Chapter 3: Saving another

“We’ll split into two teams.”

“Huh?”

“You and Seoyoung go rescue the maknae. I’ll go get Junga.”

Junga was the third child of the Yoon Family.

“Is that really okay?”

“Junga’s place will probably take longer than the maknae’s. Are there more people at the school?”

At Dad’s words, the siblings nodded in understanding.

Since there were fewer people at the Kindergarten, rescuing the maknae would be easier than getting Junga.

After finishing his calculations, Yohan spoke.

“You two, rescue the maknae as quickly as possible and come back to me. Of course, it’d be nice if I could get Junga before that, but…”

He finished speaking and gazed out the window.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the middle school Junga attended.

Since they’d be splitting up, they didn’t get out at the schoolyard this time. Instead, they parked the car in front of the main gate.

Yohan got out and looked at Jeonghu.

He might be a bit of a fool and not all there, but in this situation, the only one who could take his place was his eldest son.

Still, anxiety lingered, so Yohan repeated his warning to Jeonghu.

“Jeonghu, drive carefully. Don’t speed and get into an accident, okay? And don’t get hurt trying to show off.”

“Dad, I’ll have you know, I was a Motor Transport Soldier. There’s no vehicle I can’t drive.”

“Weren’t you a Private of Interest before you were a Motor Transport Soldier, son?”

“Hey! A Soldier of Interest? Never! I was the ace of our Maintenance Unit!”

“Alright, alright.”

There was no more time to bicker with his son.

Yohan turned toward the school gate.

‘Something’s not right.’

By now, students should be pouring out through the gate, but there wasn’t a single one.

And maybe his senses had sharpened along with his athleticism, but his nose picked up the thick, metallic scent of blood wafting from the school.

Hoping nothing had happened, Yohan looked at the siblings.

“I’m going! Be careful!”

“Come back safe!”

“Be careful, Dad!”

With their encouragement, Yohan ran with all his might.

He was fast.

At this speed, he could outpace not just Usain Bolt, but even a horse.

‘Where in the world is this strength coming from?’

He thought about checking the Status Window again, but there was no time for that.

“Oh my god.”

There were six Monsters stationed right at the school gate.

And the ground was a sea of blood, with piles of bodies lying everywhere.

Just seeing it made his heart pound.

He’d gotten stronger, and after rescuing Seoyoung, he’d let his guard down.

‘How scared must Junga have been all this time? Or, what if…’

Smack!

To shake off his worries, Yohan slapped both his cheeks.

“Junga will be fine. Nothing’s happened.”

‘But… six of them. Can I win?’

Suddenly, memories from his youth surfaced.

Yohan had been an orphan.

If he hadn’t met his wife and held Jeonghu in his arms so early, he might have gone down the wrong path.

No, to be honest, he’d probably have ended up with a dragon tattooed on his back.

Back then, all he had was grit and guts.

He remembered getting beaten and beaten, and thinking he might die if it kept up.

Even as a kid, he’d fought back against the older boys, only to get thrashed again and again.

Yeah, things were better now than they were then.

He wasn’t fighting to survive—he had a powerful reason: to save someone.

Krrrr?

Kruaaagh!

Yohan gripped the two Axes he’d taken from dead Monsters and charged at the group.

KRUAAAAAA!

KRAAAAK!

He wasn’t about to lose to some roaring Monster.

“YAAAAAAAH!”

Yohan let out a furious, primal scream.

The first Monster lunged at him, thrusting its Spear forward. Maybe thanks to his heightened perception, the Spear seemed to move in slow motion.

He dodged the tip by a hair and swung the Axe in his hand, smashing it into the Monster’s neck.

The Rusty Axe buried itself deep.

Krrrrr….

Leaving the Monster clutching its neck and dropping its Spear, Yohan kicked the falling weapon up and caught it in his hand.

He spun and hurled it at another Monster, nailing it right in the chest, then brought the remaining Axe down on the head of the next one that charged.

CRUNCH!

Foul, black blood spattered across his face—he blinked it away.

KRUH!

Two more Monsters were already swinging their weapons at him.

He had nothing in his hands.

‘What now?’

His body moved before he could think.

He grabbed the head-split Orc and used it as a shield, blocking the incoming blows.

THUD!!

The weapons of the two Monsters struck the body he’d used as a shield.

“You bastards!”

Yohan shoved the dead Monster at them.

KWEHK!

THUD!

Maybe even the Monsters couldn’t withstand his strength.

Their bodies twisted as they tried to keep hold of their weapons, and one ended up falling flat on its rear.

‘I’ll leave that one for now!’

Yohan quickly turned to face another Monster whose weapon he’d dropped.

It was like something out of a movie, or a martial arts match.

He never thought he’d be able to do a spinning back kick with his own body, but it worked just as he imagined.

CRACK!

With one kick, the Monster’s head exploded.

He landed lightly, blood and brains spraying everywhere.

“Whew!”

Who said men in their forties were past their prime?

He was far from done.

‘Wait, this isn’t the time to be impressed.’

Yohan quickly grabbed his two Axes again and dashed toward the school.

“Hm?”

He hadn’t gone far when he saw some students.

Watching a student climb over the wall to avoid the school gate, Yohan clicked his tongue.

‘How can someone be this clueless!’

If he’d just climbed the wall instead of fighting six Monsters, he’d already be inside the building!

‘Wait, hold on?’

Could Junga have climbed the wall and gone home like that?

‘If only that were the case…’

If only his phone worked, he could have called her, but reality was far too frustrating.

How did people even live back in the days before cell phones?

Lost in thought, he arrived at the school building and went inside.

The hallways were eerily empty, as if many students had already escaped.

He looked around nervously.

Corpses and bloodstains littered the floor.

He checked each one, hoping none were his youngest daughter—but Junga was nowhere to be seen.

“Hm?”

Each time he checked a body, dread welled up inside him.

Then, a strange sound echoed through the halls.

Thud. Thud.

It was like something heavy being dropped from above.

‘Did someone jump?’

He rushed to the window, pale with worry, but thankfully, no one was jumping.

And there was no way anyone would be moving cargo at a time like this, especially at a school.

He couldn’t figure out what was making the noise.

Yohan started walking toward the source of the sound.

It was coming from the top floor—the fourth floor.

KUEK!

THUD!

KRRRR!!

THUDTHUDTHUD!

The falling sounds continued, along with the Monsters’ roars.

“What is that?”

Finally, he reached the fourth floor.

Yohan couldn’t believe his eyes.

“What the… what is that?”

He’d been surprised so many times, but this was on another level.

First, there were countless Monsters in the hallway.

The six from earlier were nothing compared to this.

Even Yohan hesitated at the sheer number.

He guessed there were at least fifty.

Why were they all gathered on the fourth floor?

Beyond the horde of Monsters.

Yohan’s shock wasn’t because of the Monsters, but what he saw past them.

A wall had been erected in the middle of the hallway, blocking the Monsters’ advance.

They were kicking and smashing at it with their weapons in a frenzy.

Amazingly, the wall didn’t have a single scratch.

‘Wait… that wall… it looks familiar?’

It wasn’t a solid wall, but one built out of blocks the size of a person’s torso, stacked one by one.

They were yellow, red, blue—bright and colorful.

And the material… was it plastic?

“No way…”

Just then, something appeared in midair.

“Whaaat?”

It looked so imposing.

“Le, LEGO?”

It was LEGO.

Yes, that’s right.

He couldn’t believe it, but it was really LEGO—the national toy everyone from children to adults played with.

A gigantic LEGO block appeared in the air and crashed down onto the hallway floor.

SQUAAWK!

A Monster trapped under the LEGO screamed in pain.

Was it because their comrade was pinned?

The Monsters went berserk.

And the more they raged, the more LEGO blocks appeared, slamming down onto the floor.

Soon, another wall as tall as an Orc was built beyond the first one.

‘Whoever has this power… what kind of Game did they play? Wait, is there a Game where LEGO falls from the sky? I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere…’

He was racking his brain when it happened.

A window-shaped LEGO in the wall swung open, and someone poked their head out.

“Mwahaha! Hurts, doesn’t it, you Monsters? Frustrated? Try breaking it! Go on, break it! Nyeh~! Mwahahaha!”

It was a bold laugh, but the owner was a middle school girl with a young face and clumsy makeup.

“Hey!”

Yohan shouted, shocked.

“Huh? Dad?”

The girl was none other than Junga, the third child of the Yoon Family.

‘Ha!’

He wondered who these kids took after.

While everyone else was busy running away, his own had guts spilling out of their chests, pulling off such bold feats.

“But still, this is a bit…”

It was one thing to suddenly have a gun in his hand, but now, LEGO?

Yohan knew a Game involving LEGO.

“Minecraft.”

Junga had been playing it since elementary school, both on the computer and her phone.

It was a Game where you built houses, farmed, and went on adventures in a world made of blocks—a world within a world.

‘To think even a Game like this would manifest… does that mean even crazier things will show up?’

“Dad, watch out!”

KRUAAAH!

‘Oh, right!’

No time to be distracted.

Yohan gripped his Axe and readied himself.

“Whew!”

He ducked, dodging the first Monster’s Axe and bringing his own down on its foot.

With a crunch, the bones shattered.

Without missing a beat, he yanked the Axe free and drove it up into the Monster’s jaw.

Spin.

He spun half a turn, swinging the Axe into the face of the next Monster.

So far, so good.

He steadied himself, not letting his guard down, but suddenly felt his strength falter.

More and more Monsters pressed in, weapons raised, all targeting Yohan at once.

‘Can I really fight them all?’

Cold sweat trickled down his cheek.

He licked his dry lips and adjusted his grip on the Axe.

“Dad!”

THUD! THUDTHUDTHUD! THUD!

At Junga’s shout, more blocks fell from the sky, crushing Monsters and forming new walls and barriers.

Their placement was perfect.

As if she could see everything from above, Junga blocked the Monsters from swarming Yohan all at once.

“Nice! Well done!”

“Hehe.”

Yohan praised Junga, who was grinning in the distance, and charged in again.

‘If there aren’t too many, I can manage.’

Stamina?

At this point, his age didn’t matter at all.

He’d been running and fighting nonstop, but he wasn’t even out of breath, and nothing felt strained.

He hadn’t been this way even in his youth.

CRUNCH!

Yohan could only marvel again and again at his own movements, feeling like a killing machine.

-Game End Notification: 30 minutes remaining.

-Do your best to Survive until the end.

As the blocks piled up and the Monster corpses mounted, an announcement rang out.

Thirty minutes.

Long if you wanted, short if you didn’t.

Yohan wiped the blood from his hands onto his clothes and finally reached the end of the wall made of blocks.

“Dad’s here. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“Oh, Dad. But Dad, you’re amazing! What kind of Game did you get?”

It seemed Junga had figured out the system.

That would explain how she built those blocks and protected herself.

“There aren’t any Monsters left now, so come out. Can you do that?”

“Yeah! Wait a sec!”

Junga closed the window.

Soon, the blocks that the Monsters couldn’t break disappeared as if it had all been a lie.

And Yohan was surprised once again.

“Guys! We’re safe!”

“R-really?”

“Wow! Look at all the Monsters. Are those all dead?”

“Are we really safe? Can we go home?”

Inside the blocks, Yohan had expected to find only Junga.

But she wasn’t alone. There were more students than there had been Monsters in the hallway, all cheering for their survival.

“Heh…”

‘Did Junga save all these kids?’

He realized once again that he’d raised a fine daughter.

Yohan’s heart swelled with pride and affection.