Chapter 25 : Apocalypse (7)

It was getting really late, and perhaps due to the intense concentration, my head was starting to ache.
I was just about to wrap things up, keeping tomorrow’s work in mind, when a message popped up.

[ArcherShowoff donated 100 Candies!]
– One last thing. Take that elevator to the 60th floor. That’s the boss room. Let’s finish it there.

Since I was about to end the stream after getting bitten by a zombie anyway, fighting the final boss didn’t sound like a bad way to go out.
If I lose, I can just do it tomorrow. If I win, it’s instant YouTube highlight material.
I was about to give up on MissionGirl’s mission and log off, but another mission came in at the perfect time.

“You want to follow me to the elevator? I’m on my way to fight your boss.”

I couldn’t tell if they understood me, but I couldn’t just ignore them when they were following me, especially since they kept self-destructing. It was unsettling.
Wait, if they’re going to self-destruct anyway, maybe I can send them to the boss?

“How much damage do these guys do when they explode?”

– Grenade level.
– Normally, self-destruct is a late-game skill.
– It’s funny how you’re skipping all the other special zombies and going straight to the boss. The Musclehead Zombie and Nurse Zombie are fun.
– The boss is weaker than the tutorial mutant, though…

“Though?”

– Go and find out, FingerPrince~~

“Are you crazy? You’re blocked, pal.”

They were probably just baiting me for a reaction, dangling information like that. So, I gave them a light one-day ban.

It’s good for the stream’s entertainment value, right?
She probably wanted this kind of ending anyway. Definitely.

Anyway, everyone boarded the elevator, and I pressed the button for the top floor, the 60th.
According to the chat, it usually doesn’t work, but this particular elevator does. That’s why you have to come all the way here at the end.

“You could’ve told me not to open that door if you knew. I still have a bad feeling about this. Don’t you?”

I spoke to the person who had just become a zombie because of the earlier incident. They just met my eyes, and then exploded.
I’m wearing a helmet, how did they even know I was looking at them?

– I’d kill myself too if a guy in a blood-stained priest’s robe talked to me.
– My mom says she’s never met a man in her life, am I going to be okay?
– We have a virtual WooSeok!

The elevator started to ascend, and an advertisement played on the broken monitor along with some upbeat music.
[With a total height of 249.6m, the 63 Building’s topping-out ceremony was held on November 5, 1983…]

“What? This is Korea?”

– Yep, you can see Lotte Tower outside, too.
– When this game came out, there were all sorts of rumors about a secret base under the 63 Building.
– I could see my house and tried to go there, but you can’t leave the building.

“Why Korea, of all places? It’s a global game.”

Ding–.

The elevator was faster than I expected. We didn’t get to talk much before we arrived at the rooftop. The timing of the door opening and the donation message was perfect.

[JumpBombx3 donated 100 Candies!]
– As soon as the door opens, an Assassin Zombie rushes you. Super fast, and self-destructs even if you don’t kill it. You die here, it’s game over, lol. Good luck.

“You could’ve told me sooner!!”

At that moment, I saw a figure rushing towards me from the gap in the opening door.
Unlike the other zombies, this one seemed capable of running. Humanoid in form, but with four legs instead of two. Its face was remarkably well-preserved.

– That one’s done for.
– Yep, I see the blush.

The problem was that it turned away the moment our eyes met.
The so-called Assassin Zombie, upon making eye contact with me, swerved so sharply that it crashed into the railing and plummeted to the ground. The sound of shattering glass followed its fall. It looked pretty painful, but not my problem….

“I heard the boss is weird, but that’s not the boss, is it?”

– Nope. The boss is just a big blob of fat.
– But it can control all the other zombies.
– Keep going forward, past the water tank, and you’ll see it.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, more Assassin Zombies came rushing at me, just like before. Of course, they followed the same pattern as the previous one, either falling or ending up behind me.

The smug expressions of the zombies that had been following me from earlier were annoying. Like they were some kind of seniors, gesturing for me to follow them.

“These guys are zombies, right?”

– The way they’re acting, they’re practically human, lol.
– Just saw one of the assassins throw another one off. LOL.
– When did this turn into a strategic party game? Gathering minions to take on the boss, lol.
– I took it down with Joanna, just the two of us.

The zombies that followed exhibited similar behavior. The two-headed zombie bit itself, while the four-armed zombies joined my group. The faceless zombie with the centipede body was conveniently taken care of by an Assassin Zombie.

“I’m sure each of these zombies is supposed to have its own specific strategy.”

Each type of zombie had what appeared to be a weak point, presumably for strategic exploitation, but they all disappeared before I even had to lift a finger. Somehow, I managed to arrive before the boss without a scratch and with an increased number of allies.

Just as the chat had described, the boss zombie, covered in layers of fat, didn’t look particularly special.
Just sitting there on a throne made of regular zombies, looking down at everything.

Still, it being the boss and all, the zombies around it didn’t approach me. Though it was surprising to see them look back and forth between the boss and me, seemingly in contemplation.

The surroundings were ablaze, fitting for a post-apocalyptic setting, and the number of zombies kept increasing. It was supposed to be a confined space, but how were there so many zombies?

The sounds the zombies made, their tongues or jaws missing, were unsettling. I wanted to end the fight quickly. Their grotesque appearances were bad enough, but the auditory assault was just adding insult to injury.

I finally aimed my bow at it, igniting the arrow with a flame. Being a lump of fat, it should burn nicely.

“That thing looks weak to fire. It was probably an unfilial daughter in its past life.”

– Some say it was a guy.
– If it was a woman, it wouldn’t cover its chest like that, lol.
– What woman would die and cover her chest like that, lol.

You think real-life men look like that…?
A certain group from the original world flashed through my mind. I shook my head violently and released the string.
I was truly, deeply grateful that my father hadn’t turned into something like that.

The trajectory of the flaming arrow was beautiful, even to my own eyes. Flickering like a will-o’-the-wisp, it struck the boss zombie’s left eye.

A horrific scream and roar signaled the start of the battle. The horde of diverse zombies surrounding the boss charged towards me, and simultaneously, the zombies behind me surged forward.

– This zombie battle is like something out of a movie.

– You’re fighting way too comfortably. Back in my day, I used Joanna as bait to pick them off one by one before taking on the boss.
– You were friends! You said you were friends!!

Since the boss stage was just the rooftop of the 63 Building, more often than not, the casualties were from falling off. I hadn’t been able to land a solid hit since my first arrow, forced to continue the fight in this chaotic melee.

“I should’ve taken them down one by one like you said! There are too many of them!!”

A massive zombie that had appeared mid-battle was deflecting all attacks with her enormous chest, steadily advancing. Every step she took shook all the other zombies, and the wind changed direction with every swing of her fist.
The fire from my first arrow was still tormenting the boss zombie, which was good, but I had no means of dealing with this giant zombie.

She was now just a few steps away. Behind me was the edge of the rooftop, and in front, this wall of flesh.

Could I break through?

– You’re supposed to kill it with fire damage over time.
– I don’t understand what they were thinking when they designed this.
– I get that you’re not supposed to be able to beat the tutorial mutant, but this one is just ridiculous.

I only had seven arrows left. I had to settle everything within those seven shots.