Rescue

[Congratulations you have already completed your contribution requirement. You'll be eligible to the full functionality of… 'Mishaa' once the first phase is completed.]

[You have exceeded the minimum contribution limit by a great margin, you will be eligible for more rewards. Contributing more will award a higher final reward…]

[You have killed several humans. However, the Red Player status effect and buff will not be awarded to you since the first phase of the First Integration has not been finished yet.]

[You have aided in saving the lives of a few people who were destined to die. Increased contribution points.]

[All contribution points gains have been deferred.]

[You have gained several attribute stats, but you will only be awarded the additional attributes once the first phase is over.]

[Your weapon, Antic Normal Steel sword, has been damaged, it is close to breaking. You might want to consider repairing it.]

[Warning… A strange power stirs within you, it hungers at the sight of blood.]

[You are on the cusp of suffering a negative ailment effect: Dark Hunger]

The last information came as a surprise, what the heck does that mean? A strange power? And what's this dark hunger?

'Inspect, Dark Hunger.'

[A strange Debuff that causes the user to feel intolerable Mana Hunger. To alleviate the state you need to consume Mana Heavy items or Magical Beast flesh. This ailment is not supposed to be present in the first phase. Source of the ailment… unknown.]

"Bruh…" I mumbled, rubbing my forehead in frustration.

"What's wrong?" asked Will, looking concerned.

"Oh, nothing, just an annoying debuff… don't worry about it," I said, trying to brush off my discomfort.

"You weren't bitten, right?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

I shook my head. "No, no, I'm fine. Anyway," I said, standing up from my seat. "We need to get the situation under control. We should get a few guys to patrol the area next to the stairs. Keep an eye out and try not to make any noise. Noise will only agitate the undead and make them push further," I explained, trying to sound as calm and collected as possible.

"But I think it's too late for that. They already know we're here," Will said, his voice tinged with worry.

I frowned, feeling a knot of fear form in my stomach. "That shouldn't be possible. The undead lose interest very quickly... unless," I trailed off, my mind racing with the worst possible scenarios.

I headed downstairs and took a peek from between the barricades. My heart sank as I made eye contact with one of the undead students. From the glowing blue eyes, I could tell that he was evolving.

"Fuck!" I cursed under my breath as I turned to Will, who had followed me.

"They're awakening. They're starting to evolve. Undead with blue eyes have the ability to sense life, and we're like a burning furnace to their heat-sense eyes right now," I explained, my voice shaking slightly.

"Shit, this is going to be a pain in the ass," I muttered, trying to think of a plan.

But then, an idea struck me. "Round up everyone," I said firmly, my mind racing with the details of the plan forming in my head. "There is no way we can stay here any longer. We need to leave."

"Wait, why? Didn't you say you called for help?" one of the girls asked, looking confused.

I sighed. "The undead can see us right now, even through walls. And this is only the first stage of their evolution. In less than an hour, all of their body limitations will be removed, and they'll start using strength far superior to humans. The barricades we have here will be about as effective as using a piece of paper to stop a charging bull," I explained, hoping that they would understand the gravity of the situation.

"But how are we going to get away? They have all the corridors surrounded," the same girl asked, sounding worried.

"We'll use their own evolution against them. Everyone, gather right next to this staircase," I said, pointing to the spot I had in mind.

"What? Lucas, are you sure? That's basically a few feet away from the frenzied undead. Isn't that a very bad idea?" Will asked, looking skeptical.

"It might sound like a bad idea, but this is the only way for us to group them up and open a path of escape for us. Trust me on this," I said, hoping that Will and the others would have faith in my plan.

Soon, Will began relaying my orders to all of the remaining hundred or so students. It took a lot of convincing to get everyone to gather up, but eventually, a show of strength and underlying threats of broken bones worked their way into convincing even the most stubborn students.

As we waited nervously for the undead to approach, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. This plan might work, or it might backfire horribly.

Soon Will began relaying the orders to all of the remaining hundred or so students. And it took a lot of convincing to have them gather up, of course, a show of strength and underlying threats of broken bones worked a long way into convincing some of the more 'adamant' students.

Once the students were packed, I had them patiently wait here.

"Everyone stay calm, and try to make the least amount of noise that you can," I said.

Will nudged me and asked in a low tone, "But didn't you say that they have X-rays?"

"Not all of them, only the evolved ones. But, since they evolved, they have a hierarchy among themselves. Most of the undead will follow the one that is awakened, but they can't follow its orders, the one with the blue eyes can locate us but it cannot tell the other undead to charge after us. The other undead will follow it, but they'll not break through this barricade unless we make noise and they realize that we're here. So far they'll be staying there, unable to make a decision, but if more start awakening, it'll be a problem." I explained in detail.

"You know a lot about this," Nadia's voice came from behind me which scared the living hell out of me, but thankfully I didn't show it.

No wonder she was pretty damn good at playing the Rogue class.

"I can't explain in detail right now, but all will be clear later."

"He is a regressor," Will said.

Which had me gawking at him, unbelievingly.

"Are you serious?"

"Oh…was that a secret?" Will asked dumbly.

"For the love of God man…" I sighed.

It wasn't like I was trying to hide the fact, but the more people know that I'm a regressor, the more shit will be on my plate.

"Regressor… like time travel?" she asked.

"It's not like that… I don't know how to explain this… but. How about we talk about this later, and can you please keep this to yourself, unlike a certain someone," I glared at Will who shied away from my gaze.

"…"

Nadia didn't reply, not like I was expecting anything.

"Anyway, stay here for a few moments, I'll be back," I said.

"Where are you going?" Asked another girl.

"I'll need to lure them into this area, I'll be back soon," I said, my eyes scanning the group of survivors huddled together in the corner.

"Yeah right, who says you're not doing this, gathering us up like livestock so you can escape on your own," the girl said, suspicion etched on her face.

I sighed, trying to keep my frustration at bay. "I understand your concerns, but believe me, that's not what I'm doing. I need to lure the undead away so I can create a safe path for all of us."

"Are you brain damaged?" spoke another girl, looking at her, it was Mary, "You think someone like him, with as much strength, and ability, and knowledge would even need to use us as bait? He basically came here to save you all, and now you're spitting on his face for actually trying his best to save you?" Mary said, coming to my defense.

"I-I," the first girl stuttered, her eyes darting around the room.

"I what? Next time think before you start spitting shit, now you made everyone panic and anxious," Mary said, her voice firm.

Mary then turned to me and said, "You'll come back right?"

"Yes," I replied, a small smile forming on my face at her trust in me.

"Good enough for me, I'll wait here," she said and sat down.

Her words seemed to calm the others, and I could see a sense of relief wash over their faces.

"Will, same as before, make sure everyone is safe, I'll be back soon," I said to my friend, who had been helping me keep watch over the survivors.

It was a huge pain in the ass, a very huge pain in the ass to do what I just did. I needed to crawl once again through the damn vents, this time it was very close since a few undead could literally see through walls. I almost got grabbed and nabbed a few too many times for comfort.

But I knew I had to do this. I couldn't risk the safety of the survivors, and I needed to make sure that we had a way out of this hellhole.

Thankfully, I made it to the first floor without alerting any of the undead.

As I started to lure the undead to the other side of the school building, my heart pounded in my chest. Every creak and groan echoed through the empty halls, making me jump at every sound. But I pushed through, knowing that I had to keep going.

I only needed to get them closer to the staircase where the rest of the undead were grouped up, then jump back into another vent. It was a risky plan, but it was the only one I had.

I did this several times over, and thankfully managed to group all the undead under one side of the staircase, I didn't even need to fully pull their aggro. Because the moment I went into the vent, and then found it hard to reach me, they turned their attention to their brethren who were grouped up and were locked on the students behind a thick barricade.

As I made my way back to the group of survivors, my body shaking from the adrenaline, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. Most of the undead students had been grouped up, and it took me an hour to manage all this shit. But I knew that it was worth it, if it meant that we could all make it out alive.

Once I was done, I climbed back up, and only God knows how exhausted I was from all that running around.

I slumped from within the vent into the corridor, where Will came fast at me.

"You good man?" he asked.

"Fucking…tired," I said huffing for air.