WHEN A BOOK BECOMES THE STRONGEST WEAPON

3. Second mission

"Basically, whether it's the world before or the one we're in now, there's no real difference. Only those who are competent and can think calmly will survive. So, you just need to follow me! I survived the first mission with ease, so the second and the ones after that won’t be a problem."

Naturally, everyone who had survived and gathered inside the building had already formed their own groups, just as instructed by the giant monkey earlier.

Shaden couldn't help but smile when he saw Leah sneer at the words of a man who, apparently, used to be her superior at work.

"He's still the same as ever. ‘Survived easily’, he says? I clearly remember how he was crawling and begging me to take him along when we were escaping," Leah grumbled.

A soft laugh came from Ely. "You know how he is, yet you still helped him. If I were you, I wouldn’t have looked back. I would’ve let the rats eat him."

Leah’s expression stiffened as she lowered her gaze. "I just couldn’t watch someone die right in front of me. Especially not my other friends..."

BOOM!

Everyone’s attention immediately shifted at the sound of a massive explosion. The monkey that had left a moment ago had returned. Its massive body looked as light as cotton as it floated through the air, and this made everyone feel a deep, chilling fear.

[Treasure hunt! Inside this building, there are countless valuables hidden without owners. Find the most precious items in the building—items estimated to be worth over $10,000. If you succeed, you’ll receive an incredible prize that will help you comfortably clear the third mission. But if you fail, your entire body will explode!]

The way the monkey described such a horrific mission with a cheerful tone and terrifying appearance made Shaden feel sick to his stomach, as if he were about to vomit. He desperately wanted to rush forward and stab that monkey right in the heart. But he couldn’t. Because if he did, he wouldn't survive. The punishment for harming a narrator was death.

"$10,000 worth of treasure? That should be easy to find—employees from the Department of Education are sure to own items of that value. Like a car, for example," Judy said quietly.

Shaden turned to her, shaking his head. "That only works if you bring the actual car into the room by the end of the mission. If you just find the keys, it won’t count."

His three companions were stunned by what he said.

Leah asked, "How do you know that?"

But Shaden only smiled in response. It wasn’t the time to talk—not with the monkey still right there in front of them.

The atmosphere in the room grew darker than before. Faces that had previously looked calm were now filled with fear. Doubt spread—could they really succeed in this second mission? It looked simple on the surface, but would be hard to complete inside a building that was mostly in ruins. Especially with something the damned monkey hadn’t mentioned: that their struggle wasn’t just to find an item worth $10,000.

[Get ready! The second mission will begin in...

10

9

8

7

6]

Chaos erupted. Shaden could see fear taking over many people, even his schoolmates who had managed to stay strong until now were beginning to cry in panic.

He closed his eyes. Even though this wasn’t the first time, Shaden still wasn’t used to seeing people so terrified—terrified their lives could end at any moment. Including his own.

5

4

3

2

1

BOOM!

A second explosion rang out, accompanied by strange sounds.

From his status window pocket, Shaden pulled out four masks and handed them to his three teammates.

"Put these on!" he urged.

Luckily, the three didn’t ask questions despite their confusion. Not because Shaden didn’t want to explain, but because there wasn’t enough time.

Because immediately after, a swarm of bats filled the room, sending everyone into a panic.

"What is this?! The monkey didn’t say anything about monsters like this showing up!"

"Ahh! Help me! I don’t want to die!"

They hadn’t even begun the treasure hunt, yet some of them had already become food for the rabid bats.

"This... how is this possible..." Ely’s voice trembled in fear.

Shaden patted her shoulder. "It’s hard to believe, even after seeing and experiencing it ourselves. But we still have to do our best to survive. There’s a long road ahead, and creatures like these can appear any time we let our guard down." His hand touched the mask he was wearing. "These aren’t just ordinary masks—the monsters hate the scent of the materials used to make them. With these on, we can move more freely."

Hearing Shaden’s explanation, the others clutched their masks in awe.

"Let’s move!"

Shaden’s command was the sign to begin. Amid the chaos of people struggling to escape the bats, they ran down the central hallway of the building. Shaden was amazed by how some people chose to crawl on the floor to avoid the swarm. With so many humans in the room, the bats were targeting the easiest prey first—those who panicked and remained standing while trying to shield themselves.

"Stop!" Shaden ordered.

His command confused his teammates. "Why are we stopping? What if someone else already found the treasure and we end up failing to get one?" Judy asked in a panic.

Shaden scanned the area, his eyes locking onto someone who quickly hid after realizing Shaden had turned around.

"Judy and Ely, take the corridor on the right. Find an unlocked room, go in, and lock it from the inside. Just hold out until the mission ends. Leah and I will search for the treasure."

"What? Why don’t we all go together? What if we die even though you find the treasure, just because we didn’t participate?"

Shaden’s eyes were still fixed on the spot where someone was watching them.

"Check your status windows! It already shows that we’re in the same team. It’s fine if only Leah and I do the search. More importantly, we need to throw off the person trying to follow us."

Leah’s eyes widened. "Follow—"

"Don’t look back!" Shaden warned. "If you trust me, do exactly as I say. We don’t have much time. We move now!"

Judy and Ely exchanged glances but then quickly ran in the direction Shaden had pointed.

Meanwhile, Shaden and Leah ran the opposite way.

"Who’s following us?" Leah asked as they ran.

Shaden glanced behind briefly. "Your boss. He must believe that you’ll succeed again this time, so he’s chosen to tail us and even abandon his own teammates to be eaten by the bats."

Leah growled in anger. "He’s trash! How could he betray people who trusted him?"

"This world was already like that even before it fell apart. So for people like him, it’s easy to act the same as always, pretending they have no other choice."

"Utterly rotten trash!"

Shaden gave a small smile. He pulled a staff from his pocket, knowing that when they turned the corner, something would block their path.

"Leah, take out any weapon you’ve got."

Without question, Leah drew a long sword. This surprised Shaden—he had expected her to choose a gun or a bow.

"I’m obsessed with knight movies. I love how they swing their swords," Leah said, as if she had read Shaden’s mind.

And the person behind them—just as Shaden suspected—was still tailing them.

"You’re running like you know exactly where the treasure is," Leah said after a while.

Shaden simply nodded. What they needed to find was the room labeled ‘Department Head’. And they found it at the end of the fifth floor hallway, part of which was blocked by collapsed debris.

"This... it looks like the floor will collapse just from us stepping on it," Leah said, horrified.

Shaden’s ears picked up the sound of footsteps halting a few meters behind them.

"That’s why I told you to draw your weapon—because under this rubble, there isn’t just stone and broken pieces of the building, but—"

CRASH

A giant centipede burst from beneath the rubble, as if it had been waiting for them. Shaden got ready to strike the creature, but Leah moved first. With one clean slash, she severed the top half of the centipede.

Shaden thought it was over and pulled out a rusty key from his pocket. But he miscalculated—the centipede’s tail whipped at him, knocking the key from his hand.

"Watch out!"

Leah shoved Shaden aside and chopped the rest of the centipede into pieces.

"This thing’s even more insane than the bats," Leah muttered.

Shaden went to retrieve the key, only to be intercepted by someone rushing from behind.

Both he and Leah were shocked.

"What are you doing? Give that back!" Leah shouted.

But the man—Leah’s former boss—just smirked. "Isn’t this the key that can save us from the second mission? No way I’m giving this to you."

"You ungrateful bastard! I should’ve let you die in the office back then. Instead of thanking me, you act like filth!"

But Leah’s rage didn’t faze him. "Let’s find out! Where’s this treasure?" he said, as he began inserting the key into the door in front of him.

The one labeled ‘Department Head’.

**