Chapter 5

5====================

System

His brows furrowed.

It was a message that one would only see in a game. It talked about a status window and a skill window, as if this reality had become a game.

"Status window."

Following the message, a new semi-transparent window smoothly appeared when he experimentally uttered the command. He instinctively took a step back, but there were no adverse effects.

***********************************

Han Sehyun / No Job / Human

Level: 1

*Titles

None

*Stats

Sturdiness: 10

Agility: 10

Mental Strength: 10

Magic Power: 10

Affinity: 10

– Remaining Stat Points: 0

*Skills

None

***********************************

He clenched his left hand and drew up his inner energy while carefully examining the numbers.

There was nothing wrong with his strength, inner energy, or the way his body felt. Instead, he could faintly sense a slight increase in his physical strength and inner energy.

It seemed that the values in this status window did not represent his current state but rather additional bonus values added to his existing ones.

Of course, that was only if Sehyun could accept the current situation.

He stared at the status window for a long time, falling into silence.

Hyejin also became serious and watched him carefully.

Even though she was clearly the older sister, Hyejin found it difficult to treat Sehyun as she used to after he returned from being missing for a week.

It was probably due to the current atmosphere. If Sehyun had not acted so normally, she might have felt like he was a completely different person.

"What's going on?"

"Ah."

Sehyun snapped out of his daze at her cautious question.

"Something strange is happening. So... no, let me explain."

Suddenly, he extended the handle of the Blue Moon sword toward Hyejin.

"......?"

"Try holding it, sister."

"What, what for?"

"Zombie."

"How am I supposed to catch it?"

"Don't worry, I'll help you. You just need to hold and swing this sword."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute!"

He forcibly handed the Blue Moon to Hyejin and started moving, pulling the flustered girl along.

Their direction was toward the outermost building of the apartment complex they had initially targeted.

From Sehyun's house, this building partially blocked the view. Since there were no other obstacles around the apartment complex, the rooftop of this building would allow them to see a wider and more distant area than from his house.

Additionally, they now had a second goal: to identify the nature of this Eredos or whatever it was. Perhaps the appearance of the zombies was due to this bizarre thing. It was a kind of intuition.

Unfortunately for Hyejin, they soon spotted a zombie.

"There it is."

Hyejin turned her head to follow Sehyun's finger and swallowed hard.

"Really?"

"Really. Just go and swing it."

"But what if it attacks me?"

"Don't worry. Hold on a moment."

Sehyun extended his hand toward the zombie, which was crouching in a corner. A flash of light shot out.

However, the zombie did not fall with a pierced shoulder like before. It just stiffened like a piece of wood.

"Does it work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind, that thing won't move now. It's paralyzed. Go and stab its right shoulder. Be careful, it might bleed."

"Really? You really want me to kill it?"

They argued for a while.

It was not easy to persuade Hyejin, who insisted she could not do it, but he eventually managed to convince her.

Still hesitant, Hyejin slowly approached the zombie, holding the sword in front of her as if ready to run away at any moment, her buttocks pulled back. It was a rather awkward and ridiculous sight.

However, Sehyun decided to help her instead of mocking her. In that state, she would not be able to stab it even if she tried.

"I'll help you. Watch closely."

He took Hyejin's hand and the sword handle and approached the zombie. Hyejin was dragged along, saying "Eh, eh, eh" weakly.

When they were two or three steps away from the zombie, Hyejin shuddered at the sight of its terrifying appearance. Sehyun ignored her reaction and helped her get into position.

"Like this, feet here, body straight."

"Hey, hey, wait, wait a moment!"

"I'm helping you."

"No, that's not what I mean...!"

Thud!

Hyejin trembled at the strange sensation transmitted through the sword. The feeling of the blade piercing a human body was much clearer than she had expected.

The zombie, stabbed in its weak point, collapsed without a sound. When the sword was pulled out, it fell limply to the ground.

"Ugh..."

Hyejin, who had never stabbed a person before, groaned.

"Are you okay?"

"…No. I'm not okay at all. I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"Stop being a baby."

Surprisingly, Hyejin quickly regained her composure. Sehyun nodded at the sight.

"Keep doing this."

"But why are you suddenly making me do this?"

"There's a reason. It's faster to experience it yourself than to explain. Just do as I say for now."

"…Ugh, okay."

She could not refuse Sehyun's serious request. She adjusted her grip on the Blue Moon and steeled herself, albeit reluctantly.

Her brother would not make her do something useless. And as an older sister, she did not want to show only a weak and helpless side. Even if it was out of stubbornness, it was fine.

After that, instead of heading directly to the outer building of the apartment complex, they roamed around, hunting hidden zombies.

However, Hyejin did not awaken easily.

Was there a problem with the method, or did each person need a different number of kills to awaken?

Just as he was starting to worry, Hyejin, who was stabbing a paralyzed zombie with the sword, suddenly took a step back in surprise.

"What, what is this?"

"What's wrong?"

"This...? Now, I mean..."

"Can you see something in front of you?"

"Yes! Is this what you were talking about?"

"Right."

It was as expected.

Sehyun explained the content of the 'Eredos System' he had discovered so far. While she read the message and tested the basic functions, he fell into thought.

His sister had also awakened.

This meant he was not crazy. It also meant he was not special.

"Things like job selection are also possible, but let's do that later."

"Sure... I don't really understand what's going on. It all feels like a dream."

Hyejin said this while moving her hand in the air, as if erasing the windows that appeared in front of her.

After a while, they moved again, this time for their original purpose.

@

"Can you see anything?"

"Pretty well."

The view was quite clear. However, the scene was not very hopeful.

Zombies could be seen here and there on the streets. In contrast, there was not a single human in sight. The bloodstains scattered everywhere made it clear what had happened.

That was not all. In the very distance, barely visible, there were military weapons and equipment scattered around. No bodies were visible, but fragments that looked like body parts were. And there were huge footprints on the concrete ground around them.

How heavy must the creature be to leave such footprints?

Judging by the size of the footprints, it must have been larger than most buildings. Fortunately or unfortunately, the creature was not in sight at the moment.

"Can you see that?"

"What is it?"

Hyejin squinted at the direction Sehyun pointed. Of course, she could not see anything.

"Can you see that?"

"It's too far to see. What are you talking about?"

"I think the soldiers are dead. I was wondering if you could see them."

She fell silent.

The thought that even the soldiers had been defeated made her heart sink.

She had never imagined such a surreal disaster would occur. She felt lost about what to do next.

Sehyun was no exception.

He possessed overwhelming power that far exceeded that of a normal human, but he was not omnipotent. If society collapsed, he would be swept away by the rapidly changing environment.

In such times, it was crucial to be cautious in making decisions. At that moment, Hyejin spoke up.

"Let's check out this system first."

"…Okay."

It was a reasonable suggestion. Instead of worrying about the unknown, it was wiser to study the mysterious system that had appeared before them.

They turned on the help menu and began examining the content.

They carefully went through everything, occasionally experimenting with commands to test all the system's functions. During this process, Sehyun discovered information about parties and tested the relevant command.

– Hold hands with the person you want to invite to the party. –

"Sister, hand."

Sehyun said this while extending his hand to Hyejin, who was busy. Hyejin looked at Sehyun and his extended hand and smiled slightly.

She knew what he was thinking. They used to play this kind of game sometimes in the past.

"Hand?"

"I need to test something."

Hyejin obediently placed her hand on his. The same message echoed in both their minds.

– The party has been formed. –

– Experience points from hunting will decrease by 20%, but will be shared and distributed based on contribution. –

– Runes from hunting will decrease by 20%, but will be shared and distributed based on contribution. –

"It's really like a game party."

Hyejin muttered to herself.

She had once briefly enjoyed an RPG. Naturally, she could see that this Eredos System was similar to those in games.

After forming the party, they delved back into studying the Eredos System.

Roar...!

A heavy roar echoed from a distance. Hyejin, startled, lifted her head and looked around. Sehyun closed the system windows he was examining and slowly stood up.

"Don't be too surprised."

"What?"

"Something is coming this way. I'm telling you not to be surprised."

He pointed to one side of the sky. Hyejin followed his gaze and saw a black dot in the sky, frowning.

Of course, it was not a dot. It was getting bigger.

Finally, the vague shape that emerged resembled a pterodactyl. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Shouldn't we run?"

"It already saw us. It probably marked us as prey. If we run, it will chase us."

Hyejin's face turned pale. In contrast, Sehyun slowly drew the Blue Moon from his waist.

"Perfect timing. Watch closely. I'll show you what kind of power I have and what I can do."

============================ Author's Note ============================

I hope you enjoyed it. Please give a thumbs up! (__)

The next chapter will be uploaded shortly.