The Choice

The moment their bodies were their own again, every last one of them chose to stand against the Ogre.

Only minutes earlier, a single roar from the thing had locked their limbs in place. It would not have been strange if someone had turned and run. And yet no one did. They could not. They had watched their savior take blow after blow to keep them alive, and with that sight still burning behind their eyes, flight had simply ceased to be an option.

"Tanks, up front!"

Daehoon snapped the order at everyone holding a shield. In a heartbeat they had ringed the Ogre in.

"Supports, buff the tanks!"

A handful of voices rose in incantation, and light settled over the shield line. The Ogre, sensing the shift, tried to smash the circle apart and hurl them aside—

"Uwooorh…?"

It felt as if it had punched a mountain. The tanks did not give a single step. They took one forward instead, and began to squeeze.

"Ranged DPS, on my mark!"

The words were barely out of his mouth before arrows, fire, and every other flavor of magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crashed down on the Ogre. Under that barrage, the giant could not even move. A sliver of stun. Daehoon did not waste it.

"Now! Melee, hit it together!"

Part of the tank line peeled off, opening a gap. Daggers, longswords, greatswords, axes, spears—every kind of blade carved, stabbed, and hammered into the Ogre. The crushing presence it had worn at the start was gone. What stood there now was not a predator on the hunt. It was prey.

The Ogre loosed one last, broken scream.

"Guaaaaagh—!"

That enormous body began, slowly, to tip. Daehoon stayed wary to the end and drove his greatsword in. Nothing twitched.

"I-is it dead…?"

The ones who still weren't sure stabbed it with whatever they had in their hands. It did not matter. No matter how many times they struck, the Ogre never moved. Only silence. Not a flicker of response.

"YEAAAAAH—!"

The shout tore out of every throat at once. Some people grabbed each other and held on. Some were so overwhelmed they simply cried.

"This is all thanks to you."

Daehoon turned back toward where the girl had been standing.

"…?"

She was nowhere to be found.

The Ogre's death cleared the quest, and the plaza in front of the Tower turned into a festival. While everyone else was still cheering, I slipped out without a soul noticing.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A place like that was never going to suit me.

The streets had been emptied of people fleeing the monsters. Down one of those hollow roads, a girl walked with both hands pressed to her stomach, breathing hard.

"Hah… hah…"

Nothing showed on the outside. The shock had rattled her organs, but it would settle soon enough. I had already patched myself up with First Aid, so I wasn't worried.

A Skill Selection Ticket, extra rewards, whatever—it was all too much trouble. All I wanted was to fall into bed as soon as humanly possible.

Even so, I looked back. I had walked a fair distance, but if I focused I could still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠see the crowd gathered at the Tower. Each of them was celebrating in their own way. Watching that, a small warmth settled in my chest.

"I'm glad I stepped in…"

I started walking again. Destination: the bed in my room. My body was so spent I felt like I might drop at any second, and yet, strangely, my steps themselves were light.

I had moved hard enough that sweat had soaked through my clothes, and it was unpleasant. On any other day I would have washed up before lying down. Today, everything was too much of a chore. I threw myself onto the mattress, and with the soft weight of the blanket around me, I was gone.

The second I woke up, I headed for the shower. After I finished, I toweled the water out of my hair and opened the gallery.

The internet was on fire. Almost every thread was circling the same bait: today's Wave.

"There's a post about me, too…"

Honestly, I still couldn't quite believe it. Monsters coming out of the Tower. Us killing them. And right in front of my eyes, a system window.

Is this actually real…?

Just in case it was a dream, I pinched my cheek.

"Ow…"

It hurt. Proof enough that this was not a dream, at least. I closed the gallery and lay back down on the bed.

"Status."

Ding—!

My level had gone up. So had the pile of stat points. And I had a Skill Selection Ticket—the contribution reward, just like it had said. The right to pick one of the starting skills I hadn't taken.

"Hmm…"

It wasn't that precious, honestly. I could learn the same things later with the SP I earned from leveling.

"I'll pick later."

I didn't feel like I was missing anything right now.

"As for the stats…"

No need to agonize. I already had a plan for how I wanted to grow.

I spread them out evenly.

Growl—!

I was hungry. What did I even have in the fridge…

"…Do I need to go grocery shopping?"

The refrigerator held eggs and water, and that was it. Going out for groceries in this condition, though, was not happening. I shut the fridge and rummaged through the cupboard. Luckily, I found a pack of instant ramyeon.

"This'll do…"

I said "do," but ramyeon is a perfectly respectable meal. I filled a pot and set it to boil. The water started to bubble. I tipped in the soup powder and the noodles, and once the noodles had softened a little—

Crack—!

I broke an egg. It hit with a dull sound and slid into the broth. Now I just had to wait.

"So the skill even applies to ordinary cooking, huh…?"

I had only boiled ramyeon because I was hungry, and it had ended up with a buff attached by accident.