Killing Time
It was already my third time entering.
I was even starting to get used to the motion sickness that hit me every time I entered the tower.
Thud!
Fortunately, I landed safely without stumbling in front of the others.
Looking around, I saw my party members who had entered with me. And at that exact moment...
Wrooooooom!
A sound like a deep foghorn echoed through the air.
I looked up to see a sky stained blood-red. And then...
Rumble...
Suddenly, a massive obelisk rose behind us. It was covered in unrecognizable, alien glyphs.
"That's..."
Cha Yerin frowned as she eyed the obelisk. She muttered something that sounded like a curse and spat on the ground.
"Of all things..."
Kang Dakyung's expression was equally grim.
"A defense dungeon..."
Yoo Inseok muttered, his face dark.
A defense dungeon. I had learned about this during my training. Defense maps were notoriously more difficult than standard ones.
Simply put, you had to protect a specific target for a set period of time while monsters poured in endlessly.
The types of monsters that spawned varied wildly. On top of that, the target you had to protect changed every time.
Sometimes it was an obelisk like ours, other times a book, a crystal ball, or a flag—strange objects that defied human logic.
Apparently, the hardest target to protect was a living alien creature. Supposedly, it looked like some kind of raccoon. Because it moved around entirely on its own whim, trying to hold onto it while defending against monsters was a nightmare.
Since our target was a massive stone structure, I supposed we were relatively lucky. The risk of it getting damaged was significantly lower.
But that was strictly relative. Looking at our current situation, we couldn't afford to let our guard down. We had no idea what kind of monsters would appear. And above all, this was my very first defense map.
Defend the Holy Obelisk
📍 Objective: Protect the holy obelisk from the cursed zombies.
🎁 Time Limit: 5 Hours
"First, we need to funnel their path," Cha Yerin said, taking the initiative.
We were standing in a pentagonal plaza. The obelisk stood at the center, with five bridge-like pathways branching out from it.
"Let's destroy all of them except one," Yoo Inseok suggested, nodding in agreement.
"So, we leave that one and clear out the rest?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Destroying all the bridges would actually make the trial harder. If all pathways were blocked, the monsters would receive a massive buff. They would grow stronger, multiply in number, and spawn in faster waves. That was why leaving one open was essential.
"Let's move."
Cha Yerin, Yoo Inseok, and Kang Dakyung scattered toward their respective bridges and began blocking the paths.
Crash!
Cha Yerin swung her giant hammer. The pillars of a nearby building shattered instantly, bringing the entire structure down. The bridge beneath it was crushed to smithereens.
Yoo Inseok headed toward a suspension bridge. He pulled out a strange, glowing orb and used the light emitting from it to sever the ropes holding the bridge together.
Splash!
The severed bridge plunged into the abyss below, resolving that path.
Kang Dakyung set up some kind of explosive.
Boom!
The bridge blew apart in an instant.
With three bridges successfully demolished, only I was left. I stared down at the Orc's Greatsword in my hand, my expression grim.
The blade had chipped in several places during our game of tag last time. It was still usable, but using it to demolish a bridge seemed like a stretch.
"Is something wrong?" Cha Yerin, who had finished destroying her bridge first, walked over.
"Ah, well, it's just..."
I held up the chipped Orc's Greatsword.
"Oh...!" Cha Yerin looked back and forth between the sword and me, her eyes wide. "...Isn't that an Orc's weapon?"
"Yeah. I picked it up last time, but it's not in the best shape."
"Do you have any other weapons?"
Of course I didn't. From the very beginning, I had just used whatever I managed to scavenge. First the Ratman's dagger, then the Lizardman's scimitar, and now the Orc's greatsword. I hadn't received a weapon as a reward yet, and I hadn't accumulated enough points to buy one from the shop.
Actually, to be honest, it was more that I hadn't really felt the need for one.
I can just use whatever's lying around...
If I said that out loud, she'd probably look at me like I was insane.
"I should have checked beforehand."
"Oh dear..."
"It should be fine for fighting monsters, but I don't think it can handle breaking a bridge."
I could probably force it, but doing so would leave the Orc's Greatsword completely ruined.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," Cha Yerin said, raising her massive hammer once more.
BAM!
She slammed it down onto the bridge. The structure crumbled instantly as if it were made of toy blocks, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
Wow. She was the exact opposite of me—a style that completely overwhelmed with raw strength!
"Shall we go, then?"
The preparations were complete. With four bridges destroyed, only one remained. The zombies would have no choice but to swarm across this single path.
Beep.
A massive fireball erupted in the sky, forming the shape of the number 3. Then 2. And finally, 1. As the fire vanished...
Screeech!
Shriek!
Along with bloodcurdling screeches in the distance, the thundering sound of footsteps echoed.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Green-skinned zombies, their flesh hanging in tatters, began rushing toward us.
"No matter how many times I see them, I just can't get used to it... Ugh."
Yoo Inseok seemed to have a weak stomach. I supposed it was a relief that he would be staying in the back. On the other hand, Cha Yerin and Kang Dakyung didn't bat an eye.
"We just need to hold out for five hours," Cha Yerin said, and Kang Dakyung nodded.
Five hours. If we could survive for exactly five hours, we would clear the quest. Of course, there was a condition: we had to protect the obelisk. If the obelisk remained intact by the end of the five hours, we would return safely.
The key was how we managed the waves, which came once every hour. The final stretch would be the real test. Victory or defeat would depend on how well we could hold out against the remaining monsters combined with the final wave.
Hmm. Honestly, I wasn't nervous at all. I would have been more anxious if it were a puzzle or a maze. But this...
Don't I just have to kill them all?
It actually put my mind at ease. Besides, they were just zombies. They were already dead once. How hard could it be to kill them again?
The only thing bothering me was...
My weapon.
I wondered how long the Orc's Greatsword would hold up.
Of course, zombies didn't wear armor or carry weapons, so I could literally just slice through them. But I wasn't sure if the Orc's Greatsword, which had already taken significant durability damage, could withstand the strain.
If only this were a Ratman or Goblin defense. I could have easily replenished my arsenal with the monsters' weapons whenever mine broke, which would have saved me the worry.
Well, nothing I could do about it now. We were stuck with a zombie defense. I just had to slaughter them as quickly as possible while the Orc's Greatsword still held together.
I drew the Orc's Greatsword, which looked like a giant Chinese cleaver with three or four chips in the blade. The hilt fit comfortably in my palm. I guess I had grown accustomed to it in the short time I'd used it.
Skreeeech!
The horde of zombies had already reached the foot of the bridge.
"When I pull back, that's your cue! Taepyeong, Dakyung, start dealing damage immediately!"
Hummmm.
A vibrational wave rippled out from Cha Yerin's hammer. It was a pretty good item. The magic stone embedded in the center of the hammer emitted shockwaves that acted as a protective barrier.
Ah. Suddenly, my Orc's Greatsword felt incredibly shabby. I didn't even want anything fancy like that. I didn't need special abilities; I just wanted decent durability.
The [Ring of Vampirism] I had obtained as a reward last time was a recovery item. It was an amazing piece of gear, of course. Still, I really hoped a weapon would drop as a reward this time.
"Here they come!"
At Cha Yerin's shout, everyone took their positions.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The sheer number of zombies was so massive that I could feel the ground trembling beneath my feet.
Crash!
The rushing horde of zombies slammed hard against Cha Yerin's barrier.
Screeech!
The ones at the very front were instantly ground to pieces by the vibrations, and more zombies piled on top of them, layering over and over. It looked like a crowd rushing into a supermarket during a massive clearance sale.
"Taepyeong, let's do this!" Kang Dakyung called out cheerfully.
Crack!
Shriek!
Kang Dakyung was using a whip-like weapon to knock the zombies off the bridge.
"Don't be nervous," Cha Yerin said to me as I lightly twirled the Orc's Greatsword. "I'll make sure to hold the line for you."
Oh. How reliable. So this was the beauty of party play!
"That's right! I've got your back too, so don't worry!" Yoo Inseok chimed in, his glasses slipping halfway down his nose.
"Thanks."
I grinned and gave a nod. Well, I couldn't just stand around doing nothing.
Slash!
With a light swing of my sword, the neck of a rushing zombie was cleanly severed.
It wasn't a perfectly clean cut; it felt more like the flesh had been roughly torn apart. Well, it didn't matter. Clean or messy, dead was dead.
The moment the zombie's glowing blue eyes went dark...
Tick...
Everything...
Tock...
...slowed down.
Killing Time (Passive)
Upon killing a living being, speed increases by 1,000% for 3 seconds. (Can be chained)
So this is what it feels like.
It didn't feel like I had gotten faster; it felt like the entire world had slowed to a crawl.
The severed head of the zombie was still suspended in midair. Before it could even hit the ground...
Tick...
I sliced the neck of the next zombie.
Tock...
Another head flew into the air.
Killing Time re-activated. The world remained slow, and I...
Slash!
Thud!
Slice!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
I was fast. Exactly 1,000% faster.
I decapitated a zombie.
Tick!
Within the 3 seconds of boosted speed, I sliced the next one's head off.
Tock!
And then?
Tick!
Another 3 seconds were granted.
Tock!
During those 3 seconds, I took the head of the next one.
Tick!
And then another, and another 3 seconds were added.
Tock!
Allowing me to take the head of the next, and the next, and the next.
It was, quite literally, Killing Time. A time dedicated solely to slaughter.
Tick!
The head of the very first zombie I decapitated was still floating in the air.
Tock!
As if time itself had frozen.
Tick!
I didn't feel tired at all.
Tock!
Why?
Tick!
Thanks to the achievement [Killed the Unkillable].
Tick!
It came with a 15% health recovery upon every kill.
Tick!
On top of that, with the [Ring of Vampirism] equipped,
Tock!
I got even more health recovery as a bonus with every kill.
Tick!
So there was absolutely no way for me to tire out.
Tock!
Just how many had I killed by now?
Tick!
To my eyes, dozens of zombie heads seemed to be floating in midair.
Tock!
Below them stood headless zombie bodies.
Tick!
Until every single zombie's head was suspended in the air,
Tock!
I swung my sword.
Tick!
Swung.
Tock!
Swung.
Tick!
And swung again.
Tock!
And when I finally looked up again...
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The moment all the zombies were dead and Killing Time could no longer trigger...
Plop-plop-plop-plop!
Dozens of zombie heads rained down onto the ground.
And then,
Crash!
The headless zombie bodies collapsed simultaneously.
"...Already?"
The first wave was over.