"A zombie is in our path." When Willie used the life pulse to map their route, he identified a lone zombie wandering nearby. Leo and Willie headed to the library after avoiding zombies that were approaching each other too closely while leaving the dorm.
When Leo got back in time, their university campus was teeming with students, but it was now completely deserted. Except, that is, for zombies who used to be students. On their campus, zombies were prowling around freely, swaying slightly with each step they took.
Leo wanted to test the sword's effectiveness by using it on a zombie's body. Zombies were not as strong as other monsters, but it was a dull sword, so maybe it wouldn't work on them. Compared to humans, their skin was less elastic and their bones were more brittle.
Leo moved stealthily toward a zombie and quickly beheaded it by slashing its neck. Leo believed that slicing off the zombies' heads would be a more efficient way to kill them than smashing their heads.
[You have reached level 2]
[You have received two attribute points]
To get to level 2, he had to kill five zombies, whereas level 1 only needed to be reached by killing one. Eventually, the monsters he had to defeat in order to level up would only get more difficult as his level rose. Certain enhancers may even require multiple weeks to advance their level by one after reaching the hundredth level.
'Add one point for strength, one point for agility.' Leo was strong enough now to slay zombies with a single swing of his sword, but he was unable to evade the second zombie that attacked him. All he could do was point the finger at his reduced agility compared to an average person. He might not be as agile as the least athletic person. With a few notable exceptions who fell one point short of the maximum of ten points in agility, the majority of people had seven points in agility right away.
If strength gives your muscles more power, agility boosts the strength and quickens the impulse in your nerve cells. Leo saw that the world was moving a little bit more slowly, even with his agility increasing by one point. For Leo, it was an unfamiliar sensation, but he had experienced similar shifts numerous times before and was accustomed to adjusting to even the smallest variations in reaction time.
Leo and Willie had taken out lone wandering zombies on their way to the library. It was urgent for them to raise Willie's level because they were almost out of life pulses on their journey. He needed to level up quickly because Leo's life pulse was too crucial to their survival.
Willie had taken out three zombies, and Leo had only killed two. Finally, Willie reached level 2 after taking out the third zombie. Willie could use an additional 10 mana points after gaining one more point in his spirit stat. Willie could use Life Pulse 11 more times because he had a total of 11 mana points: 10 from the stat boost, 1 from before, and 11 from the stat increase. Leveling up cannot be utilized to boost you to your peak condition because it does not replenish the user's mana and "health bar" to the maximum, as in video games.
They eventually arrived at a library after traveling for a few minutes. It was a rectangular structure, just like all the other libraries at their university, and had tall wooden doors that made the space feel more regal. There were drawings of scholars on the library walls and engraved shapes of various animals on the door.
Leo became even more eager to see his friend as they got closer to the three-meter-tall doors. Adam may have only had it for a single day, but it felt like five long, grueling years.
"Adam! Are you there? Open the doors!". Leo knocked softly at the library's wooden doors, calling out to Adam in a whisper. His heartbeat was accelerating with every second, which made it obvious how anxious he was.
'Am I late in coming already? Has it been to the library before? However, since the door is still in place, Adam ought to be alright, right?' Leo ruminated within. But when he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door, his heart began to settle a little.
"Leo! Are things going well for you? Hold on while I open the door." It appeared that, when the end of the world arrived, Adam was also glad to have met Leo.
"Don't open the door, Adam! You are aware that it is dangerous outside. What if they are infected? What will we do?" A strong voice corrected Adam. Leo heard it and was annoyed by the person who was speaking, recalling bad experiences from his past.
"Leo is my friend, Oliver. If you are really scared, you can hide inside until I close the door while I open it." With a steady voice, Adam said.
Oliver answered Adam with a "Tsk," obviously annoyed that Adam wasn't paying attention.
Adam Lane's previous death was partially caused by Oliver Lane, the son of a wealthy businessman. As a spoiled brat with an inflated ego, Leo didn't like him at all. However, he was the first to flee at the first hint of danger. Had it not been for him, Adam would not have perished earlier.
In reality, Leo was stranded in the library with Adam when the world ended in his previous life. Most likely, he had gone to see Adam in the cafeteria after completing a group assignment. A voice appeared out of nowhere, confusing them both at first, but soon the confusion gave way to fear.
The first student out of the library was a senior. He must have rushed to his dorm room because it was already a deep night... However, a few minutes later, he came back, still bleeding from his arm wound and terrified as hell. He tore the piece of flesh off his left arm.
After ten minutes, he gave it some thought.
It had become a zombie and devoured multiple students prior to being slain by Adam. Of all of them, he was the first to level up and the first to kill a zombie. It was Adam who revealed what he had learned about the Beginner's Survival Pack.
Subsequently, the students began attacking them after being devoured by a senior student. Fortunately, they responded quickly, allowing them to handle them.
Still, it was enough to give them the willies. They spent a half day in the library, trembling and shaking, unable to leave because they could hear growls coming from outside. It was, to be honest, pretty stupid of them to think that after a little while everything would get better.
They heard footsteps outside all of a sudden. They were stomps, not steps, indeed. like a massive object approaching them. It stopped just in front of the library door, as evident as day from the sound of stomps getting closer. A short while later, there was a knock at the library's doors. The monster behind the doors was then exposed when the doors shattered.
It was a gigantic, 2.5-meter-tall monster. He was tall, with thick muscles covering every part of his body. When everyone got a good look at it, they all froze for a second. Leo was no different.
Oliver shoved Leo next to him into the monster's path and fled through the opening in order to save his own life. Nobody had anticipated it. Oliver was fortunate enough to be able to flee the library with ease because the enormous monster moved much more slowly than regular zombies.
As Leo fell squarely in front of the monster, hopelessness engulfed him as the creature attempted to grasp him with its massive hands. Luckily for Leo, Adam attacked it, drawing attention to himself and giving him enough time to gather his thoughts and stand.
But just when Leo believed he was safe, Adam, with the bat in his hands, went against the enormous creature, which was definitely not the best idea. Leo attempted to assist Adam, but the giant had already ripped him in two, sucking his blood and putting one half in his mouth. Leo, who had frozen in place and heard the giant chewing sound, went unnoticed by the giant as he consumed his friend.
Suck it down!
After consuming Adam, it shifted its attention to Leo. Leo merely ran after emerging from his frozen state with no time to consider his options. He just ran, not really knowing where he was going. He had managed to get away from the giant in this manner, but Adam had perished. Furthermore, after Oliver shoved him, he dropped his wooden bat. He found out later on that, without it, there was no way to advance in level.
Fortunately, there were no zombies in his path as he ran out of the library. Gasping for air, he halted in front of the tiny grocery store. He cautiously went inside and hid in the storage area. He could have survived there for over a year with the food and water he had. He had simply fled from everything there before assistance came to save him.
It was supposed to be him, not Adam, who died that day. If Adam hadn't attempted to divert its attention, he would have had every chance of surviving. But now Leo has the opportunity to prevent it from happening.
'I won't let you die this time.' Leo pondered.
Leo discovered later on that the creature was a zombie of a special strength type. It was incredibly slow, but it was also incredibly strong.
When he did eventually emerge from the storage room, life was harsher and riskier outside, but the university campus was a safer place to live.
…
Slowly, the doors opened, revealing Adam standing behind them. He was exactly as Leo had remembered him. His pale face and black hair framed his delicate facial features, giving him an incredibly handsome appearance. His smile, as always, was captivating and full of assurance. Despite these circumstances, he maintained his composure. He had the same appearance as a romantic lead from those webtoons Leo enjoyed reading in his free time.
For the first time in five years, Leo was overjoyed to see his best friend. He rushed to embrace Adam while covering his slightly weeping eyes. After letting go of Adam, Leo noticed that Oliver was one of the five students in the library, along with three male students and one female student. There were three male students and one female student, excluding Oliver.
"Leo, what's happening outside?" Adam made the decision to pose a query that made everyone in the library tense. Willie began blubbering about the dangers there instead of him. "The outside world is unbearable. Everywhere you look, there are zombies attacking and devouring humans. It appeared as though the end of the world was near."
Willie's words drained the color from everyone in the library, making them look paler, especially Oliver, who seemed to have lost a significant amount of blood.
Adam, on the other hand, appeared to be considering their circumstances. Leo remembered that as Adam's usual demeanor, calm and wise.
…
Leo was overjoyed to see Adam again, but he would never forget the monster that would shatter the library's doors.
Leo heard a very haughty voice say, "You there! I will pay you if you protect me and lead me somewhere safe." Oliver was the one. His smooth skin and blonde hair made him look even more attractive than he was at the moment. He didn't have good grades or be athletic, but for some reason that Leo couldn't fathom, he always had that haughty smile on his face, as if he were some sort of big shot.
Leo chose to ignore Oliver because he was obviously a fool, as evidenced by the fact that he frequently turned to money to solve his problems." Adam, let's get out of here and go to the other place right away. This place is too risky."
"Do you not see me? Bastard, I'm speaking with you." Furious with Leo, Oliver attempted to seize his collar, but Leo stepped aside, sending Oliver tumbling to the ground.
"If you try again, I'll kill you." Leo menacingly gestured to Oliver with the tip of his rusty sword. Despite leaving the storage room, he never saw Oliver again in his previous life, even though he always wanted to kill him with his own hands.
thud! thud! thud!