POARW 03

 Chapter 3

The character, Buster.

A character with no standout abilities and worse starting stats than the others.

Back when people still played No Way Home, posts like this would frequently appear on Yanven.

• Are the idiots who play Buster all masochists?
• It’s a character only ancient veteran freaks who enjoy self-imposed hard mode use.

To casual players, that was exactly how it looked.

The character had no abilities whatsoever, and even its early physical stats were seriously inferior compared to the others.

But if you survived long enough, it became a character with absurd survivability and attack power.

And in an apocalypse world, zombies weren’t the only thing you had to fear.

Especially if the setting was No Way Home.

Conflicts with survivors.

Battles against zombies.

Threats from all kinds of mutants.

At the core of every form of survival lay physical ability.

People always say if you’re stupid, your body suffers.

But conversely, if your body is overwhelmingly powerful, your brain doesn’t have to suffer at all.

“Use points.”

[Would you like to move to the Point Shop?]

“No need. I’m increasing my stats with points.”

[Activating Buster’s ability.]

[100 points are required to increase a stat by 1. Would you still like to proceed?]

“Fifteen each into stamina and agility. Ten into strength.”

[Using 4,000 points to increase Stamina and Agility by 15, and Strength by 10.]

Other characters could only raise their stats through equipment.

But Buster could directly convert points into attributes.

And for someone like me, who had just received 4,000 points for free, Buster was unquestionably the best choice.

“Show me my stat information.”

[Stats: Stamina 20, Strength 15, Agility 20, Skin Toughness 5]

The Skin Toughness stat probably sounded strange.

It wasn’t a stat that other characters even possessed.

Here, Skin Toughness literally referred to the hardness of one’s outer skin.

And in a world where getting bitten by zombies meant infection?

Having hardened skin naturally meant immunity to the zombie virus.

The problem was that unless the stat was raised absurdly high, it couldn’t withstand a zombie’s bite force.

Trying to raise Skin Toughness early on was basically suicide.

I had tested it countless times during the Closed Beta.

At minimum, Skin Toughness needed to reach 110 to resist the bite force of ordinary zombies.

Hearing that, people might think, That’s completely broken!

But all it did was withstand the bite force of regular zombies.

And converting 110 stats into points required a staggering 11,000 points.

The efficiency was horrible.

Armor capable of blocking zombie attacks could already be bought in the Point Shop or crafted through the Maker class.

From a cost-performance standpoint, Skin Toughness was garbage.

Completely useless.

However—

it had a hidden feature.

Once Skin Toughness reached 100.

As long as you somehow managed to hit 100.

Buster unlocked a skill.

And not just any skill—

an overwhelmingly powerful one that no other character could compare to.

The supposedly “ability-less” Buster was actually the strongest esper in the game.

Of course, if you didn’t balance your early stats properly, you had a 99.9% chance of meeting Lady Death long before unlocking anything.

That was why, for now, increasing Strength, Agility, and Stamina—stats useful for both survival and point farming—was the correct choice.

Skin Toughness could be raised gradually depending on episode progression.

I repeatedly clenched and unclenched my fists, sitting and standing several times.

‘So light.’

Was it because Stamina and Agility had reached 20?

My body felt dramatically lighter than before.

At this point, I felt like I could run a marathon.

“Open the Coin Shop.”

[There are currently no items purchasable with 1 coin.]

So since there was nothing I could buy, it wouldn’t even show me the shop?

Should I call that shameless or just spiteful?

“Are you BJ Gaia?”

[…]

“Who is BJ Gaia? A god?”

[…]

“What do you gain from this? What do you get by throwing eight billion people into danger?”

It was an extremely direct question.

But how could it not be?

Games had suddenly become reality overnight.

When I first woke up in the fog, I’d been stunned.

After reaching the shelter, I felt wronged.

What sin had humanity committed to deserve being forced into this ridiculous game?

The system message gave no response.

As if it had no will of its own.

As if communication with individuals was forbidden.

It pissed me off, but what could I do?

If answers wouldn’t be given to me, then I’d have to find them myself.

I had become part of the system now.

And I was no longer in a position to oppose it.

Other than clearing the game using the information I knew, there was nothing else I could do.

Ding!

[The first episode will now begin.]

[The first episode, Safe Hou—]

“Wait. Tell me one thing first.”

I crossed my arms and stared at the system message.

“Korea doesn’t appear in No Way Home. Neither does anywhere else in this world. The game takes place in a fictional setting.”

[…]

“So was that what you meant by ‘background update’? Did you overlay the game world onto reality?”

[Correct.]

“Then the information I know from the game…”

“Is it useless in reality?”

[The starting point is a fictional area modeled after the game’s setting. Once you leave the designated range and reach a shelter, you may enjoy the main game after character registration.]

“I asked whether my memories are useful in reality.”

[Please experience it for yourself.]

What an infuriating bastard.

So…

did that mean all the survivors who started near me would eventually arrive in Haengdang-dong no matter which direction they moved?

“Are everyone’s spawn points different? You didn’t dump the entire Korean population into Seongdong District, did you?”

[All players’ spawn locations are based on their registered addresses. You have been registered as a survivor belonging to Seongdong District.]

“Belonging to Seongdong District?”

[Emergency episode activation conditions and progression are counted differently for each affiliation.]

[Once a Main Episode is cleared, the Main Episodes of all regions advance to the next phase.]

So the flow of Main Episodes was synchronized across every region?

“If I reach the safehouse now, then even people who haven’t arrived yet will still move on to Episode Two?”

[Correct. Please continue growing steadily so as not to fall behind the Main Episodes.]

It refused to answer personal questions, yet responded to questions about episodes.

So anything unrelated to the game was off-limits?

More importantly—

it kept saying enjoy the game, but this wasn’t a situation anyone could enjoy.

[Beginning the first Main Episode: Safe Hou—]

[Checking survivor status…]

[Reviewing episode conditions…]

Just when it seemed the Main Episode was about to begin, now it was “reviewing conditions”?

Ding!

[The majority of users do not yet recognize the current situation.]

[Too many users have failed to leave the starting zone.]

[An Emergency Episode will begin in all regions.]

Ding!

[Emergency Episode: Qualification for Survival]

[Please survive for the allotted time.]

[Humanity lacking survival value cannot proceed to the Main Episode.]

[Time Limit: 72 Hours]

[Clear Condition: Survival]

[Reward: 1,000 Points]

[Failure: Death]

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth after seeing the message.

Was this thing actually insane?

“Hey. What the hell is this supposed to be?”

[98% of users have failed to leave the starting zone.]

“……”

[There is no meaning in proceeding with the Main Episode at this rate. Therefore, an Emergency Episode will begin.]

“It’s obvious people can’t accept reality yet! Zombies suddenly appeared—what kind of person would immediately—”

[You succeeded.]

“……”

[You are the player who reached a shelter before the game and episode explanations were even completed.]

“I played the Closed Beta. Other people didn’t—”

[Inferior beings have no value in survival. Citizenship in Another World is wasted on them.]

“……”

The system’s response was cold and absolute.

Frowning deeply, I asked,

“What exactly is Another World?”

[That information cannot be disclosed.]

The message that had appeared in the sky before I was summoned here.

The fourth game.

Another World.

Was that place also a game-like world filled with episodes, just like this reality?

If I had to live in a world like that…

then honestly, I wanted no part of surviving.

Anger boiled violently inside me.

But there was nothing I could do right now.

Throwing a tantrum because I hated the situation wouldn’t change anything.

It seemed BJ Gaia—the creator of the system—wanted humanity dead.

“If I clear this game…”

“Can I meet the creator too?”

[Users who clear the game will personally receive rewards and citizenship from Creator BJ Gaia.]

Good.

Then I’d survive until the very end and smash the creator’s teeth in.

I opened my bag and pulled out the notebook inside.

Quickly organizing the situation, I began thinking about my next steps.

If I was classified as a Seongdong District survivor, then the thousands of people I’d seen earlier in the rain were all people whose registered addresses were in Seongdong District.

And if they also arrived at shelters like I did?

Then this place would soon become overcrowded with every type of person imaginable.

There would be lunatics enjoying the collapse of civilization.

Religious fanatics claiming this was divine punishment.

Spineless people swayed by public opinion.

Hopeless sheep with no will to survive.

But the absolute worst among them were—

‘The parasites.’

People who did absolutely nothing themselves while constantly demanding others do things for them.

And if those kinds of people formed factions and sat around running their mouths?

Just imagining it made my teeth grind.

Sure, hiding inside ShinOO Apartments would solve the food problem for a while by looting room after room.

But if I lived among those people, it would never truly be safe.

‘And it would definitely interfere with future Main Episodes.’

I had no intention of getting dragged into faction conflicts.

Nor did I intend to sacrifice myself for others.

The moment I finished organizing my thoughts, I stood up.

Since everyone had been suddenly summoned away, residential areas should still have plenty of supplies left.

So I needed a place without crowds.

A place I knew well.

A place where it would be easy to shake off both zombies and people.

I was going to the villa district.

Gripping the baseball bat I’d left on the floor, I headed toward the apartment entrance.

Shaaaar—!

Running through the rain, I constantly checked the smartphone-sized 3D terrain map.

Because visibility was so poor, I couldn’t clearly see the surrounding terrain with my own eyes.

“Kahaak!!”

Every time a zombie burst out from the fog, it nearly gave me a heart attack.

I hurriedly shoved the 3D map into my pocket and smashed their heads in with the baseball bat.

It was still the beginning.

No—

the first Main Episode hadn’t even started yet.

If this world really matched the information from No Way Home, then the early zombies weren’t especially dangerous.

The torrential rain dulled human vision and hearing, creating fear—

but looked at differently, it was also an opportunity.

For zombies with highly sensitive hearing and smell, this downpour was crippling.

Just as my visibility was limited, their senses were dulled too.

Even so, moving through major roads felt too risky, so I traveled through narrow alleys instead.

After about fifteen minutes—

the outlines of familiar villas slowly emerged.

This was the neighborhood where I lived.

From here onward, I could navigate blindfolded.

My waterlogged legs gradually began to feel lighter.

Just a little farther.

Just a little more, and I’d reach the villa where I lived.

“…Huh?”

Then suddenly, one sign made me stop in my tracks.

– Sooni’s Gimbap

A small snack shop on the corner of the alley.

Had that always been there?

This…

was supposed to be where the lottery store I visited every week stood.

Confused, I looked around and realized many of the nearby buildings were slightly different from what I remembered.

A café stood where the hardware store should’ve been.

An arcade occupied the place where the café used to be.

And along the main road where a wedding hall should’ve been, there was now a mixed-use apartment complex.

The terrain itself was the same.

But the buildings constructed on top of it were subtly different.

“Grrrrrr…”

At that moment, a chilling sound crawled into my ears from behind me.