Beyond The Eternity Chapter 12 Paying For The Maintenance Service [1]

A meteor shower was pouring down in the crimson sky. If it was the old world, someone would have taken a picture and made a joke about it. But I didn't find it funny.

The meteor shower was a cannon event that marked the end of the old world. Now major areas of Seoul will be destroyed one by one according to the plot of the story.

If that was the case then that means the destruction of Seoul has already been established. No, it was naive to only think about the destruction of Seoul.

In the novel, 99 percent of the world's population was eradicated during the destruction. Will this world face the same fate?

[The constellations want you to act.]

There was no need to think about it right now. Whether this world would be destroyed or not does not matter. The only thing that matters is my survival.

I began to descend the stairs of the eight story building. Thanks to the zombie horde, all the blocked entrances were broken so exiting the building was not an issue.

Once I exited the building, I came across the ruined road. Fortunately, there was no lingering monsters in the area.

What should I do now? No, the correct question was where should I go? There are no safe zones around the area except for that one.

At the start of the second main scenario, multiple safe zones were generated throughout Seoul.

Just like in a video game, the safe zone kept the survivors safe from monsters. As long as you manage to find and enter a safe zone, you can survive the second scenario.

Despite being the reader of the narrative, it was difficult to remember all the safe zones in Hongdae. However, there was one that I did manage to remember.

There was a safe zone located at the sector center of Hongdae. I was heading there with the others before we got seperated. Speaking of the party, maybe they have already gotten there.

Kyahh—!

As I was heading to the safe zone, I heard the terrible cry of a creature. Then a huge hideous shadow started approaching with a sharp sound.

"Shit!"

In an instant, I ducked into a store nearby and held my breath.

Thud— Thud—

Slowly, the sound of heavy footsteps grew nearer. Could they truly be called footsteps?

With each movement, a loud noise echoed, as if the ground were being stabbed by something sharp.

As it approached, I could finally hear it—the creature's voice. The horrible voice that pierced into my eardrums like sharp needles.

"Where is... everyone?"

"Why did everyone.... leave me..."

"So... lonely..."

"Someone give... me a hug."

"Mommmy..."

The creature's voice was peculiar, like multiple souls speaking in unison—a man, a woman, a child, and a grandmother. It resembled a human voice but wasn't. It was merely an amalgamation of numerous human souls.

The monster slowly crossed where I was hiding, one of its tendrils hit the building I was hiding.

Goosebumps crossed my body. The very thought of being caught and merged into that grotesque entity filled my body with primal fear. Fortunately, it just passed my location.

I was not caught. I released a sigh of relief.

I waited for the creature to pass my location before I stepped out of the broken store and continued moving.

Since I was forcefully cut out from the main route by the plant king, I have to take another route to the sector center. If I continued moving at my current pace, I could get there under 10 minutes.

But there was a problem...

Crunch— Munch—

There were monsters that blocked the path. Fortunately, the numbers of the monsters were not much and they were not much of a threat.

They were just small creatures that feasted on the dead bodies of the fallen people. Killing them was not necessary so I just ignored them and continued moving quickly.

There was no time and I needed supplies. A quick supply run was necessary.

The first thing I needed were new clothes. It couldn't be helped. The hospital gown was completely torn apart by the zombies that feasted on my flesh so it was necessary.

I entered a broken dress store and quickly worn a few clothes that were tight fit. Next I headed to a fast food restaurant and searched around for food.

"Huh?"

All the food stands were all empty. It seems somebody... No, a whole group of people had thoroughly looted this place before I arrived. They are probably the survivors from the safe zone.

Although staying in the safe zone protects the survivors from monsters, it doesn't protect them from hunger and thirst. So creating food scout groups and searching for food was the number one priority.

Since this is the current situation then it's safe to say that all food stores and fast food restaurants has already been looted. No. I can't reach that conclusion just yet.

It will be impossible for all the food and conference stores to be looted. There will be at least one place that was untouched. The problem was finding it especially in a place filled with monsters.

Now I have two choices.

One, continue my search for food. Two, leave the food and head to the safe zone. Each choice has their own downsides.

If I continued my search for food, there was a possibility I wouldn't find any food because of the other survivors. Even if I somehow managed to find food, what if I was surrounded by monsters.

No matter how strong you are, if you were surrounded by monsters, It was game over. Of course, there was exceptions. The frontrunners, who have good constellation sponsors, will be able to survive.

The same can't be said for me. I didn't have a constellation sponsor and I'm not confident enough to fight an entire horde of monsters on my own. I only did it before because I was prepared and even then, I almost died.

Now if I choose to abandon the search and enter the safe zone, I might be able to exchange my coins for food. But considering the amount of survivors present in the safe zone, I don't think people will hand out the little food that they have.

I was torn between the two choices. Should I continue my search or should I just go to the safe zone without food? Both of them were hard choices.

I sighed.

In the end, I finally made my decision.

"I will continue."

I decided to continue my search for food despite the risk.

***

Time slowly ticked by.

Right now I was heading towards the safe zone while carrying three plastic bags in hand.

After searching for around 20 minutes, I finally found a conference store that has not been looted and quickly grabbed some food.

"Is that the safe zone?"

In the distance, I saw something.

I narrowed my eyes. There were numerous people probably around hundreds sitting inside a huge red dome.

It seems I've finally made it to my destination. I took heavy steps towards the safe zone.

"L-Look! Over there!"

"A person?"

"This late?"

As I got closer and closer, the people inside the dome noticed my presence.

They all had a surprised expression. It was expected. Those who failed to enter the safe zone on time were devoured by the monsters. It was strange to see someone approaching the safe zone this late.

For that reason, I have become the center of attention. The eyes of many people were focused on me. It was uncomfortable.

It happened when I got closer to the safe zone....

Rumble— Rumble—

The ground below began to shake as if something was moving. A few people noticed this change and shouted at me.

"Look out!"

"Quick! Run away!"

Multiple black silhouettes shot up from the ground at once. They were around five in number.

Black skin, sharp claws and the body the size of German shepherds. They were called Man-eating rats. Monsters with the danger rating of intermediate grade 9.

"Screek—!"

"Squeak—!"

They made some weird noise and rushed towards me. If it was any normal person, they would have been horrified and tried to run. But I just stood still and stared at the approaching creatures with a blank look.

It was strange. These creatures could easily rip apart a human male in half yet I was not afraid as they approached. It was the same feeling as when I killed Nam Jinhyuk.

A sense of complete indifference.

When did I become like this? During the start of the scenarios? No, that's not right. Looking back, I have always been like this.

I heard the survivors were shouting for me to run away but I ignored them. If I chose to away then I will undoubtedly die.

Man-eating rats were unreasonably fast on their feet so running away was completely useless. Plus, there was no need to run away.

[Skill 'Eagle Eye' has activated.]

[Your perception will temporarily increase.]

The Man-eating rats that were rushing towards me began to immensely slow down. It was like they were taking a very long time to take a single step.

Once this skill was activated, time will slow down and the opponents under the influence will be affected as well. Of course, I could freely move at my normal speed.

I casually pulled out the handgun and...

Bang— Bang— Bang—

... Pulled the trigger five times.

Peok— Peouukk—

Blue energy exploded from the barrel and the heads of the Man-eating rats exploded simultaneously.

It was the Magic Bullets.

The hide of monsters apart from night crawlers were very tough to the point normal bullets wouldn't work. Yet the magic bullets easily pierced and blew away the skulls of the Man-eating rats.

Truly, the power of the magic bullets were not to be underestimated.

'No, that's not completely correct.'

Magic bullets was a skill commonly used by walkers with the mage attribute. However, walkers with the ranger attribute can also use the skill through their long ranged weapons.

The handgun I was holding was the magic gun which has the ability to compress the user's magic power and unleash it. It also has the ability to charge attacks depending on the amount of mana provided.

Overall, it was a very good weapon that suited me best.

Thud— Thud—

The bodies of the Man-eating rats powerlessly dropped and blood splattered on the ground.

At the same time, multiple notifications popped up.