Liam didn't just speak—he walked over to the rope ladder and began to climb it.
It swayed, but his hands easily lifted his own body. He didn't even need to step on the rungs to ascend, as his body felt light due to his enhanced physical strength.
"Liam might be the strongest among us," said one of the students.
"Yeah, he can transform his right hand. I saw it—it looked like a dragon's hand, capable of killing a zombie in one strike."
Several students talked among themselves, none denying Liam's strength.
In no time, Liam had climbed to the warehouse roof.
From up there, he could see the condition of the schoolyard.
The gate had been destroyed, and many zombies were crowding the area, most of them surrounding the warehouse.
Liam finally saw the zombie that had been banging on the door.
(Level 4 Zombie!)
The system informed him of the zombie's level.
It didn't just have four arms—it had an enormous body.
Its height reached over 2.5 meters, and it had a massive mouth filled with long fangs.
Liam was worried. Facing it now came with a huge risk.
His eyes then scanned the zombies behind the warehouse—there were far fewer of them.
Without hesitation, he ran in that direction.
Getting down from the roof wasn't difficult, as there were several tall poles he could use.
Liam jumped to one of the poles, wrapped himself around it, and slid down.
Before he even reached the ground, the area around the pole was already filled with zombies—but they were all just Level 1.
Liam's hand turned into the stone dragon claw again. He drew his sword, now coated in wind, and began slashing nonstop, cutting down any zombie that got too close.
Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!
Three zombies were immediately killed by his strikes, while the rest were left heavily injured, their limbs severed.
Having landed, Liam charged at the remaining zombies.
One he killed with a single kick, while the others were finished with swift slashes to their necks.
DING!
(You have killed seven Level 1 Zombies. You gained 70 Battle Points!)
(Battle Points: 200/200)
(You have reached Level 2 and received 2 Attribute Points!)
Liam had already guessed he'd gain 2 Attribute Points.
In this scenario, he had already decided how to distribute them.
'1.2 to Mana, and divide the rest equally among all attributes except Strength!' he commanded the system.
Given his current capabilities, he understood the need for Mana—and that the other attributes also needed to be gradually improved.
Strength could be skipped for now, as it was already much higher than the others.
DING!
(Level: 2)
(Battle Points: 0/300)
(System Points: 20)
(Strength: 1.7)
(Defense: 0.7) +0.2
(Agility: 0.8) +0.2
(Stamina: 0.7) +0.2
(Vitality: 0.6) +0.2
(Mana: 1.3) +1.2
"Mm!"
The significant boost in Mana instantly gave Liam the sensation of something foreign in his body—like energy from another world.
He had felt this faintly since awakening, but now the presence of Mana was unmistakably clear.
'I can summon Paul,' he thought.
He activated the skill called Dead March, thinking of Paul as a Level 3 Zombie.
As he focused, a red portal-like shape appeared in front of him. From it, Zombie Paul stepped out—identical to before and still at Level 3.
He looked just like any other unintelligent zombie, but Liam felt a strong connection between them—he could sense Paul's thoughts, as if the zombie was asking for instructions.
Whatever Liam wanted him to do, he would do it.
Liam instantly ordered him to attack the approaching zombies.
ROAR!
Zombie Paul unleashed his four blood swords and charged at the zombies ferociously.
Zombies typically didn't attack each other, so Zombie Paul's sudden assault caught them completely off guard. They didn't even fight back at first, allowing Paul to slice them to pieces.
Even after it became clear that Zombie Paul was an enemy, some of them hesitated to retaliate.
"Liam!"
Suddenly, Liam heard Alex's voice.
He looked up and saw Alex as the second person to exit the building.
The large man descended from the roof the same way Liam had.
Upon landing, he finally noticed Paul's presence.
"Wasn't this zombie already dead?" he asked, before realizing that Paul was attacking other zombies.
"This is my second skill. I can resurrect the creatures I've killed," Liam replied.
Alex froze at those words, then said, "Seriously, how did you get such incredible skills?"
Just as he said that, the Level 4 Zombie and the others near the warehouse door began charging toward them, drawn by the noise of battle.
Upon spotting two humans, their eyes glowed with savage intent.
They began running full speed toward them.
"Alex, I'll take the big one. You handle the rest," said Liam.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
His left hand gripped his sword, while his right transformed again. This time, he chose the Phoenix hand—he was tired of the dragon form.
The result surprised him greatly because Phoenix's hand was a wing made entirely of fire with a slightly golden red color.
It was completely without flesh, just fire in the shape of wings, complete with bones and feathers.
Liam instinctively flapped the wing—and, surprisingly, it made him fly, even though it was only one wing. Something that should have been impossible—but impossibilities seemed not to apply to the Phoenix's wing.
Whoosh!
He then swept the fiery wing forward, unleashing a large wave of flames.
Liam felt no heat himself, but the fire instantly reduced all Level 1 Zombies to ash.
He didn't receive any Battle Points for their deaths.
Buzz!
When the flames hit the Level 4 Zombie, it staggered—or rather, took a step back. The fire had fiercely burned its four arms, which it had instinctively raised in defense.
In fantasy stories, the Phoenix is often said to possess the strongest flames—and it seemed to be true. Not even the flames of a fire dragon could compare to those of the Phoenix.
The dragon had the advantage in physical strength and defense, but the Phoenix clearly lacked both. It had only its fire to attack.
Still, it seemed that with enough Mana, the Phoenix flames could become larger and hotter—but even at the same level, they were the strongest flames.
"Zombie—die!"
As the zombie continued backing away, Liam suddenly saw Joel arriving.
He jumped straight from the rooftop—unafraid of falling thanks to his wings—and now held a spear aimed directly at the zombie's head.
Even though his level was lower, if the spear hit its mark, he might be able to kill it.
'That bastard,' Liam thought.
A moment later, his eyes turned cold.
In games, nothing was more frustrating than kill-stealing—and in this new world where game elements were real, it was even worse.
Without hesitation, Liam swept his Phoenix wing toward the fat man.