The Path to the Tower (4)

The sharp wail of a siren tore through the underground passage of Gwanghwamun Station.

People who had been sprinting through the darkness relying on nothing but a single flashlight gradually slowed their pace as they climbed the final set of stairs.

“Huff… huff…”

Their breathing was ragged. Fortunately, the spot where they had met the Helper wasn’t far from Exit 2, so they reached the end of the station with about twenty seconds to spare before the time limit.

“……”

As the System had stated, there was no reward listed for clearing the emergency mission. But right now, the important thing wasn’t a reward. It was the fact that they had no way of predicting what would happen next.

Park Jocheol stayed at the front, body lowered, his face tight with tension as he advanced toward the surface.

Beeeep—

Step. Step.

Amid the piercing noise of the siren, only the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sound of Park Jocheol’s footsteps echoed faintly at the exit.

Yet at that moment, a single question flashed through his mind.

…It’s too quiet.

He hadn’t reached the top of the stairs yet, so he couldn’t see what was happening outside. But the zombie shrieks that had been constant ever since they first arrived at Gwanghwamun Square had now fallen eerily silent. The absence only made him more uneasy.

Slowly, as Park Jocheol neared the top of the stairs, he lifted his head and cautiously peered out of the exit.

…They’re gone.

It seemed Kim Siin had played his role as bait perfectly. Only emptiness greeted them. A few zombie corpses lay scattered on the ground, probably crushed to death in the crush of their own kind. But that was all. Not a single monster stood on two legs, baring its teeth at humans.

“Everyone can come out now.”

At Park Jocheol’s words, the people began moving onto the surface one by one. With virtually no zombies between the Tower’s entrance at Gwanghwamun and Exit 2, this was the best possible timing for the survivors to make their run.

Rumble—!

The moment the people had almost completely left Gwanghwamun Station, the ground trembled slightly, and the exit they had just emerged from began to collapse entirely.

“W-we made it…”

“I really thought I was going to die this time…”

People clutched their chests and let out sighs of relief. But one person’s face turned deathly pale. Seo Seyeong’s gaze locked onto Park Jocheol at the front.

“…What about Mr. Siin?”

Her voice trembled with unmistakable worry. The others’ expressions hardened with complicated guilt. But unlike the rest, Namgung Cheonho felt not only concern but an even stronger wave of pure shock.

He cleared out all those zombies?

The square had been packed with an overwhelming number of zombies—far more than enough to fill the entire underground passage. Namgung Cheonho turned his head toward Exit 5, where the zombies should have been.

“…Oh no.”

And then he finally saw them.

Thousands upon thousands of zombies had gathered in the direction of Exit 5. At the very end of that horde would be Kim Siin—the man who had staked his life on running to buy them time.

“We need to go in now.”

While everyone was sunk in gloom, Han Gamin’s single sentence cut through the silence. The words drove a deep spike of guilt into their hearts. No matter how sorry they felt, there was simply no one here capable of breaking through that massive zombie horde to help Kim Siin.

“…I’m sorry.”

Leaving those words behind, Park Jocheol led the people and ran toward Gwanghwamun. There was no other choice. They simply didn’t have the strength… There was nothing they could do… Nothing at all…

“Hoo! Hoo!”

My breath burned in my lungs. The continuous sprint had pushed me past my limit; I was gasping so hard that air spilled from my mouth. But I refused to give up. I had done everything I could, and if I could just endure this pain a little longer, a chance to catch my breath would appear.

Yes… that was what I had been telling myself.

“Huh?”

A small groan slipped from my lips before I even realized it. There was still distance left… I was certain there was still distance, yet my senses were already picking up that something had gone wrong at Exit 5.

“No…!”

Gwanghwamun Station Exit 5. The only escape route the others had used moments ago had collapsed without a trace. All that remained was the small exit sign, waiting mockingly for me.

“God damn it!”

Bang!

Without slowing my sprint, I kicked off the ground and veered sharply to the right. The zombie horde was closing in tighter around me. Since breaking through here was impossible, I had to squeeze out every last ounce of strength and find another underground passage.

Exit 6…!

That was it. If I could just cross this road, there was another entrance leading to Gwanghwamun Station directly opposite.

Thousands of zombies chased close behind me. Because I had focused entirely on drawing the ones in front, I hadn’t managed the rear. As a result, quite a few zombies still remained between Exit 5 and Exit 6.

“Khaaaak!”

Grab.

I had never handled a sword before in my life. I had never even gotten into a fistfight. The idea of swinging a gleaming blade at another person had never once crossed my mind, not even in dreams.

But I gripped the sword hilt tightly even as I kept running. A zombie lunged from the front, arms outstretched to grab me with both hands. In the same motion of drawing the blade, I swung my weapon without hesitation.

Slice—!

“Kyaaaaaaaagh!!!”

The zombie’s two arms flew into the air right before my eyes, brushing past my shoulder. A spray of dark red liquid painted the air and flooded my vision. I paid it no mind and simply leaped once more in the direction I needed to go.

“Hup!”

Slice! Slice!

Thanks to my enhanced strength, these human-like monsters lost limbs with every swing of my blade and collapsed heavily to the ground. It was dizzying. But I had to endure. All I was doing was struggling desperately to survive. As I cut through the zombies and waded through the blooming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mist of blood, that was all I could think.

After running like that for what felt like forever, the sign for Exit 6 finally appeared before my eyes.

But…

“Damn it!”

A raw, unrestrained groan of despair burst from deep inside my chest.

Goooooo—

Exit 6 was gone. Or rather, the structure still existed, but it had already collapsed so completely that it could no longer be called an entrance or exit.

“Haa… haa…”

Despair washed over me. What had I run all this way for? What on earth had I been doing, gripping a blood-soaked sword while staring at these horrific monsters?

I felt my blood-drenched body growing hotter as I glared at yet another zombie charging toward me.

“Haaaaaaaah!”

I poured every ounce of strength I had into the swing, slicing at the oncoming zombie. Its head flew off in an instant; the creature couldn’t even let out a final scream before it slammed into the ground. The sickening sensation of cutting through flesh and bone traveled up my arm, but it didn’t end there.

With a short shout, I kicked the second zombie away. It flew back with a dull thud. The moment I dealt with the second, a third and fourth lunged at me simultaneously.

“Huk! Huk!”

My breathing grew harsher. Droplets of liquid beading on my face rode my heated breaths and splattered onto the ground. My muscles were overheating, and the hand gripping the sword was torn open, dripping blood steadily.

Was this my blood? Or was it sprayed from the zombies?

My consciousness was beginning to blur. And at that moment—

“Kihak!”

A zombie flew in from my blind spot.

“Ugh!”

The sudden attack shattered the precarious balance I had been forcing myself to maintain, both physically and mentally. My body staggered. My feet tangled. The ground and my vision rushed closer together.

Ah… If I fall like this, I’m dead.

For a moment, everything around me grew dull. The sound of the wind that I hadn’t noticed until now tickled my ears.

Flash—!

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!”

I snapped my eyes wide open and let out the last fierce breath lodged in my chest. Death? Honestly, I wasn’t afraid of it. Among the days I had lived, there had certainly been moments more painful than death. But I had overcome them and stood here now.

Thud!

I stomped hard, barely managing to steady my falling body. Then I raised my head and thrust my sword straight into the face of the zombie lunging to bite me.

Shuk—!

And at that instant.

The potential listed in my status window began to slowly scatter.

[Pote…]

[…ntial…]

The system windows floating before my eyes. I read through the skill description at lightning speed even as I drove my sword straight through the zombie’s skull, passing the hologram.

A skill that explosively raised a single stat for one minute and thirty seconds. There would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠obviously be a penalty after using it, but right now this seemed to be the only way out of this situation.

I cut down another zombie that had drawn close and checked the remaining time.

About two minutes left until the end of the tutorial. I steadied my ragged breathing. What I needed now was stamina and speed. It was faint, but a single ray of hope had begun to appear.