Thump Thump Thump — The Giant’s Heartbeat

The heavy thump of my heartbeat refused to slow down. That was way too close. One wrong move and I really could have died.

I need to think more carefully before I act from now on. A single small mistake could cost me my life…

I looked at the food supplies scattered near the Gate of Rest and spoke to Ji-su.

“Clean this up.”

Ji-su walked over, picked up the fallen packages, and started wandering around in confusion, not knowing what to do. The sight made my blood boil.

“God damn it, just pile them up in the corner! Why are you so fucking stupid?”

Only after I shouted did she finally stagger over and begin stacking the food in the far corner.

Oppa, are you stupid or something? Why can’t you understand what people are saying?

The sharp, arrogant voice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I used to hear from her while we worked together suddenly echoed in my head. A curse slipped out before I could stop it.

“Ugh, you fucking bitch. You acted so smart, looking down on everyone, and now you’re dead and serving as a slave to the very guy you used to sneer at. Ha! Serves you right!”

Even my venomous, mocking words didn’t make her react. Ji-su simply continued moving the supplies in silence.

Feeling strangely depressed, I left her there, opened the gate, and stepped outside. I walked slowly toward the PC bang entrance and peered down the stairs. No presence at all.

“No telling when those things will come back up. I should keep the Gate of Rest summoned and open.”

I went back inside and approached the windows. Every window in the PC bang was covered with blackout film, so nothing outside was visible. If I wanted to see, I’d have to open one.

I pressed against the window and gently cracked it open.

“…Shit.”

Just as I feared, the outside was a complete disaster. Since this was a PC bang located in the middle of the nightlife district, the street should have been full of people coming and going. Now, all I saw were countless corpses.

Thick black smoke rose from a building far in the distance, and between the bodies wandered a horde of green monsters. They made wet, phlegmy gurgling sounds as they busily shuffled up and down the street.

I bit my lip and quietly closed the window.

What the hell am I supposed to do? I have food, but I can’t just hide in here eating this stuff forever.

I let out a long sigh, my face darkening with gloom. That was when I heard the monsters again, beyond the PC bang entrance.

Fuck. They just don’t give up. Filthy bastards.

I spun around and hurried back through the Gate of Rest.

Inside the Cradle of Rest, Ji-su had already finished organizing everything. The food was neatly stacked in the corner and she stood there motionless. I left the gate open and stared at the PC bang entrance.

A moment later, a massive silhouette entered the building. It was a monster completely different from the green ones I’d seen before. Its skin was the same green color, but it stood a full head taller than me with a hulking, muscular body. In its hand it carried a club that looked like a baseball bat bloated to three times its normal thickness.

If that thing swings that club with those arms, I’d probably just explode…

I stared at the giant green monster with a sick feeling in my gut. Right behind it came one of the regular green monsters. Standing next to the giant, the smaller one almost looked cute.

The little one scurried in, pointed at the spot where the Gate of Rest had been, and made a series of keruk-keruk noises. The big one raised its club, furrowed its already twisted face (I couldn’t be completely sure, but it looked like it was scowling), and glared at the empty space.

But the Gate of Rest had already been moved deeper inside the PC bang. I watched their antics from a few steps away, feeling strangely relaxed.

If nothing happens, they’ll leave, right? I’ll just stay hidden. No way I can fight that big one…

The giant green monster waited for a long time. When nothing happened, it let out an angry roar and began swinging its club wildly. Tables, potted plants, and partition walls shattered, sending debris flying everywhere.

Some of the fragments even flew into the Cradle of Rest where Ji-su and I were, but they simply passed through us without any effect. Seeing that, I felt reassured about this pocket dimension once again.

The relentless swinging also smashed the corpses lying on the floor. They were crushed into scattered pieces. The gruesome sight made my stomach churn, and I fought back the urge to vomit.

I was planning to raise Seong-man’s corpse once I leveled up enough to summon another one… but that’s ruined now. It’s completely smashed to bits…

After swinging its club through the air for a while, the giant green monster seemed to get tired. It snorted violently and began looking around the PC bang. With the club resting on its shoulder, it wandered around, snorting loudly.

It even walked straight toward the Cradle of Rest where we were, but just like the debris, it simply passed through without noticing us. A sudden greed stirred inside me.

If I kill that thing… won’t my level shoot up? It looks like some kind of boss monster…

I quickly opened my status window to check my condition.

I used the Siphon Hand skill too recklessly while experimenting on Ji-su. If I wait a little longer I should be able to use it once… but whatever. It’s not like I’ll need to use any skills. I’m just going to poke at them little by little through the gate anyway.

I moved to the open Gate of Rest and aimed my spear outward. If the giant walked past the gate, I would stab it immediately.

If I can land a critical hit or kill it, great. If not… then too bad.

I tried to calm my pounding heart and waited quietly. The small green monster was rummaging around the counter, apparently looking for food, while the big one wandered around swinging its club. The opportunity I wanted refused to appear.

I needed it to walk directly in front of the gate to stab it, but the creature kept wandering around without ever passing the exact spot. Just as I was thinking I should give up, the giant finally walked past the Gate of Rest.

What I could see through the gate was its side. If I could see its front, I would have aimed for the heart, but only its flank was visible. I thought about going for the head, but it was carrying the club on its shoulder, blocking that area. That left only one target.

I thrust the spear with all my strength into the giant’s exposed side.

Shunk—

The spear didn’t go in as deeply as I expected. I thought the increased Strength from leveling up would let me drive it in deep, but there was strong resistance and it only sank in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about halfway. Still, it was clearly a serious wound.

“KRRRRREEEEEEEEK!!!”

The giant let out a deafening roar. I gripped the spear with both hands and pushed harder. The monster thrashed in agony, then grabbed the shaft with its other hand and yanked it out with a violent pull.

The embedded spear tore free from its side, spraying blood everywhere. And then—

“W-whoa—!!”

Still gripping the spear shaft tightly, I was dragged straight out of the gate. My body flew high into the air, tracing a large arc before crashing into the counter along with the small green monster.

“Guhhhk!”

I tumbled across the floor with a loud crash. The intense pain that exploded through my entire body nearly made me lose consciousness. Thankfully, the small green monster had acted as a cushion and absorbed most of the impact, or I would have died on the spot.

Losing consciousness meant death. I forced my heavy eyelids open and looked at the giant. The wound on its side looked severe. The sheer amount of blood pouring out told me it was no ordinary injury.

It clutched its flank with its left hand, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes. It seemed too shocked to move right away. If something suddenly popped out of thin air, attacked, and then a human came flying out when it pulled on the weapon, of course it would be startled.

But the shock lasted only a moment. The pain from the wound seemed to snap it back to its senses. Snorting furiously, it charged toward me.

I tried to get up and dodge, but my body wouldn’t listen.

“Damn it! Seo Ji-su! Attack!!!”

The moment I shouted through gritted teeth, Ji-su burst out of the Gate of Rest with a dagger in hand. She leaped onto the giant’s back and stabbed the back of its neck.

“KRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAR!!!”

With a roar, the giant flailed wildly, trying to grab the woman clinging to its back. In that moment, I reached out and placed my hand on the small green monster that was unconscious beneath me.

“Siphon Hand!”

Black smoke billowed from my palm and spread across the monster’s entire body. Soon I felt something being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sucked into me, and strength began flowing back into my limbs.

“Oh… ohhh…”

What entered me was the small green monster’s life force. As power returned to me, the creature’s green face grew paler and paler until it went completely limp.

When I felt mostly recovered, I stood up. A loud crash made me turn around. Ji-su had finally been caught and thrown by the giant. She smashed through several computers and slammed into the floor.

The giant’s attention was now completely on her. Snorting angrily, it walked toward the crumpled Ji-su. I quickly grabbed the dagger the small green monster had been carrying and rushed at the giant.

The back of its neck was a torn-up mess. Ji-su hadn’t been able to pierce the thick hide, but she had shredded the outer layer pretty badly.

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

I screamed as I ran forward and drove the dagger deep into the wound she had opened. The giant clearly hadn’t expected me to get up and attack again. Its focus had been entirely on Ji-su, so it took my strike completely unguarded.

While Ji-su’s strength hadn’t been enough to penetrate, mine was. My dagger sank straight through the thick hide. The giant swung its arm wildly, trying to grab me on its back.

Whoosh— whoosh—

The sound of its massive hand cutting through the air was terrifying. I clung desperately to its back, gripping the dagger’s hilt with everything I had. Soon I felt its swinging arm begin to weaken.

“Kk… krrk… k…”

The giant’s breathing grew ragged. Then, with a heavy thud, it dropped to its knees. A moment later, it collapsed forward with a dull crash.

Immediately afterward, a bright light exploded from my body as I felt a surge of power.

Two level-up messages appeared, but that wasn’t important right now. I rushed over to where Ji-su had been thrown.

“Seo Ji-su! Are you okay?”

Her condition was pretty bad. Her arms and legs were twisted at unnatural angles, clearly broken, and a large wound on her head kept leaking black smoke.

I lifted her up and carried her back into the Cradle of Rest. Thanks to my increased Strength stat, she felt almost weightless. I laid her mangled body on the floor and activated Siphon Hand.

Black smoke flowed from my hand and seeped into her body. A short while later, Ji-su’s body was completely healed.

Only then did I feel relieved enough to collapse onto the floor. My arms were shaking uncontrollably.

I really almost died this time. If that small monster hadn’t been exactly where I landed… if Ji-su hadn’t been there… I would definitely be dead.

The trembling in my arms seemed to spread. Soon my entire body was shaking. I hugged my shoulders tightly, then suddenly shouted.

“S-Seo Ji-su! Come here!”

With a dazed look in her eyes, Ji-su walked over to me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I bit my lip and yelled at her.

“Hug me!”

The moment the command left my mouth, she stepped closer and gently wrapped her arms around me. It was cold. But at the same time, it felt warm.

I leaned into her embrace and continued to tremble violently for a long time.