As Charlotte calmed down after killing her first zombie, Leo took his Rusty Sword from her hands. She still looked slightly ashen since killing a zombie tipped quite a bit of her mental strength. She still seemed to be scared of them, yet mixed with fear, there was something else hidden in her eyes.
After they helped Charlotte to level up, Willie had scanned their surroundings in an attempt to find another zombie. They had proceeded as usual, venturing close to their base. Apparently, the number of zombies had increased significantly over the last few days.
Their numbers were so large that it was possible to find several dozen of them no matter where you looked, making it quite hard to find a single target. Fortunately, they had Willie to scout their surroundings, allowing them to know the number of zombies before they met them.
Without Willy's abilities, they would have needed to be more cautious living among the increasing zombie population. Willie's acute observation abilities and quick thinking were vital in their struggle for life.
Even though Leo was able to kill several dozen of them, he didn't want to risk it. If they cause a big commotion, they may attract the attention of all zombies near them, making it much more dangerous for them. Leo was confident in his ability to escape danger, unlike Adam, Willie, and Charlotte, who weren't as strong as him.
Approaching a relatively smaller group of zombies, Leo saw three zombies in front of them. Each of them was standing silently, hibernating and conserving their energies.
"Willie, try chanting your Small Fireball and throw it to the head of a zombie. Aim to its head! Adam, try using your telekinesis to kill one of the zombies. Charlotte, you will fight with the remaining one. Don't be scared of it; I will cover you up in case something dangerous happens."
Leo quickly shared with them his simple plan, which involved assigning specific tasks to each team member for the upcoming attack on the zombies. He already had a significant amount of fighting experience, so he wanted to temper his teammates.
"When Willie kills one of it with Small Fireball skill, attack simultaneously."
They had no objection towards his plan as they started to proceed with it. They stood several meters from zombies since, during hibernation, zombies had dull senses. Zombies are usually attracted to loud sounds, and they had limited vision. Normally, it wasn't hard to pass through the small group of zombies undetected.
As Willie started to chant the incantation of Small Fireball, others readied themselves for the attack. After 15 seconds of muttering spells in some unknown language, a fireball started forming on his right hand. It burned intensely and was as huge as a small throwing ball.
With the power of his will, Willie sent the fireball flying towards the closest zombie. It neatly struck the zombie's head, which burst and burned under high temperatures.
As the first zombie was killed by Willie, Adam tried to control his broken spear with his mind. Albeit slowly, it followed the will of Adam flying towards another zombie and piercing its brain. Even though the Broken Spear had a bad balance for close combat, but it was a perfect short spear for throwing it at the monsters.
Both zombies were dealt with quickly, such as even Adam and Willie found it too easy. Charlotte looked stunned at them since both Small Fireball and Telekinesis looked magical to her. Even though she had accepted the fact of zombies' existence, it was still hard for her to believe in magical powers.
"Stop dozing off, otherwise you'll get killed by the remaining zombie."
As the last zombie was rushing towards them, he criticized Charlotte for lowering her guard. If you want to survive the battle, you need to always remain cautious and vigilant. One moment of carelessness may even cost your life.
When Charlotte heard Leo, she was scared by the sight of a rushing zombie. It howled and roared as it was sprinting towards them. She tightly gripped the Wooden bat in her hands, resolving herself to kill it.
However, when it got close to her, she tried to hit its head with a bat but quickly found herself lying under it. At that moment, everything had slowed down for her. She saw the rotten face of a zombie right before her face, as the blood can still be seen inside its mouth. She felt helpless as fear started creeping over her body.
"Don't try to fight with it head-on. Because they are instinct-driven, zombies move in a dull and predictable way. Try to predict its move and dodge its attack. Then send it tumbling with a strong hit to its head."
As the zombie attempted to bite her, a hand from behind pulled it away from Charlotte. With a swift abdominal kick, Leo sent the zombie flying as it landed heavily several meters away from him. Charlotte was still frightened by how close she was to death as she sat on the ground dazedly.
"Did you understand? If you can't continue fighting, then let me handle it."
"I'm fine, just was scared a little. I'll kill it!"
Gritting her teeth in determination, Charlotte stood up from the ground, shaken but resolved. As the zombie rushed at her again, she dodged it clumsily but wasn't able to attack right after dodging. The third time, she was able to follow her dodge with an attack to its head.
A zombie fell down on the ground as she started banging its head with her bat. It reminded to Leo how Willie killed his first zombie, Charlotte. Zombie's head quickly turned into a bloody mess as a bright light burst from its body.
'It seemed she was rewarded for a near-death encounter.'
Leo couldn't help but think that Charlotte was lucky since the treasure chest was hard to get. He knew that weaker you are, higher your chances to get a treasure chest, but Charlotte had obtained it after her second zombie.
"You're quite lucky. Open it and see what you got."
Leo eagerly awaited to see what item Charlotte would obtain from the treasure chest. Typically, white Treasure Chests contain low-tier system weapons like the Rusty Sword, Failed Dagger, and Broken Spear. There was also a slight chance for the treasure chest to contain consumable items such as Restoration Bread, Skill Books, or other valuable resources for their survival.
As she opened it, the bat had replaced its place. It looked like a common bat yet full of sharp nails to deal more damage. As Leo glanced to it, the status of a bat had appeared in front of his eyes.
[Survivor's Bat]
[Attack: 9-11]
[Durability: 7]
[Description: The wooden bat was specially modified to smash heads of zombies.]
Leo couldn't help but chuckle inside since all their weapons had their own defects. Rusty Sword, Broken Spear, and Failed Dagger, even their names were peculiar in their own way.
While Charlotte tightly held Survivor's Bat in her hands, she looked quite unusual. Survivor's Bat looked even more barbaric than Wooden bat, and it also gave her a truly apocalyptic vibe. Combined with her protective demeanor, she exuded an extremely unique aura.