I Became a Game Character in the Apocalypse

I couldn’t tell whether the growls were from zombies chasing us or just angry roars for having missed their prey. One thing was certain—we had to get out of here, fast.

I adjusted both our bags on my back and crouched down, urging Seol Ye-won quickly.

“Climb on.”

Seol Ye-won hesitated, and I scowled.

“Stop stalling, hurry up.”

Reluctantly, she climbed onto my back. The weight didn’t feel heavy or light.

I was in a daze, glancing around at the sounds of zombies’ footsteps and the pounding of my own heart. The fear gnawed at me, so I shook my head fiercely to snap myself out of it.

We were close to the basketball court, and the Student Union building wasn’t far now.

But the world ahead of us was engulfed in pitch-black darkness.

Thick fog and all-consuming darkness swallowed everything. I couldn’t see even a meter ahead.

It was a world where all light had vanished… pure darkness.

“Ye-won, can you see the stairs?”

She looked around anxiously and swallowed.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Then what about the volleyball court?”

“Ah, over there.”

She pointed at a 45-degree angle to the right. I quickly followed her finger, moving urgently.

Gradually, the volleyball court came into view, and beyond it, I spotted a small stone staircase.

‘Almost there.’

We couldn’t see much, but once we reached those stairs, there would be an open space ahead.

The old Student Union parking lot.

To the right of the old building was a steep hill that would lead us to our final destination—the new Student Union building.

Seol Ye-won, still on my back, quickly scanned the area.

“There’s zombies in the left parking lot.”

“How many?”

“Nine.”

“How far?”

“About… 30 meters?”

“Can you see the hill on the right? Any zombies there?”

“Two by a gazebo in front.”

I lowered Seol Ye-won and rushed ahead to the gazebo.

The zombie growls echoed in the air. Even though I couldn’t see them, I could almost map out their exact positions in my mind.

I wasn’t sure about the precise distance, but I kept moving quickly toward the sounds.

Thud!

I slammed into a zombie at the gazebo, using my bag as a shield. The impact knocked it backward, and as it fell, its neck hit the corner of a bench, making it shake violently.

Using the rebound, I rolled across the ground like a ball, sharpening my senses.

Cahhh…!

A growl came from right beside me.

Without hesitation, I swung the iron pipe, and I could feel the satisfying crunch of its skull collapsing under the blow.

After taking care of two zombies, I looked back at Seol Ye-won.

A figure was limping toward me, looking like a zombie.

‘At night, I can’t tell friend from foe.’

Once night falls, it’s nearly impossible to distinguish between allies and enemies.

A heavy breath sounded, followed by Seol Ye-won’s voice.

“It’s me.”

I helped her up, and we began climbing the steep hill.

A 30-meter slope, angled at 40 degrees.

Seol Ye-won gritted her teeth, pushing herself upward.

But it seemed like she had reached her limit. She collapsed, trembling on the ground.

Seeing this, I grabbed her and said, “Just a little more. We’re almost there.”

But Seol Ye-won had no strength left to accept my help. She shook off my hand and crawled up the hill on all fours, biting her lower lip as she kept going.

If I, with my enhanced stamina, was struggling, I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her.

I glanced around to check for zombies as I reached the top first and made sure Seol Ye-won was still following.

As she crawled up the hill, her eyes barely open, she looked up at me.

“Club room… what floor is it on?”

“Fifth.”

“Fucking hell…”

Seol Ye-won cursed, exhausted.

The clubroom was on the top floor of the Student Union building.

I helped her up, her body sagging like a wet towel, and asked, “Want me to carry you?”

“No, what if there are zombies inside?”

Just then, zombie growls came from the old Student Union parking lot.

Had the zombies from the main building followed us here?

I opened the door to the new Student Union and shoved Seol Ye-won inside, hearing the growls from a distance.

I quickly locked the glass door behind us and turned to see Seol Ye-won crawling up the stairs on all fours.

I rushed to her side, helped her stand, and together we ascended the stairs.

As we climbed, I noticed the corpses of zombies scattered around. All of them had their heads pierced.

Seeing the zombies’ bodies, I felt a sense of certainty.

There were people here.

The ones capable of taking down zombies like this must be my Last Ark classmates.

On the second, third, and fourth floors, and finally on the fifth, I saw a barricade blocking the stairs.

It was made of desks, chairs, and boxes piled high.

But it didn’t seem easy to move. It was as if they had carefully thought out the balance.

I shook the barricade forcefully, and from beyond it, I heard a trembling voice.

“Stop! If you don’t want to die, stop!”

The voice was shaky, youthful, but unmistakably familiar.

I licked my cracked lips and asked, “Hye-ri? Is that you?”

“Huh?”

The woman looked flustered.

Yoon Hye-ri.

She was a junior from the club I belong to.

Yoon Hye-ri didn’t play Last Ark.

Yet, the fact that she’s here means… my classmates are protecting her.

I spoke with a smile.

“Park Jae-hyung, it’s me, Park Jae-hyung!”

“Jae-hyung Oppa? Is it really you?”

Then, the sound of boxes being moved under the barricade echoed.

When the boxes that had been blocking the desk were removed, a small gap appeared, just wide enough for a person to slip through.

Yoon Hye-ri poked her head out cautiously and looked at my face.

A familiar face.

She was the freshman from the club I’m vice-president of, Yoon Hye-ri.

“Jae-hyung Oppa!”

“Let’s talk later. Help her first.”

I pushed the struggling Seol Ye-won under the barricade, and hurriedly followed her.

As we entered the barricade area, Yoon Hye-ri quickly blocked the entrance and scanned both Seol Ye-won and me from top to bottom.

“Is that woman bitten?”

“No, she’s just exhausted.”

“We need to check.”

“Let’s go inside and check.”

I led my weary body towards the club room, when suddenly a metallic sound echoed behind us.

Turning my head, I saw Yoon Hye-ri glaring at me, holding a long spear.

Where did she get that?

I swallowed hard at her unexpected behavior, and Yoon Hye-ri spoke, tightening her brow.

“We need to check before we go inside.”

Is she suspicious of me?

I had been so good to her when we were at school together.

I felt an unjust sense of grievance, but I understood this was a necessary step. I complied without protest.

“Should I take off my clothes or something?”

“A, no, wait just a moment.”

Yoon Hye-ri fumbled around, then ran inside the club room and came back with a water bottle.

If you’re going to do that, why bring a spear?

It was sloppy and unprepared.

“Here, drink this… and wait over there by the Dance Club.”

There were five club rooms on the 5th floor.

The one where I’m the vice-president of is the acoustic guitar club “Sori-gyeol,” which is twice the size of the others because of all the instruments. It’s about 25 pyeong (80 square meters).

That room had been turned into a shelter for survivors.

The Dance Club was located across from our room.

They seemed to check for infection there before letting people into our room.

Seol Ye-won gulped down the water Yoon Hye-ri handed her and wiped her lips, asking:

“How many survivors are here?”

“Huh? Ah… why do you ask?”

“Can’t I even ask questions?”

Seol Ye-won frowned, and Yoon Hye-ri became speechless, staring at me with a blank look.

What does she want me to do?

I shrugged and briefly introduced them.

“This is Seol Ye-won, who escaped with me. This is my junior from the club, Yoon Hye-ri.”

Forced introductions made, Yoon Hye-ri nodded at Seol Ye-won.

Seol Ye-won, still struggling to breathe, exhaled heavily, shoulders drooping.

I looked at Yoon Hye-ri and asked:

“Who made this barricade with you?”

“Oh, I made it with Hyun Oppa.”

“Hyun? Choi Hyun?”

So, my classmates are still alive.

Yoon Hye-ri nodded and began telling the story that happened two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, the people in the club room were spending the night telling scary stories.

There were 14 people in total, including Yoon Hye-ri, Choi Hyun, Jeon Wan-soo, Lee Jung-woo, Jeong Jin-young, and some freshmen and other students.

Choi Hyun and Jeon Wan-soo were my classmates.

The two of them were from this town, having been friends since childhood and continuing through college.

Lee Jung-woo and Jeong Jin-young were upperclassmen, staying in the club room to work on assignments.

They were often in the club room, playing, eating, and sleeping, so that night was no different from usual.

After chatting for hours, around 2 or 3 AM, they ordered chicken to satisfy their hunger.

“While waiting for the chicken, I looked out the window… and the fog had already rolled in.”

Yoon Hye-ri’s expression darkened as she trailed off, waiting for me to show patience.

She continued

The delivery driver had become infected by the virus in the fog, and for no reason, he started attacking them. Yoon Hye-ri’s classmates tried to stop him.

I could guess what happened next—it was probably similar to my own situation.

“How did you handle the delivery guy?”

“In the scuffle, the delivery guy fell and broke his spine. But even then…”

“What happened to him?”

Yoon Hye-ri took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts.

“At first, we locked him in the bathroom and watched him. But then, when we saw what was happening outside…”

Yoon Hye-ri furrowed her brows, clenching her hands as she struggled to finish the sentence. It was clear this memory was difficult for her.

I met her gaze, pressing further:

“Did you make sure the delivery guy was dead? The one who bit someone?”

“Wan-soo Oppa went in to deal with him, and he came back covered in blood. He wasn’t bitten, but his clothes were soaked with blood…”

It seems that Wan-soo took the responsibility of handling the situation.

I sighed in relief—no one had been bitten.

As long as they weren’t bitten, everything would be fine. After all, even if you’re a player, getting bitten by a zombie means you’re infected.

Yoon Hye-ri seemed to have a lot built up over the past two weeks. She continued, almost complaining:

“We were all in panic. The police didn’t come, 119 didn’t work… we didn’t know what to do.”

“Didn’t you go down to the first floor?”

“The fog spread for about two days… and then, we tried to escape together.”

If someone had no immunity to the fog, they probably turned into zombies right then and there.

I cautiously asked, looking for confirmation:

“There were 14 people, right?”

“Yes.”

“How many of them turned?”

“Everyone except Wan-soo Oppa, Hyun Oppa, Jin-young Oppa, and Jung-woo Oppa.”

Wan-soo and Hyun had played Last Ark, so that’s understandable, but Jung Jin-young and Lee Jung-woo didn’t turn?

Could they, like Yoon Hye-ri, be immune to the fog?

Yoon Hye-ri made a bitter face and continued:

“A week later, we started talking about escaping again.”

“Did you have enough weapons?”

“We had weapons from the gym on the 3rd floor and the Ye-bong-gak club room.”

Ye-bong-gak.

A traditional Korean martial arts club.

They always showcased various martial arts during club promotions, and their weapons would be quite useful in the current time.

The spear Yoon Hye-ri was holding… did she get it from Ye-bong-gak?

Yoon Hye-ri continued:

“When we tried to escape, we joined forces with the Dance Club on the 5th floor and the Ye-bong-gak people on the 3rd floor.”

“So, it wasn’t just our club that survived.”

“No, but…”

Yoon Hye-ri bit her lower lip and trailed off again.