^POV Dr. Eric Brightwater^
"It has been a few hours since those boys left." I was pacing back and forth in my room, waiting for any news, whether good or bad.
"Dr. Eric, we need help, there is someone injured downstairs." A student opened my door forcefully, asking for my help.
"Calm down, tell me what happened." It was a typical problem of someone being bullied and beaten, I expected this to happen due to all the tension surrounding the atmosphere.
"Alright, lead the way." Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even pay attention to such a matter unless they came to the infirmary, but in these times, any violent behavior must be controlled so chaos doesn't spread.
"Oh my God, I didn't think it was this bad." As soon as I arrived, I saw a young man being beaten by four others, while the dean watched from his window with a smile, without any sign that he intended to stop this farce.
"Stop right now, you two, what do you think you're doing?" I separated them and stopped the fight, then went to check on the injured person.
Originally, he was a young man with dark blue hair and silver eyes, someone who could be described as a living example of handsomeness, but now his nose was broken and he had bruises all over his body. Fortunately, it seemed they held back a bit, so there were no fractures.
"Hey kid, what's your name? Don't worry, you'll be fine, they're all external injuries, nothing serious." Some students carried him to the infirmary, and I chatted with him to ease him a bit.
"Theodore… Theodore Barrister," he answered in a broken voice, signs of pain and suffering clear on his face.
"Theodore, can you tell me why they attacked you?" I asked to know why four people gathered to beat him, while the dean's smile lingered in my thoughts.
"It's because of that damned dean. First, he sent our saviors and our only strength to their deaths, then when he heard that I opposed his decisions, he threatened some of my friends that he wouldn't take them when we are rescued if they didn't beat me." Hatred overflowed from Theodore's eyes when he said those words.
"Yes, I agree with you, sending them all was not the right decision." I sighed when I understood the reason behind the dean's smile and decisions, but I understood them.
In times like these, under such pressure, the human soul is the most terrifying.
"You can go now. If they bother you again, you can come to me." I cleaned Theodore's wounds, bandaged them, and gave him a painkiller before sending him away.
"That dean is getting crazier every second." I muttered as I sat on the couch holding my head.
^POV Theodore Barrister^
"That bastard, I swear I will kill him." I left the infirmary after the doctor finished bandaging me… I looked like a damn mummy now.
-What should I do… what should I do- I sat on the ground while all I could think about was how to kill that damned dean and wipe that stupid smile off his face.
-No more surrender, I must win or die- Scenarios like what happened today are something I don't want to repeat again, so I must become stronger, and the path is clear.
Just like Liam and the others, all I have to do is kill zombies and level up.
I opened the status window to check my stats.
[ Name: Theodore Barrister ]
[ Level: 0 { 10 / 0 xp } ]
[ Class: N/A ]
[ Mana: 24 ]
[ Strength: 7 ]
[ Stamina: 9 ]
[ Vitality: 9 ]
[ Agility: 11 ]
[ Intelligence: 12 ]
[ Free Points: 0 ]
[ Skills: N/A ]
"How pathetic, most of my stats aren't even at the level of an average human." I shook my head mockingly at my low stats, no wonder I was beaten so easily.
...
"Hah, hah… this was easier than I thought." I sat on the ground and started taking deep breaths, I don't know how long it has been since I started hunting zombies.
At first, it was difficult, taking a lot of effort to kill one using only a fire axe, but now, thanks to my new state, it has become much easier.
[ Name: Theodore Barrister ]
[ Level: 2 { 50 / 35 xp } ]
[ Class: N/A ]
[ Mana: 28 ]
[ Strength: 9 ]
[ Stamina: 10 ]
[ Vitality: 10 ]
[ Agility: 11 (+1) ]
[ Intelligence: 14 ]
[ Free Points: 0 ]
[ Skills: Ice Cone ]
{ Ice Cone Spell Rank-1
By harnessing surrounding ice mana and shaping it into a cone, upon impact it reduces the target's speed and freezes it. }
[ Quality: Rare ]
[ Mana Cost: 7 per cone ]
[ Cooldown: 1 minute ]
"This feeling of power, I think I've become addicted to it." I laughed mockingly at myself, and wore the shoe that dropped from a wooden chest. It was white with strange red engravings on its sole.
{ Damaged Magic Shoe Rank-0
A failed product of a magic shoe made from the leather of a mutated wind wolf Tier-1, with magical circles drawn by a novice blacksmith. }
[ Quality: Rare ]
[ Effects: +1 Agility ]
"That's enough for today, let's see if they dare mess with me again." As darkness began to fall, I decided to return to the shelter. It's true that I'm stronger now, but I'm not like that lunatic Jin to continue hunting at night.
"Finally, some peace." When I returned through the window I sneaked from, I sat in the room and closed my eyes to rest.
"What the hell is happening." I got up at the sound of furniture being moved downstairs, and ran quickly to the hallway to check.
"Well, now this is getting interesting." As soon as I arrived, a smile formed on my face when I heard a black-haired young man speaking with the dean.
I walked down the stairs with a smile and said, "I agree with you, we should gather together to get through these difficult times."
Upon hearing my words, the dean's face turned ugly as if he had eaten shit, which made me feel completely satisfied.
^POV Michael D Von Santos^
"Open the door, it's me, Tony." We finally arrived at Tony's base, where he stepped forward to knock.
"They're back, hurry and open." I heard the sound of things moving behind the door before it was opened quickly.
"Huh?? Tony where are the others?? And wait, who are these two!?" Two young men stood behind the door, immediately questioning Tony.
"Long story, now I want you to gather the rest downstairs, I have something important to tell you." Tony shrugged as he replied, while one of them quickly went to inform the others.
"I heard our brave rescuers have finally returned." I raised my head to see a middle-aged man coming down the stairs, smiling.
"This is Dean Park, he's in charge here, and also a power-hungry idiot. If there is any obstacle to this group joining us, it will be him." Tony whispered, his tone filled with disdain.
"Oh, don't worry, in the end we are not forcing anyone to join us." I smiled when I heard Tony's words and shrugged innocently. I could hear Zola laughing behind me, but I didn't care.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to our new friends, Tony!?" Seeing Tony return alone, the dean avoided asking about the rest and changed the topic to our identities.
"Hello Mr. Park, I'm Michael Santos, this is my companion Zola, nice to meet you." I stepped forward to shake the dean's hand with a smile.
"Welcome Michael, how about sitting in my office and telling me how you met Tony?" I mocked the dean's attempt to hide facts from the public under the pretense of a private talk.
"No need Mr. Park, it's not a secret. We rescued him from a mutated husky attack, and unfortunately most of the other team was killed by that beast." I raised my voice deliberately so the whole hall could hear, and murmurs spread after my statement.
"I heard you say most, do you mean there are survivors besides Tony?"
Bingo, the fish took the bait - I smiled when I heard the dean's words.
"Yes, but unfortunately they are badly injured, and if they don't receive medical care soon, I don't think they…" I deliberately didn't finish my sentence and sighed helplessly.
"How unfortunate, may the lord help them." The dean muttered and began praying like the most devout man on the continent.
"Tony told me that you are running out of food, and fortunately we have plenty of food in the library, so I thought joining us until we wait for rescue is the best option for everyone." The bait was cast, now I just had to wait.
"Yes, I agree, we should gather together to get through these difficult times." A handsome blue-haired young man came down the stairs smiling, he seemed to be on my side so I decided to go along with him.
"Exactly, he said what I had in mind." I smiled as well and shook his hand.
"Theodore Barrister… nice to meet you, Michael." Theodore introduced himself.
"I agree as well, but you know the dangers outside more than us, so I don't think we can reach the library safely." The dean interrupted, trying to turn things by targeting the survivors' fears.
"Of course, that's why we won't force anyone. Whoever wants to come with us can pack their things and gather at the door, we will leave in an hour." I nodded to the dean, who seemed relieved.
"And I must warn those who choose to stay that metal doors won't stop evolved zombies. I saw one cut iron bars like a knife cutting hot butter." I turned to finish my words with a smile that looked like a devil's smile to the poor dean.
...
"Well, an hour has passed, get ready, we are leaving now, and good luck to those who chose to stay." 13 out of 20 survivors decided to come with us, 6 females and 7 males, including the doctor whose name was Eric.
"Tsk, looks like you're in a good mood, boss." Zola laughed.
"Well, why wouldn't I be when everything is going smoothly." I shrugged.
"Go guard the rear with Tony and call that guy." My smile widened when my eyes fell on Theodore.
"Hello Michael, Zola told me you wanted to see me." Theodore stepped forward.
"Yes, I wanted to thank you for your help earlier, and also I want you to guard the front with me since you are already level 2." I looked into Theodore's eyes, his shocked expression made me laugh.
"Michael, we need help here." Tony's shout from behind stopped my teasing.
"Theodore stay here and protect the team from any stray zombies." I left him behind and rushed to help Tony.
When I arrived, I saw the reason—
About twenty zombies were coming toward us, the fastest ones almost reaching the rear.
"Oh, this is good… very good." My smile widened as I muttered, finally finding the chance to test what I had in mind before that damned husky interrupted me.