No Time to Waste

“There’s no time, so I’ll explain this quickly.”

I didn’t bother telling the others about the mission I’d received. With barely enough time to go over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the operation itself, it would have been the height of stupidity to waste what little we had complaining about how bitter my life had become.

“All of you will head straight through Exit 5 of Gwanghwamun Station and emerge from the exit closest to Gyeongbokgung. Does anyone know which exit that would be?”

At my question, one man hesitated before raising his hand.

“It should be Exit 2. I come here often, so I know the area.”

“Then what about the exit closest to Exit 2?”

“There isn’t really one that stands out. If I had to pick, there’s an exit that leads directly to the plaza, but…”

I nodded at the man’s answer and ran a quick simulation in my head. I would cause a commotion on the surface to lure the zombies near Exit 2 toward the rear. If time allowed, I’d gather the ones by the plaza exit as well. Then, like the Pied Piper, I would lead every last zombie I’d collected and slip into Exit 5 alone. That would complete the first part.

And then I sprint along the underground passage all the way to Exit 2.

After that, the ideal plan was to follow the other survivors straight into the Tower’s domain.

“Then let me tell you what you all need to do.”

I didn’t waste another second and laid out their route. The distance from Exit 2 to Gwanghwamun was roughly four hundred meters. Finally, I entrusted the safety of the group to Park Jocheol, the most capable among them. Even if I successfully drew the zombies away, if four or more survivors died, my own life would end right there with them.

“Then let’s move.”

At my words, the people began walking toward Exit 5 of Gwanghwamun Station. Park Jocheol took the lead in guiding them, with Namgung Cheonho and Seo Seyeong following close behind. Once Han Gamin confirmed everyone was inside, she looked at me and offered a short wish for my safety. I turned my head and gazed out at the plaza.

The herding would begin the moment the survivors entered Exit 5. I broke into a dead sprint toward the plaza where the zombies were clustered.

The first place I headed wasn’t the plaza itself, but the entrance to Gwanghwamun. Even if I lured the zombies stationed in front of Exit 2, it would all be for nothing if any of the survivors got bitten by a stray one.

So I sprinted past Exit 2 at full speed. One zombie whose entire body was covered in wounds—probably because it had once feasted on people before the infection—bared its teeth at me.

“Krrraaaah!!!”

Then another. And another. And yet another.

Every zombie whose eyes landed on me as I passed turned its head in my direction. The ones that spotted me charged like schools of fish lunging at a fallen piece of bread.

“Whoa!”

I barely dodged the frontal attack of a sprinting zombie and glanced behind me. It was grotesque. The monster I’d seen in Tutorial #1 hadn’t exactly been a beauty either, but these zombies felt even more repulsive because faint traces of their former humanity still remained.

But then—

My mind sharpened instantly. Thanks to my precious skill working overtime, there was no chance I would make a mistake out of tension.

This is way too many.

No, it wasn’t just a lot. The numbers kept growing. The survivors who had been hiding somewhere out of fear of the zombies were now being forced out by the time limit, gradually increasing the horde.

“What kind of bullshit difficulty is this…!”

My average physical stats, excluding magic power, had risen to around Level 12. And yet the difficulty was still this insane. If the underground passage hadn’t existed, I suspected I would have been the only one to survive this tutorial.

I sucked in a deep breath while still running, filling my lungs to the bottom. Finally, the entrance to Gwanghwamun appeared before me. There was still a bit of distance, but I knew getting any closer would be impossible to handle. So I stopped right there and poured every ounce of strength into a deafening roar.

“Aaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Kha?”

“Kyaaak?”

All the zombies loitering near the Gwanghwamun entrance turned their heads at once. Their empty pupils stared straight at me. The sight was straight out of a suspense horror film, sending an electric chill racing down my spine.

“Kiiiiyaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

I screamed without meaning to and made a sharp left turn. Thanks to Quick Understanding, I wasn’t actually afraid. I wasn’t afraid…

Thudthudthudthud!! Thudthudthudthud!!

“Somebody help me!”

No, I was terrified. Absolutely fucking terrified. Hundreds—no, thousands—of zombies were chasing after me. I suddenly gained a new respect for the guts of horror movie protagonists. At the same time, I made a solemn vow: if the clear reward turned out to be stingy, I would curse the heavens with every fiber of my being.

Rumble…

An irregular roar rose from the sheer number of monsters. For a second I thought the ground was actually shaking, but I didn’t have time to worry about it. Having gathered nearly every zombie in the plaza, I sprinted like a madman toward my target—Exit 5 of Gwanghwamun Station.

The underground passage, which was usually packed during rush hour, was now the complete opposite—deathly silent and pitch dark.

“Stay close and be careful,” Park Jocheol said. The others matched their pace to his.

The deeper they moved toward the center of the station, the fewer working lights there were. The emergency lights at the entrance had been flickering, but even those were gone now, making it difficult to find their way.

They had practically run at first, but now simply walking along the dimly lit floor felt difficult. The ground was badly torn up in the darkness, making every step even more treacherous.

Step. Step.

“Hey? There’s an emergency flashlight over there.”

A middle-aged man at the very back seemed to have spotted one. He hurried over and reached for the emergency flashlight mounted on the wall.

“Don’t touch that. If you pull out a subway emergency light, it sets off an alarm.”

At Park Jocheol’s immediate warning, the man yanked his hand back as if he’d never touched it.

“If the zombies hear the noise and gather at the exit, we’re all finished.”

If Kim Siin’s information was accurate, zombies couldn’t enter the underground passage. But the most important thing wasn’t simply passing through here—it was safely entering the Tower’s domain. Since it didn’t seem like they would reach a point where they couldn’t take even a single step in the dark, there was no reason to risk triggering an alarm.

“Park Jocheol is right. Let’s keep moving. It looks like the area is slowly getting brighter anyway.”

Namgung Cheonho offered some encouragement to the man who had frozen at Park Jocheol’s words and gently pulled him along. Perhaps their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, because everyone’s vision gradually began to brighten.

After walking for quite some time—

“Hm? Ahjussi, isn’t that a sign over there?”

At Han Gamin’s words, everyone’s attention focused ahead. A small sign was visible on the ceiling beside a flickering light.

The sign pointing to the long-sought Exit 2 had finally appeared. But as is often the case, good news is usually followed by bad. What appeared before the survivors wasn’t just the sign.

Tzzt. Tzzt.

The reason the distant sign had caught Han Gamin’s eye was the small blue flame flickering beside it.

“Grrrrr…”

A bipedal beast stretched languidly as it appeared. But this time, the creature that emerged from the blue portal wasn’t the rabbit they were familiar with—it had the shape of a cat.

“…Mrrrow?”

It was a Russian Blue, its entire body covered in gray fur. The cat remained frozen in its stretching pose, staring blankly at the survivors.

Its eyes were dull. Three seconds of silence passed.

Then the cat that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had appeared in front of them suddenly bristled, its fur standing on end, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and began pointing aggressively at Park Jocheol, who stood at the front.

“What are you people doing here?! No, how are you even here? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This coordinate should have finished its tutorial by now…?”

The cat’s voice trailed off uncertainly. Thanks to the blue flame illuminating its face, it was painfully obvious just how flustered it was.

But the more flustered the cat became, the more bewildered the survivors felt.

A helper that suddenly appeared and started muttering incomprehensible nonsense…

“…What the hell is going on right now?” Han Gamin whispered to no one in particular. The others shook their heads, equally clueless.

Whether it had heard her or not, the cat turned to look at Han Gamin.

“…Are you people currently in the middle of Tutorial #2?”

At the cat’s question, Park Jocheol nodded quickly. They couldn’t afford to waste any more time. To get past it as fast as possible, they needed to answer immediately.

“Uwaaah! This is bad! I should have closed it—I can’t believe I made such a huge mistake…!”

At Park Jocheol’s reaction, the cat began stomping its feet in panic. It rambled about how the coordinate should have been closed, how there must have been a miscalculation. But what it said next was far too threatening to simply ignore.

“Hey! Get out of here right now! I have to close this gate! Aaaah… Constellations, that’s not what I meant…!”

The cat had been yelling at them but suddenly turned its gaze skyward and began muttering to itself.

Close the gate? What is it suddenly talking about…

All sorts of questions swirled in Park Jocheol’s mind at the cat’s words. But it didn’t take long for those questions to vanish.

Bewilderment rose on the survivors’ faces. But there was no time left to hesitate.

“I’m sorry, but all players must leave immediately! Ah… looks like I’m going to have to write an incident report for this.”

Rumble…

The ground began to tremble faintly, as if an earthquake had started. Before he could even fully process the situation, Park Jocheol dashed to the wall, grabbed the emergency flashlight that had been hanging there, and ripped it free with raw strength.

Beeeep—! Beeeep—!

A siren blared through the underground passage. But the people had no time to pay attention to the sound.

“Everyone run!”

The flashlight beam cut straight ahead toward the exit. The remaining survivors simply stared at the path they had to take and began sprinting with everything they had.

And the moment the exit came into view, one fact occurred to every single one of them.

The man who had become bait for their sake.

Kim Siin’s escape route had been cut off.