After running for a little bit, I swiftly found a narrow alleyway that I could fit into. I snuck right inside, caring little for the zombies attracted by my noisy footsteps.
Just moments after I entered, I found a door that was left slightly ajar. A soft breeze blew through the alley and the door creaked open further. I swiftly made my way through the door and arrived in what was an abandoned shop.
Before this simulated world was hit by the zombie apocalypse, this shop was a grey drugstore. Its resident apothecary was a creator of some peculiar medicine that was sketchy yet effective.
"Marilyn Valloue," I whispered to myself as I searched through the almost-untouched store, "The inventor of mutation drugs that could push a human's power to its limits."
From an increase in strength and speed to stone-like skin and iron-like bones. She had concoctions that could grant all these things. Most zombies were inferior to her, making her a figure that could stand at the top of this world.
But even then, she could not win against the millions of zombies that populated the streets.
She was a mortal.
She was limited.
Eventually, she fell into a horde of high-level zombies. Her dreams of survival were shattered and she become one with the enemy. It was a sad fate.
But that was all in this simulated world's past—a figment of Thystaina's imagination.
The place where I was now standing was where Marilyn's story began. Bottles of weird chemical concoctions glinted with an ominous glow in the dim darkness. Traditional pills filled the different jars in the room, looking nutritiously dangerous.
I never specified what effects these creations of hers had. I used only a single world to classify them all.
Enigmatic.
As such, I was in no mood to make any blind attempts. I was here for something specific. Something reliable.
Something that I knew would actually benefit me and not send me into a psychedelic world of rainbows.
I walked behind the counter and pulled out the carpet. A trapdoor was hiding beneath, caked in dust and dirt. I looked around and found a prybar that was lying on the ground. I stuck the bar into the thin gap between the trapdoor and the floor.
Then, with what I had of my weight, I pushed the bar down and opened the trapdoor. A groaning creak echoed throughout the room.
"Gods," I heaved a deep breath.
A long, black suitcase appeared before me. It was pristine, void of even a speck of dust.
I held the handle and pulled the suitcase out. It was quite heavy. About the weight of a few thick college textbooks.
Swiftly, I placed the suitcase on the counter. I then keyed in the password for its mechanical locks.
[ 197 ]
Click—!
The locks popped open and a velvet-lined interior revealed itself to me. Contained within the soft violet velvet was a weapon that I was going to have fun with. With a long, sleek, razor-sharp blade and a firearm loaded into its hilt, the subtle shimmer of lethality graced my eyes.
It was a gunblade.
Grasping the weapon in my hands, I couldn't help but grin. Its balance was perfect, making it feel lighter than it should be. I stepped away from the counter and gave the blade a few swings. I then aimed at a certain medicine bottle.
Click—!
I pulled the trigger, but no loud bang rang out. I chuckled and walked back to the counter. I pulled out the velveteen lining and discovered dozens of bullets all clumped together in bands.
I loaded twenty-four bullets into different magazines and pocketed them all. The final magazine was locked into the gun with a satisfying click.
"With this, I should have an easier time surviving. As long as I don't encounter a horde, I'll be fine." I muttered as I rushed out of the shop and through the alleyway.
I glanced to my right, and I saw the remnants of a passing zombie swarm. A few limbs were strewn about here and there, making for a gory sight. A few zombies with their heads bashed in were lying down, motionless and actually dead.
I needed to catch up with the group.
Uaaaarghh—
There was a sudden groan. I looked to my left and spotted a zombie with only half its body intact.
Ssuk—!
Emotionlessly, I pushed my new blade to pierce through the zombie's brittle skull. I quickly discovered that doing so wasn't the best idea. With my inferior strength and speed, I could not overcome the evolutionary blessings brought about by time to the shape of the human skull.
My blade did not do what I wanted it to do. It did not penetrate the skull in one go. Thus, I instead opted to cut off the head entirely.
It took me a few hacks and slashes but I eventually succeeded. Blood splattered across the asphalt road, and a few drops reached my clothes. I gagged at the smell, but I stomached the disgust with all I could.
A flow of text appeared on a cyan screen before me, creating a blue glow that shone in my eyes.
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[Kill Count: 1/33]
[You have acquired a Mutation Fragment x1!]
I swiped at the screen and dismissed the notification. Mutation Fragments were going to be important in the next part of the test, so I did not have to worry about it now. It was just a neat bonus despite my abysmal F- rank luck.
Which reminded me...
The anomalous statistical inclination phenomenon, or the occurrence that happens when the [ Luck ] attributes of different people clash, was going to be a very important factor in the coming future. Unfortunately for me, the secrets related to changing how lucky I was were all going to appear quite late.
I swiftly shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts. I then began running once more, taking the time to kill the Level 1 zombies in my way. These slow zombies were all left behind by their Level 2 superiors.
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
The notifications came and went.
[Kill Count: 4/33]