Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

The day became bright, as the inhabitants of the shelter slowly awoke one by one. Soon after, they realized that Geom-in had disappeared. His footprints were found outside the shelter, along with some feathers which belonged to a gryphon.

“Looks like a gryphon came here last night and that guy went to see it.” Everyone nodded at Da-jeong’s opinion.

The incident happened while we were in the Korean Shelter. Geom-in most likely felt a sense of responsibility as a stagnant water, and went to check it out. He should have had the copy of Da-jeong’s dominator unique skill, So why…

“Against a gryphon, what he needs is to just quickly move closer to it using blink and dominate it.”

Geom-in had a whopping 7 unique skills, including the shelter reinforcement skill. He could interchange three of them once a day, so even if there’s no additional effect included in the skill, he should still be able to dominate it using the method I just said.

But Da-jeong’s opinion was a little different from mine.

“Since the skill he has is the minor version of mine, it wouldn’t have a 100% chance of success.”

“Is it really like that?”

“My bet is he’s being dragged away while trying to dominate it.”

There is no need to know where… If he was alive, he would have informed us through the Auction House.

Just then, Yoohyeon opened his mouth.

“Geom-in just posted in the Auction House. Looks like he’s crossed the sea.”

When I checked the comment section, there were dozens of seemingly urgent comments.

-Seongho, I’m being dragged by a gryphon!!!!

-As for the situation, uh… A gryphon appeared in the middle of the night and I tried to dominate it, but it failed.

-So the gryphon flew into the sky, and I was taken by it because I didn’t have the physical strengthening unique skill on the active skill slot.

Seokhyun tilted his head. “Couldn’t he just use the blink to get away?”

“Looks like it went up too fast. His blink has no additional effect, so its range is very short.”

“There’s a resurrection scroll as well. He should just kill himself.”

“Uh… here’s his excuse. He didn’t use it because he didn’t want to waste something Seongho got with great difficulty…”

Seokhyun and Da-jeong looked at me at the same time.

I said helplessly.

“Am I such a petty bastard in his eyes? Do I look like the kind of person who won’t use a consumable item in order to save his friend?”

“Eung.”

“Well…”

I have nothing to say since both of them looked like that.

Anyway, with the comment, we have made sure that Geom-in was still alive and kicking. But, just where in the world he is right now… From what he wrote, he was accompanied by a scarab. So it should be easy to determine his current location.

Yoohyeon brought the map of the Lotus Continent that was drawn by Captain Scarab.

“He should be somewhere around here.” Yoohyeon pointed at the land across the sea. That’s the very Island that I thought was about 60 km from this place.

Captain Scarab turned over the sketchbook and drew a new picture. It seemed that he’s a bit embarrassed, considering everyone had gathered to watch what he’s doing.

“Are you drawing a ruin?”

“Is it the scarab’s house?”

“It’s not scarab’s, it’s a dwarf’s, a dwarf that lives underground.”

What Captain Scarab drew was an entrance to a huge ruin nestled on a cliff on the shore. According to the guy’s gesture, they didn’t make it themselves, but they just used it.

From their previous information, it was said that there were such settlements all over the Lotus Continent. Now that one of its locations had been confirmed, the first thing to do was to inform Geom-in.

-Geom-in, do you see an entrance to a ruin around there?

As soon as my comment entered the comment section, a comment was posted.

-Who is it? Is that you, Seongho?

-Yeah. By the way, why didn’t you use the resurrection scroll?

-It was a bit difficult for me to use that. After all, you had worked very hard just to obtain one.

This guy just makes my heart warm…

Anyway, I wanted to rescue him right away, but there was no way for me to do so. Though, If it’s really needed, we can go with Mi-kyung’s Blink.

At that time, Captain Scarab painted what looked like a bunch of treasures inside the ruin.

“There’s treasures in there?” I asked.

nod nod.

It was once used as a residence, so there must be many household items, ore, and items used by the dwarves lying there. Now that the owner is gone, they say we could take them all.

“I just saw his eyes glistened with greed…” Da-jeong smirked.

“At that moment, Seongho decided. He will drive Geom-in to the dangerous ruin, even with a heavy heart, for the prize was far too worth jr.” Seokhyun added.

Don’t use such weird narration!

I ignored Seokhyun and Da-jeong and entered another comment.

-Geom-in. What you need to know is, we can’t go get you right now. Dajeong doesn’t have a gryphon under her control just yet.

-I know.

-For now, I’ll pack the things you need in your dimensional backpack, so buy it when I put it up. If you have time, do some exploration on the ruins. There are many good things scattered in there.

-Uh, is that so? I think I can explore the ruins if I have a gun.

-I’ll send you some. In the meantime, we will go to Japan and look for a gryphon. hold on until then.

-Okay. I’ll be exploring the ruins, then. I came all the way here, so I need to bring something with me, at the very least.

It seems that the situation was not that bad when you look at his words. People were relieved, and I packed some tents, blankets, sleeping bags, food and any other items necessary for his survival into Geom-in’s dimensional backpack.

The size of the dimensional backpack was quite large, around the size of an SUV. But since the entry point was small, nothing too large could be put inside. Only after I packed a few guns and live ammunition, nothing could enter anymore. Food and water were packed to make him last for at least two weeks, so there should be no problem.

“I also have to pack something for the scarab.”

As soon as I put the backpack on the Auction House, it disappeared.

-Thank you. I’ll use it well.

-If you need anything, just tell me. I will check this comment section often.

-I think this is enough.

Geom-in went to explore dangerous ruins with the scarab. Although not alone, the scarab wasn’t someone whose combat prowess could be counted on, so he would have to actually get through all the hurdles he found alone.

I’m a little worried… but he should be fine.

After all, that guy was also one of the four original stagnant waters.

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Me, Seokhyun, and Yuzuka decided to go to Tokyo through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. Da-jeong decided to just stay in the Shelter and come out only when we found a gryphon.

According to Yuzuka’s explanation, there were tens of thousands of zombies and ghouls at Ikebukuro Station in the northwestern part of Tokyo. And that place was the very place we were going to arrive using our current path.

“Wouldn’t a zombie raid happen if we went there? Yuzuka is worried.”

“We’ll be fine with this.”

I held out the totem and she touched it in amazement.

“This is?”

“It’s a raid totem. With this, there will be no zombie raids around.”

“I see. It’s amazing stuff.”

It seemed that she wanted it because her eyes were sparkling. But, realizing her own weakness, she bowed her head. After all, if she tried to steal it from me, she’ll be able to chase away zombies and monsters, but something far more horrifying would be hunting her.

Anyway, we continue to head towards the entrance leading to Tokyo. There were several battles along the way, but all were resolved by Seokhyun. In front of his stamina and strength, the monsters on the first floor fall like autumn leaves hit by a gale.

Yuzuka saw it and she said to me, “It’s not the first time I’ve witnessed a fight, but he fights like something inhuman…”

“Even if he looked like that, he’s still a human.”

“is that so…”

Actually, I also couldn’t tell for sure.

Anyway, thanks to Seokhyun, we were able to comfortably roam the first floor. Occasionally, the survivors we encountered ran away in panic at the sight of his rabbit headband.

But the problem was outside, not inside. It was because most of the battle royale battlefields in Japan were not finished yet, unlike in Korea. When I asked Yuzuka about the matter, she only shook her head.

“The information about Japan coming through the Great Labyrinth was so vague that Yuzuka can’t be sure. The only thing Yuzuka know is that there are a lot of murderers roaming around. Sorry…”

“No, no. It’s okay.”

It’s natural that you don’t know, so what are you sorry for?

Seokhyun, who was at the forefront of destroying monsters, changed his gloves at that moment.

“Then the moment we crossed over, the ‘Shackles of War’ debuff will be applied to us?”

“Maybe? After all, Ikebukuro is said to be the second busiest street in Japan. On top of that, they don’t know much about the Battle Royale event, so they shouldn’t have made any preparations for it.”

The most headache-inducing thing was the fact that we can’t use items, unique skill, and skills that we have. Well, in my case, a portal and a gun was enough. So, it didn’t really bother me.

I told both of them.

“As soon as we go outside, our abilities will be blocked. But we can just come back here, so there’s no need to clear it. All we need to do is find a couple gryphons and we’re done.”

“That means we really need the gryphon to be there…”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not in Japan. The entrance to Russia was also found just recently.”

Even at this moment, the survivors of the Seoul area were scouring through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth to find more entrance.

My shelter member had gone down to the 7th floor, but the first floor was difficult enough for most people. On top of it, it was extremely chaotic, as a lot of foreigners came in and clashed with each other.

Well, I don’t have to worry about that, as Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok would surely take care of it.

We started looking for the entrance to Tokyo. A few people in ragged clothings saw us and were startled before disappearing.

Yuzuka whispered to me.

“They are Japanese.”

“It means the entrance is getting closer. Perhaps the people there know that it is okay to enter the Great Labyrinth.”

But before we go, there’s something to check.

“Seokhyun, bring just one person here if you can. And don’t hit them, please.”

“Okay.”

Seeing something white in the dark, Seokhyun immediately ran out. A moment later, a young man was dragged towards us, screaming.

“Sa-save me! I-It’s a Monster! I won’t do it anymore!!! PLEASE!”

“You speak like a Japanese person.”

“But…I am?”

“Is that so? I’m sorry, but I’m not a monster.”

“T-then…?”

“I am the loveable Rabbit Pwincess!”

Yuzuka asked me whether Seokhyun was serious with his words with her eyes. I pretended not to know her gaze and told the man.

“I’m sorry that we caught you all of a sudden. Eat this first…”

His eyes widened as I pulled out a canned food and a water bottle from my backpack.

“You just have to eat and talk. Ike…”

“I would like to know the detailed situation of Ikebukuro Station.”

“…”

The man took turns looking at me and Yuzuka, then picked the canned food and ate it in haste. The spam disappeared in an instant, and the man burped only after gulping a lot of the water.

“Haha, I lived… Are you really curious about the situation at Ikebukuro Station? It’s hell there. No one survives.”

“What exactly is the situation?”

He swallowed dry saliva.

“Thousands of monsters gathered in front of the entrance. There was also a mix of people and Monsters there. Heartbeat… I can hear a lot of heartbeats there.”

It seemed like in Japan, they called murderer a Monster. In fact, with the terror-inducing heartbeat sounds around, it could be said that a murderer gives a more threatening feeling than a real monster.

What’s strange was the fact that the murderers had come together.

“The Monster Alliance… They are wandering around. Ikebukuro and all the neighboring areas were their territory.”

Well… Soon they would lose that so-called ‘Territory’.

After we let the man go, we finally found the entrance. I wanted to leave right away, but I felt a little reluctant to be attacked. So, I thought it would be better to use a paper airplane here.

I asked Yeowool to bring a paper airplane.

“What is that cute plane?”

“It will be our eyes and ears.”

When the plane flew, Yeowool informed the situation in Tokyo in the comment. It’s more chaotic than what I’d been told.

If so, there’s only one way to do this.

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The front of Parco Department Store at Ikebukuro Station was one of the most popular shopping areas in Tokyo. However, at the present, this area was crowded with many zombies, ghouls, and Monsters.

The Battle Royale event started, but no one knew why it happened or how it ended. Thus, a very small number of survivors survived day by day by hiding and avoiding.

Even if they tried to hunt properly, there were too many monsters, so they couldn’t get their hands on it. As a result, the survivors around Ikebukuro Station were living off the Store bread and rainwater.

But suddenly, a ray of light came down from the sky. There was a huge blue portal on the road right in front of Parco Department Store. A few people made a sacrifice by entering, and the news they brought was astonishing: The ‘Shackles of War’ debuff were not applied inside.

Many survivors jumped into the blue gate, but they faced new challenges. It was too dark to move around. When the reinforced monsters and traps were added on top of it, a lot of people died helplessly.

In other words, whether in reality or inside the portal, the danger was the same.

Still, people did not hesitate to enter the door. The high level of experience given by monsters and the large number of item drops was one of the reasons. But being able to meet people from other countries was the biggest reason.

Among them, there were many Koreans. Some survivors who met them posted on the Auction House.

-The Koreans said this place was called The Great Labyrinth. It was unknown how many floors there are, but the one we entered is the first floor. Its difficulty is also said to be the lowest.

-Bullshit. It’s the characteristic of that country.

-It looked like they were too well prepared for it to be a lie… Their clothes and weapons are great.

-They prepared for the end by themselves, after all. Of course they would be prepared.

-They also use guns, so they must have known about the end in advance.

-Anyway, those Joseon bastards are the root of evil.

-Don’t be like that. They are still kind enough to give us something to eat.

-What the? Are you throwing your patriotism for mere food!?!?

Being anonymous in the Auction House, all kinds of hate speech were flung around. Amidst that, some people were wary of the Koreans’ power.

-They are quite strong… Most of them seemed to be over level 20.

-It should be a lie, right? We don’t even have someone over level 15.

-Rumor has it that someone even has achieved level 40.

-Do you believe that? Are you an idiot?

-I heard that a guy named I Love Gimbap is particularly strong.

-No matter how strong he is, if he gets caught by the Monster Alliance in Tokyo, it’s over.

-They’re pretty strong, but they are evil.

-Yeah, they are playing with other people’s lives.

-Emergency! An incident occurred in front of PARCO!

-People who are nearby, go check it out. Though, I bet it was just the usual things.

While most people did not take it seriously, Seongho used firecrackers to attract the attention of all the monsters around and quietly moved to a nearby building.

Of course, his path was not completely hidden. A few Monsters who were watching the door moved quietly. And the hunters chasing after them moved with them.