'A Second Level?! This fast?!'
Leon's head rang, a wave of dread washing over him. He wanted to retreat immediately, however, something else caught his attention. A small package, the size of a first aid box radiating a subtle gold aura, was right beside the zombie.
The zombie was seated calmly beside it, seemingly meditating.
'It's benefitting from the gold aura.' Leon realized, his face solemn.
'It probably hasn't grown any strong. I can kill it.' He thought.
With killing intent flashing in his eyes, he leaped into the room.
CRASH!
The sound of glass shattering attracted the attention of the huge zombie who instantly stood up—alert.
As the creature turned its monstrous face towards him, Leon spotted the yellow crystal embedded in its forehead.
'That confirms it. It's a Second Level zombie.'
His eyes narrowed. Holding the katanas tightly, he attacked first. The sharp edges of the blades tore a brutal gash on the zombie's torso while it failed to react quickly.
However, Leon wasn't quick to celebrate.
The zombie attacked as soon as he stepped back. Its massive fists struck the air with startling force, causing Leon's heart to skip a beat. That punch would have definitely flattened his head.
Rolling to the side, he dodged another wild punch and cut two deep gashes along its thighs. Dark blood spilled from the wounds as the zombie staggered.
"ROAR!"
The zombie roared wildly as its attack grew more aggressive, realizing that the small human could injure it.
Leon leaned back to the extreme, feeling a bitter sting as the zombie's fist grazed his cheek.
'It's a new zombie. It hasn't grown much intelligent.'
Upon turning, zombies lose their intelligence. However, as they evolve, they begin to grow their intelligence—even remembering their past as a human. This doesn't humanize them, though. Why? Because their new intelligence had become warped to adapt with their bloodthirsty nature.
Ducking under its arms, he kicked off its torso and sliced at its neck. Suddenly, the zombie's hands caught his arms in a firm grip—locking him in place.
His eyes widened, and in panic, he kicked with all his might.
Bang! His heavy boots struck the zombie's jaws which broke with a sickening crunch.
The zombie instinctively released him, growling incoherent words at him. As he landed, Leon considered picking up the golden box and fleeing. However, he couldn't let go of the yellow essence crystal of the Second Level zombie.
'I'll kill it.'
He thought. Adrenaline surged through him as he kicked off the wall to flip over its punch. His katanas stabbed into its eyes while he landed on the hospital bed close to the window.
While it was disoriented and blind, he hurriedly attacked. He targeted its joints—elbows, knees, wrists, and others, severing the hardened muscles but by bit.
Suddenly, the zombie punched at him accurately. And realizing he couldn't dodge, he went on a full assault.
Bang!
His ribs cracked as the blow landed, but he didn't budge. His katanas dug deep into its neck. Then with a final burst of energy, he completely severed its head.
Thud!
The large head collapsed to the ground, dark blood pooling beneath.
Broken and battered, he collapsed on his knees, watching as the zombies outside grew restless.
Smiling faintly, he used the last bit of energy left in him to crawl towards the golden box.
With a single tap, it opened, revealing the content within. A small bottle of evolution potion, a class card, a one-time-use defense disk and a guide-letter.
"Haha, here it is." He croaked, blood seeping from his mouth.
Without hesitation, he picked up the evolution potion and downed the contents. Instantly, he felt the changes. His blood burned, simmering against his skin as it flowed like larva.
Finally, after a minute, everything cooled. Even the blinding pain from his ribs had reduced, slightly healed.
He stood up with a groan, then flexed his muscles. New inhuman strength coursed through him as he felt his senses sharpening. He could hear sounds from the distance clearer, see clearer and even pick up scents more neatly.
At the door, few zombies remained. The others had dispersed after the disappearance of the enticing aura that was being radiated from the box.
Finally, Leon's eyes shifted to the corpse of the Second Level zombie. He calmly bent down and dug out the yellow crystal on its forehead, admiring it in his hands.
"A Second Level crystal on the first day of the apocalypse." He sneered. "Isn't that too much luck?"
Keeping it in his pocket, he moved to inspect the other contents of the box. Firstly, he took out the class card.
Just as the words implied, these cards were like job/skill cards that imparted the user with the knowledge of a specific profession. The class cards had ranks, though. Ranging from common, to rare, to epic, to unique, to legendary and probably something higher.
'An epic-ranked card?' He thought, astonished.
These golden boxes were truly boxes of surprises. However, the class left him a bit dissatisfied.
Smith-Weaver.
As soon as he picked the card, a system interface popped up.
[Smith-Weaver: An epic-ranked class that crafts weapons and weaves runes. Basic rune knowledge. Basic smith knowledge. Can be advanced using Class Advancement Scrolls.]
[Do you want to install?]
Leon considered the class briefly before keeping it. He would decide that later. There was no need to rush.
He kept the defense disk with him and ignored the guide-letter. He knew they only contained basic information about the items in the box.
'Huh?'
His attention was drawn to a stinging pain on his arm. There, a small cut was visible. However, what horrified him was the dark blood staining the injury.
'I... have been infected.' He thought grimly. His mind drifted off to his sister. 'If I turn... won't she die just like last time?'
His body shuddered. How could he have made such a mistake? Getting scratched or bitten by a zombie meant immediate infection and transformation. However, it seemed the First Level evolution potion was suppressing the infection. Though he knew, it was only a matter of time before the infection spread.
If it had been from a First Level zombie, he could believe that the evolution potion could cure it, but since it was from a Second Level zombie, he didn't have such hopes.
Arrrggghhh~!
Assaulted by blinding pain, he crumpled to the ground, rolling and groaning. The zombies outside became agitated and attracted by the sound, pounding relentlessly against the door.
His skin crawled as he felt his blood coiling like a living thing on its own, slithering through his veins and corrupting his body.
Unknown to him, his forehead split open to allow a small, colorless crystal—a trait common to First Level zombies, to emerge; fitting perfectly to his skin.
Then—he blacked out.