Group attack!
Before everything happened, he was having lunch in the cafeteria while planning his coursework, when suddenly, an unusual mechanical voice echoed in his mind. He lay unconscious, with one cheek resting on his meal, having no time to think about the message he had received.
When he woke up, he felt a strange need to say "status" for no clear reason, and a status window like those in games appeared before him. It was very straightforward and was actually much less complex than modern games.
Not long after, someone screamed, catching the attention of everyone in the dining hall. Suddenly, he noticed it!
One student was biting into the flesh of another, tearing off small pieces of meat. A student was being eaten, thrashing and screaming in pain, but everyone just stared at them blankly.
Someone made an attempt to separate them, but it also attacked him. People were screaming and panicking when they saw the murder. Those who were quick managed to escape from the cafeteria, but many were stuck in the dining hall because a monster was near an exit and had just risen from a cold body.
Ten minutes later, as people in the cafeteria managed to corner the first zombie, two dead bodies suddenly rose from the ground, growling menacingly at everyone and joining the first one. One became three, and three became many.
With no other options, Noah quickly decided to move deeper into the cafeteria, where he expected to find staff members working. He then locked himself in the bathroom, opened his Beginner's Survival Pack, and with great effort, made his way to the administrator's room, where she had also survived and locked herself in.
"...Just let me know if there are too many zombies in the corridor! The storage room is located just after you walk by the dining hall. Wishing you the best of luck!"
Mia, the cafeteria administrator, was giving instructions to Noah. She had light brown hair and a gentle face, wearing a black skirt and a white shirt, which gave her an office woman look. Noah, in his early twenties, appeared a bit older than his age, sporting long black hair tied back with a hairband.
Because Mia's personal room was near the kitchen, Noah frequently checked the area. If he felt it was safe, he would sneak into the kitchen to look for leftovers or anything he could eat.
After a week, they were running low on food, so he had to go further to find a storage room.
Holding a rusty sword, just like the one Leo had from his first zombie kill, Noah carefully stepped out of the room and searched the corridor for any zombies.
'It looks safe out there!'
As he made his way to his destination, he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't encountered any zombies. However, when he walked past a dining hall, it became clear where all the zombies had gone.
'Are these people crazy!'
***
When Leo walked into the dining hall, a crowd of zombies greeted him. He didn't expect them to overlook him, so he quickly charged at them and began taking down the ordinary zombies that were coming his way.
He was hesitant to use Reinforced Breathing again because of his previous experience, but he decided to boost his body with mana instead. This choice had no serious side effects, only leaving him with a bit of weakness afterward. He acted as a shield for others, attempting to eliminate every zombie to prevent them from getting too close behind him.
While dealing with regular zombies, Charlotte called upon her elemental spirit, Star, just as Leo had instructed her to do before they entered the cafeteria.
Because it was only a floating orb of light, zombies ignored it, which let Charlotte look for evolved zombies among the regular ones. Using her telepathic connection, she saw everything with a Star and quickly noticed two Hunters and a Ghoul.
Ghoul was a bit bigger than the other zombies nearby, but not as big as a Giant. It was large and strong, with wide shoulders and well-defined muscles throughout its body. It was half the size of a Giant and had claws like a Hunter.
Charlotte was given the job of killing a Hunter, so she ordered her Star to do it. Her elemental spirit, made of pure light energy, quickly chased after a Hunter. It formed a blade from the light and struck the zombie's head, killing it successfully.
With a few fewer zombies coming at them, Leo let others join him, making it four against twelve zombies now. Hunter dashed away from the group as it attempted to attack Charlotte while they were dealing with ordinary zombies.
Having waited for this moment, Adam used Telekinesis to stop Hunter in its tracks while he stepped back, letting Leo take his position. He threw his Broken Spear at the hunter, hitting its head with the weapon.
After encountering Hunters, Leo chose to move quickly towards the Ghoul instead of waiting. He activated Reinforced Breathing and raised his Dull Axe. Most of the zombies had already been taken care of by their group, leaving just a few behind, so he felt sure that the three people with him could manage them.
After a little while, he started launching attacks at a Ghoul while trying to avoid its sharp claws. Because he could get infected if a zombie hurt him, it made it even harder to kill a Ghoul.
He blocked another attack from a Ghoul using a Mana Barrier. Then, he swung his axe downwards, making the Ghoul dodge to the left. At the same time, he raised his left hand, which had a ring on it. It lit up, firing a Mana Bullet at the head of a Ghoul.
He had three days to practice while they were hunting, so he was already skilled at using it, and the magic ring was also easy to use.
Since Mana Bullet was already quicker than a Ghoul, it couldn't dodge a bullet fired from close range, as Mana Bullet hit its head with precision.
[You have reached level 6.]
[You have earned 2 Attribute points.]
'It was a bit stronger than I thought it would be, kind of like a mutated dog, perhaps, because it had eaten and infected many zombies.'
He paused to catch his breath and mentally noted it down. If zombies had more biomass, they would become even stronger. Even regular zombies could become several times more powerful if they consumed more humans. Enhancers and Awakeners also provided a significant boost to their evolution.
Zombies that evolved to low rank 1 also belonged to that group. Some low rank 1 Giants may be stronger than others, but the difference in strength of one or two points is not significant and doesn't matter much overall, so ranks didn't get divided any further. Stronger zombies naturally provided more experience points.
He had been using Mana Sensing and noticed someone standing on the other side of the doors, so he chose to give a warning.
"Hey, you! You should check behind you instead of watching us!"
Noah was amazed by the power of their group. He watched in awe as Leo's side easily handled the zombies that had been terrorizing him all week and trapping him in the cafeteria.
When he heard Leo, he first thought that maybe Leo was talking to someone else. But when he looked behind him to check, he saw a zombie running straight at him. Maybe it was locked away somewhere, and only now could it finally get out.
Feeling a bit anxious, he raised Rusty Sword in front of him and waited for a zombie to come closer. When it did, he swung his sword, hitting its head. After killing it, he still wondered how Leo had managed to find him.
After warning the guy in the corridor, Leo chose to gather the spoils of battle and open a White chest that had fallen from a ghoul he had defeated.
When he opened it, he felt very disappointed because instead of finding something new, he only found a Restoration Bread where a chest should have been.
'Allocate 1 point to strength and 1 point to agility.'
'Status'
[Leonard Wright]
[Level: 6]
[Class: None]
[Survival coins: 226]
[Mana: 12/25]
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 13]
[Stamina: 11]
[Intelligence: 11]
[Spirit: 5 (+1)]
[Attribute points: 0]
[Innate ability: Regression]
[Skills: Gaming (LVL 8), Mana Sensing (LVL 1) Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1),, Mana Application (LVL 3), Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Flash Step (LVL 1), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Meditation (LVL 3), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4),]
'5 points for shooting Mana Bullet and 8 points for everything else. Finally, I shouldn't have any issues with speed now!'
After making sure everything was in order and finishing up, Leo made the decision to approach the man who was looking out the doors for directions.