[ AN:
- Hey guys! How was everyone's weekend?
- If you couldn't tell, I'm literally leveling my avatar in Deepwoken to match how far the mc progresses in this fanfic to get the same talents or mantras.
- "{}" means it's in English
- Don't forget to look at the status, mantra, and talents images!
***
"No one's coming, right?" asked Su-Hyeok, standing next to him at the window.
As Lee Cheong-San stood at the window, he watched the school bus pull up at the entrance. The music, which he coined the 'Danger Music' had stopped shortly after the zombies fled their classroom. "Something's going on at the gate."
Sitting at a desk, Lee Na-Yeon was biting her nails. Finally taking enough of waiting, she stood up. "Let's call the cops again."
"They're not coming," said On-Jo, who had the phone up to her ear. "I'm trying but they won't pick up."
Frustrated, Na-Yeon needed a vent for all the stress that's been building up inside of her. Glancing at someone, she had a target. Walking up to Choi Nam-Ra, with loud footsteps, she stopped before the class president's desk. "Hey. Do something."
The class president remained quiet, looking out at the window before staring back at the frustrated girl.
"Do something," repeated Na-Yeon.
Seeing this, Lee Su-Hyeok stepped in. "What can she do?"
"She should be doing something," said Na-Yeon. "What have you done as our classroom president?"
"Stop it," said Seo Hyo-Ryung from behind Na-Yeon. But that didn't deter the girl.
Nam-Ra stood from her desk and stood right in front of Na-Yeon. "Should I go out? Got to the teachers' office? Will that do?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Seriously?" said Cheong-San, now speaking up. "Are you really starting a fight NOW of all times? Bitch, calm down and go back to your seat. Do something that doesn't anyone like biting your teeth."
"You!" said Na-Yeon angrily, spittle coming out of her mouth, "you're the sketchiness one out of all of us here! You come through a window on the second floor geared up and shit, covered in blood! And then you bring out Mr. Lee's laptop and feed us this 'bullshit reason for what this is all fucking happening! Maybe you should be the one to get Ms. Park!"
"Stop it, are you really telling him to go out there with those things?" interjected On-Jo.
"Hey," said Gyeong-Su, speaking up for his friend, "all I keep hearing from you is 'do this' or 'do that' the whole time, yeah? Why don't you do it yourself?"
"You fucking bastard!" hissed Na-Yeon. The girl had a huge dislike of Gyeong-Su.
"We called the police," said Su-Hyeok, leaning against the window. "So we just have to wait a little while."
"It's fine. She's right, as someone that killed those things before, I have the highest chance of finding Ms. Park," he said with a solemn face. But on the inside, he was more eager than ever to leave. With the classroom fortified as best as possible, his friends and classmate would be safe for now. Now that he was 'Power' 3, he needed more EXP from killing those zombies. After some thought, Cheong-San had eventually decided to dump his two points from the [Autodidact] perk into 'Light Weapons.' There was no point putting the points into something like 'Medium Weapon,' to increase the spear's damage because he had other plans for it.
Walking up to Su-Hyeok, he handed offered the pretty boy his spear.
"What?" said Su-Hyeok, quickly shaking his head. "If you really plan on going to find Ms. Park, you'll need this more than me."
Grabbing Su-Hyeok's arm, Cheong-San forcefully put the spear in the boy's hand. "Just promise me that you'll protect them, ok?"
Seeing that he couldn't change Cheong-San's mind, Su-Hyeok nodded. "I will."
"I mean," said Cheong-San, patting Su-Hyeok's shoulder, "or I'll come back from the dead and haunt you. Get it? Because then I would be a zombie."
"..."
"..."
"What the hell?" said I-Sak.
Only seeing Gyeong-Su and Jang Woo-Jin let a small smile spread across their lips, Cheong-San felt content with that.
"Ok, once I leave, close the doors. Who knows? I might come back with Ms. Park and help." As he was about to leave through the door Gyeong-Su was guarding, he felt someone grab his backpack.
It was On-Jo.
"Come back, okay? I'll kill you if you don't, got me?" said On-Jo, her voice stern.
Cheong-San just put out his fist. Seeing that, On-Jo fisted Cheong-San's hand back. "Sure." Once outside the empty halls of the second floor, he could hear Gyeong-Su quietly slide the door shut.
With a last glance back at the paper-covered classroom, Cheong-San began quietly creeping down the hall.
If Cheong-San had been given any other race besides [Felinor], then the 'Flaw' he had, [Obvious], would've almost alerted anything out for his blood in the four-meter radius. Fortunately, being a cat-boy had its perks, namely canceling out that particularly dangerous 'Flaw' given he was in a zombie-infested school that moved at the slightest noise.
Back in class, Cheong-San had torn apart some of his classmates' jackets and blazers, using the strips of cloth to wrap tightly around his hand. He planned on using his left hand to bludgeon and keep his distance from any zombies while his right hand held his knife.
Cheong-San could've left the school right then and there. He was confident enough that he could outrun the zombies and cut down any that came close. And worse came to worse, climb up and wait it out on a tree. He didn't have to stay in school, stay with his classmates in 2-5. Cheong-San could've focused on farming for EXP, becoming strong enough to survive this mess and find his parents. He could've done all of that the moment he found out about the Jonas virus. Then why did he stay at school?
'Hey, Cheong-San, does this bag look cute? On-Jo and I picked it out shopping.'
'Hi, I'm Gyeong-Su! I love American food and women'
'Please let me take a break! There's the Halloween event happening on Animal Crossing right now.'
"Damn," he said depreciatingly, "this is how those shonen protagonists feel."
Despite Cheong-San trying to see the world through the lenses of an experienced gamer, calling goals quest, he knew that it was all a lie. Deep down, he knew he couldn't call his classmates or parents NPCs. To him, they were people. Shaking his head, he continued sneaking down the hall.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps, and by the sounds of it, there was probably only one person approaching. It was then that the Danger Music started playing.
Readying his knife, he prepared to greet the incoming zombie, stopping short as he realized who had come up the stairs.
"Mr. Kang?"
At the stairs, the gym teacher turned to look at him. "A student? Great, someone's still alive. Hurry, those things might come up here any second we need-"
"Stop."
"We have no time! We need to find an empty classroom and barricade ourselves-"
"You were bit, weren't you Mr. Kang?"
Seeing the student stare at his exposed right arm, the gym teacher quickly pulled down his sleeve. "You damn brat! How dare you talk in that tone with a teacher? Come here-Urgh!"
Standing above the dead gym teacher, Cheong-San watched as the blood from his knife dripped down to the ground. From the video, Cheong-San knew that there was a chance that Mr. Kang could've retained his sanity like Jin-Su. But the sign of the nose bleed sealed the gym teacher's fate.
"Sorry, Mr. Kang," said Cheong-San, who continued down the hall as white motes of light soared into his body from the gym teacher.
Out of nowhere, a group of zombies had come downstairs, their mouths bloody and pieces of salmon-colored flesh hung from their teeth.
Jogging towards the group of zombies, Cheong-San's hand gripped the knife's handle tightly, causing the rubber glove to make a squeaky noise.
The first zombie, whose stomach had bloody bite marks, leaped towards him, arms outstretched in an attempt to grab him.
Using his left hand, Cheong-San punched the zombie in the face, making it fall back into another zombie. The rest ran over the downed zombie, snarling.
Crouching, Cheong-San watched the second zombie soar over him. Immediately moving forward, he stabbed his knife again straight into another's throat, using his left hand to pull free.
With a deep breath, he pushed the slashed zombie back, tripping the three zombies behind it.
The zombie that had jumped previously had managed to orient itself, preparing to dive-bomb Cheong-San again.
With a swing of his arm, he let the momentum drive the knife hilt-deep into the zombie's skull. Trying to pull the knife out, Cheong-San found it was stuck firm. Shit. Now he had one knife left.
Seeing the first zombie he punched buried under the bodies of its brethren, stomped on its growling head. Again. And again. And again.
Lifting the hard hat up slightly, Cheong-San swiped the sweat forming on his forehead away with his arm.
"Time to find Ms. Park."
Cheong-San settled on a plan. He would start with the top floors, systemically comb through each classroom in search of any survivors or Ms. Park. Once either of those was accomplished, he would escort them back to classroom 2-5.
Putting away his knife, Cheong-San scaled the outside walls, using the ledges in between each floor to rest. Finally reaching the rooftop, Cheong-San was surprised to find it deserted except for two students. The two students were facing away from him, overlooking the front of the school.
"Hello?" Cheong-San called out. "Are you guys alright?"
As they turned around, Cheong-San recognized their faces. "Chul-Soo, Eun-Ji?" Weren't these the two students that he'd help earlier in the day. "I'm glad to see that you're both alright."
"Cheong-San," gasped Chul-Soo, "how did you get up here, I made sure to lock the doors!"
He gestured behind himself. "I climbed up here." Walking over to the duo, Cheong-San overlooked the ground below, teeming with his former classmates. "You guys been up here for long?"
Chul-Soo looked to Eun-Ji, who was despondent, before speaking. "Yeah, we were... just hanging up on the roof when everything started going crazy."
"Did you call the police?"
"Yeah, but they wouldn't pick up."
"Do you guys happen to see Ms. Park by any chance?"
Seeing Chul-Soo shake his head, he sighed.
As Cheong-San was about to ask the two if they wanted to come back down with him, he heard static come from the PA system. An interesting thing to note was that at the sound, the zombies rushed towards the closest speakers.
He'll have to keep that in mind.
"Students and teachers of Hyosan High School," said a female voice from the speakers. It was Ms. Park's voice. "I'm Park Sun-Hwa, the English teacher. Something strange is happening throughout the school. Some students are attacking people indiscriminately."
Cheong-San rolled his eyes. Leave it to Ms. Park to call students feasting upon their fellow students 'attacking people indiscriminately.'
"So please find a safe place and take shelter. And if any student or faculty hears this and is able, please call the police and the fire department. Students, hide somewhere safe until help arrives. If you can get out of the school, please get out. I repeat some students are..." Pausing, those that remained alive heard a stifled cry come through the intercom. "Guys...You're okay, right? You're not hurt, right? I don't know know what's going on or why this is happening. Still find a safe place and hide." Ms. Park...you're getting too emotional. His eyes got watery. Seeing the other two stare at him, Cheong-San coughed into his hand, stating it was just some dirt that got caught in his eye.
"I'm sorry. I can't be of any help. Don't get hurt, okay? Let's stay alive and meet again. Okay?" And with Ms. Park's final words of encouragement, the intercom finally went radio silent.
"Do you guys want to head down with me to Ms. Park?" Cheong-San asked. Eun-Ji bit her lip, looking down at the school, she timidly shook her head. Chul-Soo, seeing this, shook his head as well. "No thanks, but we'll stay up here."
"Alright," Cheong-San said, walking up to the mile of discarded metal and wood. "Stay safe, ok? I'm going to check if Ms. Park is still in the audio room on the second floor. I'll come back later tonight to check on you guys, so stay put, okay?"
Giving the two one final wave. Cheong-San did a kong vault off the roof, landing on the small ledge.
Looking through the window of the classroom he was outside of, he recognized it as the Life Science class. He was about to resume climbing down the school when an idea hit him like a bolt of lightning.
"Wasn't there butane canisters in the storeroom?"
***
Nam So-Ju was having a busier day than usual.
As the captain of the Hyosan Fire Station rescue team 1 and a single father of one, there was always work to be had. But today, today was getting more and more chaotic.
His day started with being called to his daughter's high school, transporting a schoolgirl named Kim Hyeon-Ju, who he learned from Cheong-San had been kidnapped and drugged by their science teacher, Mr. Lee. Now, his daughter On-Jo had called, personally asking him to come to school. Without a word, he led his team immediately to high school.
Sitting in the shotgun seat, Nam So-Ju watched Hyosan High School from the distance. Noticing smoke rising from the school, his lips pursed.
"Rescue Team One, what's your ETA at Hyosan High School?" said a female voice from the radio. Wanting the driver, Park Young-Hwan, to be focused on the road, he picked it up. "This is Rescue Team One. We're now crossing the Han River. ETA one minute."
"This is Rescue Team Two. We'll head to the fire at Hyosan High School." said another person with a masculine voice.
"Accidents reports keep coming in. All units standby where you are." said the radio before going silent.
"Shit," cursed So-Ju.
The ambulance did a U-turn as the paramedics were instead rerouted to a government facility instead, leaving the firefighters to handle Hyosan High School.
Stopping in front of the Hyosan City Council building, So-Ju noticed how empty the area was.
"Caw!"
Hearing the flapping of wings, the team looked up at a raven, which eyed them back as well.
"Let's go," commanded So-Ju, as they moved into the building.
***
"And...Bingo, give me that level up."
Sitting on the edge of the wall overlooking the broken wall of the cafeteria building, the soft chime of a bell along with specks of light appeared briefly before disappearing.
Using his balled-cloth left hand, Cheong-San would shove the hand in their mouths to muffle their snarls before using his knife to off them. He systematically did this as he moved to the cafeteria. There, he started raising his 'Intelligence' and 'Thundercall' stats.
Glancing at his [Status] box, Cheong-San put the extra point he got into 'Light Weapons.'Seeing only three cards appear in his hand this time, Cheong-San turned them over. In his hands were the [Lightning Blade], [Mystery Mantra], and [Roll 2] cards.
"Yes, finally my first Mantras!" he said out loud, attracting the attention of several zombies. He didn't mind. Cheong-San quickly found out that while the zombies were fast and strong, they lacked any higher mental capacities, moving towards the first sensory stimulus they found. This made them easily distractable, not being able to open doors or remember anything they did.
[Lighnting Blade] was basically that; it allowed the user to release an arc of electricity. [Mystery Mantra] was a gamble. It would give him any random card, and it would depend on his luck if he got a good draw. Lastly, [Roll 2] was a card that, just like [Mantra Mystery], gave the user two random 'Talents' like a [Health Pack] or [Harvester]. Of course, except for some cards, talents or mantras couldn't be given twice once picked.
While Cheong-San's inner gacha-gambler screamed at him to pick the [Mystery Mantra] to hopefully get something useful like [Discovery of Fire] or [Lightning Stream], he quickly stamped it down. There was no point in risking his life to gamble for better Mantras. Besides, [Lightning Blade] was already pretty decent.
Putting [Lightning Blade] against the magic scroll, Cheong-San saw the cards disappear. It was then that Cheong-San felt an intense headache overcome his mind. Putting his hand over his forehead, the last thing the boy saw as he leaned forward off the edge was a horde of zombies.
***
Thistle Marico panted as he laid upon the pure white earth beneath his warm body. His arms were wide, too weak to move. His breath left his body as steam, allowing the frosty air to enter and chill his mouth. The chest plate on his chest felt heavier and heavier with each breath.
"Get up."
Standing across the snow-covered plains was a man dressed up in a mix of bronze and gold armor. The armor consisted only a bronze chestplate with gold inlays that etched patterns and designs. The shoulders and arms exposed, leaving the hands to be covered by metal gauntlets. A metal skirt with of metal plating on each strip of leather covered the man's up to the man's knee, all in sandals.
Those who did not know the man would find it strange at such outlandish wear in the cold.
With a grunt, Thistle got back on his feet, gladius raised. With a mighty cry to the heavens, he charged once again at the man who stood in the snow.
Suddenly, Thistle found himself flung back again, his limbs freezing up as several sparks of gold lightning arced up from his downed body.
To the naked eye, this man had just downed the charging boy with nothing but his eyes. And Thistle would've thought so too if he didn't know any better.
This man was no mere human being. He was a Centurion, an officer of the Hundred Legions. As the fist of the Western Luminant Empire, their men numbered half a million strong and followed the will of his Majesty the Emperor.
This was Valoece Fulmion, the Primus Pilus of the 11th Scouting Legion, commanding the first cohort; known across all of Western Luminant for his total mastery of Lightning.
"I had hoped," said Centurion Fulmion, "that as one of the few Legionaries that bear the blessings of the sky god, you would be stronger."
Walking towards the downed soldier, he kicked Thistle's body over, so that he now laid on his back. "But it seems your upbringing inside the Halls of Vigils has domesticated you of your senses. I will show you once again how to command the power of the heavens."
Pulling out his sword, the centurion readied his blade. Sparks of lightning formed at the tip of the blade, arcing strands of yellow light dangerously.
Thistle, who was watching the scene from the ground, engraved the very image of the Centurion performing his 'Mantra.'
With a swing of his arm, the commander yelled, "Lighting-!"
***
"-Blade!"