Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: How to Kill a Monster
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‘Was Ji-hoon always like this?’
Lee Ji-hoon’s childhood friend, Yoo Hye-na.
She couldn’t stop being amazed as she watched her friend.
Lee Ji-hoon was what you’d call a model student.
Studies in the mid-upper ranks, hobby of reading novels.
Quiet but with a diligent image.
Basically kind, so he had a good reputation among friends.
Hye-na liked that Ji-hoon.
Not in a romantic way.
More like a comfortable friend who was fun to be around.
But then the zombie outbreak hit out of nowhere.
After that, Ji-hoon had changed somehow.
When the zombies first appeared.
Everyone was too terrified to move.
Ji-hoon was the only one who stepped up and took down a zombie.
After that, he’d saved her life several times.
Without Ji-hoon, she would’ve died long ago.
‘He doesn’t seem like the Ji-hoon I knew.’
In a good way, he’d become cooler.
Put another way, colder.
He used to smile a lot and express his emotions freely.
Now, he was like a cold knight.
‘How can he stay so calm in a situation like this?’
No matter what happened, Ji-hoon never panicked.
He calmly assessed the situation.
And immediately searched for a way to survive.
The others trembled at the slightest change.
It made sense given the circumstances.
But Ji-hoon kept acting rationally.
He killed zombies to survive.
And ran to avoid dying.
That was all there was to it.
Those actions had kept her alive this far.
Even now was the same.
A zombie had appeared out of nowhere—scary enough on its own.
Yet he silently smashed its head with the baseball bat.
Blood splattered, but he didn’t even blink.
She wondered if this was really the Ji-hoon she knew.
‘He’s so reliable.’
They were the same age, but what was with this gap?
It wasn’t just because of gender differences—there was a high wall between them.
Before she knew it, Hye-na’s gaze followed only her childhood friend.
Little by little, the image of Ji-hoon inside her was changing.
‘This novel really makes me sick of it.’
I gripped the baseball bat tightly, pouring strength into my hand.
I stared at the tentacle monster that had grown massive before my eyes.
It wasn’t a zombie anymore.
It was closer to a huge lump of meat with tentacles attached.
If this were around chapter 30, I’d understand.
Even if I were the protagonist, maybe.
But making a mere extra take down a mid-boss?
This was going too far.
‘And without giving me a proper weapon.’
The baseball bat I’d chosen as my weapon.
It was probably the best option available.
But killing that monster with it was impossible.
The reason I could take down zombies in the first place was simple.
Their heads were weak.
Sports even divide levels by weight class.
But that thing’s size...
I knew it instinctively.
No matter how many times I swung the bat, I couldn’t kill it.
‘...Complaining like this won’t change anything.’
But what pissed me off even more was this.
Thanks to my trait ‘Metafiction,’ my now-rational mind was devising the optimal plan to kill the monster in front of me.
‘Anyway, I have no choice but to kill it here.’
The tentacle monster had grown even larger after devouring zombies.
Its massive body now blocked the entrance completely.
I couldn’t run away.
This was a dead-end room at the end of the hallway.
The only other path was the window, unfortunately.
This was the fourth floor.
Even if I survived the fall—which would at best mean fractures—the zombies in the schoolyard would swarm me.
Running was off the table.
In the end, I had to fight that huge monster.
“Hye-na.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you trust me?”
“I trust you.”
An answer without a moment’s hesitation.
Her expression didn’t look like she was lying.
Maybe because we’d fought together, risking our lives.
Hye-na seemed to trust me completely now.
“Then, can I borrow your dagger?”
Hye-na’s eyes went wide at my words.
‘Well, that’s a natural reaction.’
It wasn’t an easy request.
In a zombie apocalypse world, weapons held immense value.
Just moments ago proved it.
Everyone who chose guns got wiped out.
No matter how close a friend, you couldn’t trust lightly.
She couldn’t just hand it over easily.
In some cases, I might have to take it by force—
“Got it!”
Hye-na immediately pulled out her dagger.
And handed it to me.
I numbly accepted the dagger from Hye-na.
Honestly, the situation was hard to believe.
And from the description, ‘Poison’ was a one-time effect.
Even if I used it and returned it, it’d just be an ordinary dagger.
“You sure?”
“About what?”
“I might run off and leave you behind.”
“Would you?”
Yoo Hye-na’s innocent question.
Not because of Metafiction—this was weird no matter how I thought about it.
Was it okay to trust people this easily?
Looking at Hye-na, it felt a bit surreal.
No matter what, how could she hand over her only weapon without a doubt?
“Because it’s you, Ji-hoon—I know you wouldn’t!”
Hye-na smiled brightly.
Honestly, I was more worried than happy.
Could a kid like this survive in this brutal world?
I was seriously concerned for my childhood friend’s future.
“Thanks.”
But this wasn’t the time to get sentimental.
I steeled my resolve and turned my gaze to the monster.
“Just in case, stay back.”
“Is there nothing I can do to help?”
“I’m good. I’ll handle this guy here.”
I picked up a zombie corpse from the floor.
Using it as a shield to cover my body.
With a weapon secured, there was no need to hesitate.
End it in one go while I still had stamina.
“Kraaaah!”
As I charged, the tentacle monster reacted.
It whipped its tentacles at me rapidly.
But the attacks weren’t as sharp as before.
Because its body had grown larger.
‘Definitely, its vision was obstructed, so it couldn’t attack properly.’
To make proper judgments, it needed proper attacks.
With that massive body blocking its own sight...
Sure, its durability had improved.
But it only hindered its attacks.
-Thud! Thud!
Several tentacles flew toward me.
I blocked them with the zombie as a shield.
“Kuhk!”
Still, the force sent me rolling across the floor.
The monster snatched the impaled zombie and devoured it.
‘Without the zombie shield, that would’ve been me.’
But now I had enough distance.
From my fallen position, I kicked off immediately.
The only attack skill I could use right now.
50 mana consumed.
Skill: ‘Full Power Strike’ used!
Even I was surprised by the immense power surging through the bat.
I swung it with all my might straight ahead.
-Ccreeeng!
A deafening roar echoed, like hitting something inhuman.
My arm tingled from the sheer force of the blow.
‘...So it really has to be the head, huh?’
But the monster’s condition looked fine.
There was damage, of course.
But without a vital spot, it wouldn’t die.
Its massive flesh absorbed the attack.
‘But I still have one more weapon.’
I drew the ‘Poisoned Dagger’ from my pocket.
The moment I tried to stab it—
-Shalararak!
A tentacle flew in as if anticipating it.
It knocked the dagger away.
“Keheok!”
The follow-up tentacle wrapped around my neck.
Why wasn’t it killing me instantly like the others?
Feeling my breath constrict, I looked up.
For the first time, I faced the tentacle monster head-on.
“You even know the dagger has a trump card. You do have intelligence.”
I’d figured it would be on guard.
Obviously.
It had been watching me from start to finish.
It surely knew I had some plan.
But what it didn’t expect was this.
I never intended to stab it in the first place.
“But what now? The poison—you already ‘ate’ it.”
“Kraaak?!”
The tentacle monster’s body split open as it screamed.
Blood erupted from its mouth.
“Kreoeoe!”
I never planned to stab the monster itself.
I doubted it would take the hit obediently.
‘But a dead zombie is different.’
The zombie I’d used as a shield earlier.
I’d already stabbed it with the ‘Poisoned Dagger’ beforehand.
The monster unknowingly ate a zombie afflicted with ‘Poison.’
The venom spread through its body the moment it entered its mouth.
“Kraaaaaah!”
It thrashed wildly, flailing its tentacles everywhere.
I was flung to the floor.
“Kyaaaak!”
Glass shattered, objects smashed.
Maybe because its body was so much larger now.
The poison wasn’t spreading easily.
‘Damn, it’s still not dead? What kind of stamina is that?’
I needed to land one more solid hit somehow.
But the impact from hitting the floor left my body sluggish.
-Crunch.
Then, something crunched beneath me.
Apparently, I’d crushed a zombie while falling.
‘Damn, nasty bastards to the very end.’
At that moment, a message appeared before my eyes.
‘Level up?’
Strength began returning to my body along with the message.
Like in a game, did leveling up restore HP?
I hadn’t expected a system like this.
‘Anyway, mana’s full again?’
I grabbed the baseball bat and stood.
Then charged straight at it again.
50 mana consumed!
Skill: ‘Full Power Strike’ used!
-Ccrek!
I smashed its body once more with the skill.
Maybe because it was already poisoned and in its death throes.
This time, it definitely worked.
I felt the sensation of finishing it off through my hands.
“Kueoeo......”
I felt its final gaze turn toward me.
It probably wasn’t my imagination.
I stared straight at it.
I wasn’t certain.
But I sensed some emotion from that massive body.
“Just as you feared me, you were scared of me too. That’s why you grew bigger.”
I had no idea why such a terrifying monster feared me.
Anyway, its choice was a mistake.
If it had stayed its original size, it would’ve been far more threatening.
“That judgment killed you.”
“Kuu.....”
The tentacle monster’s body collapsed.
As if that huge bulk had been a lie.
Nothing remained in its place.
Or rather, saying nothing was wrong.
• Defeated Zone Mid Boss ‘Tentacle Monster’!
• Level up!
• Proceeding to next stage automatically!
• 3rd in the world to defeat a Zone Mid Boss!
• The world bestows the title ‘Great Pioneer’ upon you!
• Reward: Acquired 1000 Doom Coins!
• Reward: Acquired ‘Devourer’s Essence’!
Countless messages were floating in front of me.