The National Cemetery
The National Cemetery — the Republic of Korea's national burial ground and facility for patriotic memorial services, a resting place for the warriors who gave their lives for the nation.
When the apocalypse began, some of the living turned into zombies. But there were also cases of corpses that had already been dead rising once more.
Among the heroes interred at Daejeon National Cemetery, some had risen again as undead — zombies, skeletons, and the like. Because this region harbored special undead, it had been designated a dungeon.
Kang Dohyun and Kang Dohun, the two brothers, pitched a tent halfway up the mountain behind Daejeon National Cemetery and established a temporary base camp. Spreading out a map, Dohyun explained the dungeon's structure.
"Special zombies? Or undead, rather? Hyung, isn't that dangerous?"
"It is."
The National Cemetery was no easy dungeon. With special undead present, even with how relatively well the brothers had grown, facing those zombies head-on would still be difficult.
"But there are multiple dungeons here. I already know which ones we can clear right now."
The cemetery was vast enough that it wasn't a single dungeon. Of course Dohyun knew which sections the two of them could handle.
"It's a hit-and-run. Clear it fast, then get out fast."
He laid out the operation in detail.
The next morning, the brothers finished their combat preparations and carefully made their way down the mountain.
Minimize noise.
Got it.
Any zombies they encountered on the descent, they dealt with as quietly as possible. Moving with that same caution, they reached Daejeon National Cemetery — and their target within it was the Presidential Burial Ground.
Most presidents were interred at the Presidential Burial Ground of the National Cemetery in Seoul. So the one at Daejeon held only a single president — and that president's corpse had risen when the apocalypse began.
A flash.
A skeleton whose eyes blazed with savage light — the former president's body, transformed into a skeleton. The Presidential Skeleton stood guard over its resting place, radiating murderous intent.
Kang Dohyun and Kang Dohun came straight down from the mountain toward the Presidential Burial Ground.
"Careful."
The skeleton entered their distant field of vision. Both men grew even more deliberate with their footsteps.
"Safety matters, but so does time."
Dohun nodded at his brother's words. The National Cemetery teemed with risen undead — if the noise grew too loud, the surrounding undead would swarm them.
"Alright. Let's start the operation we talked about yesterday."
The two brothers carefully advanced toward the Presidential Burial Ground.
The Presidential Skeleton was filled with hatred. A hatred that wanted to smash everything to pieces — an overwhelming loathing for all living things, born the moment it rose as undead. But the area it occupied was a dungeon. It could not leave. And so the hatred simply kept accumulating.
Then something different entered the skeleton's eyes — a living creature, unlike the usual fare.
"Krrraaagh."
Kang Dohun was approaching with his weapon drawn. Axe in hand, he closed in on the Presidential Skeleton.
Whoa.
He could feel the energy of hatred pouring off the skeleton.
I can take it.
He was afraid. But he steeled himself and pressed closer. The moment he passed through a thin membrane —
You have entered the dungeon.
The message appeared — and in that same instant!
"Krrraaagh!"
The Presidential Skeleton charged straight at him. The brawl between Kang Dohun and the skeleton began.
Clang! Thud! Chaaang! Thud!
The skeleton either dodged or blocked Dohun's swinging axe with its bones, then counterattacked. Dohun followed his instincts, slipping past the skeleton's strikes.
Too fast.
The attacks came at considerable speed, so he fought with a single priority: don't get hit.
While his younger brother dueled the skeleton, Kang Dohyun arrived at the hill just behind the Presidential Burial Ground.
You have entered the dungeon.
The moment the message appeared, Dohyun immediately hurled the water bottle in his hand.
Whoosh.
The instant the bottle reached a point above the Presidential Skeleton —
Thwip, crack!
— he used his crossbow to burst it midair. The liquid inside rained down like a shower.
Sizzle.
"Kwaaaagh!"
The skeleton roared in fury as the liquid struck it. The water was salt water — to undead, it might as well have been acid.
Dohyun immediately threw the next bottle.
Thwip, crack!
"Kwaaaaaagh!!"
Under the second liquid assault, the skeleton whipped its head toward Dohyun in a rage — but:
"Hey! Eyes on me!"
Dohun slammed in hard with his axe, and a full two-on-one fight began in earnest.
While Dohun and the skeleton clashed in close combat, in the gaps between exchanges —
Thwip, thwack!
— Dohyun provided ranged support with his crossbow.
As the battle wore on, the Presidential Skeleton's health dropped below half.
"Urrgh..."
It suddenly stopped and began gathering energy.
"What is that?"
"Watch out — it's going berserk!"
At his brother's warning, Dohun made a split-second decision and struck the skeleton with his axe — but:
Clang! Clang!
It felt like hammering steel. Then —
Flash!
— a vicious aura blazed fiercely from its eyes, and it attacked.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Ugh!"
The skeleton's fist strikes were so fast Dohun couldn't react. He barely managed to dodge or block with his arms, hanging on by a thread.
The berserk phase had accelerated its speed — and now his younger brother could no longer handle the skeleton's assault.
That kid. Still green in real combat.
Chosen by the God of Exercise, gifted with superhuman athletic nerves, and armed with a variety of traits and skills — Dohyun had expected even the Presidential Skeleton to make for a solid matchup. But seeing his brother struggle:
Dohyun set down his crossbow. In his right hand he gripped a hand axe; in his left, something small made of iron.
Looks like I have to step in.
He broke into a run toward the Presidential Skeleton. Just as Dohun was barely managing to block the skeleton's attacks —
"Haaah!"
— Dohyun appeared from the side and drove a kick into the skeleton's head.
Boom!
The Presidential Skeleton went down.
"Fall back, patch yourself up, then rejoin."
Following his brother's order, Dohun pulled back a short distance. He pulled bandages from his hardtack pouch and began wrapping both arms, reinforcing the torn leather jacket.
Seeing Dohyun appear so suddenly, the Presidential Skeleton erupted in fresh rage.
"Kwaaaaaagh!"
It charged him.
Don't watch and dodge — predict and dodge.
Dohyun read the skeleton's joint movements and predicted the path of each attack. Then —
Whoosh.
The speed was tremendous, but he had predicted the timing a beat early, and so he slipped past it.
"Kwek!"
Enraged, the skeleton launched a flurry of consecutive strikes — but:
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Both hands and both legs carved nothing but empty air.
The traits and skills Dohyun currently possessed fell short of his younger brother's, but he too had been chosen by the God of Exercise — and more importantly, he had lived through the apocalypse for a long, long time. So even when the Presidential Skeleton unleashed truly rapid attacks, he could still evade them.
After several exchanges of dodging and countering with the hand axe, the Presidential Skeleton grew furious. And so:
"Kueeeek!"
It threw a powerful attack with a wide, telegraphed motion.
There's my opening.
Dohyun dodged it. In the same motion, he jammed the object in his left hand — a pistol — right in front of the skeleton's waist. And then!
BANG!
The pistol fired like an explosion. The shotgun pistol he had specially prepared — a weapon he had gone to great lengths to smuggle out of the Philippines — discharged cleanly. The Presidential Skeleton's spine snapped clean through.
Got it.
The triumph lasted only a moment. The shotgun pistol's recoil was stronger than expected. He lost his balance for an instant — and:
Whoosh, crack!
The still-moving Presidential Skeleton's fist smashed into Dohyun's face.
Boom!
The sheer force of the blow sent him flying.
Patching himself up in the rear, Dohun saw his brother sail through the air and froze in shock.
"Hyung!"
His brother arced through the air like a painting and crashed to the ground. But:
"Kueeeek!"
The Presidential Skeleton was still moving. Its lower body was shattered, yet it dragged itself forward on both hands.
Killing this enemy came first.
"Die!"
Dohun charged in for the finish and buried his axe in the skeleton's skull. The skeleton tried to resist with its remaining two hands, but:
CRACK!
Its head finally shattered, and all movement ceased.
You have slain a Special Skeleton.
Your level has increased.
You have obtained 500 Zombie Coins.
You have cleared the dungeon.
Message windows cascaded up as if they had been waiting for this moment. But Dohun didn't check a single one — he sprinted straight to his brother.
"Hyung! Hyung! Are you okay?"
Kang Dohyun lay on the ground. Fortunately:
"Augh... that hurts..."
He had taken a considerable impact, but nothing life-threatening. At the last second he had managed to roll with the blow, absorbing just enough of the shock.
"Hyung, thank god."
No sooner had Dohun spoken the words than:
"Kwaaaagh!"
The undead that had been waiting around the dungeon began closing in. When the Presidential Skeleton fell, the barrier surrounding the area had vanished with it.
"Hyung, we have to run."
At his younger brother's urgent push, Dohyun focused what remained of his mental strength and summoned the drone.
"Get on!"
Both brothers climbed aboard.
"Kwaaaagh!"
The lead skeleton lunged for the drone — and in that instant:
"Go!"
The drone soared high, barely escaping the grasp. It sped away, and the two brothers made it out safely.