Day-Z (1/2)

On the terrace, I approached the railing that Takashi had been standing on earlier and observed the scene in front of me. In the distance it was possible to see smoke rising from the city and some small signs of destruction. At the entrance to the school, pools of blood stained the ground where the teachers had been infected and had begun to kill themselves.

"Wait... what the fuck is that?!", I asked myself when I saw the strange man outside the gate.

In the original story he had been the Zombie who started the infection in the school, after biting the teacher he should have left, but there he was looking at everything, while his skin slowly melted and his bones broke and came together in grotesque shapes. A shiver ran down my spine at the sight of the fully transformed creature smiling as it looked straight at me.

"That son of a bitch noticed me up here!"

[System]: That mutation is probably due to the alteration made to the conjunction's universe, Elijah.

"What a fucked-up collateral effect," I commented in shock.

The monster began to move away and disappeared between the nearby houses, somehow I sensed that this wouldn't be the last time we'd see each other. With the elixirs taking effect, I began to feel energized particles slowly colliding with my body and accumulating inside me.

"How long would it take me to absorb all this energy and use it?", I asked the system.

[System]: I estimate it would take about 30 minutes.

"Shit!"

¤¤¤

Takashi, Rei and Hisashi ran quickly through the corridors while Rei kept asking what was going on.

"Something terrible happened at the front gate, I couldn't run away by myself," said Takashi, still running.

"What do you mean something happened at the gate?" asked Rei, still confused.

"The teachers there were killed," replied Takashi with a somber tone.

"Do you really think I'm going to believe that ridiculous story?!", Said Rei, after all Takashi had even hit her in the face to make her follow him.

"Then stay and be killed too."

"Wait, you two," said Hisashi, stopping running.", If Takashi's story is true, you'll need this.

Hisashi ran towards the cupboards and grabbed a baseball bat along with a mop, the mop he broke off leaving a pointed end, after which he handed the improvised weapons to his friends. Rei tried to call the police but the line was busy, which made the three of them even more apprehensive.

—Attention all students and teachers! There is currently a violent conflict taking place in the surrounding area. All students, please stay with your teachers and follow the instructions they give you! Repeat, all students- NO! GET OUT OF HERE! SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP! IT HURTS IT HURTS! ARGHHHHH!...— said the desperate voice coming out of the school's loudspeakers.

After the principal's official announcement, a deafening silence permeated the whole school and like an explosion the totally desperate students started trying to flee like a herd, which led to a situation so chaotic that it wouldn't have been surprising if someone had been trampled to death in their midst.

Breathing heavily, I had totally exceeded my body's limits by absorbing all the energy in just 15 minutes, and with sweat dripping from my forehead, I stood up excitedly.

"Let's join the party!"

[System]: The time has come, master.

I gripped my staff tightly and opened the door to the terrace. With my enhanced senses, I could already smell the scent of blood in the air. As I descended the stairs, I could already see "them" devouring or attacking other students. It was something totally different from what I had seen in the anime, it was a more grotesque and brutal scene than I could have imagined, the zombies tore through their victims spreading organs and flesh all over the place. I had to concentrate hard not to vomit at the carnage.

[System]: They're stronger, Eli-sama.

[Elevated heart's rate and anxiety were detected, his emotions considered harmful to survival were suppressed.]

I could already feel Iron Will kicking in and regulating my nervousness in this situation, and with my mind clearer I could see the differences from the original work. The zombies were stronger and more brutal, but they were still idiots whose only instinct was to kill everything that moved. As I set foot in the corridor, a zombie feeding on a schoolgirl looked up at me, growling like an animal.

I clenched the staff in my hands and assumed a combat stance, the creature leapt towards me with an animalistic impulse and launched itself in an attempt to bite my neck, my body reacted as if by instinct and moving my foot slightly to the side the creature passed straight through me, thus leaving an easy opening for my counter attack. Smashing its skull against the corridor wall with a clean blow from my staff, I continued walking while following the map made by the system earlier.

10 minutes had passed and I had already killed 5 zombies in all, but none of the main characters were in sight. Takagi and Hirano are probably together in some hidden room, the protagonist's love triangle is probably going to the administration building and she... I know exactly where to find her. With a smile on my lips, I continued to clean up the fourth floor corridor as more zombies came towards me.

[System]: Your attributes have improved, boss.

"Attributes?" I asked, before dodging one of their attacks and kicking it away.

[System]: Your body is maxed out, but that's only by human standards, you're basically a professional athlete these days.

"Does that mean I can reach higher heights than humans?"

[System]: Roughly speaking, yes, but evolving your attributes requires a lot of effort as it takes real training.

"What attributes have evolved?"

[System]: Perception, Mental Strength and Magic.

"How wonderful! I just need to kill more of them to get stronger." Without realizing it, a sinister smile had formed on my lips.