The Awakening

It wasn't just Palflic Stadium. The same event happened all over the world. One second, the sky was clear; the next, a blinding light engulfed everything.

Cars crashed into buildings, people collapsed on the streets, and others, struck by the unbearable pain in their heads, simply exploded.

The chaos unfolded in a blur, the world plunging into pandemonium in the span of mere seconds.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, it all stopped.

The silence that followed was surreal. People, still clutching their heads or stumbling over wreckage, looked around as if searching for a clue, a reason for the madness.

The streets, once bustling with life, were now littered with shattered glass, twisted metal, and the unmistakable stench of death.

In Palflic Stadium, Jon Whyte wiped sweat from his brow, trying to understand what had just happened.

His heart pounded in his chest as he turned to the scoreboard, but there was nothing—just a blank screen and panicked voices all around him.

The next moment, as if compelled by an unseen force, every single person in the stadium spoke in unison.

"Open."

The word echoed through the arena, reverberating in the air like an ancient incantation.

At once, white, translucent screens appeared in front of their eyes, hanging in midair like holograms.

Jon blinked, squinting at the letters before him, though they were incomprehensible at first.

[ÊÞÖ¢ᎨᎨᎨᎹᎶ]

[EnᎶ***Ꮹ EMBRYINIEL M**Ꮫ]

[EXPOSING CORE TO UNIVERSAL FORCE]

[SIMPLIFYING LANGUAGE]

[START STATUS]

[SCANNING STATUS]

[STATUS]

The alien script flickered and shifted until finally, it resolved into something Jon could read.

[NAME: JON WHYTE]

[AGE: 19]

[LEVEL: 0]

[CLASS: NONE]

[TITLE: NONE]

[STRENGTH: 5] [AGILITY: 4] [STAMINA: 3(7)] [MANA: 20] [HEALTH: 10]

[SKILLS: NONE]

"What the hell?" Jon whispered, staring at the strange display in disbelief. All around him, people were gasping or screaming, some collapsing to their knees as they too read their status screens.

For what felt like an eternity, no one moved. The only sound was the pounding of Jon's heart, hammering in his ears. And then, as if someone had hit a switch, the world restarted. People jolted back into action, and the screams returned—this time louder, rawer, filled with panic and fear.

In the chaos that followed, emergency sirens blared from all corners of the city. Phones buzzed, but no calls connected. News stations struggled to make sense of the disaster, but no one had answers.

Meetings were called, discussions held, but nothing could explain the horror that was unfolding.

Jon's screen flickered again, catching his attention.

[TRAITS: COMPOSURE (THIRD CLASS) LV MAX]

Before he could make sense of what that meant, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air.

Jon's head snapped toward the source. A group of girls, who had been jogging when he entered the stadium, stood frozen on the track. One of them lay in a pool of blood, her lifeless body sprawled out on the ground.

The second girl, her hands stained with fresh blood, stood motionless, staring at her dead friend. The last girl in the group screamed again, her legs giving out beneath her as she collapsed in terror.

The girl who had killed her friend took a step forward, her eyes blank and soulless. Slowly, she raised her bloodied hand and moved toward the last remaining girl.

The terrified friend scrambled backward, her hands shaking as she tried to fend off the attack.

The killer's hand swiped through the air, claws slicing through her skin and drawing blood. But then, just as suddenly, she stopped.

The victim, clutching her bleeding arm, trembled on the ground. But her sobs grew quieter.

Her head dipped forward, her entire body slumping as though the life had drained from her. And then, without warning, she stood up.

Her eyes, once filled with fear, were now cold and lifeless, just like the attacker's. They moved in eerie synchronization, side by side, scanning the stadium for their next victim.

"Zombies…" Jon whispered, his mind struggling to comprehend the nightmare before him.

But it wasn't just happening in the stadium. It was everywhere. All over the world, the same chaos erupted. People transformed, their eyes turning white and their bodies jerking unnaturally as they attacked anyone in sight.

Buildings crumbled under the strain of the earlier explosions, while emergency responders found themselves unable to cope with the growing horror.

In the stadium, Jon's legs trembled beneath him. His breath came in shallow bursts as he stared at the scene in front of him.

He could hear people around him crying, some already fainting in terror. A boy with glasses collapsed beside him, and two girls screamed as they huddled together, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.

The pressure was overwhelming, but Jon knew they had to act. He had to act.

"EVERYONE ON ME!" a voice boomed from the bleachers. Jon turned to see a tall, muscular figure standing on a raised platform. It was the representative from the mass communication course.

"W-WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" he shouted, pointing to a student on the ground floor who had just turned into one of the white-eyed creatures.

The zombie was staggering toward them, its movements jerky and slow, but relentless.

Panic surged through the crowd. People screamed, scrambling over one another to escape. Jon, against every instinct in his body, forced himself to stay calm.

A strange sense of clarity washed over him, and without thinking, he searched his bag for something—anything—to use as a weapon.

His fingers wrapped around a ball pumper. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

Jon stepped forward, his knuckles white as he gripped the handle of the pumper tightly. His heart raced, every step toward the creature feeling like a death sentence.

He could hear someone shout at him to stop, but their voice was drowned out by the pounding in his ears.

Ten meters. Five meters.

The creature's dead eyes locked onto him, and Jon's stomach churned. It wasn't human anymore. Whatever it had been, it was gone now, replaced by something far worse. Jon's breath caught in his throat as he reached the second platform, trying to flank the creature. He hoped it would give him an advantage.

But then, the zombie did something that froze the blood in Jon's veins—it twisted its head, fully backward, to look directly at him.

Jon recoiled in horror but knew he couldn't hesitate. He lunged forward, shoving the creature's back with the pumper, knocking it off balance. The zombie staggered, nearly falling. Jon kicked its leg out from under it, forcing it into a kneeling position.

For a brief second, Jon hesitated. Could he really do this? Could he kill something that was once human?

The answer came when the zombie began to rise again, its lifeless eyes fixed on him. Jon's mind went blank.

He raised the pumper high and brought it crashing down on the zombie's head. It fell, but still twitched and convulsed on the ground.

Jon, his chest heaving, whispered an apology under his breath. "I hope you can forgive me, wherever you go."

With one final, brutal swing, he crushed the creature's skull. It stopped moving.

Jon staggered backward, his body trembling. And then, something strange happened. A warmth surged through him, as if energy was flooding his veins. His entire body felt stronger, more powerful. And then, in front of his eyes, a new message appeared.

[YOU HAVE ABSORBED LEVEL 3 ZOMBIE REMAINS]

[YOUR LEVEL HAS INCREASED]

Jon stared at the glowing words, barely able to comprehend them. "It really was a zombie," he muttered, the reality of his situation crashing down around him.

And this was only the beginning.