Ji-hoon walked along the dirt path, following the directions from the map he found in the mine. His arm still stung from the cave fiend's claws, but he'd wrapped it tightly with bandages. He moved slower now, tired but focused.
"Abandoned Farmhouse… better than a graveyard," he muttered.
The world around him felt bigger with every step he took. Dry trees stretched overhead, twisted and leafless. Dust blew across the cracked path. Every sound made him tense—rustling bushes, creaking branches, his own footsteps.
He held the pickaxe in one hand. It felt solid, reliable.
After nearly an hour, the farmhouse came into view.
It stood alone in the middle of a wide, dead field. The wooden fence was broken. The grass was yellow and dry. A windmill creaked slowly beside a red barn, and a scarecrow leaned sideways in the field, its head missing.
The house itself was two stories, with boarded windows and a half-open front door.
Ji-hoon stopped.
"It looks… too quiet."
He approached carefully, scanning for movement.
Nothing.
No zombies. No animals. Just the creaking windmill and the distant caw of crows.
He stepped inside.
The smell hit him first—dust, rot, something burnt.
Inside, the house looked frozen in time. Chairs were knocked over. Plates were still on the table, covered in dust. Family pictures on the wall showed smiling faces… but the glass was cracked.
He moved room to room, checking every corner. He found some old canned food in the kitchen, still sealed. A lighter. A worn-out jacket hanging by the door.
[Items Acquired: Canned Corn x2, Lighter, Worn Leather Jacket (+2 Defense)]
He slipped on the jacket. It was a little big, but warm.
He made his way upstairs. The wooden steps creaked loudly, but he didn't hear any movement.
At the top, a hallway stretched in both directions. He chose the left room.
It was a child's bedroom. Torn teddy bear on the floor. Broken toy train. Drawings on the wall—bright colors, happy faces.
And one drawing near the corner…
It showed the family standing outside the farmhouse. Behind them, in the shadows of the trees, were dozens of dark shapes with glowing eyes.
Ji-hoon stared at it.
"This kid… saw them coming."
He turned away and opened the next room.
The master bedroom.
There was a bed, blankets still messy. A journal lay on the floor near a small desk.
He picked it up.
[Item Acquired: Torn Journal Page (1/3)]
He read:
"They say the sickness came from the mines. The air turned heavy. People changed. We locked the doors. Prayed. It didn't help. I can still hear Margaret crying. But she's not Margaret anymore…"
Ji-hoon felt a chill.
So it did start in the mines.
He pocketed the page. There had to be more.
He opened the closet and nearly jumped—inside was a skeleton, slumped against the back wall. Dressed in farmer's clothes. A shotgun lay across its lap, rusted and broken.
He backed away.
"Rest in peace," he muttered.
Then he noticed something behind the skeleton—another small box.
Inside: a clean shirt, another journal page, and three shotgun shells.
[Item Acquired: Torn Journal Page (2/3), Ammo x3]
No shotgun. Just the shells.
He left the room and explored the final door.
It led to the attic.
He hesitated, then climbed up.
The attic was dark, but he used the lighter to look around.
Stacks of crates. Old tools. And in the corner—something large covered in a dirty sheet.
He pulled it off.
A wooden crate with strange markings. A symbol he didn't recognize—like an eye inside a circle.
Inside the crate: a strange-looking compass, glowing faintly blue.
[Item Acquired: Magic Compass (??)]
He touched it, and words appeared in the air:
[Compass of the Lost – Points toward the nearest survivor or trader.]
His eyes widened.
"Wait… there are other people here?"
The compass needle moved slowly, turning west.
He stared at it.
Trader's Camp? Maybe.
Then—CRASH.
Glass shattered downstairs.
Ji-hoon jumped.
He heard it—slow, heavy footsteps.
Something had entered the house.
He rushed back down the attic ladder, moving quietly. He peeked through the bedroom door.
A figure stood in the hallway.
Its clothes were ripped and muddy. Its head tilted at an odd angle. Its jaw hung open, flesh missing from one cheek.
It wasn't just a zombie.
Its eyes glowed red.
It turned its head sharply.
Ji-hoon ducked back.
He'd seen that kind of zombie before. Not in the base game… but in a nightmare DLC event.
"Rage-type," he whispered. "Faster. Smarter. Stronger."
He crept toward the stairs, holding his breath.
But the floorboard creaked.
The creature snarled and charged.
Ji-hoon ran.
Down the stairs, through the hallway, out the door. He didn't look back.
He sprinted across the field, heart pounding.
The windmill spun faster behind him. Crows flew into the air.
The creature chased him all the way to the broken fence—then stopped.
It didn't leave the farmhouse.
Ji-hoon kept running until the house was far behind him.
Finally, he stopped and collapsed behind a rock, breathing hard.
He checked the compass. The needle still pointed west.
"Okay," he panted. "Forget the farmhouse. Time to find someone who's still alive."
He opened the system.
[Status]
Name: Klein Arkwood
Level: 2
Health: 90/110
Trait: Survival Instinct (F)
Power: None
Items:
-Rusty Knife (D)
-Old Revolver (C) – Ammo: 0
-Pickaxe (C)
-Leather Jacket (+2 Defense)
-Canned Food x3
-Lighter
-Torn Journal Page (1/3, 2/3)
-Magic Compass
-Shotgun Shells x3
He looked up at the sky.
Still orange.
Still stuck.
But now he had a clue. And maybe… just maybe… a way forward.