Chapter 97

 

Normally, someone would have cracked a joke by now, but the old castle was eerily silent. Only the groans of monsters echoed from outside.

 

Red sky. Cold air. Swirling snowflakes. The last day.

 

There wasn’t a single person here with the nerves of steel to remain calm in the face of death. Instead, there were only frightened individuals, their eyes darting around and sweat dripping from every pore.

 

In retrospect, it’s understandable. This place was only four floors high, and most people were still inexperienced. If it weren’t for the strong individuals holding the center, it wouldn’t have been surprising if panic had led to total annihilation by the third day.

 

- “Ah, can you hear me? This is Yoon Jung-hyun.”

 

The communication magic tool rang at just the right moment.

 

“I hear you.”

 

- “The preparations in the basement are mostly complete. Now... we just have to do our best.”

 

After each room was assigned, I gave people the autonomy to choose their spots, resulting in players splitting into two large groups.

 

First, those who settled in the basement. This group included that man, Ryutaro, who had learned that hiding in the basement kept the monsters at bay.

 

But as this fact spread, the number of people in the basement grew, and it was uncertain if it would remain safe. Yoon Jung-hyun volunteered to head to the basement to prepare for any situation.

 

And second, those who settled on the third floor. Their placement was obvious; they all positioned themselves near the stairs leading up to the fourth floor. William Smith, the man with glasses, and Baek Da Hye were part of this group.

 

They believed I would help them if necessary. And indeed, I planned to assist them if I could.

 

“...Hey, in this mess, how are the others surviving on the fourth floor? My acquaintance came out fine...”

 

“Your voice is echoing. Shut up.”

 

Another player’s voice echoed in the hallway. Honestly, I had the same question. Why was this so difficult? Given our situation, how were others on the fourth floor surviving?

 

“Monsters have entered.”

 

My thoughts were interrupted by Sir Thomas. It seemed the monsters had finally breached the first floor of the castle.

 

We waited for about two minutes.

 

“...Their speed is slower than I thought.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

- “Some monsters have made it to the basement, but there aren’t many.”

 

No monsters had reached my position yet.

 

The flow of monsters was much slower compared to yesterday when we defended the first floor. The narrow passageways and the sheer number of monsters created a bottleneck.

 

Previously, I had described a horde of monsters as being like liquid or waves, but in these narrow passages, it was different. They pushed in slowly, like thick soup.

 

“It looks like the other rooms on the third floor can hold out as well.”

 

Moreover, the primary target of the monsters seemed to be the group of otherworldly humans.

​

As the number of monsters was immense, a few did break off from the horde and tried to squeeze into small rooms, but the vast majority kept pushing towards the fourth floor. This meant less pressure on the others.

 

“How’s the situation in the basement?”

 

- “It’s manageable. There are some monsters, but it’s a level we can handle.”

 

The basement seemed to be holding up well. Since most of the monsters were heading to the fourth floor, the burden on the basement was significantly less. Those who went to the basement got lucky.

 

However, all of this hinges on one assumption: that I can fend off all the monsters entering this castle.

 

“Are the swords ready? We’ll need dozens.”

 

“They’ve been sharpened all day. They’ll be the sharpest you’ve ever used.”

 

I couldn’t say I was confident, but I’d do my best.

 

Thanks to Baron Jorge’s mana, my body felt lighter than ever. Although my mind was weary, it was still manageable.

 

“They’re coming.”

 

“I feel it too.”

 

I took my stance and looked straight ahead. Monsters were slowly reaching the fourth floor.

 

Leading the charge was that monster cat. It was fast and agile, reaching the fourth floor quickly.

 

“Hissss!”

 

“Hup!”

 

The cat leapt directly at me. Before it got too close, I thrust my sword forward, piercing its forehead. With a final screech, it vanished into a burst of light.

 

“Raaaagh!”

 

But before the light even faded, an orc with a large shield charged at me, relying on its sheer bulk.

 

Bang!

 

Slash!

 

I kicked the lower part of the shield with my heel, throwing it off balance, and then slashed at its exposed head. This method was efficient and spared the blade from too much damage.

 

More monsters kept coming, but I managed to fend them off without much difficulty. As the monsters grew stronger, so did I. The number of monsters I’ve killed over the past two days was countless. My swordsmanship evolved, allowing me to kill more efficiently.

 

“Sword.”

 

“Here it is!”

 

At my command, a man waiting behind me tossed a sword. I couldn’t see it due to the angle, but my sharpened senses told me where it was.

 

I swapped swords in an instant and slashed at the monster in front of me. Horizontal parry. Then a diagonal Slash. Another one was down.

 

A quick glance at the status screen showed that about four hours remained. Based on experience, surviving the next three hours meant we would make it.

 

“How’s the basement?”

 

- “No issues.”

 

- “The third floor has some injuries, but everyone’s fine.”

 

It seemed other rooms were also fending off the monsters well. Since they just had to defend the narrow entrances of their rooms, the difficulty was significantly lower. Last night’s disaster was due to a surprise attack from behind, not a lack of skill. With a solid formation, defense was expected.

 

“It’s going well.”

 

Just when I thought we might get through this smoothly-

 

“Jun-ho, Jun-ho!”

 

“What’s happening?”

​

Baron Jorge’s trembling voice echoed from behind me. I couldn’t turn to look, as I was in the midst of battle, but his desperate tone sent chills down my spine.

 

“We need to break through, forward!”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“I see winged monsters! The fourth floor is no longer safe! They’re fast! We need to push forward!”

 

“Shit, what?”

 

Winged monsters? In this situation?

 

The fourth floor had holes in the walls and the ceiling had been torn off long ago. If monsters came from the sky... the otherworlders wouldn’t stand a chance.

 

But breaking through forward? Holding our ground and pushing forward were entirely different matters. The horde of monsters was coming straight at me. It would be as difficult as swimming upstream against a waterfall.

 

“Shit, shit...”

 

It felt absurd, like these monsters were tailored to our weaknesses. But we had no choice. If we stayed put, we would be slaughtered.

 

“Players on the third floor! Can you hear me?”

 

I gripped my sword tightly and widened my eyes. Even if I could cut down three monsters with one swing, it wouldn’t be enough. I needed help.

 

“We need to break through to the second floor! I’ll lead the way! Help me! Just disrupting their flow will be enough!”

 

The third floor was already occupied by players. We needed to drive the otherworlders to the empty second floor.

 

Fortunately, the stairs to the second floor were close. The problem was that monsters were already swarming up from there.

 

“If we can just break through, we can manage! We can block the monsters from other paths with magic tools! Please help!”

 

As we broke through to the second floor, we could block the remaining paths with magic tools. The duration of these tools was less than ten minutes, but ten minutes would be enough as a temporary measure.

 

The plan was hasty, but it was the best I could come up with in such an urgent situation.

 

“Get out here, quickly!”

 

Slash, slash, slash again. A minute passed, and I had barely moved five steps forward. I desperately needed help.

 

“Sorry! We’re struggling too!”

 

“We’re exhausted! We can’t help!”

 

The only sounds echoing in the hallway were cries of desperation, not people coming to assist.

 

“We’ll try to push through as quickly as possible!”

 

At least the room William Smith was in seemed to be fighting hard, but their progress was painfully slow. It would take a long time for them to join us.

 

“Damn it, seriously!”

 

Just as I was about to lose my temper-

 

“Ahhhhh!”

 

“Screeeech!”

 

“Help, please help!”

 

“Don’t panic! Jun-ho will clear a path soon! Hold your weapons! Just hold on as long as you can!”

 

Screams and the clanging of metal rang out from behind me. The flapping of wings grew louder.

 

I felt my strength slowly draining away. The influence of my ‘Hero’ trait was weakening. I knew what that meant.

 

“Shit, shit, shit...”

 

People were dying, right behind me.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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