I flinched as the Grunto zombie slammed into my chest. My balance gave out—I crashed to the ground, my head smacking hard against the floor.
It climbed on top of me. I grabbed its arms as they lunged down, nails aiming straight for my throat. My heart thudded violently. I twisted my body and kicked with full force—its body flew a few feet back and hit the cabinet.
…My strength definitely increased.
I scrambled up and grabbed the knife near the table. Took a stance.
It lunged again.
I drove the blade forward, straight into its abdomen—right where the core should be. The only way to kill a Grunto was to destroy the core.
As the blade went in, the Grunto spasmed and dropped instantly, unmoving. I rubbed my eyes, staring at its limp body.
A breath of relief left me.
[You have slain a Low-tier Grunto Zombie.]
[First Kill Reward: 200 Eten Coins.]
[You have no skills to be unlocked.]
So they finally mentioned it. A Grunto zombie.
But 200 coins for a single low-tier kill? That's actually decent. I might be able to buy that item early.
"Sorry I couldn't do anything, Yang Jihan-ssi."
Han Seoyeon looked disappointed. I didn't say anything. I stopped expecting help from anyone a long time ago.
"It's fine."
Now that I thought about it what class did she pick? Might be useful to know.
I wiped the black blood off the knife.
"I wish I picked the Arcanist class."
She smiled and raised her hand.
"I picked that class. Would it be useful?"
My intrusions were correct. That class always pulled players in like a magnet if it suited them. I felt the same tug before skipping it.
I feigned surprise.
"Oh, really? That's actually helpful. What skills do you have?"
She glanced at her status screen, eyes narrowing.
"It says… Fireball. Level 1."
Fireball? She had Fireball while I was out here fighting with a broom and knife?
Not that I blamed her. There should be an indicator showing how many times she could use it based on her mana pool.
"Woah, nice. Is there anything written next to it?"
She stared at her screen for a second.
"It says… five times."
Five? What?
Back in the game, I could only use it twice. Did she get a higher mana stat than the rest of us?
I held back the urge to ask. Asking too much might seem off.
"Oh! That's great."
She looked at me curiously.
"How do you know all this?"
…Too obvious?
I forced a smile.
"Ahh, I play games a lot. The system feels pretty similar, so I just kinda figured."
She nodded like it made sense.
"Oh, yeah. True."
[High-Tier Grunto Zombies have been spawned.]
I turned my head and scanned the kitchen. At the cooking stove, there was a red container, and a circular sigil drawn faintly on the wall. I trudged toward it and opened the cap, taking a sniff.
Petrol.
I grabbed the container and quietly headed for the exit door, scanning the surroundings for any sign of Grunto. I couldn't afford to make the same mistake as before.
Han Seoyeon followed behind me. We moved slowly, avoiding noise, as we climbed to the 7th floor. After a few steps up, I poured the petrol over, on both upper and lower staircase.
"What are you doing, Yang Jihan-ssi?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Let's keep moving."
We stepped onto the corridor of the 7th floor.
I was expecting something, maybe a sound, or Grunto. Anything. But there was nothing.
Something didn't feel right.
We hugged the wall and moved toward the elevator. My gaze shifted to the Environment Article Office room. I peeked through the window—three people. Team B?
I turned the knob, it clicked open. Their eyes snapped toward me and Han Seoyeon as we entered. An elderly co-worker was trembling, sitting on the ground with a clean cut across his chest. His white shirt was soaked in blood.
He looked up, eyes unfocused, full of fear.
"Don't come closer."
A clean cut? That wasn't a Grunto. Their nails couldn't slice like that.
What did they see?
I crouched next to the elderly man.
"Can you tell me what you saw?"
He just stared at me, shaking.
After a while, I gave up. He wasn't going to speak.
I glanced at the other two in the room. They looked the same wide eyes, with pale faces.
"Do you guys want to come with us?"
No one said a word. For a second, it felt like I was talking to the dead.
I stood and turned away. Han Seoyeon looked back at them, eyes full of concern.
She wanted to help them.
Should I take them?
…No. They'd slow us down.
I sighed. "Han Seoyeon-ssi. Let's go. They'll move if they want to live."
She nodded, quietly, her head hung low as she walked beside me.
She and I—were truly different.
As we reached the elevator and it moved up, a strange feeling hit me. What was waiting for us on the 8th floor?
I glanced at Han Seoyeon. She still looked worried—maybe she felt guilty about abandoning the others. Guess she thought we could've saved them.
"Han Seoyeon-ssi, you shouldn't worry about others when your life is also at risk. Think about yourself first."
She wiped her tears and murmured,
"Sorry. I wasn't thinking straight."
"…"
I never understood her. She was always kind to everyone. Not once had I seen her angry or slacking at work.
A different genre entirely. Huh.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head.
A screen flickered into my line of sight.
[The Eternals are invested in your decision for not clearing the tutorial.]
[The Eternal of the Demon Clan wishes to offer a contract.]
They're watching me? I should be more careful.
My heart skipped a beat at the second message. Normally, the Eternals didn't offer contracts until a certain level. And a contract from the Demon Clan? That meant extra skills and coins—early.
But still...
[You have rejected the contract.]
I don't want to be someone's puppet. A contract meant being bound to them and been controlled. I'd rather work alone.
[The Eternal of the Demon Clan is furious with your decision.]
Figures.
I probably bruised his pride. To them, I'm just a weakling and rejecting their offer, that's blasphemy in their eyes.
*****
Meanwhile, on the 8th floor of the newspaper company building...
A man stood in the middle of a blood-soaked hallway. Lean, muscular. Messy white hair falling over one eye. The other eye—jet black, glowed faint blue under flickering lights. In his hand, a curved red dagger hummed faintly, its edge dripping blood.
He grinned, lips twitching as he flicked the blade clean.
"Tch. So boring. Why the hell did they send me here anyway?"
His voice was rough,and playful.
"I'll rip their heads off one day. All of them."
He stepped forward, the soft squish of blood under his feet echoing down the empty corridor.
A man was crawling away near the wall, leaving a smeared trail behind him.
"Stop resisting, worm."
The white-haired man raised the dagger, eyes gleaming.
"And die already."