Chapter 73

Chapter 72: Base Defense (1)

The sudden announcement of the 4th floor assault sent the entire world into an uproar.

“What, what the hell is this!?”

“Starting right now? Are you serious about this?”

“Crazy! Gather all the rankers immediately! It’s an emergency. Tell everyone to stop what they’re doing and come!”

“Do we have the list of potential bases? Bring it! And all the 4th floor data we’ve collected so far!”

The officers of large guilds were shouting frantically.

It was common knowledge that in the Wave system, one had to secure a well-located base among the many available.

To make the most of this one-time opportunity, every second counted.

They had to lead their attack teams to the 4th floor in just 8 hours.

Moreover, they had to plan everything out in the remaining time on how to assault the 4th floor.

Meanwhile, as everyone was scrambling through the night,

“Ugh!”

Jinhyuk stretched and got up from the soft bed.

Creak!

Creak!

His joints found their place.

He felt incredibly refreshed.

It was as if he had been reborn.

‘All the fatigue from the past seems to have vanished in one go.’

To engage in a new battle, one needed the physical strength to back it up.

Of course.

The others wouldn’t be in the same condition.

‘They’ll be in the worst condition possible.’

Thanks to the deliberate late announcement, they would have spent the night racking their tired brains, both physically and mentally exhausted.

But what could he do?

This wasn’t a sport played in a stadium.

There was no reason to play fair with the competition.

The 4th floor was structured such that the fewer the competitors, the greater the rewards.

[Time remaining before the first wave arrives: 1h:37m:51s]

It was time to head to the 4th floor.

＊ ＊ ＊

The 4th floor of the Tower of Trials.

This place was the first major hurdle that caused many players to quit the game in the past.

It was inevitable.

Waves of 100 attacks, consisting of regular and special zombies, required the strategic placement of thousands of combinations of defense towers, as well as the means to sustain oneself within the base.

Most importantly, if no player cleared the 100 waves, the entire game would reset, a penalty so severe that the game’s internal environment was a hell of user dropouts and curses.

It wasn’t for nothing that the Tower of Trials was called a "failed game."

And right now.

Whoosh!

A player appeared at the entrance of the 4th floor, accompanied by a bright light.

‘This place always feels eerie, no matter when I see it.’

Jinhyuk looked around.

In keeping with the zombie theme, the 4th floor exuded an apocalyptic atmosphere.

Dark buildings, abandoned cars, and streets where civilization had completely disappeared.

It was impossible not to feel a sense of melancholy.

Perhaps this scene was a mirror reflecting the future of humanity.

At that moment.

Ding!

A status window appeared before his eyes.

[You have entered the 4th floor of the Tower of Trials for the first time.]

[Other players will be able to enter the 4th floor 20 minutes from now.]

The 20-minute special privilege for being the first to clear the 3rd floor.

This would be the decisive time for the success or failure of this floor.

‘I need to hurry.’

Jinhyuk started running north.

However, the path was so treacherous that he couldn’t gain much speed.

Potholes where the road had disappeared.

Walls blocked by tree vines.

Obstacles were abundant.

‘Faster… even faster!’

Jinhyuk adjusted his breathing and increased his speed.

There was less than 10 minutes left.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Using ‘Sword’s Grave’ to cut through obstacles and ‘Glacial Formation’ to repair the broken ground, how far did he run?

Finally, Jinhyuk’s steps came to a halt.

He had arrived at a massive World Cup stadium.

‘I’m not late, thankfully.’

To secure the desired base before other players entered, he had to move quickly, no matter how difficult it was.

Some players had acceleration abilities or spatial movement abilities.

‘Where should I place it…’

He found it.

Jinhyuk placed his palm on one of the pillars at the stadium entrance.

At that moment.

[Using the ‘Priority Base Designation Right’!]

[‘Sangam World Cup Stadium’ has been selected as your base!]

A red flag rose above the World Cup stadium.

This was a warning.

‘The owner of this place is already determined, so look elsewhere.’

‘Good.’

Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction and entered the stadium.

The green grass field where 22 players once sweated and competed was gone.

Instead, it was filled with dry soil and dust.

Precisely.

‘Just the conditions I wanted.’

Soil and dust.

Symbols of the end of life, but also

symbols hinting at the birth of new life.

[Scattering 1kg of ‘Soft Seeds’.]

[Planting 5 ‘Seeds of Solar’.]

[Preparing 50L of ‘Natural Water’.]

Jinhyuk took out the rewards he had obtained from processing the soulless.

The seeds and grains entering the soil.

Among the countless defense options available on the 4th floor, Jinhyuk chose ‘plants’.

‘I’ll place one plant at each entrance of the stadium and the last one in the center.’

[Time remaining until ‘Seeds of Solar’ hatch: 55m:33s]

[Time remaining until ‘Soft Seeds’ hatch: 5h:19m:10s]

When the first wave of zombies arrived, these plants would serve as excellent barriers to defend the base.

The grains would soon sprout as well.

At that moment.

Ding! Ding!

Blue status windows appeared one after another before his eyes.

[Bro, I contacted you because you said to let you know when I come to the 4th floor. Taemin is with me too.]

[Jinhyuk, I’ve arrived. Is this the entrance to the 4th floor?]

Yunwha, Taemin, and Teresa, the Saint of Amsterdam, had all contacted him.

“The plants, grow well. I’ll be back soon.”

Jinhyuk sprinkled ‘Natural Water’ generously over the newly planted seeds.

[The growth rate of the plants has increased by 20%!]

＊ ＊ ＊

About 10 minutes later, Jinhyuk arrived back at the starting point.

The 4th floor starting point was crowded with numerous players.

‘Most of the famous large guilds are participating.’

Despite the tight schedule, a huge number of people had gathered.

The rewards must be quite tempting.

After all.

The opportunity to choose an A-grade random box doesn’t come around often.

Even those who had quit the Tower of Trials early on would have researched that A-grade items are in the top 5%.

And the items that come out of these boxes would influence their future actions.

While Jinhyuk was scanning the players,

“Bro!”

“Bro!”

Yunwha and Taemin waved when they spotted Jinhyuk.

“Jinhyuk!”

The platinum-haired girl, Teresa, also smiled brightly.

Yunwha had met him yesterday, but the other two hadn’t seen him in a long time.

“I’m sorry for calling you all so suddenly. Things moved faster than I expected, and I didn’t have time to explain.”

“No, it’s fine. If you called, I had to come.”

“I’m not affiliated with any group now, so it’s fine. I also prefer being with Jinhyuk.”

Hmm…

Their words made him feel a bit guilty.

He planned to use all three of them as excellent workers (?) from now on.

A malicious boss who violates labor laws and diligent part-time workers.

This was the ideal position Jinhyuk aimed for.

“Look at that. It’s Yunwha and Taemin. They cleared a B-grade maze on the 2nd floor by themselves, right?”

“Teresa… is also here. She said she left the council, but did she join this group?”

“It’s Jinho Jin, the player, right? The super-special new holy figure from Korea.”

“Is that Jinho Jin? I heard his mana value during the reawakening broke the meter.”

“Yeah. They say it was much higher than other S-grade players. The need to further categorize the grades came up because of him.”

“Not just him, but there seem to be many large new players recently.”

“Though few in number, they are terrifying members. They might be stronger than an average attack team.”

Since these were such notable figures, the attention was focused on them.

Of course, Jinhyuk wasn’t the type to care about such attention.

“Did you all prepare well?”

“We did prepare thoroughly, but more importantly, bro, will we be okay with just us?”

“Huh?”

“There are so many zombies in the waves, it’s nauseating.”

Yunwha shivered.

The memories of the past, filled with blood and gore, came back to her.

“I can summon creatures, but my level is still low, so it’s difficult. Especially the waves of deformed zombies are hard to withstand.”

Taemin added.

Even for veterans, facing waves without proper preparation was a burden.

But.

“Isn’t that more exciting?”

Jinhyuk’s face was filled with an innocent smile.

As if the prospect of experiencing a higher difficulty level was making him ecstatic.

“Exciting? Bro, this isn’t a game. If a zombie bites you here, you really die.”

“Ha. You still haven’t changed, bro. Isn’t that self-abuse?”

“Jinhyuk… you’re a pervert.”

The three of them sighed softly.

If they were already feeling so defeated, what would happen?

“I deliberately chose the stadium as our base.”

“Huh!? The stadium? Sangam Stadium? Please tell me it’s not.”

“It is.”

“Bro, are you crazy? That’s the toughest base! You need at least 100 people to defend it.”

He knew.

It was also the place with the most substantial rewards.

“Still, you’ve all been to the 20th floor. Don’t complain so much. You know that gathering as many fortuitous events as possible in the early stages makes the journey easier as you go up.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Ugh! I don’t know. Only you can do it, bro. It’s too difficult for us.”

Not all veterans are the same.

Some are like stagnant water, and some are like oil and fossils on top.

Yunwha and Taemin had unfortunately teamed up with the most stubborn ammonites.

While the two were pulling their hair out.

“Jinhyuk, can I ask one more thing?”

Teresa, who had been silent, raised her hand.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“To my knowledge, a minimum number of people is required to perform this defense, and we seem to be short.”

“Hmm? Now that you mention it…”

“You’re right. I was so focused on the stadium that I didn’t think about that.”

Yunwha and Taemin also replied in surprise.

The minimum number of people required for this floor was 5.

However, only four were gathered.

Another person was needed to proceed with the base defense.

“The last person will be here soon.”

Jinhyuk spoke as if to reassure them.

And just then.

Boom!

A loud noise came from a little distance away.

‘Tsk tsk.’

He’s just the type who can’t enter quietly.