Leave the stadium

Even when seeing the little orb Jenny picked was similar to what he picked. Jon still couldn't help but shake the feeling that something dangerous was happening.

And true to his word,

WHOOM

She was still burning with flames, and it was even increasing instead of decreasing. 'And she isn't screaming, or burning herself.' Now, looking at it, it was like she was baptizing herself instead of suffering. It made him wonder, 'Mine didn't take this long, what kind of skill could it be?' his curiosity grew.

After all, the fire he knew wasn't silver. It was red, so there was something unique about this transformation.

Now the flames gradually receded, revealing Jenny standing tall, unharmed, unchanged but something about her had definitely changed. With a confident smile, she stretched out her hand.

A small, five-centimeter sphere of silver fire hovered above her palm, flickering like a candle's flame. Slowly, it expanded, growing to fifteen centimeters before it stopped, shimmering in the daylight. Jon watched, both awed and apprehensive.

"Wow," Jenny breathed, her eyes wide in amazement. "So, this is my main skill?"

Jon nodded in response, trying to keep himself calm. "Yeah, I think you've got something big there. And it seems like killing those… zombies... is how we unlock these skills."

Jenny's eyes sparkled with excitement, not the fear Jon expected. "Then we should go after the rest!" she exclaimed, barely able to contain her eagerness.

Around them lay the scattered bodies of the other students—friends they once knew, now transformed into mindless zombies. There were now ten of the zombies , wandering aimlessly on the field. And Jon could feel Jenny's determination to kill the zombie.

The idea of killing more of their former classmates or people of the same school weighed heavily on him, a sudden calm washed him. Making him return to himself and with his calm mind, he couldn't deny the truth.

In this new world, survival meant adaptation. And the adaptation he meant was getting used to killing these things. He then sighed and gripped the metal pole he had picked up earlier.

"All right," he said with grim resolve. "Let's finish this." he couldn't shake off the feeling, something else was behind his sudden resolve.But it didn't matter, as long as they could survive.

The attack strategy was different now, with Jenny's newfound ability to control the silver flames, it made their attacks much more coordinated. She could shape the flame however she wanted and not wanting to get close to the zombies, she created a spear of silver and threw it toward a zombie.

Jon, meanwhile, used his ability to freeze their movements, immobilizing them just long enough for Jenny's flames of spears to take them out.

And like that one by one, the zombies fell. After about ten minutes of careful fighting, they were done.

As the last of the zombies collapsed, Jon heard a soft chime in his mind, followed by several notifications:

[YOUR LEVEL HAS INCREASED]

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED...]

[YOU HAVE LEARNED…]

He barely had time to process it. All he knew was that the oppressive weight that had been pressing down on him since this nightmare began had lifted, if only slightly.

Exhausted, the two of them sat on their butts, panting heavily. They had obviously made sure no zombie was close by. Jon wiped sweat from his brow and when looking around , he noticed four shimmering objects near the bodies of the fallen zombies.

"Are those?" Jenny asked in little excitement, already bending down to pick one up. "Yes, they should be." Jon was talking of the orbs they got their skills from. And they had just found four of it.

They split the orbs into two and went back to the raised platform and sat down, ignoring the stares from the other students who had been watching them from the raised platform.

They were no longer staying close, maybe because of the corpse of the zombie that was left there or because Jon and Jenny had the confidence to face them. To them, Jon and Jenny might as well looked like the monsters themselves, but they didn't care. They had done what they had to do to survive. And nothing will stop them from trying to survive.

"Now let's see," Jon muttered, taking a deep breath. He concentrated on the orb in his hand, and with a crack, the glowing object shattered, revealing an old, yellowed scroll.

His heart raced as he unrolled it. Could it be another skill?

[YOU HAVE LEARNED 'SKILL': INSTANT CALCULATION (FIRST REALM) LEVEL 1: INCREASE CALCULATION SPEED BY 5%]

Jon blinked in surprise. "Instant calculation?"

He said the words aloud, half-expecting them to make more sense but they didn't. But after reading the description, he smiled.This skill could be invaluable especially in a world where split-second decisions meant life or death, a faster mind could save his life.

"All right, next one." He reached for the other orb, this time hoping for something like Jenny's own. The orb cracked, and instead of a scroll, a brown spear appeared before him.

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED 'ITEM': OBSINE BROWN METAL SPEAR (UNRANKED REALM) LEVEL 3]

Jon hefted the spear, testing its weight. It felt sturdy, much better than the makeshift weapon he had been using.

"So weapons come out too," he muttered in a surprise, he hadn't even thought he needed another weapon but getting one on time was not bad.

And he looked beside him, seeing Jenny holding a strange-looking sword, he immediately knew she too had gotten probably a skill and a weapon like him. Now looking around the stadium, the remaining zombies were far and it was getting darker, "We should leave this stadium," Jon said, his tone more serious now. "We need to get somewhere safe before it gets dark." And he pointed to the sky.

The change in atmosphere was immediate. Everyone's expressions shifted from relief to dread as they remembered the danger still lurking around them. What if it was also outside?, was their thoughts.

Tunde, the student representative, spoke up. "Or... we could head to the security post. Maybe the school has a plan?"

Jon exchanged a glance with him for a while before looking at Jenny, to which she shrugged her shoulders as if saying you decide. The idea of relying on the school's security was tempting.

Palflic University had always been known for its safety measures. The school was affiliated with several security agencies, so theoretically, the campus should be secure. But after what they had just experienced, wouldn't they also be in this situation?

"Let's not take any chances," Jon finally said. "But we'll can head to the female dormitories for now. It's the closest building from here, and we can meet some security personnel there." Pointing his finger to the general direction of the female hostel.

The remaining students nodded in agreement, too shaken to argue. And since Jon had mentioned security service, they found little hope. With that settled, they all descended from the platform, some of them still nauseous from the sight of the corpses around the field.

The stadium quite a mess, littered with bodies and the remains of their former classmates. The stench of blood and gore was starting to overwhelm them, and a few students couldn't help but retch.

"Keep it together," Jon urged, his voice low. "We need to move quickly."

At the far end of the field, more zombies were now moving toward them. They were still far enough away to be a non-issue, but Jon didn't want to risk sticking around.

They hurried toward the west gate, the one closest to the female dorms.

The stadium had three main entrances or exits: the east gate that led toward the cafeteria, the north gate that led deeper into the sports complex, and the west gate, which was the fastest route to the dormitories.

Jon led the way, keeping an eye on the zombies that were still lumbering across the field. While Jenny watched from the back.

Thankfully, the group cooperated and moved in silence, with only the occasional murmur or shuffling of feet. Everyone was too terrified to make much noise, afraid of drawing too much of the attention of the undead which was already approaching from the distance.

As they reached the west gate, Jon felt a flicker of hope. They had made it. Now all they had to do was get to the dorms, hole up for the night, and figure out their next move in the morning. 'Finally, I can figure out what the hell is happening.'

But as the gate swung open, that hope was immediately shattered.

The sight outside made Jon's stomach drop.

More zombies. Dozens of them. Their lifeless eyes locked onto the group and began to make their way.

The group froze on their spot, finding it difficult to believe what lay at their front.