The Intelligent Variant
I ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. To be honest, there weren't many fortresses better than a university campus. Most were built on mountains, making infiltration a pain. They had few entrances, and most of them had those heavy iron gates that could be shut tight. If you prepared properly, there was no better place. Plus, there were tons of buildings and plenty of rooms inside. Even if you got surrounded by zombies, you'd have somewhere to hide. That's why, in the early stages of the outbreak, campuses didn't fall easily unless everyone inside was wiped out right away. They usually collapsed gradually from food shortages or too many injured. And if an intelligent variant showed up, the collapse would speed up dramatically. Bumin Campus and Gudeok Campus were perfect examples of that. The novel never stated it outright, but the descriptions made it obvious. The survivors had been overwhelmed under the leadership of an intelligent variant.
That created one big problem. Exactly when had that intelligent variant appeared? That was the most important question. If one already existed by the time we arrived, we'd end up isolated too. Of course, Kang Siwoo would handle things so it never reached that point. Still, the anxiety wouldn't go away. Even the General's Secretion Pouch couldn't perfectly drive away every normal zombie. If we let our guard down and got surrounded, that would be the end.
"We'll be entering Bumin Campus shortly. Everyone, please stay alert."
Kang Siwoo gripped his sword tightly, clearly ready to charge right in. The other students slowly adjusted their weapons, each preparing in their own way. Since I had to fight properly now too, I gripped Beopbong firmly with both hands.
Once he was sure everyone was ready, Kang Siwoo nodded and took the lead toward the entrance of Bumin Campus. The gate was wide open. Zombies were shuffling around nearby, but there didn't seem to be any particularly dangerous variants in sight. Thankfully, Bumin Campus had a similar layout to Seunghak Campus, so we probably wouldn't get lost. The buildings and interiors would be different, but the main and rear gates were laid out similarly.
Judging that there was no issue, Kang Siwoo sprinted toward the main gate. In an instant, the heads of several zombies at the front flew into the air.
"Whoa."
It was such a smooth strike that I couldn't help but gasp in admiration. Noh Changhun slaughtered zombies just as overwhelmingly, but this was completely different, which made it fascinating. On top of that, while dealing with the zombies using minimal movements, he was deliberately letting a few slip past. He was preventing too much burden from falling on himself while adjusting the numbers so we could handle them more easily. It was practically magic.
Each of us took on about two zombies, cutting them down as we began moving upward under Kang Siwoo's guidance. During that time, he grabbed my arm and ran. It was confusing, but since there was no time to ask for an explanation, I had no choice but to run along with him. Since we were at the bottom, we needed to get upstairs before more zombies arrived. If there had been time to think, maybe, but in a situation like this, it was impossible. Just worrying about what was under my feet was exhausting enough. There was no way I could think about anything else.
Kang Siwoo, who had climbed the entire staircase at incredible speed while slashing or shoving zombies aside, suddenly pulled my arm. I didn't know why he kept touching me, but I didn't have the luxury to care. I had rarely climbed stairs this fast before, so my breath was caught in my throat and I felt like throwing up. In contrast, the other students looked relatively fine. I could guess why. Kang Siwoo's morning walks apparently included sprinting up stairs. They must have built up their stamina by copying him out of admiration.
Only now did I realize it again. I didn't have good stamina. I just recovered quickly.
"I don't have time to look after you. Will you be okay?"
"I-I'm... huff... I recover quickly, but I don't have good stamina..."
"Then that's fine."
"Huh? Huh? Ah."
Fuck. Fucking hell.
It wasn't that I had good stamina. I just recovered quickly. In the end, recovering quickly basically meant having good stamina, right? That's probably what he thought. That damn diligent bastard. If we were close or if there was any leeway, I would've punched him, but right now I could only nod and move along as Kang Siwoo ran.
I had to change direction as much as possible due to lack of information. Ah, so this is how that guy's usefulness is supposed to be used. It wasn't that he was trash. I had just written him wrong. If I didn't flip my thinking like this, it was obvious my role would shrink. It was good to establish a position among the people at Seunghak Campus, but I also needed to share in the opportunities next to Kang Siwoo. I couldn't keep relying on regeneration and radar forever. And I needed to get stronger so I would have something to say to Noh Changhun too.
So even though my breath was ragged and my limbs were shaking, I climbed the hill anyway. Kang Siwoo, who hadn't let go of my arm the entire time, suddenly released it. It was because my body had heated up.
"They're coming!"
Kang Siwoo swung his sword, dropping his usual polite speech in his urgency. The moment I tried to ask what was coming, something suddenly flew in and struck my arm.
"...A rock?"
And then stones began pouring down from the sky. It was a Thrower. Variants with arms slightly longer than normal zombies, specialized in throwing objects effectively. I thought that was the end of it, but above us were other variants and zombies. Not ordinary ones either, but ones specialized in close combat. It was truly a total crisis.
If we tried to run, we'd have to sprint down the stairs while dodging the stones thrown by the Throwers. And if the other zombies threw themselves at us during that... it would be practically annihilation. Only Kang Siwoo and I might barely make it back alive. After all, I was probably the only one who could survive rolling down the stairs.
But fighting head-on was awkward too. There might as well be an intelligent variant here. When the hill we were climbing was split in two, Throwers on the upper left were hurling stones. A bit higher than that, close-combat specialized variants were approaching. If we dealt with the zombies and variants, the Throwers got in the way. If we dealt with the Throwers, the other variants got in the way. So we had to choose.
Alright, Yeji. What would hurt less? Getting hit by rocks, or getting bitten by zombie teeth?
Obviously, zombie teeth would hurt more.
"I'll take that side!"
"Yeji!"
I covered my upper body as best I could and dashed up to the left. I had no intention of taking down the Throwers. Those bastards were faster and didn't get tired like I did. I'd only manage to kill one or two after getting pummeled for a while. What I was aiming for was tanking. After all, even if I got hit by rocks, I'd recover quickly. Since I couldn't avoid getting hit entirely and just sit back, this was my way of contributing while getting pelted. See? I took all the rocks so you guys could fight easily. Something like that.
Thankfully, Kang Siwoo seemed to understand my intention. He quickly stopped paying attention to the Throwers and focused entirely on the fight. The other three also seemed to be fighting well without worrying about getting hit by stones.
I crouched down, defending with Beopbong and my arms as much as possible while trying to look useful. In reality, I wasn't doing anything except getting hit, but that was fine, right?
But then the situation started to turn strange.
Kang Siwoo suddenly blurred and began swinging his sword like a madman. I was pretty sure I'd told him that technique couldn't be used for long and that he needed to use it carefully. I couldn't understand why he was suddenly going all out. No, actually, I could. Several people holding weapons were running down from the upper part of the hill. The survivors from Bumin Campus had seized the opportunity and rushed out. Kang Siwoo, who couldn't bear to see them get hurt, had gone berserk.
But Siwoo. Going berserk is fine and all, but if you slaughter them like that, the zombies will naturally flee toward where their own kind are. I'm over here on the left getting pelted by rocks. If zombies start coming from the right too, are you telling me to figure it out myself?
".......Fuck."
That was exactly it. Looking at Kang Siwoo's expression, he seemed to be hoping I would notice in time and retreat on my own. It looked like he was overestimating me, thinking that since I'd made it from Jangyu to here, I would at least be able to do that much. But if I could do that, wouldn't I have done it already? Even when I was moving alone. Even when I was with Noh Changhun. My specialty was mindlessly charging in, getting beaten up, and then smashing things. I wasn't the type to do things intelligently like this. It was all about tearing and breaking things like a brute.
Still, I had to break through somehow, so I turned my body, prepared to take the stones. And just as expected, I was swept up in a wave of zombies. Fortunately, no zombies charged directly at me. That was because the intelligent variant had ordered them to retreat. Retreating took priority over attacking the female in front of them.
So I didn't get hit too many times, but it wasn't exactly a good outcome either. Because the zombies were rushing in with their lives on the line, I couldn't escape toward where Kang Siwoo was. If he had been in relatively good shape, he probably would have come up with an on-the-spot plan to retrieve me, but it seemed he'd overexerted himself too. He didn't look good at all. I could see he was barely standing.
In the end, I had no choice but to flee into the building on the left. I needed to hide somewhere before the intelligent variant called the zombies back. Kang Siwoo's group and the survivors seemed to have made the same judgment and headed for the building on the right.
Thankfully, I managed to get into an intact room, close the door, and catch my breath. And one thing was certain.
We were completely fucked. And not just a little.