[POV – Third Person]
It's been a month since Theo arrived in this world and started living on the cruise ship.
This week, he gathered a lot of important information.
For example, it's been 6 months and 28 days since the apocalypse began.
And, in this short amount of time, half the population has already turned into zombies.
Zombification starts when someone dies. They believe the virus is already in everyone's body and begins to act when someone is scratched or bitten by a zombie, or when someone dies.
A living proof of this was when a person living on the cruise ship took several pills intending to kill themselves... When that person actually died, they came back to life as a zombie. Luckily, Mia was the first to find the girl who killed herself and turned into a zombie.
After that, they had a long conversation with everyone, even establishing a policy that, if someone no longer wanted to live, they should shoot themselves in the head.
There was a room with a gun prepared for this.
After that, 10 people killed themselves with a shot to the head, and none of them turned into zombies.
This also proved that, if the brain is heavily damaged, the dead don't come back to life as zombies.
By the way, he learned about this room on his first day on the ship. It was one of the first things they told him. They greatly feared that someone would kill themselves in another way and come back as a zombie.
Another thing, after 1 month living on the ship, a newcomer has the right to try to awaken an ability. Not only that, even after trying and failing, with 1 month of services rendered, or if they have the courage to go out and crack open zombie heads, for every ten cores found, 1 belongs to the person who found the ten cores.
Of course, he couldn't just do nothing. And, since he wasn't specialized in anything, he worked as a kitchen assistant during this month.
"Theo Dimas, step forward and try to awaken an ability." The one who called him was Mia, the beautiful woman with large breasts and smoky makeup.
By the way, she looked stunning in a long, tight black dress that hugged her curvaceous body.
"Yes!" Theo replied nervously.
He walked robotically.
After living a month in that place, he knew the importance of having an ability and didn't want to live in a situation where he could barely eat enough to fill his stomach properly and had to wash dishes every day.
"Good luck." Mia smiled at him, opening a small jewelry box, and inside was a core shining like a diamond.
'It's really beautiful.' Theo thought.
He could hear the murmurs of envy from several ordinary people, as well as anticipation. Some even wanted him to fail, but most wanted him to succeed, after all, depending on the ability awakened, it could be of great help to them.
"It's already been purified, you just need to take it and swallow it." Mia said gently.
Theo nodded.
[It has been identified that the Host has found a level 1 core, 95% pure, would you like to absorb it and activate the System now [Yes] or [No]?]
"..."
Theo's mind went blank.
'What the hell, such a thing exists?'
Mia was still smiling at him without noticing anything strange. In other words, it must be something only he could see.
However, he didn't click right away, but instead, put it in his mouth and saw that the option was still there.
Only a fool wouldn't click yes. No matter what kind of system it was, it was harder for it to be something bad than something good.
Even awakening an ability was a kind of gamble where the chances of getting something were quite low.
When he clicked yes, he felt the core disappear in his mouth.
[Activating the System...]
Suddenly, his mind started going blank, and he fainted.
"He did it!" Someone shouted.
"What a lucky guy!"
"Damn, on the first try? That's not fair!"
"I wonder what kind of ability he'll get..."
**
**
[POV – Theo]
I woke up feeling dizzy. It was like waking up after a night of heavy drinking.
I hear voices, and the voices were loud and annoying.
When I opened my eyes, everything was black and white. I blinked and opened them several times until the world regained color.
"Tell us already, what ability did you awaken!"
I hear a familiar voice, it was that idiot Max.
I've only seen him 5 more times since I arrived, and that was enough for me to label him as a complete jerk.
He was the type who idolizes and fears the strong, is neutral with those who have some useful ability, and looks down on those like me, who could only work as a kitchen assistant or cleaning the ship.
I stood up.
I instinctively knew which ability I had awakened.
I closed my eyes.
When I opened them, activating my ability, I saw two options of lines, one red and one green. The red one would make more noise, the green one, I would move without making much noise, almost moving silently.
My presence also diminished greatly. It was as if the perception of my existence was lost from sight.
When I moved, I noticed in people's eyes that they couldn't keep up with me... Well, some could, but they were people like Mia, Violet, and other leaders of the cruise ship.
At that moment, I felt a bit playful and vengeful. Something in me told me to take revenge, even to kill, but I didn't follow that 'voice,' though I still got my revenge by appearing next to Max with my hand shaped like a blade very close to his neck.
"I awakened the [Stealth] ability." I said in his ear, stepping back.
"He said stealth?" Someone besides Max heard me.
While Max himself froze cold.
Obviously, I wasn't going to do anything to him just because he's a complete jerk, although a part of me really wanted to.
"Stealth, that's a good ability, not bad." The one who spoke was Violet.
She walked up to me.
"It's a useful ability for gathering resources. On the next stop, you're coming with us." She told me.
"Yes!" I agreed with a glint in my eyes.
Of course, I'll never tell anyone that besides the ability I awakened, I also have something even more powerful.
Even with just this, I could feel the envious looks from several people. Most of those present wished they could awaken an ability.
And someone like Max, who awakened, but the ability he awakened, I later found out, is: Slight body temperature alteration.
In simple terms, he could make his body warmer, almost like someone with a fever up to 40 degrees.
'Well, on a cold day, he can use that to warm up his wife, Linda.' I thought.
Furthermore, according to general belief, those who awaken an ability cannot develop another. Even Violet couldn't awaken a second ability.
[HP: 99/101]
[HP: 48/50]
[HP: 47/50]
[HP: 50/50]
[HP: 49/50]
Now I was able to see people's HP. Those who had awakened had at least 100 HP from what I noticed, and ordinary people, 50. While Violet...
[HP: 999/999]
'Almost a thousand, huh.' I thought.
"Theo, since you awakened an ability, you now have the right to your own room and three meals a day." Mia told me, snapping me out of my reverie.
[HP: 800]
'It's higher than I thought...'
I nodded, and she continued: "You'll also earn credits whenever you go out to explore. Your credits will be calculated according to this table."
"Check if it's in line with what's written." Mia handed me a tablet: "If it is, sign your name."
Taking it, I read and signed.
The terms were good, I had no reason not to sign.
**
**
[POV – Third Person]
After that, Theo was transferred to a room of his own.
After sharing a room with two other men, having a room all to himself was already a huge breath of fresh air.
After arranging everything, Theo sat on the bed and tried various ways to access the system until he succeeded by saying 'interface'.
════════════
Theo Dimas
Race: Human
Age: 20 years
Level 1
Progression to the next level: 5%
HP: 105/105
Essence: 10
════════════
Awakened Ability:
- [Stealth (Level 1 / 0.0%)]
- [__] (Locked): Unlocks at level 10
════════════
System Abilities:
[Interface]
[Quest System]
[Store]
[Inventory (Locked)]
════════════
'So, I need to reach level 10 to unlock a new slot for a second ability.' Theo thought: 'And, if I calculate based on the cores used, 1 gave me 5%? If I follow this line of reasoning, I need 20 cores to reach level 2.'
This made him think about how many cores Violet must have consumed to reach 999 HP.
If each level grants 100 HP, she must be close to reaching level 10.
'To reach level 10, maybe you need to do something specific that no one has figured out yet? Or if someone did, it was hard to achieve...' He thought.
Setting that aside for now, he clicked on the store, which had caught his attention.
════════════
[Store]: 10 Essence
1: 48x [Toilet Paper Roll]: 1 Essence [x]
2: [Neutralizer]: 100 Essence [x]
3: Ability: [Lightning Manipulation Level 1]: 1,500 Essence [x]
4: 20x [Canned Sardines]: 2 Essence [x]
5: Ability: [Amplified Sound Level 1]: 990 Essence [x]
[Lottery Wheel]: 10 Essence
Pending store tickets: 1
════════════
[Are you sure you want to remove [Amplified Sound Level 1]?]
════════════
He wanted to know what the "X" at the end of each item in the store was for. When he saw it was what he thought it was, he clicked "No" and went to the "Toilet Paper Roll" and clicked the X to remove it.
1: [Winter Clothing Set: S, M, L, and XL]: 1 Essence [x]
Pending store tickets: 0
The store ticket he had was automatically spent as the new item appeared. He turned off the automatic option afterward.
'Clothes are something easy to get at the moment.' It wasn't a very good item.
In fact, the toilet paper was better.
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
Hearing the soft sounds of someone knocking on the door, Theo closed the store page and went to answer: "I'm coming."
Opening the door, he was surprised by who it was.
"Linda?" Theo asked: "Did something happen? Do they need me in the kitchen?"
Linda was a cook.
"Haha, you're funny, now that you've awakened an ability, especially one useful for gathering resources, you don't need to help in the kitchen anymore." Linda laughed gracefully.
Before Theo could ask the purpose of her visit, she asked in a soft tone: "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Although he felt it would be a big headache if that idiot husband of hers found out, he didn't mind letting her in.
In fact, he was quite curious to know the reason for her visit.
Linda was very beautiful, slim, brunette with long curly hair and green eyes. Her breasts were at least a D.
She was wearing a tight red dress that clung to her body. She was simply very beautiful and sexy.
The type who went out to a party with the intention of hooking up with someone that night...
"Your room is nice." She said with a smile: "It even has a bathroom."
Theo just nodded.
"... Can I use your bathroom?" She asked.
Theo didn't think she would come all the way there just to use his bathroom, but he still agreed: "Sure, make yourself at home."
...
[POV – Third Person]
In the bathroom, Linda was feeling a bit nervous.
She had simply never done this before, but she told herself in front of the mirror that it was for the sake of her idiot husband.
She worked in the kitchen and saw the way her husband treated Theo, so she made a decision. Even though it was her first time doing this, she put a sleeping pill in Max's food. It was enough to make him sleep for several hours.
Washing her face, she took a deep breath. Her face started to heat up a lot as she thought about what she was about to do, but she was sure she wouldn't be rejected; she had already felt Theo 'devouring' her with his eyes.
...
Linda took about 5 minutes before opening the door and stepping out.
When Theo, who was looking at the floor, glanced in her direction, he was shocked by what he saw.
"Linda?"
"Theo, please, forgive everything my husband did to you, okay?" She walked toward him in a very seductive manner, her face flushed red, completely naked.
**
**
The next morning, Theo woke up at 8:22 AM.
After taking care of his daily needs, he went to the cafeteria to have breakfast, which was now a right he had earned by becoming an ability user.
On the way, he thought about the visit he received from Linda.
Honestly, he had never thought about getting revenge.
What he did to Max before, pretending to attack him while in stealth mode, was all he intended to do.
He told this to Linda. How much she believed him was uncertain.
"Theo, good morning~"
When he arrived at the cafeteria, the women from the kitchen who were cleaning the tables, especially those who had the same role as he did, unlike before, now threw flirtatious glances in his direction.
Even the way Silvana said his name and wished him good morning became quite flirtatious.
Silvana was a very beautiful woman, at most 30 years old. Black hair and brown eyes. She was slim, though lacking a bit in the breast department, she had a big butt.
"Good morning, Silvana." Theo returned the greeting and went to the counter.
There, he chose a hearty breakfast.
It was a generous piece of salmon, 2 pieces of bread, three eggs, and 200 ml of black coffee.
That morning in particular, he woke up starving.
When another girl came to bring his food, he could hardly wait to start eating.
[HP: 102/102]
Viviane, a cheerful girl in her early 20s with curly blonde hair down her back and a stunning body. Her eyes were pool blue. She loved to flirt and much more.
"Here's your breakfast, enjoy, Theo~" She said, placing the tray and leaning toward him so he could see through her cleavage: "By the way, Theo, are you free later? Actually, I'll be off around noon, how about we take a walk together?"
If Theo hadn't seen her kissing more than 5 different guys before, he might have been tempted by her.
"I'm not interested." Theo replied bluntly.
"..."
It seemed she wasn't expecting him to reject her, especially so directly.
Silvana, who wasn't far from there, chuckled softly, but Viviane heard her.
"Silvana, you dare laugh at me?" She turned to her, angry.
Silvana quickly came up with an excuse: "I wasn't laughing at you, but at something I remembered. Sorry if you misunderstood."
Although Viviane hadn't awakened an ability that was very useful in battle, she still awakened an ability called [Perfect Nail Painting].
And, although 'useless,' because she had awakened an ability, she was also enhanced, being twice as strong as an ordinary person.
That's why Silvana was afraid to go against her.
"I hope that's true!" Viviane stormed off, grumbling.
She had her own pride; after being rejected, she didn't keep insisting.
After the nuisance was gone, Theo started eating.
The food was good.
It was even better than many restaurants. Everyone who worked in the kitchen had to be dedicated, or they could be replaced.
After he finished eating, he went to return the tray.
From the counter, he noticed Linda.
She looked in his direction when she noticed him and smiled warmly.
Seeing her act like that made him feel a bit uneasy.
Leaving while scratching his head, Theo sighed shortly after.
Many things started to change in such a short time. He only needed to gain an ability for so many changes to happen around him. Especially with the women.
To begin with, he wasn't unattractive. He had light brown hair and emerald green eyes. And he was slim, standing at 1.99 meters tall.