The Flesh That Would Devour Seoul

'I really shouldn't have fired that test shot.'

The cooldown on the Gigantic Beast Slayer Tower stung more than I expected. I knew there was no way to predict things would turn out like this, but the regret still gnawed at me. Then again, if I hadn't fired it, reshaping the terrain would've been nearly impossible anyway. No point dwelling on pointless hypotheticals. I steadied my mind and switched my view to the Reinforced Warbow Tower.

Every tower except the one loaded with arrowheads focused fire on a single spot with relentless precision. Thudthudthudthudthud!

The mass of flesh tore open. Before it could wriggle and regenerate, another shot struck—thwack!—slicing deep, carving through the meat. Shlukshluk. Arrows burrowed into its body. Crrrrack! The purple-glowing arrowheads shattered inside like blender blades, grinding the innards to paste.

Still, it wasn't enough.

The second arrow followed right on its heels. Crrrrrrrrack! It blasted through even the flesh rushing to fill the gaping wound. The third. Krrrrrrrrrack! It carved a path straight toward the center of the colossal mass.

Just a little more.

The fourth. Crunch! Riiiip! Clatterclatterclatter! Still too far. The fleshy sphere, shaped like a giant egg, protected its core. I couldn't reach the bizarre creature at its center.

But the final shot was different from the others. Specially made. Bigger. Longer.

'This should do it.'

Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiii—

A red laser point, locked on the monster from the very first shot, illuminated the tunnel of meat walls.

"Fuck it! If this doesn't kill you, I don't know what will! Just go ahead and end the world then!"

Unlike the other towers, the Titans Warbow Tower rose in majestic, precisely stacked brickwork. A colossal bow hidden in shadow began to glow with golden light.

"Blow it the fuck up!!"

The moment the string was released—BOOM!—it tore the air apart.

Kiiiiiiit—!

I couldn't even track it with my eyes. The only clue was the violent gust of wind that followed far too late, telling me the arrow had already passed.

KUUUUUUNG!!!

Crrrrrrrrrrrrk—!

A heavy impact that didn't sound like it came from an arrow at all. The creature rolled like a boulder despite its size, smashing buildings to rubble as it tumbled.

Shhhk—

Purple lines suddenly burst from inside the mass of flesh, turning into blades. Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk—! They didn't just slice the enormous body into pieces—they completely shredded and exploded it.

Chunks of meat flew in every direction, splattering against building windows like grotesque graffiti.

A shudder ran through me like my brain was on fire. Dopamine flooded my system, blowing away the anxiety that had been eating at my chest.

"Hah, fuck... I really thought we were screwed, you bastard!"

The image of that ever-growing flesh mass swallowing all of Seoul had flashed through my mind. Thankfully, it remained nothing more than a nightmare.

"Hahaha, insane."

Even I couldn't comprehend the sheer power. Once I calmed down, a question rose in my mind.

Just what the hell was the world turning into that things like this could even appear?

Muttering the same unanswered question, I walked toward the center of the meat fragments as if in a trance. Several glowing items lay there.

"Four? Four items?!"

Four whole items had dropped. I couldn't believe it.

"Hell yeah! This is what I'm talking about! The entire peninsula almost got wiped out!"

In my head, I'd already run through every worst-case scenario. I'd drag my forces down to Busan somehow, find a boat, and flee to Japan. By the time I came back, I'd be strong enough to hunt the thing. It would grow too, but if I could just level up a bit more... That kind of plan.

Now all of it was meaningless. The monster was dead, and only the loot remained.

I picked up the elegant black-sheathed blade. As I drew it, a beautiful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ringing sound accompanied the motion.

Srrrrng.

A graceful, milky-white curved blade emerged.

"Whoa..."

Mysterious patterns were engraved along the blade.

'Why does it stop? Usually patterns run the full length of the blade, right?'

But this one looked unfinished, abruptly cut off near the tip as if incomplete.

"Hahaha... insane..."

Unique? A Unique item? On the first wave? With four enchantments? And a special option on top?

Yeah, it made sense. It had dropped from something that never should've appeared in the first wave.

'It says I can extend the blade?'

Shaaak—

As if to answer my doubt, the blade instantly lengthened. The sudden added weight nearly made me stumble.

"Whoa, shit! This is fucking awesome?!"

A weapon that could grow longer? It was every man's fantasy made real. It looked like it had extended over six meters. Maybe just shy of seven in total. The patterns stretched along with it, but still remained incomplete.

Would it grow even longer?

'If only I had a skill that worked with a blade like this!'

It was so cool it almost hurt. 'Too bad it's a do. One of my skills won't even work with it.'

Because the blade was curved, it didn't match the thrusting technique I had.

'I'll just carry it for now. Even holding it feels good. Hehehe.'

I fastened the sheath's strap around my waist.

Srrrng—click.

I slid the blade back in.

"Damn, that clear sound!"

Just hearing it put me in a good mood. A masterpiece really was on another level. The desperate battle from moments ago felt like a distant memory. I was just excited now.

Next, I picked up the ring.

"Oh!"

Simple but exactly what I needed! A ring that boosted maximum mana. Even as waves progressed, mana-increasing items stayed expensive. Even ones that only gave twenty or thirty were ridiculously pricey. Since most people didn't invest in magic stats unless they learned magic skills, this kind of item was essential.

'This should go to Hana. It'll help her a lot.'

Next were the Nucleus of Negation and Condensed Zombie Cure.

"What the...?"

There were no descriptions. They simply read Nucleus of Negation and Condensed Zombie Cure. It reminded me of the Essence of Negation I'd picked up before. That had been a crafting material for the Altar. But this time, no message appeared even after I picked them up.

'I'll just store ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them for now. They'll be useful someday, right?'

I shoved them into my inventory.

Looking around, the scene felt strangely empty. The vast space looked hollowed out. Even the zombie corpses had been sucked into the creature, leaving nothing behind. A lonely feeling washed over me, like I was the only one left in the entire city.

"Time to go pick them up."

It was time to return to Hana, Chae-i, and the raid members. I first summoned the Altar and left it to burn the dungeon boss's corpse.

"But how do I get there?"

I didn't have a driver's license.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

I should've told the short-haired one to wait instead of leaving. The thought of walking that entire distance alone already made me break out in a cold sweat.

"Huh?"

I spotted a shadow behind one of the buildings. It was Hana.

"Why didn't you leave?"

I walked over and asked. She snapped back at me.

"You idiot! How could I just leave?!"

Why was she angry?

"Did you see? Me killing that thing?"

"Yeah."

"I told you I could handle it."

"Then you should've done it sooner..."

Her eyes were red and puffy. Had she been crying? Honestly, even I hadn't reacted immediately. I never expected to witness something so shocking.

"Sorry. Where's Chae-i?"

"I left her with the raid members."

"Hmm, then shall we go pick her up together?"

"Yeah."

She looked a bit down. Was this the right moment? Nothing cheers someone up like a gift.

"Here, take this."

"Huh? This is..."

"It's a ring that increases your maximum mana."

I grabbed her hand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that was just staring blankly and placed the ring in her palm.

"Idiot."

"What? I gave you a present and you call me an idiot? That's harsh."

"Thank you."

Only then did a bright smile bloom on her face.

"Really. Thank you."

"There we go. Heh!"

Giving gifts felt good. Hana really was prettiest when she smiled.

"Hana, you know how to drive, right?"

I was glad I'd run into her. Just thinking about walking made me sweat.

"No, I don't."

"Then let's get in the car... Wait, in that case, how about we take a walk instead?"

"Sure. Hehehe."

Better than walking alone. A lot better.

"But why did you stay? Honestly, there wasn't anything more you could've done in that situation."

"Hmph! Is that what matters?"

Wait, wasn't it? She was right, though...

"I was going to carry you on my back and run if things got dangerous."

Right, Hana had that skill.

"Oh, that could've worked. But wouldn't it have been better to leave the raid members and escape by car?"

"I didn't think that far. No! What matters is the heart behind it!"

"The heart?"

"The heart to protect your comrades!"

Was that really the important part? Well, for Hana and Chae-i, it was.

"Then can you carry me now? I'm tired."

"Hmph! No way."

Too bad. I just lost a perfectly legal chance for skinship.

The pure white ring on her left ring finger caught my eye. She must really like it—she'd even taken off her glove.

"It suits you."

"D-does it?"

"Yeah."

"The design is pretty too. I didn't know items could look this nice."

The blue gem embedded in it made it quite beautiful. But...

"Isn't this even better?"

Srrrng.

I drew the blade from the sheath at my waist and showed it to her.

"Wow, cool! Wait—no. This is prettier."

"Trying to compete with me, huh? Kkukuk."

Hana held up the ring proudly. What a kid.

"Well, that one's pretty too."

I finally understood why women went crazy for jewelry.

"Hehehe."

The way she smiled while staring at the ring was adorable. Good thing I gave it to her. Accessories really did have decent performance.

"What should I do? I feel bad."

"About what?"

"I don't have anything to give you in return."

"Don't worry. You can hunt mutants by yourself now. If you find something I need, just give it to me then."

That's how distribution usually worked in raids anyway—items matched to skills.

"Got it. I'll definitely bring you something good."

"Don't push yourself too hard."

"Okay!"

She couldn't take her eyes off the ring, like she would never get tired of looking at it. She might not realize it yet, but accessories like this would become extremely rare from now on. This only dropped because an absurdly overpowered dungeon boss had appeared. Surely something like that wouldn't show up again.

"Oh right! The dungeon!"

I'd completely forgotten. We still needed to clear the dungeon! Clearing it sometimes gave bonus rewards. It hadn't happened last time, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the odds were worth gambling on.

"Why the dungeon?"

"There might be a clear reward. Let's hurry! We need to head out as soon as we meet up with the raid members!"

Of course, no Scavenger would have the guts to approach, but better safe than sorry.

"Let's run!"

"Yeah! Hehehet."

Hana laughed brightly as she dashed ahead. Hey, if she used her skill, how was I supposed to keep up? Before I knew it, a smile had crept onto my own face.