Another Protected Space

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink, Jihan collapsed onto the ground with a tired sigh.

"Practiced all day..." he muttered wearily.

But something was different. Was it because his body had changed like a character in a game? When exhaustion set in, he found that a mere 30-minute break was enough to rejuvenate him for more practice.

"And I managed to increase some of my skill levels," Jihan said, a grin spreading across his face.

Now, his levels stood at:

[STRONG HIT] LV3

[SKILLED WEAPON] LV5

"They're increasing quite fast," he noted. "But what I really love is the bonus from my [SKILLED WEAPON] level increasing to Lv5. My Attack increases by 30% when using a Blunt Weapon, and my Attack Speed goes up by 10%."

"As for [STRONG HIT], reaching LV3 boosted my Critical Damage by 17% and my Attack by 150%," he continued, his mind already calculating the implications.

Let's say his base attack power was 10. With [SKILLED WEAPON], it became 13. If he used [STRONG HIT], adding 150% more damage, the total inflicted damage would be 32.5.

"That's amazing," Jihan marveled.

But there were still factors to consider. His MP stood at only 100, enough for 30 [STRONG HIT]s, and his Strength wasn't optimal. While a 30-minute break could restore his HP, his stamina wasn't yet where it needed to be.

"What if there are too many enemies? What if there's no time for a break? What if they're too fast?" he pondered. "Shouldn't I increase my Agility?"

With a sigh, he concluded that there were too many variables to decide on allocating his status points now.

"Mom's going to ask why I'm late," he realized, shaking his head. "What should I tell her?"

But suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by an eerie silence. It was late at night, yet the absence of any sign of life was unnerving. No lit windows, no distant sounds of activity.

"Oh no..." Jihan muttered, his heart sinking. "Another Protected Space?"

Without hesitation, he retrieved his Baseball Bat from his Inventory, readying himself for whatever lay ahead.

"Am I in danger now?" he wondered, his senses on high alert. "Damn it. I should have practiced at home until I was ready!"

Then, a chilling sound pierced the silence. 

GRRRR...

Jihan's breath caught in his throat as he quickly calmed himself, preparing for whatever was about to emerge from the darkness.

As streetlights flickered on, revealing the figures of undead creatures shuffling towards him, Jihan's worst fears were confirmed.

"Crap. Zombies, this time?!" he exclaimed, bracing himself for a fight.

With his heart pounding in his chest, Jihan felt the familiar calm wash over him as his [GAMER'S SPIRIT] activated, steadying his nerves for the impending battle.

"What should I do to fight with zombies? What, first?" he muttered to himself, trying to formulate a plan amidst the chaos.

"OBSERVATION!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the desolate streets.

{~ Zombie LV 8

 HP: 800(800)

 MP: 50

A walking dead body.

It hates the living and

attacks people to eat them.

Its movements are slow,

but its power is twice as

strong as when it was alive. ~}

"I'm so glad I have the [OBSERVATION] skill!" Jihan exclaimed, relief flooding through him as he assessed the situation. "But I wish I had some recovery items."

His mind raced as the zombies closed in on him. His HP recovery rate was a mere 5 points per minute, but any damage he took from a zombie would far exceed that.

"First, find a narrow way!" Jihan reasoned, scanning his surroundings for a suitable location to make his stand. Spotting a narrow street ahead, he darted toward it, putting distance between himself and the advancing horde.

"In games, you always want to find a wall first, so you can protect yourself from monsters," he thought, his instincts kicking in.

As the first zombie lunged toward him, Jihan tightened his grip on his bat and swung with all his might, unleashing a [STRONG HIT] that sent the creature reeling.

"Did I just deal 400 damage with one attack?" Jihan marveled, his mind racing with possibilities. "I can't let this chance go!"

With a series of powerful strikes, he dispatched the zombies one by one, their bodies crumbling to the ground as he fought with newfound skill and determination.

Beep.

{~ You've got 350 EXP. Points ~}

"You think I have time to care about that?!" Jihan muttered under his breath, his focus solely on the task at hand.

As he turned a corner, he was confronted by another trio of zombies, their rotting forms lurching toward him with outstretched arms.

"OK, let's do this," Jihan muttered, steeling himself for the next onslaught.

With practiced precision, he delivered a series of powerful blows, each strike landing with devastating force as he fought to keep the zombies at bay.

"3 Zombies..." he thought to himself.

"STRONG HIT"

Slam

A CRITICAL HIT on Zombies Head.

"STRONG HIT" he continued smashing them one after another.

Smash!

"STRONG HIT!"

GRRR....

One after another Zombies disappeared in nothingness.

"Phew... It's over," Jihan breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the zombies crumbled to dust beneath his feet.

But his respite was short-lived as two more zombies emerged from the shadows, their eyes fixed on him with a hunger that sent a chill down his spine.

"Damn. To save MP, should I just attack without using my skills?" Jihan wondered, weighing his options as he prepared to face his next challenge.

With a determined nod, he leaped into action, his bat swinging with deadly precision as he fought to survive in this nightmarish new reality.

"Somehow, I beat them all. So now what...?" Jihan muttered to himself, surveying the desolate scene before him. The streets were eerily silent.

"Safety comes first from now on," he resolved, his mind racing with thoughts of how to protect himself from the relentless onslaught of the undead.

Moving toward a nearby wall, Jihan began to climb, his muscles straining with the effort. As he reached the top, he gazed out over the cityscape below, his heart sinking at the sight of countless zombies swarming through the streets.

"Oh my gosh! Crap... How can I kill all of them?" he wondered aloud, his mind racing with possibilities.

Suddenly, a bright red orb appeared in the air before him, crackling with energy as if alive with some malevolent force.

"What's that?" Jihan murmured, his eyes widening in disbelief as he watched the orb pulsate with an ominous glow.

"It makes me shiver. What the hell is that?" he muttered, his voice tinged with fear as he watched the orb's movements with growing trepidation.

With a sudden flash of light, the orb unleashed beams of red energy that lashed out at the zombies below, engulfing them in a fiery blaze that consumed their very essence.

"Is it absorbing the zombies?" Jihan wondered, his mind reeling with the implications of what he was witnessing.

As the last of the zombies were consumed of that area by the orb's insatiable hunger, Jihan felt a sense of unease settle over him.

"I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not good," he thought to himself, his eyes narrowing as he watched the orb's movements with growing suspicion.

But before he could formulate a plan of action, a loud roar echoed through the night, signaling the approach of yet more zombies.

"I think the red thing is making the zombies angry," Jihan surmised, his heart sinking as he braced himself for another onslaught.

With a fierce determination, Jihan readied his bat, preparing to face the horde once more.

"STRONG HIT!" he shouted, activating his skill as he swung his bat with all his might, the force of the blow sending the nearest zombie hurtling backward.

But to his surprise, the zombie was suddenly engulfed by the red energy of the orb, its form dissolving into nothingness before his eyes.

Beep

{~ 1 Level Up ~}

"No time to check the screen," Jihan muttered, his focus entirely on the battle unfolding before him. "I have to focus on the zombies in front of me."

"Did it absorb all of them?" Jihan while looking up towards the red orb.

As the last of the zombies were absorbed by the orb, it began to retreat, flying back into the waiting hand of Seongon, the Dark Summoner.

He's ... the Dark Summoner from the Last time! He hasn't seen me yet...

"Done," Seongon declared, his voice filled with satisfaction as he watched the orb disappear into his hand.

And as he raised his arm, with a crackling sound a crack started to Appear in the space.

As the protected space crumbled down, Jihan found himself back in reality, surrounded by the ordinary sounds of the city. A couple's voices reached his ears as they made their way at home.

"Honey, aahh come here, aahh..." the distant voices faded into the background as Jihan surveyed his surroundings. A cat growled in front of him, standing its ground on the wall.

"Sigh, I'm back! I survived..." Jihan muttered, taking a moment to collect himself after the harrowing experience in the protected space.

He turned abruptly, his gaze fixed on the spot where the Dark Summoner had vanished. "Dark Summoner... What are you planning to do?" Jihan wondered aloud, a sense of unease settling over him.

"Damn. What should I do now?!" he pondered, a realization dawning on him. "I'm in danger. Yes. I'm well aware of that."

Jihan reflected on the dangerous encounters he had witnessed within the protected spaces – Shiyeon Kwon battling a three-headed dog and the recent encounter with the zombies. It became clear to him that the Dark Summoner was creating these perilous pockets of reality.

"I need to find out how to survive. And I think I know the fastest way," Jihan resolved, a determined glint in his eyes. "Seonil Shin. Let's ask him."

The next morning, at school, Seonil greeted Jihan with a smile, his usual friendly demeanor shining through. "Good morning. You never come to school early. What's going on today?"

Jihan's eyes instinctively moved above Seonil, revealing the familiar floating letters in the air.

<Successor of the Cheon Bu Guild>

 Lv 28 Seonil S.

"He was level 25 before. Did he get stronger?" Jihan wondered silently, a myriad of questions swirling in his mind.