People were bored.
Nothing they did seemed meaningful to them. They worked, they leveled up, and most importantly, they were still alive, but nothing had any meaning. The end of the job, the end of the story, the end of this nonsense was unknown.
This made people's will to live seem like a matchstick flame.
At first, Joseph wanted to do something. He wanted to give people a purpose. For example, killing field bosses. But they realized how weak they were. They realized that they were trapped and that they would not be able to escape for a long time.
The weakest field boss was level 30. It was a series of impossibilities upon impossibilities.
They managed to surround New Telludure and secure it completely. This was good news for them, but the city was empty.
All of the survivors could fit into two or three neighborhoods.
Moreover, settling in the city didn't make much sense because most of the crops were around Old Telludure.
This generation, which had grown up with entertainment tools such as social media, was not used to this simple life.
And worst of all, there was no alcohol.
Those who wanted to get a bottle of beer had to go all the way to New Telludure to kill at least one zombie.
This way, they could earn a few sc and buy beer.
Joseph made this easier. He sent his own soldiers just for a few thousand sc, and all the sc earned were used to buy alcohol.
Joseph then started to think logically. He shifted from military rule to a social state that cared more about people.
He tried to set up a few shops, but soon realized how pointless it was.
There was no money system. The old dollar had lost its meaning. No one cared about gold because such materials no longer had any value.
The most widely accepted currency was the SC, but there was no personal trade.
Moreover, even if he appointed someone as a bank, that person would not have enough SC, or would not be able to express the value of gold in SC, and the fact that so few people could find kilograms of gold made all his plans logically invalid.
Two and a half months passed after the catastrophe, and Joseph realized that he could not do anything until the system update was complete.
So he decided to stall for time.
He gave people small goals.
And small rewards for achieving those goals.
For example, a feast or a festival when the fields were planted, but this only caused resources to be depleted more quickly.
He found a few small factories with stable materials in New Telludure, but there were no raw materials.
Therefore, there was no production.
The only solution now was a lake as big as the sea to the east of New Telludure. Those who had survived on the island in the middle of the lake said they could catch fish, and there was a tower further ahead on the lake.
He used the lake as an activity area and realized that fish, just like humans, could have levels and provide more food and ley.
He offered people drinks and entertainment in exchange for fish caught from the lake.
But after a while, Joseph was exhausted.
He had nothing left to do.
He couldn't rule over a thousand people with military discipline.
Just as Joseph was about to give up, something came to his aid, or rather, a catastrophe.
Zombies.
Strong, fast, and deadly, with their scythes sharpened and ready to strike.
They were coming from the tower east of the lake.
Even though Joseph knew that people would die, he welcomed the zombies with open arms, as they would be a hope for the living.
Everyone capable of fighting was mobilized and gathered at the edge of the lake. Approximately two hundred people formed an army.
The lowest-ranked among them was level five.
Joseph stood tall before everyone, including Marcus and Eliza, and watched the zombies fleeing from the water, but unable to suppress their hunger for flesh, running toward Joseph's army.
[Screamer Lv9]
[Corpse Shepherd Lv11]
These were the two most threatening types of zombies.
They had encountered the Corpse Shepherd before and knew how dangerous it was.
This zombie, which had previously ravaged the city center, was now facing them again. This brought a question to Joseph's mind.
"If this isn't the same zombie from the open dungeon, then how did the captive prince boss get there?"
At first, Joseph and the army thought they would be defeated because of the corpse shepherd's level, but that wasn't the case.
This zombie was, to put it simply, weak.
It took Marcus and Eliza a few moves to kill the Corpse Shepherd, and they finally realized that this zombie was just a highly advanced special zombie.
This eased their concerns, and they continued to quickly kill the zombies.
Only one person was injured from the army of two hundred. He had a deep cut on his arm, and the pus from a zombie's mouth had gotten into the cut.
Marcus took the man to a building a few miles away and returned alone.
As sad as everyone was, it had to be done.
There could be no room for doubt.
Thanks to this incident, Joseph was able to relax for a few more weeks without thinking. People realized that danger was still around and became quiet.
This gave Joseph the opportunity to form some ideas in his mind.
For example, cleaning up New Tellidure.
Completely ridding it of broken vehicles and destroyed buildings.
It wasn't an easy project, but with the support of strong soldiers, it was completed in a few weeks.
Thus, exactly three and a half months had passed since the catastrophe.
...
The day began cheerfully. Everyone was in a good mood, and the fact that the source of fear outside had been suppressed made people happy.
The little one in Elura's belly had already begun to show.
Several children were chasing each other and dancing happily in the shelter's courtyard, between the houses.
Mick had finally made it, even though he was the last person in William's team to reach Level 11.
Kim, Min-Jun, Jason, and many others had reached Level 11.
No one feared for the shelter anymore, or that people would die outside the dungeon.
This was good news. The bad news was that people were greedy.
They wanted to go to the tower.
They wanted to try the tower.
The leader of this group was a man named Aron.
He was among those who were rescued from the mansion operation. Everyone who was rescued from that operation was young, full of strength, and eager for action.
They wanted to do something all the time, and going back and forth between the open dungeon and the shelter bored them.
Even the drinks at the beginning hotel were no longer satisfying them.
Joseph finally couldn't take it anymore.
He let them go.
There were about thirty of them.
Thirty young, powerful people. Most of them were between level 6 and 11, but these thirty people were led by three.
[Aron Pale Lv11]
[Class: Red Steel (1%)]
[Red Steel: A passionate, destructive force shaped by rage. The Red Steel class wields large weapons with a frenzied passion. Every strike is a fire, every attack is a rebellion. The more blood flows, the stronger they become. Strength +15%, Physical Damage Substat +15, Speed +5%, Physical Endurance Substat +15, berserk threshold +10%, Ley +5%]
[Red Flow: You gain power with each blow you take. For each blow taken, Power +0.5 (maximum 10 stacks). After every 5 blows, Physical Damage +5%.]
[Flame Strike: You thrust your great sword into the ground, charging it with Ley and creating a blazing fissure in a 5-meter-wide line in front of you. Targets are knocked back and take burn damage.]
Aron was a young man full of fire, just like the class he chose. His long, red hair had become even more pronounced and longer after the catastrophe.
His temperament was based on aggression. He didn't get along very well with most people, except for his peers. Unlike Min-Jun, he had chosen a class that could use berserk as fuel.
He had one of the rarest classes in the shelter. He led a group of thirty people, and under his leadership, killing all the zombies in their path to the tower was child's play.
Jared was his most loyal friend. They had been friends since their archery class in elementary school. Of course, Jared had continued archery and became a national athlete.
Aron, on the other hand, didn't need to do that thanks to his father's money.
They were caught in the catastrophe at a party they had gone to together.
Jared was still using the composite bow he had brought to the party for fun as a weapon. Even compared to Aron, who wielded a large sword, his muscles were more bulky.
His short hair fell over his eyebrows, which were covered with piercings.
[Jared Kael Lv11]
[Class: Bow Master (%10)]
[Bow Master: An agile and careful archer who fights with skill at long range. He neutralizes his enemies from a distance and never misses his target. He is a strong and simple warrior. Strength +5%, Speed +10%, Perception +15%, Physical Damage Substat +10, Physical Endurance Substat +10, Reflex Substat +10, Precision Substat +10, Accuracy Substat +10,]
[Hunter's Mark: You mark the selected target. Attacks against the marked target have +15% hit rate.]
[Quick Draw: Actively increases power and physical endurance for a short time (7 seconds/Current Ley Pool), increasing firing speed by 20%]
Rarer classes were available, but Jared wanted to choose a more basic class. He thought this was the best fit for him because he had been shooting arrows since childhood.
He realized how right he was in choosing this class after seeing the different subclasses it offered.
He was the only person in the shelter with a unique statistic. A new sub-statistic had appeared below the accuracy sub-statistic, and it ensured that his hit rate was almost always perfect.
And then there was Tobey.
He was the third 11th-level young person leading the group of thirty young people.
He had a quieter and more distant personality than the other two. His short stature and hunched posture gave him the appearance of a weak person, but that was not the case at all. He had mastered the art of killing high-level zombies in a single blow. He was a hidden, silent, and deadly killer. For zombies, that is.
He put all his strength into every attack as if it were his last, and moved with the same seriousness.
[Tobey Murr Lv11]
[Class: Final Blow]
[Final Blow: An assassin class that suddenly incapacitates enemies with silent and deadly attacks. Every attack is carried out with great determination and intense power. Power +12%, Speed +15%, Perception +10%, Physical Damage Substat +15, Evasion Substat +10]
[Sharp Death: Attacks are performed with deadly precision on the target. Piercing-type attacks' Power increases by +20%.]
[Sudden Strike: Allows you to perform a quick and powerful attack on the actively selected target. (Instant Speed +50%, Instant Physical Damage +50%) (Usage: Once per day.)]
He undoubtedly had the most powerful attack among the three and usually waited until last to use it so as not to waste his strength.
Especially these days, he reserved himself only for zombies of level 9 and above. Dealing with lower level zombies was not in his book.
Aron was in front, Jared was on the right, and Tobey was on the left, the three of them walking at the front.
They crossed the lake to the east and passed through dense forests. They had killed hundreds of zombies and the creatures that the man named William, whom they had never seen, had mentioned. These creatures were a feast for them. Both their meat, which provided them with ley, and their size exceeded their expectations.
When they saw a boar the size of a car, they understood what kind of world they were trying to live in.
It wasn't just humans who had changed.
They had seen that boar kill dozens of zombies effortlessly with its two front tusks, but it had been defeated by teamwork and level differences.
Pete hadn't seen any zombies or creatures above level 10 in the area up to the tower, so they were relaxed.
Pete had also toured the tower and its surroundings, but from the outside, it was just a very historic tower with no visible interior. It had doors and windows, but the inside was pitch black.
This seven-story tower was full of mystery, and these thirty passionate young people were determined to conquer this mysterious tower.
First, they secured the area around the tower. Then, using the ropes they had brought with them, they built barricades. They also connected their vehicles with tents to create a small campsite.
On the first day, they cleaned up the area. Hundreds of stray zombies had gathered around the tower. The noise it made when it was activated was deafening when heard nearby.
Since Aron, Jared, and Tobey knew nothing about the tower, they decided to take action early the next morning and enter the tower.
When morning came, the tower cast a huge shadow. The light shining from behind made the tower look even more otherworldly.
The entrance to the tower was a massive door. It was at least four meters wide and five meters tall. The tower's entrance system worked like a dungeon.
Aron reached out his hand toward the door.
[Do you wish to enter the SEVENS Trial Tower? Y/N?]
Aron looked at Jared and Tobey on his right and left.
When they both nodded, he focused on "yes" and was suddenly transported inside. Since he had entered the open dungeon many times before, he did not experience any nausea or vomiting.
He immediately focused all his attention and looked around.
His first instinct was to try to get out. As soon as he focused his mind, a notification appeared saying, "Do you want to leave?" which reassured him.
Then he saw that there was no one around him. He was sure there should have been thirty people here.
At that moment, Aron realized how real the fear was and how powerful the cosmic force behind this tower could be.
He didn't believe that any technology could create such a tower.
The path ahead was dark. It was quiet and foggy.
But he could see a stone console glowing faintly at the edge. Aron approached and examined the console.
Although the walls of the tower were invisible in the darkness, Aron could sense that he was in an area as large as a football field.
There was nothing on the console—no buttons, no switches—but he had to try and explore.
He touched it.
[Do you want to start the first trial? Y/N]
Aron focused on "yes" again, but another notification appeared.
[You cannot leave without passing the trial. Do you confirm? Y/N]
Aron began to sweat.
If he confirmed and wanted to see what the trial was, he didn't even know if it was killing creatures or solving a riddle, but there would be no turning back until he solved it.
He furrowed his brow and hardened his gaze. He took out the wide, long sword on his back and got ready.
"Bring it on!" he said and focused on "yes."