Chapter 16: Only me can see the others Status

Caius managed to pry off the vent cover, his hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline. He peeked inside and listened carefully, assessing the safety of the space beyond.

"Seems safe," he muttered, relief evident in his voice. Without wasting any more time, he climbed into the vent.

As Caius began to crawl through, Trent kept an eye on the door. Suddenly, an axe pierced through the flimsy door, the metal blade slicing through with a sharp clang. Both their eyes widened in alarm.

"Hurry! Take my hand!" Caius shouted from within the vent, his voice echoing in the confined space.

Trent reached up, his hand stretching towards Caius. Just as Caius was about to grab it, the door burst open with a loud crash. The zombies were pouring into the room, their rotting forms and vacant eyes filling the space.

Caius's heart raced as he reached out through the vent opening. "Come on, Trent! Grab my hand!"

Trent lunged forward, his hand clasping onto Caius's. With a desperate pull, Caius helped yank Trent into the vent just as the zombies closed in.

The two of them scrambled through the narrow space, the sound of zombies clambering and snarling growing fainter behind them. Caius kept moving, guiding Trent through the tight crawl space.

As they crawled through the cramped vent, Trent, trying to keep up, asked Caius, "So, did you hear anything about a time limit or something? I thought I heard something about having to kill a zombie within an hour so i did"

Caius, focused on moving, glanced back and said, "Yeah, I heard that too."

Trent's curiosity got the better of him. "What's your time score and rank then? Did you check it?"

Caius stopped for a moment, recalling the earlier announcement about time scores and ranks. "I didn't notice that. I'll check it later. For now, let's stay quiet and keep moving."

Trent, a bit impatient, responded, "You didn't notice? There's a bell icon for notifications. It shows our status then ranking, and even our inventory and skills."

Caius nodded, "Got it. I'll look at it once we're safe. Don't be so noisy."

Trent smirked and said, "Alright, alright, no need to get all snappy. You're really turning into a grump. Guess the apocalypse brings out the worst in everyone, huh?"

They continued their crawl through the vent, As Caius and Trent crawled through the vents, Caius remained silent, focusing on moving forward. They peeked into various rooms along the way, most of which were overrun by zombies. Caius noted that the zombies were the only monsters they had encountered so far, recalling that there were other monster types mentioned earlier.

Finally, they reached the end of the vent system and saw a light outside. Caius pushed open the vent cover and they both tumbled out, landing in a large dumpster behind the facility.

Trent groaned, "Great, just what we needed. A dumpster dive."

Caius pushed himself up, brushing off the grime. "At least we're out of there," he muttered, looking around.

They saw several zombies approaching. Caius, determined to fight, grabbed a metal pipe he found in the trash and moved to engage the nearest zombie.

Trent quickly grabbed his arm. "Hold on! Let me handle this," he said, pushing Caius back.

Caius struggled against Trent's grip. "I can fight! I've handled zombies before."

Ignoring Caius, Trent swung a heavy pipe and smashed it into a zombie's head, splitting it open. He dispatched the creature quickly and efficiently.

Caius, fuming, tried to push Trent aside. "I said I can handle this. Stop treating me like a kid!"

Caius watched as Trent moved to fight another zombie. Trent's skillful blows and precise strikes made short work of the undead. Each swing was calculated, each move deliberate. Caius was both impressed and frustrated.

His appraisal skill, which had been activated earlier, kicked in. The holographic screen appeared in his vision, displaying Trent's detailed status. Caius glanced at it, trying to process the information while still keeping an eye on the zombies around them.

[STATUS]

Name: Trent Voss

Rank C

Class: Warrior

Strength: B

Agility: C

Stamina: C

Mana: F

Caius's eyes widened slightly. "So you're a Warrior, huh? And our ranks are the same. Didn't expect that."

Trent, while still swinging his pipe at the approaching zombies, looked over. "What are you staring at?"

Caius frowned, still studying Trent's stats. "Your stats—your Strength is pretty high, but your Mana is low. I guess that makes sense for a Warrior."

Trent suddenly paused and glanced at Caius. "Hey, how did you know my stats?"

Caius frowned, momentarily distracted by the question. "You can't see other people's status?"

Trent shook his head, still swinging his weapon. "No, can you? Man, aren't you lucky. That must make things a lot easier for you."

Caius shrugged. "I guess so."

Trent grinned, impressed. "Well, that's handy. Just make sure to keep those stats to yourself; wouldn't want anyone to think they're getting an advantage."

Caius nodded, refocusing on the battle. "I know, I'm not dumb like you"

As the last low-level zombie fell, Trent wiped his brow and looked at Caius with a mock hurt expression. "Really? Calling me dumb while I'm saving our butts? That's low, even for you."

Caius grinned. "Just speaking the truth. If you can't handle the heat, maybe you should've stayed in the kitchen."

Trent pouted playfully. "Ouch. You're breaking my heart here."

Caius raised an eyebrow, then suddenly remembered Aiden. "Wait, are you related to Aiden?"

Trent looked up in surprise. "Yeah. He's my cousin."

Caius sighed and rolled his eyes. "Figures. You two are both annoying in your own ways."

Trent chuckled. "Guess it runs in the family. But don't worry, we're not all bad."

Caius shook his head with a smirk. "Let's just focus on getting out of here before we run into more trouble."

Trent nodded, still grinning. "Lead the way, smart guy. I promise to keep my 'dumb' in check."

Suddenly, Trent was hit hard, thrown against the wall with a loud crash. Caius's heart skipped a beat as he ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding the swing of a baseball bat aimed right at his head. He stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock.