Chapter 4
Seo Ha-eun, a first-year student at Jingwang High School.
At the beginning of this year, Ha-eun had started living alone in a studio apartment near her new school. Due to her family's circumstances, commuting from home had become difficult.
Unlike her old neighborhood, the area was new and unfamiliar. Even so, she had adapted relatively quickly. People often told her that she was exceptionally good at adjusting to new environments.
This time, however, was different.
“W-What is this...?”
Monsters resembling zombies had appeared. People were being bitten by them and transforming into identical zombies.
Forget adapting to the situation; she couldn't even begin to believe it was real. While she stood frozen in a daze, another bizarre phenomenon occurred before her eyes.
[Congratulations.]
[You have been chosen.]
[Class: Shadow Assassin]
The messages looked like something straight out of a game.
Following the instructions in the next message, she murmured, “Status,” and a new window appeared.
─────
[Name]: Seo Ha-eun
[Level]: 1
[Class]: Shadow Assassin
[Stamina]: 100/100
[Rank]: 1-Star
─────
She had no idea what any of it meant.
With a dazed expression, Ha-eun stared out the window at the horrific carnage outside. It wasn't until a full day later that she finally emerged from her confusion.
Even after sleeping and waking up, the scenery remained unchanged. Only then did Ha-eun decide to accept reality.
‘This isn't a dream.’
Having accepted that the situation was real, she immediately began taking action. Since she had acquired several skills the previous day, she decided to try them out first.
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[Active: Eyes of Shadow (Lv. 1)]
* Allows the user to see through doors and walls.
▷ Effective Range: Within a 10 m radius
▷ Activation Time: Continuous
▷ Command: Eyes of Shadow
─────
Fortunately, she had a skill that seemed useful.
She placed her palm against the front door and murmured softly.
“Eyes of Shadow.”
Something astonishing happened moments later.
The front door and walls became translucent, allowing her to see through them and observe the hallway.
In the process, Ha-eun discovered five zombies wandering through the corridor.
‘Getting outside right now will be difficult.’
After assessing her situation, Ha-eun began considering how long she could survive in the room.
First, she needed to check her food supplies.
A little while later, she found a bag of snacks and a bottle of water, the only things she could reasonably call food. She frowned.
“If I'd known this would happen, maybe I should've gotten into the habit of snacking more often...”
Even if she rationed everything as carefully as possible, these supplies would last three days at most.
In other words, by the third day, she would have to go outside, whether she lived or died.
After finishing her assessment of the essentials for survival, she moved on to her next task: calling her family and friends.
“...They're not answering.”
The phones kept ringing, but nobody picked up.
An ominous feeling slowly crept into her heart.
Ha-eun shook her head vigorously.
They were definitely safe. Perhaps they had lost their smartphones while fleeing, or their phones had run out of power, preventing them from answering.
She was about to put the thought aside when—
“Ah!”
Ha-eun suddenly widened her eyes.
The thought of her smartphone being out of power reminded her of something she had forgotten. She hurriedly connected it to the charger.
A charging notification sounded.
Ha-eun breathed a sigh of relief.
“At least it still charges.”
Perhaps because only a day had passed since the world had gone haywire, the electricity was still functioning normally.
After plugging in her power bank as well, Ha-eun opened the map application on her smartphone.
She had only one goal.
While the communication networks were still operational, she wanted to zoom in on the surrounding maps as much as possible and take screenshots.
‘I need to save as much as I can.’
She captured screenshots of the entire surrounding area, as well as every part of the route leading to her family home.
Her frantic work didn't end until late that night.
---
The morning of the second day.
Ha-eun began making a concrete plan.
Her first priority was obtaining food, which was essential for survival. The solution she came up with was to visit the convenience store near the rear entrance on the first floor of her studio apartment building.
‘Going out unprepared would be suicide.’
Of course, Ha-eun wasn't completely unprepared.
She had several skills at her disposal.
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[Passive: Shadow Step (Lv. 1)]
* Allows the user to move without leaving a trace of their presence.
▷ Effective Range: Within a 10 m radius
▷ Activation Time: Continuous
─────
The description was extremely simple, but if it was accurate, nobody within its effective range would be able to detect her presence.
So she decided to test it.
The zombies wandering through the hallway were all within the skill's effective range, at least at a glance.
Without hesitation, Ha-eun opened the front door.
Gulp!
She swallowed nervously and cautiously stepped into the hallway.
Just as expected, the zombies failed to notice her.
Having successfully tested the skill, Ha-eun immediately returned to her room.
“Phew... Phew...!”
Although she had only stepped outside briefly, cold sweat had formed on her forehead.
After taking several deep breaths to shake off her nervousness, Ha-eun clenched her fists.
‘Good. With this...!’
She might actually be able to make it.
Next, Ha-eun recalled the information about the skill she had received as a tutorial reward.
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[Assassination: Shadow Smash (Lv. 1)]
* Secretly crushes the target's vital point.
▷ Attack Power: +500%
▷ Stamina Cost: 20
▷ Cooldown: 15 minutes
─────
It was a skill that could completely neutralize a single target, whether a zombie or a human.
Its description was far more straightforward than that of Shadow Step.
‘I should save this for emergencies.’
If a zombie discovered her or she found herself cornered, she would use it as a last resort.
Ha-eun made up her mind.
After carefully refining her plan, she brought the second day to a close.
At last, the day she would put it into action was just around the corner.
‘I’m out of food now.’
No water, not even a single crumb of snacks remained.
She had to venture outside and obtain food somehow before she could make any further plans.
Ha-eun put on a motorcycle helmet that her older sister had accidentally left behind when she visited the previous week.
It would restrict her field of vision, but in exchange, it could protect her from zombie attacks.
‘Next, I need to bring...’
Her smartphone, power bank, and charger.
She also packed all her underwear and socks.
There was always a chance she might get caught up in trouble and be unable to return.
Finally, she changed into a tracksuit that would allow her to move comfortably and stood in front of the entrance.
“Eyes of Shadow.”
The front door instantly became transparent.
Beyond it, she could see a lone zombie standing motionless in the hallway.
‘Huh? Why is there only one?’
There had been at least five yesterday.
Ha-eun tilted her head in confusion.
However, she soon steeled her resolve again, opened the front door, and stepped outside.
‘Fewer zombies is a good thing.’
Carefully sneaking past the zombie, Ha-eun turned toward the emergency staircase leading to the first floor.
But at that very moment—
“...!”
Ha-eun's eyes widened in shock.
The moment she turned toward the stairs, she came face-to-face with a zombie leaning against the wall.
Worse, she had even made physical contact with it.
The zombie's eyes rolled toward her, recognizing her presence.
Just as she found herself in a life-or-death crisis, a message of salvation appeared before her eyes.
[Activation conditions satisfied.]
[Skill: Shadow Smash]
[Would you like to activate the skill?]
There was no reason to hesitate.
Ha-eun immediately activated the skill, and her arm moved on its own. She grabbed the zombie's head and twisted it with a single motion.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
Ha-eun tore the zombie's head off.
The grotesque sight that followed made bile rise in her throat, but she barely managed to hold it back.
If she drew attention to herself here, it would truly be over.
‘...Move. I have to move!’
Forcing strength into her trembling legs, she descended to the first floor.
A message appeared informing her that she had acquired coins, but she ignored it completely.
‘Just a little farther...!’
The rear entrance was just ahead. If she traveled another ten meters or so, she would reach the convenience store.
She could collect water and food there, then return to her room.
Recalling the plan she had reviewed countless times, Ha-eun continued forward.
But then—
“GRAAAAAH!”
“...!?”
Something lunged at Ha-eun from the direction of the restroom on the first floor of the studio apartment building, accompanied by a monstrous roar.
It aimed for her head, but fortunately, her helmet prevented it from getting a grip on her.
Ha-eun shoved it away with all her strength and widened her eyes.
She had recognized the identity of her attacker.
‘A-A zombie...?!’
Why? How?
Shadow Step was active, so it shouldn't have noticed her. Wasn't that how it was supposed to work?
Ha-eun wanted to protest, but she had no time to complain.
“Grrrr! Aaaaaah!”
The zombie charged at her again.
W-What should she do? She couldn't use her skill yet. Should she run?
Countless thoughts surged through her mind like a raging torrent.
THWACK!
The zombie's head burst apart.
More precisely, something resembling an arrow had suddenly shot out of thin air and pierced its head.
Its body staggered before collapsing.
Ha-eun stared at the scene blankly.
‘What just happened...?’
Ah, could it have been someone else's skill?
Having reached that conclusion, Ha-eun looked around.
However, she couldn't detect anyone nearby. Just as her mind began to go blank again—
WHOOSH!
The glowing arrow that had pierced the zombie's head earlier appeared once more.
Shaped like an arrow symbol, it pointed toward a small side door to the left of the restroom.
‘What's that? Does it mean there's a zombie over there?’
No, if that were the case, it would have attacked the zombie instead.
Then what was its purpose?
As Ha-eun tilted her head in confusion, a possibility suddenly occurred to her.
She took a notebook and pen out of her backpack and wrote something down.
Then she held it up toward the direction from which the arrow had appeared.
*Are you telling me to go that way?*
An answer came shortly afterward.
Another glowing arrow appeared, pointing in the same direction.
Ha-eun nodded and changed course, heading toward the side door instead of the rear entrance.
‘I don't know what the intention is, but...’
For now, she had no choice but to follow it.
After all, there was no guarantee that the being capable of blowing a zombie's head off in the blink of an eye wouldn't do the same to a human.
Besides, since it had saved her from danger, it didn't seem to have any malicious intentions, at least.
A short while later, she opened the side door and stepped outside.
The glowing arrow appeared once again.
This time, it pointed toward a massive building directly in front of the side entrance.
‘Oh, now that I think about it...’
Hadn't she heard that a new shopping mall was going to open?
As she gazed at the building, which looked unusually new compared to the surrounding structures, a possibility flashed through her mind.
‘Could there be survivors inside?’
That was probably the case.
The building had been completed some time ago and was merely waiting to open. Compared to other places, there would likely be fewer people inside.
In other words, there probably weren't many zombies either.
Alternatively, the person who had used the glowing arrow might be inside the shopping mall as well.
‘Let's go and see.’
Her plans had changed somewhat, but surviving was more important for the time being.
Avoiding the zombies scattered throughout the streets, Ha-eun approached the shopping mall.
The first floor's shutters were down.
However, the escalator leading to the second floor had no barriers blocking access. The entrance to the second floor also appeared to be open, with its shutters still raised.
Keeping her body low, Ha-eun walked up the escalator, which wasn't running.
Then, just as she turned her head toward the second-floor entrance—
‘Huh?’
She saw someone.
A girl who appeared to be around her age.
Even her school uniform looked familiar.
‘That uniform is definitely...’
It belonged to Kangil Girls' High School.
Ha-eun knew the school well because it was near Jingwang High School, where she studied. It was also known for having a prettier uniform design than other schools.
Meanwhile, the girl near the entrance seemed to notice Ha-eun. Startled, she hurried inside.
“W-Wait! I'm...!”
Ha-eun hurried after her.
Just before she could enter the shopping mall, someone suddenly grabbed her by the back of the neck.
“Who are you? Who sent you?”
A deep, low voice followed.
The person holding Ha-eun was a huge man. He looked to be around thirty and wore a black mask covering his nose and mouth. He glared at her suspiciously.
“Were you sent by the underground shopping district? Or...”
“I-I'm from that studio apartment building!”
Ha-eun answered hastily.
The man flinched when he heard her voice, as though he hadn't expected her to be a girl.
However, he didn't loosen his grip.
Just then—
“Mister Min-cheol.”
A new voice called out.
It came from inside the shopping mall.
A moment later, a boy wearing the uniform of Jingwang High School appeared.
“Let's discuss the details inside.”
“Z-Zombies are coming...!”
The girl Ha-eun had made eye contact with moments earlier also spoke urgently.
The man called Min-cheol nodded.
“Follow me. Don't try anything stupid.”
His tone was rather forceful, but he was less hostile than before.
Finally released from his grip, Ha-eun remained alert as she followed Min-cheol.
RATTLE! CLANK!
A short while later, the entrance leading outside was sealed as the shutters came crashing down.
The deserted streets, devoid of any surviving humans, were soon filled with wandering zombies.