[Day 21 — 00:00:00]
[SYSTEM NOTICE: SECOND WAVE – COMMENCING]
The sky broke open.
Thunder rolled like the sound of war drums, and from the cracks of crimson light, something vast and howling descended. The air thickened — every breath felt like breathing through ash.
Evelyn Park raised her hand, and her barrier shimmered into being around twenty frightened faces — mostly children, one mother clutching an infant, and a man in his thirties with glasses askew and hands shaking.
They huddled inside the glowing dome of light that flickered faintly outside the SunMart Gas Station.
[Safe Zone Established: Manual Control Mode – E. Park]
[Durability: 62% and decreasing.]
Her system pulsed urgent red warnings.
[Incoming Hostiles Detected.]
[Threat Level: C → B → A (Increasing)]
Evelyn's voice was steady, calm — the tone of someone who'd lived with fear long enough to tame it."Stay behind me. Don't scream. The barrier reacts to emotional spikes."
One of the children whimpered. Evelyn knelt briefly, brushed the girl's hair back, and smiled faintly. "We'll make it through this, okay? Flowers grow again after storms."
The girl nodded, wide-eyed.
Then Evelyn turned, cloak snapping in the storm wind, and stepped beyond the barrier.
The First Clash
The monsters came like a tide — slick black bodies with too many limbs, glimmering carapaces, and mouths that split in four.
She summoned her weapon — a curved blade woven from vines and steel, a remnant of her "Life Artisan" skill tree.
[Weapon: Verdant Edge]
[Skill Activated: Growth Bloom — Lv.7]
Roots burst from the cracked asphalt, lashing forward, impaling two of the crawling beasts. Green energy surged along her arms as she twisted, slicing through another's chest.
But for every monster she cut down, two more crawled from the shadows.
The sky's light grew darker. The world reeked of blood and ozone.
Her system chimed again.
[Warning: Mana Depletion – 78% Used]
[Barrier Durability: 43%]
She turned briefly — the children were still safe, pressed together inside the dome. The man, the teacher, was trying to keep them calm, reading their names, telling them to breathe.
Then she saw one of the children — a boy — step toward the edge of the barrier, crying for his mother outside.
"Stay inside!" she shouted — too late.
A clawed hand tore through the dome.
Evelyn lunged, slashing upward, severing the monster's arm, but the backlash sent a shock through her chest. Blood filled her throat.
Her barrier flickered.
[Warning: Hostile Contact Detected – Barrier Integrity 19%]
[Critical Condition: Internal Hemorrhage Detected]
She fell to one knee, coughing crimson.
Her vision blurred. The beasts surrounded her now — three, five, then ten.
She whispered to herself, "Come on, Evelyn. One more round."
She raised her sword again — shaking, pale — and released her ultimate skill.
[Skill Activated: Sanctuary Burst – Lv. Max]
A shockwave of green light erupted from her, sending roots and energy spiraling outward like petals exploding in a storm. The monsters were blasted back, shrieking — but so was she.
The impact cracked her ribs. Her barrier nearly collapsed entirely.
POV Shift — The Teacher
Inside the dome, Min Jae, 32, kindergarten teacher, stared in horror.
He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't awakened. He was just a man who taught songs and tied shoelaces for crying kids.
But when he saw Evelyn standing outside — bleeding, barely upright — he felt something inside him snap.
The barrier flickered again, and a monster's face pressed against the glass, its fanged mouth scraping inches from the children. They screamed.
He moved before he could think.
He stepped through the dying barrier.
"Hey!" Evelyn gasped, reaching out weakly. "Get back inside—!"
But he didn't hear her. The sound of the children's screams had become one endless echo inside his head.
[New User Detected.]
[Awakening Condition Met: "Unyielding Protector"]
[Initializing Skill Tree.]
His vision went red.
[Class Unlocked: Berserker.]
[Title Granted: The Crimson Shield.]
[Skill Acquired: Fury Manifestation – Lv.1]
The world slowed around him — time itself bending.
He felt the heat surge through his veins, his muscles screaming, his bones burning. The air shimmered with his pulse.
The monster lunged — and he caught it with his bare hands.
Then he ripped it in half.
A primal roar tore from his throat, shaking the asphalt beneath them. The remaining monsters faltered — instinctively retreating from something they couldn't understand.
Min Jae stepped forward, his entire body crackling with violent red aura. His eyes glowed faintly, pupils gone.
[Skill Triggered: Berserk Mode (Unstable)]
[Time Limit: 120 seconds]
In that two minutes, he slaughtered everything in reach — claws, fangs, and shadow burned under his fists. His blood steamed. His skin tore and healed. His scream sounded less human, more like a storm breaking mountains.
When it ended, he fell to his knees, trembling, eyes unfocused.
Evelyn barely managed to crawl toward him. "You… awakened."
He blinked, still half-lost in rage. "I— I don't know what I just—"
"You saved them," she whispered, pressing a trembling hand to his forehead. "That's all that matters."
Her barrier pulsed once more, stabilizing faintly around the survivors. Her system chimed softly:
[Emergency Sync Detected: Berserker – Bonded to Life Artisan.]
[Shared Skill Path Established.]
[Effect: Rage-Linked Regeneration Active.]
She smiled faintly. "So… you're my right hand now, Teacher."
He blinked, confused, then looked back at the children — alive, crying, safe. His voice broke.
"I just didn't want them to die."
Evelyn coughed softly, wiping blood from her lips. "That's what makes you dangerous."
Hours Later — Dawn
By the time the sun crawled over Seoul's shattered skyline, the streets were painted with the aftermath of survival.
Dozens of gas stations lay in ruin, their safe zones shattered. Few had survived the Second Wave.
But one dome still stood — faint, flickering — with twenty souls breathing inside.
At its center, Evelyn Park lay against a wall, wrapped in makeshift bandages, asleep for the first time in days.
Beside her sat Min Jae, now silent, bruised knuckles still stained with blood. The children were sleeping in a circle around them.
The System chimed quietly across the survivors' panels.
[SECOND WAVE: COMPLETED]
[Casualties: 62% of Registered Survivors]
[Global Ranking Updated:]
[#1 — Evelyn Park | Life Artisan | SSS+]
[#2 — Min Jae | Berserker | SS+]
[#10 — Jinwoo Han | Flame Warden | A+]
And for the first time since the world fell apart, two names stood side by side —Life and Rage.
The ones who would rebuild the world… or burn it clean.