Preparations

As the morning sun bathed our newly designated base in a warm glow, a sense of accomplishment settled over us. The transformed villa stood as a symbol of our preparation and determination in the face of the impending apocalypse. However, the eerie calm of the wilderness around us hinted at the challenges yet to come.

After a hearty breakfast, Sam, her brother, and I gathered in the living room, discussing our next steps. The system had provided us with a secure haven, but it was essential to explore our surroundings and assess potential threats.

Sam, her younger brother, and I gathered in the living room, contemplating our next moves. The map displayed on the system interface revealed uncharted territories surrounding our base. The time had come to explore, gather supplies, and understand the lay of the land.

The system had granted us a week of protection and there were still four more days before the impending arrival of the zombies. With Sam's brother safely ensconced within the villa, we set out on a meticulous plan to ensure our survival.

The next four days went as follows : 

Day 1: Base Fortification

Our primary focus was securing the immediate vicinity of the villa. We erected sturdy barriers, salvaging materials from the surrounding area. The system-provided villa had a level of protection, but we couldn't afford to be complacent. Reinforcing windows, barricading entrances, and setting up early warning systems became our top priorities.

Sam proved adept at devising makeshift traps, utilizing whatever resources the forest offered. We strategically placed them around the perimeter, hoping to slow down the approaching horde.

Day 2: Supply Run

With the base secured to the best of our abilities, we set out on a supply run to nearby villages. Due to my previous stay in the nearby town, I was well aware of the nearby villages and the potential places to gather supplies. 

Armed with backpacks and a determination to gather as much as possible, we navigated through the broken roads towards these villages. The villages were already a place with sparse populations but after the zombie attacks it seemed to have grown quiet. Instead of big grocery stores and the best resource points in the villages were the local granaries or the village heads house and office. 

We made our way to these places and as was expected, the granaries, though still having immense amounts of grains was already ransacked by the survivors. The village head's house and office were already heavily barricaded and secured. The same could be said by the next couple of villages we travelled to. 

As the sun dipped below the horizon, our bus was laden with provisions. The return journey was fraught with a sense of urgency, knowing that every minute counted.

Day 3: Strategic Planning

Back at the villa, we laid out our spoils in the storage, taking stock of our resources. The villa's storage basement provided a secure space to organise our findings. Goods like grains and fresh water, tablets, and medical supplies were prioritised.

The system interface revealed a map of potential escape routes, giving us options in case our defense strategies faltered. We pored over it, planning our movements and contingencies.

As night fell, the quiet discussions and occasional sound of hammering resonated through the wilderness. The villa, once a symbol of vulnerability, now stood as a fortress against the impending storm.

Day 4: Final Preparations

With the deadline looming, we entered the final phase of our preparations. We reinforced weak points, fine-tuned our traps, and ensured that every member of our small group was familiar with the escape routes.

The air was tense, a palpable sense of anticipation hanging over us. Sam's brother, now acutely aware of the gravity of the situation, stayed close to his sister. Our efforts, a culmination of days of hard work, were reflected in the transformed villa and its surroundings.

As the sun set on the fourth day, casting a warm glow over our fortified haven, we knew that the true test awaited us. The impending arrival of the zombie horde would challenge our defences, but we stood united and ready to face the onslaught that would define our survival in this unforgiving world.

The preperations though seemed plenty, were pitifully few. We had only managed to secure ourselves enough food to last three normal persons for six months. I was much more aware of the fact that once we begin getting stronger and our level increased, the amount of food we consumed would also increase drastically. While it was true that while killing the zombies we would be given rewards and most would consist of the basics needed for survival, it was still too less for someone who had already known about the upcoming disaster. 

The only thing left now was to check our statuses and prepare for tomorrow. 

Sam had changed her profession to a wanderer and willingly submitted herself to my shelter. The reason I had her wait so long and only allowed her to select it on the last day was because of a peculiar feature of the wanderer class. 

Unlike us settlers who had no ill effect of choosing our class even on the first day, the wanderers would be at a disadvantage in doing so. A hidden mechanism of the wanderer class was the constant need of being in battle. A wanderer had to kill at least a single zombie every day or they would be punished by the system using de-buffs. These de-buffs had a property through which they could stack on a user. 

This was because, the system considered the wanderers as the front line force in this battle against the zombies. If they become complacent, then the entire thing might just fall apart. 

Despite being aware of the de-buff I still had Sam change her class a day before the apocalypse. The reason for that was to have her assign the bonus points more carefully and for her to get used to the system and the storage backpack. The last day of us making our final preparations, I did the checking and she spent her time understanding the system.

Sam's original stats were as such :

Strength - 0.8

Speed - 1.2

Stamina - 1.3

Defence - 1.2

Luck - 3

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I was honestly surprised looking at her having a hidden attribute already available as a normal stat. 

The amount of points she had received from the bonus round after killing a total of 58 zombies were 0.58 for each normal stat. While this may not make a huge difference in her other stats, it was a monumental change for her luck stat. Not many in this world would even have that stat and having it as normal stat was even rarer. 

Her stats after adding them up were as follows :

Strength - 1.38

Speed - 1.78

Stamina - 1.88

Defence - 1.78

Luck - 3.58

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After this upgrade she was almost twice as strong as most normal humans. It was a decent start.