All of them were shocked to see that the teammate they thought would die early on was still alive and was even getting points.
"Just how is this possible?!" exclaimed Ava, confused by the notification she had just gotten.
"I don't know. Maybe he lied to us because he didn't want to show us what he was able to do," responded Gus.
"Who cares? Let's speed up; we can't let him get more points than us. We're stronger, and we're better than him..." James said as he gritted his teeth, angry at the performance they were putting up.
[Rankings]
[Ava: 3 points]
[James: 2 points]
[Aiden: 2 points]
[Gus: 0 points]
***
► [Meanwhile]
Once more, Aiden hid and pounced on a lone zombie. It was the third time, and he was becoming more efficient, having grown used to how zombies behaved.
However, he started to slow down because he couldn't find loner/ introverted zombies.
'Should I start attacking groups of zombies?'
His mind was trying to find a way to fight multiple zombies simultaneously, but it always came back to the same problem, his weapon.
The dull knife he took as a weapon was truly garbage.
If the zombies were not alone when he attacked them, they would've ganged up on him and likely overpower him, making it difficult to eliminate them.
'If only I can find a better weapon, I will be able to kill zombies at a much faster pace than right now.'
However, Aiden had no alternative, so he decided to continue what he was doing.
But there was a big problem, the sheer number of zombies was massive.
If Aiden and the others didn't get rid of them soon, they would reach the center of the city.
The monsters reaching the center of the city was a big problem, as they could potentially flank the rest of Aiden's teammates.
Because of that, Aiden decided to take things up a notch. He allowed his instinct as an assassin to take over his body, and his concentration reached its peak.
An aura, dark red like blood, began to manifest in the air.
[You have created a new skill: ???]
The bloodish aura seemed to trigger a system message, but Aiden didn't even notice that message, unaware of its existence.
The only thing on his mind was to kill those zombies as swiftly and quietly as possible. He couldn't let the others catch up to him.
This instinct changed his fighting style. He didn't hide in a building after each kill. Instead, he continued attacking nearby zombies at a pace that wasn't anything like earlier.
The weapon in his hand became secondary; now, he could dispatch anything before him effortlessly.
Each slash equaled one kill.
***
A couple of seconds later, all the zombies were headless.
The aura he had been emitting began to dissipate, and he gradually regained control of his mind, unaware of how he had killed all those zombies.
It seemed as if he had completely forgotten about everything that had just happened.
'Ah...my head. Why is it hurting?' Aiden questioned, scanning his surroundings and noticing the lifeless bodies of zombies scattered around him, unaware that he was, in fact, the one responsible for their demise.
***
Ava and the others were awaiting the start of the second wave at the other gate entrance, as they had already finished killing the zombies that had come their way.
They were now watching the messages popping up telling them that Aiden was killing zombies, but the speed at which those messages were appearing was insane.
The shock they had experienced earlier was still visible in their eyes.
[The Second Wave will start now.]
Suddenly, a message appeared that announced that they had killed all the monsters from the first wave and that the second wave would start now.
***
After killing all the zombies, Aiden decided to open the rankings to see how many points the rest of his team had gotten.
[Rankings]
[Aiden: 13 points]
[Ava: 7 points]
[James: 5 points]
[Gus: 1 point]
It looked like Aiden was doing far better than his teammates. Even as a team...they couldn't beat him. He was just too strong.
As he observed the rankings, he started hearing the sounds of monsters approaching from all around him.
However, they were different from the previous ones.
Aiden could now hear growls and noises reminiscent of wolves, bears, and various animals.
Aiden decided to apply the same strategy as earlier—hiding and waiting for isolated targets to be eliminated.
The enemies coming this time would probably be much stronger than the slow and feeble zombies he had encountered earlier.
'Looks like fighting against them will be a bit more difficult this time.'
A couple of seconds after the monsters entered the city, Aiden spotted a lone wolf completely separated from the pack. Noticing this opportunity, he had no choice but to seize it.
With his passive skill Shadow Steps, he silently walked...making the wolves unable to hear him get closer.
The wolf was completely unaware of Aiden's existence.
As he prepared to strike, he knew one blow wouldn't be enough to kill it.
Nonetheless, he wanted to inflict as much damage as possible before the wolf realized the threat.
Aiden moved his knife upward, making sure that he would generate enough power when striking the lone wolf's neck.
The strike he had been preparing landed on the neck of the wolf, drawing a small amount of blood, but there was no reaction from the wolf. It appeared intact, not even looking hurt from the strike of Aiden.
'Am I really that weak? Is it because of this trash body of mine?'
Aiden wondered.
However, Aiden's Awakening had granted him enhanced physical abilities, even with only one point in each stat.
Awakened individuals possessed superior strength compared to the unawakened, creating a societal disparity. That's why they were so much more valued than the unawakened.
An unawakened, if compared with the weakest awakened, would not even have a fifth of their strength.
'This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.'