"The library is safe. If anyone is alive, come out!" Michael shouted after seeing Sean drive his axe into the last zombie stuck in the railing.
Waaaaaah A scream echoed through the library, causing Michael's expression to change as he rushed quickly to check what was happening.
"Hey you! I'm here! Come to me!" When Michael arrived, he saw a half-faced zombie approaching two girls in one corner of the library, so he shouted to attract its attention.
The zombie turned its head 180 degrees, then rushed forward at high speed, terrifying Michael, who thought all zombies were slow.
"Mana Shield! Mana Shield!" Michael panicked when he realized he had forgotten his spear when he rushed to help, and began activating his defensive skill like a madman until a transparent white barrier appeared in front of him.
BOOM The zombie collided with the barrier, causing it to crack and shatter, but due to the recoil, the zombie fell to the ground. One of the girls then threw a wooden stick—seemingly from a broken chair—toward Michael.
Michael grabbed the stick and began smashing the zombie's head repeatedly, ignoring the brain matter and blood splattering all over his face. He had never felt this close to death before and didn't even notice the level-up notification:
[Congratulations, you have reached Level 3. You have 3 free stat points.]
"Hey Michael, stop! Stop! It's dead.""Tell me what happened?" Sean finally arrived and, upon seeing the scene, took the stick from Michael's hands.
"Hah… hah… that zombie… it was fast. We were way too careless." Michael turned to Sean and saw the shock in his eyes.
"If we can level up… why can't zombies?" Michael smiled bitterly as he told Sean that the message he received after killing that zombie was:
[You have killed a Level 4 Zombie +20 XP]
"But why didn't you use Fireball?" Sean asked why Michael used Mana Shield instead of simply blowing its head off.
"Sean, what do you think would happen if fire spread in the library here??" Michael replied with a question.
"Hah… are you girls okay?" Sean pretended he didn't hear Michael's answer and went to check on the girls.
"Yes… thank you for saving us." The girl who threw the stick spoke to Michael.
"You're welcome. We have to help each other in times like this. I'm Sean, and this is my friend Michael." Sean introduced himself and Michael while extending his hand.
"I'm Lina, and this is my friend Angela." Lina looked frightened as she shook Sean's hand.
"Michael, thank you. If you hadn't come, we would've been dead." Angela spoke with a trembling voice.
"You're welcome. I only did what I had to do." Michael nodded.
"Sean, will you go or should I finish clearing this floor? One of us has to stay and protect them."
"I'll go. On the way, I'll look for any other survivors." Sean handed Michael the spear and left with the axe.
"Alright… what do we have here…" Michael noticed something under the zombie's body, moved it aside, and found a skill book.
{Skill Book: Slow Curse, Rank 1}The user condenses surrounding mana and injects it into the target's muscles to hinder movement and reduce speed.[Quality: Rare][Mana Cost: 10][Duration: 5 minutes][Cooldown: 30 minutes][Do you wish to learn this skill?][Yes] [No]
Michael thought about what had just happened and decided to learn it without hesitation, but…
[User is not talented enough in curses. You cannot learn this skill.]
"I'll give it to Sean when he comes back to try his luck." Michael put the book in his bag, then went downstairs and opened his status:
Name: Michael De von SantosLevel: 3 {70 / 0 XP}Class: NoneMana: 26Strength: 10Stamina: 9Vitality: 10Agility: 11Intelligence: 13Distributable Points: 3Skills: Fireball (Lvl1), Mana Shield (Lvl1)
"Add two points to Agility and one to Stamina." Michael decided to raise all his stats above average before specializing.
The two girls silently followed him.
Their faces turned pale when they saw the scattered zombie corpses. Lina couldn't hold herself and started vomiting.
"It's okay. Take your time. There's a bathroom behind my desk."
"…Thank you, but I think you need it more than I do." Lina said quietly.
"No problem. I'll go after you."
Michael sat at his desk while Lina entered the bathroom.
"Um… Michael, do you know what caused all of this?" Angela asked.
"I think it's because of mana. Those who couldn't handle it turned into zombies… and being injured by them turns you into one too."
"You weren't injured, right???" Michael grabbed her shoulders.
"No! We're not infected!" she said, almost crying.
"I'm sorry…" He quickly let go and went into the bathroom.
Looking at himself in the mirror—covered in blood and brain matter—he punched it, shattering it, then collapsed to the floor, trembling.
"Hey Lina, where's Michael?" Sean returned.
"He's still in the bathroom."
"Oh—were you looking for me?" Michael came out, face clean but hands still bloody. Behind Sean stood a short boy.
"Yeah. And don't underestimate him—he's Level 1."
"I'm Marcus. I crushed two zombies with a bookshelf."
"Sean, go wash up. Then come—I need to talk to you. The rest of you, find somewhere to sleep. No rescue is coming tonight."
Michael handed out cola and snacks.
"Sean… we need to leave tomorrow. There's no food or water here."
"Yeah. I need to check on my sister. You need to check on your parents."
"We move carefully. Two teams tomorrow…"
Michael explained the plan.
"Alright. Let's rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."
"Oh, before I forget—try learning this." Michael handed Sean the curse book.
"I can't. No talent."
"Then give it to Marcus." Michael shrugged.