Chapter 5 - The Choice to Conquer, Not Escape
Gradually, chaos swallowed up I-Poke Building 103.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Help me!"
"Aaaah!!"
"Monster—!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The hammering sounds grew louder, pounding through the walls.
Screams echoed from every direction, rising like a terrible chorus.
A moment ago, this had been a peaceful luxury apartment.
Now, it was a war zone.
Standing right in the middle of it all, Jhin furrowed his brow slightly.
'This is just the beginning.'
The quest had been clear.
Soon, this entire section — 5-6 units of Building 103 — would be transformed into a dungeon called Corrupted Molly's Tree.
He had less than ten minutes.
And from now on, the situation would only get worse.
The number of monsters would grow.
Not just a few goblins here and there —
they would start appearing inside the apartments themselves.
That was what dungeonization meant.
'...A lot of people are going to die.'
He knew the system all too well.
A parasite's corruption turning a normal place into a living hell —
it was one of Exodia's core features.
Jhin sighed quietly.
"Why here of all places..."
He glanced around at the marble floors, the polished doors, the gleaming lights.
This was a luxury complex.
New Capital's high-end elite.
And yet — how many of them could actually fight?
'Ordinary people can't even handle a single Hammer Goblin.'
Unless someone had a gun tucked away — and even then, it wasn't a guarantee — there was no way they could survive.
In Exodia 1, monsters roamed the world openly.
People were armed, trained, hardened by necessity.
Here?
Here, people were used to peace.
New Capital didn't even allow swords.
Maybe someone had a kitchen knife tucked away in a drawer —
but a kitchen knife wouldn't stop a goblin swinging a sledgehammer.
'This place has been peaceful for too long.'
And that peace —
now it was a trap.
The hallways were too narrow.
The staircases too cramped.
No room to run.
No room to breathe.
If monsters filled the building...
it would be a slaughter.
Jhin shook his head grimly.
Above and below, more screams echoed.
"Uaaaaah!!"
Proof enough that the monsters were already spreading.
Narrowing his eyes, Jhin began organizing his thoughts quickly.
'I already cleared the monsters on the 13th floor.'
That was something.
And if the goblins couldn't move between floors...
then the 13th floor was temporarily safe.
That was one good piece of information.
'The quest says to escape within 10 minutes.'
And escape, technically, wasn't that hard.
He looked up the staircase.
'If I go up, I'm safe.'
All he had to do was reach the rooftop — cross over into another unit block — and he would be clear of the dungeonized area.
Five floors.
That was it.
It was a clean, simple strategy.
'But if I do that...'
His hand tightened unconsciously around the longsword.
Everyone else would die.
Even if he escaped, the dungeonization would still complete.
Monsters would flood the building.
Families.
Children.
Neighbors.
All dead.
Jhin exhaled slowly.
Maybe his real choice had been decided the moment he stepped out of the elevator.
'They're telling me to just run?'
He scoffed quietly.
'Not happening.'
Any true veteran of Exodia knew better.
Quests didn't always show the real goal.
Sometimes, you had to go beyond what they told you —
to see the truth hidden behind the objective.
He glanced around.
Screams still filled the air.
People were still alive.
Barely, but alive.
'Tutorial quests... aren't meant to be cleared by running away.'
He knew.
He had seen it a hundred times before.
It was dangerous.
Risky to the point of madness.
But there was a way —
a way for everyone to survive.
And if anyone could pull it off...
it was Jhin —
the one-time top-ranked player known simply as Kyle.
He smiled grimly.
'Let's clear the dungeon.'
If running wasn't the answer —
then conquering it was.
If he could find the boss and kill it before dungeonization finished...
this nightmare could be stopped.
It sounded impossible.
A tutorial-level character, killing a dungeon boss?
But Jhin had done crazier things before.
That was why he had been number one.
'There's no other way.'
His mind made up, he turned his gaze downward.
The boss would be somewhere below.
The parasites had started spreading from the lower floors.
But then —
His brow furrowed.
'I can't use the stairs.'
The residents would be fleeing up and down, paTalaing, stampeding.
If monsters attacked them there...
It would be a massacre.
There would be no room to fight.
Only room to die.
And even if he tried...
it might take too long to reach the boss.
Ten minutes wasn't much time.
He needed another way.
Another path.
Jhin's eyes sharpened.
"This might be crazy, but..."
He turned slowly toward the elevator —
or rather, the thing lurking inside it.
The gaping, swirling portal left behind by the parasite.
Still open.
Still waiting.
"If I'm wrong... I'll be eaten alive."
Normally, touching something like that meant instant death.
Digested, dissolved, erased.
But...
The fact that the portal was still stable —
that it hadn't disappeared —
meant something.
Jhin gripped the longsword tighter.
If there was even a sliver of a chance —
He was going to take it.