"The library is safe! If anyone is still alive, come out!"
Michael shouted after seeing Sean drive his axe into the last zombie stuck in the railing.
Waaaaaah
A scream echoed through the library, causing Michael's expression to change as he rushed quickly to check what was happening.
"Hey you! I'm here! Come to me!" When Michael arrived, he saw a half-faced zombie approaching two girls in one corner of the library, so he shouted to attract its attention.
The zombie turned its head 180 degrees, then rushed forward.
The zombie was Fast.Too fast.
"Mana Shield! Mana Shield!" Michael panicked when he realized he had forgotten his spear when he rushed to help.
Just before the zombie arrives a transparent white barrier appeared in front of Michael.
BOOM
The zombie collided with the barrier, causing it to crack and shatter, but due to the recoil, the zombie fell to the ground.
One of the girls then threw a wooden stick—seemingly from a broken chair—toward Michael.
Michael grabbed the stick and struck.Again.And again.
smashing the zombie's head, ignoring the brain matter and blood splattering all over his face.
He had never felt this close to death before and didn't even notice the level-up notification:
[Congratulations, you have reached Level 3. You have 3 free stat points.]
"Hey Michael, stop! Stop! It's dead."
"What happened?" Sean finally arrived and, upon seeing the scene, took the stick from Michael's hands.
"Hah… hah… that zombie… it was fast. We were way too careless."
Michael turned to Sean while he was breathing heavily and hands shaking
"If we can level up… why can't zombies?" Michael smiled bitterly as he told Sean that the message he received after killing that zombie was:
[You have killed a Level 4 Zombie +20 XP]
"But why didn't you use Fireball?" Sean asked why Michael used Mana Shield instead of simply blowing its head off.
"Sean, what do you think would happen if fire spread in the library here??" Michael replied with a question.
"Hah… are you girls okay?" Sean pretended he didn't hear Michael's answer and went to check on the girls.
"Yes… thank you for saving us."One of the girls spoke, her voice trembling.
"You're safe now," Sean said."I'm Sean. This is Michael."
"I'm Lina… and this is Angela." Lina's hands were still shaking.
"Michael… thank you. If you hadn't come…" Angela couldn't finish her sentence.
Michael nodded quietly "I just did what I had to."
"Sean, will you go or should I finish clearing this floor? One of us has to stay and protect them."
"I'll go. On the way, I'll look for any other survivors." Sean handed Michael the spear and left with the axe.
"Alright… what do we have here…"
Michael crouched down and noticed something beneath the zombie's body.He pushed it aside
{Skill Book: Slow Curse, Rank 1}
(The user condenses surrounding mana and injects it into the target's muscles to hinder movement and reduce speed.)
[Quality: Rare]
[Mana Cost: 10]
[Duration: 5 minutes]
[Cooldown: 30 minutes]
[Do you wish to learn this skill?]
[Yes] [No]
Michael thought about what had just happened and decided to learn it without hesitation, but…
[User is not talented enough in curses. You cannot learn this skill.]
"I'll give it to Sean when he comes back to try his luck." Michael put the book in his bag, then went downstairs and opened his status:
Michael De von Santos
Level: 3 {70 / 0 XP}
Class: None
Mana: 26
Strength: 10
Stamina: 9
Vitality: 10
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 13
Distributable Points: 3
Skills: Fireball (Lvl1), Mana Shield (Lvl1)
"Add two points to Agility and one to Stamina." Michael decided to balance his stats first.
Their faces turned pale when they saw the scattered zombie corpses.
Blargh Blargh
Lina couldn't hold herself and started vomiting.
"It's okay.... Take your time."
"There's a bathroom behind my desk."
"…Thank you, but I think you need it more than I do." Lina said quietly.
"No problem. I'll go after you."
Michael sat at his desk while Lina entered the bathroom.
"Um…Michael…"Angela hesitated."Do you know what caused all this?"
"I think it's because of mana. Those who couldn't handle it turned into zombies… and being injured by them turns you into one too."
"You weren't injured, right?"He suddenly grabbed her shoulders.
"No! We're not infected!" Her voice trembled.
"…Sorry."He quickly let go and went into the bathroom.
The mirror reflected himBlood.Brain matter.His own shaking hands, he punched the mirrorIt shattered.
and he dropped to the floor trembling.
"Hey Lina, where's Michael?" Sean returned.
"He's still in the bathroom."
"Oh—were you looking for me?" Michael stepped out his face was cleanBut his hands… still stained with blood.
Behind Sean stood a short boy.
"Yeah. And don't underestimate him—he's Level 1."
"I'm Marcus. I crushed two zombies with a bookshelf."
"Sean, go wash up. Then come—I need to talk to you. The rest of you, find somewhere to sleep."
"No one's coming to save us tonight."
Michael handed out cola and snacks.
"Sean… we need to leave tomorrow.""There's no food or water here."
"Yeah. I need to check on my sister. You need to check on your parents."
"We move carefully. Two teams tomorrow…"
Michael explained the plan.
"Alright. Let's rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."
"Oh, before I forget—try learning this." Michael handed Sean the curse book.
"I can't. No talent."
"Then give it to Marcus." Michael shrugged.