I Became a Game Character in the Apocalypse

Chapter 17

The spiral staircase was completely cleared.

The zombies that had swarmed the night before might still be outside, so I instructed Jeon Wan-soo to check the situation through the window.

Jeon Wan-soo peered outside from the second floor, nodded, and gave the signal that it was safe.

I carefully opened the back door, and as I stepped outside, I noticed the faint sunlight filtering through the dense fog.

Jeon Wan-soo and I took the lead, while Choi Hyun and Seol Ye-won took the rear.

We moved quickly to the right, leaning against the wall, and I spotted seven cars parked in the lot.

“Wait.”

Seol Ye-won, who had been behind me, grabbed my shoulder.

I turned around, and Seol Ye-won pulled a large hose from her bag.

Confused, I tilted my head, and she pulled out a screwdriver from her pants pocket and began removing the fuel cap from one of the cars.

Then, she put the hose in her mouth and started siphoning gasoline from the vehicle.

I recalled the flames I had seen earlier in front of the design building.

So that’s where she got the fuel from?

Seol Ye-won pulled out another hose and spoke to the group.

“Just in case, you should do it too.”

Preparing for emergencies was always welcome.

I also took the hose and began siphoning gasoline from the cars, following Seol Ye-won’s lead.

After a few mishaps where some gasoline splashed into my mouth, I started getting used to it.

We managed to extract about 5 liters of gasoline from four cars.

Choi Hyun wiped some gasoline off his mouth and spoke.

“It’s going to be hard to carry all of it.”

Mobility was directly tied to survival. Running with 5 liters of gasoline wasn’t going to be easy.

We decided to carry 2 liters back to the club room, with each of the men taking 1 liter to move.

I noticed a small hill on the right side of the parking lot, where a few pine trees were scattered.

We cut through the trees, moving about 15 meters into the woods, before a 6-meter high cliff appeared in front of us.

I uncoiled the 20-meter rope from my shoulder, tied it to a tree, and one by one, we carefully descended the cliff.

Jeon Wan-soo, who went down first, checked for zombies and confirmed a safe path.

When Choi Hyun was the last to descend, Jeon Wan-soo began briefing us in a low whisper.

“Nine zombies at the entrance to the sports field. They’re about 30 meters away.”

I lowered my voice and asked, “Any resonance zombies?”

“How am I supposed to know just by looking? We’ll have to provoke them to find out.”

“Didn’t you check inside the sports field?”

“Since there are zombies at the entrance, we probably don’t need to check inside.”

We couldn’t afford for things to go wrong from the start.

We had to use the sports field to make our way forward, no matter what.

“Is there another route near the field?”

“You can just follow the outer wall of the sports field instead of entering the field itself.”

“…Here?”

It was an endless, narrow dirt path. The road was too narrow for people to walk comfortably.

On the left, there was the cliff, and on the right was the 3-meter-high outer wall of the sports field.

There were leaves and twigs scattered everywhere, like hidden landmines, so we had to be extra careful.

I scratched my forehead in frustration, and Jeon Wan-soo licked his lips and said,

“There’s no other way. It’s not a path people usually use, but it’s the safest option.”

The sports field was surrounded by a 3-meter high wall.

Beyond the wall, there were tiered bleachers, so unless zombies fell from above, they wouldn’t run into each other.

Since there was no better option, we decided to follow Jeon Wan-soo’s suggestion and take the long way around the outer wall.

Jeon Wan-soo, who led the way, kicked aside the fallen leaves, trying to minimize the noise from our footsteps.

I followed behind, also kicking leaves and twigs to avoid making noise, constantly checking the outer wall.

We couldn’t afford to be careless, in case a zombie heard us and looked in our direction.

We kept walking, and soon the already narrow path began to get even tighter. A slope appeared ahead.

When we reached the corner of the sports field and turned right, a steep 5-meter-high incline blocked our way.

Jeon Wan-soo looked panicked and gestured for us to turn back.

But I disagreed.

If we didn’t take this path, there was no other safe route.

“Move aside.”

“What, do you want to climb the cliff?”

“Yeah.”

Jeon Wan-soo looked bewildered, his mouth agape like a fish.

I took out my pickaxe and rope from my bag and looked at the steep slope.

The fog had dampened the ground, weakening its stability, and I wasn’t sure how much weight it could support.

Jeon Wan-soo seemed anxious, staying close to me and asking in a low voice.

“Are you sure it’s safe? You’ve never climbed before.”

“The slope is steep, but it’s not 90 degrees.”

“Still, it seems dangerous if you fall.”

“You know what was the most common thing I heard when I was at the athletic academy?”

“…What?”

“If it’s not possible, then keep going until it is.”

I smiled lightly, inserted the pickaxe into the ground at waist height, and threw the rope over my shoulder as I placed my right foot on the slope.

The ground didn’t give way when I pushed the 30 cm pickaxe in about 25 cm.

I continued to insert the pickaxe every 50 cm to create footholds and carefully began to climb.

Thud—

About 4 meters up, the ground couldn’t hold, and the pickaxe supporting my left foot fell, taking a clump of dirt with it.

Jeon Wan-soo, who was below, quickly spread out his bag on the ground.

Thanks to that, the sound of the pickaxe falling was muffled.

As my left foot lost its support and all the weight shifted to my right foot, the dirt holding my right foot started to slip.

The ground above me seemed to be getting softer.

Grinding my teeth, I quickly jammed the pickaxe into the left side of the slope and placed my left foot there.

I didn’t have time to make more footholds; I had to move quickly before I lost my strength.

I gripped a pickaxe in each hand and used my arms to bear my full weight, pushing myself upwards.

With clenched teeth, I climbed the remaining 1 meter without taking a breath.

Thud—

Just as the pickaxe in my left hand slipped, I managed to grab the edge of the cliff with my right hand.

Using all my strength, I half-pulled my body over the edge, wriggled like a worm, and finally made it to the top.

Once I reached the top of the cliff, I collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily

Suddenly exerting myself, it seemed my muscles were shocked.

I focused on the subtle tremors in my arms and the rhythm of my heartbeat.

The dizziness I felt in the final moments sent a chill through my entire body, and a delayed sigh of relief escaped me.

After catching my breath and scanning my surroundings, I could only see the dense fog and trees. There were no signs of zombies nearby.

I tied the rope to the thickest tree I could find and threw it down to my group below.

Seol Ye-won was the first to climb up, followed by Choi Hyun and finally Jeon Wan-soo, who all made it up safely.

Jeon Wan-soo patted me on the shoulder, laughing lightly.

“I thought my heart was going to drop.”

“I thought I was going to die.”

We both laughed lightly and looked at the others.

On the way up, Seol Ye-won had gathered all the pickaxes, and she handed me eight of them.

I shook off the dirt on the pickaxes, packed them into my bag, and refocused on the situation.

Jeon Wan-soo scanned the area and then whispered in awe.

“Hey, can you see that?”

“What?”

“There are zombies in the sports field.”

“I can’t see through the fog.”

“There must be around 200 of them.”

If we had entered the sports field, we would’ve been digging our own graves.

Although things didn’t go as expected, we were safe and unharmed, and that was what mattered.

Jeon Wan-soo narrowed his eyes and stared ahead, then pointed with his finger.

“I think there’s a way down over there.”

“Lead the way.”

I wiped the dirt from my palm and gripped my sword handle.

The way down was much easier.

Unlike the climb up, there was no need to scale walls, and stairs had been installed for people to pass through.

This wasn’t a path for students but likely a passage used by the administrators.

Jeon Wan-soo, who was ahead, scanned the four-lane road and gestured for me to come closer.

“Jae-hyung, there are four zombies at the resting area across the road.”

“Where are they? Point with your finger.”

“Over there.”

From the angle of his finger, the zombies seemed to be in an elevated area, not on flat ground.

I assessed the situation and spoke to the group.

“From now on, we’ll handle the zombies as we go. Everyone, stay focused.”

“Are we going straight in?”

“Is there another way?”

Jeon Wan-soo didn’t argue.

The Business School building was located in the far corner of the school.

The landscaping there was beautiful, but the disadvantage was that there was no back door. The main entrance was wide open, though.

There was a side entrance, but it was adjacent to the parking lot, which we couldn’t confirm from here.

To check the side entrance, we would need to enter the garden, which would inevitably alert the zombies, so there was no need to head that way.

Jeon Wan-soo and Choi Hyun pulled out their katana swords and took a few deep breaths.

Seol Ye-won also held her hunting knife tightly and nodded.

I looked at the faces of the group and, seeing the signal from Jeon Wan-soo, we began to run in the direction he pointed.

The humid air and thick fog brushed against our cheeks as we pushed forward, shaking off the fear that crept into our bodies. With wide eyes, we crossed the four-lane road.

We soon reached a tall staircase that led into the garden, where I spotted silhouettes of zombies moving above.

“Grurrrrr…”

The zombies, sensing our presence, immediately froze and turned their attention toward us.

“GRRRRAAAHHH!!”

I heard the deafening cries of the zombies as they began charging.

Quickly, I raised my right arm and drove the hunting knife into the closest zombie’s eye.

The knife effortlessly penetrated, stabbing straight through its brain.

So this is the importance of weapons?

It performed far better than the steel pipe.

Without a breath, I pulled out the knife and slashed across the throat of a zombie charging from the right.

On the left, the zombies were quickly dispatched by Jeon Wan-soo and Choi Hyun.

Seol Ye-won scanned the garden, her face turning pale as she muttered.

“They’re coming.”

“GRRRRAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

The sounds of many footsteps and zombie growls came crashing through.

From beyond the fog, I saw a horde of zombies rushing toward us like a tidal wave.

I turned to Jeon Wan-soo and shouted.

“Scatter!”

This was step two of the plan we set up last night.

If the zombies remained in the Business School building, we would need a distraction to get inside.

One thing I learned when leaving the dorm was that zombies couldn’t swim.

There was a reservoir behind the school, so we needed to lure the zombies there.

Jeon Wan-soo quickly pulled out his phone and turned on the alarm.

The sound of multiple percussion instruments echoed through the air, and all the zombies’ attention shifted to Jeon Wan-soo.

As Jeon Wan-soo and I drew the zombies’ focus, Choi Hyun and Seol Ye-won dashed to the right, diving into the pond.

When the garden was landscaped, a 3-meter by 5-meter pond had been created as well.

Their next mission was to wait in the pond until the zombies dispersed.

Once the zombies were gone, Choi Hyun and Seol Ye-won would enter the building, get the others, and bring them out.

I hoped everything would go according to plan, and that we’d all make it out safely.

Jeon Wan-soo and I cut through the thick brush, heading for the reservoir.

I swung my hunting knife to clear the tall grasses at waist level, and despite my clothes getting snagged on branches and scratched, I couldn’t afford to stop.

I couldn’t rest until we reached the reservoir.

Jeon Wan-soo, who was ahead, furrowed his brow and kept running. At some point, he looked back and shouted.

“Jae-hyung! Jae-hyung! The reservoir is up ahead!”

“Run to the bridge!”

The long bridge that spanned the center of the reservoir.

It was narrow enough that two adults standing side by side would fill it completely.

To survive, we had to make it to the end of the bridge.

“GRRRRRAAAHHHH!!!”

The growls of zombies reached our heels.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a large number of zombies crashing through the brush like bulldozers, coming straight for us.