Kil descended the stairs into the center of the gymnasium, his exhaustion evident as he collapsed onto the floor, letting out a deep sigh. He glanced up as George followed, making his way down the stairs as well.
"You look worn out," George said, sitting down beside Kil. "But I think these monsters are weaker than before."
"They haven't gotten weaker," Kil replied, his eyes drifting upward. "We've just gotten stronger, which makes it seem like they've weakened."
The gymnasium was filled with the stench of death, surrounded by the gruesome bodies of students, their corpses torn apart, with entrails scattered across the floor. The foul odor of decay lingered heavily in the air. Outside, the relentless pounding of goblins against the gymnasium door echoed, as they continued their attempts to break in.
Kil glanced over his shoulder towards the door. "It won't be long before those monsters break through. We need to get out of here as soon as we've regained our strength."
"You're right," George agreed, his gaze also fixed on the door. "There are still so many of them out there."
Kil uncapped a bottle of water and took a sip. "This pipe won't be enough to kill those monsters easily." He stood up. "We need sharper weapons if we want to make it out of here without too much trouble."
George nodded and began searching for something more effective to fend off the creatures. Three minutes passed, but they found nothing that could deal a lethal blow with a single strike.
"Did you find anything?" Kil asked, still scanning the room for a suitable weapon.
"Nothing," George shook his head. "Just gym equipment."
Kil looked at the door again. "That door won't hold much longer. We need to come up with a plan, fast."
"Are we really going to fight those monsters again with just a pipe?" George asked.
"No," Kil said, turning to face George. "We'll use whatever we can find here to hold them off. Then we'll head to the Home Economics room. We can find knives there—something sharp enough to kill them more easily."
George placed a finger on his chin, deep in thought. "The Home Economics room... isn't that in the old building? The one at the far back of the school?"
"Yeah, you're right," Kil said as he surveyed their surroundings, quickly formulating a plan. "Grab anything useful you can find."
George nodded and swiftly gathered the most important items in the gymnasium. He grabbed five gym mats and a long coil of rope, while Kil went for the weight plates, each weighing a hundred pounds. There were eight plates in total, and Kil struggled with the heavy load, so George stepped in to help.
They tied the gym mats together with the rope, creating a large makeshift net that could cover the entire group of goblins outside the door. They also fastened the weight plates together and then climbed the stairs, peering through a window at the top of the gym. The two exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. Carefully, they opened the window and positioned the eight weight plates on top of the tied-together gym mats.
With precision, they spread the gym mat wide and dropped it over the clustered goblins below. The makeshift trap engulfed the creatures outside the gymnasium, and without hesitation, they leaped down after it.
As their feet hit the ground, Kil gave the command. "Now!"
George and Kil each grabbed one end of the rope and ran in opposite directions, circling around the goblins to entangle them in the net. It took them five minutes to secure the creatures completely.
"Let's go, George. We'll come back for these things once we've found proper weapons," Kil shouted.
George nodded, and they both sprinted towards the back of the campus. They moved cautiously, aware of the monsters still roaming the area. Two goblins crossed their path, and they immediately struck them on the head until the creatures lay lifeless.
Finally, they reached the old school building, where more monsters lurked inside and out.
They pressed themselves against a wall. "How are we supposed to get in there?" George asked, breathing heavily, exhaustion etched on his face.
"We'll go around back," Kil said, peering at the monsters outside the building. "We'll climb up to the third floor through a window, and we can enter the Home Economics room from there."
George nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's do it."
Kil and George slipped unnoticed to the back of the old school building, evading the monsters' attention. The rear of the building was eerily quiet, devoid of any creatures. In the stillness of the afternoon, a lone crow cawed, and the sky grew darker as clouds thickened overhead.
Kil climbed first, pulling himself onto the second-floor ledge, with George following close behind. They ascended silently, leaving no trace of their passage. When they reached the third floor, they quietly made their way to the window of the Home Economics room. Kil carefully slid the window open just enough to peek inside. Lifting the curtain, he was met with a grisly sight—lifeless bodies of students scattered across the room, mingled with the corpses of goblins. The room was void of any living monsters, so they climbed in.
George closed the window behind them as Kil moved toward the door to check if there were any monsters outside. Peering through the small opening, he saw a horde of creatures crowding the hallway. He returned to the room and began examining the goblin corpses.
"It looks like there was a fight here," George said, crouching beside one of the goblin bodies. "You can tell by the wounds—these were made by something sharp."
"Those poor students didn't stand a chance," Kil replied, standing up. "They just didn't have the skills to survive. In situations like this, it's us troublemakers who have the upper hand. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about their deaths."
"You're right," George said, rising to his feet and walking over to a cabinet filled with kitchen tools. "But in times like these, only the strong survive."
George pulled out two knives and handed them to Kil. "What do you think? Will these do?"
Kil inspected the knives carefully. "They're sturdy enough, and the blades are decent. But I think they'll wear out quickly. Still, they should hold up until the second wave hits." He extended his right hand. "Give me two more, just in case these break."
"Got it," George said, grabbing two more knives and passing them to Kil. "That better?"
"Yeah," Kil nodded, tucking the spare knives into his waistband at the small of his back. He walked over to the water dispenser, filled a bottle, and took a drink. "What time do you think it is?"
"Probably around one o'clock," George guessed, filling his own bottle. "We've got about three hours before the next wave."
Kil sat down in a corner to rest, and George joined him. "What do you think, George? Do you think there are any other students still alive in this school?"
"I think so," George replied. "There are a lot of strong people here, stronger than us even."
"If that's true, I hope we find them soon. It'll make fighting off these monsters a lot easier. The more you kill, the stronger you get—that's what I've noticed. It's like we're leveling up faster than we should be."
'This guy,' George thought, 'how sharp is this bastard's mind?'
"Yeah, I've noticed that too," George said, glancing at the door and spotting a goblin shuffling past. "Shhh!" He pressed a finger to his lips and pointed towards the door.
Kil glanced at the door, gripping his two knives tightly. "Have you rested up, George?"
George smirked. "What do you take me for? A pushover?"
Kil grinned. "Who knows?"
Suddenly, a loud scream echoed from outside the old building, startling both Kil and George.
"Whose scream was that?" Kil asked, turning to George. "It sounds like it came from outside."
"We won't find out what's happening unless we go out to the front of the building," George explained.
"Let's go!" Kil shouted.
Outside, where the scream had originated, a large student was battling a horde of goblins in front of the old school building. It was none other than Ken, fighting alongside Keiran. Though Ken was injured, he remained incredibly resilient, using his bare fists to knock away the goblins attacking him.
"Here's one for you!" Ken shouted, landing a punch to a goblin's face, sending it flying. Yet, the punch barely seemed to faze the creature.
"Stop being so reckless, Ken," Keiran called out, wielding a balisong knife with precision. He used it to fend off the goblins when necessary, as he was doing now.
"Shut up, loser," Ken retorted, continuing to punch the advancing goblins, even though his attacks didn't seem to be very effective. "When did we become so close?"
'This guy,' Keiran thought, 'we've been fighting these monsters together since earlier, and now he's calling me a loser. Who's attacks are ineffective? He's just wasting his energy.' Keiran jabbed a goblin in the stomach and slashed its throat with his knife.
One hour earlier, Keiran was hiding in a room cluttered with teachers' supplies and papers—a storage room that the monsters never seemed to enter. The room was dark, and no sound from outside could be heard.
Keiran sat there, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. "What's going on? These monsters—they're like something straight out of movies and anime. What the hell is happening?"
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Keiran shot to his feet, alarmed. He quickly drew his balisong knife, raising it defensively.
"Tsk!" Ken clicked his tongue as he entered the room. "What the hell is going on? I just got out of the hospital because of that bastard Kil, and now these monsters start popping up everywhere."
Keiran pointed his balisong at Ken. "You? Aren't you the guy Kil beat up? What was your name again? Oh yeah, it's Ke—"
Before he could finish, Ken grabbed Keiran by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Don't you dare say that name in front of me. Got it?"
Keiran pressed his balisong against Ken's throat. "You seem to forget—I was here first."
"Tsk," Ken clicked his tongue again and let go of Keiran's shirt. "Not like I have a choice," he muttered, turning away and sighing. "Do you have any idea where those things came from?"
Keiran straightened his clothes. "No, I was going to ask you the same thing. Where did those monsters come from?" He scratched his head, then slumped down in a corner. "I got separated from my classmates in all the panic."
"Just admit you're a loser," Ken sneered.
"What did you say? If you're so tough, why don't we go out there and fight those monsters?"
"Heh! That's such a childish way to think, but sure. How about this—whoever dies first is the loser. Deal?" Ken suggested with a wicked grin.
"You're on," Keiran replied, standing up and readying his balisong.
From that moment on, they fought the monsters together. Ken fought with his bare fists, while Keiran wielded his balisong with deadly precision.
Back in the present, Kil and George stepped out of the door, instantly drawing the attention of the goblins in the hallway. There were quite a few of them, and as soon as the door creaked open, the goblins launched their attack.
"Ready, Kil?" George asked, gripping his two knives tightly.
"You really need to ask?" Kil replied, tightening his hold on his own blades.
They braced themselves and met the charging goblins head-on. The hallway was crowded with enemies, with goblins attacking from both the front and rear. But Kil and George decided to focus on the ones in front, slicing their way through the horde.
Kil swiftly drove his knife into the throat of a goblin with his right hand and stabbed another in the gut with his left. He spun around, slashing the next goblin across the neck, and then quickly dispatched the two more that lunged at him from behind. Together, they cut down the goblins in front of them, but a horde of about fifty more were hot on their heels.
As they neared the staircase, they spotted a fiberglass window above it. The goblins were closing in fast, their claws nearly snagging the edges of Kil and George's clothing.
Meanwhile, Ken and Keiran were still battling goblins outside. "Take this!" Ken shouted, rearing back for a powerful punch. "Atomic Punch!"
Keiran couldn't help but shudder at Ken's declaration. *Is he losing his mind? What's he even talking about?* he thought, shaking his head as he continued to stab and slash through the goblins effortlessly with his balisong.
Suddenly, the window shattered, and Kil and George came crashing through it. Kil crossed his arms over his chest, each hand gripping a knife, as they both leaped from the window and landed amidst the chaos.
Keiran's serious expression shifted into one of surprise and then a smile of genuine amusement.
Ken's eyes widened in shock, and he scowled as he recognized the newcomer. "Finally, we meet again, Kil!" he shouted, his voice full of angerness