That night, no matter how hard Michael tried—he couldn't sleep.
The image of Lucas tearing into the girlIt wouldn't leave his mind.
"Haaah… Dad… Mom…""I hope you're okay…" Michael sighed as he leaned back on his chair, waiting for dawn…
"Sean, it's time. Wake up." With the first ray of light, Michael stood up to wake him.
"I'm awake… just resting my eyes." Sean sighed as he got up, grabbing his axe, ready to move.
Hearing them, the others woke up as well
It seemed none of them had actually slept.
"Alright, since everyone's awake, let's get to work." Michael nodded as he began searching for bags among the corpses.
"Umm… okay, but what do you need the bags for?" Angela stepped closer, followed by Lina and Marcus, helping him search.
"Huh? Didn't you tell them, Sean?" Michael gave Sean a questioning look.
"Well… uh… I was surprised Angela could learn the curse, so I forgot." Sean scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Oh? Angela has talent in curses?"
The moment he said itThe atmosphere shifted.
"…That came out wrong."
"Tsk… Michael, watch your mouth, man." Marcus shook his head at Michael's stupidity.
"Ahem… here's the plan: Sean and I will go out to get food and water from the cafeteria, while you three clean the library and move the zombie corpses outside." Michael ignored Angela's glare and explained.
"We have to carry them…?"Lina's voice trembled.
"If you don't want to carry them, figure something else out"
Michael looked at her for a moment.
"…They're dead."
His tone didn't leave room for argument.
"Alright, we've gathered enough. Let's go, Michael. I checked outside—there are about 25 to 30 zombies between us and the cafeteria." Sean came down from upstairs.
"You're not taking the bags?" Marcus asked, seeing Sean leave them near the door.
"No. They'll slow us down. We secure the area first, then collect supplies." Michael shook his head, gripping his spear as he signaled Sean to open the metal shutter.
"There are five zombies at the bottom of the stairs outside. Stay alert—we don't know their levels."
The sound of metal attracted them as the zombies started climbing. One tripped and fell.
"Good. We'll use the stairs as our battlefield." Michael rushed forward and drove his spear into the fallen zombie's head.
Sean followed behind.
[You have killed a Level 5 Zombie +25 XP]
"Hah… looks like this one was stronger than the last." Michael smirked as they continued killing the rest. Sean leveled up to 3 and distributed his points:
Sean Maximus
Level: 3 {10 / 70 XP}
Class: None
Mana: 22
Strength: 15
Stamina: 12
Vitality: 11
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 12
Distributable Points: 0
Skills: Strength Enhancement (Max)
"Should we lure them here to fight on the stairs?" Sean asked.
"No. Too slow—and we might attract something stronger." Michael refused.
"We'll work as a duo. I'll train my Fireball, you finish them off."
"Oh, finally using it?" Sean got excited.
"This is harder than I thought…" Michael struggled, forming only a small fireball.
"Test it."
"Bullseye." Michael hit a zombie's head, killing it instantly.
The smell of burnt flesh spread.
[You have killed a Level 2 Zombie +10 XP]
Michael felt his mana draining.
"This won't work… a few more casts and I'll lose my combat ability."
"This is a problem—" Sean stopped mid-sentence.
Five zombies rushed toward them… but worse
A massive figure emergedAt least 230 cm tall giant Zombie.
"We take out the small ones first!"
They quickly killed the incoming zombies.
"He is too slow Hit it with Fireball!" Sean shout
The fireball hit—but barely did anything.
"My magic is too weak."
"I have a plan! Stall it!" Sean ran to a nearby car and activated his skill:
{Skill: Strength Enhancement, Rank 0}
Enhances the body's muscles by coating them with mana, increasing Strength by 10 points and Stamina by 5 points.
Quality: Common
Mana Cost: 10
Duration: 30 minutes
Cooldown: 6 hours
Power surged through Sean's body.
"Sean, hurry! I can't hold it!" Michael's Mana Shield cracked.
"Move!" Sean smashed the car window, ripped off the door, and used it as a shield, charging into the giant zombie and knocking it down.
drove the spear into its eye again and again until the spear broke.
[You have killed a Rank 1 Level 10 Zombie +100 XP]
[Congratulations, you have reached Level 4. You have 3 free stat points.]
"Add all to Vitality."
Name: Sean Maximus
Level: 4 {40 / 100 XP}
Class: None
Mana: 22
Strength: 15
Stamina: 12
Vitality: 14
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 12
Distributable Points: 0
Skills: Strength Enhancement (Max)
"Haaah… I thought I was going to die." Michael collapsed, exhausted.
"Stay. Recover. I'll handle the rest." Sean left to clear remaining zombies.
Michael focused on his skills and noticed something new:
Skills: Fireball (Lvl1) – Proficiency: Beginner
Mana Shield (Lvl1) – Proficiency: Beginner
it revealed:
Proficiency Levels: Beginner → Intermediate → Professional → Mastery→ Origin
Skills reach full power at Professional.
At Mastery the user has full control of the skill.
"Michael, I'm done! The path is clear!" Sean called.
"That fast? Only 20 minutes?"
"This skill is insane. One swing of my 'shield' (car door) wipes groups." Sean laughed.
"Good. I learned something new too—I'll explain on the way. And you collected the drops, right?"
"Of course. All in my bag. We'll sort them later. Also… I think there are survivors in the cafeteria—the door is tightly shut."
"Hello! Anyone there? We're survivors from the library!"
After a few moments, a glasses-wearing young man opened the door…
His expression changedLike he recognized Sean.