Beginner's Luck
I never expected to find a corpse the moment I stepped out of the house. From his clothes, he clearly wasn't a hunter. A hunter would've at least been wearing some kind of armor. I approached cautiously and took a closer look. Pale skin, bruises covering his arms and torso, and distinct bite marks on his neck. It looked like he'd died from blood loss.
This is an object-type corpse, isn't it?
The first floor of the Tower had a twenty-person limit and started with solo random matching. Most importantly, everyone began at the same time, so it was physically impossible for him to have fought zombies and bled out in such a short window.
At least that's a relief. My mind felt a little lighter. If an actual player had already died, it would've weighed on me. Besides, I would've felt too guilty to loot the body.
A wooden bat? Lucky. I picked up the weapon lying next to the corpse.
Preparation complete.
I crept in a slow circle, scanning the area. Fortunately, no other zombies had appeared yet. It made sense; the game had only just begun.
At this stage, securing basic gear was priority one. I circled back behind the first zombie I'd spotted. To farm the residential area properly, I needed to clear the nearby threats first. Breaking locks would make too much noise.
"Grrrrk."
But now that I was actually staring at the back of its head, I hesitated. Was it really okay to beat something to death? Could I actually do it?
Time kept ticking while I wavered. The longer I took to decide, the more dangerous things would become.
I took a deep breath, raised the bat high overhead, and swung down with everything I had.
Thwack!!
"Groooar?!"
The zombie jolted awake from the impact and staggered, trying to turn. I'd spent hours simulating my own combat style while watching hunter fight videos. Now it was time to see if any of it actually worked.
Positioning matters more than raw attacks!
Instead of mindlessly swinging, I watched its movements. As it stepped back with its right foot to pivot toward me, I sidestepped wide to the left, staying behind it.
I brought the bat down again.
Crack!!
"Kroooar!"
It staggered harder than before. Thump! I smashed its right knee, then whack! drove the bat into the back of its neck as it hunched over.
"Kruk."
The creature collapsed face-first. I finished it with several brutal strikes to the back of the skull.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
"Huff... huff. Fuck. Done. That wasn't so bad."
The fight had gone exactly like my simulations. Adrenaline surged through me, making my hands shake.
Good. Let's move.
It was time to farm. The villa next door was perfect for it. The building used old-fashioned key locks instead of electronic ones.
I smashed every doorknob on my way up to the fourth floor. No telling when zombies might spawn, so it paid to prepare. Then I worked my way back down, looting floor by floor.
The fourth floor only had snacks and bottled water. The third gave me a wallet with 550,000 won in cash and some useless toy junk. Fortunately, the second floor delivered something actually useful: a leather jacket.
Items inside the Tower were different from their outside versions. Think enhanced editions. This jacket would be far tougher and more durable. The same went for the wooden bat. A normal one would've snapped by now.
On my way out I also grabbed the duct tape from the shelf. The first floor gave me a few more decent finds: fashion magazines, scissors, a tin pot, and similar odds and ends.
These should let me reinforce some armor.
I laid a magazine over the sleeve of the leather jacket and wrapped it tight with duct tape. Riiiip. This should stop a bite from becoming fatal. I wanted to reinforce my torso too, but I didn't have enough magazines.
Time to go.
I couldn't waste another second. Zombie spawns were probably well underway. I needed to farm as much as possible before the streets filled up.
The door opened silently, unlike the noisy one at my own place. I felt a twinge of envy. If I ever made it home, I'd have to swap mine out. Not that I planned on returning to the Tower, of course.
The moment I stepped outside, I spotted a newly spawned zombie. This time I moved straight toward it.
No time to check the surroundings anymore.
If I took a full loop, more would likely spawn. I approached from behind, raised the bat high, and swung down hard.
Thwack!!
"Kweeeek!"
The heavy impact reverberated satisfyingly through my grip. I followed with a strike to its right knee.
Crack!
The creature staggered as it tried to turn. I didn't miss the opening. I kicked its hunched back, knocking it to the ground, then stomped and smashed until it stopped moving.
"Huff."
My hands weren't shaking anymore. There was no time to dwell on it anyway.
I hurried over to a nearby trash bin and rummaged through it. Something I would never have done in the real world, but...
Lucky.
◈ Basic reinforcement materials
◈ Useful for makeshift armor
"Grrrrrk."
"Ah, shit."
The growl from behind made me curse out loud before I could stop myself.
"Kruk?!"
Damn it. I swung the bat into the zombie's head and quickly scanned the area. Luckily, it was still alone for now.
"Groooar!"
The creature revealed its aggressive nature the instant it spotted a human. I swung again and again, but its outstretched arms made it hard to target the head.
For some reason the zombie suddenly crouched, then—
"Kyaaaaah!"
It leaped.
Walking zombies couldn't run, but they could manage short jumps.
"You crazy—!"
I tried to backstep, but my foot slipped on a piece of broken cement.
Shit. Is this how I go?
"Groooar!"
I shoved my right arm into its gaping mouth as it lunged for my throat.
"Guuuurp."
Good thing I'd wrapped that magazine around it. Even with a zombie's stronger bite force, it couldn't instantly tear through the reinforced layers.
"Get off, you lunatic!"
I pushed at its shoulder with my left hand, but it didn't budge. A first-stage zombie's strength matched a human's. Without jiu-jitsu training, escaping from mount was nearly impossible.
Then a light flashed from behind the zombie, followed by a dull impact.
Thump!
"Kwek!"
I didn't waste the chance. I kicked the creature off, rolled away, and scrambled to my feet.
"Thank you!"
The person who saved me was... a person. I never knew how good it would feel to see another human.
"N-no problem. We have to help each other, right? Haha..."
It was too dark to see his face clearly, but he looked like a plump man wearing glasses.
"Behind you! Behind!"
A zombie had spawned behind him.
"Uhek!"
I delivered a soccer kick to the head of the zombie still on the ground—thud!—then charged the new one and swung with everything I had.
Whack!
"Uhek! Uheeeek! Uwaaaaah!"
I stomped hard on the fallen zombie's head, over and over.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Get your head in the game and fight!"
"H-huh? Me?"
"Fight, damn it!"
Splat!
"Kweeeek!"
The zombie that had mounted me was coming at me again.
"Just die already!"
I planted a front kick squarely in its gut.
Thud!
It tumbled backward. The laws of physics apparently still applied inside the Tower; the recoil sent me stumbling too.
"Smash its head, mister!"
"M-mister? I'm still in my twenties..."
"Just smash it!"
"Y-yes!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He caved the zombie's skull in with what looked like a hammer.
"Damn it..."
We were still in the early stage, yet my whole body already ached. I headed back to my starting point to rest and recover a little.
If only I had some pain patches.
It was tougher than I'd expected. Getting tackled by a zombie, rolling across the ground, and the spawns weren't even finished yet. I was already exhausted.
"So you're a beginner too?" I asked.
"I'm not a mister. My name is I Junseong."
"Ah, right. Junseong. I'm Yoon Jaeha."
He seemed rather timid.
"Why did you enter the Tower?"
He didn't look like the adventurous type at all. Had he sleep-talked his way in like me?
"Because of that alert yesterday."
"Ah."
The one that said a disaster would strike if the target amount wasn't met.
"Did you come in for the same reason, Jaeha?"
"...Yes."
"I knew it!"
Knew what? There's no way that's common! Don't you know how dangerous this place is?
Still, I couldn't admit I'd been sleep-talking. Too embarrassing.
"It's reassuring to have met someone else. Hehehe."
I was grateful he'd helped me, but from my perspective he was anything but reassuring. Just remembering how he'd fought made my stomach twist.
I tore off a strip of duct tape and started wrapping it around the wooden bat.
"Why are you wrapping tape around it?"
"It got a small crack during the last fight."
Better to reinforce it while I could. I also pressed magazines against my shins and wrapped them with tape.
"Magazines? Oh, that looks pretty smart. Are you making armor?"
This guy was awfully curious for someone I'd just met. Why was he acting so friendly with a stranger? Still, he had saved my life, so I figured I could share some basic info.
"When you farm, you'll find magazines, rubber mats, stuff like that. Wrap them on like this and it'll help. It'll block a few bites at least."
"Whoa!"
I Junseong let out an impressed sound, then fell into deep thought.
"By the way, what's farming?"
"Sorry?"
"You know... farming."
Wait, did this guy seriously enter without knowing anything? I was starting to lose my mind.
"It means gathering stuff. Weapons, money, items, anything useful."
"Oh."
I finished my quick maintenance and pulled out some snacks. As I chewed, I Junseong stared at me quietly.
"Want some?"
"Ah, yes! Thank you."
I wasn't eating because I was hungry. Food from the Tower had special effects. Simply eating it boosted your stamina. This was verified information from hunters who'd tested it thoroughly. It even helped a little with injury recovery.
I Junseong probably had no idea. I downed a 500ml bottle of water in one go. The fatigue drained away noticeably.
To think I'd get to experience in person what I'd only heard about in videos.
"Let's get moving."
"Mm, okay. But... where to?"
If I'd been alone, the destination would've been obvious. Taking this guy along wasn't ideal. At the same time, I couldn't just abandon the person who'd saved me.
I'd never entered the Tower before, but I'd watched countless videos and experienced it indirectly. This guy, however, was a complete beginner.
Guess I have to give the newbie a guide.
While I was wrestling with that thought—
"Jaeha, aren't we going?"
He was being way too carefree.
"Shh! From now on, no talking. Use hand signals."
"Hand signals? I don't know how to do those."
Did he not understand why I was keeping my voice down? The road ahead looked long. I'd have to drop him off at the station as quickly as possible and continue on my own.