In this situation, there was no one "right" answer.
The ideal skill was subjective, a matter of one perspective and choice.
To be honest, the power I'd fantasized about the most was "mind control." After all, who wouldn't want mind control??
With it, I could plan to brainwash a taxi driver, get to Seoul, and live a life of luxury with celebrities, models, and idols.
Hell, who knows maybe I will even able create an apocalyptic harem!
But looking at the zombies—sprinting toward me, indifferent to their neighbours getting skewered—mind control was useless.
What I needed was something practical. Something to keep me alive.
And the right answer is...
Ding!
[Skill Creation Ticket Used.]
[Telekinesis Lv.1: Manipulate objects through willpower. As skill level and relevant stats increase, more objects can be manipulated with greater force.]
The moment I read the message, I understood how to use it. It felt like I'd gained a third hand—one I'd never had before, but could control as naturally as if it were a part of me.
"Kreeahhh!"
A zombie leapt toward me, jaws snapping wildly.
I focused, directing my new telekinesis power. Mana drained from me as I activated the skill.
The zombie froze in midair, its teeth inches from my face.
With a thought, I focused pressure on its exposed neck.
Rip!
Its neck tore apart like rotting cloth. The creature collapsed, and I climbed another step.
"Kreeeeeah!"
Growls echoed through the stairwell, reverberating through the walls. The swarm was overwhelming, too many to kill one by one. My skill level was low, and my mana wouldn't last long.
Efficiency. I had to think in terms of efficiency.
Another horde was already climbing toward me, their snarls growing louder.
The scene felt oddly familiar—a rabid crowd shoving forward, relentless in their pursuit. I wasn't exactly their idol or male god(actor), though.
"Stay down!" I muttered.
Channeling telekinesis, I gave the legs of the front zombies a slight nudge instead of fully controlling them.
Thud, thud!
The lead zombies fell, and the others stumbled, tripping over the bodies piling up on the stairs. For a brief moment, the horde stalled.
"Kreeeeah!"
I didn't waste time, plunging my makeshift spear into the heads of the fallen zombies, then moving up another floor.
"How many so far?"
[Points: 109]
Starting at 69 points, I was getting 5 points per kill.
"So, I've taken out about eight."
Eight zombies just from the first two floors, and still, at least fifty remained, their frenzied moans echoing up from below.
The building had fifteen floors. I had enough ground to cover and time to thin them out.
And my points were building faster than expected. This was going to work. I could grind my way through, like in an RPG.
"Skills…"
Wait.
Hadn't I gotten an achievement reward for my first skill?
"System! Where's my achievement reward for creating the first skill?"
…..
Nothing.
Someone had already claimed the first-skill achievement.
"What? How?"
I'd used a skill creation ticket from an achievement. How was I not the first?
The answer stung. While I'd been gathering initial achievements, someone had beaten me to this one.
"Who stole my glory?"
"Kreeeeeah!"
"Shut up, you point-spawning freaks!"
I cut down two more zombies, irritation boiling in me, and opened the skill window as I climbed another step.
Ding!
[Telekinesis Lv.1 → Telekinesis Lv.2]
[Would you like to pay 100 points?]
"What the… This is ridiculous!"
I was practically spending my whole fortune just to upgrade one skill level.
The system had showered me with points for stat upgrades, but now, with skill leveling, it was clear why. It was going to drain me dry.
But stinginess here would only get me killed.
[100 points have been deducted.]
[Telekinesis has leveled up to Lv.2.]
[An unknown power imbues you.]
"Oh, stop with the cryptic 'unknown power' nonsense. It's confusing!"
…..
"And I asked for simplified prompts, didn't I? I don't need my status window to spell out every little thing."
…..
"Now you're sulking? Fine."
[…]
"Kreeeeah!"
I felt another surge of anger as the horde surged up toward me.
"Well, I'll just make do, won't I?" I muttered, readying myself.
After another sweep through the 9th floor, I moved up, lost in thought.
[Humans are born with various innate talents. The system labels these as 'skills.']
"Wait—so some people were born with skills?"
Alright.
"Then why don't I have any of those?"
[…]
For a moment, my frustration faded as I pondered the message.
Let's say I was just one of the unlucky ones—waking up without a single unique skill to my name. Fine. But then, who the hell claimed the skill achievement first?
Weren't all Awakened supposed to wake up simultaneously? Wasn't that how this whole "Awakening" started?
"Answer me! I know you can hear every word I think!"
…..
"Answer."
…..
"Aaaanswer me, you little—!"
[Your question is valid. Responding. There is no first-achievement reward for the 'Skill' category. As you assumed, it would raise issues of fairness.]
So, I was still at the head of the pack.
"Phew, almost had a heart attack."
The tension in my chest eased. I couldn't afford to let anyone take the lead—especially after I'd claimed so many of the first-achievement rewards.
This world, twisted as it was, was starting to feel like a kind of paradise. And to keep it, I needed power.
There's a famous quote from Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility." But to me, that line always sounded like total nonsense.
No, I thought differently.
"With great power comes great pleasure."
Before the world changed, that power had been money. Now, it was this "system." Look at me, slicing through zombies thanks to the stats and skills this system had gifted me.
The only issue was my weapon—a makeshift spear of a kitchen knife duct-taped to a mop handle.
After just a few floors of battle, the tape was already fraying, and the knife, never that sharp to begin with, was barely holding up. It felt like I was hacking through zombies through sheer wrist strength alone.
"Let's see what this point-sucking skill can really do."
Upgrading Telekinesis to Lv.2 had cost me 100 points. I couldn't even guess how many levels the skill had, but the next level was sure to demand even more.
[Telekinesis Lv.2 → Telekinesis Lv.3] [Would you like to pay 200 points?]
Figures. The price was doubling.
Fine. If leveling up was this expensive, it better come with some serious power.
By the time I reached the 11th floor, I noticed that fewer zombies were managing to keep up. Now, maybe only ten remained, still dragging themselves up the stairs.
"Damn, this makes me feel like Emi Fukuda at a fan meet."
Except if they caught me, it wouldn't be for an autograph.
I figured I didn't need to go all the way to the top floor; I could end it here. Drawing my spear back, I hurled it downward with all my strength.
In the narrow stairwell, it was hard to miss. The spear whistled as it cut through the air.
Thunk—
The blade struck the center of a zombie's forehead. Focusing my telekinesis, I guided it with more force than before. The knife wrenched free, piercing the next zombie beside it with unerring accuracy.
Blood splattered the walls as the knife leapt from head to head, carving through one zombie after another while I slowly backed away.
Clang—
The spear finally hit the ground with a metallic clatter, and silence followed, broken only by the sounds of rotting bodies slumping to the floor. It seems I have cleared out the first wave.
To be honest, it hadn't been as desperate a fight as I'd expected. That was thanks to my stats, my Lv.2 telekinesis, and fighting here, in a space I'd chosen to trap them.
A quick check confirmed I still had about 10% of my mana left.
If I'd been in an open space instead of this stairwell, things could have gone down a lot differently.
My makeshift weapon was barely holding together at this point. Using telekinesis, I hovered just the kitchen knife itself in front of me as a final layer of defense. The rest of the handle had all but given out.
Gripping it, I surveyed the carnage, letting my mana naturally recover as I caught my breath.
I waited a full minute, watching as the zombies oozed blood from their punctured heads, making sure they were dead for good.
"Phew, you're double-dead now."
Surely, they wouldn't get back up a third time?
With a sigh, I marked the end of my first real hunt.
And, of course, after a hunt, there was only one thing left to do.
"Time for some good looting."
This was harvest time.