Chapter 13: Time Limit

The room was silent except for the sound of ragged breathing as the group huddled together. Serena had managed to calm Mia, who was trembling with fear. Caius, still irritated, glanced around the room while trying to stay focused.

Suddenly, a loud, authoritative voice filled the room, accompanied by a blaring red hologram.

"ATTENTION! TIME LIMIT ACTIVATED!" the voice boomed, the words flashing ominously. "You have 1 hour to eliminate your first monster. Failure to do so will result in immediate consequences. Good luck!"

The hologram flickered out, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

"What does that mean?" Aiden asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Mia's eyes widened in panic. "We don't even know how to fight them!"

Before anyone could respond, the room began to shake, and a blinding light enveloped them.

"Look out!" Derek shouted, raising his sword.

The light intensified, and the group was suddenly separated, each person disappearing into a different part of the facility.

Caius found himself in a dimly lit corridor, alone. He looked around, disoriented. "What just happened?" he muttered to himself. He saw a low-level zombie shuffling towards him from the end of the corridor. The challenge had begun.

Meanwhile, Aiden appeared in a large, open room filled with debris and broken equipment. He looked around, noticing the different types of monsters scattered around. "Well, this is going to be fun," he said, trying to lighten the mood despite his nerves.

Mia, now in a small, dark room, hugged herself tightly. The sounds of creatures moving outside the door made her shiver. "This can't be happening," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

Derek materialized in a cluttered storage area, his sword ready. He gritted his teeth, determined to find and defeat a monster. "Alright, let's see what you've got," he muttered, scanning the room for any sign of danger.

The red timer flashed ominously above each of them, ticking down the minutes. They each faced their own challenges, separated from the grou.

Inside the meeting room, tension was running high. Teachers were gathered around Director Alaric, their faces lined with frustration and concern. The door was locked, barricaded to keep whatever chaos was happening outside at bay.

One of the teachers slammed their hand on the table. "Alaric, this facility was supposed to protect us! You promised we'd be safe from this crisis. What's happening out there?"

Another teacher, visibly shaken, added, "The parents of these students gave you everything—money, trust, their children's futures. They believed you'd keep them safe!"

Director Alaric, standing at the head of the table, raised his hands, trying to calm the room. "Please, I understand your concerns. But no one could have predicted this. We knew a crisis was coming when the meteor was detected in space, but we didn't know the exact nature of it."

A third teacher, his voice filled with anger, spoke up. "You spent years building this facility, with help from everywhere. You said it would be impenetrable, that we'd be shielded from whatever was coming. And now—students are turning into monsters! How could you let this happen?"

Alaric's face was pale, the pressure of the situation showing in his stiff posture. "We prepared for as much as we could. The facility was built to withstand external threats, but this... this mutation, this chaos—it's far beyond what any of us expected."

"That's not good enough!" a teacher shouted. "Families invested everything they had! They believed their children would be safe here, and now we don't even know what's happening to them out there!"

Alaric's voice softened, almost pleading. "I know... I know we all trusted this facility to protect everyone. But this disaster isn't what we thought it would be. The meteor—it triggered something none of us saw coming. We did what we could to prepare, but we were blindsided."

The room grew quiet for a moment, only the sound of anxious breathing filling the air. One of the teachers, a woman who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "So, what do we do now? How do we fix this?"

Director Alaric looked down, struggling for an answer. "We need time. We need to regroup and find out exactly what's going on. But for now, we have to stay calm and keep ourselves safe."

A murmur of uncertainty spread through the teachers. Trust in Alaric was shaken, but for now, they had no other choice but to follow his lead.

Meanwhile, As Caius hid behind a corner, his breathing steady but his mind racing, he spotted a zombie lurking in the distance. Its eyes were hollow, and its movements were jerky, but it was searching—looking for something to attack.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head, clear and excited:

"Congratulations! You are the first one to receive the Appraisal Skill! You can now see the status of anyone you look at the eyes"

Caius blinked in surprise, whispering to himself, "Appraisal skill?"

Without thinking, he focused on the zombie, and instantly, a glowing panel appeared in front of his eyes.

Zombie (Low-Level)

Rank F

Danger Level: Low

Caius's eyes widened. He could actually see the zombie's stats!

"So this is the Appraisal Skill..." he muttered, a mixture of awe and relief filling him.

The zombie let out a low growl, still unaware of Caius's presence, but knowing its danger level was low gave Caius a spark of confidence.

Maybe this skill would give him a fighting chance after all.

As Caius took in the zombie's stats, a chilling sensation crept up his spine. He instinctively turned, just in time to see a massive axe hurtling toward him. Without thinking, he threw himself into a roll, narrowly avoiding the weapon as it crashed into the ground with a deafening thud.

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath, scrambling backward. His heart raced as he looked up. A zombie stood there, gripping the axe tightly in its decaying hands. Its hollow eyes locked onto him with a malicious intent.

"What the heck?! They can use weapons too?!" Caius muttered, stunned.

The zombie let out a feral snarl and yanked the axe from the ground with brute force. It charged at Caius, swinging wildly. Caius barely managed to duck as the blade whooshed past, narrowly missing his head.

His body moved on instinct, dodging and weaving, but he was clearly outmatched. Every time the zombie swung the axe, Caius only had enough time to react, unable to counterattack. His stamina was waning.

The zombie's aggression was relentless, its attacks fueled by inhuman rage. Caius' breath came in ragged gasps as he barely avoided another swipe. He felt weak, vulnerable—his body still unprepared to fight something this strong.

Suddenly, his Appraisal skill triggered automatically as his gaze locked with the zombie's eyes.

Axe-Wielding Zombie (Mid-level)

Rank

Weapon Proficiency: Basic

Danger Level: High

The zombie swung again, and Caius just managed to leap out of the way, his legs burning with exhaustion. He couldn't keep this up much longer. His mind raced, trying to think of a way out.

"I have to—" Another swing. Another dodge. "—just survive long enough to—"

The axe narrowly missed his shoulder, and Caius stumbled back, panting. His back hit a wall, and the zombie grinned grotesquely, lifting the axe for what seemed like the final blow.

"I need to think fast...!"