After a few rounds, the boss put his clothes back on and entered another room in the building. Complicated electronic equipment could be seen on a desk. There was another female wearing a headset connected to the equipment. This woman was more beautiful than the women outside, but there was no lust in the boss’ eyes. He walked over to her and asked, “Sis, any news today?”
The boss’ sister took off her headset and gave him a solemn look. After a moment, she nodded and said, “Check this shit out. I got goosebumps just listening to it.”
The boss put on the headset. His sister pushed some buttons and played a recording.
A male voice could be heard, “This is Lieutenant Sanders. For the past week, the military has been successfully defending against the endless hordes of undead. But each day, more and more powerful undead arrive. The levels are over 100 now.”
“Levels over 100?” The boss’ face fell.
“That message was from a week ago,” His sister replied. She pushed another button and said, “This message is from today.”
This time, the man’s voice was full of panic, “This… this is Lieutenant Sanders. I am warning all civilians to stay far away from military bases. A monster beyond monsters appeared. It was level 290, and its name was ‘Behemoth’. It was over 30 stories tall. As it walked, the earth shook. It was practically immune to bullets, and missiles barely took down its health. The last resort was finally used: a nuke. Only with a nuke was it killed. After two weeks of constant combat, the military is running low on supplies. I’m afraid we won’t last much longer.”
When the undead first appeared, the boss wasn’t afraid in the slightest. When the feral zombies came, and then the spitters, he felt nothing. Only now did he feel fear. A monster 30 stories tall? A nuke was required to kill it? How could he and his gang fight that?
His sister broke his thoughts, “Jimmy, l have a theory. I think I figured out the reason why the undead in the city are higher levels, and why the military is having such a hard time.”
“Oh? Tell me what you got, Leslie.” Jimmy was amused.
“I think the system knows that they were a bigger threat, so it sent them undead we haven’t even encountered yet. That’s why the police were wiped out. I don’t think we have to worry about a behemoth coming here.”
Jimmy nodded slightly, “That makes sense. So the system thought the military was too strong, huh?”
Leslie nodded before asking, “Oh, right, you went by the police station today, right? Did you find any guns?”
Jimmy shook his head, “No, I didn’t even get close. There are some undead there that are very strong. I can’t take them on yet.”
“Well, I believe in you. If we can get those firearms, we’ll be able to take over the suburbs,” Leslie’s face lit up with anticipation. She’d never felt so in control before. She had a bunch of subordinates, and she and her brother were getting more and more powerful.
Just as Jimmy was about to walk out, he stopped and added, “Oh right, I encountered some teenagers today. I think they’re the ones who were taking our food.”
Someone was stepping on their territory? Leslie growled, “You kill ‘em?”
Jimmy scoffed, “Who do you think I am?”
Jimmy was reminded about that human who dodged his attack earlier today. He thought it was a zombie at first. Only when they dodged did he realize it was a person. He licked his lips as he thought, “Interesting. Looks like we might have some competition in the future.”
In another part of the suburbs, Eric sneezed.
Chapter 25
Connor had his back to the wall of a house. The front door had long been destroyed by zombies, so he peered inside. He didn’t see anything. He listened closely, but there was no noise. Just to be safe, he picked up a rock and threw it inside. A loud bang rang through the house. Still no movement.
Even though Connor was strong enough to take on zombies, he was still this cautious. It was just in his nature. After confirming that there were no zombies inside, he began to scavenge the house. He opened all the drawers he found, searched the trash bins and fridge, and looked inside the washer and dryer. Anything that could be opened, he opened.
He occasionally found random items. Some were useful, others not. Glue, a box of crayons, tape, scissors, bottled water, soda, candy bars, ramen, etc. These items didn’t exist inside their containers until they were searched by Connor, and only Connor. It was a skill he acquired after scavenging reached level 3.
Looting - Level 1
Cost:
1 Skill Point
Effect(s):
Occasionally find useful items when looting.
This was why he found bottled water in a washer, a candy bar in the trash, and scissors in the fridge. He thought it was funny. Why was their bottled water in the washer?
Whenever he opened something, he was full of anticipation. What would he get? Sometimes he got nothing, leaving him very unsatisfied, and sometimes he got a jackpot.
Connor stored everything inside his backpack. What was strange was that no matter how much he stored inside, it never became full. The reason was his new title.
Expert Scavenger
Effect(s):
Select an item and transform it into an endless bag.
*Acquired after finding 1,000 items from undead.
He got the title a few days ago. The most frustrating thing for him was walking all the way back to the school to store his items.Would he weigh himself down with items, making it difficult to fight zombies, or carry less? It was a delicate balance.
That problem flew away with the arrival of this title. He transformed his backpack into an endless bag, meaning it could store an infinite amount of items. The only downside was that the weight of the things inside accumulated, so he had to be careful. He invested a few points into strength to relieve the weight. With the new title, he could scavenge all day without returning to the school.
As the hours went by, his backpack grew heavier and heavier. When the sun was about to set, he arrived back at the school. He thought to himself, “Today was a good harvest.”
After arriving at the school, he met up with Michael and handed over all of his wooden planks, nails, and iron scraps. Iron scraps started to drop at level 3 scavenging, but their drop rate was rarer than planks, so he only had a few.
Michael smiled when he received the iron scraps. Now he could make iron weapons.
Connor said calmly, “Make sure I get a priority on the new weapons.”
“Of course, of course. That only makes sense,” Michael nodded.
Connor was reminded of something and asked, “Oh, by the way, when are you going to upgrade the quest board?”
Michael ran his hand through his hair as he replied, “Ahh, you and Eric have been nagging me about that. It costs 25,000 kill points, you know?”
“And?”
“Soon, soon, okay?” Michael relented. He had already upgraded the quest board to level 2, which allowed 5 quests to be shown at a time. Yet they were already wanting the next upgrade?
“Thanks,” Connor smiled slightly. He asked about a few things before saying goodbye to Michael. He left and walked through the second floor of the school.
People had gotten tired of sleeping in the cafeteria, and they also wanted some privacy. Because of this, the classrooms became the new homes of the students. On every door was a sheet of paper with a list of names. Connor walked up to a door with four names. He knocked gently on the door.
“Who is it?” A female voice came from inside.
“It’s Connor.”
“Just a moment.”
After a few seconds, the door opened. Eric’s mother, Jane, greeted Connor, “What can I do for you?”
Connor pulled off his backpack and rifled through its contents. He took out a bunch of crafting supplies. Scissors, glue, crayons, glitter, and paper. He handed it over to Jane as he said, “This is for Emily.”
“Oh!” Jane’s eyes lit up. She wanted
to take them, but she hesitated, “This… we don’t have much to give…”
“Don’t worry about it. I heard Eric say how sad he felt for his sister. She has nothing to do, right? This should help.”
“Well, if you don’t mind,” Jane smiled brightly as she took the crafting supplies. She thanked Connor a few times before Connor took his leave. As he left, he could hear Emily’s happy voice.
Feeling satisfied, he continued to knock on people’s doors. He handed out all sorts of things. A brush, deodorant, toothpaste. Things that raised people’s standards of living. Connor was single handedly raising the happiness of those around him. He had been doing this for the past few days, and would continue to do so.
....
Elizabeth walked back towards the school. She had spent the day hunting zombies. Unlike before, she no longer felt fear towards the undead. She had become numb. As a feral zombie charged towards her, she only looked on calmly. When it was about to reach her, she waved her hand, sending out a blade of wind.
Wind Blade - Level 1
Cost:
1 Skill Point
Skill:
Cast a lethal wind blade.
Consumes 2 Mana.
Deals 20 damage. Has a chance to sever.
The wind blade sliced through the feral zombies neck, decapitating it. Just before its body crashed into her, it disappeared into motes of light. Elizabeth reached the school not long after. She found Michael and walked up to him. She said despondently, “Upgrade the quest board.”
Michael trembled as he looked at her, “You too?”
“Hm?” Elizabeth didn’t know what he meant.
“Ah, ah, Connor and Eric have been nagging me about upgrading the quest board,” Michael explained.
“Eric?” Elizabeth recalled this person. They weren’t close, yet not strangers. The most striking thing about Eric was how he unhesitantly jumped into a pack of zombies to save someone. It reminded her of how her boyfriend sacrificed himself for her. She fell into her thoughts as she walked away, leaving Michael during his explanation. He didn’t mind.
Just as Michael was about to continue planning things, a young teenage girl approached him, “Uh, Michael?”
“Yes? Oh, Melody? What is it?” Michael had almost learned everybody's names by now.
“Well, those facility things, ya? Is there a shower among them?” Melody spoke in a whisper as she asked.
“Yes, there is, but it takes up a slo-”
“Oh, great! Can you get it? Thanks!” Melody smiled brightly before she turned around and skipped back to her room.
Just as Michael was about to return to his thoughts, yet another student approached him. It was Roy, a relatively strong spearman. Roy said hesitantly, “Michael?”
“Yeah?” Michael noticed Roy’s hesitation and felt a terrible premonition. He couldn’t possibly want a shower too, right?
“Here’s the thing…” Roy leaned in and whispered into Michael’s ear, “Someone left a huge dump in the toilet. The toilet won’t flush either…”
Michael stiffened. A huge dump? He wasn’t expecting this response in the slightest.
Roy looked around cautiously before continuing, “Can you perhaps get a restroom facility?”
Michael was confused why Roy was acting so secretly, but he felt that it was best not to press for an answer. Michael couldn’t help but shake his head, “It takes up a slot…”
Roy’s eyes turned red as he growled, “Michael! This! This is very important!”
“Well… I’ll think about it, okay?” Michael could only answer like this.
Roy was satisfied and scurried off. Just as Michael was about to enter his thoughts, he saw yet another student approach him.
“Ugh,” He groaned inwardly, “I need a secretary.”
Chapter 26
Michael really didn’t think facilities such as showers and toilets were necessary. They took up precious slots as well. He didn’t know when the territory would level up again, so each one had to be used sparingly. He was the only one who thought like this. Unfortunately, he didn’t have absolute authority. The others kept nagging and complaining, so he finally acquiesced.
Shower - (No Level)
A facility used for showering.
*Mana is consumed from the user to generate hot/cold water.
The shower was placed in the gym locker room. Even though Michael was upset about wasting a slot, he really had to admire the system. Water was supplied by using the user’s mana. How convenient.
Bathroom - (No Level)
A restroom.
*Mana is consumed from the user to dispose of waste.
The system’s bathroom replaced the old bathroom. It was split into two sections, one for males and one for females. Michael shook his head as he thought, “How thoughtful of the system..”
When the shower was created, the students flocked to the facility. A long line was instantly formed. Michael might not care if he was stinky or sweaty, but others did. Not only that, but a shower was relaxing. When the new bathrooms were installed, one student was relieved. His name will be omitted. It was Roy.
A few days passed quickly, and soon the 21st night arrived. Before the blood moon even arrived, everyone was ready. They felt confident. Everyone had been training hard. The 10 strongest spearman had also been outfitted with iron spears. They were vastly superior to wooden spears.
Iron Spear
Damage: 5
Durability: 150/150
Everyone took up their positions on the cars. As the feral zombies approached, a wide variety of skills was used. All sorts of magic could be seen. Fireballs, ice bolts, and earth spikes were the most common. The feral zombies fell by the dozen. Now that everybody was a higher level, killing zombies became a lot easier. Of course, that was only possible if they had stamina or mana. As soon as they ran out, killing would take a lot longer.
Michael scanned the crowd of zombies. He kept a lookout for spitter zombies. If they got in range, they might suffer casualties. Of course, that wouldn’t happen today. As soon as the zombies and spitter zombies entered the parking lot, Eric moved. He threw barrels of gasoline into the horde. Then Michael threw fireballs, and Elizabeth cast gust of wind. Their teamwork was impeccable.
Everyone watched with envy as Michael leveled up several times. He went from 26-29. Although they were envious, they preferred winning like this. Michael glanced at the students and smiled, “Good work, everyone! Keep leveling up and our life will get easier and easier!”
The students split up and went back to doing their own things. Some went out to kill zombies, some went to take a shower, and some went back to their rooms. Eric barely fought anything in the battle, so he was itching for some more action. He decided to travel to the edge of the suburbs. His night hunter title had leveled up several times this past week, leaving him very happy. What was strange though, was that zombies killed during a blood moon didn’t count. He’d have to wait until the next night for progress to continue.
Night Hunter - Level 3
Effect(s):
All Stats +3 during the night.
*Acquired after killing 500 zombies at night
*Will level up after killing 1824 more zombies during the night.
Even though Michael was gaining considerable levels during the blood moon, he was too busy taking care of his territory and planning things out during the week. Eric was actually the highest level, but nobody knew that. He still hadn’t been caught for sneaking out at night.
Name: Eric
Title: Night Hunter - Level 3
Age: 18
Kill Points: 10490
Health: 56/56
Health Regeneration: .28/m
Stamina: 93/106
Stamina Regeneration: .53/m
Mana: 16/16
Mana Regeneration: .08/m
Level: 39
Experience Required to Level: 5900
Stat Points: 0
Skill Points: 0
&nb
sp; Strength: 30 (+3)
Vitality: 25 (+3)
Agility: 25 (+3)
Endurance: 50 (+3)
Intelligence: 10 (+3)
ZOMBIE SLAYER!!: A LitRPG Apocalypse Page 13
