The lobby of the Science Block smelled of burnt plastic and victory.
Viktor lay face down on the scorched tiles, his green plate armor fused together by the electrical discharge. He was breathing—shallow, ragged breaths—but he was out of the fight.
"Don't kill him," Bhy Khay said, stopping Zayn, who had aimed his crossbow at Viktor's head.
"Why not?" Zayn asked, his hands still shaking from the adrenaline. "He tried to burn us alive."
"Because a dead enemy is just a corpse," Bhy Khay knelt beside Viktor. "A living enemy who owes you his life is a resource. Besides..."
Bhy Khay reached into the pocket of Viktor's burnt armor. He pulled out a heavy, magnetic keycard.
[ITEM: SECURITY KEYCARD (Level 4)]
[ACCESS: CAMPUS GYMNASIUM BASEMENT]
"...we just took his wallet."
Bhy Khay stood up. "He'll wake up in an hour with zero mana, broken armor, and no base. Let him live with the shame. It hurts more."
He tossed a [Minor Healing Potion] to Elara. She drank it greedily. The bruise on her forehead faded, and the color returned to her cheeks.
"We need to move," Bhy Khay said. "The Regional Raid is over, but the scavenger hunt just started. Viktor's stash is unguarded."
"Where is it?" Tomiwa asked, sketching a quick bandage on her own arm, which materialized into real gauze.
"The Gym," Bhy Khay pointed to the map. "Under the basketball court. That's where he was hoarding the supply drops."
The trek to the Gymnasium was eerie. The monsters from the raid had despawned, leaving behind only pixelated dust and the silence of a graveyard.
The Gym doors were smashed open—likely by Viktor's army when they left to attack the Science Block. Inside, the main court was a mess of sleeping bags and empty food wrappers.
"Downstairs," Bhy Khay led them to the equipment room.
He swiped the keycard.
BEEP-CLICK.
The heavy metal door groaned open.
Inside, the air was cool and smelled of gun oil.
"Jackpot," Zayn whispered.
It wasn't just a stash. It was an armory. Viktor hadn't just been bullying students; he had been raiding the Campus Security office and hoarding every weapon drop he could find.
Racks of riot shields, batons, and fire axes lined the walls. But the real prizes were on the central table.
[LOOT DISTRIBUTION]
Bhy Khay walked to the table. He activated [Sovereign Eyes] to filter the trash from the treasure.
"Zayn," Bhy Khay picked up a long, sleek case. He opened it to reveal a compound bow made of black carbon fiber, glowing with faint green runes.
[WEAPON: WINDFORCE BOW (Rare)]
[EFFECT: +20% ATTACK SPEED]
[PASSIVE: SILENT STRIDER (Shots make no sound)]
"Trade in the crossbow," Bhy Khay tossed it to him. "This scales with Dexterity."
Zayn handled the bow like it was made of glass. "This... this is real endgame gear."
"Elara," Bhy Khay pointed to a wooden chest. Inside lay a staff made of twisted white wood, topped with a sapphire that seemed to hold a swirling storm inside.
[WEAPON: STAFF OF THE TIDES (Rare)]
[EFFECT: +30 MANA]
[ABILITY: WATER PRISON (Traps enemy in a bubble for 3s)]
"Water and Ice," Bhy Khay explained. "Combine that with your freezing magic, and you can control the battlefield."
Elara picked it up. The sapphire pulsed, syncing with her heartbeat. "I can feel the mana. It's... heavy."
"Tomiwa," Bhy Khay handed her a set of vials filled with shimmering, metallic liquid.
[ITEM: MERCURY INK SET]
[EFFECT: DRAWINGS HAVE +50% DURABILITY]
[BONUS: CAN DRAW ON AIR.]
"Draw on air?" Tomiwa's eyes widened. "Do you know what I can do with this? I can make bridges. Stairs. Shields."
"Exactly," Bhy Khay said.
"And you?" Elara asked, looking at the empty table. "What do you get?"
Bhy Khay reached into the back of the stash. He pulled out a small, dusty book that looked like it had been ignored by Viktor.
[SKILL BOOK: MANA SIPHON (Passive)]
[EFFECT: RESTORES 1% MANA FOR EVERY MELEE HIT.]
"Viktor was a Warrior. He didn't use Mana, so he thought this was useless," Bhy Khay tapped the book against his head. It dissolved into particles of light, entering his mind. "But for an Admin who spams high-cost skills... this is infinite fuel."
He checked his status.
[NAME: BHY KHAY]
[CLASS: SOVEREIGN]
[LEVEL: 6]
[MANA: 200/200 (+Regen)]
"We're geared up," Bhy Khay said. "Now, we check the news."
He opened the System Menu. A new icon had appeared next to the Map.
[GLOBAL CHAT: ONLINE]
[REGION: OYO STATE]
He tapped it.
Instantly, a wall of text scrolled past his vision. It wasn't just the university anymore. It was thousands of people.
[User_RedViper]: ANYONE IN IBADAN? THE MILITARY BASE IS GONE. THE GENERAL IS A ZOMBIE BOSS.
[User_IronLady]: Selling Level 3 Swords. Meet at Dugbe Market. Safe Zone established.
[User_SniperX]: Help! I'm trapped in the Shoprite Mall! There's a Lvl 10 Butcher in the food court!
[User_KingSlayer]: Just killed my first Hellhound. Easy.
"The whole state is online," Elara whispered, reading the chat over his shoulder. "The military fell?"
"The military relies on hierarchy," Bhy Khay said. "The System deleted hierarchy. A Private with a Unique Class is now stronger than a General."
Suddenly, a System Announcement overrode the chat. The text turned gold.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: TUTORIAL PHASE COMPLETE.]
[CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SURVIVORS.]
[NEW OBJECTIVE UNLOCKED: CITY CONQUEST.]
[BARRIERS LIFTING IN: 10:00]
Bhy Khay froze.
"Barriers?" Tomiwa asked.
"The invisible walls around the campus," Bhy Khay walked to the exit of the Gym. "The System locked us in the university for the Tutorial. Now..."
He looked up at the sky. The shimmering dome that had encompassed the school grounds was flickering.
"...now the real map opens up."
He turned to his team.
"The University is safe. We have the Flag. We have the Base. But if we stay here, we starve. The supply drops will stop spawning in the Tutorial zone."
He pointed to the Global Chat, specifically at a message repeating every few seconds.
[SYSTEM EVENT]: THE "CITY LORD" TOKEN HAS SPAWNED IN THE CENTER OF IBADAN.
[HOLDER GAINS CONTROL OF REGIONAL TAXES & SAFE ZONES.]
"Taxes?" Zayn asked. "We get taxed in the apocalypse?"
"No," Bhy Khay grinned. "We collect the taxes."
He equipped his [Broodmother's Fang].
"We're going to the City Center. We're going to find this Token. And we're going to become the landlords of Ibadan."
"But," Elara hesitated. "The Chat says there are Warlords out there. People with guns. Gangs."
Bhy Khay looked at his team. A Sniper, a Mage, a Scout, and an Admin.
"Let them have guns," Bhy Khay opened the Gym doors, letting the morning sunlight flood in. "We have the System."
[QUEST STARTED: ENTER THE CITY.]
[DIFFICULTY: HARD.]
Bhy Khay stepped out.
"Let's go say hello to the neighbors."