A young man limped through the desolate streets, his eyes scanning the abandoned corner store for anything useful.
He had black hair and eyes, pale skin with heavy dark circles.
"Used to sit in office, worrying about deadlines and promotions, hmmmm..."
He thought, shaking his head.
"Ah! The price goes down. Finally?"
He put back an old wine bootle, carefully picked his way through the debris, footsteps echoing in the empty store as he searched for supplies that could help him survive another day.
The young man named Zed.
Everything had changed beyond recognition. Skyscrapers were reduced to rubble, and the once-bustling streets were now eerily silent.
The shelves were mostly empty, but Zed managed to find a few cans of food and some tool parts at least.
Finally, he sighed with relief, knowing that these resources would only buy him a very little more time.
While he thought, the place became even quieter. Zed randomly grabbed a rusty pipe from a pile of rubble.
Just in case.
"Hope I still got some luck."
Zed reminded himself, feeling the weight of the pipe in his hand.
Couldn't deny that there was a strange beauty to the world that had emerged from the ashes of the old one.
It was sort of beauty, it just showed as chaos...
While Zed enjoyed this silence and beauty, he heard a monstrous roar.
Then the roar echoed through the whole streets, sending a shiver down his spine.
He knew that sound all too well – it was the call of a Spider Monkey, a creepy creature that had appeared after the world fell apart.
One C-2 lvl monster.
Facing such a creature, Zed tried to be cool, but he knew he had no choice – he needed to run.
Suddenly, nature lost its beauty.
As the Spider Monkey came into view, its eyes gleamed with malicious intent. Zed gripped the rusty pipe tightly, his knuckles turning white.
The creature was larger than he expected, its muscular frame rippling beneath a layer of coarse fur. Its sharp claws glinted in the dim light, promising a swift and brutal end for poor souls on wildness.
Four pair of long legs, a vague, deadly pale human face hidden under cheliceral teeth, but lack of eye, only frightening urticating hairs swing while it walking.
Since it had no ear and mouth either, Zed believed the demon used those hairs as feelers to sense surrounding.
A clear voice was heard directly from Monkey's waist.
"Blood..."
Zed fend off the Spider Monkey, swinging the rusty pipe with all his strength. However, this one was too fast and too strong. It dodged his attacks with ease, lunging forward to slash at him with its silver lethal claws.
"Blargh...."
Once the strikes connected, leaving a gaping wound in his abdomen. Blood poured from the injury, and Zed knew that It was the day.
He stumbled backwards, his vision blurring as he struggled to remain conscious. The Monkey let out another triumphant roar, sensing that its prey was near dead.
As Zed's strength began to fade, he thought about his life and what he had hoped to accomplish in this new world.
There is a girl in deep of his mind. The one he could not protect.
With a mixture of fear and some emotions that can not be described by words, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't let his story end like this.
He took out the healing spore in his pocket, the light flickered in the palm of his hand.
He smashed it.
However, story end like this.
"No..."
The voice was swallowed back.
As Monkey delivered a final, crushing blow, and Zed heard the sound of chopsticks snapping from inside.
"It's weird."
He mutter in the voice that can not be lower.
In his final moments, a blinding flash of light filled his vision, and darkness enveloped him. He could just...sense it, he was freaking everywhere on street.
*****
Friday.
A rainy day in Luzmell city, 13th floor of financial building.
"Stop! It hurts!"
A loud scream echoed in the office, briefly interrupting everyone's work and drawing their attention.
Zed awoke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. The familiar surroundings of his office greeted him, a stark contrast to the apocalyptic wasteland of his last memory.
The soft hum of the air conditioning and the muted tapping of keyboards filled the room as Zed sat up, bewildered. His coworkers, back to their tasks, paid him no attention.
The sun's rays filtered through the blinds, casting long shadows that danced across his desk.
"Did I...I just come back?" Zed asked with aimless eyes.
He immediately looked towards a corner of the office where several operations were gathered around the only machine in the entire building that was running on overload —the coffee machine.
Zed's heightened senses took in every detail of his office. The soft hum of the air conditioning, the distant murmur of coworkers' conversations, and the faint aroma of coffee wafting through the air.
"Have you heard? The last project failed again, and our manager has already submitted a resignation. He is leaving...Finally..."
"Is anyone planning to add a storage battery to their home? Costs go crazy again."
"Yea, I konw...I might also have to leave next month, I don't wanna gamble with this guy anymore..."
"Bro, stay! There is no better chance now! Gamble is what we do for living! The world is going ridiculous these days. You know news even ask us to report stones..."
"Fair enough...But stones? Have you also seen them around? They seem to be everywhere in the city..."
"THAT IS NOT STONE!"
Zed spoke to himeself in terror.
He checked the time on the screen, noticed that the countdown had begun.
The dark and mysterious stones his colleagues had been talking about were about to hatch, unleashing a batch of bloodthirsty monsters that would stop at nothing to satisfy their hunger.
"These are not stones, they're eggs."
Zed sighed to himself and cautiously approached the window, observing the bustling cityscape below.
The rain had finally ceased, his breath fogged the glass as he peered down at the unsuspecting citizens, feeling a mixture of relief and unease. He knew the peaceful facade was temporary, and the storm was yet to come.
The city was a ticking time bomb.
"Zed!"
A familiar male voice boomed, startling Zed to the point that he involuntarily took two steps back. He had yet to acclimate himself to his fresh heightened sense of hearing, making the sudden sound all the more jarring.
The man was their team's manager, a 25-year-old prodigy with a PHD in finance, commanding respect from all those around him.
'But it won't last too long,' Zed gussed.
He didn't look at Zed and said numbly:
"We are having an event to the zoo in weekend. Are you coming?"
"No!"
Zed replied without a moment's hesitation, he pulling out his smartphone at same time. It's time to place an order for supplies on MZONE first, such as a crossbow.
"Of course! How could I...how could the team expect you to come?"
The man scoffed, then tapping on Zed's desk before turning around to leave.
However, in an unexpected turn of moment, his footing suddenly gave way beneath him, and he found himself kneeling directly in front of Zed's table, the impact resonating through his body.
"Hey! tell me."
Zed inquired with a beaming grin, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.
"Like, what are you all planning to see at the zoo?"
The manager scrambled to his feet, his anger amplified by the recent blunder. He retorted, the voice seething with rage.
"I don't know? A bloody monkey, you say?"
"Monkey?"
"MONKEY!"
"Ok, monkey then."
Zed completely disregarding the man.
With a casual wave of his hand, skin was paler, where not a single vein could be seen beneath its ghostly surface.
"Interesting..."
He glanced down at his hands, noticing the subtle changes that marked his rebirth.
Is that mind power?
As the evening sun cast its fiery glow through the window, bathing the room in a warm, crimson haze, Zed felt a sudden sting upon his skin.
Though the sensation was momentarily stabbing pain, it did not making him more vigilant.
The light had the opposite effect. Overwhelmed by a wave of drowsiness, Zed found himself struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Wt..."
As the shroud of darkness enveloped the surroundings, Zed could hear a deep, restrained voice, emanating a sense of savagery that pierced through the eerie silence.
As the shadow of nightfall enveloped the world, Zed heard a deep, sinister voice laced with suppressed savagery. The haunting voice resonated through the air, declaring:
[1 Task Finsihed. Test subject activated]
[Path: Vampire]
[Ability: Blood Bank(locked), Shadow Soul(locked), Kindred Embrace(locked), Call of Prince(locked)... (open for 1260 more)]
[Additional Ability: Human language lv.7, Cooking lv.7, Sleeping lv.5...]
It continued with a chilling directive:
[Mission One: Seek vengeance upon a monkey...]
The words echoed in the darkness, sending a shiver down Zed's spine.