The sun sank low, bleeding across the campus like a dying ember.
Kael stood in the room as he stretched his body. Six hours had already passed, and it was already 18:40. By now, school would have long ended. Those who lived away would have been taken home by the school bus, while the ones who boarded in the hostel would have returned to their dorm rooms.
Yet today, nothing like that happened. Instead, feral roars filled the school grounds, as it seemed the boost the zombies got to their growth had filled them with more vigor than usual. Occasionally, a student would be found out, as their screams echoed in all directions, only to soon be drowned under the growls of hundreds of undead.
Despite it already being late, Kael had no intention of staying still, even with the system's forewarning that some creatures of the night would be summoned. He had to go find his sister, and quickly at that. The thoughts of her well-being he had been suppressing were getting harder to ignore as the night drew closer.
'This will have to do,' he whispered.
His body still felt stiff, not to mention he had no Energi points in his tank, as it was only after the six-hour weakened penalty state that his Energi regeneration began.
'Another reason not to depend on that Primordial Override.'
Not being able to move at all for an entire six hours, with two further hours of no energy, was a death sentence in this grave of an apocalypse. His eyes shifted to the two sisters before him, their appearance disheveled and their uniforms drenched with their sweat.
After the global message, the sisters had been on a non-stop hunt, killing wandering zombies to grind for levels. Wisely attracting and targeting a few wasn't so hard with Natalie's ability. But with the night fast approaching, Alice wasn't willing to take any risk and had decided to retreat and prepare for what would come in a bit over an hour.
That was right! Kael would be the only one leaving, something he didn't really mind.
Now wearing one of Alice's T-shirts, Kael moved toward the door. Natalie had already scouted not only the floor they were on but even the second floor, so there was no need to linger. Before he could leave, however, he was surprised by Natalie's action. The little girl suddenly hugged him as she whispered, more like a prayer than a wish:
"Stay safe."
Kael stood awkwardly, not exactly uncomfortable yet unfamiliar with such actions, especially with strangers. Thankfully, Natalie didn't hold him for long as she quickly retreated while lowering her head to hide her flushed cheeks.
Alice also stood before Kael, and as the possibility of his peer also drawing him into a hug dawned on Kael, he couldn't help but gulp involuntarily, his eyes flickering onto her chest just for a split moment before meeting her eyes.
A moment that Alice still caught nevertheless.
She simply stretched her hand forward and used ten percent of her mana to create a sword construct, one so thick that it looked no different from an ordinary sword aside from its blue color.
"Take this. It will last for three hours."
Kael's eyes widened in surprise. A feeling of irritation almost sprang up from within him, but he quickly squashed it. He knew if he was in her place, he would have done the same, but still, he decided to ask.
"Why didn't you give me this before?"
Alice looked at him with her regular impassive gaze and didn't reply. Seeing that he wouldn't be getting an answer, Kael sighed and took the sword before approaching the door.
"I should use part of my attribute points."
With no Energi to boost his body, he could only rely on his natural stats. He sent four points each into his strength and agility stats, bringing them to the ten mark, the same as his mind stat. Then begrudgingly, he sent two points into his vitality and decided to keep the remaining ten for emergencies. Increasing his vitality left a bit of a bad taste in his mouth, as it reminded him of his Class instinct.
Taking a deep breath, he shifted his head just enough to catch a view of the sisters.
"If it is possible, I will return with my sister before the night."
Not waiting for a response, he opened the door, left, and quickly closed it with a quiet click.
---
With Alice and her sister having cleared the floors a few minutes prior, Kael found the hallway a bit desolate. Unwilling to switch on the light to prevent attracting more undead, the corridor—with its walls covered in burn marks and smeared blood, together with broken door frames and shadowy rooms—was almost as if a scene had been pulled out of a horror show.
With that thought in his mind, Kael swiftly crossed the distance and reached the stairwell. He had to be fast, as he was running out of time. Already knowing what to expect, he climbed down the stairs quietly and arrived at the second floor.
He saw two zombies roaming the corridor, something Natalie had already warned him about with her ability used to the limit. A slight warmth filled Kael's heart at the thought of that. Shaking his head to remove the distracting thoughts, he gripped the blue sword tightly by the guard before silently approaching the first zombie.
Not willing to risk alerting the undead when he was too close, as some of them had better senses than others, Kael broke into a run, bridged the distance, and swung with all his might, his movement appearing more clumsy than before.
The zombie, having sensed the attack, quickly turned and raised its hand. Its claws extended unnaturally, their edges glinting sharply as they met the blue sword.
- Clang!
The sound of metal colliding with metal resounded in the quiet hallway, sending a chill down Kael's spine.
'I can't afford to draw more of them.'
- GRR?
The second one further ahead had already been drawn to the noise. Luckily, it only released a low growl as it launched forward. Kael tried to parry the first undead claw only to end up losing his balance.
'Shit...'
Only now did he remember that he wasn't actually a fighter. All his previous actions and feats, together with his superhuman movements, had all been as a result of his Energi stat. Not only did it boost other stats, it also sent him into a state—something like a zone—where his thoughts could easily flow into action with barely any lag.
The first zombie snarled ferociously and lunged at him. Luckily, he was able to back away quickly. After all, he had used ten of his free stats, and despite the undead being Level 8, its common class would have only granted it one free attribute point, which Kael guessed must be distributed by the system.
So there was not much difference between them in terms of stats. The second zombie reached them, and to Kael's surprise, it suddenly flashed to his front, with a small green wind appearing on its disgusting legs.
'Bloody hell!'
Kael quickly used the one Energi stat he had barely recovered and boosted his mind. The world suddenly slowed around him, the approaching outstretched mouth of the undead appearing vividly in his vision.
Gripping his sword once again, he tilted a bit forward, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet, and suddenly kicked off the ground. The blue sword drew an arc through the air, decapitating the first zombie as his body moved past it smoothly before arriving in front of the one with unnaturally long claws.
Its attacks flew above him as he ducked, his body soon spinning around the undead to arrive behind it. As he rose back up, his sword swing flowed with his momentum. Another head flew into the air before the first could land on the ground.
- Thud!
- Thud!
Kael released a breath as both corpses fell to the ground.
[ LEVEL 8 ZOMBIE (COMMON) KILLED ]
[ 4 EXP GAINED ]
[ LEVEL 10 ZOMBIE (COMMON) KILLED ]
[ 5 EXP GAINED ]
'What?'
'Wasn't it supposed to be eight and ten EXP?' His brows knit into a frown as he thought while moving toward the next floor. On the way, he took some blood from the fallen undead and rubbed it on various parts of his body.
Just as he reached the stairs, his eyes shifted to the blue sword in his hand, a light of understanding flashing in their bottomless depth.
'That bitch! Is she trying to scam me?'
He almost threw the sword away before restraining himself at the last second. He couldn't deny that having a weapon made killing these undead easier. Especially now that his Energi reserve was low. Still, having to share half his EXP left a bad taste in his mouth.
Back upstairs in the room, a light smile appeared on Alice's usually deadpan face, not because of the EXP she received, but because of how she thought Kael would react once he realized.
*****
AN: Thanks for reading. Please, vote power stones if you are enjoying the novel.