An Even Better Plan Part 3

Back in his apartment, Leo stared at the map, trying to find the best route to take. Since they were planning to do this, they needed to go all out. "I think we should take this route here." Leo drew a line through the area he thought would be safest.

"Oh?" Rebecca moved over so she was sitting next to Leo. She leaned against his shoulder to look at the map better. "No, we should skip this street altogether."

"Why?" Leo was confused. This was the shortest route that was relatively safe.

"These houses are all frat houses for the college down the street. It is probably teeming with zombies. We want to be able to live to get to the dance studio." Rebecca replied as she looked up at Leo. It was only then that she realized she was very close to him. She jerked back with a small blush on her cheeks. Luckily, Leo was too focused on the map to realize. She slid about a foot away to make some space.

"I forgot about that. I haven't left the house much and never go that way." Leo altered the route and then asked: "This better?"

  "Very. This section is mainly old folks. I think we should be good." Rebecca replied. 

"Alright then, we should build up our stamina over the next few days. The more strength we have for what is to come, the better." Leo folded the map up and placed it aside. He then went over to where his weights were and picked them up. 

Rebecca frowned slightly, but she knew what Leo said was true. They needed to build strength in order to survive. "It's too bad we can not take these with us."

"You can when you level me up," Nora answered, even though Rebecca could not hear her.

"Level you up?" Leo asked.

"I can be leveled up, but you will need to gain enough energy from killing zombies. Once you level up, the inventory you have will allow you to store more than just the zombie drops." Nora explained.

"And how far from level are you?" Leo asked. 

"Mmmm… you will need at least level 15 to level me up," Nora explained. "But you will also need a certain drop item as well. Which will only drop from level 10+ zombies."

"Leo?" Rebecca could hear Leo's one-sided conversation and was curious as to what he was talking about.

"Level 10 zombies!?" Leo frowned before sighing. "Ummm… It seems that I will have a fully function inventory once I reach level 15. But to do that, I will need an item that only drops from level 10+ zombies…. I didn't even know zombies had levels!"

"Umm… Is that bad?" Rebecca did not understand one word that Leo was talking about.

"I am not sure!" Leo replied and looked at Nora. "So, zombies level up to?" 

"No, per se, but more like they will begin to be harder to kill as time goes on. They level up based on the length of time. The virus in their bodies will also start to mutate as well, meaning you will have different zombie variants you will need to face later on. Right now, these zombies are basically all level 1, but as time goes on, they will also grow in level naturally. The system works in a way to allow the host to continue to  progress at a steady speed as long as they have the skill." Nora's words made Leo feel as if a huge weight had been placed on him. 

"So does this mean I will have a hard time cutting a zombie's head off?" Leo asked. If he could still cut their heads off, then they should die, right? 

"Yes…." Nora's voice went low. She had forgotten about this. She had forgotten the importance of Leo leveling up. "You will need to try to strengthen yourself both by leveling up and by normal means. You also need to find some boosts in order to push through, just in case. The system is not meant to be a cure all but more of a means of enabling you to survive. While zombies do not have exact levels, the virus, in a sense, gives them these levels. The system will only interpret them as levels to make things easier to understand."

"Okay, I understand." Leo could understand that a virus would mutate all viruses do. Some more than others. He had witnessed it when a global pandemic arrived, killing millions of people. The virus mutated over and over until it finally became something like a seasonal cold. But that did not mean all viruses would turn out that way.

Leo gave Rebecca the run down of what Nora had told him, and even she couldn't help but frown slightly. "So that means we will end up with many more issues ahead of us. I guess it's a good thing we are leaving then."

"You do not need to be there while I am leveling up. You can stay in the base." Leo did not want to put Rebecca in danger.

"If you are just going out to kill, then I won't. But only if you are staying close. If I die, it's fine, but you can save people's lives. So I would go with you just in case." Rebecca had decided on this after some thought during the day. Leo's ability made him the most important person in the world. He was able to get zombie gummies, which can reduce the infection and, if you eat enough of them, it can actually allow you to get rid of the virus altogether. If he were able to save more and more people, then they could eventually fight back. And retake an area completely.

Leo frowned. "I won't let you die either. We are partners, right? Why would I let my partner die? As long as we are together, no matter what, we will see the new age together."

Rebecca looked up to see Leo's serious expression. She was stunned by his words just now. She had always been alone, so it was nice to know someone was looking out for her. She lowered her head, hiding the curve in her lips as she said: "Then I hope you will keep that promise."