Nightmarish Terrors (空洞生物)
These were the creatures of darkness that plagued the World of Song of the Fall.
Once ordinary life forms, they had been corrupted by a deadly substance known as miasma. This corruption robbed them of their sanity, transforming them into mindless agents of destruction.
They existed within a hierarchy called the «Path of Corruption», ranked from Order 9 to Order 0. At the bottom were the weakest Terrors of Order 9, while Order 0 represented the ultimate form of monstrous evolution.
The creatures chasing us now were called Night Crawlers, though people on Earth simply called them zombies.
These Night Crawlers were Order 9 Terrors, the lowest level in the hierarchy of monstrosity. But, even at their weakest, they far outclassed anything we could hope to fight.
Facing them in combat was nothing but suicide.
Would you like to bite my neck, my dear zombies?
"Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck?! What the hell is with these numbers!" Kwangsun screamed as he ran forward with all his might.
The zombie horde behind us stretched into the thousands, with even some that had risen from the hospital.
As if that wasn't enough, these creatures were much faster than the slow, lumbering zombies portrayed in movies.
If only they were slow.
"Grrrrr!"
Fuck. A zombies lunged at me from the side, but I reacted swiftly, firing a bullet straight through its skull with my pistol.
Bang— Crush—
The sound of the monster's head being crushed by the bullet rang in my ears.
[You have killed an Order 9 Nightmarish Terror.]
[100 coins has been given as additional compensation.]
[The skill card 'Markmanship' has been acquired.]
A dim light flashed momentarily. It was a card with a bronze flash.
+
Skill Card
| Marksmanship |
Type: Passive
Rank: E
Effect: Increases user's shooting and firing capabilities. The effect will increase according to the skill's level and rank.
+
It wasn't unexpected to receive this notification. In «Soul Link», skill cards could be acquired in three ways:
A.) Purchased from the shop,
B.) Learned from another seeker,
C.) Or awakened due to personal desire, though the latter was incredibly rare.
Despite the excitement of gaining a new skill, it didn't change that I had just wasted a bullet.
The 9mm handgun I held was a rare model with a 17-round magazine. After firing once, I was down to just 16 rounds.
'I need to conserve ammo, but that's easier said than done when you're being chased by a horde of zombies.'
Glancing at the relentless creatures closing the distance behind us, I realized that if we kept running in a straight line, they'd catch up in under 30 minutes.
Luckily, this was where Lee Jong-ho would come into play.
"Lee Jong-ho, the grenade!"
"Ah... Right."
Lee Jong-ho swiftly pulled out a grenade, removed the pin, and tossed it behind us.
It struck a zombie's forehead, causing the grenade to deform before detonating, sending shockwaves of destruction through the horde.
KABOOM!!!
The massive explosion shook the ground, sending debris flying. The group screamed in terror, but our sprint never faltered.
Why? Because, despite the blast, the zombies continued their pursuit, undeterred by the chaos.
The zombies, unaffected by the explosion, climbed over the fallen corpses and continued to push forward.
Suddenly, someone shouted.
"... Wh-What? Are you kidding me?"
"... There are more in front!"
A new wave of zombies was approaching from the front, rotted bodies lingering around, but their numbers were relatively low. We could push through without too much trouble.
"What should we do?"
"Let's take a turn."
"No, we fight our way through. Don't try to fight all of them. Just push forward, and more importantly, don't get bitten!"
"What happens if we get bitten?"
"Take a guess. Use your imagination!"
"..."
Kwangsun fell silent, realizing he'd just asked a stupid question.
We continued running, and the zombies in front of us drew closer. In the next instant, a battle erupted.
Keok! Keokuk!
The number of zombies dropped rapidly.
Lee Jong-ho smashed a zombie's skull with his metal pipe, Kwangsun shot rocks from his slingshot, Jung Yunhee sliced through the creatures with her sashimi knife, and I fired at the zombies with my handgun.
Bang— Bang— Bang— Bang—
Each time I landed a shot, the system notification rang in my ear.
[You have killed a Order 9 Night crawler.]
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
...
[You have achieved six headshots in a row.]
[The skill card 'Eagle Eye' has been acquired.]
Maybe it was because I had a hidden talent for shooting, but I easily acquired the "Eagle Eye" skill. Perhaps American blood really did run through my veins.
Eventually, we managed to push through the zombies and continued our escape.
Grrrr—
Due to the slight delay, our movement speed had been reduced, and the zombies from behind were slowly closing the distance.
Looks like those guys were asking for another bombing.
"Lee Jong-ho. Again!"
"... Understood!"
At my command, Lee Jong-ho cocked another grenade and threw it toward the approaching zombies.
The same scene played out as before.
The grenade hit the nose of a zombie and exploded in all directions.
BOOM!!!
The zombies were thrown back by the explosion, and the ground shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
"... Ack!"
Angelica, shaken by the explosion, collapsed. I immediately grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her back to her feet.
"Jakga... I'm..."
"Don't say anything. Just keep running. We're almost there."
The distance to our destination was now less than a hundred meters. If we maintained our pace, we would survive.
However, there was only one problem.
Rumble! Rumble!
Night Crawlers weren't the only threat we had to face.
"... Wh-What's going on?"
"... An earthquake?"
"Damnit! Keep running!"
It was too late.
Crack! Kkk—
The ground trembled violently as enormous, never-before-seen plants erupted from the fissures. Towering over thirty meters, an Order 7 Horror, a terrifying plant-based creature, emerged.
The entrance to the other side was now blocked by the massive body of the monster. While everyone else seemed to have made it through safely, I couldn't say the same for myself, as I was pushed back.
"... Jakga!"
"Damnit, Jakga!"
Lee Kwangsun and Angelica screamed my name from the other side, but the Order 7 Monstrous Terror was an insurmountable obstacle. There was no way to defeat it at this moment, leaving no hope of reaching the other side.
"Everyone, stand back. I'm going to blow it up."
"Don't do it, Jongho-ssi. It won't work."
The skin of the Order 7 plant monster was far tougher than that of the Order 9 Night Crawlers, so trying to bomb it with a grenade was pointless.
It might even backfire and enrage the creature. It's probably ignoring us for now, deeming us unworthy of its attention.
"You guys go ahead, I'll find another way."
"But..."
"I'll be fine. Just go."
"Tck."
Someone clicked their tongue. If it was Lee Jong-ho, I was sure he'd make the right decision.
"I UNDERSTAND! WE WON'T LET YOUR SACRIFICE BE IN VAIN!!"
"OHHHHHH!!! DON'T RAISE DEATH FLAGS, DAMNIT! WHO SAID I WAS SACRIFICING MYSELF!!"
Of course, I had no intention of dying.
Dying to save someone else? What kind of logic was that?
I can never picture making such an illogical decision.
Gyaaaaaaah—!
I snapped my attention back to the situation. Behind me, the Night Crawlers were jabbering nonsense, closing the distance rapidly.
I dodged the zombie that got too close and sprinted toward the road on the right.
[00 : 10 : 04]
I checked the remaining time for the scenario. Ten minutes. It wasn't much, but in this situation, it felt like an eternity.
... I just need to buy time.
The theme of the Second Narrative was Survival.
Simply survive against a horde of monsters that would keep respawning no matter how many you killed.
Fortunately, I had already anticipated something like this and made preparations.
Now, where would be a good place?
"That place looks pretty good."
I sprinted toward a nearby building. Once inside, I quickly closed the door and pushed something heavy to seal the entrance.
Bang! Bang!
The Night Crawlers started banging at the door, but I had already made my way up the stairs and reached the rooftop.
From the edge, I noticed a huge crowd of zombies gathering around the building. Perfect.
I opened my backpack and pulled out a bottle of salt.
After uncapping it, I poured the salt over the crowd of zombies below.
The result was marvelous.
"Gugh, guwahhh—"
"Gyaaack—!"
The Night Crawlers twitched and screamed in pain.
It was a pleasant sight to watch. Normally, those guys wouldn't scream no matter how much you cut or sever their limbs.
Yet here they were, screaming like little girls. It was all because of the salt. Soon...
"Chii—!"
The Night Crawlers started falling to the ground one by one as their bodies began to melt. The salt had become a deadly poison that slowly squeezed out their life like a succubus.
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed an Order 9 Night Crawler.]
[100 coins have been gained as additional compensation.]
A faint smile emerged.
"This is great."
If I continued to kill the zombies using this method, I should be able to farm a lot of coins.
I started investing the coins I had gained into my stats.
[2000 coins has been invested into Physique.]
[Physique Lv. 1 → Physique Lv. 10]
[2000 coins has been invested into Strength.]
[Strength Lv. 1 → Strength Lv. 10]
[1,400 coins has been invested into Agility.]
[Agility Lv. 5 → Agility Lv. 10]
[Your overall stats has reached the limit for the Narrative.]
[You won't be able to increase your stats further.]
I was expecting such a message. With that, my overall stats had now reached 40.
Scatter—
"Guk! Guk! Guk!"
The Night Crawlers had broken through the door and were rushing at me. They arrived just in time.
I shifted backwards a little before sprinting and leaping to the next building. The monsters foolishly chasing after me fell below, crashing onto the ground.
Much to my misfortune, I didn't receive coins when they foolishly killed themselves or else that would be great.
The system cannot be discriminate, I suppose.
Now, the next part was simple. I repeatedly jumped from building to building while pouring salt on the Night Crawlers below.
Their dying cries echoed constantly beneath me. I didn't bother checking whether they died or survived. I was too busy receiving kill notifications from the system.
[You have killed a Order 9 night crawler.]
[100 coins has been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed a Order 9 night crawler.]
[100 coins has been gained as additional compensation.]
[You have killed..... ]
[....]
I lost count of the number of notifications after a while. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
A few minutes later, my salt supply ran out, and the bag was completely empty.
I shook the bag repeatedly, but nothing came out.
"So this is it, huh?"
I sighed.
Maybe I should have gathered more salt, but there was no time for regret.
BANG!!
The Night Crawlers had already broken down the door and were coming in large numbers.
The time remaining before the end of the Second Narrative was five minutes. I had to hold them off somehow.
I started shooting them down with my 9mm handgun. Since the bullets were reinforced with spirit power, one shot was enough to pierce through multiple Night Crawlers at once!
Bang—! Bang—! Boom—!
All headshots.
The Night Crawlers lifelessly fell to the floor when their heads were pierced. On the other hand, I continued to receive system messages, but I ignored them.
I was too busy shooting down Night Crawlers. It reminded of the zombie shooting games I used to play in the arcade as a child.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
One, two, three. I began to lose count but never stopped shooting the Night Crawlers until...
Click! Click! Click!
No bullet came out of the barrel anymore. Well, wasn't this just great?