"Hah... Hah... Hah!"
Lee Gyeong's breaths came in ragged gasps as she continued her tremendous sprint.
She risked a glance over her shoulder, and her heart pounded faster as she saw several shadows pursuing her.
Wolf-like creatures with reddish fur and sharp fangs.
Intermediate Order 9 Bloodhounds (피사냥개).
Not only were they strong, they also travelled in packs making them very hard to hunt. And right now, Lee Gyeong was running with all her might away from those evil terrors.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Lee Gyeong was fast, but not fast enough. They were slowly catching up to her as if it was one big joke.
She was running in a straight line—no cover, no escape. It was only a matter of time before they caught her.
"So-Somebody help!"
As she screamed, the bloodhound right behind her, leaped forward and opened its jaws wide. It looked like it was going to swallow her head in one go.
Spurt—!
Blood scattered everywhere. Not the blood of Lee Gyeong but the blood of the bloodhund.
A metallic gleam flashed through the air and pierced the bloodhound's skull, exploding its head on impact. But that was not the end.
Bang, Bang—
One by one, the bloodhounds' heads burst apart, blood and brain matter splattering across the ground. In mere moments, seven of the twenty bloodhounds were killed.
Before the surviving beasts could even register the threat, two black figures darted through the air.
Peok— Puok—!
The skulls of the bloodhounds was crushed. Lee Gyeong recognized the newcomers immediately—Jung Yunhee and Angelica. Both women moved with lethal precision like the hand of a giant.
Grrr, Grrr—
The bloodhounds growled at the new actors with malicious intent. They crouched, ready to pounce. However, that was all part of the plan.
"It's time," a deep voice called from behind.
Lee Jongho emerged from the shadows and swung a metal pipe like a baseball bat.
Pow—
The sound of skulls cracking echoed as the bloodhounds were swept away into the air. A home run. Even baseball players would be jealous.
"Twelve down, six left,"
Without wasting a second, Jongho, Jung Yunhee, and Angelica charged at the remaining beasts like savage beasts.
Slam— Crack—
Three bloodhounds were taken down simultaneously in no time. Now it was remaining three bloodhound.
The bloodhounds in question were shaking seeing their fallen brethren. The party was slowly approaching the bloodhounds to finish them off.
And then something unthinkable happened.
The bloodhounds turned tail and ran.
Lee Gyeong's eyes widened in disbelief. Monsters were retreating from humans?
If anyone had told her this, she'd have called them insane, but now she was seeing it with her own eyes.
Before she couldn't even think further...
Spurt—!
Just as the last bloodhounds attempted to flee, their heads exploded in an instant. Lee Gyeong barely saw something flying past her.
"Good work, everyone."
Lee Gyeong slowly turned her head and saw the new speaker. It was a person with a mysterious presence.
180 centimeters tall, slender physique, pale skin and green eyes. His messy hair parted just above his left eye and cascaded in soft waves a few inches past his neck. His features were undeniably attractive— physically handsome, though not quite to the level of an idol. At the same time, he exuded an unsettling aura that she couldn't quite place.
It was as if he weren't truly there, even while physically standing in that spot. A ghost that defied the laws of the natural world, something that shouldn't exist, yet undeniably did.
His name was Kim Jakga.
At the very least that was what everyone called him. Was that his actual name? No matter how she thought about it, Lee Gyeong thought his name was odd.
It was understandable. It was strange for anyone to name their child 'Jakga'. It sounds more of a title than an actual name a parent would give their child.
When the gaze landed on that person landed on her, a slight smile formed on his lips and Lee Gyeong trembled subconsciously.
"You did well too," his tone was surprisingly gentle.
"I didn't do anything though."
"But you played your part. That's worth something."
His words were sincere, which only left her more stunned. As she tried to process his kindness, Kim Jakga's attention shifted to the others.
Lee Jongho, Jung Yunhee, and Angelica were already gathering the glowing monster cores scattered among the bloodhound corpses.
It was only when they were done that Kim Jakga opened his mouth.
"How many cores did we get?"
"Twelve cores," Jongho replied, holding up his pouch.
"Not bad. Twelve cores from twenty monsters—it seems the drop rate is improving."
For any lone hunter, that would be a jackpot. But thanks to Kim Jakga's strategy, they were efficiently hunting monsters in packs, and gather resources far faster than anyone else could dream of.
Studying the territory and using their surroundings to lay out a several traps and ambush the monsters.
In just two hours, they had earned over a hundred cores. A pace like this meant they could potentially complete the Third Fable well before the third day. Could the Mainframe group do the same? Lee Gyeong highly doubted it.
Kim Jakga handed out the cores, two for each person. He took four for himself and handed two to her. Before she could question it, he spoke again.
"Kang Manshik is late."
"Don't worry, I'm sure he will arrive soon." Says Jung Yunhee as she shrugged her shoulders.
Lee Gyeong and Kang Manshik had one job—lure the monsters. They were bait, plain and simple.
Bring back a horde of monsters. A big group around ten or more will be enough.
At first, she doubted his plan. How the hell were they going to handle a large group of monsters? Wouldn't going after monsters in small groups be more ideal?
It was only when she started did she realise how mistaken she was. If they went around and hunted down monsters in small groups, they wouldn't have gotten these many cores.
But hunting a large group of monsters wasn't easy either. They were only able to do so because they used their surroundings to their advantage.
Speaking of which, I wonder how high their stats is.
If they were able to hunt down a large group of monsters then their overall stats must be pretty. Perhaps all their stats were above 10.
There was no way she was going to ask them. In this new world, a person's overall stats and skill were very important to the point it had to be concealed. If she opened her mouth and asked, she will become suspicious.
'This is hard.'
It was very hard. Her mission, that is. As she spent more time with them, the difficulty of the mission was slowly increasing. Maybe she can use that...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Lee Gyeong's line of thoughts was suddenly interrupted. She looked forward and saw several shadows rushing towards them.
"Gyaaa—!"
"Shyaaa, shyaa—"
"Looks like Manshik's back,"
Kim Jakga said, standing up as the others followed suit.
Kang Manshik had returned, leading another horde of monsters. Lee Gyeong sighed as she rose to her feet. It was time to continue the grind.
* * *
Bang— Puooookk—
A magic bullet tore through a monster, sending it crashing to the ground in a pool of blood. I wiped some of the splattered blood off my clothes and grimaced.
"What a mess."
I looked around and saw the others finishing off the ground rats and extracting their cores. It was another overwhelming victory.
Nearby, Kang Manshik and Lee Gyeong hacked into the corpses, never wasting an opportunity to kill a few more monsters even while luring hordes toward us.
Their efficiency was commendable. Not only that, they played the role as bait for monsters perfectly.
Although some might argue that all they needed to do was act foolishly infront of the monsters, attract their attention through provocation and run.
I made my way to Lee Jongho, who was extracting a core from a particularly massive rat, its large size resembling a mutant pumped full of steroids.
"Jongho-ssi, how many cores do you have now?"
"Jongho-ssi, how many cores do you have now?"
"Twenty-eight," he replied, wiping sweat from his brow. "You?"
"Thirty-two," I said, frowning. "But the drop rate's falling."
The problem was obvious.
Fewer monsters meant fewer cores. No cores meant failure, and failure invited an unknown penalty from «Link».
That was the curse of this Narrative.
We had two options: hunt stronger monsters, which was suicidal, or hunt other walkers and steal their cores. I knew where I stood on that choice. Unfortunately, morality still bound some of our group like chains forged in delusion.
Summoning the system timer, I noted grimly:
[ 57:59:45 ]
Fifty-eight hours left. Time remained, but survival wasn't a luxury for the slow or sentimental.
"Everyone, gather the cores quickly. We're going to find shelter."
As the others moved, I began picking up monster cores, slipping each one into my storage pouch. The weight of necessity pressed heavier than the collected loot.
Lee Jongho approached, his brow furrowed.
"Jakga-ssi, are we heading back to the safe zone?"
"No. It's too far. We need something closer."
"Do you have a spot in mind? The buildings here are a mess. And its dark so we can't stay outside."
"Not yet, we'll have to search."
Going back to the safety zone might have guaranteed security, but the trip was a waste of precious time, and we'd just have to return here anyway.
We moved cautiously through the ruined streets, eyes scanning every shattered building and vine-choked facade for a potential haven. Most were too damaged, too exposed, or outright uninhabitable.
Time dragged on as we searched, each step thick with unease. The shadows grew longer, and still, nothing suitable appeared.
At this point, anything would have to do.
Camping in an alley briefly crossed my mind, but I dismissed the idea. Staying out in the open, especially with a fire, would be asking for trouble. The last thing we needed was to broadcast our location to wandering nightmares.
"Hey, look over there."
Angelica's voice cut through my thoughts as she pointed toward a building. It wasn't an apartment or a towering complex, just an ordinary house, remarkably intact amidst the destruction.
Finally, something promising.
"Let's check it."
We rushed to the house without hesitation, abandoning formalities like knocking or removing our shoes. In this world, survival left no room for etiquette. Silence greeted us inside. The house was empty.
Chaos lingered in every corner, furniture overturned, belongings scattered as if the occupants had fled in desperation.
Perhaps they were running from someone. The structure was too intact for a monster attack, which left another disturbing possibility: humans.
Given the state of the world, it wasn't a stretch. Criminals thrived in this chaos, emboldened by the absence of law and order, conducting brutal acts without consequence.
I wondered if the occupants had managed to survive, or become just another casualty of this twisted world.
I let out a sigh.
"Since it's come to this, search the place for food."
"This feels wrong," Angelica muttered.
"You don't need to worry. The owner's not coming back anytime soon. I think? Otherwise, this place wouldn't have been empty."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you saying the owner is dead?"
"It's possible, but that's not the point. Dead or alive, they're not coming back. You know that as well as I do."
Angelica fell silent. Perhaps she already knew what I was trying to say.
What we were doing, breaking in, scavenging, would have been a crime in the old world. We would've been arrested and punished if we were caught. But that world was long gone, along with the police who once enforced its laws.
If anything, the occupants of this house were probably among the first to fall in Seoul.
Now, no one was left to stop us. This world had become a lawless wasteland where criminals roamed without consequence.
But none of that mattered anymore.
In this brutal new reality, survival was the only law I cared about.