Chapter 8

As soon as Gyu-hyuk revived, JiHan threw him off of the tower again.

"Shield!" He used defensive magic on his second revive.

'This Support seems strong, but at the end of the day, he's just a Support!' Gyu-hyuk believed in his magic. He was level 15, after all.

He shouldn't have been matched with people who'd just passed the tutorial to begin with and had only been summoned there because he constantly caused trouble and lost, which lowered his matchmaking level.

'This bastard! I'll kill him!'

"Fire…"

He maintained Shield and was about to roast JiHan with Fireball, but…

Crack-

JiHan brushed away the semi-transparent Shield with his hands, and the protective barrier shattered like an eggshell in the blink of an eye.

"Huh…?!"

JiHan smirked and grabbed Gyu-hyuk by the collar. "If you die this time, you'll have only one left."

"Wait…"

"Go."

Whoosh.

Once again, the Mage flew into the air and fell off the tower.

AAHH-!

The zombies screamed in gratitude as the Mage fell into their clutches again.

Crunch. Crunch!

A grotesque sound spread, and…

Flash.

Gyu-hyuk, who'd resurrected for the last time, cried out, "W-wait!"

If he died like that, he would definitely finish last.

He felt chills run down his spine.

'The penalty for finishing last is too big!'

He'd thought that the other side would bend or someone would stop him if he caused trouble, but he hadn't expected someone to toss him away.

'If my level drops again…'

Your level would drop if your results weren't good in Battle Net, which would cause a drop in stats.

Losing stats didn't really matter. After all, he could raise them by leveling up again, but…

'My skills will also disappear!'

Unlike stats, which could be increased just by leveling up, gaining a skill was harder, which was why people usually didn't get skill deletion as a penalty—you had to drop five levels below for it to be deleted.

In Gyu-hyuk's case…

'If I die again… It'll definitely be deleted.'

If he died one more time, he wouldn't be able to resurrect again.

He would be judged as the first to die in the defense game; then his level would decrease to 14, and the skill he learned at level 20 after spending a huge amount of money in the Battle Net market would disappear.

'This bastard… I'll get back to him later.'

Gyu-hyuk was seething inside, but on the outside, he seemed to be willing to surrender. "Okay. I understand that you're good! You don't have to apologize! I'll participate in the game properly."

"…"

"I'm level 15. Moreover, I'm a Fire Mage, which is useful for this map. I'll carry you properly."

"Oh! You've made the correct decision!" The Archer, who'd been watching the scene unfold nervously, was cheerful.

To think that the infamous troll Kim Gyu-hyuk would bend like that.

'Someone who participated in the Silver promotion match is only level 15…?' GaYeong couldn't believe Gyu-hyuk's level, but still, he'd surrendered first, so she thought that the game would proceed properly.

"Is that it?" JiHan, who'd been quietly listening, reached out his hand again.

"Huh…?"

He grabbed Gyu-hyuk's collar.

"I don't need to apologize? People will think that I was the one who started the fight if you word it like that."

"W-wait…!"

"Next time, have some manners."

Swoosh!

Gyu-hyuk was launched off of the tower, screaming the entire way down.

"Ah…" The Archer stretched out his arm, but it was already too late.

Crash!

[The Mage 'Kim Gyu-hyuk' has died.]

[Kim Gyu-hyuk has been eliminated from this game.]

The defense map was intended to be played with a party of four…

And they no longer had a Mage.

* * *

A chilling silence hung over the tower.

'The trash has been taken out.'

JiHan didn't seem to care as he stared at his quest window.

After he'd entered the '10 Towers' defense map, a new quest had been generated.

[Limited Quest]

- Finish 1st place in '10 Towers'.

[Reward: 1,000 achievement points]

The quest, just like during the tutorial, was for him to finish 1st place, and the reward was the same as before.

'I was expecting this, but…' JiHan was looking at another quest that shone with a golden light underneath the limited quest.

It was something that hadn't been there during the tutorial.

[Chain Quest - Zombies' Source (!)]

- Single-handedly eliminate 1,000 zombies.

[Reward: 3,000 achievement points]

- Upon completion, you'll unlock Zombies' Source (2).

'Kill a thousand zombies alone?' JiHan frowned.

It was an impossible mission.

Zombies weren't a threat to him, but…

'The game will end before I can kill them all.'

The game would end once five of the ten towers collapsed, which meant he could clear it only if the other players managed to hold out.

'I'll focus on the limited quest for now.'

JiHan looked down from the tower.

GUOOO.

A swarm of zombies attempted to climb up to them, but they kept slipping due to how steep the tower was.

"Grrr…"

They were trampling over the bodies of their comrades to climb up.

The Archer, who was watching them next to JiHan, sighed.

"Haa… This is why we needed a Mage."

One Fireball should've been enough to incinerate the zombie hill they'd formed.

The Archer looked at JiHan with resentment. "If you were that annoyed with the troll, you should've just ignored him and let it go… What are we going to do now? Without the Mage, they'll start climbing like crazy."

"So there will be more zombies than usual?"

"Yes. Is this your second time playing? If you want to be a professional player, you must endure trolls like that…"

Tsk, tsk.

The Archer kept talking while clicking his tongue, but JiHan ignored him.

'A thousand zombies… Is it doable?'

He was thinking about the chain quest.

"Hey! Are you listening to me? To think you'd ignore others while making things such a mess… If you're so great, fight on your own!" Just when the Archer couldn't handle it anymore…

JiHan seemed delighted. "Really?"

* * *

'Player Sung JiHan lacks sociability. He isn't suited to becoming a Battle Net professional.'

GaYeong had been judging JiHan harshly since he ousted the Mage.

Regardless of who was right or wrong, GaYeong thought that the proper thing would have been to move on.

'To think he'd act as he pleases without thinking of the consequences.'

The bigger problem was…

'His class is Support?'

Someone who seemed fit for the Warrior class had chosen to be a Support…

Why had he made such a choice?

'Is he an attention seeker?'

She couldn't understand it. The only conclusion she could reach was that he was insane, and thus, she made her decision.

'He isn't worth being recruited into Twin Star.'

Once the young lady saw the video, she would most likely lose interest.

"I'll stand in the front. Support, move back."

Anyway, she was the Warrior of the party, so it was her duty to take the front line.

Even if she didn't like how the man behaved, she still had to do her job, but JiHan waved his hand while making a calm expression.

"It's okay. Just protect the Archer."

"…?" Im GaYeong looked at JiHan in disbelief.

Was he thinking of fighting alone?

But then…

"Okay…" As if she were saying, 'Go ahead and see what happens,' she moved back.

As GaYeong walked back, the Archer began complaining to her. "Haa… To think that we'd meet two trolls… We're really unlucky."

GaYeong nodded.

'Bottom place is a given. Leveling down… It can't be helped.'

She'd just leveled up thanks to the tutorial, but it seemed like she was about to drop a level.

The only good thing was that the arrogant Mage was the first to die.

Although she was on the last-ranked team, at least she wasn't at the bottom.

'Yeah, let's die quickly and start a new game.'

Having prepared herself, GaYeong looked at JiHan.

Vroom- Vroom-!

JiHan was spinning his metal pole as if he were warming up; his form looked pretty solid.

'It looks quite heavy.'

Still, he probably wouldn't last long.

No matter how skilled he was as a martial artist, surviving such a wave of zombies was impossible, especially with his shabby equipment.

'He won't last a minute.'

And then…

"GRRR-"

Having not been slowed, the zombies finally started climbing over the top of the tower.

Thanks to the Archer and the Mage classes the other towers had, the zombies couldn't even get halfway up.

On the other hand…

"They're finally here."

JiHan smiled at the zombies.

Swoosh!

The metal pole burst a zombie's head open in an instant.

GaYeong's eyes widened in surprise.

His speed was incredible.

Even with her experienced eyes, she couldn't see precisely how the metal pole moved.

The Archer's reaction was no different from hers—he just stood there with his mouth wide open.

"Is this really happening…?"

"…"

"Ms. Warrior, is he really a Support?"

"I'm not sure what's going on anymore."

Sung JiHan's bright metal pole moved as if he were performing in a circus.

Moreover, the metal pole was only targeting the zombies' heads, which was their weak point.

The Archer finally understood why JiHan looked so confident.

The tower was small, and the zombies could only come from the north, so JiHan could really cover it by himself.

"B-but that metal pole alone shouldn't be enough for a blood zombie…"

"You're right."

GaYeong nodded at the Archer's words.

A blood zombie was an especially strong specimen among zombies. Its head was covered by a bloody liquid that made it resistant to physical attacks, and you needed special strength to suppress one.

Of course, in the Bronze League, that strength was magic.

'Ah, if the Mage had survived, we could have finished 1st…!'

Seeing JiHan fighting so well, the Archer became even more resentful.

'He should've spared him!'

'Why kill him and make a 1st-place-worthy team finish last?'

Creak…

Red smoke started to rise among the climbing zombies, and the Archer made a regretful expression as he shouted, "B-blood zombies…!"

Swoosh!

Five zombies leaped forward with superior physical abilities compared to regular zombies, red skin, and faces made of blood.

The blood zombies rushed toward JiHan.

Then, as the Archer was thinking, 'It's all over now…'

"Huh…?"

Bang!

The metal pole moved slightly and exploded all five of the blood zombies' heads simultaneously.

White flames rose from where their heads used to be, and their bodies turned to ash.

Whoosh…

'No way.'

GaYeong couldn't believe what she was seeing. That white energy was…

'Divine Power?!'