Chapter 15: An Ally.

In a parking lot filled with vacant cars, some broken down while others with their windows and glass shattered. The dead roamed free.

As they chased after every sound they could hear, their white, dilated pupils seemed aimlessly to drift around aimlessly.

Their groans were deep and they staggered with each step, yet they still moved.

Gray still didn't know how it was that the dead were alive. In addition, he had no idea how to kill them.

What better time to find out than now?

*CRASH!*

[Pause]

A figure of a young man appeared out of nowhere as he crashed down on a zombie, cracking and crushing its skull into the ground as he did so. . .

In order to prevent a broken leg due to the velocity of his fall, he had paused just before his legs had reached the ground.

The crunch of blood splattered across the bottom of his trousers as he unpaused and dug his feet into its head further

[You have slain an undead]

[You have received 2 XP]

XP Required For Level Up: 67/200.

Within three seconds of having received the notification, hadn't moved a muscle. Although he wasn't in a position to refuse it, he still thought he had been duped.

Observing the ground a few feet away, he saw a metal rod. Needing a weapon, he grabbed it. There was some dried blood on it, but it was fine. Based on how much blood had gotten on him, the virus would not be spread just by skin contact.

If it got inside a wound, however, things might be different. Not wanting to find out, Gray quickly took cover beside one of the cars on the lot.

Despite the quick and quiet kill, two zombies headed toward Gray. They hadn't seen him yet, so he held his breath, quietly waiting.

The sound of its groans grew louder as it drew nearer. Gray tightened his grip on the rod.

As soon as its head poked out beside the car.

*WHAM!!*

Grey swung at the pole with all his might, digging the pole's side into the monster's face as he slammed it to the ground.

[You have slain a zombie]

[You received 2 XP]

Gray turned to the other zombie after he was stunned by what he just did and attacked it.

In response, the zombie too had moved to attack Gray, but by the time it had even taken a step in his direction.

*TUNG!*

Sliding down vertically, the metal rod had smashed into its skull, shattering it cleanly open.

[You have slain a zombie]

[You received 2 XP]

XP Required For Level Up: 71/200.

Even though he didn't put any points into strength, he had far more power than before.

In the end, his agility more than compensated for it. It wasn't just strength that determined the strength of an attack.

There was also another factor of equal importance. Momentum, Mass X Velocity. Besides his increased agility, his velocity had also increased significantly, allowing him to gather enough momentum to perform feats far more powerful than he was normally capable of.

After swinging his rod to get rid of the blood which had coated it, Gray ended up making his way toward the next one.

His body was in top condition, he didn't need to check his HP and state to know.

As Gray headed towards the next zombie, he suddenly noticed-

There was trembling and shaking on the ground. Was there an earthquake?

It lasted for a few seconds before suddenly ceasing. At this point, Gray decided to call it a day.

'I've released enough stress.'

—

-

-

Her eyes slowly opened as she awoke after accidentally dozing off. The blanket covering her was the first thing she noticed; the warmth and softness made it feel incredibly cozy.

Further tucked in, she almost dozed off before remembering something and getting up. She lost balance quickly, collapsing down to her knees once again as she did so.

She felt nauseous and dizzy, and her vision was foggy. As a result of overusing her powers, she immediately recognized this as a side effect.

She felt slightly better after taking in a deep breath. The situation was bad, but she had expected worse.

Her fever soared just as she thought that.

"Argh…" A groan escaped her lips.

Suddenly, a voice called out to her.

"You're awake. Did you sleep good?"

Her cheeks turned a vibrant red as she turned towards the source of the voice. Gray was doing push ups next to the place where she had organized all of his things, shirtless.

Despite the fact that he was rather slim and small in stature, he had a very toned and defined physique. Even though she had already seen it before when he was asleep, seeing it again in action was a whole new experience for her.

Initially, she just looked away without replying, but after sending a few glances in his direction every now and then, she nodded as well.

"That's good." He spoke before continuing. It was just about time for him to reach 100, so before he got to the point he wanted to make sure he completed the daily quest.

Especially since, after killing the three zombies at the bottom of the lot, he hardly gained any XP. Originally, he had intended to kill more but he decided to change his plan as he had more productive things to do with his time.

[100/100 Push ups]

Gray let out a sigh of relief as he stood up. Despite all the injuries, his stamina had increased significantly thanks to the stats. He hadn't really noticed it much before due to all the injuries, but his body was actually in great shape now.

Having said that, he then proceeded to walk toward the girl who had been showing no signs of hiding her fascination towards him. He sat down beside her and asked.

"What now?"

Although he didn't want to bother someone who had just woken up, he needed to find out whether or not she would become an ally of his or if they would both go their separate ways.

In silence, she sat there, thinking to herself in her own thoughts. Everything around them had gone to hell, nothing was the same. As stupid as it may seem, traveling alone would be the poorer option as opposed to traveling with two people who have special abilities,

The two avoided eye contact as they spoke. Socializing was still seemingly a problem for him.

"I'm sorry for... Trying to kill you..." She muttered

'Well that settles that.'

"It's cool." He replied.

"R-Really? Aren't you mad?" She asked.

"Not really, I'm in a good mood today so I'll allow it. Next time, I'll kill you though." He replied before laughing out loud.

Seeing him laugh, she couldn't tell whether or not he was joking or not, so instead chuckled nervously. Making things quite awkward.

After they were done laughing, she looked him right in the eye.

"You said what now... Honestly, I have nowhere to go... Do you think I could.. Join you...?"

"Will you try killing me again?" 

Her cheeks grew red from embarrassment as she hastily shook her head.

It was the words he wanted to hear. He had finally done it. He had gotten himself a fridge. Having her on his side would definitely help. He could make use of her abilities in many different ways.

"Alright then... But if you betray me,.. You know what will happen, don't you?"

She hastily nodded.

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Once the two had gotten everything out of the way, they started preparing. They couldn't stay on top of this roof forever. A proper base with all the resources they need was necessary.

On their phone, they were looking through the maps app, looking for any possible routes out.