A spray of blood hit the glass.
And for a moment, all three of the teenagers who took refuge behind the nearby counterdesk just… stared.
"D-Do you think she will be okay?" the girl with the dusty glasses asked, clutching her first aid kit like it was a stuffed animal.
Her round lenses were fogged with panic, her messy twin braids swaying every time her head jerked nervously toward the carnage.
The blood-streaked glass door was the only thing separating them from the chaos outside.
"What do you mean, okay? She's cutting them like bamboo shoots!" said the bat-wielding guy, wide-eyed.
The cracked remains of his sports watch ticked ominously on his wrist.
"Did you see that flying elbow drop? She WWE'd that zombie like it owed her lunch money!"
When the bat-wielding guy saw the angel countered with her elbow as the poor zombie's head flew off from its neck, his eyes sparkled in awe.
"I'm starting to think she might be more dangerous than the zombies,"
The skinny one muttered, hoodie half-zipped, one eye twitching as if it was trying to escape the rest of his body.
"Seriously, is she even human? That was a triple headshot. With a broadsword."
"H-Hush," Glasses snapped, though her voice cracked,
"You guys! She saved us! W-We can't judge her just because she's… she's a lawnmower in a battle dress…"
Outside, Aurelia moved like divine wrath with a personality disorder.
Every swing of her sword sang death.
Her once-pristine armor, now smeared with rotting flesh and arterial spray, only made her look more ethereal… like a blood-drenched war angel from a metal album cover.
And the trio were watching a massacre.
A clean, precise, absolutely surgical massacre.
Their jaws collectively dropped lower every time she bisected another zombie vertically like she was slicing melted butter.
Then came a scream.
Not from her.
From one of the undead, who, rather tragically, got thrown across the street and impaled headfirst on a traffic sign that read: No Trespassing.
"...That's symbolic," muttered Twitchy Hoodie Guy.
***
Meanwhile, Nero took a quiet breath.
"One step at a time," he muttered.
He didn't have Aurelia's insane strength, divine armor, or sword that probably had a cooler backstory than he did.
What he did have, however, was a functioning brain.
A metal pipe he randomly grabbed from one of the shelves.
And an above-average ability to overthink things.
Cool set of abilities if you ask him… not.
'Let's actually try harder this time.'
He focused his vision, trying to make use of his surroundings.
Ever since leveling up from level 1 to 10, Nero felt his movements got lighter.
Nero ducked beneath the broken store sign, eyes darting from alley to car, to cracked pavement.
His observations also got keener, while his eyesight became clearer.
'Is it from the dexterity and vitality stats?'
There were a dozen zombies still lurking near the convenience store's entrance.
Too scattered to hit all at once, too dangerous to ignore.
He crouched low.
Right behind a fallen display rack.
*Clang!*
One zombie wandered toward the clatter of a tin can he'd thrown.
The other two followed like dumb, rotting sheep.
Nero shifted his weight.
Quick, silent, clean.
*WHACK!*
The metal pipe cracked into the back of a skull, sending the zombie stumbling into its equally clumsy friend.
The second tripped over the first, faceplanting into the pavement just in time for Nero's boot to stomp down, hard.
'I also feel like I've gotten stronger?'
It's obvious that it's thanks to the strength stat.
Although the point leveling system was an 0.05 incremental increase per level, Nero was now fully realizing how significant each of those numbers are despite being under decimals.
'Guess the gacha games and their big numbers messed with my brain, huh…'
*Crunch!*
The skull was crushed under his shoe.
Nero didn't wince.
He couldn't afford to.
Although it felt disgusting there was no time to waste.
The last one turned, sluggish and confused, mouth drooling.
Nero jabbed the pipe straight through its eye socket.
The thing twitched, gurgled, and dropped.
He let out a breath.
"Hooohh… This feels like a hardcore ambush and stealth mission. Great that I'm trying it IRL."
Calm. Focused. Efficient
Slowly, Nero was getting used to it.
A bit abnormally fast even.
He turned to find a pack coming from the alley… at least five.
Too tight for Aurelia to reach in time.
"Time to get creative," he muttered, eyes landing on a half-open car door.
He ran for it.
Luring the horde toward him, he then ducked and rolled beneath the frame.
The first zombie didn't stop… slammed face-first into the door edge with a satisfying crack.
Two others tripped over the fallen one like undead dominoes.
*WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!...*
Nero stood tall and finished them off.
One. Two. Three.
The strength increase was really handy.
A hard hit or two directly to their skulls, mushed their brain matters.
If it were him before, he would surely tire out before he even got to the third zombie, let alone crushing their skulls.
Nero stepped back, letting the final crawler approach, only to kick it under the car.
Its head popped like a watermelon beneath the tire as it rolled over.
He let out a small chuckle. "… Should've looked both ways."
And just in time,
---
[Level Up!]
[Your acute observation of your surroundings and utilizing them to your advantage has made you more sensitive in general.]
[Congratulations. You have acquired the Passive Skill: Greater Instinct (C).]
---
"Wow? I guess my hard ass paid off, huh?"
Moreover, it's a passive skill.
Nero whistled.
He made a mental note to check it later.
By the time he returned to the front of the store, Aurelia had already carved the remaining horde like a discount rotisserie chicken.
The last zombie's torso hit the pavement before its head realized it was unemployed.
*Pak…*
And just like that, it was over.
Aurelia flicked her blade, sending a small arc of blood into the air.
Then she turned to Nero, ever graceful.
"Lord Nero, shall we make our leave?" She asked, already scanning the skies.
The sun was starting to peek through.
But the chaos still remained due to the outrageous amount of monsters.
It won't take long before other uglies would be attracted by the shitshow made here.
"Yeah. This neighborhood's gotten too bitey for my taste."
Then came the noise behind the counter.
A creak.
A shuffle.
Nero and Aurelia turned just in time to see the trio cautiously poking their heads out like guilty raccoons.
Guilty for leading a horde of zombies here.
Despite the stats increase from the levels, it would be impossible to completely face a whole horde of zombies on his own.
Even if he did escape, there's still the chance of being cornered just like them.
In short, if Nero didn't have Aurelia he would be more than cooked by now.
Actually, rather than cooked, he would be rotten meat.
One that mindlessly walked outside, begging for brains.
The worst possibility was becoming a happy meal; a free all-you-can buffet for those no brainers.
"…H-Hello."
The girl with the dusty glasses looked between them and the carnage with a bit of awkwardness and embarrassment.
"Uh-huh," Nero said, crossing his arms.
"We come in peace?"
The baseball bat guy gave them a tense salute.
"…Seriously, are you two heroes from past lives or something?"
Asked the hoodie guy, glancing behind them like he half-expected more zombies to fall from the sky.
The group then introduced themselves.
Starting from our beautiful goddess.
"I am Aurelia. First Star Valkyrie of the Celestial Cradle. Currently serving under Lord Nero."
Aurelia had her serious default face on.
*Tak! Slaah!*
She made her standard salute when greeting others… one that's not known to Earth, of course.
With her hand directly snapping toward under her chest, she stood on attention.
The execution was impeccable.
Her movements were precise.
As a legendary First Star Valkyrie that represented and led huge celestial legions of angels, it was expected.
There were zero mishaps.
It looked snappy and awesome.
The honor and pride was clear.
But of course,
*Clap! Clap! Clap!*
"Wow…"
"Amazing!"
"... That was smooth."
The trio thought it was just a roleplay or performance of some sort.
Nero almost laughed looking at Aurelia cutely tilting her head in confusion.
She looked like a lost girl who wondered why 1+1 is equal to 3.
"Yeah, and I'm Nero," he added, finally breaking the skit short,
"I'm the CEO of Not Dying Inc. We've been rapidly expanding lately… You're welcome, by the way."
"W-We wanted to help," the glasses girl offered, although weakly.
Nero raised an eyebrow.
"… S-Sorry for just hiding, and for leading the zombies."
"Uh, I apologize…"
"Sorry…"
The timid girl finally gave in, curbing her head back.
The same for the two boys who bowed.
Aurelia smiled faintly from their apologies.
But rather than coming across as a gentle goddess, the trio felt like death smiled at them.
It was terrifying.
Her blood-smeared armor.
Her normally cold facial expression with drops of blood.
It just made her feel ten times more intimidating.
"Here… You look horrifying when you smile with blood on your face."
Even Nero felt chills.
"... Thank you for your grace, Lord Nero."
Aurelia gratefully accepted the tissue, cleaning the blood from her body.
Nero then looked at the trembling trio.
They were teenagers.
Must be high schoolers.
Panic must've settled in during the apocalypse, causing them to act rashly.
Breathing a sigh, Nero had to let it go.
"Well, it's fine. Can you guys at least tell me your names?"
There was a brief silence before the girl stepped forward while trembling a bit.
"I'm Yui… I'm a m-medical student. Well… an ex-student after all of this happened. O-Oh, and thank you for saving us…!"
Next, the baseball guy grinned widely and thumped his broken metal bat to his muscular chest.
"Thanks for the save, bro! My name's Kaito. I'm a power hitter! And by that, I mean I hit things until they stop moving."
"You're welcome… You love baseball then?"
"No, I actually love soccer."
'What the fuck?'
Nero felt like he heard some bullcrap.
"But just today, I love hitting balls with a bat."
Kaito swung his broken metal bat as if hitting something… more specific.
'Must be sadist. Need to stay away.'
Nero personally noted.
"Not balls," corrected Hoodie Guy. "Monster heads."
"Same thing at this point, Haru," Kaito replied.
Haru sighed.
"Hi. I'm Haru. I have anxiety and a PhD in Not Dying. Mostly by hiding… Thanks for saving us, by the way."
Haru gave a sincere bow, but before Nero was able to respond,
"Lord Nero, we must depart. More monsters will be drawn to the scent."
Aurelia gently interrupted the introduction.
"Kraaaagghhh…"
Right on cue, a distant roar echoed in the wind.
It didn't sound like a zombie.
More like something large.
Angry. And having the worst sore throat in existence.
"…Yeah. Let's not wait for another boss fight," Nero muttered.
They didn't.
The group moved quickly, sticking to the shadows.
They had to.
As the Earth that they know… is just starting to change.
With the following events in the near future, flipping the shit out of their expectations.
***
STATUS UPDATE
---
Name: Nero Walker (Jobless Degenerate)
Race: Human
Level: 10 → 11
Stats:
STR: 1.3/10
DEX: 1.05/10 → 1.1/10
INT: 1.25/10
VIT: 1.3/10
LUCK: 1.005/10
CHA: 0.8/10 (oof.)
Active Skills:
– [Empty]
Passive Skills:
– [Greater Instinct (C), Lv: 1]
Unique Abilities:
– [Waifu Summoner (SSR)]
– [Copycat (A) (Flawed)]
---
***
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