[Ten minutes left until the start of the First Main Quest: Noah’s Ark]
[Quest Difficulty: F -> D]
[Quest Reward: Eligibility to partake in Side Quests, access to Player Forums, & 100 EP]
[Penalty for Failure: ???]
’A main quest?’ Sami creased his brows.
Even though the quest had a name, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to fully figure out what it meant just from that, so he let his eyes settle on the difficulty, reward, and penalty for failure.
’It’s not a high-graded quest, which means... clearing it shouldn’t be hard. I’m not sure what the reward means, and the penalty for failure isn’t even stated.’
He sighed.
Truth be told, things were moving too fast, and he felt like he was being overwhelmed. Turning to the sink, he turned on the tap and splashed cold water over his face, washing away the blood that had pooled from his eye sockets earlier.
Once he felt clean enough, he walked out of the bathroom while keeping his eyes on the timer hovering beside him:
[00:08:41]
Then, he made his way to the balcony of the building. It was only then that he really noticed that the world was no longer as it had been. There were plumes of black smoke rising into the air from cars that had been in accidents. Lots of people were screaming in confusion and horror, while some were hurrying to get out of this city.
’Where would they even go, though?’ Sami wondered, shaking his head at the sight.
That just seemed like the dumbest reaction possible. As if a global apocalypse would be picky and only target specific neighborhoods.
Sami could also see dead bodies scattered across the streets, likely from people who had failed the Game of Cards due to hesitation or not taking the situation seriously.
It was a messy sight.
"Turns out it was not a waste of money," he muttered as he dipped his hand into his pocket and took out a cigarette pack. After tapping one out, he placed it between his lips and lit it with a flip-top lighter.
For the next minute or so, he used the time to digest all that was happening and to mentally adjust to his new reality.
Despite having a lot of questions on his mind, like why this was suddenly happening, or who was behind this twisted game, he knew complaining wouldn’t do him any good.
He needed to quickly adjust his mind to focus on survival, before he could focus on anything else.
’I’m guessing Prana is the energy I’m expending to keep my lie active. I just hope I would be able to complete this next quest before it runs out.’
Taking a long drag, he exhaled a trail of gray smoke into the air, watching the countdown timer ticking down beside his face.
[00:00:03]
[00:00:02]
[00:00:01]
[00:00:00]
[...]
The timer froze for a few seconds. And then, new words popped up:
[The Main Quest: Noah’s Ark, shall now commence.]
Just then, a drop of water fell onto Sami’s face. He raised a hand to wipe it away, then looked up to see that the sky was changing.
It was getting dark and gloomy, as if heavy rain was about to fall. A few seconds later, a minor drizzle even began to patter against the balcony railing.
Sami took out the cigarette and flicked the butt over the edge. At that moment, a notification sounded in his ear.
[The Player has received a Map]
A different screen suddenly appeared to the side of the first. On this screen, Sami could see a map that indicated where he was, alongside a rough layout of the surrounding neighborhood.
He could also see that many places were marked red, while some places were marked green.
The apartment building he was currently in was one the places marked green.
Suddenly, a different message appeared on the first screen, drawing his attention back to it.
[The time limit for the Quest is 15 minutes.]
[Rule 1: Obtain a ’Shelter’ through any means necessary. The higher the Shelter, the better.]
[Rule 2: Until one is made a Landlord, there can be no more than one person per Shelter. If two people are in a Shelter without a Landlord’s approval by the end of the Quest, both will die.]
[Words of Advice: Preparedness is always a good thing, but in this case, it is not. For the Flood of Change will bring other ’Hungry Children’ who can ignore the protection of a Shelter. In other words, preparedness can lead to doom.]
Sami narrowed his eyes at the last message.
And just then, the timer began:
[00:15:00]
Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck through the sky, followed by a heavy downpour of dark rain.
’Shelter? Like a house, right?’ Sami thought as he quickly retreated back into his apartment, ignoring the growing noise outside.
As if responding to his thoughts, a different screen appeared:
[Player Sami Hong has successfully occupied a Shelter]
"Aha!" Sami fist-pumped into the air. It was a good thing he decided to stay home today. Plus, his apartment was on the third floor, which was high enough, right?
"I think I’ve already passed the main quest! Now all I need to do is relax and wait until the fifteen minutes are up!"
He had barely had that thought when he suddenly paused.
’No, Sami, you cannot think like that. That sort of linear thinking is dangerous!’
He quickly turned back to the floating blue screen to read the rules again line by line.
"Obtain a shelter through any means necessary. That means..." His eyes widened as he understood the true implication of the first rule.
He immediately bolted across the living room to the front door, locking the deadbolt and throwing the safety chain into place.
Fifteen minutes wasn’t nearly enough time for most people out on the street to reach their own homes, so they would definitely try to break into whatever apartment was closest to them.
According to what he could see on the map, only residential buildings and a few select structures were designated as green shelters. Offices, malls, and other public buildings were all marked in red.
To make matters worse, families and groups would be forced to turn on each other or kick out their friends, since only one person could occupy a single Shelter without dying.
’This quest isn’t just about finding a shelter. It’s about protecting it from everyone else until the timer hits zero!’
His mind began to race. At this point, chaotic footsteps, banging, and desperate screams were already echoing down the hallway right outside his apartment door.
He ignored the noise and turned his attention back to the screens beside him. He suddenly felt like there was something else he was overlooking.
’Why do I feel like I’m missing something?’ He frowned, reading through the whole text again from top to bottom.
After a moment, his eyes stopped on the Words of Advice.
"Preparedness is always a good thing, but in this case, it is not. For the Flood of Change will bring other hungry children... hungry... hungry children."
Sami’s eyes widened in realization as he turned and ran toward the kitchen pantry where he had hoarded all his canned food and emergency rations.
Preparedness is always a good thing, but in this case, it is not. For the Flood of Change will bring other hungry children!
The moment he got to the pantry door and opened it, he could see what looked like a thick black fog that had appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the cardboard boxes and plastic storage bins.
’I’m guessing these hungry children will definitely not be human beings if they can bypass the protection of a shelter!’
Without wasting any time, he grabbed as many cans and ration packs as his arms could carry, hauled them across the living room, and hurried to the balcony to toss them over the edge. He repeated the process over and over, dumping box after box into the dark downpour outside until the pantry was completely bare.
Just as he got back into the living room, panting after the last batch, he suddenly heard someone hitting his door as if trying to break it down.
’Shit!’
Without wasting any time, he quickly hurried to the kitchen and opened the drawer, taking out both a normal kitchen knife and a sharp butcher’s knife.
The pounding began to grow louder, and the door looked like it was coming off its hinges. Then a raspy voice yelled from behind the wood.
"Open the fucking door!"
Sami began to hurry over, only for the frame to shatter as the door finally burst open, revealing a muscular man clad in a black leather jacket and army trousers, holding a bag of foodstuffs in his left hand.