let's hurry."
"Okay."
Right. Survival comes first.
There would be other chances.
The second floor wasn't only different because of the zombies.
For example—
Tap.
You had to jump over structures blocked off with furniture and steel plates.
Clatter.
You also had to crawl through gaps in the road-blocking wire fences.
Still, it was a relief there was a gap at all. Otherwise we would've had to take a long detour.
This is seriously intense.
The shadows filling the entire road.
If a fight broke out here... we'd die.
There was no other way if we wanted to escape.
We could only move forward while being extremely careful not to make a sound.
The alley we'd been in earlier had been manageable, but this place made even attempting to clear it impossible.
Still, just a little farther.
Once we crossed this road, the escape gate would be right in the alley.
Before long, the alley came into view.
And the green light leaking out from it.
What? Looks like someone's already there.
A human silhouette was cast against the green light.
They were hunters.
The hunter who made eye contact with me gestured.
Come on over, he seemed to say.
The open escape gate was the entrance to a building.
The inside of the alley had already been cleared by the hunters who arrived first.
"Hurry and get in! It's about to close!"
Thankfully, we weren't too late.
"Huh? There's two of you?"
"Oh no, what a shame."
The hunters suddenly started saying meaningful things.
As we approached the escape gate, a hologram appeared.
[4/5]
[Time remaining until gate closure: 34 seconds]
Yu Sia and I could only stand there, frozen.
"Uh, anyone, just hurry up and come in. Sorry for whoever gets left behind."
Damn it. Looked like we'd have to find another exit.
I was checking the map just in case when—
"You go first."
Yu Sia, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"What? How can I escape alone? Let's just look for another gate."
"No. Go on. From the beginning, I planned to get you out and then go farm by myself."
She'd been planning to send me out alone from the start?
She hadn't said anything like that earlier.
"Hey, aren't you coming? It's closing soon!"
"Yes, we'll head to another exit."
"Alright then. Be careful, you two."
"What are you talking about? Who knows when the next one will open! Hurry up!"
No matter when, as long as I was with Yu Sia, I figured we could manage.
"Actually, I haven't finished farming yet either."
"What?!"
"If we're going to farm, isn't it safer together than alone?"
This place was so dangerous that even two people weren't enough and they'd tried to team up with other hunters. I couldn't just leave her here by herself.
While we were talking, the escape gate finally closed.
Yu Sia, who had been speechless at the absurdity of the situation, let out a sigh.
"Haa."
"Will you definitely get out next time?"
"Yep, of course."
I pretended not to hear the words she muttered as she turned away.
"Idiot...."
I turned off the echo sonar for a moment too.
We cleared out the building that had served as the escape gate and caught our breath for a bit.
"Sia, can I ask you just one thing?"
"No."
"An immediate rejection? That's harsh."
She paused as if trying to figure out my intentions.
"What is it?"
"Was it really because you still had farming left to do?"
"Yes."
Was that the truth?
If so, it was strange that she'd talked like we were escaping right away at first.
"Is there something in particular you need?"
"You said just one question."
"Aw, come on. Service question, just one more."
I'd even delayed my escape for her sake. She could at least tell me this much, right?
After thinking it over, Yu Sia finally opened her mouth.
"The truth is... I stayed because I need medicine."
I stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue, because asking 'What kind of medicine?' would have used up my one question.
"My mom... she's really sick."
Where had I heard that line before?
"What's wrong with her...."
"...Stage three stomach cancer."
Ah, I see.
Cancer.
Now I understood why she'd come all the way up to the second floor.
And why she'd helped me.
I could have escaped, but I gave up my spot to a beginner who came looking for medicine for their mother.
She must have seen herself in the beginner I'd mentioned earlier.
"So you came up here to find chemotherapy drugs?"
"That's right."
Items from the tower were enhanced versions of things from outside.
That applied to medicine too.
No one had ever found a miracle cure, but at the very least, you could get medicine that was more effective and had fewer side effects than what existed outside.
"The reason I entered the tower in the first place—"
"Was for that, yeah."
Not everyone who entered the tower became a superhuman.
It all depended on what unique skill you awakened.
You could end up like Yu Sia.
Or you could end up with something that might as well not exist.
"People get weaker as they age. I thought the gradual loss of stamina and strength was just inevitable."
There was clear regret in Yu Sia's voice.
"I heard the food from the tower was good for regaining energy, so I bought some for her from time to time. And she really did get noticeably better."
Ah.
The temporary improvement in her condition had made them miss the right time for treatment.
"But the test results came back as stage three stomach cancer."
"Still, there's hope, right?!"
"Yes! She's scheduled for surgery in two weeks. But—"
So that's why she needed chemotherapy drugs.
"Her body has become too weak to handle the chemotherapy drugs available outside. That's why we need the ones from the tower."
If anyone could get them, it would be a veteran like Yu Sia.
And if I helped her too?
"I'll help you find the chemotherapy drugs."
"I'll... have to decline that."
"What?"
Wasn't this the part where she was supposed to say 'Thank you! You're the only one I can count on, Jaeha!'?
"Why?"
Couldn't we just search pharmacies together and find them?
It wasn't that difficult.
"The chemotherapy drugs my mom needs can only be found in large hospitals."
Large hospitals.
They were hellholes even more dangerous than department stores or police stations.