The second-story window frame vanished beneath him as gravity took hold, cold morning air rushing past his face in a wild gust.
"He actually jumped!" a frantic voice shrieked from the shattered classroom above.
"The crazy bastard left us behind to die!"
Nox fell through twelve feet of empty space, spotting the buckled pavement of the staff parking lot directly below his descent.
He relaxed his knees, tucking his limbs tightly against his torso before absorbing the impact with a smooth rolling tumble.
The gravel cracked beneath his heels, sending small pebbles scattering across the tarmac as he popped upright into a combat crouch.
"Did you break your legs down there?" a mocking shout echoed from the window ledge.
"I landed just fine, idiot," the First Player muttered under his breath, brushing dust from his denim jacket.
"He is on his feet!" another student screamed down in disbelief. "How did he survive that drop without breaking an ankle?"
"Stop staring at the ground and help us block the door!" someone else yelled from inside the classroom.
A sudden translucent blue notification flared brightly across the center of his vision, freezing all ambient noise around him.
[ First Player Starter Package Initialized ]
[ Base Mortal Attributes Registered ]
[ Current Status: Nox | Level: 1 (EXP: 0/100) ]
[ Strength: 10 | Agility: 10 | Endurance: 10 | Perception: 10 ]
[ Unallocated Attribute Points Available: 10 ]
[ Please distribute your starter points to reinforce your physical vessel against the Great Merge. ]
"Ten free points right off the bat?" the dark-haired youth whispered, observing the floating rows with a sharp grin.
"Hey, look at him!" another student yelled from the second floor. "He is just standing there staring into space!"
"Get moving, you freak!" someone else wailed from the classroom. "The monsters are breaking through the hallway doors!"
"Shut up and die quietly," he replied, focusing his intent directly on the glowing attribute interface.
He immediately directed four points into Strength, three into Agility, and three into Endurance to establish a balanced physical foundation.
[ Allocation Confirmed: Strength +4 | Agility +3 | Endurance +3 ]
[ Updated Attributes: Strength: 14 | Agility: 13 | Endurance: 13 | Perception: 10 ]
[ Vitality Reserve Increased: 130/130 HP | Stamina Reserve: 130/130 SP ]
A wave of searing heat surged through his bone marrow, tightening every muscle fiber along his arms and torso with dense power.
His lungs expanded effortlessly, drawing in the mana-saturated air while his heartbeat settled into a slow and thunderous rhythm.
The minor aches from his fall vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of raw explosive strength humming through his limbs.
"Now that feels incredible," the youth murmured, testing his grip on the polymer handle of his service pistol.
"Help us!" a boy screamed from the open window above. "Another beast just crawled through the ceiling tiles!"
"Shoot it from down there!" a girl sobbed hysterically. "Aim through the window and kill it!"
"My weapon has seven bullets left in the magazine," the First Player shouted back, keeping his eyes on the courtyard perimeter.
"Use them all on the monsters!" Miss Joy ordered from the ledge, clutching her throat in terror. "Every single one!"
"Ammunition is far too valuable to waste on people who despise me," he said, turning his back to the school facade.
"You selfish delinquent!" she shrieked, her voice cracking against the wind. "I will have you expelled for this!"
"Try finding a principal who is still breathing first," the youth called back with a cold laugh.
"Are you truly abandoning your classmates?" another boy shouted down with outrage. "We were in the same homeroom for two years!"
"And during those two years, you cheered every time Mark stole my lunch money," the youth shot back without pausing.
A wet snarling sound erupted from the corner of the staff lounge, accompanied by the clicking of jagged claws against tarmac.
Two juvenile Gobdogs crept out from behind an overturned delivery van, sniffing the air as crimson drool leaked from their muzzles.
Their yellow fangs snapped aggressively, their predatory eyes locking onto the solitary teenager standing in the open lot.
"Look out behind you!" a student shouted from the classroom. "Two more of those things are flanking your position!"
"Are you going to run, tough guy?" another voice yelled down with panic. "They are going to tear you apart!"
"These two are just walking experience points," the youth replied, leveling his pistol at the nearest creature's throat.
The first hound lunged forward with surprising speed, kicking up loose gravel as its muscular hind legs launched it toward his neck.
The dark-haired youth did not panic, tracking the beast's trajectory with newly enhanced reflexes and absolute composure.
Instead of firing a precious round, he pivoted on his left heel, letting the snapping jaws pass mere inches from his shoulder.
He drove his right fist forward with all fourteen points of raw Strength, striking the creature directly beneath its exposed ribcage.
A sickening crunch echoed through the parking lot as the juvenile beast was sent skidding ten feet across the pavement.
"Did you see that punch?" a boy gasped from the second-story window. "He knocked a hound across the lot with his bare hand!"
"How is a high school student that strong?" a girl cried out in disbelief. "He isn't even carrying a bat!"
The second hound hesitated, flattening its ragged ears against its skull as it circled warily around the crumpled delivery van.
"Come here, mutt," the youth said, beckoning with his left fingers while keeping his firearm raised in his right.
"Shoot the damn thing!" Miss Joy screamed down from the ledge. "Stop playing games before more of them arrive!"
"I am conserving my resources for real threats," he answered without looking up at the terrified teacher.
The injured hound dragged itself across the tarmac, whimpering as dark blood dripped from its crushed chest cavity.
[ Target Severely Compromised: Juvenile Gobdog (Rank F) | HP: 8/45 ]
The dark-haired youth stepped forward with swift strides, bringing his heel down directly onto the creature's neck with crushing force.
The beast's spine snapped instantly with a sharp crack, ending its struggles in a pool of dark ichor.
[ Hostile Neutralized: Juvenile Gobdog (Rank F) | Experience Value: +10 EXP (10/100 to Level 2) ]
"That is ten points toward the next level," he muttered, watching the blue progress bar advance slightly.
The surviving juvenile hound whimpered in terror, turning tail and scrambling frantically back toward the shattered cafeteria entrance.
"Where do you think you are going?"
He raised his service pistol, aligning the iron sights with the fleeing beast's hindquarters before deliberately lowering his arm.
"A single bullet costs more than ten experience points right now," he said, clicking the safety on with a disciplined thumb.
"Why did you let it escape?" a student yelled from the classroom window. "It is going to bring the whole pack back!"
"Then you better barricade your doors before they arrive," the First Player shouted back toward the second floor.
"You can't just leave us defenseless!" Miss Joy wailed, waving her arms in pure hysterics. "Come back up here right now!"
"Figure out how to survive on your own," he answered, checking his tactical radar map.
[ Local Minimap Active: East Wing Subzone ]
[ Hostile Count Remaining: 62 Signatures | Closest Concentration: East Wing Basement Storage ]
The glowing blue compass pointed directly toward the reinforced steel double doors leading down into the school's maintenance basement.
Beyond the brick courtyard wall, the sky churned with violent purple storm clouds, crackling with raw dimensional energy.
Distant shrieks and the thunderous roar of colossal predators rumbled across the horizon, shaking the foundations of the neighborhood.
"The world outside is completely gone," a girl sobbed from the upper window. "There is nothing left out there!"
"The old world is dead," the youth muttered, checking his loaded magazine. "Only the strong get to keep living."
"Hey... wait!" a familiar voice called down from the shattered classroom. "Don't leave without me!"
He glanced upward, catching a brief glimpse of Ava peering down through the jagged glass with wide, desperate eyes.
"Every person in that building made their choice when they let Mark rule the room," the youth said to the empty air.
"Nox, please!" she cried out, her voice trembling with genuine fear. "I never wanted him to hurt you!"
"Apologies don't stop monster claws, Ava," he replied, turning on his heel toward the basement steps.
He broke into a swift jog, feeling the enhanced stamina from his allocated points sustain his rapid pace without breathing hard.
The cool morning breeze carried the metallic scent of fresh blood and burning rubber from the ruined city streets beyond the fence.
Behind him on the second floor, the classroom door finally gave way with a deafening crash of splintering timber.
A chorus of shrill screams echoed through the open windows as multiple adult hounds poured into Class 3-B to feed.
"They breached the room—!" a boy's voice cut off with a wet gurgling choke.
"Get off me!" Miss Joy shrieked in absolute terror before her screams were drowned out by feral growls and tearing flesh.
The First Player did not slow his stride, rounding the corner of the brick science building without looking back once.
He reached the heavy metal basement doors, gripping the latch with his strengthened fingers and testing the hinges.
"Sixty-two monsters left in this wing," the youth said, pulling the door open as darkness yawned before him.
[ Entering Subzone Dungeon: East Wing Maintenance Corridors | Danger Level: Moderate ]
"Time to start hunting."