久久大陆

He was able to stand on his own, feeling his own chest in surprise before looking up at the golden-eyed man who smiled down at him.

Something distracted him for a moment after having been healed from the brink of death: a prompt from his Sage System appeared for him:

[Undying Proficiency: +1 | Level 2/10]

It was peculiar–it capped out at ten, while everything else capped out before ten-thousand. But, he brushed it off for the time being.

"Thanks…?" He let out in confused gratitude.

"Of course," Baek-Hyeon nodded, "You're a hard-working member of Gangcheori. It's my pleasure to aid you."

The way the man spoke caught him as abnormal, but he put it aside as the man had just clearly saved his life from the claws of death.

"Would you like me to escort you back to the hotel? The leader will need your help–these demons are attacking the building itself now," Baek-Hyeon offered.

He was about to accept the offer, but stopped as he remembered something, "Wait! Ma-Ri will need your help–she's down the block–there's a high-level boss enemy she's fighting alone! Please assist her!"

Baek-Hyeon looked at him with an idle, blank expression for a moment before nodding, replacing his blankness with a vague smile, "Of course. Be safe, Jeong-Hui."

The man still struck him as odd, but in the hellish horizon that overtook the world, he was needed more than ever.

Left alone once again after the angel-powered man set off with untraceable speed, he rushed towards the hotel as the sounds of hellspawn seeping into the world filled his ears with a dreadful ambience.

The streets cracked and spread to give way for them, they howled and scaled the surroundings buildings, and flames swept through the air above: it became Hell on Earth just within the first hour of the "Final Culling".

By the time he found himself back at the block where the hotel stood, he was met with the sight of barricades being built.

Helping craft the barriers, the tubby, large member of Gancheori, Ho-Jun, moved as swiftly as he could, carrying whatever materials he could find; wooden planks, sheets of metal–anything to create a new wall around the immediate area.

"Ho-Jun?!" He called out.

The round, purple-haired man looked at him in surprise, "Jeong-Hui! There you are!"

"Huh?"

"The leader was looking for you–he was quite worried, you know?" Ho-Jun informed him, setting down the materials.

"Less talking, more building!"

–The barked order came from the manager of the patrollers, Chang-Ho, who adjusted his glasses while his furled, golden locks brushed in the heated breeze.

There were half a dozen members working on the new barricade, mostly made up of the lower leveled members, while it seemed the strongest in Ma-Ri and Baek-Hyeon were currently out, likely because of him.

"R-right!" Ho-Jun called out, picking up the materials again as he looked back at him, "Hurry inside, it's unsafe out here!"

"...Got it," he nodded.

Rushing inside, he could feel just how urgent everything was–finding Korain rushing down the halls with his claymore in hand.

"Jeong-Hui!" Korain stopped for a moment after glancing a second time at him, "Go see the boss! Get your orders from him!"

All he did was nod before breaking off in a sprint up the many stairs of the hotel, feeling the pressing nature of the new horizon looming over the world.

While running up the stairs, ascending each flight in haste, he stopped momentarily to hold onto the silver railings as the entire, towering hotel shook as dust rained down atop his head.

"What the…?"

It only cemented the spiraling destruction that was seeping into the world now as he pushed himself upward, racing up to the highest floor.

Finally, he reached the highest floor, where the leader of Gangcheori's office sat, prompting him to burst through without much hesitation as he huffed and caught his breath.

The silver-haired, stoic leader stood by the large windows of his office space that overlooked the scarlet horizon, "...Jeong-Hui."

"Dae-Seong," he said while catching his breath, "...What's the plan here…?"

"We're going to do the best that we can with the little time afforded to us," Dae-Seong turned to face him, adjusting his glasses, "...That God up in the sky truly plans to eradicate us–this event has made that clear…Right now, there are a few priorities: one; secure the barricade around the immediate block. Two; eliminate the approaching fiends while the others build the barricade. Three; scavenge for necessary supplies around the neighborhood–but not too far away."

As Dae-Seong explained these three, key roles, it was clear what his next words would be as he looked straight at the exasperated young man who had just looked death in the face minutes prior.

"...Which will you partake, Jeong-Hui? I trust your judgment; choose what you think you will be most beneficial in doing," Dae-Seong asked him, putting his hands on his leather chair as he stood firm.

Which do I do? Build the barricade, protect the builders, or hunt supplies…? He questioned.

It was a difficult choice, and one that needed an answer soon as there was no time to be wasted beneath the horizon of hell.

"I'll…secure Gangcheori supplies," he chose, clenching his fists.

It was the clear choice for him; against the newly-risen fiends, it was a gamble whether he'd be able to handle them, and he wasn't particularly good with as craftsman–so the only choice was to use his nimble, stealth abilities to hunt supplies.

"I see," Dae-Seong replied, grabbing a small paper and quickly writing down on it while continuing, "We'll need more rations. Try and find non-perishable items; canned goods, if possible. Beyond that, if you can find medicinal products–first-aid, pills, anything–don't hesitate to grab it. We'll need everything we can get."

After explaining this, Dae-Seong handed him the paper he had quickly written down on, which he accepted.

Written on it were the items of note he should look for, and which stores would likely hold them.

"Can you do it?" Dae-Seong asked one last time.

He read the list before nodding, "Yeah, I've got this!"

With both efficiency and stealthiness being key to this impromptu mission, he left the bounds of the exuberant lodge through a back door, venturing out as he pulled his azure scarf up above his nose with the veil of ash and embers roaming through the air.

It had been no more than an hour, at most, yet the entire world had been turned into a hellscape.

"Still…That reminds me, what was this "Undying Proficiency" all about?" He mumbled to himself while quietly moving through the alleyways of the city.

["Undying Proficiency" – It is the core of your tenacity, force of will, and strength–all in the face of death. By cultivating your Undying Proficiency, you will adapt new skills to counteract dangerous situations. In fact, you acquired a new skill when leveling up this proficiency earlier.]

It was the masculine, empathetic voice of his unique system that informed him of this, speaking directly to his consciousness as he made sure to quietly move around the dark alleys, scoping out the area for stores holding the needed supplies.

"...I did?" He finally asked after checking each direction past the grimy walls of the alley.

[You did. You have acquired "Zombie Self-Sustain" at the base level. This ability also has its own proficiency scaling.]

"Zombie Self-Sustain? What is that…? Sounds kinda creepy," he asked quietly.

While speaking to his personal System, he crossed the street after confirming the prowling demons were facing the other direction, rushing over to the abandoned establishment on the other side of the street he entered through the shattered window.

It was an abandoned supermarket, "T-Mart", which was barely illuminated by a low-hanging, fluorescent light that flickered.

["Zombie Self-Sustain" is a general ability that grants you a minor level of regeneration. More importantly, it allows you to operate more efficiently with wounds, and bestows you a heightened endurance. As for raising your proficiency with it: allowing small wounds to be recovered from its self-rejuvenating properties will work towards evolving it. The same goes for operating in strainful events plaguing your body.]

"Huh…Sounds pretty amazing, actually," he muttered while carefully walking through the desecrated supermarket.

The market was, of course, ransacked, but it didn't seem completely empty–in fact, most items were in stock, for better or worse.

What brought a negative light on this was the fact the perishable items in the store had grown stale, moldy, and rancid, as the section of the store holding an assortment of fruits and vegetables was inhabited by an empire of flies that hung around the decrepit produce.

"...Ugh…" He scrunched his nose, moving away from that area.

As he wandered around, he found his way to the section that held the bulk of canned food, mostly made up of soups, kimchi, and tuna.

Though as he began grabbing some cans, he realized an error in this mission: he couldn't quite carry a lot.

"...Crap, I need a backpack, or something…"

It was the difference between normal items, and things forged by Angel Shops: the products that were available in the divine stores were made by the same, unknown power that was integral to the existence of Systems itself.

As he wandered through the aisles, he passed by white shelves of old magazines–prompting him to stop and check them out for a moment.

"...Huh."

It was the usual magazines: pop coverage, traveling, of-the-day fashion, and celebrity gossip.

Though magazines were something that never caught his eye, looking at them now was like peering through a window of the world before Armageddon.

Seeing the pillars of the idol world, the daily news, sights of the world before the mess it was flung into–it felt so distant, yet it had only been months.

…Focus, Jeong-Hui, he told himself.

He set the magazine back onto the shelf, but not before hearing a can topple onto the floor. The jarring sound came from a few aisles away, prompting him to quietly draw one of his daggers as he remained vigilant.