After absorbing the energy crystal, Jeremy opened his panel to find that his agility attribute had increased to 20 points.
Agility not only enhances a player's movement speed but also their attack speed and reaction time. The other three attributes similarly provide a variety of enhancements to a player.
The strength attribute increases a player's attack power and explosive force.
The stamina attribute enhances a player's recovery speed and resilience.
While the spirit attribute boosts a player's memory and reaction time.
Therefore, at higher levels, ordinary players can be nearly as powerful as those with supernatural abilities, although they start off slower since they lack an extra ability.
After absorbing the energy crystal, Jeremy rummaged through the two zombies again.
Apart from some money, there was no other gain, let alone equipment items dropped.
Low-level monsters don't drop equipment or items very often, and Jeremy didn't mind.
He tossed the money aside carelessly and left the office without a second glance.
In a post-apocalyptic world, money is as useless as scrap paper. Even if human systems were to be restored, a new currency system would likely emerge, rendering these bills worthless.
Locking the office door behind him, Jeremy took a look at the campus outside.
The once chaotic crowd had vanished, leaving only monsters wandering around.
Cries for help could occasionally be heard, quickly turning into screams.
Surveying the monsters outside, Jeremy noticed zombies, werewolves, goblins, and other bizarre types among them.
Most were level 1 and 2 monsters, with a few level 3 creatures scattered about, though they were rare among the hundreds of monsters present.
Unexpectedly, Jeremy spotted a conspicuous level 5 elite monster in the stadium.
This creature, having lost all semblance of humanity, moved on all fours with incredible speed. It had sharp claws and a long tail, and the other monsters looked at it with a mix of fear.
[Aberration (Elite)]
[Level]: lv5
[Life]:
[Attack]: 145-151
[Defense]: 37
[Skills]: Claw Strike, Gnaw
[Note]: This is a level 5 elite monster. With your current strength, it's best not to provoke it.
Jeremy felt a sense of danger looking at the monster's attributes.
Monsters are categorized into four levels: Normal, Elite, Lord, and Boss, with significant power gaps between each level.
Encountering this monster with his current strength, he doubted he could even run away.
Crushing out his cigarette, Jeremy, armed with a military dagger, headed to the next office.
The evolution of the monsters was faster than he had anticipated. He hadn't expected that level 5 elite monsters would appear in such a short time...
With that monster present in the stadium, it was virtually impossible for Jeremy to head to the academic building to find Ritchie.
Moreover, with Emma still in the midst of awakening, he couldn't venture too far.
Therefore, Jeremy decided to use this time to clear the monsters on this floor.
This would at least provide a safe resting place and, incidentally, help increase his level.
As Jeremy sped up his monster hunting, his experience points began to soar rapidly.
To the ordinary person, these monsters might seem fierce and terrifying. But that was before Jeremy had used a primary evolution potion, which significantly boosted his strength. Level 1 monsters were like children in his hands.
Even level 2 monsters posed no threat to Jeremy.
[You have killed a level 1 zombie, earning 5 experience points!]
[You have killed a level 1 goblin, earning 6 experience points!]
[You have killed a level 2 mutant, earning 15 experience points!]
...
With each kill notification, Jeremy pierced the heart of a level 2 mutant and was enveloped in a golden glow, accompanied by a level-up notification in front of him.
[Congratulations, player has leveled up to lv2, you have received 10 free attribute points.]
Before choosing a class, players receive 10 free attribute points that they can allocate freely with each level-up.
After choosing a class, players also receive additional fixed attribute points based on their class's characteristics.
These two types of attribute point rewards increase as the player's level increases and are one of the main ways players can gain attribute points.
Jeremy allocated all 5 free attribute points to strength, clearly feeling his power increase significantly. This visible increase in strength also made Jeremy even more enthusiastic about hunting monsters.
...
At the same time, on the rooftop of the academic building.
"What are these people doing?" Ritchie stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the chaotic crowd below, puzzled.
Because he was nearsighted and the rooftop was on the seventh floor, Ritchie could only see a chaotic scene below without understanding what was happening.
"Could Jeremy and the others have started fighting?" Ritchie guessed, his expression changing as he took out his phone to call Jeremy.
Jeremy was in the midst of fighting zombies. But he still answered the call from Ritchie.
"What's up, what happened on your end?" Jeremy kicked an approaching zombie, flying away, thinking Ritchie might have encountered zombies.
"It's not me who's in trouble, it's you!" Hearing the noise on Jeremy's end, Ritchie immediately confirmed his suspicion.
"What are you talking about? Make it clear." Jeremy twisted off a zombie's head, confused.
Ritchie angrily said, "Jeremy, you're trying to fool me again? Do you think because I'm nearsighted, I'm easy to deceive? I'm only nearsighted, not blind! I saw what happened downstairs. How could you leave me up here and face those people by yourself? Don't you consider me your brother anymore?"
Jeremy fell silent on the other end of the phone.
Had Ritchie misunderstood something?
Thinking about his nearly ten-foot range of nearsightedness that couldn't distinguish between humans and animals, Jeremy understood.
"There's nothing happening downstairs that concerns us. Just stay on the rooftop and remember to lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me." With two more zombies approaching, Jeremy quickly explained and then hung up.
"Got it." After Ritchie figured out the situation, he found out that Jeremy had already hung up the phone.He followed Jeremy's instructions and locked the door on the rooftop.
As he was about to kill some time playing games out of sheer boredom, Ritchie suddenly noticed a golden glow flickering in a corner of the rooftop.
"What's that?" Ritchie was puzzled and put away his phone as he walked over. As he approached, he realized that there was a quaint golden box in the corner of the rooftop.
…
Time flew by, and the sun set, darkening the sky.
[You have killed a level 3 goblin, earning 35 experience points!]
Inside the break room, Jeremy beheaded a goblin, leveling up to level 3.
His weapon had been upgraded from a military spike to a machete since the former was damaged. There were more monsters in the academic building than he had anticipated. And he had only cleared about half of them so far.
What made Jeremy somewhat speechless was the absence of any equipment drops from so many monsters.
Under normal drop rates, there should have been one or two pieces…
His luck was just not that great.
Jeremy kicked the headless goblin corpse aside, poured himself a cup of water with a disposable cup, and gulped it down.
After all, humans aren't machines. Even though Jeremy's stamina is amazing, he is still a bit tired from high-intensity combat for so long.
Soon, Jeremy returned to Emma's office.
Emma is still awakening, but her green glow has become even stronger.
A rich life force enveloped her, causing green sprouts to grow on the floor around her. And even the potted plants in the office flourished incredibly.
Jeremy had a rough guess about Emma's awakening ability…
It was likely some kind of plant-based power.
By the time Jeremy had rested for half an hour and left the office. It was completely dark.
The streetlights along the campus paths lit up. The campus, which used to be filled with monsters, has now become much quieter.
Most of the zombies stood dazed on the roads, like statues. Although some zombies may wander left and right, their speed is very slow, like an elderly person hesitating on their steps.