Episode 9 – Library (5)

We quickly navigated the main road, and the inner defenses soon appeared. The villagers lined up, moving through the gates and the commanding officers raised their voice to restore order.

"Enter one by one! Hey! No pushing!"

Needless to say, it was futile. No matter how the commanding soldiers shouted, the people ignored them, pushing and shoving in a frantic attempt to storm the gates all at once.

It was impossible to restore order during a time of crisis.

As we forced our way through the crowd, some people let out strange cries as they were knocked to the ground and trampled, but we ignored them, continuing on without a second look.

Once we finally penetrated the inner defense, we came across the sight of countless people despairing. The soldiers were even trembling at the corner.

It was not strange, really. The city's defenders were greatly outnumbered, and the residents were terrified. Morale among the defenders had sunk to an all-time low, and the situation appeared hopeless, with no apparent silver linings. Perhaps they have already given up on resisting and accepted the fate the Nightmare Trial game to them.

Angell wore a dark expression mumbled. "This is terrible."

"Don't worry, similar scenes will occur on earth. You'll get the hang of it. At least, that's if we manage to survive."

"Hey, don't say something depressing like that. We'll survive for sure."

Angell's tone was confident, yet it echoed with a hint of desperation, as if trying to convince herself that survival was still a possibility.

Her silent despair was understandable. I wasn't even sure we'll survive to see the end of this story.

Lee Suhye suddenly opened her mouth.

"Jakga-ssi, why do you think reinforcements will arrive?"

"Because I know they will arrive."

"How do you know that? Can we even trust this man? He's completely insane."

Naturally, anyone in their right mind would question me especially when I give out incomplete information. From her point of view, my plan must have seemed like a reckless, suicidal venture. Yet, it was the only path that offered any hope of survival.

Angell opened her mouth. "Don't worry, Kim Jakga is someone we can trust with our lives."

"How could you say that?"

"It's because of the sponsor behind Kim Jakga. If Kim Jakga says reinforcements will arrive, then reinforcements will arrive. That's how we survived for this long."

"Oh, I see. I think I get it now."

Thank you, Angell. This will be enough to hold off the curious Ryu Eun.

Now then, what shall I do?

Originally, the library dungeon was found by Sung Jaewon, not Soo Jinyoung. In fact, Soo Jinyoung was not supposed to know about the library dungeon at all.

As I recall, Sung Jaewon was supposed to discover the hidden dungeon on his 8th turn. This was meant to be his third turn, so why was he here now? Was it because of Soo Jinyoung?

The story had been unfolding in unexpected ways.

This shift... It was triggered by my actions, but there was no reason to panic.

Even though the storyline had veered slightly off course, it didn't mean everything was bound to change. Some elements would remain constant, like this small narrative we were currently entangled in.

In this narrative, the city's destruction was a result of the lack of reinforcements, caused by the monsters destroying the eastern bridge. Sung Jaewon resolved the story by preventing the bridge's destruction, enabling the arrival of reinforcements to fight the monsters. If we follow his example, we should be able to complete the story too.

Before long, the eastern gate came into view. Next to the gate, there was a massive winch responsible for the gate's opening and closing.

I opened my mouth and said. "I'll operate the winch. Block anyone that tries to approach."

"Okay."

I approached the winch and used my strength to pull the rope.

Creak, creak!

Slowly, the gate started to swing open, moving back and forth. The soldier standing on the wall noticed and shouted. "W-What? What the hell! The gate is opening!"

"Did the monsters break through?"

"No! Someone is opening the gate!"

"Stop him right away!"

The soldiers began approaching with hurried steps. I knew this would happen. The same thing happened when Sung Jaewon of the 8th turn tried to cross here.

Reasoning with the soldiers was out of the question. They were too afraid to make rational decisions. Even then, I don't think they will allow us to pass through.

I faced Jung Yunhee and Angelica before speaking.

"Block those guys but don't kill them!"

"Roger!"

Jung Yunhee and Angell blocked the soldiers that were approaching and forcefully repelled them.

"Uwaak!"

"Ahh!

Once they were hit, the soldiers collapsed on the ground and trembled like a worm. This is what happens when ordinary people tries to fight the participants of the Nightmare Trial.

A man wearing heavy armour, bearing the aura of a commander, shouted on the top of his lungs.

"What is this madness? Why are you people opening the gate? Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"Sorry but we must cross here."

"You're out of your mind. Stop them! Don't let them open the gate at any cost!"

Kiiii, kiiiiii!

The hollow cries of the creatures beyond the wall added to the tension, making the soldiers become more aggressive.

"Ryu Eun."

"I know. I'll deal with it."

Bang, bang—

Lee Su-hye raised the gun and fired several magic bullets at the ground, causing the soldiers to back away in a panic.

Kyarr!

Outside the wall, countless crimson eyes flickered ominously as if waiting in anticipation.

It was then the soldiers rushed towards us without any hesitation. It was a move that discarded their own well being. These bastards, they are really going this far.

Jung Yunhee delivered a powerful palm strike to an approaching soldier, sending him crashing into those behind. As a member of that 'Clan', her martial arts skills were exceptional.

"I'm sorry."

Angell apologized as she struck down a soldier. She mumbled the same apology as she continued striking down the soldiers one by one.

"Die!"

The commanding soldier slipped past them and reached me in an instant. Fortunately, Jung Yunhee was faster.

Hiyap!

Once the back of his neck was hit, the commanding soldier joined the rank of fallen soldiers.

Creakkkk!

I gave the rope one finall pull and the gate opened wide, revealing the path ahead.

At that moment, dozens of monsters poured towards the gate all at once as if they were waiting for this moment. The identity of those monsters were finally revealed.

Kyarr!

Tall humaniod figures with black skin, muscular bodies, huge fangs and eyes with a crimson glow. Intermediate grade 8 ogres species.

Now was the time.

I retrieved several mini explosives from dimensional storage and hurled them.

Kwang, Crack, Boom!

Kyaaaaaaaaa!

Explosions erupted outside the gate, sweeping away the contaminated monsters. Bodies of those directly hit were hurled dozens of meters into the air above the wall.

Angell surveyed the scene and remarked, "It's incredible how something so small can cause such destruction."

In the aftermath of the destruction, flames continued to smolder, flickering ominously.

"Did it get all of them?" Angell asked.

I frowned my brows and spoke out. "No, those explosives will only slow them down. It's not enough to kill all of them."

Beyond the flickering flames, countless crimson eyes were observing us from a safe distance.

Kya! Kya!

Eyes that once sparkled with intelligence and life were now hollow and wild with madness. Indeed, that was the fate of the 'Corrupted ones'.

Creak, creak!

The gate behind us began closing. Apparently, one of the guards has regained consciousness and closed the gate.

With this, our only escape route was now closed. The rest of the party members noticed this and frowned.

It worked as planned.

Jung Yunhee opened her mouth and asked. "Jakga-ssi, are you sure this plan will work?"

I smiled wryly and answered honestly. There was no need to sugarcoat it since it was useless.

"Honestly, I don't know. In fact, the plan might fail and everyone of us will die horribly."

Upon hearing my words, the expressions of the party members darkened further. Lee Suhye was the first to react.

"I knew it! This guy's insane."

"If you're looking for someone to blame, blame the bastard who got us trapped here in the first place."

"That..."

Lee Suhye tried to say something but nothing came out from her mouth. Speaking of which, I wonder which floor that bastard has reached. He must be enjoying himself.

In any case, I'll make sure to deal with him later.

I pulled out the sword and the handgun — the handgun in the left hand and the sword in the right hand.

I opened my mouth and said. "Get ready to fight."

"Yes."

We quickly arranged ourselves in a battle formation. I stood at the forefront, with Jung Yunhee to my right, Angell to my left, and Lee Suhye at the rear.

The flickering flames created a barrier in front of us, the only line of defense separating us from the horde of corrupted monsters. Once the enemy crossed that line, the dance of death would commence.

Survival was uncertain, with only a 20 percent chance of making it out alive. We had no powers like regression or reincarnation, so death would mark the end of our stories.

Despite the odds, we had no choice but to press on. This was not a decision we made, but one imposed upon us by the Nightmare Trial.

The Nightmare Trial masturbated out sadistic trials and we must accept anything it threw our way.

I looked at my companions one by one and spoke one final time.

"Everyone, let's make a good story together."

The battle began as the enemy penetrated the wall of flames and roared out.