Willie's heart raced as he scanned their surroundings using his Life Pulse, approaching the minimarket they had chosen as a temporary hiding place. He knew they needed to be quick and efficient in gathering supplies before moving on to their next safe location. The adrenaline coursing through his veins reminded him of the urgency of their situation.
"Hmm, Leo, there are a lot of zombies in front of our store, a-and there's something else too... Its lifeprint is a little different from every other zombie's." It was clear that Willie was scared because his voice was shaking as he talked. In the past, they only went after one or three zombies at a time, so he had never seen such a big group of them.
"What do you mean by 'something else'? Are you suggesting there's another survivor?" Adam asked for more information because what Willie said didn't make sense to him.
"No, zombies' life imprints aren't exactly identical to humans. Zombies lack the vivid life imprints that humans possess, in contrast to our more vibrant auras. It resembles the huge monster from the library, but with a milder presence and a distinct form." Willie did his best to explain his intuition. Even though Adam seemed a little confused by his explanation, Leo picked it up in no time.
'I never imagined Willie could tell the difference between the various kinds of zombies, either.' Hunting was difficult because they had no idea how powerful a monster would be. Even while Leo could tell you a zombie's general rank from their appearance, he couldn't tell you their particular level of evolution. To accomplish this, specific expertise was required.
"How much of them are there?" Leo inquired with a hint of excitement.
In a bewildered manner, Willie responded, "I have detected nine of them, including one with a stronger aura." He could hear enthusiasm in Leo's tone. Leo's excitement grew as he strategized how to take down the zombies efficiently. With Willie's keen observation skills and Leo's knowledge of zombie behavior, they made a formidable team in the hunt for the undead creatures.
Leo managed to deal with regular zombies, so he grinned slightly at his accomplishment. Even a low-ranking advanced zombie now gave him the confidence to learn [Flash Step], but before he had no idea how to deal with them.
"Let's take them dead. An evolved zombie will be on me while you try to kill ordinary zombies." Leo wanted to put his skill to the test, so he hurriedly charged at the group of zombies after saying these words. As Adam silently trailed after, Willie appeared terrified as he tried to keep up with his friend.
With a swift motion, Leo slashed two zombies, instantly dispatching them as he dashed into the horde of undead. The uproar caused a swarm of zombies to rush at him.
At the same time, a shadow emerged from the group as it sprinted towards him. It was considerably slower than a Hunter from his dream but fast enough to instantly kill an ordinary human.
It outpaced Leo's peak speed by a significant margin. As the threat approached, Leo raised his blade in a defensive stance, preparing to deflect a blow aimed at his head.
Every creature had its own unique pattern of attacks. Slashing motions were the foundation of every hunter's attack since their hands featured lengthy claws that looked like elongated nails. Their preferred method of assault was a single, rapid move directed towards the target's head.
When they are unable to dispatch the target with a single motion, they often withdraw their distance.
'At this very moment, they are at their most vulnerable. They are probably too busy trying to get away from you to launch an attack right now. ' As he read Hunter's movements, Leo said.
Leo swiftly dodged a hunter's claws, then swung his sword at it, beheading it with a single hit. Since Hunters weren't as resilient as Giants, killing one didn't require much effort.
Although unable to match its pace, Leo efficiently dispatched it using a [Flash Step].
Within moments, the winner of the battle became evident with just a few breaths. Despite Adam and Willie's admiration, Leo continued riding it, eventually reducing the group to just two zombies.
"What are you both looking at? Move in closer and kill them. Every one of you got one."
Leo evaded two zombies' attacks as he uttered it. As he talked, he effortlessly dove between them, demonstrating his impressive speed.
'How terrifying!' Willie was about to say it, but he bit his lip just in time. Because he had never thought Leo could move so quickly, seeing him kill a hunter was too frightening. Because he had a full awareness of his surroundings, including the opponents therein, all of his movements were interdependent.
Adam and Willie battled two zombies, still taken aback by the demonstration of strength. Even without firearms, they were able to defeat enough zombies to engage in a one-on-one confrontation.
Leo examined his battlefield loot as they both engaged zombies. He refrained from leveling up because a hunter was equivalent to level 2.
On the ground, he found six survival coins from regular zombies and two from a hunter, which he collected all of them.
'I have no doubt that the hunter dropped another chest of loot when I killed it. In this life, treasure chests are more likely to be dropped by zombies than in my previous lives. Perhaps they're dropped more frequently initially.'
The fact that Treasure Chests are falling more often than predicted was unusual to Leo. Holding a white chest in his hands, he wondered what would be within the treasure chest.
[Would you like to unlock a white treasure chest?]
'yes'
A book materialized in his place as the treasure chest vanished from his grasp.
[Small Fireball]
[Type: Fire magic]
[Learning requires at least two spirit points.]
[Requires 5 mana points to use]
[Description: Creates a small fireball]
"Skills Book"
Despite knowing that Treasure Chests could accidentally drop a Skill Book, Leo was ecstatic to acquire one. The treasure chest had the Skill Book, but the odds of receiving it were as slim as a lottery ticket, in other words, extremely small.
'It's still useless to me, though.' Since Leo had no plans to study it, he pondered. He lacked the necessary spirit stats to even attempt learning it; thus, there was no point in trying. But Leo had someone specific in mind to whom he could offer it.
'It appears like Willie's training is going to get more challenging over the next few days.'
Unconsciously, Leo grinned as he imagined Willie's gripe with it.
[Would you like to learn Small Fireball?]
[Every 10 levels you will have the opportunity to pick up a talent at the price of a book.]
'No'
Not wanting to squander his chance on such a skill, Leo turned down the system's suggestion.
A skill book could be utilized in two ways. The first was to have the user learn it on their own with the system's assistance and then to have that information implanted in them.
Reading the book was the second option. It was more challenging than the first method, but effective in the long run because anyone could learn it by following the directions.
But in any case, the Skill Book would vanish. Your method of learning made all the difference. You can either trust the system and play it safe, wasting skill points, or you can learn the system and put your points into more useful abilities.
No one should ignore the initial approach; that was Leo's point. You could spend a lifetime trying to master a skill, but he thought it was wiser to save up for more useful ones. It was up to Enhancer's individual abilities.
If you had the ability to do so, then there is no reason not to learn the skill on your own.