Cores

The shock lingered among them for a while before they snapped out of it.

Almost instinctively, they all glanced back from where they had come and up at the sky. The day was fading—the sky turning darker as night crept in.

They hadn't realized how much time had passed while scouting the area. They hadn't left in the morning, but time had flown as they got caught up in their tasks.

"Maybe we should head back and check the monsters we killed for more orbs along the way," suggested the security head, who had been silent until then. The group quickly agreed, and without another word, they turned and began retracing their steps.

This time, they didn't need to be told to hurry up. Their pace quickened naturally, urgency settling in.

As they moved back toward the cafeteria area, they carefully examined the heads of the stray zombies and monsters along the way, only focusing on the ones they had killed. No one wanted to risk unnecessary fights or take chances that could cost them their lives.

The eerie silence was only broken by the occasional sound of a distant battle or the rustling of the mutated foliage around them.

Back at the open field where they had fought earlier, they resumed their search. However, the drop rate for cores was disappointingly low. Out of every twelve monsters checked, only two yielded a core.

To their surprise, the shadow cats consistently had cores, but aside from them and a few of the stronger monsters, they found little else of value.

Initially, they had assumed that the presence of cores correlated with a monster's strength, but that theory was shattered when they checked the larger bears and found no cores at all.

It became clear that obtaining cores was a matter of luck, not strength. Some members of the group even went as far as dismantling the monsters' bodies to see if the cores were hidden elsewhere, but their efforts proved futile.

After two hours of scouring the battlefield, they made their way back to the cafeteria. On the way, they spotted a massive, oversized chicken dart past them, paying no mind to the group.

They briefly considered taking it down, but Jon shook his head, and they let it go. Someone even made a joke about wanting chicken for dinner, which lightened the mood a little.

By now, Jenny and Cynthia had both acquired their third skills, as had several others in the group.

Their bodies were gradually becoming adorned with various treasures they had acquired from orbs.

These treasures boosted their attacks, defenses, or even provided new abilities. Some had defensive capabilities, while others granted offensive enhancements.

Though everyone would have liked to equip multiple treasures, they quickly realized that they couldn't wear two of the same type. Attempting to do so rendered both treasures useless.

The group had also noticed that the pistols carried by the security team were becoming increasingly ineffective against the mutated monsters.

While they still managed to take down zombies, they were clearly outdated and growing weaker by the day.

Despite this, no one was willing to underestimate the remaining zombies, especially after encountering the massive, mutated creatures clustered in the areas they hadn't yet explored.

Their steps quickened as they neared the cafeteria, each person eager to evolve their skills using the cores they had painstakingly collected.

It was obvious—written on their faces—that this was what drove them forward. Even the treasures they had gathered felt secondary to the allure of evolving their abilities.

Jon, in particular, was fond of the treasures he had acquired. While examining the bears for cores, they had found none, but they did discover treasures within their bodies. From the two bears, they had retrieved three treasure orbs, which the trio—Jon, Jenny, and Cynthia—divided equally.

One of Jon's treasures was a new spear. He marveled at the system's subtle encouragement toward specific paths, pushing individuals toward skills or items that suited them best.

The spear, though simple in design and made of stone rather than metal, was immensely powerful.

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED ITEM 'POWER SPEAR']

[POWER SPEAR (UNRANKED REALM): ALLOWS LIMITED USE OF EARTH ELEMENT. EFFECTIVE AGAINST LEVEL 20 OR LOWER. STRENGTH +6]

Jon was shocked, till now all the treasures were for below level 15 but now it was 20. Curious about the earth elemental part, Jon slammed the bottom of the spear into the ground, mimicking the bear's earlier actions.

The earth rumbled lightly in a five-meter radius around him, confirming his newfound ability to manipulate the terrain within that range.

Another treasure he received was:

[FIGHTER'S COAT: BLOCKS ATTACKS FROM PRE-APOCALYPSE WEAPONS. STAMINA +8]

The coat, plain but functional, brought a rare smile to Jon's face as he donned it. The pre-apocalypse meant weapons before the world fell. Like pistols or shot guns.

He really felt happy about not worrying about stray bullets hitting him. Of course, his good luck didn't last long—when he asked for the best treasure, he was handed an earring.

Reluctantly, he pierced his ear, gritting his teeth as he put it on.

[POLMEY EARRING (UNRANKED REALM): INCREASES YOUR SENSES TO DANGER.]

The earring, despite its unimpressive appearance, granted him a valuable survival tool. The ability to sense danger was an important skill, marking it as more powerful than even the unranked treasures they had encountered so far.

By the time they reached the cafeteria, the group was greeted with smiles and greetings from the survivors who remaining.

But the returning group barely acknowledged them, scattering to their corners to evolve their skills as soon as possible. The bystanders exchanged confused glances, wondering what had happened to dampen the group's spirits.

Jon, too, wasted no time. He retrieved an unranked core from his collection—he had managed to gather 20 of them after killing nearly a hundred monsters.

[EVOLVE SKILLS WITH APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF CORES]

[SKILL 'SPEED-HEALING' (UNRANKED) LEVEL 5—> (FIRST REALM) LEVEL 1: 20/10 UNRANKED CORES]

"Yes," he whispered.

As soon as he confirmed the evolution, the cores flew from his hand, enveloping him in a golden light.

The cores dissolved into him, transforming his skill into something greater. When he checked his skill afterward, he saw the new description:

[SPEED-HEALING (FIRST REALM) LEVEL 1: SPEEDS UP HEALING PROCESS TO FOUR TIMES THAT OF A NORMAL HUMAN. PERMANENTLY INCREASES HEALTH BY 100.]

'Nice!' he exclaimed, 'Now all my skills are in the first realm,' Jon thought with satisfaction as he checked his status again.

[STATUS]

[NAME: JON WHYTE]

[AGE: 19]

[LEVEL: 23]

[CLASS: NONE]

[TITLE: NONE]

[STRENGTH: 70 AGILITY: 100 STAMINA: 90 (8) MANA: 600 HEALTH: 260]

[SKILLS: INSTANT CALCULATION (FIRST REALM) LEVEL 5, MOON (FIRST REALM) LEVEL 5, MOON GAZING (SECOND REALM), SPEED-HEALING (FIRST REALM), MIND WORLD, SHADOW STEPS]

[TRAITS: COMPOSURE (THIRD REALM) LEVEL 5, SOLDIER'S PHYSIQUE (EVOLVABLE)]

[STATUS POINTS: 13]

Despite all the progress, he still hadn't reached level 25. 'I'll need to kill one or two on the threshold creature,' he realized, already restless for his next challenge.

Without waiting, Jon stood up and headed toward the entrance,but he didn't want anyone to follow, so he had to leave secretly.

So with his mind focused on his next move, he activated his newly gotten shadow steps and appeared in one of the entances.

While the crowd were still curious about the strange behavior of the returning fighters, he was already closing the door to the cafeteria gently to avoid anyone noticing him.

This time, he chose the southern route, where the boys' dormitories were located, determined to test his newfound strength.