[ YOU HAVE KILLED A LV. 15 ZOMBIE (COMMON) ]
[ 15 EXP GAINED ]
[ YOU HAVE KILLED A LV. 9 ZOMBIE (RARE) ]
[ 18 EXP GAINED ]
[ YOU HAVE KILLED A LV. 7 ZOMBIE (COMMON) ]
.....
[ YOU HAVE KILLED A LV. 12 ZOMBIE (COMMON) ]
.....
[ YOU HAVE KILLED A LV. 5 ZOMBIE (RARE) ]
[ YOU HAVE KILLED A LV. 22 ZOMBIE (COMMON) ]
.....
'Bloody hell!'
Kael would have screamed out in shock if it wasn't because he lacked the strength to do something so simple. Still, his throat felt dry as he went through the list of messages. Only now did he understand the impact of what his Primordial Override had done.
The logs took him almost two minutes to go through, and from the number of messages he saw, Kael estimated he must have killed over a hundred zombies. That burst of flames that had filled the hallway, especially, must have eliminated a great deal of these undead.
'How does that make sense?'
'I could barely handle a LV. 11 zombie, yet my class is telling me I am capable of far more?'
Rather than feeling happy at the unexpected haul of free EXP, Kael felt a mix of anger, frustration, regret, and annoyance. It was almost as if he was being told his class was wasted on him. Of course, that was how he saw it.
He ignored the fact that a LV. 1 accomplishing such a feat—especially on the first day of the apocalypse—should have been virtually impossible. Instead, he felt his pride hurt at the fact he was so much weaker than his own...
...class?
And a bit of fear he refused to acknowledge. Knowing something else could control your body wasn't exactly reassuring.
Gritting his teeth tightly, Kael moved on to the other messages.
[ EXP : 100 / 100 ]
[ CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! ]
[ +1 to all natural stats, +5 to Energi stat, and +10 free attribute points received. ]
.....
[ EXP : 200 / 200 ]
[ CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP ]
[ +1 to all natural stats, +5 to Energi stat, and +10 free attribute points received. ]
"Wow..." Kael muttered in his mind once more in stunned silence.
'10 attribute points?'
'Wasn't this too much?'
He remembered Natalie had told him she received +3 free attribute points per level, and considering she was an ELITE class holder, Kael surmised those of lower class ranks would be receiving even less.
'Primordial rank...'
Only now did the weight of his class settle into Kael's mind.
'Wait...'
'I think I understand a bit more now.'
'Those golden particles I saw earlier... were they what the system called laws of reality?'
'Was that the one pertaining to fire?'
He wasn't so sure of his thoughts, but what he did know was that he would not be able to accomplish what the Primordial Override had done. And that was for the simple reason that he had chosen Path 2.
The way the primordial instinct had fought wasn't like how Kael did. If Kael was said to simply activate his class skills, then the instinct took them, molded them into what it wanted, and even went as far as to draw on the power of laws to boost them.
With his thoughts reaching here, he waved the still-remaining messages away for the moment before his eyes fell on his main status page, specifically on one line.
**LAWS COMPREHENSION**
Fire Laws: Initiate (1%)
Kael released a sigh. Despite using Ignition Fist several times today, and the number of accumulated injuries his passive had healed, his comprehension of laws had not budged an inch.
'No need to dwell on spilled milk,' he consoled himself once again.
Then he studied the changes to his status page.
---
NAME: Kael Draven
RACE: Human
CLASS: Primordial Conduit (Primordial rank)
Level: 3 (112 / 300)
STATS:
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Vitality: 8
Mind: 10
Energi: 0 / 35 (Unique)
Stat points: 20
**LAW AFFINITIES**
Fire: Initiate (1%)
TALENT: ??? (Requirements not met)
SKILLS: IGNITION FIST(RARE), EMBER REGENERATION(RARE)
ACHIEVEMENT POINTS: 13 / 100,000; FEATS:
- YOU ARE THE FIRST TO KILL AN ENEMY 10+ LEVELS ABOVE YOU. (+5 AP)
- YOU KILLED AN ENEMY 10+ LEVELS ABOVE YOU ×4 (+8 AP)
ITEMS (NEW): 5 (Stored in your unlocked inventory)
---
First, Kael's eyes lingered on the new EXP required to reach his next level. It was already at a whopping 300, and that too when he was only level 3. And considering he estimated the EXP rewarded for a kill was about a tenth of the EXP needed at the opponent's level, Kael calculated he would have to kill hundreds of zombies at his level just to level up. Even if he only focused on those a few levels above him, the number would still be very high.
'Damn!'
'Is this the system's way of balancing out the massive advantage those of higher class ranks receive?'
He sighed in exasperation, the way ahead looking long and arduous.
Next, his eyes moved to his stats. He guessed he couldn't feel the sensation of being stronger either because he was in a weakened state, or because the process had happened while the instinct was in control of his body. Not caring which was the reason, his eyes moved to his achievements, where he noticed some discrepancies.
'Hmm...'
'So the system rewarded 5 AP—which I reason is short for Achievement Points—because I was the first to kill a being +10 levels above me? And +2 for others who could do the same? That kind of makes sense.'
Normally, he would have a rush of pride filling his body at such an accomplishment, but ever since he saw the primordial instinct take action, he couldn't be bothered with such matters any longer.
Lastly, he fixed his eyes on the new list on his status page, and new messages flashed before him.
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE ITEM: SPATIAL RING (RARE) ]
'Oh! A dream of all fantasy readers.'
He couldn't really summon the ring now, considering he was basically paralyzed. As for the description, he could already take a guess at its function, so he moved on.
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MANA POTION (COMMON) ]
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MANA POTION (COMMON) ]
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MANA POTION (RARE)]
[ YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MANA POTION (RARE)]
'Bloody hell!'
Kael almost cursed out. The system had given him the spatial ring for his own kill, while the other four were rewards the primordial instinct had achieved. It was almost as if the system merely tossed the mana potions just to fulfill its own rules. If not, how could it give him a mana potion when he didn't have MANA?
'Fuck...'
Feeling he was about to curse the system once again, he quickly shifted his eyes to the description of his spatial ring. As for the mana potions, he ignored them while throwing the system an imaginary middle finger.
Kael was just starting to read his item's description when it happened...
A system message flashed before him, forcefully overlapping with the one he was reading. Not to mention, the interface this time was a bright golden one.
[ GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT: TEN ELITE ZOMBIES HAVE REACHED FIRST ORDER (LV. 25) LESS THAN SIX HOURS SINCE THE APOCALYPSE BEGAN. ]
[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: RAPID EVOLUTION ]
[ +5 ACHIEVEMENT POINTS AWARDED TO THE TEN UNDEAD. ]
[ SPECIES BONUS ACTIVATED - UNDEAD ]
• +100% GROWTH SPEED FOR ALL ZOMBIES BELOW LEVEL 25
• +50% GROWTH SPEED FOR ALL FIRST ORDER ZOMBIES
[ MILESTONE REACHED. ]
[ NEW WORLD CONDITION UNLOCKED:
• EVERY NIGHT FROM 20:00 TO 05:00, CREATURES OF THE NIGHT WILL BE SUMMONED RANDOMLY AROUND THE WORLD ]
Kael froze.
He wasn't the only one. All surviving humans around the world shared the same reaction. Their breath was instinctively held, as if time itself had frozen.
"Six hours..." Alice whispered a short distance from him, her deadpan look now turned pale, with despair flashing within her eyes. She didn't even bother with her little sister, who had been forcefully woken, with tears already spilling from her eyes.
"That isn't growth..." she muttered. "...That is a massacre."
How many humans must have died for such a thing to happen? Thousands? Tens of thousands?? Or maybe... millions?
The more Kael thought of it, the more his face turned white.
'And yet the system rewards such a thing?'
As if hearing its name in his thoughts, new messages appeared before him.
<
[ ALL CLASS HOLDERS ARE DIVIDED INTO SEVEN RANKS: COMMON, RARE, ELITE, EPIC, LEGENDARY, MYTHICAL, ??? ]
[ ALL CLASS RANKS GAIN:
• +1 TO ALL STATS PER LEVEL
• ADDITIONALLY, EACH RANK GRANTS FREE ATTRIBUTE POINTS PER LEVEL:
COMMON: +1 / RARE: +2 / ELITE: +3 / EPIC: +4 / LEGENDARY: +6 / MYTHICAL: +8 / ???: +10 ]
<
[ LEVEL PROGRESSION FOLLOWS A FIXED PATTERN:
LEVEL 1 → 2 : 10 EXP
LEVEL 2 → 3 : 20 EXP
LEVEL 3 → 4 : 30 EXP
. . .
EXP FORMULA: EXP = (10 × LEVEL) × MULTIPLIER (FREE ATTRIBUTE POINTS GAINED) ]
Kael exhaled slowly. Fair. The system was fair. The more power a class granted... the heavier the price to grow it.
Then his eyes shifted to the first message again.
'Ten zombies...'
'...in six hours.'
Something cold crept up his spine. If this was the beginning... then what would the world look like tomorrow?
But one thing was painfully clear. This system didn't favor the weak. It didn't favor the complacent . What it favored was those closest to death... or closest to madness.
And if one wanted to live, one had to kill and...
Kill. And...
Kill.
Kill, not to grow stronger.
Kill, not to protect your loved ones.
Kill, not to fulfill your desires.
No.
It was kill to survive!
*****
AN: Thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote power stones.