Taking the sphere and observing its color, Andrew received instructions about its purpose simply by holding it. He immediately understood naturally how to use it.
Clenching his palm tightly, the sphere flashed faintly. When the light faded, a bow appeared in Andrew's hand.
[Fire Bow: Its power is sufficient to pierce the defenses of almost all creatures below level 50 and is highly compatible with a fire-type magic user. It is capable of generating magical fire arrows. When equipped by a fire-type magic user, Strength increases by +20; for non-fire magic users, +10.]
Looking at the bow in his hand, Andrew felt incredibly fortunate. The bow was dark gold in color, covered with countless engravings that gave it a truly mysterious appearance. As he examined the inscriptions carved into it, he tried to understand what was written, but discovered that it was in a language he could not comprehend.
Recovering from his daze, Andrew nodded in satisfaction. Although he was not skilled with a bow—having never held one before—with this bow called "Fire Bow," he could finally kill enemies without getting too close and risking his life.
Moreover, simply by holding the bow, his Strength had increased by twenty points. He felt a terrifying power flowing through his body and had the sensation that he could kill the previous zombies with much greater ease.
Curious about his current attributes, he opened his status window, and a screen immediately flashed across his retina.
[Andrew Walker –
[Race: Human]
[Level: 8]
[Status Points: 16]
[Job: None]
[Title: None]
[Strength: 30 (+20) / Agility: 18 / Health: 19 / Stamina: 20 / Mana: 120 / Magic Affinity: 120]
With his current fifty Strength points, Andrew was practically as strong as five people combined before the arrival of the Evolution Register System—that was what he remembered it being called, if he was not mistaken. The feeling of growing step by step and seeing his progress laid out before him was gratifying. Even in such circumstances, he could not help but smile.
Since there were no more zombies on that floor, Andrew allowed himself a few minutes of rest. Although he was not physically exhausted, the mental fatigue was evident. It might not seem like much, but it was better than nothing.
Because he had used more than half of his mental strength to manipulate fire, he was mentally drained and needed some rest after fighting the Level 15 Zombie. After resting for about ten minutes, Andrew headed toward the exit.
At that moment, the campus looked as if hell had descended upon the earth.
Students were running around in complete disorder, chased by zombies, enormous insects, and terrifyingly large animals.
These strange creatures were also killing each other. The defeated were devoured by the victors, becoming nothing more than sources of power for those who sought to grow stronger.
Many students were bleeding, screaming, and crying, constantly begging for help.
Seeing this, Andrew could not help but tighten his grip on the Fire Bow. Even though he usually appeared indifferent—though he did not consider himself a cold person—watching his own kind being devoured was not a pleasant sight.
"Humans kill pigs, sheep, cows, goats, and many other species to consume them and survive." Brunilde's voice, silent until now, echoed beside him. "Now that the world has changed, humans are no longer the only ones hunting to survive. The sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be for you."
Andrew remained silent. Even though he knew Brunilde's words were true, it was not so simple to change his mindset in just a few minutes. However, he also knew that his number one priority was himself—and finding out whether his family was safe.
Even if he had to crawl out of this hell, he would survive and search for his family.
A rather pretty girl was running while what could barely still be called a rat—nearly one and a half meters tall—chased her at incredible speed. Within seconds, the giant rat pounced on her and slammed her to the ground.
The girl's eyes were filled with terror as she saw the monstrous creature open its jaws wide. Just as her throat was about to be torn apart, a sudden flash streaked through the air for a second.
The giant rat's movements stopped completely, and a second later it began to burn. After everything she had witnessed, the girl did not even scream. Instead, she looked at the person who had just saved her life.
That person was, naturally, Andrew.
[You have acquired Soul Power of Mutated Rat Level 11. Agility +4, Stamina +4.]
"Get up and follow me if you want to survive! Move!" he urged. Without looking at her, he turned and drew his bow toward another student who was being attacked by a giant bee. The arrow struck it directly, and it burst into flames.
The girl quickly stood up, frightened. She did not dare hesitate as she began following him, knowing he was her only hope of survival.
The other student also followed Andrew without delay and thanked him.
Andrew crossed the campus toward the gymnasium. It was probably the only safe place at the moment, as there were no glass windows through which mutant monsters could infiltrate.
Although he urgently wanted to find his family, he first needed to understand the situation he was in. Andrew knew perfectly well that rushing blindly in a crisis without information would surely lead him straight into the arms of death.
Along the way, Andrew helped and saved the lives of more than fifteen students; all of them had been chased by animals or insects. As for those bitten by zombies, there was no longer any hope.
Zombies were not as fast as mutant animals, nor did they have unpredictable attacks like giant insects. On the contrary, they were extremely slow and clumsy. However, a small scratch or bite meant that they would also turn into zombies.
A group of three students was running while ten zombies chased them. They did not even dare look back, focusing only on running with all their strength. Unfortunately, as they turned a corner, another group of ten zombies suddenly appeared and began staggering toward them.
One of the students panicked, and his movements froze as one of the zombies violently scratched him. The pain seemed to snap him awake as he quickly turned to flee along with his companions—only to discover they were surrounded.
Three zombies ahead and ten blocking their retreat.
Just as they were crying and lamenting, the sound of arrows slicing through the air echoed, and in little more than ten seconds, all thirteen zombies were incinerated.
"Strong!" Matthew, a student about 1.70 meters tall, could not help but exclaim when he saw Andrew draw his bow and kill them.
"Was there really such a skilled archer at our university? Look at all the people he's saved!" a stunned female student muttered as she looked at the fifteen people standing behind Andrew.
Although Andrew did not know how to properly wield a bow and simply pulled the string, his Fire Bow was incredibly effective against creatures below level 50, allowing him to aim at zombies as if he were an expert archer.
After killing the thirteen zombies, Andrew felt slightly tired from the excessive use of magical energy for the fire arrows. He had killed around eighty zombies since leaving the male dormitory, in addition to about ten giant insects and three mutated rats.
All those kills had allowed him to level up only once, reaching Level 9. Even though he was much stronger than before, his stamina was slowly depleting, and if he were not careful, he could die if surrounded.
Andrew approached the group of students and, before they could thank him, pointed at the student who had been scratched earlier and said firmly, "You can't stay. You need to leave."
After hearing his words, the group of five friends drastically changed their expressions. However, the fifteen people saved by Andrew said nothing and simply stood behind him, watching the surroundings in fear.
"What!? Why do I have to leave!?" the targeted student shouted indignantly.
"You were scratched by that zombie. I saw it," Andrew said coldly. "You also know what will happen, don't you?"
The student's face turned pale. However, unwilling to die, he denied reality. "What do you know!? How do you know those damned creatures are zombies!?"
The other students looked at him sympathetically.
Andrew looked at him coldly and said nothing more. He simply turned and began walking decisively toward the gymnasium.
The students quickly followed him—including the one who had been scratched.
Andrew, who had remained vigilant, turned around and within seconds appeared in front of the student. With a powerful punch to the stomach, the student was forced to kneel on the ground, struggling to breathe.
"I told you that you couldn't follow me." After saying these words, Andrew turned and left.
The students did not dare say a word—not even the four classmates of that student.
At the moment, Andrew was in a terrible mood. After killing more than a hundred zombies, the smell of blood surrounding him was thick, giving him an aura no one wanted to provoke.
"This human pleases me more with every passing minute, hehe..."
Brunilde watched him with sharp eyes, her lips curling into a beautiful, seductive smile. However, no one seemed to pay attention to her.