Chapter 2
An arm that had been flying through the air landed somewhere.
What soon entered my sight was a long, sharp-looking claw.
Could it be… that claw just cut off the doctor’s arm?
There was no doubt. Drops of blood still dripped from the claw onto the floor.
“U-ugh! My arm…!”
Crunch!
The claw pierced straight through the doctor’s body.
A grotesquely torn grin stretched up to the ears, eyes unfocused, clothes ripped apart, revealing a swollen frame and darkened, mottled skin.
That was the figure of the one who killed the doctor with a single claw.
Why did he suddenly turn into such a monster!?
Two arms, one head, and two legs to stand on—that’s what we normally call a human being.
But could this really still be called a human?
The creature stood up and shook its claws. The doctor’s body slipped off the talons and rolled lifelessly across the floor.
I have to run.
But contrary to my thoughts, my legs wouldn’t move. It was as if they were glued to the floor.
Even though I knew this was virtual reality, the sensation was too real—I couldn’t brush it off.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“A m-monster!”
Screams burst out from people, eerily similar to the doctor’s dying cry.
The crowd bolted toward the store’s entrance in panic.
At that moment, the monster that had been staring right at me slowly turned its body toward the exit.
Its slightly hunched frame and measured steps resembled a predator stalking prey before the kill.
“Guhhh!”
“Cough! Cough! Arghh!”
“It hurts! It hurts!”
Those at the rear of the fleeing crowd were mercilessly slashed by its claws.
They fell like stalks of rice cut by a sickle, the floor quickly staining red.
What is this? What the hell is happening?
Unable to adapt to the sudden chaos, my mind felt paralyzed, thought processes dulled.
Even my vision had grown hazy, as if covered by a thin veil.
“Argh! Has this guy gone mad?! Why are you suddenly biting people like crazy?!”
“What the hell’s wrong with him?!”
Across the room, others were suddenly attacking people nearby, trying to bite them.
Had the clawed monster triggered something like a signal?
“Everyone! Calm down! Follow our lead—”
The rescuer who had come with the doctor never finished his words. His head was cleaved off by the monster’s claw.
“Uwaaaah!”
“A—A head! A human head!”
The severed head flew through the air, struck the wall, and tumbled down before the horrified crowd.
No way… Is this some kind of outbreak, like in the movies?
Just then, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me. Startled, I turned—and it was the woman who had been sitting across from me earlier.
She pressed a finger to her lips, signaling me to stay quiet, then pointed toward a metal door at the side of the café.
A door with a large rectangular hole cut into its upper half.
She wanted us to escape through there?
Still half-stunned, I let her drag me toward it.
“Grrrr…”
From the front, a figure with bluish-black skin shuffled toward us, drooling sluggishly.
If this is really an outbreak, then that thing… must be something like a zombie.
She tried to sidestep it—reasonable enough, since it wasn’t moving very fast.
But others were closing in from the sides as well.
Two in front, one on each flank. Four in total.
They were already close—breaking through would be tough.
Get a grip, Joo Jin-young. This isn’t the first disaster you’ve faced since childhood.
If I didn’t clear my head now, I’d die. I shook myself violently, and my vision suddenly sharpened, clarity returning.
“Front.”
“…?”
My lips were still stiff, but I managed to force out enough volume for someone nearby to hear.
Judging by the woman turning her head, she caught it.
“I’ll open the way. Run when I do.”
“What are you—?”
I didn’t answer. I simply pried her hand off my arm and stepped forward.
Compared to that clawed monster earlier, these guys seemed doable.
Smack!
Hoo…
I slapped both cheeks hard and exhaled. Then pivoted on my left foot, twisted my torso, and unleashed a full-force roundhouse with my right leg.
Thwack!
The kick smashed into the temple of the nearest zombie-like thing.
No time to savor the impact—I had to drop the second one.
Wham!
Using the spin from the roundhouse, I followed through with a reverse kick, slamming into the second one’s face.
Both collapsed, clearing a gap. We dashed through without hesitation.
Clang!
Inside the door was a storage room, stacked with towering 5-meter metal shelves crammed with shrink-wrapped supplies and unopened boxes.
Clearly the café’s storeroom.
Odd. No damp chill or moldy smell of a typical storage…
Instead, the air was temperate, even pleasantly fragrant.
As expected of a facility built by the world’s richest conglomerate— even the warehouse felt different.
“At least here, we can catch our breath for a bit.”
She let out a quiet sigh.
“Thanks back there. You snapped me out of it.”
“…Honestly, I just didn’t want the only person I’d spoken to today dying in front of me. Bad for the conscience.”
Huh? For a split second, she looked almost embarrassed. But when I blinked, her expression was back to that cold, detached face I knew.
Maybe I imagined it.
The warehouse wasn’t empty—over twenty people had also fled inside, terrified, dazed, or in shock.
Could the game have already started?
I shook my head. No way would a game begin without some announcement first.
“Strange tea drinker. Can you give me a hand?”
The woman had returned after scouting around, speaking in a tone halfway between mocking and asking.
“You’re not exactly in a position to call me weird when you drink bizarre stuff yourself.”
“Hot chocolate isn’t bizarre.”
“At least the one you drink is. It’s way too strange.”
“I just like it sweeter than most.”
Not that sweet—it was well past excessive.
“Honestly, compared to your cacao nib tea, hot chocolate’s far more mainstream. And at least what I drink is still called hot chocolate.”
Her sly attempt to deflect with wordplay was annoyingly smooth.
“Anyway, let’s drop that. My name’s Joo Jin-young. Use that from now on.”
“Korean?”
I nodded.
“I see. Then I’ll properly introduce myself too. My name’s Chae No-eun. Don’t call me anything weird either.”
So she was Korean too.
“Alright. So, what do you need help with?”
“I found a box with ice awls that could work as weapons, but it’s out of reach. Just need a boost.”
“No ladders around?”
“Checked already. None.”
Fair enough.
I let her climb on my shoulders to reach the second shelf, over 3 meters up. She rummaged through one box, then shook her head and moved to the next.
“Nothing in that one?”
“Only short awls. I wanted longer ones.”
She kept digging, setting aside ice awls one by one.
One, three, five… The pile grew. Better to stockpile weapons.
“You’re remarkably calm for all this chaos.”
“Comes with the job, I guess. But you—your moves earlier looked like proper martial arts training.”
“I’ve trained since childhood. Still do. I want to become a paramedic—need the stamina.”
Our talk soon petered out—she was concise by nature, and carried a difficult-to-approach aura.
Once she handed down the last of the awls, she hopped off.
“These are long and thick enough, but still dangerous to wield bare-handed.”
“Attach them to poles, make spears. First, we’ll need to—”
Bzzz.
My smartwatch vibrated. Hers too, judging by where her gaze went.
When we touched the screens, a holographic display popped up:
<Quest Objective>
Kill other humans in this area and survive.
Time limit: 2 hours
Required kills: At least 3 per person
<Basic Rules>
You must challenge a target to a duel, and they must accept. Then it becomes a 1:1 fight.
In a 1:1 duel, all external damage is nullified—except damage from monsters.
Killing from range, or killing without declaring a duel, results in elimination.
<Additional Notes>
Failure to complete the objective or breaking the rules = death. Eliminated players are returned to the real world.
Those with higher kill counts will receive later rewards.
In duels, men’s and women’s stats are adjusted: men gain strength, women gain flexibility—ensuring fairness.
A duel continues until one party dies. If no damage is dealt within 30 seconds, or if both intentionally stall, both are eliminated.
If someone contributes to achieving a kill, their survival status is judged separately by the organizers.
…You’ve got to be kidding me.
The warehouse buzzed with uproar after everyone saw the same message.
Kill other people, but only through duels—and only if they accept? With ranged kills banned too?
With just a two-hour time limit, it was impossible to simply sit and think of a solution.
Sooner or later, duels would erupt—and only a handful would remain.
Is there really no way around this?
The rules had been crafted to leave no escape clause.
This wasn’t just a brutal escape game—it was a mashup with battle royale, survival, and horror genres all at once.
“Kill people? Even in a game, that’s insane…”
“Insane? It’s because it’s a game that it’s possible. Don’t you get it?”
“I’ve PKed plenty in games before, but here… it feels too real. I don’t think I can do it.”
“Same here. Feels more real than reality itself.”
“Damn it. They demand kills but ban everything that’d make it easy. What are we supposed to do?”
“If only we had guns, this would be—”
“Idiot. Didn’t you read? Long-range kills are forbidden. Guns are useless.”
Everyone muttered their frustrations, but the clock kept ticking down.
“Should we all just sit here and timeout together?”
“No way. This is a Laurel Group wish-granting ticket at stake. We can’t throw it away.”
Useless chatter.
While working with No-eun to tape awls onto mop handles, I listened for any useful ideas. None came.
Rip!
The sound of tape tearing brought me back. She was biting off a strip with her teeth.
“You stopped moving. What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Wondering if there’s any better way to handle this.”
“Any luck?”
I shook my head.
She set down a finished spear and said:
“When you’re blocked, move. Change your angle, and things you couldn’t see will appear.”
“Who said that?”
“My teacher.”
It fit perfectly.
Weapons meant to fend off monsters would now be used against humans. The situation had already shifted.
“Thanks to that advice, I’m clearer on what needs to be done with these spears.”
“You call it fortunate? Using them against people instead of monsters?”
“Ultimately, maybe. But first, we still need them for monsters. Because…”
She glanced toward the door’s upper vent.
“…when duels break out, there’ll be pain, screaming. If the monsters hear it and break in?”
Ah. So that’s why.
Since monster attacks were exempt from the immunity rules, screams could draw them in and wipe us all out.
And with the clawed monster’s strength… even the steel door might not hold.
“Exactly. That’s why we need to eliminate them first.”
It made sense.
“If we prepare excessively, it’ll draw attention—perfect to gather others and make it work.”
She looked at the spears beside her, voice firm.
Right. If we made plenty of weapons, others would flock to us, boosting our chances of clearing the monsters together.
I resumed taping.
If I couldn’t find a solution myself, trusting someone with conviction was the next best thing.
And I agreed with her reasoning.
“Mind if we lend a hand?”
A middle-aged Westerner in a fedora approached, speaking politely.
That was faster than I thought.
I glanced at No-eun. She simply nodded.
“Of course.”
9:50 PM.
Fifty minutes had passed since the quest announcement.
The man who’d offered help had brought along his wife and two teenage children.
A family of four—father, mother, son, daughter.
He said they’d debated among themselves, but found no answers. Spotting us making weapons with apparent purpose, they chose to join rather than sit idle.
“Not bad at all, for something improvised.”
The wife inspected her ice-awl spear and tray-shield (a tray strapped to her arm with tape).
“The monsters are slow. We can handle them.”
I answered brightly, hoping to ease her worry:
“As long as it’s not the clawed one.”
“Right…”
That one, we’d have to avoid at all costs.
