Chapter 7
What happened right after the sound rang out.
All the lights went out—except for a few weakly glowing lamps.
At first, people panicked, but they quickly regained composure thanks to the flashlight function on their smartwatches.
The real problem came after that.
As soon as the main lights went out, monsters—just like the ones we’d seen in the tutorial—began pouring out of the warehouse one after another.
Damn it. No wonder there were only bloodstains without any corpses, and yet the warehouse was locked.
Looks like the bodies and the monsters had all been moved into the clothing warehouse.
“Uuurghhh…”
“Kyaaahhhk!”
Step… step…
I crouched low with the others behind a display shelf, hiding my body.
Beyond the shelves, countless monster cries and footsteps echoed continuously.
The sounds spread everywhere through the darkness.
I risked a glance.
‘Feels like watching a human wave at some kind of store opening rush…’
Sure, the monsters’ numbers were overwhelming, but the space was wide enough that, after a while, the pressure didn’t feel as suffocating.
—
“What the hell?!”
A startled male voice suddenly cried out, making me reflexively turn my head.
A group of three or four people had been surrounded by monsters.
“We didn’t make a sound while hiding!”
“We didn’t even run into them head-on, so how the hell did they know where we were?!”
“Help! Aaaaah!”
Crunch! Rip!
“Guhh! Damn zombie bastard!”
“M-my arm! Aaaghhh!”
Riiip!
The kind of sound you don’t want to hear—or even imagine—echoed all around us in surround sound.
And, almost as if keeping rhythm with those screams, the flashlight beams from smartwatches whipped wildly back and forth.
‘With those lights, it looks less like a hiding place and more like a party hall with a buffet attached…’
Actually, not like a party hall—it was one.
Only, the guests weren’t us—it was them.
‘If I’d found that warehouse key and opened it earlier, I’d have been the one screaming right now.’
The thought alone made cold sweat drip down my back.
The monsters’ grotesque “mukbang livestream” went on for quite some time.
After their feast, they scattered as if nothing had happened. Only then did I pull my head back down.
Mr. Wang Rui was clamping his own mouth shut, looking like he was about to cry.
Ms. Lei had her eyes tightly shut, both hands clamped over her ears in terror.
Kittichai bit his lip, his face full of frustration.
Mr. Liu Wei and Mr. Kenta wore expressions like chess players cornered into checkmate.
I was sure the survivors hiding elsewhere looked no different from the people hiding beside me.
—
Ding—dong—daang—dong.
[4 people have died.]
[In 40 minutes, the Runner will stop running.]
[Current survivors: 16.]
A woman’s voice flowed from speakers installed throughout the floor.
How “kind.”
Back in the tutorial, when we desperately needed detailed instructions, there had been nothing—but now they spoon-fed us information.
‘Better make a time check.’
Current time: 8:40 AM.
So, the Runner would stop at 9:20.
I set my smartwatch to vibrate when the time came.
Now, the Runner.
That was the key target of this quest.
We needed to stop it in order to escape.
It was only because of the shock from the earlier zombie rush and grotesque feeding frenzy that I’d momentarily forgotten about it.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
There it was.
Finding it wasn’t hard. Out of all the monsters, only one was actually running along the passage.
Around 170 cm tall, long blond hair, women’s athletic wear, running shoes.
Unlike the other creatures that dragged their feet and staggered about, this one was properly running—like a woman out for a jog.
Had she been human still, she’d probably have been a slender beauty.
But now?
Just a monster with gray, lifeless eyes and stone-colored skin.
The corners of her mouth had split wide, exposing blood-soaked gums and teeth.
‘Forget about her for now.’
She was the most important piece for clearing the quest, but she posed no immediate threat.
Why? Because she didn’t stray from her designated running path.
The real danger was the other monsters—the ones that had attacked the group earlier.
How had they found hidden people?
From what had happened so far, I had one hypothesis. But it needed testing.
And for that, I needed something to use. Conveniently—there it was.
I crouched low, moving toward a display with a golf-themed mannequin.
Next to its foot lay a golf ball. I reached out.
Tap.
Huh?
My hand bumped into something just before touching the ball.
In this darkness, it was hard to be sure, but unless my eyes deceived me—it felt like another hand.
What were the chances, in this huge place, of someone else reaching for the same golf ball as me?
Who the hell—?
I flicked on my smartwatch flashlight toward the ball.
“…!”
Pale to the point of ghastly white skin, veins spread like a tangled circuit board.
Yellow eyes writhing as if alive, blood smeared around the mouth, short brown hair.
A female monster’s face stared at me blankly.
—
Do you know how people react when confronted with something completely unexpected?
They can’t even scream. Their eyes just blink blankly as their brain shuts down.
That was me right then.
Inside, I was screaming every curse imaginable, but not a sound came out.
[Status abnormality: Panic.]
[Thought and judgment are impaired.]
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
As the hologram message popped up, my mind froze, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it would tear out of my chest.
With my crouched posture, my already-limited vision tunneled until I could only see the monster’s face.
They say when you fall in love at first sight, the whole world disappears, leaving only that person.
This was… kind of like that.
Of course, I didn’t mean I fell for a monster at first sight!
Even if she had been a normal woman, she’d never be my type!
[Special ability: Emergency! is activating.]
[Ability efficiency exceeds current abnormal resistance, rapidly recovering from panic.]
[Panic duration reduced from 5 seconds to 1 second.]
“Kyaaaaahhh!”
As I snapped out of panic and stumbled backward, the monster shrieked—a piercing, tearing scream.
What the hell? I’m the one who got scared—why are you screaming?!
Then, like a cockroach, it skittered away at incredible speed.
Its neck had been twisted at a grotesque angle, yet it moved as if nothing was wrong—making the resemblance to a roach even stronger.
[Status abnormality: Fear.]
[Movement is restricted.]
Good thing I was already crouched.
If I’d been standing, freezing up in fear would’ve been like signing my own death warrant.
After all, with a feast laid out right before them, monsters weren’t going to just walk away.
[Special ability: Emergency! is activating.]
[Ability efficiency exceeds current abnormal resistance, rapidly recovering from fear.]
[Fear duration reduced from 2 minutes to 1 minute.]
Damn it. Only cut down to a minute?
I stayed crouched, waiting it out, heart still pounding like it wanted to burst free.
‘Not the verification I’d intended, but this proves it.’
Unlike the tutorial monsters, these ones didn’t respond to sound.
If they had, they’d have all swarmed here the moment that thing screamed.
The first hint came right after the announcement broadcast.
Despite the loudspeaker blaring across the floor, the monsters’ behavior hadn’t changed at all.
Still, I’d wanted to test it directly. And now, the result was clear.
—
“Hey, you’re alive. I was worried.”
When I returned, Mr. Kenta, sitting against a display shelf, greeted me.
“What about the others?”
“They bolted ages ago. Can’t blame ’em. After hearing that bloodcurdling scream so close by, of course they wanted to get away. Anyway, only me and that little miss are still here.”
He pointed behind with his thumb.
There sat Lei, her face pale with fear.
The fact she’d stayed here despite hearing that scream nearby—quite the nerves of steel.
Especially since three grown adults had already run off.
“Honestly, me and the kid stuck around thanks to you. We realized from what happened that monsters don’t respond to sound.”
“Then why didn’t you try convincing the others?”
“You think I didn’t? They said, even if I was right, they didn’t want to stick around near what was probably a ‘special variant.’ So they left.”
Fair enough. A monster that screamed was unique—anyone would assume it was a special type.
“I guess that makes sense. Hard to argue against it.”
“Exactly. So, now it’s just the three of us. Problem is, I’m not exactly a genius strategist. Got any bright ideas?”
Kenta glanced between me and Lei.
‘Doubt the kid has any grand plan.’
She looked maybe late elementary school.
Even adults were struggling to cope—no way a child could handle this better.
Which meant the responsibility fell to me.
Not that I wanted to play leader, but I also didn’t want to sit here waiting to die.
‘As Ms. Noe once said: when the path is blocked, move forward—only then do new paths appear.’
So, time to act.
“Let’s first share and organize what abilities we each have. That way, we might at least figure out how to move forward.”
—
We each took turns describing our abilities, and I wrote them down in my notebook.
[Sasaki Kenta]
General ability: Rampage
Special ability: Forced Collection
Rampage: When wielding a blunt weapon, deals damage higher than his stats would normally allow. Against objects, damage is doubled. A passive ability.
“Ever tested it?”
“Come on, we only got these powers after that crow bastard summoned us this morning.”
Right. If he’d tested it, someone would’ve had bones shattered already.
“And Forced Collection—any damage I take from a designated target is reduced, while damage I deal to them increases. The increase scales with the amount of money they have. So, against monsters, it’s basically useless.”
I agreed. It was clearly more suited for fights against people.
Scaling with money? That implied not only that there’d be some kind of currency system, but also that player-vs-player combat would eventually happen.
“Anyway, that’s me. Any questions?”
“Uh… if it’s not too rude—what did you do before this? The name ‘Forced Collection’ makes me think banking, but ‘Rampage’ doesn’t really fit.”
“Debt collection. Private finance sector. Back in Osaka, I was famous for it.”
“…”
Lei’s eyes trembled. She was probably imagining the scenes his abilities suggested.
Truly, sometimes humans are scarier than monsters.
[Takao Reina ‘Lei’]
General ability: Revelation
Special ability: Arcana Realization
The names alone gave me pause. Kenta seemed just as surprised.
“Lei, could you explain?”
“…Just call me Lei.”
“Oh-ho. Did you sweet-talk her already, buddy?”
“We literally just met.”
“Strange. Normally, people don’t tell near-strangers to call them by first name… well, whatever.”
Lei explained.
Revelation: essentially divination, giving hints about things.
“Wait, so you’re like a psychic?”
“N-no. Just… I have good intuition. And I can do a bit of fortune-telling with these tarot cards.”
She pulled a deck from her inventory.
Ah, so that kind of thing.
“And Arcana Realization means… the cards take effect in reality.”
“Example?”
“For instance, if I realize the Strength card on someone, they get stronger for a while. Though, depending on interpretation, the same card could apply differently.”
So, essentially buffs and debuffs using tarot as a medium.
“If that’s true, couldn’t you just buff me or Kenta, and we smash the Runner to death?”
“…I don’t know how strong it makes someone. And it only lasts two hours.”
Like us, she hadn’t properly tested her active abilities yet.
“And there’s a limit. Both Revelation and Realization can only be used twice per day…”
That was a huge restriction.
Which only made me suspect the effects, when used wisely, were extremely powerful.
“Interesting powers. Shame about the limits. But Lei—if you’re not a psychic, just a normal grade-schooler… how’d you end up with powers like that?”
“T-that’s…”
She looked like a frightened deer.
I shook my head at Kenta, who shrugged and dropped it.
Then it was my turn.
I explained my own ability.
“A healing ability, huh? Arguably the most important. No matter how good your power is, it’s useless if you die. You must’ve worked in medicine outside?”
“Not exactly a doctor or nurse.”
“Doesn’t matter. What counts is what you’ve got. Now, we all know each other’s powers—got any plans, buddy?”
“I think we should first secure some safety by clearing nearby monsters. Then, we’ll observe the Runner carefully to figure out—”
Bzzzzt.
My smartwatch vibrated. Time: 9:20.
The Runner’s scheduled stop.
I looked immediately.
[The Runner has stopped.]
[Stopped location: Red Field.]
At the far opposite side, the Runner halted—and red light flared around her.
As the glow enveloped her, nearby monsters began converging.
[Stores within the red-bordered zone will disappear.]
Disappear? What the—?
Suddenly, the red glow vanished. With a CLUNK, the ground shook violently, like an earthquake.
