Several hours had gone by before Min-ho and his cohorts finally decided to rest up.
Once again they were battered and bruised to a degree that would have been deadly had it not been for their armor.
Though many of them were afraid the durability of the Commoner's Armor was at risk. A quick System check had revealed to them that they still had a while longer to be with the armor.
Now huddled up in the first floor of a storey building, the fighters in the team lay sprawled on the floor, breathing hard while wincing from pain.
It hadn't been an easy couple of hours, because after they had dealt with the Worm Hounds they threw into the pit. Not long after, they ran into another Worm. Then another, and another, and another.
More than half of those hours had been spent battling one Worm Hound or the other. According to Ji-su, they had left the Safe Zone for approximately 5 hours, yet they only managed to cover a distance of 10 kilometers. Which did seem like much, but not according to their schedule.
This thought bothered Min-ho, which made him get onto his feet with a slight groan.
He turned to Ji-su and called.
"Ji-su."
Ji-su turned to him, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"Please follow me," he said, then turned toward the corner of the building that housed a stairway.
He found it at the far right of the room, then wasted no time heading for it.
Though everyone thought to speak, no one really questioned why Min-ho called Ji-su or where they were headed. It was clear that they didn't know one another very well yet, it was evident that each person here needed the other if they wanted to survive.
So Dok-su ruled out murder as a possibility for his brother being called. He didn't like to admit it, but due to their successes so far, he had found himself more inclined toward trusting Min-ho.
As they walked off, Im-hee watched, an issue running rampant in her heart.
Min-ho and Ji-su made their way up the stone steps, which had gaps every now and then.
The stairway was a corkscrew that spiraled to the top of the building, with doors on either side of the cylindrical shaft every few meters, which evidently led to the different floors of the building.
Not long into their walk, Ji-su finally decided to speak up when he judged their voices would be out of earshot from the others.
"Is something wrong?" Ji-su asked.
Min-ho hesitated, his right foot almost missing a step when a sharp pain burned in his waist.
He paused on the steps, took in a deep breath and then gave an answer.
"Just wanted you to do some rough estimates for me," Min-ho said, his voice cold and flat from both the pain biting at him from all sides and the thoughts he was dreading.
Ji-su didn't say anything, he kept quiet for the remainder of their trek up the steps.
As they made their way closer to the top, the sun's light radiating from the first floor began to dim, because there were no windows in the shaft.
Though visibility was getting harder, it wasn't completely gone, as there were bits and pieces of those glowing crystals from back at the temple present on the shaft walls.
Looking at them, Min-ho and Ji-su could tell that these glowing crystals were reaching its last legs, as their glow seemed to dwindle in pulses like a beating heart.
The more they thought about it, the more realization that these architectures were ancient really sank in. It was a marvel that the temple from before was in almost pristine condition.
Whereas everything out in the world of the Z-Tower was barely holding together.
Min-ho tried to guess for a moment what this world looked like in its entirety before whatever happened to it happened.
Not wanting to think on any of this further, he shook these thoughts off and focused on his immediate priorities.
Upon reaching the top, Min-ho pushed open a trap door so the sun's rays seeped into shaft, chasing away the mild darkness and filling the shaft with light all the way down its middle.
It had taken a second for Min-ho's eyes to adjust to the intense light of the sun, but when he did, he exhaled and then got onto the roof.
Ji-su followed behind, keeping his eyes on the sky, afraid a flying Spector would jump them even though he knew better. They didn't need to worry about any flying Spectors for at least five more hours.
It was during the late hours that they were usually active… usually.
Turning back to Min-ho, Ji-su found him standing near the edge of the building, his hands placed on the stone railing as he peered into the distance.
Ji-su walked up to Min-ho's side, staring at the path ahead.
Upon peering out, his eyes gleamed when he saw a building well over 20 kilometers away with a set of glowing numbers above its head.
10
"The Safe Zone," Ji-su said with a gasp. But Min-ho didn't respond.
His gaze was on the road leading up to the Safe Zone, the distance separating them from it.
"How long do you think it'll take us to get there?" Min-ho asked, his thumb suddenly feeling itchy.
Ji-su turned to Min-ho, then, realizing what he was getting at, his mood plummeted.
'The Fog,' Ji-su thought, a sudden fear rising in the pit of his stomach.
"It's already been two days?" Ji-su said, his gaze falling to the ground.
It had slipped his mind, it had slipped everyone's mind that the Fog was coming for them. It was the norm for the Fog to return every two days. Of course this wasn't set in stone, but no one was willing to risk it.
There was a chance that the Fog would come by morning, taking everyone out before they even woke up.
They needed to get to the Safe Zone.
"How long?" Min-ho asked, staring into Ji-su's eyes.