'Will it end exactly this way?'
'Will I pass away at the start, ruining my second chance?'
He'd started to have second thoughts. Is he deserving of an opportunity to make amends? Would they perform better in his place if someone else took his place?
'No, I should concentrate! Concentrate!'
Leo put some distance between himself and the zombie, then delivered a powerful kick to the zombie's abdomen. He was trying to think of a solution, and his mind was racing with ideas.
'Consider how I can kill it in this precarious situation?'
"..."
An idea struck him.
He was so used to being by himself in his former life that he didn't even notice that fatty was standing next to him. During raids, nobody wanted to go on a party with him because of his weakness. Because he could rely solely on himself, he became accustomed to hunting by himself.
But now he had to rely on fatty to make it through.
"Fatty! Go faster, smash it!"
Leo yelled at the stunned, fat person who was standing near the entrance, ogling the brawl. Leo seemed to have roused Fatty, who quickly rushed over to join them.
Leo countered the zombie's relentless attacks with another forceful kick. As he approached, the fat boy struck the zombie with all of his might. Leo crawled up under a zombie body that had become a bloody mess after a few seconds.
"I apologize! Are you alright?"
Feigning panting, fatty assisted Leo in standing and made an apologetic face. Leo's expression showed relief as he realized that Fatty was not the pig companion he had initially thought him to be. He can, at least, depend on him in these circumstances.
"Many thanks, fat person. Without your assistance, I would have perished. Call me Leo, but my name is Leonard."
Leo extended his hand for a handshake, addressing his friend in a friendly manner.
"Willie... Willie Pearson." fatty responded, shaking Leo's hand firmly. "Let's stick together and watch each other's backs in this mess." Leo nodded in agreement, grateful for the companionship in the midst of chaos.
Fatty was initially taken aback by Leo's sudden behavior, but his expression brightened after they shook hands.
"Let's enter the room and take a pause."
Leo swiftly took two black coins from the zombies, still exhausted from their deadly encounter, and they both went back to the previous room. Leo and Willie each took a chair, ignoring the smell of rotting flesh coming from the dead body that was still on the floor.
"Well, so what do you believe is happening? A zombie population? Even though I already had a fight with them, it is still difficult to accept."
Leo was fully aware that Fatty was on the verge of losing her mind. Attempting to divert his attention from everything.
"Well, the heavenly voice called it Second Holocaust: Evolution, but I'm not sure about that. Maybe in the new environment, all living things can now evolve more quickly."
Leo attempted to put the details of the changes that are taking place between this life and his former one into simple terms.
"How about zombies, then? How are real zombies possible?"
Zombies with a unique virus seemed to be more than just the apocalypse.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps the microbes evolved to have control over our bodies."
Naturally, Leo was aware of it. After dissecting zombie bodies, scientists who managed to survive discovered that the zombies' corpses were controlled by a unique virus. The virus originated from one that was already present in the bodies of complex organisms, such as humans and animals.
All survivors actually carried this type of virus, albeit in insufficient quantities to handle it. People discovered that they gained a great deal from it as well.
"Fa... Willie How's your life pulse? Is there anything intriguing about it?
Leo nearly called him fatty again, but he stopped short.
"Well, it was a truly wonderful feeling. I felt as though there were bright lights all around me. But I was too distracted by the two zombies to feel it through. Give it another go."
Frantically, he sent another life pulse around him, saying the name of the ability. His face was as serene as crystal clear water now, emphasizing the absence of danger.
Depending on how they were infected, dead students who had been eaten by zombies would rise after 10 to 30 minutes on the floor. For now, however, the floor was safe.
Nevertheless, Leo had earlier smashed the head of the dead body in the room and shut the door to the room just to be safe.
"There aren't any zombies on this floor, but I can sense them. It seems that life pulse can only be sent out in a circular pattern."
Willie mentioned it with a tinge of regret. "If it had been sent in all directions, it would have been even more. It was still a helpful innate ability, though."
"Relax a little. Attempt to change Life Pulse's direction. Maybe you can send life linearly farther away from you or sense life in a sphere far away."
Since Leo was aware that an individual's control over their innate abilities can determine how they are used, he continued to expect Life Pulse.
Considering Leo's explanation to be plausible, Willie attempted to regulate his detection range. The mana moved as usual after activation, responding only marginally to his thoughts about directing the wave's direction.
"It responded somewhat, but otherwise it was sent in the same manner. I believe I'll be able to pull it off in the future."
Leo realized that Willie was still having too much difficulty controlling his innate ability. It is challenging to control the mana wave's direction because it is closely tied to the mana application.
"It's okay. Have you had enough sleep? It's still dangerous here, let's go downstairs. Do you own a car, by the way?"
Leo understood that having a way to get around was essential to their survival, but since they could just borrow one of the cars from the lot, it wasn't a major issue.
"No, my parents didn't purchase one for me."
innately, Willie was not a car owner. His parents didn't have extra money to spend on the car because he came from an average household.
Furthermore, Willie had only recently started college, so having an automobile held no significance for him. Given how his hobby rendered him useless, it seemed unlikely that he would ever own a car while pursuing his education.
"Now, let's move forward. We wish to avoid having zombies all around us."
Leo wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. With the zombie population in the dorm building increasing by the minute, Leo and Willie were uncertain about the exact number of undead lurking within.
Since most of the students were outside for lunch or other activities, there might not be many of them in the dorm. But Leo and Willie won't be able to get away from them if they encircle them. It will take four zombies to take out the two of them.
"Where are we heading now?"
Given that Leo's life was in jeopardy, Fatty was still intrigued by his plan. They can steer clear of the most dangerous areas with his life pulse, but nothing is 100% safe.
"To find one of my friends, we're first heading to the library. After that, we're going to look for a safe spot on campus. We ought to concentrate on internal safety since we have no idea what's going on outside the campus."
Given how straightforward the plan was, Willie nodded in agreement, understanding the importance of focusing on internal safety within the campus. With Leo's Life Pulse ability, they had a good chance of avoiding danger, but they still needed to remain vigilant.
They both headed downstairs towards the library, setting off on their next destination after leaving the room.