Jesse opened his eyes: squinting them slightly as he waited for them to adjust to the bright light.
"You up?" Maxwell's voice snapped him out of his reverie.
The fresh smell of clean sheets and the soft bed on which he laid calmed his mind. His body also smelled fresh compared to the night before.
"Where am I?" He asked.
The clean room had only two beds and a couch.
"They suddenly came for us the next day, saying that the test would be ended early. Nobody died but a lot of people were sent home; turns out they watched the whole thing." Maxwell explained calmly as he laid on his back.
Jesse's eyes widened. If they had seen the whole thing, then they probably caught sight of him when he ate that corpse and even with the evolved zombie bites, he wasn't infected.
"And you." Maxwell paused and turned to Jesse, "You slept for two days, they're not sure, since they turn off the cameras at night but they said it may be a backlash from using your ability. They probably turned it off for privacy sake but why put a bunch of students in a zombie den and turn the cameras off?" Maxwell trailed off.
"My ability?" Jesse frowned. He had no ability whatsoever.
"Yeah. Isn't it strength? Why didn't you tell me?" Maxwell asked, propping himself up with his hands.
"Strength?" Jesse's frown deepened.
What speculations were they making?
"..."
"Yeah... strength." Jesse murmured under his breath.
Maxwell stared at him in silence before speaking up again, "See that thing on your wrist?"
"Yeah?" Jesse stared at the loose wrist band around his wrist.
"It's some kind of measurement tool; they said it'll be useful when we get to the main academy."
"We're not there yet?" Jesse raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not, they gave us time to recuperate and lucky for you, we're leaving today. I would've had to carry you on my back again." Maxwell's voice faded as he turned to the other side.
Jesse laid back down on the bed, staring at the grey ceiling.
He called out the multiple stacked up tabs that hung at the corner of his eye.
[You have killed a Level Two Evolved Infected.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have consumed a Level Two Evolved Infected.]
[You are out of critical state.]
[You have acquired a skill.]
[Claw: Ability Reaver]
[Unleash a swift and deadly claw attack, dealing physical damage to a single target. The claw attack has a chance to steal one of the target's abilities, allowing you to use it as your own for a short duration]
[You survived.]
[You have completed a Main Quest.]
[You have leveled up.]
[All your attributes have received 5 points.]
[Pass the test → Completed.]
[You have completed a Main Quest.]
[You failed to complete your daily quests for two days; therefore, the rewards for completing this main quest have been withheld.]
The smile that had formed on Jesse's lips fell as quickly as it came up.
"What?!" He yelled out but tuned down his voice when he remembered the sleeping Maxwell.
"What?!" He shouted again in a whisper, "I was unconsciousness, why does it still count?"
[...]
"Don't just remain silent. Say something!"
[...]
Jesse breathed out a sigh of exasperation.
He called out the interface with a large frown on his face.
[--System Interface--]
[Host: Jesse Louis]
[Race: Infected]
[Level - 10]
[Health Points - 300\300]
[Awakening Points - 0]
[Experience Points - 0/1000]
[-Attributes-]
[-Skills-]
[-Quests-]
"Attributes."
[--Attributes--]
[Strength - 26]
[Agility - 22]
[Perception - 15]
[Willpower - 17]
[Charisma - 15]
[Steel mentality - 31]
"Hmm." He nodded. The increase in attributes was nerve-wracking.
"Skills." He called out again.
[-Skills-]
[Inspect → Level 3]
[→Uncover hidden auras, enchantments, and object properties, provided, they are widen your skill range]
[Jab → Level 2]
[→A quick and precise strike dealing moderate damage to a single target]
[Jab has a 15% chance to reveal opponent's weak point]
[Jab has a 20% chance to increase user's attack speed by 10% for 2 seconds]
[Using Jab skill with a weapon has a 3% chance of killing a one level higher opponent in a single strike]
[Skill cooldown time: 8 seconds]
[Consume]
[→Devour the life force of a target to absorbe their abilities. The consumed abilities become yours to wield in the form of specific skills]
[Claw: Ability Reaver → Level 1]
[→Unleash a swift and deadly claw attack, dealing physical damage to a single target. The claw attack has a chance to steal one of the target's abilities, allowing you to use it as your own for a short duration]
[Level up Claw: Ability Reaver by absorbing Ceteorin stones]
The quest tab was empty, hence, Jesse let out a tired sigh. He turned to the direction where Maxwell laid and met a pair of grey eyes staring right back at him.
"I didn't want to interrupt your conversation but it's time to leave. Didn't you hear an alarm from your wristband?" Maxwell asked. He had seen a lot of crazy people, therefore, the sight of Jesse speaking to himself didn't surprise him.
"Ah." With a flushed face, Jesse sat up quickly and checked the wristband. The blue band had a small silver plate on top that reflected the number seven.
"We'll get individual numbers when we get there, but for now, it'll just show your residential number.
Jesse touched the number seven that glowed on the small, round silver plate, and a holographic image popped up, displaying a larger number seven.
'Identity crises?' Jesse stared blankly at the holographic image.
Maxwell stood up and stretched, "Time to leave. We'll be having lunch first."
*****
Led by Maxwell, Jesse entered the dining hall. His stomach grumbled at the smell of food. He sat with Maxwell on an empty table after collecting their meal.
Jesse's eyes scanned the hall and the amount of student had dwindled greatly. He recognized a few from the astute girl's group.
He turned his eyes back to his meal and ate quietly.
"Hey." A seemingly familiar voice called out: The astute girl from the test. She flashed a smile at both of them and sat down beside Maxwell.
"Enjoyed your beauty sleep?" She asked, tilting her head with a ridiculing smile on her lips, "I thought you've been eaten by some zombie."
"..."
'Inspect'
[Name: Avila Braun]
[Race: Human]
[Status - Awakened]
[Ability - Wind]
[Tier - Intermediate]
[Level - 1]
"Oh!" Jesse exclaimed lightly. His level was now high enough to see complete stats.
He looked around for Silas, eager to use his inspect skill on him.
"Where's Silas?" He asked.
"He's not here yet." Avila answered, sipping from her carton of milk.
"I'm Avila by the way." She introduced herself nonchalantly.
"Jesse." Jesse replied with as much disinterest.
"Of course, who doesn't know you? Jesse Louis, the kid with strength ability who was found bloodied outside the tent but without any injuries." Avila smirked, "I heard them say you have a regeneration ability too. Two whole abilities, wow."
"No, just strength." Jesse replied as he brought his soup bowl closer to his face, eager to end the conversation.
If this rumour reached the ears of the higher ups, then he would be in bigger trouble. Having two abilities was a rarity after all.
-Swoosh
A wind blade flew towards his face at an alarming speed. Having caught sight of the ripple, he turned his face sideways.
"Oh, you have speed ability too?" Avila asked, her fingers raised up in the air.
"What?" Jesse feigned ignorance. He had moved in the slightest way possible that anyone would interpret it as pure coincidence.
Avila's eyes glistened as her lips stretched into a wry smile.