Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 012

I almost fainted from shock.

I reflexively pulled out the Thunderstrike Sword from my inventory, and just before throwing it, I managed to see that the figure in front of me was a ‘frightened Person’, so I shut his mouth, and rushed into the broadcast room, locking the door behind me.

Rooooaaaarrrr…!

I could hear the monster’s roar.

Screams erupted, and within about ten seconds, I heard the thudding footsteps approaching.

It lurked around right in front of the broadcast room for a while, then disappeared somewhere.

“It was you.”

“Huff, huff… gulp, huff…”

The student panting heavily, the guy I ran into at the entrance of the broadcast room, was Kang Ji-woo, who could be considered the owner of this nightmare.

“I followed you into your nightmare. If you want to live, listen to my commands.”

His face turned pale, and he nodded fervently.

As he pleaded for his life, I carefully tinkered with the broadcasting equipment.

[No Power]

It’s not working.

Looks like the main building lost its power.

‘The electrical room is… in the basement.’

The electrical room is in the school’s basement. Turning on a particular switch there might enable the use of the broadcast equipment, but it’s a place devoid of even moonlight, a space of pure terror…

I’m not crazy enough to go down there with just a flashlight. Let’s use a different method.

I came prepared for situations like this, bringing all sorts of items.

‘Let’s try it.’

Whoosh.

I pulled out a ‘Multi-dimensional Energy Ball’ from my inventory and floated it in the air.

This sphere is a convenient invention that powers facilities within a certain radius.

Think of it as a mini-generator with good output.

I brought it along to survive, just in case I got lost in the Rift, but now it’s being used like this.

Ziiing.

As I touched the sphere, a holographic blueprint appeared. A 3D map of the school.

It seems this small sphere can power the entire building.

Not sure how it works, but let’s be thankful for the magical engineers who developed this.

Wiiiing.

Soon, the broadcast equipment lit up.

It should work now.

‘This works.’

I tinkered with the broadcasting equipment, quickly figuring out how to turn it on and off.

-Ding-Ding-

The familiar bell sound rang out.

‘Success.’

Thanks to the Energy Ball, I was able to skip the creepy basement exploration.

It was definitely worth bringing a load of battle and survival items.

Tick. Tock.

After some trial and error, I restricted the broadcast range to just the first floor. I didn’t know how to set it to loop indefinitely, so I told Kang Ji-woo to press the button continuously to keep the bell ringing.

“Is it just this button?”

“Yes, do only as I say. I will find a way to defeat that thing.”

“Uh, yes, yes!”

Everything else was straightforward.

I listened carefully against the wall, the monster’s thudding was only heard on the first floor, which allowed me to scour the classrooms without worry.

I found a ‘Cursed Note’ in the drawer of the second row of the fourth section in the classroom of Grade 2, class 3, and a ‘Discarded Tint’ in the trash can of Grade 3, class 1.

I used the same method to find the locations of the remaining items, then returned to the broadcast room, changed the broadcast range to the fourth floor, and scoured down to the first floor.

I found all seven items’ locations and recorded them on the central lobby’s blueprint.

‘Is this correct?’

-Ding-Ding-

The bell keeps ringing.

The stupid monster is diligently running around the fourth-floor hallway. It feels almost unfair how effectively this tactic is working.

Anyway, the nightmare was nearly cleared. The altar was located in the central hall on the first floor.

‘Speed is key.’

I returned to the broadcast room and planned the route for item acquisition. So far, I had only located items but hadn’t secured any.

There’s a reason for this approach.

‘Absolutely.’

The difficulty increases in this collection-type horror game every time you pick up an item.

I assume this cursed nightmare is no different.

How can the nightmare’s monster be completely neutralized by a mere sound of a bell?

Of course, the Rift boss could have failed to properly adjust the difficulty, but caution never hurt anyone.

“Listen well. There are seven cursed items in this school…”

I briefed Kang Ji-woo, who was pushing the bell button in a self-mocking way. One minute after I left, he was instructed to grab the worn-out workbook from the second-floor science room and the Nintendo Switch from the first-floor principal’s office, and run to the altar in the central hall.

“Be cautious, monsters could go berserk or traps might appear. Understood?”

“Yes, yes! I can do it!”

The former school bully looked at me with shining eyes, as if he had come to trust me.

I hope he safely achieves the objectives assigned to him.

‘Please, don’t be an idiot.’

I judged that this distribution of roles and routes would be optimal in terms of speed, despite feeling uneasy since he looked like a senior who was infamous for torture in the military.

“Let’s go.”

I ran straight to the fourth floor and collected the items just as I had simulated. My actions were very quick since I had accurately identified the locations.

Fortunately, the monster was stumbling in front of a classroom at the other end of the hallway, flailing its bulky arms around, distracted by the sound of the bell.

After finishing my business on the fourth floor, I quickly descended the stairs. I had collected two more items on the third floor when…

[The Red Moon Awakens.]

[The Monster Began to Stirs.]

Roarrrrr—!

Screaaam—!

Suddenly the sky lit up—not with sunlight, but with the light of a red moon. The classrooms and hallways glowed red.

Then came the roar of the monster…

Grrrrrrrrrrr!

Boom! Crash! Boom!

‘I knew it!’

The monster had gone berserk.

Its movement speed had increased, and it was now far better at detecting the survivors.

I ran at full speed towards the teachers lounge, grabbed the ‘Bloodstained Fleece’ lying on the sofa, and fled toward the first-floor altar.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

In a tense moment, our eyes met at the second-floor central hall—the monstrous flesh coming down from the third floor.

As it clumsily chased after me, the walls cracked and the ground caved in.

[The Red Moon is suffering.]

[The Red Moon is suffering.]

[The Red Moon is suffering.]

[The Red Moon is…]

I practically threw the items onto the altar.

But even after tossing all five items I had collected…

[Offer the next 7 items to the altar to defeat the monster.]

Nintendo Switch (0/1)

Bloodstained Fleece Jacket (1/1)

Cursed Notebook (1/1)

Discarded Lip Tint (1/1)

Princess Hand Mirror (1/1)

Stolen Sneakers (1/1)

Worn-Out Workbook (0/1)

Two items were missing.

Needless to say, Kang Ji-woo hadn’t arrived yet.

“This guy’s useless.”

Annoying and terrifying as it was, I had no choice but to kite the monster.

I threw the Thunderstrike Sword toward the descending monster on the first floor to draw its aggro, and frantically dashed down the left hallway.

The principal’s office was on the right from the entrance. If Kang Ji-woo could just come out and offer the remaining two items, victory would be ours.

Aaaargh!

Thud! Crash! Smash!

The monster had followed me close behind.

‘Huuh!’

Thump! Thump! Thump!

My heart was racing.

Swish!

Something tentacle-like had grabbed my shoulder.

I tried to counter by spraying ‘Pure Essence’ on its face, but my body was tightly bound by its ominous touch.

‘Jeez!’

Aaaargh!

Numerous arms reached out.

Some were as slender as a child’s, others thicker than the trunk of a tree.

They tried to tear my skin and flesh.

========

[The Red Moon is suffering.]

[The Red Moon…]

Thump! Thump!

My heart felt like it was going to burst.

My last desperate effort was just ‘that.’

[Used ‘Final Finish’.]

[The next attack is enhanced with a one-hit kill power.]

Just as I was about to use my one-hit kill move on the flesh mass—

[Leader, Leader!]

I felt someone vigorously shaking me, accompanied by a drowsy voice.

“……!”

Flash!

I opened my eyes to see Kang Ji-woo nodding in front of me, and Hwang Man-deuk shaking my arm vigorously.

[Woke up from the [Cursed Nightmare].]

‘Whew.’

I seemed to have escaped from a nightmare where I was almost torn apart by a monster. Thank God they woke me up according to my heartbeats…

I almost really died. Well, in the dream, it would’ve been the extinction of my soul.

‘I can’t be sure if it would’ve worked.’

The monster tracking survivors was ‘invincible’ according to the horror game rules, even ‘Final Finish’ might not have killed it.

Anyway, I was shaky.

“Are you awake?!”

“Stop it.”

I stopped Hwang Man-deuk and tapped Kang Ji-woo’s shoulder. He had also woken up from the nightmare.

I just received the following message.

[You’ve broken free from the [Cursed Nightmare].]

[Earned 100 points.]

It felt like the reward was too stingy compared to the struggle.

When we defeated Marius, I remember receiving 1,000 points.

‘What’s this farming efficiency?’

Both of us risked our lives, yet the reward was ten times different… Well, it’s not over yet, but I felt we were shortchanged.

“Ah, uh, uh… Ah!”

Kang Ji-woo woke up.

He was about to rush to me, crying and sniffling, so I left him to Hwang Man-deuk and stepped out of the counseling room.

The Red Moon would soon rise here. Not in a dream, but in reality.

The fight with the Rift boss had not even started yet.

And the first thing a hero should do in the event of a ‘disaster’ is evacuate the citizens. That’s why I told my members to evacuate everyone out of the school.

‘I definitely said that, right?’

The reason I was pondering the past for a moment was to see if my memory was distorted.

Students who should’ve left the school by now were lingering near the entrance.

“What’s going on? Why are the students still here?”

“Leader! We’re trapped. The students, the teachers, everyone!”

This was the answer I got from Gil-seong, who was hopping in frustration.

Could it be… everyone is trapped?

Since we entered the school, did that guy plan this?

My head spun.

“I also checked! It’s like…”

Whoosh.

Roar.

[The Rift opens.]

[The Red Moon rises.]

“… Ah.”

Gil-seong ‘s words were cut short.

The sun set, and the phenomena literally manifested.

The Red Moon that I saw in Kang Ji-woo’s nightmare, the ominous sign symbolizing the Rift Boss, hung in the sky.

Swooooosh—

Black mists started to appear sporadically on the sports field. Phase 1 pattern of the Rift Boss.

I quickly headed to the broadcast room. Thanks to having tried it once, operating the equipment was easier.

“This is Hero Isaac. Disaster alert, disaster alert. Everyone, evacuate to the 4th floor of the school. I repeat, disaster alert…”

Screams erupted everywhere.

The black mists on the sports field soon took the shape of malevolent spirits. These black zombie-like entities started to walk sluggishly toward the main building.

‘I’m screwed.’

A headache began to creep in.

I had to protect 200-300 people, most of whom were students with their whole lives ahead of them. I didn’t want to lose a single one.

‘They are numerous but slow. They spawn from the sports field, so all I have to do is defend the entrance of the main building.’

Gulp.

I downed an iced Americano to extend my brain’s awake time and calmly opened the communication device connected to my team members.

“Issue the command.”