The Countdown to Hell
I walked away from the camp, not looking back.
Lily, still in her human form, followed closely behind me.
The night was silent.
Only the sound of my footsteps and the faint rustling of leaves could be heard.
Alicia didn't stop me.
I didn't expect her to.
With each step, the camp grew smaller in the distance—until it finally disappeared.
I sighed.
"Lily," I muttered. "Let's go. We need to find Emma and my parents."
She nodded.
I didn't know what to feel.
Should I be relieved? Sad? Frustrated?
I had only been with them for a day.
And yet, somehow, it felt like I had been part of that camp for much longer.
Alicia…
I shook my head. No point thinking about it now.
My priority was my family.
And so, I kept moving forward.
---
The Monster Surge Begins
A few hours passed.
The sky was still dark, the moon barely illuminating the landscape.
But there was something… off.
The air felt tense.
Like something was coming.
And then—
They arrived.
Monsters.
Hundreds of them.
They crawled from the shadows, their eyes glowing in the darkness.
Goblins.
Low-rank creatures.
Weak.
But there were so many of them.
I clenched my fists.
Lily, without waiting for my command, rushed forward.
She didn't just fight—she slaughtered.
Her slime body morphed and stretched, impaling goblins left and right.
She was merciless.
I, on the other hand, could only watch.
I wasn't strong.
I wasn't an awakened fighter.
I was just a guy with a healing ability.
Even so, I refused to be useless.
I picked up a weapon from a fallen goblin—a rusty sword.
And then, I fought.
---
A Small Victory, A Bigger Problem
I focused on killing only the weakest ones.
Goblins.
Their movements were predictable.
I slashed.
I stabbed.
I dodged.
And slowly, I started to get the hang of it.
But something strange happened.
No matter how many I killed—
I didn't gain any experience.
"…What?"
I frowned, looking at my system screen.
[No EXP gained.]
[Target's level is too low.]
So that's how it works…
I needed to kill stronger monsters to level up.
Goblins wouldn't cut it.
Still, I had no time to dwell on it.
Because something far worse was about to happen.
---
The Countdown to Despair
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, catching my breath—
A deep rumble echoed through the sky.
And then, right before my eyes—
A massive digital countdown timer appeared in the air.
It was huge, stretching across the sky like a god's decree.
[10 DAYS REMAINING]
[FINAL WAVE INITIATED: SURVIVE UNTIL TIME RUNS OUT.]
"…What the fuck?"
Lily stood beside me, her expression tense.
And then—
The sky cracked open.
A giant, glowing portal appeared above us.
And from within—
Hell was unleashed.
Dragons.
Wyverns.
Giant, nightmarish creatures beyond anything I had ever seen.
They descended from the heavens, their wings blocking out the moon.
And as they roared—
The world changed forever.