The radiant early morning glow blasted over Starmap Academy, revealing the gory scenes left behind on the first day of the world-evolving apocalypse—body parts, pools of blood, and corpses of zombies alike littered the usually clean and neat environment.
Zombies could be seen staggering around different sections of the vast Starmap Academy. Some banged frantically on doors, others shattered windows to get to their prey, while the rest wandered aimlessly in search of victims strolling around.
It was a gory and horrifying scene, similar to those depicted in horror and sci-fi apocalypse movies. The only difference was that these events were happening in the real world, and plot armors couldn't save anyone as they might in the literary world.
Dorian stood behind the window in his dorm building, observing the surroundings. He could see zombies walking around and even watched a young student being eaten and turned while trying to enter the dormitory building. He could have helped, but it was already too late; the student's skin had been grazed, and he was likely to turn even if the zombies hadn't killed him.
"Ah," Dorian heaved a loud sigh.
"I still can't believe I'm experiencing the world of Ethereal Descent in reality. It feels like a dream, but fortunately and unfortunately, it's not," he muttered to himself.
Today was the second day of the apocalypse and also the second day of the first trial, with five more days left to go, besides today.
The night before falling asleep, Dorian had already made some plans to be implemented today.
"Dorian... Are you awake?"
While he was revising the plan in his head, a knock came at the door.
"Yeah, wait up, I'm coming outside," Dorian responded and strolled out of the room.
Brandon, Craig, and Milan were standing outside his door.
They greeted him respectfully once he stepped out, to which he responded with a gentle nod.
"What are the plans for today?" Brandon asked.
"We were wondering if we are going to stay in the dorm for today and not go out, since we already have enough food supply to last today and maybe tomorrow if managed properly," Milan said.
"Yeah, agreed. I checked outside this morning, and a lot of zombies are still roaming around the dormitory. I think they are already aware of our presence, but the dorm security is keeping them from entering," Craig added.
The three of them tried to convince Dorian to allow them to stay at the dormitory.
Dorian shook his head. "I already told you guys, zombies get stronger the more flesh they devour; their strength is not stagnant. If we relax today, the zombies we meet outside tomorrow when we decide to leave might be stronger than our current levels," Dorian explained to them.
"However, I have already marked this dorm as a useful checkpoint. Only a few of us will be leaving the dorm today to scout the area and clear the zombies. Once it's evening, we will return to the dorm," Dorian continued.
The three of them listened, but the expressions on their faces didn't display any sort of approval.
While the three of them were stronger than the average human, the lingering fear of getting killed and turned by the zombies still swam freely in their hearts.
Dorian understood this; even he was afraid to die.
But in this world, relaxing was the same as preparing for your death.
He talked more sensibly to the three before they finally agreed with his plan.
Afterwards, they strolled with Dorian to the fifth floor.
Only Dorian had the key to the room with the food supply, so it was safe.
He took out the key and opened the door. He made the three of them fill their bags, and then he proceeded to distribute the food to the other students as usual.
While distributing, he told them about the plans for today.
He made each student state their choices between going out to scout and slay zombies or remaining in the dorm.
A lot of the students chose to stay at the dorm, including a few who had already leveled up.
Dorian did not bother talking them out, as he only needed a small number of people to go outside with him.
"I will go with you," a sweet voice responded to Dorian's invitation.
Dorian stared at the blonde beauty, Clarissa, standing in front of him with a pretty confused expression on her face.
However, the confusion wasn't due to her response but the stats displayed on her character status—her Aspect, to be precise.
Clarissa - Lv 0
Ethereal Order - Tier 1
Aspect - Class: UNNAMED
"'Unnamed? What is with her class and this strange name?' Dorian wondered.
Clarissa wondered why Dorian was staying that way.
"Is there something on my face?" she thought.
"The three of you continue distributing the food supplies. I will be with you guys soon," Dorian ordered.
Milan and company left for the next room immediately without questioning his sudden change of plan, although they wondered why their leader was acting a bit strange in front of Clarissa.
"Could it be Clarissa is his crush?" they wondered.
If that was the case, they wouldn't be surprised, as Clarissa was one of the ten most beautiful ladies in Starmap Academy.
Now left alone, Dorian and Clarissa continued in a brief moment of awkward silence before Dorian broke it.
"Your class, how does it operate?"