Jesse stared blankly at Maxwell's tall figure before peeking out from behind his wide back. "We should follow them," he murmured, walking ahead of Maxwell.
"That guy looked like he wanted to kill you, though."
"Not him," Jesse replied, moving in the direction that the girl's group had gone.
'Right. He probably wants to join a large group of people for safety,' Maxwell thought to himself.
"Wait for me!" he yelled, jogging after Jesse.
**
The scorching sun beat down upon the unrelenting pair, its fiery rays blazing with intensity.
At this point, Maxwell and Jesse had walked a long way away from the wall, but no other student could be seen. Maxwell was slowly filled with regret. Staying close to the wall would have been a much better option.
No matter how far they walked, nothing came into sight. The intensity of the blazing sun felt too real to be an illusion. Whoever created such an illusion would be on par with the four top heroes of Earth. To make matters worse, there was neither water nor food. Maxwell's throat was already parched, and he was barely surviving on whatever saliva his mouth could still produce.
"Hey, Jesse. Let's just... stop here, okay?" Maxwell pleaded, his hands placed on his tired knees.
[Pass the test.]
Jesse was just as tired, but the quest tab remained at the corner of his eye, reminding him of the rewards he could earn or the impending punishment for failure. It might be light or severe; he could simply lose a few AP points, or he could lose his life altogether. He wasn't willing to take any risks.
He gulped down the last bit of saliva he could summon. Raising his head, he spotted a group huddled together in the distance. His lips curled into a victorious smile. If he could stay close to the most powerful group, passing the test wouldn't be too much of a problem.
He silently called out to the system, rubbing his tongue against his parched lips.
[--Attributes--]
[Strength - 10]
[Agility - 9]
[Perception - 8]
[Willpower - 12]
[Charisma - 10]
[Steel Mentality - 26]
[AP - 4]
"Two Awakening Points to Agility," he murmured under his breath.
[Agility - 9 +2]
[Agility - 11]
[AP - 2]
"Get ready, Maxwell," Jesse said, his voice barely audible as he gazed in the direction of the crowd.
"Sure." Maxwell stood up. He licked his lips and jumped, sliding down from the sand heap they stood on.
Maxwell ran forward, leaving Jesse, who jogged slowly behind him. However, the closer they got to the huddled crowd, the more foreboding Jesse felt.
"Wait!" he yelled out to Maxwell.
"Why? They're just a few meters away from us now." Maxwell slowed down as he turned to face Jesse.
Jesse's eyes lingered on the crowd. Their formation was in disarray, they stood still with barely any movement, and not a single sound could be heard from their direction.
"Inspect," he murmured under his breath.
[[Name: Unknown]
[Race: Infected]
[Status: Unawakened]
[Ability: None]
[Tier: None]
[You have encountered a Zero-level Zombie horde.]
[The Zero-level Zombies horde before you are led by an evolved zombie, hence, they are likely to attack you, an intruder.]
Jesse's eyes widened. He had no idea what the second tab meant, but he had no time to think about it.
[Steel Mentality has been implemented.]
[Every kill counts.]
Stunned by the new message, Jesse stumbled backward, signaling Maxwell with his hands.
"Huh?" Maxwell, who was quite a distance away, frowned. "Speak up. I don't know what you're saying!"
"Zombies," Jesse mouthed.
"What?"
"They are zombies!" he yelled unintentionally.
"What—" Maxwell's words were cut off by a growl.
—Gra!
Something latched onto Maxwell's arm, and in a desperate attempt to get the zombie off, he used his ability.
Yelling a single word in fear, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sunny sky, blasting the zombie off in one strike. However, the lightning was accompanied by thunder. The sound jolted the horde of zombies awake.
With no weapon in hand, it was really a dire situation.
Maxwell stumbled toward Jesse.
The horde of zombies slowly raised their heads, awakened by the sudden noise. In the distance, Jesse could hear the sound of uneven footsteps approaching at an alarming speed.
They were low-level zombies; there were no beasts nearby. However, the number of zombies was too much for just two people to handle on their own.
"Aim at their heads! Just try to find a way out!" Jesse yelled at Maxwell, who was watching the zombie he blasted get back up on its feet. The lightning bolt had only struck its shoulder, so it wasn't enough to kill it.
Although more thunder would attract more zombies, there was nothing Jesse could do about it. The zombies were already rushing toward them, and Maxwell had run back up to the sand heap to get a better aim.
Jesse ran toward the heap, picking up a long, jagged bone that was buried beneath the sand.
"System, what chance do I stand?"
[Survival rate: 50%]
[Survival rate: 26%]
Jesse scoffed at how quickly his survival percentage dwindled.
"Aim at the head," he murmured under his breath.
Jesse gripped the jagged bone tightly and moved forward to give himself enough space for escape. His eyes were fixed on the approaching horde. Maxwell stood above him on the sand heap, his eyes scanning the crowd for the perfect shot. The first zombie, a gaunt figure with sunken eyes, reached them in no time. Jesse swung the bone with all his might, aiming for its head. The bone connected with a sickening crunch, but the zombie didn't go down. It stumbled, giving Jesse time to strike again.
Maxwell fired his lightning bolt, striking a zombie in the distance. The thunder boomed, and the horde quickened their pace. Jesse swung the bone again, this time missing the zombie's head and hitting its shoulder. The zombie grabbed Jesse's arm, its grip like a vice. Jesse tried to shake it off, but it held tight.
Maxwell fired another bolt, striking the zombie holding Jesse. The zombie released its grip, and Jesse stumbled back, gasping for breath.
"Thanks," he muttered, gasping for air.
The horde closed in, their numbers seemingly endless. Jesse swung the bone wildly, trying to keep them at bay. He hit a few, but more kept coming.
A zombie grabbed his leg, pulling him down. Jesse kicked out, trying to shake it off. Maxwell fired another bolt, striking the zombie and freeing Jesse. But Jesse was already wounded, his leg throbbing in pain. He had no idea what a zombie bite would do to him since he was already infected.
The horde surrounded them, their moans growing louder. Jesse knew they couldn't hold out much longer. He glanced at Maxwell, who was firing bolt after bolt, but the zombies just kept coming.
Jesse spotted an opening and made a break for it, swinging the bone and trying to clear a path. Maxwell slid down the sand hill, following close behind as he fired his lightning bolts to keep the zombies at bay. They fought their way through the horde, Jesse taking a few hits along the way as he created a path for Maxwell.
The zombies were weak and slow, so they reached the edge of the crowd and made a run for it. However, the zombies weren't going to let them off so easily.
The horde, like sentient beings, turned toward them and gave chase. More, attracted by Maxwell's thunder, rushed toward them from a distance.
Jesse blocked a hit with his bone weapon, but another zombie came from behind, swinging toward him with unmatched speed. However, a small curved blade pierced the zombie's arm, and the chain attached to the blade pulled the zombie away.
The owner of the weapon dragged the shoge out of the zombie's arm and threw it at its head instead. Blood and brain matter splattered all over Jesse's face as the shoge was pulled out.
[Survival rate: 89%]
"You're making quite a lot of noise." The astute girl from before stepped forward.
Though surprised by her sudden presence, Jesse had no time for chit-chat.
He dug the jagged bone into a zombie's head, successfully killing it.
Now that there were more people, he wouldn't just try to escape; he could actually focus on killing these things.
[You have killed a Zero-Level Infected]
[50 EXP]
[You have leveled up]
[Level - 3]
[EXP - 5/300]
[Inspect skill has leveled up]
[Level - 2]
[You can now uncover hidden auras, enchantments, and object properties, provided they are within your level]
[Strength - 10 +2]
[Strength - 12]
Ignoring the notifications from the system, Jesse rose to his feet.