"Haah? Is this really the time to pick up books, Sean??" Michael rolled his eyes at Sean. They were in a library—why on earth was Sean handing him a book?
"No, no, Michael. This book is different. Just look," Sean replied. He quickly handed the book to Michael. As soon as Michael held it, words appeared before him:
{Skill Book: Fireball Spell, Rank 1}
(A fireball is formed by compressing mana and making it collide at high speeds, causing particle friction that increases the temperature.)
[Quality: Rare]
[Mana Cost: 5 per fireball]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Do you wish to learn this skill?]
[Yes] [No]
"Sean, where did you find this??" Michael's emerald eyes widened in shock.
"It was among the zombie corpses. I think it dropped when we killed them," Sean said, pointing to the place where he found it.
"We need to check if there are any more books," Michael said as he pushed through the zombie corpses, trying not to gag while searching for more.
"Sean, did you find another book?" Michael asked. He picked up a book and turned to Sean.
{Skill Book: Strength Enhancement, Rank 0}
(Enhances the user's muscles by coating them with mana. Increases Strength by 20 points and Stamina by 10 points.)
[Quality: Common]
[Mana Cost: 10]
[Duration: 30 minutes]
[Cooldown: 6 hours]
[Do you wish to learn this skill?]
[Yes] [No]
"No, I didn't find another book, but I did find this," Sean said, pulling a small wooden chest from the debris.
{Wooden Treasure Chest}
(A chest containing equipment and Rank 0 skill books. Small chance to obtain Rank 1 treasures.)
[Do you wish to open this chest?]
[Yes] [No]
"Well, Sean, you found it, so you should open it," Michael said, patting his shoulder.
Sean nodded and opened the chest. a 190cm spear with a 30cm blade, Came out of it
{Linear Spear, Rank 0}
(A barbaric spear made of poor-quality wood and refined steel. Cannot channel mana.)
[Rarity: Trash — Tip: Throw it in the nearest junkyard]
"Haah… Sean, this is why I told you never to open a chest again!" Michael shook his head, looking at his unlucky friend with pity.
"This… this is impossible!" Sean wanted to cry but couldn't.
"Enough. Can you explain how a 190cm spear came out of this tiny chest??" Michael asked, bewildered.
"Does it matter? Can you explain anything happening around us?" Sean replied, looking at Michael like he was insane.
"Ahem, ahem… okay. I'll take the Fireball Spell and the spear. You take Strength Enhancement and the Fire Axe," Michael said, embarrassed by his earlier question and changing the subject.
"Exactly what I wanted," Sean smiled, not pushing his friend. He learned the skill himself and handed the other book to Michael.
Michael chose to learn the Fireball Spell immediately, sensing something different in the air.
"This… is this mana?" Sean murmured, fascinated.
"Yes, I think so," Michael replied, still processing the knowledge etched into his mind.
"Hey Sean, we need to lock the library. We don't know what's outside," Michael said, pointing to the glass door and the iron curtain.
"This will make a loud noise, Michael. And the library isn't safe. I still hear zombies upstairs," Sean warned.
"I know. First, we'll clear the outside, then clean the library. We'll sweep this floor, then the next, and check for other survivors," Michael replied.
"Alright, I'll lock the door. Cover my back," Sean said, rushing to the door, followed by Michael with the spear.
Clank! The iron curtain slammed down, plunging the library into partial darkness.
"Luckily there are steel windows, or we'd be in total darkness," Michael muttered, realizing he had acted foolishly twice in under half an hour.
Raaaar! Zombies drawn by the noise appeared.
"Good thing it's late. Most students left, or we'd be dead," Michael whispered. Five zombies approached, but suddenly a chair flew and knocked one down.
"Michael! I'll hold them off. You kill them with your spear!" Sean shouted, unsure if he wanted to help or just avoid the zombies.
Michael nodded, attacking the fallen zombies.
[You killed a Level 1 Zombie +5 XP]
[You killed a Level 1 Zombie +5 XP]
[You killed a Level 1 Zombie +5 XP]
[Congratulations! You reached Level 2. You have 3 free stat points.]
"Sean, your turn!" Michael tossed the spear to him. Sean barely caught his breath but managed to finish off the remaining zombies.
"Haah… that's done. Let's see what they dropped before we go upstairs," Michael wiped sweat off his brow.
Two wooden chests were all that dropped. Sean laughed as Michael opened the first one—empty. The second chest contained:
{Class Scroll: Berserker, Rank 1}
(A bloody warrior who wields axes and hammers. The more damage received, the stronger their combat power. Each level increases Berserker +1 Strength, +2 Vitality, +1 Stamina.)
[Quality: Rare]
[Requirements: Level 10]
"This is what I'd call 'Bulls-eye.'" Michael laughed, showing the scroll to Sean, who was left speechless.
"Sean, how about we search this floor completely before we go up?" Michael thought for a moment, then told Sean it would be better to first look for survivors and properly secure the back door.
"Alright, boss." Sean raised his thumb at Michael as he began searching. But the cheerful mood didn't last long; with every step, the corpses reminded them that this wasn't a game—they were truly in the apocalypse…