Morning sunlight continued to pour over the commercial district as Noah and Levy resumed their cautious trek through the city. Neither of them brought up the archer again. There wasn't much to be said in honesty. Whoever they were, they'd helped them, leaving behind nothing but a dead walker and an arrow in their wake.
Noah thought a few times of turning back to see whether they'd go to pick up the arrow. He abandoned the thought along with all others regarding the archer, tossing them in his mental storage files in manila folders.
The streets gradually widened as the shopping plaza gave way to larger businesses. Sidewalks were littered with overturned newspaper stands, abandoned shopping carts, and vehicles left wherever their drivers had left them—sometimes at telephone poles, in storefronts, or simply on the road. Noah stepped around the hood of a sedan as another walker stumbled toward him from between two parked cars.
His spear darted forward. The steel tip pierced through its forehead, and the creature collapsed without ever touching him.
A translucent notification briefly appeared before fading away.
〔+5 EXP〕
Noah dismissed it with a thought and glanced toward Levy.
His companion had just finished off another walker. With a quick flick of his wrist, he freed the knife from its skull before wiping the dark blood against the creature's sleeve.
A familiar chime echoed inside Levy's head. He paused and flashed a grin at Noah.
"I'm catching up. Just hit level four."
Almost instinctively, he called up his Status Screen. The translucent gray window materialized before him, a new sense of....
〔Status〕
Name: Levy Carter
Level: 4 (0/800)
For a moment, he stood there, his eyes taking in the still unbelievable screen.
"I still can't believe this thing is real."
Noah smiled faintly.
"I know. Feels so sci-fi—like we got transferred into a messed up webnovel."
Levy dismissed the screen, immediately reopening it once again.
"Almost forgot."
He glanced over his attributes, his eyes moving between each line.
Strength: 13
Agility: 13
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 9
"What do you plan on adding them into?" Noah asked.
Levy thought for a moment.
"Probably Strength and Agility."
Noah nodded.
"I've almost gotten nicked a few times already," Levy continued. "I'd rather make sure that doesn't happen again."
It was a fair point.
Noah had focused primarily on Strength during his earlier levels because he relied on a spear, a long-range weapon that allowed him to control walkers from a safe distance. Levy fought much closer to the walkers, carrying only a small kitchen knife; avoiding a grab and staying quick on his toes was arguably just as important as being able to hit harder.
"Valid."
Levy allocated all four points—two into Strength and the other two into Agility.
Strength: 13 → 15
Agility: 13 → 15
The moment he confirmed his choice, a familiar warmth spread throughout his body, the strengthening process being something he'd never get over. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was unmistakable, like the night sky in total darkness.
Whatever lingering fatigue in his arms and legs melted away, replaced by a renewed sense of energy and structure. Levy cracked his knuckles before tilting his head from side to side until his neck popped.
"That feels too good, better than getting a deep massage."
"You don't gotta tell me." Noah smiled. "Feeling recharged?"
"Yeah, dude," Levy grinned, his smile resembling a kid who had just been given a tub of ice cream and no bedtime. "Feels like my body just woke up from the best nap."
He rolled his shoulders and stretched his legs, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.
"I was starting to feel tired."
"After all this fighting and exploring, I'd be surprised if you weren't."
Noah's smile faded as his gaze drifted farther down the road.
"The mini horde, though..."
The farther into the city they looked, the more walkers they saw. Not spread out but in a dense group, horde-like, as Noah said. Groups that had once numbered only a handful or a dozen or so now wandered into the numbers of fifty-plus. They drifted between abandoned vehicles and storefronts, shambling along the pavement, low groans carrying through the otherwise empty streets.
Levy followed Noah's gaze. His smile turned wry.
"That'll definitely tire me out all over again," he said. "If we even make it past the first 10. By then they'd just surround us. Not even that archer would be able to save us from that..."
"Yeah..."
Noah couldn't tell whether they'd always been there or if they had slowly wandered in from neighboring districts. His gaze swept across the intersection, searching for any openings, but there weren't any. The horde had bunched together, creating an impenetrable wall that could soon turn tidal wave.
Levy scratched the side of his head, a slow breath egressing from his lips.
"So..."
"We're definitely not fighting that."
Noah answered before he could finish. A faint flash of relief crossed Levy's face.
"I was hoping you'd say that. If you chose to go Rambo again, you'd be on your own, not gonna lie..."
Noah's lips curled into a wry smile before he shifted his attention toward a narrow alley separating two brick buildings beside them. It was dark despite the hanging sun and could be risky with the lack of space, but there appeared to be just enough room for a delivery truck to squeeze through.
"No point wasting energy when we don't have to."
Levy followed his gaze and gave a brief nod.
"Makes sense."
Still staying close to the storefronts, the pair slipped away from the intersection and into the alley.
The change was immediate.
The open sky disappeared behind rows of aging brick buildings, replaced by towering walls that stretched several stories overhead. The air felt cooler here, carrying the damp smell of concrete, overflowing dumpsters, and rainwater trapped in cracked pavement.
Noah took another step with Levy beside him while the sounds of the city faded into TV noise behind them.
The alley stretched deeper into the block, its twists and blind corners making it impossible to see what waited ahead. Neither Noah nor Levy knew what was waiting for them around the next corner. But for the moment, this was the better option.