《The World Cataclysm》


 Chapter 1: Second Chance

    Chapter 1: Second Chance


    "Fuck the world!"


    The young man heavily cursed standing at the top of a skyscraper, while his worried gaze fell upon all the chaos happening beneath him. He rarely cursed in his life yet no word can describe the situation taking ce below him.


    Humongous beasts strode in the streets ughtering every citizen who ran for their lives. Loud explosions reverberated all over the city shaking the heart of its citizens. The odour of burned blood and gun powder lingered all over the city.


    As if ridiculing all the people struggling for their lives, the sky had turned scarlet red with a tinge of bloody colour. Two moons can be seen rising evilly from the east.


    The young man, Dave, looking at all madness happening on the ground felt fear creeping all over his limbs. He had a disgusting wound on his chest such that his chest bone could be seen beneath the wound. He stood atop a roof of the building and recalled how this catastrophe had happened.


    Several hours ago, a beast horde struck the city walls as suddenly as the lightning on a sunny day. Caught by surprise, city officials were unable to act immediately, so the city walls fell three hourster after the start of the beast horde.


    Dave or David Murckly, exactly, was one of the soldiers who guarded the city walls against the initial wave of the demonic horde. However, he was heavily wounded by the bird type demonic beast losing consciousness and was hospitalized to the near medical facility.


    ''And when I finally woke up, it was already toote. The city had fallen shortly after I regained my consciousness. At thest moment, I was able to struggle my way up to the roof. But what now?''


    A heavy sigh escaped from Dave since he clearly felt that he was on the brink of his life.


    His wounds were too severe to even move. He knew at which condition his body was. He had a deep cut at his chest revealing his white bones, while his internal organs were in a mess. On top of his heavy condition, he had lost too much blood weakening him greatly.


    "Screech!" A piercing howl sounded above Dave as he gazed at the city from the top. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw an enormous eagle the same size as a car. He watched how the demonic eagle dipped sharply in his direction but was unable to dodge its attack.


    A sharp pain pierced his shoulders as Dave was pulled higher than the skyscraper. Shortly afterwards, he was falling freely from the sky as the bag of sand. At the moment of his death, time slowed down in his eyes as deep regret washed over his heart.


    He remembered that he had no close people to call friends.


    He remembered that he was so weak that even the low-ss demonic beast of the world can kill him.


    He remembered how he lived and how many regrets he had.


    ''If I was given a chance.''


    [User David Murckly is reaching the end of his life]


    [Your innate ability Regression reacts to youring death]


    The sudden mechanical voice caught him by surprise since it was too familiar to him. It was the same voice that broughtplete destruction upon human civilization. His eyes betrayed his confusion as he fell to death.


    *Boom*


    ....


    "Dave! Dave, are you okay?"


    A foreign voice woke the young man with ck hair and square sses from the daze.


    "Which girl are you daydreaming about?"


    Still muddle-headed, Dave heard a giggle from his right side. He saw three people near him, each with a dish before them.


    "Wh...Where am I?"


    He looked to his surroundings in confusion recognizing the cafeteria from his past. It strongly reminded him his University that he attended 5 years ago.


    ''But... But it is impossible. It was destroyed on that day.''


    Numerous questions swirled in his head with no answers for them. Same cafeteria, same white milk round tables, and quite familiar faces.


    "Where am I?"


    The answer to this question meant too much for him. He knew that it was impossible, but if it had even the slightest chance to be true, then he wanted it to be real.


    "What is up with you today? We are having lunch in the cafeteria of our university."


    Even if he recognized the same cafeteria from his past, he still didn''t dare to believe it.


    "Sorry, sorry. Can you remind me what date is it today?"


    Heughed slightly hiding his confusion from them.


    "15th September 2020."


    "Then, what time is it?"


    "1:30pm. Are you alright, Dave?"


    Recalling the date of the start of all misfortunes his face''s colour turned paler. He never forgot the date of the end of civilization so this date told much more to him than any other words.


    "Excuse me, but I remembered that I have something to do. I also rmend you quickly get into your rooms. Good luck!"


    He quickly took his leather bag and left the cafeteria in direction of male dormitories. Dave wasn''t particrly close enough with any of the people with whom he shared the meal to save their lives. Even if he had told them everything he knew, they won''t believe his words. So the only thing he can do is to wish them good luck and warn them.


    Running through the streets Dave tried to recall any useful information about theing end of the world. Of course, he might just be a paranoic and had a psychological illness, but, damn, they were 5 years of his life. He wasn''t going to risk it when he still could remember those 5 years of hell.


    ''Everything will start at 3:00 pm. So I still have enough time to fetch the necessary food and water from the shop. Every second is important so I am better to not waste the time. This time I will live apletely different life.''


    His heart was filled with both worries for the future and excitement from his situation. He was 5 years ahead of the people from this time.


    After getting into his room, tired from all the running, he took a seat and took out a notebook that he bought from the shop to jot down everything he remembered from his past life. Strategies, monsters, concepts of a new world, and other key information were neatly organized in the copybook.


    As two minutes before the end of a world were left, he finished squeezing all important information from his brain. Looking at the neatly organized clusters of words, Dave was satisfied with his work.


    Then he rxed slightly preparing his mind for the nightmare that will befall the people.


    ''I was given a second chance and I won''t waste it.''


    With every second Dave only grew more determined to live his second life to its fullest.


    ''3....2...1''


    [The world has reached the end of the 1st Cataclysm: Survival]


    The strange yet heavenly voice resounded the mind of Dave opening the curtains of a new era.

 Chapter 2: Zombie

    Chapter 2: Zombie


    [The world has reached the end of the 1st Cataclysm: Survival]


    [It moves to the 2nd Cataclysm: Evolution]


    [The restriction on the mana of the world is lifted]


    [The world will continuously undergo expansion]


    [The dominant race of this world as a reward for the 1st Cataclysm is blessed by system]


    Dave had heard the same words before, yet that time he was too panicked to mind the words of the heavenly voice.


    ''Evolution. Maybe it is the best word to describe theing changes in the world''


    With such thoughts, he lost his consciousness as the blue ocean light washed over his eyes.


    At the same time, the blue mist descended all over the. People were falling unconscious right after the blue mist washed over the city. They were lying in various ces starting from the street roads ending with their offices.


    Only Dave knew that after waking up the world won''t be the same as before.


    ***


    After some unknown time, a groan sounded in the silent room. Dave heavily opened his eyes as he felt a strong headache. Standing from the bed on which he lied before the time, Dave felt excited.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 0


    Survival coins: 0


    ss: None


    Mana: 0


    Strength: 8


    Agility: 7


    Stamina: 9


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 0


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1)]


    Magically, a blue screen floated before his eyes. His status contained basic information about him and game-like stats with skills. Even though the world now resembled a game, people can easily lose their lives.


    Dave was taken aback by his innate ability because in his previous life he had no one at all. Every innate ability gave people magical powers boosting their chances to survive. Owing to theck of innate ability, he was weak in the previous life. Perhaps, he was one of the weakest humans alive at that time.


    Slightly confused, he focused his mind on his innate ability.


    [Regression


    Level: None


    Description: Allows the user to go back in time before the start of Cataclysm. It activates automatically after the user''s death. This innate ability can be used only once. In the beginning, it is hidden due to safety precautions. Nobody can see it except the user.]


    ''So this is how it is. I''ve never thought that I had an innate ability in my 1st life.''


    Dave was at the same time happy and sad. Happy for getting a second chance and sad for wasting his first life. If he had known it before, perhaps, he would have prepared for the second life more thoroughly.


    ''I should equip myself and leave the room''


    Dave swiftly gathered living necessities and grabbed kitchen utilities.


    [You have a beginner survival pack.]


    [Do you want to open it?]


    "Yes"


    [Wooden club was received]


    [Wooden club


    Attack: 5-7


    Durability: 6


    Description: Unpolished stick of poor quality.]


    The wooden club had appeared in his hands. At the first nce, it was a barbaric and useless weapon, so in the past, he had just thrown it away. However, it was the only weapon from the system for beginners. In the past, he deeply regretted it since it was the only chance to grow stronger.


    "Ahhhhh"


    The scream was heard from the dormitory''s corridor.


    ''It has already begun. I should hurry up.''


    He quickly left the room sprinting through the corridor in the direction of the scream. Then he saw it. One student was tearing the body of another student. Blood and guts were lying on the floor while the student ate the flesh of the corpse.


    Dave smiled slightly as he saw the familiar scene. Such creatures or zombies were one of the weakest monsters in the world. He raised his barbaric club higher in the air and mmed it on the head of a zombie.


    ''Shit. I forgot that my stats are still too low to end him in one movement.''


    He intended to finish him in one swift move yet hit student quickly rose from the floor and rushed into his direction. Zombies weren''t slower than humans, hence, they were deadly for ordinary people.


    However, Dave wasn''t ordinary. He lived in a much scarier world for 5 years and can be regarded as a veteran for the current situation.


    With a small step to the right, Dave dodged an attack from a zombie and struck the head of a flesh-eating monster a second time smashing his head into a mess. As a monster had died, a blue orb of light entered his body.


    [You have reached level 1]


    [You have earned 2 free points]


    ''Allocate 2 point to strength''


    Dave decided to put his points in strength so he can one-shot ordinary zombies. Usually, it requires 12 points of strength to kill them in one movement yet with the right technique and application of force Dave kill them by smashing their heads.


    Neglecting that zombies were humans before, they are dead so their bones are less robust than human bones.


    "Help! Help, someone! Some crazy bastard is smashing the door of my room."


    The shriek was heard from the other end of the corridor. Dave quickly collected the ck coin dropped from the dead monster and headed in the direction of pleading for help.


    [You have collected 1 Survival Coin]


    ''Stupid, he will only attract more zombies from other rooms.''


    At the end of the corridor, another zombie was hitting the door of the room. Seeing Dave on the way, the eyes of the zombie shed with savage glint. It rushed towards him as it saw a new prey.


    Dave smirked lightly reading trajectory and sidestepping from its path at thest moment. He struck the head of a zombie in one swift movement bursting its head like a watermelon.


    Another orb of light entered his body as the dead zombie dropped a ck coin. It wasn''t a game-like scene because the corpse didn''t disappear magically. It just that ck coin appeared close to its dead body.


    "Hey, open up! You are safe now."


    The door of the room opened with a creak revealing a plump university student. He wore round sses, jeans, and a loose T-shirt with a superhero on it.


    "Thanks, pal! I thought that he would really barge into my room. And where did the insane breaking into my room go?"


    It seemed that fatty was still frightened by the aggressive behaviour of a fellow student.


    "Him? He is lying there on the floor"


    Dave showed the corpse of the defeated zombie to him. When fatty saw the body with a smashed head, he turned pale as a sheet.


    "Murderer! He is going to kill me! Help!"


    As fatty screamed with all his might, Dave shushed him by covering his mouth with his hands.


    "Lower your voice, you idiot!"


    Silencing the frightened fatty, Dave pushed him into his room closing the door. It was a normal dormitory room with one bed, a worktable and a toilet room. Deciding that it is safe, Dave rxed his grip on fatty.


    "Don''t kill me! I still haven''t found a girlfriend, so I can''t die."


    "Who wants to kill you, damn fatty?"


    Dave was kept aback by thest words of a fatty kicking his butt quite hardly. Poor fatty wasn''t even able to dodge the kick powered up by the strength of 10 points.

 Chapter 3: Sudden Danger

    Chapter 3: Sudden Danger


    "How do you dare to kick my awesome butt?"


    Dave was rendered speechless by the fatty. When he saw how fatty put a face as someone had disgraced his family, Dave wanted to beat him up into a pulp.


    "Sorry for disturbing you. I going to leave you."


    Dave just wanted to quickly leave him and get going.


    "Wait a bit. Do you know anything about that voice? What about that cataclysm stuff or evolution?"


    Still massaging his butt muscles, fatty looked funny. Sighing lightly, Dave tried to warn him at least.


    "Have you ever read any novels about apocalypse stuff?"


    "Of course, I am a grandmaster in it."


    It seemed that fatty was proud of reading web novels. His room told to Dave much more than any other words. Pictures and figures of 2D characters were taking up every nick of ce. It seemed that he was a type of people calling themselves otaku.


    "Then you should know about some basic stuff such as zombies, mutated monsters, and system. Even if I don''t want to acknowledge such a fact, it seems that apocalypse descended on our world. Zombies are crawling everywhere and eating humans. "


    "Apocalypse? Zombies? Then a person you killed...?"


    "Yep, it is a zombie."


    Dave tried to tell it most cheerfully, but fatty seemed to be paler than before.


    "Then, wh... where are you going? Can you take me with you?"


    "Why should I?"


    Dave was reluctant to take him because, to be honest, in his eyes he was more a burden than apanion. He was not a hero and he knew that having a pig as apanion was worse than a strong foe.


    "Did you not know that with big poweres big responsibility?"


    Dave looked at fatty as he was an idiot since his strength was barely enough to keep his life. Nobody knows when they will lose their lives so it was important to be cautious no matter what. Deciding to just leave him, Dave turned towards a door.


    "Wait a bit. I can help you. I have something called innate ability."


    Hearing him Dave suddenly stopped because he never thought that he will meet Awakener here. ording to the knowledge from the past, people can be either Ability Holders, Evolvers or both. Ability Holders are people who awakened an innate ability, while Evolvers are people with higher stats.


    Both of them have their own perks, yet in his previous life, Dave rted to neither of them. He had no special ability or no boost in stats, so he strongly envied such a group of people.


    It was even rarer to meet people who awakened right in the beginning. People usually awaken after the period of adaptation to the new environment.


    "What does your innate ability do?"


    Noticing that Dave stopped in his tracks, fatty put a proud face.


    "My innate ability is called the Life Pulse. It says that I can send a pulse to the surroundings and detect life. It can only detect alive creatures ignoring other obstacles such as walls, roads, and other objects."


    ''What an awesome ability.''


    It could detect enemies and save a great deal of time ensuring minimal danger. Even though it didn''t have any offensive capabilities, it is quite a convenient ability. Knowing beforehand that there are alive creatures can save a life.


    "How many times you can use it?"


    Dave expected a lot from his innate ability. He never had thought that he will encounter awakener right after waking up.


    "Well, you know... it requires 1 mana point to send a pulse, and the thing is I have no mana points at all."


    Fatty smiled slightly putting on an idiotic face. From all the excitement, Dave forgot that initially, no one had mana to use because mana can be gained only by increasing your spirit stat.


    "Did you already opened your beginner survival pack?"


    Fatty pointed at the top of his bed showing the same Wooden Club as his.


    "Then take it and follow me."


    "Where are we going?"


    Dave smirked lightly and left the room of fatty.


    "We are going to level you up, of course."


    Dave left the room and headed downstairs. Currently, they were on the fifth floor, so they still should go down. Along the way, they can hunt and gain levels.


    On the fourth floor, a trail of blood followed into one of the rooms. Dave shushed fatty and looked into the room where another student fell as prey to a zombie.


    Dave moved into the room and with four hits crashed the limbs of the monster.


    "Smash its head if you want to follow me."


    At his words, fatty looked at a lying zombie and looked at Dave as he was a monster instead of a zombie.


    Fearing that his fate will be worse than a zombie, fatty hesitated slightly and hit the head of a zombie. Zombie roared madly trying to move his body.


    "Hit harder, fatty. Such hit won''t kill it even after an hour."


    Fatty clenched his teeth and started banging the club on the head of a monster. After several hits, it turned into a bloody mess leaving blood and white substance.


    The blue orb of light entered the body of the fatty as he leveled up.


    "Put 1 point in strength and 1 point in spirit."


    Fatty listened to Dave and put his free points as said.


    "From now on put your points the same way as now till your spirit reaches 3 points. It will increase your mana, so you can use your innate ability more often. Then now try your innate ability, we should know more about it."


    Giving pointers to fatty, Dave urged him to activate his ability. Every innate ability gave magical powers to its users such as controlling wind or fire, enhancing body or mind. Dave thought that taking fatty as apanion will give a huge boost to his survival.


    "Ehm...Dave, how do I activate it?"


    Dumbfounded by the question, Dave didn''t know what to answer. He never had an innate ability in his previous life, so he tried to recall what other hunters said about it.


    "Damn, I don''t know since I never had one. Try to say the name of the ability as in games."


    Surprised by his ignorance, fatty called out the name of the ability.


    "Life Pulse"


    Dave didn''t notice any changes in the fatty, except for a change in his facial expressions. It seemed that fatty was surprised and terrified at the same time.


    "Dave, watch out."


    As fatty shouted, Dave heard rushed steps outside the room. Along with heavy steps, two roars sounded allowing to recognize at least two zombies.


    He quickly decided to leave the room because space was too limited to fight with two monsters at the same time. If they allow it, they won''t be able to handle the threat.


    It seemed that zombies were rushing there from the upstairs. Perhaps, themotion that fatty had caused was too big, so zombies came after them.


    Being students before the voice in the mind, Dave recognized senior students as the blood had covered all their bodies.


    Dave couldn''t afford to be surrounded by zombies neither he could waste his stamina for escaping. In a fight-or-flight situation, Dave decided to fight back.


    Dodging the attack of one zombie and killing it with one move on the head, Dave failed to evade the second monster. It mmed him on the floor and tried to bite off his face.


    ''I forgot how slow was my body!''


    Dave still couldn''t get ustomed to how weak his body was. His strength, agility and even stamina were lower than in his previous life, so he had slight errors in his body movements. It was like he wanted to move, but his body won''t move. He thought it should be the first thing people needed to deal with when they regressed.


    A bloody smell from the breath of the zombie washed over Dave. He tried to struggle from it, yet zombies were much stronger than people can imagine.


    Instead of saying that they are strong, it is more correct to say that they apply 100% of their strength, while people can pull out only 75-80% of it. It ispromised with their dull and easy-to-read movements. Perhaps, it is right to assume that zombies are savage and only slightly stronger than humans.


    Dave had a chance to fight with two of them at the same time, yet, failing to dodge, he had a hard time dealing with it on the floor.

 Chapter 4: Comrade

    Chapter 4: Comrade


    ''Will it end just like this?''


    ''Will I die right in the beginning wasting my second chance?''


    Second thoughts had surfaced in his mind. Is he worthy to be given a chance to fix his mistakes? If someone else was in his ce, would he do better than him?


    ''No, I should focus! Focus!''


    Sending another kick to the belly of a zombie, Dave pulled some distance between them. Countless thoughts swirled in his mind as he tried toe up with a solution.


    ''Think, how can I kill it being in such a disadvantageous position?''


    "..."


    An idea appeared in his mind.


    In his previous life, he was so ustomed to being alone that he forgot about fatty next to him. Since he was weak, nobody wanted to party up with him during raids. So he grew familiar with hunting alone as he relied only on himself.


    However, now he had to rely on fatty to survive.


    "Fatty! Faster, kill it!"


    Dave shouted at the dumbfounded fatty who stood close to the door staring at the fight. It seemed that fatty was awoken by Dave as he quickly ran towards them.


    With another kick, Dave defended himself against the relentless attacks of the zombie. Coming closer fatty banged on the zombie hitting everywhere he could. After several seconds, the body of a zombie turned into a bloody mess as Dave crawled up under it.


    "I am sorry! Are you okay?"


    Panting heavily, fatty helped Dave to get up and stood there with an apologetic face. Looking at his face, Dave was relieved that fatty wasn''t a pigpanion as he thought before. At least, he can rely on him in such situations.


    "Thanks, fatty. I would have died, if not for your help. My name is David, but call me Dave."


    Acknowledging in fatty arade, Dave stretched his hand for a handshake.


    "Brian...Brian Gray."


    Fatty was stunned by the abrupt behavior of Dave, but his face brightened immediately as he shook hands with Dave.


    "Let''s go into the room, so we can catch a breath."


    Still tired from the deadly encounter, Dave quickly took two ck coins from the zombies and both of them entered the previous room. Ignoring the smell of rotten flesh from the dead body still lying on the floor, Dave and Brian took one chair each.


    "Ehm...so what do you think is going on? Zombies? I know that I already fought with them, but it is still hard to believe."


    Fatty was close to a mental breakdown and Dave perfectly knew about it. He tried to distract him from everything.


    "Well, I am not so sure about it, but the heavenly voice called it Second Cataclysm: Evolution. Perhaps, now every living creature can evolve more quickly under the new environment."


    Dave tried to summarise the information about changes urring now from his previous life into simple words.


    "Then what about zombies? How zombies can be real?"


    It seemed that fatty minded zombies more than the end of the world.


    "I don''t know. Maybe, the microorganisms evolved in a way to control our bodies."


    Of course, Dave knew about it. Scientists that were able to survive had dissected bodies of zombies and found that they contained a special virus that controls the dead bodies. The virus evolved from the existing virus in the bodies ofplex creatures like humans or animals.


    In fact, every survivor had such a virus, but in a reasonable amount to cope with it. Humans also learned that they benefited from it greatly.


    "Fat...Brian, how is your Life Pulse? Anything interesting about it?"


    Dave was close calling him fatty again.


    "Well, it was an amazing feeling. It was like I sensed glowing lights around me. However, due to two zombies, I wasn''t able to feel it through. Let me try again."


    Saying the name of the ability, fatty sent another life pulse around him. Now, his face was calm as clear water pointing out theck of danger.


    It meant that the floor was safe for a time being, while dead students eaten by zombies would stand only after 10 to 30 minutes depending on how you were infected.


    Still, to be safe, Dave earlier had closed the door of the room and smashed the head of the dead body in the room.


    "I can sense it, yet there no zombies on this floor. It seems that Life Pulse can send it only in a circle shape."


    Brian said somewhat regretfully. It would have been greater if it had been sent in every direction. However, it was still a useful innate ability.


    "Halt a bit. Try to manipte the direction of Life Pulse. Perhaps, you can sense life in a sphere range from you or send it linearly to further distances."


    Dave was still expectant of Life Pulse since he knew that innate abilities can be used differently depending on the control of the user.


    Finding an exnation of Dave reasonable, Brian tried to control the area of his detection ability. When he thought about controlling the direction of the mana wave, the mana reacted slightly to his will but moved as before after activation.


    "It reacted slightly, yet it was sent in the same way as before. I think I can do it in the future somehow."


    As Dave thought it is still too hard for Brian to control his innate ability. Since it is directly rted to the mana application, it is difficult to manipte the direction of the mana wave.


    "Don''t mind it. Did you rest enough? Let''s move downstairs, it is still dangerous here. By the way, do you have a car?"


    Dave knew that obtaining a means of transport was important for their survival, but it wasn''t a big problem since they can just borrow one of the cars from the parking area.


    "No, my parents never bought me one."


    Of course, Brian didn''t own a car. He was from an ordinary family, so his parents had no extra money to spare on the car.


    Brian was also just enrolled at university, making ownership of a car meaningless to him. Taking into ount how he became useless because of his hobby, it was doubtful that he will ever have a car during his studies.


    "Then, let''s get going. We don''t want to be surrounded by zombies."


    Dave intended to leave the room as quickly as possible. They didn''t know how many zombies are in the dormitory building taking into consideration a fact that their numbers are increasing with every minute.


    The dormitory may have a small number of them since most of the students were outdoors for lunch or other stuff. However, if they surrounded them, Dave and Brian will have no chance to escape from them. Four zombies will be enough to kill both of them.


    "Where are we going?


    Fatty still was interested in the Dave''s n since his life was on the line. With his Life Pulse, they can avoid most of the dangerous ces, yet nothing was guaranteed.


    "Firstly, we are going to the library to find one of my friends, then seek a safe ce on the campus. We don''t know what is the situation outside the campus, so we should rather focus on the safety from inside"


    Brian easily understood the n since it was quite simple.


    Both of them left the room heading downstairs.

 Chapter 5: Treasure Chest

    Chapter 5: Treasure Chest


    Dave and Brian moved downstairs to the 3rd floor as they checked it for the presence of zombies. Fortunately, there was only one of them, so both of them quickly dealt with it. Dave decided to help Brian to kill it.


    Descending to the second floor, they met no zombies at all. All the rooms on the floor were tightly closed as there were no blood trails in the corridor.


    Finally, getting to the ground floor, Dave shushed Brian as he wanted to check the surroundings by the Life Pulse.


    Fatty sent a mana wave and sensed every living creature in a radius of 100 meters. Regretfully, his innate ability was limited in width.


    "There are 3 zombies on the 1st floor and several of them are scattered nearly 70 meters away."


    Dave saw three open rooms as the blood may be seen on their doors. Zombies had a weak sense of hearing, yet they were notpletely deaf. The loudmotion as Brian had done will definitely attract unneeded attention.


    "Brian, I''ll take one on the left, while you will take care of one on the right. Thest one at the end of the corridor will also be mine. Good luck!"


    It seemed that Brian was quite scared since in all cases Dave helped him to kill zombies. Now, he needed to take care of one of them alone.


    Dave can''t help with it since he knew that the fear will grow lesser after several kills. He wanted to make Brian understand the abilities of zombies and show him that they can be killed.


    Silently approaching his target, Dave saw a zombie standing near the corpse of a student girl. It seemed that the zombie was sleeping in the standing position, but Dave knew that it was hibernating.


    Hibernation was a state of a zombie when it stood still or moved slowly from one ce to another. At the sight of the prey, they will leave such a state and chase after their target. Zombies were sensitive to the warm blood and can smell it from afar.


    In such states, they were easy to kill with a sneak attack. Most of the zombies enter into the hibernation state to conserve their energies which is quite limited due to their dead body.


    With a swift attack to the head, Dave killed it in one move to the head as before. White brain substance was dripping from its head as it dropped a survival coin.


    Taking the spoils, Dave quickly left the room to kill the second one. It was standing close to the exit. Slowly wandering from one ce to another, zombie wandered near to the entrance point.


    Approaching it from the back, Dave killed another zombie. However, instead of other killed zombies, shining with a light bright enough to force a person to close the eyes, it dropped a white chest in addition to the survival coin.


    ''Treasure Chest!''


    At the sight of the white chest, Dave grew extremely excited since even the white chest - the mostmon of the Treasure Chests - was extremely rare. After killing the monster, it had a chance to drop the Treasure Chest.


    At the beginning of the apocalypse, a lot of survivors got their hands on the Treasure Chests, but as time passed fewer treasure chests dropped from the weaker monsters enticing people to hunt and kill stronger monsters.


    One of the goals of Dave was to collect as many treasure chests as possible since they will boost his ability to survive and kill stronger opponents who might drop another chest.


    Taking the white glowing chest into his hands, a transparent message had appeared before his eyes.


    [Do you want to open Treasure Chest (White)?]


    ''Yes''


    The bright light escaped from the white chest as it started to slowly disappear into the air. Instead of it, a sword full of red-brown rusty on his hands.


    [The Rusty Sword was received.]


    [Rusty Sword


    Attack: 8-10


    Durability: 10


    Description: The iron sword full of rust.]


    It was a dull sword with a low sharpness of the de. Dave was quite happy when he sensed a familiar feeling of holding a sword. Dave recalled how he finally got this rusty sword and trained with it to kill monsters far stronger than him in his previous world.


    He waste to get his hands on the equipment from the system at that time and startedter than other hunters. Left far in the back, he was weak and hunted monsters far higher than his level.


    Gripping his new weapon, Dave went back to the room of Brian.


    He was panting heavily close to the body of the dead zombie. Brian was rtively paler than before as sweat dripped from his forehead. It was scarier for Brian since there was no Dave to insure him in the case of a mistake.


    Zombie lying on the ground was a bloody mess as the chest bone and the head of it was smashed to the mix of blood, flesh, and brain.


    "You did a great job, Brian. Can you activate your Life Pulse again?"


    Dave asked Brian to check their surroundings another time to be safe from any surprises. Getting a negative response from Brian, Dave shared with him that he intended to go to the nearest library which was on 10-minute from this dormitory.


    "If you want to, you can wait for me here in one of the rooms. I won''t force you to go with me since he is my friend and you haven''t to risk your life to it"


    "Nah, I will go with you. I have a hunch that I will live longer if I follow you. And how can you get there in one piece without me?"


    In the eyes of Brian, Dave was more a monster than a human. He was able to kill a zombie in one-on-one and survive an attack from two zombies.


    "Then, lead the way."


    Dave smiled lightly since it made his trip to the library much easier. With Brian, he can avoid most of the dangers and hunt zombies wandering alone.


    "By the way, who is your friend you want to reunite?"


    "My best friend, Adam White."


    "What? A new student who enrolled this year and quickly became popr, this Adam White? And you are his best friend?"


    Dave recalled that Adam was quite popr in his university. His pale facebined with his curly ck hair and cool personality made him a hot topic among girls. How was he called? ''Ideal man, Adam!''


    He knew Adam from his childhood since both of them attended the same elementary, junior, and high schools. He always attracted attention from other people making Dave around him outshined.


    From the appearance, Dave had ordinary looks. Small stature, pale face as of the sick person, and a scar on his forehead as it was shed by the knife made the looks of the Dave mediocre if not slightly uglier.


    In his junior school, Dave and his parents got into a car ident resulting in the early death of his parents. After the catastrophe which took the life of his parents, he obtained that hideous scar on his forehead.


    Shortly after the operation, Dave was taken care of by the little brother of his father and his uncle, John Murckly, and his wife, Alice Murckly. They helped him to rehabilitate from the loss of his parents and took him under their wings.


    Adam was also there supporting him in the school and visiting him when he was in the hospital. He was the one who rmended Dave to enroll at the best university in their city. He helped him with preparation for the exams and with the preparation of the necessary documents.


    The university he is attending was prestigious in their country. A lot of people from high and low sses attended it to ensure a bright future for them.


    Both of them chose to study economics. Dave decided to follow the career of his father, while Adam was obliged to study it since he was from a rich family owning a bigpany in the city.


    Recalling the Adam, Dave wanted to quickly get to the library.


    ''Adam, this time I will be the one to save you.''

 Chapter 6: Library

    Chapter 6: Library


    "There is a zombie on our path."


    Brian checked their route with the Life Pulse and noticed a zombie wandering alone on their route. Leaving the dormitory, they avoided zombies too close to each other and left to the library.


    Dave wanted to test his rusty sword on the flesh of a zombie. It was a dull sword, so it may be not effective on other monsters, but zombies are less robust than others. Their bones are fragile and their skin is more fragile than that of humans.


    Stealthily approaching a zombie, Dave shed the neck of the monster beheading it in a swift movement. Dave felt that killing them became much easier than smashing their head.


    [You have reached level 2]


    [You have earned 2 free points]


    It cost him killing 5 zombies to increase his level to level 2, while he needed to kill only one zombie to reach level 1.


    ''1 point to the strength and 1 point to the agility.''


    Dave had enough strength to kill zombies in one movement but when he was attacked by two of them, he wasn''t able to dodge the second one.


    If strength increased the power of your muscles, agility stat strengthened your nerve cell speeding the impulse in them.


    Even with 1 point increase in agility, Dave witnessed how the world started moving slightly slower than before. It was a strange feeling for the first time, yet Dave learned to quickly adapt to the changes in reaction in his previous life.


    Along the way to the library, Dave and Brian hunted single zombies on their pathway. Dave had killed another two, while Brian killed three of them.


    Dave wanted to quickly level him up since his Life Pulse was too important for their survival. On their way, they were close to using up all Life Pulses, so they need to increase his level.


    With another point in spirit stat, Brian had another 10 mana points to use. Had 11 mana points, 1 from before, and 10 points from the stat increase, Brian was able to use another 11 Life Pulses. Leveling up didn''t restore mana and health of the user to the maximum as in the games.


    After several minutes, Dave had reached a library. It was amon library in our city with a rectangr-shaped building and tall wooden doors. The shapes of different animals were engraved on the door and the picture of a schr was drawn on the wall of the library.


    Approaching the 3 meters tall doors, Dave grew excited to see Adam again. It may be only one day for Adam but it was 5 years for him.


    "Adam! Are you there? Open the doors!"


    Banging on the wooden doors of the library, Dave tried to call out Adam. With every second his heart beat faster and faster as the loud shout sounded from the other side of the door.


    "Dave! Are you okay? Wait a bit"


    It seemed that Adam was also happy to meet him when the apocalypse had descended on the world.


    "Adam, don''t open the door! It is dangerous outside and you know it. What will we do if they are infected?"


    Commanding voice rebutted Adam. Hearing it, Dave was irritated by the owner of the voice.


    "Lucas, Dave is my friend. I am opening the door and if you are so frightened, you can hide somewhere inside until the door is closed."


    "Tsk"


    Lucas responded to Adam only with a "tsk".


    Lucas Wade, son of a rich businessman, and a person who was partly responsible for Adam''s death. Dave didn''t like him at all since he was a spoiled brat with an inted ego. If it hadn''t been for him, Adam wouldn''t have died in the past.


    When the world had ended in his past life, Dave was with Adam in the library. They feared to leave it, especially after what had be with a senior student.


    The senior student decided to leave the library but, after several minutes, he returned scared to hell and with the wound on his arm. The chunk of flesh was torn from his left arm.


    10 minutester, he turned into a zombie and killed several of them. Adam was the one who killed it increasing his level. The wooden club was the only weapon.


    Shortly, after that, a monster banged on the doors of the library. It was able to crash the doors of the library with several hits.


    It was a humongous monster 2 and a half meters tall. It had a big stature and thick muscles covered all his body.


    To save his life, Lucas pushed Dave on his way and ran away from the library. Byparison to ordinary zombies, it was much slower than any of them.


    Lying before it, Dave despaired and feared for his life, but Adam attacked it attracting its attention. Shortly, he was killed by the giant as Dave saw how his friend had turned into a bloody mess.


    As Adam died, Dave was able to escape from the monster. From that day, he found an empty supermarket and hid in its storage room. He had enough food and water to survive for more than a year.


    It was how he lived in his past life, hiding from the zombies and being safe in an enclosed room.


    ''This time I won''t make the same mistake.''


    Onlyter did Dave learn that the monster was a special strength type zombie. It was extremely strong as it was extremely slow.


    When he finally left the storage room, the university campus was a bit safer ce to live, while the world was harsher and more dangerous than before.


    The doors of the library opened slowly as the face of Adam can be seen in the library. He was the same as Dave remembered him.


    He looked extremely handsome with his pale face and ck hair outlining his facial expression. As always, he had a charismatic smile brimming with confidence. Even in such situations, he was able to keep his calmness.


    Seeing his best friend first time in 5 years, Dave was extremely happy. He hurried to hug Adam hiding his teary eyes. Talking with Adam on meaningless topics, Dave noticed other 5 people in the library including Lucas.


    Except for Lucas, there were 3 males and 1 female. All of them looked like schrs with their weak and fragile bodies wearing sses.


    "So, Dave, what is going outside?"


    Adam decided that it was a time to ask a question that tickled the nerves of every person in the library. Instead of him, Brian started blubbering about the dangers there.


    "The world outside is hell. Zombies are wandering everywhere attacking and eating people. It looked like the apocalypse descended on the earth."


    Because of Brian, people in the library became much paler, even Lucas looked as the blood left his face.


    In contrast to them, Adam looked like he was pondering about their situation. As far as Dave remembered, Adam was always like that, calm and wise.


    Indeed, Dave was extremely happy to meet Adam again, but he never forgot a monster who will crash the doors of the library.


    "You there, I will pay you if you protect me and lead to my father"


    Dave heard an extremely arrogant familiar voice. It was Lucas. He had blonde hair and smooth skin putting even women to shame. As always, he had an arrogant and prideful facial expression just because he was born in a rich family.


    Dave knew that Lucas was an idiot judging by the fact that he tended to solve all his problems with money.


    "Adam, we should quickly leave the library and head to the other ce. It is too dangerous here."


    Ignoring Lucas, Dave wanted to quickly leave this ce.


    "Do you dare to ignore me? Know your ce, bastard."


    Enraged by Dave, Lucas tried to grab his cor but Dave sidestepped causing Lucas to stumble on the floor.


    "Try again and I''ll kill you"


    Dave pointed the tip of his rusty sword and threatened Lucas. He always wanted to kill Lucas with his own hands but, in his past life, he never saw him again, even after leaving the storage room.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!

 Chapter 7: Killing The Giant

    Chapter 7: Killing The Giant


    As the door of the library was banged, everybody looked at the door with fear. The tightly closed door, which is sturdy enough to resist ten or more ordinary zombies, started creaking and breaking.


    Knowing what to expect, Dave sighed heavily to calm his pumping heart and unzipped his leather bag. Especially for such asion, he had prepared a special item.


    "Hey, Dave, what are you doing? It is not a time to check inventory."


    Noticing that Dave was searching for something in his bag, Brian didn''t know what to do.


    The door was on its limit. As everybody looked at it, Dave silently poured the liquid from the white bottle to his sword. After applying it on his Rusty Sword, he gave a white bottle to Brian.


    "Wh...What is it?"


    Brian was dumbfounded by the bottle since he recognized it. However, he didn''t understand how it can be useful to them in this situation.


    "It''s a bleach."


    Indeed, Dave poured the bleach over his sword and gave it to Brian.


    "When I say it, you need to pour it on the zombie. Am I clear?"


    Brian thought that Dave had the courage to joke in such a situation, but he saw that Dave was dead serious. He only nodded with his head still not understanding how it can help them.


    Finally, doors were broke open as a giant zombie can be seen in ce of the doors. It was 2 and a half meters tall giant monster with muscles as thick as steel. It strode slowly towards them as it blocked their way to the outside.


    "What the hell is it?"


    Seeing as a humongous zombie was getting closer to him, Lucas started freaking out. Frightened by the monster, Lucas pushed the closest person to him to the zombie and ran away when it was attracted by the prey in front of it.


    Seeing as Lucas pushed an unfortunate fellow, Dave looked at him with disdain as rage boiled in his mind. In his eyes, Lucas was a trash person who was worthy to be killed.


    This time it was one of the male students, while in the past it was Dave who got pushed away by Lucas. Other students followed after Lucas as another unfortunate person was killed by the monster.


    Only Adam, Brian, and Dave were left in the library. Dave knew that if they tried to escape now, at least one of them will be killed by the giant.


    Dave was able to escape from it alone, but he can''t risk the lives of Adam and Brian. They were left only with an option to kill it. In addition, Dave had no intention to leave now.


    Dave felt as adrenaline surged in his veins as his skills from past life kicked in. He rushed at the giant dodging the attack from it. Strength type zombies were slower thanmon zombies but one hit from them could kill Dave.


    He was delighted that he increased his agility stat. Even the one-point increase in agility was essential for his survival.


    He dodged the hit of a giant as a fist imprint was left on the floor. Even the thought that it couldnd on him sent shivers down his spine.


    Dave shed with his sword at the arm of a giant and left a small cut on it. The cut made by the rusty sword started hissing as a wisp of gas emitted from its arm.


    Feeling a slight tinge, the giant roared and sent another punch towards Dave. He dodged its attack and baited him to the doors of the library.


    Knowing the attacking patterns of a zombie, it wasn''t a big deal for Dave to dodge its punches.


    "Brian, do it!"


    As Dave shouted to him, Brian poured the bleach over the giant as it roared from the pain. The giant ignored Dave and looked behind it at Brian and Adam.


    Using the moment when it was distracted to them, Dave rushed at the giant and pierced its brain with his Rusty Sword.


    As the sword pierced its head, the giant roared and fell to the ground. Dave sprinted to him to take his sword and beheaded it with a great effort.


    As the head of a giant rolled on the ground, a huge amount of blue light entered the body of Dave.


    [You have reached level 3]


    [You have earned 2 free points]


    At the same time, a bright light shone from the body of a giant as a blue chest and 3 Survival Coins had appeared close to its body.


    As the giant fell, Brian and Adam rushed to Dave looking concerned to him.


    "Man, I knew that you were a monster. And what''s up with that bleach? When I poured it on it, its skin started hissing."


    Brian was relieved that a giant had died, but he didn''t understand how bleach could cause pain when zombies were dull to it.


    The bleach was one of the tricks of Dave from his past life. When he started hunting on the monsters, Dave noticed that he was too weak, while the weakest monsters were too strong to him.


    Being weak to fight with them directly, Dave researched their patterns and weakness picking up several tricks. Survivors,ter on, learned that bleach was corrosive to zombies. It wasn''t capable of killing them but caused a great deal of pain.


    Assuring Adam that he was alright, Dave approached the Treasure Chest.


    [Do you want to open a Treasure Chest (Blue)?]


    ''Yes''


    The blue chest disappeared as a vial with blue liquid appeared in his hands.


    [Stat Potion


    Description: After drinking it, one stat the user chooses will increase by 5 points]


    Dave expected to get a Treasure Chest after killing it since the giant was much stronger, but he never thought that he will be lucky to get his hands on a blue chest, not to say, stat increasing potion.


    Dave didn''t save it forter since the increase was permanent, so it would be better to drink it now.


    [What stat do you want to increase?]


    ''Strength and allocate 2 points to agility.''


    [Your strength has increased by 5 points.]


    Dave felt as power surged through his body and the world in his eyes became noticeably slower.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 3


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 8


    Mana: 0


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 10


    Stamina: 9


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 0


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1)]


    As he looked at his status window, his heart was filled with satisfaction. Now, he had the confidence to deal with several zombies at once and even kill a giant with his strength alone.


    "We saved your friend, so the first step of your n is done. Then, where are we going to seek shelter?"


    It was the only thing that worried Brian. Zombies were wandering everywhere making it difficult to find a safe ce in the campus.


    "I have a ce in my mind. Let''s go to the nearby supermarket since we still should secure a source of food. If we are fortunate enough, we can make a safe ce from it."


    Adam and Brian had no objections as both of them understood the importance of food in their situation.


    "Adam, where is your Wooden Club?"


    "It is inside the library. Wait a bit, I''ll pick it up."


    Running into the library, Adam took his club from the table, and their group headed to the nearby supermarket.


    It was one of the supermarkets on the campus, but it would be more correct to call it a minimarket than a supermarket. It was the smallest one among them, so it wasn''t the most popr one.


    When he went there in his past life, there were nearly no zombies at all, only two or three of them were scattered inside. Avoiding zombies, he was able to get into the storage room and lock himself in it. Its door was made from metal making it a perfect ce to settle.

 Chapter 8: The Safety

    Chapter 8: The Safety


    The minimarket was close to the library, so they reached there in less than 10 minutes. Having Brian in their group, they were secure from sudden dangers.


    Life Pulse was truly the best when it came to survival. Its ability to detect living creatures from long distance was irreceable for their team of three.


    Along the way, Dave helped Brian and Adam to kill zombies. With his aid, Brian killed another two zombies and Adam killed four of them.


    After leveling up, Dave was able to easily handle several zombies. His high strength stat enabled him to easily sh zombies into pieces. But, killing zombies were no more useful to him since he needed to kill nearly a hundred of them to increase his level.


    After all the hunt, they reached their destination. The minimarket was right before their eyes. It wasparatively smaller in size than others on the campus, but it didn''t matter to them.


    Dave knew that the number of zombies inside can''t threaten their lives, yet he didn''t lower his guard. Nobody knows what the world had prepared for them.


    Scanning the building with the Life Pulse, Brian spotted three zombies in the minimarket.


    As Dave had anticipated, their n to get into the minimarket went without a hitch. Except for one moment.


    "Dave, I''ve got a white chest!"


    Clearly, Brian was excited by the drop. His face beamed with delight as he blubbered about how lucky he was.


    "Lucky, you."


    Adamughed slightly as he tried to hide his envy from Brian. He had never envied someone, but a new world offered new items to be envied.


    Brian opened it as a white in his hands disappeared into the air. Brian held a kitchen knife in his hands.


    "Pfft...Brian, good, you got a weapon fitting you."


    Seeing a kitchen knife in the ce of the chest, Adam burstughing as he teased Brian.


    "It''s not a kitchen knife. It''s a dagger."


    As he said it, Brian became more depressed than before.


    Dave was amused by his reaction. Brian received a weapon from the system, yet he made a face as he ate shit. Finding the situation quite funny, Dave shot a nce at a knife.


    [Failed Dagger


    Attack: 7-9


    Durability: 9


    Description: Failed attempt to make a dagger.]


    It was an excellent weapon for mobile fighters at the initial stage. The problem was in the fighting style of Brian. He wasn''t a fighter who relied on agility as he only knew how to kill from the backs of the zombies.


    Still, it is better than a Wooden Club. Brian had a proper weapon to defend himself, so he had higher chances to protect his life.


    "Let''s go to the storage room. It is much safer than here."


    Urging them to go, Dave led them towards the storage room. It was the only room in the market which was fortified by a metallic door.


    The storage room was spacious enough to store the food for a year. It had a lot of boxes lined in the room and several bags of rice with other resources.


    As they entered the room, they all felt exhaustion. It put lots of strain on their minds as they were cautious all the time. Adam and Brian sat on the ground as they rxed their minds.


    "We are finally safe now."


    Brian breathed leisurely as he tried to pace his breathing, while Adamy on the floor as he tried to rx his tensed body. Both of them enjoyed the feeling of safety.


    Only now did they start thinking about the future. Everybody had families to worry about and they weren''t an exception. Adam and Brian both had parents, while Dave had his little brother, Billy, and his uncle with an aunt.


    His uncle, aunt, and little brother were on a family trip to another city. Due to attending university, he wasn''t able to travel with them. In the past, he never saw his family in a 5 year period of time.


    They could only pray for the safety of their families. Dave knew that it would be suicidal to drive to another city since cities had zombies, while outside of the cities was the domain of beasts.


    Beasts were much stronger than zombies because they had no obvious weaknessespared to zombies. They were dull andcked even basic intelligence. Killing them stealthily was one of the ways to deal with them.


    There is still a lot of time before the cities will be able to establish contact with each other. Dave can only hope that his family is safe in another city.


    "Dave, what will we do next?"


    Brian and Adam rested enough to think about their next step. As far as Dave remembered, Adam was always like that. He was calm and collected calcting all his choices. Perhaps, it is the influence of being born in a wealthy family.


    "It is quite simple. We should be much stronger than now. Only by bing stronger, we would survive."


    Indeed, in the world where the weak person is trampled on, it is important to have the strength to back their lives.


    "Fortunately, we have Brian to detect zombies, so we can effectively hunt them. We should at least level up both of you and quip Adam with a weapon. But at first, we all should rest and restore our mentality."


    They locked the door of the storage room and sat against the wall dozing just after several minutes.


    ...


    "Run!"


    Dave heard as his captain shouted at him. He was slightly huge for a middle-aged man with thick muscles covering his body. His captain usually had a cheerful attitude, always joking andughing, but currently, he had an ashen face as he ran from the building.


    "There is a horde of zombies!"


    As his captain rushed from the building, a horde of zombies streamed out from it. Dave saw as the person who trained him was being torn by the teeth of zombies.


    Rage surged through his heart, as he and his teammates started shooting at zombies. Dave sensed the smell of lead and gunpowder as he emptied a magazine of his pistol.


    As they thought that they had killed all of them, shadow leaped from inside the building. It moved so fast that it left afterimages. No matter how much they had shot, no bullet reached it.


    Dave saw how it had killed a one-armed man after another. Desperation had filled the hearts of soldiers as they started running towards their vehicles. It was only a hundred meters away from them.


    Dave ran with all his might as he heard shrieks from behind. He had joined the ranks of soldiers to eat to his fullest and to be strong enough to keep his life, but he never thought that his first mission will turn into a nightmare.


    The sudden emergence of a shadow from the building sent the formation of soldiers into disarray. The shadow barged in the ranks of soldiers as it ughtered more than half of them.


    As one of the soldiers heard how shrieks wereing closer and closer to him, he took a grenade in his hands and held a safety pin with his fingers.


    When the shriek was heard too close to his location, the soldier pulled the safety pin and blew up himself with a decisive expression.


    *Boom*

 Chapter 9: Meditation

    Chapter 9: Meditation


    Dave woke up with cold sweat on his forehead.


    ''Damn, nightmares!''


    Nightmares started haunting him when the apocalypse had descended on the. At first, they were more or less bearable, but as he continued to survive, more nightmares followed him in his sleep.


    Seeing how Brian and Adam were still sleeping, Dave smiled slightly chasing away his worries.


    ''I think it is time to use knowledge from a past life.''


    After a brief sleep, Dave felt refreshed and energized. He crossed his legs and sat on the ground entering a meditation state.


    Increasing spirit points wasn''t the only way to obtain mana.


    In his past life, survivorster learned that they can attract mana from the surroundings, but most of the people still added free points to spirit stat since it was too difficult to increase mana through meditation.


    Dave knew that spirit stat was more about soul power than mana. The increase in mana was just a byproduct of strengthening a soul.


    Dave had trained diligently over his past life picking up several tricks to strengthen himself, so he was able to learn meditation, though he spent lots of time learning it.


    After 15 minutes of meditation, Dave sensed blue particles around him drifting in the air. They were concentrated clusters of mana.


    He concentrated his mind on one of them, attracting it to his body. As another 10 minutes had passed, the blue particle moved close enough to his body.


    When he finally absorbed his first particle of mana, a system notification appeared before his eyes.


    [You have learned Meditation (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Meditation (LVL 1) have turned into Meditation (LVL 3)]


    Dave was shocked by the consecutive system notifications. He never thought that his Regression would still hide more surprises for him.


    ''Can it transfer my experience from past life to the current one to level up my skills?'' Dave thought that it was a reasonable idea since his Meditation had leveled up to the level from his previous life.


    Still excited from his discovery, he decided to leave the meditative state and try another skill from his past life.


    He paced his breathing to force his heart to pump the blood faster through the blood vessels. As his heartbeat faster than before, his body started heating up.


    Dave felt as strength surged through his body. However, right when he got at thest moment, he felt a sharp pain from his heart as it was going to explode.


    Gasping for air, Dave convulsed on the floor, his hands on his heart.


    He gritted his teeth as he tried to bear with the pain. It felt like all his body was being shredded as his heart was going to explode.


    Fortunately, after several minutes the pain decreased slightly as he tried to stand up from the floor.


    ''It seems that I should wait until my stamina reached the requirements.'' Dave groaned painfully as he thought till that point.


    Dave was ready for the bacsh right from the beginning. Usually, to learn a skill he wanted to acquire, people should have 10 points in stamina.


    However, he hoped that Regression would help him with learning it, even though he had only 9 points, 1 point short from the 10.


    ''It means that I can''t ovee the basic requirements to learn the skill'' Making conclusions in his head, Dave started nning on how to use his innate ability.


    ''I learned lots of main and misceneous skills in my past life, but most of them have requirements I have yet to fulfill.'' Thinking up to this point, Dave renewed his meditation.


    He couldn''t help but notice that he entered a meditative state much faster than before. At the same time, he absorbed blue particles of light much faster than a full 10 minutes. The time had gone down by 2 and a half minutes.


    As he was immersed in his meditation, time flew by. At some point, Brian and Adam woke up from their sleep.


    The first thing they noticed after waking up was Dave who sat cross-legged. It was hard not to see a person who was sitting strangely on the floor as though he was a monk.


    "Dave, what are you doing?"


    When Brian saw how Dave was meditating, he couldn''t help but exim surprisedly. Both he and Adam were surprised to see Dave waking up early than them, not to say, meditating next to the wall.


    Interrupted by Brian, Dave left a meditative state. He decided to teach them more about mana covering it by the premise of sudden discovery.


    "I woke up a bit earlier than you, and I decided to do some experiments. I discovered that we can increase our mana reserves through meditation and learn to control it with our will.


    Putting it into simpler words, if we take mana as water and spirit as a suction force, then meditation is an effective way to apply force to gather more water"


    Dave tried to exin the theory behind mana as simple as possible. Brian seemed to be in a daze trying to understand his words, while Adam looked like he got a gist of what he wanted to say.


    "Should we also try it?"


    Adam was the first one to propose it. Even though Dave implied it in his words, Adam showed a willingness to get stronger.


    When Adam proposed to meditate with him, Brian chipped in. Both of them wanted to grow stronger since the world was no more a safe ce to live.


    "Adam, if you want it, you can try meditating. As for you Brian, I want you to learn how to control your innate ability."


    Dave didn''t have high hopes that Adam would learn meditation immediately, but it was better to start learning it now.


    As for Brian, their survival depended on his Life Pulse. The faster he learns how to control the range of his innate ability, the more chances they will have to survive.


    "But I already tried it before. I have no idea how to do it."


    Brian tried to retort his words, but Dave was unwavering.


    "Don''t be too hasty. At first, you may try to direct your Life Pulse in one direction. It is your ability and only you know how to use it. I won''t be much of a help."


    Dave was sincere here. Even though he knew that it was possible to control an innate ability, he never had one in his past life. Hence, the help he could provide was limited.


    asionally sharing his insights with them, Dave wanted to n their next step. But at first, he wanted to check how much mana he had gathered since he had no time to check it before his meditation was interrupted by Brian.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 3


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 12


    Mana: 5/5


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 10


    Stamina: 9


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 0


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3)]


    ''I had increased my mana by 5 points in just 5 hours which would have taken me a day worth of time if not for Regression. However, the higher it goes, the harder it will be to increase my mana pool in the future''


    As Dave thought, his Regression was amazing. Not only it had sent him back in time, but it was also able to transfer his experience from the past to this life.


    People couldn''t just level up their skills even if they had enough understanding of it. It leveled up depending on two factors.


    First was understanding of their skills to move it to the next level. For example, a person can''t have a higher level of Math if a user didn''t have knowledge corresponding to the next level.


    The second depended on how often it was used. More often you use it, the more adept you will be in it and the faster it will level up.

 Chapter 10: Flash Step

    Chapter 10: sh Step


    Currently, three men were in the storage room of a minimarket. One was leaning against the wall holding a notebook in his hands as he read it attentively.


    Another one was sitting cross-legged on the floor trying to enter a meditative state. The third one was attempting to control his mana as he was happy in one moment and confused in the next.


    They were Dave, Adam, and Brian, respectively, each minding their own businesses. Dave looked through his notebook which he started right before the apocalypse.


    It had information about different types of monsters showing their names, strengths, and weaknesses as well as information rting to different events with approximate dates of them.


    The ssification of zombies was also written in the copybook. There was only one type of zombies in the beginning and they can be ssified as level 1 monsters. They were dull and savage.


    Zombies may evolve down three paths. It could be a strength-type zombie, giant, a speed-type zombie, hunter, or a bnced-type zombie, ghoul.


    Giants were extremely strong and tough, while hunters were extremely agile. Ghouls were something middle between two types. They were a stronger and faster version of ordinary zombies.


    If ordinary zombies were ssified as level 1, then evolved zombies were a level higher than them.


    Because evolved zombies were able to grow stronger eating humans, they were ssified into ranks. High-leveled survivors were especially useful for their evolution.


    Rank 1 evolved zombies were between levels 1 and 10, while the rank 2 evolved zombies had levels from 11-20. The giant he had killed in the library amounted to level 3 since it increased his level by one.


    ''I can easily handle a middle rank 1 giant with my current strength stat, yet I''m stillcking in agility to kill a rank 1 hunter.''


    As he pondered about that problem, he started writing down and grouping skills from his past life because his Regression was able to transfer them to him.


    ''Why didn''t I remember it before? It is ideal for the initial stage. ''


    The sudden realization had struck Dave as he recalled a skill from his past life. It was a skill that was taught to him by one of his hunter friends.


    It may be rude when ites to the technique itself, but it was effective and practical during fights at the initial stages.


    "Brian, are there any monsters around us?"


    Checking his surroundings, Dave wanted to quickly try the skill but the storage was too small for it.


    "There are few of them around us, but with your strength, I doubt that they will cause you any problems."


    Brian had already sent several Life Pulses in an attempt to control it, so he hadpletely memorized the positions of all living creatures surrounding them.


    "Then, I will go out for a bit. I want to try something."


    With such words, Dave rushed out of the minimarket. Going slightly further from the market, Dave tried to perform the skill.


    ''How was it? Gather the strength of your legs and kick off from the ground.''


    As he followed the instructions, Dave focused his strength on his legs and with one step, rushed forward. He saw the scenery around him blur as he appeared 5 meters away from his initial position.


    He nearly stumbled in the middle but was able to keep his bnce at thest moment.


    [You have learned a sh Step (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your agility is too low to increase the level of sh Step (LVL 1)]


    When he heard consecutive system notifications, Dave was slightly surprised.


    ''It seems that I should add more free points in agility. I forgot that a sh Step requires the minute difference between strength and agility stats.''


    Dave thought it was already a miracle that he learned it. One more point in strength and he would have definitely failed.


    In his past life, he was able to improve his sh Step skill to level 3 and found it harder to further increase its level. Later, he even forgot about it since it wasn''t helpful anymore.


    The only disadvantage of the skill was that it used a lot of stamina straining the body of a user. Using it only once, Dave already felt how exhaustion crept over his body.


    As he already learned the skill, Dave decided to return to the storage room. Entering the room, he saw that both Adam and Brian grew tired of their training as they were resting on the floor.


    "Dave, move quicker! We''ve been waiting for you, so we can eat together."


    When Brian finally saw Dave, he beamed with happiness. It seemed that Brian was the one who waited to eat the most.


    They unpacked some of the boxes and found canned food, chocte, and bottles of mineral water. Both Adam and Brian ate it hastily, while Dave was more reserved.


    As they finished several cans of food, Adam and Brian still looked somewhat hungry, even though they ate more slowly than before.


    "I''m sure, both of you rested enough. After half hour, we will go hunting, so rest as much as you can."


    As both of them ate another can of food, Dave decided to stop them.


    "Okay"


    Both of them nodded their heads because they were itching for action. Indeed, it was much safer inside the storage room, but it was too boring being in one room for a long time and Dave understood them clearly. Previously, he was trapped inside the room for several days.


    After half hour of rest, they left the storeroom and locked it with a key which they found in a staff room.


    "Brian, your time to shine."


    As they stood in front of the minimarket, they decided to rely on Brian''s innate ability. Dave and Adam followed after him since Brian already knew their fighting abilities.


    They especially targeted zombies wandering alone and took turns in killing them. They avoided the areas where zombies were too crowded and hunted zombies wandering separately on the streets.


    They noticed that the numbers of zombies were much higher than before. If not for Brian and his Life Pulse, they would have already met a dangerous situation.


    After 2 hours, they were tired by the hunting and decided to return to their minimarket. They had killed more than 30 zombies and were able to get another white chest.


    Dave noticed that it became harder to obtain a Treasure Chest than yesterday since they had got 3 white chests killing less than 20 zombies, while they got only one from killing more than 30 of them.


    It had dropped a spear which was given to Adam since he was the only one without a weapon. It was a spear with a stone head and a broken spear.


    [Broken Spear


    Attack: 7-10


    Durability: 10


    Description: The spear with a broken shaft]


    Even though Adam didn''t like that the spear was broken, he was delighted to have a proper weapon if it can be called one.

 Chapter 11: Hunter

    Chapter 11: Hunter


    As they were nearing their minimarket, Brian jolted slightly as he was checking surroundings with Life Pulse.


    "Dave there is a big group of zombies in front of our minimarket. There is also something else. It has life imprint slightly different than other zombies."


    Brian was clearly panicking as his voice shook while he spoke. He never faced arge group of zombies because they usually targetted one or three zombies at once, one for each of them.


    "What do you mean by something else? Another survivor?"


    Adam inquired for more information since the words of Brian made no sense to him.


    "No, life imprint of humans is slightly different from zombies. We have more vibrant auras, while zombies have less intense life imprints. It resembles the giant we had faced in the library but smaller in intensity and different in shape."


    Brian tried to exin what he sensed as clearly as he could. Adam was slightly confused by his exnation, yet Dave quickly understood what it was.


    ''I never thought that Brian would also be able to assess the power levels of zombies.''


    The biggest problem with hunting was that they didn''t know the power level of a monster beforehand. Dave knew that it was possible to identify the rank by their outer appearance, but not a level of evolved zombies.


    "How much of them are there?"


    "I''ve detected 9 of them including one with a stronger aura."


    Dave smiled lightly as he was able to easily deal with ordinary zombies. An evolved zombie may have posed a hardship before he learned a sh Step, but now he was confident enough to handle a low rank 1 evolved zombie.


    "Let''s kill them. An evolved zombie will be on me, while you try to kill ordinary zombies."


    With such words, Dave rushed at the group of zombies wanting to try his skill in action. Adam just followed him with no words, while Brian looked frightened as he followed behind Adam.


    Sprinting towards zombies, Dave swiftly dealt a blow to two zombies instantly killing them. Attracted by themotion, a bunch of zombies rushed at him.


    At the same time, a shadow emerged from the group as it sprinted towards him. It was considerably slower than a hunter from his dream but fast enough to instantly kill an ordinary human.


    It was even faster than Dave at his full speed. As it drew closer to him, Dave habitually held his sword higher as he blocked an attack to his head.


    All monsters had patterns to attack. Hunters had long ws on their hands, so all their attacks were based on a shing motion. They liked to attack in one swift motion aiming at the head of a person.


    When they fail to kill the target in one movement, they usually distance themselves from the target.


    ''And this is the time when they are weakest. Concentrated on distancing themselves, it''s unlikely for them to attack at that moment''


    Blocking the ws of a hunter, Dave used a sh Step as he rushed to the hunter beheading it with a sword strike. Hunters weren''t as tough as giants, so if you were able to deal a blow to a hunter, it wasn''t hard to kill it.


    Dave stillcked the agility to rival its speed, but with a sh Step, he only needed an instant to kill it.


    The winner of a fight was decided in a span of a few breathes. As Adam and Brian were looking at him with owe, Dave didn''t stop on it leaving only 2 from the batch.


    "Both of you, what are you gazing for? Come closer and kill zombies. I left one for each of you."


    As he said it, Dave avoided the attack from two zombies. He was fast enough to easily dodge them as he spoke simultaneously as dodging.


    ''Just looking at a monster.''


    Brian wanted to say that but held his tongue at thest moment. A sight where Dave killed a hunter was just too shocking since he never imagined that Dave was able to move so quickly. He didn''t even see how Dave beheaded it.


    Still surprised by a disy of strength, Adam and Brian fought with 2 zombies. They killed more than enough zombies to sh with them one-on-one, not to say, that they had weapons to use.


    As both of them fought with zombies, Dave checked his spoils from the battle. He didn''t increase his level since a hunter was equal to level 2.


    He collected all survival coins on the ground, 6 from ordinary zombies, and 2 coins from a hunter.


    ''When I killed the hunter, I''m sure that it had also dropped another Treasure Chest. It seems that evolved zombies have higher chances to drop Treasure Chests, but it wasn''t a case in my past life. Maybe, they are dropped more often in the beginning.''


    Dave found it strange that Treasure Chests are dropping more frequently than he had expected. Wondering what he would get from the Treasure Chest, he held a white chest in his hands.


    [Do you want to open a Treasure Chest (White)?]


    ''Yes''


    As the Treasure Chest disappeared from his hands, a book had appeared in its ce.


    [Small Fireball


    Type: Fire magic


    -Requires at least 2 spirit points to learn


    -Costs 5 mana points to use


    Description: Sends a small fireball]


    ''Skill Book''


    Dave was delighted to obtain a Skill Book, even though he knew that Treasure Chests had a chance to drop it. However, he wasn''t going to learn it since he preferred to fight in closebat.


    Even if he wanted to learn it, he won''t be able to do it because his spirit stat wascking. However, he knew a perfect candidate to whom he could give it.


    ''It seems that Brian''s training will grow harder ining days''


    As Dave thought about how Brian willin about it, he involuntary smiled.


    [Do you want to learn Small Fireball?]


    [Every 10 levels you will have a chance to learn a skill at the expense of a book.]


    ''No''


    Dave rejected the suggestion from the system since he didn''t want to waste his opportunity on such a skill.


    There were two ways to use a Skill Book. The first one was to directly learn it with the help of the system which will imnt the knowledge from it to the user. But in that way, Skill Book willpletely disappear turning into wisps of light that will enter the mind of a user.


    The second way was to learn it by reading the book. It was harder than the first way, but it was more useful in the long term since, with enough effort and talent, people could learn it just by following instructions in it.

 Chapter 12: Mana Application, New Skills

    Chapter 12: Mana Application, New Skills


    After they dealt with a group in front of their minimarket, they had concentrated on killing zombies in close proximity to their location.


    After another day of hunting, both Adam and Brian increased their levels to level 3 reaching the same level as Dave. Unfortunately, they didn''t get a Treasure Chest on that day.


    Currently, they were resting in the storage room as each of them were busy with their own business. Adam still tried to meditate, while Brian was reading a thin book on a Small Fireball.


    Truthfully, when Dave gave it to Brian, Brian had an urge to just learn it with a help of the system, but Dave strongly opposed him.


    Brian tried to understand the content of the book, but it was hard for him to grasp what it wanted to convey to him.


    Not only did it exin the principle behind the small fireball, but also had an incantation for the spell. Brian still worked hard on his pronunciation since it was more like speaking in anothernguage without knowing it.


    As Dave saw how Brian was trying to spell the incantation, he lightly smiled finding his attempts amusing. However, he noticed that Brian was getting better in it.


    Not everyone had an aptitude towards magic since magic was more a sacrifice than direct control of mana. After the restriction on mana was lifted, the obtained mana, magical energy which can be used to recreate different natural phenomenons.


    At the same time as mana flooded the world, sprites were formed from the mana, clusters of mana which had gained basic consciousness.


    The ability to cast a spell was more rted to how sprites responded to your calling rather than on your ability to control mana.


    People who were able to contact sprites were able to cast a spell, while survivors like Dave, who had a poor affinity with sprites, were unable to learn spells based on incantation.


    ''But magic spells weren''t only about incantations since it was only one way to use magic. There are also magic circles and innate abilities''


    Some of the survivors had innate abilities with simr effects as magic while learning how to draw magic circles was more like science than magic.


    As he recalled basic knowledge about magic type skill, Dave renewed his meditation. Through meditation sessions, he was able to increase his mana by another 2 points.


    With each point, it became harder to further expand his mana pool. More it had been stretched, more resistance it put up against his efforts. Perhaps, he will be able to increase it to 20 mana points by the end of the month.


    [Due to continuous meditation, your soul has grown stronger.]


    [Your spirit has been increased by 1 point.]


    As he continued to meditate, sudden system notification jolted him awake. He wasn''t surprised by its content since he knew it would appear sooner orter.


    Meditation didn''t only help to gather mana but also helped to clear your mind and strengthen your soul. At the same time as the increase in spirit expanded your mana pool, sensing and absorbing mana through meditation increased your spirit.


    It was the case when the result led to the cause. However, an increase in spirit wasn''t followed by 10-point-increase in mana since it was gained by training rather than with a help of the system.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 3


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 31


    Mana: 7/7


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 10


    Stamina: 9


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 1


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1)]


    As Dave looked at his status, he already wanted to gain the next level. His strength was highest, while his stamina was lowest from his stats making him weak in prolonged fights.


    ''Even though I can be regarded as powerful for my current level, my stamina is too low for my strength. The system is fair when ites to the stats. More strength you use, more stamina it wastes. All body-rted stats like agility, strength or even intelligence was dependent on the stamina.''


    As he thought how his stats were growing further from each other, he grew more impatient to level up. Dave had already thought about a stat that he wanted to enhance.


    Casting aside his worries about the status, he focused on his spirit stat.


    ''Perhaps, such an increase in spirit meant nothing to other people, but in my hands, it is deadly. Previously, I put all my stats into strength and agility since they were important for my survival. But the trickiest stat from all stats is spirit.''


    In his previous life, Dave was one of the weakest hunters in the city, but due to it, he was one of the trickiest hunters.


    Monsters were too strong for him, while he was far behind other hunters. Then, he thought what stat or skill was the most tricky when ites to hunting.


    ''Absolute strength? No. Agility? No. Even now, I believe that ability to control mana is the most flexible among them.''


    As his spirit had increased by one point, he tried to control mana inside him. He channelled it through his body as he gathered it on the surface of his hand.


    He controlled the mana in his hands as he tried to change it into different shapes. If Brian saw how Dave was literally ying with mana, his eyes would pop out from its sockets.


    [You have learned Mana Application (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your Mana Application (LVL 1) have turned into Mana Application (LVL 3)]


    [Your spirit stat is too low to further increase your skill level.]


    As he saw three system notifications, Dave didn''t stop on it. He made from mana invisible mana threads, a mana barrier and tried to gather it in one part of his body.


    [You have learned Mana Threads (LVL 1)]


    [You have learned Mana Barrier (LVL 1)]


    [You have learned Mana Enhancement (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skills]


    [Your Mana Threads (LVL 1) have turned into Mana Threads (LVL 3)]


    [Your level of Mana Application (LVL 3) is too low to further increase your skill level]


    [Your Mana Barrier (LVL 1) have turned into Mana Barrier (LVL 2)]


    [Your level of Mana Application (LVL 3) is too low to further increase your skill level]


    [Your Mana Enhancement (LVL 1) have turned into Mana Enhancement (LVL 2)]


    [Your level of Mana Application (LVL 3) is too low to further increase your skill level]


    As system notifications flooded his vision, Dave was delighted to gain skills from his past life. Before regressing, Dave had reached Mana Application (LVL 5), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 3) and Mana Enhancement (LVL 3).


    Even though he didn''t restore his skills to their previous levels, they were already useful for him. They weren''t strong, but they greatly boosted the number of attacks he could perform


    Mana Threads allowed him to make invisible threads attached to his fingers. Mana Barrier built an energetic barrier around him absorbing a certain percentage of the attack.


    Mana Enhancement enhanced his body by a certain amount making his body sturdier and boosting all his base stats. Even though he still was short on mana, skills he obtained were irreceable for his survival.


    Following standards of his previous life, it was praiseworthy that Dave was able to develop Mana Application to such a level. Even if his skill wasn''t highest in level, it wasn''t low at all.


    Purely based on the level, his skill had rivalled to top hunters with innate abilities rted to mana. His control over the mana was one of the things he was proud of, second was his swordsmanship skills.


    ''Having not been an awakener and startingter than most of the hunters, I had struggled desperately to learn everything I found useful for my survival. I never thought I will be rewarded for all my hard work''


    As Dave recalled how Regression was able to transfer the skills from his past life, he smirked lightly starting another meditation session.

 Chapter 13: Weak Adam

    Chapter 13: Weak Adam


    ''What can a person do in a ruined world?''


    Meditating for another hour, different thoughts came to his mind.


    ''What should I do now? Survive? Thates without saying. Establish a survivor camp? Whatever the case, people would still flock to each other.''


    Growing ustomed to struggling for his survival, Dave never had the luxury to think about the future since his present bore on him much heavier than his future. However, it was still hard to believe that he got a chance to be on the top.


    First-year, he was locked in the storage room.


    Second-year, he joined a survivor camp established in the university.


    Third-year, he joined the ranks of soldiers for better living conditions.


    Forth-year, he became a hunter obtaining a weapon from the system.


    Fifth-year, he obtained the title of the weakest hunter.


    Every year he had struggled to survive desperately clinging to his life. Not until he became a hunter, he never was in control of his life.


    ''But now I am going to be strong enough to decide my own fate. No matter how difficult would be my situation, I''m used to fighting in a disadvantageous position. I''ll show everyone pride of the weakest hunter.''


    Dave wasn''t in rush. Currently, growing stronger was far more critical than searching for survivors. He still had skills he wanted to learn before venturing into a university campus.


    "I did it! Dave, finally, I did it!"


    Brian suddenly shouted with a happy voice as he ran towards him. Evidently, he was happy for an unknown reason.


    "Why are you so happy? Did you learn a Small Fireball?"


    Dave said it half-jokingly, but Brian was so happy that Dave feared he will die from the over-excitement. After Dave had given him a Skill Book, he was gloomy from failed attempts to learn it just a while ago.


    "Yes, I learned it. I got system notification saying that I have learned Small Fireball."


    As Brian spoke proudly about his new skill, Dave was surprised that he obtained a skill just in 2 days. An average person needed at least 5 days to learn it.


    ''It seems Brian has a high magic aptitude. Should I turn him into a mage?''


    Dave thought that it was the best oue for Brian. Mages dealt a lot of damage and were able to kill a big group of monsters in one moment. Fortunately for Brian, mages were able to attack from the distance making it ideal for a poor fighter like Brian.


    ''Brian killed a lot of zombies stealthily but in hand-to-handbat, he is too cautious, so he wastes his opportunities to attack.''


    Dave quietly summarized Brian''s fighting abilities in his mind. Definitely, he will be much better mage than a fighter.


    "Then, let''s check your skill in action. Let''s go grinding levels."


    Currently, ordinary zombies were no threat to them unless they meet arge batch of them. However, having Brian with them, such worries were reduced to a minimum.


    As Dave and Brian were close to leaving the room, Dave noticed that Adam looked slightly weak.


    "Sorry, guys. But can you go without me?"


    Dave was caught off guard by his sudden refusal. He found it strange that he didn''t tease Brian when he ran excitedly in the room but didn''t pay it too much attention


    ''Don''t tell me he is...''


    On a second nce, Adam looked paler than usual. His breathing was heavy and he looked drained of energy.


    When Dave touched Adam''s forehead, he knew what was going with him. Adam was burning from inside as his temperature rose by several degrees.


    "Adam, why didn''t you tell us that you are feeling ill?"


    He was concerned, but at the same time, he was happy for his buddy.


    ''Is it the future that had awaited him if he didn''t die? But, isn''t it too early? Ahh, nevermind, nevertheless, it is still good for him.''


    Dave was surprised by the fact that Adam had caught a fever. It may mean nothing before the heavenly voice, but catching a fever in a new world meant only one thing.


    ''I know that Adam was blessed by the heavens, but awakening right after the beginning is stretching it too far. Lucky brat!''


    Dave cursed him inwardly since it was a happy asion for Adam. Everybody found it envious to awaken as it was more about luck than effort. Even Dave in his past life was jealous of Awakeners.


    "What is going on with Adam? Is he gonna be alright?"


    "Don''t worry about him, he just caught a fever. However, it seems we should move to another location since we can''t justy him down on the floor."


    Brian was clearly concerned about Adam. Even though both of them bickered as they had a bone to pick with each other, they grew closer to each other inst days.


    ''Adam is lucky to awaken, but neither we have temperature lowering medicine nor we have any beddings toy him down. We should find another ce to settle down.''


    Dave quickly made a decision to leave the storage room. Even though it had food to eat, it couldn''t provide them with a soft bed nor it had a kitchen to cook dishes. Brian had alreadyined a lot about how sore his butt had got.


    "Adam, can you walk without any assistance? If not, then Brian will aid you."


    Albeit with difficulty, Adam still nodded weakly since he knew that being stubborn won''t help them. He hated to be a burden but he could only ept it.


    His eyes were hazy as everything blurred around him. Never in his entire life did he have such a strong headache as now. He felt like his head was going to burst as he was assaulted by both cold and warmth.


    As Brian supported vulnerable Adam, Dave packed everything into his bag. He mainly focused on packing canned food and mineral water.


    "We are going to the closest dormitory building. Brian, lead the way. Try to avoid big groups of zombies as much possible."


    Filling his bag to the brim, Dave gave directions. They quickly strode out of the minimarket slowing down several times when they met a big group of zombies


    Of course, he was strong enough to deal with an evolved zombie. However, the biggest advantage of zombies wasn''t their evolution prospects, but their numbers.


    There were ten thousands zombies scattered on the campus, not to say, several millions of them in the city. Humans will definitely die in the battle of attrition with zombies.


    Even though they had already killed more than 50 zombies, Dave and Brian needed to protect Adam making it harder to fight with big groups.


    They were slowly nearing to the dormitory building, so they could see it. Since it was in the residential area, there were lots of zombies wandering on the road.


    As it got harder to progress further towards the building, Dave decided to kill zombies who blocked their way into it.


    "Brian, how many zombies are blocking our way?"


    "There are more than 30 zombies including 2 fast zombies as the one you killed. Would you be able to handle it?"


    Brian reported the numbers of monsters as he gazed at him concernedly causing him to smirk lightly. Without saying anything, Dave rushed towards zombies.

 Chapter 14: Fighting with Mana

    Chapter 14: Fighting with Mana


    As Dave rushed at zombies, he enhanced his body and sword with mana. ''It is certainly different to fight with mana.'' He immediately felt how strength surged through his body.


    Mana Enhancement (LVL 2) increased his strength and agility by an additional 10% making him stronger and his body sturdier.


    With strengthened stats, he cut through the group of zombies as a knife and ughtered all of them before him.


    As he beheaded another ordinary zombie, his instincts, continuously honed for 5 years, screamed inside him. Dave used sh Step as he burst forward dodging a sudden attack to his head.


    His mana enhancement increased his strength by another 2 points and his agility by another point making him invincible even against 2 hunters. However, their sudden attacks were still dangerous to him.


    ''I''m able to follow the movements of low-rank hunters due to my enhanced agility, but I couldn''t allow being surrounded by them.'' Dave killed another batch of zombies as he distanced himself from other monsters.


    Opening a space around him, he baited hunters from the crowd of zombies. As two shadows emerged from the group, he clearly saw 2 hunters with their sharp ws and ck armor covering their bodies.


    When both of the shadows rushed at him, he formed Mana Barrier surrounding his body. When their attacks were blocked, 2 hunters wanted to swiftly retreat towards their back-line.


    However, when one of the hunters retreated backward, thin mana threads were wrapped around its legs as it fell on the ground. Following thin blue threads, it can be seen that they were attached to Dave''s fingertips. It was his skill, Mana Threads.


    Dave quickly rushed towards that hunter and shed his head in 2 halves. Hunter''s body, now dead, rested on the ground with rotten flesh and white brain matter falling out of his head.


    He didn''t have time to be happy for a white chest, which was dropped from the killed hunter, as a second hunter followed with its next attack. Left only with one hunter and with his enhanced agility, he swiftly dodged and killed the next hunter.


    [You have reached level 4.]


    The system notification had appeared before his eyes. ''Right, it is already a time to increase my level. I''ve killed 3 low-rank hunters and dozens of ordinary zombies.''


    After killing both of them, it was an easy task to ughter other ordinary zombies. The blood and gore were scattered on the ground as dead bodies of zombiesy on the ground.


    Panting lightly, Dave was satisfied with the result. ''Fighting with mana is much convenient. I was able to rival a low rank 1 hunter in agility. And the spoils are good. I increased my level by one and got 2 white chests'' Indeed, he got 2 Treasure Chests; one from each hunter.


    ''I''m not sure why, but the drop rates are higher than in my past life. Maybe, they will get lower in the future.'' Dave was still surprised that evolved zombies had a 100% chance to drop a Treasure Chest. ''All evolved zombies dropped a Treasure Chest. It seems that I should kill more of them before the drop rate is lowered.''


    Searching the battleground, he, excluding the 2 white chests he got from killing hunters, collected 37 Survival Coins. ''They will show their worth in the future.''


    As Brian watched how Dave ughtered 2 evolved zombies and more than 30 ordinary zombies, he was scared to death. He saw how Dave barged in their ranks and killed all of them. ''Monster! He is a monster.'' Brian never saw someone as frightening as Dave.


    He stood there, among the corpses of zombies, with the bloodstains on his white T-shirt. In addition to everything, he searched the corpses of zombies gathering ck coins from the ground.


    However, he wasn''t a bit flustered by his out view. He had faced much bloodier battles and knew the true purpose of Survival Coins.


    Not waiting for Brian, he quickly opened 2 white chests. As usual, they disappeared from his hands with bright light. Instead of them, the loaf of bread and a small vial of blue liquid appeared on his hands.


    [Restoration Bread


    Description: Restores stamina of a user in 5 minutes. ]


    ''Restoration Bread! Let''s save it for the future.'' Not interested to take it now, he threw it in his bag.


    [Basic Mana Potion


    Description: Restores 10 points of mana upon drinking.]


    Seeing the item, Dave got interested in how much mana he had left after the battle. He had used all his skills in the battle. But before that...''Allocate 2 points in stamina.''


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 4


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 78


    Mana: 3/7


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 10


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 1


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2)]


    ''I spent 4 mana points in a 5-minute battle. My mana pool is too small for prolonged battles.'' Sighing lightly, Dave thought that he still had a long way to the top. He was definitely stronger than other survivors, but if he fought with a battle-type Awakener, he would have difficulties with winning.


    "Man, you''re a monster! How did you even get that strong?" Brian looked paler than usual. Even though he had been killing zombies past few days, he never saw so much blood and dead bodies in his life.


    Shrugging at his words, Dave pretended to know nothing. He never intended to tell about his innate ability to anyone.


    "Let''s go inside the building. I doubt that Adam willst any longer." He noticed that Adam was already at his limit. Adam leaned with all his body weight on Brian as he walked weakly. Everything was a blur for him as he was burning from inside.


    They quickly found an open room on the first floor and settled inside it. It was amon double dorm room for roommates except for blood sttered on the floor. There was no corpse, so Dave quickly understood that it had already turned into a zombie.


    "Brian, look after Adam. I''ll check the upper floors and barricade the entry point." He wanted to check the building for the presence of other zombies. He closed the doors of the dorm and blocked it with a sofa from a lounge hall.


    Every floor of the dorm building always had a lounge hall, where students from the same building were able tomunicate and gather together. It had several sofas for students to sit and small decorations to make themfortable, even though it looked like a mess now, blood covering the walls and floor.

 Chapter 15: Survivors

    Chapter 15: Survivors


    As Dave went to the upper floors, he intentionally shouted on each floor. He was strong enough to handle several dozens of them, so he didn''t fear to attract their attention. As he had expected, he met only asional growls and roars from zombies.


    The dormitory building had 10 floors since it was a new building as a response to an influx of students from all over the Federation. Byparison, his dormitory building was older than the new dorm area, so it had only 5 floors.


    Humming a melody, which was already a habit from his past life, he went to the seventh floor. He repeated the same line which he shouted on every floor. He didn''t expect any other response, except for the growl of a zombie, but he was surprised to hear a plea for help.


    "We''re here! Please, save us!"


    A desperate woman''s voice could be heard from one of the rooms. Her voice was neither sweet nor soft, it had more a tinge of fear and desperation.


    At the same time, he heard how one of the doors was being banged. As he heard the sound, he quickly rushed towards it and saw how a zombie was hitting the door of the room. He easily killed it, collecting a ck coin from its corpse.


    "You''re safe now, so wait a bit in the room. I''m going to check up floors, so stay quiet there."


    Dave wanted to finish the job before meeting with survivors. Indeed, he was surprised to stumble upon them, but not so much, since he saw plenty of them in his past life. Also, they were safe in the room, so he could help them after he cleaned the building.


    ***


    "Do you think he wille back?"


    The same voice which Dave had heard from the other side of the door resounded in the room. It was a soft voice that was pleasant to hear.


    "I don''t know, but he said we should wait for him."


    Aposed and prideful voice followed after the soft one.


    "But what will we do, if he leaves us?"


    The sweet voice was clearly concerned about her safety.


    Three women were whispering with each other in one of the dorm rooms. One of them had light brown hair and a beauty mark right under her lips. She was the owner of a sweet voice.


    Another one hadposed air around her. She had short ck hair till her neckline and sharp facial features. Maybe, she wasn''t as enticing as a hot woman next to her, but she had a sharp aura around her. Clearly, she was the type of person who attracts attention no matter she where goes.


    The third woman in the room had apletely different aura than the other two women. If the first one was hot and mature and the second one was sharp and charismatic, the third one looked naive.


    She had silky ck hair, kind eyes, and a cute charming face, but the most eye-catching was her big chest covered under a light pink sweater. She looked like a kind big sister.


    "He said it safe now. Maybe we should check the corridor?"


    As a whisper from the devil, the owner of a sweet voice suggested opening the doors of the room. She approached the door intending to peek into the corridor as she slightly opened it. The woman with sharp facial features didn''t say anything.


    "But he said that we should wait for him here."


    Naive-looking woman tried to object to her with a meek voice, but she wasn''t convincing enough to stop her from peeking.


    ''Naive bitch! If you are so scared to look outside, then don''t stop me from doing it.''


    As she peeked out of the doors, the first thing she saw was the dead body of a zombie. Seeing the rotten blood and a cold corpse on the floor, she fell upon her butt as she screamed loudly.


    *Aaaah*


    "There is a body! A dead body!"


    At the same time as she screamed, two student girls standing beside her were able to see the dead body before their room. Each of them had ashen faces as all of them were scared witless at the sight of a cold corpse.


    ...


    ''It should be all done here. I checked every floor of the building, so it should be safe now.''


    Killing thest zombie in the building, Dave collected the Survival Coin dropped by a zombie. As he went higher, Dave met another 2 zombies and had killed them easily.


    As he was heading downstairs to the seventh floor, he heard a woman screaming below him by floor.


    "AAAAH!"


    ***


    ''Did I miss a zombie down floors?''


    Enhancing his body with mana, he rushed to the seventh floor. As he got there, he saw that the door, which had been closed previously, was wide open.


    "Tsk...Didn''t I tell them to stay in the room?"


    As he neared the room, he saw no blood in it, only three women with no visible injuries. Seeing no bloodstains and no traces of battle, he sighed slightly. He would have felt bad if they had died because he left them.


    "Are you alright? Didn''t I tell you to stay in your room?"


    Still stunned by the sight of the corpse, they barely heard him. As they lifted their eyes from the dead body to the man with bloodstains on his clothes and a sword covered in blood, they felt more fear creeping in their bodies. Especially Dave''s scar on the left side of his forehead made him more frightening.


    "Please, don''t kill us!"


    As they saw him, it was the only phrase that came to their minds.


    ''Am I so frightening? Even Brian, when he saw me, shouted the same line.''


    Dave was already used to the side nces directed to him but shouting not to kill them was stretching it too far. Even in his past life, a few people were eager to talk to him without any prejudices.


    "Don''t worry girls. I''m not going to kill you, so please stop a bit with making rush conclusions."


    Dave tried to put a smile as nice as possible, but his scar made his smile much more intimidating than he thought. To look less frightening, he even raised his hands to the same level as his head.


    "See, I won''t harm you."


    It seemed that his actions were able to bear their fruits. The women looked less panicked than before.


    "Th...This...This is a dead body!"


    Stuttering in her words, naive student girl pointed at the body, lying in a puddle of its own blood. It seemed that the sight of a dead body scared them much more than a man looking like a murderer.


    "If I hadn''t killed it, it would have eaten you."


    It seemed that the woman with aposed air around her was able toe to her senses. She looked less frightened as she tried to pull herself together.


    "What do you mean by having eaten us?"


    "I meant what I said. Did you watch a film about zombies? Then, you should know what zombies do with people."


    "Zombies? This is a zombie?"


    When the women heard him, another wave of fear swept over them.


    Seeing their reactions, he had understood why they were so frightened. They had thought that the monster banging on their door was a fellow student, who kept assaulting them. And when they saw the corpse of a person banging on their doors, they thought that he killed the student.


    "How did you even survived without food for several days?"


    After several questions, he learned that they were from the same ss on a study of cultures. They were assigned to do the group work, so they gathered in the room of a naive looking student girl called Reba. The charismatic woman was called Rachel, while the mature one said that her name was Katelyn.


    When they were in the middle of finishing their work, they heard the words of the heavenly voice and fainted after hearing it. After they woke up, someone started banging on their door, so they sat scared in it. It seemed that Reba had stockpiled snacks in her drawer, so they were able tost for several days.


    ''Fortunately for them, doors of the new dormitory building are sturdy enough to withstand the forced entry from an average person.''


    Dave thought that they were lucky enough to gather in the new dormitory building.


    "Does any of you know how to look after the ill person? And Reba, do you have any temperature lowering medicine in your room"


    "Yes, I have pills for it. And I also know how to look after a sick person. I looked a lot after my little brother in the past."


    Reba''s voice was as meek as when she objected to Katelyn. It seemed that she was gentle and mild by her nature.


    "Take the pills and follow me downstairs. I want you to look after my friend."


    With such words, Dave led them downstairs to Adam.

 Chapter 16: Reinforced Breathing

    Chapter 16: Reinforced Breathing


    "Hey, Brian, I''ve returned."


    Dave led three women to the room where Adam was residing. Hey on the bed covered by the nket, while Brian stood near close to the bed and looked concernedly at him.


    "What took you so long? I already started worrying..."


    When Brian turned around, he was so stunned to see fellow student girls, and not to say hot chicks, that he forgot what he was saying. He suddenly tensed up as he grew more nervous. Countless thoughts surfaced in his mind as he considered what to say to them.


    ''What''s his deal? Is he that weak towards girls?''


    Dave was slightly amused by his reaction. Brian blushed slightly as he tried to link the words with each other stuttering in his speech. He looked like a child who was caught doing something inappropriate.


    "Brian, I''ve found some survivors upstairs. How is Adam?"


    "...He is still burning like hell. Iid him on the bed and covered him with a nket, but it was everything I could do. I didn''t find any medicine in the room."


    It seemed that he came to his grips. At the same as he spoke, his eyes were shining as he looked at the girls. Dave didn''t know what he was up to but it didn''t look good to him.


    "Reba, please, do what you can. I''m entrusting Adam to you."


    As Dave urged Reba, she and 2 other girls inched closer to the sick person in the room. As they gazed at a person lying on the bed, they couldn''t not gasp for breath when they saw him. Even though he was resting on the bed, weak and sick, Adam still looked like a charming prince from the novels.


    His white porcin skin shined under all the sweat he had due to his fever giving him a more surreal feeling. Combined with his ck hair and sharp facial features, Adam still looked handsome as ever causing a gasp from the girls.


    ''Cool as ever. Look how he is hitting on chicks even when he is unconscious.''


    Dave looked at his best friend with slight amusement. As far as he remembered, Adam had always attracted unwanted attention from others. On the other hand, Brian looked at Adam as he found a mortal enemy or it looked like that since he looked at Adam with burning eyes.


    "It''s worse than I thought. He is heating too much. Someone, bring a warm tube of water. Ehm...David, do you have any food to feed him? He needs to eat something if he wants to get better."


    "Is canned food good enough?"


    "We can feed him with it now. Later, I can cook something up."


    Brian quickly went after the tube of water, while Dave took several cans of food. As 2 other girls saw the food in Dave''s hands, their stomachs growled unintentionally.


    "Sorry, can we also eat a bit? We didn''t eat for hours already."


    They blushed slightly as they spoke. Katelyn came from amon family, while Rachel''s father was a wealthy businessman, so they never starved before. It felt extremely humiliating to ask for food from someone else. People never understood the value of what they possessed until they lost it.


    ''If I had known it before, I would have taken a second bag with me.''


    Dave unwillingly passed two cans of food to Rachel and Katelyn, then he gave three of them to Reba, so she can feed Adam.


    Two girls were dissatisfied with a small amount of food but had no face to ask for more. They just grunted in dissatisfaction and ate their own share. However, it didn''t escape from Dave''s eyes.


    He helped Reba, who blushed slightly as she was taking off Adam''s shirt, to wipe the sweat from Adam''s body. After they wiped his body with warm water and fed him 2 cans of food, Reba fed him a temperature lowering pill.


    "We should leave him alone. He needs to rest without any disturbance."


    Reba urged others to leave the room. As they stood in the corridor not knowing what to do, Dave thought that he needed to thank Reba for her hard work.


    "Reba, take another can of food as my gratitude. Please, look after Adam until he wakes up."


    With such words, he took another can from his bag and offered it to her. He was truly thankful to her since nobody knows how awakening would proceed. If her help could increase the chances of sessful awakening, then it was enough for him to be thankful.


    "Hey, can we also take another can?"


    "Yeah, isn''t it just a can of food?"


    Katelyn and Rachel couldn''t help but object to him. Apparently, a can of food wasn''t enough to fill their stomachs, so they thought that it was appropriate to ask for more. They didn''t ask for one before since they thought it would be bad to ask another one when every one of them was given only one.


    "It seems that you''ve misunderstood me. We risked our lives to get the bag full of food, so if you want to eat as much as you want, then go outside, kill zombies and ransack the grocery shop nearby. It may be just a can of food before, but today it is a food that is hard to get. If you want a share from us, then don''t ck off and prove that you''re useful."


    Dave gazed at them icily as he directed his killing intent that he had honed over the 5 years to Rachel and Katelyn. His scar on his forehead made him look especially frightening, so they quickly grew paler as they remembered how he had killed a zombie before their room.


    "If you want, you can rest in one of the dorm rooms. Reba, you said that you can cook something, so if you need anything for it, ask it directly from me. Brian, you can resume training your innate ability. Tomorrow, we need to find another source of food."


    Givingmands to the people around him, Dave broke several doors of the closed dorm rooms, in case, someone wants to rest and sleep on the bed. As for him, he entered the room where Adam was resting and sat cross-legged on the second bed. Even though Reba said to not disturb him, he wanted to be close to Adam if something unexpected happens during the Awakening.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 4


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 84


    Mana: 7/7


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 10


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 1


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2)]


    ''My stamina exceeded 10 points. I should try using another skill from my past life.''


    A long time ago, when he just started a career as a hunter, Dave thought how he would be able to kill monsters much stronger than him. Most of the hunters from his time were already high-leveled Enhancers and Awakeners, so they weren''t able to give him that answer.


    Atst, he concluded.


    ''If I don''t have an innate ability, then I willpensate it with skills. If I have low stats, I will learn skills that will enhance them. Have high mana? Then use it to enhance your body. Have high stamina? Then burn it to get stronger. Use every stat to its maximum.''


    As he thought about his experience, Dave couldn''t help but smile. In his past life, his level was low and his stats weren''t so high because he started 3 yearster than others, but he was famous for his ability to kill monsters several levels higher than him. If he had been given more time, he would have reached the level of top hunters in several years.


    Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Dave entered a special rhythm as he paced his breathing. His heart started beating faster and faster as blood circted through his body at a higher rate. At the same time, his body started heating up as more blood flowed into his muscles and skin.


    If strength was more about muscles and agility was more about reaction time and nerve cells, then stamina was more about blood cells, internal organs, and metabolism of a person. Faster blood flows through his body, more stamina he uses and stronger he bes.


    To put it simply, people are usually in an energy-conserving state. They use less stamina tost longer. However, the skill he is trying to learn now used more stamina for more strength.


    [You have learned Reinforced Breathing (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your skill Reinforced Breathing has turned into Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2)]


    It was another skill he learned by himself as in the case with Mana Application and Meditation. He didn''t seek help from the system since he saved his skill points for more valuable skills. It was a trick he learned from one of his martial artist friends.


    Reinforced Breathing had the same effect as Mana Enhancement. It increased his strength and agility stats by 5% for every level, the same as Mana Enhancement. However, Reinforced Breathing used stamina to enhance the body, while Mana Enhancement used mana for the same effect.


    It wasn''t only him who learned skills like Reinforced Breathing. It''s just that increasing its level was extremely hard since it was straining and draining. Furthermore, hunters strongly depended on the system to learn new skills rather than hard work.


    On the other hand, the Mana Enhancement was a skill that he learned identally trying to copy the principles behind Reinforced Breathing. Very few people had such skills.


    After he learned the Reinforced Breathing, Dave meditated until someone knocked on the door.


    "David, I made a stew from the ingredients I found in the kitchen. Come out and eat."


    Reba stood at the entrance to the room wearing an apron which she found in the kitchen.

 Chapter 17: Awakened Adam

    Chapter 17: Awakened Adam


    It seemed that Reba didn''t only have basic nursery skills, she also was an awesome cook. The stew was made from vegetables left in the fridge, yet it was tasty enough for such simple ingredients. Unfortunately, it had no meat in it. After the appearance of zombies, it was a luxury to eat meat since it needed to be fresh enough, so it could be cooked.


    As Dave ate silently, nobody dared to make a sound. Apparently, three student girls were mostly scared of him, while Brian felt that it was too awkward to speak in such an atmosphere.


    It tasted good enough for Dave, but looking at how she struggled to eat it, it seemed that it wasn''t to the liking of Rachel. Born in a wealthy family, she never starved and always ate to her full, so such a meal looked quitecking to her. However, she didn''t have a face toin about the taste of a stew since she didn''t even know how to cook.


    "After Adam wakes up, we will go grinding since the food in my backpack should be enough tost for several days. Combined with the leftover ingredients from kitchens on every floor, if we are lucky enough, we should be able not to starve for a week."


    As he finished his meal, Dave suddenly broke the silence. Nobody expected him to speak, so everybody jolted in surprise. Girls looked at him with apprehension, while Brian didn''t mind it at all as he resumed gulping down the stew. He was already sick of canned food, so he found pleasure in eating hot stew.


    "Girls, if you want, you can follow us tomorrow. I assume that everybody is already familiar with their status windows, so you should know that killing zombies can make you stronger. I won''t force you toe with us, but you need to know that there will be no food for ckers. If you want to stay inside the dorm building, then cooking will be left for you. Am I clear?"


    As Dave red at them, they hastily nodded with their heads. The women were too fearful of him, while Brian had no objections as he continued to stuff himself with food.


    Having said everything he wanted, Dave returned to Adam''s room and resumed his meditation. He meditated for another three hours. While he was meditating, Reba came in for a moment to feed Adam with a stew.


    After he hadpleted his meditation session, Dave went to sleep since he was still a human being who knew what is exhaustion.


    ...


    As Dave closed the door of his room, all three women couldn''t help but sigh in relief. Their first impression of him was that he was delinquent due to the scar on his face, so they didn''t believe that he was a person they could rely on.


    ''Can''t he be more gentle? Acting as he owns everything. How can he force me to work for him? Am I not valuable enough for the second can?''


    Katelyn thought that Adam was a shallow person. He refused to give her a can of food, even though he had a backpack filled to the brim with food.


    "Can I have another one?"


    Still not satisfied, Brian stretched his bowl to Reba who was closest to the pot. Flustered by his question, she gave him another bowl of stew.


    "Ehm...Brian, right? What do you think of Dave?"


    As he was hastily eating the stew, Rachel couldn''t help but ask him about Dave. For her, it seemed that he was a leader of their group. Also interested to know more about him, Reba and Katelyn also looked curiously at Brian.


    "...Well, he was the one who saved me. He is not too bossy and he also very sensible. Even though he looks like an evil dude, you can trust my word since I was picked in school, he isn''t a bad person."


    Still stuffing his mouth with stew, Brian made asional pauses before continuing to speak.


    "...However, when ites to fighting, he is a monster. Even though I''m not a fighter myself, I never saw someone who could fight like him. You should have seen how he killed more than a dozen zombies. When I saw it before, I already decided that I will follow him no matter what."


    Banging his bowl on the table, Brian couldn''t help but exim enthusiastically. Brian thought that if he followed such a monster as Dave, he will have higher chances to survive. Moreover, after several days of traveling with him, he already considered him as his friend. It was very simple for Brian.


    "What about you? From which faculty are you?"


    Licking the stew from his lips, Brian smiled strangely. He started asking them various questions about their lives and interests.


    "Even though zombies are wandering outside, I''ll never miss a chance to hit on girls."


    Brian thought excitedly about it. He never had a girlfriend, so he didn''t want to waste an opportunity when there are three chicks before him.


    He learned that all three of them were from the same course of study on cultures. However, when he started bombarding them with questions, they quickly left him alone in the kitchen. Brian didn''t know where he went wrong as he sat in the kitchen with a bitter face.


    ...


    Dave woke up early in the morning to have another meditation session. As he meditated for a long time, he heard a groan in the room. It seemed that Adam woke up. Dave had heard that it wouldn''t usually take a lot of time for a person to awaken.


    Dave swiftly approached Adam and checked his temperature.


    ''His temperature returned to normal. Does it mean that it was a sess or what?''


    Dave didn''t know how did people usually awaken. It was the first time he personally witnessed the process of awakening. As far as he knows, only 10% of people had awakened at the beginning and more people started awakening over time.


    "Hey, Adam, are you okay? How do you feel?"


    Dave helped him to rise to the sitting position. Adam still looked slightly pale, but he looked better than before. He stared at the space in front of him as he was reading something.


    "Dave, I got system notification that I became an Awakener."


    "And what is it saying?"


    It seemed that Adam was still confused as he stared at system notification. Just yesterday he was dying from a fever, while today he got a message that he had awakened. It was happening too fast for him to react to it.


    "It says that my body had sessfully undergone mutation and I got an innate ability Telekinesis."


    "Congrattions, bro!"


    "...and it also says that I became an Evolver of spirit stat and I will get 1 stat-point increase every time I level up."


    As Adam informed him that he became an Evolver, Dave became stunned. He thought that he misheard him, so he decided to ask again.


    "Did you say that you got Telekinesis and became an Evolver of a spirit stat?"


    "Yes, it is written here."


    ''Fucking lucky bastard''


    Dave couldn''t help but curse Adam since he became double Awakener. He awakened two times meaning that he got two mutated cell types in his body.


    ''How much good karma person needs to possess to be that lucky? Not only Adam started his awakening process right in the beginning but also became double Awakener.''


    He was genuinely dumbstruck by his luck. Usually, most of the people became Evolvers rather than Ability Holders since there is more chance that moremon cells will mutate. Innate Ability is the result of mutation of more umon cells or mutation in a different direction.


    Therefore, Ability Holders are rarer than Evolvers, while double Awakeners were even rarer than Ability Holders.


    ''I heard that only 1% of all Awakeners were double Awakeners. How ites that he fell in that 1%?''


    It was too shocking for Dave since it was too rare. Every double Awakener is destined to be on the top of survivors. All of them were strong enough to have high social status and were revered with respect.


    "Is it good? Hey, Dave, don''t I look cooler than you now, right?"


    Adam smiled cheekily as he rubbed the fact that he had awakened over his face.


    ''For some reason, he is really getting on my nerves. Isn''t he too cheeky right now?''


    Dave couldn''t help but get irritated by him. For a moment, he even thought about hitting Adam with his 16 points of strength but quickly discarded that idea.

 Chapter 18: Helping Rebecca

    Chapter 18: Helping Reba


    When Adam woke up, it was already the early morning. Both of them joked a bit with each other as they prepared to leave the room. Adam looked much more vigorous than before as he energetically put his clothes on. They took a quick shower in their dorm room.


    ''A soft bed and a shower are luxuries which are hard to enjoy at the end of the world. Thankfully, a water treatment system is still active for a time being.''


    Dave couldn''t help but think about such conveniences. The water wasn''t strongly contaminated by the virus since it was still the initial stage of the cataclysm. Only concentrated amounts of the virus such as fluids of a zombie or direct infection of blood with it were able to turn a person into a zombie. If the immunity of a human system had been so weak, humans would have already gone extinct.


    Strangely enough, small amounts of the virus were even beneficial for people''s evolution. It would have been strange if people had evolved so suddenly since evolution wasn''t a rapid process. It was more gradual and slower, taking ages for people to adapt to a new environment.


    As far as Dave knew, microorganisms were first to evolve adapting to the new environment or precisely to the presence of mana. Then, they started influencing otherrger living creatures such as animals, birds and humans. It is more correct to say that zombies were failed evolution versions of humans whose bodies were being controlled by the virus.


    On the other hand, people, who had sessfully woke up after the blue mist had descended, had fused with a virus, otherwise, people would have never been able to control and sense mana around them. It is right to understand that living cells entered into mutual rtionships with the virus. It gave them an ability to detect a new form of energy around them boosting their evolutionary potential, while cells took viruses inside of them.


    However, since zombies were moving concentrated entities of the virus, they had the highest evolutionary potential among all living creatures. The only w of zombies as a perfect evolutionary material was the fact that they were already dead. Therefore, they needed to supply their evolution with organic matter.


    ''It is already time to wake up others. We should have a quick breakfast and go hunting zombies. I bet that Adam is starving like hell.''


    As Dave and Adam left their rooms, they saw that Reba was already awoken. For some reason, she looked like she had a terrible time sleeping. Reba had dark circles under her eyes as exhaustion could be seen on her face.


    "Reba, what are you doing early in the morning?"


    Dave couldn''t help but ask her about it. She greatly contrasted the way she looked yesterday. It looked like her soul was sucked from her just in one night.


    "I just had problems with sleeping. Don''t worry much about it. David, I had already put everything on the table, so you should wake up others."


    Apparently, she had much more to say about her state, yet she put a strong front to hide her emotions. Even though he noticed it, he didn''t think much about it. Every survivor had their own share of worries and problems, and it wasn''t appropriate to peep into somebody''s life.


    "Hey, Adam, go say hello to other girls. I''ll wake up Brian."


    With such words, he entered Brian''s room who was sleeping soundly on the bed. Waking him up and saying hime to eat, Dave returned to the kitchen, where Reba still stood there, now, deep in thought about something.


    After several minutes, everybody had gathered before the table. It seemed that Katelyn and Rachel had already calmed down over the night, while Reba looked worse than yesterday. Dave couldn''t help but notice that two girls were sending asional nces towards Adam.


    "Since Adam had gotten better, we need to go hunting on zombies. Girls, did you already decide what to do? Are you going with us or are you staying in the dorm building? Before you give your answer, you should know that even though the dormitory building is safer than outside, we wouldn''t be here to save you if you got in any trouble."


    Dave provided them with a long exnation, so they will consider it twice before answering him. It was true that while fighting zombies, you can lose your life, but every fight made them stronger than before.


    "I''ve decided to stay here"


    "Me also!"


    Rachel and Katelyn seemed to already think about it before as they rejected to go outside. Dave didn''t force them nor he tried to convince them since it was understandable why they opted to stay safer in the building.


    "If nobody wants to go with us, then..."


    "I want to join you."


    Suddenly, Reba interjected into his words. Since she was silent all along, Dave assumed that she was also unwilling toe with them. He was stunned at her words since it seemed that she wished to join them, even though she was as scared as other girls.


    She didn''t seem to be brave enough to kill zombies, yet she volunteered to do it.


    ''Well, it works fine with us''


    Dave wasn''t against it in particr since it was good to have another hunter in their ranks. No matter what reason she has, it is still better than avoiding them all the life.


    "I assume that you lost your Wooden Club, right?"


    "How do you know?"


    Reba was badly startled by the fact that he knew it since she never told anyone. Seeing that she was surprised by his response, Dave looked at her amusingly. Items from the system had a tendency to disappear in 20 minutes if the system regards them as having no owner. The same goes for Survival Coins and other items dropped from monsters.


    "Then, get ready. We will leave after 30 minutes."


    ...


    After 30 minutes, 4 people had gathered before the exit doors from the dormitory building. Dave was equipped with a sword, Adam with his broken spear, Brian had a kitchen knife and Reba held a Wooden Club, which was used by Dave before. He didn''t throw it away, storing it in his bag since it was small enough to fit in it.


    Leaving the dormitory building, the first thing Reba had seen was a bloody mess left by Dave when he killed the big group of zombies in front of the entry point. Rotting blood and gore were scattered on the ground as more than 30 corpsesy on the ground. It was truly a sight to behold.


    "What''s this? How..."


    At the sight of dead bodies, her face swiftly turned ashen as she started vomiting right in her speech. She stuttered weakly as she fell on her knees and started to empty her stomach. The content of her breakfast rested on the ground.


    After several minutes of calming her, Dave followed after Brian to the zombie wandering alone around the residential area. He sneaked on it and cut off its limbs before dragging it to Reba. She gazed questioningly at him as she didn''t understand what was meant by it.


    "Kill it. If you can''t kill zombies even in such a state, you will be just dragging us down."


    He clearly stated the meaning he wanted to convey to her. At his words, Reba paled slightly as she looked at a limbless zombie throwing up the second time. However, since she already vomited the content of her stomach, she threw up stomach fluids.


    "I don''t know what reason you had to join us in our hunting, maybe you wanted to grow stronger or find someone close to you, but there will be no meaning in it if you can''t y a limbless zombie. The first time is always hardest, but the faster you face your fears, the easier it will be in the future."


    With such words, Dave even gave her his Rusty Sword which he thought was already enough for his goodwill. At his words, Reba jolted slightly as she weakly grabbed a sword from his hands. It seemed that his words reminded her of something as she steeled her will and pushed the sword into the head of a zombie.


    It growled and trashed violently as it tried to fight back. The most effective way to kill a zombie was to heavily damage its brain or cut off its head.


    "It is not enough. You need to do more damage to its brain."


    Dave was constantly reminding her of what she was doing wrong. After several attempts, she was finally able to end its life She jolted slightly as she got a system notification that she had leveled up.


    "Put 2 points in strength."


    Dave didn''t forget to remind her about the allocation of points. Strength was important to sneak attack on zombies, so it was a necessary stat to kill them at the initial stage. What was the point in allocating free points in other stats if you can''t even kill a zombie with them?


    ''With this done, we can finally move to the grinding part.''

 Chapter 19: Survivors Bat

    Chapter 19: Survivor''s Bat


    As Reba calmed down after killing her first zombie, Dave 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 Reba to level up, Brian 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 thest few days.


    Their numbers were sorge that it was possible to find several dozens of them no matter where you look making it quite hard to find a single target. Fortunately, they had Brian to scout their surroundings allowing them to know the number of zombies before they met them.


    Even though Dave was able to kill several dozens of them, he didn''t want to risk it. If they caused a bigmotion, they may attract the attention of all zombies near them making it much more dangerous for them. Dave was confident to escape at the encounter of danger, but the same can''t be said about Adam, Brian and Reba since they weren''t as strong as Dave.


    Approaching a rtively smaller group of zombies, Dave saw three zombies in front of them. Each of them was standing silently hibernating and conserving their energies.


    "Brian, 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. Reba, you will fight with the remaining one. Don''t be scared of it, I will cover you up in case something dangerous happens."


    Dave quickly shared with them his simple n. He already had a significant amount of fighting experience, so he wanted to temper his teammates.


    "When Brian kills one of it with Small Fireball skill, attack simultaneously."


    They had no objection towards his n 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 Brian started to chant the incantation of Small Fireball, others readied themselves for the attack. After 15 seconds of muttering spell in some unknownnguage, a fireball started forming on his right hand. It burned intensely and was as huge as small throwing ball.


    With the power of his will, Brian sent the fireball flying towards the closest zombie. It neatly struck zombie''s head which burst and burned under high temperatures.


    As the first zombie was killed by Brian, 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 bnce for closebat, but it was a perfect short spear for throwing it at the monsters.


    Both zombies were dealt quickly such as even Adam and Brian found it too easy. Reba looked stunned at them since both Small Fireball and Telekinesis looked magical to her. Even though she had epted 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 thest zombie was rushing towards them, he criticized Reba for lowering her guard. If you want to survive in the battle, you need to always remain cautious and vignt. One moment of carelessness may even cost your life.


    When he heard Dave, she was scared by the sight of rushing zombie. It howled and roared as it was sprinting towards them. She tightly gripped the Wooden Club in her hands resolving herself to kill it.


    However, when it got close to her, she tried to hit its head with a club, 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. Zombies are driven by their instincts, so their movements are dull and predictable. Try to predict its move and dodge its attack. Then, send it tumbling with a strong hit to its head."


    At the same time as zombie wanted to bite her, the hand from behind had pulled it away from her. With a swift abdominal kick, Dave sent zombie flying as itnded heavily several meters away from him. Reba was still frightened by how close she was towards 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!"


    She gritted her teeth as she stood up from the ground. 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 club. It reminded to Dave how Brian killed his first zombie as Reba. Zombie''s head quickly turned into a bloody mess as a bright light burst from its body.


    ''It seemed she was rewarded for near-death encounter.''


    Dave couldn''t help but think about it since the Treasure Chest was hard to get. He knew that weaker you are, higher your chances to get a Treasure Chest, but Reba had obtained it after her second zombie.


    "You''re quite lucky. Open it and see what you got."


    Dave was expectant to see what she will obtain. In most cases, white Treasure Chests drop low-tier system weapons such as Rusty Sword, Failed Dagger and Broken spear. It also had a slight chance to drop consumable items as Restoration Bread or even Skill Books.


    As she opened it, the bat had reced its ce. It looked like amon bat yet full of sharp nails to deal more damage. As Dave nced 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.]


    Dave 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.


    As Reba tightly held Survivor''s Bat in her hands, she looked quite unusual. Survivor''s Bat looked even more barbaric than Wooden Club and it also gave her truly apocalyptic vibe. Combined with her big sister vibes, she gave an extremely strange feeling.

 Chapter 20: Fireball Against a Giant

    Chapter 20: Fireball Against a Giant


    "Brian, how much mana have you used for Small Fireball? Adam, what are you feeling after using Telekinesis?"


    After they had dealt with a group of three zombies, Dave wanted to analyze their fighting capabilities. Knowing the limits of your skills may help tost longer in fights.


    "I had used 5 mana points for one Small Fireball."


    "It didn''t cost me any mana, but I''m feeling dizzy after using Telekinesis."


    Brian and Adam quickly exined their abilities to Dave. Hearing them, Dave started thinking about the weaknesses of their skills.


    ''Brian will be able to cast another 4 Small Fireballs, yet if we consider the usage of Life Pulse, it will go lower to 2 uses. Hence, Brian can''t use it as much as he wants. Adam uses his spirit for Telekinesis, so he may find himself mentally exhausted if he overuses it. It is better to save their skills for stronger zombies.''


    Dave quickly made ns for their skills. Mostly, he was interested in how they would perform against evolved zombies. Brian may not be as flexible as Adam, but his Small Fireball boasts fearsome attack power. On the other hand, the use of Telekinesis was more varied than Small Fireball.


    "Both of you should make killing moves from your skills and save them for more strong opponents. In the next battle, you will fight using your weapons. Brian, if you detect any evolved zombies, we will try killing them."


    Adam had no objections, while Brian was clearly depressed that he was going to fight zombies in closebat. He liked how easily he had killed that zombie and thought that Small Fireball was worth all his efforts he poured in learning it.


    Seeing that colour was returning to Reba''s face, Dave decided that it was already time to continue hunting. After they had dealt with a group of three zombies, they had picked fights with several other groups.


    As a result, their group had killed more than thirty of them. After killing zombies for more than 2 hours, Reba was less scared during group fights. She grew less fearful of zombies and was able to put a fight against them. Perhaps, after levelling up another time, she found it easier to handle zombies than before.


    Under Dave''s rmendation, she put another 2 points in strength increasing her attack power. If before she was a newbie who couldn''t kill even one zombie, then now she was able to easily handle a zombie in a one-on-one battle.


    Even though he had already saved her life several times, Dave was sure that Reba had ovee her fear of zombies. Dave was satisfied by the fact that they had another Enhancer among their group.


    Suddenly, Brian flinched slightly as he checked his surrounding another time. Judging by his facial expression, he seemed to discover something.


    "Dave, there is a giant zombie hundred meters away from us. Should we move in his direction?"


    Apparently, Brian wasn''t eager to meet other evolved zombies. It seemed that he still can''t forget about how it banged the doors of the library.


    "Yeah, guide us towards the giant. Also, you should get ready to fight with it."


    "Okay, then...What? Shouldn''t it be you who will kill it? Why me? No, no, you should be joking, right?"


    Brian was stunned by his words as he started protesting him violently. He had never imagined that he will be the one facing it. Before the apocalypse, he already had a fear of muscr men since they resembled bullies from his mid-school. However, now he was going to face two and a half meter, huge Giant.


    "Don''t worry so much! If something goes wrong, then I will help you out."


    Dave tried to assure him that everything will be alright, but it seemed that it wasn''t enough to calm Brian. When Brian recalled how Dave said the same lines to Reba, he felt that his life was on the line. Knowing Dave and his personality, he knew that he will help him only when his life will be in danger.


    ''What''s up with his face?''


    Dave couldn''t help but be dissatisfied by Brian''s reaction. He had a slightly pale face and wore a desperate expression on his as he was going to part with his life.


    After several minutes of moving stealthily, they had finally reached a Giant. It looked the same way as the Giant Dave had killed in the library. Thick muscles, burly figure and humongous hands induced even more fear in Brian''s heart.


    Adam and Reba also seemed to be fearful of it. It was much better for Adam since he had already seen how Dave had killed it. As for Reba, she clearly was stunned to see a real Giant before her. She had never seen a person as huge as it. It looked like even three university students summed won''t be able to rival it in size.


    "How a zombie can be so huge?"


    She asked Dave while still being stunned by the Giant. Nobody can me her since it was amon response when a survivor sees a Giant for the first time. There even were people who were paralyzed by fear at the sight of a monster.


    "As far as I knew, it is an evolved zombie which specializes in strength."


    Dave was unmoved by the Giant since he had seen much bigger once. There were even Giants who were taller than 5 meters and as big as a house, so he was pretty ustomed to fighting with monsters much bigger than him.


    "Brian, you shouldn''t fear it so much! Try using your Fireball on it and see how strong it is. Maybe you can kill it with one hit. Aim on its head, otherwise, you won''t kill it."


    When he heard that he won''t fight it in closebat, Brian seemed to liven up. He won''t stand a chance against it in closebat, but maybe he could kill it with his Small Fireball.


    ''Right! Why should I fight it in a close range? I''m a mage, so attacking from distance is my forte. I''m gonna kill it with one shot!''


    As he thought about it, Brian grew more confident to kill it. He even felt excited to test his Small Fireball on the Giant''s thick skin.


    Brian started chanting the spell as unknown words were leaving his mouth. After 15 seconds, the fire was slowly gathering before him as it was shaped into a ball. Imagining how it will fly towards the Giant, the Small Fireball obeyed his will as it flew in a straight line.


    Attracted to the sound of the chant, Giant was striding in their direction. When Brian saw how Giant was nearing them, he panicked slightly and a fireball flying towards its head mmed into its chest. It exploded loudly as big chunks of rotten meat was torn from its chest.


    When the Small Fireball had mmed into it, Giant was sent several steps back and had stopped in its tracks.


    "Idiot, you had a chance to kill it in one shot. Finish him!"


    Dave shouted at Brian since he saw that he got distracted by fear. When Brian saw how his fireball missed its head, his face had paled. He was screaming inside his mind "Fuck!" repeatedly as he gazed stupidly at the smoke covering the Giant.


    As the smoke was diffusing to the air, they clearly saw a huge hole in its chest. Perhaps, even its heart and other internal organs were incinerated by the fire. It seemed that the injury had reached its spine as it fell on the ground unable to move.


    Seeing how it had copsed, Brian sighed heavily as he wiped the sweat on his forehead which had formed from the high temperatures of Small Fireball and NOT from the fear. He didn''t want to admit that he fucked up with the Giant.


    "Stop standing like an idiot and finish him. It''s unable to move yet still alive."


    Reminded by Dave, Brian rushed at the Giant lying on the ground. It looked even bigger lying on the ground than standing on its legs. Brian approached it hurriedly as he stabbed his Failed Dagger continuously into its head.


    After turning its head into blood paste, finally, the white light emitted from its body as a White Chest had appeared near the Giant''s corpse.


    Even though he was being scared a moment ago, Brian was delighted to get another Treasure Chest. Previously, he had opened only one White Chest and this would be his second one. Apparently, he was nervous as he wondered what will drop from it.


    As he opened it, the White Chest had disappeared from his hands, instead of it, the vial with a red liquid had appeared in his hands.


    [Strength Potion


    Description: Permanently, increases the strength stat by 2 points.]


    "Hey, Brian, you are quite lucky to get stat increasing potion."


    Dave sincerely congratted him. Even though Brian had fucked up his aim with Fireball, it still ended well for them. It was quite rare to get a potion which increases stats, even for a Treasure Chest. It was also great luck when Dave got his hands on Stat Potion.


    At least, every item from the Blue Chest would be a great treasure no matter what it would be, so he would have never regretted it if he hadn''t gotten a Stat Potion.

 Chapter 21: Group Attack

    Chapter 21: Group Attack


    Gulping down the Strength Potion, Brian had felt how strength surged in his plump body as his muscles became stronger and sturdier. Now, he may even rival some weaker Giants in strength since it had exceeded the 10 points mark.


    ''Now, I can less worry for Brian since, coupled with his Small Fireball and high strength, handling a Giant won''t be a problem for him, even though he is not an opponent for a Hunter.''


    Dave was satisfied with the progress reached by Adam and Brian. Just several days ago, they had a hard time killing even one zombie, but look now, Brian had taken down a Giant just by himself, even though Adam''s rapid progress was more spontaneous than hard-earned.


    As he thought how much both of them had advanced, Dave couldn''t help but rx a bit. Even though he had returned back in time, he still didn''t have a definite goal except for bing stronger, so it was calming to know that there was someone who could cover his back. His biggest wish was to find his little brother with his aunt and uncle, but it wasn''t possible for now.


    "Hey, Adam, I''m stronger than you now. With my strength and Small Fireball, you won''t even be equal to me. After you had awakened Telekinesis, you became too arrogant, so look forward to how I''m going to remove your cheeky smile from your face."


    "Pfft...You are too slow to follow after me. What''s the point of your magic if you can''t hit me with it? While you will chant your spell, I''ll quickly handle you with my Flying Spear."


    ''Maybe not now...''


    Dave sighed inwardly as he heard how they were bickering with each other. He agreed that having apetitive spirit was beneficial for their growth, yet he didn''t like the idea of death due to themotion that they had caused.


    "Lower your voices, you are going to attract all zombies close to us. Brian, lead us to another group of zombies."


    Exasperated, Dave decided to resume their hunt on zombies since they still had half an hour before they nned to return to the dormitory building. Perhaps, they even might stumble on another evolved zombie. Even though they didn''t leave the range of half a mile from their base, there were still a lot of zombies wandering on the roads.


    After ten minutes, they were unable to find a small group of zombies, so Dave started thinking about wrapping up their expedition, but as he was preparing to propose to go back, Brian changed in his facial expression. Apparently, he became fearful of something as the colour had drained from his face.


    "I''ve sensed evolved zombies close to our location"


    Brian''s voice was slightly shaky as he shared his discovery with everyone. When Dave heard him, he quickly understood why he was so fearful. Brian had was scared as much as now only when Dave had faced with 2 Hunters in front of the dormitory building.


    "How many of them?"


    "1 Giant and 2 Hunters. All three of them are low-rank and there is also a bunch of zombies next to them."


    Maybe Brian didn''t say it directly, yet looking at his face, it was apparent that he was unwilling to kill them. They had never targeted more than one evolved zombie since even fight with 2 Hunters was more spontaneous rather than anticipated.


    "Let''s kill them! Our strength should be enough to hunt them."


    Even though Brian wasn''t eager to go after them, he still yielded under Dave''s suggestion. He didn''t have high hopes for it, yet he already took down a Giant single-handedly if it could be count as one. He didn''t be overconfident, but the thoughts about sess still found a ce in his heart.


    After 5 minutes, they saw a slightlyrger group of zombies with a towering Giant among them. Dave looked at him sizing it up. It had a resemnce to any other zombies except for its humongous size. The Giant clearly stood out from the crowd of zombies, while Hunters had blended into the group.


    "Brian, we will attack, after you kill a Giant with a Small Fireball. Don''t dare miss this one! Adam, you''re gonna take a Hunter, while I kill another. You should try to use your Telekinesis, not only for Flying Spear but also try to halt a Hunter in its tracks with Telekinesis or repel it with your mind. Reba, you can wait on the backline, before other zombies reach us."


    Sharing his n with everyone, Dave gave a signal for Brian to start chanting his spell. Understanding him, Brian cleared his mind and started mumbling unknown words in a clear voice as he became more nervous with every word. He had enough mana only to shoot one Small Fireball since he had already used most of his mana on Life Pulse and 2 shots of fireball.


    After 15 seconds, the fire had gathered in front of him shaping into a sphere. As Brian concentrated his mind on it, the fireball flew in a straight line and mmed into the head of a Giant.


    "Sess!"


    Brian couldn''t help but exim in delight as a Giant fell down with a loud thud. As it fell on the ground, 2 zombies leapt from the crowd rushing towards them. They had sharp ws unlike humans and ck armour-like tes covering some parts of their bodies.


    Dave quickly enhanced his body with mana and activated Reinforced Breathing leaping towards one of the Hunters. He especially avoided a second one, giving Adam a reason to fight with it.


    Seeing how a Hunter was approaching him, Adam quickly lifted his spear with Telekinesis and shot it towards a Hunter. It flew towards its head in a straight line, yet right at the moment when it was going to pierce its head, Hunter tilted slightly dodging a spear by a hair''s breadth and quickly growing closer to him.


    Right when the Hunter was already close to him, Adam directed his hands towards it and used his innate ability to push it away from him. At the same time as it got pushed away, Adam concentrated on his spear and stabbed Hunter''s head from behind.


    When he had killed his Hunter, Dave had already finished with another one as he was observing their situation. With three evolved zombies down, it wasn''t hard for them to kill remaining ordinary. This time Reba and Brian, who were watching everything from the backline, had also joined killing them.


    After ughtering other zombies, it was a turn to check their spoils. Ordinary zombies had only dropped Survival Coins, while the Hunter and Giant, killed by Adam and Brian, had dropped a White Chest each of them. Only Dave was left with nothing.


    ''Even though the drop rates of Treasure Chests are higher this time, it seems that the system is still fair enough. Stronger you grow, fewer Treasure Chests you will get killing weaker monsters.''


    Dave wasn''t surprised that he didn''t get one since he was already a level 4 outstripping low rank 1 zombies by a level. He forecasted that he will get fewer Treasure Chests from evolved zombies.


    On the other hand, Adam and Brian were beaming as they had opened their corresponding Treasure Chests. Adam had gotten a vial with a blue liquid the same that Dave had gotten and Brian held a crystal apple in his hands.


    [Basic Mana Potion


    Description: Restores 10 points of mana upon drinking.]


    [Crystall Apple


    Description: Restores 2 points of the spirit upon eating.]


    "You should swap items with each other since Brian needs mana for Small Fireball, while Adam spends spirit for his Telekinesis"


    Agreeing with Dave, both of them bartered with each other as Adam gave a Basic Mana Potion to Brian and Brian passed his apple to Adam. Both of them were satisfied with their spoils as they held them. With a mana potion, Brian was able to cast an additional 2 Small Fireballs, while Adam was able to hold his Telekinesis much longer.


    Adam was already feeling dizziness from the fight with a Hunter, while Brian was apparently drained from mana. Reba also looked mentally exhausted since today was her first-day killing zombies. Her first experience already had a toll on her mentality, not to say constant fighting with zombies afterwards.


    "Let''s wrap it up for today. Brian, lead us to our base."


    Sensing the states of his teammates, Dave decided that it was enough for them for today. When Dave suggested going back, three of them were delighted as they wanted to faster get to the safety.


    ''Sleep...''


    Reba was drained from killing zombies and just wanted to sleep on the soft bed.


    ''Shower...''


    Even though Adam was also mentally tired, he wanted to take a shower to wash all the filth from his body.


    ''Food...''


    As for Brian, his desire was quite simple; he was starving after hours of hunting and wanted to fill his stomach with some food.

 Chapter 22: Going Solo

    Chapter 22: Going Solo


    Finally returning to their base, their group rushed in the dormitory building as they moved a sofa to barricade the door. As they felt they were safe enough, everyone except for Dave sighed with relief. Everyone looked exhausted and tired as they were mentally worn off from constant danger.


    Adam and Brian looked slightly better since they had already grown ustomed to such feeling after grinding levels. However, Reba seemed to have beenpletely exhausted as her head and eyes were churning since she was drained mentally.


    Katelyn and Rachel, who came attracted to the noise, were stunned as they looked at her. She had left the dormitory building as a charming woman with slightly naive looks, yet now, having blood stains all over her clothes, she looked more intimidating and even fiercer than before. Still having a tinge of naivety in them, her eyes seemed to be slightly sharper in the span of few hours.


    Somebody may say that a person can''t change so much in both an appearance and aura, yet wandering outside where your life was constantly endangered, even small change in demeanour caused by such an environment might be eye-catching, not to say, she had already been close to death for once.


    Rachel and Katelyn couldn''t help but gasp in surprise when they met her after hunting.


    ''What has she experienced outside of the dorms?''


    Both of them shuddered at the thought of what dangers were lying beyond the doors of their dorm. They even thought that they were clever enough to refuse going outside with others.


    As their group felt they were safe now, they directly went to their respective rooms to change their bloodied clothes. They couldn''t just start eating covered with the smell of the rotten blood, moreover, there were plenty of ownerless clothes in other rooms on the first floor.


    After several minutes, they had gathered in the kitchen, all except for Reba, who was sleeping soundly in her room. She didn''t even change her clothes as she lied down on the bed, staining it with blood. Checking her up, Dave even covered her with a nket he found on the bed, so she would have a better sleep.


    For a lunch, they had another pot of stew yet, now, cooked by the joint efforts of Rachel and Katelyn, who were curiously looking at their group. They seemingly wondered what they were doing all the time they were outside.


    Did they meet any other students?


    How bad is it out there?


    And finally, what the heck had gone with Reba?


    Countless questions swirled in their minds, yet they had no courage to ask them. At least, not when the Dave was here.


    Tired from today, Adam and Brian wanted to quickly eat their own shares of food. As they sip from still warm stew, their faces quickly grew somewhat bitter. Looking at them, Dave also tried it and easily understood why they looked like that.


    The stew had too much salt in it, not to say that it had too much water added in it. It wasn''t so worse that you will have an urge to spit out, but it hadn''t the same rich taste as in Reba''s stew. Dave thought that it was edible though.


    He had eaten much worse food in his past 5 years, so he was able to tolerate its taste, what can''t be said about Adam and Brian, who were sipping from it with bitter faces and reaching for cans of food. Looking at Adam and Brians'' reaction and sipping from a stew themselves, Rachel and Katelyn blushed slightly in embarrassment.


    ''Well, they are considerate enough to not whine about its taste.''


    Finding their faces, which looked like they were forced to eat shit, very amusing, Dave smirked at how they were washing the taste of stew, stuffing their mouths with canned food. Quickly finishing his own share of stew and canned food, he looked at everyone else.


    "The stew has too much salt in it, consider it next time you cook. Adam and Brian, rest for a day and train your abilities, while I will go solo hunting and try to investigate our surroundings."


    "Hey, then take me with you!"


    Adam eximed in objection since he didn''t want his friend to die wandering alone. He knew that Dave was strong enough to kill evolved zombies, yet it still didn''t soothe his worries.


    "Don''t worry about me! You are already exhausted from today and barely standing. On the other hand, I didn''t kill lots of zombies for today, so I''m going to practice a bit. Also, in this state, you''re gonna be more a burden than a help, so stay safe in the dormitory building."


    Saying everything he wanted, Dave returned to his room and rested for an hour. During this hour, he concentrated on restoring his mana reserves through meditation.


    [Your spirit has increased by 1 point]


    Dave was pleasant to increase his spirit stat since he aimed to reach 5 points in it as soon as he could. Spirit closely resembled mana and stamina in a way that it was expendable since it showed how much soul power or mental strength you had.


    On the other hand, intelligence was important for Enhancers such as Adam since they relied much on their souls. Increasing intelligence improved the brain of a person and also improved the quality of soul power. In the case of Adam, more intelligence he had, stronger the power of his Telekinesis will be.


    Currently, Dave already had enough points in intelligence stat for an initial stage and he had no soul skills to use it even in his past life.


    After an hour, he left the dormitory building walking in one direction further than where he hunted as a group. Further he went, more zombies he met. There were plenty of them wandering on the streets and only god knows how many of them were inside other buildings such as shopping malls and cafes.


    Settling for a street with shops lined up over the street, Dave started evaluating zombies wandering outside. Several grocery shops were lined in the street, forming a small market. There were several of them on the campus as it was a ce where students went for cheaper prices. Student life had their own share of troubles including management of the finances.


    The market wasn''t packed with zombies to the brim, yet there were plenty of them to kill, making it an ideal hunting ground. Moreover, he had already noticed 2 Giants and a Hunter among ordinary zombies and that is only monsters which he was able to see.


    Maybe such number of zombies may strike fear into others, yet in his eyes, they were massive amounts of experience which will fuel his evolution.


    Starting as a weak hunter in a world filled with monsters, believing that everything was a game had helped him to calm himself at initial stages. He didn''t even notice how eventually he had started seeing experience points in fearsome monsters. Perhaps, it was his Gaming skill.


    ''Ohh...another Hunter in the group.''


    With such thoughts, Dave dashed towards zombies.

 Chapter 23: One Against a Hundred

    Chapter 23: One Against a Hundred


    As he dashed towards the group of zombies, he enhanced his body with Reinforced Breathing and Mana enhancement, increasing his strength and agility by 20%. Barging in the ranks of zombies, he lifted his Rusty Sword and shed at heads of zombies.


    Attracted to him, several dozens of them rushed at him, growling and roaring as they started pouring from everywhere. Facing relentless attacks from zombies, Dave killed another zombie, at the same time defending himself from them. Blood and heads flew around him, as he had already killed more than 10 zombies.


    Due to thebined roars of zombies, more and more zombies started rushing at him. After less than a minute, more than 50 zombies had gathered in a market street and still more were rushing towards him. They started pouring from everywhere: from buildings, shops and other streets.


    ''Finally, the thrill of a fight!''


    He sensed how adrenaline started rushing through his body, as his movements became faster and sharper. It was his first time fighting with such a big group after he had returned back in time, and he had already started longing for such sensations. shing, piercing, blocking and dodging zombies, Dave seemed to be dancing surrounded by zombies.


    [You have learnt Basic Swordsmanship (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your skill]


    [Basic Swordsmanship (LVL 1) has turned into Swordsmanship (LVL 5)]


    ''Ohh...I found it strange that it never showed up before, yet I think I''ve never performed all basic movements with a sword. ''


    When he had been hunting with others, he particrly picked small groups of zombies, so others would gain more battle experience from it, yet he had never gone all out. Indeed, it was safe that way, but his past life had clearly shown him that high gains came along with dangers.


    His senses were screaming inside him, as more zombies came rushing at him, yet Dave ignored it. He obviously understood that fighting against so many zombies might cost him his life if he wasn''t cautious enough, yet he wanted to see how strong he was respective to the current timeline.


    Reaching another degree of danger, he felt how everything had been slowing down in his eyes, as he started moving faster than before.


    [You have learnt Battle Focus (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your skill]


    [Battle Focus (LVL 1) has turned into Battle Focus (LVL 4)]


    Battle Focus was a skill which can be learned only after several dangerous encounters. More dangers you will face, higher its level will grow. It was simr to the battle experience which can be increased only during actual battles. Tensing his mind and concentrating on zombies, Dave decided to ignore notifications from the system.


    Seeing how he was weed warmly by zombies, he couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly. Defending against a wave of relentless attacks, Dave''s sense of danger had screamed louder than before. He poured all his strength into his legs and used sh Step to retreat backwards. At the same time as he retreated, two shadows rushed from the crowd of zombies, sprinting towards him.


    ''Finally, Hunters are out from the crowd.''


    Killing both of them was even more important than killing all zombies rushing at him since 2 Hunters posed the biggest threat to him. He can follow their movements due to his Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing, yet with mana and stamina running out, he may not deal with them after several minutes.


    Retreating backwards, Dave covered himself with Mana Barrier to defend himself againstbined attack from two Hunters. He used the same tactic as when he had dealt with 2 Hunters before, immobilising first with Mana Threads, killing the second one, then beheading the Hunter who was tangled in Mana Threads.


    Killing both of them in a span of few breaths, Dave rushed to the narrow alley, which he had chosen before he had started killing zombies in the market. It had only one entrance point, meaning that he won''t be attacked from behind. He nned to deal with all left zombies in the small alley, limiting the numbers of zombies which could attack him.


    As fewer zombies were attacking him, he was able to catch a breath and ughter zombiesing to him. If they even had a small part of human intelligence, they won''t have attacked him in that alley since it was a direct path to get killed. Driven purely by hunger, they served experience points to Dave, who was killing them in batches.


    After some time, when Dave had killed most of the zombies in the alley, two Giants came stomping towards him. They were slowest among the group of zombies, so they were thest to reach him. Giants didn''t even mind other ordinary zombies, as they stomped and crushed everyone who was in front of them.


    Even though he had already spent all the mana points that he had, Dave didn''t fear 2 huge Giants paving their path towards him since, even without mana, his 16 points in strength was enough to kill them. If he had to evaluate the strength of the low rank 1 Giants, then he would have said that they had 15 points in strength.


    "Phew...Interesting, how many Treasure Chests I will get?"


    Having his thoughts already drifting, he nimbly dodged the punch from the Giant, as he moved towards its backside, which was a blind spot for a Giant. Even though Giant will still attack him, losing its prey before its eyes will confuse it, buying a time to kill it.


    Jumping at its shoulders from behind, Dabe beheaded a Giant with a clean cut on its neck. As its head fell and rolled on the ground, dead Giant also followed after its head, falling with a thud. Unfazed with the death of its kin, second Giant sent a punch towards him, yet quickly, the same fate as with the first one had awaited it.


    Finishing off other zombies which particrly weren''t a threat to him, Dave was able to breathe out a sigh of relief. As the battle had ended, Dave deactivated Reinforced Breathing and felt as he was drained from energy. Without any additional adrenaline flowing in his blood, Dave was also mentally exhausted since his concentration had reached an apex during the battle.


    ''Ehh...There is always a price to pay to disy strength higher than your level. Reinforced Breathing drains too much stamina depending on the body stats, while Battle Focus puts a strain on the mind. Feeling myself as a shrimp now.''


    Grumbling inwardly, Dave opened his bag and searched for something inside. A few momentster, he had a loaf of bread and vial with a blue liquid in his hands. They were Restoration Bread and Basic Mana Potion that he had gotten from 2 Hunters when they had settled in a residential area.


    Without any further thoughts, he ate Restoration Bread and drank Basic Mana Potion right after the bread.


    [You have consumed Restoration Bread. In the next 5 minutes, your stamina will restore faster]


    [You have consumed Basic Mana Potion. Your mana will be restored by 10 points]


    [You have consumed an excess of mana. Your mana reserves are increased by 1 point.]


    Reading system notification, Dave smiled in pleasure since his maximum amount of mana had increased by a point. He had especially saved the Basic Mana Potion for such a moment. Drinking it with full mana and no mana bore the same result of a 1-point increase in mana reserves. Better not to waste it!


    As he was recovering his stamina, Dave decided to stroll through the market and collect his spoils. No matter how much he hated ransacking the corpses, Dave had already grown ustomed to such dirty work.


    ''I heard that top Enhancers had items to automatically collect Survival Coins. I''m so envious. Hopefully, I would also get one in the future.''


    Treasure Chests were low in number, so it didn''t take a lot of time to gather them, yet Survival Coins were another deal. They were scattered all over the dead bodies and wasted a lot of time collecting them.


    Approximately, after 10 or 15 minutes, he checked every dead zombie and gathered everything he could find lying on the ground. He was able to count close to a hundred dead bodies, including evolved zombies.


    Fortunately, he had found 3 White Chests, 2 of them were dropped from Hunters and another one came from a Giant. On the other hand, he found no Treasure Chest next to the second Giant.

 Chapter 24: Spoils

    Chapter 24: Spoils


    Gazing intently at the 3 slightly glowing White Chests, Dave decided to open them one by one. They glowed with a dull white light and gave away extremely magical aura as they were ethereal causing him to wonder what he will get from them.


    White Chests were the lowest rank of Treasure Chests followed by blue and, as he had heard, violet colour, even though he never saw one. It was possible to strike high with White Chest, yet, mostly, it dropped items of the lowest rank.


    Indeed, not every Treasure Chest drops a random item since the first Treasure Chest that is opened by a survivor will always be a weapon. Moreover, a Treasure Chest obtained from stronger monsters would have higher chances to drop rarer items. It may be said that it depends on how System evaluates your efforts.


    ''I''ve killed 4 evolved zombies and close to a hundred ordinary zombies, so I should get something better from Treasure Chests.''


    It was another reason why he had hunted arge number of zombies. Higher System evaluates your efforts or more your life is put to risk, higher would be drop rates. He didn''t know about other hunters, but he had discovered it in his past life while hunting monsters much stronger than him since he obtained more spoils that way.


    System likes thrill!


    System encourages brave ones!


    And System rewards the worthy!


    Without any further thought, he started opening his Treasure Chests. As he opened his first chest, it disappeared in a soft and gentle white light.


    [Spirit Water


    Description: Permanently increases spirit stat by 2 points]


    ''Yeah...Got lucky on this one''


    Dave couldn''t help but exim in satisfaction since he had gotten exactly what he wanted. It was pretty rare to get items which permanently increased stats, furthermore, he especially wanted to get such an item rted to spirit stat. His goal was 5 points in spirit, yet he didn''t want to waste his free points on the stat which he can increase by meditation.


    Spirit Water was stored in the same vial as other potions, and it was colourless and transparent as water. Dave didn''t store it in his bag since it was better to immediately use it on himself, so he drank it directly.


    [Your spirit has increased by 2 points.]


    At the same time, he decided to view his status.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 4


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 201


    Mana: 8/8


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 10


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 4


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4)]


    ''Step by step, I''m growing closer to the status of my past life in terms of my skills.''


    He was satisfied with what he was seeing on his status window since it was abnormal for a survivor to have such skills on the early stage. Previously, he had always wondered how would have looked status of former killers or assassins after the Cataclysm, yet their status windows might not have half of his current skills.


    Truthfully, his Regression ability was still a mystery to him since it didn''t fit into a definition of the mutated cells. He can''t imagine how mutated body cells may revert time and transfer skills from a past life. Of course, there were lots of magical innate abilities yet his Regression was out of the box.


    ''Nevermind. Overthinking it won''t give me any answers but will make it harder to understand''


    Getting high in spirits after obtaining Spirit Water, he already thought that his profits had outweighed risks. Humming a melody, he moved to the next White Chest.


    It vanished in the same gentle light, and a weapon resembling an awl stood in his hands. It was a short 7 inches weapon which''s de was so thin that he thought it would break immediately if he stabbed a zombie with it.


    [Needle Rapier


    Attack: 11-13


    Durability: 5


    Description: Short needle-like rapier which is good for piercing yet easily broken]


    ''Another trash weapon. But it may be good to kill stronger monsters with tough bodies. Better save it for future''


    Seeing its description, he already categorized it as an item which was limited in usage numbers. It had high piercing capabilities yet had low durability. It may even be broken by an ordinary zombie if he blocked its attack with a Needle Rapier.


    His Rusty Sword had 10 points in durability meaning that it can withstand attack from a hunter or an ordinary zombie, but he would never dare to block an attack with it from a giant, so he had always dodged them. Sometimes a weapon might get cracked lowering its durability.


    Even the attack stats of a weapon wasn''t absolute. Depending on the person, people may apply some parts of their agility and strength to increase attack power just like how Hunters had developed sharp ws to use their speed for attacking.


    As every gamer would do, he tried to grasp the meaning behind the stats and tried to turn everything into numbers, so he calcted that 3 points in strength equalled to 1 point in attack power, added on the attack stat of the weapon. Well, he had experimented a lot to understand the principles behind the System.


    Finally, he moved towards thest Treasure Chest. Without any further thoughts, he opened it immediately, as it seemed to shine brighter than other chests. After a moment, seemingly a piece of paper, rolled into a scroll, appeared in his hands.


    [Basic Elemental Contract Scroll (Light)


    Description: Allows to make a contract with a Basic Light Elemental. Only a person with high elemental affinity with light will be able to use it.]


    ''Elemental Contract Scroll! But, am I fortunate or unfortunate?''


    Sighing slightly, he didn''t know was he fortunate to get it or unfortunate that he can''t use it. Indeed, Elemental Contract Scrolls were rarer than any other item that he could recall to get on early stages from White Chest. Unfortunately, he had a poor affinity with mana or with any elemental magic.


    The biggest drawback of the Elemental Contract Scroll was the fact that it was extremely specific to the element, immediately lowering the chances to find someone with an aptitude to it. It might be even said that it was harder to find someone appropriate than an Awakener.


    ''Perhaps, Brian would be able to use it.''


    Lamenting his aptitude to magic, Dave threw the scroll inside his bag. Truthfully, he was pretty envious of people with elementals since it literally was a shortcut for using magic. It didn''t waste a lot of spirits to suck you dry and the only demand is to provide elemental with mana.


    Perfect magic for fights!


    As far as he remembered, there were plenty of ways to use magic. Magic spells may be unleashed through magic circles or chanting spell in Spiritnguage. He also recalled Ability Holders with same magical effects as magic spells and, finally, elemental contractors who, in his opinion, had the most effective way to cast magic.


    ''Hmm...Should I continue hunting or return to the base? With the restoration of my mana and stamina, I may kill other evolved zombies, yet I''m pretty sure that Adam is already freaking out there.''


    After the death of his parents, he had grown much closer to Adam and even thought of him as a brother he never had. It didn''t matter who was an elder brother or little brother since they were basically of the same age, yet what truly mattered was a link between brothers. Due to it, the death of his best friend had truly struck him hard in his past life.


    ''Gonna kill any evolved zombie I meet on the way back to the base.''


    He decided to wrap up his hunt right here since it would be better not to risk a lot on his first time hunting solo. Moreover, he was already feeling how all his muscles became sore due to overexertion of his body after using Reinforced Breathing.


    He felt like the same way as he had worked out in a gym for hours without rest!


    Even though his stamina was recovering, he still suffered from the consequences of enhancing his body stats. Well, Dave had a year to get ustomed to the feeling of insane pain in his muscles as he felt like muscles in his body were being torn with every movement.


    When shit happens in life, you get used to it!


    Massaging his muscles, Dave took his bag and intended to move towards his base, yet, suddenly, he felt goosebumps all over his body as he used sh Step to leap sideways, ignoring sharp pain in his legs. All of his senses were screaming inside his mind, warning him of the danger.


    Ambush! He was ambushed!


    As he turned his head back, he saw a monster resembling a wolf in size and a dog in appearance, as it growled aggressively towards him. It had a dangerous glint in its eyes and was reaching his chest on his four legs, gnashing its teeth towards him.

 Chapter 25: Mutated Dog

    Chapter 25: Mutated Dog


    ''Dammit, isn''t it too early for mutated dogs to appear?''


    Since he was stuck in a storage room on the early stages, he didn''t know a lot about the situation on the university campus when ites to the appearance of evolved beasts. Obviously, zombies weren''t only a threat to humans since there were also evolved domestic animals out in the city.


    As he gazed at the mutated dog before him, he couldn''t help but recall the special rule of their university. It was banned to bring with yourself any big and dangerous animals such as some types of dogs, so thinking that the giant mutated dog was just a small cute creature several days ago, he wasn''t able to understand how it had turned into the savage wolf-like beast.


    Even Ability Holders and Evolvers, who were considered to have been mutated and evolved, weren''t so drastically different from their previous human appearances, yet the changes that had urred to the cute dog were the same as the change in species.


    As he gazed at the mutated dog which was growling aggressively, Dave thought that he was in a quite perilous situation. Even though mutated beasts weren''t as intelligent as humans, they didn''t lose their self-preservation instincts and knew how to fight and when to flee, making them even more dangerous than zombies.


    ''Dammit, mutated dog! It is as strong as low rank 1 Giant and as fast as low rank 1 Hunter. It is even worse than dealing with Giant and Hunter simultaneously.''


    Cursing his luck inwardly, Dave was observing a monster, standing right before him. Its dark brown messy fur with several bloodstains made its appearance more sinister, while its fur looked tough enough that no ws of hunter would harm it.


    Another advantage of beasts over humans was their flexibility in attacks. They had fangs to bite, ws to sh and even their tails served as a way to attack, not to say, they were able to m at people directly, so he doubted his chances against mutated in direct confrontation.


    "Don''t you know that you can''t wander on the campus without your owner? Where is your owner?"


    It seemed that his bber only further angered the mutated dog, as it roared threateningly at him. Growling madly, Dave had sensed how it was leaking its bloodlust, trying to intimidate him.


    ''Understood, you don''t have an owner. Dammit...It is one, badass dog!''


    At the next moment, even though he had been focusing his gaze on the dog, it had turned into a blur, as it rushed towards him, trying to sh him with its sharp ws. It would have easily rivalled Hunters in speed, yet, when he tried to defend himself against its ws, he felt like he had suffered from a blow of a Giant.


    He tried to defend himself with a sword, but he had sensed that if he blocked it even further, his sword will break in a few moments, so he slightly tilted his sword to lower the force of its attack and change its trajectory. It only took a moment for him to make such a decision and angle his sword.


    *Crack*


    Using sh Step to retreat backwards, he nced at his sword and saw a small crack on the de of it. He activated Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing, even further straining his body. Every cell of his body was burning, as he felt like he was going to die from the insane pain.


    Right at the moment when he was resisting waves of pain, the mutated dog had followed after him, trying to deal another blow with its ws. Still affected by the pain, he tried his best to dodge its attacks which was much easier with his body enhanced.


    ''Fuck, I''m being oppressed by a dog! If I follow this pace, then I won''tst long before it kills me''


    Dodging its extremely fast attacks, he tried to sh it with his sword, yet it seemed that it only scratched it without dealing any serious injury, on the contrary, the crack on his sword was spreading through the de and bing evenrger.


    It wasn''t that their skins were tough, on the contrary, skins of mutated beasts were stic to the point that it lowered the damage it took, not to say, his sword wasn''t sharp enough to make a deep cut on its body. He searched for the opening to pierce its head with a sword, yet it was too fast to deal such a blow.


    Indeed, it was as fast as a Hunter, so he was able to follow its movement, yet, since it was also stronger than other Hunters, he didn''t have the luxury to block its attacks. Its speedbined with its strength wasn''t a joke!


    ''Fuck! I will die in direct confrontation. Better to think of something else.''


    Racking his brains to find an effective solution of the problem, he used a sh Step to retreat backwards and pull distance between them. Then, he ran! He ran as fast as he could!


    He poured all of his energy into sprinting through the market, yet he understood that he can''t outrun a monster much faster than him. After several seconds, it will catch up to him no matter how fast he ran.


    Understanding his current situation, he turned into one of the alleys and swiftly took a Needle Rapier which was hanging out from his backpack. He had especially left it that way, so he could grab it when he needed it.


    Suddenly, he turned abruptly towards the dog and shed it with his sword. Albeit his abrupt turn, it swiftly dodged his attack, ducking down, then making 360 degrees turn and hitting him with its tail. He tried to block it with his sword, yet it snapped when it was hit, and its tail had mmed into his chest.


    Even though his sword had absorbed part of the force, he still felt like he was hit by an iron bar, as he was sent flying several meters away. Still in the air, ignoring the aching pain from his chest and forcing down the blood rushing to his mouth, he threw something in his right hand towards the head of the mutated dog.


    Unable to recover from the inertia force of his turn, a mutated dog was caught off his guard, as something pierced its head right after he sent Dave flying. Its body grew ck, as it fell to the ground, convulsing violently. Never did it had thought that everything had gone ording to Dave''s n after they had entered the narrow alley.


    He chose the alley because it was narrow enough to limit its range of movement, forcing him to either retreat backwards or dodge it and make a counterattack with its tail. Even the snapped sword was following his n to deal a final blow with a Needle Rapier.


    Indeed, he had no chance to win in a direct confrontation, yet if it was in a narrow alley and with a trick in his hands, he will say that he had a chance. He was also been injured heavily tough. Several of his ribs were broken, his chest was hurting badly and several of his internal organs have been injured.


    Fortunately, he had 16 points in strength, making his body tougher than a body of the ordinary human. Strength stat increases the density of muscles, making you tougher, and make your bones slightly sturdier. If not, then he would have broken his bones from his own attack.


    Seeing how mutated dog was convulsing on the ground, he approached its closer and pulled out Needle Rapier from its head. Then, he stabbed its head again and pulled it out. He continued to do it until it died miserably with several holes in its head.


    [You have reached level 5]


    [You have earned 2 free points]


    ''Allocate 2 points into agility.''


    Reading system notification, he would have been more stunned if his level didn''t go higher. Apparently, he wascking in agility, so he increased it by 2 points. Indeed, he wanted to reach 5 points in spirit stat, yet he could increase it through meditation. Strength and agility were too important for his survival.


    People usually think that damage to the brain was fatal, yet it depended on where the brain was damaged on the most part. It was possible to survive after being stabbed to the brain, yet it will temporarily cause convulsions and some of the brain functions will suffer as well.


    However, getting shot to the head was another deal since it carried shockwaves, damaging other parts of the brain as well. On the other hand, his Needle Rapier didn''t carry any shockwaves, as well as its speed couldn''t rival a shot from the gun.


    Dealing the final strike to the mutated dog, the blue ocean light washed over its corpse, as a Blue Chest had appeared close to it. It emitted gentle ocean light and looked enticing in Dave''s eyes.


    ''My second blue Treasure Chest! Hopefully, it will drop something useful to me.''


    Dave was excited to get another Blue Chest since, no matter what drops from it, it would be a great treasure which could boost his strength.

 Chapter 26: Magic Ring

    Chapter 26: Magic Ring


    Without any dy, Dave picked up a blue Treasure Chest from the ground and hurried to open it. Treasure Chest glowed with calming blue light, yet the thought of a treasure that he could obtain from the chest was enough to cause countless thoughts swirling inside his head.


    [Do you want to open a Treasure Chest (Blue)?]


    Impatiently giving confirmation to the question, Dave looked intensely to the Blue Chest as his eyes were glued to it.


    Perhaps, due to an increase in agility or being excited, it seemed that Treasure Chest was disappearing more slowly than before. He saw how it was turning into the particles of blue light as it was vanishing into the thing air.


    Finally, giving off thest batch of the blue light, it disappeared from his hands, as a small ringy instead of a Treasure Chest. Checking the status window of an item, he drew in a mouthful of air mixed with a foul smell of blood and gore.


    [Mana Bullet Ring


    -Increases spirit by 1 point


    -Allows firing Mana Bullet


    Description: Common magic ring inscribed with one magic spell.]


    ''Nice! I got a magic ring with a skill on it. Blue Chest is worthy of its reputation as a Treasure Chest!''


    Some items from the system were able to increase the stats of a user by a certain amount like one point increase of a Mana Bullet Ring, yet some of them had skills inscribed on them. Nobody knew how items from a system were able to have such effects, not to say of stat bonuses.


    It was so game-like that sometimes Dave had wondered if they lived in a sort of virtual simtion, yet broken ribs and pain in his chest quickly brought him into reality.


    Mana Bullet was a magic spell of the same tier as Brian''s Small Fireball, yet it was faster and had more piercing capabilities than a fireball skill. Well, the unique ability of a Small Fireball was more an explosion than piercing, so it wasn''t correct topare them in that key.


    Dave had considered that such items were best for the closebat fighters like himself since they had a major advantage over the skill itself; you didn''t need to chant a spell, which was quite practical in actual fights.


    If he had a magic ring when he was fighting a mutated dog, then he could easily kill it since Mana Bullet had enough power to pierce its skull.


    After obtaining Mana Bullet Ring, he swiftly wore it on his finger and picked up a Needle Rapier from the ground. He was lucky to get it before he was attacked by the dog since it truly was a life-saviour for him. Without any means to kill it, he would have left only with an option to escape from it.


    Leaving a snapped sword in the alley, he packed his belongings and dragged his body in direction of the dormitory building. All muscles of his body were hurting like hell, yet he needed to quickly leave the market before he was attacked again by some monster.


    On the way back, he checked his status once again.


    [David Murckly


    Level: 5


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 214


    Mana: 2/8


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 12


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 5 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4)]


    ''Finally 5 points in spirit! Unfortunately, it didn''t increase my mana since it wasn''t increased by a free point.''


    Even though his several ribs were broken and he was injured heavily, Dave was satisfied by the progress he had made so far. However, it seemed that he won''t go for another solo hunting until he feels better to be able to move.


    Humming a melody, he slowly dragged his body to his base, avoiding big groups of ordinary zombies on his way.


    ***


    "Hey, do you think he will be alright? It is already more than an hour after he went outside."


    "...Brian, I don''t know. He said that he will be safe out there, so better trust his word."


    It was already more than an hour since Dave had gone solo hunting, so Brian and Adam were worrying about him. Even though they knew that he was the strongest among them, yet it didn''t save them from worries.


    Who knows what monsters are wandering outside?


    Both of them were sitting in the kitchen and doing their own things. Brian was still mulling over the book of Small Fireball since it had shown itself much better than he had expected. He gripped a pencil in his hands and was writing something enthusiastically on the book, yet it seemed that he wasn''t able to focus on reading as he frowned asionally.


    On the other hand, Adam was ying with a spoon which he found lying on the table. He used Telekinesis to lift it up to the air and moved it from one ce to another. Apparently, a spoon flew much smoother than a spear on his first try since he was practising it for more than 10 minutes.


    Both of them sat in silence, as one was scribbling something on the book and the other was moving a spoon with his mind. It seemed that they were trying to calm themselves by busying themselves with something.


    Suddenly, one of the doors had opened with a creak as someone could be seen leaving it. Reba had woken up 15 minutes ago due to the rotten smell from her clothes and quickly took a shower to wash off all the blood from her skin.


    Changed into ck pants and a white T-shirt, she wanted to fill her empty stomach, so she moved to the kitchen but seeing how Brian and Adam were sitting in silence, she couldn''t help but move timidly towards the food supplies.


    Taking three cans of food, she quickly opened them and started eating it yet unable to eat them peacefully, she looked at both Brian and Adam. She decided to lighten the atmosphere with a question.


    "So, what is Mr David doing?"


    Jolted by her question, both of them looked strangely at her. Due to their strange gazes, she had shrunk even further, wondering what she had said wrong.


    "He had gone hunting solo, already for an hour. He should be already returning to the dormitory building. Well, should be."


    Adam was the one who answered her question, even though he had said it slightly dejectedly. Albeit he said that he would return soon, he didn''t sound optimistically enough to convince her that he was safe.


    "Do you think he will be alright?"


    She wasn''t close enough to Dave as Adam or Brian, yet she was also worried about him, whom she acknowledged as their leader. She wouldn''t have been eating here if not for him since she understood it clearly.


    "We should trust his words since he never goes back on them. After middle school, he had grown much more independent from others and was more strong-willed than his peers. Back in his school years, he..."


    Perhaps, to calm his nerves, Adam unassumingly started talking about the stories he had with Dave. He talked about how Dave had picked a fight with his ssmate on his first day in school, saving Adam from bullies.


    He also shared how Dave had studied school material of 3 years to get admitted to the university. Since he didn''t want to tell how he had lost his parents in a car ident, he especially dropped it, covering it as an incident.


    Even though he had leaked most of Dave''s shameful stories, like how he had lost a bet in a high school and entered the women''s dressing room full of girls and started undressing himself or how Adam put girl''s panty inside his bag and he was caught red-handed by the teacher, it helped to liven the mood in the kitchen.


    Unknowingly to him, Dave had gotten his secrets leaked by his best friend.


    As they wereughing in the kitchen, someone had entered the main doors as a creak was heard from it. Dave was resisting the pain in his muscles, as he dragged his body through the corridor.


    When he was spotted by the trio sitting in the kitchen, for some unknown reason, he had a bad omen since all three of them were gazing at him as they were seeing a funny joke. Even Reba, who usually was fearful of him, looked at him strangely.


    ''What''s up with them?''

 Chapter 27: Haunted

    Chapter 27: Haunted


    Suddenly, the trio sitting in the kitchen stood up abruptly and approached him with big strides. Even though he had predicted that they will gather around him, their facial expressions seemed extremely odd to him.


    ''What is it? Did something happen to them when I wasn''t here? Maybe something happened to Rachel and Katelyn? Well, I don''t care tough.''


    Finally,ing to the distance of stretched arm, instead of worry all over their faces, they seemed solemn for an unknown reason to him. While Reba and Adam had still checked him for any external injuries, Brian looked like he was forcing down hisughter.


    "Did something happen to you?"


    Although his internal organs were injured pretty heavily, he tried not to reveal the fact that he was wounded...still, when he heard what Brian had said, he felt like he couldn''t suppress his internal injuries any further as he coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    "Hahaha...Dave...hahaha.. tell me honestly, did you truly gift a condom to Adam on his 18th birthday?"


    When he heard Brian, he was flustered by his question and nced at Adam who was trying to stopughing and understood everything without any words...He was betrayed by his brother!


    ''Fucking Adam, he sold me out! And what''s wrong with it? He was rich enough to have everything he wanted, and so I thought that I should give him something he truly needed. Which man doesn''t need a condom? I took a safe option!''


    When he had coughed blood out of his mouth, all three of them stoppedughing and were looking at him worriedly. Lost in the process of reminiscing their fun stories from the past, Adam had forgotten that Dave hade from outside.


    "Are you injured?"


    "Do you need anything?"


    "..."


    All three of them were concerned about him as Brian and Adam eximed in worry, while Reba was checking every part of his body, which was quite hard since he was covered in blood, of course, not with his.


    "Ohh, now you''re worried about me? You should continue talking about me and sharing with each other my secrets behind my back, while I will treat my injuries, why don''t you?"


    He chuckled loudly as he was mocking them. At his words, all three of them looked apologetic as they were saying "We''re sorry!" repeatedly. Satisfied with teasing them, he moved towards his room to get rest and restore his strength.


    "Don''t worry so much! I''ll rest a bit and I''ll be alright, so don''t overthink anything."


    Dave decided to drop a fact that he had several ribs broken, not to say about his internal injuries, since they didn''t need to know about it. Even if they knew that he was injured heavily, it will only cause excessive worry among them.


    Entering his room, he had a strong urge to just lie on his bed and rx his muscles, yet he bore with pain and changed his clothes. However, it was a maximum he could do because he felt staying any further on his legs and he would drop exhausted on the floor.


    Grunting heavily, he lied on the bed and started making ns for the future.


    ''So, no solo hunting for a few days and we should go to the cafeteria before we run out of supplies. There is still a long way before university bes a safe ce to live. There should be some of the other Enhancers in university, yet I don''t know any of their definite locations. Pretty sure, I''ll meet them in the future. Nothing will happen if I fasten things a bit, right?''


    He was too exhausted to think about anything else as he had soon entered a dream world.


    ...


    He did see a kinda bizarre dream.


    He was stuck in a small dark room and for some reason, he was really depressed as he had sat there several days. If Adam and Brian had seen it, they would have already recognized in it a storage room where they lived for a few days.


    Dave was eating cans of food and crying over the death of his best friend, then weeping till the point when he had no tears to shed, he slept from the exhaustion.


    Unable to leave a storeroom, loneliness and boredom were driving him insane as he was checking zombies outside periodically. Like this, he was stuck in a minimarket for over a month, as sanity was slowly leaving his mind. Only exercising time after time had helped him to calm his mind.


    Until the day when he noticed that 2 zombies had left a minimarket, leaving only one of them. He saw a chance...chance to leave a storeroom. Perhaps, he would have only a minimarket to move freely, yet it was enough for a person who was stuck in a storeroom for a month.


    Strategizing everything and with several tries close to death, he was able to kill it, yet still moved cautiously in minimarket, observing the behaviour of zombies through transparent doors.


    Suddenly, everything had blurred around him, as he was transferred to another ce. And it struck him!


    He was starving! Never did he starve so hard before in his life!


    His stomach was growling like it was eating him from inside, yet he dragged his body to finish his duties.


    It was two years after cataclysm had started and food was a scarce resource, which was given to ordinary people like him at an absolute minimum, so he won''t die. He was found in the minimarket after a year when university campus had formed united survival group, cleaning university campus of monsters, leaving some forbidden areas.


    Even then, he was satisfied that he was alive...useless and weak but alive.


    Was it bad to wish to be alive? He knew it wasn''t.


    Was it bad to wish a better life? It was also a normal thing to wish.


    Was he worthy of his life? No, at least he thought so. He had always imagined what if Adam was alive instead of him. Would Adam have done better than him?


    There was a great disparity in statuses of Enhancers andmon people since hunters were able to go outside, kill zombies and grow stronger. He had also wanted to obtain a weapon from the system and ughter monster, growing stronger with every kill. He had envied other Enhancers andmented his life.


    Living disgusted by his life, he finally had a chance in his third year when city officials had reached their university with an armed people, so he decided to be a soldier to gather enough contribution points to buy a weapon from the system.


    He had thought that his life will be different than before!


    He had envisioned a better future for himself!


    However, after harsh training for several months, hepletely lost his right to own his life. He became a soldier, a pawn or, how he had felt, a cannon fodder, who had to obey everymand and risk his life for no significant benefits.


    Then, after a year when they had cleaned a substantial part of their city, he had left ranks of soldiers and purchased a weapon and a Skill Book for his contribution points.


    Even then, his life didn''t change much except that he was free and owned his life. His days as an Enhancer became much more dangerous since he needed to kill monsters several levels higher than him all alone. Even though his life grew riskier and more dangerous, he was satisfied by his freedom.


    He trained and learned skills from other Enhancers, converting his stats to further strengthen himself. Meditation, Mana Application, sh Step, Swordsmanship, Reinforced Breathing and several other skills were learnt by him due to his hard work. He put his soul in learning them that even hismitment to it might be called maniacal.


    He thought over his every action, analyzed the system and gathered data on other monsters, outlined strategies and tactics. It was how he lived hisst two years. Searching for any ways to make him stronger, he had lived in his own world, neglecting everything else. He did have acquaintances in the city, yet no close friend to call upon.


    He had a poor affinity to mana, had no innate ability and had no evident offensive skills, yet somehow, with great efforts, he was able to survive in a world of madness. After two years, he barged in the ranks of Enhancers and was called the weakest.


    In two years, he had grown strong enough to barely keep his life and he was ready to venture further from the city and join expeditions with other Enhancers. Perhaps, he would have a chance to search for his uncle''s family.


    However, even then he had lost his life in a sudden demonic wave, which swept over their city. So the question is...


    Would he have lived differently if he had an innate ability?

 Chapter 28: Mana Sensing

    Chapter 28: Mana Sensing


    ''Dammit, it was too real!''


    Early in the morning, Dave had woken with beads of sweat on his forehead, gasping desperately for air like he was drowning several moments ago. His dream just felt too real for him that he even thought he never had his Regression.


    Sighing hardly, never did he imagined that he will repeat his 5 years of hell in one dream. It was the same as riding a roller coaster yet understanding that it was your imagination before you even sat on it.


    His dream had only made him remember of his uselessness in his past life, only further convincing him to not waste his second chance. He didn''t have an interesting backstory in his past life nor he had any fabulous interactions with other Enhancers nor he had any vendettaing with him from the past life.


    He literally was just a nobody in his past life! And a world never was kind to such people.


    For now, he just wanted to be strong enough to survive future ordeals since, as he had remembered, their city would turn into the ce of madness.


    Their city, Newdale, was one of the most popted ces in Federation, so a lot of dangers lurked in the city. Even Dave had previously heard about it only from rumours, yet now he wanted to see it himself...Well, he doubted he had any options to choose.


    With a simple goal in his mind, he cast aside other disturbing thoughts and entered a meditative state. Immediately sensing differences between meditation with 2 points in spirit and 5 points in spirit, a smile bloomed on his face.


    He felt mana more clearly and sensed how more clusters of mana were drifting towards him than before. Indeed, with a higher spirit stat, mana absorption was much more effective. If mana absorption was imagined as a whirlpool surrounding his body, then spirit stat defined howrge was a whirlpool, while an increase in intelligence increased its suction force.


    Both stats gave simr effects yet there was a reason why he was increasing his spirit before intelligence. Intelligence stat was about the brain matter, yet at the same time, it increased the quality of a person''s soul. Spirit, on the other hand, increased the size of a soul and provided Enhancer with more soul power to use. Soul power was more like a mental strength or willpower and was easy to increase with meditation than an intelligence.


    He wasn''t in much of a need for intelligence since he didn''t have any skills to apply it and it would be harder to obtain points for spirit stat with higher intelligence. Higher the quality of a soul, harder it would be to increase it.


    After 2 hours of meditation, he felt himself much better because it did have calming effects on the mind. Then, he moved to the next step or precisely, to the next skill he wanted to learn. However, before it, he wanted to check his progress.


    [David Murckly


    Level: 5


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 214


    Mana: 10/10


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 12


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 5 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4)]


    ''2 points increase in mana just in 2 hours! Nice to have high spirit! Also, I had reached 5 points in spirit and already have intelligence high enough to learn a new skill. Ahhh, surely, learning it would be much trickier than other skills.''


    He wanted to learn a skill called Mana Sensing which he had previously learnt with a help of the System. It was his first and an extremely convenient skill for scouting and detection, which he had bought from the military with his contribution points, a skill with a lower range for detection than Brian''s Life Pulse yet still important for him if he wanted to go hunting solo again.


    If he had learnt it before he had gone hunting solo, he would have easily detected a mutated dog before it even attacked, allowing him to make preliminary ns.


    He spread his senses all over his room and with a higher spirit stat, started sensing changes in the mana surrounding him. He immersed himself in the feeling of connecting with mana, how it washed over his body and swept over his room, but it was much harder than he had imagined.


    It was like sensing air turbulence and deducing your surrounding solely by it, which was hard by itself. Moreover, his affinity with mana was too low to clearly sense mana surrounding him, making it even more difficult to learn Mana Sensing.


    One thing to say about learning skills with a help of the System was that it ignored any other restrictions and helped to reach the instinctual state of learning it. In that way, skills would be just something like a hunch; you knew how to use it on an instinctual level but was ignorant of the process, making the use of a skill unnatural. It needed a long time to get adapted to such a feeling.


    Normally, ordinary survivors would have never been able to learn Mana Sensing with their own efforts, not because it was impossible but due to poor mana affinity and a bizarre way of learning it, since no one would be able to replicate the notion of spreading your senses outwards, yet Dave had already experienced it before, so he was able to get a grasp of it after half an hour.


    Perhaps, not clearly as in his past life, but he had sensed blurry shapes of objects in his room. It wasn''t perfect but he was confident that he would get better in it.


    [You have learnt Mana Sensing (LVL 1).]


    [Regression is reacting towards your skill.]


    [Your affinity with mana is too low to further increase its level.]


    ''Well, I think it''s good enough. Several items to increase my mana affinity and training should solve my problem.''


    He had also an option to wait till his mana affinity reached the needed level since he was still adapting to mana, yet it would take too much time, so he had discarded it. Usually, people had varied mana affinities based on internal processes with Awakeners having higher mana affinities than others.


    Truly, some people are blessed!


    Adding training Mana Sensing in his daily routine, he tried to expand his senses further, outside of his room. After several tries, his senses were able to prate the wall, moving further a corridor, he had sensed someone sitting in the kitchen.


    Due to the distance, his senses had be more blurry, making it hard to identify a person, but he guessed that it was Reba, who usually woke up earlier than others. Already mentally tired from Mana Sensing, he decided to catch a breath and have his own breakfast before others. He still was hiding from others that he was injured yesterday.


    Leaving his room, he was moving to greet Reba, nning to grab some cans of food and bottles of water, but he noticed that she was pondering about something with deeply furrowed eyebrows.


    "What are you thinking so hard early in the morning?"


    Flustered by his question and noticing Dave in the kitchen, she said not to worry about her, so he just shrugged it off.


    "Ehm...So how are you feeling today?" Reba clearly looked concerned about him.


    "I''m feeling better today, so don''t worry about it!"


    ''Well, it is still painful to move, but I can cope with it.''


    Saying one thing and thinking another one, he grabbed his share of food and started gulping it down. He needed nutrients to restore his body and was immersed in eating, so he ignored an intense stare which Reba was giving to him.


    "When do you think would we be able to meet our close ones? Are they alive? Can we venture outside the city?"


    Bombarded by her questions, Dave decided to keep his silence since he couldn''t assure herpletely. He couldn''t tell her that it was better to imagine others as dead or not to have high hopes for it.


    Finally, when she stopped asking him questions, he decided to drop his question.


    "Who is it? Family? Best friend? Or someone else? We are all in the same boat."


    With his words, Dave sighed hardly reminiscing his past life.


    When she heard him sighing, Reba couldn''t help but think about it.


    ''Why does it seems that he already has deep scars in his heart?''


    Reba was already close to crying as tears can be seen in her eyes, yet she tried to calm herself. Even though she had watery eyes and wasn''t in a mood to speak freely, she still shared with him her circumstances.


    "My parents had died several years ago, leaving me with my brother William to look after. Due to the university attendance, he lived in the dormitory of his high school before everything had happened, so I''m worried about him."


    Hearing her story, Dave thought everyone had something to say about their close ones and Reba wasn''t an exception. Only one thing seemed strange about it; a name William was oddly familiar to him.


    ''William..William...William...Will!''


    Recalling a certain name from his past life, he was surprised to hear it now. However, he thought that it might be any other person with the same name since William was quitemon in their city, so he decided to ask more about him.


    "Reba, can you tell me your surname again?"


    "What is it for? My surname is Bright. Reba Bright."


    Caught off guard by Dave''s sudden question, she still answered him.


    Hearing her surname, he also found it quite familiar.


    ''Yep, it''s definitely him! Young top-Enhancer of the future, William Bright, going with a title ughterer!''

 Chapter 29: Orb of Light

    Chapter 29: Orb of Light


    ''What a coincidence?!''


    He couldn''t help but wonder about how high were his chances to meet someone rted to his past life, maybe not directly yet it was something to work with. He already acquired a way tomunicate with a top-hunter from his past.


    Will was one of the top-hunters in his past life and even was an Ability Holder. Dave didn''t know specifics of his innate ability, only that Will was able to amplify his body with his ability.


    He had heard Will was an odd person, even called as a madman among other hunters, so at least he had a guarantee while talking with him. If he couldn''t talk his mind with Will, he could threaten or control him with his sister...


    "I never knew that you were such a valuable hosta...ehm... I meant a nice sister to raise your own brother all alone. It must have been hard for you! Did you get any help from your rtives?"


    Immersed in his thoughts, he was close to calling her a hostage, yet he was able to quickly change the meaning of his words. Even though he intended to call her as his hostage, he truly thought that she was an excellent older sister.


    As far as he knew, living in Newdale wasn''t cheap at all, yet she was able to send her brother into a high school, which should have been really expensive, not to say about basic needs of a person and school necessities.


    "A bit from our aunt and we used some savings that our parents had."


    Even though she tried to answer his question as much as she could, Dave noticed how strained her face was. It should have been truly difficult if mentioning of her rtives stresses her so much.


    "If you want to meet your brother, you should be strong enough to keep your life and defend others, otherwise there won''t be any meaning if you can''t help him."


    Perhaps, his words may have been sounded harsh, yet it was a reality they were in. Strong consumes weak and steps on their bodies, living afortable life, while weak desperately clings on its life. It was the only truth he had learned in his past life.


    At his words, Reba''s eyes flickered in confusion and hesitation, but after several moments, she seemed to be determined to survive till she met her brother. Even though she was still worried about her little brother, now had a way to follow and a goal to chase after.


    Finishing his breakfast, Dave stood up from his ce and returned to his room, leaving Reba with the responsibility of waking up others.


    He quickly entered a meditative state, continuing to expand his mana reserves, which was proceeding much faster than a day before. He was confident to increase his mana pool by threefold in the following week due to his increased spirit stat.


    ...


    After two hours, when everybody had eaten their breakfast and had readied themselves for the day, Dave led his hunting group outside, leaving Rachel and Kate with a duty to prepare a meal for them. After a day of rest, everybody was refreshed and eager to kill other zombies, even Reba with her new-found determination wanted to hunt zombies faster.


    "Before we go anywhere, I want to test some item in safety."


    However, Dave''s calm voice stopped everyone in their tracks, as he took something from his backpack. It was Basic Elemental Contract Scroll, which he had gotten from one of the Treasure Chests


    While they were in safety, he wanted to test theirpatibility with it, perhaps, there would be someone fortunate to contract an elemental.


    "Yesterday, I have obtained an Elemental Contract Scroll, yet I''m unable to use it, so you should try contracting an elemental. I''m sure it will greatly boost your strength, so let me show how to use it."


    Briefly exining its uses, he opened a scroll and saw numerous runes on it and also a magic circle engraved in the centre, making it even more profound-looking. Making a cut on his finger, he let a drop of blood fell on the magic circle.


    However, nothing had happened after he had dropped his blood on it.


    [You elemental affinity (Light) is too low]


    Even though he didn''t have any hopes for it, he was still depressed by his poor talent since he also wanted to be an Elementalist.


    "This is how you need to use it, soe and try yourselves. Perhaps, someone would be able to pull it through!"


    At his words, Brian shamelessly rushed to him and took a scroll from his hands. Seeing how he didn''t ask for an order, he was amused by his reaction, yet it seemed Adam and Reba had no offence to his actions.


    With a face unwilling to do it, he still lifted his Failed Dagger and made a small cut, making pained expression on his face. Following Dave''s instruction, he let his blood drop on a circle and waited patiently.


    However, it only glowed slightly and returned to his normal appearance.


    Brian had failed!


    ''It seems that Brian truly has a magic affinity since it showed no reaction at my turn.''


    Now, it was Adam''s turn, approaching them as he patted Brian''s shoulders. He followed the same steps as Dave had shown, but the magic circle showed no reaction, not even glowing as in Brian''s case.


    Adam had also failed!


    And it seemed that he had also had a poor affinity with magic as Dave did. Even though Dave was saddened that he had failed, he also felt a kinship to Adam since both of them were bad in magic. Well, he knew it wasn''t apetition.


    When both of them had failed to activate a scroll, Dave had also lost his hope in it. It was difficult to obtain the scroll, yet he thought it was harder to find a personpatible with it.


    Though he had forsaken his hopes, he still urged Reba to try it since there was no harm in trying. Therefore, Reba changed ces with Adam and approached scroll timidly, as she had already imagined that she would also fail.


    Proceeding in the same way as others, she borrowed a Needle Rapier from Dave and poked her finger with it, making a small cut on her finger. She had no confidence to activate a scroll, though she wanted to be stronger with it.


    However, when she had dropped her blood on the magic circle, it shined brightly as never before, illuminating their surroundings with a bright milky colour as a star had descended on the. It was so bright that everyone was forced to close their eyes, so to save their eyes from bing blind.


    Seeing the sudden reaction from the scroll, Dave was shocked that Reba had so much affinity to light. Never did he thought that he would be able to find the right person just after he obtained it. He even thought that finding someone one the campus would also pose a hardship.


    As a bright light had slowly faded away, he was able to see an orb of light floating above the scroll. It was shining brightly, illuminating its surrounding, but it was hard to notice its eyes in all the light, though he had a pair of shaded areas, resembling a pair of eyes.


    At the same time, Reba also looked stunned, as she gazed at the mass of light hovering before her eyes. It was slightlyrger than a human''s head and was looking around itself, as it was curious about where it had been transferred.


    "Reba, you did it. Go and finish a contract with a help of the System, before it fades away."


    Calming himself, Dave urged her to proceed thest step before it would be toote. Still stunned by her sess, she nodded her head as she hurriedly approached an orb of light. She seemed to be reading system notifications as she gazed nkly at the air.


    Perhaps, Basic Light Elemental might not have offensive capabilities, only useful for serving as amp, with right adjustments and training, it would be extremely useful onter stages since it would allow Reba to gain control over light-type magic.


    Elementalists spent mana on keeping elementals in our world and also spent their mana to control light in the surroundings. They borrowed power from their elementals to use light-type magic.


    ''It seems I have to teach Reba about meditation, so she wouldn''t solely rely on the System. I can also teach Adam and Brian with Reba, so I won''t repeat myself the second time.''


    It should be easier for her to learn Meditation than to Adam since she already had high enough mana affinity and her Elemental could assist her with sensing mana in her surroundings.


    "Reba, so what name have you given to your Elemental Spirit?"


    Even though Dave had never contracted one, he still knew about procedures of contracting an Elemental. The final step should be giving it a name.


    Blushing slightly, she seemed to be flustered by his question but still answered him meekly.


    "Star. I called it Star since it looks as a bright star had descended from the space."


    At her words, she blushed even more as she was finding her name too childish.

 Chapter 30: 3 Days

    Chapter 30: 3 Days


    After Reba had contracted her elemental spirit, their hunt went as smooth as possible, killing several evolved zombies. Reba''s elemental spirit, Star, hadn''t shown itself extremely useful just because Reba had no mana to summon it or to maintain it summoned any longer.


    Even though they were able to kill several evolved zombies, their group noticed that it was harder to find ones than to kill them since it seemed they had already hunted down most of the evolved zombies in their area.


    After hours of hunting, they were able to return to their base without any casualties, obtaining several Treasure Chests from evolved zombies. With a recent level up, Adam and Brian were depressed that they were getting fewer Treasure Chests from killed evolved zombies but epted it as a fact after they noticed that Dave wasn''t getting any chests at all.


    Since his strength far outstripped the level of evolved zombies, the drop rate of Treasure Chests had been significantly lowered for him, which weren''t good news.


    After having breakfast, their group hunted zombies, after which Dave taught the trio how to meditate. Rest of his time he spent on meditation, training his Mana sensing and nning their future actions. As for others, they were learning meditation and training what they werecking.


    Learning that Reba had a high magic aptitude, Dave decided to give her a Skill Book of Small Fireball, so she would study a spell until she increased her spirit; doing homework before being able to learn the skill.


    Adam trained his Telekinesis, while Brian waszing off before he was caught by Dave and was forced to spar with him. Dave decided to train his will by beating him up since it would be faster that way and he also found it satisfying, ying and beating Brian.


    ...


    Three days had already gone since Reba had contracted her elemental spirit, Star.


    In three days, they had obtained several Treasure Chests, fewer with every day, so they were forced to go slightly further than before. Most of the time, Treasure Chests had dropped consumable items such as Restoration Bread, Crystal Apple or Basic Mana Potion and unfortunately, they didn''t obtain any Skill Books other than a Small Fireball.


    Due to the rarity of Skill Books, he wasn''t depressed by that fact. There were some skills which couldn''t be learned without help from the System, even ordinary skills needed a lot of time to be learnt. They were just lucky that they had 2 people among them with high enough magic aptitude to learn Small Fireball spell without any help.


    Other people such as Adam and Dave, who had no aptitude to magic, would never be able to learn it, so sometimes it''s better to be selfish and to learn a skill to boost your chances for survival. Even if you had slightpatibility with magic, you might spend several weeks or even a month to learn it by itself, so most of the people didn''t care about it and learnt skills with help from the System.


    Also, in these three days, Reba had reached level 3 day after she contracted her elemental spirit. Even though it was still difficult for her to grasp the chanting of a Small Fireball spell, she wasn''t far from learning it.


    Finally having 20 points in mana or 2 points in spirit, Reba had a chance to test battle prowess of her elemental spirit. She had said that it cost 5 points of mana to summon Star and 1 mana point for every minute after it was summoned.


    After numerous attempts, she was able tomand her Star to kill an evolved zombie with an ethereal de condensed from light particles with a help of her elemental spirit. Dave could also recall how happy she was to kill it since she had felt that she got closer to her goal.


    Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Dave emptied his mind as he was absorbing mana clusters surrounding him. In three days, he had also made substantial improvement in terms of his mana pool.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 5


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 214


    Mana: 25/25


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 12


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 5 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4)]


    He was able to increase his mana by another 15 points in these three days, allowing his Mana Enhancement tost longer. Now, he could use his other mana skills more often than he did before.


    He had always spent his mana sparingly, so he wouldn''t run out of the mana during actual fights. He always needed to save it since his mana was too low for prolonged fights. Even now, he couldn''t say that he had plenty of mana to use.


    He also obtained a new weapon since his Rusty Sword had broken, while his Needle Rapier wasn''t effective for killing in one strike. It dropped from one of the Treasure Chests their group had obtained, but everybody already had a weapon, so he took it for himself.


    Normally, there was an unspoken rule among other Enhancers that they would have spoils only from monster killed by them. No stealing and nopeting over it, but Enhancer could barter it with each other or pass it if they wanted to.


    His new weapon was an axe, simr wed item as his Rusty Sword since it looked like it hasn''t been cared for a lot of time as its sharp edge had grown dull.


    [Dull Axe


    Attack: 7-9


    Durability: 12


    Description: Axe which was mistreated for several years, worsening its quality even further. It is in poor condition.]


    ''Today is a big day.''


    For all three days, he was having breakfast slightly earlier than others, so he would have an additional hour for meditation and to also hide his injuries. After three days of healing, he was feeling himself much better than he had imagined, even though he still felt slight pain while moving.


    Standing up from his bed, he left his room and went to the kitchen, where everybody was finishing their breakfast. Rachel and Kate had grown much calmer than before, though they were bored sitting in the dormitory for all day.


    Everybody was chatting with each other freely, joking andughing with each other, but when they had caught sight of Dave approaching them, they quickly turned silent. The trio who hunted with him kept their silence since they had thought that he had something to dere before everyone, while Rachel and Kate just felt awkward with him around.


    "We are already running out of the food, so we need to obtain a source of it before it is finished. Therefore, today we are going to the closest cafeteria to obtain arge number of resources."


    Leaning on the table with both of his hands, he shared their destination and raid target. After day or two, he doubted that they would have anything on the table, so better to act today.


    "But how are we going to carry it to the dormitory building? We can''t just fill our bags with food that is stored in boxes and bags."


    As always, Adam thought about their situation and identified the problem in their n. Well, it was an apparent w at first thought.


    "There should be small vans parked somewhere nearby at the backside of the cafeteria. Considering that the world had changed in the noon, there should be one or two vans parked there."


    "But what if there is none?"


    "Then, the difficulty of the raid goes by a level higher. We are going to pick up two cars instead of vans, meaning that we are going to transport fewer resources and we might either leave someone there or get another car to drive.''


    Their university was one of the most prestigious institutions around the Federation and it was big enough to bepared to a small town. There were lots of departments, club areas, rented buildings and other districts on the campus as well as a huge number of students studying in it.


    Obtaining a means of transport was necessary for their movement around the campus and it was also needed if they wanted to transport something inrge numbers, so sooner or not, they needed one or several ways of transport.


    Discussing the n, Adam and Brian had finalized details of it, while everybody else was gazing at them. Brian was toozy to join them, whilst girls didn''t dare to join their conversation. Rachel and Kate had thought that they would be left in a dormitory as always, so they weren''t worried about it, but Dave''s next words frightened them greatly.


    "Everybody is going on the raid, including both of you, Rachel and Kate. We need a workforce to fill vans with food, while some of us would guard vans against zombies which might approach us. Also, with more people, we could finish the work faster, so you are also going outside."


    Dave had stated everything as clear as possible, turning the faces of Rachel and Kate paler than usual. Rachel seemed as blood stopped flowing in her body, as her face turned ashen and she chewed her lower lip, though she didn''t say anything.


    "You can''t force me to go outside! Why I should go there with you?!"


    However, Kate seemed to actively defy him, as she protested his decision quite aggressively.


    "Sorry to wake you up, but if you only want to take and not to give anything, then we''re going to stop providing you with a portion of food. I hate ckers and you are in no position to negotiate with me!"


    Finishing what he wanted to say, he nced at her threateningly, silencing her with his words.


    "If you want to get something, then you should also prove yourself useful!"

 Chapter 31: Cafeteria

    Chapter 31: Cafeteria


    "Prepare yourselves! After an hour we will leave dormitory building and move towards our target."


    Setting the time of their raid, he nced at Rachel and Kate thest time and returned to his room to adjust his condition and to check his equipment. At the same time as he entered his room, a short timeter, others also followed after him, finishing their meals.


    An hourter, everyone had gathered at the entrance doors of their dormitory as everybody was nervous. Rachel and Kate were just frightful of going outside, while others had a clear understanding of dangers they might encounter on their way.


    Everything had happened during the lunch, meaning that there would be tons of zombies around and inside it. Moreover, it was located in a quite popr area, so they needed to be also careful of other zombies lurking slightly further than a cafeteria.


    There were several cafeterias around their university, and every one of them was bustling with people when the voice had resounded in their minds, making them one of the most dangerous ces on the campus.


    Without any dy, Dave led them out of the building and entrusted their route to Brian, who had his Life Pulse to detect monster surrounding them.


    While they were moving, Rachel and Kate were ncing at their surrounding and when they spotted zombies wandering aimlessly, they paled even more than when Dave told them that they were going with them.


    It was already more than a week, and they had never left their dormitory building after everything had happened, so they never saw a zombie, though they had heard about them from Adam and Brian. Finally, when they had seen one for themselves, they felt terror invading their minds, as they tried to stick as close as possible to the main group.


    Rachel even held on Adam''s shirt, clinging on him without noticing it since all her attention was on zombies which their group kept avoiding. Instead of a charismatic woman she seemed at first, she looked like a little child who was scared of everything.


    "There is a small group on the way ahead. It seems we should kill them to move forwards."


    Suddenly, Brian had stopped on his tracks and reported their situation, which caused even more panic in two girls'' hearts. However, Dave only nodded his head and signalled with his eyes to continue moving.


    After several days of hunting together, Brian had understood him without any words and kept leading them towards the small group of zombies. When they finally reached the small group of zombies, Dave and a trio rushed at them swiftly and handled them as silently as possible.


    Equipped with weapons from the System, they seemed extremely proficient in dealing with them since it wasn''t their first day. For Dave, it was even more than five years, so it would have beenughable for him if he made a stupid mistake while hunting ordinary zombies.


    However, it couldn''t be said about Rachel and Kate who looked stunned at their swift performance, but even more shocking for them was how Reba had killed her zombie. Just several days ago she was just an ordinary girl like them, yet now she was killing zombies which invoked fear in their hearts.


    She had left them far behind her and was doing what they didn''t dare to do. While Reba was dealing with her zombie, Kate looked at her enviously since she understood clearly that Reba gained power in her words and actions.


    Handling zombies which blocked their way and avoiding big groups, their group of six slowly moved towards their destination, cafeteria. Truthfully, the cafeteria was much further than their area of hunting, so they had shown additional caution since they never scouted that area before.


    Normally, people rode bicycles and owned cars to reach certain ces in the university, yet Dave didn''t have a choice but to move by walking since it was much more dangerous riding a bike than walking, just because bike limited your movements. Furthermore, they would return to their base on vans, so he decided to bear with it.


    Approximately after half an hour, they had reached a cafeteria, so they could see it. Before approaching it, they decided to scan their surrounding and identify numbers of zombies in that area. Even though Brian was using Life Pulse sparingly, he had already spent more than half of his mana reserves, while they were moving towards it.


    As he sent Life Pulse, Brian seemed to be stunned as fear appeared in his eyes, but he seemed to calm down himself as he analyzed their situation. A short timeter, he gave a report to everyone.


    "There too many zombies around us to fight head-on, so we better not to disturb all of them. Furthermore, a cafeteria is just packed with zombies and there are two Hunters inside a cafeteria. Also, there are two things I found inside the building."


    "What is it?"


    Adam couldn''t help but ask out from pure curiosity.


    "Along with Hunters, there is an unknown type of zombie and it''s aura is slightly stronger than other zombies that we met so far."


    Listening to him, Dave already understood what type of zombie was inside a cafeteria. It should be a Ghoul, which was kind of a mix between a Hunter and a Giant. It was the same as a double Evolver of strength and agility stat among Awakeners.


    Even though Ghoul was quite a special zombie among other zombies, it wasn''t stronger than a mutated dog by much, yet it may be troublesome to deal with. Shrugging it off, he asked about a second thing Brian had found.


    "And what''s the second point?"


    "I''ve detected traces of survivors inside the cafeteria, to be precise, two of them are hiding inside a cafeteria."


    At Brian''s words, everybody looked at him stunned since, except for them, they didn''t find any survivors in this week. While everyone was delighted to find other survivors, Dave was already thinking about them.


    ''There are only two humans, meaning they shouldn''t pose much of a danger, and it''s likely that one of them would be from staff members so that they could help us with finding and opening a storage room.''


    Deciding that they wouldn''t be a threat for them, he finally let a satisfied smile as they approached the cafeteria. It was quite a huge building with white milk walls and columns supporting its structure.


    But before entering the building and ughtering all zombies inside it, he decided to check the presence of vans close to them with his Mana Sensing. He spread his senses to his surroundings and found two ck vans parked on the other side of a cafeteria.


    ''As far as now, it''s going ording to our n.''


    Then, he signalled everyone to follow him as he slowly approached the doors of a cafeteria and entered inside of it as he was weed by a swarm of zombies.

 Chapter 32: Killing Ghoul

    Chapter 32: Killing Ghoul


    Adrian was just a normal senior student with a dream to be a great architect, creating blueprints of magnificent buildings and bringing his own style into the world, but everything had changed just more than a week ago.


    Before everything had happened, he was having lunch in the cafeteria and simultaneously nning his coursework, but suddenly, an odd mechanical voice resounded in his mind. Having no time to think over the message it had ryed to him, he was lying unconscious with one cheek on his meal.


    When he woke up, he had a strange urge to say status for no apparent reason and status window as in games had appeared before his eyes. It was quite simple and was even far behind modern games in itsplexity.


    However, a short timeter, someone had screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in the dining hall. Then, he saw it!


    One student was gnashing its teeth into the flesh of another one, tearing small chunks of meat. A student, who was being eaten, was thrashing and screaming in agony, yet everyone was looking at them nkly.


    Someone tried to separate them, but he was also attacked by it. Everyone was screaming and panicking at the sight of murder, fast ones were able to escape from the cafeteria, yet most of them were trapped in the dining hall since a monster was close to an exit and had already stood up from another cold corpse.


    10 minutester, when people inside cafeteria were able to pin down the first zombie, two dead bodies rose from the ground and were also growling threateningly at others, joining the first one. So one had turned to three and three had turned to dozens.


    Having no way out, Adrian made the quickest decision he was able to do; he went further into the cafeteria, where staff members should have been operating. Then, he locked himself in the toilet, opened his Beginner''s Survival Pack and with a great effort, reached the room of administrator who had also survived and locked herself in her room.


    "...Remember, just get back if there are too many of zombies in the corridor! The storage room is right after you pass next to a dining hall. Good luck!"


    Sara or administrator of the cafeteria was giving instructions to Adrian. She had light brown hair and a gentle face with a ck skirt and a white shirt on her, giving her a touch of an office woman. As for Adrian, even though he was in his early twenties, he looked slightly more mature than his age with his long ck hair gathered by a hairband.


    Since Sara''s personal room was close to the kitchen, Adrian often scouted their surroundings and if everything seemed safe to him, he tried to slip to the kitchen to search for any leftovers or anything edible in there.


    However, after a week, they were running low in food, so he was forced to go further towards a storage room.


    Gripping a Rusty Sword, the same as Dave''s previous weapon, which he got from the first zombie he had killed, Adrian slowly left the room and looked for any zombies in the corridor.


    ''It seems safe out there!''


    Slowly moving towards his destination, he kept wondering why he didn''t meet any zombies on his way, yet when he was passing next to a dining hall, he understood where all zombies had gone.


    ''Are these guys insane!''


    ***


    As Dave entered the dining hall, he was weed by a swarm of zombies. He didn''t hope that they wouldn''t notice him, so he swiftly barged at them and started killing ordinary zombies rushing towards him.


    He didn''t dare to activate Reinforced Breathing due to hisst experience, but he did enhance his body with mana since it didn''t have any grave consequences, causing only slight weakness in the body after being used. Serving as a tank for others, he tried to kill every zombie, so they didn''t slip towards his back.


    At the same time as he was handling ordinary zombies, Reba had summoned her elemental spirit, Star, as Dave had told her to do before they entered a cafeteria.


    Since it was just a floating orb of light, zombies had no interest in it, allowing Reba to search for evolved zombies among ordinary ones. Through telepathic connection, she saw everything with a Star and easily spotted two Hunters and a Ghoul.


    Ghoul was slightlyrger than other zombies around it, but not too much as a Giant. It had a big stature and broad shoulder with clearly outlined muscles all over its body. It was half as big as a Giant and had simr ws as a Hunter.


    ording to the n, Reba was tasked with killing a Hunter, so hemanded her Star to kill it. Since it was just a mass of light energy, her elemental spirit was fast enough to follow after a Hunter, as it condensed light energy into a de and shed with it at zombie''s head, sessfully killing it.


    With slightly fewer zombies attacking them, Dave allowed others to join him, as it was four against a dozen of zombies now. As they were dealing with ordinary zombies, Hunter sprinted out of the group as it tried to attack Reba.


    Having waited for this moment, Adam stopped Hunter in its ce with Telekinesis, simultaneously retreating backwards as Dave had covered his ce. He sent his Broken Spear flying towards the Hunter and pierced its head with his weapon.


    Having dealt with Hunters, Dave decided not to wait for Ghoul and rush towards it, activating Reinforced Breathing and lifting his Dull Axe. Most of the zombies had already been killed by their group, leaving only a few of them, so he was confident that the trio behind him would be able to handle them.


    After several moments, he was already sending attacks towards a Ghoul as he tried to dodge its sharp ws. Since he would be infected if he was injured by a zombie, it made killing a Ghoul even more difficult.


    Blocking another attack from a Ghoul with Mana Barrier, he shed vertically with his axe, forcing it to dodge to the left, and at the same time, he lifted his left hand which had a ring on it. It flickered with light, shooting Mana Bullet to the head of a Ghoul.


    He had time to try it in 3 days they were hunting, so he was already adept at using it and magic ring also wasn''t tooplicated in usage.


    Since Mana Bullet was already faster than a Ghoul''s speed, it was unable to dodge a bullet from a close distance, as Mana Bullet urately reached its head.


    [You have reached level 6.]


    [You have earned 2 free points.]


    ''It was slightly stronger than I had expected, simr to a mutated dog, maybe, because it had eaten and infected lots of zombies.''


    Trying to catch his breath, he made a note of it in his mind. Provided with more biomass, zombies would grow even stronger, even ordinary zombies could be several times stronger if they ate more humans. Enhancer and Awakeners also gave a great boost to there evolution.


    Low rank 1 evolved zombies also fell in that category. Some low rank 1 Giants might be stronger than other ones, but since one or two points in strength didn''t make much of a difference and were negligible in a broader sense, ranks didn''t break down even further. Naturally, stronger zombies gave more experience points.


    Having used Mana Sensing all along, he already detected a person standing on the other side of the doors, so he decided to warn him.


    "Hey, man there, better look behind you instead of spying at us!"


    Struck speechless by the strength of their group, Adrian looked at them in awe since zombies, terrorizing him over the week and trapping him inside a cafeteria, were easily dealt by Dave''s side.


    When he heard Dave, the first thought he had was that maybe Dave was saying it to someone else, but as he nced behind him just to be sure, he saw a zombie sprinting towards him. Perhaps, it was locked somewhere and only now was able to leave from there.


    Panicking slightly, he held Rusty Sword before him and waited for a zombie to approach him, as he shed with his sword at him, piercing its head. Having killed it, he still wondered how Dave was able to detect him.


    Warning the guy in the corridor, Dave decided to collect spoils of the battle and open a White Chest which had dropped from a Ghoul after he killed it.


    Opening it, he was greatly disappointed since he didn''t obtain anything new as a Restoration Bread had appeared in the ce of a chest.


    ''Allocate 1 point to strength and 1 point to agility.''


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 6


    ss: None


    Survival coins: 226


    Mana: 12/25


    Strength: 17


    Agility: 13


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 5 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 1)]


    ''5 points for shooting Mana Bullet and 8 points for everything else. Finally, I shouldn''t have any problems with speed now!''


    Checking everything up and having done everything, Dave decided to ask ways from the guy, who was peeking from the doors.

 Chapter 33: Resources

    Chapter 33: Resources


    ''Right, it should already be a time for other Enhancers to appear around the campus.''


    Noticing how a guy in the corridor held a Rusty Sword in his hands, Dave was silently evaluating him so that Adrian felt like he was passing an interview for a job. Dave didn''t look like someone strong, on the contrary, his sickish pale skin and small stature showed the opposite, but for some reason, Adrian thought he was extremely dangerous.


    "Not bad! You were able to kill a zombie, meaning that you had killed more than one before. What level have you reached?"


    Sizing him up, Dave already understood that the guy before him likely put his points into strength, but he wasn''t sure was he level 1 or level 2. He didn''t even consider level 3 since, judging that Adrian was trapped in the cafeteria all along, he wouldn''t have a chance to kill many zombies.


    "Level 2! I''ve reached it just yesterday. Now it''s my turn to ask you a question. Is there any safe ce on the campus?"


    Ignoring the question, Dave looked around the corridor as he was searching for someone. When he found no one, he finally looked at Adrian and asked him about his fellow survivor.


    "I know there are two of you. Where is the second person?"


    As Adrian was getting mad at Dave for ignoring him, he was stunned at Dave''s question. He had never told him about Sara, who was in her room, so he was caught off his guard, causing him to forget that he was ignored just a moment ago.


    "Ahh, nevermind! Do you know where a storage room is located?"


    Dave thought it wasn''t much relevant to their mission, so he decided to ignore a second survivor for time-being. Obtaining resources from storeroom was their priority, while he always could meet another one after they found a storage room.


    "You didn''t answer my question."


    Dissatisfied by Dave''s rude behaviour, Adrian insisted on getting his answer. He was stuck in a cafeteria for more than a week, surrounded by zombies and forced to kill them to obtain food in the kitchen, his mind was already close to going insane.


    Looking at his exhausted eyes and messy hair which hid behind his hairband, he seemed as he was pleading when he had asked it. He looked like he had been having a difficult time during the week.


    ''Persistent one!''


    Dave couldn''t help but answer him.


    "I doubt that there are any safe ces on the campus for now. Considering the number of zombies outside, I should say that maybe more than half of students had either died or turned into zombies, so better not to except a lot from university officials."


    Their university was quitergepared to other universities in Federation. It might be asrge as the smallest town in the world, and close to twenty thousand students was studying in their university, so, adding university staff members and considering that some students were out in a city rather than in a university, there should be less than ten thousand people alive on the campus.


    The number was also dwindling with every day, so maybe only less than five thousand would be alive in the end.


    "Then, you should have a safe ce on campus. Can you take us with us?"


    "Sure!"


    He easily agreed to Adrian''s request since it was always good to have another Enhancer in their ranks. Most of the people had likely thrown away their clubs or lost it when they were running from zombies.


    Not everybody was lucky enough to have no one around them when they fell unconscious on the ground. Some people didn''t even have time to think over their statuses as they attacked by a zombie. Obviously, Adrian was one of them.


    "If it''s all from you, then lead the way towards a storeroom."


    "Wait a bit! I''ll call Sara over here. She is an administrator of a cafeteria."


    With these words, Adrian ran towards one of the rooms in the corridor and knocked hard on the door. Even though he tried to hide it to save his pride as a senior student, he still seemed delighted to finally leave a cafeteria.


    A momentter, someone went out of the room and apprehensively looked at the surroundings. It was a woman with wavy light brown hair and business-like outfit. She seemed slightly older than students, perhaps middle-aged woman, as traces of exhaustion could also be seen from her looks.


    However, after hearing news from Adrian, she also looked delighted as she followed him to Dave. Even though she was also tired, she had never gone against zombies, not mentioning killing one, so she was much in a better shape than Adrian.


    While Adrian had gone for the fellow survivor, others were already standing next to Dave, observing situation unfolding before them. Adam didn''t get any Treasure Chest from a killed Hunter, while Reba had gotten a Basic Mana Potion from her White Chest.


    All the time, Katelyn and Rachel were looking at them in awe as the countless corpses of zombiesy on the floor. There were several points which seemed shocking for them: Reba''s elemental spirit, Adam''s magical Telekinesis and finally, Dave''s frightening strength. All of these stunned them greatly.


    As Sara saw a bunch of students before her, she was greatly disappointed since she had thought that they would be at least armed with firearms, otherwise, she didn''t see any way for students to save them.


    However, when her eyes fell on corpses of zombies lying on the ground, shepletely changed her mind as she had an urge to vomit.


    ''If a bunch of students killed so many of them, then there should be something special about them.''


    Trying to suppress her urge to vomit, she quickly made conclusions in her mind and easily identified the leader among them. Obviously, it was Dave who was standing in front of everyone.


    "You should be Sara. Can you lead us to a storeroom? You should understand that with every second, it''s gonna be more dangerous."


    Understanding what he meant, Sara led them towards the end of the corridor and pointed at an iron door. She nced at Adrian who hastily took keys from his pockets and opened the door.


    As soon as it was opened, cool air rushed out of the room, revealing stacked rows of boxes on the shelves and several bags of different products. Lots of products were stored in the room, including several types of vegetables.


    Even though there were plenty of products inside the storage room, he clearly understood that they couldn''t transport everything to their dorm, so he tasked Adam and Reba with sorting resources inside the room.

 Chapter 34: Premonition

    Chapter 34: Premonition


    "Where are the keys of the vans?"


    As his eyes were running wild, looking at the valuable resources, Dave decided to concentrate on their next task. They needed to clean the backside of the cafeteria and secure their path to the vans, while also finding the keys for them.


    So he decided to seek an answer to his question from the person who was the most knowledgable about a cafeteria. Sara worked as an administrator, so she should know where the keys were located.


    "They are either in a staff room or directly on the body of the driver. I''ll go check a staff room."


    With such words, Sara ran into one of the rooms and started searching for keys. Not waiting for her, Dave decided to move to the backside and kill zombies wandering there.


    As he opened wide doors at the end of the corridor, he was weed by a poor sight of narrow alleys produced by the building constructed close to each other. Several trash bins were put close to the walls and two ck vans were parked five meters from him.


    They weremon vans specially built for transporting products and delivering items over the distances. Except for driver''s seat and passenger''s seat next to it, everything else inside was empty space.


    Even though cafeteria looked grandiose and stylish from the front, the back wall of it was just in and simple, painted into pure white colour. It seemed that the design of the cafeteria had also been influenced by an attitude of cheap businessmen who tried to minimize their losses.


    At least, the person who owned the cafeteria still painted its back walls. Some of the buildings, looking from their backsides, weren''t even painted, as they glimmered in a dull stony colour.


    Finally killing thest zombie, Dave returned to the same corridor and saw Sara who was holding a key in her hands. Seeing it, he clearly understood what it meant as he furrowed his brows.


    "Sorry, there was only one key in a staff room. Probably, the second one is on a driver, who either fleed from the building or turned into a zombie."


    She seemed apologetic since she was an administrator, yet she didn''t know a thing about a driver''s location. However, she was more worried that Dave would decide to forsake them, leaving her in a cafeteria. She clearly understood that it was impossible to take all eight people and boxes from a storeroom into one van.


    "You''re not at fault, so don''t me yourself. We should check corpses in case one of them is a corpse of a driver."


    Sighing inwardly, he felt his temples started hurting badly, as he rubbed them with his right hand. If they don''t find keys from one of the corpses, he decided to leave a small group here, so he could return after them. Their priority was to transport back as many resources as they could, so they couldst longer in theing days.


    Gathering everyone around him, he shared their problem and his decision to leave someone behind if they couldn''t find a driver. Even though they were worried about his suggestion, Adam, Brian and Reba didn''t freak too much about it since they were strong enough to care for themselves.


    Also, if they lock themselves up in one of the rooms, they were confident tost till Dave came and took them with him. However, the same thing couldn''t be said about non-fighters in their group.


    Sara, Rachel and Katelyn''s faces immediately turned ashen, as they were praying not to be left behind, while Adrian epted it more easily than them, though he still mulled over it. He wanted to quickly get into a safe ce, eat to his full and sleep in a bed.


    He already had time to ask others about their base when Dave was killing zombies on the backside, so he held a simple but strong desire to leave cafeteria as fast as he could.


    "So let''s search dead bodies of zombies to find a driver of a van."


    At his words, it was Adam''s turn to change in his face as it had turned into a slightly darker shade and Dave clearly understood his reaction since he knew that Adam was a guy who was obsessed with being clean, not till the point of having a phobia, just a habit of his.


    He always found it funny when Adam entered a shower for half an hour to scrab every spot of blood on his body. He could only imagine how disgusted Adam would feel, ransacking the dead bodies. Fortunately for him, coins and chests drop close to the corpse.


    At his words, everyone was hurriedly checking the dead bodies for the presence of keys, yet nobody was able to find them. As they were already having thoughts about giving up and deciding who would remain behind, Sara suddenly eximed in surprise.


    "I found him!"


    Everybody looked at her and started gazing at corpses around her, seeking for the one who was a driver. However, unable to identify a driver, they looked at her questioningly as they were asking for a clue.


    But when Sara lifted her right hand and pointed somewhere in particr, everyone seemed stunned. They looked there and back at her. Catching their strange nces at her as they were looking at someone insane, she blushed slightly.


    "It should be him. There outside, look!"


    Everyone looked strange at her since Sara had pointed not at one of the corpses but to the outside, through one of the windows.


    "How confident are you?"


    Looking at the zombie she was pointing, Dave decided to try it since it wouldn''t cause much of a harm. It was wandering right before the doors of a cafeteria.


    "I may be mistaken, but he looks like a driver to me."


    Sara replied while looking sideways. She didn''t seem to bepletely sure about it, but Dave decided to trust her.


    "Adam, can you pull it to us? When I open the doors, you need to pull it to us, so we won''t cause much of amotion."


    Adam only nodded with his head, contemting his chances to do his task. As Dave opened the doors, Adam reached with his hands towards the zombie and made a pulling motion. At the same time as he did it, a zombie flew towards them in a straight line.


    As it had entered into the cafeteria, Dave swiftly killed it and searched its body, finding a key of the van.


    ''Must be nice to have an innate ability. So convenient!''


    Having side thoughts, Dave showed everyone a key, causing delight to spread in their hearts. They let a sigh of relief, thinking that they could finally leave now.


    "Everyone, transport boxes inside the vans, while Adam and I will stay on guard."


    In such a way, they lifted boxes and bags, which were specifically selected by Reba, to the vans. Katelyn was displeased by the fact that she needed to lift heavy boxes, yet she didn''t dare to voice her thoughts since Dave still looked threatening to her.


    After they had filled the vans with food, they divided into two groups, each consisting of four. As it had been discovered, only two of them had driven a van before. They were Adam and Rachel who both came from well-brought family.


    However, Rachel said that she only had an experience of driving one before, so Dave thought that it was better than nothing.


    Even though Sara was oldest among them, she doubted her abilities to ride a van well enough to the dormitory, considering that she suffered from continuous days of bad sleep. Her mentality and abilities didn''t fit the task.


    Taking everything into consideration, he decided to bnce strengths of the groups, so he teamed Adam with Brian, who could guide him through zombies, and added Adrian and Sara to his group while apanying Rachel himself.


    Even though he didn''t have Brian''s Life Pulse, he still could guide her through zombies by his Mana Sensing. Indeed, its range was lower than of a Life Pulse, yet it should be enough.


    He wasn''t much worried about Adam since he was confident in his driving skills, yet he was more worried about Rachel, particrly about her mentality. He didn''t know how she will behave in case something goes south.


    "Adam, listen to me, if something goes wrong during our trip to the dormitory, don''t try to save us! Return to the base, and wait for us there. Don''t worry about us and continue hunting, so I won''t worry about you excessively."


    He pulled Adam closer to him, distancing him from others, and whispered it to Adam. He was sure that nobody heard what he had said to Adam.


    "But..."


    "No buts! Don''t worry, I won''t die easily. And it''s only in case if something goes wrong."


    Understanding the severity of the situation and due to Dave''s insistence, he could only nod his head to Dave''s request...no, it was more an order than a request. Even though both of them were whispering to each other looked suspicious, others didn''t heed it any attention.


    Finally, they had divided into two groups, sat in two vans and prepared to start engines of the vans. Dave had already noticed that Rachel was shaking as she was turning the car key, yet he could only pray that everything proceeds smoothly for them.


    Rachel knew what was responsibility and how to cope with it since she had engaged in lots of projects for her profile, but never did her life had depended on her actions. The thought of making a mistake and losing her life scared her too much, so she was anxious all along.


    "To whom I''m fucking lying! At such moments, when did everything go as nned?"


    Observing Rachel who was literally shaking as she turned a key, Dave prepared himself for the worst.

 Chapter 35: Seperation

    Chapter 35: Seperation


    ''Herees the most dangerous part!''


    Perhaps, returning safely to their base would be the most dangerous and difficult part of their operation since zombies will be naturally attracted to the noise of engines.


    He already warned Adam about the dangers of driving a vehicle surrounded by zombies, but he told nothing to others since telling them won''t make their trip safer. It will be dangerous only in the beginning and will be safer after they picked up a speed.


    Preparing himself for a bumpy ride, Dave sat on a passenger''s seat as he stared hard at Rachel who was shaking as she started engines of the van.


    "Rachel, remember to follow close behind Adam, okay?"


    Noticing that Adam had also started engines of his van and was already driving forward, Dave reminded her to follow after him. It shouldn''t be a difficult task for her.


    As engines were roaring loudly, several zombies could already be seen from the alleys, rushing towards them. At the sight of them, Adam had already started driving his van through a narrow road, but Rachel was clearly shaken as she looked nkly at zombies.


    "Rachel! Start driving now!"


    Quickly noticing her abnormal state, Dave shouted at her as he grabbed her shoulder and started shaking her. Leaving from her stupor, she hurriedly mmed gas pedal and followed after Adam.


    Their van followed behind another ck van as they went to the main road. Attracted to the noise of engines, zombies swarmed towards their vans, trying to stop them but were crushed by Adam''s van. Their van only followed close behind Adam through the cleared path.


    However, one zombie slipped between the space of two vans, so it mmed into their van as it was stuck to their front windscreen and blood covered it. It shouldn''t have caused much of a trouble, but at the sight of a zombie right before her, Rachel panicked and lost control of the van as she tried to throw a zombie from the front windscreen.


    Dave felt like the world was sent spinning as everything blurred around him. Reba and Katelyn, who was sitting in the back, mmed into each other as the van suddenly changed its direction.


    Resisting rapid turns of the van, Dave stretched his hand and reached for a drive wheel as he bnced it. Finally, it stopped in its hectic movements.


    Losing control over the drive wheel, Rachel finally came to her mind and understood what she had done as blood rushed out from her face. She pressed the gas pedal and tried to follow after Adam, but quite a distance had already been opened between them.


    Their van was surrounded by zombies, which were growling and roaring as they hit the exterior of their van, and a swarm of zombies chasing after Adam''s van turned towards them, giving up on Adam''s group and cutting off their path forward.


    "Hurry! Drive forward and turn to the right! There are fewer zombies than in any other way."


    Dave had been sensing their surroundings with Mana Sensing right from the beginning, so he made a quick decision to give up on following Adam and to save their lives first. If they could survive this, they could meet with otherster.


    At his words, Rachel gritted her teeth and drove ording to his orders, while ignoring the blood and other zombies around them. She didn''t know what to do except to follow his words.


    At this moment, Dave regretted that he didn''t learn how to drive heavy vehicles in his past life. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to, but most of the vehicles in his past life were strictly regted by city officials for military purposes, so he didn''t have a chance to learn it. The number of such vehicles was heavily limited even for high ranked soldiers, not to say, for an ordinary soldier like himself.


    Their van mmed into zombies in front of it, yet, not wanting to make another mistake and endanger their lives even further, Rachel resisted her urge to vomit. She clenched her jaws tightly as van cut through zombies, finally breaking free from their encirclement.


    After they had left encirclement of zombies, they were able to pick up a speed and leave zombies chasing after their van behind them. However, due to the unnned change of their route, they only went further into a university campus, growing further from their dormitory.


    There were countless cars further down the road, scattered chaotically, showing that their owners left them hurriedly to survive, so it became harder to drive further. Dave had also noticed that Reba wasn''t feeling well to drive further.


    "It''s okay now, Rachel! You can stop here."


    Parking the van right before an inte cafe, Rachel let out a sigh of relief, but, gazing at Dave, she looked apologetic for troubles she had caused.


    "I''m sorry that everything ended this way!"


    "Ahh...It''s okay now! I''m also at fault for not preparing you for it."


    He was gravely mistaken this time since he forgot that Rachel had never approached a zombie to a close distance, not to say, killed one before. He should have trained her as he did with Reba; he needed to drag crippled zombies towards her and force her to kill it. He shouldn''t have expected more from her since it was already praiseworthy that she didn''t threw up during her drive.


    Therefore, he decided not to me her as he smiled gently to her. However, remembering blood and rotten faces of zombies from before, Rachel started vomiting on the ground right after she hurriedly opened the window on her side..


    ''I wonder if Adam had smiled at her, would she have vomited as well?''


    Even though he knew that it wasn''t because of him, he still felt strange and wronged when a girl, to whom he smiled gently, threw up right after it. He wondered would it have been the same for Adam with his stunning looks.


    However, he quickly chased away any distracting thoughts and his displeasure as he exited from the van right after Rachel had started vomiting. He still needed to kill zombies which were attracted to the noise of the engine.


    They had stopped in a ce with several buildings surrounding it. Most of them were two story-buildings built for various purposes. As for them, they had stopped before a fancy inte cafe built in the modern style.


    Quite a big group of zombies had gathered in the street as several dozens of zombies were rushing towards him, but he had killed more than a hundred zombies before, so it wasn''t a big deal for him.


    Furthermore, his level had already far outstripped the strength of zombies, even low rank 1 evolved zombies wouldn''t threaten his life. Activating his Mana Enhancement, he barged into the ranks of zombies, easily ughtering them.


    As he was busy killing zombies, Reba and Katelyn had exited from the van, holding their heads with their hands. It seemed that ride wasn''tfortable for them, which was understandable since they were sent tumbling at the backside.


    "Have we reached the dorms?"


    "The most ufortable ride I ever had."


    Mumbling something under their breaths, Reba and Katelyn started looking right and left, trying to identify their location, but, understanding that they weren''t in their base, they sent nces to each other.


    Since backside of the van wasn''t connected to a front side, Reba knew nothing about their previous predicament, yet seeing Dave dealing with zombies, she felt relieved and decided to leave her questions forter. But Katelyn wasn''t as reserved as her.


    "Hey, where are we? Haven''t you said that we would be safe? Why did you even drag me here? I knew that I shouldn''t have trust you!"


    She started shouting at him andining to him as hermotion started attracting more zombies towards them. She had been dissatisfied of him for all the time she met him since she thought that hecked gentleness and manners, so she didn''t miss a chance to criticize him.


    Annoyed by her, he let one of the zombies slip by him. It dashed towards Katelyn, trying to gnash its teeth to her flesh, and when it was close enough to reach her, a bat suddenly dealt a heavy blow to its head.


    Noticing a zombie rushing towards them, Reba naturally killed it with her Survivor Bat, but even then, the sense of nearing death had effected Katelyn as she paled a bit. When she saw a zombie dashing towards her, she was scared to move and was petrified, unable to shift her body.


    When she saw how its head was crushed by a bat into a bloody mess and realized it was a corpse lying right before, she had a natural urge to threw up as she joined Rachel in doing it.


    ncing at her, Dave only smirked in satisfaction. Even though he acted a bit evil-minded, he thought it wouldn''t harm her, on the contrary, it would help her to ovee her fear of zombies. Then, he continued to kill remaining zombies which were left with more than ten of them in the street.


    At the same time, three pair of eyes were peeking from the windows of the inte cafe, observing their actions.

 Chapter 36: Internet Cafe

    Chapter 36: Inte Cafe


    "That guy is insane! He''s ughtering zombies like they''re nothing!"


    Tall and thin youth with short hair was looking at Dave who was cleaning up his surroundings. He was wearing casual clothes and had sses with rectangr frames. Even though he seemed weak and fragile due to his small physique, his eyes gleamed with sinister light.


    He was gaping at Dave with an open mouth, making his cheekbones more evident, as it was too hard for him to believe what he was seeing.


    "Meh, is it worrying you? There are three of us, so nothing to fear! But look, he brought chicks with him and all of them are beautiful in their own way!"


    A short plump student was standing next to the tall youth as he was licking his lips and looking lewdly at girls in front of him. He was even fatter than Brian with his thick neck and seemingly soft flesh slightly drooping down his arm.


    Fatty stared vulgarly at girls and was sizing them up and down as he was evaluating every part of their body. Each of them had their own charming point.


    Even though Rachel was throwing up close to the van, she still had a natural allure of a charismatic woman with her short draping raven-like hair and casual but neat clothes. In contrast to her, Katelyn had ordinary looks yet a fiery figure which easily attracted the eyes of a fatty.


    Reba was the only one who was able to keep her dignity as she stood there observing Dave''s actions and movements. Due to continuous fights with zombies, she had a sharp aura around her, but she still looked naive and pure with her silky ck hair.


    Her gentle and soft facial features,bined with her small adorable face, made her look like a kind neighbouring big sister. However, the most eye-catching in Reba for fatty was her big chest as he stared at her lewdly.


    "Hey, that guy is dangerous! We can''t kill so many of them single-handedly."


    "What are you so worried about? We had also killed lots of zombies this week, and it is unlikely that he will attack us at first sight. But it was already a week since I had seen a woman."


    "Are there only girls in your head, pervert?"


    "Don''t want to hear it from a coward!"


    Caught in an argument, both of them started bickering with each other as they had a bone to pick with each other. They were whispering at each other, so they won''t be caught by the people outside.


    "Shh...Stop it! Look, they have a van, maybe, they are going to the city."


    The third person shushed two of them. He had fancy clothes on him and was the most handsome among them. He was physically fit and it seemed that he had exercised a lot in the past as fine muscle could be outlined from his body.


    He had light brown hair which was cut into a fancy hairstyle. He didn''t seem ordinary whenpared to a fatty and tall student as he was surrounded by a special aura. Apparently, he was a leader of their group.


    As well as a fatty, his eyes were glued to the girls but for a different reason. He looked at them one by one.


    ''Katelyn and Rachel...''


    He seemed to recognize them since he had met them before...before everything happened. Observing over the two girls who stopped vomiting yet were leaning on the ground, he grew even grew more confident in that thought.


    "It''s definitely them."


    Mumbling it under his breath, he stared at two beauties hardly as they would have vanished right before his eyes.


    "How much time are you gonna sit there and hide yourselves. Show up!"


    At such words, all three of them jolted slightly in their ces, assuming that it wasn''t directed at them.


    ***


    ''How much time are they gonna sit there?''


    Killing thest zombie dashing towards him, he couldn''t help but grew suspicious of them since they might be ning something over.


    He had already detected them by his Mana Sensing when he decided to stop in front of the inte cafe since he was keeping it active all over the time they drove the van. He opted not to mind their presence at the beginning, but now, when it was safe outside, they would better show themselves.


    "How much time are you gonna sit there and hide yourselves. Show up!"


    A short timeter, three male students could be seen on the other side of the window. One was tall and thin, another one was fat and short, while thest one looked handsome and physically fit.


    Checking the outside for the presence of any zombies, they quickly exited an inte cafe and awkwardly waved their hands towards them. Each of them had a weapon in their hands.


    The person in the middle, seemingly a leader of them, held a Broken Spear in his hands. A tall but thin student was equipped with a Rusty Sword, while fatty had the same bat as Reba.


    Getting a grip of themselves, Rachel and Katelyn finally stopped throwing up yet when they nced at the person in the middle, they seemed to recognize him.


    "Damien! Is it you?"


    Katelyn was the first one who eximed in surprise and cast a light on the identity of the person, as she quickly waved her hand towards them, while at the same time, wiping saliva from her lips.


    Rachel wasn''t so friendly to him, but still, nod her head to them as she was acknowledging them. It seemed only Katelyn was close to them, while Rachel was only acquainted with Damien in the middle.


    "Mind introducing him to me?"


    In such a way, Dave had learned who was Damien. He might have recognized him before if he hadn''t regressed since he was quite popr among other students, but he had already forgotten about him in his five years.


    Damien was a junior student from the same major as Rachel and Katelyn, from International Business Administration Major. Being an offspring of a wealthy family, he was handsome and had great future prospects, making him a hot topic among the female counterpart of their university.


    As he had learned, Damien was an owner of the inte cafe since students in their university pursuing business couldunch a project inside the campus. Supported by his family and attracting sponsors to his project, he opened a small business inside a university.


    He was checking it before everything had happened and was trapped in it after he fell unconscious inside his inte cafe. Obtaining a weapon from the system, they were able to kill all zombies after a few days.


    "So, are you going to the city?"


    With everything said, he asked a question that interested him the most.

 Chapter 37: A Way Out

    Chapter 37: A Way Out


    "Nope. We''re not going anywhere from the university since we don''t know anything about the current state of our city. There should be even more dangerous than our ce."


    Even though nobody knew what was going on in the city, Dave clearly understood that wandering there was much riskier than what could be imagined. Even without his memories of past life, he could already deduce that much.


    Their city, Newdale, provided with a residence more than ten million people, meaning at least half of them were infected. Between going to the city with millions of zombies and staying in the university with thousands of zombies, his choice was obvious.


    "But..." Clearly caught by his surprise, Damien didn''t predict that he would be refused so tantly. As he was confused by Dave''s decision, he genuinely couldn''t understand why he got refused.


    ''Stupid! Is he worried about his safety? Then, he shouldn''t refuse if I tell him about that.'' Damien thought inwardly.


    "My father''spany is quite close to our university. He had bodyguards when everything had happened, so it should be safe there. So it should be much safer for us if we go there." Growing confident with every word, Damien smiled lightly at the end of his words.


    Surviving for more than a week, it was an only solution he could think off. Just in a day, everything had changed for him. His position, his status, even his life meant nothing when he was surrounded by zombies. His father''spany was his only hope.


    To be honest, Rachel and Katelyn couldn''t help but grow interested in his words as they listened to him attentively. Indeed, they were safe most of the time after everything had happened, but they feared that it was only for time-being.


    Just a week ago, both of them were just students of International Business Administration Major and were having vibrant student life. Rachel wanted to start as an intern in her family''spany, while Katelyn had just gone for a safe option.


    They had envisioned a much better future for themselves where there was no ce for survival in a zombie world, but everything changed so quickly that they didn''t know what to do now.


    Seeing how both of them were being swayed by his proposal, Dave wondered how they were going to survive in the future. Without thinking much of it, he still refused the proposal. "Sorry, but I doubt that it safer there."


    ''...And I also have things to do here. If I remember clearly, she should be close to this ce.'' Dave thought as he recalled a certain woman from his past life.


    Saviour of University...Iron Lady...Bloody Eve. He wasn''t close to her in his past life to even be called acquaintances, but always when he saw her, she had blood covering her face.


    He had always thought of her as a peculiar person. She was the one who unified different survivor groups all around the university and made it a safe ce for every student, but at the same time, she had killed more people than anyone else.


    Why would she do this? Why would she kill so many people if her goal was to kill every zombie in the university? He couldn''t understand her. Well, he had heard how chaotic it was before but never saw it since he was trapped in the storeroom. When he had left it, the university was already a ce which could be called safe.


    "Hey, if you don''t want to go, then just stay here. We''ll just take a van!" Saying it, fatty looked at Dave threateningly.


    "Try to do it and you''re dead!" In response, Dave just leaked a small part of his killing intent and directed it towards fatty.


    Nobody felt it due to Dave''s control, yet fatty thought that a dagger was put to his throat. He was crushed by sudden pressure and struggled to breathe as his body tensed up immediately. Fatty thought that he was standing against a wild beast!


    There was a big difference between people who had killed a lot and who just faked it. Such people had no fangs! Yet interestingly, Dave found that such people like fatty usually caused the most trouble.


    Paling in his face, fatty stumbled backwards and fell on his butt as he was looking at Dave scaredly. There was no threat in his gaze, only pure fear.


    As fatty fell on his butt, everyone looked at him strangely since it had happened too suddenly. Just a moment ago, he was looking at Dave intensely, but right after a second, he was already sitting on the ground.


    "Okay, no need for any violence. I''m sorry about the behaviour of my friend, he didn''t mean it. He was just too excited to see other survivors after a week. If you''re not going anywhere, can we join your group?" Damien made another proposal as his previous one was rejected directly.


    Shrugging it off, he just nodded to him as he didn''t want to waste his time on such a small matter. Taking his past life into consideration, he was already 25 and was a veteran when it came to survival, so he decided to adopt a mindset of an expert.


    ''Damien...What a snake!'' Dave silently made a note in his mind.


    He had already met people like Damien. Having such type of people by your side was quite risky since they were like lurking snakes, assaulting you when you don''t wait for it. He decided to keep an eye on him, perhaps, he could use Damien for his own benefit.


    Casting aside any distracting thoughts, Dave decided to focus on their current state. He said to others. "I''m going to scout our surroundings."


    "I''m going with you!" Reba followed after him as she felt awkward around new survivors. Rachel and Katelyn were still acquainted with Damien, but she wasn''t familiar with anyone among them. She also felt secure around Dave.


    Not minding her presence, Dave moved along the street and searched for any high building in a close area. He decided to follow a simple and proven strategy, scout their surroundings from above.


    Thankfully, there were no zombies in a close area, so he quickly spotted a three-storey building among other constructions. It was a building which was free to rent for other students, so they could open their own small businesses.


    Identifying his destination, he headed towards the building with Reba following close behind him. Since she was still confused by the previous events, she decided to probe their situation as she asked. "How''s our situation?"


    "Imagine it as we had dived deeper into a hive of zombies. Even though we had entered it with a van, I doubt that we can leave it the same way as we entered." Dave gave, as he had thought, the exact evaluation of their situation.


    Their van was chased by a swarm of zombies, meaning that their way by which they came here was blocked by a dense group of zombies, hence, making it impossible to leave by the van.


    Furthermore, they had also disturbed other zombies along the way, so most of the zombies in a close area should have already entered a frenzied state, forcing them to wait till they settle down.


    "Then, what''re we going to do?" Reba asked with an apparent worry in her eyes.


    At her words, Dave smiled evilly and said. "Of course, we''re going to bait zombies out!"

 Chapter 38: A Scheme

    Chapter 38: A Scheme


    At his words, Reba only looked at him puzzledly. She didn''t understand what did he meant by baiting zombies out, yet she still tried to trust him.


    Dave nced in the direction from where they came on a van, spotting a dense crowd of zombies in a frenzied state. They looked like a beehive which was disturbed from the outside, thrashing violently on their ces.


    Next, his eyes fell on other zombies slowly wandering on the streets. It should be zombies which were far away from them to heat noise from engines, yet even then, their numbers were high enough to block the van, so he said. "Better to move by our legs."


    Well, he wasn''t so much surprised by their numbers since he knew that their current location was previously popr among other students, exiningrge numbers of zombies. However, it also had arge number of resources since most of the stores were located here.


    "What about others? Were they able to reach our base?" After a slight silence, Reba asked him concernedly.


    "Better worry about yourself! They should already be in the dormitory building. Don''t worry! Adam is smart and rational, so he won''t do anything rash. Moreover, I already told him not to be a hero."


    "Did you already know that everything will end this way?" Reba noted sharply. In a week, she already felt familiar with Dave since they hunted together and he taught her different things, so she felt less scared around him. Though he was still terrifying in some ways like when he smiled evilly back then.


    "Well, let''s say that I always have a contingency n in case something goes wrong" Dave responded calmly while observing their surroundings.


    He was satisfied with her questions since he thought that Reba was slowly adapting to the new world and building courage to ask questions as well as respond to them without being meek and timid.


    Reba paused slightly to reorganize her thoughts and asked. "Then, how can I help you with baiting zombies away from us?"


    "Don''t worry! We don''t need to do anything." He chuckled lightly and smiled lightly at her question.


    Confused by his answer, she only looked at him oddly, wondering what he meant by it, but when she tried to ask another question, he had already finished scouting and headed downstairs.


    ***


    Waiting till Dave and Reba enter a three-storey building, fatty was the first one who broke the silence.


    "Brother Damien, are we truly going to join them? What the fuck! What about our safety?" Fatty eximed in anger, immediately reddening in his face. He was hot-tempered by nature, so he couldn''t tolerate a threat from Dave.


    "Fatty, don''t be stupid! We don''t need them if we could get a van." The tall student said, scolding an angered fatty near him. He looked rather sinister while saying it.


    "What do you think about it? If we could steal a van from them, we can easily leave university boundaries and reach my father''s ce." Noticing support from both of his friends, Damien nced at Rachel and Katelyn.


    Even though Damien didn''t suggest the idea itself, he didn''t object it in any way since such a result was his intention all along. The only thing he needed was approval from everyone, so they could proceed to the next step.


    "Yeah, join us! We''ll treat you much better than him!"


    "More people, better it will be!"


    Both fatty and tall student tried to pull them to their side, looking lewdly at them. They couldn''t help it since both Rachel and Katelyn were beauties in their way. Rachel had her unique charm, while Katelyn had a slim and well-proportioned figure. It felt bad to leave such beautiful girls behind.


    Listening to their conversation, Rachel stiffened ufortably, feeling bad while talking about it. Even though she also wanted to reach a safe ce, the idea of leaving Dave and Reba made her ufortable.


    "Isn''t it bad to leave them behind? Shouldn''t we discuss it with them?" Rachel questioned them.


    "It''s much safer in my father''spany and it''s also close to our university, so there shouldn''t be any dangers. Moreover, both of them are strong enough to wander in university by themselves, so they won''t die easily." Damien tried to convince her.


    "I''m in!" Katelyn said as she was tempted by his proposal. Furthermore, she wasn''t on good terms with Dave to start with, so she didn''t feel so much wrong about it. Compared to them, she knew that she was weak, further fuelling her desire to seek shelter.


    "But he saved our lives! We can''t do that to them." Rachel said. She didn''t want to leave them behind since she had felt that they were leaving them to death.


    "Just drop your act! Do you seriously want to trade your chance to survive just for them? I know that you also want to live just like me, so stop it!" Katelyn said in irritation.


    "If you don''t want to go with us, then just give us a key to the van." Fatty also eximed in anger as he stretched his hand towards her.


    However, a hand had caught fatty''s wrist, stopping it in the air. Damien threateningly red at him and said. "Shut up, fatty!"


    Caught by his guard, fatty retreated backwards and listened to him, cautiously looking at Damien. Even though they had killed zombies together, Damien was a level higher than them and also was physically fit before everything happened, giving him a higher start.


    Therefore, both of them didn''t dare to cause problems around him and acknowledged him as their leader.


    ''Damn, fatty! He was close to spilling everything out.'' Damien thought as he red at fatty. He also wanted to leave university faster than anyone here, yet they shouldn''t put Rachel on guard. They needed her cooperation.


    "Okay, then! We won''t do anything, just don''t tell your friend otherwise it would be awkward for us." He asked for assistance from her. They can''t allow her to tell everything to Dave.


    Of course, only Rachel was relieved at that time, while others gazed at Damien in confusion. Even though Rachel was surprised that he backed down so quickly, she didn''t want to escte it even further, so she nodded her head.


    At the same time, Dave and Reba could already be seening out of the building. It only took a short amount of time for them to get back to them from scouting.


    Spotting them, Damien pulled fatty closer to him and whispered to his ear. "Keep an eye on that girl!" Moreover, he also leaned closer to others and whispered something to them.


    When both Reba and Dave came close enough to them, Damien asked them. "So how is it? Did you find anything out?"


    "It seems that we should wait here for some time. Zombies around us are in a frenzied state, though they should calm downter. Let''s settle here for a day." Dave shared with everyone what he had found.


    "Then,e with us. I''ll show the way!" With such words, Damien led everyone into the inte cafe.

 Chapter 39: Stolen Van

    Chapter 39: Stolen Van


    Following after Damien, they were first weed by the reception desk. It was amon reception room except for neon lights lightening the inte cafe from inside. There were also empty shelves, seemingly for snacks and drinks.


    "Let''s go to the staff room. Except forfy seats, it is useless to be there. Or do you want to y games now? Be aware, the inte isn''t working." Damien said in self-contempt as he noticed their curious nces to the gaming zone.


    Even though it was a sessful business idea back then, earning him quite a profit,puters were useless for him now. They couldn''t fill their stomachs nor did they protect them from zombies, so though they were still functional, their use didn''t exceed the use of metal scraps now.


    Damien opened a door behind the reception desk and showed them a staff room. It was a small square room with two rows of lockers in there and with a small wooden table.


    "It might be a bit cramped here, so please don''t mind it," Damien remarked when he saw that they were standing too close to each other.


    "Let''s have lunch and wait a day till zombies outside calm down," Dave suggested as his eyes fell on the snacks lying on the table. Of course, he wanted to eat the food of others.


    "Then, let''s share everything we have," Damien said as he pointed at the heavy bag on Dave''s back.


    "What? It''s my personal belongings. Do you want to rob me?" Dave asked back threateningly. He was ring daggers towards Damien and also reached with his hand towards his axe.


    "Okay, then join us!" Damien said in irritation yet still kept his smile on his face. He was trying to act nice, so they won''t arouse any suspicions from Dave, but it seemed harder than he had thought.


    Truthfully, the choice of food was very poor since there were only several packs of snacks and several bottles of drinks, but it wasn''t his, so Dave didn''tin about it.


    "Hey, should we just bear with it?" The tall student eximed in anger as he whispered to Damien.


    "Wait till midnight and we''re gonna get what we want," Damien whispered to him ominously with a cold glint in his eyes.


    Both of their group ate in silence. Rachel was still feeling awkward after a previous conversation, while Reba didn''t feel right to talk in that atmosphere. As Dave was eating calmly, others were exchanging nces with each other, further proving his suspicions.


    "I''m gonna borrow one of the empty VIP cabs." Saying it, Dave stopped eating snacks and left the staff room. He headed towards one of the empty cabs and sat there cross-legged on the floor.


    It was a small room, barely enough to yfortably on theputer, and a gaming chair itself took most of the space, so Dave pulled a chair out of the room. The VIP cabs were small, yet they still provided a user with little privacy they need and it was enough for him.


    A short timeter, Rachel and Reba also followed after his example since they wanted to rest somewhere without any eyes peeking at them and VIP rooms did provide them with privacy. Reba also tried to meditate there, yet she still wasn''t able to grasp the skill.


    Dave quickly entered into a meditative state and started absorbing mana clusters surrounding him, restoring his mana reserves. With everything done, he only needed to wait till the night and other people will do everything instead of him.


    Of course, it was wasteful to use a van as a bait, considering all the food they had in it, but it was necessary means in their situation. He couldn''t freely move in their current ce with two girls with him since it was packed with zombies.


    ''We still need to take a slight detour on the way so to visit that ce.'' Dave thought as he rested after one session of meditation. He didn''t forget to do his daily regime as he moved to his Mana Sensing.


    Close to midnight, he pulled the gaming chair into the room and acted like he was sleeping. All he needed to was to wait for others.


    ***


    As deep nightfall had fallen on the inte cafe, only whispers from the staff room could be heard. Four people, three men and one woman, were saying something to each other in a hushed tone.


    "What the situation outside?" Damien whispered to the tall student, who had gone on scouting before. Impatience could be seen in eyes of every one since they had waited for this moment since the afternoon.


    "It seems that they are already asleep since I couldn''t hear any noise from their rooms." The tall student replied to him.


    Reba was tired from a long day and was soundly sleeping horizontally on the gaming chair. As for Rachel, it was the most exhausting day for her since she was the one who drove the van through the ranks of zombies.


    She never saw so much blood in her life, not to say a corpse which stuck to van''s frontal widescreen. Mentally tired, she was the first one among them who fell asleep.


    "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go and obtain a van key!" Fatty eximed in excitement as he wanted to quickly get out of the university.


    "I''ll go. You sit here!" Damien stopped fatty who was going to go after keys, fearing that he might do something unnned and fail their n. He noticed that fatty had other intentions other than obtaining a key since his eyes had shined in a vulgar light.


    Silently leaving the staff room, he headed towards Rachel''s VIP cab and searched for the key, but it wasn''t so easy since darkness had filled the inte cafe. Finally, he found them at the corner of the desk.


    Sighing in relief, he took a van key out of her VIP cab, grinning on the way back to the staff room. He could already see his father''spany before his eyes as heughed evilly inside ''Rot with zombies here!''


    "Yes!" Everyone eximed in joy when Damien showed a key to others. Giving it to fatty who was able to drive heavy vehicles, they quickly started engines and drove the van forward to the exit point of a university which wasn''t too far away from their location.


    As they were moving along the main road, the lights of the van shone on the swarm of zombies who were rushing towards them. Damien, who sat in a passenger seat, paled a bit and said, "Damn, crush them fatty!"


    Their van hit some of the zombies in front of them yet more were rushing towards their van.


    A short timeter, they were surrounded by zombies from every direction, and it was harder to move forward. Advancing with a slow speed, Damien finally saw the end of the packed group of zombies, yet...


    Thud...Thud...Thud!


    Something big was stomping outside the van! And when it finally stopped on the way of their van and was illuminated by the lights of the van, Damien became terrified!


    The Giant towered before their van and lifted its humongous fist in front of them. With a little effort, it sent a punch to the front side of the van as it was sent backwards.


    Bang!


    "AHHHHHHH! Fuck!" Damien gruntled in excruciating pain. Just a week ago, he was a student with a promising future and had never suffered so much pain in his life. Yet the most terrifying was what appeared before him.


    Fatty is dead!


    Since the punch had fallen directly on the driver''s side, fatty was smashed into a bloody mess. His face was disfigured with a visible eyeball drooping from its seemingly an eye socket. Damien never saw so damaged dead body.


    Thud...Thud...Thud!


    Hearing the same stomps of the monster, despair overcame his mind. Due to the unbearable pain and terror, tears streamed down his cheeks as he started sobbing "Please...No!...I don''t want to die!"


    However, a secondter, he was smashed under the fist of a Giant as everything ckened before his eyes.


    Several momentster, zombies had reached the backside of the van as they gnashed their teeth to the flesh of Katelyn and a tall student who weren''t able to resist them in any way. After several seconds, their shrieks had ended as only the sound of tearing flesh and chewing could be heard.


    All along, two moons evilly hovered in the dark sky, observing everything that happened below them.

 Chapter 40: Training Rachel

    Chapter 40: Training Rachel


    Tracking direction of the van with Mana Sensing and hearing how the noise of the engine was getting further, Dave thought ''What a patient jerk? Waited all the way to the deep night.''


    Rubbing off his stiff shoulder muscles, he couldn''t help but sigh since he was faking to be asleep for a long time. While pretending to be asleep, he was monitoring their actions with his skill Mana Sensing, so he opened his eyes right after they drove away.


    He could give credits to Damien''s patience because he had waited for a long time until they have slept. At least, Damien was cautious with his n and didn''t take any risk of ruining it, even fetching key of the van himself.


    ''I even had a thought that he might be a nice guy.'' Dave pondered as he recalled how Damien backed at the sight of a conflict. He wasn''tpletely sure about his intentions, yet he already proved his suspicions while observing them with his Mana Sensing.


    However, Dave was already familiar with such type of people from his past life. They smile and act politely in front of you, yet at the same time, they plot behind your back, seeking for every chance to backstab you.


    To achieve what they want, they don''t fear restraining themselves if it helps to reach their goal. To put it bluntly, they are troublesome on their own, even more dangerous than hot-tempered people in a long run, like having a ticking bomb with you.


    ''They should be already dead.'' Dave thought as he recalled a dense wall of zombies down the road. He already knew that it will be suicidal for them to drive a van, yet he didn''t stop them since it was advantageous for him. He won''t object anyone who seeks their own death.


    Furthermore, he was able to get rid off of potential traitors, so he didn''t regret what he did. Recalling the scenes from his past life, Dave thought and sighed. ''At the face of death, people will show their true nature and will even do what they didn''t dare to do before.''


    Deciding to wait a bit till zombies outside calms down, he had entered another meditative session absorbing mana from his surroundings. He had already restored his mana reserves from a previous battle, so after two hours, he woke up two soundly sleepingdies.


    Rubbing their temples, they left their cabs as they tried to resist the drowsiness from ack of sleep. They look questioningly at him as if asking "Why did you wake us up?"


    "Katelyn and Damien''s group drove our van away, leading part of the zombies away from us. We should quickly leave this ce while we still have a chance." Dave said calmly as he had already expected such questions.


    "What do you mean? The key to the van is with me." Saying it, Rachel searched for a key on her body, then turned her head towards the desktop. Finding nothing, she eximed puzzledly. "They were with me."


    "As I''ve said there is no van outside and there are no other guys, so they must have stolen it. They should already far away from us, so stop wasting time and let''s get going." Dave repeated his words. He didn''t mention that they were likely dead since he knew what their reactions would be like.


    "But they seemed to be nice people," Reba muttered as she was finding it still hard to believe that they were robbed. As for Rachel, she seemed quite apologetic since she thought it was her fault that they ended in such a state.


    They followed after Dave and quickly ate cans of food that he offered to them. Calcting the resources in his backpack, he still had the food for a day-long, so he thought it should be enough for the way back.


    When they left the inte cafe, it was already dawn outside as it was slightly dark out there. Striding down the street, Dave said. "We''re gonna take a slight detour on the way back and visit one ce, but before it, we should help Rachel with her fear."


    At his words, Rachel was confused as she was wondering what fear she had and after several seconds, she paled in her face as she understood what he meant.


    ...


    "Nice job!" Dave encouraged Rachel as he patted her on the back.


    "Don''t worry! It would get easier in the future." Reba also felt sympathy for her since just several days ago, she was in the same position as her. It was always hard to kill your first zombie.


    Rachel was standing above the limbless corpse of a zombie, which was pulled by Dave, and vomiting content of her stomach as acid fluid mixed with digested food leaked out of her mouth. Her face was so pale like the blood stopped flowing into it. She held Reba''s Survivor Bat in her hands.


    She never felt worse than now. Yesterday, due to inrush of the adrenaline and severity of the situation, she was able to cope with that feeling, yet now every small detail was vivid in her eyes. Rotting flesh, thick dark red blood and lifeless eyes of a zombie filled her heart with disgust and terror.


    When she came to her grips after several minutes, Dave pulled another zombie to her, so she could have her first true fight with a zombie. However,pared to Reba, it seemed that Rachel was less fit than Reba as she didn''t evenst several seconds before Dave saved her.


    ''It seems that it would be harder than I thought.'' Dave pondered as he gazed at clumsy movements of the Rachel. He quickly came to the conclusion that she was talentless in fighting itself. She had poor coordination between her movements and low reaction, plus her movements were stiff while fighting.


    Hence, he spent a bit of his time to train Rachel.


    "Sidestep when it attacks you!"


    ...


    "Zombies are dull, so you need to be one step ahead of it!"


    ...


    "Stop retreating backwards! You need to seize a moment!"


    ...


    ''She finally killed it!'' Dave thought inwardly as he nced at exhausted Rachel who was lying t on the ground. She wasn''t tired physically, more mentally, since she had already experienced several moments when jaws of the zombie were close to her face.


    "What''s next?" Reba asked as she patted Rachel on her shoulders, encouraging her for efforts.


    "We''re gonna take a slight detour and visit a supermarket on the way back," Dave replied as he nced at the direction, as he thought, of the supermarket.

 Chapter 41: Mid-rank Giant

    Chapter 41: Mid-rank Giant


    Spreading his senses around him, Dave led two girls and avoidedrge crowds of zombies, changing their route one after another. As a result, the way, which should have taken 15 minutes, took more than half an hour.


    Finally, Dave calmly gazed at the huge supermarket, already spotting several zombies around it. Looking at it, he thought ''Yeah! I wouldn''t have wished to be trapped there on my first day!''


    It was arge two-store building, and he thought that it was a hive for zombies since the supermarket should have been packed with people when everything had happened.


    It was the biggest supermarket, therefore, the most popr ce for students to purchase what they needed. On top of it, it was conveniently located close to the shopping zone, so more students visited it in the afternoon.


    "Ehm...David, why do we even need to go there?"


    "Yeah! Let''s just pass by it"


    Reba and Rachel gazed at him puzzledly because they genuinely couldn''t understand why they needed to enter it. Reba had furrowed her brows as she was thinking hard, while Rachel''s eyes seemed slightly unfocused, perhaps, due to the exhaustion from the continuous battles with zombies.


    Well, at least, she had gained 2 levels, one from killing her first zombie and another one from killing zombies on the way to the supermarket, and allocated her free points into strength.


    "Don''t worry so much! I still need to restock my backpack with food, so let''s go there and rest a bit. I doubt that Rachel can continue even further." Dave curtly replied, hiding important information that there might be survivors in it.


    He couldn''t just say that future saviour of their university was in there. Didn''t he?


    Furthermore, he wasn''t even sure about it since it was just a rumour back then, so it might be not true at all. At least, it wasn''t harmful to check it.


    "Furthermore, how are you gonna grow if you don''t face any hardships?" Dave shamelessly added on as he recalled a phrase that was usually mentioned to him when he was a soldier.


    "..."


    "..."


    Reba and Rachel were struck speechless as they didn''t find any words to reply to him.


    He was amused to get no response from them since it was the same for him back in his days.


    "But it would be suicidal to enter it from the main entrance point!" Reba protested since she still knew the difference between hardship and a death wish.


    "Who said that we''re gonna go in by the main entrance point? I''m not a fool! Of course, we are entering by backdoors." Dave smiled yfully as he exined it to her.


    "..."


    She found no words to say as she blushed slightly, realizing that her thinking was too narrow. For some reason, she didn''t even think about going in by backdoors, perhaps, because it was essible only for staff members before everything happened, and she had never used it before.


    Dave vaguely exined their n; they will enter the supermarket from the backdoor and lock themselves up in one of the room. Of course, he dropped the part where he uses his Mana Sensing to search for any survivors in the building.


    Slightly relieved by the presence of a n, Rachel and Reba followed after Dave to the backdoors. Since the front of the supermarket was mainly open space, several zombies had spotted them and attacked at the first sight.


    When they reached the backside, they saw a van parked before therge metallic doors with anothermon door next to it. Dave thought ''How convenient! We lost one van but found another one here. It might be for the best.''


    Slowly approaching the metallic doors, big enough for a van to go in by it, Dave shushed two girls behind him and spread his senses towards it, trying to find any zombies behind it.


    Detecting something big behind the metallic doors, Dave said to Reba and Rachel "Wait for me here. I need to deal with something."


    Saying it, he entered by the door next to the big metallic doors. The first thing he saw was a humongous monster with rotting flesh and bulging muscles. It looked extremely hideous with its small head disproportionate to its huge body and was slightlyrger than low-rank 1 Giants.


    ''Never did I thought that I will meet my first mid-rank 1 evolved zombie here. Interesting, would it drop any Treasure Chests?'' Dave thought excitedly as he recalled how it was already several days since he had acquired any Treasure Chests.


    Remaining unspotted by the Giant since he was at his back, Dave lifted his hand and directed it towards it. It flickered with light and mana started gathering right before him as it flew in a straight line to its head.


    Boom!


    ''Tsk...What a troublesome guy! It seems my intelligence isn''t high enough.'' Dave thought as he nced at the wound on the monster''s head. Even though Mana Bullet had pierced its skin, it didn''t go through its skull, exploding when it hit it.


    Truly, the defence of the Giants shouldn''t be underestimated! Well, Mana Bullet wasn''t an actual bullet since it was shaped from the formless mana, so it exploded when it hit the though surface.


    The strength of the magic spell usually depended on two factors: mana which was used for the spell and intelligence stat. Mana made it the spell stronger itself, while high intelligence allowed to deliver a stronger punch with the same spell. Because of it, mages allocate their points into intelligence and spirit


    Silently activating Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing, Dave lifted his axe and rushed towards the confused Giant, which was paralyzed temporarily due to the shockwave from the small explosion.


    He quickly approached the Giant and decided to aim for its spine since other parts of its body were too tough for him. Thankfully, since zombies were anatomically simr to humans, it had the same weak spots.


    However, as he had already prepared to attack it, confused Giant quickly turned his body and tried to hit him with its fists.


    Shatter!


    At the moment of danger, Battle Focus had been automatically activated as everything slowed down before him. Quickly retreating backwards, Dave covered himself with Mana Barrier and used sh Step to step back.


    Colliding with its fist, Mana Barrier shattered immediately but was able to slow down it for a moment, so Dave could dodge it at thest moment. ring cautiously to the Giant, Dave noticed that it was still disoriented and started his n B.


    He closely approached it and dodged it clumsy attacks, reaching its back. He sent his axe towards its knee, damaging its tendons and forcing it to kneel on the floor. Then, he shed with his axe to its neck, crashing its spine. Losing its bnce, Giant couldn''t resist him in any way.


    Thud!


    The mid-rank Giant fell heavily on the floor paralyzed as Dave thought ''Well, at least, they are stupid and dull to pain, so they won''t defend their weak spots.''


    With a great effort, Dave was able to crush its skull and kill it. Unfortunately, he didn''t get any system notifications that he levelled up.


    However, the Treasure Chest had appeared next to the corpse, and it was blue in colour!

 Chapter 42: Steel Sword

    Chapter 42: Steel Sword


    ring at the Blue Chest, Dave couldn''t hide his excitement as he thought ''What should I get? Item? Nah, it might be not much of a use. Skill Book? It would be sad if I got a skill notpatible with me. Stat-increasing potion? Not a bad option!''


    As he opened it, a Blue Chest, shining with soft and gentle azure light, disappeared as it never existed before, disintegrating into a thin air. Instead of it, a sword had appeared on its ce, glimmering in metallic lustre.


    [Steel Sword


    Attack: 18-25


    Durability: 20


    Description: Sword of fine quality. It was mass-produced from steel by following simple design, making it amon steel sword in every way.]


    ''Well, at least, it''s good enough.'' Dave thought as he gazed at the sword with shining eyes.


    Finally, he had acquired a sword after breaking his Rusty Sword. He was muchfortable by fighting with it since he was initially a swordsman, so he felt much better with a sword in his hands.


    Moreover, he would be able to rise his Swordsmanship skill level if he uses a sword as his main weapon. Moreover, he had his own ns on it as he thought "Can I use it on this sword?..."


    Holding it in his hand, he felt a familiar grip on it as the sword perfectlyy in his hand. It wasn''t fancy in any way and was made by following the crude design, resembling more a medieval sword than a modern one.


    Even then, he was satisfied to acquire a weapon fitting his level since it was quite hard to obtain one. Furthermore, he could finally try that skill on it and find out if he could use it.


    ''But first of all, we need to find a safe ce to settle down.'' Dave thought as he remembered two girls waiting for him outside. It would be better to secure a safe ce first and only then, try everything he wanted.


    Holding a Steel Sword in one hand and Dull Axe in another, he opened the door, by which he entered, and called over Rachel and Reba "Hey, let''s go. It''s safe now!"


    Reba and Rachel were standing outside and feeling insecure without Dave. Before he called them over, they were ncing apprehensively at their surroundings, trying to find any signs of danger.


    When they had hurriedly followed after Dave, they gasped in surprise by what they saw. Since he was more interested in the Giant, Dave didn''t pay it any heed, yet Reba and Rachel were stunned by what they saw.


    There were lots of neatly stacked shelves and wooden boxes before them, as well as bags with various contents in it. They quickly understood that the big metallic doors led to the storeroom of the supermarket.


    "Stop ring nkly at everything. We can''t transport everything from here, so let''s find a safe ce before everything." Noticing their stunned eyes, Dave reminded them.


    Scanning the surroundings, Dave avoided all zombies and led two girls behind him to one of the rooms, seemingly of a staff member.


    They silently entered it, releasing a sigh of relief as they were able to rx their tense bodies. Rachel quickly rushed to the office chair and sat on it, leaning her body on the desk, while Reba and Dave sat on the floor.


    Wasting no time, he sat cross-legged on the floor and entered the meditative state to adjust his state of mind. He couldn''t allow himself to make a mistake in what he wanted to do with his sword.


    Meditating half an hour, he first took a Dull Axe and tried to surround it with mana. Gathering mana around it, Dave thought ''Everything is going smoothly so far.''


    Then, he tried to infuse his mana inside of it, concentrating on the flow of his mana. Bit by bit, he was able to infuse a small amount of mana into it, so he tried to apply more mana.


    Crack!


    When he tried to provide his axe with more mana, it started cracking as it was going to explode from the pressure inside. Dave quickly retrieved his mana from it and cut off its flow.


    Checking durability of the Dull Axe, he noticed that it had been lowered by two points, so he didn''t dare on continuing it as he thought ''Perhaps, I need more time to do it.''


    "What are you trying to do?" Noticing that his axe had shined with blue light for a moment, Reba asked puzzledly.


    Lost in thought, Dave didn''t hear at first, but when she had asked him for a second time, he had awoken from his thoughts as he replied, "I tried to infuse it with my mana."


    Noticing confusion on her face, he exined it to her. "I want to infuse my weapon with mana to increase its attack power and durability. To do it, I tried to gather my mana in it and form cirction pathways for my mana, but failed after infusing more mana than a weapon could bear."


    "Whoa! It seems cool! Can you teach me?" Noticing that he finished doing whatever he did, Reba asked him with expectant eyes. Her clear blue eyes red at him as she leaned closer to him, yet noticing that she was too close to him, she blushed slightly and hurriedly pulled her face back.


    At her words, he only chuckled inwardly since cool wasn''t a word to describe that skill. Mana Infusement was one of the advanced skills from his past life and he himself had been barely able toprehend it in his past life. He was regarded as a madman to try to learn it by himself since he spent months on learning it and also broke lots of weapons in past.


    Mana Infusement was a skill where you infuse your weapon with mana and establish mana pathway between your mana veins and a weapon. Even a slightck of control on your mana may result in disintegration and explosion of your weapon.


    "First of all, try to sense mana around you and absorb it! If you can''t learn Meditation immediately, then, take your time to feel mana surrounding you. Since your mana affinity is high, you might even not need to learn Meditation to absorb mana, though it would still be useful for you." Dave said.


    Since Meditation was a skill of concentration and deep focus rather than mana absorption, it was useful to learn it in any way. It helped to clear your mind, allowing you to reach a maximum of your limits and boosting your insight, and also it helped to increase your spirit.


    "Then, what should I do?" Reba asked as she didn''t know how to start.


    "Perhaps, there is a shortcut for you. Try to summon Star and ask it to help you with it. It''s made of mana, so you might get a hold of how to sense mana with its help." Dave wasn''tpletely sure about it since he had thought of it only now.


    With an expression as she was enlightened, she followed his advice and summoned her elemental spirit. Closing her eyes, she asked for help from herpanion and a short timeter, she eximed in surprise "Whoa! It''s like there are fireflies are flying around me!"


    "Don''t get distracted! Try to familiarize yourself with that feeling." Dave smiled lightly as he instructed her. At the same time, he thought ''Now, I should focus on finding survivors.''


    Spreading his senses as far as he could, he scanned the first floor for any signs of people, yet doing it for more than 15 minutes, he found no one. It was as if there was nobody in the supermarket except for them and zombies.


    Zombies were wandering everywhere inside a supermarket and there were so much of them, that even he felt slightly intimidated by their numbers. However, he noticed that there was a spot where there were slightly fewer zombies than in other ces.

 Chapter 43: Ambitions

    Chapter 43: Ambitions


    "Fuck! I''m already full of this bullshit! Why do we even need to provide those leechers with food? We risked our lives for it! And what about them? They just sat here doing nothing!" A male student was fuming as he shouted madly at people in front of him.


    There were more than a dozen of them. At his words, most of them jerked slightly, finding his words ufortable.


    "Kyle, don''t be so mad. We are the only ones who have weapons, so it''s our responsibility!" A blond male student tried to calm Kyle as he tried to talk sense with him. Both of them were tall and had wide shoulders, indicating good physical fitness.


    "Yeah! It''s not our fault that we don''t have weapons."


    "It''s not like we want to be helpless!"


    "You also need food!"


    "Shut up, leechers!" Kyle again responded angrily to their words. During that week, he already started hating everything. He hated that useless burden! Stuck in an underground basement, he didn''t know how many time had already passed here.


    He hated people in front of him who remained in safety while he risked his life to get food, yet he hated a blonde guy more than them.


    "Arthur, do you truly want to slide it off? They literally do nothing all the time we were here!" Kyle asked irritatedly as he thought, ''Stop ying a hero!''


    "But it won''t feel right otherwise! We should help each other since we are all stuck together," Arthur said as he also felt exhausted being cooped in one building.


    However, Arthur had already been approved as a leader of their group by others. Arthur and Kyle were the only ones who didn''t throw their clubs, so they were the strongest among them.


    He thought that it was his responsibility to look after others!


    "Big talk from a man who was at the brink of death just a while ago. Kyle, have you already forgotten how you were literally dying from fever just several hours ago?" The female student sided with Arthur.


    She had long ck hair and had worn casual clothes. However, the most unusual aspect about her was her beautiful ruby eyes, shining as a gemstone. She had a cold and sharp around her.


    At her words, Kyle finally calmed down as he recalled something. Smiling lightly with a cold glint in his eyes, he said, "Fine! Then, let''s finish it faster!"


    "If you''re feeling weak after a fever, I can take your ce." The same female student suggested as she yed with a wooden club in her hands.


    "No need, Evelyn. You had gone previously, so you can rest. I''ll do it myself." Kyle said as he held Failed Dagger in his hand. It was unusual for a person to change his temper so much, yet nobody paid it any attention.


    "Evelyn, please, look after Mary," Arthur said as he nced at a short charming girl next to her. She was shorter than Evelyn and had brown hair as well as hazel eyes.


    "No need to worry about your girlfriend. She is also a friend of mine." Evelyn chuckled as she teased Arthur.


    All three of them were friends from high school, so they were familiar with each other for a long time. Evelyn had also liked Arthur in the past due to his bright and cheerful personality, but now she had no lingering romantic feelings towards him. Well, it was a story of the past.


    "Please, be safe, Art" Mary cheered him with her soft and sweet voice.


    Watching how two girls were cheering Arthur, Kyle gazed at him enviously as a cold glint shed in his eyes, even further fueling his hatred towards him. He especially hated that stupid sense of justice of Arthur.


    Arthur hade from a well-off family, had a beautiful girlfriend and was popr in university, so he had strongly envied his life. Even Evelyn''s status as an adopted child of their university principal was higher than his.


    He had thought that he could outperform him with a help of a system, yet even then he couldn''t catch up to him. Well, until now!


    A short whileter, three male students had gone upstairs from the underground basement to the first floor. Arthur was gripping a Broken Spear in his hands, while Kyle held the same Failed Dagger from before. The third man had a Wooden Club as his main weapon. Arthur had asked Kyle to give his previous weapon to the third man.


    Since they had made such raids in the past, they were calmer and stronger on their first time. Both Arthur and Kyle had reached level 3, while the third man was on level 1.


    Exiting the underground basement, all three of them moved slowly towards one of the shelves where snacks and water bottles were located. Arthur was in the front, leading them towards their goal while still avoiding wandering zombies.


    When they couldn''t avoid them, they swiftly killed them without causing much of a noise. With enhanced stats, it became much easier to kill zombies.


    Finally, reaching a shelf with food, they started silently packing their bags with snacks and drinks. They had already done it several times in the past, so they already knew what to do. The third man had stood on the guard as they were packing bags.


    ''Phew...Everything is going smoother than I expected. Good!'' Arthur thought silently as he was half-done with his task.


    Ding!


    Since they were silent all the time, the sound of a metal can of coke falling on the floor sounded louder than it should have. It seemed that Kyle identally dropped one while he was throwing resources into his bag.


    Immediately Arthur''s face paled as he quickly zipped his bag, yet it was already toote. At first, it was only one of them, but a short timeter, all zombies in a supermarket were growling madly.


    They quickly took their half-filled bags and dashed towards the door, yet zombies quickly started surrounding them. At that moment, Kyle grabbed the man next to him and pushed him towards rushing zombies as he said, "Buy some time for me!"


    The man mmed hard towards iing zombies as several of them fell on the ground. Arthur was closely following after them, yet when he saw what Kyle did, he rushed to help the man and shouted to Kyle, "What are you doing?"


    Smirking, Kyle red coldly at Arthur and said, "Die in peace, Arthur! I''ll kindly treat your girlfriend. Hahaha!"


    nk!


    With such words, the door to the underground basement was closed as Kyle left Arthur to his death.


    As the door was closed, even more zombies had rushed towards Arthur, filling his heart with even more despair.


    ***


    nk!


    Rushing downstairs, Kyle mmed the door to the underground basement open as he hurriedly entered it. His face was pale as he panted heavily.


    "What''s up, Kyle? Where''s Art?" Seeing the state of Kyle, Evelyn shakingly asked Kyle even if she had guessed the right answer.


    Taking a long breath, Kyle made a slight pause as he said, "...He''s dead"


    "Stop...What do you mean?... How?" Evelyn stammered as she said.


    "Arthur is dead! I''ve personally seen it!" Kyle repeated himself.


    At his words, Evelyn''s mind nked as tears started welling in her eyes, but someone had cried before her. Behind her, Mary was muttering something as she cried and bowled loudly, kneeling on the floor, "No!... Art couldn''t have died!... Why him?"


    Looking at her best friend, Evelyn steeled her heart and hugged Mary, trying tofort her. Even though she was also feeling sad and empty inside, Arthur had entrusted Mary to her, so she needed to look after her.


    An unknown timeter, Evelyn asked, "Where''s the food?"


    "I was able to fill only half of the bag, and I''m not gonna share it with anyone. Two of us had died to get the food! I don''t wanna return to that hell, so it''s all mine." Kyle shook his head as he gazed coldly at them.


    "Arthur had sacrificed his life to obtain that food!" Evelyn finally lost her temper as she shouted in anger.


    "It is my bag and I personally filled it. Arthur''s share of food should be outside with him! If you want to have food, then go after it by yourselves." Kyle retorted as he smiled evilly inwardly. He thought, ''Just wait a bit and you all will beg me for it.''


    "YOU!..." Evelyn shouted madly as she shakingly pointed her finger at him.


    "What? Are you going to take it by force? Sorry, but I''m much stronger than you." Kyle red coldly at her.


    She was so mad that her face had turned slightly scarlet from anger. However, she couldn''t do anything since she knew that he was much stronger than him since he had put all of his free points into strength.


    Even though it might seem unreasonable to kill other fighters like Arthur and that man, Kyle had obtained what he wanted. Soon, nobody would dare to go against him and his word would be an order.


    ''With no Arthur around me, no one, even zombies, wouldn''t pose me any threat due to my new strength! With my strength, I''ll be a ruler in a new world.'' Thinking so, he sent lewd nces at Evelyn and Mary as his eyes were sliding by their beautiful faces and bodies.

 Chapter 44: Unexpected Meeting

    Chapter 44: Unexpected Meeting


    "Don''t worry! I''ll be right back." Evelyn whispered as she held a hand of Mary who was sleeping leaning on the cold wall. Her eyes seemed still swollen from all tears she had cried as her brows were furrowed while she slept.


    They were leaning on the wall as their faces were illuminated by the dull lighting of the underground basement. Pipes and venttion were stretching next to the wall and ceiling as several other people were also located in the same underground basement.


    ''Poor Mary!'' Evelyn thought when she looked at the current state of her best friend as she slowly ungrasped her hand. Evelyn was also grieving over Arthur''s death, but she needed to be stronger...for Mary...and for Arthur also!


    Due to this, she decided to go upstairs and to acquire food for them, even though searching for food followed with risks on its own. However, she was ready for the risks...No, she had to face these risks!


    Several hours had already passed since Kyle had returned from above, and during that time Mary had fallen asleep due to mental exhaustion and as he had said, Kyle didn''t share his food with anyone.


    *Growl*


    Standing up, Evelyn had pressed her hand at her grumbling stomach since it was already a long time since she had eaten anything. Not only her, but everybody was starving for hours already...everybody, except for Kyle.


    During this time, Evelyn had a lot of time to think about the reasons why Arthur had died. And the conclusion she had drawn was that Arthur was too kind! He wanted to save everyone, yet in the end, he couldn''t even save himself.


    Ignoring the dangers, he risked his life for everyone and died in a result. Thinking everything over, she could agree with Kyle on one point; others acted as useless leechers who wanted to remain in the safety behind other''s backs.


    Slowly, without noticing it, something was changing inside Evelyn after Arthur''s death, something that never had been inside her. Darkness had found its ce inside her heart! Without knowing it, her thoughts had be slightly darker and crueller than before.


    Resisting the weakness in her body, she took her empty bag and Wooden Club as she trudged towards the stairs. She was feeling slightly weak after starving for hours, yet she could do nothing with it.


    "Where are you going?" Kyle asked with a mocking tone.


    "...Going to obtain food for me and Mary," Evelyn replied annoyedly, yet she failed to notice that she included only herself and Mary while neglecting others.


    "Try not to die! It''ll be sad to lose the only useful person in the group." Kyle sneered as he thought, ''Just wait and see how everyone including you would be begging me to give you food.''


    ring at him intensely with her ruby eyes, Evelyn turned abruptly and opened the doors of the underground basement as she went upstairs without saying a word. She decided not to waste her breath on him since she thought that it was useless anyway.


    "Greet Arthur if you meet him!" As she was closing the door, Evelyn heard Kyle''s mocking remark. Anger boiled inside her heart as she gritted her teeth and went upstairs with big strides.


    Slowly opening the door to the first floor, she peeked into the supermarket and, except for one or two zombies wandering close to the door, she hadn''t seen any apparent dangers.


    Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!


    Deeply breathing a mouthful of air, she tried to calm her beating heart. She could never grow ustomed to that feeling no matter how much she had done it in the past week. She felt like if she made one wrong step, she will be dead.


    ''Focus Evelyn! Arthur entrusted me Mary!'' Evelyn thought as she gritted her teeth.


    Waiting for the moment when a zombie trudged further from the door, Evelyn slipped through the door to the opening between shelves. Making turns when necessary and avoiding groups of zombies, she had somehow reached a shelf with food.


    Throwing everything she could find into her bag, she was turning her head asionally as to guard herself against any surprises. Her hands were swiftly sweeping over the shelf as she filled her bag with what she had thought was edible.


    Filling it so that it won''t be too heavy for her, she hurriedly stood up and headed to the underground basement. However, she quickly understood that her way back was blocked by a group of three zombies which were moving towards her location.


    ''When I had moved by that way, they weren''t here. Perhaps, I can take a detour.'' Evelyn thought as she pressed her hand on her mouth, fearing that sound could escape from her mouth due to her fear.


    Yet when she had turned to take another way to the underground basement, she had heard a sound of steps as they wereing from her only alternative path.


    Ba-dump! Ba-dump!


    Panicking slightly, Evelyn could only hear the sound of nearing steps and her own heartbeat. With no way forward, she didn''t know what to do as she started backing slowly. Gritting her teeth, she looked at the wide double door with a tablet "Staff only!" on it and entered the door.


    Still pressing her hand on her mouth, she found herself in a corridor as she leaned to one of the office doors. Escaping from her death, Evelyn sighed in relief as she thought, ''It was close just then!''


    However, just when she thought that she could catch her breath and calm herself, something hit the wide doors as it tried to push it open. Since wide doors could be easily opened by pushing, she immediately paled in her face as blood rushed from her face.


    Just when she had thought that she was already dead, the door she was leaning on opened as a hand covered her mouth and dragged her inside. She tried to struggle, but it was in vain as she was helplessly dragged into the room.


    ***


    Sensing nearing zombies, Dave swiftly dragged Evelyn inside the room as he covered her mouth with his hand. However, when he had pressed his hand on her mouth, he felt a sharp pain from it.


    As ast effort, Evelyn bit Dave''s hand in panic and fear!


    Ignoring the pain, he quickly closed the door and withdrawn his hand from Evelyn. Regaining her freedom, Evelyn quickly turned to face him, yet when she saw a person next to Dave, she eximed in surprise, "Arthur! You''re alive!"


    Indeed, a blond man was standing behind Dave as he greeted her with his blue eyes. He was surprised no less than her since he didn''t expect to meet her here. Arthur eximed, "Evelyn, what are you doing here? How''s Mary?"


    "She cried a lot when she had heard that you didn''t return, but don''t worry, she''s sleeping now. But Kyle said that you were dead. What happened?" Evelyn asked him, yet she already could pick some things about what happened. Evidently, Kyle lied to her!


    "Where should I start?..." Starting like this, Arthur told her everything that happened to him.


    Since Dave was sensing the supermarket every 15 minutes, he had already detected Arthur and his group when they were filling their bags with food. However, when they had attracted an aggro from zombies, he quickly dashed to them and was able to save Arthur. As for the third man, he was already dead when he had reached them.


    It was the same with Evelyn. He was observing her every movement from the moment she had left the underground basement, but he didn''t try to reach her since she was in no big danger like Arthur.


    ''Is it truly Evelyn? She seems slightly different than before.'' Dave thought as he looked at her up and down. Evelyn from his memories had ck hair till her neckline and had an oppressing aura around her, but now she had long hair and gentle facial features as she smiled at Arthur.


    "And they are?" Catching strange nces from Dave, Evelyn felt herself slightly ufortable under his gaze as she addressed to Arthur.


    "He''s the person who saved me. His name''s David. The girl sitting on the chair is Rachel, while the one on the floor is Reba." Arthur introduced everyone as he first pointed at Dave and then, to Rachel and Reba who were listening to their conversation silently.


    "Whatever! It''s nice that you''re alive!" Evelyn said as she hugged Arthur. However, finally reaching a safe ce, Evelyn stumbled as everything blurred around her. Arthur was the first one who noticed that something wasn''t right with her since she was heating too much.


    "Evelyn, why is your body heating so much?" Arthur asked in concern as he shook her body slightly. However, Evelyn was only half-conscious since she was too tired for today. Just in one day, she had lost her friend and alsoforted Mary while not getting sleep for herself.


    Combined with a rising fever, she couldn''t remain conscious after everything that happened with her. She didn''t notice her body heat due to adrenaline and sense of danger, but getting into a safe ce, she couldn''t hold anymore.


    "Don''t worry and lye her on the floor. Reba will take care of her." Dave said to Arthur as he thought ''It seems that I got here at the right time.''


    Seeing her going through a process of awakening, Dave couldn''t help but recall another piece of a rumour from his past life which was about why Evelyn had hated abusive people so much so that she had dared to kill them.


    ''If I recall it right, her best friend was raped while Evelyn was going through an awakening. I heard that Evelyn had killed that person after she woke up, but a short whileter, her best friend had woke up and killed herself before Evelyn''s eyes.'' Dave thought grimly as he nced at unconscious Evelyn, and Arthur next to her.

 Chapter 45: Foolish Arthur

    Chapter 45: Foolish Arthur


    "Ehm...Arthur, does Evelyn have any close friends in the underground basement?" Dave asked as he thought over the problem.


    "I, Evelyn, and Mary graduated from the same high school. With both of us here, Mary, my girlfriend, is the only one who can be called a close friend to Evelyn down there." Looking concernedly at Evelyn, Arthur hastily replied to Dave as he was also worried about his girlfriend.


    ''His girlfriend?'' Dave thought as his face had darkened. He felt strange talking to a boyfriend whose girl was probably vited in his past world, so he slightly pitied Arthur for that reason.


    He wasn''t a saint nor a hero, but it wasn''t too difficult for him to save their friend. However, should he help them, knowing what was going to happen?


    To be honest, Dave didn''t imagine that he woulde to the supermarket so timely. He didn''t even know were the rumours true or not beforeing here, taking the odds anding here on his whim.


    The only problem was that he hade here exclusively for Evelyn, so he could entrust her with the task of unifying their university since he didn''t want to do it himself. He thought that it was a waste of time. However, recalling how she differed from Evelyn from his past, Dave doubted that she would achieve what he wanted.


    Evelyn he had remembered was strict and unyielding. Despite being a woman, she was able to unify their university and established new rules among all the chaos. To achieve this, she had killed both monsters and people, instilling fear into other survivors.


    However, looking at the unconscious Evelyn and recalling gentleness in her eyes, he doubted that she will dare to kill a fellow human. Earlier, he had never understood why she was so hateful towards other survivors, but now everything hade to its ce, as a puzzle was solved in his mind.


    ''Losing both of her close friends due to the malice of another survivor, something should have snapped in her mind. Stunned by the death of Arthur, she should have gone insane after knowing that her best friend was vited by someone else, not to say that her friend had killed herself after that.'' Dave pondered as he held his chin.


    Truthfully, he had never imagined that her story was so tragic. However, knowing it beforehand, he could prevent it from happening, so Evelyn and Arthur won''t go through it. But in that way, Evelyn won''t be able to achieve what he wanted her to do.


    Should he help them or let it be?


    Should he save her or let her be raped?


    Should he make Evelyn the way she was in his past life?


    ''Ohh, fuck! It''s so frustrating!'' Dave thought as massaged his temples.


    "So, will Evelyn be okay? What''s going with her?" Arthur asked Dave as he woke him up from his thoughts.


    "Ahh, yes? She should be alright after several hours. Her cells are going through a process of mutation, adapting to a new environment, so she should be fine after she wakes up." Dave gave a brief answer to him. Since he already knew that her awakening was sessful in his past life, he wasn''t worried much about her.


    "Then, did Kyle''s cells had also mutated? He had also gone through a fever." Even though he didn''t understand everything, Arthur was still able to recall it.


    "Kyle? The jerk who had left you to your death? If he had awakened, why didn''t he just seized the position of the leader from you? Do you have anything special to threaten him?" Dave asked since he found it strange that Kyle dealt with Arthur with tricks rather than directly while being an Awakener.


    ''Perhaps, he found his Awakening useless like evolving stamina or intelligence since they aren''t much of a use in early stages.'' Dave thought as he analyzed the whole situation.


    "Ohh, I learned a skill called Shadow Step. It increases my agility by 10 points for a minute, so Kyle might have been cautious of it." Arthur replied courteously as he still felt thankful to his saviour.


    "So? You had just exposed your skill to me. Do you trust me so much?" Dave asked him jokingly as he found Arthur trusting a stranger too much. He was quite surprised to find out that Arthur had a skill, but he wasn''t shocked by it since they weremon in his past life.


    "Of course! You''ve saved my life!" Arthur said as his eyes shined with good-will, gratitude...and respect.


    "..." Dave was left speechless. Living his second life, he had already forgotten that there were still people who were true to themselves, saying what they mean and doing what they feel right. It was so unfamiliar to him that it made him ufortable.


    ''Fuck! Whatever, I''ll think about the unification of our universityter. Perhaps, I can entrust that task to Adam, so it will be his problem instead of mine.'' Dave finally decided to meddle in the problem as he felt bad for Arthur.


    He also wanted to avenge Adam for spilling his secrets and embarrassing moments from his school years. Even though he was 25, including his age from the past life, Dave still felt flustered about it.


    Yet he admitted that he had longed for such small jokes from Adam!


    Even though he didn''t have a lot of time to familiarise himself with Arthur, only several hours, Dave already got a grip on his personality. He was kind and cheerful with his own sense of justice. Probably, he would have been able to be a hero with such an attitude.


    However, usually, such people hadn''t lived long in his past life. Help them once, and they will feel thankful to you all the life.


    ''He did get a quite useful ability. With this skill, he could easily fight a low rank 1 Hunter and escape from Giant. It''s unsurprising that Kyle didn''t fight him head-on. He could even run away from a bunch of zombies without...a problem!'' Dave thought as he squinted his eyes.


    "Hey, Arthur, if you had such a skill, then why didn''t you just use it and ran away when you were surrounded by zombies?" Dave asked and looked at him as he was looking at a retard.


    "Well, I didn''t want to leave others behind, so I didn''t use my skill to escape. I needed to cover our escape." Arthur said as he put his hand at the back of his head andughed embarrassedly.


    "..."


    At his words, Dave red at him stupidly and thought ''Retard! Fucking idiot! He put the lives of others over his own life. How foolish can he be?''


    "What?" Arthur asked Dave as he caught strange nces from him


    "Whatever, nothing." Noticing that Arthur still didn''t understand the implications of his actions, Dave quickly gave up. Instead, he turned to Reba and said, "Reba, look after the sick as you did with Adam."


    "Okay!" Reba eximed in agreement while nodding her head. She was silent all along when Evelyn had entered since she didn''t want to interrupt their conversation.


    "I''ll leave my bag here, so if you need anything, use everything you''re required. In case you want to wipe her sweat off, then don''t worry, we''re leaving shortly, so do everything you need to. Arthur, follow me!" Dave ordered as he also used Mana Sensing to survey their surroundings.


    "Are we going to the underground basement?" Arthur asked in anticipation.


    "Yeah, if you want to reunite with your little girlfriend, then follow me. We need to deal with a pest down there." Dave said as he reached for a door handle.

 Chapter 46: Dealing with Kyle

    Chapter 46: Dealing with Kyle


    Leaving Reba and Rachel with unconscious Evelyn, Dave led Arthur outside. First, he decided to test Arthur''s skills, so he whispered, "Go and kill a zombie. I want to see how good you are."


    At his words, Arthur only nodded his head as he stealthily approached a zombie who stood unmoving in the corridor. Perhaps, it was the one who scared Evelyn by attempting to open the wide doors.


    Holding a Broken Spear in his hands, Arthur thrust his spear and killed a zombie by piercing its head from behind. While observing his moves, Dave quickly evaluated Arthur in his mind ''Well, at least, he is good for a newbie. No hesitation or fear so far. Yet how would he behave during an actual fight?''


    ''Okay, let''s not waste our time on it. Now we should head towards the underground basement,'' Dave thought as he decided to get to itter.


    "Good job! Then, let''s get going," Dave said as he patted Arthur''s shoulders.


    Arthur had only nodded to him as he followed after Dave hastily. Stuck in the office room with Dave and others, he was greatly concerned about the safety of Mary. Especially, thest of words of Kyle that he will take care of Mary had only further worried him.


    ''I hope that she is safe and sound,'' Arthur thought as he recalled Mary''s personality. She was meek and slightly cowardy even in high school, avoiding any conflict as much as she could, so he was worried about her.


    They quickly left the staff zone, entering the same area full of zombies. However, due to Dave''s Mana Sensing, it wasn''t a problem for him to pinpoint the safest route towards the door to the underground basement.


    Not wanting to disturb all zombies in the supermarket, both of them tried to move as silently as possible. As they moved down the most optimal route, they had reached the door to the underground basement, yet three zombies stood in front of it.


    "Arthur, take the one down, while I''ll take care of two of them. Can you do it?" Dave whispered to Arthur as he shared his simple n.


    Nodding in understanding, Arthur followed closely after Dave. For safety reasons, Dave had even used Mana enhancement to boost his stats, increasing his strength and agility by 10%. When they had reached close enough, Dave rushed towards the group of three and swiftly cut one''s head.


    Stunned by Dave''s sudden speed, Arthur seemed slightly bewildered, but he quickly came to his mind and dashed towards one of the two zombies. At some point, his speed increased rapidly as he could rival Dave in it.


    Quickly appearing next to the zombie, Arthur thrust its head with his spear. At the same time, Dave already dealt with the second zombie, as its head flew into the air.


    Noticing a sudden boost in Arthur''s speed, Dave thought, ''Not bad! It should be a Shadow Step. Considering that the average human has 10 points in agility, Arthur can show speed 2 times higher than it. But he could have dealt with that zombie without activating his skill.''


    Actually, stat points were calcted by reference to the average stats of other humans older than 18, including sportsmen and adults. Hence, 10 points in agility were approximately equal to 4-5 meters per second while running. It was the same for strength, stamina, and intelligence.


    "Don''t be in rush! You shouldn''t have used your trump card so easily," Dave whispered to him after beheading his zombie.


    "Ehm...Sorry! I just panicked slightly when you had killed your first zombie," Arthur replied embarrassedly as he nced at two zombies killed by Dave. He was greatly stunned in his mind since he clearly understood that Dave could have even dealt with all three of them without his help, so he thought, ''How high are his stats?''


    "Any restrictions on your skill?" Dave asked as he sighed lightly. Arthur was more careless than he had expected.


    "I need some time to use it again," Arthur replied as he scratched the back of his head.


    "Stop being reckless. You need to cherish your life, so you won''t make people close to you worried. You should think about how your little girlfriend is feeling herself," Dave scolded him. Saying it, he opened the door to the underground basement and headed downstairs. Arthur had only looked at his back helplessly and trudged after him.


    As they had opened the door, they could already hear voices from below as someone was shouting. It was more clear as they grew closer to the underground basement.


    "AHHHHH!" Someone had screamed as they stood before the door. A momentter, Arthur was the first one to rush into the underground basement as he said "Mary!"


    As he followed after Arthur, the first thing Dave was Kyle who was pulling Mary by her hand. A clear red hand imprint could be seen on his cheek as someone had pped him. At the same time, Kyle screamed "Bitch! I said follow me!"


    Seeing how Kyle was forcefully pulling Mary, anger boiled in Arthur''s heart as he shouted "Kyle! What are you doing?"


    Finding the voice familiar, Kyle had turned his head to Arthur and was stupefied in the next moment. First, he thought ''But he''s dead!''


    Taking advantage of Kyle''s confusion, Mary was able to free herself from Kyle''s clutch as she ran to Arthur while saying his name. Just in several hours, she had lost both Arthur and Evelyn which was a big shock for a girl with a fragile personality. She couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    Running towards him, she quickly hugged him as she started crying and bowling "Arthur, you''re alive! But Evelyn...Evelyn...She wasn''t around me when I woke up. She went upstairs and didn''t return. Kyle said she''s dead!"


    "Don''t worry, Mary! Evelyn''s alive! Sorry that I left you alone here!" Arthur said softly as he gently caressed her hair.


    Watching that scene from the side, Kyle first mumbled something and said more loudly afterwards "How? HOW? How are you alive? I thought you have already dead! Nevermind, I just need to kill you myself!" Saying it, he looked evilly at Arthur.


    Next, both of them dashed to each other as they gripped their weapon. Kyle still couldn''t understand how Arthur returned alive if he was surrounded by zombies. Just how?


    Engaged inbat, it was evident who was in advantage. Even though Arthur couldn''t use his skill, he was still slightly faster than Kyle since it seemed that he had put some of his free points into agility.


    However, Dave, who was looking from sideways, had only thought, ''What the fuck is he doing?''


    Apparently, even though Kyle was the one who was retreating backwards, Arthur still failed to deal any serious injuries to him. It wasn''t that Arthur didn''t have a chance to do it, no, he had plenty of chances to finish this battle, but it seemed to Dave that Arthur was intentionally holding himself back.


    Kyle also wasn''t a weakling. Though he wasn''t able tond a blow on Arthur, Kyle still dodged and blocked all of his attacks. However, at some point, Kyle just shouted, "Stop! I give up! Look I''ll even put my weapon on the ground." Next, he slowly put his Failed Dagger on the floor.


    Finding nothing strange, with all of his naivety, Arthur truly believed him, so he turned to Mary since he was still worried about her emotional state. However, revealing his back to Kyle, Arthur failed to notice an evil grin that had climbed on his face.


    "Arthur, behind you!" The next moment, Mary screamed in panic as her face paled over. Yet it was toote for him.


    Ding!


    A clear sound of the metal hitting metal resounded in the basement. Dave had magically appeared next to Arthur as he had blocked Kyle''s dagger. Quickly lifting his dagger from the floor, Kyle tried to viciously stab Arthur in his spine.


    "Thankfully, I''m not so stupid as Arthur. But you are strong! You should have awakened as an Evolver of strength." Dave said as he remarked Arthur''s naivety. Such a low trick was a child''s y for him. His Steel Sword was resisting a force that even Dave had found difficult to resist with his 17 points in strength.


    Slightly stunned by his remark, Kyle tried to hide his surprise with his aggressive behaviour. "Who the fuck are you? And why are you so strong? Wait...it''s YOU! You had saved Arthur! That idiot would have never survived there."


    Enraged by that realization, Kyle madly attacked Dave. He stabbed, shed, and tried to cut Dave as he fumed, ''WHY? Why did you even appear here? You had ruined everything. I''ll kill you!''


    However, none of his attacks had reached Dave. Since he was much faster and more experienced than him, he easily dodged his attacks. Knowing his fate from the past life, Dave said mockingly, "Don''t praise yourself too much! You would have died anyway. I''m just preventing some shit from happening."


    Next, Kyle lost Dave from his sight, and a short whileter, he felt like everything was ckening before his eyes as his consciousness slipped from his mind. With a clean hit to his head, Dave had easily dealt with Kyle. He decided not to kill him since he still had his own ns for him.

 Chapter 47: Dare to Kill?

    Chapter 47: Dare to Kill?


    Thud!


    Complete silence had fallen in the underground basement as Kyle fell on the ground. Everyone looked at Dave in amazement. It took only one punch to knock Kyle down. The only person who fought with him just a while ago, Arthur, had also looked at unconscious Kyle in surprise as he thought, ''How strong is David?''


    Arthur wasn''t sure how strong Kyle was, yet he knew that his strength couldn''t even rival him in a bit. Only Dave could urately assess his strength level.


    Kyle''s strength was even higher than his. Probably, 20 or 21 points in strength. Considering that Kyle was at level 3, he automatically gained 5 points in strength after bing an Evolver: 2 points as a starter bonus and a point for every level. However, he should have also put all his free points into strength, so 11 points-increase in total.


    Dave thought that it was another proof of Awakener''s advantage. Even though his level was twice as Kyle''s, Kyle''s strength was even higher than his strength, not including other stats. If not for the Stat Potion, his strength would have been even lower than now.


    Well, he had already epted such unfairness in his past life. It was easy for Awakeners to quickly grow stronger, especially for those withbat-rted abilities. However, everyone was the same before death.


    ''Should I just cut his limbs? No, he will die before Evelyn wakes up.'' Ignoring amazed stares, Dave pondered over how to preserve Kyle''s life without him causing any troubles. He thought, ''Maybe just one limb?''


    Eventually, he decided to tie him up with his Mana Threads. He used quite a bit of his mana to produce and condense tougher threads of mana, so Kyle won''t free himself up. On top of that, he had also used wires from the electrical room.


    The underground basement took full space under the supermarket. There were lots of empty boxes and old items in the basement. It had several pathways leading to empty rooms, but only two of them had functional purposes. One of them was an electrical room, while another one was where pipes were linked to, perhaps, a water filter or water pump.


    "What are you gonna do with him?"'' Arthur asked as he approached Dave. Perhaps, he was the only one who dared to do so among all the people down with him.


    "Let me ask first. What did you n to with him when we were going here?" Dave red at him calmly waiting for his answer. Dave wanted to see how Arthur nned to deal with Kyle since he was one of his victims.


    So he waited...waited for a satisfactory answer from Arthur. Perhaps, he would even follow his words if he found them reasonable enough. However, several secondster, Arthur said nothing about it. Losing his patience, Dave asked, "Hey, are you there?"


    "..." Arthur kept looking nkly at the air, but quickly woke up when Dave had called for him. "Sorry, I just never thought about it before. Let me think about it..."


    "Let''s...beat him up!" Arthur said conflictedly.


    "It goes without saying. What then?" Dave kept asking.


    "Keep him tied?"


    "Too long and too stupid."


    "Untie him and keep a close eye on him?"


    "Too risky. Be harsher on him. He tried to kill you, drove your friend outside, and tried to force himself on your girlfriend. Why''re you so soft?" Dave kept denying his suggestions harshly. Indeed, it was good to be kind, yet it shouldn''t be unconditional.


    "Then, should we chase him away out of the supermarket?" Arthur asked angrily. It seemed that Dave''s words hit him hard.


    "Even though it''s unlikely, he might survive and want to revenge us in the future, so we shouldn''t risk it." Dave smiled slightly as he finally heard something sensible. They could just leave Kyle on his own and leave him alone in the university full of zombies.


    "Then, what are you suggesting to do?" Arthur asked confusedly as he couldn''t understand where Dave was leading. He was truly naive since Dave thought that his intentions were clear enough.


    "Huh...Okay, let''s wait for Evelyn since she also has a say in this problem," Dave said, yet he thought inwardly, ''I hope that Evelyn would be decisive enough to do it.''


    Hence, Dave decided to wait till Evelyn woke up from her feverish state. He found a silent ce for himself as he continued meditating. Meditation has already be his daily routine from his past life, so he didn''t find it a boring thing to do.


    15 minutester, Kyle had also woke up as he found himself tied with stic wires and blue thin threads. Stunned that he couldn''t tear them up, Kyle started cursing and thrashing as he threatened everyone he saw. He kept repeating "I''ll kill you!" and "Motherfuckers!", so Arthur shut him up with a piece of rag he found in the underground basement.


    ...


    Several hourster, Evelyn slowly opened her heavy eyelids with a grunt. She felt so terrible that she thought that her head was going to explode. Her temples burned as she felt soreness in her body due to lying on the stiff floor. She said silently, "Ahh...Where am I?"


    "You woke up! Are you feeling okay?" Reba asked with worried eyes as she concernedly inspected her face colour. Even though her face still seemed a bit flushed, she looked healthy enough to her.


    However, Evelyn''s eyes weren''t on her since the blue system window was floating right before her eyes. Carefully reading it, she was still confused about its content since it stated that she became an Evolver of agility. Hence, her agility went up by 3 points.


    "If you have finished looking at it, then let''s go to the underground basement. We''ll eat there and you can also meet your friends." Dave''s voice sounded inside the room.


    Not noticing Dave in the room, Evelyn winced slightly in her ce yet quickly regained her calmness. Without saying anything, she only nodded weakly as her ruby eyes shone in expectancy to reunite with her best friend.


    "Don''t worry! We made a prior visit to the underground basement and I left Arthur there, so he would keep others in check." Dave said as he noticed how Evelyn was searching for him.


    He didn''t see any need to bring Arthur here. Furthermore, he needed him down there to calm other survivors and to keep an eye on Kyle. Even though chances were slim that Kyle could tear the wires, he didn''t want to make such a careless mistake.


    First, he handed her a dagger which he took from Kyle. Evelyn quickly recognized the owner of the dagger, but she decided not to ask what happened since she would learn about it anyway when she would reach the underground basement. However, she didn''t for such a question from Dave.


    "Evelyn, would you dare to kill a person to save troubles for the future?" Dave asked suddenly as he red into Evelyn''s scarlet eyes.


    She panicked slightly as she mumbled confusedly, "What do you mean?" Rachel and Reba had also looked at Dave shocked as even such thought made them feel ufortable.

 Chapter 48: Kyles Fate

    Chapter 48: Kyle''s Fate


    Evelyn''s mind nked suddenly. Even though she was known as a cool-headed and collected person, she couldn''t respond to his sudden question.


    Well, at least, it was understandable since it was too much to ask from a girl who woke up barely a minute ago. Still muddle-headed, she looked at Dave in confusion and said, "Do you mean like... murdering someone?"


    "Let''s say, solving a problem while it''s still small. But boldly, yes." Dave said after some thought. He had expected such a reaction from her, so he was prepared for it.


    "Ehm...Why are you even asking it?" Evelyn asked as she winced in her ce. He didn''t like where their conversation was going as she tensed her body.


    "I''m meaning, with everything happening now, it''s logical that the samews from before had lost their powers since nobody would care about them now. And sometimes, in the future, you should be prepared to kill someone," Dave exined. However, he didn''t say anything about what happened in the underground basement since she will learn about it anyway.


    Listening to him, she was already able to pick up some clues as she guessed that something should have happened on their visit to the underground basement; otherwise, why did he bring it now. She paused slightly and then said, "What has Arthur said about it?"


    Dave smiled at her question as he thought, ''Right! High self-control and sharp mind should have been innate to her; otherwise, she wouldn''t have been able to lead the survivor group in the university. However, she relies on Arthur too much.''


    "Do you think I''ve said it to Arthur? You know that he''s too soft for it. Perhaps, he would be a good hero but not a good leader. If he was the good one, then he wouldn''t have been fooled to death by Kyle." Dave sighed in helplessness as he recalled Arthur''s responses.


    "It''s not up to you to judge but us!" Evelyn red at Dave harshly as she followed by, "Nevermind! Are we going to the underground basement or not?"


    "Yeah, Dave, let''s go! Arthur must be worrying about her," Reba said as she found their conversation too ufortable. It was kinda strange for her to discuss the prospects of murder just like that.


    "Then, let''s hurry down there. We still have our own share of troubles to deal with." He just nodded and grabbed his backpack which he had left here with Reba in case she needed it to look after Evelyn.


    Leaving the office room, they headed towards the door of the underground basement. Since he had his Mana Sensing and was familiar with a route, it was not a problem for him to guide three girls to the underground basement, even though he was extra cautious with wandering zombies.


    Except for cautious nces, Evelyn was able to keep her calm all the way to their destination. However, Reba and Rachel looked like they were ready to throw up. ncing at their pale faces, Dave could understand how they felt.


    Even though he had grown ustomed to the smell, it was still as disgusting as ever. The supermarket had a strong foul stench of death. Rotting fleshbined with dried blood made so that death aura had lingered in the supermarket, giving it a suffocating feeling.


    However, it seemed that training methods had given results since both girls didn''t faint or panic as they couldst till they reached the underground basement. Dave knew that it was a good way to train them mentally against zombies.


    nk!


    Finally, reaching the underground basement, Dave and his group cautiously closed the door. Just as Evelyn was going to greet everyone, someone short rushed out from the group and tightly hugged Evelyn. A short whileter, sounds of sobbing could be heard.


    "Evelyn! I''m so relieved that you''re alright. I thought...you had left me just like Arthur, so please don''t leave me." Mary was sobbing lightly while trying to hide her tears by pressing her head against Evelyn''s chest.


    "I''m also happy that you''re feeling okay." Evelyn patted her back as she also felt like her eyes were tearing a bit. Reba was looking at the scene with a warm smile yet had felt a tinge of sadness when she thought about her little brother.


    Trying not to interrupt their reunion, Dave shifted closer to Arthur as he said, "As I have said, I brought Evelyn safe and sound. She shouldn''t have any problems now and it''s unlikely that she would have any side effects."


    In the past, there were cases when Awakener had suffered from side effects since no one knows what type of mutation you will end with. However, the number of such people was low since most people with malignant mutations won''t survive during the awakening process.


    "We hadn''t met any troubles so far. I''ve shared with others the food in my backpack which I obtained earlier. Regarding Evelyn, did her body temperature returned to normal? She was burning when I touched her before she fainted." Arthur showed his worry about her.


    "Nah, don''t worry about her. She''s sound and healthy, so there won''t be any problems in the future. On the contrary, you can even call it a blessing in disguise," Dave said as he patted Arthur on the shoulders. "What about him? Did Kyle cause any troubles when I was absent?"


    "Well, he was wriggling and trying to tear the wires, but he gave up at some point in time. Now, he''s surprisingly silent. Perhaps, we need to feed him something," Arthur said as he cast a nce towards Kyle who lying powerlessly on the floor.


    "Nope, leave him alone. Let''s quickly decide what we will do with him," Arthur said as he called for Evelyn.


    Holding hands with Mary, she quickly approached as she looked at him questioningly. Coming closer, she greeted Arthur with a nod and looked at Dave.


    "We were waiting for you to decide what to do with him." Saying it, Dave pointed at Kyle who was looking nkly at the air. Hearing his name, his eyes quickly regained focus as he started struggling to free himself and attempted to speak yet the rag in his mouth didn''t allow him to do so.


    "And what we need to decide?" Evelyn said as she red coldly at Kyle.


    "As I said before,ws don''t hold power anymore, so we should decide on how to deal with him," Dave said to them. "Arthur was tricked and was left to his death, Evelyn was forced to go upstairs and risked her life, and Mary was close to being vited by Kyle."


    "Stop! What do you mean vited?" Evelyn asked in confusion. At the same time, Mary squeezed the hand of her friend tighter and paled in her face colour.


    "When we had reached the underground basement for the first time after you''ve fainted, we caught Kyle in the act of forcing himself on Mary. Several minuteste, and everything might have been much more tragic than now." Dave exined calmly.


    "What? He tried to do what? That bastard," Evelyn red at Kyle and fumed over it. However, when she had calmed down, a thought surfaced in her mind, ''He deserves to die!''


    Stunned by her own thought process, she was flustered a bit. She was cold and mostly rational from a young age, so it wasn''t strange that she had started drawing such conclusions. Hiding her state of mind, she asked Dave, "Then, are you suggesting to kill him?"


    At her words, Kyle started struggling even harder as he didn''t want to die. Regarding Arthur, he said in surprise, "What are you saying, Evelyn? I thought we would just chase him away out of the supermarket."


    "How are you gonna do it when we are surrounded by zombies?" Evelyn yelled as she found his idea too absurd. It was unimaginable how Arthur had even thought about it.


    However, catching a scared nce from Mary, both of them stopped arguing with each other.


    "Sorry, Mary! We aren''t arguing."


    "We didn''t mean to do it"


    "..."


    Dave had been observing everything from the side as he thought, "Perhaps, she didn''t need to turn into a cold-blooded killer as in my past life. Well, she definitely has the traits of the good leader."


    sp!


    pping once, Dave attracted attention from everyone. "Then, let''s just do as I say. We''ll throw him outside of the underground basement. If he could escape from the supermarket on his own, then he''ll live, and if not, then he dies. His survival will depend on himself."


    Well, Dave never wanted to force them to kill Kyle. Moreover, Evelyn had killed him during the direct confrontation due to the influx of emotions. And it was a situation where she would have died if she didn''t kill him.


    On top of that, it was human psychology to spare people who seem weaker than themselves. In their case, Kyle was already dealt and beat, so unless their survival won''t depend on it, they won''t dare to kill him.


    Both Arthur and Evelyn thought it over and nodded with their heads. It was how humans were built. Even though they knew that Kyle had low chances to survive, they still could fool themselves to believe in otherwise.


    Getting their approval, Dave wasted no time as he dragged violently struggling Kyle upstairs. Arthur and Evelyn closely followed after him in case something went wrong. However, despite their worries, Dave swiftly untied Kyle and threw him outside.


    nk!


    A short timeter after he had closed the door, Kyle started banging on the door and screaming.


    "Hey, it''s not funny! Let me enter!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    ...


    "Stop joking! I don''t want to die."


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    ...


    "I''m greatly sorry! Please, get me out of here!"


    Bang! Bang!


    ...


    "Hey, at least give me my weapon!"


    Bang! Bang!


    ...


    "Ahhh...I''ll kill you! I''ll kill you! Are you hearing me?"


    Bang!


    ...


    "I''ll rip every one of you. Arthur, are you there? Next time, I''ll fuck both your girlfriend and Evelyn right before your eyes!"


    Bang!


    "..."


    In a short time, Kyle was already growing insane as he was shouting madly. However, at some point in time, it became silent on the other side of the door.

 Chapter 49: Common Sense

    Chapter 49: Common Sense


    "..." Both Arthur and Evelyn stood frowning as they listened attentively to Kyle''s parting words. However, at hisst words rted to her and Mary, Evelyn clenched her fists tightly as she tried to suppress the anger boiling inside her heart.


    When Kyle couldn''t be heard shouting and banging the door, Arthur asked in fluster, "Is he dead or did he escape?"


    "Why do you even care? Didn''t you hear what he just shouted? His survival isn''t our business now." Evelyn angrily reprimanded Arthur. As she was agreeing with Dave that Arthur was too kind when it came to such stuff, Evelyn looked harshly at Arthur, observing him.


    He had a stupid smile nted on his face, trying to pacify her anger, but she got even angrier looking at him. His blue eyes seemed as deep as an ocean, shining kindly with light, and they seemed to be able to drown other people in them, giving him natural allure. Looking at him, Evelyn sighed inwardly as she thought, "Dave is right! His attitude is too soft tomand people. I don''t want to lose Arthur and Mary again."


    Noticing awkward silence between the two, Dave said, "With this finished, let''s return to others. Mary should be worrying about both of you."


    When they had returned, people down there were still in a daze as they gazed nkly at the door. With an image of Dave dragging helpless Kyle upstairs fresh in their minds, they winced when the door was flung open.


    All other survivors, including Reba and Rachel, felt somewhat uneasy when they had returned without Kyle. Since they didn''t participate in the conversation between Dave, Arthur, and Evelyn, nobody was aware of their decision...only the fact that Kyle was dragged by Dave to somewhere.


    Surprisingly, Mary was the first one to leave her stupor as she noticed a gruesome silence between her friends. She pouted as she said, "Meanies! You left me alone again. Do you know how worried I was? Let''s go, tell me why are you so secretive."


    It seemed that leaving Arthur with her had helped her to calm down as she pulled both of her friends while saying something to distract them from their thoughts. Dave wasn''t an expert in human psychology, yet he was confident that Mary didn''t suffer any mental traumas.


    "Evelyn, how are you feeling after your fever? Arthur, stop being mean and talk to Evelyn..." Mary pouted as she tried to break the silence between them. Leaning on the wall, Dave had a light smile on his face as he observed the trio of friends. At least, his help wasn''t in vain.


    Step by step, Dave was closer to the realization of his ns. In his past life, it took just under a year to deal with all zombies inside the university, establishing one of the small survival groups inside the city. However, he didn''t want to waste a year for it, and he also believed that it''ll progress much faster with him here.


    First, he needed to find trusted people who will help him to do it, and of course, he had thought that Evelyn would be a great help since she was the one who did it in his past life. He had hoped that he''ll dump most of the tasks at her, so he would have more time hunting alone, but it seemed he needed to keep a closer eye on her.


    ''Commander and hero,'' Dave thought as he thought about the respective roles of Evelyn and Arthur. Both of them had their own strengths and weaknesses, and he hoped that Evelyn could restrain Arthur from taking any rash decisions. Both still needed time to adapt to the new changes.


    Well, he still had Adam to dump this task. And no, it wasn''t only to avenge him for the leakage of his secrets. Dave believed that Adam would be a great fit for the leadership role since he was engaged in that field from a young age.


    He was been familiarizing himself with business and human managing in his father''spany, so Adam already had an experience of doing it. He was cool-headed, rational, smart, andpared to him, Adam easily socialized with other people.


    Currently, their group was small, so Dave could still act as a default leader, but in the long run, it''ll just be a pain in the ass to handle all problems among other survivors. Food distribution, allocation of ces, making use of the skills of other survivors, and creating a self-sustainablemunity were the problems they needed to deal with, so he decided that he''ll dump it on Adam.


    After handling all zombies in the university and establishing a survivor group, there still were millions of zombies inside the city itself. It took approximately three years for survivors to clean all the city from zombies and other monsters, including internal strife and conflicts between other survival groups. Only then did they join forces with other survivor camps in the Federation.


    Furthermore, since their city was one of the most popted cities in the Federation, it was one of thetest survivor camps to be liberated at that time. Small cities were the first ones to handle all zombies inside their respective areas.


    ''Let''s deal with one problem at a time.'' Dave sighed as he leaned on the wall. He decided not to overthink about it since he won''t solve his worries like that. He just hoped that he could finish with it much faster than it was in his past life.


    "Ehm...Mr. David, may I know what you did with the guy you dragged upstairs?" Reba leaned near to him as she looked at Dave with her hazel eyes. Since they were separated from Adam and Brian, she was the only one who was left with Dave from the initial hunting group. Therefore, being familiar with him longer than others, she was less scared of him.


    "We untied him and released him outside on the first floor," Dave replied as he was thinking about the future.


    "Ehm...Good then. Was he able to escape? Did you gave him any food?" She sighed in relief.


    "What do you mean by it? We aren''t doing a charity. We chased him away from our group for what he did and it''s unlikely that he was able to run away from zombies when he was surrounded by them." Dave responded as he looked questioningly at her.


    "But...Then, how is it any different from murder?" She asked in fluster as Dave had betrayed her expectations. Indeed, she had killed plenty of zombies in thest days, but she never thought of killing a person.


    "Instead of being killed directly, we released him, so he still had chances to survive. I just said that he was likely eaten by zombies. Moreover, it''s easier to view our situation as a state of war, so every criminal or troublemaker should be punished correspondingly." Dave stated as he red at her.


    "I know that he left Arthur in a grave danger, but isn''t it too much to kill him for it?" Reba asked Dave as she recalled the conversation between Arthur and Dave. She was in the same room at that time.


    "Ohh, right! You weren''t here when everything had happened. Not only did the guy from before had tried to kill Arthur, but he also tried to vite his girlfriend. It''s too dangerous to keep him with us. And I doubt you wanted to remain in the same room as a rapist?"


    "Ehh...Rapist?" Reba instantly grew silent as she bit her lips. She turned slightly paler as she became conflicted between her thoughts and life''s value. She just mumbled silently, "But...it isn''t right."


    Dave knew that Reba was kind, perhaps, even kinder than Arthur, but he didn''t think that she would also sympathize criminal''s death. Dave didn''t understand did she need to overreact so much and how a person could act so selflessly.


    Compared to them, he easily epted that he was selfish. He wanted to be stronger and level up faster to survive, to protect himself, to protect his close friends, and to do what he wanted because he was selfish. He didn''t want to be restricted by others since he was selfish.


    Of course, his first kill wasn''t also impactless on him, yet, as far as he remembered, he got over it pretty quickly. Isn''t it normal to do everything to survive? To be selfish? To favour close ones more than strangers?


    It wasn''t that people had never killed the fellow person, so it wasn''t a foreign concept to humans. He was pretty sure that some criminals were given death sentences by the court and such crimes were punished by death in a state of the war.


    He didn''t know was he just so heartless since it was his second time living this life, but he didn''t feel a tad of sympathy towards Kyle. On the contrary, isn''t itmon sense to deal with a person who will only cause trouble in the future? Moreover, Kyle didn''t seem to be sorry for what he did.


    "Brace yourself. We''ll meet such people more than you can imagine, and they need to be dealt correspondingly." Dave said as he patted her on the shoulders. As he said it, he went to the ce with the fewest people and sat cross-legged to meditate, leaving Reba deep in thought.

 Chapter 50: Skill Against Ability

    Chapter 50: Skill Against Ability


    Pacing his breath, Dave meditated silently in front of the wall. He kept absorbing tiny mana clusters floating around him, and bit by bit, no matter how slowly it was, he felt that his mana reserves were expanded a bit. However, other onlookers didn''t understand as much as he did.


    "What is he doing? Is he meditating now?"


    "Yeah, it looks like that. What a freak?"


    "What the point of doing it now?"


    "Did you see how he dragged Kyle? He seems dangerous."


    "Look at the scars on his face! I''m sure he had fought a lot before, even perhaps, had killed a person."


    Some survivors gathered into a small group and started whispering with each other as they discussed Dave. They couldn''t help but do it since he was an outsider to them, plus the dangerous one, so they were already fearing Dave.


    On the other side of the underground basement, Mary seemed to be sessful in breaking the awkward silence between her two friends since they were already talking with each other as casually as before. Evelyn shared with them the news about bing an Evolver of agility and exined its perks, getting an amazed look from Arthur.


    On any other day, especially after she had found out that she could absorb mana with the help of her elemental spirit, Reba would have sat cross-legged alongside Dave, but she was still shaken after the previous conversation between them. Starting with a thought of the value of human life, she ended up worrying about her little brother even further.


    As for Rachel, she was the only one who had nothing to do and no one to talk to, so she just sat on the floor, leaning on the wall. She nced at other survivors several times but quickly getting disinterested in it, she buried herself deep in her thoughts.


    ...


    ''Zombies should have already calmed down after Kyle disturbed them.'' Leaving a meditative state, Dave quickly stood up from his ce as he had waited for others till they finished eating. Sitting cross-legged for several hours, he already felt sore over all of his body.


    Reba, Rachel, and Evelyn''s group sat close to each other as they were telling stories to each other, sharing what happened to them during this week. Perhaps, Reba and Rachel had joined them afterwards as Dave clearly remembered that they were sitting separately when he had gone meditating.


    "Hey, Dave, have you finished whatever you were doing?" Spotting Dave walking towards them, Arthur called him over as he looked at him with a sliver of reverence in his eyes. Arthur was quite honest in his bodynguage as his facial expression betrayed everything someone else needs to know.


    "Yeah, just finished one session. What are you talking about?" Dave asked as he gazed at them curiously.


    "Just about what happened during this week with everyone. We also asked about you and how Reba and Rachel have met you." Evelyn answered instead Arthur. She seemed to be more cautious with Dave than with anyone else.


    "En..." Dave nodded his head in understanding but quickly recalled how Adam had spilt his secrets from high school and nced at Reba. Meeting his gaze, Reba avoided him in a fluster.


    "Whatever, we can''t remain trapped in the underground basement forever. Let''s go up for a bit and take our time in killing zombies." Dave suggested as he noticed how everyone anyway had nothing to do. "We''ve already wasted too much time here. It''s time to return."


    "En..."


    "Right!"


    Both Reba and Rachel eximed in agreement. They can''t spend more time here and let Adam worry about them, so they needed to return while they can. Even though Mary confronted the idea, Arthur and Evelyn still agreed to his suggestion. They understood that it couldn''t continue like this even further.


    "Don''t worry, Mary! I promise they''ll return safe and sound." Dave said as he noticed that Mary was still didn''t want to let her friends go.


    "Hmmph...I''m going with you! I''m not gonna leave them." Mary said as she harrumphed. Then, it was the turn of Arthur and Evelyn to worry about her. Mary was never an athletic person nor she stood up among others for her courage, on the contrary, she was quite cowardy.


    "Okay then! Prepare yourself! After 15 minutes, we are going upstairs." Dave said as he trudged towards his backpack which he had left on the ce he had meditated.


    15 minutester, their group stood in front of the doors to the first floor. Including Reba, Rachel and him, Arthur''s group were also with them as they protectively stood in front of Mary. Noticing it, Dave only smiled lightly as he slightly opened the door.


    Due to his Mana Sensing, Dave already knew about the general location of zombies inside the supermarket. Knowing that 2 zombies were standing in front of them, he signalled Evelyn and Arthur to kill them. Anyway, zombies didn''t give him and Reba any benefits as before.


    Even though Evelyn was only level 1, her speed could already rival Arthur, and even could exceed him in it since Arthur had put most of his free points into strength. Both of them had quickly appeared next to the zombies and killed them.


    Mary who was trembling behind Dave had looked at them in amazement till the point that she even forgot about all the zombies surrounding her. Reba hadn''t also stood idly as she sought a single zombie and stealthily killed it.


    Slowly yet steadily, their group progressed further from the door to the underground basement as they ambushed wandering zombies. After her third kill, Evelyn got a system notification that she had levelled up and gained another point in agility. She had also put one free point into agility, enhancing her strong forte, and allocating another point into strength. As a result, she became much faster than Arthur.


    ''Nice to be an Awakener! She is only on level 2, yet her speed could already rival me without any buffs.'' Progressing further, Dave couldn''t help but notice how helpful were the perks of Evolvers.


    "Whoa! It''s never was so enjoyable to kill zombies. It''s like you know the routes of every zombie. Previously, we were always fearing to be noticed by a zombie, but now we''re the ones ambushing them." Arthur said with shining eyes. Though it was still scary, it was enjoyable to hunt instead of being hunted.


    "Right! It''s like you can feel every one of them." Evelyn said in amazement. Instead of Arthur who was acting carefree, she thought that they will finish killing all zombies in the supermarket much faster than she had expected, especially when Dave perfectly led them to the backs of zombies.


    Reba and Rachel had also killed several zombies. Rachel was still feeling somewhat ufortable killing them, but Dave believed she will get ustomed to it.


    ''Hmm...Drop rates of Treasure Chests are getting lower and lower with every passing day. Whatever, what they even doing?'' Dave thought as he nced at Evelyn and Arthur who werepeting with each other.


    After increasing her level, Evelyn became much faster than Arthur. She had a slight smirk on her face as she was teasing Arthur by killing another zombie. As an Evolver, her agility will only increase further, but Arthur had a skill to greatly boost it for a short time, so one on one, he had higher chances of winning over Evelyn.


    "Don''t be too happy." Arthur chuckled as he mumbled something under his breath. A short momentter, he swiftly followed after Evelyn, killing zombies he met. His speed was nearly two times from before, so he quickly overtook Evelyn in killing zombies.


    "Hey, it''s cheating," Evelyn said with a smile on her face as she tried to pretend to be saddened over it. However, she didn''t hurry after him, patiently observing his actions. She decided to wait a minute till the cooldown of the skill.


    Thankfully, zombies didn''t have sharp hearing senses, otherwise, they would have been in a quite peculiar situation. Watching them over, Dave only facepalmed as he counted the remaining zombies inside the supermarket.


    They had already dealt with most of the zombies on their side of the supermarket, but Dave counted more of them packed into one group. It should a ce where Kyle ran to and also the front doors of the supermarket.


    ''Time to see how Arthur and Evelyn can fight against evolved zombies.'' Dave thought as he concentrated his senses on two zombies in a group.

 Chapter 51: Price For Carelessness

    Chapter 51: Price For Carelessness


    The stuffy and rotting smell lingered in the air as their group gazed at the group of zombies. Zombies had been standing there dazedly, surrounding a dried pool of blood. It seemed that Kyle didn''t run for long as he was surrounded by zombies.


    "Hey, don''t be insane! How are we going to do it? Reba, just say something to him." Evelyn whispered as she was trying to object to Dave''s suggestion. Reba, on the other hand, kept her silence since she had already done such a thing in the cafeteria. Rachel was also unusually calm.


    "We had already done it before, so don''t worry. Evelyn, you''re taking down a Hunter. It''s the one with long nails or ws on its hands. Arthur, Giant is yours. I hope I don''t need to exin how it looks." Dave calmly exined to them his n.


    "Arthur, say something?" Evelyn looked at her friend in thest attempt to change their minds.


    "If Dave says that we''re gonna be okay, then that''s it. We should trust him more. Plus, he''s helping us to clean the supermarket, so we need to obtain help from him while we can." Arthur replied nonchntly as he firmly believed a person who already did so much for them.


    "Fine!" Evelyn grumbled slightly. If everyone was going to fight them, she didn''t have a choice but join them. "Hunter''s the one that is very fast, yes? And the Giant is stronger than ordinary zombies?"


    "Right. Evelyn, you need to be careful while fighting it. It may be as fast as you or even slightly faster. As for you, Arthur, just try not to be hit. Your strength should be enough to kill it." Dave reminded them, then he turned to Reba and Rachel. "Reba, help Evelyn if it gets dangerous for her. Rachel, you need to protect Mary, so stay close to her."


    Saying everything he needed to, Dave gave a signal to attack zombies. Even though he understood that their coordination wascking, he didn''tin about it. It was good enough for people who just joined their team since nor Arthur and Evelyn had abundant experience as him.


    Knowing that the main role wasn''t his for the battle, Dave decided to act more as a support than an attacker. He was trying to test the duo''s strength, so he could rx a bit during the fight.


    With Rachel and Mary standing behind them, four of them rushed towards the group of zombies and swiftly killed four zombies that weren''t suspecting anything from the seemingly empty supermarket. Other than a group of survivors trapped in the underground basement, Dave doubted that anyone else had survived in the building full of zombies.


    Killing his first zombie, Dave quickly changed his stance as he rushed towards zombies, perfectly cutting their necks and beheading them. Ordinary zombies could do nothing to him as more of them were being killed.


    It wasn''t so surprising since his reaction time was 1.5 times higher than that of an average human. If not for beginning to be surrounded by them, Dave couldn''t have even retreated. However, no matter how fast he was, he couldn''t fight against them when he was being surrounded by them.


    In a span of several seconds, Dave quickly killed three or more zombies as he retreated back. Both Arthur and Evelyn gazed at him in amazement. Arthur''s eyes even glowed with more admiration towards him as he personally witnessed Dave''s strength.


    Of course, he had seen how Dave had dealt with Kyle, but it was more stunning to barge into the ranks of zombies, kill several of them and leavepletely unharmed.


    Not noticing nces of amazement and admiration, Dave had more thought about zombies he was fighting with. ''As I expected, even ordinary zombies are growing stronger with every passing day.''


    Even though changes weren''t noticeable at the first nce, as a person who had analyzed power levels of each monster, Dave easily discovered it. Indeed, it wasn''t much of an increase in strength, but it showed that zombies were also growing stronger along with people.


    Dave knew that if people gave them time, then soon even an ordinary zombie would be as strong as a Giant and as fast as a Hunter. He had always thought that it was the most terrifying thing about zombies; it was their evolutionary potential.


    While he was immersed in his thoughts, Dave automatically killed every zombie that attacked him, while others had already started fighting with evolved zombies.


    Warned by Dave, Evelyn was the first one to initiate an attack on Hunter since it was able to choose as his opponent Arthur instead of her, and she didn''t want it. Arthur was much slower than low-rank 1 Hunter, so she was concerned about him.


    Gripping her dagger, she shed at the hideous face of the Hunter but having low fighting experience, she couldn''t urately aim to its head. Faced against a Hunter that was slightly faster than her, Evelyn kept backing away from it as she dodged its attempts to bite and sh her.


    Suddenly, her back touched the shelf. Not noticing it, she was already backed against a shelf and didn''t have any way backwards. Gritting her teeth, she made a piercing motion with her dagger. Hunter''s face was already right before her face as it intended to gnash its teeth to her face.


    Ptuh!


    The dagger went into its skull when it was right before her. Hunter twitched as it fell to the floor, and blood sprayed onto Evelyn''s face. A disgusting rotten smell washed over her nostrils as a colour drained from her face.


    Stabilizing herself by leaning on the shelf, she slid with her back on the shelf down to the sitting position. Just now, she was so close to her death! If she didn''t lift her dagger, she would have been dead!


    Thud!


    As the scene of a Hunter right before her face kept haunting her, something smashed to the shelf next to her. Pulled out from her stupor, she nced at the source of noise, but in the next moment, she sprinted to there and shouted, "Arthur!"


    *Cough* *Cough* Arthur coughed as he tried to stand up from the floor. "Sorry...I just got distracted for a moment."


    Dave, who was observing everything from the side, had only thought, ''Foolish as ever, Arthur! He should have minded your own battle instead of looking after Evelyn. However, he''ve gotten good instincts.''


    Perhaps, Evelyn didn''t know about it, Dave clearly saw how Arthur had gotten into this state. In the beginning, he had a winning hand against a Giant. However, when Evelyn was being pushed backwards, he kept looking at her worriedly. Indeed, Giant was slow, but Arthur wasn''t that fast to ignore it.


    When Evelyn had killed a Hunter, he rxed slightly and got a punch from a Giant. Thankfully, Arthur was able to react quickly and leapt in opposite direction, minimizing the damage he had taken. By this, Dave was able to notice the traits of a natural fighter from Arthur.


    On his side, he had already dealt with all of the zombies. One-two of them had slipped past him, but Rachel easily killed a single target. It was a good decision to leave her at the back. A short whileter, more cautious than before, Arthur had finally killed a Giant as his spear pierced its head from the back.


    Silently collecting ck coins from the ground, Dave heard a high-pitched voice of Mary as she ran towards Arthur. "Arthur! How are you? Are you feeling pain anywhere?"


    *Cough* Coughing a small amount of blood, Arthur clenched his fist to hide blood droplets on it as he replied weakly, "Yeah, I''m fine! My chest is hurting though..."


    Arthur tried to put on the nicest smile on his face, but it seemed more like a grimace than a smile since he tried to resist the pain in his body.


    "David, what was that for? I thought you were gonna cover us? Why did you just look from sideways?" Evelyn asked angrily as mes burned in her ruby eyes.


    "I would have helped if things got really dangerous. And it''s the price he had paid for being careless while fighting a Giant. He shouldn''t have kept ncing in your direction. He had a high chance of winning but due to a moment of carelessness, he got hit by Giant. You should understand that there won''t always be a person who''ll save you. Also, I''ve told that Reba would have been covering you, Evelyn." Dave calmly exined as he didn''t mind her tone at all.


    At his words, Arthur and Evelyn had finally noticed a white sphere of light floating above Reba''s head. Catching interested nced from others, Reba said, "I''ve told you before about Star. Star, greet everyone."


    "Whiiing! Whiiing!" It vibrated slightly as it made a whistling sound. Dave didn''t know how it was able to make a sound, yet he didn''t think about it even further, understanding that he won''t get an answer to it.


    "When Evelyn was pushed against the shelf, Reba was already ready to save her," Dave said as he recalled how Reba was preparing to sh with light.


    "Yeah! But...,"


    "He''s right, Evelyn. It was my mistake from the start. We need to take care of ourselves." Arthur stopped her from saying her words as he understood everything.


    "Then, what about people down there?" Evelyn mumbled it silently as she said it as lowly as possible.

 Chapter 52: Mid-rank 1 Hunter

    Chapter 52: Mid-rank 1 Hunter


    "Arthur, you''re in no way to continue like this. You can return to the underground basement before everyone. Anyone, who wants to return, may join Arthur." Dave said as he looked at Arthur who was leaning on Mary and Evelyn''s shoulders.


    "En!" Mary nodded firmly, already nning to remain with Arthur. She wasn''t a fan of such bloody scenes, so she thought it was the best she could do. Not like she was any useful for others, so she could just return to the underground basement.


    "Wait a bit! You can''t return without doing anything at all. Stay still and ready your weapon." Dave suddenly called for her as she already heading towards the door while supporting Arthur as well. Stopping in her steps, confusion surfaced in her pupils as she nced from her club to Dave''s back.


    Heading towards a ce of zombies'' corpses, Dave searched for something for several seconds, and spotting what he wanted, he dragged one of the corpses by its only leg towards Mary. Dave had cut its limbs and had prepared this zombie for Mary.


    "Wait...Why do you need a corpse?" Mary eximed in surprise...and horror as she backed a step away from it. However, when she noticed that it was still moving and growling weakly, the colour drained from her face.


    "Not me but you. If you want to help Arthur and Evelyn in the future, you need to be at least able to kill a zombie. For now, let''s just deal with your fear. Don''t worry, this zombie can''t harm you." Dave exined it to her.


    At his words, Mary calmed down a bit as she red at the hideous zombie lying right before her. It kept thrashing on the floor, wiggling and twisting its body. For a moment, Mary couldn''t even believe that it was human before.


    "Don''t force yourself if you can''t," Evelyn said gently to Mary as she at the same time send an angry nce towards Dave. Catching it, he just shrugged with his shoulders.


    Biting her lower lip, Mary red at a zombie and gripped her club tightly. "No need. I''ll do it myself. I don''t want to look from sideways when both of you''re fighting." Evelyn was caught off her guard as Mary seemed more determined than she had expected.


    Hesitating for a moment, she made small steps towards a zombie as she held her club with two hands since it was too heavy for her in another way. Making a breath in, she seemed to resolve herself to kill it.


    ...


    A short whileter, Mary stood before the zombie''s corpse which had a smashed head. Leaning on the shelf, she kept vomiting as she saw the most disgusting scene in her life. Everyone, except for Dave, looked at her with sympathy. Evelyn and Arthur were sympathetic to their friend, while Reba and Rachel felt a kinship to her since both of them had also passed through it.


    "Alright, anyone who wants to return to the underground basement can do so. Evelyn, stay behind, you still have a chest to open," Dave said as he nced at the white Treasure Chest which had been dropped by a killed Hunter.


    Evelyn seemed to notice it only now when Dave had reminded her. ring at it, she said to Mary, "Mary, you can return to the underground basement first. I''ll be quick andeter."


    "En! Just stay safe, okay?" Mary nodded her head as she said concernedly. Supporting injured Arthur, she headed towards the door downstairs, ncing backwards time after time.


    After Mary and Arthur had left them, Evelyn shifted her eyes to the white Treasure Chest. She quietly picked it up and opened it. As far as she had killed zombies, it was her first Treasure Chest to open. Previously, she only heard about it from Arthur.


    Emitting strong light, it disappeared into thin air as a vial with red liquid had appeared in her hands. Reading the information about the item, her excitement was reced with happiness.


    ''Not bad! She got the same Strength Potion as Brian,'' Dave thought as he recalled that it will permanently increase her strength stat by two points. He was quite surprised by the drop chance of Treasure Chests since it was abnormal rtive to his time. Perhaps, it was because it was only the beginning of the 2nd stage, like a newbie buff in the tutorial as in the games he had yed.


    "I''m intending to clean the second floor. Anyone who wants to leave can leave now." Dave said, waiting till Evelyn had finished drinking her potion. As he nced at everyone one by one, he didn''t find anyone who intended to return to the underground basement. Even Rachel, who was usually fearful of them, had stayed.


    "I thought you''re going after Mary?" Reba asked Evelyn puzzledly.


    "Arthur and Mary can wait a bit. I already raised a level, and I don''t want to leave all three of you alone. You could just leave shortly after helping us, but you decided to help us to kill all zombies. I can''t sit idly down there, while you''re dealing with that mess." Evelyn exined herself.


    "Let''s go upstairs then." Saying it, Dave led his group to the second floor. They had already dealt with zombies on the first floor with that big group of zombies being thest batch.


    Silently moving to the second floor, Dave decided to use his Mana Sensing to scout the location of zombies on the second floor. He didn''t want to be spotted by one and attract the attention of everyone.


    Scanning the second floor, he found out that there were slightly fewer zombies on the second floor. Perhaps, part of them had gone downstairs when amotion broke out on the first floor.


    Reaching the entry point of the second floor, Dave decided to use the same strategy from before, killing zombies stealthily without attracting any unwanted attention. Tracking the movements of zombies, he led others to the backs of zombies and observed how they killed zombies one by one.


    After 15 minutes, Dave was able to lead others to kill most of the zombies on the second floor. Dealing with small fries, he finally shifted his Mana Sensing towards another group slightly lower in numbers than the previous one.


    ''Interesting. Is it already a time for mid-rank 1 zombies? I met a mid-rank 1 Giant in the storage room, and now I have mid-rank 1 Hunter on the second floor. Or, is it just my luck?'' Dave thought as he scanned the group. He had spotted two Hunters in there: one was low-rank 1 and another was mid-rank 1.


    "Rachel and Evelyn, concentrate on killing ordinary zombies. Reba, summon Star and take down one Hunter. I''ll take the second one which is slightly further from us," Dave whispered to girls behind him.


    Evelyn didn''t look as surprised as before since she had already picked up clues that Dave could detect zombies from distance. However, she didn''t know how: was it some kind of skill or what?


    All three of them nodded as they understood their respective roles. Having obtained a Treasure Chest from the previous Hunter, Evelyn also wanted to kill one but decided to keep desires at bay. Reba and Rachel were fine with that, especially Rachel hadn''t even wished to fight against evolved zombies.


    Following hismand, Reba summoned her elemental spirit and condensed a de from light particles, sending it to the closest Hunter. Light de shed at its neck, severing its head from the body. Falling on the floor, it made a thud sound as its head rolled over the floor.


    Immediately, all zombies were attracted to the sound of the head falling on the floor as they growled and grew crazy. Turning their heads, they spotted Dave and three girls were already running towards them.


    Several secondster, both sides had shed with each other. Sprinting forward and leaving girls behind him, Dave quickly barged into the ranks of zombies as he killed the ones blocking his way. Killing another zombie, he finally saw it dashing in the middle of other zombies.


    After several moments, it was already rushing towards the closest human to it...to Dave! Running and growling madly, it already appeared before Dave. It lifted its ws and shed at him.


    Ding!


    However, just when its ws were right before his face, they stopped suddenly, hitting a blue barrier that had momentarily appeared before him. He had already activated Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing, enhancing his body stats, and due to the battle, Battle Focus had activated automatically.


    Even though he was slower than mid-rank 1 Hunter, due to Battle Focus, he was still able to follow after its movement. However, he couldn''t move as quickly as a Hunter, so he already decided to rely on his Mana Barrier to block its attack.


    Even then, he was slightlyte to put a Mana Barrier. If he was even a momentte, he would have been already dead. Realizing it fully, an involuntary smile had crept on his face, forming into a smirk of satisfaction. Just like that, with a smile on his face, Dave shed at Hunter with his Steel Sword.

 Chapter 53: Battle Suit

    Chapter 53: Battle Suit


    shing at the neck of the Hunter, Dave clearly felt that he had failed to score a hit. Understanding that he missed, Dave retreated backwards preparing to dodge a barrage of attacks from Hunter. It didn''t force him to wait long as it leapt towards him trying to sh him with its ws and to bite him with its teeth.


    However, no matter how fast Hunter was, it was unable to reach Dave as he was dodging and twisting his body atst moments. Obviously, a mid-rank 1 Hunter was faster than him, but Dave was shifting his body at minimum, making minute steps in the right directions as he was ying with it.


    Whenever he couldn''t dodge Hunter''s attack, Dave would put a barrier in front of him, stalling for time and halting Hunter in one ce. Immersing himself in the familiar feeling of his life being on the line, Dave reminisced about his past life when he needed to deal with much stronger monsters.


    From the sideways, it seemed like Dave was leading Hunter on and ying with it, holding a refreshed smile on his face. Evelyn, who killed thest ordinary zombie in that group, said in amazement, "What the heck is he doing? Why is he smiling during the fight?"


    Reba, who happened to overhear her, replied while pressing her hand to her cheek, "I don''t know. If I recall it right, he has that habit of smiling during hunting. Though I''ve never asked him about the reason he is smiling. Whatever, isn''t it kinda cute?"


    "Cute? You call that, cute? Mary''s smile is cute. Arthur''s innocent mind is cute. But that...it''s terrifying!" Evelyn said as she didn''t notice how she had raised her voice a tone higher.


    "...You''re dramatizing it a bit. Isn''t it, Rachel? He had the same expression when he had fought with the zombie in a cafeteria." Amused that Evelyn was getting over nothing, Reba covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile.


    Hearing her name, Rachel stepped closer to them, nced at Dave and mumbled, "To be honest, I find him quite intimidating. He has that scary aura around him." Her tone wasn''t loud nor quiet, just her usual tone. She seemed to be getting more ustomed to everything: to blood, to zombies and to Dave specifically.


    ...


    Whoosh!


    Hunter''s long ws just passed close to his nose, but Dave wasn''t much scared of it. He was perfectly controlling the course of battle and got everything nned. Even in case, its ws had reached him, he would just have an additional scar on his face.


    Satisfied with his game, Dave decided to end it here. He had already loosened up his body, getting rid of the soreness in his body umted due to several meditation sessions, and he had already tested his body limits while fighting it, so he found no reason to continue sparring with it.


    He made a circr singleyer of mana barrier around his left hand and gripped a Steel Sword with his right hand. One advantage of learning skills yourself was that you could freely control it; Dave could control the area and the shape of his Mana Barrier.


    Usually, he would surround his body with it or put it right in front of him, so to block aing attack. However, in some cases, he would use it as a shield; though it could only withstand a single attack from an evolved zombie, forcing him to form it again and again or to just drop that idea.


    Not waiting for a Hunter to attack him, Dave rushed towards it, raising a transparent blue shield before him. It didn''t seem to be durable enough to leave unscratched after a collision.


    Bang!


    mming into Hunter and protecting himself with a shield, Dave knocked him on the ground. Combined with his strength, he was sure that the force behind that collision was quite strong. However, noticing that Hunter was already trying to stand back on its feet, he said, "No, no, no! Keep lying on the floor!"


    Saying it, he grabbed threads in his hand which he had attached to the feet of the Hunter. Smiling, he pulled them and sent Hunter crushing into one of the shelves. Still trying to stand up, it couldn''t even resist him as it mmed into the shelf.


    Swiftly dashing towards disoriented Hunter, Dave finally killed it as he pierced its head with his sword. As Hunter died, the big blue ball had entered his body.


    [You have reached level 7.]


    [You have earned 2 free points.]


    ''Then, handling a single mid-rank 1 evolved zombie won''t be a problem for me, though I can''t go against several of them at once. Allocate 2 free points to agility.'' Analyzing hisbat capabilities, satisfaction surged into his heart as he promptly distributed his free points as he had nned.


    He chose to go for agility since it was slightly lower than strength and it would have been harder for him in the future since he was already falling behind the Hunters. Even though stamina was as important as strength and agility, considering that higher strength and agility spends more stamina, it was negligible for now. Furthermore, he already had a n about how to increase it on his own, though he didn''t want to do it.


    ''Now, let''s move to the spoils.'' As he thought about it, his eyes fell on another Blue Chest. Just in a day, he had gotten two Blue Chests and had also increased his level by one, so he thought that his visit wasn''t pointless at least.


    As always the Treasure Chest emitted a strong blue light and disappeared into a thin air. When his eyes fell on the item he had obtained, his eyes shed with a happy light.


    [Battle Suit Prototype


    Defence: 20


    -Increases strength and agility by a point


    Description: The prototype of the battle suit from a mass-produced series.]


    When he read the information window of the item, Dave thought, ''Nice! With this battle suit, I got my defence covered a bit. 20 points in defence mean that I can withstand a blow from the mid-rank 1 Giant. Well, better not to risk it.''


    At the first nce, the battle suit seemed to be made from an stic material, and it could also magically change its sizes based on the size of a person wearing it. It was dull grey in colour and had metal tes covering the chest area.


    Wanting to check his stats, Dave called ''Status'' in his mind.


    [David Murckly


    Level: 7


    Survival coins: 254


    ss: None


    Mana: 7/26


    Strength: 17


    Agility: 15


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 5 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 1)]


    Observing his status window, Dave was delighted to know that his strength and agility will go a point higher when he will wear a battle suit. Adding bonus points from battle suit, he would have 18 points in strength and 16 points in agility.


    However, when his eyes fell on his Mana Application skill, his brows furrowed on their own. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn''t recall any method of how to increase his mana affinity in a short time.


    There were some really expensive potions in the city before, but he needed to wait several years till they were started being manufactured. Thinking it over, Dave thought, ''Should I just continue training like this? If I recall it right, Professor Dn had alsoe from our university.''


    There were quite a lot of people who had grown popr during the fall of humanity''s domination over the world. Perhaps, one of the most remarkable people was Professor Dn who stood in the lead of mana research and invented a bunch of useful stuff in his past life.


    He had met him once in a person but had also heard about him quite a lot, so Dave should admit that his profile was quite admirable. Messy grey hair, white scientist''s robe and fatigue eyes; that''s how Professor Dn looked when Dave first met him. However, he had that sharp glint in his eyes no matter how he looked, as nothing had ever mattered to him except for one thing.


    He was one of the types of person who was passionate about the natural world and itsws. Dave could also say that Professor Dn was obsessed with science, and the appearance of mana in the world had only fuelled his obsession even further.

 Chapter 54: Checking up

    Chapter 54: Checking up


    Noticing that Dave had already killed a Hunter and was searching its corpse for any ck coins, three girls approached him with tiny steps. They moved to him apprehensively since they were the witnesses of the fight all along, and for them, it didn''t seem that Dave even struggled over it, on the contrary, they thought that he found enjoyment in it.


    In Evelyn''s mind, a person who enjoyed fighting with a Hunter was a psycho no matter how she looked at it, so she said, "Sick! How can you smile in such a situation? Do you enjoy killing zombies so much? You know you should quit it before it bes a habit of yours."


    Lifting his head, Dave nced at Evelyn and said, "It''s none of your business. And correcting you, I enjoy the feeling of controlling the course of battle and getting stronger, not killing. Also, I would better smile in such situations than to cower from them."


    Saying it, Dave put his battle suit into his backpack, intending to wear itter, and thought inside his mind, "It''s much better than an empty life I had before."


    Some people may say that they were living an awesome life before everything had happened, especially people, who had enrolled to the university, were ambitious and strived for sess in their lives. Someone wanted to take over the family business like Adam had or had other ns for their lives.


    However,pared to others, he didn''t have any lofty dreams about his future nor did he wanted to achieve something marvellous. Even his enrollment to the prestigious university in the Federation was due to it being something his parents wanted for him, not his own wish. Without Adam''s convincement, he wouldn''t have even sent his documents here.


    Even though he had joined the rank of hunterste in his past life, he liked how simple everything had turned; if you are strong, you will survive, if not, then you are dead meat. Of course, it''s terrible if you''ve been left in thetter, and Dave had personally experienced it in his past life; but the feeling of levelling up, getting stronger and killing monsters, which would have been impossible just a few days ago, is the best feeling...at least for Dave. He couldn''t do such a thing before everything had happened...without being able to level up.


    Thinking in this track, Dave couldn''t help but recall the time of year and a half he had been in the hospital after a car ident: wheelchair, the smell of medical alcohol and thick aura of death. Life was somewhat different for him after that time...it felt like time slipped before his eyes...like everything went surreal.


    "Dave! ....Dave, what are you doing? Why are you staring nkly at the air?" Evelyn waved her hand before his eyes. Waking up from his thoughts, Dave thought, "Shit! I went deep into my thoughts."


    Shaking his head, he assured, "Nothing happened, just thought too hard about something. Did you finish killing ordinary zombies?" He asked while turning his head to look at the corpses of other zombies. Well, adding dead bodies of zombies on the second floor to the ones on the first floor, there will be more than 60 of them.


    "En, I think we finished everything here." Reba nodded her head while replying to him. Even though she had stains of blood on her clothes, she still looked quite beautiful as she nodded her small head.


    "Then, let''s double-check the supermarket for the presence of any other zombies. When we will be sure that no one has left inside the building, you can start counting the edible food here." Dave said as he moved ahead of everyone.


    "Can''t you just sense it like before?" Rachel asked him doubtfully. Since Dave knew the position of zombies when they had killed them from their backs, she found it strange that Dave didn''t do like before, instead of asking to search the floor.


    "Ehhhh...After the battle, I feel slightly mentally tired...and making mana shields were also energy draining. I don''t want to strain my mind too much. Furthermore, it isn''t like everything bes clear in my eyes. It''s a more ambiguous thing...like a sense of smell or even hearing, maybe a sense of touch...but not the sight." Dave tried to exin to them what was Mana Sensing, but he doubted that he made it clear enough for them.


    It was quite hard to describe that feeling in words. Mana Sensing requires to touch or sense mana surrounding you, and read its movement as well as differences in mana density around you, so he sensed general shape of the object or the creature, but he couldn''t identify precisely what it was until he sees it. With each level, rity of Mana Sensing increases and he also could deduce much finer detail about the object or the creature.


    "Can I also learn it? It seems quite handy in scouting and locating zombies. Or is it a skill like Arthur''s Shadow Step?" Evelyn asked as she pondered about the possible uses of the skill.


    "Right! You should also teach us."


    "It will be useful for us."


    Shaking his head lightly, Dave chuckled silently. "Heh...I learned it by myself. However, I don''t know about you and Rachel, but Rachel has a slight chance to learn it due to her affinity to mana."


    Evelyn and Rachel had already been growing excited. If they could learn it, they would have less fear of other zombies since knowing positions of zombies beforehand was quite a big advantage. Dave''s words were like a bucket of cold water which extinguished all of their excitement.


    "Are you talking about that scroll which shined when dropped our blood on it? But you also hadn''t any reaction from the scroll. Then, how are you able to do it?" Reba asked him only half believing his words.


    Dave shook his head and said, "Well, let''s say that my case is slightly special. I spent a lot of time learning about mana and its control. I also advise you to learn more about it, and much more possibilities would open before you."


    After that, they searched over the supermarket again and found one or two zombies in isted or hard to get in ces like some enclosed rooms or toilet room. They had also gone through a storage room once to check it if any zombie had passed unspotted by them.


    Finding no zombies in the supermarket and being sure that no one had passed undetected, their group returned to the underground basement to inform other survivors.


    nk!


    Having been thest to enter the underground basement, Dave was the one to close the door. Just when they entered the underground space, Mary was the first one to wee them. "Are you injured anywhere? Hopefully, all of you have returned safely. How is it on the upper floors?"


    ncing at clearly worried Marry, Evelyn smiled lightly as she said, "We''ve dealt with most of them up there. However, there are lots of dead bodies on the first and the second floors, so it might be not a scene that you want to see. By the way, how is Arthur?"


    "He is there, leaning on the wall. We need to quickly find somewhere he can lie t on his back. Finding something soft to lie down would also be nice." Mary said concernedly as she nced worriedly at somewhere on the right. As he had understood, Arthur should have been in that direction.


    Dave scanned the underground basement and observed facial expressions of other survivors. There were more than a dozen people, with slightly more women than male students. Considering that Arthur and Evelyn took leading positions among them, he assumed that most of them were either in their freshman or sophomore years.


    "Evelyn, prepare people to take care of the dead bodies on the upper floors. If you want to take care of and protect people close to you, then you should take the leading position. You can''t keep avoiding it, otherwise, such conflicts as with Kyle will continue to happen." Dave pulled Evelyn closer to her as he whispered it to her.


    Even though she knew that he was right, she was still dissatisfied slightly. Evelyn also whispered silently to him, "But I didn''t agree to be a leader. We have Arthur for it."


    "I thought we already talked about it...Whatever, I''m sure you didn''t want to disturb Arthur when he is injured. Currently, there is no one to do it, except for you. We''ll be leaving shortly after several hours, so you''ll be the one to control the situation over here. Also, I didn''t tell you to rece Arthur, just be sure he won''t do anything foolish. I know you can do it." Dave told her a piece of his mind and headed towards the empty spot to restore the mana he had spent on killing zombies.


    ''Did he n it over?'' Evelyn couldn''t help but think so since it was too much of a coincidence. Of course, it wasn''t Dave''s intention from the start, but Dave also thought that Arthur was also injured timely. He needed to rest a bit.

 Chapter 55: Commotion

    Chapter 55: Commotion


    While he was meditating, Evelyn checked on Arthur, and then, shared with everyone that they had killed all zombies in the supermarket, causing a wave of cheer among other survivors. Some of them had even cried and bowled when they knew about it.


    "Finally, we can get out of here!"


    "Thank god, I thought we all would die here!"


    "Ahh...I''m already sick of living in the underground basement."


    Suddenly, loud exmations spread like a wave through other students. They were cheering and, some of them, crying as they were growing happier with every second. Stuck in the underground basement, they were already feeling stuffed here.


    They couldn''t eat as normally as before and had even starved a day before...they couldn''t sleep as soundly as before since they lied on the cold stone floor, and most importantly...they couldn''t sh*t normally! It was very embarrassing to do it down in the underground basement that they were already dying from embarrassment...moreover, it was ufortable as hell!


    Sometimes, it was difficult to even look at the eyes of other survivors after the deed!


    Thankfully, they found a box with toilet paper, and the underground basement was big enough, so they chose one ce to do their things, though it was already bing unbearable for them.


    *p* pping her hands, Evelyn attracted the attention of others. "Cool down a bit. I know you''re excited to leave the underground basement since I feel the same, however, we still need to do something before everything."


    Suddenly, all the people, who were whispering and cheering, got a tad lower. They turned their attention towards Evelyn and listened to her intentively since she was the one to deliver good news to them.


    Noticing that she was able to get the attention of others, Evelyn made a slight pause and continued. Even though she was against being a leader just a moment ago when she talked with Dave, she wasn''t a child and got her responsibilities straight.


    "Hmm...First of all, we need to clean the supermarket of all the blood...and corpses." Evelyn made a slight pause at that moment and other students immediately became silent. "Currently, the supermarket is reeking of blood and there are countless corpses up there, so I''m asking for cooperation in cleaning the supermarket."


    Pausing, she waited for a moment, and said, "Then, we need to count and sort everything inside the supermarket, including food and other items. I''ll personally write down everything we have in the building. We''ll go upstairs after some rest."


    Finishing everything she wanted to say, Evelyn trudged steadily towards Mary and Arthur. Even though she also felt tired, she tried not to show it to others. Although having been forced somewhat by the situation, she tried to fit into her role acting as a temporary leader.


    However, currently, she needed a great amount of rest! It was her first fight with an evolved zombies, plus, she had also killed a lot of ordinary zombies on the upper floors, so it was only normal to feel tired afterwards.


    After Evelyn had joined her friends, Reba and Rachel were trying to calm other survivors which were excited too much. Both of them acted nice in front of them, answering all of their questions, since they felt sympathy and pity towards them. They had also been stuck in one ce, though a dormitory room couldn''t bepared to the underground basement at all.


    ...


    Breathing the air in and out of his lungs, Dave was close to finishing one meditative session, which usually took approximately two hours for him. As he absorbed thest cluster of mana, he thought, ''It has already been two hours since I entered into a meditative state. Interesting what do others up to?''


    Havingpletely restored his mana reserves and spirit, Dave activated his Mana Sensing to peek at what others were doing. He noticed that there was no one in the underground basement, so he made a logical assumption that they were already upstairs, busy with something.


    Spreading his sensed along the stairs, Dave detected several creatures of humanoid shape doing something. Obviously, he had detected other survivors, who were cleaning the supermarket from blood and dead bodies.


    However, he had detected only half of all survivors that he had counted before. ''Strange...where are others?''


    So, he decided to go upstairs and check on them. However, before it, he wanted to try his new battle suit.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 7


    Survival coins: 254


    ss: None


    Mana: 26


    Strength: 18 (+1)


    Agility: 16 (+1)


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 5 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 1)]


    ''Nice!'' Even though Dave already knew that his strength and agility will go up by one point, he still felt satisfaction when he personally witnessed it. There was something satisfactory in the game-like setting of their system.


    ''But it''s slightly tight around the groin!'' Dave thought as he tried to stretch the material of his battle suit. Of course, he had worn battlesuits before in his past life, but it was easy to get ustomed to the feeling of loose clothes he had been wearing till now.


    Ignoring the ufortable feeling and wearing casual clothes on top of his battlesuit, he went upstairs. It tightly stuck to his skin and was very thin on top of being sturdy, so it didn''t cause any difficulties to wear his old clothes on top of it.


    Moreover, he also could not worry about feeling too hot in it, on the contrary, it was slightly cooler than without it. He didn''t know why it was, but he was sure that it was due to magic circles engraved on its insides. Perhaps, there was one with functions of air venttion, he wasn''t much knowledgable about it.


    Opening the doors to the first floor, Dave expected to see several corpses of zombies that were killed in the span of a week, but he couldn''t find them...only bloodstains on the floor and walls. He assumed that they didn''t have enough time to finish wiping them off.


    There were still some of the students who were dragging dead bodies somewhere, but Dave didn''t know to where. Noticing Dave opening the iron doors, students panicked slightly as they nced at him rmedly.


    The image of Dave knocking off Kyle in one hit and dragging him somewhere was still fresh in their minds. On top of that, they seemingly had found the corpse of Kyle who had turned into a zombie. His dead body was eaten by other zombies that even his parents would have found it difficult to recognize him. He was missing a nose on his face with slightly torn cheeks, and his stomach was open as his intestines could be seen it. It caused pure terror in the minds of onlookers, and most of the survivors were now apprehensive of him.


    Ignoring strange nces from others, Dave hummed a melody as he headed towards the storage room. He thought it was the only ce where most of the students would have gathered...at least, he would have gone there if he was in their ces.


    However, as he was nearing the storage room, he heard that someone was arguing in it. Attentively listening to it, he recognized Evelyn''s voice who was seemingly arguing with someone.


    "Didn''t we agree to eat after counting and sorting everything?" She was shouting. "THEN, WHAT''S THAT?"


    "I swear I didn''t take it. It should have been dropped from somewhere." Dave heard a panicked male voice.


    "Do you think I''m stupid or what?" Evelyn red angrily at him as Dave finally reached the site ofmotion.


    "No...Of course, no." Panicking even more, the male student seemed to shrink somehow. It was likely a sophomore student, judging by his looks, and had a normal physical constitution, though slightly taller than Evelyn.


    "Ehh...just don''t do any of this again. It''s the food for everyone, so you''re stealing not only from me but also taking someone else''s food." Evelyn sighed in exasperation as she was trying to slide it off and warn everyone.


    "En..." Nodding his head, the male student sighed in relief as he was ready to move from her sight. Onlooking Dave thought as he grinned, ''It seems that Evelyn making her way forward. But she is still too naive.''


    "Not so fast!" Dave suddenly strode forward towards the backing male student and angry-looking Evelyn.

 Chapter 56: Intimidation

    Chapter 56: Intimidation


    "Where are you hurrying?" Coming near Evelyn, Dave made a swift step and grabbed the male student on his right shoulder. The male student winced as he halted in his steps. He nced at his back and panicked when he saw Dave beside him. Slowly turning, the male student red at him apprehensively trying to hide his panic and irritation.


    "Ohh...David, are you already up?" Evelyn called him by his name as she looked at him in surprise. She remembered that Dave would leave today, but he didn''t say when they would leave exactly. Seeing him up here now, she assumed that he was going to leave soon.


    "Yep...You''ve done a nice job taking care of dead bodies and sorting everything in the storage room. I told you that you''ll be a great leader." Dave said casually to her while shifting his eyes from the male student to Evelyn.


    "Nice try, but I''ll wait till Arthur can move freely again. So, is there something wrong with that man?" Evelyn looked at Dave questioningly, wondering why did he stop a male student. Though she caught him red-handed, she thought it wasn''t necessary to do anything to him if he learned his lesson.


    "You''re still too naive, Evelyn! You should have checked his body properly, otherwise, people like him would get braver each time they steal something. Right?" Dave chuckled as he nced back at the male student, grinning.


    "What are you talking about? I''ve already returned it to Evelyn. I don''t have anything on me!" The male student erupted in anger. However, Dave only thought that he was covering his nervousness with his anger.


    "What do you mean?" Evelyn frowned as furrowed her brows. She already picked up some clues from the male student''s reaction and was able to guess what was happening. Naturally, upon realization, her gaze at the male student became much colder.


    "Then, he shouldn''t mind if I''ll search his body." Shaking his head, Dave drew his head closer to the male student as he red at him coldly. "Don''t you think so?"


    Paling, the male student backed from him in panic as he said, "I didn''t take anything. Why should I allow you to search..."


    However, he couldn''t finish what he wanted to say as he was pinned by Dave to the ground. It was pretty easy for him, especially with his high strength. For a moment, he even thought that he was wasting his skills from his past life.


    The male student tried to struggle, yet it was meaningless, so he gave up quickly as he paled even more. Shortly afterward searching his body, Dave found small snacks on him like candies and chocte bars.


    However, not stopping on it, Dave turned him over, so he was lying on his back, and opened his jacket, finding much bigger snacks in it, such as a medium-sized bag of chips and a small bottle of coke. Finishing searching his body, Dave even thought, ''He''s quite courageous on his first try.''


    When Dave was finding more snacks on his body, Evelyn''s face was growing colder with every snack Dave was putting aside on the floor. However, when Dave unzipped his jacket and found a bag of chips and a coke, she couldn''t hold her anger anymore.


    "I thought we agreed to do the sorting first. Is this how you thank us when we were risking our lives and obtaining food when the supermarket was full of zombies?" Evelyn shouted madly. She was truly angered now.


    "No...No, I just wanted to try a bit after being trapped a week. I just wanted to rx a bit after a hard week" The male student seemed ashamed as tried to defend himself. Quickly, other survivors surrounding them started whispering between each other.


    "I didn''t think that Andrew would steal snacks. He didn''t seem to be like one."


    "Yeah, but I could understand him. Life was hardst week, and I also want to rx a bit."


    "Isn''t he too greedy? He should have stopped on small snacks."


    ...


    Waiting till other survivors calms down a bit, Dave said threateningly., "You know I hate troublemakers. Do you want to follow after Kyle''s steps?"


    When he said it, the male student immediately grew as pale as a sheet. Other survivors had already heard about the fate of Kyle...that he was turned into a zombie. Andrew didn''t want to end like him...he wanted to live like everybody else, so he panicked as he shook his head.


    "I''ll let it slip once..." When Dave said it and made a slight pause, Andrew sighed in relief, however, when he heard Dave''s next words, his face grimaced in fright."...but you won''t anything for today."


    "But you can''t do this to me. I didn''t eat a lot in the past week, so..." Andrew mumbled as he tried to object.


    "...Or, do you want to feed zombies? I''m sure there are lots of starving zombies outside of the supermarket, so..." Dave grinned coldly at Andrew as he red at him. Andrew immediately grimaced from fright as he grew silent.


    "Then, it''s decided. Evelyn, supervise his punishment and be sure that he won''t dare to do it again." Thinking that he already finished with the male student, he turned to Evelyn. "Sometimes, you should make your stance firmly."


    "Thanks, David, but I think it''s enough scaring him. I''ll heed your advice and be sure he won''t do anything like this again." Evelyn sighed as she tried to calm down herself. She was still angered, yet she thought that Dave proposed sensible punishment for their situation. She turned to him and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"


    Dave smiled lightly and chuckled. "Actually, yes! You need to be more cautious when ites to other people. Humans are more cunning than you can imagine. We need to check everyone in case someone had also taken something from the storage room."


    "Is it necessary? I would have seen if they took something." Evelyn said doubtfully. However, when she recalled that she didn''t notice the male student taking snacks, her voice grew lower with every word.


    "Yeah! We''re not some criminals!"


    "We wouldn''t have done it."


    "I''m sure it''s not necessary!"


    ...


    Other survivors seemed to be dissatisfied as they protested loudly. Since they higher in numbers, they seemed to be less fearful of Dave as they voiced their opinions andints. Well, it was human nature to grow more courageous with higher numbers.


    However, Dave didn''t hold them in high regard. He thought it was better to suppress such crimes while they were still minor and establish discipline. Therefore, he activated the Mana Bullet spell on his ring as it flickered with light, shooting a mana bullet.


    Bang!


    "..." All the whispers stopped suddenly as people winced in surprise. Even though Dave had aimed at the empty wall, the loud sound of shooting was enough to scare all of them. Panicking, they looked at him in anger from a threat, surprise from a sudden sound...and fear! A gun! The first thought they had was that Dave had a gun on him!


    Getting the reaction he wanted, Dave said slowly, "Silence! If you have nothing to hide, then you shouldn''t be scared of anything. Stand in one line, or believe me, my next bullet will hit you." However, inside he thought, ''Tsk...Such a waste of mana!''


    Evelyn had also red at him apprehensively, yet being the closest to him and seeing no firearm in his hands, she looked at him confusedly. Dave had hidden more surprises than she had imagined. She said, "David, is it truly necessary?"


    "Yes! You need the discipline to keep them at bay. If you leave such situations unnoticed or unpunished, people would get braver than now. However, at that time, you might not be able to stop them to get what they wanted." Dave said confidently.


    He learned it in his past life. Every person strived to live afortable life! And at times when not everyone could livefortably, people would go for anything to get their lives better...Stealing, betrayal, murder, people selling their own bodies, scheming; it was a small list of what people could do in his past life.


    "If you say so." Evelyn finally gave up as she shrugged her shoulders. A short whileter, all survivors who had helped with food sorting, stood in one line, some of them fidgeting in their ces, as Dave and Evelyn checked each of them. It didn''t take lots of time on searching their bodies.


    However, the results were stunning...at least for Evelyn!

 Chapter 57: Parting

    Chapter 57: Parting


    A short whileter, 2 students, one male and another female, stood in the middle of the group, surrounded by other students and looked upon with dissatisfied eyes. They were students who had also stole food from the storage room, though only small snacks such as chocte bars and sucking candies. However, stealing was still stealing.


    In front of them, Evelyn and Dave stood ring at two students coldly. These students cried out, "Please, it''s just small snacks. We have plenty of them in the supermarket."


    Hearing it, Dave smirked only as he noticed that the male student was the one to shout that they weren''t some criminals. For him, it was truly amusing how the male student had tried to manipte other survivors and hide in the masses. ''Funny!''


    At a loss of words, Evelyn sighed in exhaustion, understanding that leading a bunch of other students would be much harder than she had expected. "I won''t gonna hear your excuses. Both of you will get the same punishment as Andrew; no food for you today."


    ''Fair enough!'' Dave thought inwardly. Though both didn''t take as much as Andrew, the same punishment needed to be given to establish a discipline among other survivors. Well, with everything wrapped here, he needed to inform Reba and Rachel that they would be setting soon towards their dormitory building, so he said, "Then if we''re finished here, I would excuse myself. I need to check on Reba and Rachel."


    At that time, Evelyn was already back at counting boxes and bags of food, but when she heard Dave, she said, "Okay! Wait a bit before leaving. You can eat with us and pack some food in your backpack before you leave. You helped us a lot!"


    "En..." Dave nodded his head, looked at her scarlet eyesst time, and strode to the same office room where Evelyn had awakened.


    When he entered it, he saw Reba and Rachel who were leaning on the wall, and Mary who sat near to lying Arthur. It seemed that they were able to find some soft cushion to lie him on. Well, the supermarket had a variety of items in it, so it wasn''t surprising that they were able to find it.


    Greeting others, Dave asked Arthur, "How are you feeling now?" However, when he noticed that Arthur was trying to sit straight, he suggested, "Try not to move too much, it will be counterproductive for you."


    "Not bad! It''s quite rxing to lie down here when Evelyn doing all the job. Honestly, this week was quite exhausting." Arthur chuckled as he recalled how they eventually got trap inside the supermarket.


    He, Evelyn, and Mary were finally able to find a bit of free time in their schedule, so they decided to party up in Arthur''s room, making a small party of three. However, something unexpected broke in the supermarket, where they were buying snacks and drinks for the party.


    Actually, they had an opportunity to flee from the university, but Arthur decided to help and got mingled with the whole situation. Of course, Evelyn and Mary followed him. He didn''t know that they will eventually get stuck in the storage room.


    "Evelyn is also having it hard, don''t be happy when Evelyn is doing everything." Mary pouted as she pinched Arthur''s arm. He cried out from pain -or he acted that way to soothe her girlfriend''s anger- and grumbled, "Ai! I''m injured!"


    Dave had only smiled lightly at them and turned towards Reba and Rachel as he said, "Get ready, we''re leaving after eating something here. We can''t remain any longer here since Adam might be worrying about us."


    "En...I''m already missing a soft bed," Reba said as she rubbed her stiff shoulders. She seemed to nap a bit in her free and it wasn''t as pleasant as in the dormitory.


    "Ahh...I''d like to have a shower." Rachel joined Reba as she sighed. On the other side, Arthur and Mary winced slightly at their remarks. Well, it was unsurprising since they were stuck in the underground basement and were isted from suchfortable things before everything happened.


    Noticing their reactions, Dave smiled as he reassured them, "Don''t worry. You''ll have time to visit the dormitory building in the future. If we could cooperate well enough, we can make a small post in the supermarket to guard food, and transport other students to a residential area."


    As he mentioned, Reba and Rachel flushed in embarrassment as they forgot that survivors in the supermarket were isted from such conveniences for a week. Both of them apologized in embarrassment, "Sorry! We didn''t mean to do it."


    Of course, Arthur and Mary didn''t find a fault in them, on the contrary, their thought started drifting about quicker getting into the supermarket. After half an hour, Evelyn called them to eat, and Dave discussed with Evelyn their future ns.


    Since both of them were students from the same university and since the survival was the main priority, both of them easily agreed with each other to cooperate and shook their hands. It was meaningless to be fear each other when they had amon enemy in face of zombies. It was nice that Evelyn understood that point.


    ording to their agreement, both of them will work towards making the university a safe ce to live, clearing it from all zombies. Also, they had agreed that, first of all, they would pave the way to link the residential area with a supermarket.


    Dave believed that both sides would benefit from it since side would get quite arge amount of food, so their side won''t worry about obtaining one in the near future. Also, it was advantageous to link the residential area with a supermarket since plenty of useful facilities were located near it.


    On the other hand, Evelyn could start transporting students to the dormitory buildings where were good living conditions. Probably, it was the start of establishing a survivor group in their university.


    Restocking his backpack with food, Dave''s group parted with Evelyn, Arthur and Mary as they headed towards, what seemed to be, the direction of their dormitory. Well, they had a long way before they reach their base.


    If he could briefly describe the current state of their university, Dave could have said that it was extremely chaotic. Although there weren''t many zombies wandering on the first day, zombies were everywhere now.


    No matter how hard they tried to avoid collisions with ordinary zombies, Dave found it harder to lead Reba and Rachel without attracting any zombies. It was just unrealistic to avoid each of them even with Mana Sensing, so he changed his tactics to killing obstacles on their way.


    However, Dave wasn''t so much worried about reaching dormitory. Indeed, it was difficult, but he believed that it wasn''t impossible. Something else was worrying him more than reaching their base.


    ncing at zombies wandering in the university, Dave thought, "Why their progress is so small? 10 days have already passed, but zombies didn''t seem to evolve much so that it would be harder to increase my level in the meantime. Should I concentrate more on training my skills? But if I''m right, it''s such a waste for beginner''s buff."


    Hunting zombies for more than a week, Dave had drawn a logical conclusion. For an unknown reason, drop rates of Treasure Chests are much higher than in my past life, so Dave believed that it was only temporary due to it only being the beginning, like a newbies buff in games.


    He didn''t want to waste it, but, other than killing mid-rank zombies, he wouldn''t get any Treasure Chests from zombies weaker than him in any way, so he might not waste his time on it if he won''t gonna benefit from it. Dave opted to concentrate more on his skills than increasing his level, but he still wanted to get to level 10 as fast as he could.


    If he could increase his level at least by two levels before going there, he could level up already at that ce. The only problem was that he didn''t know you much time it would take from him, considering the slow pace at which zombies are evolving.


    Pondering about his future, he was called by Reba, "Mr David, I think there are people in that building. Look at all zombies that had gathered before the doors! We need to help them!" Saying it, she pointed to her left.


    They were already close to the dormitory building and were much closer to the area in which they were hunting previously with Adam and Brian, so he was quite surprised to see a group of zombies gathered before a building and banging its door.

 Chapter 58: Human Greed

    Chapter 58: Human Greed


    Frowning, Dave red at the horde of zombies. He didn''t see any reason to risk their lives to save some strangers. Indeed, they were nning to establish a survivor group in the university, yet they should put their lives before other people. Isn''t it?


    "I don''t think that it''s a good idea! What would be if more zombies are drawn to the noise of the battle?" Dave asked her harshly. He thought that there was no ce for kindness in their situation since their survival shoulde first.


    "But..." Reba mumbled as she tried to put thoughts into words, "We can''t just leave them here. They need our help. I know it''s quite dangerous, so I won''t hold you here. But I wanna help them." She said determinedly.


    "Please, think it over, Reba! We can''t risk our lives." Rachel tried to persuade her otherwise, but it seemed Reba had already decided everything for herself as she refused her outwards.


    "Don''t worry! I won''t me you if you decide to leave. I''ll understand it." Reba''s voice turned slightly softer as she knew that Rachel said it out of concern.


    "You know you can''t throw your life aside when you get slightly stronger. Do you think that you''re kinda immortal? Don''t confuse foolishness with courage! One bite, and you''ll die!" Dave said harshly. However, the next moment, he sighed as he massaged his temples.''Fine! If everything goes smoothly, we can try it, if not, let it be a lesson for both of them.''


    Furrowing his brows, Dave suggested, "If you want to help them so much, then try to kill zombies as fast as you can but don''t overexert yourselves. Remember, we shouldn''t make a bigmotion, otherwise, other zombies would be drawn to us. In that case, run towards the dormitory building."


    Saying it, he gripped his Steel Sword. When she heard Dave, Reba''s eyes shone in relief as she nodded to him. Even though she said that they could leave her, she felt relief when she knew that someone would back her up. Dave''s decision was final, so Rachel decided to stay with them.


    "However, first of all, Reba try to take down as many zombies as you can with the help of Star." Dave immediately startedmanding as he didn''t want to worsen their situation. Not only did the light is formless, but it''s also noiseless, so it was a good signal for the battle.


    "En..." She nodded her head as she summoned her elemental spirit, Star. Observing it, Dave didn''t found any changes in it; it was still was an orb of light, almost spherical in shape, floating in the air.


    Concentrating, Rebamanded Star to condense light energy into small des weaker in power but enough for ordinary zombies. She was able to make five such des and shot them at the closest zombies.


    When the light des sliced their heads, Dave led Rachel and Reba to leap towards zombies as he immediately started killing zombies in front of him, closely followed by two girls behind him. Since they needed to make it fast, Dave didn''t hold himself back, as he didn''t spare his mana and stamina, enhancing his body and continuously using sh Step to quickly approach zombies.


    Behind him, Reba and Rachel were also trying hard to kill as many zombies as they can, especially Reba who was actively shooting light des at zombies. As the person who persuaded them, Reba felt responsible for her suggestion and did everything she could to lower the numbers of zombies.


    ...


    sh!


    Killing thest zombie, Dave took a rag from his backpack and cleaned his sword, wiping the blood of zombies from it. Panting lightly, he said, "Let''s enter quickly before other zombiese running here."


    Both Reba and Rachel,pared to Dave, were panting heavily since they weren''t monster like him. Not only did Dave kill zombies easily, but he also had that manic smile on his face while killing them. Both of them responded weakly, "Yeah!"


    Rachel was just tired from the battle, and she would restore her stamina after some time, but Reba felt weakness in her body as she was sick. She felt weak, nauseous and cold but tried not to show her state to others as she trudged weakly. If Dave could see her mana counter on her status, he would have seen a minus sign on it.


    However, although noticing that she walking weakly, he rted to the aftermath of battle since it was more draining than their usual battles with zombies where they didn''t need to race against the time. Even he had felt slightly drained after using his mana and stamina without holding himself back.


    "However, firstly, we need to pick up all the coins dropped from the zombies. After that, let''s check those survivors and head towards our base," Dave said as he started scanning the ground and the dead bodies for the presence of ck coins.


    Trying to cope with the weakness in her body, Reba didn''t say anything. On the other hand, Rachel eximed in curiosity, "I always meant to ask you about it. Why do we even collecting them if they have no apparent use?"


    "Just my guess. Considering that they are dropped from zombies and taking into ount obvious game-like setting, they should have their own use, otherwise, as you have said, there are no meaning in them, which is very doubtful." Dave exined calmly, "In any way, there is no harm in collecting them."


    However, inside he thought, ''Better to collect them as many as I can before going there. Perhaps, I can even buy something useful there.''


    "Hmm...okay." Rachel agreed with his reasoning, finding no ws in it since she also believed that Survival Coins may serve for something that they don''t know yet. Noticing that Reba didn''t move much from the end of the battle, she turned to Reba and said, "Reba, are you alright?"


    Massaging her temples, Reba smiled slightly. "Don''t worry, just feeling slightly disoriented. I''ll be alright right after a moment, and I can also rest in the dormitory building when we finish here. Let''s enter into the building, people inside should be scared."


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    Knocking on the door, Dave said lowly, "For the time being, it''s safe outside. Open the doors unless you want to stay there." Immediately, Dave heard hurried steps inside and whispers inside the building as people inside were actively deciding on opening the door.


    Click!


    However, a short whileter, the door opened with a click as someone unlocked it from the other side. Opening slowly, a burly male student with short hair peeked out of the doors as he cautiously nced at his surroundings.


    "Shhh...Follow me inside!" He said hastily as he called them over. Saying it, he kept ring worriedly at their surroundings until they entered the building, waiting to close the door. Getting inside, Dave immediately recognized a study room from it as cream-white tables were located all over the space.


    Entering inside, Dave frowned as he noticed that a burly male student was blocking the door. Inside the building, he found 4 men, seemingly slightly older than him. Two of them had clubs on them, and another two had dagger and bat respectively, both being trash weapons. The burly man, blocking their way out, held a bat.


    "Nice to meet fellow students when everything had turned into chaos. You know, we, students, need to stick together, otherwise, we''ll end up feeding that monsters. We are third-year students, and you are?" Stretching his hand, the man with a dagger introduced himself, well, if it even could be called an introduction. He seemed to be a leader among them.


    "First-year student." Dave shook his hand as he said coldly, "How did you even end up here? You shouldn''t go disturbing such arge horde of zombies."


    "What can we do in such a situation? Of course, we were searching for any food we could find. We didn''t eat for days." A savage glint shed in his eyes for a moment as he said it. "By the way, do you have any food on you? You have quite a big bag on your back."


    ring coldly at the male student, Dave said, "No, we don''t have any food to share." The male student couldn''t hide his greed as he looked at Dave''s bag, full to the brim. He licked his dried lips as he had greed in his eyes.


    "Fuck! Just give that backpack and scram!" Impatiently, the burly man at their back shouted madly as he mmed his fist to the wall but didn''t approach him to take it from him forcibly. It seemed that though he was suffering from hunger, he didn''t forget that their group of three had killed zombies outside.


    Lifting his sword and standing into a battle stance, Dave directed the tip of the sword towards them and said coldly, "Stay back, or don''t me me for killing you!"


    Immediately, the air in the building became tenser! Dave just wanted to scare them off, trying to avoid a bloodbath, while the male students were cautious of him. Not only did Dave look intimidating, but his Steel Sword also seemed better than their weapons.


    ...


    Sensing the tense atmosphere, Reba, still weak from overspending mana, stepped forward between Dave and the male student as she tried to stop both sides from attacking each other. "Please, we can''t fight with each other! We need...Eek!"


    However, as she tried to persuade both sides, the leader of the group pulled her by her hand and put a de on her neck. "Give that backpack on your back, or I''ll kill her!" Trying to threat more effectively, he even made a cut on her neck as blood dripped out of the cut, causing her face to pale in colour.

 Chapter 59: Mana Drainage

    Chapter 59: Mana Drainage


    "Ahhh!...What are you doing?" Rachel cried out in shock as she stared at the leader in fright. Weren''t they students like them? Why were they threatening them? Did Reba''s life only amount to a bag of food in their eyes?


    "Wh...Why? We tried to help you..." Reba kept stuttering in her words as she said it and as blood dripped from the cut on her neck. She just wanted to help them. How did she end like this? Even worse, she felt more nauseous than before.


    "If you want to help us, then just shut up and be a good hostage." Their leader shouted as he pressed his dagger harder on Reba''s neck. "Give me that bag and leave the building and I''ll release her."


    Reba shook slightly as she felt cold metal pressed on her skin. Conflicting thoughts began to emerge in her mind as she felt her life hanging on the line...Was she mistaken when she tried to help them? Without a clear answer and with the chaos urring in the world, she started to doubt her own actions which would have been normal in a conventional world.


    Staring coldly at the leader who was threatening him, a deep frown crept on his face as he started analyzing their situation. He already predicted that they had likely gotten themselves into trouble when the man blocked the door by which they entered.


    Even then, he had thought he''ll easily deal with them since looking at their weapons and the time that passed after the start of the second Cataclysm, their level wouldn''t have been higher than level 3.


    ''Why did she even tried to intervene?'' Dave criticized Reba''s actions in his mind as he searched for ways to save her. In the worst case, he was ready that she may die as a result. However, before everything he had something to tell Reba, and he hoped she''ll learn her lesson.


    "So how did it end? It was your idea to save them, but you''re the one whose life is being threatened. You know, better to let go of such thinking in a new world. Perhaps, it was normal before, yet such a mentality would only kill you faster than you can imagine."


    "But..." Reba muttered as she gritted her teeth since shepletely understood that it was her fault. If she didn''t try to save them, she wouldn''t have ended like this nor Dave and Rachel would have been threatened.


    "Fuck! Stop spewing bullshit and just shut up. Pass your bag, or I''ll kill her." The male student pressed his dagger on her throat as more blood dripped from the cut. "Don''t try to pull something. Put your sword on the ground and do so that your hands can be seen."


    Two male students also seemed confused as they observed everything with a pale face. One of them approached their leader and asked, "What are you doing? What if you kill her identally? I thought we would just take food from them and leave them by."


    Clearly irritated, the one threatening Reba responded lowly while still keeping his eyes on Dave and Rachel, "And how are we going to do it? They dealt with zombies outside and seemed to be stronger than us. And if we don''t obtain food, we''ll either die from hunger or he''ll kill us." Then, he shouted to Dave, "I said put your weapons on the floor!"


    Staring coldly at them, he heard the content of their whispers and decided to disregard it. He had already warned them, and it didn''t matter were they desperate or threatened by something; he already gave them a chance to retreat.


    "Reba, do you see where leads excessive kindness? It only brings you closer to your death." Dave said as he said to her hisst words. Nextly, he turned to his threatener. "I already gave you a chance, so don''t me me. I hate it when someone threatens me!"


    "STOP SPEWING BULLSHIT! I''LL CUT OPEN HER THROAT!" The leader student shouted impatiently as he madly threatened him. Sensing the cold de on her neck, Reba gritted her teeth as she decided to act than standing idly, so she tried to summon Star.


    As she called upon her, light particles started to gather above her but quickly dissipated after a moment. At the same time, Reba felt a sharp pain like a needle had pierced her head as the world blurred in her eyes. She felt as her consciousness was slipping from her.


    Stunned, by a bright light in the building that came from nowhere, everyone was distracted by the light, and taking advantage of that, Dave lifted his hand with a ring on it as it flickered with a blue light.


    Bang!


    Shooting from his ring, Dave quickly took his steel sword from the ground and dashed towards Reba. The Mana Bullet pierced the leader''s forehead as he fell backwards. Right before losing her consciousness, Reba heard a loud sound as she was falling, and in the next moment, she fell in someone''s embrace. She felt warm...and secure before closing her eyes.


    ...


    "Ahhhhhh!" Both students behind the leader student screamed in fear and panic as they backed from the corpse. Well, it was unsurprising since they were just students a week ago, and they weren''t prepared for such situations. Rachel also seemed stunned by the sudden death of a leader before her eyes.


    Dave caught Reba as he swiftlyy her on the floor. ''Hmm...Why did she faint suddenly? Didn''t I tell her not to overexert herself? This...''


    "Ahhhhh!" The huge burly man, who had blocked the exit door, rushed at Dave madly as he tried to smash with his bat at his head. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that Dave was putting Reba down, but he didn''t expect a blue screen to appear before Dave.


    nk!


    "What the fuck is..." He couldn''t finish his words since Dave swiftly turned in a circr motion to slice with his sword. The burly male student couldn''t do anything as he felt how his stomach was sliced. Looking down, he saw his own intestines falling from the cut as he mumbled weakly. "No..."


    ...


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    The silence fell inside the building as the burly man fell on the floor with a thud sound. Rachel blinked her eyes in shock, yet since she was behind him, she didn''t see clearly how his stomach was cut open. Well, the two male students got a clear view of it as they screamed in fear, "Ahhhh!"


    Killing the burly man, Dave turned to the left male students and red coldly at them. Both students felt shivers down their spine when they met Dave''s cold eyes...For some reason, they were sure that Dave would kill them if they tried to move, so they stood unmoving.


    "Please, don''t kill us! We didn''t want to threaten you, we didn''t even know that he will pull something like this. Please, just let us go." Both students said with pale faces as they started to beg for their lives, ming everything on the dead one. Of course, dead people couldn''t excuse themselves.


    Dave stared at them with disgust in his eyes as he said, "Scram! Better wish not to meet me next time, or I''ll kill both of you." Their faces lightened immediately at his words as they ran towards the door, trying to get as far as they could from him.


    Shaking his head, Dave sighed only, still thinking should he have killed them or not. Well, he didn''t have any reasons to kill them nor their deaths would bring him any benefit. He usually refrained from needlessly killing people, but when it was unavoidable, he didn''t hesitate at all.


    He usually followed such a stance in his past life. In a world where human values became flipped upside down, there were lots of people who killed and stole for their own benefit, scheming and plotting behind other backs. Dave wasn''t a saint since he personally lived in such a world for five years and even survived for that long somehow, yet it was still good to lie down some rules to keep your own self intact in all the chaos. Dave thought there was nothing bad in having a bottom line for killing.


    He had already saved Reba, and he had also killed their leader who threatened him and a burly man that attacked him from behind. From the beginning, these two students were useless and didn''t dare to do anything to him. Also, he had small chances of meeting them again since they needed to survive for that long to meet him. He had no reasons to kill them.


    "Why didn''t suggest them to go with us?" Rachel asked Dave. She was keeping her distance from him since she still had a scene of him killing two students fresh in her mind. Well, Dave wasn''t bothered by a bit.


    "Considering how they moved in a group and were searching for food, I believe they have a ce to return. Also, I doubt that they would agree to go with us after this scene nor I want them to follow us." Dave responded as he checked Reba''s pulse.


    Noticing how Dave was checking on Reba, Rachel asked, "So...How is she? Why did she even faint? She should have been scared a lot."


    Taking a slight pause, Dave sighed as he stood up. "No, it has nothing to do with it. Though I had told her not to overexert herself, she still didn''t listen to me. Don''t worry, she will wake up after sleeping a bit. Let''s go to the dormitory, we should already be close to it."


    Checking her body and pulse, he didn''t find anything wrong with Reba. He was sure that she used too much mana, and when she tried to summon her spirit, it was a final blow on her mind and mana. Well, losing consciousness was amon urrence when a person used too much mana.


    With the appearance of mana in the world, it became an inseparable part of our bodies as essential as blood, and when there''s not enough mana in the body, the organism automatically shuts downplex procedures happening in the body like entering a defensive mode.


    As a result of countless experiments with mana in his past life, Dave came to the conclusion that Status Window only shows mana which a user could use freely without affecting the body, neglecting that small amount in the body. When mana hits zero, a person might feel exhausted and if it goes lower than it, it may bring side effects like headache, weakness, feeling nauseous and, finally, fainting. Well, it was better to never get into such a condition.

 Chapter 60: Reunion

    Chapter 60: Reunion


    Quickly leaving the building they were in, Dave and Rachel moved stealthily through the university campus, slipping into one alley to another as they were trying to avoid as many zombies as they could. When there was no way to move further, they killed the smallest group of zombies, making their own path.


    Of course, they didn''t forget about unconscious Reba, who was sleeping soundly in Rachel''s arms. Considering the points she had distributed to strength, Dave decided to pass Reba to Rachel since a person in his arms would get in his way if something wrong happens. Not only would she upy both of his arms, but she would also drag him down and limit his actions if the battle breaks down.


    ''It seems Rachel is doing well! Moreover, she wouldn''t be much of a help if some strong zombie blocks our way.'' Dave thought as he nced at Rachel who was dragging her body after him. While she still could lift Reba, her weight hadn''t disappeared anywhere, and it seemed that Reba was getting only heavier in her hands over time.


    Finally, when they reached the other end of the alley, Dave said, "Hmm...It seems we''re already close to the dormitory. Rachel, let''s go faster!"


    He had drawn that conclusion from a number of zombies in their surroundings. Since they had been killing them for the past week, the number of zombies had decreased significantly in their area to the point that it was hard to find even one zombie in the vicinity of the dormitory building. Perhaps, some of them had been drawn closer to the dormitory, but it was mostly safe around it.


    "Heh...but can you carry Reba instead of me? My arms are dying already like they''re going to fall off." Rachel cried out as she was panting already. She knew that dormitory was close, but she couldn''t continue anymore.


    Thinking over it and considering that they had already entered more or less a safe zone, Dave agreed to it easily as he noticed how tired Rachel was. "Okay, pass her to me. Anyways, the dormitory is on the 5-minutes way from us."


    Taking Reba from her, Dave supported her hips with his left hand, and his right hand was positioned on her back as he lifted her easily. Well, it wasn''t surprising considering his current strength which could easily rival mid-rank 1 Giant''s strength.


    Looking at Reba from above, Dave couldn''t deny that she had traits fitting to be called a beauty. White porcin skin, long eyshes, ck silky hair and soft facial features gave her the natural allure of a kind and caring woman.


    As he was carrying her, he felt her tender and slim body, as he thought that her bodybined both softness and sticity. His eyes wandered for a moment from her smooth porcin skin to her small cute nose, and her slender neck. However, his attention quickly shifted to another part of her body...particrly, to the two humps which stood up from her chest.


    Carrying her on his arms and looking at her from above, he wondered inwardly, "It should be hard to fight with such a heavy burden on her shoulders. She should have a totally different gravity centrepared to others."


    "Hey, David, let''s go," Rachel called him as he had paused for a moment. He didn''t even notice stopped suddenly in one ce, as he shook his head slightly to get rid off of embarrassment.


    "Ehm...Right, let''s go faster. Knowing Adam, he should already be he worried about us." Dave coughed lowly as he said it to busy his mind with other thoughts, ignoring Reba who was bouncing slightly in his arms with every step.


    As for others, Dave was sure that Adam had already transported boxes and bags with food to the dormitory building, probably, using one of the empty room as a storage room. It was less than a day that they were away from the dorms, and he was sure Adam was freaking out about it. He had that habit to be overprotective of him, especially after he got into a car ident.


    ***


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    The sound of rhythmical tapping could be heard in the kitchen as four people were currently sitting on the chairs as a gloomy atmosphere resided in the room. One of them was the one who was tapping the table as he furrowed his forehead. He had coal-ck hair done in the noble hairstyle, smooth pale skin, sharply arched eyebrows and azure, gem-like pupils.


    Next to him sat a short, plump student who was concentrated on reading a thin book. Short hazel hair, hazel pupils and cheeks with a healthy pinkish colour were the traits that distinguished him from others.


    The other two were slightly older male and female, who were nervously sitting next to them at the same table. The male student had longer dark hair gathered into a bundle with sharp facial features, while the woman seemed slightly gentler with light brown hair. Both of them were feeling quite rmed with every tap.


    Obviously, they were Adam, Brian, Adrian and Sara respectively who were able to drive away on the van, and Adam was the one tapping the table.


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    Finding continuous tapping irritating and too distracting from reading, Brian couldn''t contain his exasperation any more. "Geeze! Just stop with your tapping, Adam. It''s getting on my nerves. I know you''re worried about Dave, so I am, but you need to calm down a bit. If it can make you better, let''s search for them for another time."


    ...


    Pausing for a moment, Adam sighed helplessly, "No, we''ve already done it and found none of them. Also, Dave stated clearly that I shouldn''t be reckless and don''t y a hero. I trust his words, and we shouldn''t needlessly risk our lives."


    "Then, rx a bit. Knowing how strong he is, there should be nothing that could endanger his life." Brian said as he tried to calm Adam down. He was also worried about Dave, but he couldn''t imagine anything that could put his life in danger.


    Well, if he was a zombie and if he kept his sentience, he would have never approached Dave, getting as far from him as he could. He would have rather fight a savage beast than confront him since he would have a slight chance to survive in the case with a wild beast, while with Dave, he would have no chances at all. Well, at least, he thought so about Dave.


    Although he was more or less on friendly terms with Dave, he still couldn''t help but get intimidated every time he sees how Dave kills zombies. He had also noticed something. Dave''s usual dull hazel eyes, which seems darker at the first nce, shines brightly as life was breathed in them when ites to fighting, and his lips also curve up slightly when he finds battle interesting.


    Dave wasn''t imposing as bullies from his high school, nor he was bossy, which was a natural trait for strong people to have. However, his presence was somewhat heavier. He had that deadly air around him as he had seen countless deaths before...or even as he had died once. Well, his behaviour wasn''t fitting to his age as he was somewhat different from him and Adam, though they were of the same age.


    "Anyways, Dave should be okay. If he didn''te, it means that he was busy with something. I''m sure of it, so you should be less worried." Brian said to Adam as he returned his attention to the Skill Book of Small Fireball.


    "I know that he''s strong enough, but it won''t lower my concerns about him." Adam shook his head slightly. "Perhaps, you''re right. Life wasn''t merciful on Dave, considering the shit he had to deal with in mid and high school. Anyways, his will to live should be much higher than I can think off."


    "Wait! What happened to him in mid and high scho..." However, Brian couldn''t finish his question as the click could be heard from the end of the corridor.


    Immediately, Adam stood up abruptly as he dashed towards the main doors, thinking inwardly, "Is it, Dave? It should be Dave. Who else wille to their dorm in particr when zombies wandered on the campus."


    Finally, reaching the main doors, he spotted Dave with Rachel behind him and said, "Dave, you''re safe!" Noticing Reba in his arms, Adam refrained from bear hugging Dave as he asked, "What did happen with Reba? Why is she unconscious?"


    Smiling slightly, Dave said, "We got into something on the way back, and she just overexerted herself. Don''t worry, she would be fine after a good sleep. Did something happened when I was away?"


    "No, except for you going missing, nothing unusual happened," Adam replied as he rxed his worried mind after Dave came. After that, Dave headed to Reba''s room andy her on her bed. Next, he met with Brian and others in the kitchen as he talked about what happened after they got separated, not forgetting to give Adam a friendly hug.

 Chapter 61: Sudden Gain

    Chapter 61: Sudden Gain


    "What!? They put a de on Reba''s neck to obtain your backpack." Adam frowned as he eximed in anger. "Shouldn''t they have been thankful instead?"


    Judging from his expression and the way he responded, he didn''t seem to be bothered when Dave mentioned that he killed two of them, only growing silent for a moment. Adam believed that Dave didn''t kill them needlessly and had a reason to do it.


    However, others immediately paled a bit as they winced in their ces. Adrian and Sara had heard a lot about him from Adam and Brian, and only now understood how terrifying he was, talking about killing with a straight face as it was nothing.


    "Yeah, so if any of you meet any people outside, then don''t lower your guard and be ready for everything. Don''t trust others easily." Dave warned them as he looked at everyone. Trying to cheer them a bit, Dave quickly changed the topic. "Okay! Then, let''s decide how are we going to cooperate with people in the supermarket."


    Nodding his head, Adam quickly got to the business, "First of all,... Can we trust them?" It was the only question that bothered him, considering how Reba had fallen into danger when she tried to save strangers. Other things were manageable if both sides could hold to the end of their cooperation without pulling any tricks.


    Thinking about Arthur''s almost suicidal innocence and kindness, Dave nodded his head without any further thought. "Don''t worry about that. I''ve already seen people who are deciding everything over there in person and personally checked them, so we can cooperate with them without any hitches. They''re dying to get to the dorms."


    Adam nodded his head as he decided to trust his best friend''s judgment. When the discussion turned to the survivors in the supermarket, Brian shook slightly in excitement as he raised his hand. "Oh...oh...Are there any beautiful female students among them?"


    "..." Both Adam and Dave were struck speechless at his question. Clearly irritated, Adam snapped at him, "Damn, Brian! We''re talking business here. Why do you even care about are there any female students or not?"


    "I don''t want to hear it from you, from the most popr freshman student. Compared to you, women rarely show interest in me." Sadness flickered in his eyes as he said it. "But now, if I be strong enough, I would have a chance with a woman." Saying it, Brian''s expression brightened as he stared expectantly at Dave.


    "...Well, at least, you got the motivation to grow stronger. Yeah, there should be some female students among them, so don''t worry about it." Dave sighed lightly as he looked helplessly at Brian.


    Hearing him, Brian pumped his fists upwards happily. Musing over it, Dave smiled slightly as he turned to Adam, "However, it might be harder after we join hands with them. There lots of stuff to organize and do, and I don''t think of anyone fitting more than you, Adam. You need to fill that role."


    Immediately, Adam changed in his face as he said, "Hey! We both came to study the same course. Why am I doing all the work? Just say you''re toozy to do that shit." He fumed over several seconds as he hit lightly on Dave''s arm.


    "Adam, you know, you''re more ustomed to dealing with such stuff. You''ve been involved with it from a young age, while I''m new at it. Furthermore, you can also choose people who''ll help you." Daveughed awkwardly as he exined himself. However, he truly didn''t want to deal with that shit since he wanted to have more time on training.


    "Fine! I''ll do it." Adam grumbled as he agreed to it. He also didn''t want to do it, but he agreed that he was more fitted to it; at least, he was moremunicative than Dave and knew how to deal with people.


    After convincing Adam, they had also discussed other points, more talking about future ns and what they would do after joining hands with Arthur and Evelyn''s side. Precisely, it was Dave and Adam doing all the talking while others just listened to them.


    After discussing everything in the kitchen, in a short while, everybody returned to their own rooms. Dave quickly grabbed some canned food in the kitchen and ate it, deciding not to take any food taken from the cafeteria''s storeroom. It was still needed to be counted and sorted to keep track of it.


    "I''ll be returning to the room first. I''m tired as hell." Dave said to Adam as he finished eating. Adam nodded his head as he returned to his calm state of mind, ying with his spoon in the air. He wanted to quickly get a hold of his innate ability, so he tried using it on small objects such as eating utensils.


    Entering his room, his eyes fell on the soft bed as he wanted to just take a nap for a bit, but he quickly resisted the temptation of sleeping as he dragged his body up on the bed and to the cross-legged position.


    Quickly entering a meditative state, Dave started to absorb blue clusters of mana, deciding to do another meditative session two hours long. Currently, he had 26 points of mana, and the upper limit that he could reach was 55 points, considering his intelligence and spirit.


    Usually, you couldn''t increase your mana pool more than intelligence and spirit stats multiplied to each other. Dave had 5 points in spirit and 11 points in intelligence, so his upper limit was 55 points, and the closer he is to that limit, the slower he will approach that limit.


    When it came to magic or mana control, these two stats were the only ones that determined your magic power. As mana had appeared in the world, the term of a soul became much clearer than before since Status Window clearly showed spirit stat.


    It was harder to define the soul. With body, it was much easier: strength, agility and stamina...quite simple. He would also open another two stats rted to the body when he reached level 10. They were body toughness and vitality stats.


    However, the matter of soul was more evasive thanmonly seen stats, but even then, System had shown two stats rted to it. The intelligence stat showed the quality of the soul and aided with processing speed and mental calctions, while spirit defined the quantity of the soul, or how big it was. At least, he understood that much.


    Moreover, both of them affected different aspects of magic. Since magic spells used spiritual power as much as they used mana as fuel, it was important to develop both soul and mana pool for magic-users.


    Increasing intelligence would also increase the attack power of magic spells, while increasing spirit would affect the numbers of spells you could cast, and if a magic-user overexerted himself in terms of spirit than they would either feel mentally exhausted or even faint at some point of a time. It was partly a reason why Reba had fainted; she overexerted both her spirit and mana pool.


    Being low in spirit and being low in mana were usually followed by the following symptoms: if you overexerted your spirit, then the symptoms were terrible headache, mental exhaustion and fainting asionally, while mana drainage was followed by feeling nauseous and weak like you had ridden the most terrifying roller coaster.


    As he spent more time meditating, Dave had felt as mana absorption was bing smoother over time. Feeling it, the smile crept on his face as he immediately understood what was going on...He had entered a deep meditative state, which was quite rare to have. Even in his past life, he had experienced it only twice, and his gains were tremendous.


    And now, after regressing, he had entered a third deep meditation in his whole life, two livesbined.

 Chapter 62: Hidden Surprise

    Chapter 62: Hidden Surprise


    Knowing what to expect, Dave quickly tried to suppress growing excitement in his heart as he knew that keeping a calm state of mind was the best course when sudden fortune befalls on someone. Plus, mediation was closely rted to his mind, so he needed to have the right state of mind before everything, or he could miss this opportunity.


    Breathing in the air to his lungs, Dave entered into a trance as he grew calmer. He felt as his senses became sharper, feeling every sensation much clearer and hearing his own heartbeat which grew slower over time.


    He felt his mind bing crystal clear, empty of any thoughts and distractions. And, he felt...something entering his body, getting an entirely different feeling of mana. If before, he was feeling something non-existent entering his body like dust settling on his skin than now he felt as something formless was entering his body, simr to water and gas, yet being none of them...like it was more unite...like some sort of the pure energy.


    Sitting cross-legged, not moving even for an inch, Dave had lost a sense of time as he immersed himself in that feeling. He thought he was starting to understand mana clearer than before. It was soft and gentle, more giving a neutral feeling to him and he felt...as it got more submissive.


    If he had felt some sort of resistance from it before, than now, it felt like he could easily control it with his will as he had gotten into a much deeper link with it than before. His speed of mana absorption was only going higher, increasing several times of what was before.


    Losing himself in that feeling, Dave sat on his bed cross-legged absorbing mana around him like crazy. He wasn''t sure how much time he was meditating, maybe an hour or even all night, but he understood that he needed to seize a moment, so he concentrated on sucking mana around like a madman.


    ...


    An unknown timeter, Dave felt like his absorption speed was slowing down. He clearly understood that he had little time before he leaves a deep meditative state, so he gave his all to absorb as much mana as possible.


    However, he sensed something unusual...on his body...like something was off with his body...or his mind. And he was quite sure about it since it was his third deep meditation and something was different from than the previous two times. He didn''t notice it since he was too caught up with new sensations of mana, buting to the end of his deep meditation, he couldn''t help but notice that something was off.


    Trusting his intuition rather than thinking he was paranoid, Dave slowly stopped absorbing mana around him. If he had done it abruptly, stopping suddenly, he would have harmed his body since mana he was absorbing would have gone into disarray, causing light internal injuries. It was the same if someone had disturbed him while he entered deep meditation. For that reason, he was truly thankful to Adam with whom he was sharing the room, even though he didn''t know why his friend didn''t wake him up out of worry.


    As he severed the mana flow entering him, Dave concentrated his senses on his body. He checked his limbs, internal organs, skin and other parts of the body, yet found nothing. He checked his body again, yet found nothing again.


    Running out of time, he decided to check his brain for whatever he searched for, and surprisingly, he had detected something deep in it. And going deeper into it, he hade to some sort of...an empty space?


    It was pitch dark in it, at least he didn''t sense anything around it with his mind, and it was so silent that he had thought he was dead. Moreover, that space was seemingly filled with something or he had thought so since he felt like he was deep down the sea.


    Next, his attention had shifted toward the countless bubbles floating around the space and shining with a slightly dim light that it was hard to notice in all the darkness. As he touched one of them with his mind, he had seen a memory from his childhood when he had his first fight in elementary school.


    ''What the hell? What is this space?'' Dave wondered inwardly as he checked upon other bubbles around him, and each of them had shown a single piece of his memory. And when he reached for another bubble, his mind shook slightly as mumbled softly, ''Dad...Mom!''


    He saw a pair of a man and a woman. The man had coal-ck hair cut into a businessman hairstyle and coal-ck pupils, closely resembling Dave in his facial features, except for scars. The woman next to him had gotten slightly lighter hair and hazel pupils which shined brightly as she chuckled softly.


    Suppressing his emotions which had gone in turmoil, Dave drifted slowly through empty space as he hoped to find another piece of memories about his parents. It was aged that he hadn''t seen them, and he felt nice to just get a glimpse of them.


    Finding other bubbles with memories of his parents, Dave stumbled upon another one, but it wasn''t a happy memory he wanted to recall, precisely just because it had shown the scene of his parents'' deaths.


    Reminiscing about that night, Dave sighed softly as he approached other bubbles. If space had only stored his memories and was a part of his Regression ability, he just wanted to go through over his life.


    So, one by one, he checked all the bubbles on his way. Some of them had happy memories, some of them sad ones, while others were rted to Adam and his parents. Also, he had gone over the memories when he was hospitalized after the car ident...and which were especially dark ones.


    After the ident, he was stuck to a wheelchair and was moving by it. As other doctors had said, he had gotten damage to his spine, though the minor one. Usually, he wouldn''t have lost an ability to move due to that, yetter he was also told that it had more psychological source than a physical injury, so he had regained his ability to walk after a year only.


    However, the inability to walk by himself was the light trouble he had to deal with in the hospitalpared to damage he had received to his nervous system. As he was diagnosed, he had gotten his reaction speed lower than that of a normal healthy human.


    That was...truly hellish 6 months he had to endure as a child before he went through surgery under a famous neurosurgeon, seemingly fixing his problem, though his reaction speed was still slightly lower than that of a normal person, yet the difference was negligible so not to interrupt his daily life. It had also gone higher as he proceeded with his lifeter on. However, his view of the world was never the same as before.


    He would never forget those 6 months. It was like the world was sent spinning in his eyes, like he was ripped out of time, like he was seeing glitches in life itself. Informed of his parents'' deaths and going through that shit, he had also thought of killing himself at that time, and he had thought he had every reason to do it. Thankfully, he was stopped timely by staff members in the hospital since he was sure his parent would have wanted him to live.


    It was hard to adapt to ordinary life after he had his reaction speed fixed. First, it was like a breath of fresh air, yetter, it was still hard to get into his past ways. Well, he had already gone through a rehabilitation period and resumed studying, directly going to high school.


    Following the trail of bubbles, Dave reached perhaps the most bright area of the dark space. It was illuminated by the six runes, four with metallic luster and another two with bronze colour. Concentrating his mind on them, he thought inwardly, ''What the hell?!''


    He clearly recognized those runes since they were rted to his past life, precisely, they were skills he had learnt with the help of the System in his past life. Their colours showed their grades. He was stunned to see them here since they were a part of his soul from his past life.


    Taking his time to process it, Dave clearly understood that it was somehow rted with his Regression ability. Well, it also transferred his experience from his past life, so perhaps, it still hid some surprises he needed to unravel!?


    However, as he was thinking about it, he felt strong repulsive force driving his mind out of the dark ce. Driven back, Dave thought, ''Damn! Should be the end of my deep meditation.'' A momentter, he opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged on his bed.

 Chapter 63: After Meditation

    Chapter 63: After Meditation


    Sitting cross-legged in confusion, Dave''s thoughts were still around the runes he had seen in the dark space as countless question swirled in his mind.


    What was that dark space?


    Were runes he had seen in the dark space his skills from the past?


    And if yes, how he could extract them from there?


    Well, he just thought that if the dark space within him had something to do with his Regression ability, he should be able to somehow use them...Yes? Since it could transfer his experience from the previous life, he couldn''t see any problem with being able to use his own skills. He just needed to find a way to do so.


    But first, he wanted to check the progress he had made after the deep meditation.


    [David Murckly


    Level: 7


    Survival coins: 268


    ss: None


    Mana: 58


    Strength: 18 (+1)


    Agility: 16 (+1)


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 7 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 1)]


    Dave smiled in satisfaction as hepared his Status Window with the previous one. ''Wow! My mana reserves almost doubled and my spirit has also increased by two points.''


    Perhaps, he didn''t hear the voice since he was too concentrated, otherwise, he should have heard it. Dave was quite satisfied with the results since even an increase in mana was a tremendous gain, not to say about additional 2 points in spirit.


    However, next, he decided to check his skills since as he had noticed, his Regression ability doesn''t react to them unless he uses them. So he quickly controlled the mana in his body and directed it to his fingertips, making from them thin threads.


    [Regression is reacting towards your skills]


    [Your Mana Application (LVL 3) have turned into Mana Application (LVL 4)]


    [Your Mana Threads (LVL 3) have turned into Mana Threads (LVL 4)]


    [Your mana affinity is too low to increase their levels even further.]


    As he heard four system notifications, Dave grew excited as he sensed his control over his mana grew smoother. Even his threads had gone a level tougher. Next, he spread his senses connecting his mind to the mana in the surroundings.


    [Regression is reacting towards your skill]


    [Your Mana Sensing (LVL 1) have turned into Mana Sensing (LVL 3)]


    [Your mana affinity is too low to increase its level even further.]


    Disregarding the system notifications, Dave felt like his Mana Sensing became much clearer as he was able to sense finer details of the objects surrounding him. That''s how he was able to sense a person in the shower room. He guessed it was probably Adam.


    Checking the time, he learned that it was already midnight, so he was been meditating already for several hours without a rest. It was unsurprising that his spirit had gone 2 points higher. Also, all his body was sore from sitting cross-legged without moving a bit for several hours.


    Considering todays'' situation, Dave thought, ''It seems I need to move to the more secluded room. It was good that Adam didn''t wake me up, but I can''t bepletely sure that he wouldn''t do so in the next time.''


    However, the most exciting thing about the deep meditation was that his affinity to mana increased a little after it. The proof was that his Mana Application and Mana Sensing increased by a level, which would have been impossible without it.


    Although it was a little change, it still saved him a great deal of time till his mana affinity increased naturally, which would have taken him months to do so. He was making small steps towards his goal, and he was delighted about it.


    He had also tried using Mana Barrier, but the System didn''t react to it at all. It seemed he needed to increase the level of his Mana Application. Well, he was fine with it since he had already made tremendous gains from the deep meditation.


    Click!


    The door of the shower room opened with a click as Adam went out of it. He had dump hairs and had worn casual clothes as he noticed Dave who was up. "Oh...Dave, you''re up! To be honest, I was already bing worried since you didn''t react when I called you by name. You seemed busy, so I didn''t disturb even further!"


    Dave chuckled softly at his concerns as he said to him, "Thanks...You should quit worrying about me. And, Adam, have a good sleep, I''ll wake you up early in the morning."


    "Ehh...What for?"


    "You''ll see it in the morning. I''m also gonna sleep already. But before that, I''m gonna grab something in the kitchen," Dave said as he felt quite hungry after sitting for several hours. Saying it, Dave got up from his bed, stretched for a moment and headed to the kitchen.


    ***


    Reba gruntled softly as she opened her eyes in her room. Immediately, after waking up, she felt muddle-headed like her mind was covered by a thickyer of mist. ''What''s going on? Where am I? I only remember that I persuaded David and Rachel to help...Huh!''


    Thinking till that point, she quickly stood from the bed and checked her neck for any cut with the help of the mirror embedded in the wardrobe. Noticing the small cut, she only grew convinced that it truly happened. She still could vividly remember the cold sensations from the de as she shook slightly.


    Next, she checked the room and recognized her own room from it as she mumbled, "Where are others? I should probably apologize to David and Rachel for not listening to them and causing troubles for them."


    She quickly started searching for everyone as she first headed to the kitchen, where usually they gather together. However, she had only spotted Sara who was silently cooking in the kitchen. Reba quickly approached her, as he said to her, "Ehm...Sara, right? Where is everyone?"


    "Ohh...You woke up. David had woken up everyone early in the morning as he dragged them outside just several minutes ago. He said they''re gonna spar." Caught off guard, Sara readily answered her question as she looked at Reba up and down, checking for any serious injuries.


    "Thanks!" Thanking her, Reba hurriedly went to the front doors. As she opened the wide double doors, Reba was stunned to see everyone lying on the ground.


    ***


    "Damn it! I knew that something was suspicious when he had said that we could go four against one." Adamined loudly as he rubbed his shoulder where Dave had hitten him.


    "I told you that we shouldn''t have agreed to it!" Brian said irritatedly. Just 10 minutes ago, Dave woke up everyone forcefully and dragged them to the outside, including Adam, Brian, Adrian and not even sparing Rachel. Before sparring, he told Brian to check their surroundings and finding no zombies in proximity, he crashed them in less than a minute.


    "Do you think we had an option up there?" Adam gritted his teeth as he said it. ncing at Dave, who was smiling like a devil, Adam only now understood why he told him to sleep early.


    "Don''t hold back and fight as your life is hanging on this fight. Use everything you have, even Small Fireball and Telekinesis. And don''t make such faces, I didn''t hit too hard, just pushed lightly not to make any injuries to you." Dave shouted to them as he analyzed their previous sparring session...And it was aplete mess as he didn''t even use Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing.


    "Ohh, Reba!" Noticing Reba who hurriedly opened the front doors, Dave asked her, "How are you feeling? Any weakness in the body or are you feeling nauseous?"


    Shaking her head, Reba reassured him, "Don''t worry. I''m feeling fine! But what are you doing outside?"


    "We''re sparring with each other. If you want to, you can also join us." Saying it, Dave gave her the nicest smile, yet Reba flinched when she saw him smile.


    "Yeah! Reba, join us. With your elemental spirit, Adam''s Telekinesis and my magic spell, we might have a chance against him." Brian said to her as he encouraged her to join them.


    On the other hand, Adam and Rachel only shook their heads at her, trying to say not to join them, while Adrian panted lightly as he stared at the ground, wondering what he was doing here.


    "Okay. Count me in." Reba agreed to join them as she thought that their reactions were exaggerated. It couldn''t be so bad...Right?

 Chapter 64: Sparring

    Chapter 64: Sparring


    Giving them time to rest and n their roles ining sparring, Dave waited patiently as he kept checking his surrounding for any dangers with Mana Sensing. Although his skill''s range wasn''t asrge as Brian''s Life Pulse, it was enough for him, considering he could expand his senses in one linepared to Brian...though it was exhausting. Expanding one''s senses wasn''t pleasant at all...like his consciousness was slowly slipping from him.


    Ten minutester, Dave decided he already gave them more than enough time to n everything, so he said loudly, "Okay, we''re gonna start our sparring session now. Get ready!" Making a slight pause, Dave waited till they got into their positions and shouted, "Start!"


    At the same time as he finished thest word, Dave already sprang forward. Sprinting towards them, Dave dashed towards the closest one to him and so happened that it was Adrian. Just behind him, Adam and Rachel followed after Adrian, while Brian and Reba stood at the back of others.


    Smiling lightly at the choice of positions, Dave immediately understood that Adam was the one who thought about it. Rachel and Adrian had no way of attacking from the distancepared to the other three, so they were located further on the forward.


    Adam followed closely behind them since he had his Telekinesis which was multifunctional and was stronger closer he was to his target. Smiling lightly and quickly reaching Adrian, Dave directly mmed at him.


    "Arrgh..." Adrian fell on the ground with the groan as the blue threads appeared out of Dave''s fingertips, quickly wrapping around stunned Adrian.


    "One down," Dave said with a smile on his face.


    However, the next moment, catching on a bright light on his right, Dave hurriedly sprang back as he used sh Step to instantly reappear a meter away from his previous location. Reappearing, he chuckled softly, "Not bad, Reba. But don''t change the trajectory of your light de at thest moment in the battle. I''ll be fine," Dave shouted as he shook his head.


    Although he was giving pointers to Reba, he still dashed towards the next opponent. Immediately nearing Rachel, Dave faked sending a punch at Rachel as he quickly dashed towards Adam who was sprinting towards them to help Rachel.


    Dave understood that Rachel was of little danger since she didn''t have anything to threaten him, so he decided to take Adam first. His Telekinesis was quite a troublesome ability and might have caused a lot of trouble for him in the battle. However, he didn''t expect any resistance from Adam since he had sessfully caught him by surprise, yet...


    Caught off guard, Adam lifted his hand in panic at thest moment, sending Dave flying backwards. However, Dave didn''t get flustered over it as he kept his cool, making a flip in the air andnding on his legs. As hended on the ground, he wanted toment on Adam''s quite convenient powers, yet he heard quite angered Brian shouting from the distance, "Take this!"


    Having no time to say anything, Dave quickly raised a mana barrier before him and sh stepped out of its way. Dave thought inwardly, ''Damn, Brian! He''s quite vicious! He didn''t hesitate at all, though it was quite stupid to shout thest line.''


    However, he praised Brian deep inside since he was able to correctly judge the situation and catch the right moment to send his fireball. Probably, the weakest point of his spell, except for the long chanting, was the fact that he could miss a target when casting a magic spell, so he needed to catch the moment, which was simpler with dull zombies.


    ncing behind his back, Dave caught sight of mes dancing behind his back five meters away from him. Amazed by the destructive power of the fireball, Dave also desired to learn magic, yet up to now, he was struggling to have progress on his own. Perhaps, he should truly learn it with the help of the System.


    ***


    "Damn! He dodged it." Brian eximed in anger as nced at Dave with hidden fear in his eyes. Adding the fire dancing behind him, Dave seemed quite intimidating as he trudged towards them. Brian shivered slightly at this sight yet started chanting immediately afterwards, preparing another fireball.


    ''I knew his battle senses are much higher than mine, but when did he be so strong? And when did he even learned how to flip in the air?'' Adam thought in amazement as he gripped the spear in his hands. Catching a breath, he focused on Adrian''s Rusty Sword lying on the ground as he knew that he needed it much more than Adrian.


    Although his control was still dull and not smooth enough, Adam had gotten better with his innate ability. However, he immediately felt the weight of the sword with his mind which was much heavier than eating utensils.


    ncing at his best buddy, Adam decisively sent the sword flying towards Dave as he kept a safe distance from him. At the same time, Dave was dodging Reba''s light des, Brian''s fireball and Adam''s sword, even then, he didn''t even get scratched once, not to say getting hit. Now, Adam didn''t doubt his friend''s words that they couldn''t harm him...and that ignited hispetitive spirit as he didn''t want to fall behind Dave. Learning that he won''t harm him, Adam didn''t hold his powers back as he made the sword closely follow after Dave.


    Avoiding their attacks and blocking some of them with mana barriers, Dave decided to wrap everything up as he dashed at Adam, tantly ignoring Rachel. With Battle Focus switched on, Dave noticed another fireball flying towards him as he sh stepped per usual. But, the next moment he wanted to move, he was unable to do so.


    "Gotcha!" Adam eximed loudly as he held his hands directed towards Dave, who was floating slightly above the ground. Adam had been waiting for the right moment all along and when he noticed Dave reappearing again, he caught him with his Telekinesis. However, he felt that he couldn''tst much longer since floating Dave even a bit put a lot of strain on his mind.


    "Brian, Reba, attack him faster while I still can restrict him!" However, Adam''s face quickly changed in colour as he stared at Dave. A blue mana te had magically appeared right below him, the same mana barrier that he used to defend himself, allowing him to use it as a tform.


    Dave grinned like he was having fun from Adam''s reaction as he chuckled loudly and said, "Sorry, that''s not gonna work on me." Saying it Dave sprang towards stunned Adam, who was having a rebound as Dave broke free from his powers, and quickly thrown Adam on the ground as he quickly wrapped his friend with mana threads.


    "..." Reba and Rachel stared nkly at it, trying toprehend what had just happened. Reba even doubted if it was the right choice to join them from the start.


    "...Shit!" Brian eximed as he was ready to concede a losing fight. He understood that they didn''t have any chances now and wanted to give up, yet just when he was trying toe up with the right words he caught a nce of Adam flying towards him and Reba, who was standing close to him.


    Wrapped in mana threads, Adam helplessly mmed on Brian and Reba as all three of them groaned in pain. They could hear Dave''s voice from the distance, "Three down. One left." Saying it, Dave turned to dumbstruck Rachel.


    Quicklying to herself, Rachel shouted in panic, "I concede...I concede. Please, don''t harm me!" She obviously understood that she couldn''t confront Dave all alone when her whole team was down already.


    "Okay, then, it''s the end for today. We''re gonna have such sparring sessions every morning, so don''t forget to learn from your mistakes." Dave said as he approached the lying trio and helped them up, releasing Adam from his mana threads.


    "Argh...Damn, I feel like I was run by a truck." Brianined as he pressed his head with his right hand, trying to cope with the ringing in his head.


    "Dave, that''s unfair! We all had the same starting point. Why are you much stronger than any of us? And from where do you even get those blue threads and blue screens?" Adam said as he rubbed his wrists.


    ''Well, we haven''t gotten the same starting point.'' Dave thought inwardly as he replied to him, "I said you should learn how to control mana. Were you able to feel mana in the air?"


    "No..." Adam paused slightly. "Hey, but I tried to do as you said. Yet, I didn''t feel anything! You must be just talented in that stuff." Adam said, trying to exin himself.


    ''Yeah, if so...'' Dave chuckled softly as tried to imagine if that was true. If he was talented in it, if he had even a bit higher magic affinity, he wouldn''t have wasted so much time trying to learn it in his past life.

 Chapter 65: Pointers

    Chapter 65: Pointers


    "Just stop whining," Dave said with a serious tone. "It wasn''t a bad result for our first sparring session. I''m sure you all will get better in it after a week or a month."


    "We''re gonna keep doing it a month!? No...please, spare me!" Brian''s face changed in colours as he all alone expressed the thoughts of a whole group. Adam''s face darkened as he heard Dave, Rachel shook slightly, Reba fell on her knees in a fluster and Adrian started struggling even more to free himself from the mana threads. His suggestion was disapproved by a whole group.


    "Yeah, quitining about it. We don''t know what dangers we''ll encounter in the future. Perhaps, zombies aren''t only the monsters that have appeared in the world...or that would appear. We need to prepare ourselves while we still have time, so it won''t be toote when trouble arises." Dave tried to convince them and wanted to instil an appropriate attitude that will help them to survive in a new world.


    "Ehh...Right, we need to keep doing it; otherwise, we won''t survive for long." Adam sighed as he gathered his thoughts and agreed with Dave. Considering that zombies were already evolving and growing stronger, he agreed with Dave that they needed to train. They were just normal students without any military training, so they needed to adapt quickly to their situation...unless they didn''t want to die.


    "Fine, we''ll keep doing it. But Dave, please, just go easy on us," Brian said while grumbling. He didn''t like an idea to get beaten by Dave every morning, yet if it was a necessary thing to do...He could cope with it.


    Dave chuckled when he heard Brian since he was already going easy on them. He didn''t use Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing to increase his strength and agility, nor did he use Mana Bullet, fearing from identally harming them. He even fought without any weapon, so he already thought he was giving them plenty of chances.


    "Anything that someone wants to add?" Dave turned to Reba and Rachel, but getting no objections from them, he said, "Then, I''ll start by giving feedback. I''ll give them after every sparring session we''ll be having in the morning, so listen carefully and try to learn from it. But before that..."


    Dave approached Adrian lying on the ground and freed him from his mana threads. Touching blue threads, they magically disappeared into thin air. Although it looked so, he just severed his connection with them. Without him controlling them, mana threads just dissipated into surroundings.


    "Argh...You didn''t hurry with freeing me...But thanks anyway!" Adrian said as he stood up. Dave considered him the most pitiful among them since he was the first one with whom he dealt with, and he lost quite helplessly. He didn''t even have a chance to do much in a spar and didn''t show everything he was able to do.


    "Let''s go in an order that I took you down. First, Adrian..." Dave turned to him as he said his name. "I don''t have much to say since you went down pretty quickly and didn''t show everything you are able to do...But don''t just recklessly run at your opponent. You should have dodged me and attacked from behind, so you need to build up your battle experience. Fighting more with zombies should help you."


    Adrian listened to him attentively and got flustered at the end. From the fight, he understood where his ws were, so he easily agreed with Dave as he nodded to him.


    "Next, let''s move to Adam." Dave turned to his friend. "Adam, your choice of positions wasn''t bad for the first time, yet you should have gotten positioned Reba at the front, so she could fight along with her elemental spirit."


    Pausing a bit, Dave continued, "As for you, Adam, you need to work on your battle style. You either fight at the front or stay at back andmand from there. If you choose to fight at the front, you need to learn how tobine Telekinesis with closebat. You need to be able to multitask, so your innate ability won''t get in your way.


    As for the second option, you may solely concentrate on your innate ability for attacking and coordinate the movements of a team. In both options, you need to further develop your innate ability. At first, I suggest you try controlling several objects at the same time. It would be nice if we could obtain for you throwing knives or other items from Treasure Chests. For now, you may get yourself knives from the kitchen."


    "En...Okay, I''ll work on it." Adam nodded his head as he listened to Dave. He made same conclusions as Dave during the spar since he couldn''t freely switch between his innate ability and his own movements. To bring full potential of his ability, he needed to use Telekinesis at the same time he was fighting in closebat, which was impossible unless he had two minds to do so. At best, he could make a transition between Telekinesis and his movements smoother than now.


    "Next, since both of you fell at the same time, let''s start with Brian. Hmm...you have grasped your role quite well, Brian. You were able to shoot fireballs at the right moment, and considering it, I guess you weren''t wasting your time this week and learned how to keep fireball around you till you shoot it."


    "Yeah, I can keep a fireball floating in front of me after I finish an incantation. It''s quite convenient, considering I can shoot it whenever I want after chanting an incantation. However, I can''t keep it for long since it still depletes my spirit. Also, I started breaking down the incantation into meaningful parts. It''s quite interesting, like deciphering the code. But I''m making a little progress in it," Brian said smugly. It seemed he was finding satisfaction in analyzing the incantation.


    Dave was quite surprised by the progress he was making in it, even further consolidating his idea to make a mage from Brian. Although he wasn''t a mage in his past life and knew a little about that stuff, he still wanted to help Brian. "Yeah...So far, you''re making remarkable progress with your spell."


    "If it may help you, try to form several small fireballs with one incantation. That way, you can kill more zombies. And also, try adapting your fireball to your foes. If you''re against an ordinary zombie, try making your fireballs smaller yet less mana-consuming. Can you do this?" Dave exined to Brian a general principle of what he had seen from other mages in his past life.


    "Using one chant to form several fireballs...Why didn''t I think of it before?" Brian said with sparkling eyes. He seemed to show genuine interest in Dave''s words as he already went theorizing about it.


    Noticing how Brian went into himself, he next turned to Reba. "As for you, Reba, you may consider fighting at the front positions. You should have already felt it, but Star doesn''t need anyplicated control to attack. It''s enough to givemands to it, while you fight your own battle. You can''t stand idly, while your spirit fights instead of you; otherwise, you''ll lose all advantages an elemental spirit brings to you."


    Understanding what he meant, Reba got flustered as she listened to him since she also felt like she was standing idly. Not that she wasn''t contributing to the spar, but she felt she could do much more than it.


    That was what he liked in having an elemental spirit: you could fight your own battle, while your spirit assisted you as much as it could. It was simr to having a pet that could fight alongside you.


    And next, he turned to Rachel who was thest one to concede though he was ignoring her presence in the spar. "Please, don''t be discouraged by the fact that I ignored you in the fight. You just weren''t a threat to me at all, so I had gone after more troublesome opponents than you. I guess youck a battle experience like all of us, so you need to train fighting an ordinary zombie."


    He didn''t want to demotivate her since it wasn''t her fault. However, his following words were more rtable with her, so he said it as it was, "Ohh...And also, you should be more decisive in your blows as well as in your attacks. Although I wasn''t paying much attention to you, you still could act as a nuisance to me if you had kept attacking me. Perhaps, in that case, you would have gone down right after Adrian, yet you decided not to give your fullest to the spar. In an actual fight, you wouldn''t have any luxury to do so, keep that in mind."


    "En...Okay, I''ll try harder next time." Rachel hurriedly nodded her head as in understanding. However, Dave understood that Rachel wasn''t much of a fighter in the first ce. Shecked spirit and courage needed in closebat. Perhaps, her talentsy in another field, so he didn''t pressure her any further. He was okay if she at least gained battle experience from their sparring sessions.

 Chapter 66: Another Attempt

    Chapter 66: Another Attempt


    After giving pointers, Dave dismissed everyone yet still ended meeting them again in the kitchen. All of them were having breakfast there and since Sara was the only one who couldn''t fight among them, she was responsible for preparing breakfast and future meals. Dave decided to postpone dragging her outside to kill her first zombie because they still needed someone to deal with such stuff as cooking.


    Furthermore, they already had enough people who were capable of killing zombies. Also, if they joined hands with survivors in the supermarket, their numbers would be enough to form a small club ording to the rules of their university, which required to have twenty potential club members before forming a club.


    After having breakfast, Dave picked a new room for himself, on the door of which he stuck a note "Do not disturb!", and entered it. He had already decided to move to a new room since he didn''t want to be identally disturbed by others as in the case with deep meditation.


    First of all, he decided to rest after a spar as he started meditating. It already became his habit to meditate while he was resting...plus, meditation didn''t tire his body, so he didn''t find anything wrong with it.


    Although he actually easily won in a spar, he still used lots of other skills. As his mana reserves doubled, he could use his skills much freely, and he had done so during the fight, trying to analyze his abilities at the same time. He had also used sh Step plenty of times to evade attacks, which depleted his stamina quite a lot.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 7


    Survival coins: 268


    ss: None


    Mana: 36/58


    Strength: 18 (+1)


    Agility: 16 (+1)


    Stamina: 11


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 7 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 4), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 2)]


    Looking at his Status Window, Dave focused his attention on the mana he had used during the spar and was satisfied with the results. Although he had formed plenty of mana barriers to defend against small fireballs and light des, it only cost him 22 points of mana. Furthermore, he won''t be as carefree in a fight as he was in a spar since every point of mana was important in a real battle.


    Meditating, he was able to partially fill his mana reserves and decided to stop at it. He still wanted to check a space he had detected in deep meditation since its existence had sparked an interest in his innate ability.


    Obviously, Regression was the reason he had returned back in time, and it could transfer his experience from past skill to current ones. At least, he understood that much about his innate ability. But it also raised lots of questions in his mind.


    Just how does his ability work? Did it return his soul back in time? But if that was the case, his intelligence and spirit stats would have been the same as in his past life. Then, did it only involve his memories?


    What about the runes he had seen in the dark space? They were oddly the same as his skills from the past that System forms in one''s mind when an Enhancer decides to learn a skill with the help of a System. Therefore, considering the nature of Regression, Dave suspected that they were his skills from the past. Of course, it was the case if that dark space was rted to Regression. However, bubbles of memories floating there made Dave confident in his conclusions.


    But the most important question was...Could he use them? Just the thought of using them made his heart beat faster. Also, they couldn''t just be there in the role of decorations...Right? Dave suspected there was a way to use them, and he just didn''t found it yet. So, Dave decided to probe that dark space another time.


    Concentrating on the particr location in his brain, Dave was able to get there after a minute of trying. However, this time, Dave felt a strong pressure on his mind, pushing his soul projection out of the space. Not only was it hard to endure, but the pushing force also kept increasing with every passing second. He should haven''t sensed it due to miraculous effects a deep meditation had on his soul.


    Noticing the trail of bubbles, Dave didn''t even nce at them, since he had already done it before, and headed to the location of glowing runes as he resisted the force pushing his projection. Steadily, he flew towards the runes, trying to ignore the pushing force. And yes, he was flying towards the runes since there was no ground to step...just a dark and empty space. Moreover, he didn''t need any tform to walk because space was more mental than a real one.


    After a short while, Dave caught a glimpse of runes from the distance. As he was nearing them, he only now understood how big those runes were. They didn''t seem big from the distance, but they were gigantic from the close proximity.


    There were six of the runes as well as six skills he had learned with the help of a System. He learned them in order of Muscle Expansion, Enhanced Five Senses, Body eleration, Mana sh, Second Breath and thest one, Sixth Sense.


    As far as he knew, skills were divided into mastery skills or techniques,bat skills and skills that couldn''t be categorized into any of them. Skills like Mana Application, Mana Sensing, Mana Threads and Swordsmanship were categorized into mastery skills, and they usually had a level cap of ten and could advance higher in grade.


    sh Step and Mana Barrier were examples ofbat skills, and they had a maximum level of three. Unlike mastery skills,bat skills couldn''t simply advance in grade; either you buy a new skill higher in grade or learn a new skill all by yourself.


    Even their grading systems differed from each other. Mastery skills followed a grading system of Basic, Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary. Higher the grade, better were skills. On the other hand,bat skills were divided into Iron, Bronze, Silver and Gold grades.


    With every grade, a price one needed to pay to learn it also increased. Bronze grade skill cost higher than Iron grade in terms of learning it and levelling it up. The same could be said about mastery skills.


    Looking at four iron and two bronze runes, Dave couldn''t help but remember how much did he suffer to get Skill Books of that skills. Gold and Silver grade skills were pretty mythical for him, and among other hunters, he heard only one or two of them having Silver grade skills.


    ncing at one of the iron runes, Dave closely observed its surface as he noticed that though it was the only source of light in a dark space, its light was dull and weak like it was going to fade away at any moment.


    ''Argh!'' Dave groaned slightly as pressure on him jumped rapidly. If before pushing force was rising gradually, it made a rapid jump in one moment as he felt like a heavy boulder was crushing him from above.


    Understanding that he had little time till he got chased out of a dark space, Dave tried to go closer to one of the iron rune. As he flew closer to the first iron rune, his body started to produce light particles that were absorbed by an iron rune.


    Staring at himself in confusion and tracking the route of the light particle, Dave looked at the iron rune in puzzlement, yet understanding that he had little time, he ignored them and flew closer to the rune, so close that he could reach it with his hand if he stretched his arm.


    ''What is it absorbing? My mana? Or my spirit?'' Dave wondered inwardly as a bright light emitted from the ce he was touching. It seemed as the rune was absorbing something from him, and through direct contact, it absorbed that thing much faster.


    Staring at the surface of an iron rune, he noticed, even if it was only slightly, that it was getting slightly brighter as the rune''s surface shined slightly stronger from before. It changed from dull light to a slightly brighter one.


    Having nothing to do in a dark space, Dave stood in front of the rune as he pressed his hand to it and tried to understand what result it''ll bring to him. It was the only reactions of runes, so he suspected it was a way for him to gain ess to them.


    ''Damn! Is it still not enough? I''m running out of time!'' Dave thought as he understood that he still had a long way to fully brighten it. At some point in time, he couldn''t bear the growing pressure anymore as he was pushed out of the dark space.


    Opening his eyes in his room, Dave sighed due tock of results. However, he was still able to make his own conclusions about that runes, so it couldn''t be said that his visit to a dark space waspletely fruitless.


    Checking his Status Window, Dave first checked his mana, and noticing that it didn''t change at all, he suspected that light particles leaving his body were somehow rted to his spirit. On top of that, he felt mentally tired after leaving a dark space, so his spirit must be the case.


    ''I should keep doing it every day,'' Dave thought. After one try, he could already feel that he couldn''t enter that space for today, or perhaps, he should call it Regressor''s Chamber. He still needed to experiment with it, yet he was dead tired after one attempt...like his soul was sucked out of him. Therefore, he decided to lie on the bed for a bit yet didn''t notice how he dozed off.

 Chapter 67: Special Training

    Chapter 67: Special Training


    As everyone was busy on their own, it was already an afternoon. Enlightened by Dave, Brian was still trying to decipher an unknownnguage he memorized to cast a small fireball as he worked on casting multiple of them at once. He already had few ideas of how he could do it, yet he still needed to experiment on them to stop on one.


    Adam was busy training his Telekinesis. He tried to follow Dave''s advice and move multiple objects at a time yet failed miserably in the end. It required lots of focus and concentration from him than he had imagined. It was quite simr to multitasking yet also required almost perfect focus from him.


    On the other hand, other members of the team, precisely four of them, chatted with each other in the kitchen. In a week it became a ce where they would gather to n and discuss serious matters, but at the same time, it was a ce where they gathered for social interaction.


    "Phew...At least, it''s good to know that there are other students on the campus that are alive." Sara breathed out a sigh of relief as she listened to Reba and Rachel. They shared information about their trip to the supermarket and students that took shelter in there.


    It was already past noon, and Reba thought that it was time to have a meal, so she suggested calling Dave, Adam and Brian. Deciding to call Adam and Brian first, she knocked on the doors of their rooms as she called them by their names.


    Adam and Brian dly agreed to her offer since they were already feeling hungry after secluding themselves in their rooms. Getting agreement from them, Reba walked towards Daves room that was located near the entrance.


    Staring at the "Do not disturb!" note stuck on the door, she hesitated for a moment, yet deciding to try once, she knocked on his room''s door as she called him loudly, "David! David! Are you there?"


    "..." Reba got flustered when she heard no response, yet after some time, his voice sounded from the room. "Yeah,e in. The door is open, so you can enter if you want to."


    Opening the door, she said, "David, would you...". But she stopped abruptly at her words as a blush crept on her cheeks. The reason was in Dave since he had only underpants worn on him. If not for his strange stance with his legs up to a ceiling, she may have misunderstood him for a pervert.


    After waking up two hours ago, Dave decided to start working on his body to build up stamina. He started by doing physical training, including basic ones like push-ups, squats and sit-ups, and also moreplex ones that he learned in a training camp for enrolling soldiers.


    Although doing physical training wouldn''t increase his stats by much, if he was persistent enough, he could eventually gain one or two points in a month. Of course, such a method won''t be effective in the long run as his stats go higher, but it was still an increase in stats, no matter how small it was.


    However, his method was somewhat specialpared to normal physical training. The catch was in a skill he had, precisely in his Reinforced Breathing skill. Although it was able to enhance his body, it also put lots of strain on his body, damaging his muscles and depleting his stamina in a short time. As a result, he got double results with half the effort.


    Moreover, to further increase levels of Reinforced Breathing and Mana Enhancement, he needed sturdier blood vessels and mana veins that won''t burst under their pressure. The only way to strengthen them was to use them more frequently. Hence, by doing physical training with the Reinforced Breathing activated, he could kill two birds with one stone: train his body and strengthen his blood vessels.


    However, there was one big problem...


    And it was excruciating pain he ends up with after the training. It was the same as if he used Reinforced Breathing for too long. The pain was already unbearable after half an hour, but it was already two hours as he started doing his special training. Any normal human would have already fainted from the pain, but Dave had been doing it for a year in his past life and already could keep his consciousness under such pain.


    Currently, sweat dripped from his forehead as all his body was burning from inside and all muscles in his body were screaming from pain. He was supporting his body in a vertical position and doing push-ups, at the same time, trying to keep his body in bnce.


    "98...99...100." Finishing thest one, Dave fell on his back while panting heavily, greedily breathing in air into his lungs. Thankfully, his strength was enough tost that long, which can''t be said about his stamina. Dave waspletely exhausted after two hours of intensive training. Moreover, such training had the highest effect on stamina since Reinforced Breathing depleted it really quickly.


    "Yes, Reba, why did youe here?" Catching his breath, Dave asked Reba while still lying on the floor. Noticing her strange reaction and trying to hold hisughter, Dave asked her in amusement, "What''s up with your reaction? Have you never seen a half-naked man? Aren''t you already a university student? How old are you? 19? 20? Haven''t you dated anyone at your age? You have quite a funny reaction."


    Blushing up to her ears, Reba tried not to look at him as she cast her eyes to the side. She said in a low voice, "Stop asking embarrassing questions. Better tell me, why did you put off your clothes?"


    "Training in clothes is suffocating. It also got in my way while training, so I decided to put my clothes off. Furthermore, I dislike sensations of clothes sticking to my skin nor I want to identally ruin it while training." Dave exined to her nonchntly. "So, what''s up?"


    "We are going to eat soon, if you want to, you can join us." Reba quickly said it as she hurried to leave the room, only saying at thest moment, "At least, wear your pants on..."


    Looking at how Reba escaped like a scared rabbit, Dave chuckled to sustain hisughter and stood up from the floor. Dave groaned weakly as he stood up, massaging his aching muscles. Next, he circted mana through mana veins, activating Mana Enhancement.


    Mana Enhancement had its own role in his special training. Since he had limited mana and couldn''t keep it up for a long time, it wasn''t effective to use it during the training. Dave thought hard about how he could bring its full potential and identally found a way to use it in his past life.


    Instead of using Mana Enhancement to enhance his body, Dave found out that it was much better to use it for restorative purposes. As he had found out, when a body was tired and flexed to the point of breaking, not only did Mana Enhancement soothe pain and aching in his muscles after the training, but mana also got assimted into his muscles, nervous system, bones and internal organs. Although mana absorbed by his body was minuscule, such a method of using Mana Enhancement permanently strengthened his body.


    The only reason he didn''t do such training was...that he didn''t want to. Although he could bear the pain from training, it didn''t mean that he was still fine with it. Furthermore, the pain would have gotten in his way during fights, so he decided to wait till he got strong enough to have no opponent on the campus.


    And considering the rate zombies were evolving, he doubted that they would go much stronger in a following month or two. Their evolution was oddly slow for a person who already witnessed how far they could reach in the process.


    Although he knew nothing about the truth, it didn''t mean that he waspletely clueless. Dave suspected that it was sort of help for beginners by the System, as a newbie pack in games. It should have been giving people a chance to adapt to a new environment and hone their skills since otherwise humanity would have just gone extinct.


    The person that adapted faster and formed an appropriate mentality would be the one to survive, while people who hid behind others'' backs wouldn''t be able to reach till the end. Of course, there were people who had pulled a cheat card and got extremely lucky to awaken. Obviously, backed up by new abilities, such people had much higher chances to survive.


    After taking a quick shower to wash off the sweat from his body, he put on his clothes and headed to the kitchen, where he joined others. When he had gotten there, others were already gathered around a dining table and waiting for him. It was still the same as before since they hadn''t counted the food they got from the cafeteria.


    Finishing with their meal, Adam asked, "Dave, are we gonna hunt today? I''m not sure how many zombies we should kill before we reach the supermarket, so better start now."


    Smiling at his friend, Dave shook his head as he said, "Sorry, guys. You might be hunting without me from now. You''re already strong enough to deal with zombies on your own, so you would be fine. I still have a business to take care of, so I''ll move alone."


    He wasn''t their mom or guardian, and he didn''t want them to grow over-dependent on him as they should learn how to take care of themselves. Furthermore, he still had to deal with some shit before it escted into big trouble.

 Chapter 68: For a Better Good

    Chapter 68: For a Better Good


    ''Dammit!'' Dave cursed inwardly as he felt pain with every move. The pain was even harder to bear than in his past life since such a burden was too sudden for his untrained body. When he came up with such training in his past life, his body was already trained to a certain degree due to training he had taken as a soldier.


    However, he had never trained methodically before the 2nd Cataclysm, and that resulted in his weak stature. Furthermore, his special training may have been too sudden for his organism, exining the great pain he was enduring. Well, the first day was always hard, so he just needed to bear with it. A slight decrease in pain wouldn''t matter when it was already unbearable. It was still painful...


    Currently, he was outside the dorms, trying to scout their surroundings and trying to note down approximate danger levels of different university areas. He was drawing a map on his notebook and jotting down notes about some dangerous areas, like a number of zombies, how packed they were and the chance to meet an evolved zombie.


    On another page of a notebook, two sentences were circled, emphasizing their importance for his ns. They were the word "Devourer?" and three words "Richard the Tyrant?" with question marks at their ends. Different locations were written below them.


    Dave had left a dormitory building half an hour ago and had gone hunting solo. Killing zombies blocking his way, Dave had been heading to a certain area. When he reached a needed location, Dave entered one building and went to the highest floor to observe everything from up above.


    ''Near the main library...I can''t see anything resembling Devourer. Ehh...'' He sighed helplessly as he took his pen and crossed out two words "Main library" in his notebook. Although it had been only a week and there was a chance that Devourer hadn''t even appeared yet, Dave decided that he waited enough to it to appear.


    Since he didn''t know where Richard was hiding, Dave had the only way to wander through a university and search for them. At least, that way he could hunt zombies and stumble upon some clues that could help him with finding Devourer or Richard.


    Devourer was a rare type of zombies that was much stronger than its kind. However, rather than saying that it was simply strong, it was more correct to say that Devourer had a special ability. They were able to feed upon other zombies and assimte their strong points, like the agility and reflexes of a Hunter or the strength of a Giant.


    Usually, cannibalism was quite rare among zombies, and Dave didn''t know why zombies wouldn''t eat their own kind. Perhaps, they couldn''t stand a foul taste of their own flesh or something prevented them from eating each other. However, it was normallymon sense that zombies won''t eat each other.


    But thatmon sense didn''t seem to work on Devourers. They didn''t differentiate between zombies and humans, every living creature was food for them, hence, they evolved much faster than other zombies. Since they could obtain biomass from both humans and zombies, Devourers weren''t restricted by the absence of humans in their surroundings, there were more than enough zombies around it.


    Moreover, Devourers were literally what they eat since they could assimte strong points from their food. Devourers that ate Giants were stronger than those that fed upon ordinary zombies. The same could be said about Devourers that consumed more Hunters.


    The presence of Devourer in the university was devastating in his past life. Even one Devourer was enough to send ranks of students into chaos since it alone killed several dozens of students. They had a ckyer of armour tes on their bodies, ck sharp ws and long corrosive tongue that could reach several meters away from them. Their bodies were as big as Giants, but they were as agile as Hunters. They more resembled unknown monsters than zombies by their appearance.


    However, Devourers had strong territorial instincts as they form a nest in one territory until there was nothing to feed on. Then, after eating every living creature around their territory, they move to the next one, bringing death and destruction to everywhere they set their foot on.


    At thest stages, Devourers would be pretty much invincible if they weren''t killed at the time. At least, it was hardly possible to kill them at low levels. In his past life, Devourer caused a great load of trouble to Evelyn that she was forced to avoid it till they got strong enough to kill it. In that, its strong territorial instincts was an advantage to them. However, even then, it took joint efforts of several Evolvers to kill it, and several of them had also died at that time.


    Their problem was that they found about its presence toote, five monthster after the start, and the Devourer had already grown strong enough to threaten the lives of students of a whole university. It was considering that Evelyn had already formed her group of students that had survived for several months surrounded by a swarm of zombies.


    Therefore, Dave needed to kill it before it became unstoppable. First, he nned to keep checking all ces it was seen in his past life once in a week, so it won''t leave unnoticed by him. Of course, there was a chance that it hadn''t even appeared in the university yet, but Dave didn''t want to risk it.


    Moreover, there was the second problem that Dave needed to deal with, though it had more rtion to people themselves rather than to zombies. However, the problem was much simpler than the first one. To exin it simply, a certain student blinded by newly obtained power started his own tyranny over other students, establishing a group of thugs and delinquents.


    That tyrant''s name was Richard, and as far as he remembered, Evelyn was the one who killed him. He heard that Richard was a delinquent before getting into university and that he had bullied other students even before zombies appeared.


    He also nned to deal with the future tyrant. However, he had heard a piece of information that Richard had awakened an innate ability, and Dave didn''t found it strange since Richard needed something special to back up his tyrant status, so it wasn''t hard to deduce that he must have awakened some sort of power.


    But he was more worried about the effects of his ability. He had heard that his ability gave him invincible defence to physical attacks. However, Dave thought that he would somehow manage to deal with him. Since if his ability made him invincible to physical attacks, then how did Evelyn kill him? He was sure that there should be some catch with Richard''s ability, otherwise he would have been the one to lead a university group rather than Evelyn.


    Dave wasn''t doing it because he wanted to save other students at the university. No, someone else could take the role of a hero, he didn''t need it. He just wanted to get rid of the future problems at their early stages before they escted too much and became harder to deal with. Having dealt with them, Dave could easily unify their university and form a full-scale base without a hitch.


    nning his next actions, Dave carefully observed his surrounding from above yet couldn''t find any tracks of the Devourer. However, instead of finding a Devourer, Dave became a witness to an interesting scene.


    "Argh!"


    "Argh!"


    "Argh!"


    ...


    Zombies were chasing after five male students, who were fleeing from them. Only one of them had a weapon from the System, and all of them were running in one direction. No matter how fast they ran, they couldn''t lose their pursuers as they desperately ran to save their lives.


    Their lungs were burning! Their stomachs were empty! Their muscles were aching! Their minds were hazy fromck of sleep! They were mentally exhausted as they were tired from surviving. However, still feared of death, they desperately ng for every chance to survive.


    Trying to escape into the main library, they headed to the wide wooden doors. The first one to reach it hurriedly opened the door and held it open, waiting for others and wanting to lock it when everybody reached the building.


    However, thest one to follow after them tripped on the ground. Zombies quickly overtook him and gnashed their teeth at his flesh, tearing chunks of flesh as blood dripped from their mouths. Sobbing and crying at the start, the male student was calling his friends, "No! Save me! Hurry and save me!"


    But he couldn''t say anything less since a zombie gnashed its teeth to its throat, tearing its vocal cords and trachea. His friends stood near the wide wooden doors, watching how their friend was being eaten by zombies, yet no one moved to help him...He was already bitten, so anyway they could do nothing to save him.


    Instead of helping him, they hurriedly locked doors of the main library as they were grateful to be the one to survive, and at the bottom of their hearts, they thanked the male students for buying them time.


    Observing everything from above, Dave didn''t try to save them, nor he tried to take them with him to the dormitory. Truthfully, he didn''t give a damn about them since dying would be moremon than living in the future. People die, and that''s was a normal situation taking their situation into consideration.


    Furthermore, he didn''t want to have helpless simps in the future that wouldn''t be able to protect themselves. He wanted them to go through a trial by fire, so they wouldn''t bepletely defenceless when they would reach them and save them.


    It was for a better good. It was better to have a bunch of elites that were able to survive on their own than pacific morons that couldn''t take care of themselves. Therefore, Dave didn''t meddle in their affairs as he headed to the next location where Devourer had been seen.

 Chapter 69: Three Weeks

    Chapter 69: Three Weeks


    Sweat dripped from his forehead as Dave did push-ups in a vertical position with his legs raised up to a ceiling. His muscles were burning, and he felt suffocated from all the training as he gasped for breath at fixed intervals. He made thest push up as he muttered, "...100!"


    Reaching the end of his special training, Dave fell from a vertical position to the floor with his back faced to the floor as a groan escaped from his mouth. However, although he was desperately gasping for air and all his body was in great pain, his face twitched as a smile crept on his face. Sweaty and tired, his smile seemed that of a madman, but he had a reason to smile like that since he got a new system notification after 3 days of training.


    [Your stamina has increased by a point.]


    It had already been three days since Dave started scouting their university grounds and searching for Devourer or Richard. So far, he didn''t make any significant progress in that direction, but his special training was already bearing fruits.


    Dave had also expected that stamina would be the first one to rise since the disparity between it and strength and agility was already great. Since Reinforced Breathing adapted the depletion rate of stamina basing it on strength and agility, a one-point increase in stamina wasn''t surprising to him. However, after training so hard for three days, breaking and restoring his muscles at a rapid rate, Dave felt great satisfaction from his stamina increasing by a point, even it was only a point-increase.


    Lying on the floor and trying to catch his breath, Dave used Mana Enhancement to circte mana in his body as a gentle wave washed through his body, seeping into his cells and soothing the pain. Although a decrease in pain was minuscule, Dave found salvation from that 10 minutes during which mana flowed through his body. Normally, activating mana enhancement wasn''t thatfortable, yet Dave found peace in using it after hard training as he closed his eyes and enjoyed a short moment of peace.


    However, as his cells became satiated with mana and couldn''t take any more mana into them, the pain in his muscles returned as nothing happened like that moment of peace was just his wishful dream.


    Over the past three days, they finished sorting and counting all the food they had obtained from the cafeteria. Moreover, they continued their sparring sessions in the morning, and Dave could already see small progress in Adam and others. In the morning, they would spar, then Adam would lead others to kill zombies on the way to a supermarket, while Dave went on his own, still trying to track down Richard and Devourer.


    Gritting his teeth, he stood up from the ground and dragged his body on top of the bad, as he sat into a cross-legged position and entered into a meditative state. However, he didn''t forget to check his status before meditation.


    [David Murckly


    Level: 7


    Survival coins: 348


    ss: None


    Mana: 51/61


    Strength: 18 (+1)


    Agility: 16 (+1)


    Stamina: 12


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 7 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 4), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 2)]


    ***


    After another four days, Dave got three system notification during his training in those three days.


    [Your agility has increased by a point.]


    [Your stamina has increased by a point.]


    He got two system notifications after three days that he got the same notification for his stamina


    ...


    [Your strength has increased by a point.]


    The next day, his strength had also risen by a point, so Dave thought, ''As expected, stamina is the fastest one to rise, but it''ll eventually slow down when it reaches the same point as strength and agility. Moreover, they''re rising so fast just because my stats are low, it''ll be harder to increase them in the future as my stats would go higher.''


    Pondering over it, Dave asked himself, ''Should I save my free points from level-ups in the future? Adding free points would just slow down the rate I get points by usual training, so I better save my free points for the future.''


    Deciding on it, Dave moved to the progress made by his fellow teammates, "Adam is making progress with controlling several objects at a time. Reba had also started absorbing mana with the help of her spirit. Rachel and Adrian are doing fine with getting battle experience."


    Then, he remembered how Brianined about how multi-casting was difficult to aplish and how he made no progress in three days over the dining table. Well, Dave wasn''t surprised by theck of results since multi-casting was a more advanced technique than Brian could handle at his level. And he was pretty sure that it should be pretty demanding on his spirit, so Dave encouraged Brian in his own way.


    As he took a note of their progress, he heard a loud bang from the corridor, like someone had flung opened one of the doors, as someone shouted, "I did it! I finally did it." Dave immediately recognized the owner of the voice.


    Heading to the corridor, he heard Adam half-jokingly saying, "Hell, damn, Brian! Be a bit quieter or you would draw all zombies from nearby. What did you do?" Atst, Adam asked him interestedly.


    Brian giggled smugly as he was proud of what he did. Reaching them, Dave first ask, "What? Were you able to multi-cast your fireball?"


    When Brian heard his question, his face had stiffened in a moment as he froze in one ce. Having stopped giggling, Brian coughed to hide his embarrassment as he shared with everyone, "No...there is still no progress there," he said half-depressed. "But I was able to change my Life Pulse from circr scanning to linear one. I was working on it for days, yet until now, I didn''t make any progress in it."


    "Awesome, Brian! Your ability will y a big role in finding other students and survival in general." Adam eximed in surprise as he praised Brian for his hard work.


    "Right! Magic isn''t the only thing you should focus on. You did a great job." Dave said to Brian. Although it wasn''t multi-casting, Dave still got surprised by his spirit. He had found such drive only from top-hunters and mages from his past life, and was surprised to observe such spirit from Brian. He seemed to be truly interested in magic and his own ability.


    "Yes, praise me more!" Brian said smugly as his face brightened a bit. He seemed to enjoy hearing praises from them.


    "Since all of us have already gotten out from our rooms, then let''s go grab something. I''ve finished exercising, so I''m free now. Ohh, and if you want to join me in my training, then be free to join in. I''ll train you in a proper manner, and perhaps, you would burn all your fat after several months, Brian." At hisst words, Dave smiled evilly, sending shivers down Brian''s spine.


    "No, no...no need. I''m doing fine!" Brian desperately shook his head as he paled a bit. Dave patted his shoulders, saying that he was joking. However, he still said that his suggestion was still valid.


    [Your Leadership (LVL 1) has turned into Leadership (LVL 2).]


    ''Ohh, my leadership has increased by level. Well, it''s better than nothing though I don''t want to be the one. I have Adam to dump everything on.'' Dave chuckled inwardly as he amused stared at the system notification.


    Well, it wasn''t surprising that it levelled up since he was acting as a temporary leader for more than ten days. Even in the supermarket, he was the one who came with decisions while also trying to give a chance for Evelyn to think for herself.


    After Brian''s advancement with his innate ability, nothing unusual happened in the following days. They sparred in the morning, then Dave did his special training and meditated. After that, he parted ways with others as they went hunting together, while Dave went on his own.


    Returning back to the dormitory, closer to evening, he worked on his mana control and meditated to gather mana. However, as his mana became closer to the limit cap, it became to increase his mana pool even by point, but he didn''t stop meditating. He knew that to bear results he needed patience, otherwise he would burn out.


    Others made qualitative improvements in their battle styles after all the sparring session they had with each other. After a week of sparring with each other, Dave allowed them to spar with someone other than him, so they could adapt to different battle styles. Of course, not to kill each other, he put some heavy restrictions on some skills and abilities.


    After three weeks as he started to look for Devourer and Richard, Dave didn''t find anything noteworthy. Well, he was rash to find them since Richard might have been just hiding somewhere, trying to adapt to a new environment, while Devourer may not have even appeared in their university.

 Chapter 70: Cloth Shop

    Chapter 70: Cloth Shop


    [You have reached level 8]


    [You have earned 2 free points]


    Near a medical faculty, Dave killed a mid-rank Giant and finally increased his level. After three weeks of wandering through the university and hunting zombies, he was able to visit every ce on the campus and gather information about different locations of their university.


    "Aaargh!"


    Dave could already hear growlings of zombies that were rushing towards him. Without any side thoughts, he quickly grabbed Survival Coins lying near the Giant''s corpse and fled in the opposite direction from the roars.


    "Get away from me. I don''t have time nor energy for small fries like you."


    Although he could easily deal with a bunch of zombies on his own, it was still dangerous to confront them in the open space. Killing them wasn''t worth the problems it could bring him since he would have been eventually surrounded by zombies if he hadn''t escaped right away.


    No matter how strong he was, he would still be ripped by zombies to shreds if he got surrounded by them. So quickly sprinting away from them, Dave formed a mana barrier in the air and hopped onto it to jump over a thin, almost invisible thread of mana.


    Landing on the ground, he killed a zombie sprinting towards him, dodged another one and fled into one of the alleys. Zombies chasing after him tripped over the thread and stumbled upon other zombies, blocking the way for others.


    Noticing the congestion of zombies as he was running, Dave thought, "Tsk...Unfortunately, mana threads can''t cut zombies'' limbs, otherwise it would have been an excellent trap. At least, I know that there is no Devourer here, and I also levelled up."


    It would have been much better if his mana threads could cut them into pieces. He could have set threads all over the university and bait other zombies into them. Easy game and easy gain!


    But his mana threads could only give small cuts to them...not to the point of slicing them to pieces. Of course, it would have been cool otherwise, but he should be satisfied with what he has rather than desiring it so badly. Small cuts would have worked on humans yet weren''t effective on zombies that were immune to pain.


    Setting several threads would have also been a non-effective option since zombies running into trapped zombies with threads stuck in their flesh would have easily snapped them instead of getting cut. Better to set one thread on the leg level, so zombies would stumble upon the ones that tripped.


    After 5 minutes, he was able to lose other zombies and get to a safe ce where he could catch his breath. As he searched for clues for three weeks, Dave decided to change the time when he goes searching. Usually, he went outside in the afternoon but decided to change it to the morning. Perhaps, that way he could find them. Though he needed to change the time he trained normally.


    ''Oh! My status window!? I decided to save my free points for the future yet it won''t harm him to check my stats...Status Window.'' Dave thought inwardly as the information window popped up right before his eyes.


    [David Murckly


    Level: 8


    Survival coins: 1403


    ss: None


    Mana: 27/64


    Strength: 21 (+1)


    Agility: 19 (+1)


    Stamina: 17


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 7 (+1)


    Free points: 2


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 2), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 4), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 2)]


    ''Cool! I gathered quite a lot of Survival Coins in three weeks. My strength and agility are also rising once a week, while my stamina increases by a point in 4-5 days. My training is already bringing me visible results!'' Dave thought. If he ignored theck of results in his search for Devourer and future tyrant, he was quite satisfied with the progress he made in the past three weeks.


    Just in ten days after the start of everything, he was able to collect approximately 290 coins, considering that it was shared between others by whom it was killed. However, in three weeks, as he was hunting alone and killed zombies on the way, he got another 1100 coins on top of that.


    Moreover, he was able to significantly increase his stats with his special training. Just in three weeks he started, he was able to get additional 12 points in total: 6 points of stamina, 3 points of strength and 3 points of agility. Although it would get slower as it goes higher, it was already amazing that he could increase his stats in such a short time.


    However, the rate at which his stamina increased was already slowing down. He suspected that its rate would be the same as his strength''s and agility''s when it reaches them. The best aspect of his training was that it was adaptable to his stamina. As strength and agility go higher, stamina would also be dragged until it reaches their level.


    On average, the rate at which his stats rose was a point in a week for strength, agility and stamina when it reaches the former ones. However, as they would go higher, a week will turn into a month and a month would turn into several of them. At some point in time, he would need a whole year to raise his stats by even a point. So it was better to save up free points and stockpile them, using them when they were truly needed.


    On top of everything, he raised his level by killing zombies every day for three weeks as he tracked down most of the mid-rank zombies that he could find. Levelling up was especially hard when he was much stronger than zombies surrounding him.


    But perhaps, slow evolution process of zombies wasn''t so bad since he could build up his stats while he could and the situation in the university would be much more peaceful. That way, much more people would survive and they could take their time to kill all zombies in the university.


    However, on the downside, he didn''t obtain any Treasure Chest in those three weeks. Well, it was understandable since he easily dealt with mid-rank zombies, so it was smooth sailing in those three weeks.


    ''Ehh...Last ce to check before returning to the dormitory.'' Dave sighed inwardly as he moved to thest location he needed to check for today. Every week he was taking turns checking those since there were lots of locations where Devourer and Richard were seen. As a result, he tried to cover all of the ces in a week.


    ...


    After some time, Dave reached thest location he needed to check on. Currently, he was located in one of the entertainment areas where most of the shops and entertainment facilities could be found like the one where the cafeteria was located.


    It was a nice ce with lots of amenities like cloth shops, cafes, and facilities for entertainment purposes. However, as popr as it was before, it had plenty of zombies wandering from one ce to another, making it not the best ce to find shelter.


    Observing everything from up above, Dave scanned through the area and noticed a small group of people slowly advancing through a small alley. They were extremely cautious as they held metal pipes in their hands, seemingly ordinary ones, not a weapon from the Treasure Chests.


    Dave wouldn''t have paid them any attention if he hadn''t noticed that their bags were seemingly empty, and they wereing from the other side of the area. ''Interesting...What they are searching for? They don''t seem toe here to test their luck...''


    He found something odd in them. They didn''t seem toe here to obtain food or anything else, on the contrary, considering that they were whispering with each other all the time and pointing their fingers to different buildings, he guessed that they were searching for something in particr.


    And he was right at that point!


    After some time, they silently walked to one of the cloth shops, trying not to catch the attention of other zombies, as they silently walked into the shop. Finding it odd, Dave thought, ''It didn''t seem that they werepletely sure that they chose the right ce, more like they pinpointed it.''


    He decided to check on them with Mana Sensing and if there was nothing interesting in them, he nned to leave them alone. So he jumped out of the window from where he was observing everything and used mana barriers as tforms to get on the roof of the cloth shop.


    Landing on the rooftop, Dave concentrated his senses on the space below him and sensed several people inside the cloth shop. On top of three people that just entered, there was another batch of people inside it, and it didn''t seem that the trio was weed there. ''Interesting...Are they fighting with each other?''

 Chapter 71: Thugs and Scums

    Chapter 71: Thugs and Scums


    Sitting on a light-grey stony rooftop, Dave frowned slightly as he concentrated his senses on what was happenning below him. It didn''t seem that people inside the cloth shop were having a peaceful chatter with each other. He sensed six people below him: three from before and three new presences, all seemed to be male.


    Dave didn''t hear anything from below, only getting a general idea of what they were doing. ''Dammit! I''m already missing my Enhanced Five Senses skill. I should somehow enter stealthily into the shop, so I can hear them.''


    Dave sighed as he recalled one of his skills he learnt with help of the System. Combined with Mana Sensing, it allowed him to have more advanced detective abilities and was one of the main skills he learnt as a swordsman.


    ''Interesting, when would my efforts bear any results in that dark space...I kept entering that space every day and endured the crushing pressure for every time, which was approximately 10-15 minutes a day. It''s been already three weeks, and I think I''m getting closer to lit the first rune. Unfortunately, I don''t know for what skill that rune was for.'' Dave recalled the past three weeks he visited Regressor''s Chamber.


    Shaking his head to cast aside any distracting thoughts, Dave found metallicdders leading below under a metallic lid. Silently opening it, he went down by thedders and found himself seemingly in a small storeroom, where he found lots of boxes of various sizes. They should be unpacked batch of clothes.


    As he descended to the floor, Dave could already hear angered voices from another room. Looking around him and trying to orient in a dim room, he slightly opened the metallic doors and peeked through them into the main basement. Although he was only seeing stacked rows of clothes, it became much easier to hear the content of their argument.


    "Screw you, shitbags! We''re not interested in your offer, so fuck out of here!" Slightly angered voice sound from his left as Dave tried to make sense of their conversation. ''Offer? What offer can three male students make in their situation? Better to worry about their own lives...''


    "Watch your mouth, little shit! Our boss is giving all of you a chance to survive, so think it over, otherwise you may regret it very soon!" A hoarse voice sounded to his left and seemed to be slightly sinister as it had a threatening tone.


    "And you call it an offer? Get out of here! It''s bullshit, not an offer. We''re doing fine without you and your boss, so fuck away." Next Dave heard a fierce butposed voice.


    "Yeah! Your offer is a in robbery, nothing else. We aren''t gonna pass half of our food to you, shitbags. We''re doing fine on our own and without your protection, so fuck off." A slightly younger voice sounded next as Dave could more or less understand what was happening.


    He had heard that there were people who tracked down other students on the campus and forced them to enter their group while also forcing them to pass down their food to them. Of course, it was much easier to take food from weaker students rather than obtaining one yourself, but he never heard that such people would enter an area densely packed with zombies, endangering their lives.


    However, he had heard who was the main person who stood behind such methods. He heard that Richard took a portion of food from other students, promising them his and his gang''s protection. However, it was obvious that he was inly forcing them to give him food. ''They talked about their boss. Should I check on him? Anyway, I''ll lose nothing if I go after them.''


    As he was thinking to interrupt them and force them to lead him to their boss, the same hoarse voice said, "Then, don''t regret it afterwards. Rob, Stan, get some sense into them." With those words, it seemed that fight broke between the three of them.


    ''Hmm...I don''t give a damn about their situation, but I still need one of them to lead me to their boss.'' Dave thought inwardly as he decided to meddle into their affairs. He opened the door from a room he was in and went towards the source of sounds.


    He said, "Stop it! I..." However, just when he tried stopping them, he was left speechless when he saw what happened in a span of few breaths. Two of the three were already lying on the ground, coughing and gasping for breath as they seemed to be hit to their sr plexuses. Their pipes were in the hands of the men standing right before them. It seemed that they easily took down two of them with bare fists and took their pipes from them.


    Dave immediately noticed a hulking man with short ck hair, seemingly 6 feet and 8 inches, that stood towering before two of them. He was just slightly falling behind a Giant and could even rival one of the smaller ones in size. He was physically built as thick muscles covered all of his body.


    ''Whoa! It''s quite hard to find that huge human nowadays. How did they even think of attacking them? Did they feel braver with pipes in their hands that they even rushed directly at them? Damn! He is two or three timesrger than me!?'' Dave stared amazedly at the hulking big boy.


    Although he had trained for the past three weeks, he didn''t bulge in size or entered a growth sprout period. He was still as small as he was before the start of the second cataclysm with a small stature but with more refined muscles, which were more visible now due to strenuous training he had endured for the past weeks.


    "You...you...you''ll regret it. Our boss won''t forgive you!" Shaking and trembling, the only one, who was standing and doing all the talking, tried to flee from the shop as he dashed towards the exit doors, gripping a metal pipe in his hands.


    However, as he started running, just after several steps, he crashed into someone and stopped in his tracks as he felt a strong blow to his sr plexus. Coughing and feeling a sharp burning pain in his chest, he desperately gasped for breath and fell on the floor, supporting himself with his arms, as saliva dripped from his mouth.


    "Oops! Sorry, but I can''t let you get away. It''ll be much better if we go there all together." Dave said it as he used sh Step to jump right before him and hit him into the sr plexus.


    "Who...are...you? Fucking...shitbag...where did...youe...from?" Gasping for breath, the male student said in a low hoarse voice as he stopped periodically in his words. However, inside he thought, ''Where did hee from? How did he appear instantly right before me?...And, why is he so fucking strong? I feel like I was hit by a metal gauntlet rather than a human fist.''


    Frowning slightly, Dave gave another blow to him, this time hitting him into the stomach, causing the man to groan in pain, as he said, "Don''t worry! I just want to meet your boss and you''re gonna lead me to him. Pretty simple, right?"


    However, the male student didn''t hear him afterwards as he fell on the floor, pressing his hands onto his stomach. Seeing it, Dave sighed in irritation and turned to the original owner of the cloth shop.


    "Who are you? Are you with them?" The young man, who stood behind the other two, said in a hostile tone.


    "Oscar, get back and watch what you say," The man in front of him said in a worried manner as he turned to him and said, "Thanks, little brother! If you hadn''t stopped him, that shitbag would have escaped and attracted attention from zombies outside."


    ''Little brother!? Ehh...whatever!'' Dave sighed inwardly as he said to them, "What are you doing in a cloth shop that''s located in a crowded area. You may consider going somewhere else."


    "Well, we don''t get a chance to choose where to settle down when everything turned crazy." The man smiled bitterly as he said it. "Whatever, I''m Luther. The big man next to me is my friend, Brook, and the boy behind me is my little brother, Oscar."


    "Hey, I''m not a boy!" Oscar remarked in dissatisfaction, causing Luther to smile lightly.


    "Dave, a freshman student in Business Major," He said as he shook hands with the one in the middle. Luther seemed to be the one who had a final say in everything. His body wasn''t as huge as Brook''s, but he was physically built as Dave felt his strong grip.


    "Then, you''re our junior! Brook and I are already sophomores. But Oscar has only entered the university this year, so he should approximately of your age." Luther was talking energetically as he put his arm over the shoulder of his little brother.


    ''Well, they do look alike. Both of them have sharp facial features and light-brown hair. But Oscar''s hair is slightly longer than his older brother''s. Well, Luther looks like the most reliable among them.'' Dave silently remarked in his mind as he turned to the other three lying on the ground and catching their breaths. ''Well, better get them talking. No time to waste. Perhaps, I can even meet Richard today.''

 Chapter 72: Underground Pathway

    Chapter 72: Underground Pathway


    "So, brother David, although I''m grateful for what you did, I''m still confused a bit. I heard you said you wanted to meet with their boss, but what do you want from such a creep? He seems to be dangerous to meddle with..." Luther said seriously.


    "Yeah, what business do you have with that son of a bitch?" Oscar yelled as he tried to relieve his frustration. First, they were stuck in a crowded area and were forced to hide in the cloth shop, fighting and struggling to survive, as they sought food and tried to eat it moderately. Next, some thugs broke into their cloth shop and offered some bullshit saying it was a deal, and when they refused to ept it, they tried to threaten them with force.


    "Oscar! How many times do I need to scold you to watch your mouth?" Luther sighed helplessly as he yelled at his brother. "Brook, take my brother into the staff room and give him something to eat. He should calm down a bit."


    The huge towering man patted Oscar on his shoulder as he gently took him to the only door in the cloth shop except for the one that led to the storeroom. In all the process, the giant didn''t even drop a word as he headed to the staff room.


    ''He is surprisingly quiet.'' Dave thought inwardly as he suspected him to be...more aggressive? Considering his big build, Dave thought he would be more imposing.


    Following his gaze, Lutherughed awkwardly as he chuckled. "Don''t let his huge build scare you. Although he can give quite a heavy punch, Brook isn''t the one who usually starts a fight, on the contrary, he avoids them as much as he can." Luther paused for a moment. "So what is your goal?"


    Keeping his silence, Dave approached lying students and squatted imposingly in front of them, "Look, guys! I''m not asking for anything difficult, right? Just lead me to your boss, I want to talk to him."


    The three of them shook slightly as they noticed Dave cold eyes, but no one told anything useful. Dave only heard useless angered words from them. "Fuck you! I''m not afraid of..." But the man couldn''t finish his words as he felt a strong blow into his stomach.


    "Nope! Wrong answer." Dave said as he sent a kick to the man who cursed him. His twopanions paled immediately when they saw it. After kicking one of them, he asked again, "Now, will you lead me to your boss?"


    "We don''t know where he is. He..." Another male student tried to say something, but it wasn''t an answer Dave wanted to hear.


    "Wrong answer again." He sent another kick as the man groaned in pain.


    ...


    A minuteter, beating them for every wrong answer, Dave finally heard something interesting, "Please...we can''t tell anything to you! He will kill us!" Sobbing, one of them said it as he shrank into a human ball, covering his head with both his hands.


    Well, Dave didn''t expect any loyalty from them since they were just students a month ago. He was wondering why they were keeping their mouth shut, but the reason was simpler than he had thought. They were feared of dying!


    Chuckling loudly, Dave smiled coldly as he said, "It seems I have been too kind on three of you." Saying it, he lifted his Steel Sword as he directed its tip to the throat of one of them. "Why are you so sure that I won''t kill if you don''t tell me anything? You either die here or die after you meet your boss. However, the difference between them was that you may have a chance to survive in thetter than in the former."


    At his words, three of them trembled slightly as they felt shivers running down their spine. Paling, the one on whom Dave directed his sword nced at the sword shining with metallic lustre and felt a sharp tip poking into his throat. ''I''m gonna die!'' He thought.


    "Please, don''t! I''ll tell you...I''ll tell you everything. Just don''t kill me!" He said sobbingly. Combined with the beating Dave gave him, he didn''t try to conceal anything. He couldn''t think of anything as he trembled in fear.


    "We found a ce close to a mall. There is a narrow alley where you can find a door that leads to the underground tunnels. We temporarily settled down there. Our boss was the one who gathered us and he also told us to find other students on the campus. That''s everything I know. Please, don''t kill me!" The male student didn''t stop sobbing while saying everything.


    ''Ha! I never heard of such a ce. No wonder, I didn''t find them.'' Getting everything he wanted to know, Dave withdrew his sword and said, "I need to talk with your boss. We are immediately going there! And you''re gonna show me the way."


    Hearing that they would lead him there and confront their boss, they paled instantly. ''No...no...if he learns that we were the ones to lead someone to our base, he''s gonna kill us. Or he can feed zombies with our flesh!? He had already done it once.'' They thought inwardly as the same thought resounded in their minds.


    Although they understood that Dave could easily take them down and even beat them, they were confident that their boss would kill him. There was no doubt in their hearts since they personally witnessed the strength of their boss. He was...undefeatable. At least, they thought so in their minds.


    He killed zombies like they were nothing, and no zombie could wound him. Even the most terrifying ones among zombies couldn''t even leave a scratch on him. Moreover, he didn''t show any mercy to other people and never forgave betrayal from others, dealing with traitors and people that didn''t listen to him in the harshest ways.


    Just a week ago, he fed zombies with the flesh of other students that went against his decisions and forced other students to watch it. The male student still could vividly remember how a zombie gnashed its teeth into the flesh of a student and how the blood sprouted from the wound like a fountain.


    "By the way, how big are those tunnels?" Dave asked suddenly. He never heard that such tunnels even existed in his past life. Well, he was just a small fish back then and didn''t know a lot about their situation and hidden secrets in the university.


    "I truly don''t know!" Paling, the male student cried out as he covered himself with his hands, expecting Dave to say "Wrong answer!" again and beat him up. Startled after waiting several seconds and already tensing his body for another kick, he opened his eyes and confusedly looked at Dave.


    Dave sighed in helplessness as he looked at the male student. Understanding that he scared them too much, he asked again, "Then, what do you know about those tunnels?"


    Flustered, but letting a sigh of relief, the male student hurriedly answered, "I don''t know how much of the area under university those tunnels cover, but we were able to get here by one of the tunnels. So they should at least cover 20% of the area under our university. We made a long way from our base."


    "I never knew that we had underground pathways under our university. How did you even find them?" Dave asked them as he started to think of all the new possibilities those tunnels will open before them. They could use them to get wherever they want without killing all zombies on the surface. But he first needed to see them before deciding on anything.


    Pondering a bit and trying to recall any useful information, the student said, "I''m not sure. Our boss had already settled there when he found us, so we know nothing about this stuff."


    Thinking about it, Dave tried to recall any information about those tunnels but he never heard about them nor heard anything closely resembling it. If there were tunnels covering all the university, and students had used them in his past life, he was sure it would have been a hot theme among other students.


    "Hmm...Hey, brother David, what are you nning to do? Those tunnels seem to be the best ce to hide from zombies." A glint of interest shed in his eyes as Luther had been listening to them. He wasn''t a fool and understood that such underground pathways were strategically important for their survival.


    Distracted from his thoughts, Dave nced at Luther. ''Ooh...I nearly forgot that he was here. He didn''t interrupt me in any way and silently waited till I finish with them. Someone like Arthur or Reba would have definitely stopped me. He seems to be...more open for such things''


    "I''m definitely going to check them. Moreover, I still have a business to take care of down there, so I have more reason to go there. If you want to, you can join us." Dave proposed to him since he thought they won''t be much of a burden.


    He personally witnessed how their group easily dealt with their assaulters. Moreover, he still needed to assign someone to take care of those gang when he deals with their boss. He was still not sure about the identity of their boss, but more he heard about him, more he grew sure that their boss was Richard.


    "Hmm...I still need to talk it over with my guys. Give me a minute." Luther thought about it as he decided to discuss it with his best friend and his little brother. He couldn''t drag them just because he thought it was right.


    However, he doubted that they will oppose his decision that much since it was a chance to leave this small cloth shop. Luther saw a chance in following Dave and didn''t want to miss it just because he hesitated to join him. He clearly understood how dangerous will be their situation if they don''t find a ce safe from all zombies wandering on the campus.


    ''It seems he came prepared...No, he''s even rxed a bit. Also, that boy radiates confidence and don''t seem like a student that lived a month among countless deadly zombies.'' Luther thought.


    He was able to identify an attitude of a confident person since he himself came from the streets and fought in lots of battles. And when he looked at Dave, his instincts were screaming to get away from him or he will kill him. He found it strange that someone younger than him could give him such dangerous vibes, but his instincts never failed him and he decided to trust them.

 Chapter 73: Disgusting Smell

    Chapter 73: Disgusting Smell


    Ten minutester, Luther went out of the staff room, followed by foul-mouthed Oscar, who was cursing every object he saw, and a 6''8'''' tall Brook, who was silently trudging after his friend. It seemed that Luther exined everything to hispanions and convinced them to follow after Dave, making his point that it was their chance.


    Weighing down their wins and losses, both Oscar and Brook agreed with Luther since they wouldn''t lose much if they followed after him: they would either die trapped in the cloth shop or die following Dave. Both options were bleak for them, yet in thetter, they still had a higher chance to survive if they moved by an underground pathway.


    Packing their belongings that wasn''t much, Luther came to Dave and informed him, "We''re ready to move!"


    ''Hah! They didn''t take much time to think about it. Considering it, Luther seems to be quite business-minded. I like it!'' Dave thought inwardly as he nodded to Luther. He appreciated it when people didn''t take up much of his time and made independent decisions.


    "Hey, Rob, lead us to the underground pathway you told me," Davemanded the male student who shared everything he knew about their base and their gang. While Luther was convincing Brook and Oscar to follow after him, Dave was able to obtain more useful information about their foes.


    As far as he learned, their gang consisted of more than 30 students that their boss gathered all over the university. Their numbers would have been twice as higher as now if Richard hadn''t killed most of the students who went against his decisions. ''There were quite a bunch of brave and self-righteous students among them.''


    Although their numbers were quite big for a self-gathered, untrained group of students, soon, they had encountered a pretty predictable problem: they were short on food. No matter how much they tried to find food from empty and forsaken buildings, it was never enough for them as they normally would run out of food in a few days.


    Therefore, their boss positioned some of the people on the surface and divided their group into two divisions. Ones lived in one of the empty buildings near to the food source, and others lived underground and sent collectors on the surface to gather "protection fees" from survivors on the surface. Later, if they found any other survivors, they automatically became food providers without any consent.


    ''As far as now, I know that zombies can''t bite through their boss''s skin. Therefore, it''s highly possible that he has an innate ability rted to defence.'' Dave made conclusions on the basis of what he heard. He didn''t know how urate their information was, so he didn''t make any rash decisions about that innate ability, but it was better than nothing.


    When the male student, Rob, heard him, he jolted in his ce as he hesitated a bit, but still decided to follow his words. He just didn''t want to die!


    Following their guide, Dave and others exited the cloth shop by the main doors, heading to the narrow opening made by two buildings. Dave immediately recognized it. ''So the way into that underground pathway is in that alley from where I first detected them. Right, I found it strange that they made a long way here, risking their lives, to just collect food from three surviving students. But they seem to have a shortcut. How convenient!''


    And his guess was pretty much urate! Moving further into the alley, Dave scanned the alley and didn''t detect any zombies in it. Except for several trash bins and discarded boxes, he found nothing of his interest. If there hadn''t been stains of blood on the walls and ground, clearly indicating signs of the apocalypse, he would have even thought that nothing particr had happened in the world.


    As they followed after Rob, they stopped suddenly in one ce as the male student said, "Here! It''s down there."


    Seeing no door or entrance point around them, Oscar got angered as he said, "Where did you lead us? I see nothing here, you piece of shit!" He seemed to have much more to say, yet he stopped in his words since Luther lightly pped him on his head and put a finger on his mouth, saying him to be silent.


    "I''m not lying. It''s down there under that metal lid." Rob said silently, almost in a whisper, as he pointed at the metal lid embedded into the ground. Following the direction of his finger, they paid attention to the circr metallic lid.


    Oscar''s face changed in colours as he stared at Rob like saying "Are you fucking serious?". Oscar and Brook also grimaced as they also didn''t like the idea of going down to the sewage, but kept silent about it. They all looked at Rob in a stupor until Dave said, "Fine, show us the way down there."


    However, inside he thought, ''In all 5 years, I never went down there, so it would also be my first time. It can''t be so bad, right?''


    Opening the metallic lid, one by one, they descended bydders down to the sewage. Dave was thest one to go down as he closed the metallic lid after himself.


    As he went down there, the terrible smell hit his nose receptors. It was worse than the smell of rotting flesh as it was more intense and sharper than that foul odour, and it was like his whole being was rejecting it. In simpler words, he had never encountered such a disgusting smell in his two lives.


    Pinching his nose and suppressing an urge to throw up, Dave thought ''Holy shit! I truly pity people whose job is to fix technical problems down here. Their whole lives should literally have been mass of shit.''


    Others also didn''t look good as they turned pale as a sheet and pinched their nose, staring desperately at Rob with teary eyes. Understanding their sentiment, Dave said in a hoarse voice, "Lead the way."


    As hemanded Rob, Dave nced at his surroundings. Scanning the ce they had gotten into, Dave noticed rusty metal pipes, two concrete paths located slightly higher than advancing water, if it can be regarded as one, and slowly flowing wastewater.


    Thankfully, they didn''t end up stepping on wastewater as they descended to a concrete road made on the sides of slowly streaming water and structured slightly higher than smelly dirty water. Pieces of stic mixed with pieces of shit floated on the surface of the water.


    Following Dave''s order, Rob made several turns and led them to a crudely made metal door that didn''t have any door handle on it. He made several repetitive motions with his hand like saying to follow him and pushed the metal door open.


    *Creak*


    The metal door opened with a creak, showing that if it wasn''t forsaken, then it was definitely not maintained properly in recent years. One by one, they followed after Rob in a row. And when they passed through the metal door, everyone made a deep breath of fresh air.


    *Inhales deeply* Dave had also inhaled deeply as he breathed in a mouthful of normal air into his lungs, trying to savour it as much as he could. Although the smell had still seeped into that pathway, it was much clearer here than in the sewage.


    Dave found himself in a narrow pathway with concrete grey walls, ceiling and floor. Some small pipes still passed through along the pathway as small water drops dripped from them. It was dark and humid here as the only sources of light were dim light bulbs that were ced upon the ceiling every 15 meters, giving a creepy feeling like they were in a horror movie. Dark and light alternated between each other as they moved along the long pathway.


    "Fuck! You could have warned us that it would so terrible before going down there." Oscar remarked angrily as he still smelled that disgusting odour of human faeces and urine that contaminated the air of the sewage, though it was less intense in the pathway. He still could ram with curses if he wanted to, but Luther stopped him beforehand as he said, "Stop whining and start moving."


    The three male students'' lips curved upwards a little bit as they fought with their desire to grin from satisfaction. They had also suffered on their first time, so they found pure joy when other students, especially foul-mouthed Oscar who got on their nerves, went through the same hardships as they had.


    Was it shallow? Probably, yes. Were they narrow-minded? Definitely. Were they bastards who found satisfaction in other people''s demise? They didn''t argue with it. However, at least, they thought it was fair since they had also dealt with that intense disgusting smell. ''Suck it up!'' they thought inwardly as they looked at others. It was their little revenge for beating them up!


    ...


    Moving inplete silence, except for asional water drops that hit the floor, Dave was the first one to break it, "By the way, howe there is light here? This underground pathway doesn''t seem to be used frequently, more like it was forsaken for several years already."


    "We found a generator in one of the rooms and turned it on. Since there are almost no zombies down here, so we took our time to scout most of the pathways. But first, we travelled with shlights we had found on the surface." Another male student responded to him. Dave recalled that he was called Stan previously.


    On his way, Dave saw that the underground pathway started to branch as more paths, hence, more road options appeared on their way. Making several turns and going through another metal door, they were already moving forward for more than 20 minutes. Finally, making another turn and going straight forward, Dave heard distant sounds of chatter andughter. A short whileter, he stood before another metal door, behind which he could hear several people chatting with each other.

 Chapter 74: Inhuman Act

    Chapter 74: Inhuman Act


    *Sighs* "Dammit! It''s so boring here! There is nothing to do other than chatting and ying cards with each other. We have stuck underground for weeks already." The studentined as he yed a card from his hand.


    "Stop whining. If you''re so bored, then go and fight zombies on the surface. Don''t spoil our atmosphere and whine to someone else, probably, to someone who cares about it." Another student said exasperatedly as he heard it several times already. He anxiously looked at the only card in his hands and stared at thest card thrown on the ground. Then, smiling triumphantly, he yed hisst card and said, "Ha! I win! Eat shit, chocte is mine!"


    Beaming with joy, a slightly skinny student reached for six chocte bars and pulled all of them closer to his side. Every student that yed cards betted a piece of chocte as a gambling stake to spice up the game. Laughing, the student suggested in a lively tone, "It seems that luck is on my side today! Let''s y again."


    "No, it''s already a time. We need to stand in a circle, otherwise we may be the next ones to end up there. Our boss won''t let it slide." Another student that yed cards said worriedly as he hastily stood up from the ground and headed to thergest group of students. Other students, as remembering what time it was, quickly followed after him.


    Gathered in a group, more than 30 students made a circle as each student held a sort of blunt weapons in their hands: metal pipes, mops, brooms and wooden sticks. In the middle of an encirclement, two students were holding a female student who was trembling and shouting, "Release me! I did nothing wrong. Please, stop it."


    From the other side, another student was dragging a zombie. Its arms and legs were tightly tied up by a rope. Unable to move, it thrashed and struggled, trying to free itself. When its growls reached the held female student, she paled immediately as begged them to spare her.


    ''Why did I end up like this? I just mumbled that such activities are inhuman and we should stop doing them. Why did he hear me? Why was he passing right behind me when I said it? I even dragged Isen with me.'' Shemented inwardly as tears welled up in her eyes and as she nced at gentle-looking male student.


    On the side, the skinny man was held by another pair of students as he struggled to free himself from their grips, "Lara! No, release her. She did nothing wrong! Why are you doing this?"


    Every student had different reactions to what was happening before their eyes. Some of them were giggling without any restraint as they regarded it as the way to escape from boredom, some of the students were watching everything with aplicated look in their eyes, while some of them stood on the sidelines, observing the scene calmly as long as it didn''t involve them.


    In the beginning, when they just flocked into a group of students and were thinking about how they would survive, they had never imagined that they would be able to calmly watch something like this in their lives. Yet a month with a despotic boss was enough to change them.


    At first, after gathering them all together, their boss dealt with people that stood up against his decisions on his own, dragging them on the surface and feeding them to zombies. However, after a week, he grew bored of it and thought it wasn''t worth his time, so he pitted a zombie against his offender and made such gatheringspulsory to attend.


    Moreover, he thought of it more as a punishment or a trial rather than a death sentence. That way, he could let other members of his gang get ustomed to the presence of zombies, getting rid of a natural fear of zombies, and give a second chance to people that stood up against his decisions.


    It was pretty simple; if the fighter could win against a zombie, then their boss would give a second chance to the student that offended him and let the student live, if not, then the student would be eaten by a zombie. After a month, their bossprehended that he was short on people who could truly go against zombies and be any of use to him in an actual fight.


    In the beginning, every student was appalled by such gatherings, to the point that most of them threw up on the first day and talked about how inhuman it was. But their boss quickly shut them up. As time passed on and as more such fights were organized, people slowly got ustomed to it, stopping vomiting at the first sight of blood.


    People that tried to stop it were either killed by their boss or ended up pitted against a zombie themselves. Their boss spared no one and held everyone in fear, so most of the students quickly discarded any thought to end such gatherings. Hence, with no one to stand up against his decisions, even such gatherings became less frequent. It had been already a week since thest one.


    ...


    *Sighs* "Such a shame to let a woman die in that way. It would have been better if he let me y with her. I would have enjoyed my time with her." With a vulgar smile sttered on his face, a tall and muscr student said it as he stared at the woman in the middle.


    "Shhh! Our boss strictly prohibited forcing ourselves on the women in our group. Watch your mouth or you may end up killed by him." A student next to him red at him anxiously as he warned him not to get into trouble.


    "And what would he do about it? He''s already having his way with a woman in one of the empty rooms. And those fucking sluts won''t even go near us, either flirting with the boss or clinging to people close to him." He said irritated.


    "Stop whining. If I had been you, I would have already zipped that troublemaker''s mouth and shut up for the god sake. You''re not the only one, so stop with yourints. Moreover, we don''t have many women in our group, so don''t scare all of them from us or I''ll kill you." The same student red coldly at the man and said threateningly.


    ...


    As students were whispering between each other, a male student that dragged a zombie to the woman threw a metal pipe on the ground near Lara and took a small knife from his pocket. He nced at the students who held Lara and nodded to them.


    At his signal, both students released her from their grips and quickly made a distance between her and them, but they also stood behind her, so she won''t run away from it. Not feeling the slightest happiness from getting free, she quickly reached for the pipe thrown on the ground. Gripping it as her life depended on it, she still stared beggingly at the man who held a knife in his hands.


    Nathan, the man with a knife, was quickly acknowledged as the right hand of their boss since he was the second strongest among them after their boss. Compared to others, he had a bat as a weapon and was one of a few with an actual weapon obtained from the System.


    He stared at the woman indifferently and quickly cut the ropes that tied the zombie. Getting free, it first quickly leapt towards the man, but he, with a swift movement, took a step sideways and tripped the zombie with his foot. As it fell, Nathan quickly pulled a distance between them, making it focus on Lara rather on himself.


    Trembling slightly and biting her lower lip, Lara firmly gripped a pipe in her hands. When Nathan tripped the zombie, she hesitated to approach it yet quickly understood that she missed a chance to attack it when it was down.


    Standing from the ground, the zombie stared at Lara with its dull and emotionless eyes, and, driven by pure hunger, quickly dashed towards her. Its mouth was covered in blood, and it had a bite mark on its right cheek, giving it a more fearsome appearance.


    Panicking, Lara desperately swung the pipe in her hands as she tried tond a hit on the zombie. She had never fought in her life, not to say that she never went against a flesh-eating monster in her whole life.


    Dang!


    As she swung her pipe without even looking at the zombie, she felt like her pipe hit something. But when she got a clear look in front of her, she regretted looking at it. As the pipe hit it on the head, it seemed to get more angered as it leapt at her, pressing her down on the ground.


    "AAAAAAH!"


    "No! Lara!" The grieving shriek sounded from the sidelines.


    ...


    Several secondster, the zombie quickly ended her life as it gnashed its teeth into her throat. Observing everything from the distance, Nathan quickly approached the zombie, busy feasting on Lara, and quickly killed it with a blow to its head. He also crashed Lara''s head to prevent her from returning as a zombie and said coldly, "Dispose of the corpses."


    Isen, who got a clear view as his friend died miserably at the hands of a zombie, cried out, "You beasts! How could you do it with her?" Tears streamed down his face as he stared at the disfigured cold corpse of his friend.


    Some students in the circle giggled as they watched how Isen cried. One of them even shouted, "Don''t worry! You''ll follow right after her."


    ...


    As four students approached the corpses to move them to somewhere else, a metal door could be heard opening from the other side of a circr room.


    ng!


    "Dammit! It seems I should havee a bit earlier. Poor girl, I didn''t expect it to be so bad!" The icy voice sounded from the opening as a young man with a scarred face went out of it. He held a Steel Sword in his hands and had two scars on his face: long one on his right cheek and one over his left eye.

 Chapter 75: Four of Them

    Chapter 75: Four of Them


    Dave frowned when his eyes fell on the disfigured corpse of the woman. With cold eyes, he scanned the circr space he had gotten in. It was quite huge for an underground tunnel since it was slightlyrger than lecture halls they had in their university. Simr to a long pathway they came from, floors and walls were adorned with simple white tiles. The only noticeable difference between the two was that the circr room had enough light bulbs to fully brighten it.


    Of course, he had seen simr entertainment methods in his past life since there were various types of people in the world, yet he didn''t expect to stumble upon one so soon when people were still coping with new rules of the new world.


    Anger boiled in his heart as he red coldly at students circling around the corpses. Dave hated such kind of people that totally cast away any humanity they had after the start of 2nd Cataclysm. He had no qualms with people that decided not to involve themselves with a problem since it truly wasn''t their issue, but when a fellow person stood behind such inhuman acts as pitting people against monsters, raping, or massacring people, Dave doubted that humans were any different from monsters they kill. On the contrary, since most monsters were either mindless or hungry, doing everything to survive, people were worse than monsters in that aspect. Some people may even kill a person for their own entertainment.


    Noticing an abnormal state he was in, Dave tried to suppress the anger in his heart and calm himself since he knew it was better to keep his calm in such situations. More angered he was, more cool-headed he should be unless he wanted to cross his bottom line.


    Furthermore, he understood that only a few of the students truly enjoyed such a scene, while most of them were either unwilling to get involved or scared of the consequences that may follow if they refused to submit. Not all of them were at fault, but they were still involved in it.


    Although he was slightly saddened by the way the female student died, Dave didn''t give it much of a thought. People die, and it was a normal urrence in life, especially when humans had gotten at the bottom of a food chain. As a person who came back in time, Dave understood that much.


    When those students met his icy eyes, they flinched naturally as an uneasy feeling rose in their hearts. Immediately,plete silence fell in the circr room as students curiously, and with some apprehension, observed an arrogant neer.


    However, when others followed after Dave, they heaved a sigh of relief, understanding that they were part of their group. Grinning, one of the studentsughed embarrassedly and said, "Abon, you''ve returned from the surface. It seems you brought quite an arrogant brat here."


    ''Abon? Oh, Must be the third guy!'' Dave thought inwardly as he listened to gather any useful information. Instead of getting anything useful from them, another student stepped out from the group and tried to grab him by his shoulder, saying, "Brat, you can''t barge into the room of your seniors and should like this. It seems I should teach you some man...Argh!"


    Swiftly catching the student''s arm before it grabbed him, Dave twisted his arm coldly and positioned it on the student''s back as he said coldly, "Don''t touch me." Next, sending a kick on his back, Dave quickly released him, so the student fell on the ground.


    Immediately, the silence fell in the circr room for the second time as all the students stared at Dave in surprise and in interest. They didn''t expect that such a skinny brat would be able to twist an arm of a male student that was several years older than him.


    However, in the next moment, dealing with their surprise, they burst intoughter as some students ridiculed the one on the ground, "Hahahahaha! Zick, you lose to a brat younger than you. I knew that you were boasting about how you could fight."


    Reddening from embarrassment, Zick hurriedly stood from the ground and said angrily, "Hey, I was just caught by surprise! If I had attacked him directly instead of grabbing him, I would have easily beaten him."


    Next, he dashed at Dave with a reddened face as he tried to beat him up to regain his lost reputation that was important to have higher status among other students. It was essential to have a good reputation unless you wanted to be picked up among the group.


    "Heh! Amateur!" Dave scoffed as he stared at the student dashing at him. He was already tired from their reactions, so sending a punch into the student''s sr plexus, he easily took him down. Abon, Rob and Stan, observing it from behind, stared at Zick with sympathy as they personally experienced it. If they were needed to put it in words, they will say that getting a punch from Dave to the sr plexus was like getting hit by a reactive gauntlet. It was really painful!


    The students that were ridiculing andughing at Zick immediately shut up as they stared at him, groaning in pain and coughing as saliva dripped from his mouth. The only one thought resounded in his mind as he wasn''t able to follow Dave''s movements. ''What happened?''


    Although he was able to understand that he was hit, Zick wasn''t able to see the punch. Feeling like he was suffocating, tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the ground in shock.


    Getting everyone''s attention and silence he needed, Dave looked at everyone and said, "I''m warning you only once if you don''t want any troubles, then move to the side and tell me which one of you is the gang''s boss."


    At his words, students snapped out of their dazed state and looked at Dave strangely. Next, some of them burstughing as they thought that if they dealt with this brat without troubling their boss, they would get on his good side.


    With this thought in their minds, the most courageous ones stepped out of the group, gripping their improvised weapons like metal pipes or metal rods. Giggling, they stared at Dave and saw a chance to raise their values in the eyes of their boss.


    "Hahahahaha! What can you do about thirty of us?"


    "You are too arrogant if you think that you can meet our boss just by barging in our ce."


    "Such a fucker as you isn''t worth to meet our boss."


    Dave noticed that one in front of everyone held Survivor''s Bat in his hands and was respected by others. Except for him, only a few of them held Wooden Clubs in their hands. Nathan, whose words held the most power after their boss, said indifferently, "Quite a stupid of you to barge to someone''s ce when you''re outnumbered."


    ''Is he Richard? No, it doesn''t seem so. He would have reacted somehow if he was the one.'' Dave thought inwardly. But on the outside, he said, "At least, I don''t hide underground like rats. Well, we''ll see."


    "Yeah! We''re going to crash all of you! Prepare yourselves, fucking shitbags!" Oscar said with fiery eyes as he took one step forward. As agreeing with him, Luther and Brook also stepped forward as Brook mumbled something silently. "No second of peace."


    It was the first time that Dave heard Brook speaking, and he was slightly surprised since he had expected a somewhat rougher voice from a silent giant, but it was more clear and normal than he had imagined.


    Well, Dave didn''t have lots of time to pay attention to such details since over thirty students were rushing at them. Instead of waiting till they reached them, Dave decided to dash forward to end it more quickly. Before dashing, he just said to his teammates, "Try not to get beaten up."


    Saying what he wanted to say, Dave quickly barged in the ranks of thirty students crashing at several of them. Trying not to kill anyone, Dave either punched them or hit them with the hilt of his sword. Several students rushed at Dave, trying to hit him with their metal pipes, but not a single attack reached him.


    Making minimum movements, Dave easily dodged their attacks so that the metal pipe meant to hit him hit the other one of his attackers. Without any coordination, they only got in each other''s ways as they hindered each other.


    Having been provoked by Dave''s words, Oscar also dashed after him as he tried not to lose to his peer. Naturally, Luther and Brook followed after him. Although they didn''t have as much experience as Dave, their moves were coordinated with each other as they had already fought alongside each other in the past.


    As the one in the front, Oscar was the first one to smash his metal pipe to someone''s head. Though he was clearly smaller than his older brother and gigantic Brook, hepensated for hisck of strength by high reaction speed and dirty techniques like spitting at someone''s eye or kicking the knee.


    Luther had both strength and speed as hebined both of them to send fast and unexpected hit at unusual angles. Moreover, he was able to control the pace of his fights and lead his opponents to follow his tempo.


    Compared to them, Brook''s way of fighting was crude and simple. Like a moving fortress, he endured all the hits like they were nothing and fought, relying purely on his enormous strength. Well, it was conclusions Dave had drawn after seeing their fighting style. ''Heh! They seem to be fighters. Their base should also be higherpared to an average human.''


    Since 10 points in strength was an average strength of an average human, there naturally were people who were stronger than others or had higher statspared to others. For instance, the highest base strength he had heard in his past life was 24. It was whopping 24 points in strength from the beginning. When he thought about it, Dave slightly regretted that he didn''t work out when he still had a chance. He was weaker than his peers due to a toll he had received from being hospitalized for a year.


    Therefore, not every person started from the same point. To begin with, life was never fair, and some people were naturally fitter to survivepared to others. He could do nothing with it. However, Dave could recruit such people and make use of them.

 Chapter 76: The Boss

    Chapter 76: The Boss


    ''Interesting...I never heard about them in my past life. With their performance and with an enhancement from System, they would have caught my eye in the past.'' Dave thought inwardly as he threw another punch to someone''s face.


    Brook had tremendous strength and a tough body to withstand blows from others. He was a born tank. Luther was weaker than his burly friend, but hepensated it with high speed and rapid session of blows. Both of them seemed to fight a lot as they had an apt amount of battle experience.


    However, Dave found Oscar more interesting than the two of them. Dave''s eyes glistened as he stared at how Oscar fought with other students. Dave stared interestedly at how Oscar swung the pipe in his hands after sending a kick to someone''s balls...


    His battle style was unique in its own way. Oscar spat, sent a low blow, stepped on a foot, pulled at the shirt and used whatever dirty methods toe up advantageous in the fight.


    However, Dave wasn''t interested in him just because he fought dirty but also because Oscar had excellent battle senses. He either had high reaction speed or was able to predict the movements of his opponents to dodge it perfectly. However, the most praiseworthy about him was that he hated losing and didn''t fear fighting dirty when needed. Oscar didn''t acknowledge such things as honour, chivalry or fair fight as there was only winning or losing for him.


    Growing tired of the battle, Dave took someone whom he tied with his Mana Threads after knocking him out and threw the student towards at several of them dashing towards him. When they understood that the tied student was thrown against them, their faces changed in colours as they tried to get away from its way. But it was toote...


    Dang!


    Five or more students were sent stumbling as they were forcefully knocked to the ground.


    Combining the efforts of Dave and the other three, they were able to deal with more than half of the initial number. Staring at students backing away from him, Dave nced at Nathan who was supposed to be the strongest among them.


    ''What a sly fox! Although it seems like he is fighting along with everyone, he onlyes to a safe distance and retreats backwards rapidly after throwing a hit. While others are fighting, he is observing everything from the sidelines and isn''t taking the fight seriously.'' Dave thought.


    ...


    ''What a monster!'' Nathan thought as he observed how a group of four easily knocked dozen of them in several minutes. ''We would have easily outpowered them if not for that man with a scarred face.'' Nathan thought.


    Considering the weapon in Dave''s hands, Nathan was hesitant to approach him in any way since he guessed Dave had also received an enhancement from the System. Moreover, the blue threads that wrapped around defeated people made him even more cautious of Dave.


    Although Nathan was a member of a gang and was revered as the second strongest among them. he didn''t have much of a choice at the moment of joining their ranks. He needed to make a decision between his survival and his freedom. So he chose to survive.


    Compared to others, he knew when to involve himself with his boss and when to keep his silence to avoid trouble. He was one of a few who saved a beginner''s weapon and raised a few levels, growing stronger with the help of System.


    Thanks to his athletic constitution and enhancement from System, Nathan gradually became the second strongest among them. However, even then, he still felt pressure from his boss and decided to follow after him if he wanted to survive. Although he didn''t approve of all the actions of his boss, he still turned a blind eye to everything he had done as long as it didn''t bring any trouble to him.


    It was the way he survived so far; he stuck to a winning side. He backed off when needed and kept an indifferent attitude at everything he had seen because he couldn''t afford it when his life was at stake.


    He was cold and cautious, never doing something that will harm him. Even now, Nathan didn''t risk his life and observed everything from the sidelines. ''Idiots that are so desperate for boss''s attention. If they had a smarter head on their shoulders, they wouldn''t have rushed recklessly like this. But they''re doing a great job at causing amotion. He should have alreadye after hearing all the noise from here.'' Nathan thought.


    ...


    ng!


    At the next moment, the metal door at the other end of a circr opened with ng as a dull, hoarse voice sounded from the opening, "What''s going on here, fuckers? I said to stay silent for a few hours while I''m minding my own business."


    The muscr student went out from the door opening as a female student clung to his arm. Both of them had dishevelled and messy hairs as it was already obvious what "business" they were minding behind the doors, away from others.


    The male student was burly and muscr, had several scars on his arms and also had dark, tanned skin with short ck hair on his head. He hugged a woman with one of his arms and held a cigarette in the other hand.


    The woman was slim and had a curvy body. She didn''t possess the natural beauty like Reba nor she had a sharp aura like Rachel. Her looks were above average as she had healthy and smooth skin with a cute smile on her face.


    As thick cigarette smoke escaped from his mouth, he narrowed his eyes and was surprised to see a full-scale battle on his base. When the gang members heard the angry voice of their boss, they jolted and shook slightly as everyone stopped fighting. Well, except for Oscar who punched someone in the face...


    ''Finally! The future tyrant of the university from my past life. Well, he looks like a gangster and seems worthy of his reputation.'' Dave thought inwardly as he formed Mana Threads to tie up an immobile opponent, stepping forward to wee the local boss of a gang. He said, "You''re Richard, right?"


    Staring disinterestedly at Dave, the boss said, "Yes, it''s me. What, do you have something to discuss with me?" Getting confirmation for his guesses, Dave heaved a sigh of relief as he found the right person. If he wasn''t Richard, Dave didn''t know where else he could find him on their campus.


    ying with a Steel Sword in his hands, Dave said indifferently, "You seem to find a nice ce to settle in all the chaos happening in the world. Such pathways under our university were a big surprise even for me. I think I need to thank you for leading me down here or I would have never found it on my own."


    At his words, Richard shouted angrily, "Who is that tiny fucker? Who did lead him down here and didn''t teach him any proper manners on how to behave in front of their seniors." Dave''s manner of speech got on his nerves since he made it sound like superior was talking to him. He hated when people looked at him like they were above him.


    Smirking, Dave said mockingly, "Well, your people have tried to teach me some manners, but they were so bold and stupid that I decided to teach them a lesson instead. Actually, I was in the process of beating somemon sense into them, so if you want to, you can also join us. You seem to have a whackable head."


    Reddening from anger, Richard pushed the female student from him, freeing his arm, as it seemed like steam escaped from his ears. In the past month, only a few had talked to him like this and every single of them died at his hands. He wanted to crash the ignorant brat in front of him.


    However, noticing a sharp de of the Steel Sword, he hesitated for a moment. No matter how short-tempered he was, Richard was still a student and had a natural fear of such weapons.


    Catching his gaze, Dave smile mockingly and said, "Ha! Are you a coward? I never knew that you were such a wimpy ass, otherwise I would have brought a less intimidating weapon."


    Enraged, Richard shouted, "Ignorant brat, you''re gonna regret what you said. I would kill you in the most painful way possible. I''m gonna cut small pieces of you and feed them to a zombie right in front of your eyes." However, inwardly, he thought, ''Right!? I''m invincible! Sword won''t be able to harm me.''


    Smiling coldly, Dave didn''t n to lose to Richard in a verbal battle, "My father was right that there are various kinds of people in the world. It''s my first time to see someone shit with their mouth. Your parents must be truly ashamed to have bullshit spouter instead of a son."


    A vein popped on his forehead as Richard eximed madly, "YOU! I''LL KILL YOU!"

 Chapter 77: Calling of Punching Bag

    Chapter 77: Calling of Punching Bag


    Richard stopped caring about any implications that may follow after his actions nor he cared much about a sword held by his foe. Even so, what would that tiny fucker could possibly do to him? Nothing! He was invincible! He was unbeatable! He was a special...a chosen one! After he beat some sense to that tiny fucker insulting him, Richard was confident that he would triumphantly stand atop Dave with Steel Sword in his hands.


    Having no opponent for the past month and equipped with a special ability, his self-confidence was overflowing. Just a moment ago, he was just too cautious so as not to bring trouble upon himself since he wasn''t foolish enough to believe that he was the only special one. But when there was someone seeking trouble with him, Richard couldn''t just ignore it.


    Taking a step forward, Richard quickly closed the distance between them as he sent a punch at Dave. Although it seemed like he was acting at impulse, Richard still threw his punch from an angle and aimed at Dave''s jaw. He was sure that it would reach Dave since he was fast and bold in his attack. And also, Dave didn''t even move from the beginning as he stood still in his ce.


    Richard could already see how his fist will hit Dave''s face, but...


    ...


    Remaining vignt and calm, Dave didn''t fret much as he observed Richard''s actions. And when the fist was close to reaching his face, Dave made a small backward movement with his head, perfectly evading it. "Heh! Amateur, at this rate, you won''t be able tond a solid hit on me. Interesting, what''s so special about you?"


    Dave was really interested in his innate ability since it had earned him the name of university tyrant. From the start, Dave had never lowered his guard. And after Richard had failed tond a hit on him, he became open for an attack, so Dave wasn''t going to miss that chance.


    Focusing his gaze, Dave shed with his sword as he intended to make a light cut on Richard to scare him off. However, instead of getting a sense of cutting through flesh, Dave felt like he had hit something hard with his de.


    Ding!


    Dave heard a clear metallic sound as his sword bounced off Richard due to counterforce. Startled, Dave nced at the system notification he got.


    [The durability of your Steel Sword has been lowered by a point.]


    ''Dammit. Although I had expected more from his innate ability, it''s quite effective in the zombie setting. It''s simple but effective.'' Dave thought as an evil glint shed in his eyes. ''So our Future Tyrant has tough skin, no problem, I''ll just beat him into submission till he begs me to stop.''


    Caught by surprise, and even knowing that it had low chances of harming him, Richard still tried to dodge the de. Of course, he was confident in his innate ability, but he had never tried it on a de as sharp as the Steel Sword. When he heard a metallic sound, he sighed in relief as he became braver.


    "Your sword won''t help you. It can''t pierce through my skin." Richard said with a content grin on his face. He nced at Dave expecting to see a scared expression from him, but he felt shivers when his eyes fell on Dave. The person who he thought would tremble from fear was grinning in a strange way and staring at him with a look of interest in his eyes. At his gaze, Richard unknowingly backed by a step but quickly got a hold of himself.


    ''Did I just back away due to his gaze? What that tiny fucker could possibly do to him? Yeah, he just got me by surprise by his gaze!'' Richard thought as he was angered by his own reaction.


    Opposite to him, Dave was immersed in his own thoughts. ''He is the third person I met in the university who has an innate ability. Interesting, what can his innate ability actually do? Does it require mana to activate it or is it passive? What is the limit of his toughness? Does it include all of his body or only outer skin? Heh...well, there is only one way to know about it.'' At this thought, Dave grinned like he found an interesting toy.


    Failing tond a punch on him, Richard drew a Rusty Sword that was hung on his belt. Then, he made a battle cry and sprang towards Dave now with a sword in his hands. Previously, he had thought that he would be able to finish off Dave with his bare fists, but due to the chills he got from Dave, Richard habitually reached for his sword.


    "I''ll slice you into pieces, you fucking moron!" Richard eximed in anger as he swayed his sword and aimed to slice his head off. However, Dave was much faster than him as he nimbly dodged the de, shifting his body to the minimum.


    "Hoh! Don''t praise. You''ll never be able to hit me while you fight like this. You''re holding a sword in your hands, not a metal pipe. To be honest, I expected much more from you." Dave said in a disappointed tone.


    Although Richard was faster than other Enhancers at early stages, he still fell behind Dave by a wide margin. Dave could guess that Richard was on level 5 or level 6 and had 15 points in agility. Compared to him, Dave had 19 points in agility. Also, Dave was much more experienced than Richard, so he didn''t make any unnecessary movements. Moreover, he didn''t use Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing. He had expected much more from a Future Tyrant.


    After a series of failed attempts to reach Dave, Richard grew only angrier as he eximed, "Stop dodging, or is it the only thing you''re good at!"


    "Well, if you wish so," Dave said with a mocking smile. The next moment, he shed his Steel Sword with Richard''s de blocking his attack.


    Ding!


    In a sh of strength, Dave noticed that he was slightly overpowered by Richard as his de was pushed closer to his face. It was quite surprising since he had 21 points in strength and only a few people could have rivalled him in that aspect. ''Richard should have a strong constitution before the start of 2nd Cataclysm.''


    Slightly turning his de, Dave parried Richard''s sword, sidestepped from its way and punched Richard on his face. But instead of hitting a human flesh, Dave felt like he had hitten a metal wall. Richard''s skin was as tough as a metal te and that even included his face.


    ''Dammit! It stings a bit. His ability is more troublesome'' Dave thought as he felt how pain spread through the knuckles of his fist.


    However,nding a blow on Richard, Dave didn''t n on stopping. Seizing a moment, he threw a series of punches on Richard''s face. Losing his chance to attack, Richard''s resistance was futile since Dave gave him no chances at all.


    Dave aimed urately at his weak points, kicking and punching him in a linked manner. Although blood was already dripping from small injuries on his knuckles, it was nothing for Dave. A short whileter, both of them had already their own roles. Dave was giving punches, while Richard was epting blows from him.


    ...


    "Arrgh!"


    Sending a kick to Richard''s stomach, Dave decided to admire his efforts so far. ''Considering the beating I gave him, his innate ability would make from him a great punching bag. Also, it seems that he still could feel pain.''


    Although Richard didn''t have any visible injuries on his body, blood was dripping from his mouth and nose, meaning that the nature of his injuries was more internal rather than external. Dave could give a praise to Richard''s innate ability since it made his skin as tough as metal. Also, even if it had any mana expenditure, it was a small one. It seemed mostly like a passive one.


    "You know you''ll make a great punching bag with your ability. Maybe, it''s your calling." Dave shared his insights with Richard so far.


    *Cough* Coughing blood on his palm, Richard felt helpless. Everybody had already stopped fighting with each other and was observing everything from the sidelines. Feeling their gazes, Richard grew even madder, "Arrgh! I"LL KILL YOU!"


    The next moment, a red aura enveloped his body as Richard leapt towards Dave. He was wrapped in a bright crimson red energy that zed like a me on his skin. Instinctively, Dave lifted his sword to block Richard''s attack.


    Ding!


    Their swords crashed into each other, and surprisingly, the one who was suppressed wasn''t Richard but Dave. One sword shone with red light, while the other one shone with blue light. Sensing that something was amiss, Dave instantly infused mana into his sword.


    ''What''s that with him? Did he dope himself to be that strong?'' Dave asked himself. ''It should be a skill. Hmm...bright crimson aura...power boost...well, it''s getting interesting.'' He smiled lightly as realization struck him when he thought over it.


    At the early stages, only one skill had such effects as red aura and body enhancement. Moreover, it was the base skill of one of the sses. If he wasn''t mistaken, its name was Rage. It was a skill that made you stronger depending on how much damage you had taken before using it. Actually, it wasn''t much of a useful skill since it required to gravely harm yourself first before it became any of the use. Well, it waspletely different for a person with an innate ability that made him more resilient.

 Chapter 78: Eye and Balls

    Chapter 78: Eye and Balls


    Rage was an Iron grade skill for closebat fighters, but most Enhancers wouldn''t even consider learning it since it needed to harm yourself first. In most cases, it was regarded as a suicidal skill due to its unique requirements. No one wanted to waste 1 skill slot for such a skill that was useful only at the expense of serious injury. But it was a powerful skill for people with tough bodies.


    If not for its special requirement, Rage, as a skill, would have beenparable to Bronze grade skills in power. Actually, the System was quite fair in that aspect. It bestowed such a limiting requirement to Rage, but when active, its power was no joke.


    If he recalled it right, at level 1, Rage increased both strength and agility by 10 points, consuming arge amount of stamina. It had also additional effects like pain resistance and increasing reaction speed as in his Battle Focus. Moreover, its duration was much longer than other skills in the same category. Compared to Arthur''s Shadow Step that could be active only for a minute, Rage mayst to the end of the battle.


    Dave knew that there was something amiss since Richard couldn''t have terrorized their university with only a tough body. Of course, his innate ability was a useful one, but several Enhancers with Iron grade skills would have easily suppressed him. Even Brian''s Small Fireball would have easily broken through his defences.


    However, if Richard had obtained a Skill Book for Rage, then it exined almost everything. In that case, Dave could understand how he had be a Tyrant of their university and how no one could stand against him. With a boost from Rage, even he, a person who had returned back in time and probably had the highest level in university, fell behind Richard.


    Even after activation support skills like Mana Enhancement, Battle Focus and Reinforced Breathing, he still was at disadvantage. Richard was stronger than him by 5 or 6 points and even caught up to his speed. Dave couldn''t imagine how other Enhancers could go against him on their own.


    ''It was right to learn Mana Infusement right away.'' Dave thought inwardly as he parried Richard''s attacks. If not for Mana Infusement, his sword''s durability would have decreased at a rapid rate. Furthermore, it made his sword sharper and increased its attack power.


    "Aaargh! Die already!" Richard roared angrily as he pummeled his Rusty Sword at Dave. Being slightly weaker, Dave didn''t panic as he fended his attacks. Richard relied on his brute strength to crush his sword at Dave in a continuous manner.


    After several attempts to suppress Dave, Richard was finding it harder tond a hit on him. A short whileter, he got a feeling that even if it was him attacking, he still wasn''t the one controlling the flow of their battle. Later on, he even doubted his intention to kill Dave since it seemed like he intentionally hitting Steel Sword rather than trying to kill the tiny fucker in front of him.


    After several blows, Dave already could grasp the rhythm of his attacks, so obtaining control over the battle, he found openings in Richard''s attacks and counterattacked promptly. Parrying Richard''s de, Dave swung his sword in a beautiful arc, leaving a trail of pale blue light in the air.


    "Useless! You won''t be able to harm..." Richard remarked in an arrogant tone but stopped in his words when he felt a slight tinge from his chest. ncing below, Richard was stunned to see a long cut on it.


    He was bleeding!


    "..."


    Mouth agape, Richard stared at the shallow wound in pure astonishment. Although he had a nosebleed and had coughed blood when Dave beat him up, he had never received an external injury for a month already. If Dave''s could cut through his skin...Richard trembled at that realization.


    Grinning, Dave enjoyed the sight of Richard''s shocked expression as he said, "Gotcha!"


    At his understanding that he was no more invincible, at least against Dave, Richard backed a bit as heughed nervously, "Little brother, I''m sure we may talk it over. No need to fight with each other. Right?"


    Dave squinted his eyes suspiciously, ring at Richard. At his intense gaze, Richard gulped as he tensed his body. He didn''t want to take any risks of dying. Moreover, they weren''t kind of mortal enemies, so he was sure they could talk it over.


    "..."


    "..."


    Staring intensely at him, Dave kept eye contact with Richard...


    ...And lowered his sword. "Fine. Let talk it over. But you''ll concede at my conditions" Dave said with a smile on his face, almost mocking one. "First of all, you''re no more a boss. I''ll take everything over and choose a leader on my own. Secondly, everyone including you in your gang would pass me their weapons from the System. I''ll decide on whom to give them. And thirdly, you''ll pass everything you have obtained from Treasure Chests to me."


    Darkening in the face, Richard tried to keep hisposure, "Little brother, aren''t you asking too much? It''s robbing in the daylight. I can agree to the first condition, but we risked our lives to obtain those things from killing zombies. You can''t take from us everything we earned for the past month."


    At his words, Dave stopped grinning as his face grew colder. "I''m the one who is making conditions, not you. And I say you either agree with my conditions or pay the price for your refusal."


    "Little brother, I''m sure we canpromise at some points. Fighting with each other will benefit neither of us. At least, you''ll still be gravely injured." Richard said through gritted teeth, trying to suppress his anger.


    "Don''t be so arrogant. You didn''tnd a hit on me. Why are you so confident that you can gravely injure me?" Dave said in a mocking manner.


    Richard clenched his jaws so tightly that Dave could hear the gnashing of teeth. Heaving a sigh, Richard said, "Fine! I agree with your conditions. Here''s my weapon and other items from the System."


    Finally, Richard decided to concede at his conditions as he neared to pass his weapon to Dave. At the same time, he secretly reached for his back and grabbed something with his hand. Hiding the item with his body, he said, "Here''s my weapon."


    Dave nced at him and extended his hand to take Rusty Sword from Richard. As he reached for the sword, Richard smirked and dashed at him, pointing a Needle Rapier at his throat. "Screw your conditions!"


    ...


    Having been ready for it, Dave had never lowered his guard, so he easily sidestepped to the side, evading the sharp tip of the weapon. At the same time, he swung his sword with the thought, ''Why such people like him are always the same? Trying to deceive, when nothing goes their way.''


    "What the...?" Richard didn''t manage to finish his words as Dave''s sword struck as fast as lightning. Leaving blue sh, it made an urate cut on his left eye, probably the weakest part of his body.


    "Aaaargh!" Screaming in agony, Richard dropped the Needle Rapier from his hands and pressed his hand at his left eye. Blood dripped from the wound as his left eye became a bloody mess. Although Rage had dulled the pain a bit, it still hurt like his whole eyeball was set on fire and struck by lightning at the same time.


    Shaking his head, Dave said in a clear voice so Richard could hear him, "Too predictable. Did you think I would have left myself open? Well, consider your eye as a price to pay." However, he doubted that Richard could understand what he was saying due to excruciating pain.


    He was only mumbling in a low voice, "Fuck...Fuck...Fuck! My eye! I''ll kill him! I''ll kill him! FUCK, I"LL KILL YOU, TINY FUCKER! NATHAN, KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER!" He shouted madly as the pain was driving him crazy. With the previous activation of Rage, it has also worn off as he dropped to the ground, clutching his left eye.


    Nathan at the side only shook his head as he always stuck to the winning side, and the winner of the fight was already decided. He made the most usible decision that won''t endanger his life. Maybe, if he tried to help Richard, he may end even worse.


    Although Dave didn''t have any sadistic leanings, he still enjoyed the sight of it. He never was a weak-hearted person, so he observed it from the sidelines and watched it with no change in his facial expression. He still could remember how Richard had pitted people against zombies and thought he deserved that much, if not worse.


    However, quickly getting tired of his whining, Dave said, "Hey, stop whining. How do you think how many people had screamed in agony as they were eaten by a zombie? I''m sure your pain doesn''t stand on par with tearing of your flesh piece by piece."


    Then, he approached slowly lying Richard and smiled evilly at him, "Hmm...You know I got an interesting idea. If your innate ability gave you tough skin, are your balls also as tough as your body? What do you think should we check? Of course, you''re also curious about it."


    Catching a general meaning of his words, Richard shook his head desperately as he said through pain, "Don''t..."


    However, not waiting for his response, Dave sent a kick to his crotch area, providing it with just enough power to submerge Richard in great pain but not to smash his balls. He still was a human, and a fellow man on top of that, so he didn''t drag the conflict to such extents. Dave believed they could solve the conflict between them more "peacefully" than smashed balls.


    Convulsing for a short while like he was electrocuted, Richard instantly lost his consciousness. He was already enduring the pain from the lost eye, so the kick to his balls broke through his pain threshold, as his only intact eye rolled at the back of his head.

 Chapter 79: Taking Over

    Chapter 79: Taking Over


    "No, no, no...don''t do it...Argh!" When the onlookers heard a short-lived yet blood-curdling scream of their boss, all of them winced in their ces as they reached to cover their own crotches. They felt like they could feel the pain of their boss who was convulsing on the floor.


    ''Hasn''t he gone too far?'' Luther asked himself while covering his own groin. ''I thought he would stop after wounding his eye, but it seems I had underestimated viciousness of the little brother. It wasn''t necessary to go to such extents...at least not to that point.'' He sighed inwardly.


    ...


    ''I think it would be more than enough of him. At least, he''ll stay put for several days. Other guys should already feel threatened by my performance.'' Dave decided after seeing how Richard had stopped convulsing on the floor. He was sure that Richard and others would hardly forget this day.


    He had his own reasons to deal with Richard that way. First of all, Dave didn''t think he had gone too far since Richard deserved that much. Secondly, he needed to deal with Richard as harshly as he could to threaten other guys in the gang, otherwise they would forget the first impression of him and get too daring.


    And he couldn''t just kill all of them just because he could. Every fighter was important for their situation and in their ranks, only a few of them could really fight, including Adam and Brian. But their numbers weren''t enough to clean all zombies in the university. Dave still wanted to create a self-sustainablemunity in their university, so they won''t disturb his activities too much. At least, that way he may not worry about the safety in their university.


    Moreover, he didn''t even consider leaving it as an option, at least not for now. Due to the unique geographic location of their university, they hardly could leave their university in one piece, but it can also y as their advantage since zombies from outside could hardly get here.


    Their city bordered with the only sea in Federation, making it one of the most important economic centres in it. In turn, Newdale University was structured on a huge ind close to the main city, connected to thend by a long metal bridge. It was a small oasis in a city full of zombies and monsters. However, as their geographical location was their advantage, it also meant that they were trapped in it because, to reach the nearest survival camp Dave considered safe, they needed to pass through the whole city. They literally needed to advance from one end of the city to the other. It was impossible for arge group of students like theirs, not to say that they needed to cut through a sea of zombies on the way.


    Since most of the students were isted from the main city, their university was more a small town on their own rather than an institute of learning. Considering the needs of their students, their university tried to provide their students with all facilities that could be found in the city. In return, they also had more staff members than other universities since facilities needed workers to maintain them, even though university officials tried to automate most of the services in it.


    If it hadn''t been that good, Dave wouldn''t have worked his ass off after leaving the hospital to get enrolled here. If it hadn''t been for his efforts to build up his profile, financial support from his uncle in his arduous school life and help from Adam''s side to sort his documents, he wouldn''t have even made it here. He was sure to make his deceased parents proud of him...at least, not until the apocalypse knocked on his front doors. It did mess up with his efforts, making his admission tantly meaningless.


    So they needed more people to get rid off of all the zombies on the ind. Dave couldn''t be too picky in his choices, could he? Also, only a month had passed after the start of 2nd Cataclysm, so he still believed that he could discipline those thugs into fine subordinates. It would have been a different case for people that survived in an apocalypse setting for several years, but the students in front of him still had a way to heed.


    Dave poured his mana to his fingertips, trying to condense sturdier threads. Usually, that process took more time than ordinary threads, since he weaved thicker threads from thinner ones. He needed sturdier mana threads to tie Richard down, otherwise he would free himself.


    And why did he need to tie Richard? Of course, to keep him alive for the time being. He didn''t want to waste such innate ability upon his death nor he would let Richard fight alongside him. He had two options: either turn him into a zombie and obtain experience points after killing him or keep him for now until he finds other ways to benefit from his tough skin. Dave leaned for thetter since he always could kill Richard if he wanted.


    Moreover, Richard was quite talented in being a punching bag. Although Dave participated in sparring sessions every morning, he still held himself so as not to harm others. However, using Richard as a training doll, Dave may not fear killing him. Moreover, if he beat Richard hard, he could regte the power level of his training doll. He couldn''t wish for more from an ideal punching bag.


    Finishing condensing mana threads sturdy enough to hold Richard, Dave tied Richard up and left him lying on the floor. He searched Richard''s body for the presence of any items from the System yet found nothing except for his Rusty Sword and Needle Rapier.


    Frowning, he turned to ask onlookers about the belongings of their boss, but he was interrupted by an enthusiastic voice. "Whoa! I never knew you were that fucking strong. That fucker was so confident, but you wiped the floor with his ass. And then, your sword was glowing with blue light..." Oscar babbled on with shining eyes as he leaned closer to him.


    Confused, Dave sent a nce at Luther to exin his little brother''s reaction to him. Luther heaved a tired sigh as he said, "Oscar admires strong people and gets too enthusiastic when he meets someone stronger than him. Be strong." Luther patted Dave on his shoulders.


    "...Even when he fucking tried to sneak attack you, you made a whoosh with your sword and drew a blue arc with it. I didn''t even see how you struck! The next moment, that shitbag was without an eye." Oscar continued with his bber that Dave felt like his temples hurt.


    ''Damn! What''s with him? How can he bber so much without taking a breath?'' Not wanting to wait till he finishes, Dave raised his hand to stop Oscar, "Just stop with your bbering. Better go lock Richard somewhere."


    Stopping, Oscar take a deep breath in and nodded excitedly, "Yes, I''ll take care of that fucker, boss."


    "Wait! Who are you calling a boss? I''m not!"


    "But you have defeated the former one, so you''re a boss now!" Oscar said.


    "No, I''m not." Dave refused inly. He didn''t have time to y boss with them, so he proposed, "Ehmm...Right! Luther will be a boss. His cool demeanour and strength have caught my eye, so let him be a boss. I believe he will be a better boss unless he wants to end like Richard. Right, Luther?" Dave red at him. At least, it was true that he considered him as a worthy candidate. Adam is already busy managing people in the dorm after they started transporting people from the supermarket, plus students that were found by chance.


    "But..." Luther tried to refute but when he heard about an ending like Richard, he understood that it was an offer he couldn''t refuse. "Alright, then. But what about Richard? Will you just leave him like this?" Luther asked submitting to his fate.


    "Lock Richard somewhere and disinfect his wound. I still need him alive, so give him the first treatment." Dave said while nodding his head. Then, he turned to other onlookers to give them a piece of mind.


    Just as he was about to start, he heard Oscar''s response to his orders, "Yes, Big Boss". He had told him not to call him a boss, but here he goes. Frowning, Dave thought, "Whatever..."


    Next, he shifted his attention to others, "Listen here, troublemakers. From now on, all the conditions I have stated to Richard are still on. Every item and weapon from the System will be redistributed ording to my decisions. You''ll listen to my orders without anyint and when I''ll be absent, the leadership will be taken by Luther. Food distribution will be controlled by a definite amount and a built-in time schedule. Also, I hope no one wants to follow after Richard. Any questions? No?" Dave deliberately paused to pressure them, "Then, you, lead me to the ce where Richard had stored his belongings." Dave pointed at the Abon who had guided him here.

 Chapter 80: Muscle Expansion

    Chapter 80: Muscle Expansion


    At the same time, as Dave ordered Abon to lead him to Richard''s belongings, the same girl, who clung to Richard''s arm, smiled in a yful manner. Although she was shocked to see such a bloody scene, she hade to qualms with blood while she was in the gang. At least, pitting students against zombies, no matter how inhumane it seemed, had reached its initial goal: they grew more familiar with blood scenes.


    Putting a smile as charming as she could, she ran towards Dave and tried to cling onto his arm. Having survived for a month in the gang, she had learned a harsh reality of a new world...that she was too weak to survive on her own. Fortunately, having good looks, she found her own way not to die...even at expense of her body.


    With Richard defeated, she urgently needed to find another pir to hide under. Besides, all the men were perverts, so, taking her adorable looks into consideration, she was confident in her chances to seduce Dave.


    Albeit being strong, Dave was still a little brat in her eyes. So she believed she could teach one or two things to her junior brother. Moreover, she liked the bad guys, so she found Dave even more attractive with scars on his face giving him only more of a manly touch...So she leapt to Dave!


    ...But she had caught nothing but air as she fell on the floor.


    ...


    Detecting her with a side nce, Dave swiftly evaded her as he stepped sideways from her leap. Then, he calmly observed how the woman fell right before his eyes. He held nothing against such people, everyone survived in their own way, but he didn''t want to involve himself with it. However, inside he involuntarily thought, ''Hmm...Reba''s bigger...''. But he quickly shook his head to get rid of such thoughts.


    "Ouch.." The woman stood up as she said, "Little brother, no need to avoid me. I''m sure we both can benefit from each other. Let your big sister teach you something interesting." She shed a charming smile to him but trembled immediately afterwards.


    Frowning, Dave indifferently looked at her and said chilly, "Scram."


    ...


    "Stop...I..." At his words, she felt shivers down her spine as pure terror overwhelmed her body. As her brain freeze and her legs grew weak, she fell down on his knees. If someone''s gaze could kill someone, it would have definitely been like his. There was no anger or disgust in his eyes, but they seemed as cold and indifferent as he was looking at the pig that was meant to be butchered.


    Taking off his gaze from her, Dave turned to Abon and hurried him to lead the way. After taking Richard''s belongings, Dave nned to leave afterwards because he had already finished here. He nned to leave reorganization of the gang to Luther and check it a day after.


    Leaving a circr room, they ended up in a long corridor, following which they came to a secluded room that had enough space only for three people in it. As he opened the door, Dave''s nose caught a weird smell of sweat and something else. Covering his nose, his face darkened as he nced at Abon near him and said, "Go fetch me his belongings. And don''t dare to take anything from it or you''ll regret it."


    Abon gulped as he heard Dave''s cold voice and hurriedly nodded to him. Quickly entering the room, he left it with a brown bag in his hands and passed it to Dave who quickly went through its contents.


    ''Bread, bread, bread, apple, mana potion...Damn, it''s unlikely that I will find any stat-increasing potions in it. No fool will save it forter. Hmm...what is it here?'' A ck sphere had caught his eye. It was made from ck metal and magic circles were engraved on it. It also had veins of light covering its surface.


    [Thunder Bomb


    Description: Compressed thunder energy is stored in the bomb. Upon the strong collision, the bomb will explode and obliterate everything in a meter radius. Single-use item.]


    As he read its information tablet, Dave made a satisfied smile, the first smile he had made aftering here. ''If Richard hasn''t left the bomb in his bag, he might have even injured me gravely. But in the case he had the bomb, I would have knocked him sooner. At least, the circr room might have copsed if it had exploded. Well, serve him right.'' Dave thought inwardly.


    Richard probably didn''t take it with him since he hadn''t expected anyone to attack his base. Having been used to being a boss for a month and been caught indulging in vulgar activities, Richard waspletely confident that no one would be able to do anything to him on his base.


    However, Thunder Bomb wasn''t the only useful item in Richard''s bag. Rummaging through it, Dave had found a piece of paper, folded into a square. Unfolding it, Dave quickly realized what it was. ''It''s a map. No wonder why Richard''s gang could easily move through underground without getting lost. Richard should have taught them the right paths to follow.''


    The map had a mini-model of their university, but instead of showing facilities and departments of their university, it showed underground pathways superimposed to the surface and entry points. Dave had also learned that underground pathways were divided into 10 regions, named from A to J. As Dave had understood, they were in a region C.


    Deciding to study it in his room, Dave folded it and put it into his pocket. Having finished his business here, Dave ordered Abon to clean Richard''s room, told Luther to lock up Richard somewhere and threatened some of the gang members. Then, he headed to the dorm. He had nothing urgent to do here.


    ...


    Opening the doors of the dorm, Dave first heard Brian''s yelling. "Not fair! Let''spete again, your ability is just too convenient for killing zombies. However, I have killed more evolved ones than you."


    Scoffing, Adam said with his lips curved up, "But my score is higher than yours. I''ve killed more zombies topensate for evolved ones. Just ept that you won''t beat me."


    "You! Just wait and see, when I would learn how to cast multiple fireballs at a time..." Brian said in anger.


    Arthur stood between them. "No need to work over something like this. Just ept that both of you''re good at something..." Arthur was trying to calm them with a strained smile on his face, but...


    "Bullshit!" Both Adam and Brian remarked sharply, causing Arthur tough embarrassedly.


    "..." Squinting their eyes, Adam and Brian stared intensely at each other for a while. However, retracting his gaze, Brian grumbled in dissatisfaction but quickly dashed after a woman. "Carolina, wait for me..."


    "Ha! I won." Adam smiled smugly.


    ''They must have just returned to the dorm. It''s amusing that Adam and Brian arepeting with each other. Well, the littlepetition between them shouldn''t harm them. But is Brian still trying to hook up with that girl?'' Dave smiled lightly when he saw how Brian was trying to get closer to the woman. Well, it wasn''t something he needed to meddle in.


    After paving a safe path to the supermarket, Arthur and other survivors pulled up to the dorm, with only a few survivors and Evelyn deciding to stay there. Well, Dave was assured that Evelyn was the one looking after the supermarket, not Arthur. Several days had already passed after that.


    During their attempt to reach for the supermarket, they had stumbled upon some students. Some of them had hidden in shops, some of them stayed in their dorms...Well, students were scattered all over the university, so it was unsurprising that they had stumbled upon some of them.


    Carolina was one of such students that they had found on the way. As he had learned, she was one of the flowers of their university and was considered as one of the most beautiful female students on their campus.


    Well, Dave could give her credits for that. From Adam, he had heard that she set being a model as her career and was quite fit for it. Carolina had long wavy that seemed light pinkish, pupils of the same pink colour, smooth skin and gentle facial features. She seemed charming and lovely, giving a sense of unique freshness. Moreover, she had a pair of slim and long legs covered by a long skirt.


    However, despite her charming looks, she had calm andposed aura around her, making her even more attractive. Hence, It didn''t take long for Brian, who had a weakness for beautiful women, to start approaching her.


    ''Well, it isn''t my business.'' Dave thought as he headed towards Adam.


    "How are you doing, Adam? I see you and Brian are both lively as always."


    Turning to his friend, Adam heaved a tired sigh. "It''s not funny. Our numbers are increasing rapidly and it''s bing harder to oversee everyone. Reba and Sara are stuck in the kitchen...I''m busy managing different hunting groups...Brian''s no help. It would have been better if you had helped me." Adam said in dissatisfaction.


    Smiling, Dave patted him and said, "Well, you''ll somehow deal with it. Try sharing your burden with some students that have nothing to do. Oh, yeah, by the way, I also found another group of people. There are more than 20 or 30 of them."


    Saying it, Dave quickly entered his room. Stunned, Adam stood in the corridor for a short moment and cursed, "Fuck! Where does he keep finding them?"


    ...


    Entering his room, Dave quickly sat cross-legged on his bed and entered into a meditative state. Then, he focused his attention on Regressor''s Chamber. The next moment, Dave found himself in a dark space full of floating bubbles. Having already familiarised himself in dark space, Dave flew towards the runes.


    Stopping before the rune that shone with a metallic lustre, Dave put his palms on its surface as light particles flowed from his palms to the rune. He would enter Regressor''s Chamber every day to charge the rune with his spirit, so Dave was already used to it. The rune was still dimly lit, so he didn''t expect much for today.


    However, something unusual happened as he continued pouring his spirit into it. The iron rune that shone with dull light, started lightening up rapidly till it gleamed brightly like antern in a deep night. Gathering its momentum, its light became so intense that dave could hardly keep his eyes on it.


    Then, the rune emitted a patch of a bright light that drove his consciousness out of the Chamber.


    "Aargh!" Dave groaned in pain as he clutched his head. When the pain started receding, Dave finally could see the system notification that popped up before his eyes ''What was that? It''s like my brain was hit by a hamm...''


    Ding!


    [You have acquired a skill Muscle Expansion (LVL 1)]


    Dave''s eyes widened when he read it. ''Finally, I was able to transfer my skill from the past. I knew I could do it! But...what''s that?''


    Ding!


    A new system notification appeared before his eyes, and it surprised him even more than the first one.


    [The World is staring at you.]


    Author''s note: I started editing the first chapters of the novel. And by editing, I mean checking grammar, rewriting some sentences that made no sense and adding logic to some parts. I''ll try to do it so it won''t interfere with a storyline, but I rmend rereading the first chapters (especially the 1st chapter). Currently, I''ve edited only chapter 1 and 2.

 Chapter 81: Heavenly Punishment

    Chapter 81: Heavenly Punishment


    [The World is staring at you.]


    ...


    "..." The World was staring at him, while Dave stared at this weird message window in front of his eyes. He had never heard that a system notification like this had even existed in his past life.


    ''What does it mean the world is staring at me? How is it even able to stare at me? And what about the World stuff? Is the world...alive? I mean it''s staring at me, so it should be alive first...no? And what does the word "world" even mean? Is it our? Or is it the whole universe staring at me? Damn, it''s too ambiguous!'' Dave thought in confusion.


    The only thing that came to his mind when Dave looked at the system notification was about how some sses signed a contract with beings from other worlds. If he recalled it right, Enhancers, who struck a deal with otherworldly beings, usually received such system notifications from their masters or sponsors...except for them being more borate than his system notification.


    Enhancers, that had otherworldly beings supporting them from behind, usually wielded powers of their sponsors for a certain cost depending on the desires of their sponsors. Such sses were quite rare depending on how powerful their sponsors were, but the mostmon ss in that category would probably be a Warlock''s ss.


    Warlock was sort of a mage''s ss that wielded a foreign strength, having usually more a definite source of their powers. Their sources of power may vary, but they were usually the ones to make a deal with otherworldly beings. However, since such warlocks needed to follow to the end of their deal with their sponsors, they usually weren''t much weed by other Enhancers.


    However, Dave knew much simpler cases of signing a contract with an otherworldly being. They were priests and Elementalists like Reba. She may have such a system notification, but in her case, Star was still in its basic form and couldn''t provide her with much power.


    As for priests, they prayed to Gods to wield their powers and, as in games, had a more supportive role rather than an offensive one. However, since their faith was more one-sided and since they won''t sign contracts with their Gods,mon priests usually won''t receive such system notification.


    And the question was?


    ...


    How could he receive a system notification like that if he hadn''t signed any contracts in his life? And even if he considered the possibility of unknowingly signing a contract with an otherworldly being that might have caused the appearance of that system notification...How could anyone sign a contract with the world?


    ...


    ''Haaaaah...Well, I believe nothing''s bad with receiving such a system notification.'' Dave thought as he massaged his temples. All this situation with a weird system notification made him even more confused. ''Maybe...Have I unknowingly signed a contract with the World? Ehm...Damn, whatever it may be while it won''t harm me.''


    So finding no exnation about how the world was staring at him, Dave decided just to ignore it. Besides, it won''t help him if he kept overthinking it. It may even be sort of a lucky encounter rather than something harmful.


    If he had unknowingly signed a contract with the world, then he may even benefit from it. If it became his sponsor...


    ...The world might bestow him with its powers.


    ...The world might give him sort of an unparalleled treasure.


    ...The world might bless him with a new skill.


    Well, at least, it was what he had heard about receiving help from their sponsors. Getting excited with his thought process, Dave couldn''t help but smile smugly since the whole world was staring at him. ''Interesting, when it will provide me with its powers. I''m ready for it! Bring it on!''


    ...


    "..." However, no matter how much he waited for his blessing, nothing happened even after 10 minutes. As his excitement died off, Dave felt like he was tricked and lied to, even though he was the one to delude himself.


    ''Probably, I am mistaken about all the contract stuff.'' Dave heaved a long sigh. However, why then would he receive such a system notification? Dave couldn''t understand it. ''Right! I still have a new skill. I''m sure I''ll feel better after reading its description.'' Dave thought as he smiled.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 8


    Survival coins: 1403


    ss: None


    Mana: 54/64


    Strength: 21 (+1)


    Agility: 19 (+1)


    Stamina: 17


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 7 (+1)


    Free points: 0


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 4), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 2), Muscle Expansion (LVL1)]


    ''Here it is. My first unlocked skill!'' Dave thought inwardly as he stared at it. It was the first skill he had learnt and it was a quitemon skill in the past. He had learned it since, otherwise, he wouldn''t have stood a chance as a hunter.


    [Muscle Expansion


    Level: 1


    -Increases the strength stat by 10 points for a minute.


    Description: It causes expansion of the body muscles, making a user stronger when active.


    Cost: 1 stamina point


    Cooldown time: 10 minutes]


    Reading the familiar description, Dave was happy that all of his efforts had paid off. ''Although considering that it was level 3 when I died, I didn''t spend any skill points to learn it. And also, I think I still can raise it to max level.''


    Normally, people would have spent a skill point to learn an Iron grade skill. Although you''ll get a skill point every 10 levels, it was still too valuable to waste it like this. Moreover, skill points needed to learn a skill will rise depending on its grade.


    You''ll need 1 skill point to learn Iron grade skill, 2 skill points for Bronze grade skill, 3 points for Silver grade skill and whooping 5 skill points for Gold grade skill. So you''ll need to reach level 50 to learn a Gold grade skill. However, Dave had never seen a skill of Gold grade.


    If he recalled it right, after 5 years, the highest level among Enhancers Dave knew or heard didn''t even go higher than level 350. It meant, at best, Dave could earn around 35 skill points after 5 years. And that only amounted to 7 Gold grade or 11 Silver grade skills. Dave expected that such skills were worth all the skill points they needed to learn them.


    ''I spent close to three weeks to unlock Muscle Expansion. Actually, it''s quite slow. Can I somehow speed up the process of pouring my spirit into those runes? I can''t wait until I unlock all my skills and bring them to their maximum level. I spent 8 skill points to learn those skills and if I will unlock all of them...I''ll be undefeatable!'' Dave thought excitedly.


    If he would be able to unlock all of them...It would be simr to restoring his level to the one he had before dying...Well, except for his stats. However, skills were more important than stats since he could always increase his stats upon levelling up. But it wasn''t the same for skills since he needed first to find a suitable skill for him and have skill points to learn it.


    Also, there was one universal truth. No matter how hard humans raised their stats, they would never be able to catch up to beasts that had stronger bodies than humans. Although there were only zombies now, the disparity between humans and monsters would rise only further.


    Therefore, humans relied on the skills to multiply their powers since skills'' powers increased proportionally with the user''s stats. For instance, Enhancers could raise the attack power of their magic skills by increasing spirit and intelligence.


    When he thought up until here, Dave smiled in satisfaction. If he could unlock all of his skills, then he might stand at the top of other Enhancers. Actually, after returning back in time, it was smooth sailing for him up until now. He founded a safe ce in the university, dealt with Future Tyrant, and was currently searching for Devourer. He must be on his lucky streak!


    ...


    Ding!


    [The World is ring at you in a hostile manner.]


    Ding!


    [The World is warning you not to use your ability.]


    Reading sudden system notifications, Dave''s darkened as he eximed, "Like hell, I would stop using my ability! It''s my ability and passed through a lot to reach here. What''s with your demand? Do you think that if you''re a world I need to listen to you. Either way, otherworldly beings like you can''t meddle in our lives even if you wanted. They can''t use their powers without a medium in front of their contractor."


    Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!


    ...


    ''What the heck?'' Dave nced at the sky through the window in his room. Although it was still sunny when he returned to the dorm, dark clouds suddenly started gathering in the sky. A short whileter, the sky became so dark as lightning danced in the dark clouds like serpents.


    Ding!


    [The World is angered by your decision.]


    As Dave read the new system notification, the bright light shed before his eyes. Then, everything cked out...


    Boom!

 Chapter 82: The World Pisser

    Chapter 82: The World Pisser


    Blinded by the lightning sh, Dave didn''t have time to understand what had happened. Did just the lightning strike him?


    "..." With a sh of lightning, Dave was also struck speechless as he couldn''tprehend what just has happened to him. Even if he was struck by lightning, he should have felt something or even lied convulsing on the floor...


    ...But he felt nothing! No burning pain. No feeling like he was electrocuted. Nothing at all!


    ''Have I died? Just like this? I mean what the hell with the world? Why is it so angry with me? Was it because I''ve returned back in time? Or because myst words before dying were "Fuck the world"? But I didn''t mean it! How petty can the world be?'' Dave thought in confusion.


    No, it wasn''t right. He had already died once and it wasn''t pleasant at all...instead, it hurt like hell. However, he feltpletely different now. Compared to dying, he felt like something gentle was wrapped around him, and he even felt...secure somehow?


    Also, he couldn''t hear anything, except for the ringing in his ears, nor could he sense anything. And the world had turnedpletely white, as his eyes were covered by a thin white veil. He was shed!


    However, while he was caught in his sensations, his vision wasing back to normal as a white veil covering his eyes started disappearing into a thin air...until Dave could see new system notifications that had popped up before him. However,pared to the usual blue colour, those system notifications were red and had exmation marks enclosed in a triangle.


    Ding!


    [The World has tried to harm its inhabitant!!!]


    [Taking the measures to protect that inhabitant.]


    [The World is prohibited from interfering or harming its inhabitants.]


    [The warning is given to the World: unless it stops harming its inhabitants, the System will be forced to destroy the World.]


    ''Ha! Serves it right. But...what''s with the world''s destruction? It can''t be about our, right?'' Dave thought in panic. The whole situation was taking strange turns for him. ''Damn! How does unlocking a skill of mine can lead to world destruction. I''ve gotten a simr system notification when I tried to warn my little brother about the dangers.''


    Retracting his gaze from the system notifications, Dave cast his eyes on the state of his room. Everything was in a mess. All the furniture was either demolished or broken, the window ss was shattered and the wall was close to crumbling as countless cracks had appeared on it, on top with a huge hole on it. It truly seemed like lightning had struck his room. And, on top of everything, his room was on fire as the remains of his furniture burned brightly.


    After noticing the most eye-catching things in his room, Dave''s eyes fell on a blue barrier enveloping him. It must be the measures taken by the System. ''Hmm...It''s kinda simr to my Mana Barrier, but considering that it was able to protect me from the lightning, it must be much sturdier than my mana barrier. At the first nce, it also seems somewhat different.'' Dave thought as he observed the barrier protecting him.


    Compared to his skill, the barrier enveloping him seemed to be built from numerous tes, probably, made from mana. Each mana te was adjoined to each other until it formed a bubble around him. Moreover, this barrier was thicker than his skill and looked like a sci-fi energy shield that can be seen in movies.


    ''Well, at least, I should be happy that I''m alive. On the positive side, I can be proud of pissing off the world. If the world had turned to a game, I would probably have been given some kind of achievement, like "The World Enemy"...Oh, or even better, "The World Pisser"'' Dave thought inwardly, trying to retain a positive mindset.


    However, despite his positive attitude, he was truly thankful to the System for saving him. At least, someone was protecting his rights as Regressor. If it wasn''t for this barrier and the System, his existence would have been wiped out from the.


    Lightning could strike him and turn him into a retard!


    ss shards may have killed him!


    He could have been buried under his furniture!


    ...


    ''Interesting, what''s with the clouds?'' Dave asked himself as he shifted his eyes from the barrier to the sky. The dark clouds were still hanging in the sky as lightning could be seen shing in them. ''Hmm...is it still observing me? Well, I guess it works fine for me if it can''t harm me. But, I''m not gonna back just like that...''


    Angrily staring at the sky, Dave raised his middle finger and showed it to the world. He was still mad at the world''s attempt to kill him.


    Rumble!


    Suddenly the skies had rumbled as a thunderp reverberated through the university. It seemed to be angered by Dave''s gesture of "peace". ''Heh...So it can understand me.'' Dave thought as he shed a smile to the skies. He felt like an immortal going against the heavens.


    After rumbling a bit, the lightning stopped shing as the dark clouds started slowly dissipating. At the same time, the barrier enveloping Dave also started fading as it soon disappeared into a thin air. The only thing that had left in the room was a fire burning relentlessly in his room.


    "Fire in the building! Dave''s room is on fire! Quickly, bring the fire extinguisher." Adam''s panicked voice could be heard from the corridor.


    "Oh my god! Lightning has struck Dave''s room! Is he alright?" Taking the fire extinguisher, Brian also hurried after Adam as they entered the room at the same time.


    ...


    "..."


    "..." Both of them were speechless when they saw the state of the room. Freezing for a second, Brian was the first one to exim in surprise, "Fuck! Dave, what happened to the room? It seems like a natural disaster has passed through here."


    However, nagged by Adam, Brian quickly pulled a pin on the fire extinguisher as he sprayed a distinguishing agent to the fire. Fortunately, themotion from lightning striking the building was big enough to cause an immediate reaction from them.


    "Khe, khe, khe...Dave, are you okay?" Coughing from the remaining gas in the room, Adam asked in worry as he leapt to his friend. Luckily, they were fast to respond, so the fire couldn''t spread across the room. They had quickly dealt with it.


    "Yeah, I''m fine. Just surprised a bit. The wall has absorbed most of the lightning energy. But it seems we need to find another dorm to settle in." Dave said as he nced at the hole in his room. Luckily, there weren''t any gas pipes beneath his room.


    "What!? And is that everything you can say? You survived being hit by a bolt of lightning! It was damn, fucking lightning! It had enough energy to burn all electrical circuits in the building to the crisp and are you saying that you''re okay being in the epicentre? If I was in your ce, I would have prayed to my seven ancestors to soothe the anger of the heavens! How can you be so calm?" Brian asked in a mix of amazement and confusion.


    "Ehm... To be honest, I''m surprised no less than you. Fortunately, I was able to survive it unscathed." Dave said feigning ignorance. He had a feeling that if he had unclosed the details of why he was hit by the lightning, he would summon another bolt of lightning. Moreover, if he wanted to exin it, he would also need to tell about his Regression and how he could unlock skills from his past. But if he told about it, then he will receive another warning from the System.


    A short whileter, Reba came running with a first aid kit in her hands. She should have found it in one of the rooms. "Dave, are you okay? Are you injured anywhere? I brought a kit with me, so let me examine your body."


    Although he kept saying that he was fine, they still insisted on examining his body. So under their demands, Dave finally submitted as Reba checked his body for any injuries. But except for muscles he had built over his training, Reba found no injury or wound on his body.


    They found it strange that Dave had no injuries considering that his room seemed like an armageddon had passed through it, but they could only ept it as a fact that Dave was able to survive the bolt of lightning without any injuries.


    "See, I told you nothing to worry about," Dave said with a light smile to reassure them.


    Knowing that Dave was fine, they quickly returned to their own businesses. Adam was busy calcting how long their food reserves couldst, Reba was helping Sara in the kitchen and Brian was trying to work things out with his Small Fireball spell.


    With his room devastated, Dave found himself another one, where he pulled a map that he had found in Richard''s bag. He wanted to study it before exploring the underground tunnels tomorrow.

 Chapter 83: Into the Tunnels

    Chapter 83: Into the Tunnels


    The next day, having nothing to do, Dave quickly gathered his stuff into his backpack and headed to the nearest entry point into the tunnels. Having studied the map, he discovered that those tunnels were scattered all around the university. He wasn''t sure about the intention behind building them, but it worked well for him.


    After the lightning had struck his room, it left a vulnerable point in their dormitory, so they quickly needed to clean the debris and cover it with something. However, Dave doubted they could find something big enough to cover the hole. The next solution was to find another dorm, so Dave left this task up to Adam. Until that, Dave decided to gather some man force and assign them a task to clean the mess left by the World.


    As usual, waking up early in the morning and doing his daily training, Dave immediately headed to the tunnels after finishing his breakfast. Reba, who also wakes up with the sunrise, had fried him a pair of eggs and poured him a ss of milk. It was quite luxurious for their situation, but they were quickly perishable products, so they were eating them first before other products.


    Moreover, Dave had stopped sparring with Adam and others since they had begged him to stop with it. After several days of whining, he finally agreed to their pleading. Instead, they were sparring with each other now and also teaching other students how to fight and kill zombies. Well, he had Richard to beat up for now.


    ''It should be here.'' Dave thought as he stopped in front of the ss door. It was built for students as a ce to study with round tables all over the building. It had several vending machines where students could buy snacks and drinks while they were studying. If he wasn''t mistaken there was an underground floor where Dave should find a door that would lead to underground tunnels.


    Opening the door and entering the building, he was weed by the view of several growling zombies and turned over round tables. Finding the prey, zombies quickly dashed to him as they tried to bite off his flesh.


    Infusing his sword with mana, Dave nced at them indifferently and rushed at them as he quickly dealt with most of them. Enveloped in blue light, his sword urately sliced zombies'' heads into two pieces.


    A Hunter, hiding among other zombies, leapt at him from behind, but, quickly turning his body, Dave easily beheaded it as Hunter''s head was separated from its neck. Having dealt with it, Dave killed other zombies without any troubles.


    After picking up all Survival Coins that had dropped from zombies, Dave found stairs and headed to the underground floor. Dave couldn''t note anything interesting down there, except for the metal door. It was simr to the one that was in the sewage. When he tried to open it, the metal door didn''t budge.


    ng!


    ''Well, if they hadn''t been locked, students and other university staff would have eventually found them in the past.'' Dave thought inwardly. Fortunately, he had a trick to open the metal door.


    It was delicate work and would have been impossible without Mana Sensing. First, using Mana Sensing, Dave scanned the door to identify the way it was locked. Then, he poured mana into the keyhole and, probing it with Mana Sensing, he shaped the mana inside the keyhole into the correct shape to open it.


    And then...


    Click!


    ''Quite convenient!'' Dave thought as the door finally give in to his efforts. He had learned this trick right after learning how to control mana and shape it into different forms. Although it was convenient, it didn''t have much attack power. Moreover, it worked only for simple shapes like threads, screens and keys. He couldn''t make a sculpture entirely from mana. Well, not yet...


    Spending a full minute to open the door, Dave entered the pathway that opened before him. The corridor was the same as when he tried to reach Richard. The same white tiles, narrow corridor and dim light bulbs after every 10-15 meters.


    Opening the map, Dave strolled through the tunnels as he oriented by the map to reach region C. First, Dave wanted to visit Luther and check on the progress he made with the gang. He expected to see several stubborn guys among them that may cause troubles to Luther. Well, it may be regarded as a test for Luther.


    Then, Dave wanted to check every region for the presence of any survivors. If there were tunnels under the tunnels, at least, university officials should have known about their existence. Faced with the danger of getting eaten by zombies, they should have used those tunnels as a pathway for retreat. Well, he will lose nothing even if he didn''t find anyone in those regions.


    ''Actually, these tunnels should be safe to some extent, right? No zombies can enter those tunnels since entry points are either closed or located in difficult spots.'' Dave thought inwards as he wandered through tunnels.


    As he had covered half of the way to region C, Dave already grew familiar with the silence in the tunnels. It was silent down there that Dave could hear his own heartbeat with every step. Due to such silence, Dave was surprised to hear an unusual sound ahead of him.


    The sound was akin to the steps of arge beast with its ws ttering to the ground. Sensing that something was amiss, Dave used Mana Sensing to probe the way ahead of him. Although he couldn''t clearly understand what it was, he was able to make a general image of it. It had a tail, big ears, a massive body and sharp forward teeth, reaching his torso in height when it was on its four legs.


    As he was pondering about what it was, the monster finally stepped out of the darkness into the area illuminated by a light bulb. When Dave''s eyes fell on it, he eximed loudly, "A rat? But there shouldn''t be any rats in the university!?"


    No matter what monsters wandered across their university, it still should have a base animal to evolve from. Humans be zombies, dogs may turn into mutated dogs, but if there were no rats in the university, how can the mutated one appear?


    "Damn, whatever!" Dave said as he stood into a stance with his Steel Sword pointed at the rat. Stepping outside the darkness, the mutated rat stared at Dave with its blood-red eyes and hissed at him. Next, it leapt towards him.


    Infusing mana into his sword and holding it in his right hand, Dave formed a round mana shield in his left hand. However, he was still a stepte since he hadn''t expected such explosive force from it. Under the effect of Battle Focus, Dave was able to keep his calm and put a mana barrier before him, backing it up with a shield-like barrier in his left hand.


    Ding!


    His mana barrier shattered as he used the force of the collision to use sh Step and retreat backwards until his back touched the wall. Although he tried to use the collision to his own advantage, he still felt a sharp pain all over his left arm since he held a mana shield with it.


    "Ouch..." However, having no time to catch a breath, Dave jumped sideways and rolled over the ground as he dodged another leap from the mutated rat.


    Crash!


    It crashed to the wall with its head as it squeaked in pain. Seeing it, Dave said in a high tone, "Right, eat the wall, damn animal!"


    However, it didn''t give him enough time to kill it as it already freed its head from the wall. Since it attacked with an intention to bite him, its mouth was open at the moment of collision. Therefore, it had arge piece of rock in its mouth.


    "Now stay still, so I can kill you," Dave said when he saw that it couldn''t bite now.


    However, the mutated rat quickly proved him wrong as it bit through the piece of wall in its mouth, freeing it from the lump of rock. As his eyes widened in surprise, Dave said, "Hey, quite a sharp pair of teeth. Where can I get one for myself?"


    However, Dave doubted that it had enough intelligence to understand his words. The mutated rat hissed at him in anger and leapt at him another time. However, Dave won''t fell for the same trick another time. Unfortunately, the corridor was too narrow to dodge it or to use sh Step.


    Instead of dodging it, Dave wrapped his left fist in a mana barrier and mumbled, "Muscle Expansion."


    With an additional 10 points in strength and stat bonuses from Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing, Dave made a small step to the right and mmed his left fist wrapped in the miniature mana barrier into the rat''s head, crushing it to the ground. It squeaked sharply in pain as it fell on the corridor floor.


    "Got you," Dave said as his Steel Sword followed after his fist. It shed with blue light as it pierced the rat''s skull, reaching to its brain.

 Chapter 84: Stamina Potion

    Chapter 84: Stamina Potion


    [You have reached level 9.]


    [You have earned 2 free points.]


    ''Cool! Now, I''m only a level short from my goal. It''s surprising that the mutated rat levelled me up straight to the next level. Actually, it''s crazy, considering that I gained a new level just yesterday.'' Dave thought inwardly as he mentally praised his luck. Although Dave had killed the mutated rat quite fast, it would have been a troublesome opponent if not for several advantages he had over it.


    Albeit being unable to use sh Step freely in the narrow corridor, it has also benefited him greatly. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able tond a hit on him, not to say about catching up to its speed. Combining its explosive burst speed and mighty jaw''s power, the mutated rat might have caused him many troubles.


    The next advantage he had over the rat was the fact that Dave unlocked Muscle Expansion. Without it, he couldn''t have enough strength to stun the rat. Though only for a minute, if it''s yed right, Muscle Expansion could save you from the most gruesome situations. Furthermore, even if additional 10 points wasn''t much of a help at higher levels, it was a huge boost for beginners.


    ''But where did ite from? Despite having mutated, the mutated rat was still a rat and still had the basic instincts of a rat. They were prone to flock intorge groups, forming a tide and devastating their surroundings. I could have clearly heard about the rat tide in the past. But there wasn''t even a word about it.'' Dave thought inwardly as he scanned the rat''s corpse.


    It had thin ck fur, crimson eyes like they were dyed in blood and a sharp pair of teeth protruding from its mouth. Next to its corpse, a white Treasure Chest lied shined with a dim white light. Having no clues about its origins, Dave shifted his attention to a Treasure Chest as he decided to open it right away.


    [Do you want to open the Treasure Chest (White)?]


    ''Yes.'' Dave confirmed.


    [You have obtained Stamina Potion.]


    ''Cool! With this, my stamina can finally catch up to my agility.'' Dave thought as he checked its information window.


    [Stamina Potion


    Description: Permanently increases stamina by 2 points]


    Having finished reading it, Dave immediately chugged down the vial as he received a system notification that his stamina had risen by two points. Next, he opened his backpack and pulled out of it a loaf of bread, eating it to restore his stamina. After using a Muscle Expansion to defeat the rat, Dave felt slightly tired from it since such skills as Muscle Expansion and sh Step uses up a great deal of stamina. Anyway, he had plenty of it in his backpack and needed to restore his energy in case he met another rat.


    ''Status''


    [David Murckly


    Level: 9


    Survival coins: 1547


    ss: None


    Mana: 34/64


    Strength: 21 (+1)


    Agility: 19 (+1)


    Stamina: 19


    Intelligence: 11


    Spirit: 7 (+1)


    Free points: 4


    Innate ability: Regression


    Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 2), Meditation (LVL 3), sh Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 4), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 2), Muscle Expansion (LVL 1)]


    ''Hmm...I have 4 undistributed points after two level-ups. I guess I would save it forter in case I meet a strong monster or obtain a ss for myself. Interesting, what ss did I end up with? I hope it''ll be at least a hidden ss.'' Dave sighed lightly as he checked his status window.


    ...


    Collecting the Survival Coins that dropped from the mutated rat, Dave decided to check the tunnels for the presence of any digging done by the rat. If it had appeared in these tunnels, it should have somehow entered them. Hopefully, it was just a single case with no signs of rat tide...


    Fortunately or not, Dave hadn''t found anything noteworthy on his way. Even if he had raised his guard by several levels and stayed vignt all the way to Region C, Dave didn''t meet any rats on his path and smoothly reached Luther''s ce.


    ...


    "So, if I''m not mistaken, you said to your friend that you have something to say to me? What have you said? Something along with teaching me some peace of mind? I''m gonna save you from all the troubles ande right in front of you. And here I am."


    When Dave entered arge circr room again, he first saw how Luther was beating out shit from one student, sitting on top of it. "Just say it directly to me instead of discussing it behind my back and turning people on me. Oh...Maybe you''re dissatisfied with something. Then, don''t be shy and spit it out."


    Next to him, Oscar was cursing a student under his brother, while Brook was standing solemnly as he stared at it. Noticing Daveing out of the door, Oscar stopped cursing as he started waving his hand to him, while Brook only nodded at him.


    "Oh...you sure have taken your time," Luther said as his eyes fell on Dave. Then, he turned to Oscar and said, "Oscar, lock this guy up somewhere. Let''s see what he would say after starving for two or three days."


    Smiling slightly, Dave found that Luther was doing fine...Well, except for a floor with bloodstains on it. "I see you''re managing fine with the gang even without any help. What has this poor guy done to you?"


    Wiping the blood from his hands with a rug, Luther said slightly angry, "Hey, it''s just totally unfair! Where have you been all the time? While you were gone, some guys already tried to revolt in the middle of the night. That guy from before was the main instigator of the revolt, so it serves him right. Better treat them harshly now, then regret itter."


    His smile only broadened further when he heard it. It seemed that he made the right choice assigning Luther the role of a gang leader. Dave patted Luther on his right shoulder as he said, "But it wasn''t so bad, right? Look at it from the bright side, now you''ve got a reputation to uphold among the group, so no guy would go against you again. So, any casualties?"


    Grumbling a bit, Luther said in dissatisfaction, "Reputation my ass! Damn, you can''t just brush it off like that...If it wasn''t for a passing student who has heard about their n and informed us right away, we would have been in deep shit. " But after spitting hisints, Luther said more calmly, "No casualties so far, thanks to that student who reported on them."


    "Whoa! It seems you''ve been truly stressed, but now you may heave a sigh, right? Except for some stubborn guys in the group, were there any problems?" Dave said, trying to console Luther a bit.


    Sighing, Luther said in exhaustion, "Well, except for instigation of revolt and the student that bawled all night, there was nothing noteworthy."


    "See, it wasn''t so hard. But, just curious, how have you dealt with the bawling student?" Dave asked in interest. He was truly curious how Luther consoled people who lost someone close to them. Personally, Dave wasn''t great at saying beautiful words when ites to giving constions.


    At his words, Luther smiled oddly as recalling a funny joke, "Oh...Honestly, it wasn''t me who dealt with a crying student. I tried everything to stop him from crying, yet nothing seemed to work. Oscar was the one to stop him."


    "And what did he do? I suppose he didn''t curse the student until he gave in, right?" Dave asked, raising his eyebrow.


    Chuckling, Luther tried not tough as he said, "My dear little brother beat that crying student up. I didn''t ask him about it in detail, but it seems Oscar said something meaningful to the student while thrashing him. Well, he stopped crying after that. Oh...and he''s the one who reported about the revolt to me."


    Finding it amusing, Dave said, "Quite a brutal way even for Oscar. That student should have irked Oscar a lot."


    "Nah...Oscar just hates crying people. But look at them now, though Oscar had beaten that student, he quickly became friends with him." Luther said as he pointed at Oscar and the gentle male student next to him. They were dragging a beaten instigator of revolt to somewhere. Dave recalled that he was that student who cried over the corpse of that woman when he first came here.


    Observing them a bit, Dave turned to Luther again and said, "Just wait a bit down here. I''ll lead you out of the tunnels when we''ll settle for a more safe dormitory building. It may take up a day or two, so you can sort things with the people down here. We''ll meetter, then."


    Parting with Luther and others, Dave headed to one of the pathways. As he reached the end of that pathway, Dave regretted entering it as he thought, "So that''s why these pathways are coloured red rather than normal blue."

 Chapter 85: Proffessor

    Chapter 85: Proffessor


    "Bleurgh!" Dave immediately pressed his nose as he opened the metal door. Opening with a creak, it revealed a dark pathway as a water streamed in the middle. Dave could swear that he could see a green gas flowing out of that pathway. ''Darn! Well, wee back, I suppose.''


    Opening his backpack, Dave took out a shlight that he had found in the dormitory, and a piece of cloth, intending to cover his nose with it. Holding a shlight in one hand and a Steel Sword in another, he stepped in the pathway as he closed the door after him. Though he could probe his surroundings with Mana Sensing, Dave still preferred to see everything rather than have a blurry understanding of where he was stepping.


    ''I suppose, it''s not the worst that happened to me. I have lived through many gruesome periods of my life,'' Dave thought inwardly as he walked through the sewage. Although he was walking on the concrete, he could still see trash and poop flowing with the waste water below him.


    ...


    Walking for 20 minutes, Dave was already used to the smell and darkness in the sewage system. ''If I ignore the smell, it''s not bad down here. Actually, I never knew that our sewage system was that big, not to say about the underground tunnels. I don''t know who had structured our university''s underground pathways, but the person responsible for it has surely put the soul into it.''


    Considering everything he had seen so far, Dave thought the structure of the sewage pathways was well thought off. Its structure was quite simple, but it was advanced enough for the sewage system to serve its primary function.


    Looking at his map, Dave thought, ''Region A should be somewhere here. Moreover, if I read the map right, it should be adjoined with region B and have pathways leading to most of the other regions, except for region C and D.''


    Retracting his nce from the map, Dave stopped in front of thedder. As he put away the map back into his backpack, Dave casted ast nce at the stinking sewage system and went up by the metaldder.


    Reaching the top, he pushed open the metal lid as he ended in another corridor adorned with white tiles. It strongly resembled the style in which the region C was made, except for the fact that it had more light sources than the former.


    ''Hmm...ording to the map, I should have ended up inside region A. Considering the state of region C, it''s obvious that this ce is maintained regrly to keep it in good condition. However, it''s quite strange that there is a big disparity between two regions.'' Dave thought inwardly as he scanned his surroundings for signs of survivors here.


    The corridor was lightened, so there must be someone who lightened them, right? Furthermore, if someone knew about those underground tunnels, then they should have understood that it was the best ce to hide down here.


    ''Bingo!'' Dave thought when he heard the nearing voices of several people.


    ...


    "Do you know why Professor Dn suddenly asked to bring test subject #8 to him?" Dave heard a female voice.


    "I don''t know what that madman''s thinking about? If you ask me, I don''t think that it''s time to experiment on those monsters. We should quickly find a way to leave the university and find the remnants of the government." A hoarse male voice answered the woman.


    "Graaagh! Eeergh!" Next, Dave could hear a growling of a zombie. He guessed it was the test subject #8 they were talking about. With his Mana Sensing, Dave could sense that the zombie had its limbs cut off. It was lying on an emergency bed normally used by ambnce. ''They''re sure quite talkative for people transporting a zombie.''


    Dave frowned when he heard them. At least, he learned that Professor Dn was here. No wonder he didn''t find the signs of him on the surface, as a leading professor, Professor Dn should have been told about those tunnels. ''Then, I believe I should find Professor Dn before everything. But first...''


    "How long are you going to hide there? Maybe, you would show yourself and tell me what''s going on here," Dave said as he nced backwards. Actually, he had noticed someone observing him after using Mana Sensing to scan his surroundings.


    At his words, someone came out from the corner of one of the passages. He had dishevelled ck hair with some white strands among the ck ones, spectacles covering his eyes, long messy hair and whiteb coat. Judging by his looks, he seemed to be a person over his forties.


    ''Heh...And no need to search for him.'' Dave thought inwardly as he recognized the person, standing before him. He was Professor Dn, whom Dave held quite in high regard. Despite seeing him only once in his past life, it was hard to forget a person who had eyes as dead as him. The man standing before him shouldn''t have slept for several days already, considering the bags under his eyes.


    Aiming at Dave with a gun in his hands, he said sharply, "Stop right there. Who are you? I don''t recall having a young assistant like you nor I saw you among the students we were able to save on the surface. Believe me, I would have remembered someone with your face, so don''t lie to me."


    Putting a strained smile on his face, Dave said slowly, "David Murckly. I''m a freshman student at the School of Business. If you would be kind enough to lower your gun, I can show you my student card."


    Saying it, Dave slowly pulled out his student card from his backpack. He wasn''t saving it for this moment, it just happened so that he always had it lying in his backpack. Anyway, it didn''t take much of a space. Then, he passed his student card to Professor Dn.


    Staring at Dave indifferently and checking information on his student card, Professor Dn heaved a sigh as he put away his gun, "Serve yourself, then. Follow me, I have no interest in talking with you, a test subject is awaiting me. I''ll lead you to someone who''ll be more willing to chat."


    Then, Professor Dn headed somewhere along the corridor. Well...It was kinda indifferent of him. But Dave believed that Professor Dn wasn''t someone to fuss over a student like him. However, Dave was more interested in the gun rather than in chatting.


    Having found Professor Dn, now Dave could just wait till his research on zombies would bring good results. Actually, he had no immediate business with Professor Dn. Dave just wanted to benefit from getting acquainted with him.


    "I believe keeping a gun on yourself is illegal, especially in the walls of university. How are you carrying one with yourself?" Dave asked in interest. Either way, he needed more information about this ce.


    ncing at Dave, Professor Dn said in an indifferent manner, "Carrying the gun is illegal only when you don''t have a license assigned by a military. But I highly doubt that this license holds any meaning now. As for carrying it in university, it''s not prohibited when no one knows about it. Also, I feel safer with the gun."


    Chuckling, Dave smiled as he found Professor''s logic foolproof. "Heh...I like your logic. Can I ask where are we? I don''t remember visiting this ce when I had my tour through the university."


    "Everything you need to know is that this ce is myboratory grounds and usually, it''s banned to enter it without my permission," Professor Dn said coldly. "But considering that you''re new here, I''ll let it slide for once. Your other questions will be answered by a person to whom I''m leading you. So be kind and save me from unnecessary chatter."


    Dave had never spoken with Professor Dn in his past, yet he hadn''t expected that he was that hard to approach. Dave had always thought that he was the one to seem as unapproachable, but Professor was on a whole different level. ''Whoa...Compared to his assistants I overheard back there, he sure doesn''t like to talk.''


    Walking next to him, Professor Dn was deeply pondering about something in his mind. Having nothing to do, Dave closely observed him along the way. Normally, Professor Dn frowned a lot like he was solving a difficult problem in his head. However, sometimes, his cold facial expression would soften a bit as life is breathed in his dead eyes. Well...Professor Dn was quite an entric person.


    After five minutes, Dave followed after Professor Dn through the wide doors and ended up in arge hallway. Students, professors and university staff were walking through the hallway. Although zombies were crawling on the surface, people were peacefully living under them.


    Everyone was busy with their own things. Someone was reading a book, while someone was lifting boxes and transporting them somewhere. They should be lucky to end in a ce like this. Well, he wanted to see how they would act in front of a zombie.


    Observing all the people walking past him, Dave thought that it was quite pathetic of them to live that peacefully when zombies were stepping on their heads. Living in the unknown like nothing happened above them and indulging in their daily activities, if they would keep living like this, they would be useful only as cannon fodder, nothing more.


    "We''re here." Professor Dn said waking Dave up from his thoughts.

 Chapter 86: Dean Siphon

    Chapter 86: Dean Siphon


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    "Come in." A stern female voice sounded from the other side of the door. Getting a response, Professor Dn reached for a door handle and opened the wooden door. As hispanion entered the room, Dave decided to cast ast nce at his surroundings and follow after Professor Dn.


    The room was big enough to gather a small group of people and hold a meeting in it. Even then, there will be enough space left to not feel stuffed in it. It had a white rectangr carpet, a grey sofa, two armchairs, a small round table and a desk. Dave felt like he had entered a principal''s cab in his high school.


    However, when Dave''s eyes fell on the person sitting before the desk, he roughly recognized who it was. Even when the university turned into a zombies'' yground, she as usual wore a ck office zer, a ck skirt and a white shirt. On top of her official attire, she had long ck hair brushed to one side and cold ck eyes thatcked any emotion.


    And no, he didn''t recognize her because he had met her in his past life after the start of the 2nd Cataclysm. Actually, considering this timeline, he should have met her not long ago at the ceremony of weing freshman students. She was the dean of their university, Siphon Erns.


    "Dn, if you came here to nudge me to provide you with more space for your experiment, then I must refuse your wish. I have already done more than enough to satisfy your needs. If you hadn''t been an old friend of mine, I would have turned down your suggestion long ago." She said in an emotionless manner. However, judging by her tone, Dave guessed she was fed up with Professor. Noticing Dave behind Professor Dn, she asked, "Oh...Who is he?"


    "My reason toe here. I''ve found him in my area which is restricted in ess for people like him. He didn''t seem to be one of us, so I brought him here since I knew you would be more interested in him than me. Now, if you excuse me, I have a zombie to dissect." After he finished introducing him, Professor Dn left without saying anything less.


    ...


    Left alone with the dean, Dave approached a sofa and sat on it. ncing at their dean, Dave thought inwardly, ''Strange, I never heard that she was alive in my time. Well, I believe I shouldn''t be surprised a lot, considering that I hid in the storage room for most of my time in the university.''


    "Do you want some?" She asked as she pushed a bowl of candies to him. She seemed to be trying to loosen a tension between them.


    Nodding his head, Dave said without a back thought, "Sure, why not?"


    Seeing that Dave had taken a candy, she decided to get to the business, "So where did youe from? If I recall it right, you''re a freshman student at the School of Business who was a victim of a car ident several years ago. It''s hard to forget students with such a tragic past like yours."


    Trying to keep a smile on his face, Dave said, "Right...My name is David Murckly. I''m surprised that you remember me even if we haven''t met yet."


    "I don''t remember every student in our university, only the most memorable ones. It''s impossible to memorize every person in the walls of our university, even for the dean," She said calmly. "So how have you entered this ce? I would have been notified if there was a new batch of students found on the surface."


    Sucking a candy in his mouth and sensing how sweet taste was spreading through his taste buds, Dave took out a map from his backpack instead of replying directly. It was the same map that he had found in Richard''s bag and had led him to region A.


    Staring at the map, she said in a slightly surprised tone, "Hmm...it''s the map of underground passageways, though an old one. I believe it clearly exins how you reached this ce. You should havee from region C or D, right?"


    "Yes, I came from region C. But I never heard about those tunnels as a student. Why were they even built?" Dave asked. He believed that as the dean she must know a bit about them. She may even be the one who ordered them to build them. He wanted to ask that question when he was walking with Professor Dn, yet he made it clear that he wasn''t open to any questions.


    "Initially, before our university was built on the ind, it was used by miners to obtain ores underground. As the ore mine had exhausted itself, our university was built on top of it several yearster. When I became a dean and learned about the existence of those tunnels, I turned them into underground passageways," She said steadily. "Until today, it served no special function, so Dn had turned it into hisboratory, but now I''m d I''ve built them."


    ''So that''s how it is. They were miners'' passages'' Dave thought inwardly. Then, he decided to ask another question that worried him. "Hmm...By any chance, were there any rats in our university?"


    Frowning, she said, "Rats? Of course not. Our university is up to the strictest international standards in Federation. There can''t be any rats on the university grounds. The only creatures that might resemble rats might be mice bought by Dn for his experiments. Why are you asking?"


    ''Dammit, so it was a mutated mouse, not a rat.'' Dave thought as he remembered how he killed one on his way to Luther. Well, it was hard to judge since most mutated creatures were much bigger than their initial forms. Dave replied shortly, "Hmm...nothing. I can be sure only when I''ll check on it."


    Staring at Dave a bit, she said, "Then, don''t forget to inform me when you''ll be sure on it. If you don''t mind, I want to ask you several questions." Then, she asked Dave about how he was surviving so far, what was the situation on the surface and why did he have a map with him.


    Deciding not to keep everything secret, Dave shared everything that happened in that month. He told her the numbers of people that he had found, where they were living and described the general situation with zombies on the surface. It didn''t take much time to shortly summarise everything. Of course, he didn''t share with her anything personal.


    ...


    "Wonderful. You''ve done great for a student. Judging by a sword on your waist, I suppose you''ve killed many zombies during this month. I never saw a decent weapon dropping from zombies." She said in her emotionless tone. Well, Dave wasn''t surprised that she knew about it. Not everyone will throw or lose their clubs.


    "It would have been impossible to survive while avoiding them. But don''t you think that students are too rxed down here. If they lived on the surface, they would have been eaten by zombies long ago. I hope they aren''t expecting help from the outside." Dave said bluntly. At the first nce, Dave could tell that students were oddly carefree down here. But such an attitude couldn''tst for long.


    In response, Dean Siphon said coldly, "You may not worry about them. Although they seem to be rxed, I can assure you that every person here has killed at least one zombie. Every one of them attends lessons of self-defence once a day, while the most capable ones were chosen to fight zombies. Some of them might seem carefree, but all of them have their own assigned roles."


    Dave was quite surprised by what he heard. He could almost read lines like mind your own business in her words. If that was true, he might have underestimated this group of people. ''Well, there truly should have been some people who have caught a zombie I''ve seen in Professor Dn''s area.''


    "If you don''t believe me, then you''re free to visit those self-defence lessons. For now, take this new version of the map. It shows a passageway that''s close to region C, but you would need to get there from the surface. Don''t use sewages to get here next time. I''ve also marked all key ces of this ce like a cafeteria and self-defence ss." She said in her cold manner. "If that''s all, you may leave. You can familiarise yourself here."

 Chapter 87: Self-Defence Classes

    Chapter 87: Self-Defence sses


    Leaving the dean''s room, Dave decided to heed the dean''s advice and familiarise himself with this ce. He didn''t have enough time to look at everything when he walked with Professor Dn. ording to the map, this ce was an undergroundplex that covered most of the university grounds. Its corridors were much more spacious than those of region C.


    ''Hmm...This undergroundplex has a residential area, a cafeteria, storeroom, severalrge halls, Professor''sb area, toilets and even long pathways that lead to the surface. It''s difficult to believe that I never heard about them in my past life.'' Dave thought inwardly as he nced at people passing next to him.


    Well, nothing changed after he entered the dean''s room. There were still some male students who were transporting boxes and bags somewhere, some students were reading books, while some of them were ying cards. Truthfully, Dave could hardly believe that each of them had killed a zombie before. Actually, he was very interested in those self-defence sses Dean Siphon had mentioned to him.


    But before that, Dave decided to visit their cafeteria...


    ...


    Following the map given to him by a dean, Dave finally found a cafeteria. He guessed it was built here to cater for the needs of researchers down here. Judging by its look, it was an ordinary cafeteria with square tables in it. When he entered it, it was bustling with people.


    It wasn''t hard to find a food distribution spot since it was further forward of him and a lot of people stood there in one line. Curiously ncing at passing students, Dave positioned himself at the end of the line.


    Observing the students standing in front of him, Dave imitated them and grabbed a tray lying on his right. Having nothing to do, Dave perked his ears and eavesdropped on the talking in front of him.


    ...


    "Hey, are you going to the self-defence sses after this?" The male student asked his friend.


    "It''s not up to me to decide. Our dean made it clear that attending them is mandatory for us. I don''t want to be left without food for today." His friend said in a grumbling manner.


    "Right, up to now, I never thought our dean was that scary. Remember how she said that we''re now in wartime and we need to learn how to take care of our lives. At first, I thought she was just pressuring us, but she truly seems to be trying to integrate military standards into us." The same male student said in a low tone.


    "Remember how she demonstrated killing a zombie for the first time. She did it without a change in her facial expression. Then, she expected us to do the same thing as her." His friend said in awe.


    ...


    ''The dean seems to be respected among the people down here.'' Dave thought as he overheard their conversation. He guessed Dean Siphon started with the demonstration that zombies weren''t to be feared. He had done a simr thing to Reba and Rachel, though he had gone a little bit further than just a simple demonstration back there.


    ncing further ahead, Dave noticed that everyone got a bowl of soup from the woman responsible for food distribution. At the first nce, it was just a simple soup made by boiling some vegetables in hot water. On top of the bowl of soup, there also was a piece of bread and a cup of tea. Well, it seemed that people down here were doing fine in terms of food. At least, no one was starving here.


    Patiently waiting for his turn, Dave had gotten his own share of food and walked towards the closest table. On his way, he noticed that there were people who had a second dish on their tray. On top of it, they had meat in both of their dishes.


    Taking his seat, Dave asked the man next to him, "Hello there. Do you know why the food given to them is different from ours?"


    Oddly ncing at him, the man still responded to his question, "Is this your first day here? Everybody knows that people, who kill zombies on the surface, are treated differently than others. Our dean made it clear that such people should be treated correspondingly."


    "Hmm...interesting," Dave mumbled slightly as he understood that Dean Siphon used food as an incentive to motivate people to join the ranks of fighters. Actually, he was also thinking about implementing such a system into their dormitory. He was thinking of doing it after Luther and others joined them, otherwise it would have turned into a mess. Such a system was unnecessary before since their numbers hardly reached 20 people when they pulled over people from the supermarket.


    Then, without any words, Dave quickly gobbled down his food. Although the soup wasn''t rich in taste and had only vegetables in it, it wasn''t something toin about. Furthermore, there wasn''t any rule that he can''t eat his own food nor can someone prohibit him from eating it since it was him who obtained it.


    Hence, Dave opened his backpack and took out several cans of food. As he took out food from his backpack, he immediately sensed intense stares from his surroundings. However, unperturbed by the stares, he quickly finished off the cans as he stood up and headed to the next destination.


    ...


    "If you ever go against a zombie, remember don''t panic. Only by keeping your calm, you can evaluate the situation and make cool-headed decisions." A burly man said in a calm tone. "It isn''t hard to predict their movement when you''re calm. An average man can easily take down one zombie if he knows what to do."


    In front of him, more than twenty people sat on the floor and listened to his instructions. Although not all of them were engaged in his words, most of them listened attentively to him since they clearly understood that it may save their lives.


    "When you see a zombie and it rushes at you, of course, you might act up to your creativity. However, I rmend you to trip it to the ground. Normally, it''s very easy to catch them off their bnce, no need for profound knowledge for it. Just don''t panic. First, you need to get rid of your fear of zombies." As an example, the burly man showed it on the male student next to him.


    He gave more instructions for several minutes and then, he headed to one of the doors. A short whileter, a group of students dragged some bags to the spot where an instructor was standing before. From the growls, it was obvious what was in the bags.


    As thest bag was put to the ground, a burly instructor coughed to attract the attention of students and said, "As I said before, first of all, you need to get rid of the fear of zombies. Therefore,e here and kill these limbless zombies."


    At his words, the students hesitated a bit yet still approached the bags. They thought it was worth a look. As the instructor carefully unzipped the bag, the face of a zombie was revealed to students. It had blood stains near its mouth and a chunk of flesh was torn from its right cheek.


    "Don''t be scared of it. It can''t harm you. Now, I want the bravest one to step out of the group and kill it with this pipe." The instructor said as he showed a pipe in his hands.


    "..." No one decided to volunteer as they cautiously nced at each other. It seemed like everyone was nudging each other to be first, yet no one was brave enough to step out.


    Sighing, the instructor said more harshly, "You should have more courage if you want to survive. No one cares when a dog dies in the neighbourhood. Treat it more like an animal, it''s not a human anymore, so there''s no room for hesitation."


    Finally, after his words, someone decided to volunteer as he stepped out of the group. He grabbed a pipe from the instructor''s hands and hit a zombie with it. Hitting it once, the student became braver and hit it for the second time. Then, a third time. He kept hitting it with a metal pipe until he crushed its skull bone.


    Patting the student on his shoulder, the instructor said encouragingly, "See, no need to be scared. Let''s move to the next one. However, not all of you can kill a zombie today since I have only 10 of them. Others may learn from observing everything from sideways."


    After the first volunteer, most of the students became a bit braver as more students started to volunteer themselves. One by one, they quickly finished off all the bags.


    ...


    ''So this is how they teach self-defence to students here.'' Dave thought as he observed everything from sideways. He hade here right after the cafeteria. It seemed that they purely concentrated on fighting a zombie in those self-defence sses rather than on actual self-defence. Well, the dean seemed to be taking a much milder approach to teaching self-defence to students.

 Chapter 88: An Infected

    Chapter 88: An Infected


    Observing everything from the sidelines, Dave leaned on the wall as he stood silently. Everything was going much smoother than he had expected, and they wereing closer to the general image of a survivors group. Even those unexpected tunnels will greatly boost their chances to survive and provide them with safe routes to move through their university.


    ''Everything''s going much better than I had expected. I believe I know why zombies must evolve slower in the beginning, otherwise people would have gone extinct.'' Dave thought as he looked at students killing zombies in bags.


    If zombies had evolved the same way as Dave remembered it, no one would have been able to survive the major outbreak of the virus. Compared to zombies in movies, they were much faster and could chase after people. The most gruesome aspect about them was the fact that one bite was enough to put a cross on a human''s life.


    Taking everything into consideration, if zombies had grown stronger faster than now, no one would have been able to survive a fight with them. Dave was an anomaly, and he clearly understood it. However, an ordinary student would have no chance to go against a single zombie without prior battle experience and an appropriate weapon. The chances of such a student surviving a confrontation with a zombie were minuscule.


    "Go away! Don''te near me! I said to stay in one ce." Suddenly, Dave heard amotion from the corridor. Having finished his business here, he decided to check what was going on there. Furthermore, the dean said to familiarise himself here, and that was what he was going to do.


    "Calm down. No need to drag everything this far. I know you''re desperate, but doing this won''t help you in any way." Dave heard a panicked voice as he went out to the corridor. He would have been blind if he hadn''t noticed arge gathering of people on his left.


    As he made several steps in that direction to see what was happening, he heard a high-pitched response to the man asking to calm down, "Shut up! I''m warning you, don''te any closer or I''ll slit her throat."


    Reaching the site ofmotion and pushing some people blocking his view, Dave was finally able to see what amotion was about. A slightly pale man was holding a kitchen knife close to the throat of a woman. And it wasn''t a Failed Dagger that Brian had but an ordinary kitchen knife to slice fruits and vegetables. The pale man had a wound on his right shoulder, assumingly left by a zombie. Dave guessed that he was bitten.


    Another group of armed men stood in front of him, blocking his way. Every one of them held metal rods in their hands, but none of them had a weapon from the system. From the look at them, Dave thought that they were the ones who go to the surface to obtain resources.


    And the pale man, holding a knife close to the woman''s neck, was probably one of them but was bitten on their return. As they returned to the undergroundplex, the infected man should have freaked out, leading to thismotion. Well, they were just his spections, but Dave believed that he wasn''t far from the truth.


    He believed that this won''t be thest time when something like this happens. Although people might know that nothing can be done if you get infected, humans were emotional creatures and sometimes, they would make irrational decisions to keep their lives...just like now.


    At one nce, Dave could understand that the infected man had 15 minutes at best. The infected man was sweating profusely as he had a fever, veins had bulged on his arms and he seemed to be trembling slightly.


    Oddly, the whole situation reminded him of a case when Reba was held captive in the same way. However,pared to that time, Dave had no intentions to meddle in and help the hostage. He wasn''t even acquainted with the hostage nor would her death affect him in any way. He hadn''t even invested in her as he did with Reba, so he had no reasons to help her. Moreover, he was only an outsider to this group of people. So, Dave decided to enjoy the show and see how they would deal with the situation.


    ...


    "Let''s calm down and talk a bit. You should know that nothing can help you in your case and that you have little time before you''ll turn into the one. You''re just wasting your own time. Professor Dn had been researching zombies for a month already, and he may have a chance to help you." The man in his mid-twenties said in a slightly panicked tone.


    "Bulshit! Do you think I''m stupid? I''ll just be another test subject in his hands and would be dissected by him. I don''t want to end like this!" The infected man shouted aggressively as he pressed his knife harder on the woman''s neck. She cried out in fear as tears streamed down her face.


    The same man tried to talk some sense with an infected person, but he failed in his several attempts and was at the end of his wits. He couldn''t think of anything to stop the infected man.


    Fortunately for him, Dean Siphon hade rushing when she heard about themotion here. Rushing to the man, she asked, "What''s the progress?"


    "The man is desperate and won''t listen to me no matter what. So far, no progress was made in convincing him." The panicked man said in a hurried tone. When he saw that it was a dean, he sighed in relief as he stepped back after reporting everything.


    Changing ces with the man, she slowly approached the infected man as she made small steps towards him. "I heard you''ve gotten infected. My constions. However, the woman had done nothing wrong to you."


    "But I have also done nothing to deserve this. I don''t want to die nor do I want to turn into a Professor''s test subject. I just wanted to live, but...but...I got infected. I can already feel how my limbs are going numb and how I''m losing control over..." The infected man cried out in desperation as he said it.


    However, not waiting for the infected man to finish his words, the dean dashed at the infected. She was 7 meters away from him, so taking advantage of his desperate speech, she cut the distance between them to 3 meters.


    However, noticing her actions, the infected man halted in his words as he tried to press his knife to the woman''s throat. However, his eyes widened as he kept his eyes on Dean Siphon. She miraculously appeared right in front of him.


    ''What the fuck?'' he thought as he tried to slit the throat with his knife. But he only tried to since he couldn''t move his arm.


    Appearing right in front of him, Dean Siphon grabbed the wrist holding a knife and positioned her another arm on his elbow as she pushed it to distance the knife from the woman''s throat. The next moment she twisted the infected man''s arm and used the force from it to push him to the ground, dislocating his elbow. The woman, held by an infected man, had also fallen to the floor since she was held by a free arm of the infected person.


    "Arrrgh!" The infected groaned in pain as he clutched his right arm with a free one. Although the pain was lesser due to the numbing effect from infection spreading through his body, it still hurt like half of his arm was ripped off.


    ...


    Surprise shed in his eyes as Dave thought inwardly, ''She learned a sh Step.''


    Actually, it wasn''t that surprising, considering that it had a high drop rate among other skills. However, the chances of a skill dropping from a Treasure Chests are very low, so Dave was more surprised that she owned a Skill of her own. Of course, the fact that he also learned a sh Step had also yed a role in his surprise.


    After Dean Siphon had dealt with an infected man, she called over a research team, who tied an infected man to the stretcher. They seemed to hurry to move him to theirboratory before he turned into a zombie.


    Then, she called over a group of people and ordered them to check the hostage for any injuries. Then, she approached the man, who tried to calm down the infected person and asked him some questions.


    Next, she noticed Dave in the group and came to him. "It''s terrible that you witnessed something like this on your first day here. I think we can start discussing things over. Let''s go to my office."

 Chapter 89: A Clue

    Chapter 89: A Clue


    Silently following after Dean Siphon, Dave trudged right behind her. She seemed to be pondering about something with a serious face, so Dave decided not to disturb her. Since she still wore that expressionless face, Dave couldn''t guess what she was thinking about.


    She didn''t ask Dave any questions nor did she share the topic of their discussion with him. After several minutes ofplete silence, she finally asked him something, "Why didn''t you stop him?"


    "I wasn''t obliged to," Dave replied calmly. It wasn''t his business to meddle with. "Moreover, I wanted to see how you would have dealt with it."


    "Were you satisfied with how I deal with the man?" She asked without a change in her tone.


    "More or less," Dave said as he chuckled. "What do you n to do with the infected man?"


    "Not me. I usually leave such people to Dn." She said. "It''s not the first case we''re having someone infected. If it''s Dn, I believe studying the process of turning into zombies would be more beneficial to him. He may work something out from the acquired data. It''s hard to secure a person in the moment of turning into a zombie. They''re either left on the surface or turn before they reach this ce."


    Dave agreed with her on that point. At best, infected people turn into zombies in half an hour, depending on the ce they were bitten and how much virus entered into the blood flow. "I didn''t expect it from a person with your profile."


    "What? Did you have a problem with that?" She asked in her emotionless tone.


    "No. Actually, I like it." Dave replied with a smile. Dave didn''t know where such a person was in his past life, but he found her more and more fitting to the role of a leader. Moreover, she got the status of the dean, so only a few would object to her decisions.


    ''Adam will heave a sigh of relief,'' Dave thought.


    "Later, we would burn their corpses as a gratitude for their contribution in acquiring data about zombies," Dean Siphon said with a tinge of unnoticeable sadness in her voice.


    As they were talking, they came to her office. Entering her office, she swiftly sat in her chair and took a cigarette from her desk. Lighting her cigar, she breathed in the smoke and exhaled it. The puffed smoke was sucked into the venttion system right atop her.


    "I didn''t think you were a smoker," Dave said as he nced at the smoke rising from her mouth.


    "It''s hard to get rid of bad habits. I usually try to restrain myself, but I still end up smoking one or two times a day." She said as she exhaled smoke from her mouth.


    However, Dave didn''t mind it in any way and all the smoke was entering the venttion system, so the smell hadn''t reached him. Instead, he took candy from the bowl and sucked it. Then, he asked, "So what do you want to discuss with me? You haven''t told me yet."


    Puffing a smoke, she said, "ording to Dn''s estimations, electricity will go off in a week. Without it, the venttion system will stop working and we won''t have any fresh air to breathe down here. Therefore, we need to secure a ce on the surface until it bes too stuffy and suffocating down here."


    As he listened to her, Dave frowned slightly. He couldn''t recall it urately, but it should be around this time when the electricity went off. He asked her, "How urate is that information?"


    "Although Dn holds no interest except for his experiments, he''s reliable when ites to calcting things like this. At best, a week will vary by a day or two." She said in a cold yet confident tone.


    "Hmm...So you want me to help you with securing a ce on the surface, right?" Dave asked as he came to that conclusion. She wouldn''t have asked him to discuss things if she didn''t need his help.


    "What I''m proposing is more mutual than just you helping us. I''m proposing to join our forces since I believe that you should have more than one fighter in your group. Moreover, considering the quality of your sword, you''re more high-levelled than me, so your help would be substantial for the operation," She exined to him.


    Listening to her, Dave chuckled, "But what do we gain from it? We already have a ce where we''ve settled and we''re also doing fine."


    She pressed the tip of her cigar to a metal can where Dave could see a pile of other cigars and said, "If you help us with this operation, then I can promise you that you''ll be treated the same way as people who go to the surface. It includes a nutritional meal two times a day, a personal room and other perks of abat group."


    "It should go without saying since when we join forces I''ll be automatically treated as a part of abat group," Dave said.


    "Then, what do you want? I can''t promise you much." She said, staring at him intently. Although she was revered as a leader of this group, she still couldn''t promise anything out of her reach.


    Smiling, Dave said, "Don''t worry, it''s something you can provide me with." At his words, Dean Siphon raised her brow. "What I want is full autonomy over my actions. And I also want to keep my own group intact. Furthermore, every item obtained by our group will be owned by us. However, I can trade those items for Survival Coins."


    Squinting her eyes, she asked him, "Considering the way you talked about it, you should know what is the function of Survival Coins?"


    "Nope, I know nothing about it. However, if my guess is right, then Survival Coins should be simr to game-like currency." He said while keeping hisposure. He didn''t know why, but it seemed that he shouldn''t casually reveal information about the future.


    Pondering for a short while, she replied to him, "Fine. I agree with your conditions, but you need to bring your strongest fighters to the operation."


    Coming to an agreement, Dean Siphon pulled out a booklet with a map of their university to show their target. It was a livingplex where students lived if they could afford its costs.


    ''No wonder she''s proposing it.'' Dave thought inwardly. First of all, it had a good geographical location, being close to the biggest mall and other facilities on the campus.


    It was a huge livingplex, constructed from four adjoined buildings and leaving open space in the middle. The biggest advantage it held over other dormitories was that it had only an entrance point, making it easy to guard.


    Moreover, it had more than 700 hundred rooms, study rooms, a small gym, tables for table tennis, special enclosed fields for team games with a ball, a cafeteria and lounges to chill. It was actually the best ce for a luxurious life in their university.


    As he was studying the information about that livingplex such as how big it was, how many floors it had and what would be their route to reach it, someone knocked on the door.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    Hearing three clear knocks, Dave nced at the door to see who it was. He immediately recognized a man who had entered since he had met him just a few minutes ago. It was the man who tried to calm the infected person.


    The man stood straight before the dean''s desk as he said loudly, "Dean, I''m here to report about today''s ascension to the surface."


    However, he stopped the next moment as he awkwardly stared at Dave. Following his gaze, she understood why he didn''t dare to reveal any information to an outsider, so she said, "Don''t worry. Today, you had gone to the surface to find an optimal route to our target, so Mr David would eventually know about it."


    "Understood." The man said as he stood straight. "Fortunately, we have found that there were fewer zombies around the livingplex than around other ces. Initially, I just thought that it was our luck, yet we''ve stumbled upon a site of carnage."


    "What? A carnage? But who would kill people without turning them into zombies?" Dean Siphon asked as she furrowed her brows.


    "No. The corpses didn''t belong to humans. Someone had ughtered a whole group of zombies." The man reported, trying to keep hisposure. Next, he took out a phone and showed the pictures of the ughter.


    Studying the pictures, Dean Siphon frowned as she mumbled, "Strange. Who would be able to kill so many zombies?"


    "May I?" Dave asked. Taking the phone, he urately studied the corpses of killed zombies and thought, ''Bingo! I think I have a clue.''

 Chapter 90: A Deal

    Chapter 90: A Deal


    Dave intensely stared at the pictured carnage as he mumbled, "Devourer, right?"


    "What are you mumbling about? Do you know something about it?" The dean asked him in her usual cold manner, but Dave was able to catch some notes of interest in her tone. She easily noticed subtle changes in Dave''s facial expression, making his reaction kinda odd.


    Saying nothing for a while, Dave continued to analyze the picture before him. The taken photo illustrated a broad road, piled with corpses of zombies. Dave was able to count more than 30 corpses, and it was only what was shown in the picture. He didn''t know how many of the corpses were there, failed to fit into a frame.


    ...


    Finally, he voiced his opinion, "Clearly, they weren''t killed by humans."


    "Heh, by whom then? What do you know about corpses? You''re just a brat." The person, who reported the case, chuckled slightly as he didn''t trust Dave''s words. Obviously, what could a student say about such ughter?


    However, he quickly shut his mouth, catching an intense stare from his dean. He didn''t dare to anger his superior since she could punish him in many ways. She was cold as a cier yet had that intimidating aura that makes you unable to oppose her.


    Silencing the man with a stare, Dean Siphon nodded to Dave as she nudged him to continue. "Forgive his rudeness. And why do you think that those zombies weren''t killed by other survivors?"


    Smiling widely, Dave shared his observations, "Nothingplicated. You might have also noticed some oddness in the way they were killed."


    Slightly nodding her head, she said, "Most of the corpses are headless."


    "Right. Mostly all of them are headless. But it''s not the only things that are strange. First, zombies didn''t seem to be killed by weapons, but, on the contrary, they look like they were ripped by something much stronger than them." Dave showed the halved corpses. The traces were too dirty for a sword, and there were no signs of being stabbed or smashed.


    "Second, some of the corpses have holes in their bodies, and they are too big for any weapon I know," Dave said as he pointed on some corpses with gaping holes in their chests.


    Next, he showed some corpses that were just a mess. "Third, if we look closer on some corpses, they are too indistinguishable from each other, more resembling puddles of melted flesh than corpses...Like they were corroded by some substance..." He said thest sentence more in a ponder than before.


    "Then, what do you think killed all the zombies up there?" The reporting man asked half in disbelief and half in agreement. Well, Dave''s arguments were on point to doubt that they were killed by other survivors.


    Dave shed a smile to the man as he said, "I don''t know, don''t I? But, I guess it''s some kind of a monster. However, don''t even try to kill it. It''ll kill more people before you can even leave a scratch on it."


    At his words, the dean frowned. "I don''t think it''s possible. If it''s some monster, we may avoid it as much as we can, but we''ll still sh with it when we try to return the university to us. So I can''t promise anything."


    "Don''t worry about it. It should be gone before you even meet it." Dave smiled as he stretched his hand to take another candy from the bowl. Then, he stood up from his seat and walked to the door, intending to leave. "Then, I''m gonna call for a backup."


    With these words, he closed the door, leaving Dean Siphon and the man confused in their ces. The man, who brought photos, said in aining tone, "Sorry, dean, but where did you find that brat? He''s too arrogant for his age."


    Dean Siphon sighed in a tired manner as she said with pain in her eyes, "Well, let''s wait and see if he''s too arrogant or confident of his own abilities. I hope it''s thetter. I''ve already seen enough deaths of my students and don''t want to see another student dying."


    ***


    After leaving the dean''s office, Dave immediately left to make preparations for aing operation. Using a new map Dean Siphon had given to him, Dave was able to get to Luther''s hideout without any hitch. He needed to chat with someone for a short while.


    When he entered the circr room, nothing serious was happening inside it. Well, it wasn''t surprising since he had left it just a while ago. Nothing much could have happened in that period of time.


    "Big Boss!" Dave heard Oscar''s cheerful voice and saw how he was running towards him. Dave''s body stiffened slightly as he wasn''t ustomed to being a role model for anyone. Even in his past life, no one had idolized him like Oscar. It looked like he had an enthusiastic sidekick around him.


    Smiling weakly as if submitting to Oscar''s attitude, Dave said, "Where''s your brother?"


    "Ugh...Did youe to see him? He said he needed to know more about people in our gang, so he went to talk with them." Oscar said in a somewhat displeased tone. "But when are you gonna teach me how to envelop my weapon with energy?"


    Looking at Oscar''s enthusiastic eyes, Dave said in an apologetic manner, "Sorry, but not now. I came here to talk with someone. Can you lead me to Richard? I remember saying to confine him somewhere down here, right?"


    "Oh, you came to visit him. Okay, follow me." Oscar seemed slightly disappointed...like a puppy when you refused to y with him.


    Ending the conversation, Dave followed Oscar through one of the pathways. They passed through two people, seemingly guarding that pathway, and end up in a dead-end. There, Dave''s eyes fell on Richard, now tied tightly with ordinary rope and wires instead of his mana threads.


    He seemed...weak. Although he was gone only for less than a day, Richard already looked less energetic than before. At least, he didn''t curse Dave at first sight, although he kept staring angrily at him.


    "Did you give him any food?" Dave said as he looked at Richard''s sorry state.


    "Nah, we nned to feed him only once a day or two. Big Boss, you came quite fast. I thought we nned to starve him for a while." Oscar responded darkly. He didn''t want to waste their resources for a person like Richard.


    "Good," Dave said shortly as he came closer to Richard. Looking at him from up above, Dave noticed that the scar he had left on Richard''s face was covered beneath bondage. It seemed that Luther had disinfected the wound as Dave had instructed him to do.


    "Hey, how our huge guy is feeling himself? Are you living well?" Dave said almost mockingly.


    "What do you want? Did youe tough at me? Ridicule?" Richard looked upwards at Dave''s eyes and said with a somewhat angered tone. He was already going crazy, staring at one floor. He was hungry and extremely thirsty to add on top of it.


    However, it wasn''t the worst thing. His biggest fear was his own thoughts of what Dave would do with him. Would he starve him to death or torture him at every visit? Or would Dave do the same thing to him and throw him at the horde of zombies without the ability to fight back? Zombies would crowd around him and try to bite through his metal skin until it gives in. They would crawl around his body for several days, growling and slowly driving him crazy...


    ...And he would die like all the people he had pitted with zombies!


    No, Richard didn''t want to end like this!


    He was already on the brink of losing his sanity. He was just a student, who should have happily hang around with his thug friends and have fun every day while doing his studies at some point. It shouldn''t have ended like this to him.


    Richard''s angry tone was quickly overtaken by a pleading one as he said, "Why do you need all of this? Just free me! I''m sorry! Do you hear? I regret doing it. Just release me and I promise I''ll never do anything like this. I''ll leave the university! I''ll disappear from your view. Just let me go. Please!"


    Next, Richard burst out crying as he kept mumbling "Please." He was living quite happily as a student. Having an uncle as a university official, Richard was able to get into this prestigious university and fool around it while his uncle covered everything for him.


    Even after the start of the 2nd Cataclysm, Richard was able to quickly adapt to his situation and form his own group, where he was a king. His words were final, and he made everyone listen to him.


    But now, he already started regretting doing everything he did...He shouldn''t have killed people...He shouldn''t have pitted them against zombies...And he shouldn''t have gone against Dave.


    Looking at Richard, Oscar stiffened a bit as he hadn''t expected to see such a sudden burst of emotions from Richard. As for Dave, he smiled slightly and said, "Fortunately for you, I have a deal to strike. After that, I may consider leaving you alive."

 Chapter 91: Preliminary Preparations

    Chapter 91: Preliminary Preparations


    "Please," Richard kept sobbing as he mumbled the word. He was already so scared of his future that he couldn''t hear Dave''s proposal.


    And, of course, it got on Dave''s nerves since he didn''t like to repeat himself. In such a state of mind, Richard would be just useless to him. He sighed lightly in irritation and said loudly, "Stop crying or I''ll break all your teeth. And I remember that I still haven''t tested the resilience of my new punching bag. However, it''s neverte."


    "Keough!" Making an unusual sound from suddenly stopping his tears and feeling clogged down his throat, Richard immediately shut up at Dave''s threat.


    ''And he was called a Tyrant in the future. Without his innate ability, he''s just a crybaby! I shouldn''t have expected much from a student,'' Dave thought as he looked at the muscr guy crying in front of him.


    "Now, listen to me. Do you want to live?" Dave asked when he noticed that Richard finally started listening to him.


    "Live?" Richard repeated somewhat dully as if mumbling in a dream. But then, he vigorously nodded his head as he said. "Yes, yes. I want to live."


    "Then, do you mind helping with something?" Dave said in a slightly higher tone while smiling widely.


    "I''ll do everything you want, just free me." Richard agreed easily.


    "Then, it''s settled. I''lle after you early in the morning. You''ll be tied till that time since I still don''t trust you." Dave said as he pped in satisfaction with his two hands.


    "Wait," Richard said hastily as he gulped, "With what do you need my help for?"


    "Nothingplicated. You''ll just help me to kill one zombie. It''s just happened that I urgently need a strong fighter who won''t die easily, making you a perfect candidate. Help me to kill it, and I won''t kill you," Dave said, intending to leave.


    It was the only reason he still hadn''t killed Richard. Actually, he didn''t give a damn to Richard''s past deeds. He had already seen far too many deaths in his life and wasn''t easily affected by them. Well, it may be for better or for worse, he didn''t know.


    He had never considered himself a saint or a fighter for justice. Actually, he had also killed a lot of people in his past, including guilty ones and even innocent people. That was just how life was...Sometimes, it''s just you either kill or get killed.


    As for Richard, his innate ability was too useful to waste it with his death. Moreover, Dave didn''t know much about Devourer''s abilities or how strong it was. Except for exaggerated tales of its powers, Dave only knew that survivors had sacrificed a lot to kill it and that it was extremely hard to kill.


    Therefore, Dave needed a person with whom he would y a Devourer. Such a person should be strong enough not to get in his way and shouldn''t die easily at Devourer''s hands. There wasn''t a better candidate than Richard if he took into consideration his [Rage] skill.


    Before leaving Richard, Dave turned to Oscar and instructed him, "Give him some food and water. He should be in his top state when Ie tomorrow early in the morning."


    Confused by Dave''s sudden proposal to Richard, Oscar still followed his orders, "Yes, Big Boss!"


    "Then, I''m gonna talk with your brother a bit and head to my dorm," Dave said as he waved his hand.


    ***


    Finding Luther among other survivors, Dave called him over for a few words. He shared information with him about tomorrow''s operation and gave him several orders to be ready for it. Then, he left their hideout and headed towards his dorm.


    Since he already was strong enough to freely wander on campus, Dave easily reached the dorm building. As he entered from the front doors, Dave immediately saw Adam, crowded by other survivors and givingmands to them.


    "Adrian and Arthur, I''ll task you with scouting our area surrounding the dorm, so you may gather manpower and guard our dorm," Adam said as he pushed through the crowd and rubbed his temples.


    All the situation with survivors was giving Adam huge headache. The problem wasn''t that he wasn''t able to cope with their management. No, Dave thought Adam was doing quite good for a fellow student. However, the problem was that he was just one of the students. His status wasn''t enough to calm all survivors and give them peace of mind.


    "When do you think will the military respond to all the situation?"


    "How can you be sure that we''ll be safe here?"


    "Don''t you think we should leave the campus?" Like a bunch of reporters, panicked students crowded around Adam as they asked their questions.


    Entering from the front doors and observing everything from the door side, Dave thought, "Luckily, I left everything to Adam, otherwise I would have injured a bunch among them."


    Although Dave didn''t like to manage this bunch of panicked horde, he clearly understood that isting himself from everyone and acting alone wasn''t an option. Albeit being able to kill hundreds of zombies, one person still couldn''t go against a thousand or more. He''ll be just ripped.


    Furthermore, they needed people to maintain their small oasis. More people needed for patrolling, raiding and doing other misceneous jobs around the campus. Therefore, Dave couldn''t just turn his back on other survivors.


    Smiling weakly, Dave called over his friend. At his sight, all other survivors backed a bit and quickly dispersed to mind their own businesses. Well, most of the survivors had already seen Dave in action, so they avoided him as much as they could.


    "Oh, you''re here," Adam said slightly grumbling.


    Dave shook his head slightly, saying, "Heh...Actually, I''vee with good news from you. But, if you don''t want to know..."


    "What good news? Just spit it out," Adam said somewhat curiously.


    "First of all, let''s gather everyone. I don''t want to repeat myself," He said as he headed to the lounge on the first floor.


    10 minutester, everyone sat on thefy sofas around the lounge table. Adam had called everyone as they immediately quit what they were doing. There were Adam, Dave, Reba, Rachel, Adrian, Arthur.


    Everyone was present...Well, except for one. Dave frowned as he said, "Where''s Brian?"


    Gathered people smiled in an odd way. Adam was the one to answer him, "He''s not in the dorm. Brian''s currently helping Caroline, or how he says ''love of his life'', with levelling up. He should be here an hourter. I''ll pass everything to him."


    ''It seems that I need to punish himter.'' Dave thought darkly as he nned to beat Brian for another round. However, back to the business. "Let''s first start with sharing information. I''ve found another group of survivors. And I think we can work with them."


    Actually, Dave had already stumbled upon small groups while he was searching for Devourer and Richard, but there was no point in telling it.


    At his words, everyone cheered since they knew that people should stick to each other at such times.


    "Tomorrow, I''ll take five of you with me. We''ll pick up the underground gang with us and head towards their ce." Dave said steadily. Next, he turned to Adrian and Rachel. "Both of you will remain here. We need people who''ll keep things together here."


    "Okay," Both Rachel and Adrian responded without any objections.


    "Arthur call over Evelyn from the supermarket and put some people to guard it. She would be in the team." Dave said to Arthur as he sipped the tea brewed by Reba. ''It''s quite good.'' Dave thought.


    Next, Dave took a leaflet of their university as he unfolded it, revealing the map of their campus. As everyone curiously observed his actions, they came closer to get a clear view. Dave pointed at the target livingplex and said, "This''s our target."


    "It''s the livingplex we''re going to move in. It has a good geographical location and is protected from every side. Moreover, the entrance point from underground tunnels is directly beneath it."


    "Which tunnels?" Arthur asked casually.


    "You''ll see tomorrow," Dave said as he filled them with other information, like how they would enter it, how many people there would be and possible dangers. Then, he wrapped everything with a more casual talk and dismissed everyone.


    He even got a pleasant system notification.


    [Leadership (LVL 2) has turned into Leadership (LVL 3)]


    "Ho...it seems easy to level it up." Dave thought as he grinned. ''Well, I believe I wasn''t in a situation when it levels up in my past.''


    As everyone left, it was Adam and Dave who were left behind. Adam smiled as he intensely observed his friend. "Actually, I''ve thought you would ignore all other survivors in the university. I''m pleasantly surprised by your willingness to group with others."


    Adam had said everything from the bottom of his heart since he had never considered his best friend as a kind and heroic person. Dave was more a selfish and aloof jerk that wouldn''t mind anyone''s feelings, not to say, strangers'' lives.


    "Of course! We need ves and servant who''ll work for us." Dave said in a joking manner as he shed a smile to Adam.


    "Ehh...You''re the worst..." Adam heaved a sigh, but a light smile stood on his face.

 Chapter 92: Power Reveal

    Chapter 92: Power Reveal


    "Is that everyone?" Dean Siphon asked as she sized everyone up. Having woke up early in the morning and having picked up Luther''s hang on their way, the team led by Dave had finally reached the undergroundplex.


    Dave had taken with him the main team members that consisted of Adam, Brian, Reba, Arthur and Evelyn, plus the whole Luther''s gang and some new Enhancers they had discovered before while killing zombies.


    And, plus Richard, who nervously stood at the rear, catching sideways nces from his ex-subordinates.


    "Yes, as agreed, I''ve taken the strongest fighters among us," Dave replied, catching a slight doubt in her voice. Well, it wasn''t surprising since their numbers would barely reach 30 and only less than 10 of them were Enhancers.


    On the other hand, the dean had gathered double of their numbers and had slightly more Enhancers in her team. Considering Dave''s confident demeanour and that they had survived on the surface, she had expected more people toe, but...


    "Don''t worry. We''ll be able to hold the end of our deal." Dave said as he noticed Dean Siphon''s doubtful stare.


    Evelyn, who stood behind the group, pushed others as she strode forward. As her eyesnded on the dean, her lips trembled a bit as she said, "Mother!"


    Hearing a familiar voice, Dean Siphon nced in the direction of the voice. Noticing Evelyn in front of the group, she smiled slightly yet still said coldly, "Evy, I''m d you''re alive. So let''s have a chat after this."


    Calming down herself, Evelyn said in a simr cold but understanding tone, "Yes, mother."


    However, deep inside, she was slightly saddened by her mother''s cold tone as her ruby eyes flickered in a grim light. As far as she could remember, her mother was always like this...cold and unemotional.


    However, Evelyn was already used to it.


    No...She needed to be used to it for her own emotional wellbeing.


    Although she tried not to show it, Arthur immediately noticed changes in her mood, so he lightly patted her on the back tofort her.


    ...


    As they reached the undergroundplex, Dean Siphon led them to the gathering point, where they joined with others and finalized the details of their mission. After discussing everything and sharing the information with the whole team, they exited from theplex by adder leading upwards.


    Moving up by thedders, they ended up in a narrow alley. It was amon alley that was made by two adjacent buildings.


    "We''ve already killed most of the zombies in this area, but I still rmend you being cautious." Dean Siphon said in a low tone, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. "Let''s go. We''ll lead the way."


    With such words, she took the lead for the whole group. Most of the Enhancers were positioned on the first lines, including Dave and others. The dean, Dave and Brian were at the head of the group. They had discussed everything before the mission and knew how useful was Brian in their situation.


    ...


    "There are zombies on our right."


    "Let''s take a slight detour."


    "This ce has the lowest numbers of zombies. We need to pave the path for ourselves." Brian keptmenting as he was constantly checking their surrounding with his [Life Pulse]. Having him with them, they easily avoided the crowded ces on their route.


    "People like him would have saved us from a great deal of troubles." Dean Siphon said as she wondered why didn''t they have someone like Brian among them.


    Brian had saved them from lots of unnecessary fighting on their way. Even if they fought with zombies, they were low in numbers, so most of the zombies were dealt stealthily. Adam and Reba were saving their strengths for evolved zombies, so they didn''t use their unique abilities.


    After half an hour, they have finally reached the livingplex and temporarily hid in an alley. Sending a Life Pulse, Brian reported, "Ehm...If we want to go into the livingplex, then we need to fight through zombies surrounding it."


    Knowing all the risks before raiding the livingplex, Dean Siphon calmly responded to Brian''s words. Instead, she asked, "How many zombies are there? How many of them are of strength and agility variant?"


    "Let me check...4 Giants, 3 Hunters, 1 Ghoul and 1 slightly stronger Giant," Brian said in a ponder as he counted stronger auras of zombies.


    Before going to the mission, Dave had already shared with her his knowledge about different types of zombies and how he calls them, so she easily understood what he meant by it. As she listened to Brian, she hesitated a bit, ''Aren''t there too many evolved ones? Could we kill them? Should we retreat?''


    Noticing her internal struggle and guessing what she was worrying about it, Dave said, "We can''t just go back now. Furthermore, let me show how we survived for the month on the surface. Our numbers should be enough to deal with those zombies."


    Next, he started givingmands to others, "Adam, take down one of the Hunters. And if you can, you also go for the second. Reba, kill as many evolved zombies as you can. You can summon Star. Brian, throw a fireball at a Giant with the most zombies around him. Evelyn, Richard and Arthur, you''ll join me after the fight breaks in."


    He marked out people with skills that could attack from long distances to cut down the numbers of evolved zombies as much as they could. At least, Adam, Reba and Brian could kill 3 evolved zombies. Later, they could deal with the ones that were left. And of course, Dave would take a Ghoul and a mid-rank Giant on himself.


    "Okay, let''s go," Dave said hisst words as he led them towards the horde of zombies. Coming closer to them and stepping ahead of others, Dave whistled as his eyes fell on their numbers. There was quite a lot of them, even more than when he killed zombies in the market. And even more zombies woulde attracted to the noise.


    Behind his back, a blob of light hovered above Reba, the fireball formed in front of Brian and the spear with half of its shaft hovered before Adam. All of them waited for hismand.


    "Shoot," Dave dropped one word as he smiled in satisfaction.


    At his words, the spear went straight towards the head of the Hunter, piercing it and appearing from the other end of its head. Next, Adam''s spear didn''t stop in its tracks as it started to kill other ordinary zombies, heading towards another Hunter.


    The fireball hovering before Brian flew in an arc, straight to the towering Giant. Having been hit by a fireball, arge hole appeared in its head. At the same time, the fireball exploded after a collision and set other zombies around the Giant on fire.


    Star appeared above Reba and started forming light des around her. Thergest one went after a Giant, halving its head as its brain matter slipped from the cut. The smaller ones were shot at ordinary zombies, killing several of them.


    Having finished giving their wees, Dave barged at their ranks and cut down all zombies attacking him. He immediately activated [Mana Enhancement] and [Reinforced Breathing] to aid himself. At the same time, the effects of [Battle Sense] were taking in.


    Dave was paving his path towards the Ghoul as he killed all zombies on his way while defending himself with Mana Barrier. Getting overwhelmed by the numbers, Dave formed a tform from mana below him and stepped on it using the [sh Step] to shorten the distance between him and the Ghoul.


    Caught off guard by Dave''s sudden appearance before him, the Ghould wasn''t able to respond timely as Davended right on top of it, piercing its head with his Steel Sword. Taking it down, Dave exhaled a mouthful of air as he mumbled, "One down."


    As hended on top of the Ghoul, small light des appeared from his rear and timely killed zombies that surrounded the Ghoul. Thanking Reba inwardly, Dave had no time to catch his breath as he headed towards the mid-rank Giant.


    ...


    Surprised, Dean Siphon was staring at Dave that moved among other zombies. She was even more surprised when her eyesnded on a levitating spear, hovering light sphere and fireball. However, when she saw how Dave fought she thought, ''Isn''t his style...''


    As she staring at everything, Evelyn came running to her, "Mother, we need to take some pressure from Dave."


    Waking up from her ponder, Dean Siphon quickly took a hold of herself as shemanded people beside her to charge at zombies. At the same time, Arthur, Richard and Evelyn also joined the battle.

 Chapter 93: Deaths Scent

    Chapter 93: Death''s Scent


    "Aaaaargh!" The Giant swang its fists as it roared madly, trying to hit Dave. However, its fists were missing Dave as it hit ordinary zombies behind him, sending them flying and even killing some of them.


    Swoosh!


    A fist brushed closely near his head, yet Dave dodged it at thest moment. He quickly moved to the Giant''s back when it leaned forward due to a fist strike and cut tendons at the back of its knee. Losing its bnce, the Giant fell on one knee.


    Taking an advantage of it, Dave sprang forward as he infused mana into his sword and beheaded the Giant.


    Thud!


    As the Giant''s head fell on the ground, Dave took a deep breath as he mumbled, "Should have found a dagger for me. Would have been much easier with it."


    His battle style usually circled around a one-handed sword in his right hand and a dagger or a battle knife in his left hand. He had also used throwing knives with attached mana threads to them in his past life.


    He used the sword since it was [Swordsman] ss''s speciality and he dealt more damage with it due to [Swordsmanship] skill. He used weapons with a short de like a dagger since they were great for reaching vulnerable spots on the body. Swords were too long for that purpose.


    ''Levelling up is getting harder. I didn''t level up if even I had killed a mid-rank Giant.'' Dave thought in a sad tone. Well, he should find a nice hunting ground for himself if he wants to level up faster.


    Next, Dave sent a nce towards his back. Behind him, humans and zombies shed in a ferocious battle, making it almost chaotic. However, in all the chaos, Dave still noticed some order in survivors'' movements.


    "Swap ces! Fast!" Dave could hear Dean Siphon shouting. At hermand, survivors, that made a line on the front and fought with zombies, quickly stepped back as their spots were taken by the people behind them. That way, two rows were swapping ces with each other as they steadily killed zombies in front of them. Zombies that passed through the first line were killed by survivors in the second row.


    Dave could also see familiar faces among them. He was able to note Luther, Brook, Oscar, Evelyn and Arthur. On top of them, he had also seen some unfamiliar faces with weapons from System. They were morecklustre than Evelyn and Arthur, but they still perfectly filled their roles of the main group force. Dave suspected the dean had given them special attention back in the undergroundplex.


    Although he couldn''t see Adam and another duo, Dave still saw shes in the air. Light des flew in the air and small fireballs hit areas crowded with zombies. As for Adam, a short spear flew above zombies and was supporting vulnerable spots of their improvised formation. Adam was helping survivors that were close to being killed by zombies.


    Having killed the most dangerous ones, Dave joined the main force in killing ordinary zombies. As he had killed the Ghoul and the mid-tank Giant, it was a matter of time before they will be able to kill all of them.


    The problem was that zombies were drawn to the noise, and more of them came from their surroundings. Frowning, Dave thought, ''We should quickly wrap everything up before more zombies reach us.''


    ...


    Several minutester, the ground reeked of blood and rot as cascades of corpses rested on it. Stepping over the head of a dead zombie, Dave approached Dean Siphon and asked, "Any casualties?"


    "Surprisingly, but there are no casualties among us. Thanks to them..." Dean Siphon''s eyes followed to Adam, Brian and Reba, who stood behind everyone yet had thergest impact on the battle. Without them, the dean understood clearly that their formation wouldn''t havested long.


    "Heh...Have even no one been infected?"Dave asked in doubt. The whole battle was aplete mess, so Dave clearly understood that the absence of casualties was impossible, especially when even a minor injury was a dead end.


    Dave turned to Brian and said, "Brian, can you check if anyone was infected? Somehow, you can distinguish between zombies and humans. Will the same work for infected ones?"


    Feeling slightly fatigued after using [Small Fireball] consecutively, Brian replied in a slightly weak manner, "Theoretically, I should be able to notice changes in auras of people around me. If I focus my Life Pulse on our auras and notice dwindling life energy in anyone, I should be able to point out people who were infected. Just give me some time."


    Dave gave Brian a hand sign, indicating that he could begin...doing what he needed to do.


    Brian closed his eyes and sent one wave after another to check the auras of people around them. He stood motionless for half a minute. Then, he raised his arm and started pointing at people. "Him and him."


    In total, Brian pointed at two men. One was a man in his mid-thirties that had short, curly hair. Probably, he was one of the professors in their university. Another one was just a young student. Dave believed he was of the same age as him. Well, if it was regarding his current age.


    When Brian pointed at two of them, both of them turned pale and stepped back.


    "It''s impossible! I wasn''t even scratched." The young student said in a frightened tone.


    "Right! Dean, we don''t know how much urate it is. For me, it just looks like shooting in the air." Professor said, trying to convince his dean.


    Eyeing them, Dean Siphon said coldly, "Search their bodies! I want to see clear bite marks or wounds as proof."


    At hermand, the bodies of the two were checked thoroughly. As a result, a bite mark was found on the Professor''s arm. To Dave, it seemed like Professor wanted to conceal the fact that he was bitten.


    On the other hand, judging by his reaction, it looked that the young student was truly ignorant of having been infected. Although hardly noticeable, he had vague marks of being bitten to the hand. The poor student didn''t even know about it and hadn''t been trying to fool them. It was a big shock for him.


    "No, it can''t be. It''s just a scratch...a small wound," The young student said with trembling lips.


    Compared to the young student, Professor reacted more calmly. He didn''t resist nor did he tried to break off. He just stood since he clearly understood that all his efforts would be futile regardlessly of what he did. At best, he had half an hour.


    "So, what are nning to do with them?" Dave asked his dean. The best choice was to kill them until they haven''t turned into zombies. Even better was to tie them and use them as a way to increase the number of Enhancers among them.


    "As a dean, I failed my duty to look after them, so I''m responsible for giving them painless deaths as much as possible. We''ll wait till they turn in, and I''ll personally kill them" Dean Siphon said resolutely.


    Wasting half an hour on them is not worth it. We should quickly enter the livingplex until more zombiese here.'' Dave thought worriedly. They had already wasted several minutes, searching for infected people among them.


    "Dean, allow me to apany you in our mission. I still have half an hour till I turn in, so I can still kill several zombies during that time," Professor said in a determined manner. He looked like a person who had epted hising death.


    She intensely stared at the man in front of her. It was happening again. People were dying before her eyes. A short whileter, Dean Siphon said with a slight hint of sadness in her cold voice, "Fine! You may choose how would you die. Regardlessly, we can''t lose time in a ce like this."


    At her words, everyone looked at their surroundings. Corpsesy everywhere they looked, and a disgusting scent stood in the air. They sensed death around them, which was quite of an odd odour. It was a mix of iron, rot...and fear.


    It was unfamiliar to them but not to their dean. Dean Siphon hade to this university in the hope that she could escape death''s scent. However, she hadn''t thought that she would witness another scene of a bloodbath...of people dying.


    She hadn''t thought that this scent would haunt her, on top, that it would descend on whole humanity. She had felt uneasy since the voice sounded in her mind, as she sensed that something big was washing over the world. She felt that nothing would be the same as before. Therefore, she needed to steel her heart for what awaits her on her path.

 Chapter 94: Human Shield

    Chapter 94: Human Shield


    Having dealt with most of the zombies in the area, their group hurried to enter the interior space of a livingplex. Since most of the zombies were drawn to their battle, there was nothing that could endanger them inside it. They were past the most dangerous part of their n.


    All they had left were to clean four huge buildings from zombies. Nothing difficult...right?


    ''Killing leftover zombies wasn''t the biggest problem. I should immediately find a Devourer and kill it. But firstly, I may need some time to observe its habits and prowess to prepare for the battle,'' Dave was already thinking about his next step.


    There were some zombies inside the inner court of the livingplex, but their numbers were minusculepared to the ones they killed outside. It wasn''t big trouble to kill them all, so they smoothly entered the inner court.


    "As we have agreed beforeing here, we''re gonna divide into 5 groups. One group will stay here and guard the entry point of the livingplex. Other groups will take one building each to clean it for the presence of zombies." Dean Siphon startedmanding as she personally provided a group that''ll guard the entry point.


    Dave and his main group would make for one group and Luther''s gang of survivors would make for another. The other two groups would be formed from the dean''s personal subordinates.


    "Then, let''s start with a finishing part. I hope this time there will be no casualties in our ranks." Dean Siphon gave amand to disperse as she led her own group into one of the four buildings.


    "We''ll rest after we''ll finish with this. Richard, you''re with me. I''m still keeping my eyes on you," Dave sounded more threatening at the end.


    Not only did Richard was among them when they fought against a horde of zombies, but he was also one of the main damage dealers in their group, showing remarkable prowess in the battle. As Dave had expected, Adam and others also showed themselves from the good light, having been the valuable members of a team.


    At their dean''smand, every team headed to their appointed buildings. Every building had 15 floors, so they would need some time to clear each of them.


    ...


    "Woaaah!" Brian dropped his jaws in amazement as he looked around the first floor. "This livingplex is amazing! Why does my dorm isn''t like this?"


    ''Well, I cannot disagree with Brian. This building is truly top-notch for a dormitory,'' Dave inwardly agreed with Brian.


    The first floor was a base floor, so there were no rooms for student''s amodation, instead, it had a cafeteria, spacious study rooms and a lounge hall. Dave believed that rooms for students were a floor higher.


    However, even though there were no students'' rooms, the first floor should still be the most crowded ce during lunchtime...


    "Eeerhg!" Dave could already hear the growls of zombies from the lounge hall. Fortunately, they had Brian with them to detect zombies.


    "Ehm...Dave, did you need my help with this? Did you wanted me to help you with this mission?" Richard fidgeted a bit behind his back as he asked with some hope in his voice. Richard believed that the faster he would help Dave with his business, the calmer he would be in the future.


    Dave halted as he heard Richard''s question. He smirked and said, "Well, let''s say it''s a small part of it. However, you still need to win my trust, so you may even start now."


    "What do I need to do?" Puffing a mouthful of air, Richard confidently patted himself on the chest. If it would enable him to live fearlessly in the future, Richard wasn''t gonna hesitate about it.


    "Hehehe...Nothing difficult," Dave grinned widely.


    Looking at his best friend''s grin, Adam felt shivers down his spine as he shooked a bit. Adam knew Dave for more than 10 years, and he knew that his best friend''s widest and most satisfied smile was also his most wicked one.


    ''I always wanted to hunt like this one time in my life,'' Dave thought inwardly.


    ...


    "Brian, Reba shoot!" Dave said in an excited tone.


    "But what would be if I would harm him?" Reba asked worriedly. She feared that she might injure Richard if she shot her light des now.


    "Don''t worry. Richard is thick-skinned. He won''t die," Dave said as a matter of fact.


    "Hehe...You don''t need to say it twice," Brianughed evilly as he started chanting a spell for [Small Fireball]. Forming a fireball in front of him, Brian mercilessly shot a fireball into the group of zombies. It was much smaller than he usually used since he didn''t want to set the whole building on fire...Or burn a hole on the floor.


    Currently, Richard lied among the group of zombies that were biting and gnashing their teeth into his skin. However, their bite power wasn''t enough to get through its metal skin. Although they were not hurting him, Richard still felt ufortable when they ng to every chance to bite him.


    Having finished forming his fireball, Brian shot it towards baited zombies. It flew in a straight line andnded right on them. It burst in bright light and fire swept across all zombies, setting them on fire and burning their flesh. Of course, it also swept over Richard, who rolled on the floor to quench the fire.


    "Sorry!" Saying it in a soft voice, Reba shot light des to kill the remaining zombies.


    "Kheee!" Richard whined pitifully since one of the light desnded right a few centimetres away from his head. Although he had tough skin, Richard still had vulnerable points, and one of them was his eyes.


    "I still don''t think that it''s right. I know he''s naturally tough, but it shoulde with a big shock," Arthur said in pity as he looked at Richard. "We should at least have given him his weapon instead of taking it from him."


    "Nah, I said clearly that he can''t kill anyone. He may treat it as a small punishment for his actions." Dave said resolutely. He had no intention to feel sorry for Richard. Furthermore, Dave wanted to hunt with him since he had known about Richard''s innate ability.


    ''Perfect tank, bait and nearly undying cannon fodder. Richard had so many talents,'' Dave thought inside, d he hadn''t killed him before. He still needed Richard to deal with the Devourer.


    Adam and Evelyn stood on the side, shaking their heads in disapproval and staring helplessly at Dave.


    ...


    Getting into their own pace, their team of seven slowly progressed over the floors. Although Richard didn''t like the idea of being a human shield for them, he took this job wholeheartedly, rushing towards zombies on his own ord.


    Or not?


    "Richard, go block their path," Dave said as he threw him towards the flock of zombies. Richard crashed at them pretty hard as he groaned in pain, "Can''t you be a bit gentler."


    Currently, they were on the 8th floor and were weed warmly by a dozen of zombies. They tried to kill most of the zombies stealthily on their way, but they got quite unlucky on this floor as they were spotted by a zombie when they got on the floor.


    Quickly dashing at stumbled zombies, Dave quickly killed a pair of them. Suddenly, a shadow leapt behind other zombies and went past Dave, trying to attack Evelyn who stood behind him. She hurriedly dodged it in a step and swang her sword at Hunter''s head.


    She wasn''t strong enough to behead it, so her sword got stuck in Hunter''s head. However, the result was the same as it dropped dead several secondster. As it died, it left a white Treasure Chest behind itself.


    "Good job!" Dave said as they finished killing all zombies on this floor. Adam covered him from behind with his Telekinesis, while Brian, Reba and Arthur joined him after he pushed Richard towards zombies. Brian and Reba moved to the frontlines since they were low on mana.


    Evelyn opened her Treasure Chest as it left behind a wooden longbow in her hands


    [Common Longbow


    Attack: 23-28


    Durability: 20


    Description: Medieval longbow made from the mostmon materials. It has a shooting range of 30 meters.]


    It also had 50 arrows, following the longbow.


    [Crude Arrow


    Attack: 3-5


    Durability: 4


    Description: Common wooden arrow with low durability. It has a high chance of breaking after piercing the target.]


    "Heh...Does anybody know archery?" Dave asked concernedly as he clearly understood that having a bow without an archer was in useless.

 Chapter 95: Bound to Happen

    Chapter 95: Bound to Happen


    Having kept a low profile in the university, Dave hardly paid any attention to the students around him since he had tried to fulfil the sole duty of a student, studying. Including the fact that he was just a freshman student, Dave didn''t have a chance to get close with any students, so he was truly ignorant about the people around him.


    However, he knew someone who does keep his eyes on people around him!


    "Adam, do you know anyone who can handle a longbow? It must be someone from our close surroundings, someone from our group. You''re the one who handles them, so you should know a thing or two about them." Dave decided to rely on Adam regarding this question.


    Sighing in a helpless manner, Adam didn''t know what to do with his friend. "Dave, you know you should be more mindful of people around you. How can you be so ignorant when we''ve got admitted into the university at the same time?"


    "What do you mean?" Dave said puzzledly. He sincerely didn''t understand what he was talking about. Did he miss someone? He didn''t remember meeting someone with the qualities of an archer.


    "That''s why you should talk more with people around you." Adam sighed heavily. "The choice should be obvious. Rachel was a member of an Archery Club. She''s quite famous in our university for winning several archerypetitions."


    "...I''ve never heard about it," Dave said in a deep ponder. Well, he had truly lived quite a reclusive life in their university. However, knowing Adam''s nature, Dave knew that information provided by Adam was possibly true.


    ''Either way, she''s not fit for meleebat. Maybe, she''ll show herself better with a bow in her hands.'' Dave decided to test Rachel''s bow masteryter.


    "What? Is it that widespread? I''ve also never heard about it." Brian joined their conversation, feeling kinda left out.


    "Yeah, it''s true. I''ve thought you knew about it." Evelyn said in agreement. Having heard the same thing, Arthur also backed her up.


    "Are you talking about that girl with raven hairs? She''s quite beautiful, so I''ve kept my eyes on her. I''ve seen her with a bow several times," Richard chipped in their conversation. He had his eyes on beautiful women in their university in the past, so he knew one or two about some of them.


    "Ugh...disgusting!" Evelyn looked at Richard with visible disdain in her eyes. In response to getting daggers from her, Richard just shrugged his shoulders, deciding to keep silent. He shouldn''t antagonize people close to David.


    ''They are quite lively,'' Reba thought inwardly as she observed everything, trying to hold her smile.


    ...


    Nheless, after a small pause and after packing longbow with them, they still ascended to higher floors. Having depleted their mana reserves, Brian and Reba each drank Basic Mana Potion to have the mana for idental situations. However, they still fought in close range, deciding to save it to avoid any casualties.


    During their ascension, they still exploited Richard''s innate ability to avoid getting surrounded by zombies and get an advantageous position. However, Richard was already tired of his role. The blood was sttered all over his body with a mix of zombie''s saliva.


    For some reason, he felt filthy...and vited. It was an ufortable feeling.


    However, not only Richard was in a not right state of mind, but others also had slowed downpared to before.


    Brian and Reba were low on mana, feeling slightly exhausted. Furthermore, they had spent quite a bit of spirit, so both of them felt slightly weak.


    Evelyn and Arthur were tired from continuous battles as their attacks got duller than before. Dave suspected that they had exhausted their stamina.


    Adam was also nearing his limit as he had already been using his Telekinesis for more than an hour. They were replenishing their energy by using consumable items like Basic Mana Potion, Crystal Apple and Restoration Bread, but everyone was already nearing their limits. Furthermore, the number of such consumable items in their possession wasn''t infinite.


    ''Then, we''re gonna wrap everything here,'' Dave thought inwardly as he stopped beingid back during the fights. It was a good opportunity to increase their battle experience, but if it was already their limit, then there was no meaning in dragging it even further.


    After half an hour of continuous battles, everyone was dead tired; some were low on mana, some were mentally exhausted, while some of them were short of breath. Noticing how everyone was panting heavily, Dave saw no meaning in actingid-back anymore.


    He had hoped to use this mission as the means to increase the battle experience of his team members, but if they were already near their limit, then Dave decided to not torture them anymore. ''It should be enough.''


    Currently, they were clearing the 12th floor. Staying in a backline, Dave observed how they were fighting for a moment. Having exhausted his spirit, Adam had also joined the ranks of vanguard as he clutched his Broken Spear in his hands.


    Activating Mana Enhancement and Reinforced Breathing, Dave dashed forward and plunged right into the ranks of zombies. With every swing, Dave killed one zombie after another as he quickly dealt with a dozen of them. It took only several seconds for him to ughter dozen of zombies on his way.


    As sweat dripped from their foreheads, everybody looked at Dave with pleading eyes as if they were saying "If you could do that from the start, then why didn''t kill them?"


    "What? Am I not worthy of your apuds?" Dave said bitterly in a joking manner. "We''ve lost quite a bit of time on our way. Let''s rush over the left floors and rest after that, okay?"


    After his words, they quickened their pace of clearing floors as Dave literally carried them through thest three floors. Adam and others didn''t even have time to think everything over as Dave used his Mana Sensing to urately spot the position of zombies and kill some of them, taking an advantage of his sudden appearance and taking down some of them.


    With his level and stats, it wasn''t impossible for him to solo all the building if he wanted to, so they smoothly cleared all the floors in no time. After finishing their task, all they needed to do was to collect the spoils on thest floor.


    ''We''ve spent quite a lot of time on this building. Interesting, how are others doing? Their numbers are higher than ours, so they shouldn''t fall far behind us.'' Dave thought as they headed towards the first floor.


    Dave had six people following him, and they had finished clearing all floors in more than 30 minutes. The dean''s teams had more than a dozen of survivors, while the most numerous one was Luther''s gang which was close to 20 members.


    However, Dave was more worried about their well-being. Although they hadn''t any casualties inside of the group, the same can''t be applied to other groups. Some casualties were bound to happen either because of simple carelessness or due to bad luck.


    Coming down to the base floor, they passed through the long corridor and finally left their assigned building.


    "Hey, how..." Brian tiredly raised his hand as he intended to ask how was their mission, yet he stopped halfway at his words, noticing a grim aura hanging in the air. It was so suffocating that he wasn''t able to utter any other word.


    It seemed that they weren''t the first to finish their tasks as one of the groups were already standing in the inner yard. They grimly stood in a circle, pressing their hands to each other and keeping them near their abdomens.


    Signalling others to follow him, Dave and others silently joined their ranks. Coming closer to the encirclement, they could finally see what was happening.


    A male, probably a third-year studenty at the stony ground. He had arge wound on his shoulder as blood leaked from it without any signs of stopping. Dean Siphon sat close to him, pressing a rag of cloth to the wound.


    ''That''s bad. He won''t live through it. He had lost too much blood. Furthermore, he was definitely bitten by a zombie, so he didn''t have much time before he turns into one.'' Dave calmly analyzed the current situation.


    That student was hardly keeping his eyes open. Moreover, taking the nature of the wound into consideration, the young student was rapidly turning into a zombie, bing a tad paler as blue veins were visible on his face.


    He was already a lost person as he was hardly understanding what was even happening around him. Seeing that he was slowly dying in her hands, Dean Siphon understood that there was no meaning in dragging it even further.


    She took a dagger from her people and slit the student''s throat with it. The student in her hands didn''t even sense how his throat was slit as he had already lost control over his body which had turned cold and dull already.


    "Hope you find peace in an afterlife," The dean mumbled softly, passing the dagger to its owner.

 Chapter 97: Attempt on the Devourer

    Chapter 97: Attempt on the Devourer


    Receiving such a piece of information, Dean Siphon decided to have a closer look at the said monster. If it fit the description given by her subordinate and was too strong for them, the natural advantage provided by the livingplex would contrary be a death trap for them.


    Therefore, taking a few people with her, she hurried to the guarding team to get a clearer look at the monster. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Dave called over the core members of his team as they trudged after the dean.


    If it was truly a Devourer, the best decision would be not to attract needless attention from it. However, if the sh with it was unavoidable, then rushing at it withrge numbers would be just suicidal. Low-levelled amateurs without needed skills and battle experience would just serve as food for the Devourer.


    Reaching the entry point in no time, they first saw panicked members of the guarding group. They were pale as they seemed to be ready to flee at the firstmand.


    Huh...Well, Dave hadn''t expected much from an untrained group of people.


    "Where''s the monster?" The dean asked coldly as she noticed their pale faces. Even she thought that she was on a long way to raise her subordinates to certain standards. If she had a basic group of soldiers under hermand, it would have been much easier to clear her university from all zombies.


    "We didn''t dare to constantly check it, but it was on our left, close to the ce where we fought with all the zombies." The man reported in a rapid manner, showing nervous he was.


    Nodding her head, she went forward as she wanted to see what had frightened her people so much. Dave and others followed closely behind the dean, getting a clear look of the said monster almost at the same time with her.


    "..." No one said anything as they were greatly shocked by the scene.


    The creature rummaging through the corpses of zombies was monstrous in every aspect of that word. Its appearance was even more disgusting than zombies as they still slightly resembled a human appearance.


    However, the monster, despite being originated from a fellow human, had nothing to do with it. It stood on its fours like a wild beast and had sharp ws on all four limbs. It had disgusting uneven skin with damaged flesh covering it.


    Its outer skin was ck in colour and seemed dense as it resembled dark tes covering Hunters'' bodies. It was three times bigger than Dave, being three meters tall even slightlyrger than low-rank 1 Giants.


    "Fuck. What''s that?" Finally, Brian broke the standing silence among all the observers. He was deeply shocked by Devourer''s outer appearance as it seemed toe from the screens of horror movies.


    "Shh, keep your voice down. Do you want to get us dead?" Fortunately, Adam was more sensible than Brian as he hurriedly shut him up.


    Having gotten a look at it, they retreated to the entry point where they could discuss the pending matter over.


    "So what are we gonna do with it?" Evelyn asked a question that was in everyone''s heads.


    "Let''s just deal with it. We have higher numbers while it''s only one." Arthur suggested as he thought they had a natural advantage over it.


    "Ehh...you just have triggered a death g. Be careful. At least, that how people die in stories and movies," Brian said, pitifully ncing at Arthur.


    "Heh?" Arthur reacted in confusion.


    "Don''t be foolish. We don''t how strong it is, so we need to decide on a way with the lowest casualties. No one is ready to part with life," Adam immediately put a cross on Arthur''s idea.


    "Mr David, is this monster what I think?" Dean Siphon asked after some pondering. If it was drawn to zombies, then they had already met with something that had the same interests.


    "I fear so." Dave nodded his head as he also thought that it was highly likely to be a Devourer. "It seems to be able to sense or smell them from afar. If it has such an acute smelling sense, locating us might not be a problem to it."


    At least, they were safe until the smell of dead zombiespletely fades away and dissipates into their surroundings. After that, Devourer would locate them in no time. Moreover, they were trapped in the livingplex as the monster was not far away from an entrance.


    "Then, the problem remains. We can''t leave from here, yet at the same time, we can''t remain here for a long time. It''s truly a dilemma." Dean Siphon said while pondering. Taking a slight pause to think everything over, she continued decisively, "Then, we have no choice; we need to kill it before it kills us."


    Well, Dave hade to the same decision although he was surprised by her decisive tone. Normal people would have just cowered away, staying unconfident over the matter. However, in the end result, such people would just be waiting for their own ughter.


    "You''re right. And, at the same time, we need to minimise our casualties. That means there is only one way." Dave said ironically. He had thought that he would have time to observe it first, yet it seemed that he couldn''t drag it over.


    Understanding what his friend was going to suggest, Adam shook his head as he immediately disagreed with him. "Don''t ever think about it, Dave."


    "Heh...You''re still quick on uptake, but you know it would be the best decision." Dave said to Adam to assure him. Next, he turned to Dean Siphon to say "Remember what I said before. I would deal with it on my own. Don''t dare to join me; you would lose more than you could obtain from it."


    "That''s not right. We can let you fight it alone. At least, let us help you," Reba said worriedly.


    Smiling bitterly, Dave thought inwardly, ''I''m not letting you join since some of you would die in the end.''


    "Sorry, Mr David. But I can''t let my student put his life at such risk. I''ll be joining you." Dean Siphon said coldly as if cutting all of his excuses.


    "But I''m not going to fight it alone. I''ll take Richard with me. If it''s still not enough you may attack it from a distance, but you shouldn''t approach it. I have a way to kill it." Dave said, not letting them approach it.


    "Me?!" Richard eximed in surprise. He had wanted to wait until everything settled down and Dave took care of it. He didn''t care even if Dave died as a result.


    "Of course, remember I said I need you to deal with some monster. Your time hase. With your defences and your skill, we should be able to pin it down. I won''t take no as an answer," Dave said while nodding his head as it was a matter of fact. "Talking about your skill, you should be able to use it after all the damage you''ve taken."


    "How do you know about it?" Richard asked in awe as he had never told anyone about it.


    "Damn, I fought with you, so of course, I have noticed such an obvious requirement," Dave answered as Richard was a retard. However, actually, he had forgotten that he shouldn''t reveal too much information.


    Next, he took Richard, who followed after him with gritted teeth. Adam, Reba and Brian with long-distance skills naturally followed after him, while the dean joined them as she took out a handgun from somewhere.


    Seeing it, Dave, who said to her to stay behind, waspletely speechless. ''Just who is she?''


    It was strange for a university chairman to keep a handgun with her. Considering herte behaviour, words and how calm she may remain calm in different situations, Dave believed that their dean had history on her own.


    As they left the building through the entrance, as expected, they were immediately spotted by a Devourer. Raising its head from eating a zombie''s corpse, it growled at them, sounding somewhat excited. Well, humans should be much more delicious than rotting zombies.


    "Let me first," Dean Siphon said to Dave. Next, she aimed with her handgun at the Devourer''s head and decisively shoot a bullet at it. She was confident in her skills as she urately shot at its forehead. However, the next moment she was greatly shocked.


    The bullet hadn''t reached its brains as it got stuck in its head, hardly even piercing through its skull.


    ''What a high defence?!'' Noticing it, Dave thought bitterly, holding two swords in his hands; one was his Steel Sword and another was dean''s Rusty Sword that he borrowed from her.


    As it was shot, although having received almost no damage, it roared in anger, madly dashing at them on its fours. As it ran at them, Dave felt vibrations from the ground caused by its mad dash. Reaching to Dave, it shed at him with its ws.


    It was so fast that Dave was barely able to put his sword to block it. Retreating three steps, Dave issuedmand as he immediately activated his supportive skills while enhancing both of his swords with mana. "Pull the distance. Richard, attack it with everything you have."


    ''It seems I can no more save any Free Points for my ss advancement. Distribute all 4 Free Points into agility,'' Dave inwardly issued amand to the System.


    [Your agility has increased by 4 points.]

 Chapter 98: Devourers Might

    Chapter 98: Devourer''s Might


    At Dave''smand, Richard gritted his teeth as he had no choice except to charge at the Devourer. He hadn''t thought that Dave would drag him into such a battle, yet the thought of his safe future soothed his heart. Devourer was thest obstacle he needed to pass through before he could get his life back to his hands.


    Hence, Richard activated his [Rage] skill which umted enough energy to power him up. Compared to the blue mana covering Dave''s swords, ayer of red aura enveloped his body. Although visible to the eye, it had no tangible matter in it, representing a form of energy as the mana.


    Feeling how strength surged through his body, Richard dashed towards Devourer''s back as he shed it with his sword. Being confident of his strength which had gotten a boost from his [Rage] skill, he cheered inwardly for getting a clear hit on it.


    However, in the next moment, his face darkened as a shock was written on it. Powered with his strength and momentum, his sword wasn''t even able to pierce through its outer skin as it was blocked by its steel-hard muscles.


    ''What is with its insane defence?!'' Richard eximed in surprise inwardly. He had never met such a zombie with such high defences. He hadn''t even left a scratch on it.


    Yet it seemed that the Devourer wasn''t fond of being attacked from behind as it growled loudly and shed with its ws. Noticing its attack, Richard hurriedly dodged its ws as he backed away from it. With his skill active, Richard barely had enough agility to contend with its speed.


    However, Devourer didn''t seem to let Richard go as it dashed at him. He was barely following its attacks since he was just a student a month ago and never held a sword before. Hence, he failed to counterattack the Devourer in its relentless pursuit.


    Seeing how Devourer''s aggro was shifted to the Richard, a thought shed inside his head, ''Well, I''ve taken him with me purely for this reason.''


    With his agility increased, Dave believed that he could probe other skills from his life. Although he hadn''t learned most of them by himself, as some of them were granted to him by the System, those skills were deeply engraved in his mind that he could perform them even with closed eyes. It was just he hadn''t enough agility to perform them before.


    Using a sh Step to instantly appear behind the Devourer, Dave raised his Steel Sword which was enveloped in the blue light. Then, Dave dropped his de at Devourer, chopping down at him, at the same time as his breathing became more rushedpared to his calm and stable breathing way.


    Immediately two sword lights appeared behind its back, shing the same ce, as they were reced by a deep cut on its back. Although the wound wasn''t serious to heavily injure it, everyone cheered at its sight. It was the first bleed!


    At the same time, Dave received consecutive system notifications.


    [You have learned Chop (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your Chop (LVL 1) has turned into Chop (LVL 5)]


    [You have learned Double Chop (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your Double Chop (LVL 1) has turned into Double Chop (LVL 2)]


    These two skills were from the series of skills that he had learned by himself. At level 5, Chop increases his attack power by 25%, while the Double Chop allows him to chop twice at the same time. Furthermore, in Double Chop, the second chop used the force behind the first one which doubles the attack power of the second Chop. That was 50% increase in the second one. It was a skill that focused on dealing high damage to one ce.


    Actually, Chop was one of the skills every melee Enhancer had as it was a Basic Skill. Basic Skills didn''t take up a skill slot nor could they be levelled up by a skill point. Therefore, all of the Enhancers learns it by acquiring a Skill Book as it can be learned immediately. Dave also wasn''t an exception in that aspect. Hence, he could perform a basic move like a chop, yet it wasn''t to a state of being recognized by the System.


    However, the System counted it for him since he was able to perform Double Chop which required learning Chop first. Well, it worked fine for him.


    Receiving a wound from Dave, Devourer roared madly as it felt pain for the first time. Immediately, its attention was shifted towards him, leaving poor Richard aside. Getting time to catch his breath, Richard heaved a sigh of relief as his arms already hurt as if his arm bone were close to snapping.


    Richard inwardly shuddered from Devourer''s attack power even if he had barely followed its movements and blocked them with his weapon. However, when he looked at Dave, he was surprised by thetter''s movements.


    Dave dodged Devourer''s attacks so fast that he left afterimages behind him.


    When Devourer charged at him, Dave exhaled a mouthful of air as he prepared himself for it. As it reached him, he dodged its first attack, then series of other attempts to wound him. His body swayed from one side to another, while his steps were as light as he was stepping on a cloud.


    At the same time as he was dodging it, Dave didn''t forget to counterattack as sessive sword lights appeared as he dodged its attacks. First, the attack speed of both of his swords was normal, yet with every swing of his swords, they seemed to be getting faster and faster.


    Later, his swords moved so fast that Adam and others weren''t able to follow them with their eyes as only sword lights shed with every swing. In a short while, small wounds kept appearing on Devourer''s body as their number increased at a visible rate.


    As he dodged Devourer, a melodic voice sounded in his head for a second time.


    [You have learned Cloud Walk (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your Cloud Walk (LVL 1) has turned into Cloud Walk (LVL 2)]


    [You have learned Swift Sword (LVL 1)]


    [Regression is reacting towards your new skill]


    [Your Swift Sword (LVL 1) has turned into Swift Sword (LVL 2)]


    At levels two, Cloud Walk and Swift Sword increased his movement speed and attack speed by 50% respectively. Cloud Walk was a mere footwork Dave had learned on his own. Compared to sh Step that was used to dash for short distances, Cloud Walk increased movement speed in general and relied on swiftness.


    On the other hand, Swift Sword was granted to him by his Swordsman ss as it relied on the momentum of previous attacks to increase the attack speed of the further ones.


    As more small wounds kept appearing on its body, Devourer became enraged as it bellowed loudly. Taking an advantage of it, Dave retreated backwards as he shouted, "Brian, Reba, attack it!"


    "Finally!" Brian said tiredly as he supported two Small Fireballs, hovering around him. Having been given amand to attack, he sent those fireballs at Devourer as they cut through the air at high speed, urately hitting two spots on its body; one hit its head and another one hit its chest.


    Reba also didn''t fall behind Brian as she formed countless Light des around her and shoot them at Devourer, leaving countless small cuts on its body yet unable to gravely injure it. As light des were faster than fireballs, they reached their target first.


    However, Reba couldn''t contend with Brian in terms of destructive power. As Small Fireballs connected with Devourer''s body, they immediately exploded revealing scorching heat condensed into balls.


    Instantly, Devourer shrieked from pain as it started blindly attacking its surrounding. It didn''t matter would it hit its target or not; it just thrashed its surroundings, trying to soothe its pain deal with pests surrounding it.


    ''Interesting, can I use that skill?'' Dave thought in a slight excitement. In the next moment, Dave rushed at the blindly attacking Devourer. When he was two meters away from it, Dave suddenly elerated as he left afterimages behind himself.


    As he was about to sh with Devourer, Dave suddenly vanished from his ce, reappearing behind the Devourer. However, now, a deep wound in a form of a cross marked the Devourer''s chest.


    At the same time, another system notification sounded in his head, yet now, without skill''s immediate level up


    [You have learned Cross sh (LVL 1)]


    ...


    Observing everything from the sidelines, Dean Siphon''s pupils contracted as she gazed at everything in shock. Although Dave was a student in her university, her understanding of him and his background left her confused. It was impossible to keep such calmness without special training. Furthermore, she kept seeing familiar touches in his battle style.


    Having been hit by a Cross sh, Devourer let another pained shriek. However, a zombie was still a zombie, making it hard to kill the Devourer without crushing its brain. In the next moment, Devourer roared madly as something shot from its mouth like a bullet.


    It barely brushed past Brian as it flew past him and headed right at Adam who stood behind him. Standing behind Devourer, Dave wasn''t able to react immediately to it as the distance between him and Adam was too great to traverse it with sh Step.


    Thankfully, Dean Siphon reacted immediately as she jumped at Adam and pushed him on the ground, barely evading it. As it brushed past them, Devourer immediately retracted that thing. Surprisingly, it was its tongue that was covered in greenish saliva.


    Seeing that Adam was fine, Dave heaved a sigh of relief. ''Good...it missed.''


    However, the next moment, Dave''s face immediately darkened when he witnessed Devourer''s next action. Not only his, but everyone''s else face turned ugly from the scene.

 Chapter 99: Hypocrite

    Chapter 99: Hypocrite


    "What the fuck is it doing?" Richard asked in bewilderment. Having gravely injured it, Richard felt close to dealing with Devourer. He thought that, in another 10 minutes, they would easily kill it after tiring it down.


    However, they had truly underestimated it!


    After retracting its tongue back in its mouth, Devourerpletely ignored them as it dashed towards one of the Giant''s corpses. Reaching it, Devourer opened its mouth, revealing its yellowish teeth, as it tore a huge chunk of flesh from it.


    Devourer showed them its amazing capability to eat as it ate the huge Giant''s corpse at a rapid rate, gulping it down with its bones. Lastly, it pierced the skull bone with its tongue, sucking out the corpse''s brain matter. In mere seconds, Devourer had already finished with a low-rank Giant, leaving it barely recognizable.


    As it wasn''t enough, the tongue shot from its mouth for the next time, yet now, instead of attacking, it wrapped around the corpse of a Hunter and pulled the corpse to its mouth.


    Dave was greatly puzzled as he hadn''t even time to act since Devourer was too fast. In a span of a few breathes, it had already eaten two corpses of evolved zombies. No one understood what it was doing, yet a short whileter, the shock was written on everyone''s face.


    It was healing!


    Wounds on its body started quickly regenerating as it healed at a visible pace. After eating two corpses of evolved zombies, small wounds on its body started disappearing as even grave injury left by Dave''s Cross sh started closing itself.


    No one could believe their eyes!


    However, Dave clearly understood that he can''t allow it to eat more corpses around it. He shouted, "Attack it. Don''t allow it to eat more."


    Immediately understanding the severity of the situation, Reba subtly controlled Star to form more light des as she sent flying towards feasting Devourer. Dave asked her instead of Brian since she could form light des instantly around her with the help of Star.


    As for Dave, he raised his hand with a Mana Bullet Ring on it and directed it towards Devourer. The ring shone with a soft blue light as mana started gathering around it, condensing into a bullet. In the next moment, Mana Bullet flew towards Devourer''s scalp. Dean Siphon didn''t also stay idly as she shot several bullets from her handgun.


    At the time their attacks reached it, Devourer was able to put more corpses into its mouth as injuries left by small fireballs and light des werepletely healed. Only an injury left by a Cross sh was still on its body, yet it was rapidly closing up.


    Light des were first to reach it as they stormed him, leaving another series of small cuts on its body, yet it wasn''t enough to stop it. However, in the next moment, Mana Bullet hit the back of its head causing a great amount of pain to it.


    Although Mana Bullet wasn''t able to pierce through its skull, the shockwaves from it still reached its brain. At the same time, more bullets hit its body, immediately rming it of danger. It finally stopped eating, yet it had already healed the majority of its injuries.


    Understanding that they can no more fight with Devourer in a surrounding of corpses, Dave issued amand. "Adam, take others and run towards the livingplex while it chases after me. We need to take it to a ce with no corpses around it. Don''t worry, I have a way to kill it. Richard, you''re with me."


    "But..." Adam tried to argue with Dave, but Dean Siphon quickly convinced him otherwise.


    "Let''s go. We''ll be a burden if its attention shifts to us. He''ll have an easier time dealing with it without us around." She said to Adam.


    Although he was reluctant to leave Dave, Adam understood that they weren''t much of a help, so he could only grit his teeth and take others with him.


    Seeing that everyone else had retreated, Dave heaved a sigh of relief since he didn''t want Adam to get caught up in it. At least, Dave was confident that he could escape from it.


    Noticing that some of the humans were escaping, Devourer growled threateningly as it intended to chase after them, but Dave didn''t n to let it chase after them. He used sh Step to immediately appear near the Devourer and attacked it.


    Double Chop!


    Chop!


    He performed two skills with each of his swords, leaving shallow wounds on its body. When he tried to send another attack, Dave''s scalp turned cold as he used sh Step for another time to retreat towards Richard.


    Having been attacked, its aggro immediately shifted towards Dave as it dashed at him. Sessfully attracting its attention, Dave immediately ran in an opposite direction from Devourer.


    ''Damn!'' Standing next to Dave, Richard paled momentarily as he had no choice but to follow after Dave. Hence, two people were running while a huge monster chased after them.


    At first, they were 10 yards away from Devourer. However, several secondster, the distance between them started gradually shrinking as Devourer was slightly faster than them. At this rate, it wouldn''t take much of a time till it catches them.


    "Careful!" Dave said as he pushed Richard to the side. In the next moment, something shot past them, barely missing Richard. However, in contrast to their expectations, it was a green liquid. When itnded on the ground, it corroded the road, leaving a bump. It looked like acid was poured on the ground.


    Seeing what happened with the road, Richard paled immediately as he madly ran forward. They sprinted through severalrge university facilities and had to yet meet any zombies on their way. it seemed that Devourer had already killed most of them in close proximity.


    When the distance between them and Devourer shortened to 3 yards, Dave said to Richard, "We can''t outrun it. Let''s stick close to each other and kill it. I have a way to do so. Moreover, there are no corpses here."


    "Okay. However, my skill had already run out, so you can rely on yourself if you want to kill it." Richard said as he steeled his heart. He already understood that they can''t outrun it. Furthermore, at this rate, he would be the first one to fall behind since he was slower than Dave. If they don''t kill it now, Richard would only tire himself out.


    "Then, now!" Dave shouted loudly as he turned abruptly to face Devourer. However, Richard didn''t even pay heed to turn as he continued running.


    ''Fool! Fuck with you! It''ll be better if you dy it for me while I escape from it.'' Richard thought inwardly as he nned to leave Dave dying. For him, it was just suicidal to face that monster. He had wanted to escape with others when he had time, but Dave deliberately ran towards him while escaping. He had no choice but to follow him.


    But now, when he had a chance to escape, why did he need to risk his life fighting the monster. He would leave it to the brave ones. As he inwardly cheered how brilliant he was, a blue screen had appeared before him, causing him to immediately m at it.


    It was Dave''s Mana Barrier that he formed immediately after turning around. Although he wasn''t sure would Richard try to escape alone, Dave still formed one on Richard''s way in case Richard lied to him and only pretended to fight along with him.


    "Well, after this, I may not worry about feeling bad about your death," Dave said lowly, but Richard was still able to hear it since he hadn''t left far from Dave, only a meter away from him.


    "You..." Richard tried to ask Dave what he meant, yet he was unable to do so as he felt strong pulling force, sending him in front of Dave.


    At the same time, Devourer had already been close to them, only three meters away. Reaching an effective range, its tongue shot from its mouth for another time. Its target was Dave!


    However, a thin thread of mana wrapped around Richard''s waist pulled him towards Dave, positioning him in front of Dave in a timely manner. As a result, it pierced through Richard''s chest, making a huge hole in it, while Dave promptly dodged the tongue which pierced through Richard. Even his defences didn''t enable him to survive Devourer''s bullet-like tongue.


    "You...You''ve never intended to leave me alive." Realization struck Richard as a light in his widened eyes dimmed. Hisst thought was about how he was fooled by Dave.


    The mana thread was wrapped around him before he decided to leave Dave. It meant that Dave had wrapped it around him when they were running. From that, it can be understood that Dave nned on using him as a human shield right from the start.


    ''It was all his n!'' A thought resounded in his mind, as Richard dropped dead, his eyes expressing disbelief. Right before he fell to the ground, Dave slipped something into Richard''s pocket.


    "I may sound like a hypocrite, but as I said, I wasn''t the one who killed him." Dave heaved a sigh as it was the most effective way to kill Devourer.

 Chapter 100: His Way

    Chapter 100: His Way


    Seeing how Richard was willing to forsake him in a crucial moment, Dave didn''t any guilt for setting him up. Some people may say that he was heartless, but he wasn''t as naive as Arthur to leave potential enemies alive.


    Looking at how Richard put his life above others and was cruel enough to pit people against zombies, even though Richard''s ability was quite useful, Dave never believed that he could change so quickly. But as a leopard can''t change its spots easily, so Richard would still have his desire for power and authority.


    Moreover, after what he did to Richard, Dave wouldn''t believe that Richard wouldn''t have a grudge against him. After all, he tripled his authority, took away his subordinates and robbed items from him. Dave wouldn''t be surprised even if Richard considered him as his mortal enemy.


    After all, he took one of his eyes!


    Even if Richard was a saint, he would have never forgotten such a grudge against a person who made him blind for one eye. At least, Dave would have never forgiven anyone if someone did the same thing to him.


    He would have hunted down that person!


    Therefore, there was only one way for them; either Richard attempts to kill him as he grows strong or either Dave kills him first. The things between them had already grown far beyond the line where they coulde to an agreement.


    Therefore, when he proposed to Richard help him killing Devourer, Dave had never nned to let him live. He instilled fear into him, so Richard would be obedient for a short time, enough to find and kill Devourer. He chose Richard since Dave couldn''t care less would Richard die during the battle or not.


    He hadn''t killed Richard right in the beginning because he nned to use one future university cmity to deal with another. Although he hadn''t hoped that Richard would be able to contend with Devourer in equal qualms, the title of Future Tyrant was still a representation of his power, owning to his innate ability to make his skin as tough as steel.


    Hence, Dave nned to use Richard to relieve some burden from himself while trying to kill Devourer. Also, despite knowing that Devourer could eat both zombies and humans, its ability to regenerate was still a great surprise for him. However, in a worst-case scenario, Dave based his backup n on this special trait.


    Furthermore, he put his life at risk when he pulled Richard to block Devourer''s tongue. If there was even one mishap, one mistake in his calctions, then Dave would have been gravely injured if not died. Taking the nature of the wound into the consideration, Dave would have also been infected.


    "So it''s you and me," Dave tried to calm his palpitating heart. After all, this was the most dangerous battle he would have after his Regression. Devourer clearly understood that Devourer was stronger than him by a league.


    But he had a chance to kill it! He couldn''t let such an opportunity slip through his hands.


    As he gripped tightly hilts of both swords, Devourer charged at him, trying to deal with him with its monstrous strength. Hurriedly avoiding it, Dave sent a Chop with one of his swords. As it got hit, Devourer felt a slight sting from the wound.


    It tried to reach the pest bothering it with its ws, yet thetter swiftly evaded all its thrusts. Devourer''s ws barely missed Dave as he moved as lightly as he was stepping on a cloud. He used Cloud Walk to dodge all of its attacks as he was perfectly dodging Devourer using only minimum movements to do so.


    ''Did it get faster than before? It''s only slightly, but it seems true that Devourers could get respective stats from evolved zombies.'' Dave''s heart shuddered inwardly. He was using all of his concentration to dodge Devourer, and even then, he was barely avoiding them.


    After the incident with Devourer in their university, Dave had heard lots of amazing rumours about it. Some said that acid flowed their blood vessels, while others even argued that it could breathe fire from its mouth. Of course, most of them were just story tales.


    However, there was one rumour that made Dave hadn''t much attention in particr. Some guy spread information that Devour could absorb the innate abilities of zombies and humans. Even though it may seem in, Dave onlyter understood how terrifying it was.


    Devourer could assimte attributes like strength and agility from evolved zombies and Evolvers which was already scary on its own, yet it could obtain innate abilities from zombies and humans that mutated to have an innate ability. It was like humans awaken innate abilities, yet now it was zombies'' turn.


    Actually, it was just a cheat-like ability. Imagine Devourer eating Adam and acquiring his Telekinesis, or even Richard''s innate skin to make its body tough. However, the most terrifying was the fact that if it ate enough humans, it could rise intelligence. Imagine such a monster acquiring intelligence. Even with basic intelligence, the difficulty of killing it would rise tenfold.


    Fortunately, Devourers were quite rare that Dave hadn''t met another one in five years. Hence, Dave didn''t know was it fortunate that it was killed in their university or unfortunate that it had appeared on the campus. Imagine what disaster it could cause if it lived longer.


    ''Therefore, I need to kill it now without giving it time to grow even stronger.'' Determination shed in Dave''s eyes as he continued avoiding Devourer.


    Getting enraged that all of its attacks were missing, Devourer shot its tongue from its mouth. Since it was just right before Dave, Dave hardly had time to react to it. It was just like a cannon fired from a short distance.


    Dave couldn''t let it hit him!


    Instinctively forming a mana barrier in front of him, he tried to dy its tongue, but as excepted, it pierced through it as it was nothing. Just when it was already close hitting Dave, he suddenly disappeared, making Devourer confused.


    sh Step!


    "Wow, female zombies should be standing in a row to have a kiss with you. However, you have quite a deadly tongue, you know," Dave said, appearing two meters away from his initial ce. At thest moment, Dave was able to barely dodge it with sh Step, as he nearly stumbled from hastily using it.


    Taking advantage of Devourer''s confusion, Dave activated Muscle Expansion to gain additional 10 points of strength for a minute and used Cross sh to attack Devourer as the skill boosted both his speed and attack power by 50% for a moment of attack.


    Entering into momentary confusion, Devourer instantly spotted Dave two meters away from its initial ce. As it intended to rush at him and finally deal with the pest bothering him, Dave disappeared from his sight for the second time.


    The next moment, a huge wound in the shape of the cross appeared on its back. As Devourer was ignorant of pain since no one was able to deal damage high enough to cause it, it bellowed loudly from its sudden appearance.


    It was already a second time!


    However, Dave hadn''t finished yet. Taking advantage of Devourer''s sudden confusion, Dave sent a barrage of attacks to it from behind.


    Double Chop!


    Chop!


    Dave sent Double Chop and Chop with both of his swords as another two wounds appeared on its back. Next, Dave sent several consecutive shes as, with each swing of his sword, his attacks were only speeding up, leaving afterimages of his swords.


    In a span of few moments, Dave was able to send 24 consecutive sword shes as small cuts kept appearing on its back. Furthermore, with the effect of his Muscle Expansion, his attacks dealt more damage than when he attempted to kill it with Adam and others.


    However, the next moment, Devourer turned abruptly and hit Dave with its hand. Dave was barely able to put his swords in front of him, and with additional points of strength due to Muscle Expansion, Dave was able to sessfully block its attack.


    Having gotten hit by Devourer, Dave had been pushed back by 3 steps. It felt like getting hit by a car as his hands holding the swords trembled a bit due to the impact. Both of his arms were in pain as he felt like his bone were close to crushing.


    As for the swords in his hands, Steel Sword was more or less in a good state as its durability decreased by several points. However, the Rusty Sword that he borrowed from Dean Siphon snapped, gettingpletely useless.


    Having pushed Dave away from itself, Devourer immediately dashed towards the only corpse lying on the ground. Its tongue slithered out of its mouth as it wrapped around Richard''s corpse and threw it inside the mouth.


    It was trying to heal himself from the injuries Dave had caused to it!


    Seeing how Devourer was trying to heal itself, Dave smiled faintly in triumph. "Heh...How predictable."


    In the next moment, the Devourer that threw Richard into its mouth was devoured in the ball of lightning, emitting a strong sh of light. However, it shed only for the moment, followed by a loud sound of thunder rumbling right near him.


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!