Dusk has finally come upon the ruined city.
The city's landscape wasn't as beautiful as before. Instead, it gives off a depressing atmosphere to whoever sees it.
But for tonight, no one wants to go out to see the atmosphere of the city.
They prefer to huddle inside the Checkpoints area that is spread out at several points in the city.
The four Regressors arrived at the subway a few minutes ago.
The atmosphere here was no different from what they had seen in previous lives.
Fear.
Fear dominated these people until they were unable to move even an inch.
They didn't want to die but were too afraid to fight.
Nothing prepared them for a situation like this.
Who knew that their normal life could turn into chaos like it is today?
The four Regressors circled the subway but all they saw was a bunch of depressed people.
There was no sign of someone having beaten the BOSS.
If such a person, or such a group, did exist then they would be regarded as heroes and revered.
"They're not here," Rodney said.
"Yeah, I think so too." Mona agreed.
"That means our guess was right."
"Not necessarily," said Eric.
"Anyway, it's getting dark so we can rest here for the night. Also 'that person' will appear in a moment." Rodney reminded them. His three friends nodded in understanding.
They sat together in one corner of the subway.
Several pairs of eyes stared at them with various feelings. But then they ignored them.
The existence of a weapon in each of their hand made people who wanted to get closer reluctant to do so.
Mona still felt that feeling even though this had happened so many times.
She and the other three Regressors didn't know why they got that power and were able to come back to life when the other humans died.
Luckily, Mona has grown up without her parents - if that could be considered luck.
She didn't feel the sadness like Eric who lost his wife and child, Reed who lost his parents in his hometown, and Rodney who planned to marry his girlfriend today.
Mona saw the three of them look broken when being resurrected in the same place.
They intend to save the people they care about. But they can't and when the fifth day came, they would all just die again and see the same thing.
That's when they knew that nothing could be done before this disaster was over. Maybe when this is over, they will be back to those moments.
[ "You will get what you desire if you can win this game." ]
That's the only motivation for them to move forward now. A man in black glasses said that and gave them a purpose.
Several hours passed and finally, night came. As night fell the people on the subway started forming groups to go out.
The monsters weren't there until tomorrow and some people took the initiative to look for food and other items.
One of them - a man with a seemingly well-trained build and a short haircut, indicating that he was a veteran - came up to them.
"Would you like to come along?" asked the man.
"No," Rodney answered.
"I see you guys look prepared. You guys have your own weapons too. I'm guessing you already have food in your backpacks, don't you?" The man said.
"Yes," Rodney answered without even looking at the man.
The man seemed to tighten his jaw. But he didn't say anything.
"It would be very helpful to us if you would help," said the man.
"No."
Again, Rodney answered curtly.
'You will die soon. There's no point in fighting.'
The man gave up and left them.
He regrouped with his colleagues and then exited the subway. Carrying makeshift weapons.
They shouldn't be able to calm down tonight. Monsters should still be roaming the streets outside the Checkpoint area.
But since the BOSS had already been defeated during the day, so the number of the monsters is decreasing.
Whoever had defeated that BOSS, he had definitely made the situation easier for them.
When night falls, someone will come over to the Checkpoint area or other places where there are players.
They will always find the whereabouts of players wherever they are.
They came to give a task to anyone who would accept it. Like this time.
After a few minutes, a man wearing a neat suit and dark glasses came down the stairs into the subway.
Several people who don't go outside looked at him in confusion.
It wasn't just because of his strange appearance. But because of a red exclamation mark above his head.
"He's coming," said Eric.
The four Regressors approached the man.
"Good evening everyone. Would you like to accept the Quest?" asked the man.
"Show me the list of the Quest," Rodney said as he approached.
Mona, Eric, and Reed walked behind him.
The man smiled. "Alright."
~~~
Clyde who was observing his sword with a look of admiration was surprised to hear a knock on the door.
He walked towards the door while holding a sword and opened it.
A woman in a black suit and dark glasses smiled at him from behind the door.
Clyde of course noticed the exclamation mark above her head.
Usually, such an exclamation mark is shown by an NPC who will give the Quest.
But Clyde wasn't going to open the door too wide until he knew for sure.
"Who are you?" Clyde asked.
"Good evening. Would you like to accept the Quest?" asked the woman in an unnaturally cheerful tone.
"What Quest?" Clyde still wasn't sure.
"A Quest is-"
"I know what a Quest is," Clyde cut in. "What I'm asking is what should I do and what is the reward?"
The woman was still smiling. The glasses she was wearing plus her weird cheerful tone made Clyde feel uncomfortable about the woman.
"You can get coins, skills, or equipment. It depends on the difficulty of the Quest you take," the woman explained.
Suddenly the next room door opened. Asqa and Sonya came out and approached Clyde.
"That woman also came to us earlier. I didn't understand what she was saying so I told her to come to your room." Asqa explained in a hurry.
"Oh, I see. All right," Clyde replied.
Then Clyde looked at the woman. "Can I see the Quest?"
The woman took a few steps back and then waved her hand in front of her face.
After that, a list of Quests appears based on their rank and reward.
~~~