Tari didn't stop running until his lungs began to tear.
His legs burned.
His chest ached.
His vision blurred.
But he didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Behind him, the classroom still screamed.
He could hear them.
The begging.
The crying.
The dying.
Each sound followed him into the hallway like a curse.
The corridor was chaos.
Students ran everywhere.
Some fell.
Some didn't get up.
Some… got back up wrong.
A boy slammed into Tari.
"Watch it!" the boy yelled, then froze.
They both saw it.
The thing behind him.
It had once been a girl.
Now its jaw hung loose, skin gray, eyes black and empty.
It lunged.
The boy screamed.
It tackled him.
They fell to the ground.
Blood spilled.
The boy's scream became a wet choking sound.
Tari stood frozen.
Help him.
Run.
Help him.
Run.
The boy reached toward Tari.
"Please"
The zombie bit his throat.
The sound ended.
Tari ran.
His shoes slammed against the tiled floor.
His breath came out in broken gasps.
His heart pounded so hard it hurt.
This isn't real.
This isn't real.
This isn't real.
But it was.
A blue window floated in front of him again.
NAME: Tari
LEVEL: 0
HEALTH: 87%
MANA: 3
STATUS: Stable
Mana.
He had mana.
He didn't even know what that meant.
Another scream echoed from behind.
Closer.
Too close.
He turned.
A zombie stumbled into the hallway.
Its head twitched.
Its black eyes locked onto him.
It saw him.
It knew he was alive.
It ran.
Faster than before.
Tari's heart stopped.
Why is it so fast?!
He ran harder.
His legs screamed in protest.
His breath came out in ragged gasps.
The zombie gained on him.
He could hear its footsteps.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer
His foot slipped.
He crashed to the ground.
Pain exploded in his knee.
"No…"
He looked back.
The zombie was almost on him.
Its mouth opened wide.
Rotten teeth.
Black saliva.
Death.
A blue window flashed.
SKILL ACTIVATED
Survival Instinct
Time slowed.
Not really.
But it felt like it.
His body moved on its own.
He rolled.
The zombie's teeth snapped inches from his face.
He scrambled backward.
His hand touched something.
Cold.
Metal.
He looked.
A fire extinguisher.
He grabbed it.
Heavy.
Too heavy.
The zombie lunged again.
He swung.
CRACK.
The metal hit its head.
The zombie stumbled.
But didn't fall.
It turned back toward him.
Still moving.
Still alive.
Still hunting.
Fear swallowed him.
Why won't it die?!
The zombie lunged again.
He swung again.
CRACK.
This time harder.
The skull dented.
Black blood leaked.
The zombie twitched.
But still moved.
His arms shook.
He was weak.
Too weak.
The zombie grabbed his shirt.
Its teeth came closer.
Closer.
Closer
"I don't want to die!"
He screamed and pushed.
Something inside him moved.
Energy flowed into his arms.
The blue window flashed.
MANA USED
Strength filled him.
Brief.
Weak.
But enough.
He shoved the zombie back.
It stumbled.
He swung the extinguisher with everything he had.
CRACK.
The skull broke.
The zombie collapsed.
It didn't move.
It didn't get up.
It was dead.
Tari stared.
His chest rose and fell violently.
His hands shook.
He waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
Ten seconds.
It stayed down.
A new window appeared.
ENEMY DEFEATED
EXPERIENCE GAINED
Another one.
LEVEL UP
LEVEL 1 REACHED
He froze.
Level 1.
He had gotten stronger.
His heart pounded.
This was real.
This was happening.
He wasn't helpless anymore.
Not completely.
He looked at the body.
It had been human.
Someone with a name.
Someone with a family.
Now it was nothing.
He felt sick.
He had killed someone.
No.
Something.
He didn't know anymore.
Footsteps echoed.
He turned quickly.
A girl stood at the end of the hallway.
Alive.
Human.
She stared at him.
At the body.
At the blood.
"You…" she said quietly.
Her name was Amara.
She was one of the scholarship students.
Like him.
Not rich.
Not powerful.
Not safe.
"You killed it."
Her voice shook.
Tari swallowed.
"I… I had to."
She walked closer slowly.
Her eyes were red.
"My brother," she whispered. "He was in the cafeteria."
She looked at him.
"Do you think he's alive?"
Tari didn't answer.
He didn't know.
He didn't want to lie.
She understood anyway.
Her shoulders shook.
But she didn't cry.
Not yet.
A distant roar echoed through the school.
Not human.
Not zombie.
Something worse.
They both froze.
"What was that?" she whispered.
Tari didn't know.
And that terrified him more than anything.
Another blue window appeared.
WARNING
HIGH MANA ENTITY DETECTED
High mana entity.
Not zombie.
Something else.
Something stronger.
Something hunting.
Amara grabbed his arm.
"We can't stay here."
He nodded.
They had to move.
They walked carefully.
Past bodies.
Past blood.
Past death.
The school was gone.
The world was gone.
This was something else now.
Something cruel.
Something unfair.
Something new.
"Do you see the windows too?" she asked.
"Yes."
"What does yours say?"
He hesitated.
He didn't know if he should trust her.
Trust could get you killed.
But being alone could too.
"I leveled up," he said quietly.
Her eyes widened.
"You what?"
"Level 1."
She stared at him.
"I'm still Level 0."
Fear entered her eyes.
Not fear of zombies.
Fear of being left behind.
He understood that fear.
He had lived with it his whole life.
He looked at her.
"We'll survive," he said.
He didn't know if it was true.
But he needed it to be.
She nodded slowly.
Together, they walked toward the stairwell.
Toward the unknown.
Toward whatever this new world had become.
Behind them, the corpse remained still.
But far above
The Essence Record watched.
[SUBJECT: TARI]
[STATUS: GROWING]
[POTENTIAL: UNKNOWN]
The stairwell smelled like rust.
Not normal rust.
Blood rust.
Thick.
Heavy.
Metallic.
Tari froze at the top of the stairs, his hand gripping the railing so tightly his fingers hurt.
Amara stood behind him.
Neither of them wanted to go down.
But staying was death.
Going was also death.
The difference was timing.
"We have to move," Amara whispered.
Her voice was small.
Fragile.
Like glass before it breaks.
Tari nodded.
He took the first step down.
The metal stair creaked.
He flinched.
Every sound felt dangerous now.
Every sound felt like an invitation.
The school was too quiet.
No laughter.
No footsteps.
No life.
Only distant, wet noises.
He didn't want to imagine what was making them.
Another blue window hovered at the edge of his vision.