《Rise of the Strongest War God》


 Chapter 1: Second Chance

    <h4>Chapter 1: Second Chance</h4>


    "¡­Luke¡­"


    "Luke¡­ wake up, man."


    [Hm? Who is calling me? Wait! How can I hear someone''s voice? Didn''t I die already? Am I imagining things? But to do that, I should be alive, right?] Luke thought when he heard the voice calling out to him.


    p!


    Suddenly, he felt a stinging pain on his back. It was as if someone had pped him. Then he heard someone shout in frustration, "Wake up, damn it! Professor Nina ising."


    [Professor Nina? It sounds familiar.] Hearing the name, despite feeling confused, Luke tried to open his eyes and when he did, a scene which was very distant but familiar unfolded in front of him.


    "This is¡­ my college ssroom?" He murmured hesitantly. Then the memories of the peaceful times where no one had to go through to hell to live appeared in his mind.


    While he was reminiscing about the olden days, he heard the previous voice, "Huh? Are you high? What would it be if not our ssroom?"


    Luke turned to his side and saw a chubby youth staring at him suspiciously.


    "Ben?" He immediately recognised the youth as he was his only friend in the coge. Unfortunately, when all hell broke loose, he was killed by the mindless zombies. The sad thing was, Luke watched him die, unable to save him.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling a little emotional, he tried to hug him, but seeing him lunge at him with open arms; Ben moved his round, ball-like body and kicked me down the student desk.


    Then, while covering his chest with his hands, he hysterically cried out, "What the hell, man? Even though I knew you were sexually frustrated, I didn''t expect you to be this pent up.." He then leaned toward Luke and patted his shoulder and sighed, "Sigh! I can understand what you''re going through, but I''m sorry, my friend, I don''t swing that way."


    Watching thisical scene unfold, the students around them startedughing.


    However, Luke didn''t say anything or he couldn''t say anything because the shock he was experiencing had rendered him speechless. Everything, the desk, the air, this fatty, everything seemed¡­ real. Even if he were to doubt all this, he couldn''t doubt the pain he felt from his kick because, when in a dream, no matter how realistic, you would not feel any pain.


    Still, to confirm his spection, he tried pinching himself, and indeed; he felt pain.


    "I-I''m not dreaming?" He muttered, trying to adjust his chaotic thoughts.


    ''I clearly remember I died. I remember every detail. But now I''m here, alive. Not only I, but this fatty and everyone in the ss that should''ve been dead for a few years now are alive.''


    Wait¡­


    ''Did Ie back in time?'' His eyes widened at the realization. However, after the initial shock, He calmed down and epted the fact. Then excitement arose within him. Now that he came back, he could change everything.


    If it were before, he would''ve never believed that something like reincarnation oring back in time after death could be possible. But after surviving in that apocalyptic world and witnessing things that normal people could barely imagine previously, nothing seemed impossible to him.


    He hurriedly stood up. After ncing around, He asked Ben in a low voice, "What day is it?"


    "Huh? Are you really high, bro?" Ben asked, looking at him strangely.


    "Just tell me."


    "It''s 19th July. Should I tell you the year too?" he asked mockingly. However, his expression turned stiff when Luke seriously nodded. "Yeah. Tell me."


    "Damn bro, are you sure you are alright?"


    "I am. Now tell me."


    "Huh, okay. It''s year 2301."


    "19th July, 2301." Luke repeated, in deep thought. Suddenly, his expression changed, ''Then, isn''t today the day when the apocalypse started?''


    He then urgently asked, "What time is it now?"


    Hearing his question, Ben let out an exasperated sigh, grabbed Luke''s hand and pointed to his smart watch. "See for yourself and sit down. Professor Nina ising in any minute now."


    Seeing that he had a watch but was asking Ben for date and time, Luke became a little embarrassed. However, it was only for a moment. He hurriedly checked his watch. "9:58 A.M."


    ''Damn it. There''s only half an hour left.'' His excitement of being reborn vanished in a puff of smoke. He only had 30 minutes to prepare for the big change.


    "Fatty, let''s go. We need to go out of the coge right now." He grabbed his hand and started running out of the ssroom.


    "Hey, hey, what are you doing? I can''t miss the ss or professor would give me low grades¡­" Ben shouted and tried to stop him.


    "Shut up and do what I say, or don''t call me your friend ever again." Luke angrily shouted. He wanted to save his life, but this stupid guy was worried about his grades. But on a second thought, how would he know that everything was going to change in half an hour?


    Although Ben wanted to maintain his grades and didn''t understand why was he rushing out, hearing that they wouldn''t be friends if he didn''t bunk the ss with him, he immediately knew what he had to do. "Fuck it. Missing a ss isn''t going to matter much, anyway."


    "Let''s go, then."


    Just as they were about to run out of the room, a stunningly beautiful girl blocked their way and coldly said, "Luke, if you want to bunk the ss, go alone, don''t force him to go with you."


    "STEP ASIDE!" Luke was already short on time. So, seeing someone block his way, his temper red up. Not bothering to see who it was, he pped toward her face.


    Witnessing this scene, everyone in the ssroom had the same thought: ''Has he gone mad? He dares to assault ss prez.''


    "Oh, crap!" Ben also eximed in shock. ''May the god protects you from the awful fate awaiting you, my friend.'' He prayed inwardly.


    Everyone in the ss knew that the ss president wasn''t just a flower vase and had trained in closebat, something very few people did nowadays.


    Moreover, she was infamous among students for her temper. Once, someone was trying to create a disturbance in the ssroom. She warned him not to do it, but that unlucky fellow didn''t heed her warning and thus she beat him until he fainted.


    Now that Luke wanted to assault her, everyone could imagine what was going to happen to him.


    As expected, her face turned cold when she saw him p at her. She took a one step forward, raised her left hand to block the p and threw a punch at his sternum.


    ''Damn it. It''s her.'' It was only now Luke realised who he was up against. He immediately let go of Fatty''s hand and twisted his body sideways, sessfully dodging her punch.


    ''He dodged?'' ss president, Alice, was taken aback. She never thought that someone like Luke, who didn''t have anybat experience, could react this fast and dodge her strike.


    Swoosh!


    While she was still in the punching motion, Luke pushed her from behind, causing her to lose bnce and fall.


    "What are you waiting for? Follow me." From the moment Alice blocked their way, and he pushed her aside, it only took a few seconds. After urging Ben, who stood frozen on, Luke dashed out of the room.


    Looking at Aliceying on the floor, Ben didn''t dare to stay in the ssroom anymore because he was Luke''s aplice. He immediately took action and ran after him at his top speed.


    By the time Alice got to her senses and stood up, both of them had vanished from the ssroom. Feeling embarrassed and angry, she also dashed out to chase them.


    Meanwhile, everyone in the ss was dumbfounded. They didn''t dare believe their eyes. Their war goddess was ''pushed down'' so easily?


    -------


    [Author''s note: Hello everyone! This is my second novel. I hope you guys would like it and support it. Feel free toment and give your suggestions.]

 Chapter 2: Professor Nina

    <h4>Chapter 2: Professor Nina</h4>


    Huff! Huff! Huff!


    Two 18-year-old boys were running at their top speed through the college''s long corridors. The one running in front was around 1.7 meters tall, had a lean body and short brown hair. Overall, he wasn''t too bad looking.


    Running 50 meters behind him was a chubby, golden-haired youth. As he ran, all the fat on his body was rippling and he was panting and sweating crazily.


    From his physical fitness, one wouldn''t expect him to run too fast, but surprisingly, his speed was quite fast and the distance between him and the guy in front wasn''t widening.


    These two were Luke and Ben.


    "Huff¡­ Luke¡­ we are already out of the ssroom. Can we slow down now? I can''t run anymore." Ben shouted from behind.


    Hearing him, Luke slowed down to let him catch up.


    "Thanks man. I couldn''t have run that fast any¡ª" Ben thanked him after catching up to him. However, before he could finish his words, Luke grabbed his hand and increased his pace once again.


    Luke wanted to leave the coge as soon as possible for two reasons.


    First, he urgently wanted to contact his younger brother and his father because after the apocalypse descended, all thework connectivity would be gone so, he had to warn them before it happened.


    However, he couldn''t do that before leaving the college grounds because there were manywork jammers installed all over.


    The jammers were there to prevent students from any distraction while studying.


    Hence, to contact them, Luke could either leave the college or go to the teachers'' office, where the inte worked fine. But from the building he was in, college''s exit was nearer. So, leaving the college would save him a lot of time.


    Second reason why he had to leave the college: In the college, there were at least tens of thousands of students, if not more and he knew, when the apocalypse descended, it will bring a special energy called mana to the earth.


    After this mana started integrating with human beings, more than half would not be able to take it and they would turn into mindless zombies that only knew to kill and eat.


    Therefore, the minority that didn''t turn into zombies would be immediate targets of zombies and unfortunately, the majority of them would be zombie food.


    So, to avoid the fate of being killed and eaten or being isted in a ssroom with no water or food and hoping for rescue, he needed to go out of the college and find a safe ce before he could start working to change his and his loved ones'' eventual fate.


    Remembering what he had to go through in hisst life, Luke''s eyes turned red. ''No! I''ll change everything, no matter what it takes.'' He shouted inwardly. Clenching his teeth, he started running with all his might.


    "Huh, what? Wait¡­" Ben was speechless. But noticing that Luke was also sweating and huffing just like him but still insisted on running as if his life depended on it, he knew something was up. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and used every ounce of energy he could muster to keep up with him.


    Tatatatata¡­


    Both of them streaked through the corridor.


    Whoosh!


    Just as they turned into a corner, Luke noticed a woman walking in their direction. She was amazingly beautiful and wore a tight ck knee-length skirt, white shirt, and a ck jacket. In her hands, she was holding a few books.


    Seeing her, Luke''s speed gradually decreased and by the time they came face to face, he had stopped


    Phew!


    Seeing her, Ben thanked his lucky stars, ''Thank god! We ran into the professor. Now she would definitely drag him back to the ssroom and I won''t have to keep running.''


    After catching his breath, he nervously greeted her, "H-Hello professor."


    She nodded at Ben before turning her gaze to Luke.


    Seeing him, she revealed a gentle smile before chiding him softly, "Why are you running around? Don''t you know it''s time for my ss. Now, Let''s go back to the ss. Exams are around the corner, and I still have a lot to teach you guys."


    Saying this, she grabbed his hand and started dragging him toward the ssroom.


    She was professor Nina. The only person in the college, apart from Ben, who was close to him. Although they were teacher and student, she treated him like her younger brother.


    In ss, she would focus on him more than others and many times when he didn''t have money for lunch, she would help him and sometimes even offer to eat together. This special treatment made many male students and professors hate him and they would make things difficult for him whenever opportunity arose. However, Luke didn''t care as he liked to be with this angelic professor.


    Why would she be kind to some ordinary student? Because one day outside the college, she had sprained her foot, and seeing that it was his professor, Luke had helped her reach her living quarters. That minor act had won him her favour.


    Remembering all this, he sighed and stopped her, "I can''t go."


    "Huh?" Professor Nina eximed in surprise. She hadn''t expected him not to obey her. This was new for her.


    However when she looked into his eyes, she immediately knew something was off.


    She became anxious and asked in concern, "What happened Luke? Is everything alright?"


    Luke took a deep breath, looked deep into her eyes and solemnly said, "Professor, you know I never joke aro... cough! I never lie to you, right?"


    "Yes. I know." Professor Nina nodded. Ben also stepped closer to them, seeing that Luke was going to tell why he was acting so strangely today.


    Luke didn''t mind him. After looking around, he said in a low voice, "Everything''s going to change and all of our lives in the danger. If you trust me, pleasee with me. We need to leave the college instantly."


    Professor Nina''s and Ben''s expression changed when they heard it and as he expected, they find it unbelievable.


    However, seeing how serious Luke was acting, they couldn''t just treat it as a joke. What if it was true, and they didn''t believe him, wouldn''t they die with regret then?


    Thinking this, Ben decisively said, "Let''s go, then."


    "Wait!" However, Professor Nina stopped them. She then asked, "How are you so sure? You know the ''rulers'' would warn us if something like this was to happen, right?"


    "Rulers? Ha!" Luke scoffed mockingly and his eyes shed with ruthlessness when he heard the term ''Rulers''.


    Seeing Luke wasn''t willing to exin, Ben hurriedly said, "Professor. Just believe him and let''s go. If it turns out to be a false rm in the end, we would only miss one college day and it isn''t going to hurt us. But if we don''t follow him¡­" He didn''t speak further.

 Chapter 3: She is too petty

    <h4>Chapter 3: She is too petty</h4>


    Although Ben didn''t finish his words, professor Nina understood.


    After a brief pause, she released Luke''s hand and said, "You guys go first. I''ll go inform the college authorities and ask them to evacuate."


    Luke wasn''t surprised even a bit as he had already expected her to respond like this. He put on a mocking smile on his face and asked, "What will you tell them? That a student told you? Do you think they will believe you?"


    Before she could respond, he continued, "No. They will not. They will treat you like a lunatic. They might send you to the hospital to check whether you have any mental disorder if they are kind enough. If not, they will throw you into prison for trying to create panic."


    He then stepped towards her, gently cupped her face in his hands, and made her look into his eyes. "Tell me if I''m wrong."


    Seeing him act so ''intimate'' with the professor without blushing, Ben''s eyes widened in surprise and he couldn''t help but secretly give him a thumbs up.


    As his best friend, he knew Luke had a secret crush on this professor, but apart from the time when he had helped her; he had never touched even a single fingernail of hers. So, seeing him make some progress, he was naturally happy for him.


    Professor Nina opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. She knew he was right. Even if she was a professor, no one would believe her. Thinking this, her eyes grew misty.


    In the end, she sighed in defeat, "Alright, I''ll go with you. But I really hope it''s only a false rm."


    Luke nodded. He didn''t care whether they believed him, as long as he could leave with them.


    He then reluctantly removed his hands from her soft cheeks and turned around, "Let''s go. We don''t have much time to waste."


    "Alright!"


    Tatatata¡­


    However, before they could move, someone came running toward them.


    "Damn! She is too petty. She came for revenge." Ben yelled, and then scurried behind professor Nina like a frightened rabbit, afraid that he would be implicated in their affair.


    Seeing her, Luke''s expression also be unnatural, and he cursed her for not being able to take a loss.


    Sighing, he nced at professor Nina and said, "Professor, you handle her but don''t let her waste our time."


    "Alice? What did you do to anger her this much?" Professor Nina asked when she noticed Alice'' face boiling in rage.


    Before Luke could reply, Ben shouted out, "He pushed her down!"


    "Hmm? Is that right?" Professor Nina looked at Luke strangely.


    Although he had done just that, Ben''s tone made ck lines appear on his forehead. However, he didn''t want to waste time with him. So, after ring at him, he quickly exined to the professor what had happened.


    Whoosh!


    After seeing Luke, Alice wanted to strike immediately, but when she noticed professor Nina standing beside him, she reluctantly stopped in her tracks and greeted her,


    "Hello professor."


    "Hello Alice. I heard what happened. I know you must be angry, but can you let it go for the time being for my sake?"


    "But professor h-he humiliated me." Alice said through gritted teeth. For a proud girl like Alice, being pushed to the ground in front of the whole ssroom was uneptable and humiliating.


    Therefore, even though she was taught to treat her teachers and elderly with respect from childhood, she still wanted to punish him.


    Realising that her self-respect was hurt, professor Nina held her hands and softly asked, "Can you wait for just an hour? I can let you punish him however you like after that."


    Alice red at him with red eyes and nodded. "Okay."


    She then turned around to walk back to the ssroom. However, professor Nina stopped her. "Wait, Alice."


    "Yes, professor." Alice turned around and asked with a smile. There was no ripple in her voice, and she wore a calm expression. From looking at her now, no one could tell she was seething with anger just a moment ago.


    ''She is really a terrifying person.'' Luke gulped secretly. In hisst life, very few people from his college had survived, and she was one of them.


    Although he didn''t see her in action with his own eyes because he was just a weakling who didn''t have guts to kill zombies to evolve, he had heard rumours in which it was told that she was so powerful, she could kill thousands of zombies single-handedly.


    But after he was ''brought'' away those bastards, he didn''t hear about her again. So, he didn''t know whether she was still alive or dead when he died.


    ''She could be a good helper.'' He thought.


    After stopping her, Professor Nina nced at him. Luke knew she was asking whether she should warn her. Without thinking much, he nodded.


    Even if she didn''t believe them now, at least she would remember he tried helping her and maybe, just maybe, he could ask for her help if there was something he couldn''t handle alone. However, in this life, he wanted to be so strong that he wouldn''t have to rely on anyone.


    Seeing him nod, the professor turned her towards her and said in a serious tone, "Alice, we are going out of the college. If you have someone you care about in the college, gather them and move out as soon as possible. If you stay here any longer, your life might be in danger."


    "Hmm? Why would my life be in danger? Are you sure someone hasn''t fooled you, professor?" she asked, throwing a suspicious nce at Luke because she had noticed the professor ask his permission before telling her this.


    Luke raised his brows at her implied meaning and coldly said, "Let''s go, professor. We have already warned her." Although she could be a good helper after the apocalypse, he didn''t want to waste his time persuading her, as he had more urgent matters to attend to before the time was up.


    Saying this, he ran toward the college''s exit. Ben was already ready to go, so seeing him run out, he immediately followed behind.


    After giving Alice a nce, professor Nina also ran after them.


    -----


    After exiting college, Luke hurriedly tapped on his smartwatch and called his younger brother.


    Ring! Ring! Ring!


    When his call didn''t connect after a few seconds, he started chewing his nails in frustration. "Come on. Pick up, pick up."


    Ting!


    Suddenly, the call connected, and the voice of a teenager sounded in his ears.


    "Hello big brother. Didn''t we talk in the morning? Why did you call again? Oh wait, you are calling me means you are not in the college. If Dad knows you didn''t go to college, he would scold you."


    Hearing his brother''s voice, Luke''s eyes became moist. How he longed to hear his voice in hisst life? How he longed to know whether he and his father were alive or¡­?


    But unfortunately, he couldn''t because they were on the distant central continent while he was on the north-eastern continent.


    -----


    [A/N: Hello guys, don''t worry about the whole geography as I''ll exin it all in the next chapter.]

 Chapter 4: The Rulers (1)

    <h4>Chapter 4: The Rulers (1)</h4>


    Taking a deep breath to calm down his agitated emotions, Luke seriously said, "Little Rey, listen to what I say carefully."


    "Yes, big brother."


    "Take all the money father has in his locker and buy as much food, mostly dry food and drinks you can. You have a little over 20 minutes to do that. Before this time is up, I want you back at home and shut the door and windows tight. Do not open unless it''s father or¡­ me."


    "Alright, big brother." When Luke heard him agree without asking why, he nodded in satisfaction. However, when he heard him speak next, his lips twitched.


    "But big brother, father would scold me if I take the money without his permission."


    "Don''t worry about that. I have already asked father, and he has agreed. Now, hurry and do what I told you."


    "Okay, big brother. I''ll go now. Um, but can you tell me what''s going to happen in 20 minutes?"


    Luke was exasperated but on a second thought, he should tell him a little so he won''t feel overwhelmed by what was going to happen.


    "Everything''s going to change. People will turn into zombies who would want to kill and eat you. Ordinary animals will turn into deadly beasts." Luke said.


    "H-Hey brother, you are joking, right?" Rey''s anxious voice came from the other end.


    "I know it''s difficult to believe, but it''s true." Luke said. Then his eyes flickered, and he hesitantly said, "Little Rey, if you can, try to kill some stray zombie with the weapon you''ll soon receive. If you sessfully kill a zombie, you''ll be stronger. Maybe then you won''t need to wait for father and you can go find him instead. Oh, yes. If you and father be evolvers, remember to keep a low profile when youe across the rulers'' people. They are evil. Okay, now hurry and go. I wille meet you soon as possible."


    Ting!


    After saying this, he quickly hung up, not giving him any chance to ask more questions, and then called his father.


    Attitude¡­


    While he was waiting for the call to connect, three figures came rushing toward him.


    First two were professor Nina and Alice while thest one was Ben.


    "Huff! Huff! Professor, I know the ss president can run fast, but howe you can too? Had~ Although you ran as fast as me, your breathing is still normal." Ben said while panting with his hands on his knees.


    Alice also looked surprised.


    "Oh? It''s that surprising?" Professor Nina asked, feeling a little happy inside.


    "Okay. You guys. Hurry and call your family. Tell them within 20 minutes they are to collect as much dry food and return to your houses. If they are somewhere far, tell them to find a ce void of people." Luke stopped them from wasting time chatting and quickly gave instructions.


    "What?" Ben asked in surprise. Professor Nina and Alice also raised their brows at him.


    Ting!


    Just as Luke wanted to tell them what was at stake, his call connected and his father''s cheery voice, along with some loud music, sounded in his ears.


    "Hehe, so you remember you also have a father, huh? Tell me, why have you called? Need money, if so, I''m sorry I don''t have any. Hahaha. Okay, I''m gonna hang up. I''ve many important things to do."


    ''Well, he is still infuriating.'' Luke thought, a vein popping up on his forehead. If it wasn''t for the pressing issue that didn''t allow him to waste time, he would ask, What important things could you have to do in a store with almost no customer? Vibing on the loud music?


    Seeing that he wanted to hang up without asking why he called, Luke hurriedly called out, "Hey, hey, old man, don''t. I need to tell you something very important."


    Luke could hear the music stop. "Spit it out."


    Luke took a breath and said, "In twenty minutes, everything''s going to change. People will turn into zombies. You need to kill them to evolve and be stronger. Remember not to let them scratch you before you are past level 5 or you will turn one of them. Don''t worry about Rey, I''ve already warned him. He''ll store some food and stay inside until you arrive."


    He wanted to tell him to hurry and go to home but his store was over 2 hours away from home. So, he wouldn''t be able to reach in time. Well, the real reason he didn''t ask him to do that was because he knew his father well enough to know he wouldn''t take him seriously.


    "Hey, Luke¡­" His father spoke in a rare, serious tone.


    "Yeah?"


    "Are you high?"


    "No, damn it." Luke almost shouted. "Well, I already told you what you need to know. Now I need to save my ass. Unlike you in your deserted store, I''m surrounded by people who would turn into zombies."


    Saying this, he disconnected the call.


    When he turned to look at Ben and others, he found them staring at him with a look that said, ''Are you sure you are right in the head?''


    Before they could say anything, he spoke, "You''ll know in a while if I''m right or not. Now quickly contact your family members if you don''t want to regret itter."


    "This...?" Ben and professor Nina were hesitant.


    Initially, when he said their lives were in danger, they believed some rebels were going to attack the college and he might''ve got the information about it. That''s why they rushed out with him. However, now they knew his reason for such urgency was... zombies? They believed something was wrong with his head. So, how could they call their family?


    As for Alice, after giving him a deep look, she called her parents and told them to be careful. This surprised both Ben and professor Nina. As for Luke, hemended her for her decisiveness in his mind and gave a small nod.


    "Hmph! You better wish what you said doesn''t turn out to be a lie." Alice snorted. Threat apparent in her voice.


    Luke just smiled in response.


    "Hey, Luke¡­" Professor Nina spoke with some hesitation, a hint of pity and sympathy shing in her eyes.


    "Yes, professor."


    "You say people will turn into zombies? Do you know why? And if it''s really true, then the Rulers must know about it too. Why haven''t they warned us yet?" Professor Nina asked, hinting that he was being delusional.


    Luke couldn''t help butugh out loud when he heard this. Hisughed was filled with mockery, pity for people like her who literally worshipped these so-called Rulers, and a strong murderous intent.


    Afterughing for a while, he asked, "How much do you know about the history and origin of these Rulers?"

 Chapter 5: The Rulers (2)

    <h4>Chapter 5: The Rulers (2)</h4>


    Sensing a deep hatred for the Rulers in him, professor Nina was stunned for a while and thought suddenly popped into her mind, ''Has he been influenced by the Rebels?''


    Professor Nina wasn''t the only who had this thought, as Ben and Alice were specting the same because only the infamous Rebel group that opposed the Rulers with passion had such hatred toward them. As for ordinary people like them, the Rulers were a boon to the humanity.


    Professor Nina became angry at the thought of him manipted by the Rebels and shouted out, "I know everything there is to know! But what do you know about the Rebels? You should know they are just a group of misguided people, foolishly wanting to overthrow the Rulers."


    Luke was slightly stunned by her outburst. After hearing her mention the Rebels out of nowhere, he knew she must have assumed he was influenced by the Rebels.


    But he didn''t try to correct her and said, "Then tell me about them."


    "Huh?"


    "The Rulers. Tell me what you know about them." Luke repeated. He really didn''t want to waste his precious time debating about the Rulers right now, but seeing her and Ben not believe him, he had no choice. At this, he came to like Alice''s decisiveness even more.


    "Before the ''cmity'' the Rulers were ordinary people just like us. After the cmity, when all was in disarray, they rose to the asion and established their rule."


    "If not for them, we would''ve never recovered from after the ''cmity''. In the absence of a powerful government, people would''ve bewless, causing atrocities everyone. Under their lead, we developed our technology from the scratch and had many breakthroughs in science that helped us better our lives." Professor Nina counted their achievements in a single breath.


    She then continued, "Although they can be a bit controlling at times, I don''t think there is anything wrong with that as¡­"


    She was going to continue, but Luke raised his hand. "Alright, that''s enough."


    The ''cmity'' professor Nina mentioned was a world destroying disaster that urred more than a hundred years ago without any forewarning. Over 70 percent of the total poption and all the technology was lost.


    The seven major continents broke apart and shifted positions and created the current 5 continents and millions of smaller inds throughout the vast ocean.


    The central continent was the biggest among the five, situated on the equator, with andmass of several hundred million square miles, almost touching the northern pole in the north and the southern pole in the south.


    The other four continents were pitiful inparison, with an area of only a little over 1 million square miles.


    They were surrounding the giant central continent from the four ordinal directions, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest, respectively. The continent Luke was on was the northeastern continent.


    After stopping professor Nina from continuing, Luke asked with interest, "Now let me ask, howe these ''ordinary'' people were so ingenious that they restored and even exceeded what we had before the ''cmity'' in the short span of what almost 50 years?"


    "This¡­" Professor Nina hesitated.


    If Luke had asked some student this same question, they wouldn''t hesitate and just say, ''The Rulers had a team of excellent scientists who devoted their lives to the cause and ended up taking the technology to the new heights.''


    However, professor Nina was different because one of her ancestors who was a scientist and worked under the Rulers had said that there wasn''t any ''excellent scientist'' and the Rulers developed the technology through some other means.


    Luke didn''t give her any more time to think and asked, "Since you are a geography teacher, how about you tell me what kind of disaster could destroy and reshape the world in a single night and alter the geographypletely?"


    "This¡­ I don''t know since the Rulers have ssified this information and none who survived the cmity left anything substantial before their death."


    Professor Nina shook her head. Then suddenly her eyes widened, and she asked in shock, "Are you saying the Rulers caused the cmity?"


    "Yes." Luke nodded without hesitation. Then his eyes shed with coldness as he added, "They will also be one of our most formidable enemy after the apocalypse. If you are not powerful enough, they will make you their ve. If you are powerful and has chance to resist them, they will kill you."


    Hearing this, Alice creased her brows, already regretting telling her parents to lock themselves in their homes. This guy was... really delusional.


    Ben was also speechless. Smiling wryly, he thought, ''It seems he saw some bad dream and thought of it as reality.''


    Professor Nina looked at him, stunned. Then a worried look appeared on her face. She could confirm something was wrong with his head now.


    Seeing their reactions, Luke forced a smile but didn''t try to convince them again as he knew trying to convince them through normal means would be ineffective.


    He looked at professor Nina and then Ben and seriously said, "If you think of me as someone important to you, then just do what I said. If you can''t tell your families to leave their work and go into hiding, then tell they have to stay somewhere safe for the next twenty minutes. Remember, ces with people aren''t safe."


    Professor Nina still looked concerned, but nodded nheless. She then went to the side to call her family.


    Ben didn''t move and sighed helplessly, "You know my family doesn''t take me seriously. It''s no use telling them. They won''t believe anything I say."


    "All you can do is try. If they don''t believe, so be it. That way, at least you won''t regret not telling themter." Luke said and then checked the time. There were only 15 minutes left now.


    Ben came back one minuteter with a dark face. "My father and sibling rejected my calls while my mom asked me if I was doing drugs?"


    Luke patted his shoulder without saying anything. His only concern was these two, not their families. He had to urge them repeatedly so they won''t me himter on.


    After another two minutes, professor Nina came back. Her eyes were red, clearly, she had cried.


    Luke wanted to ask what happened that made her cry, but because they only had 12 minutes left, he stopped himself and started running away from the college. "Follow me."


    The area around the college was the most crowded and, hence, the most dangerous.


    After running madly for 9-10 minutes, although they couldn''t get out of the city, they reached a deserted area which only had few houses and a general store.

 Chapter 6: Starting anew

    <h4>Chapter 6: Starting anew</h4>


    Thud!


    "Luke, I really can''t run anymore." Ben, who was being supported by professor Nina, copsed on his knees. His clothes were drenched with sweat, his face was bright red and he was furiously gasping for breath.


    Professor Nina was also panting. However, it was mainly because she had to pull Ben along for over 5 minutes. Alice was fine, but you could see a few droplets of sweat on her forehead.


    As for Luke, even though he wasn''t obese like Ben; he never did any physical training before and spent most of his time on either studying or ying games.


    So, now when he had to run for ''so long'' with no breaks, he got too tired. His breathing was forced and his face full of sweat.


    ''I should''ve heeded professor Nina''s advice when she told me to exercise regrly.'' He thought.


    When he heard Ben''s cry, he stopped running and turned around.


    After taking a few deep breaths, he nced around. Although this area didn''t have many houses, there were still a few people walking around, going about their business.


    He then pointed at the general store. "That store should be safe. Since this area isn''t too popted and people don''t usually buy anything at thiste in the morning, only the store owner should be there right now"


    Luke hade here to buy some grocery and stuff a few times in the past because the store usually sold their product at discounted price due to theck of customers. So, he knew the store didn''t have any staff and the store owner herself managed everything.


    "Come on. It''s just 100 meters more. You can rest there. Let''s go." Luke said as he helped him stand.


    "Huff¡­ Let''s go, damn it. I won''t be moving from there, no matter what happens after." Ben shouted and started limping toward the store with Luke and professor Nina supporting him on both sides.


    Alice wanted to help the professor support Ben, but seeing Luke hade before her, she snorted softly. She still hadn''t forgotten the earlier humiliation and was still very angry at him.


    One minuteter, they reached the store.


    "Good morning, dear customers." Ady, who looked to be around 35 old, stood behind the counter wearing store''s uniform. When she noticed Luke and others enter, she immediately put on a smile and weed them.


    "Hello boss. Do you mind if we rest here for a while?" Luke asked with a smile.


    Thedy boss'' smile dimmed slightly when she heard they weren''t there to buy anything. However, noticing it was Luke, her regr customer, who had asked, she nodded, "Of course you can."


    "Thanks." Luke thanked her and walked behind the wooden racks where the store owner couldn''t see them.


    He then said, "Alice, professor, you two go find something to hide behind. Remember not to stay too close so you can react in time if the other one turns into a zombie."


    Although he knew none of them would turn, he wanted to pretend he didn''t know to avoid their questionster.


    He then turned to Ben and said, "You sit here and don''t make any noise in case the store owner turns andes to eat you."


    Saying this, he went to another area from where he could see the store owner. He wanted to take care of her in case she turned."


    ncing at the time, he noticed only 30 seconds were left now.


    Phew!


    He took a deep breath and prepared himself.


    Soon, 30 seconds passed and just like it had happened in hisst life, suddenly a wooden club appeared in front of him and a voice rang in his mind.


    Earth''s evolution will start in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Good luck!]


    Shing~ Shing~~ Shing~~~


    As soon as the voice disappeared, the earth trembled and a strange undetectable energy burst out and started merging with Luke''s body and mind.


    Professor Nina, Ben and Alice were stunned when they suddenly heard the voice. For a moment, they thought they were hallucinating.


    ¡­


    Everything turned chaotic as soon as the voice disappeared.


    People who sitting started asking the people by their side if they too heard the strange voice.


    Many people who were driving crashed their vehicles because of the distraction caused by the sudden announcement in their heads.


    nes currently flying suddenly lost allmunication while some crashnded.


    [Central continent]


    In a remote city on the central continent, a teenager looking at the wooden club in his hand murmured, "Evolution? This means big brother was telling the truth?"


    In the headquarters of Rulers'', many people raised their head and smiled, "It''s finally here."


    ¡­


    One minute after the announcement, the strange energy, otherwise called mana, finished integrating with him. Luke picked up the wooden bat, ''It''s time to start anew.''


    He then walked toward the store owner, careful not to make any sound.


    After he came in her ten meters range, he raised the bat, ready to strike because he knew the zombies could sense people within this range and would immediately jump them.


    However, even after he was only two meters away from her, she didn''t attack him. This means she was still a human.


    Phew!


    He exhaled audibly, attracting her attention.


    "Oh? Did you find what you want to buy?" She asked, smiling.


    "No." Luke forced a smile. She was still concerned about that. It seems she treated the announcement as her hallucination.


    So, he asked her, "Did you hear the strange voice just now?"


    "What? You also heard it?" She asked in astonishment. Then her gazended on the club in his hand. ncing at her club on the counter, she murmured, "You also got one. This means I wasn''t hallucinating."


    "Yeah. You weren''t. It was real. Try not to make any noise for a while or trouble mighte knocking." Luke said and walked where Ben was.


    Ben was just waiting for him. As soon as he saw him, he asked probingly, "Did you hear some voice a while ago?"


    "Yeah. I know you did too. Every person on the did." Luke replied.


    "It means all that you said is going to h-happen now?" Ben asked, his expression turning sombre.


    "Of course." Luke chuckled. "If you still don''t believe me, go out and you''ll know."


    "How can you joke even now? Aren''t you afraid you''ll die sooner rather thanter since it''s all true?"


    Alice came walking toward them with professor Nina. Her expression was stone cold while professor Nina wore a heavy expression.


    "No." Luke shrugged nonchntly and then said in a cold and resolute voice, "Because I''ll kill everyone and anyone who threatens my life."

 Chapter 7: First kill

    <h4>Chapter 7: First kill</h4>


    Alice just looked at him deeply without saying anything.


    Professor Nina walked right in front of him and apologetically said, "Sorry, Luke, I didn''t believe you earlier. I even thought you¡­ you were¡­" She couldn''t continue and her eyes reddened. It seemed like she was about to cry.


    Seeing this, Luke hurriedly said, "Hey, it''s alright professor. If someone had told me that suddenly, I wouldn''t have believed them either." He knew she was shocked and her emotions were in turmoil because of the sudden change.


    "Hm. Thank you."


    "Hey, Luke. What¡­ what are we going to do now? If everything you said is true and people turn into violent, human eating zombies, how are we going to survive?" Ben asked in a little shaky voice. He was terrified. His hands and legs were shaking, even though he was trying to control them.


    Professor Nina and Alice also focused their gazes on him, wanting to hear he had in mind.


    "Our priority right now is to evolve. Only by constantly evolving will we have strength to ovee the zombies, the mutated beasts that should start popping up in a day or two, and the Rulers who will do their best to either kill us or enve us."


    Luke clenched his fists tightly. Because he was weak in his past life, he was enved by the Rulers'' goons. This time, he won''t let anything like that to happen and to do that, he needed to go out and start his evolution journey right this instant.


    "How would we evolve? By killing zombies just like you told your father?" Alice asked.


    Luke nodded, "Yes. But be careful not to get scratched or bit before you are level 5 or you will turn into them. Oh yeah, professor, where is your club?"


    "Oh, that wooden bat. I left it where I was hiding. I thought it was store property." Professor Nina answered.


    "Go now and bring it with you. Only by using it to kill the zombies can we start evolving." Luke said and then added with a smile, "Of course, we can do it bare handed too, but I don''t think this is doable with our current capabilities."


    "I-I''ll go take it back." Professor Nina said and hurriedly ran toward the corner where she was hiding before.


    "Ahh!"


    Just then, they heard the store owner''s horror filled cry.


    Whoosh!


    Luke immediately dashed out, with Alice heeling him.


    The store owner was crouching behind the counter. Her face was pale.


    "What happened?" Luke asked.


    "T-They killed that kid and a-ate him." She said, pointing out of the shop.


    Luke and Alice nced out and witnessed a horrifying scene.


    A middle-aged man and woman were eating a kid who looked no more than 10-year-old.


    Alice turned her head around, her brows knitted together as she asked, "Are they zombies?"


    "Yes." Luke nodded before walking to the store''s ss door and looked around.


    He nced at Alice and said, "Let''s go. We''ll take one each. Remember to bash their heads thoroughly." Saying this, he didn''t wait for her to respond, opened the door and walked out.


    Alice nibbled her delicate lips, hesitating. But when she thought he might not be able to take both the zombies out by himself, she hardened her resolve and also walked out.


    Grawr! Slurp! Slurp!


    Both of them stood ten meters behind the zombies who were having their meal without care.


    Luke took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his club. After signaling Alice to move along, he dashed toward the zombie duo at his top speed. Alice also didn''t hesitate and moved alongside him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Grawr!


    Sensing their presence, the zombies growled and stopped eating. They then stood up and turned around to face them.


    Unfortunately, their movements were too stiff and sluggish. By the time they turned around, Luke had appeared next to the male zombie and mmed his club on his head with all his might.


    Bang! Crack!


    The zombie''s skull cracked and its brain juices oozed out.


    Grawr!


    Unfortunately for Luke, it wasn''t enough to kill the zombie yet. It growled and grabbed at Luke''s face.


    ''Damn. It wasn''t enough to kill it.'' He cursed in his mind before he dodged zombie''s w and circled behind it. He then raised his club high in the air and ruthlessly smashed it on its head once again.


    Bang!


    St!


    Thud!


    Since the zombie''s skull was already damaged, upon being struck on the same spot, itpletely broke apart and its brain matter sshed all over. It then dropped to the ground, dead.


    Phew!


    Luke sighed in relief. Only now he noticed his hands were shaking. But it was normal, since he never fought a single zombie in his past life.


    Just then, a white orb shot out of the dead zombie''s body and entered his body.


    [The evolution requirements have been fulfilled. You can ess your current status now.]


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 0


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 7 (10) / Agility 8 (10) / Health: 10 (10) / Stamina: 6 (10) / Mana: 30 (0) / INT: 100 (10)]


    [You gain level 1 zombie''s soul power. Strength +1, Mana +1]


    [You have reached level 1. You receive two status points to distribute freely.]


    ''Wow! So, it''s like this.'' Luke eximed in surprise when he heard the announcements and saw his status window. In hisst life, he only heard that when you kill a person, you''ll acquire their soul power and your evolution will start. You''ll also receive a status window to see and adjust your attributes.


    ''Other things are understandable, but howe my Mana and Intelligence are so high?'' He thought, amazed.


    ''Could it be because these two are rted to a person''s soul and mine is stronger thanks to my reincarnation?'' He wondered. A momentter, he became ecstatic, ''This makes things a little easier.''


    Grawr! Grawr!


    While he was immersed in his thoughts, he heard the other zombie growl.


    When looked in its direction, he saw Alice struggling to kill it. ''She hasn''t killed it yet?''


    After he watched for a while, he understood. It wasn''t that she couldn''t kill it given her strength; she was just being hesitant.


    He sighed in disappointment. He then moved behind the zombie and smashed his club on its head.


    Bang! Bang!


    Since he knew one strike couldn''t kill it, he immediately struck once more.


    Thud!


    The zombie dropped lifelessly to the ground, dead.


    Then a white orb shot out of its body and entered him.


    [You gain level 1 zombie''s soul power. Stamina +1 Agility +1]


    Alice froze for a moment and then opened her mouth to thank him, but Luke spoke first, his voice cold. "This isn''t the world you knew anymore and these things aren''t people, they are your enemies. If you hesitate to kill your enemies even for a second, you''ll die. Worse, your teammates will also suffer."


    "I know it''s difficult to kill for the first time, but you don''t have any other choice here. It''s either they die or you die. It''ll be good for you if you realise this as soon as possible."


    Finish saying this, he walked toward the store.

 Chapter 8: First skill obtained

    <h4>Chapter 8: First skill obtained</h4>


    Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned around.


    Alice, who was just given a lesson, flinched when she saw him turn around, thinking that he wanted to scold her some more. She looked at him with a cold look and frostily said, "Don''t bother. I got your point. You don''t have to¡­"


    Luke, however, ignored herpletely. He crouched beside the zombie''s corpse and started looking for something.


    "There you are." A momentter, a smile appeared on his face when he saw a fist sized red box lying there. It had many intricate drawings carved upon it and looked quite exquisite.


    [Treasure Box: Treasure boxes drop randomly when a creature is killed. Treasure boxes have different grades based on their colours, such as, Red, orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Silver and Gold. Red being the lowest grade and Gold being the highest grade. Each treasure box may or may not contain a treasure.]


    Although this treasure box Luke found was of the lowest grade possible, he was happy about it. Why? Because, in hisst life, he could only see such things from afar. Now that he owned one, it was natural he felt gratified.


    He immediately picked it up and as soon as he touched it, its opening method magically appeared in his mind. To open it, he just needed to inject one unit of his mana into it.


    As Luke willed it, he lost one unit of his mana. Immediately after, a light shed and a silver-coloured vest appeared in his hand.


    [Level 3 protection vest: This vest can protect the user from any magic or physical attack at level 3 or below. Durability: 10/10.]


    "This is good for protection for now, but I would''ve preferred a sword," Luke murmured before wearing it.


    He then went over to the first zombie he killed to see what it had dropped.


    This time, he didn''t find a treasure box but an ordinary looking ck book.


    However, upon seeing this book, a broader smile appeared on his face.


    He closed his eyes and immediately, what kind of skill the book had appeared in his mind.


    [Berserk (First order skill) Level 5: When activated, it can increase the user''s strength and agility by 10 points for 10 seconds. Activation cost: 1 stamina point per second.]


    Luke didn''t hesitate and immediately learned it. Learning a skill wasn''t at all difficult. You just need to have contact with the skillbook and wish it to be learned.


    The book turned into a ck light and drilled into his head. Then a stream of information about the skill appeared in his mind, and a strange ck rune etched itself into his consciousness. At the same time, he heard the announcement.


    [You''ve learned an external active skill, The Berserk. You can learn two more external active skills.]


    From what he knew, before people advanced to the second order at level 50, they could only learn 3 external active skills. As for passive skills, there wasn''t an upper limit.


    "Hey, what were those things that you took?" Alice asked from the side. She had been watching him when he picked the red box and the ck book.


    "They were treasure box and the skillbook. When you kill any evolved creature, they will drop these things." Luke exined. Before walking toward the store.


    While walking, he opened his status interface to assign his free attribute points, which he got when he levelled up.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level 1


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 8 / Agility: 9 / Health: 10 / Stamina: 6 (7) / Mana: 30 (31) / INT: 100


    Attribute points avable: 2]


    Luke didn''t need to think much and put both points into stamina as it was the best course of action for the current him for two reasons.


    First, his stamina was too low and if a situation came where he needed to fight for a long while, he wouldn''t be able to do it. So, to avoid it, he had to increase his stamina. Second, his newly acquired skill, although could be very overpowered if used properly, needed a lot of stamina to operate.


    When he entered the store, he found Ben, professor Nina and the store owner staring at him with different expressions. Ben looked excited while professor Nina seemed a little scared.


    As for the store owner, she was staring at him in horror. When she saw hime back, she backed up against the wall and cried out, "Murderer! You killed those people! How¡­ how could you do it? I always thought you were a good kid, but¡­"


    "People?" Luke narrowed his eyes at her and asked. "Do you really think those things were still people?"


    "They¡­" The store owner couldn''t speak. She had seen them kill a little boy and eat him. Then, when they were fighting Luke and Alice, they were like puppets without mind.


    "What had happened to those people?" she timidly asked.


    Luke nced at Alice. "You tell her. I need to rest for a while." He then walked off to a corner and sat down to rest.


    Although he didn''t show it, but he felt disgusted after killing someone for the first time in his both lives. Especially because they used to be living people like him just a while ago.


    Alice raised her brows in displeasure, but she didn''t go against him and did as he asked her to.


    ¡­


    After a while, Ben came toward Luke with two chocte bars in his hands.


    Sitting down beside him, he offered one bar to him while he opened the other one and started eating it. He finished it in two bites and asked, "Say, Luke, I can also evolve after killing the zombies, right? How about you help me kill one? I don''t think I''ve enough courage to kill one by myself."


    Although they were safe for the time being. Ben knew it wouldn''t stay the same always. When the time came, he couldn''t afford to be weak and drag Luke and others down with him.


    Hearing this, Luke smiled. "Since you asked, of course I''ll help."


    After eating the chocte bar, he stood up. "Let''s go. Let''s kill some zombies now."


    "Hey, right now? How about we rest a little more?" Ben asked, feeling a little uneasy.


    "You don''t understand." Luke sighed and said, "If stayed here doing nothing, they will eventuallye knocking on our door. At that time, we won''t be strong enough to fight our way out and will die here. Remember, zombies also evolve just like but, unlike us, they don''t need to rest. So, we if want to live, we can''t afford to waste even a single moment."


    "What did you say? They¡­ they also evolve?" Ben paled at the revtion.


    "Of course, they do. Didn''t you hear the announcement? The entire is evolving. In just a few days, zombies won''t be our only concern, because the mutated beasts I mentioned earlier will start invading us and unfortunately, they won''t be as easy to kill." Luke warned.


    "Damn it." Ben cursed. He then stood up and shouted, "Let''s go. I don''t want to be zombie or beast food."

 Chapter 9: Walking into the lion’s den

    <h4>Chapter 9: Walking into the lion''s den</h4>


    "Alright! Let''s go." Luke nodded. Just as they were about to walk out, Alice came toward them and asked, "You are going to hunt zombies?"


    "Yeah." Luke nodded and asked, "What is it?"


    "Can you give me another chance and take me with you?" She asked, her cold face reddening slightly. She clearly wasn''t used to ask anyone any favour. But to be stronger, she put her pride aside and asked him.


    Although Luke was very disappointed by her earlier, he couldn''t help but admire her resolve.


    After a moment, he spoke. "Sure, I can take you. But you have to follow my orders and that too, with no hesitation. If you can agree to it, let''s go. If not, stay here. I''m not fond of deliberately increasing my problem."


    "You¡­" Alice understood why he was asking her this, but his attitude angered her. Taking a deep breath to calm down, she nodded. "I understand. I''ll follow your orders."


    "Good. Let''s go." Luke nodded in satisfaction.


    Ben looked at his back, his eyes flickering in thought. ''Right now, I''mpletely useless and a burden on him, but he agreed to help me without hesitation just because I''m his friend.'' He felt gratified by the thought. Then he clenched his fists and vowed in his heart, ''I''ll do my best to be stronger and not be a burden on him anymore.''


    "Are you not going to help the professor?" Alice asked, pointing toward the professor Nina, who was talking with the store owner.


    "She is not ready yet." Luke curtly replied and before walking out.


    Seeing the trio preparing to go out, professor Nina asked, "Where are you going, Luke?"


    "To be stronger." Ben answered her.


    Professor Nina became worried when she heard this. Just as she was about to say something, Luke smiled at her. "You guys lock the door and wait for us. We''ll be back soon."


    Saying this, he walked out of the store with Alice and Ben following him.


    After they went out, the store ownerdy asked, "Are¡­ are they going to kill more zombies?"


    "Yeah." Professor Nina sighed.


    ¡­


    After leaving the store, as the trio looked around to see if any zombie was out on the road. However, they didn''t see any zombie.


    "Thank god, Luke, you brought us to this deserted area or we might''ve already be zombie food." Ben said, as he exhaled in relief.


    Alice didn''t say anything, but she was also thankful.


    Luke just smiled and led them in front of the closest house.


    "Are we going to lure them out?" Ben asked.


    Luke shook his head. "No. We are going inside."


    "Hey, won''t it be more dangerous to fight them in enclosed spaces?" Ben asked, worriedly. He couldn''t muster his courage to enter the house, knowing that there were zombies inside.


    Luke nodded. "Yes, it''ll be more dangerous. However, we can''t afford to lure them out and fight in the open because our fighting sounds will attract the other zombies from the nearby houses." He then added, "We were lucky before because the store is slightly away from the rest of the houses and our fight didn''t attract more of those things."


    He thought for a moment before taking off his vest and gave it to Ben, "Wear this. It can protect you from any zombie''s attack at and below level 3."


    "Woah! You have something so amazing." Ben looked at the vest excitedly but didn''t take it and said, "If I take this, you''ll have nothing. Remember, you are going to our main fighting force. So, you need this more than I do."


    "Just take it, fatty. I don''t want you to have something to rely on if you identally came face to face with some zombie. To me, it doesn''t matter much whether or not I have this." Luke said, pushing the vest in his hand.


    "But¡­" Ben wanted to say something when Alice coldly interjected, "Don''t waste time. Just take it and if you don''t want it, give it to me."


    "I want it." Ben hurriedly wore it and said while ncing at Alice, "Hehe, it''s a good thing. I already feel safe."


    "Humph!" Alice softly snorted, seeing him show off.


    Seeing him becent, Luke warned him, "Remember, it''ll only protect the covered area, not the whole body. So, be mindful of it. Let''s go now."


    Creak~


    He slowly pushed open the door, trying not to make any noise, but it seemed something heavy was ced against the door, so when he pushed it, there was some noise. Although it wasn''t too loud, it sessfully attracted the zombies inside.


    Grawr!


    Thud! Thud!


    They heard zombies'' snarling sounds, followed by the two pairs of heavy footstepsing from the second floor.


    "Hurry, get inside." Luke shouted in a hushed voice before entering the house. Alice didn''t hesitate and immediately followed him. After some hesitation, Ben also entered, his legs shaking in fear already.


    "Ahhh¡­" He cried out in fear because the first thing he saw after entering was a half-eaten corpse of a middle-ageddy.


    Luke didn''t bother with him and ordered Alice, "Lock the door. It''ll keep the outside zombies out even if they get attracted here."


    Bang!


    Alice immediately shut the door and turned the knob around, locking it.


    "Follow me." Luke ran toward the single room on the ground floor. Since the zombies were on the second floor and going up would be more dangerous, he intended to make this room their battlefield.


    However,


    Grawr!


    Just as they entered the room, they came across two zombies who were trying to go out, attracted by the sound earlier.


    ''Damn it. There are at least 4 zombies.'' Luke cursed in his mind. To make matters worse, this room didn''t have a door which they could close to keep the other two out while they took care of the two in front of them.


    "Alice, you take care of the one on the left." He hurriedly shouted before dashing toward the on the right.


    Grawr!


    Seeing hime at it, the zombie growled and grabbed toward him.


    Unfortunately, it was too slow and Luke had gotten a little faster after his agility increased by one point.


    Whoosh!


    He dodged zombie''s hand and came behind it before smashing his club on its head.


    Bang!


    He didn''t wait after hitting it one time and smashed it once more.


    Poof!


    The zombie''s head burst. The broken pieces of its skull and its gooey brain matter sttering around. Some of it fell on his clothes and some on Ben''s face.


    Thud! The zombie fell to the floor with a thud.


    Ben, who had been watching him, was amazed at how effortlessly Luke had killed it.


    However, when the zombie''s brain matter sshed his face, he was disgusted and then,


    Blergh!


    He threw up.


    Luke ignored him and nced at Alice. She was easily dodging the zombie''s attack and she would hit it sometimes, but her club was about to hit its head, her hands would tremble and the power on her strike would weaken by more than half, causing the zombie no harm.


    Seeing this, he sighed. Was this really the same Alice who could y thousands of zombies alone?


    Thud! Thud!


    Just then, he heard the pair of footsteps rush down the staircase. Strangely, they seemed faster than normal zombies.


    Luke eyes widened when he realised this and he immediately knew they were in for a tough fight.

 Chapter 10: Generous Luke

    <h4>Chapter 10: Generous Luke</h4>


    "ALICE! Hurry and kill it. Another two areing down. Remember, they aren''t humans anymore. They are monsters who want to kill you. You don''t have to feel guilty or be scared." Luke shouted.


    At the same time, a small orb of light entered his body, and an announcement rang in his mind.


    [You gain level one zombie''s soul power. Agility +1]


    Hearing Luke''s shout, Alice gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. It was as if a switch had been flipped; she became calm.


    Whoosh!


    She ducked, dodging the zombie''s attack, and then swung her club horizontally at its head.


    Bang!


    The club connected perfectly, and with a loud bang, the zombie''s head burst open.


    Witnessing this scene, Luke was left aghast. To think she was physically stronger than him even though she was just a level 0. But on a second thought though, it wasn''t surprising since she had been training for years now while Luke never even exercised properly.


    Ben looked at Alice, stunned. He then nced at Luke and asked in a low voice, "She¡­ isn''t she stronger than you right now?"


    Hearing this, Luke''s lips twitched. He red at him and asked, "Why? You want to switch teams now?"


    "Hehe, no. I''ll always be in your team, no matter what happens." Benughed.


    Thud! Thud!


    Grawr! Grrr¡­!


    Just then, two zombies entered the room and growled at them.


    "Ben, stay behind me. These two aren''t simple level 1s." Luke said, pulling Ben behind him.


    Grawr!


    Whoosh!


    Both zombies growled and charged toward them. Their speed was quite faster than the normal zombies'' speed.


    "Leave one to me." Alice shouted from the side. She then picked up and ss bottle from the table and threw it at one of the zombies.


    Crash!


    Grawr!


    The bottle broke upon hitting the zombie''s face, doing no damage, but it still did its intended work as the zombie growled and ran toward her.


    Instead of waiting for the zombie to reach her, Alice charged forward.


    Swoosh!


    The zombie wed at her face. But even though it was faster than normal zombies, it was still slower than her. She easily dodged its w strike and smashed her club on its head.


    Bang!


    A loud bang resounded, but unlike before, the zombie''s head was merely damaged and showed no signs of bursting open.


    This surprised Alice because she had used a little more strength than she did when she killed thest zombie.


    Grawr!


    The zombie lunged at her and w at her chest. She couldn''t react in time because of her surprise and, as a result, the zombie almost struck her. Thankfully, at thest moment, she blocked its w with her club. She then followed up by a kick in the gut and sent it staggering backwards.


    On the other side of the room, Luke had also shed with the other zombie.


    Although he had to put some effort into dodging the zombie''s attack, it wasn''t too difficult since his agility had risen to 10 points after killing thest zombie.


    He kept moving around it, dodging its attacks. After a few rounds, he finally got the opportunity to strike its head from behind, with no risk of being scratched in return.


    Immediately, he took a step forward and swung his club at its head with all his strength.


    Bang!


    It was a clean hit and a crisp sound rang out. Luke, however, didn''t becent and hurriedly retreated to the side.


    Swoosh!


    Just then, the zombie swung his hand backward and struck through the ce where Luke was a moment before.


    ''Phew! That was dangerous.'' Luke sighed in relief. He could feel his heart throbbing in strange excitement.


    Then the fight continued where he would dodge the zombie''s attack and strike its head whenever he got the rtively risk-free opportunity. After a few times,


    Bang!


    The zombie''s head finally burst open, and it fell to the ground, dead.


    [You gain level 3 zombie''s soul power. Strength +2, Stamina +1]


    [You''ve reached level 2. You gain 2 status points to distribute freely.]


    Phew!


    Luke took a breath in relief before ncing in Alice''s direction to see if she needed help. But it seemed he was worrying in vain, as she had already killed her zombie and was picking up the item dropped.


    "Wow Luke! It was an amazing fight. I wonder when can I fight like that." Ben came toward him and gave him a thumbs up.


    "Don''t worry. You''ll soon be like that. Initially, I wanted to let you kill thest zombie, but I never expected it to be an evolved one. It had already reached level 3." Luke said, his eyes shing with seriousness.


    ''It hasn''t been even an hour since the apocalypse descended and this zombie had already reached level 3. Just how many humans has it eaten?'' He thought, looking toward the second floor.


    Just then, Alice came toward him with a skillbook and a red box in her hand. "I got these." She said, extending her hand to give them to him with some reluctance.


    Luke shook his head. "You killed them. So, these are yours to keep."


    "Oh, right?" He then suddenly remembered something and added, "Congrattions on bing an evolver."


    Alice''s eyes flickered with surprise because she hadn''t expected him to be so fair, especially since he was the one who saved her life and took a lead in everything.


    As an intelligent girl, she knew about human behaviour in difficult times. In these times, people would be extremely selfish and they would want to hog all the benefits to themselves.


    Although she didn''t know what was the special about the book because she hadn''t read its contents yet, she knew it was something good because when Luke got onest time; he was thrilled. As for the box, it was certainly a treasure box that would give her a treasure just like Luke''s protection vest.


    Therefore, she had expected him to keep them, but surprisingly; he didn''t. This made her view him in a new light.


    "Thank you." She nodded in acknowledgement.


    "Alright. You check what you got." He said before going to pick his loot from the two zombies. This time, he didn''t get any skillbook and only got two red boxes.


    Although he was slightly disappointed, he didn''t think too much about it since he knew the probability of a skillbook dropping was very low.


    He then proceeded to open the boxes.


    From the level 1 zombie''s box, he got a pair of boots.


    [Velocity boots (Level 3): These boots increase the user''s speed. Agility +2.]


    When he opened the second box, which he got from the level 3 zombie, he got what he wanted.


    [Rake''s sword replica (Level 5): A legendary swordsman, Rake used his sword to kill countless demons and deities. This sword is a low-level replica of his sword. It can easily pierce through the defence of any creature at and below level 10. Strength +3]


    Luke equipped both immediately. He then opened his status window and put the two free points into the stamina and raised it 12.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 2


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 13 (10 +3) / Agility: 12 (10+2) / Health: 10 / Stamina: 8 (12) / Mana: 29 (31) / INT: 100


    External active skills: Berserk Level 5 (First order skill)]


    -----


    {A/N: In strength: 13 (10+3). 10 is his basic strength attribute points and +3 is the addition of strength because he has equipped the Rake''s sword. The same is true for the [Agility] where 10 is the basic attribute while the +2 is addition of agility because he has equipped Velocity boots. I hope you won''t be confused. If there is something else you like to know, please doment.}

 Chapter 11: Top tier skill?

    <h4>Chapter 11: Top tier skill?</h4>


    Seeing his updated status window, Luke nodded in satisfaction. Now he was no longer in the ''mediocre'' category.


    After he was done, he went back to Ben and Alice and asked her, "So, what kind of skill and treasure did you get?"


    "I¡­ I got a level 3 bracelet. It''s a single time use item. When used, it can make the user fly up to 10 meters for 10 seconds." Alice said, showing him the green bracelet on her wrist.


    "As for the skill, I got the me maniption skill. It''s a level 3 three and first order skill. From the information I received, this skill is pretty amazing." She said, her voice hiding her barely conceble happiness.


    When Luke heard the skill''s name, his eyes widened in surprise. He couldn''t help but ask again, "Did you say ''me maniption''?"


    "Yes. What''s the matter? Is there a problem with this skill?" Alice nodded before asking in concern.


    Luke took a deep breath and shook his head. "No. There is nothing wrong with your skill. I was just surprised because I just couldn''t believe your luck is so good that got you such an amazing skill."


    "Oh? How is it amazing?" She asked, her interest piqued. Although she got the feeling that her skill was good, Luke''s expression just then told her she was still undermining it.


    "Although I can''t say for sure, all the skills that has word ''maniption'' behind them are supposed to be top grade skills because as you upgrade them, they allow you to master and control the corresponding element." Luke exined. This is all the information he heard from his ''master'' when he was talking to his friends.


    Alice''s eyes glowed in excitement when she heard this and asked, "So, what you mean is, after I upgrade this skill enough, I''ll be able to control the fire elementpletely?"


    "Yes. You should be." Luke nodded. Before she started daydreaming, he warned her, "Remember not to tell anyone about your skill. Even if you have to tell, just say it''s fire control or something like that. Don''t ever mention the word maniption or you''ll be hunted down by the other greedy people."


    "Un. Got it. Thanks for the warning." Alice gratefully nodded.


    "Oh, yeah. What level was that evolved zombie you killed?" He asked.


    "Level 3. Why?"


    Luke shook his head and said, "You guys, rest here and recuperate. We''ll continue to clear the other houses and level up." Luke told them.


    "Where are you going?" Ben asked.


    "Upstairs." Luke said and then immediately added, "I advise you to stay here if you don''t want to see a gruesome sight."


    Alice, who was about to follow him, stopped dead in her tracks when she understood his meaning.


    Ben didn''t understand, but seeing her stop, he also curbed his curiosity. After Luke went out of the room, he asked, "What was he talking about?"


    "You know how zombies evolve?" She counter questioned.


    "Yeah. By eating other humans." Ben reflexively said. Then suddenly, he understood what Luke meant by the gruesome sight.


    The two level 3 zombies must have killed and eaten quite a few people to evolve and since they were staying upstairs, it meant their food was there too.


    "Since he knows what''s upstairs, why is he going still?" Ben murmured.


    "Perhaps he suspects there is some other reason behind their fast evolution?" Alice guessed.


    If Luke had heard her guess, he would''ve been surprised yet again by her because she waspletely right. He suspected that there should be some other reason behind the zombies'' fast evolution.


    How did hee to this conclusion?


    Simply because this house wasn''t a boarding house or anything simr, but a simple house where only an average family of 4-5 could livefortably and after entering the house, they have encountered 5 people or one dead body and four zombies, to be exact.


    So, if we assume that there weren''t more people for the zombies to consume and evolve, that leaves us with only one possibility. There was something else that caused them to evolve.


    If it was someone else, they would find this possibility hard to ept. Fortunately, it was Luke who knew things ordinary people didn''t know.


    For example, he knew there were indeed things that could help zombies and beasts evolve quickly or they can strengthen them so much that other creature of the same level could never match them. The mostmon of these miraculous things was the mutated nts or fruits.


    As Luke mentioned before, the entire was going through the evolution, not just humans or beasts but the vegetation too.


    When the vegetation and nts evolve, they often mutate. Some of them be so deadly that they can easily kill even the evolved creatures when consumed.


    While some mutate to be heavenly treasures which, if eaten, would expedite one''s evolution or give them various kinds of benefits.


    When Luke reached the second floor, he didn''t find any dead body which firmed his belief that there was something extraordinary here.


    He searched all the rooms one by one but didn''t find anything. When he reached thest room near the balcony, he smelt the natural fragrance of nts.


    Looking inside, he noticed there was a small flowerpot near the balcony. It had a pink-colored nt which was exuding this fragrance. He could even see a few small berry-like fruits hanging from its branches.


    Seeing this, a smile appeared on his face. If humans could also eat these fruits without any side effect, then these will help him a lot to be stronger.


    However, just as he was about to walk toward it, he suddenly felt lightheaded and disoriented. Slowly, his consciousness was also bing blurry.


    ''Crap! It''s dangerous.'' Luke cursed. He knew if he lost consciousness here, he might not wake up ever again.


    Whoosh!


    He immediately turned around and dashed out of the room, closing the door after him.


    After a few minutes, he became normal again.


    "What kind of nt is that? It''s too dangerous." He mumbled. ''It seems I can''t bring the whole nt with me.''


    After carefully assessing the situation, he turned around entered the room once again. Since he couldn''t bring the nt, he wanted to bring the fruits at least.


    This time, he was holding his breath to avoid being affected by the fragrance. However, after he was halfway to the nt, he started feeling disorienting once again.


    ''What a terrifying little thing!'' He eximed in shock and became even more determined to take its fruits. He gritted his teeth and sprinted all the way to the nt and plucked the fruits.


    After taking all the fruits, he took out his sword and shed the nt into pieces, destroying it.


    Since humans couldn''t even get close to it without being affected, it wasn''t likely to benefit them.


    So destroying it was the most appropriate thing to do, since he couldn''t allow the already fearsome zombies and beasts benefit from it.

 Chapter 12: Fatty evolves

    <h4>Chapter 12: Fatty evolves</h4>


    After destroying the nt, he didn''t feel faint and disoriented any longer.


    With that, he returned to the ground floor. Alice and Ben didn''t ask him what he saw on the second floor, so he didn''t tell them anything and rested for a while to recover his stamina.


    After half an hour, he had recovered 2 stamina points.


    "Let''s go." Saying this, he stood up and walked out of the room.


    Alice and Ben followed him. Alice had rested enough while Ben wasn''t exhausted to being with.


    Luke carefully opened the door and peeked outside. Fortunately, their fights hadn''t attracted any zombie from the neighbourhood.


    The trio carefully moved to the next house.


    Grrr! Grawr!


    Thud! Thud!


    Before they even entered the house, they heard zombies snarl, and it seemed they were hitting something.


    "Let''s get in. Stay alert." With that, the trio entered the house.


    Grrr! Grawr!


    Thud! Thud!


    "It''sing from upstairs." Alice whispered.


    Luke nodded. Then they made their way upstairs and arrived in front of the room from where all the disturbance was originating.


    The door was opened wide. Inside, they could see a middle-aged man and woman zombie punching and scratching the wooden closet.


    "There seems to be someone hiding in the closet." Alice said, her hand clenching the wooden club tightly. If it wasn''t for Luke stopping her, she would''ve charged inside by now.


    "The closet is about to copse. Someone is in danger. Why are you stopping me?" She frowned.


    Luke didn''t respond to her. He nced at Ben and said, "I''ll distract and injure one of them. You just need tond a finishing blow. You can do it, right?"


    Ben tensed up immediately and stiffly nodded. "Yes. I can do it."


    Luke patted his shoulder. "You don''t have to worry. I''ll be there if something went wrong."


    Ben nodded and took a deep breath. "Let''s go."


    Whoosh!


    Three of them charged into the room. As soon as the zombie felt their presence, they turned around.


    "These are only level 1s." Luke shouted. He was telling Ben not to worry. Ben understood this, and he felt very gratified in his heart.


    As usual, Alice pulled away one zombie and easily killed it.


    Luke faced thest one and not long after, he had seriously injured its head. Then he shouted, "Ben, it''s ready. Come and finish it."


    Ben''s hands and legs were trembling slightly. He slowly snuck behind the zombie and raised his club. Just as he was about to strike, a panicked shout came from the closet.


    "No. Don''t kill my mother."


    Hearing the shout, Ben almost lost the grip on his club.


    Grawr!


    The zombie growled when it felt Ben''s presence behind it and turned around before shing at Ben with her ws.


    "You fucking idiot!" Luke shouted in anger and frustration before quickly moving to block the zombie''s strike with his club.


    Bang!


    He then kicked it back and shouted at Ben, "You idiot! What are you hesitating for? Do you want to die?"


    "I... I was about to kill it but..." Ben tried to exin, but Luke coldly cut him off.


    "What? You heard someone say stop at such a dangerous moment and you stopped. Are fucking kidding me?"


    After saying this, he kicked the closet''s door.


    Bang!


    His kick destroyed easily the closet door, which was already battered badly by the zombies. They then saw a boy of their age crouching inside, shivering in fear.


    Luke pointed at the female zombie, who was already charging toward them, and spoke to the boy. "You don''t want us to kill it. Sure. We won''t kill it."


    Saying this, he pulled Ben along and jumped out of the zombie''s way. The zombie nced in Luke''s direction but didn''t go after them because there was another prey in front of it, the boy.


    Seeing ''his mother'' came running toward him, the boy was frightened out of his wits and loudly shouted, "M-Mother. Stop! It''s me. Your son."


    The zombie, however, acted as if it didn''t hear the boy''s cries and appeared in front of him and bit toward his neck.


    "Nooooo!" The boy shouted in horror and closed his eyes.


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    Before the zombie could bite him, Luke appeared beside him and kicked it away.


    The death he expected didn''te to embrace him, so the boy opened his eyes and mumbled, "I¡­ I''m not dead yet."


    Luke sneered from the side. "You''ll be if you still can''t see the reality." He then narrowed his eyes and asked, "Tell me, are you really incapable of telling if she is still your mother?"


    "I¡­ I¡­ know. I know she is not my mother any longer. How can I not know? She is the one who turned my father like herself." The boy shouted and then broke out in sobs, "But¡­ she is still my mother."


    Luke didn''t say anything. He could sympathise with him because he had also seen many of his fellow ves who had be close to him die or turned into a zombie by others in front of his eyes.


    He nced at Alice. "Can you hold it back for a while without killing her?"


    "Leave it to me." Alice nodded and engaged in a fight with the zombie.


    Luke squatted down beside the crying boy and patted his shoulder. "I know it''s difficult to ept, but you have to if you want to survive because it''s not only your parents who have turned into these mindless zombies, but more than half of the poption. Countless people are dying as we speak."


    "What?" The boy''s eyes widened when he heard this.


    "Yeah. So, tell me now, should we put your mother to rest or do you want her to suffer like this?" Luke asked.


    The boy looked at ''his mother'' who was relentlessly attacking Alice like some machine. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Please put her to rest."


    "Good." Luke stood up. He then nced at Ben and sternly said. "Don''t hesitate this time. If you did, don''t ever ask for my help again."


    Ben gulped his saliva nervously and nodded. "I-I''ll do it this time."


    "Good. Now go and kill it while she is distracting it." Luke ordered him.


    Ben took a deep breath. Clenching his club, he ran behind the zombie, raised his club high in the air and brought it on the zombie''s head with all his might.


    Bang!


    Because its head was already damaged badly, it burst apart as soon as the clubnded on it.


    Then an orb of white light which only he could see shot out of the dead zombie and entered his body. Immediately after, he heard the evolution announcement and could ess his status window now.


    After the announcements ended, he was grinning from ear to ear. Turning around, he ran toward Luke with his arms open wide., "Bro. I did it. I''m an evolver now."


    Whoosh!


    Luke dodged his bear hug and calmly said. "Let''s go out now. We need to speed things up."

 Chapter 13: First passive skill

    <h4>Chapter 13: First passive skill</h4>


    "What about him?" Alice asked, pointing at the boy.


    Luke nced at him and asked, "What do you n to do now?"


    The boy raised his head, looking crestfallen. "I don''t know. If the world is in chaos, like you said, what can I really do? I''m not like you guys who can fight the zombies."


    Luke didn''t respond immediately. After a moment, he said, "I can take you with us, but you''ve to follow my orders without question while you are with us. You take your time to decide. We''lle back in a while."


    Saying this, he turned around to walk away when the boy suddenly said, "I agree. I''ll go with you guys. But can you please put my father to rest too? He has be like my mother after she bit him."


    "He is already taken care of." Alice said, pointing toward the male zombie''s corpse on the other side of the room before walking behind Luke.


    The boy turned his head around and when he saw his father''s corpse, his eyes couldn''t help but turn red.


    "Cover them up or something while you wait for us. Just don''t go out of the house as you''ll die as soon as you do." Ben warned him before running after Luke and Alice.


    ¡­


    After leaving the house, the trio went and cleared 8 more houses, one after another, and killed over 30 zombies. Unfortunately, in these houses, they didn''t find any survivors.


    Out of these 30, Luke killed over ten zombies and levelled up to the level 3. He immediately put his two free status points into stamina.


    Alice killed a couple more zombies than him and she also levelled up to the level three. Ben killed the rest with their help and he was now level 2 and could level up any time now.


    After killing all these zombies, they got 10 red treasure boxes and three spell books. Unfortunately, their luck wasn''t good when they opened the boxes as 6 of them were empty.


    From the remaining 4, these got a pair of level 3 velocity boots, two level three protection vests and a level 5 Rake''s sword replica.


    Since Ben was the slowest among them, he took the velocity boots. Alice took the Rake''s sword replica and one of the vests. Luke took the remaining vest.


    Out of 3 skill books, Luke only got one while Alice and Ben got one each. But immediately after they picked them, they handed them over to him.


    Luke knew they were indirectly saying that they epted him as their leader. Luke didn''t act polite and epted the skill books with a slight but firm nod. As long as they didn''t betray him, he was willing to be responsible for them.


    After distributing the equipment, he checked the skill books one by one.


    [Rapid steps level 3 (first order passive skill): Increases the user''s agility by 3 points permanently.]


    [Whirlwind level 1 (first order active skill): Creates a small tornado to engulf the enemy. Consumes 5 mana point per second.]


    [Incinerate level 1 (first order active skill): Enshrouds the enemy in the fire elemental mana and sets them aze. Skill''s destructive power depends on the skill''s level and order. Consumes 5 mana points per activation.]


    ''Nice. We got a passive agility enhancing skill.'' Luke became excited when he saw the agility type passive skill.


    Passive skills don''t have any limit. One can learn as many as they can. As the name suggests, the passive skills are passive in nature. They don''t require the user to operate them consciously, nor they require mana or anything else to work. This is why they are very popr among the evolvers.


    He even heard someone say in hisst life, more times than not, it is not an active skill that determines who will live or die in a fight to death, but the number and quality of the passive skills. This was why Luke didn''t hesitate and immediately learned it.


    The skill book shone brightly before vanishing into thin air. At the same time, a small white rune appeared beside the ck rune of the Berserk skill and his agility shot up by 3 points.


    Seeing that he learnt a skill without telling them, Alice raised her brows slightly, but remembering that she had already epted him as the leader, she didn''t say anything.


    As for Ben, he didn''t show any dissatisfaction at all and just waited to see if he would get any of the remaining skills or not.


    Seeing that neither of them objected, Luke nodded in satisfaction. He then asked, "Ben, how much is your mana count?"


    "It''s 15, no it''s 17 now." Ben replied.


    Luke nodded before throwing the [Whirlwind] skill to Ben and the Incinerate skill to Alice.


    "It''s for me? How do I learn it?" Ben excitedly asked.


    "Don''t you want to read its summery first?" Luke asked.


    "No, since you think it''s a good skill for me, then it must be." Ben straightforwardly said.


    Luke smiled. "Alright. Learning it isn''t difficult. You just need to think in your mind that you want to learn it and you''ll learn it automatically."


    Ben followed the instructions and learned the skill. After that, his face became red with excitement and he almost started dancing.


    Alice saw this scene and smile lightly, her smile like a blooming flower, too beautiful. Unfortunately, neither Luke nor Ben was looking at her at this time and missed it.


    She then closed her eyes and when she saw the information of the skill, her eyes glinted with excitement and thought, ''With my fire maniption, this will be even more terrifying.'' She then nced at Luke gratefully before learning it.


    As for Luke, he had opened his status window to check how much he had improved.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 3


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 15 (12 +3) / Agility: 18 (16+2) / Health: 11 / Stamina: 10 (14) / Mana: 28 (31) / INT: 100


    External active skills: Berserk Level 5 (First order skill)


    Passive skills: Rapid steps level 3 (First order skill)]


    ''Hm? I''m not getting any additional points after killing these low levelled zombies.'' He thought. He had killed over 10 zombies but he only got 6 additional attribute points from them.


    After resting for a while to recover their stamina, just as they were about to walk out of the house they were in, they heard some disturbance outside.


    When Luke peeked out to see what was happening, his expression changedpletely.

 Chapter 14: Danger arrives

    <h4>Chapter 14: Danger arrives</h4>


    "What is it?" Alice asked after seeing his expression worsening.


    Phew!


    Luke took a deep breath and solemnly said, "It seems the zombies have started moving around. There are more than a few dozen outside on the road right now."


    "What?" Ben''s face paled when he heard this and stuttered, "Does¡­ doesn''t this mean we aren''t safe in this neighbourhood anymore?"


    Hearing this, Alice also peeked outside and her expression also turned serious.


    "That''s right." Luke nodded. "Therefore, we need to leave the city as soon as possible."


    "But how are we going to do it? The city exit is a few kilometers away from here and we will encounter more than a hundred thousand zombie maybe even more."


    "If it was only the three of us, perhaps we could leave covertly. But we also have professor Nina, the storedy and that boy from before who aren''t evolvers like us. Since we can''t leave them here to die, we have to take them with us, and this will make it many times more difficult to leave without being found out by the zombies." Alice said. Her eyes shing with worry.


    "Since leaving through the city exit is too difficult, we can only take the other route, but it''ll be equally, if not more, dangerous." Luke said after some thought.


    "You are saying we should exit the city through the forest?" She asked.


    The city was situated just outside a forested region. It would be urate to say that a part of the forest was cleared to establish the city.


    Because the forest had many wild animals that could harass the city''s popce, a huge wall was constructed around the city for protection and there was only a single entrance and exit in it.


    In fact, most of the cities on the four smaller continents were like this since the forests or mountains upied most of the terrain.


    The rulers could kill the wild animals to make it safer for the people, but they advised against it, saying that they shouldn''t ughter them and it was necessary to keep the ecosystem in bnce.


    Many people had agreed to this because before the ''cmity'' the human poption had almost annihted the forested areas and wild animals, which caused many problems to the environment and the ecosystem.


    Since the ''cmity'' had reformed the for good, they shouldn''t repeat the same mistakes. Furthermore, they would be safe inside the cities.


    As for the travelling, thetest transportation vehicles were fast, safe and were equipped with weapons and many safety measures in case some animals attacked.


    "Yes. That''s the only way, because by now the transport station should also have been run over by the survivors and the zombies." Luke nodded.


    "What you said makes sense, but how are we supposed to climb 20 meters high walls? You know only the city exit, city guard building and the college have the lifts that can take to the top of the walls? But we can''t go to any of these ces without encountering loads of zombies." Ben asked.


    Right after he spoke, he broke out in curses, "Those Rulers bastards. They really didn''t make it easy to escape when designing the city. They clearly wanted us to die here when the apocalypse descended."


    "There is no use bing angry at them right now." Luke said to calm him down before saying. "Although it is quite difficult to climb the walls with our current capabilities, we should be able to make a small opening in the wall."


    "How? The walls are almost two meters thick." Ben asked in frustration.


    "I''ll tell youter. First, let''s return to the store before these zombies reach there." Luke said and immediately ran out of the house with his sword in his hand. Alice and Ben also followed.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As they dashed out, they immediately attracted the nearby zombies'' attention, who then started moving towards them.


    "I''ll be in front. Ben, stay in middle and Alice, you cover us from behind." Luke barked the instructions while brandishing the sword in his hand.


    sh! sh! sh!


    In three strokes, he cut off three zombies'' heads who were charging toward him from the front. Ben hit a zombieing at them from the side with his club and pushed him back while Alice cut off the heads of two zombies who were right behind them.


    "Don''t slow down. Keep moving!" Luke shouted.


    Thankfully, there weren''t many zombies in the store''s direction. After killing and dodging a few, they were able to escape their attacking range.


    Whoosh!


    After running for a while, Luke suddenly stopped in front of the house where they had found the boy.


    "You guys hurriedly go, pack some food and move toward the south wall. I''ll be meet you on the way with the boy." He barged into the house after shouting his instruction.


    Alice and Ben nodded in acknowledgement before rushing in the store''s direction.


    Meanwhile, the boy had run down to the ground floor after hearing Luke''s shout. When he saw Luke''s urgent expression, the boy became worried and asked, "What happened? Why¡­"


    "Shut up and follow me if you don''t want to die." Luke didn''t have time to exin. He directly grabbed his wrist and rushed out of the house.


    Just as they came out, Luke saw the zombies were about to catch up to them and his expression worsened even further.


    By the look of things, it wouldn''t take this horde of zombie more than a minute to reach the store and it wasn''t enough time for Alice and Ben to reach the store, pack enough food and then rush to the wall.


    "Ahhh! So many zombies! We are going to die." The boy shouted in horror when he saw the zombies chasing after them.


    "Calm down!" Luke shouted. He then pushed the boy in front of him and said, "Run to the store and tell mypanions to don''t waste any time and immediately move toward the south wall. GO!"


    "You¡­ what are you going to do?" The boy asked in panic when he saw him stop running.


    "I''ll try to dy them for a while. Go. Don''t stop!"


    "O-Okay. Be careful." The boy said before running in the store''s direction.


    Phew!


    Luke took a deep breath and turned around to face the zombies. After a nce, he counted 22 zombies running in the lead. Behind them were more than a hundred others.


    Seeing this, he wanted to run away for a moment but he needed to buy some time for Ben and professor Nina to escape even if it was only a few more seconds.


    "Since this is the case, let''s test my skill and see if I can kill these 22 in 10 seconds or not." He smirked. When the first group of zombies was only a few feet away from him, he activated his [Berserk] skill and rushed toward them.

 Chapter 15: Struggling to escape

    <h4>Chapter 15: Struggling to escape</h4>


    [Stamina: 12 (14)]


    After checking his stamina, he muttered under his breath, "Let''s see if I can kill these 22 in 10 seconds."


    Just as the first group of 22 zombies was just a few feet away from him, he activated his [Berserk] skill and dashed towards them.


    Whoosh!


    His speed was so fast that he seemed to teleport right in front of them.


    sh!


    As soon as he appeared in front of the leading zombie, the sound of sword shing rang out before he moved toward the next zombie.


    Thud!


    As he brandished his sword to sh at the second zombie, the first zombie''s head was cleanly detached from the rest of its body that continued its previous attacking motion before falling lifelessly to the ground along with its head.


    sh! sh! sh!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Luke continued to move, shing with his sword. As soon as he moved to the next zombie, the previous one''s head would fly through the air and their body woulde to a halt soon after and fall down to the ground.


    Whoosh!


    Precisely 9 secondster, he stopped moving and deactivated his skill. Behind him, all the 22 zombiesy dead.


    Huff! Huff!


    He was panting furiously while his clothes were drenchedpletely in his sweat and his face had turned pale.


    Phew!


    He took a deep breath before wiping away the sweat from his forehead. He then nced at his status screen.


    [Stamina: 3 (14)]


    ''Fortunately, I managed to save an additional stamina point. If not, I''m afraid it would have copsed by now.'' He thought and then smiled bitterly. It wasn''t like he was in good condition right now because his legs were shaking and he felt if he rxed his nerves even for a second, he would copse.


    Just then, he heard the announcement. The monotonous voice sounded like heavenly music in his ears.


    [You gained 22 level 1 zombies'' soul power.]


    [You''ve levelled up to the level 4. You acquire 2 status points to distribute freely.]


    Immediately, his hands moved, and he put the two free points into his stamina.


    [Stamina: 5 (16)]


    Just as he did, he felt his fatigue lessen a little and the corner of his lips lifted into a relieved smile.


    He wasn''t confident of escaping the iing horde of zombies with just 3 stamina points remaining. But now he has 5, the story was different.


    Wasting no time, he turned around and started running in the store''s direction. He didn''t even pick the dropped item since it would have wasted a few precious moments which he could use to further the distance between him and the dreadful zombies.


    Grawr!


    As he continued to run, zombies'' snarling sounds gradually became weaker.


    When he reached the store, he found the door wide open and there was no one.


    Rustle!


    Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a rustling sound from the then counter and saw a paper lying there.


    He picked it up and read it. ''Luke, we are moving toward the south wall. Pleasee as soon as possible. ¨C Nina.


    Seeing the message, Luke smiled before moving in the south direction.


    On the way, he saw a few zombies walking aimlessly around. There were a few zombie corpses, too. Their heads were cleanly cut off. ''It must be Alice''s doing.'' He thought before stealthily continuing on his way.


    After half an hour, he heard some fighting soundsing from behind the corner ahead. Hearing this, he increased his pace and approached the ce without making any sound.


    He wanted to see who was fighting. If it was Ben and others, he would have to join the fight, but if it was them, he would just ignore them and continue on his way.


    "Professor, stay behind me." Just as he arrived at the corner, he heard Ben''s slightly panicked voice.


    ''Damn it. It''s really them.'' Luke cursed and came out of hiding. When he saw the situation, he raised his brows.


    Ben and others were surrounded by a group of eight zombies right now. He could also see 5-6 zombie corpses lying on the ground around them.


    Swoosh!


    sh!


    Grawr!


    Alice was moving around, shing with her sword. Because there were multiple zombies charging at her from different directions, she had to focus more on dodging, which made killing them difficult for her.


    Ben, on the other hand, was protecting professor Nina, the storedy and the boy. Professor Nina was clutching her wooden club and vigntly ncing around.


    The storedy and the boy were frightened out of their wits, especially the boy. He couldn''t even move out of the zombies'' way due to his fear and this increased the pressure on Ben.


    Whoosh!


    After seeing their situation getting worse, Luke immediately charged toward the group of zombies.


    sh! sh! sh!


    He brandished his sword and chopped off three zombies'' head in one go, lowering the pressure on Alice.


    Feeling slightly liberated, Alice immediately shed out with her sword and killed two zombies.


    Now only three zombies remained, two of which were trying to attack Ben and the group.


    "You go kill them. I''ll handle this one." Luke said. His stamina was already bottoming out after running for half an hour straight. Now, it had be difficult for him to wield his sword properly so, he left the two of the three zombies to her.


    Alice nodded before moving toward Ben.


    After a few seconds, all the zombies were lying dead on the ground.


    Ben and professor Nina rushed toward Luke when they saw him. "Thank god, you are fine. We were worried about you." Professor Nina sighed in relief.


    Luke nodded lightly and said, "The south wall is still far away. Let''s take shelter in a house. I need to recover my stamina first."


    "That''s a good idea. Alice and I are also dead tired." Ben immediately agreed. He was also too tired after constantly running and fighting the zombies along the way.


    Alice also nodded. After collecting the drops, she moved toward the nearest house with Luke and others.


    "H-hey. We s-should leave the city first." The boy cried out. He was still trembling in fear.


    Luke and others didn''t even spare him a nce before entering the house.


    The storedy nced at the frightened boy and sighed. "Only those three can fight these undeads and they are too tired to do that right now. If we stubbornly move now, only death awaits us when we encounter more zombies. So we need to rest first."


    "Come on, son. Let''s go. You should also rest for a while and calm your nerves." After saying that, she also walked toward the house.


    -----


    Thank you duncan_taylor for voting with your Golden tickets.

 Chapter 16: Store lady’s request

    <h4>Chapter 16: Storedy''s request</h4>


    After checking that there was no zombie in the house, Ben chose one room on the ground floor, went to the bed and fell asleep as soon as heid on it.


    Alice and professor Nina also chose a room on the ground floor. After nodding at Luke, they entered their rooms.


    Luke waited for the storedy and the boy to enter the house. After they came in, he shut the main door and went upstairs.


    He opened the first room on the second floor and entered it.


    ''Mm? It''s a girl''s room.'' He thought when she saw the pink decorations all over the room. He could even smell a young girl''s fragrance from it.


    "I wonder if she is alive right now?" He mumbled as he walked over to the bed.


    Thud!


    Turning around, he weakly flopped on the bed on his back. After staring at the ceiling for a few moments, he fell asleep.


    Pssss!


    After sleeping for a few hours, he woke up when he heard the sound of water running in the attached bathroom.


    He nced at the door and saw that it was closed.


    "Ben, are you in the bathroom?" He asked as he got out of the bed and stretched his sore body.


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    After he asked, he heard the footstepsing out of the bathroom.


    When he nced, he saw it wasn''t Ben but the storedy. He raised his brows. "What are you doing here?"


    "Mm, I thought you would want to wash up after waking up, so I was preparing a bath for you." The storedy said with a light smile on her face.


    Luke looked at her in silence for a moment, making her feel a little anxious, and asked, "Is that the only reason?"


    Hearing this, the storedy smiled bitterly and said, "I wanted to ask for your help."


    "What''s the matter?" Luke asked.


    The storedy took a deep breath and kneeled on the ground before saying, "Although my store was there, I live in the southwest part of the city. I have a daughter of your age who also studies in your college. But because she has been sick for the past few days, she is staying at home to recover."


    "I beg you, please bring her before leaving the city. I know I''m asking you to risk your life, but I have to. I can''t leave without my daughter. She is all I have in this world. If you agree to bring her along, I''ll be forever indebted to you. I''ll be your personal maid and take care of all your needs. Please, just bring her along." By the end of her sentence, tears had started falling down her eyes.


    Seeing this, Luke rubbed his temple and coldly said. "First, stop crying and stand up."


    Hearing his cold tone, the storedy''s heart lurched. Since he didn''t show even a bit of sympathy, he most likely wouldn''t agree to her request.


    ''No. I have to make him agree.'' She thought. Then her eyes shed with determination and she started taking off her clothes.


    Before Luke could stop her, she had already removed her outeryer of clothes and was left in her undergarments.


    She then walked up to him, grabbed his hand and put it on her bosom. "Please. Just save my daughter. I''ll do whatever you want."


    Feeling the soft texture of her bra and her breast''s sticity, Luke instinctively pressed his fingers and grabbed her soft mound.


    The soft feeling was very addicting, but when he realised what he was doing, he immediately pulled his hand back and asked her in a deep voice, "You know what you are doing right now?"


    "Yes. To save my daughter, I''m willing to do anything." The storedy resolutely replied.


    Luke looked into her eyes for a few seconds without saying anything. She also didn''t avert her eyes. Seeing this, he shifted his gaze to her half naked body.


    Even though she was already in herte thirties, she looked younger and was still beautiful. She had fair and smooth skin. Her breasts were C cup sized and were very full. Her figure was curvy enough to tempt most men. There was no excess fat on her belly on her hips. All in all, she was quite an attractive woman.


    It would be a lie to say Luke wasn''t tempted to push her down and do the deed. After all, he was just an 18-year-old boy full of youth hormones and hadn''t had his first experience yet, and this was after taking hisst life into the equation.


    However, he kept his calm and after thinking for a while, he said, "I understand you are worried about her and want to save her. But maybe she has turned into a zombie, or perhaps she has already be a victim of other zombies."


    When the storedy heard this, she trembled in fear, and tears welled up in her eyes. She then said, "I¡­ I don''t know if she has turned into a zombie, but if she hasn''t, I know she will definitely be safe because she always keeps the door shut when she is home alone. So, please help me save her."


    Seeing this, Luke sighed inwardly and said, "The zombies outside aren''t staying in their ce anymore and have started to move around. If we don''t hurry and go to the south wall, we will be surrounded by thousands upon thousands of zombies. When this happens, we will die. So, I''m sorry. Even though I want to ept your offer and help you, I can''t waste any more time than necessary here."


    He could sympathise with her but the situation didn''t allow him to waste his time to go to another part of this zombie infested city to save her daughter and then die as a result. Moreover, the chances were high that she had already died or turned into a zombie.


    The storedy''s face turned pale when she heard him refuse and hurriedly said, "Y-You won''t waste too much time because my home is just a few blocks from here. If we hurry, it won''t take more than half an hour to reach there. Please don''t refuse. I beg you. You can have me if you want. Just please go with me to save my daughter."

 Chapter 17: Tempting massage

    <h4>Chapter 17: Tempting massage</h4>


    Hearing her outburst, he asked while looking deep into her eyes. "Just a few blocks away, you say? How can I believe you aren''t lying about it to make me agree?"


    When the storedy heard this, her teary eyes sparkled with hope. Hurriedly wiping away her tears, she shook her head. "No. I''m really not lying, but I also can''t make you believe me. But if you found outter that I''m lying, you can kill me right then and there."


    Luke looked at her without speaking for a moment. He then sighed and nodded, "Alright. We''ll go to your house, but first I need a good bath."


    Saying this, he walked to the bathroom. As he entered, he saw the bathtub was already filled with water. When he dipped his hand in it, he found it was warm.


    ''Don''t tell me she used gas in the kitchen to heat the water up little by little before bringing it here?'' Luke knew she must have heated the water in the kitchen since the electricity supply was cut off as soon as the apocalypse descended.


    This left him a little surprised and touched, but when he remembered how she wanted him to risk his life to save her daughter, doing something like this was no big deal. Nevertheless, he still appreciated her effort.


    Just as he took off his clothes and entered the bathtub, the bathroom''s door opened. Even without looking back, he knew it was the storedy. He frowned, not understanding why she entered when she knew he was going to take a bath.


    However, before he could turn around and ask her, he got his answer because he felt a pair of soft hands massaging his shoulders.


    "Do you mind if I helped you rx?" She asked in a soft voice.


    "¡­No. I don''t mind." Luke shook his hands. Why would he mind this treat?


    Seeing that he didn''t reject her offer this time, the storedy revealed aplicated smile and sighed in her heart. ''He is a kid of my daughter''s age, but now I have to seduce him so ensure my and my daughter''s safety? Why did the world change so much all of a sudden?''


    Although she thought this and was reluctant in her heart, her hands didn''t stop the massage. As a woman who has experienced the ways of the world, she had realised that in this ''changed world'', if she didn''t have anyone strong to rely on, she would die real soon and this was if her luck was good. If she was unlucky and some pervert got his hands on her, her fate would be worse than death.


    Not so far in the future, she would realise how correct her decision was.


    If Luke knew of her thoughts, he would definitelypliment her for being a realistic, far-sighted and decisive person.


    For now, he wasn''t thinking anything and was just enjoying her massage with his body submerged in the hot water.


    After the storedy finished massaging his shoulders, hands, and back, she started massaging his chest and his belly. Her hands would asionally go slightly below his navel, brushing past his pubic hair and, because she was massaging from behind him, her soft melons would sometimes touch his bare back.


    Feeling her touch, Luke''s breathing had already be irregr and his member down below had also turned hard.


    Sensing his changes, the storedy hesitated a little before leaning onto his back, firmly pressing his stic melons on his chest and while her right hand slowly snaked toward his member, she whispered in his ear,


    "I feel your muscles are too tense after all the fighting and a normal massage may not help you much. So, would you like me to help you relive your tension through some other, more pleasurable means?"


    sp!


    Luke suddenly grabbed her hand and stopped it from moving. He then asked, "We''ve met briefly in the past many times and today, although we have been together for a while now, I still don''t know what your name is."


    "Huh?" The storedy eximed in surprise. Given how he was reacting to her touch until now, she was sure he won''t resist her at all. So, she hadn''t expected him to suddenly stop her and ask for her name.


    "Your name¡­ what is it or do you want me to keep calling you storedy?" Luke asked, turning his head around to look at her.


    "I¡­ my name is Lorena Baker. Since I''ll be your personal maid, you can call me Lori." The storedy said, looking a little embarrassed because of her boldness just now.


    Luke smiled, "So, Lori. How about we continue this after saving your daughter? Would that be okay with you?"


    "Y-Yes. It''s fine. I''m sorry for¡­" Lori hurriedly nodded and started apologising for her behaviour, but Luke interrupted her.


    "It''s alright. You don''t have to apologise. Now, can you go out for a minute? I''m going to finish washing up."


    "Yes. I''m right outside. If you need anything, just call me." Lori said, before running out with a red face. She was embarrassed.


    After she went out, Luke sighed and shook his head. For a moment, he really wanted to let her continue, which would naturally lead to sex, but he couldn''t afford to waste his time and stamina on it, at least not before they were out of the city. So, with all his willpower, he reluctantly stopped her.


    He then quickly washed up and went out.


    Lori was sitting on the bed, seeing hime out, she stood up but didn''t dare to look into his eyes.


    Seeing her reaction, Luke chuckled lightly and said, "Let''s go."


    When they returned to the ground floor, he saw Ben snoring away in his room. As for Alice, when she heard theme down, she opened the door and walked out. Now that she had rested enough and restored her stamina, she looked fresh and energetic.


    She gave Lori a deep look before shifting her gaze to Luke and asked, "Do you want me toe with you?"


    Her question surprised Luke but then realised that Lori must have asked for her help first beforeing to him. Realising this, he instinctively nced at Lori, who lowered her head.


    He then looked at Alice and shook his head. "No. You stay here and protect Ben and that kid. I''ll be back in a little more than an hour if everything went smoothly. Also, try not to go out to fight the zombies. I need you and Ben in top condition when I return."


    "Okay." Alice nodded.


    Luke nced outside and didn''t see any zombie in the vicinity. He and Lori then walked out of the house.


    "Hey, Luke." Alice called out from behind.


    "Yeah?"


    "Don''t die out there." Alice said before closing the door.

 Chapter 18: The changed world

    <h4>Chapter 18: The changed world</h4>


    Luke smiled at this.


    He then took Lori and ran in the southwest direction where her home was.


    As they stealthily crossed blocks after blocks, they only encountered a few stray zombies who Luke easily dealt with. However, it was mostly because this was a residential area and most of the people had gone to college or work.


    When they were only one block away from her home, Luke halted in his tracks on a turn.


    "Huff¡­ why did you stop? Are there zom¡­" Lori was panting after running for so long. Seeing him suddenly stop, she became confused.


    Whoosh!


    However, before she could finish her sentence, Luke grabbed her by her waist and rapidly retreated toward the nearby house.


    When Lori looked toward the corner where he had stopped, her face turned pale in fright because she saw a big horde of zombies turning in their direction.


    Grawr! Grrr!


    When the zombies saw the duo running away, they growled and started running toward them.


    The house was only ten meters away from the turn, so Luke reached it just in a few seconds. But when he tried to open the door, he found it was locked from the inside.


    "Damn it!" He shouted and just as he was about to move toward the next house, he heard a voice from inside the house. However, when he heard what the voice said, he became angry.


    "P-Please go away quickly. Don''t attract those zombies here."


    "You¡­ you are heartless." Lori said in anger. Although she knew people won''t be the same and would be cruel and selfish in such disastrous times, experiencing it herself was different.


    "Save your breath. No one cares about another in this changed world." Luke coldly said before shooting toward the next house. Fortunately, it wasn''t locked. He quickly entered and locked the door.


    Grawr!


    However, he suddenly heard a snarl from behind him.


    sh!


    Even before he turned around, he had shed out with his sword.


    Thud!


    His sword cut through flesh and chopped off the hand which wasing at him. The hand fell to the ground with a thud.


    When he turned around, he saw two zombiesing at him.


    "Lori. Stay behind me." He shouted before kicking one of the zombies back and shed toward the other zombie''s head with his sword.


    Unfortunately, the zombie was in motion, so the sword didn''tnd on its head, but on its shoulder instead.


    Grawr!


    Since the zombie didn''t feel any pain, it growled and sh at his chest with its hand.


    Rip!


    It''s sharp fingers easily ripped his shift apart and scratched his chest.


    Ahhhhh!


    Lori, who was right behind Luke, screamed in horror when she saw this. She had heard professor Nina say that once the zombie bit or scratched someone, he will also turn into a zombie.


    "No, no, no." Tears streamed down her eyes. He was her only hope to reunite with her daughter and if he turned into a zombie, not only she won''t be able to meet her daughter, she will also die here.


    sh!


    Just then, she saw Luke sh his sword at zombie''s head horizontally and chopped off its head. He then looked at her and said, "Calm down. I''m alright."


    Grawr!


    The first zombie who he had kicked a moment before came running at him this time.


    Luke calmly took a step forward and,


    Katcha!


    He stabbed his sword through its skull, effectively killing it.


    The announcement sounded in his head, but he ignored them.


    Thud!


    He then flung the zombie away and said to Lori, "Zombies outside can sense your presence if you stay near the door, let''s go upstairs."


    Saying this, he bent down to pick up two red treasure boxes before walking upstairs.


    Lori hesitantly followed him and asked weakly, "You¡­ that zombie scratched you, right?"


    "Yes, it did." Luke nodded.


    Hearing this, Lori immediately stopped in her tracks.


    Luke knew what she was thinking. So, he turned to face her and took off his shirt, revealing the undamaged vest beneath.


    "This blocked that strike. So, don''t worry. I won''t turn into a zombie." Saying this, he turned around walked to the second floor.


    Phew!


    Lori sighed in relief before following him up.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Just as they went to the second floor, the zombies outside had arrived before their house and started scratching and banging on the door.


    "Luke, they¡­ have they sensed us?" Lori asked in terror.


    When Luke heard her question, he looked around, and then a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Yeah. This house isn''t big enough to let us avoid their detection range."


    Hearing this, Lori''s face turned pale, and she asked. "What should we do now? The door can''t keep them out forever, right?"


    "We move." Luke calmly said.


    "How? They are right outside and they are too many. You can''t fight them alone." Lori said. She was almost breaking down in worry.


    Seeing her panic so much, Luke frowned and coldly said, "Stop panicking. It''ll only get you killed sooner."


    Hearing this, Lori took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then asked, "How are we going out?"


    Luke didn''t answer but walked to the room, which was at the backside of the house. He then opened the back window and looked outside. When he didn''t see any zombie in the house''s vicinity, he sighed in relief.


    Lori had followed him inside. Seeing him open the window, she asked in surprise, "You want us to jump down?"


    Luke shook his head. "No. The zombies haven''t broken in yet. We can use the window on the ground floor. I was only checking if there was any zombie at the back of the house. Let''s go down before they break the door and charge inside."


    After that, both of them ran downstairs.


    When Luke nced at the main door, he saw many cracks on the wooden door. It was only a matter of a few seconds before itpletely copsed.


    "Move quickly."


    Lori ran toward the room in the back with all her might.


    Bang!


    Just as she entered the room, Luke locked the door. At the same time, they heard the sound of the main door breaking down.


    "Let''s go." Luke opened the window, and they both jumped out.

 Chapter 19: Stamina gem

    <h4>Chapter 19: Stamina gem</h4>


    Whoosh!


    Immediately after Lori jumped out of the window, Luke grabbed her hand and rushed away.


    Grawr! Crack! Thud!


    A few secondster, zombies started pouring out of the window. However, their target had already disappeared from their sight, so they could only walk around aimlessly.


    ¡­


    Behind the residential area, there were many half-constructed buildings and houses. The city authorities were making another residential area to amodate the city''s growing poption.


    Huff! Huff! Huff!


    In one of the semi-constructed houses, Luke and Lori were hiding right now. Lori was panting crazily, and Luke''s breathing was also strained.


    [Stamina: 9 (16)]


    Seeing how exhausted she was, and he had also exhausted 7 stamina points, Luke said, "Let''s rest here for a few minutes before moving."


    "Hah! No¡­ we can''t waste any time. My daughter, she is in danger." Lori shook her head and staggeringly stood up. Her expression was full of worry and dread.


    "Just stay put for a moment. You can''t run in your condition." Luke motioned her to sit down.


    "No." Lori shook her head, her eyes bing teary as she said, "You don''t understand. My daughter¡­ she really is in danger and maybe¡­ she is already¡­" She couldn''t finish her sentence and broke down in tears.


    Luke looked at her in confusion. Just a while ago, she was sure her daughter would be safe if she didn''t be a zombie already, but now she was saying she might''ve already died.


    Suddenly, he realised something and asked, "Your house¡­ is it a small one, same as the one we were in just now?"


    Hearing this, Lori''s body trembled, and her face turned pale. She bit her lip and heavily nodded.


    Thud!


    She then fell to her knees and continued sobbing silently. She had lost all her hopes.


    Sigh!


    Luke sighed a long sigh and felt sad for her.


    He then squatted down in front of her, held her face, looked into her eyes and encouragingly said, "Don''t lose hope just yet. Perhaps there aren''t too many zombies in your neighbourhood and she is still safe and is waiting for her mother. We should at least check it out, right?"


    Hearing his words, she slowly stopped crying and nodded. "Mm. Thank you."


    Although she knew he was saying just so she won''t be depressed, she regained some hope and felt grateful to him.


    Luke smiled lightly and wiped her tears. "Alright. Now let''s rest for a while and recover your stamina." Saying this, he took out two chocte bars from his pocket and gave one to her.


    After eating it, he opened the small bag hanging from his waist and took out 15 red treasure boxes he collected along the way. Unfortunately, he didn''t get any skillbook, which made him slightly disappointed.


    "What are these?" Lori asked. She had seen Alice and him collect these boxes from the dead zombies, but she still didn''t know what these were.


    "These are treasure boxes. When you kill an evolved creature, it randomly drops these boxes or some other things. I got my vest and sword from these boxes." Luke exined while opening one box.


    Whoosh!


    The box vanished, leaving behind¡­ nothing.


    "You didn''t get anything?" Lori asked.


    Luke''s lips twitched, and he cursed his bad luck. "Well, you don''t always get some treasure."


    "Can I open one?" Lori carefully asked.


    "No. Only evolvers can open them." Luke shook his head and continued to open the boxes one by one.


    Second box, empty!


    Third box, empty!


    ¡­


    The first five boxes gave nothing.


    ''Damn. Why is my luck so bad? At least give me a protection vest.'' He thought and then continued the sixth box.


    Light shed, and light blue gem appeared in his hand.


    ''Finally, I got something.'' He sighed in relief. He then closed his eyes to check what it was.


    [Stamina gem (level 1): Recover 1 point of stamina upon consumption.]


    ''Amazing! This is what I needed.'' Reading the information, he almost shouted out in excitement.


    Seeing his excited look, Lori was curious to know what he got, but didn''t want to intrude too much just because he showed her some kindness.


    Luke Immediately threw it in his mouth, chewed it a few times before gulping it down.


    [Stamina: 10 (16)]


    When he checked his stamina, it had indeed increased by 1 point.


    Seeing this, he looked at the remaining 9 boxes with shining eyes and crossed his fingers in prayer, ''Please let there be some more stamina gems.''


    He then injected a unit of mana into the box.


    Whoosh!


    Light shed, and the box vanished, leaving behind nothing.


    Seeing this, his expression darkened, and he cursed in anger, "Damn it!"


    Putting his hands on all the boxes at the same time, he injected his mana into them.


    Whoosh!


    A bright light shed


    When he nced down, he saw five gems, three light blue and two green, and a pair of velocity boots.


    ''Green gem?''


    [Mana gem (level 1): Recover 1 unit of mana upon consumption.]


    Tsk!


    He clicked his tongue in disappointment when he read its information.


    ''Still, these are better than nothing." He murmured before throwing all three of them into his mouth.


    Looking at the three stamina gems, he hesitated. Thinking for a moment, he ate two and gave one to Lori. "Here, eat it. It''ll help you recover some of your stamina."


    "Oh?" Lori was pleasantly surprised to hear that it could help recover her stamina. However, she didn''t take it and shook her head, "No, you eat it. You need to cover your stamina more than me since you are going to fight."


    "Don''t worry about me. I''ve more than enough stamina. Just eat it. The sooner you recover, the sooner we can move." Luke said, cing the gem in her hand.


    Hearing this, Lori didn''t refuse anymore and threw it into her mouth. Immediately, she felt her fatigue lessen quite a bit.


    "This is really magical." She murmured.


    Luke smiled faintly at her surprise and asked, "Can you move now? We should hurry."


    "Yes. I can move." Lori distractedly nodded. Then suddenly she asked, "Luke, can you help me be an evolver too?"

 Chapter 20: Level 5

    <h4>Chapter 20: Level 5</h4>


    "Mm?" Hearing her request, Luke looked into her eyes and seriously asked, "Can you kill?"


    Lori took a deep breath and nodded with determination. "I can."


    She at least wanted to carry her own weight and not be a burden to him or anyone else. If she had killed the zombies in the start and be an evolver, she wouldn''t have to wait until now to ask him to save her daughter. She could''ve gone by herself. That''s why, she wanted to be an evolver like him.


    Luke silently looked at her for a moment and then said. "Let''s go. If there is an opportunity, I''ll help you evolve." Saying this, he walked out of the house with Lori closely following behind him.


    On the way, he was constantly on his guard and looking around to see if there was any zombie in vicinity. But strangely, they didn''t spot even a single one.


    "That''s strange." He murmured.


    "What''s the matter?" Lori asked, in concern.


    "Although the roads connecting this area to other residential blocks are blocked and outside zombies can''t easily enter. There should be some people or zombies here since many people are always working here toplete the construction but we haven''t seen anyone ever since he arrived here." Luke said, his expression turning grave.


    "That''s true." Lori nodded, realising the anomaly.


    "Let''s go. We shouldn''t stay here any longer." Saying this, Luke grabbed her hand and ran towards the exit, which led to Lori''s block.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Grawr!


    However, just before they reached the exit, they heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and a rough snarl from their right.


    Bang!


    Before they could react, Luke was hit on his right shoulder and was sent flying.


    "Luke!" Lori shouted anxiously and ran toward him.


    Whoosh!


    However, she had taken only a few steps when suddenly the attacker appeared beside her.


    Lori''s face turned pale, and her breathing stagnated in horror when she saw the attacker. It was a zombie, but it gave her a more dangerous feeling than the ordinary ones. As soon as it appeared in front of her, she knew she was going to die.


    The zombie looked at her indifferently and pped toward her head.


    Lori stood rooted to ground and closed her eyes, ready to die.


    Whoosh!


    sh!


    However, before the zombie''s hand could hit her head, she heard a whooshing sound, followed by a sharp weapon cutting through flesh and bones.


    When she opened her eyes to see what happened, she saw the zombie''s hand was cut in half, which then fell to the ground.


    Grawr!


    The zombie growled in anger and fixed its gaze to her side.


    She also followed its gaze and looked to side and saw Luke standing there, his sword dripping with the zombie''s greenish blood.


    Rawrrrrr!


    Before she could even say thank you, the zombie growled and moved toward Luke. Its speed was many times faster than the ordinary zombies.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing how fast it was, Lori''s eyes were filled with dread.


    ''It''s a high-level zombie.'' She thought before shouting in warning. "Watch out!"


    However, she hadn''t evenpleted her first word when Luke had already shed out with his sword. The sh was so fast that she didn''t even see the sword move.


    Whisss!


    When the word ''out'' left her mouth, half of the zombie''s head was flying in the air.


    Step! Step! Step!


    Thud!


    Because of its previous momentum, the zombie took a few steps forward, even after losing its head. Then it slumped down on the ground, dead.


    A bigger than a normal ball of white light shot out of its corpse and vanished into Luke''s body.


    [You gain level 8 zombie''s soul power. Agility +3, Mana +2]


    [You have reached level 5. You gain 2 status and 2 skill points to distribute freely.]


    "It was a level 8 zombie. No wonder it was much faster and stronger than the others." Luke muttered lowly.


    When the zombie ambushed him and sent him flying without giving him a chance to react, Luke immediately knew the enemy wasn''t normal this time. Therefore, before he evennded on the ground, he had already activated his [Berserk] skill.


    Although the level 8 zombie was faster and stronger than him, with the 10 points boost to his strength and agility, Luke easily overpowered it.


    From the moment he activated his skill to the moment he killed the zombie, only less than three seconds had passed.


    "What? How can it be a level 8? Only a little over six hours have passed before everything became like this." Lori asked in surprise. She knew most of the zombies they encounter were still level 1. So, it was really surprising and dreadful to see a level 8 zombie appear.


    "I believe it killed and consumed all the workers to evolve." Luke said. He then kicked the corpse away to reveal a red treasure box. Seeing the box, he couldn''t help but be a little disappointed.


    Still, he picked it up and thought. ''Let''s see what will I get from this.'' Then, he injected a unit of his mana into it.


    sh!


    Light shed, and a silver vest reced the box.


    [Protection vest (Level 10): This vest can protect the user from any magic and physical attack at level 10 or below. Durability: 30/30]


    Reading the information, Luke nodded in satisfaction. Taking off his level 3 vest, he equipped the level 10 one and immediately felt a little safer, although it was only his imagination.


    "Here, you wear it." Saying this, he threw the level 3 vest to Lori and then opened his status window.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 5


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 15 (12 +3) / Agility: 21 (19+2) / Health: 11 / Stamina: 9 (16) / Mana: 20 (33) / INT: 100


    Avable status points: 2


    Avable skill points: 2


    External active skills: Berserk Level 5 (First order skill)


    Passive skills: Rapid steps level 3 (First order skill)]


    Seeing his status screen, a smile appeared on his face. ''I''ve finally be a level 5 evolver and won''t need to fear getting scratched by the zombies while fighting. Moreover, I''ve also received 2 skill points.''


    Skill points are very important because they can be used to upgrade the level and order of the active and passive skills.


    After adding the two status points into stamina, he checked how many points were needed to level up his [Berserk] skill to Second Order Level 1.


    [Berserk Level 5 (First order)]


    [Evolution requirements: Requires 10 skill points, 10 Second Order mana cores, Stamina 30+]


    Tsk!


    He clicked his tongue when he saw the requirements.


    ''I can only forget about evolving it for now.'' He thought. He then checked his passive skill''s evolution requirements even though he wasn''t going to level it up yet.


    [Rapid Steps Level 3 (First order)}


    [Evolution requirements: 3 skill points, Strength 10+]


    Seeing this, he knitted his brows and thought. ''From the looks of things, I won''t be able to upgrade my skills by only relying on the skill points I get at every 5 levels.''


    Just as he was thinking this, he heard Lori call out to him. "Hey, Luke."


    He nced at her and asked, "Yeah. What is it?" He also noticed that she had already put on the vest.


    "There shouldn''t be only this one zombie because I don''t think it''s likely that only one person among all the workers here became a zombie." She said, warily looking around.


    "Mm?" Luke''s brows shot up when he heard this and urgently said. "We need to leave right now."


    Saying this, he grabbed her hand and started sprinting toward the exit. But a momentter, his expression turned ugly, and he cursed, "Fuck!"

 Chapter 21: Easy kills

    <h4>Chapter 21: Easy kills</h4>


    When she heard him suddenly curse, Lori became worried. By now, she knew he wouldn''t easily loseposure if there wasn''t some great danger.


    Since she was running faster than she normally could because he was pulling her along, she couldn''t afford to speak and ask what was wrong as it would strain her already strained breathing but she could move her head and look around to see what the problem was.


    She didn''t see anything in front, there was nothing on the right side too, but when she turned to look on the left, her face lost colour in fear because she saw many zombiese out of the half-constructed buildings and most of them were faster than the ordinary ones, which meant they were high levelled ones.


    Fortunately, none of them was as fast as the level 8 they encountered a while ago and the roadblock was less than 100 meters away.


    Swoosh!


    Luke took a deep breath before pulling Lori in front of him and lifted her in princess carry and increased his speed.


    With his 21 points of agility, it didn''t take them long to reach the exit. Now they only needed to cross it, but the problem lies in crossing because a giant 10 feet high metal gate was blocking the exit and it was locked.


    Of course, Luke could break open the lock with one sh of his sword, but that would leave the gate open for the zombie running after them.


    He nced back and saw the closest zombie was only twenty meters away and would reach them in less than five seconds.


    "Lori, hold tight." Luke said, while shifting her to his back. Lori knew the situation. She tightly wrapped her hands around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.


    Ignoring the softness pressing on his back, Luke immediately activated his skill [Berserk], raising his strength and agility by ten points.


    Bang!


    He firmly nted his feet on the ground and jumped toward the gate.


    Whoosh!


    His jumped propelled him over 7 feet high into the air.


    ng!


    He grabbed the metal bars of the gate and climb to top of the gate before jumping to the other side.


    Phew!


    Luke took a breath of relief and deactivated his skill. It was active for only two seconds had exhausted another two points of his stamina. Now he only had 9 points left.


    "You cane down now." He said to Lori, who was sticking to him like a ko, her eyes closed.


    "Ah, yes." Hearing his voice, Lori opened her eyes and stepped down.


    Bang! ng!


    Just then, the zombie which was right behind them heavily rammed against the gate.


    Grawr!


    It snarled at Luke and Lori, its hands sticking out from the gap between the metal bars, trying to grab them.


    "Ah!" Lori cried out and took a few steps back, even though she was already out of the zombie''s reach.


    Luke grabbed his sword and,


    sh!


    Chopped off both of its arms with one sh.


    Grawr!


    The zombie snarled, pushing itself against the gate.


    After cutting its hands, Luke nced at Lori. "You wanted to evolve, right? Come and kill it." Saying this, he held his sword toward her.


    "Y-Yes." Lori took a few deep breaths and took the swords. Holding it with both of her hand, she took a few steps toward the gate.


    She held the sword high in the air, aimed at the zombie''s head between the metal bars, and swung with all her strength.


    ng!


    However, the sword didn''tnd on the intended target, but on the metal bars.


    "Ah!" The resultant vibrations of the collision made her cry out in pain, and she almost dropped the sword.


    "Hurry and aim properly." Luke said from behind.


    "Yes." Lori nodded. She then ignored the pain, lifted the sword high in the air, aimed at zombie''s head and swung the sword down.


    ng!


    Once again, she missed the target, and the sword flew out of her hands.


    "I-I can do it this time." She anxiously said and hurriedly picked up the sword with her trembling hands. Luke could see the web between her forefinger and thumb of the right was torn and blood was flowing out.


    Seeing this, Luke sighed.


    He walked behind her, leaned against her back, put his hands above hers, and lifted the sword


    When Lori felt him behind her, she trembled a little, but when she saw what he was doing, she felt grateful to him and clenched the sword tighter.


    "Since your aim is bad, hold the sword between the bars before you sh down." He said, while putting the sword between the bars where the zombie''s head was. He then let go and stepped back.


    Lori took a deep breath and swung the sword down with all the strength she could muster.


    Bang!


    Unfortunately, her strength was too little, and the zombie wasn''t a level 1, making its defence was a lot higher. So, she couldn''t damage its skull at all.


    Grawr!


    Bang!


    The zombie snarled and bit toward her, but it was useless since the thick metal gate was between them.


    Just as she was about to lift the sword to strike again, Luke grabbed pulled her back.


    Lori didn''t have to ask him why he did so because in the next second,


    Grawr!


    ng!


    Bang!


    The rest of the zombies arrived and started banging and pushing against the gate, their hands sticking out from the gaps.


    "Most of them are high-level zombies. I''ll let you try when we encounter normal ones, alright?" Luke said, taking the sword back.


    "Okay." Lori nodded.


    "Alright. Wait here for a moment." He said before walking toward the gate.


    "Um, Luke, shouldn''t we go to my home now?" Lori asked when she saw this.


    sh!


    Luke shed out with his sword and chopped off a pair of zombie hand before saying, "If I waste the opportunity to level up and don''t kill them now when they are like helplessmbs to ughter thanks to the gate''s obstruction, I''ll be extremely stupid."


    When she heard this, Lori smiled bitterly and thought, ''Of course, he will give priority to bing strong.''


    However, his next words made her regret thinking like this.


    "Furthermore, we need to cross this area when wee back since all other routes are more dangerous. But we won''t be able to cross it safely If I leave them alive now." Luke added while continuing to chop off all the zombie''s hands which were sticking out of the gate.


    "I-I understand." Lori said. That was right. If all these high-level zombies were still here when they came back, they would most likely die.


    After he was done, chopping off the hands, Luke looked at the zombies which were desperately pushing against the gate with shining eyes and thought, ''I wonder how much stronger will I get after killing them?''


    However, just as he was about to kill the first zombie, the situation suddenly changed.

 Chapter 22: Wipeout!

    <h4>Chapter 22: Wipeout!</h4>


    Crack! Crack!


    Just as Luke was about to kill the first zombie, he heard some faint cracking sounds from the center of the gate and his expression changed.


    ''Damn it. The lock is about to break.'' He cursed and his previous leisurely actions became hurried.


    sh!


    With a downward sh, he cut open a zombie''s head in two.


    [You gain a level 4 zombie''s soul power. Mana +1]


    Before attacking another zombie, he turned his head back and shouted, "Lori, you hide yourself somewhere nearby! You cane out after I kill them."


    Although Lori didn''t understand why he was suddenly asking her this, but she didn''t question him. She walked behind a wall a few tens meters away and watched him fight.


    sh! sh! sh!


    Luke continued to brandish his sword and cleaving the zombie heads in two.


    In just thirty secondster, he had killed over 20 zombies. His breathing, however, was still normal because among these 20 zombies he killed, there were five level 5 or 6 that gave him 3 stamina points and a few other points.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    He continued to move around, killing one after another zombie, when suddenly,


    ng!


    A muscr zombie, which was at the back of the horde previously arrived next to the gate and punched it.


    The bar on which its punchednded was deformed and the entire gate trembled.


    "Ah! So strong!" Lori gasped when she saw this from her hiding spot and became worried.


    Luke, however, revealed an excited smile when he saw this and murmured, "Finally, another high level one."


    After ncing at the still alive zombies which were only 6 now, he moved in front of the hulking zombie.


    Grawr!


    It snarled at Luke and raised its fist.


    Seeing this, Luke moved to the side. He wanted to lure it away so it won''t hit the already deformed bar, which would cause the gate to break quickly.


    Unfortunately, unlike the other zombies that always charged at him, it only looked at him without moving, then threw its raised fist on the deformed bar.


    ng!


    Crash!


    The bar broke off from the gate''s frame and flew away before crashing to the ground.


    Seeing this, Luke''s expression stiffened before he cursed, "Fuck! It''s the same as that level 8 zombie and has developed some intelligence."


    Whoosh!


    He immediately returned in front of the opening on the gate and shed at the hulking zombie, which was trying to force its way out.


    ng!


    The swordnded perfectly at the centre of its head, but¡­ it left only a small cut.


    However, Luke wasn''t surprised by this because he knew this zombie was a strength type and this type of zombies were known for their immense physical strength and strong physical defence. However, they also have a weakness which was their slow speed.


    Almost the opposite of the strength type zombies were the agility type ones. Their agility was many times higher than the others of the same level, but their defence was severelycking. Of course, this was only whenpared to strength type ones. The level 8 zombie he had killed previously was an agility type one.


    There were other types, too. Such as those that could use magic attacks. People called them mage type zombies.


    Grawr!


    The strength zombie growled in anger and started using more strength to break out of the gate.


    Seeing this, Luke smirked. "Let''s see just how strong your defence is."


    Saying this, he activated his [Berserk] skill, grabbed the sword with both hands, raised it high in the air and shed down with all high might at its head.


    Shoo!


    The sword whistled down and when itnded on the target, it easily cut open the skin and struck heavily against the skull.


    Crack~


    Although the skull wasn''t cut in two, there was a faint cracking sound. When Luke heard this, he smiled and raised his sword in the air to strike again.


    Grawr!


    Crack! Crack!


    However, after getting damage to its skull, the zombie became frenzied. It growled loudly, forcefully widened the opening and charged at Luke, throwing a punch at his face.


    Luke, however, didn''t try to evade. Adjusting the aim to where he had struck before, he brought his sword down.


    Shoo!


    Crack!


    This time, the sword cracked its thick skull and continued downward, reaching until its neck,pletely cleaving the head in two parts.


    Ssh!


    Zombie''s brain matter and blood sshed around, some even falling on Luke''s face.


    The fist that was travelling toward his face lost its momentum and stopped before reaching the intended target. The next moment, the zombie fell limply to the ground, dead.


    [You gain level 8 zombie''s soul power. Strength +3, Intelligence +1]


    [You''ve levelled up to the level 6. You gain two status points to distribute freely.]


    Hearing the announcement, a smile appeared on Luke''s face.


    However, he couldn''t rx because the other five zombies were started to pour out of the opening. Fortunately, none of them seemed as troublesome as the two level 8s.


    "Let''s get this over with now." Taking a deep breath, Luke moved from one zombie to another, sending their heads flying.


    Swoosh!


    When he stopped, only he was standing. All over him were lying the corpses of over fifty zombies.


    Huff! Huff! Huff!


    After he deactivated his skill and his body went into the state of rest, he started sweating buckets and gasping for air. His legs trembled, and he fell down to the ground. His stamina waspletely exhausted.


    Seeing this, Lori ran out of her hiding spot and arrived beside him.


    She squatted down, gently lifted his head and put it on herp before asking in a worried tone, "Are you alright?"


    Luke didn''t respond to her. His eyes remained tightly shut as he continued to heave deep, forceful breaths.


    Lori was worried, but there was nothing she could do but wait. Fortunately, all the zombies were cleared and they could afford to stay in the open.


    She nced at all the zombie corpses and then Luke and sighed, her expression hardening.


    Only if she was also an evolver, Luke might not have to push himself so hard.


    ''I''ll have to be an evolver no matter what.'' She thought, her eyes shing with determination.


    It took ten minutes before Luke''s breathing became normal, and he opened his eyes.


    Seeing this, Lori asked, "Are you alright?"


    "Yeah. I''m alright." He nodded and then slowly stood up.


    ncing at all the zombie corpses, his eyes glowed brightly, and a smile appeared on his face. "Let''s check our harvest, shall we?"

 Chapter 23: New skills

    <h4>Chapter 23: New skills</h4>


    A whileter, Luke and Lori gathered all the dropped items. There were 25 red treasure boxes and this time Luke''s luck was good because he also got three skill books.


    Ignoring the treasure boxes, he grabbed the three skill books and checked their information.


    [Basic Weapon Mastery (Passive) (First order skill): When the user learns this skill, he will gain the basic mastery over all the weapons.]


    [Rapid recovery Level 1 (Passive (First order skill): The user can recover their exhausted stamina 1 point every 3 minutes.]


    [Mana amplification Level 3 (Active) (First order skill): The user can use his mana to amplify the effects of his active skills. He can also cover his weapons with mana to enhance their destructive or defensive power. Requirements: 50+ Intelligence.]


    After seeing the skills'' information, his eyes glowed. Both [Basic Weapon Mastery] and [Rapid Recovery] were skills he needed very much right now.


    Thetter can resolve his stamina problem to some extent.


    As for the former, [Basic Weapon Mastery], it would prove useful to better handle his sword and other weapons he might have to use in the future.


    He didn''t think much and immediately learned both. Thankfully, both were passive skills that he could learn as many as he wanted, unlike the active skills.


    After he learned them, arge information about them appeared in his mind which then turned into two runes. Although he couldn''t test his danger sense now, when he grabbed his sword, he felt as if it was a part of his body unlike before.


    "It''s nice." He nodded in satisfaction before ncing at thest skill in his hand.


    Although it was pretty good to be able to increase other active skill''s effects and increase the destructive power of his attacks and his intelligence was also well above the requirement, he wasn''t sure if he should learn it and fill one of hisst two spots for the external active skills.


    The reason he learned his first external active skill [Berserk] without thinking anything because it suited his needs at that time.


    But now that he had be stronger and all of his status points had almost doubled, he realised it wasn''t long before [Berserk] would be a useless skill since it only gave him a boost of 10 points in strength and agility each while consuming one stamina per second and he could only use it for a maximum of 10 seconds even if he had more stamina.


    Furthermore, its evolution requirements were also impossible to fulfil in the near future.


    That''s why he was being careful right now with his next active skill.


    After thinking for a while, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and learned it.


    Whoosh!


    The book turned into dots of light and entered his forehead. A lot of information about the skill appeared in his mind and turned into a faintly glowing green rune.


    Phew!


    He exhaled and opened his eyes, smiling bitterly. He didn''t know if his decision to learn it would turn out to be good or bad in the future. However, after seeing so many high levelled zombies appear in this deserted area, he knew he needed to be a lot stronger than he was now to save Lori''s daughter and safely leave the city.


    What he didn''t know was that in the near future, he would be d to make this choice.


    Seeing him smile bitterly, Lori, who was watching the skill books magically disappear in astonishment, asked, "What is it, Luke? Do you feel unwell?"


    "I''m alright." Luke shook his head.


    Then he nced at the red treasure boxes and murmured, "Let''s see if I should open them now or not."


    Saying this, he willed and his status window appeared in front of him.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 6


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 23 (20 +3) / Agility: 22 (20+2) / Health: 13 / Stamina: 2 (21) / Mana: 26 (35) / INT: 101


    Avable skill points: 2


    Avable status points: 2


    External active skills: Berserk Level 5 (First order), Mana amplification Level 3 (First order).


    Passive skills: Rapid steps Level 3 (First order), Basic weapon mastery (First order), Rapid Recovery Level 1 (First order)]


    Seeing his current stamina and mana, he thought, ''Let''s open a few and see if I can get stamina gems. If I don''t, I''ll have no choice but to hide somewhere for an hour to recover.''


    Deciding this, he grabbed ten red boxes and injected 5 mana points.


    Whoosh!


    The light shed, and boxes disappeared, leaving behind a white bracelet and two stamina gems.


    [Bracelet (Level 10): When activated, it will create a mana shield to protect the user from any physical or magic attack at level 10 or below. Activates itself when the user is in danger. Uses left: 1/1]


    Seeing the bracelet''s information, Luke nodded lightly in satisfaction. He then gave it to Lori. "Here, wear this. It will save you if I''m not able to do it in time."


    "This¡­" Lori hesitated. She didn''t want to impose on him any more than she already had.


    Seeing this, Luke faintly smiled and said. "Remember our deal. After I save your daughter, you''ll be my personal maid and serve me. So, I can''t have you die before that happens, can I?"


    "O-Okay." Although she knew it was just an excuse, she stopped hesitating and took it. Before equipping it, she looked at him gratefully and said, "Thank you."


    Luke nodded and then threw the two stamina gems in his mouth. Immediately, his stamina increased by two points.


    Now that he could recover 1 stamina point every three minutes even without resting thanks to his new passive skill, there was no need to waste any more mana to open the treasure boxes for now. Therefore, he stopped.


    He then nced at his status screen. After thinking for a moment, he put the two free status points into his health stat. If he wasn''t wrong, the health stat should affect the recovery of the stamina.


    After this, he stored the remaining 15 treasure boxes in his waist bag and stood up. "Let''s go."


    "Um, shouldn''t you rest a little more? You are still exhausted." Lori said, worried.


    "There is no time to rest," Luke said before walking away.


    -----


    A/N: If you like the story so far, don''t forget to Vote!

 Chapter 24: Julia was taken away

    <h4>Chapter 24: Julia was taken away</h4>


    Since Luke didn''t have much stamina to fight for a short while, the duo became even more cautious. They slowly and stealthily moved toward the Lori''s house.


    Even though they encountered a few small hordes of zombies walking here and there, thanks to Lori, who was familiar with the ce, they easily evaded them and continued moving toward her house.


    After walking for a while, Lori excitedly said, "We are almost there. My house is right after this next turn."


    Luke distractedly nodded. He was looking around with a frown on his face. Lori noticed this asked, "What''s wrong, Luke? Why do you seem worried?"


    Hearing the question, Luke nced at her and sighed. From what he had seen until now, she was an intelligent woman. But as they neared her house, she entered a state of panic and excitement, which made her miss all the suspicious signs of the way.


    "Wasn''t this a heavily popted area?" He asked.


    "Yes. Compared to the neighbourhood where my store is, many times more people lived here." Lori answered.


    "Since that''s the case, there should be many zombies here, but we only saw just a few small hordes ever since we arrived here." He said and then pointed at the houses on both sides of the road. "Another strange thing is that almost every house in this block has its door wide open."


    Hearing this, Lori''s eyes widened. She hurriedly nced at the houses, and indeed, the doors were open.


    "No. No. No." She muttered in coherently and her face lost colour in fear. Then suddenly, she ran toward the turn.


    Seeing her run off, Luke sighed. After checking his stamina, he followed her.


    [Stamina: 11 (23)]


    Roughly twenty minutes had passed after he learnt the [Rapid recovery] skill and had recovered seven stamina points thanks to it. Adding in the four points he already had, he now had 11 stamina points. Although this was less than half of his total stamina points, these were enough to fight for a while.


    Running at her full speed, Lori quickly arrived in front of her house. Her body trembled, her eyes lost their spark, and silent tears started streaming down her cheeks when she saw the broken door of her house.


    She didn''t even have the courage to go inside and check if her daughter''s corpse was still there or not.


    Her world waspletely shaken. She wobbled as her knees gave out.


    Whoosh!


    But just as she was about to fall, Luke appeared beside her and supported her.


    He nced at the door of her house, which seemed to have forcefully broken, and sighed. However, just then, he noticed a zombie''s corpseying on the side. Its head was burst open.


    As he nced around, he noticed there were a few dozen more corpses sprawled on the road.


    "Lori, stop crying. Look, there are zombie corpses here. Maybe someone has saved your daughter." He said, forcefully turning her face toward the corpses.


    When Lori heard his voice and saw the zombie corpses, a ray of hope sparkled in her eyes again.


    She looked at Luke with her red, teary eyes and asked in a trembling voice, "C-Can¡­ can she be really¡­ alive?"


    "Yes." Luke nodded. "Perhaps whoever killed all these zombies has evacuated all the people somewhere. That''s why the doors of every house were open. Now we just have to find where they are. So, stop crying now."


    "Mhm. Okay." Lori nodded and stopped crying. Wiping her tears, she said, "Let''s take a look inside. Maybe she hid when the door was broken."


    Luke nodded, and they entered the house. Everything was a mess. Things were broken and blood stains were everywhere. Clearly, a fight had taken ce here.


    Seeing this, Lori''s breathing turned heavy. "L-Let''s go upstairs. My daughter''s room is there."


    Saying this, she nervously walked upstairs. Halfway, she saw a headless zombie corpse. Seeing this, she almost staggered and Luke had to support her.


    Arriving on the second floor, they saw another three corpses sprawled in the corridor. Lori ignored them and walked in front of her daughter''s room. The white wooden door was also broken.


    Seeing this, Luke frowned because he noticed this door didn''t seem to have been broken by the zombies.


    ''It seems these people didn''t have good intensions.'' He thought, his brows knitted.


    In hisst life, he had seen many cases where evolvers raided houses to find food supplies and survivors.


    When the survivors were found, both males and females had different treatment, especially in the initial days. If males were strong and could be of use, they would be spared. If not, their only oue was death. As for the females, they were treated as sex ves.


    ''I hope she is alright.'' Luke thought.


    After a while, Lori came out of the room with a picture in her hands. She seemed relieved and said, "You were right. My daughter isn''t here. Those people must have taken her with them."


    She then showed the picture. There were two people in it. One was Lori, while the other was a beautiful young girl. She pointed at the girl and with tears in her eyes, she said, "See, this is my daughter, Julia. Isn''t she beautiful?"


    "Yeah, she is." Luke nodded and then wiped her tears away. "Don''t worry. She will be alright."


    They then walked out of the house. Luke looked around and asked, "Is there some building nearby that can house many people?"


    "Yes. There are two such building in our block. One is a public hospital, and another is a small food factory where food items such as biscuits, noodles, etc are manufactured." Lori said.


    "Which one is nearby?" Luke asked.


    "The hospital is nearby, but there should be many zombies there. So, I don''t think those people would be gathered there. They must have moved to the food factory since it''s in a somewhat isted ce." Lori said. After she had calmed down, her mind was finally working properly.


    After thinking for a moment, Luke nodded in agreement.


    After seeing how most people had turned into zombies, the survivors must have naturally chosen the isted factory where few people usually go, making it a safer ce to stay instead of the hospital, where countless people frequented at all times.


    "Let''s go to the food factory, then." Luke said while inwardly praying that the people who took her daughter weren''t the bad sort of people and she was safe.

 Chapter 25: Arrival at the food factory

    <h4>Chapter 25: Arrival at the food factory</h4>


    While Luke and Lori moved toward the food factory, in the house where Ben and others were staying¡­


    Professor Nina, Ben and the boy whose name was James were in the kitchen, silently eating food. Professor Nina had a worried expression and wasn''t focused on eating at all.


    Ben noticed this, stopped gobbling down his food, and reassuringly said to the professor, "Don''t worry too much, professor. He is strong and knows what he is doing. He will be alright."


    Hearing this, James also looked at professor Nina and said in a low voice, "He is right. Sir Luke is very strong. He will return unharmed."


    Professor Nina forced a smile at this and nodded. "I know, but I still can''t help but worry."


    Click!


    Just then, the door to Alice''s room opened.


    She walked out with her sword in her hand and headed toward the exit without even looking at the trio in the kitchen.


    Seeing this, Ben hurriedly jumped down from the dining table and blocked in front of her, asking, "Where are you, ss prez? Didn''t Luke tell you to stay inside?"


    Hearing this, Alice gave James a brief nce before turning to look at Ben and indifferently said. "I know what he said. All he wants is that we are not exhausted, so we can move right away when he returns. So, I''ll take care to not exhaust myself and only kill some stray zombies to increase my level."


    After saying this, she side-stepped Ben and opened the door. But before walking out, she turned around, looked at Ben and others and said, "I also advise you guys to try your best to be stronger and not waste your time. As he said, the zombies and animals are constantly evolving. If we aren''t strong enough, we will die sooner orter, even if we have Luke to protect us. After all, he is just one person and can''t save everyone at all times."


    Saying this, she turned around and walked out, "Close the door properly. I''ll be back in a while."


    "Alice. Wait." Professor Nina shouted and hurried toward the door.


    Alice stopped and looked at her questioningly.


    Professor Nina took a deep breath and said, "What you said is right. We should be stronger and not burden Luke. So, can you please help me evolve?"


    "No." Alice shook her head without hesitation.


    Professor Nina''s expression dimmed when she heard this.


    Seeing this, Alice exined, "It''s not that I don''t want to help you, professor but I''m not confident that I could ensure your safety while fighting other zombies."


    "Um. I understand." Professor Nina nodded and then said with a smile. "Okay. You take care outside. Act only when it''s safe to do so."


    Alice nodded in acknowledgement before vanishing at the end of the street.


    Professor Nina closed the door before returning to the dining table, her eyes shing with determination.


    James, who was just recovering from the shock of his parents'' death and the world''s change, went in deep thought after hearing Alice''s speech.


    ¡­


    After more than half an hour, Luke and Lori had arrived near the food factory.


    Like before, they didn''t encounter many zombies on the way, which made their journey easy.


    Since the [Rapid recovery] skill was always working passively, Luke had recovered another 10 stamina points and was only 2 points away from his maximum stamina.


    In front of the factory''s main gate stood five men with swords, iron rods and wooden club in their hands. They wereughing and chatting, atplete ease, which was strange because everyone should be concerned and worried about the sudden change.


    "They are really here. I hope Julia is here and is alright." Lori worriedly mumbled and increased her pace.


    Luke was thinking if it was a good idea to approach the factory openly and wanted to stop Lori, but the five people had already noticed her.


    Seeing this, Luke could only sigh and follow her.


    "Hey, look." One of the five said when he noticed Lori in the distance.


    Others looked in the direction he pointed, and upon noticing two people walking toward them, they tightened the grip on their weapons.


    However, when they saw only Luke had a sword hanging on his waist while Lori waspletely unarmed and none of them seemed to be injured by the zombies, they visibly rxed.


    When Lori and Luke were 15 feet away from them, a short-haired man who was holding an iron rod raised his hand and shouted. "Stop right there."


    The duo stopped.


    The short-haired man and others looked at Lori up and down and their eyes brightened up when they saw how beautiful she was.


    "Tell me, where do youe from? Are you infected and are you also an evolver like the kid behind you?" The short-haired man asked Lori.


    Lori shook her head. "No, we aren''t infected. We live in F residential block and I''m not an evolver.


    The short-haired man nodded and muttered under his breath, "It''s good you are not." He then nced at his partners and asked, "Didn''t boss and others cleared the F block just an hour ago?"


    "Yeah. The leader and others went to do it. They also brought some survivors, but how could they have missed them?" The guy with the wooden club said.


    "Survivors?" Lori''s eyes sparkled with hope when she heard him speak. She immediately took out her daughter''s picture and showed it to them and asked, "Was she among the survivors? She is my daughter."


    The short-haired man and others looked at the picture. Everyone apart from the wooden club man shook their heads that they didn''t know.


    The wooden club man, who looked to be around 30 years old and had an overgrown belly and mustache, said, "I think I saw her. She was unconscious."


    He then looked at Lori and asked, "So, you are her mother?"


    "Yes." Lori nodded, tears appearing in her eyes.


    "Okay. You cane with me. I''ll take you to her." The wooden club man said, secretly licking his lips.


    p!


    The short-haired man gave him a p and red at him. "You stay here. I''ll take her."


    The wooden club man was enraged but didn''t say anything. Other three also kept quiet.


    Finally, the short-haired man nced at Luke and asked, "What level are you and have you learned any skill?"


    "I''m level 1 and I don''t know what skill you are talking about? Where can I learn it?" Luke put on a puzzled expression.


    From their behavior until now and how they looked at Lori, he knew these people weren''t good and to save Julia, he might have to fight them, so telling them the truth about strength wasn''t a good idea.


    Lori raised a brow when she heard this. She knew he has learned more than one skill and was stronger than level 1. But she didn''t say anything. As an experienced woman, she could also tell these people were good.


    "So you are a level 1 weakling." The short-haired man disdainfully said and then added, "If you want to enter the factory, submit your weapon and the things you have taken from the zombie''s corpses."

 Chapter 26: A group of scums

    <h4>Chapter 26: A group of scums</h4>


    "Why is that?" Luke asked, raising his brows.


    The short-haired man frowned. "Didn''t you just hear me? You''ll only be allowed inside after giving all your things."


    "I heard that." Luke nodded before saying, "I''m asking why can''t I be allowed to take my things with me?"


    "Because it''s the rule." One of the two men who held swords spoke at this moment.


    "Rule, you say?" Luke smiled lightly and asked, "So, this means I can''t enter without submitting my things?"


    "You may think this is cruel, but we don''t know what kind of person you are. Maybe you are having suicidal tendencies and kill a few people before killing yourself." The sword wielding man said without emotion.


    Luke nced at him. Although he couldn''t tell who was stronger among these five just by looking, he could feel that this sword wielding man wasn''t easy to deal with.


    "That''s understandable." Luke nodded, then untied his waist bag before giving it and his sword to the short-haired man, deliberately saying, "There are 15 red treasure boxes inside the bag."


    "Oh?" The short-haired man''s eyes brightened when he heard this.


    "Am I allowed to enter now?" Luke asked.


    The sword wielder on the side smiled with narrowed eyes. "You and thatdy still haven''t taken off your vests."


    Luke cursed in his mind before taking off his vest. Lori did the same.


    Seeing them obediently take off the vests, the sword wielder and the short-haired man nodded before saying, "Okay. You guys can go in. But remember not to cause a disturbance and follow the orders or you''ll be thrown outside."


    "Yes." Luke nodded before walking inside the factory, with Lori following him.


    ''Fortunately, they didn''t check us or this bracelet would have been confiscated, too.'' She sighed in relief, lightly clutching her long sleeve that was covering her bracelet.


    As they entered the factory, Luke noticed some bloodstains on the floor.


    Swoosh!


    Just then, a middle-aged man walked toward them, saying, "Follow me."


    Saying this, he led them through the dimly lit corridors. After walking for a while, they arrived at an open area many people were gathered.


    Since the apocalypse had only descended a few hours earlier, nothing was organized and people were randomly sitting or lying around.


    Everyone had fearful expressions on their faces while some weak willed people were even sobbing silently.


    There were at least a hundred people in total. Lori nced around but didn''t see Julia. She turned to the middle-aged man and showed him her picture, asking, "Sir, have you seen this girl?"


    The middle-aged man nced at the picture and raised his brows for a brief moment before shaking his head. "I don''t remember seeing her. But you can walk around and check. Maybe she is resting in some corner."


    Saying this, he turned around and left.


    Luke watched him leave with a thoughtful expression. He clearly noticed his expression changing when he saw Julia''s picture.


    "Let''s ask around." Lori said, while walking to a group of three people nearby.


    They were a middle-aged couple and a ten-year-old boy.


    "Hello, have you seen this girl here? She arrived here around an hour ago." Lori asked, showing them the picture.


    The couple looked at the picture and shook their heads. "Sorry. Since everything has suddenly turned so chaotic, we were too flustered to remember anyone''s face."


    Lori was disappointed. Nodding slightly at them, just as she was about to go to other people to ask, the little boy opened his mouth and said, "I''ve seen this big sister."


    The couple''s expression changed when their son spoke up. They hurriedly stopped him from saying anything further. The woman worriedly said, "We haven''t seen her. Please ask someone else."


    Lori felt something was up from their expressions. They had evidently seen her, but were not willing to tell her. A bad feeling rose in her heart.


    Tears appeared in her eyes as she begged, "Please tell me where she is. She is my only daughter. I don''t have anyone besides her. Please tell me."


    The woman turned her head around, clearly willing to say anything. But seeing her cry, the man sighed, "I fear if we tell you, we''ll have a bad ending."


    Lori went silent when she heard this. From this, she knew something was up and Julia most like was in danger.


    After pausing for a bit, the man sighed again and under his wife''s continued warning res, he said,


    "This girl, your daughter, came more than half an hour ago. She seemed to be sick. She was lying here beside us for a while."


    The man continued, "But half an hour ago, one of the leaders of this camp came and he took her away. Your daughter seemed to hate him and resisted. However¡­"


    The man hesitated for a moment and then said, "That guy pped her unconscious and forcefully took her away. From his expression, he didn''t seem to have any good intention toward her."


    When the man finished speaking, Lori had started trembling.


    Suddenly recalling his words, she asked, "You said my daughter seemed to hate him, right?"


    "Yes. That guy also said that she was finally going to be his." The man nodded.


    Lori gritted her teeth and asked, "That guy, did he have red hair and an ugly-looking face?"


    "That''s right." The man nodded.


    Hearing the confirmation, Lori''s face lost color.


    She hurriedly grabbed Luke''s hand and said, "Luke, please save my daughter. That guy is a lecherous ruffian. He used to live in our block and has always lusted after Julia. But since she didn''t like him, she had rejected him many times before. Now that everything has be like this and he is one of the leaders here, he will definitely do despicable things to her. Please save her."


    Luke nodded heavily. "Don''t worry. I''ll save her, but you calm down first. Don''t attract attention."


    Hearing this, Lori calmed down. When she looked around, many people were looking in her direction.


    Luke turned to the man and asked, "Can you tell me where he took her?"


    The man pointed at the deepest parts of the factory. "All the leaders and their henchmen live the factory''s storage rooms. But I advise you not to act recklessly."


    The man looked around and said in a low voice, "I don''t know how, but those guys possess superhuman powers. Before her daughter, they had forcefully taken away some more women. When someone tried to fight them, they were brutally killed."


    He then pointed to other people in the hall and said, "You can see everyone is afraid. This is not only because of the zombies outside but also because of the people who we thought were our saviors. We don''t know who they would take away next."


    Luke nced and noticed that most people were worriedly looking toward the gates that led to the area where storage rooms were.


    He raised his brows and asked, "Since you know they may take their women away, why are they still here?"


    The man smiled bitterly and said, "You saw the people outside, right? They aren''t there just to guard against the zombies, but also stop us from leaving. A few people tried to force their way out but were killed by them."


    ''As I feared, these people are a group of scums.'' Luke sighed, a murderous look flickering in his eyes.

 Chapter 27: Rulers’ underling

    <h4>Chapter 27: Rulers'' underling</h4>


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    Suddenly, a group of four came running from behind them and surrounded them.


    Three of them had weapons such as iron rods and wooden clubs in their hands, while thest one was unarmed. He was also one Luke recognized since this person had just led them here.


    The middle-aged man pointed toward Luke and Lori while whispering something in the other three''s ears.


    Hearing this, one of the three, who was a young man of age around 27 and had an iron rod in his hand, took a step forward, coldly saying, "We need two of you toe with us."


    "Why is that?" Luke asked, covering Lori behind him. Inwardly, he let out a somewhat helpless sigh. He was nning to strike first and take the camp leaders by surprise, saving Julia, but it seems they have already be alert.


    The man frowned and looked at Luke threateningly. He felt the urge and beat him right here and now, but this would frighten the people even more than they already were, which the camp leaders didn''t want, so he could only say, "I heard you are asking about some girl. We have information. If you want to know,e with us."


    The other two waved their weapons lightly, clearly indicating that they needed to follow them without causing any disturbance.


    Luke took in their expressions, a glint shing in his eyes as he nodded. "Let''s go then."


    "Good." The man nodded before turning around and walking away.


    Luke and Lori followed him while the other two men walked after them. As for the middle-aged man who led them here returned to his post.


    The man took them to another part of the factory where no one was before stopping and turning around to look at Luke with a fake smile.


    "I heard you are a level 1 evolver?" He asked.


    "Yes." Luke nodded before asking, "But what does this have to do with the girl we are looking for?"


    The man ignored the question and said,


    "If you submit and work under the camp leaders, not only will we help you be stronger and give you better equipment and skill books that can give you superhuman abilities, you will also get everything you want and live avish life. Your status will be above millions and below just a few."


    Hearing his words, Luke went silent for a while, pretending to think. He then narrowed his eyes and scoffed,


    "You are saying this as if it willst my whole lifetime. Wouldn''t we be reduced to the normal citizens like before when the rulers send people and take things under control?"


    "Hahahaha¡­!" The two men behind and the one in front burst out inughter when they heard him.


    Luke raised his brows in confusion, asking,


    "What are youughing about? Did I say something funny?"


    The man in front stoppedughing and asked,


    "Do you think everything will be normal like before?"


    "Isn''t that the case?" Luke asked, inwardly surprised by his words. It seems they knew some things about the apocalypse.


    ''Could they have someone from the rulers'' faction among the camp leaders?'' He thought.


    "You are na?ve just like other people." The man said, shaking his head before continuing,


    "However, it''s not exactly your fault, since most people don''t know what exactly is going on."


    "What do you mean?" Luke asked, looking puzzled.


    "You must have heard the voice before everything started, right? It said that earth was going to evolve. The zombies outside are the people who couldn''t endure the mana that entered their bodies to prepare them for evolution. As for¡­"


    Just as the man started exining things, one of the other two interrupted,


    "Why are you wasting so much time? Just tell him what he needs to know so we can quickly settle them. I can''t wait to go back and y with my new girl."


    The man became angry because of the interruption, but didn''t say anything because this guy was the underling of the most powerful camp leader.


    Turning his gaze toward Luke, he said,


    "What you need to know is that the apocalypse has just started and the zombies aren''t the only thing you need to worry about. Also, you should stop hoping for the rulers to make everything normal like before. I admit they are very strong, but they can''t change anything."


    This time, before Luke could say anything, Lori cried out,


    "What are you talking about? How do you know the rulers aren''t strong enough to make everything normal? Don''t make jokes about such things."


    She, just like the rest of the ordinary people, had been hoping for the rulers to end this nightmare. So, hearing that the rulers also couldn''t do anything to change the situation, she panicked.


    Luke looked at her, inwardly nodding. It was a good thing he hadn''t told her anything about the rulers like he did to Ben and others because the question she asked with her current expression, maybe he wouldn''t have been able to and these guys could''ve be suspicious of him.


    Seeing her be so hysterical, the man in front shook his head, a faint smile on his face as he said,


    "We know this because a person who is a direct subordinate of one of the three ruler factions told us this and he got this information from his superiors."


    Lori''s expression paled when she heard this before she suddenly recalled something andughed,


    "Haha, you are obviously lying. After the voice sounded, no technical device is working. How could he have gotten this information from the rulers who are in the central continent?"


    The two men behind standing behind them burst out inughter when they heard this. After a while, the one who had spoken previously chuckled,


    "It might be difficult for you to believe this beautifuldy, but he got this information long before everything started. That''s why we could act in time and gather so many people. If not, we probably would have been dead right now."


    Luke imperceptibly nodded when he heard this. ''So my suspicion was correct. Their leader is someone under the rulers.''


    From the moment he saw five evolvers acting as gatekeeps, he knew this camp''s leader must not be an ordinary person and most likely was someone who knew what was going to happen beforehand.


    If not, how could he have gathered so many evolvers under him and save hundreds of people while others were still panicking about the sudden change?


    After realizing this, he obviously knew the said person must be someone rted to the rulers, because apart from him who came back, only rulers were aware of the things that were going to happen.


    "Since this is the case, there is nothing left to discuss." He said, attracting everyone''s attention.

 Chapter 28 Monster [1]

    28 Monster [1]


    "Hm? So you''ve decided. That''s nice. It''ll save a lot of time." The man who wasughing just now nodded in satisfaction.


    After a pause, he asked, "Now to the next important question, what rtionship do you have with the girl you are looking for?"


    "Hm?" After Luke said that there was no need for discussion, he was about to take action. Since these guys submitted to someone rted to the rulers'' factions, they were definitely not good people.


    Of course, they might be not be too bad right now but they wouldn''t be the same in the future. In his past life, Luke had seen a lot of righteous andpassionate people turn into bloodthirsty and cruel devils after they started working under the rulers'' people.


    He, therefore, didn''t have any doubt that these guys would be the same and would cause a lot of harm to weak and innocent people in the future.


    That''s why Luke was prepared to put an end to them right here and now. However, when he heard the question, he decided to wait a little longer.


    Pointing at Lori, he replied, "Thisdy here is her mother and my friend."


    The man frowned and asked, "How good is friendship? Are you willing to die for her?"


    "No." Luke unhesitatingly shook his head.


    This made Lori sigh. She could guess why this guy asked this specific question. If Luke had said he was willing, there probably were some chances that they would release Julia since they seemed eager to have him, an evolver, join them.


    Since he refused, her daughter''s situation was looking grim and she herself might be in a difficult situation now. However, she didn''t me Luke for it. Hising here to save her daughter was already enough to make her eternally grateful to him.


    "Haha. Good. This makes things easier." The manughed, giving Lori a lewd nce.


    It wasn''t only he, the other man standing behind them and the guy in front who was previously talking to Luke also took a few nces at her, but he wasn''t being obvious like the previous two.


    "Since you are going to be one of us, Let me tell you something. That girl, you can''t save her. The left leader has taken an interest in her. She is sick right now. But once she recovers, he will make her his woman." The man said.


    Lori sighed in relief when she heard that the bastard hadn''t made a move on Julia. However, hearing that she was sick, her motherly heart felt pain.


    The man then nced at Lori before saying, "The things promised earlier aren''t easy to get. You have to work for them. Since you are just a level 1 newbie, you will surely encounter many difficulties. However, I can help you get through them. You just have to let this woman apany me tonight."


    Just as he finished speaking, the third person hurriedly said, "I also want to taste her."


    Lori''s expression became livid when she heard them and saw their lustful gazes scanning her body.


    Luke''s indifferent expression also changed. ncing at the first guy, he asked with a cold smile, "I guess you also want the same thing, right?"


    The man frowned and felt ufortable when he saw the strange smile on Luke''s face, but he looking Lori''s alluring body, he still nodded, saying, "Since they are getting to spend the night with her, I also want it too."


    "Alright. I understand." Luke nodded. Seeing this, Lori sighed and closed her eyes in resignation, silent tears streaming down her face.


    However, just then, she heard him continue. "Initially, I was a little hesitant. But you guys really deserve to die."


    After saying this, before any of them could react,


    Whoosh!


    Luke moved, throwing a punch at the second guy''s head on his left side. At the same time, he kicked backwards at the third guy in the stomach.


    Whoosh!


    He then moved toward the first guy in front and punched at his face.


    However, it was as if he had expected Luke to attack him; he moved his head to side, dodging the punch.


    His quick reaction momentarily surprised Luke.


    Whoosh!


    Luke then flexed his arm and struck the guy''s head with his elbow.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Since Luke had also activated the [Berserk], he moved so fast that the three bangs resounded almost at the same time. The guy in the back was thrown back, spitting out blood, while the other two''s heads exploded instantly, their dead bodies falling to the ground after a few seconds.


    Crash!


    Thud!


    The third guy who was sent flying crashed against the wall before falling to the ground with a thud.


    When Lori opened her eyes and saw two corpses and the thirdying on the ground, spitting out flood, she knew how wrong she was about Luke and felt guilty.


    Luke took the iron rod from the corpse. When he was about to walk toward the third man, who was still alive, he saw Lori looking at the corpses and then him, her face pale.


    "If you can''t bear to see it, keep your eyes close." He said, continuing to walk toward the man, his expression solemn.


    It was his first time killing actual humans, and he didn''t feel good about it. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was used to bloodshed after killing so many zombies, he might have vomited out of disgust right now.


    Lori, however, didn''t close her eyes despite feeling disgusted and horrified deep down and kept looking at him.


    She knew, if they wanted to survive in this changed world, encountering human scums was inevitable and they would also have to kill them. So, the sooner she got used to it, the better.


    She watched him walk up to the barely alive man.


    When the man saw Luke walk over, he looked at him with a pitiful expression and tried to open his mouth to beg for mercy. But,


    Blergh!


    As soon as he opened his mouth, he spat out blood.


    Luke looked at the man emotionlessly. Lifting the iron rod, he smashed it on his head.


    Bang!


    The head exploded, blood and brain matter flying about.


    After killing him, Luke stood there for a while, his eyes closed.


    Phew!


    After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He then crouched beside the corpse to see if the guy had dropped any skills or had any other item apart from the wooden iron bar.


    Unlike zombies or beasts, humans only dropped skill books that they had learnt prior to their deaths or the items they had on their person.


    They also didn''t give any soul energy to the killer, which could be seen from the fact that Luke didn''t hear any notification after killing them.


    However, this was only true if a person of the same race killed another. For example, if an intelligent zombie killed a human, it would receive the soul energy, and the items would also drop.


    Luke moved the corpse and looked around but didn''t find any skill book or any magic item.


    "It seems he didn''t get to learn any skill yet." He muttered before walking back to the other two corpses.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    However, before he could check their bodies, a group of five people rushed in.

 Chapter 29 Monster [2]

    29 Monster [2]


    Luke stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at them.


    "Oh, it''s you guys." He faintly smiled. These five were the gatekeepers they met a while ago.


    He then said, "Since you are already here, I won''t have to go look for you to take my things back."


    "You bastard! You dare kill our people." The short-haired man shouted.


    Gripping the iron bar tightly in his hand, he ran toward Luke.


    "Hm?" Luke''s gaze focused on him. He seemed to have activated some skill as his body underwent some changes.


    His muscles were bulging and adopted a stoney hue. His height had also seemed to have increased a little.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    As he ran toward him, the tiles iid in the floor broke with his every step. Not only that, his speed was also quite fast. It took him just a few seconds to reach Luke.


    Whoosh!


    He raised the iron bar high in the air before smashing it at Luke''s head with all his might.


    Luke''s expression was still calm.


    Although the short-haired man seemed to have be a lot stronger after activating his transformation skill, he was still weaker than Luke, who was already level 6 and had all of his stats in 20s.


    Luke stepped to the side, effortlessly dodging the attack before smashing his iron bar on the back of the short-haired man''s head.


    ng!


    The sound of metal shing against stone sounded out.


    "Oh? Your skill is quite good." Luke let out a surprised exmation. Although he hadn''t used all of his strength into the strike just now, it should have been enough to blow his head apart.


    He then smiled. "But it''s not enough to save you."


    Saying this, he raised the iron bar to strike again but,


    Thud!


    The short-haired man, after standing still for a while, fell down on the ground.


    Seeing this, Luke was taken aback. He then realized what had happened. Although this guy''s spell had made his flesh and bones tougher, giving him higher physical defense, it couldn''tpletely negate the attack''s impact.


    The violent vibrations of the attack reached his mind, causing him to fall unconscious.


    "This guy is strong. Be careful." The guy who had asked Luke and Lori to take off their vests earlier warned the other three when he saw how effortlessly Luke had handled the short-haired man.


    Whoosh!


    He then brandished the sword in his hand and charged at him.


    His speed was a lot faster than the short-haired man. Luke didn''t even have enough time to finish the unconscious short-haired man and had to raise his iron rod to block the sword strike.


    ng!


    Sparks flew as the sword and iron rod collided. Just as Luke wanted to increase his strength and flung the sword wielder away,


    Ting!


    Whoosh!


    Luke''s iron rod was cut in half, and the sword continued to move toward his head.


    Swoosh!


    Luke''s eyes shed. He bent his body backwards, evading the strike. At the same time, he smacked the sword wielder''s wrist with the remaining half of the iron rod.


    Crack!


    "Argh!"


    After the rod and the wrist collided, the sound of bones breaking followed. The sword wielder winced in pain, his facial muscles contorting, and his grasp on the sword loosened.


    Shua!


    Luke snatched the sword from his hand. Then, twisting his body, he came behind him and shed at his neck.


    sh!


    The sword cleanly cut through his neck, leaving only a thin, red line.


    Step! Step! Step!


    Due to the momentum, the sword wielder''s body continued to move forward. After three steps, his vision became blurry, and he started losing consciousness.


    "This¡­" A horrified expression appeared on his face when he touched his neck and felt the warm sensation. In the next instant, he everything became nk and his head rolled down forward while his dead body dropped to the ground.


    Thud!


    It sounded long upon narration, but everything happened just in a few moments.


    The remaining three who were charging toward Luke had horrified expressions on their faces. The short-haired man and the sword wielder were the strongest in their group. Together, they could easily handle a small horde of zombies.


    However, when faced with this boy, they couldn''tst more than a few seconds. One was struck unconscious, while the other was killed outright.


    ''We can''t handle him.'' This thought appeared in their mind at the same time.


    "I-I''ll go call for help." The guy farthest from Luke said in a quivering voice to the other two before turning around and running away.


    ''Fuck! That sly bastard!'' The duo cursed in their mind. They were only 5 feet from Luke. Even if they wanted to run away now, he could easily stop them.


    They clenched their teeth and tightened their grip on their weapons, ready to risk their lives.


    Whoosh!


    Luke nced at the guy running away and frowned.


    ''Well, I can''t afford to alert them yet.'' He thought and moved. The duo only saw a blur passing. In the next moment, they heard the mournful cry of the guy who had just run away.


    As they turned their heads around and saw his head rolling on the ground, they felt chills run down their spine. The courage they had just gathered to fight vanished and their bodies started trembling in fear.


    Just then, they saw Lori standing on the side and hope shed in their eyes.


    They exchanged a nced and rushed toward Lori.


    When Lori saw them run toward her, she knew what they wanted to do and tried to run, but how could she be faster than evolvers? They immediately captured her.


    "You stop right there. Don''te near or we will kill her." They shouted at Luke. One of them ced his sword against her neck while the other one raised his wooden club, ready to smash her head if Luke came closer.


    Luke, who had just killed the runner, frowned when he saw this scene, but a momentter, an amused smile appeared on his face and he slowly walked toward them.


    Step! Step! Step!


    The sound of his every step made the duo''s heart beat faster and their expression paled.


    "Y-You monster, stop right there. I''ll kill her." The guy with the wooden club shouted in a trembling voice.

 Chapter 30 Whos the real monster?

    30 Who''s the real monster?


    "Do you believe I''ll kill you right now if you don''t stop shouting?" Luke said in a heavy voice. He didn''t want their shouts to alert the others if they weren''t already.


    Hearing this, the guy with the wooden club trembled in fear and immediately shut up. The other guy pushed the sword closer to Lori''s neck and said, "Didn''t you hear me? Stop right there if you don''t want her to die."


    Luke''s footsteps didn''t pause. Smiling lightly, he said, "Kill her then."


    The duo''s expression changedpletely upon hearing this. The little sense of security they had after taking Lori hostage immediately vanished.


    "Y-You are joking, right?" The guy with the sword said.


    Luke shook his head and seriously said. "No. I''mpletely serious. You can kill her if you want."


    Initially, Lori was confused when Luke didn''t stop despite the threat, but a momentter, she understood.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t care if she was killed or not, but it was that they couldn''t kill her for two reasons.


    First, if they killed her, Luke would definitely kill them, which they didn''t want to happen.


    Second, even if they went crazy and wanted to kill her, they couldn''t because she had the magic bracelet with her. She remembered Luke saying that it could save her when she was in danger if he couldn''t do it in time.


    Although she was a little nervous seeing the sword almost touching her neck, she chose to believe him.


    Step! Step! Step!


    Luke continued to walk toward them one step at a time.


    When he arrived in front of them, ng!


    Thud!


    The duo dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, trembling in fear as they pleaded, "Please don''t kill us. We''ll do whatever you ask."


    Lori stepped away from them and walked to Luke''s side, coldly looking at the kneeling duo.


    "Tell me, how many evolvers are there in the camp aside from the ones I just killed? How strong are they? How many of them have learned skills?" Luke asked. He didn''t kill them yet because he wanted to know ins and out of the camp.


    The duo hurried to answer. "Yes. Including us, there are 14 more. The strongest is the supreme leader. We don''t know what level is he because he never told any of us about it."


    "Then there are the left and right camp leaders. I heard both of them have reached level 7. As for the others, most of them are like us who are at level 3-5. As for skills, only the three leaders and a few of their direct subordinate have learned them."


    ''Two level 7 and one stronger than that.'' Luke knitted his brows in contemtion.


    Fighting a level 7 human was way more difficult than fighting a level 7 zombie since the zombies couldn''t use skills and had a simple fighting style.


    Seeing him be silent. The duo hurriedly said, "Sir, you don''t have to worry too much. Right now, the supreme leader and the right camp leader aren''t in the factory. They had taken half of the guys to kill the zombie in nearby blocks and find other survivors."


    Luke''s eyes shed when he heard this and asked, "This means, apart from the two of you, only the left camp leader and two other evolvers are present in the factory?"


    "Yes." The duo nodded. A smile appeared on his face. Since this was the case, things became easier.


    He then asked, "Your left camp leader and the other two? Where are they? In the storage rooms?"


    "Yes. The camp leader and other evolvers live in the storage rooms." The duo nodded.


    Remembering something, he asked, "Do you know why is your supreme leader looking for more survivors? From how you are treating the people here, I don''t believe your supreme leader is apassionate person and wants to save them. I''m sure he has some ulterior motive."


    The duo revealed confused expressions and shook their heads. "This we don''t know. He only told us he wants to save as many people as he could."


    Luke smiled mockingly when he heard this, but didn''t say anything. From hisst life''s experience, he knew there was definitely some reason behind their actions because the rulers'' didn''t care about earth''s native people at all.


    He then asked, "Okay. Now tell me, which one of you would like to lead me to your left camp leader?"


    One of them quickly shouted, "I will do it! I will do it!"


    "Since you want to do it, you''ll have to kill him first." Luke calmly said.


    Hearing this, the duo''s eyes widened. Lori on the side also gave him a surprised nce, but didn''t say anything.


    "What? You can''t do it." Luke narrowed his eyes and then nced at the second guy. "He doesn''t want to kill you. How about you kill him and lead to your left camp leader?"


    As soon as the second guy heard this, he picked up the sword and, without hesitation, he shed at hispanion''s neck. sh!


    Because he could exert his full strength, only half of hispanion''s neck was cut.


    Puchi!


    Strems of blood gushed out from the first guy''s neck. He looked at hispanion in horror. He couldn''t believe this guy who had been his friend for years killed him so unhesitatingly.


    "W¡­why?" He asked, trying to stop the blood from flowing out in vain.


    The guy who attacked lowered his head and guiltily said. "I-I''m sorry, brother. But I want to live." "Ha¡­ haha!" Hearing this, the first guyughed, blood flowing out of his mouth. "You¡­ want to live and¡­ I don''t? Ha¡­ha¡­ I also should¡­ not have hesitated." He said in regret. A momentter, he stopped breathing and fell down, dead.


    Lori was left aghast at the sight. Luke, on the other hand, only frowned slightly before looking at the killer and saying, "Who''s the real monster here?"


    He then snatched the sword from his hand and gave it to Lori before ordering him, "Bring our vests."


    "Yes." Nodding his head, he walked to the short-haired man and took off the vest he was wearing. After that, he went to another corpse and took off its vest too, before bringing the two to Luke.


    Luke wore the one and gave the other one to Lori.


    He then looked at the man and coldly said, "People like you shouldn''t live."


    Hearing this, the man''s expression changed. He wanted to say something but,


    sh!


    Luke shed out with his sword and chopped his head off. He then turned to Lori and said, "Let''s save your daughter now."


    Like the story? Don''t forget to vote andment.


    Blizzard54k

 Chapter 31 Careless

    Chapter 31 Careless


    Suddenly, he noticed the short-haired man twitching imperceptibly.


    Seeing this, his lips curled up in a mocking smile.


    He slowly walked toward him and raised his sword to finish him off when suddenly, the short-haired man stood up and smashed the broken iron rod at his head.


    However, in the next moment, he revealed a horrified expression because it was as if Luke had expected this; he had already moved to the side.


    He then said, "You are an excellent actor. If you had stayed put for a while more, I might have really forgotten about you, but you had to grab this iron rod and alert me."


    Thud!


    The short-haired man fell to his knees with a thud and cried out, "P-Please spare my life, sir. I''ll be your servant and follow your every order."


    "I don''t need a servant like you." After saying this, Luke mercilessly swung his sword and chopped his head off.


    When they gave Lori those lewd looks and he heard about the camp''s situation, he had already resolved to kill every one of these scums.


    Turning around, he walked toward the main hall, with Lori following him.


    ¡­


    As Luke and Lori, with swords in their hands, walked through the hall, the survivors sitting or lying on the ground looked at them fearfully, thinking that they were someone from the camp.


    When the couple with the ten-year-old kid recognized them, astonishment filled their hearts. Unlike others, they knew the duo didn''t belong to the camp.


    ''So, they weren''t ordinary people?'' The man thought, his eyes shining.


    From the bloodstains on Luke''s clothes, he knew they had killed those three people, and it was only possible if they also had superhuman powers, because those guys also had superhuman powers.


    "Honey, they¡­ are they going to fight them?" The wife asked, feeling incredulous.


    "Yes. It seems to be the case." The man nodded, gripping his fists in excitement, and said, "Get ready. Perhaps they will be able to kill the rest of the camp''s people. Once they do, we will leave with them."


    Hearing this, the wife shook her head, smiling bitterly, "How is that possible? They are just two while camp had many of those powerful people."


    "Let''s just wait and watch." The man said, praying for Luke and Lori to seed in their endeavor.


    ¡­


    Luke stopped in front of the gate that led to the storage rooms. Turning around, he looked at Lori and said, "You stay here. Enter only if the other peoplee back, understand?"


    "I¡­" Lori wanted to follow him inside and meet her daughter as soon as possible, but she also knew that she would be a burden on him when he fights with the people inside.


    Thinking this, she nodded, "I understand. You also take care of yourself."


    Luke nodded, slowly pushed open the metallic gates, and entered.


    A hallway appeared in front of him. He followed it and soon arrived before the storage facility.


    He could see tens of rooms in front of him and in front of one room, a man wearing a protective vest and a sword in his hand was standing with his eyes closed.


    ''There should be another one? Is he inside the rooms?'' Luke thought.


    Just as he was about to move,


    Whoosh!


    sh!


    A figure charged at him from the side and shed its sword at his neck.


    Luke was taken aback, but he reacted swiftly and twisted his body, dodging the sword. Right after, he shed out with his sword.


    ng!


    The sound of metal shing sounded, and the figure skidding backwards.


    Hurriedly stabilizing his footing, Luke chased after the figure.


    "Damn. Who is thisd?" The figure, a man in yellow trousers and t-shirt, cursed when he couldn''t kill Luke with his sneak attack and was flung away instead.


    Whoosh!


    Before he could even stabilize himself, Luke caught up to him and shed at his neck.


    Whoosh!


    Although the man was off bnce, he still managed to raise his sword to block the attack.


    By this time, the man guarding the room in the distance had already noticed themotion and, seeing hispanion engaged in a fight with the intruder; he rushed toward them.


    Seeing this, Luke activated his [Berserk] skill.


    Whoosh!


    Immediately, his sword''s speed increased and shed against the yellow-clothed man''s sword.


    ng!


    As soon as their swords met, the man''s sword broke and his expression changed. However, he didn''t reveal any fear, but smiled instead and mouthed the words, "You are very strong."


    Ssh!


    As Luke''s sword cut through his chest, arge amount of blood spurted out and he copsed to the ground. After struggling for a few seconds, he stopped moving.


    Looking at him, Luke felt strange. When his shed at his chest, he didn''t get the same feeling he usually felt when cutting through flesh.


    However, he didn''t have time to check what was wrong because the other man had rushed over to him and had attacked with his sword.


    Swoosh!


    He hurriedly retreated backward, dodging the strike.


    His opponent was an honest-looking man, who seemed to be around 30 years old.


    When his attack failed, he didn''t continue to chase after Luke but stopped beside the yellow-clothed man and disdainfully said, "Such a trash! Couldn''t kill a kid even when sneak attacking."


    He then shifted his gaze to Luke and asked, "Who are you and why did youe here? Did they not warn you that entering this area without permission is prohibited?"


    "No. No one told me." Luke shrugged.


    "Hm? So, they aren''t doing their duties properly. I''ll punish themter. You can go back now." Saying this, the man turned around to walk away.


    Luke was stunned by his actions.


    Who was this strange man? Didn''t he see him killing hispanion? Why did hepletely ignore that?


    Luke couldn''t make sense of his actions. Just when he was feeling puzzled, the man spun around all of a sudden and threw a sharp, ck dart at him.


    Whoosh!


    Before he could react, the dart was already in front of his face.


    "Fuck!" He knew he fell into the man''s trap and couldn''t help but curse himself for being careless.

 Chapter 32 Derek

    Chapter 32 Derek


    Immediately, he tilted his head to the side.


    Because he reactedte, even though the dart didn''t pierce his head, it still left a deep gash on his cheek.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Before he could sigh in relief, several more darts came flying at him from different angles, leaving no room for him to dodge.


    At the same time, he heard the man''s recklessughter. "Haha, you stupid bastard. Did you think I had some mental problem? Haha. Go die."


    Seeing that he couldn''t evade all the darts in time, his gaze focused and his grasp on the sword hilt tightened. Activating the [Berserk] once again, he brandished the sword, shing it in every direction with at the fastest speed possible for him.


    When the man realized what Luke wanted to do, he mockinglyughed. "You aren''t fast enough to¡­"


    He wanted to say that Luke wasn''t fast enough to pull it off, but when he saw the scene ying out in front of him, thetter words stuck in his throat and his face revealed a stunned expression.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Luke''s sword hit every dart, breaking some and deflecting others.


    Whoosh!


    After taking care of all the flying darts, he moved toward the man who still hadn''t recovered from the shock earlier and stabbed his sword towards his face.


    The man finally reacted when he saw the sword inching toward his face at a horrifying speed and hurriedly tried to move his head to the side to dodge.


    Pierce!


    However, how could he be faster than Luke''s sword? He hadn''t moved his head even an inch when the sword pierced through his left eyes and all the way to the back of his head.


    "Nooooooo¡­!" Just before he died, he let out an unwilling cry.


    Inside the room this man was guarding, an ugly-looking man was reclining on a chair, staring at the beautiful young girl lying unconscious on the bed in front of him with a burning gaze. From herplexion, one could tell she was sick.


    This girl was Julia and the ugly-looking man was the left camp leader, Derek.


    Just as Lori told Luke, Derek had a crush on Julia and wanted to have her from the first time he saw her. However, Julia never even bothered to spare him a nce.


    He repeatedly proposed to her, but she rejected him every time.


    After trying so many times, he knew he couldn''t have her the normal way. So, he started stalking her and one time he tried to kidnap her when she wasing back from the college but fortunately, some passers-by saved her.


    When Lori found out what happened, she reported him to the city''s police. However, he had some connections with the city''s high authorities. So, he only got a warning and not any punishment.


    Fortunately, it seemed that warning had worked, and he stopped harassing Julia from then on.


    Looking at her paleplexion, Derek frowned. "Why isn''t she getting better?"


    When he found her, he immediately wanted to have his way with her, but seeing that she was sick, he decided to wait as it wouldn''t be fun to y with a sick person.


    To help her be healthy sooner, he even gave her the only vitality gem he got after killing a zombie. ording to the description, it should''ve increased by vitality by one point and improved her health, but there was no obvious improvement.


    "Damn it. I don''t care anymore." He shouted out in frustration and started taking off his clothes, ready to have his way with her.


    However, just then, he heard the horrified cry from outside.


    He paused and frowned. "What''s happening?"


    Hurriedly putting on his clothes back, he picked up an axe from the corner of the room and walked out of the room.


    Julia, who was ''unconscious'', opened her eyes after he went out.


    Ha!


    She gasped for breath because she was almost not breathing when Derek was in the room, afraid that he would force himself on her if he knew she had regained her consciousness.


    "Why? Why has it be like this?" She murmured in a deste voice, tears streaming down her eyes.


    ¡­


    Thud!


    Luke kicked the dead body away, freeing his sword.


    After deactivating the [Berserk] skill, he picked up some darts from the ground before hurrying toward the room this man was guarding. He knew his final cry must have alerted that left leader.


    Just as he arrived in front of the room, the door opened and an ugly-looking man with an axe in his hand walked out.


    When Derek saw Luke appear in front of him, he didn''t bother asking who he was and why he was here and directly went for the kill, smashing his axe towards Luke''s head.


    Whoosh!


    Luke was already on guard. He kicked the ground and jumped to the side, easily dodging the strike.


    Bang!


    The axe smashed against the ground, breaking the cement floor and sending small pieces of rocks flying.


    Seeing this, Luke was surprised. He could see the strength behind this strike was easily over 20 points. Furthermore, this was without him using any skill.


    Seeing how easily Luke dodge his sudden strike, Derek was also surprised and knew he wasn''t an easy opponent.


    "Who are you, and why did you kill my guards?" He coldly asked, pointing to the two corpses.


    Luke didn''t answer his question and instead asked, "You are the left camp leader, right?"


    Right as he said this, he flicked his fingers.


    "What do you want?" Derek asked, also not replying.


    "Your life." Luke smiled.


    Right as he said this, he flicked his fingers.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Three darts flew at Derek at breakneck speed. One head toward his forehead, two toward his chest and stomach.


    Thanks to his weapon mastery skills, he knew how to handle most kinds of weapons, including projectiles such as these darts.


    When Derek realized what was happening, the darts were only a foot away from him.


    He hurriedly tilted his head to the side. Although he managed to evade the dart, heading for his head, the other two found their target.


    Ting! Ting!


    However, after the darts pieced his shirt, they seemed to have to find some obstruction and fell to the ground.


    "I''ll kill you, bastard!" Derek gave an angry shouted. Although the darts didn''t injure him because he was wearing the protective vest beneath his shirt, the impact stung him.


    Whoosh!


    However, before he could take action, Luke rushed at him and shed with his faintly glowing sword.

 Chapter 33 Mana amplifications might

    Chapter 33 Mana amplification''s might


    Seeing him attack, Derekughed in anger.


    A murderous glint shed in his eyes and a sneer crept up on his face. He then activated his skill [Power Burst] which immediately doubled his physical strength.


    "Die!" Feeling the power coursing through his body, he shouted out and swung his axe at the iing sword with all his might.


    He wanted to break the sword and hack Luke into two pieces with this attack.


    With his 40+ strength, it would have been easy to aplice this, but what actually happened sent chills down his spine.


    When Luke sensed the sudden increase in Derek''s power, he knew he must have activated a powerful spell.


    ''Perhaps I should use some more mana?'' Luke thought.


    Since he wanted to finish the fight as soon as possible, but Derek was quite strong, when he attacked, he had activated his newly gained [Mana enhancement] skill and covered his sword with five mana units to finish him off in one strike.


    However, after sensing the sudden the increase in Derek''s strength, he wasn''t sure if only 5 units of mana would be enough to finish him.


    Thinking this, he used 5 more units of mana to cover his sword, which glowed a little more brightly.


    When Derek noticed this, he frowned. He knew Luke had also used some kind of skill and felt a little insecure. However, thinking how strong he was after using his skill, he stopped worrying and continued to swing his axe.


    ng! Crack! sh!


    However, as his axe shed against Luke''s sword, his expression turned horrified because he saw his axe being cut in two and before he could react, the sword continued toward him and struck at his head. He didn''t feel any pain as if the sword hadn''t hit him, but immediately after, his vision went nk.


    ''What is this? Am I¡­ dying? This kid, why did he kill me?'' Confusion overwhelmed him at thest moment of his life, as he couldn''t think of any reason why Luke had killed him.


    On the other side, Luke looked at the sword in hand with a shocked expression.


    ''Isn''t this [Mana amplification] skill a little too overpowered? I only used 10 units of mana and it had already made my attack this strong. What would have happened if I had used twenty or more mana units?'' He thought in shocked excitement.


    Just now, when his sword cut both the axe and Derek''s head in two, he felt as if he was cutting through something very soft. There was no resistance at all.


    ''It''s good that it is a strong skill. Now I can take my time to find a better skill to fill my third skill quota.'' He thought.


    After that, he checked Derek''s body to see if he dropped any skill book or had any valuable treasure on him, but didn''t find anything.


    Shaking his head in disappointment, he walked toward Derek''s room and pushed open the door.


    Inside the room, when Julia heard fighting sounds outside, a ray of hope shined in her heart.


    Although she didn''t know who was fighting against Derek, but she hoped he could kill him. However, remembering how Derek had be a lot stronger than a normal human, she wasn''t too optimistic.


    After a short while, when everything became calm outside, she became curious to see what the fight''s result was. However, she didn''t dare to stand up and check it out.


    Just then, the door opened and someone walked inside.


    She shuddered in fear and hurriedly closed her eyes, bing motionless once again.


    ¡­


    Upon entering the room, Luke immediately spotted Julia lying on the bed. Just like her mother, she was also a beauty and had a delicate, youthful figure.


    However, he didn''t have time to admire her. If he didn''t want toplicate the things, he had to leave this ce before the other two camp leaders returned.


    Because, even though he was quite strong, the chances of his survival weren''t high if tried fighting multiple evolvers at the same time. Especially if they had also learned skills.


    Therefore, he rushed up to Julia and leaned toward down to pick her up. Since he knew she was sick and probably couldn''t walk on her own, he didn''t want to waste his time trying to wake her up.


    When Julia felt him approach her and lean toward her, her heart started beating faster, her eyes tearing up.


    ''It seems I can''t escape my fate.'' She thought, feeling bitter inside.


    Secretly, she took out half a foot long ss shard from her pocket and sped it tightly.


    She wanted to try her luck to kill this bastard, although she would most likely fail to do so. If she really did fail, she was determined to stab the shard in her neck and end her life, since it would be a lot better than living a humiliating life.


    ''I hope mom is safe and can survive this disaster.'' She thought, praying for her mother''s safety.


    A momentter, just as she felt a pair of hands touch her body,


    Swoosh!


    She snapped her eyes open and swung her hand as fast as she could, stabbing the ss shard toward his neck. "Die, you beast."


    "Mm?" Luke hadn''t expected her to sneak attack him and was surprised, but he reacted almost instantaneously and grabbed her hand.


    He then said in a heavy voice, "Calm down! I''m here to save you."


    Julia was about to struggle her hand free and kill herself when she heard Luke''s voice.


    She found the voice unfamiliar and finally focused her gaze on him. When she saw it wasn''t Derek but a handsome young man, she calmed down but remained vignt.


    "Who are you?" She asked.


    "I''ll tell youter. Grab onto me." Luke grabbed the ss shard and threw it away before picking her up in the princess carry.


    This surprised Julia and instinctively resisted, but to no avail.


    "W-Where are you taking me?" She asked, feeling fearful. What if he was also like Derek and wanted to vite her after taking her away?


    Luke didn''t answer and rushed out of the room. Not even bothering to check if there was some treasure in the room he could use.


    Since he didn''t answer and Julia wasn''t strong enough to resist him, she could only stay still and hope that he wasn''t a pervert.


    ¡­


    Lori was feeling antsy. There were many instances when she wanted to barge inside, but she knew if she did that, she might cause a problem for Luke, so she could only impatiently wait here.


    The couple with the kid were also expectantly staring at the door.


    Whoosh!


    A short whileter, the door swung open and Luke walked out, holding Julia in the princess carry.


    When Lori saw her daughter safe and sound, emotional tears appeared in her eyes.


    However, just as she wanted to hug her daughter and ask if she was alright, Luke spoke up, "You can have your reunionter. We need to leave first."


    "Okay." Lori nodded in understanding and suppressed the urge to embrace her dear daughter.


    When Julia saw her mother, she also became iparably excited, emotional and relieved.


    She also wanted to hug her mother and cry out her grievances, but hearing what Luke said, she didn''t say anything and only looked at her with teary eyes and a smile on her face.

 Chapter 34 Take us with you

    Chapter 34 Take us with you


    The people in the hall watched Luke and Lori walk toward the factory''s exit with fearful gazes.


    Some recognized Julia and, seeing how Luke''s sword had bloodstains, they could guess he must have fought with the people from the camp to save Julia.


    In one corner, a young couple was sitting, holding each-other''s hands. The woman nced at Luke before saying to the man beside her, "Honey, this kid must be someone strong, like the camp''s people. Since he is leaving, should we follow him?"


    The man nced at Luke, thought for a moment before shaking his head. "We don''t know anything about him. Who knows, maybe he is worse than the people here? Moreover, since my cousin working under the right camp leader, they won''t touch you."


    When the woman heard this, her eyes shed withplicated light and she murmured in a low voice, "I hope that''s the case."


    A few other people were also tempted to follow Luke out, but ultimately, none of them stood up because of different reasons.


    Just as Luke and Lori were about to walk by the couple they talked to earlier, the couple hurriedly stood up and blocked their way.


    Luke frowned in displeasure when he saw someone blocking the way, but seeing it was the couple who told them about Julia, he rxed and asked, "What is it?"


    The man looked around before saying in a low voice, "Young sir, can you please take us with you? You know what kind of ce this is. We can''t stay here." His wife also looked at him with a pleading look.


    Luke instinctively wanted to reject him, since he didn''t want to waste his time and energy looking after others. From the start, he only wanted to save his loved ones and increase his strength to survive the apocalypse.


    However, when he heard the man''s request and saw his wife''s expression, he paused.


    If he hadn''t encountered them or they hadn''t told him about Julia, he wouldn''t have cared if they died or enved.


    But since he had met them, they helped him and were now pleading for his help. Would it be humane of him to leave them here, knowing that what awaited them was the same fate he suffered in his past life?


    His mind whirled and countless thoughts shed through his mind.


    ''Maybe I should take them with me. If they can also be evolvers, resisting the rulers will be easier.'' He thought.


    After finding out that the main camp leader was rted to the rulers, he knew they had already taken action even before the apocalypse descended and it wouldn''t be long before they started killing and controlling the independent evolvers.


    So, maybe it would be good if he could gather some people who could help him resist them when that happened.


    Upon thinking this, he nced at the couple up and down. Both of them seemed to be in their thirties and could fight and be evolvers if he helped them.


    "I can take you guys with me, but you should know some things if you want to follow me." He nodded. He then said with a serious expression on his face,


    "First, you''ll have to follow my orders as long as you are with me. Second, you have to prove your worth because I don''t want to waste my time and energy on useless baggage. If you agree, follow us."


    After saying this, he walked away. Lori nodded at the couple before following after him.


    The couple exchanged a nce. Although Luke''s words sounded harsh, given the current state of the world, what he said made sense. If they were in his ce, they would''ve said the same thing, or worse, they would''ve rejected him outright.


    "Let''s go." The wife said, grabbed her son''s hand and hurried after them. The man also did the same.


    Seeing this, a few other survivors who were hesitating until now gathered their courage and shouted, "Can you also take us?"


    The couple stopped in their tracks upon hearing this, and Lori also turned around. Luke, however, continued to walk away.


    Seeing that he didn''t even respond to their calling, Julia raised her head and asked, "Are you really going to leave them here with those cruel people?"


    Stop!


    Hearing this, Luke suddenly stopped. He then turned around to look at the people standing and looking at him with pleading gazes. Most of them were females.


    He swept his gaze across them and before asking in a cold voice, "Can you fight? Do you have the courage to kill?"


    Everyone exchanged nces before looking down.


    Seeing this, Luke sighed inwardly. He then turned around and walked away. As his figure was about to disappear at the turn, his voice rang out behind him, "Those who think can fight and have guts to kill can follow me."


    ¡­


    With Julia in his hands and Lori and others following him, Luke walked out of the factory. After they disappeared from the front of the factory, the middle-aged man who had led Luke and Lori to the hall when they had arrived walked out from the hiding.


    Gazing in the direction Luke and others had left, he narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Should I also follow them?"


    "I think you should." A voice sounded behind him.


    Whoosh!


    The middle-aged man was frightened out of his wits and immediately jumped away. When he saw who it was, his face lost all color. "M-My lord. Please forgive me. I-I didn''t mean that."


    If Luke was here and saw this person, he would be surprised because it was the same yellow clothed person who had tried to assassinate him in front of the storage rooms.


    Right now, he had a bag on his back and a sword in his hand. He seemed to have changed into a new t-shirt and from how he was smiling; it didn''t seem like he was injured at all.


    "Don''t worry, old man. I won''t kill you." He chuckled when he saw how frightened the middle-aged man was.


    Walking out of the factory, he sighed, "That guy is horrifyingly strong. He killed Derek in one strike. So, if you can follow him, the chances of your survival would be higher."


    "H-He killed left leader in one strike? But you..." The middle-aged man was shocked upon hearing this.


    "You want to ask how am I alive when everyone else is dead, right?" The yellow-clothed man narrowed his eyes.


    The middle-aged man didn''t say anything even though he was really curious about it.


    "I pretended to be dead." The yellow-clothed man chuckled before walking away.

 Chapter 35 Compassionate leader

    Chapter 35 Compassionate leader


    As the middle-aged man watched the yellow-clothed man disappear from his sight, he fell in deep thought, his facing showing his inner conflict. After a while, he sighed defeatedly and walked back into the factory.


    After half an hourter, a group of twenty or so people appeared in front of the factory.


    In front of the group was a man around a thirty-year-old in sportswear and had a crossbow in his hand. A step behind him was another man. Hisplexion was dark, and he had a scar on his forehead.


    These two were the main camp leader and the right leader, respectively. When they saw there was no one guarding the gate, both of them frowned.


    "Why isn''t anyone here? Are they busy fucking women?" The main leader asked, his expression darkening.


    Seeing this, the scar-faced leader said, "I told you, chief. Derek and the people under him aren''t reliable at all."


    The main leader narrowed his eyes. He didn''t think things were that simple. "Let''s go in and check what''s the matter." He said before leading everyone in the factory.


    ¡­


    A few blocks away from the food factory, Luke''s group of six was cautiously walking toward the half-constructed block where Luke had killed many high leveled zombies previously.


    Although he didn''t want to cross this half-construction block because he knew many zombies must have poured out of that broken window and upied the block butpared to the main route which had at least thousands of zombies, this was still better.


    When they were half a mile away from the gate to the half-constructed block, Luke put Julia down on the ground and warned everyone, "Everyone, be cautious and stay right behind me at all times if you don''t want to die."


    "Yes, sir." The couple replied while the woman hugged the kid tightly. Lori grabbed Julia''s hand and tightened her grip on the sword with the other hand.


    Julia had her eyes fixed on Luke''s back as he sped his sword tightly and looked around vigntly with a solemn expression on his face.


    The more she looked at him, the more she found him attractive. Every girl loved heroes who can rise to asion in direst of times and in her eyes, Luke was one such hero. She adored him even more because he had saved her from a fate worse than death.


    ''He isn''t much older than me, right? I wonder what kind of girl he likes.'' She thought, a rosy color appearing on her fair cheek contours. Immediately after, she reprimanded herself, ''Have I gone crazy? How can I think of such things right now?''


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    Snarl!


    Just then, a zombie girl rushed toward them, her speed faster than any normal human. Her target was the couple and the little boy at the end of the group.


    "Ahh!" the little boy and his mother shouted out in fear when they saw it. The father''s face turned pale in fright, too. But despite his fear, he hurried to stand defensively in front of his wife and son. There was no hesitation in his action.


    Upon seeing this, Julia tightened her hold on her mother''s hand, her delicate body shivering in fear. She could imagine what would happen to the family of three if this zombie wasn''t stopped.


    Lori, on the other hand, didn''t seem too worried. She knew with Luke here; they were safe even if a few more zombies came, let alone a single.


    Whoosh!


    Just when Julia was bing agitated, a figure shed past them, stopping in front of the family of three.


    Her eyes shined when she saw this. She knew he was strong since he could kill all those evolved people in the food factory, however this was going to be her first time watching him in action.


    As she looked, Luke unhurriedly raised his sword and shed it at the iing zombie when it was in range.


    sh!


    She couldn''t even see the sword trajectory before half of the zombie''s head was sent flying.


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    Although already dead, the zombie girl continued to run toward him because of the motion.


    Bang!


    Luke raised his leg and kicked at its abdomen, sending it flying backwards.


    [You gain level 5 zombie''s soul power.]


    ''No additional attribute point huh?'' He thought. Then, turning around, he asked the trio, "Are you alright?"


    "Y-Yes, sir. Thank you for saving us." The man named Rio nodded and thanked him. His wife also followed suit and thanked him before turning her attention to her trembling son.


    Luke nodded indifferently before walking toward the zombie''s corpse and picked up a red box beside it.


    Storing it away in his pouch, he walked to the little boy, sat on one knee in front of him and asked, "What''s your name, little guy?"


    Rio and his wife exchanged nces. They didn''t know what Luke wanted to do, but they didn''t interrupt him.


    "M-My name is Kean, sir," the little boy answered in a timid voice.


    "How old are you, Kean?" Luke asked.


    "I''m 10-year-old, sir."


    Luke nodded. "You are a big boy now, Kean. So, don''t be scared. If you are so scared of them, how are you going to be strong like me and protect your parents in the future?"


    Hearing this, Kean''s eyes suddenly brightened, and he asked in a slightly excited voice, "I can be strong and cool like you?"


    "Of course, you can, but you first have to stop fearing them alright." Luke smiled lightly and patted his head.


    "Yes, sir." Kean nodded obediently. By now, he had calmed down.


    "Good. Let''s go now." Luke said standing up.


    "Thank you, sir." Rio and his wife expressed their gratitude. They were very happy and relieved to see the guy they chose to follow wasn''t some cold-hearted person, but had somepassion, too.


    "Mm." Luke nodded before walking back to the front of the group. "Be alert. We are approaching the zombie infested area."


    "Yes, sir," Kean answered in a slightly raised voice and started looking around with a solemn expression on his immature face.


    Rio and wife chuckled lightly, shaking their heads.


    After a few minutester, the group arrived at the entrance of the half-constructed area. The several zombie corpses were lying around and were started to produce stench.


    Unlike what Luke had expected, he could only see a few zombies walking around on the sector''s main road.


    This caused him to Lori to raise their brows.


    "What is it, mom? Can he take care of these zombies?" Julia asked worriedly when she noticed the change in their expressions.


    Rio and his wife also tensed. Furthermore, when the wife and her son Kean saw many dismembered zombie corpses, they had the urge to vomit.


    "Don''t look." Rio said, covering their eyes.


    Lori smiled at Julia and answered, "Of course he can. These few are nothing to worry about. We were just surprised because we had expected more zombies to be here. Since there aren''t many, things will be easier."


    Hearing this, Julia and others sighed in relief. Although they didn''t understand why there should be more zombies, they didn''t ask.


    "Let''s go. Stay near to each other. Lori, Rio, if any stray zombie gets near you, use the weapons in your hands and kill it if you can. Even if you can''t, just try to keep it away for a few moments. Most importantly, don''t let it bite or scratch you. Understand?" Luke ordered.


    "Yes." Rio and Lori nodded, their grip tightening on their weapons.


    "Good. Let''s go."


    Grrr!


    They had only walked for less than 100 meters when the first group of five zombies noticed their presence and charged toward them.


    Except for Luke, everyone tensed up when they witnessed this scene.


    Luke ignored the zombies and nced back to see his group members'' expressions. He couldn''t help but nod inwardly when he noticed that none of them were panicking but looking at the iing zombies vigntly.


    Lori and Rio were standing defensively around the Julia and others. Kean, although afraid and trembling, looked directly at the zombies as he stood behind his mother.


    Smiling lightly, Luke turned his gaze back to the zombies. When they were in the 10-meter range, he moved.


    Whoosh!


    Julia''s heart constricted when she saw him move forward. She wanted to say ''be careful'' but before she could even utter ''be'', Luke shed through the five zombies and came to a halt behind them, his sword dripping with small droplets of green blood.

 Chapter 36 Lori evolves

    Chapter 36 Lori evolves


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The zombie continued to run, but before they could reach the group, their heads flew in the air and they fell down on the ground, dead.


    "Wow! This big brother is just like the superheroes in those movies. He is very strong." Kean shook his mother''s hand in excitement when he saw this scene.


    A moment ago, those man-eating zombies wereing toward them and in the next, they were lying on the down, dead. After witnessing this scene, how could a young kid like him not adore Luke?


    "Yeah. He is amazing." His mother also nodded. She was also amazed by this splendid disy.


    Previously, when they were ''rescued'' by the people from the food factory, she didn''t see them fight the zombies because those people had baited all the zombies in the vicinity away before ''rescuing'' them. Therefore, this was her first time to witness an evolver''s power.


    Rio and Julia were also in awe of him. Only Lori had a calm expression.


    When she noticed her daughter''s eyes shine as she looked at Luke, she frowned. She had promised to be Luke''s personal maid and do anything he desires. So, it was possible that she may have a sexual rtionship with him. That''s why she found her daughter''s expression, that girls usually have when they look at someone they like, ufortable.


    ''No, I can''t let her fall for him or things would turn awkward.'' She thought. However, she knew it would be difficult to prevent, given how exceptional he was and how he had saved her.


    ''Maybe I should tell her the truth about me bing his maid?'' She thought, her brows raised. She then shook her head, not thinking about it any longer and nudged Julia''s shoulder, asking, "Are you alright?"


    "H-Huh? Yeah, mom. I''m alright." Julia blushed a little and nodded.


    Sighing, Lori rubbed her head and walked up to the zombies to collect the drops.


    "Don''t. More areing. Stay with them. We can collect themter." Luke hurriedly said when he noticed what she wanted to do.


    "0-Okay." Lori nodded embarrassedly. Because she was thinking about Julia and him, she forg0t to pay attention to the surrounding.


    She hurriedly retreated to her previous position and looked around. The zombies in 100-200-meter radius seemed to have noticed them and were now running toward them like hungry wolves.


    She grew anxious when she noticed that there were over 50 zombies in total. Moreover, she could tell that a few of them were high-leveled ones since their speed was faster than others.


    "Luke, can you handle them?" She worriedly asked. Although she knew he was strong, she knew it would be difficult to fight so many at the same time while taking care of them.


    Hearing her question, others who had also noticed the iing zombie horde paid attention, their hearts palpitating.


    Phew!


    Luke didn''t answer. Instead, he looked around before pointing at a small half-constructed building at the roadside. "Go. Hurry and hide in there. Don''te out until I tell you to, and be careful, there might be some zombies inside."


    Lori understood he wasn''t confident of saving them if needed while fighting so many zombies. Therefore, she didn''t hesitate. Grabbing Julia''s hand, she ran toward the building while shouting at Rio, "Don''t just stay there! Follow me inside."


    "Y-Yes." Rio nced at Luke and said, "Sir Luke, please be careful." After saying this, he ran after Lori with his wife and son.


    "Dad, we shouldn''t leave that big brother alone." Kean said, looking back at Luke standing alone in the middle of the road.


    "Don''t worry. He will be alright." Rio said through clenched teeth. He wasn''t sure if Luke coulde out alive and this made him feel helpless because their lives were connected to him. If he fell here, they would also die.


    Luke heard what the little guy said and a light smile appeared on his serious face.


    Grawr!


    07:02


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    By the time Lori''s group entered the building, the zombie horde had arrived near him. There were six high-leveled zombies in the group that were only 15 meters away from him.


    Suddenly, Luke''s eyes turned cold. He activated both [Berserk] and [Mana amplification] at the same time. The sword in his hand was instantly coated with 5 mana units and shone with a dim light.


    Step!


    He took a step forward. Then, just like before, the previous scene replicated itself. He rushed past the zombies and a momentter, six heads flew into the air, their blood sshing around.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The heads and the dead bodies fell to the ground one after another.


    "Hmm?" Luke''s eyes shone as he nced at his sword. It still had a hint of shine to it, which meant the mana he used to amplify it wasn''tpletely used. This was a pleasant surprise.


    Grawr! Grrr!


    The rest of the zombies in the distance growled and continued to charge toward him.


    His eyes shed and with a thought, he used another five units of mana on the swords. Although he was confident of killing the rest of zombies without doing so too, he didn''t want to waste too much time and let them surround him or run past him to get to the building. So, he chose the easiest and fastest way.


    After that, he ran toward them, brandishing his sword wildly.


    sh! sh! sh!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    With each sh, one or two zombies would be cut apart and then fell to the ground, never to move again.


    Some had their heads shed horizontally in half, while some were cut in two from head to toe. It wasn''t because he was being wasteful by using so much strength in killing them, but because he couldn''t urately control how much strength he should use in his attacks after using [Mana amplification].


    But as he continued his killing spree, he slowly got the hang of it. By the time he killed the twentieth zombie, the sword had lost most of its glow while his [Berserk] skill also had only a few seconds before it stopped working.


    However, he didn''t mind and used another five mana units to amplify his sword attacks and continued killing.


    Meanwhile, Lori and others had entered the building and found a safe spot from where they could see what was happening outside.


    While they were watching Luke kill one zombie after another like a killing machine, a skinny zombie with its legs missing crawled down on its hand from the second floor and arrived in front of their room. Its neck was a mangled mess. One could even see its vocal cord hanging loosely outside.


    Because it couldn''t snarl like other zombies, nor there were any footsteps, only faint slithering sound, Lori and others who were focused on the happenings outside, didn''t notice its presence.


    Scree!


    "Huh?" When it was only five meters away from them, Julia finally heard the faint slithering sounds from behind.


    When she turned her head around and saw the ghastly zombie, her eyes widened in horror. It was her first time seeing a zombie from so close.


    However, she didn''t panic and hurriedly called out to Lori and Rio, "M-Mom, uncle Rio, there is a zombie right behind us."


    "What?" Lori and Rio immediately look back in horror.


    When they saw the zombie''s condition, they sighed in relief. However, Rio''s wife and Kean screamed in fear when they saw it.


    "Ahhhhh!"


    "Hush! Don''t panic. It''s a normal zombie and is seriously wounded. I''ll take care of it. You guys move away." Lori said to calm them down.


    Rio''s wife took Kean and ran away without hesitation, leaving only Rio, Julia, and Lori facing the zombie.


    "Let me do it." Rio said, taking a deep breath. He didn''t want a woman to risk her life in his presence.


    Lori, however, shook her head. "No, I''ll do it. You take care of my daughter." Since such a wonderful opportunity to be an evolver presented itself to her, how could she let him snatch it away from her?


    "Mom¡­" Julia wanted to advise against it, but before she could say anything, Lori moved.


    Whoosh!


    Clenching the sword in her right hand tightly, she arrived beside the zombie and shed down at its head with all her strength.


    Dang!


    As the swordnded on its head, the sound of metal colliding against a hard object sounded. Although a two-inch wound appeared on the zombie''s head, it didn''t die. The recoil of the attack, however, caused the web between Lori''s forefinger and thumb to split and blood to gush out.


    "Ssss¡­" She winced in pain and hurriedly retreated backwards.


    The zombie was enraged at being attacked. It turned its body in Lori''s direction and slithered toward her furiously.


    Seeing this, Lori disregarded her injury. Gripping the sword tightly with both of her hands, she leaned her body forward and shed. However, this time, she targeted its neck, which was easier to cut than the head.


    Katcha!


    The sword cleanly shed through the neck, detaching it from the rest of its body.


    Thud!


    The zombie fell to the ground, no longer moving. However, its head was still twitching.


    Taking a few deep breaths to calm her throbbing heart, she walked over to the zombie head and pierced the sword through its right eye, killing it thoroughly.


    Thud!


    She then fell to her knees and,


    Blergh!


    Started vomiting. Although she had seen a lot of bloodshed and corpses today, killing one herself was an entirely different thing. She felt so disgusted and panicky that she couldn''t help but retch for a few minutes straight.


    "Mom, are you alright?" Julia ran over to her side and patted her back.


    After Lori calmed down, she wiped her mouth and smile brightly at her. "Yes. I''m alright, my baby girl."


    She was so happy now that she wanted to jump around like a child because the moment she pierced the sword through the zombie''s eye; she heard a mechanical sound in her head.


    [The evolution requirements have been fulfilled. You can ess your current status now.]

 Chapter 37 No item drop?

    Chapter 37 No item drop?


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    Just then, they heard some footsteps from outside the building and immediately became alert. Rio stood in front of his wife and son while Julia helped Lori up, warily looking toward the entrance, making no noise.


    Kean, who stood beside the window, looked outside to see how Luke was doing but frowned when he didn''t see him.


    "M-Mom, dad, I can''t see big brother Luke." He called out to his parents in a low voice in order not to attract the attention of whoever wasing toward the building.


    "What do you mean?" Rio nced outside and only saw zombie corpses strewn across the ground, but there wasn''t any sign of Luke.


    His wife also noticed this and became worried. She asked uncertainly, "H-honey, was he killed, or he ran a¡­"


    Before she could finish her sentence, Rio gave her a stern nce, causing her to shut up immediately.


    She raised her brows at her husband in confusion, because he never acted like that with her. Just then, she suddenly felt chills run down her spine, but it vanished a momentter.


    ''What was that?'' She thought. As she turned around, she found Lori staring at her threateningly.


    Gulp!


    She gulped nervously and asked, "Madam Lori, w-what¡­"


    "Never have such thought again or I''ll kill you," Lori snapped before she could say anything.


    Rio gulped when he heard this and hurriedly apologized on his wife''s behalf. It was only then Lori calmed down turned her gaze toward the entrance.


    "Mom, what happened?" Julia asked in a whisper. Julia was surprised by her mother''s anger as she had only seen her that furious once before when she almost got kidnapped.


    "Nothing." Lori shook her head. Julia nced at Rio''s wife before ignoring the matter.


    Tap! Tap! Thud!


    The footsteps continued to grow fainter as they came nearer. A momentter, they heard someone falling heavily to the ground right outside their room.


    Whoosh!


    Everyone was confused when suddenly Lori''s eyes widened, and she rushed out of the room.


    "Mom¡­" Julia also ran after her.


    "You guys stay here." Rio told his wife and son and also went out.


    person creeps as his face, lips and teeth, everything was drenched in blood.


    Just outside the room, a bloodied man was lying with his eyes barely open.


    When Lori saw him, she cried out, "Luke!" and hurriedly sat beside him, cing his head on herp.


    "Luke, are you alright?" She asked while checking his body for injury.


    "I''m¡­ fine. You guys¡­ are safe, right? I heard some fighting sounds a while ago." Luke smiled a bloodied smile that could give a normal person creeps as his face, lips and teeth, everything was drenched in blood.


    Before Lori could speak, Julia sat on his other side, grabbed his hand, and answered. "Yes. We are safe. There was a mutted zombie which mom killed, and she has also be an evolver."


    Lori looked at her daughter, sighed inwardly, but didn''t say anything.


    "That''s good." Luke nodded and looked toward Lori. "Congrattions!" Right after that, he fainted.


    Seeing this, Rio nced at his blood drenched body and asked, "Is he alright?"


    "Yes. He doesn''t have any injury and is perhaps just tired." Lori nodded and said, "We''ll stay here until he wakes up. Help me carry him inside."


    With that, Rio and Lori carried him inside. Rio''s wife and son were scared when they saw his condition. Only after Rio told them he was alright that their nerves calmed down.


    ¡­


    While Luke was unconscious, Alice was surrounded by over two dozen zombies and many more were lying dead around her.


    Huff! Huff! Huff!


    She was breathing heavily as her C- cup breasts heaved up and down temptingly with each exhale and inhale. Her hair was in a mess, her right sleeve waspletely burned off and her clothes had many tears here and here, exposing the patches of her alluring, snow-white skin.


    The sight of her was tempting. Unfortunately, no one was here to admire it apart from zombies that were only interest in eating her alive.


    Shingg~!


    After taking a few quick breaths, as the zombies weren''t stopping to let her rest, she swung her sword, originally white, nowpletely red from zombie blood, sideways, getting rid of all the blood.


    Huff!


    She then took a deep breath and activated her skill [me Maniption]


    Crackle!


    Immediately, fire sparks started appearing all over the sword beforepletely engulfing it. Seeing this, she nodded lightly.


    Whoosh!


    She then charged ahead, continuing the carnage. Even without a basic weapon mastery skill, she wielded her sword skillfully, without almost any useless movement. With every sh, she would behead a zombie, which would then be burned into ashes by the fire.


    After fighting the zombie all this while, she benefited a lot. Not only did she level up a few times and got used to high-intensitybat, but also learned to control her skill.


    The first time she used this skill, she had almost burned her right hand, but now she could control it to the degree where she could use it offensively, multiplying her attacks'' lethality by a few folds.


    If Luke were here, he would he would sigh with emotion at her natural talent and at [me Maniption''s] mightiness because after using the skill, her attacks had the strength on a par with his attacks after he used mana maniption.


    Of course, that''s only true when he used 15-20 mana units. If he used more, his strength would easily surpass hers. But then again, she also only had a little control over her skill for now, leaving much potential to be uncovered.


    ¡­


    After two hourster, Luke finally woke up. The first thing he noticed was that his head was resting on Lori''s softp. For a moment, he didn''t want to get up.


    "You woke up?" Lori immediately noticed when he opened his eyes. Hearing her voice, Julia, who lying resting against the wall, Rio and his family walked over, asking if he was feeling alright.


    "Don''t worry. I''m fine. I was just too exhausted." Luke smiled at them as he reluctantly got up.


    "Are you sure?" Lori asked sceptically.


    Luke nced at her and nodded. "While I was fighting them, I heard some fighting noise from here and got worried. That''s why I used all of my remaining mana and stamina to finish them quickly. However, I never expected doing that would cause me to faint almost immediately. Fortunately, I had some mana and stamina gems that I used and prevented that from happening. But even then, I barely walked to this building from losing consciousness."


    When he recalled the moment when his stamina and mana hit zero, he broke out in a cold sweat because, at that moment, if he didn''t have the mana and stamina gems, he probably would''ve never woken up.


    Therefore, he seriously said, "Lori and you guys also, remember, never let your stamina and mana hit zero, especially stamina."


    "Understand!" Lori and others nodded.


    Luke then asked, "How long was I unconscious?"


    "Not long. Only two hours." Julia answered.


    "Oh¡­" Luke nodded before he suddenly remembered he had told Alice and others that he would be back in an hour.


    ''They must be worried now.'' He sighed inwardly. At least this experience told him not everything always goes ording one''s ns.


    He then opened his status screen.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 8


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 23 (20 +3) / Agility: 22 (20+2) / Health: 15 / Stamina: 26 / Mana: 11 (40) / INT: 101


    Skill points: 2


    Status points: 4]


    ''Hm? So, thanks to the stamina recovery skill, my stamina haspletely recovered, but mana¡­ sigh! I need to find a mana recovery passive skill too. I can''t afford to have such low mana with [Mana Amplification] as my main skill.'' Luke thought after seeing his stamina and mana stat.


    He then moved his gaze to the 4 free status points which he got by leveling up by 2 levels.


    After thinking for a moment, he added all four points to his health stats because it would not only keep him healthy and help him heal faster, it would also improve his stamina and possibly mana recovery, too.


    Done with this, he stood up, stretched his stiff body out and ordered, "Let''s go. We need to return before it gets dark."


    Everyone nodded and followed him out of the building. When Julia walked by the zombie corpses, she asked, "Mm¡­ sir Luke, you didn''t take the item drops before, right? Then why can''t I see anything here?"

 Chapter 38 Treasure?

    Chapter 38 Treasure?


    Upon hearing her, Lori and Rio also noticed this anomaly. Rio frowned. "Did someone take it away when we weren''t looking?"


    Lori also raised her brows. If it was really true, that would be too much to bear. They, or to be precise, Luke, did all the work, so the fruits should also be his.


    However, before they could continue to run their minds on the matter, Luke shook his head. "No one took it."


    "Then did you collect them? But didn''t you say you directly went for us after killing them off?" Lori asked.


    "The thing is, if you don''t pick up your loot within a certain period, it disappears." Luke told them. "Now, let''s go. Stay right behind and don''t make any noise. It''s better if we don''t attract any¡ª"


    Growl!


    A guttural growl interrupted him before he could finish speaking. Everyone immediately looked ahead and saw a 6 feet tall, muscr zombie looking at them hungrily.


    "Fuck!" Luke immediately cursed when he saw it.


    Although he was just a ve in his past life, he had seen many things. Just a look at it and he knew it wasn''t a normal zombie but a zombie which had evolved to the first order.


    From what he knew, everyone from level 1 to level 10 was unranked. It was only after one reached level 11 that they could be considered stepping into the first stage of real power: the first order.


    Although humans, who possessed system''s help and skills, didn''t experience any change in their power, the same wasn''t true for For example, when a zombie or a beast evolved to the first order, their psyche would undergo a change and they would gain the zombies and beasts.


    For example, when a zombie or a beast evolved to the first order, their psyche would undergo a change and they would gain the intelligenceparable to a young human child.


    How terrifying the zombies and beasts that were already physically superior to humans would be when they gain human-like intelligence?


    In his past life, a somewhat skilled human could barely match a first order zombie of the same level, unlike now where he alone could y multiple zombies without exerting himself too much.


    This was also the reason human poption dwindled to dangerously low levels. If it wasn''t for human ''monsters'' such as Alice, the war goddess and others, humanity could have been wiped out of the face of the within a year, if not months after the big change.


    Rio grabbed his wife''s and son''s hand tightly when he saw Luke''s reaction. He knew the zombie in front was bad news and they might even lose their lives in a while if Luke wasn''t confident in handling it.


    "S-sir Luke, you c-can handle it, right?" He asked, trying to suppress the anxiety and fear building up within him. He didn''t fear losing his life, but he wanted his wife and son to be safe.


    Lori also grabbed Julia''s hands tightly as she looked at Luke.


    Luke pondered for a moment before nodding. "Although it''s way stronger than the other zombies we''ve encountered so far, I can still kill it. So, don''t worry, but stay alert and watch out for other zombies, alright?"


    "Yes, sir Luke." Rio sighed in relief when he heard Luke could handle it.


    Luke didn''t say it just to ease their worries, nor was he overestimating himself and underestimating the first order zombie in front of him. He was just confident in his [Mana enhancement] skill.


    After using it a few times in fights, his mastery had increased a little and he could now use 20 mana points in a single attack.


    How terrifying would an attack enhanced by 20 mana points would be? Luke didn''t know.


    But what he did know was that he could easily kill this zombie if nothing went wrong. After all, he had killed Derek, who was almost as strong as him, in one strike which was enhanced by only 10 mana points. Although this zombie was surely stronger than Derek, it wouldn''t be by much.


    Grrr!


    The zombie growled hungrily and started running in their direction.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Its every step created a loud thudding noise which put an invisible pressure on them.


    Fortunately, Luke was standing tall in front of them, which gave them relief. If he wasn''t here, they might have broken down due to fear before it even came near them. Even now, apart from Lori and the curious Kean, everyone else was nervous.


    continue their journey back since it was getting darker by the minute and travelling at night would certainly be several times more dangerous.


    Luke, of course, knew all this. In fact, he knew it better than them.


    However, how could he leave a treasure that might be able to help him be stronger to be the zombie food? How foolish would he have to be to do that?


    Sure, it would be dangerous at night, however, the treasure was When the zombie was only ten meters away from the group, Luke gripped his sword tightly and used [Mana enhancement] to infuse 15 mana points in it, covering it with a bright halo.


    Thud!


    Just when he used [Mana enhancement], the zombie suddenly stopped in its tracks and looked at him warily.


    ''Hm? It can sense danger already?'' Luke thought in surprise when he saw it stop.


    Although zombies gain intelligence at first order, their sense of danger and instincts don''t develop much until they cross level 25.


    However, this zombie, which should have evolved not too long ago, seemed to possess a perception of dangerparable to the peak first order or perhaps even 2nd orders zombies.


    Suddenly, his eyes lit up. ''It must have eaten some magic nt or fruit to evolve.''


    Luke became excited when he realised this and his gaze be fiery as he looked at the zombie.


    ''I can''t kill it. I need to follow it and find whatever helped it evolve.'' He decided, and the said to Lori and others, "You guys return to that building and stay alert. I''ll be back in a while."


    "Okay." Even though they didn''t understand why he wanted them to retreat, they obeyed his order and returned to the building.


    Lori, Julia and Rio had a confused expression on their faces as they looked at him and the zombie, which clearly seemed to be afraid of him.


    Since it was afraid of him, it meant Luke was stronger than it and could easily kill it.


    But...


    He wasn''t attacking and just standing there?


    Logically, he should be hurrying to finish it off so they could worth the risk.

 Chapter 39 Evolved plant

    Chapter 39 Evolved nt


    When Lori and the party had entered the building, Luke lightly waved the sword in hand and took a step forward.


    Grrr!


    Step! Step!


    The zombie growled in response and took two steps backwards, warily looking at him.


    Luke''s lips curled up into a grin when he noticed this and continued to take one step at a time.


    Each time he stepped toward the zombie, it would retreat a few steps. When they were around 50 meters apart from each other, Luke turned around and sauntered away.


    Grr!


    The zombie growled when it saw him retreat and wanted to attack. Although Luke looked carefree, he was ready for it.


    Fortunately for both of them, the zombie''s newly gained intelligence stopped it from attacking him. It could feel if it attacked, Luke would turn serious and when that happened, it would lose its life.


    face.


    Luke nced at him and smiled. "You can call me big brother from Step! Step! Step!


    Luke continued to walk, looking at ease, and quickly entered the building. He didn''t go to the room where Lori and others were but went upstairs and quickly checked all the floors.


    After that, he returned downstairs where Lori, Julia and others were looking at him with confused looks on their faces.


    "Sir, why didn''t you kill that monster?" Kean voiced out their confusion for them, a curious and puzzled expression on his baby face.


    Luke nced at him and smiled. "You can call me big brother from now on."


    "Yes, big brother." Little Kean nodded, a cheerful smile blooming on his face.


    Luke then nced at everyone and added, "I didn''t kill it because it has something which I need. So, I''m going to follow it and get that thing."


    Not giving them any chance to speak, he continued, "I''ve checked this building and there is no living zombie here. So, you should move upstairs so you can be out of the zombies'' detection range in case some pass by the building. Don''t make any noise, stay alert and wait for me. I''ll be back soon."


    Once he finished saying this, he nced out of the window and saw that the zombie had turned around and was walking away.


    "Take care. I''ll be back soon." He hurriedly waved them goodbye and rushed out of the window and followed the zombie while staying out of its detection range.


    After he followed it for over 10 minutes, he arrived at the end of the of the sector, near the tall city walls.


    Just a hundred meter away from the city walls was a garden, half the size of a football field. There was a small pond at in the centre.


    The strange thing was that almost all the ntation across the garden had withered as if something had sucked their vitality dry.


    Grr! Grr!


    The zombie entered the garden while letting out low growls, and walked over to the pond.


    ''Is it in the pond?'' Luke thought when he watched the zombie head toward the pond. He was feeling quite excited after he saw all the withered ntations here.


    Why?


    Because he knew his guess was correct and there was certainly a treasure, or, to be precise, an evolved nt here.


    After the advent of mana, all nts and vegetation would see a rapid growth, which would be obvious in just a day or two, but very few nts could evolve and the nts that could evolve within just a couple of hours after the mana appeared, were even rarer but simrly more precious.


    ''It seems my luck is quite good. I just hope this nt is usable by humans too. If not, that would be too sad.'' He thought.


    Humans couldn''t use all evolved nts that zombies and beast could because human physique is far inferior to theirs and couldn''t contain and digest all the nt''s or fruit''s potency or deal with their side effects.


    Humans realised this after many died upon consuming these fruits or nts, hoping to get a boost in their strength.


    When he remembered this, he couldn''t help but shudder, and his excitement dwindled by half.


    The zombie stopped a few meters away from the nt and crouched down as it looked down in front of it.


    Because Luke was over a hundred meters away and the withered vegetation blocked his view, he couldn''t see what the zombie was looking at.


    He changed his position and finally saw a small bush-like nt.


    It had finger-sized triangr shaped, orange colour leaves and there were quite a few berries, as big as a fingernail, hanging on its branches. Some were still green, some showed signs of turning orange, the same colour as the leaves, while a few were already orange.


    Suddenly, the zombie extended its hand and plucked one of the ripe berries and threw it in its mouth.


    ''Fuck!'' Luke didn''t keep hiding when he saw this and rushed toward the zombie at his fastest speed and his sword glowed with a faint light as he used [Mana enhancement] and infused 20 mana points into it.


    When he was 50 meters away, the zombie noticed him and immediately recognised him. It threw another berry which it had just picked into its mouth and stood up.


    GROWL!


    It growled angrily and lunged at Luke, its right hand wing at his head. Although it still felt some fear toward him, it couldn''t retreat now that he had intruded into its territory.


    Bang!


    Luke also jumped toward it, his sword shing ahead.


    ng!


    They met mid-air and the sharp zombie w and the glowing sword shed against each other, producing metallic sound as they crossed each other.


    Thud! Thud!


    Bothnded on their feet a few meters apart with their backs facing each other.


    Luke nced at his sword and noticed that the glow on it had dimmed by more than half. Although surprised, he wasn''t disappointed because,


    Psssh! Thud!


    He turned around and saw fountains of blood pouring out of the zombie''s right hand before half of it fell to the ground.


    GROWL!!


    As if it felt pain, it let out an anguished howl.


    Weng!


    Luke didn''t wait for it to recover. He hurriedly poured out hisst 20 units of mana into his sword, which made it glow brighter than before and rushed at the zombie, shing at its neck with all his might.

 Chapter 40 Are we going to die?

    Chapter 40 Are we going to die?


    ng!


    A metallic ng sounded because the zombie had reacted in time to raise its left hand before his neck protectively.


    Unfortunately for it¡­


    Psshh!


    Luke''s sword was currently enhanced by more than 20 mana points. So, it easily shed through its hand and then its neck.


    Thud! Thud!


    Its head remained attacked to the neck for a moment before it rolled down and fell to the ground along with half of its hand. Then the rest of its body swayed for a moment before it also fell down.


    Phew!


    Luke exhaled in relief and waited for the announcement, but there wasn''t any.


    So, he nced down at the zombie head and could see it wasn''tpletely dead yet. Its foggy eyes were ring at him with a venomous look.


    "How resilient!" He muttered before piercing his sword through the head,pletely killing it.


    Just as he did that, a globe of white light, over two timesrger than the level 8 zombie he killed a while ago, flew out of the zombie''s carcass and entered his body. Then the announcement followed.


    freely.]


    ''A first order zombie is indeed different from normal zombies. It [You gain first order, level 11 zombie''s soul power. +5 strength, +4 Health, +2 Stamina.]


    [You have reached level 9. You receive 2 status points to distribute freely.]


    ''A first order zombie is indeed different from normal zombies. It helped me reach level 9 and even gave 9 extra attribute points. Not bad!'' Luke nodded to himself, pleased.


    A few hours ago, he had killed several dozens of zombies, most of which were above level 4 and quite a few at level 6, 7 and 8. However, he could only level up twice and, apart from the status points rewarded at each level up, he didn''t get any attribute points.


    Now, however, he only killed a single zombie, although it took all he had, and he levelled up by 1 level and got so many attribute points. So, it was natural for him to be pleased.


    He then calmed down as thest attack reyed in his mind, "If it was a little stronger or faster, I may not have been able to kill it and with my mana emptied, it would''ve been I who died."


    He then opened his status screen and added the two free points to his agility.


    [Luke Greyson


    Level: 9


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 28 (25 +3) / Agility: 24 (22+2) / Health: 23 / Stamina: 23 (28) / Mana: (0) 40 / INT: 101


    Skill points: 2


    Status points: 0


    External active skills: Berserk Level 5 (First order), Mana amplification Level 3 (First order).


    Passive skills: Rapid steps Level 3 (First order), Basic weapon mastery (First order), Rapid Recovery Level 1 (First order)]


    Why agility and not stamina or mana which he relied on more?


    The answer was simple. After killing this zombie, his stamina had reached 28 points and although his mana didn''t increase, it was still sitting at 40 points, only second to his intelligence, which was 101.


    28 stamina and 40 mana were enough to face his current enemies, but his agility ¡ª which was lowest with 20 points, now 22 and with the added boost from his shoes, 24 ¡ª was not, if he didn''t use his [Berserk] skill.


    He closed the status screen and just as he wanted to move the zombie''s dead body to see what it dropped; he felt a wave of exhaustion and his vision became blurry.


    ''Huh? What''s happening?''


    For a moment, he was confused before remembering that he hadpletely exhausted his mana in those two attacks.


    ''I shouldn''t have¡­ used all¡­ of it.'' A bitter smile appeared on his face.


    Just a while ago, he had fainted because of the exhaustion of stamina and mana. He even preached Lori and others about not exhausting their stamina and manapletely, but here he was, doing exactly the same. He even wondered if the 101 intelligence points were there only for show?


    Of course, that wasn''t the case. The intelligence stat didn''t signify how intelligence/smart one was, but one''s affinity with mana, and it also helped in mastering and efficiently using mana skills.


    This was the reason he could improve his mastery over [Mana enhancement] skill after using a just a few times.


    Thud!


    Luke nced at the berry nt fifty or so meters away. For a moment, he was tempted to eat one of those berries. Perhaps it would restore his mana and he wouldn''t have to fall unconscious here. However, before he could even move his feet, his consciousness nked out, and he fell to the ground, right beside the zombie.


    A minute after Luke fell unconscious, a figure emerged out from the withered nts and walked over to his side.


    "Tsk! Tsk! You are really impressive to kill such a strong zombie in two attacks, aren''t you? I wonder if I would get your skill that you used to make your attacks stronger if I kill you now?"


    If Luke was awake and saw the man standing beside him, he would be surprised because this man was the same yellow clothed man, Derek''s subordinate, who he had ''killed'' in the food factory before saving Julia.


    The man stared at Luke for a while, his eyes gleaming.


    Eventually, he shook his head, and then kicked Luke in the gut, sending him flying a few meters away.


    "Since I don''t want to kill you, I can only kick you for revenge for almost killing me." He muttered before shifting his gaze to the zombie''s carcass.


    "Let''s see what this guy dropped. It should be something good since it was quite stronger and, unlike others, had some intelligence, too."


    With his leg, he moved the zombie''s carcass away to reveal an orange colour box, different from the usual red treasure boxes he was used to seeing.


    "An orange box?" His eyes shined as he picked it up. "It must have better things than what the red boxes have, right?"


    He was tempted to open it what was inside but stopped himself and stored it instead. He then walked over to the berry tree. "So he was after this tree, an evolved nt, huh? How did he know about this? Is he rted to the rulers, too?"


    His eyes flickered with a chilly light when he thought of this.


    ''If he is rted to the rulers and I save him, wouldn''t I be doing my people a big disservice?'' He thought as he plucked the small bush tree out of the ground and turned to walk away.


    But just as he was about to exit the garden, he stopped, turned around and walked over to Luke, lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder before walking away while muttering something under his breath.


    Something worthy to note was that as he walked through the streets and passed by some zombies, none of them seemed to notice him. Unlike everyone else who had to be on their toes at all times, he was basically strolling in his backyard.


    ---


    In the building where Lori and others were, Keen looked at his mother and said in a low voice, "Mom, I''m hungry."


    His mother looked at Rio when she heard Keen. Rio sighed and nced at Lori, wanting to ask if she had something to eat. But he hesitated.


    Lori, who had also heard Keen, took out a protein bar from her waist bag. She gave it to him and rubbed his head. "Eat this. After your big brother returns, we''ll go to our ce. You can eat your fill then, alright?"


    "Okay, aunty." Keen obediently nodded while Rio and his wife gave Lori a grateful look.


    Julia, who was sitting beside her mother, nudged her and asked, "Mom, do you have another?"


    She hadn''t eaten properly since morning and was naturally hungry, but didn''t say anything about it until now because she hadn''t seen any of them eat anything and thought they might have nothing to eat with them.


    However, when she saw her mother take out a protein bar, she couldn''t help but ask.


    Lori''s face fell when she heard this before shaking her head. "That was thest one." She now regretted not carrying a little more supplies when they came to save her.


    "Oh?" Julia was a little disappointed but when she saw her mother''s guilty expression, she smiled, "It''s alright, mom. I can eatter."


    "Big sis." Keen''s voice attracted their attention. He was holding out half of the protein bar toward Julia as he smiled brightly, "Here, big sis. Eat this."


    "No, it''s okay. You eat it." Julia felt warm in her heart, but just as she was about to extend her hand to rub his head, everyone''s expression changed into one filled with horror and despair because,


    Grrr! Grr!


    They heard zombie growls from downstairs and from what they could tell, there wasn''t a single zombie but several, and they seem to being up.


    If there was one, Lori and Rio might be able to handle it, and this was only if it was a low levelled zombie. But now there were severaling for them? How were they supposed to survive?


    "Are we going to die?" Rio''s wife muttered, her body trembling in fear.

 Chapter 41 Shadow

    Chapter 41 Shadow


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    When they were on the verge of passing out due to fear, suddenly, the sound of something falling sounded one after another.


    "What happened?" Lori frowned before suddenly a smile appeared on her face and she said, "It seems Luke is back."


    Phew!


    Everyone let out the breath they were holding until now.


    "I thought I was going to die even before zombies came up." Julia tried to smile while patting her chest with her trembling hands.


    Rio and his family also calmed down and nodded in agreement with Julia''s words.


    Step! Step! Step!


    The faint sound of footsteps sounded.


    When Lori heard this, a frown appeared on her face because she could tell this sound was unlike Luke''s footsteps.


    "Everyone, be alert! It''s not Luke." She hurriedly shouted.


    Just before everyone could react, a voice sounded, "Not bad! You are quite attentive to details."


    Following the voice, a man in a yellow t-shirt and ck joggers entered the room. He was carrying a small backpack on his back, and an unconscious Luke on his shoulder while in right had were two swords and a bush like nt was tied to his backpack''s strips.


    He was average looking, had short brown hair and gave a harmless vibe with a light smile hanging on his lips.


    When he arrived, Rio''s family and Julia immediately recognized him as one of Derek''s henchmen and this made their expression change for worse.


    The man in question looked at their expression and chuckled. "Rx. I''m not here to "Thank you for bringing him back." She thanked the man before asking, "What happened to him? And who are you?"


    hunt you down or anything.


    He then put Luke down in front of them before wiping droplets of sweat off his forehead.


    "Phew! This guy is surprisingly heavy." He chuckled and sat down in one corner, cing his backpack and other things beside him.


    Lori hurriedly went over to Luke and checked him. After seeing he had no physical energy and seemed to be sleeping, she sighed in relief.


    "Thank you for bringing him back." She thanked the man before asking, "What happened to him? And who are you?"


    The man fiddling with the berry tree nced at her and grinned. "You are wee. As for what happened to him, this guy was reckless and ended up exhausting himself to fight that intelligent zombie."


    Saying this, he nced at Julia and others before saying, "As for my identity, you can ask them. They know."


    "Mm?" Lori raised her brows and turned her gaze to the people beside her and saw them staring warily at the man.


    "Huh? You guys seemed to know him. Is he someone from the food factory?" She guessed.


    "Smart!" The man nodded. "I was one of Derek''s subordinates. The guy your leader killed to save your daughter."


    "I understand." Lori calmly nodded.


    Her eyes then narrowed at him and said, "You said ''was'' so I believe you are no longer part of that food factory gang. And from how you seem confident that we know about that intelligent zombie, you seemed to have been tailing us for quite a while, right?"


    "I would have thought you had some ill intention toward us, but seeing how you brought him back safely, that doesn''t seem to be the case. So, perhaps you want to join us?"


    The man looked a little surprised before nodding appreciatively,


    "No wonder this guy was willing to go against Derek to save your daughter. If someone like you was my subordinate, I would''ve done the same. And no. I don''t want to join you, at least not yet."


    "So, why are you here?" Julia asked. She didn''t like him at all because he was Derek''s henchmen.


    "Simple. I want to survive. Although I''m quite strong, I know I can''t survive alone. Especially when the zombies are bing powerful by the second."


    Julia red at him but didn''t say anything in response. Even though she wanted to kick him out right now, she couldn''t do that because he had saved Luke and them too by killing all the zombies downstairs. Of course, she wasn''t strong enough to kick him out if he insisted on staying.


    Lori nced at her daughter''s gloomy face and understood what she was feeling. Unfortunately, she couldn''t do anything about it and could only wait for Luke to wake up.


    "You didn''t tell us your name?" She asked.


    "You can call me shadow." He grinned.


    Lori raised her brows because he didn''t tell his name, but didn''t say anything about it.


    Soon, one hour passed, but Luke didn''t show any signs of waking up.


    "I think he has recovered enough. You can wake him up if you want." Shadow suggested.


    Hearing this, Rio and his wife nced at Lori. They wanted him to wake up as soon as possible so they could go to their residence and feed Keen because he was starving. Furthermore, the sun had already set, and it was getting darker by the moment.


    Lori shook her head. "No. Let him rest a little more. He is too exhausted after fighting all day."


    After that, the group continued to wait.


    Meanwhile, back at the house where Ben and others were¡­


    Alice had returned two hours ago. When she returned and Ben opened the door, he almost had a mini heart attack because of how horrifying she looked.


    Her face and hair were messy and stained with a greenish substance ¡ª zombie''s blood ¡ª she looked as if she hadn''t taken a bath for a year.


    Her clothes werepletely in tatters, and there were many bruises and scratches all over her body. Despite looking worse than a beggar, she had a big smile on her face, which somehow looked very creepy to Ben.


    When professor Nina saw her condition, she got worried about her because she thought she might get infected and turn into a zombie. Her worries only eased up when Alice told her she had already reached level 8, so there was no need to worry about getting infected.


    When Ben heard that she had reached level 8, his expression was worth watching.


    He was only a level 3 while she had already be level 8. As for Luke, Ben knew he would be at the same or even higher level than Alice when he returned. In the end, he could feel a little good by looking at professor Nina who still hadn''t evolved.


    Right now, all four, professor Nina, Ben, Alice and James, were sitting around a table, looking concerned. The reason for it was none other than Luke and Lori.


    "Ben, Alice, didn''t he say he will be back in an hour? It''s already night right now. Why hasn''t hee back?" Professor Nina asked anxiously.


    When two hours had passed and he didn''te back, she had started to feel worried and wanted to go out and look for him, which gave Ben a huge headache because he knew going out on their own meant certain death.


    So tried everything he could and finally managed to convince her not to do that. But as night approached, it was bing difficult for him to stop her. Thankfully, Alice came back in time and with her help, they were barely able to stop her.


    Alice had a frown on her beautiful face. When she returned from her ''adventure'' outside, she had expected Luke to take the chance to scold her for beingte and getting injured because he had told her to be in her top condition when he returned so they could directly head for the city walls and leave the city before nightfall. However, she found out that he hadn''t returned yet.


    She was angry at him for being irresponsible, but she also felt a little worried about his wellbeing. She knew he was strong, but there was no telling what would happen when you were out there.


    Just like a while ago, when she was fighting the zombies. Normal low levelled zombies had stopped being a challenge for her and this made her a little overconfident. But when two level 7 zombies appeared out of nowhere and attacked her, she was overwhelmed and almost lost her life.


    "Alice, we should go and find him. Maybe he is in some danger and needs our help. If it was any of you in that situation, I''m sure Luke would definitely go look for you guys," Professor Nina said.


    Alice looked at her and said, "Professor, it isn''t that I don''t want to go look for him. It is that if we go, we may lose our lives even before we find him. The zombies out there are bing stronger rapidly. I''m not confident to protect all of us if we face some of the stronger ones."


    "But¡­"


    Professor Nina wanted to say something but didn''t find the words. Just because she was worried about him, she couldn''t ask them to give their lives away, right?


    Alice nced at her, stood up and dered. "That''s why I''m going alone. You guy stay here and wait for me. If I don''te before morning, you can¡­ do as you see fit."

 Chapter 42 A Grateful Lori

    Chapter 42 A Grateful Lori


    Saying this, she stood up and walked toward the door. But just as she was about to open it,


    Knock! Knock!


    Someone knocked it softly from outside and a voice, which they were all too familiar with sounded,


    "Open the door, guys. It''s me."


    Hearing the voice, a smile appeared on professor Nina''s and Ben''s faces while James visibly rxed too. As for Alice, she also let out a breath of relief before an angry expression appeared on her face.


    She opened the door, turned around and went to her room, not wanting to talk to him.


    ¡­


    After they waited for a while more, Luke had regained his consciousness.


    He was confused at first because he was with Lori and others when he passed out in the garden near the city wall.


    After Lori told him everything, he understood what had happened.


    He was genuinely surprised to see Shadow because he had clearly pierced his sword through him when he fought him in the food factory. So, logically, he should be dead, but he was not.


    When he asked how he survived, Shadow only smiled in response.


    After hearing that he wanted to tag along with them without officially joining them, Luke was hesitant. It wasn''t only because Shadow was his enemy before, and could be a spy, but also because he only wanted those who obeyed him in his group.


    However, after they had a small private chat, he agreed to let him join.


    After that, they wasted no time and started their journey back.


    Although their group was now bigger with Rio''s family, Julia and Shadow. They arrived at their destination within half an hour, thanks to Shadow leading the way.


    Whenever they encountered a horde of zombies which they couldn''t avoid, Shadow would attract their attention to himself and lead them away, before returning to the group without a scratch.


    Everyone was in awe of his ''stealth'' skills, especially Keen, when he saw him walk by a presence from zombies at and above level 10. Although there were very few level 11 horde of zombies without them noticing.


    Of course, this diversion tactic didn''t always work, and they had to change their routes a few times too because his stealth skill had a limitation. It couldn''t hide his presence from zombies at and above level 10. Although there were very few level 11 zombies, only two, there were quite a few level 10 inparison.


    This made Luke reevaluate the zombies'' growth rate. It had been only 12 hours or so, but many had reached such a high level. It was too horrifying.


    Of course, if he knew the first 24 hours after the advent of mana were most beneficial for zombies, he wouldn''t be too surprised.


    But how could he know every single thing? The things he knew were general things which he came to know in his past life from the fellow ves or his master''s conversation with others.


    ¡­


    Luke stared at Alice''s back with a nk look before a bitter smile appeared on his face. It was only natural she was angry at him after his supposed trip of over 1 hour turned into multiple hours.


    Whoosh!


    Just then, Ben ran toward him and punch his shoulder, "Bastard! Why are you sote? Do you even know how worried professor Nina was for you? She wanted to go look for you, even though she knew she might die before she could find you. It was so difficult to stop her. I tell¡ª"


    Pow!


    His rant was cut short when a fistnded on his head.


    "Shut up and let them in." Professor Nina red at him. His words made her seem as if she was a little, unreasonably stubborn girl. So, she was both embarrassed and angry.


    "Hey, professor, don''t him me. My head is weak." Ben cried out as he rubbed his head and then moved out of the way to let Luke and others in.


    Luke nced at professor Nina, feeling apologetic. Just like he treated as her as a family member, she also did the same so he could imagine how worried she must be.


    After everyone entered the house, Lori introduced everyone to each other.


    Professor Nina immediately took a liking to the cute Keen and, when she heard him say he was hungry, she hurriedly led him to the kitchen and served him food.


    Luke watched this with a smile on his face. Ben walked over to him and whispered, "Hehe, are you feeling jealous that someone else is getting your dream woman''s attention, huh?"


    Luke turned his head toward him and looked at him as if he was an idiot.


    "You really don''t know what to say, huh? Can''t you see he is just a kid? Even I like him, let alone professor Nina, who loves kids a lot."


    "Tch! You don''t need to lie to me. I can see it on your face," Ben clicked his tongue, clearly not believing him.


    Luke didn''tment further on the topic, which made Ben stop talking about it.


    "By the way, ss prez went out to kill some zombies earlier and when she returned, she had reached level 8. What level are you?" He asked.


    "Level 9." Luke smiled.


    "Damn! You guys are really too much." Heined. He then grabbed Luke''s hand and looked at him with puppy eyes. "You have to help me raise my level, alright?"


    "Fuck, man. How many times I told you not to give me this look? It creeps me out." Luke cringed and pulled his hand out of his grasp.


    "Heh, I won''t if you promise to help me level up." Ben chuckled.


    "You want to level up, huh? Okay. I''ll help you tomorrow as we march toward the city wall." Luke said with a strange grin on his face.


    "Uh! What''s with that smile? What are you nning?" Ben flinched upon seeing his grin.


    "Nothing." Luke just smiled, making her nervous. He wasn''t nning anything, of course, but he found it fun to tease him.


    ¡­


    After they had dinner, everyone found a ce to sleep while Shadow kept watch.


    Although the house they were in was on a small street far from the main road, resulting in very few zombiese here, they still needed to watch out for them and finish them before they could attract more.


    That was why Luke decided that the strongest among the group, he, Alice and Shadow, would keep watch for three hours each. The first to keep watch was Shadow because he was the least exhausted of the three.


    When Luke went upstairs to his room, he was surprised to see Lori waiting there.


    "Why haven''t you gone to sleep yet?" He asked, walking toward her.


    "I thought I should prepare a hot bath for you to soak in and relieve your fatigue and I also wanted to thank you for saving my daughter. Just so you know, since you''ve saved her, I won''t renege on my promise." Lori said, a small rosy tint appearing on her cheek contours.


    "Is that so?" A smile appeared on Luke''s face when he heard this. His eyes roamed over her shapely body for a moment before he walked toward the bathroom, "Let me take afortable bath then."


    "Wait!" Lori called out when she saw he was about to close the bathroom''s door.


    "Yes?"


    "Mm? Luke¡­ do you need me to, um¡­ give you a massage while you soak in the bathtub?" Lori asked, feeling embarrassed.


    "Alright. Come in." Luke nodded and went in. By the time she came in, he was already in the bathtub, his head resting on the edge, eyes closed as he enjoyed the warm water.


    Creak~


    Lori stepped inside and closed the door. She had a white towel wrapped around her body that covered everything below her shoulders and above her voluptuous thighs. Her long ck hair was no longer tied in a ponytail but was open instead, falling down on her back like a beautiful waterfall. And her beautiful face had a rosy hue due to her being embarrassed.


    If Luke had bothered to open his eyes and look at her, he would have been mesmerised. Unfortunately, he didn''t.


    Lori slowly walked over and kneeled behind the bathtub. She felt a little disappointed because he didn''t turn to see her, but as soon as this thought appeared in her mind, she blushed, ''What am I thinking?''


    She then ced her soft hands on his shoulders and started to massage them slowly.


    "Ah! Your hands feel good." Luke couldn''t help but moan.


    "Thank you." Lori smiled and started putting more efforts on making him feel good.


    Earlier, when she saw him lying there, passed out. She felt very guilty because he had to give his all to save her daughter and keep them safe. It was then that she had decided to help him relieve his stress, regardless of how embarrassed she felt.


    A few minutester, she was done massaging his shoulders, back, and hands. She then stood up, leaned over him, and started moving her dainty hands over his chest.


    "Yeah! You are good, Lori. It''s feels good." Luke continued to groan infort.


    After a while, she bit her lower lip; her face turning an enchanting shade of pink. She then moved her hands downwards and froze upon touching something thick, long, and hot.

 Chapter 43 Bathing with Lori [1] (R-18)

    Chapter 43 Bathing with Lori [1] (R-18)


    Luke''s eyes snapped opened when he felt her soft hand touch his little dragon, which was already standing tall and hard thanks to her somewhat sensual massage.


    "L-Luke¡­ I¡­ I¡­" Lori''s face became red with embarrassment when she saw him looking up at her. She couldn''t even form a single coherent sentence.


    "Shh! Don''t talk and don''t feel embarrassed." Luke put his right forefinger on her velvety lips, stopping her from speaking. Although he wasn''t experienced in this stuff, he knew they shouldn''t talk now or they would only feel embarrassed.


    "Un." Lori let out a soft sound of acknowledgement, still blushing and looking charming.


    Luke''s heart throbbed when he saw her like. Before he knew his hands were holding her face, his face was only inch away from hers.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    Lori''s heart also started beating faster, making loud thumping sounds, which she believed Luke could hear. She then lowered her face, cing her lips on his.


    As soon as she did that, Luke''s lips moved, capturing hers, and he started kissing her passionately. Although it was his first time kissing a woman, he wasn''t too bad at it.


    Lori was a little clumsy at the start because she was very nervous, embarrassed, and hesitant. However, after a while, she let go of all her inhibitions and started responding with equal passion, matching his energy. This made their kisses even more passionate and pleasurable.


    Luke seemed to have be addicted to the taste of her delicious, soft lips. He forgot everything and immersed himself into savouring them for several minutes. However,


    "Ha~ Luke~ Let me~ Breathe~,"


    Lori''s intermittent and breathless voice broke his immersion. Although dissatisfied and reluctant, he broke the kiss and let go of her head so she could freely breathe.


    Ha~ Huff~


    Lori heaved deeply, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen.


    "Are you alright?" Luke asked.


    After taking a few more deep breaths, she looked at him with a ming look in her eyes and pouted her lips. "I am now. But a moment ago, I thought I was about to die." She then asked, moving her gaze away from him, "You¡­ did you like it that much?"


    Luke smiled wryly at her response. He really couldn''t control himself just now. Well¡­ what can you expect a virgin of two lives to do when he finally got a taste of that heavenly pleasure?


    Oh wait, that wasn''t the ultimate pleasure. It was just a normal but rather passionate kiss. Because he was so focused on savouring her lips that he even forgot to have a battle of tongues with her.


    ''Yeah. I heard that is more pleasurable and sexier than a normal kiss.''


    Thinking this, his gaze became heated as he nodded, "Yeah. I loved it. But there are still a lot of other things that I''m going to love today."


    Saying this, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathtub.


    "Kya~,"


    Lori cried out as she fell onto him, her back pressed against his chest and her bubbly ass resting on his crotch. She could feel his bulging rod pressing against her ass crack. If there wasn''t a towel between them, maybe it would''ve entered inside her sacred cave by now.


    "L-Luke¡­ I¡­"


    She turned her head around to look at him, but before she could say anything, Luke captured her lips in his and started kissing again.


    After a short while, he shifted his focus from her lips to her juicy tongue that was hidden somewhere in her little mouth. As his tongue pried open her mouth and slithered inside, it quickly found its beloved, who weed it with passion.


    In the next moment, they were intertwined, kissing, caressing and greedily sucking each other''s nectar.


    ''It''s really a lot better than just kissing her lips.'' Luke thought as he found himself falling in love with the taste of her tongue.


    Mm~ Slurp~ Slurp~


    Both Luke and Lori were like hungry predators as they basically devoured each other, making wet slurping sounds.


    Initially, Lori waspeting with him on equal footing, but as time passed and Luke got the hang of things, hepletely dominated her. After futilely trying for a few times, Lori gave up and focused on enjoying his wet kisses.


    despite her insecurities.


    Slurp~ Slurp~


    Although it was a little difficult for her to handle his enthusiasm, she embraced it.


    At an age where a woman had the highest sexual drive, she had her needs, but after her husband''s death a few years ago; she hadn''t received a man''s affection and love. Now that she was finally with a man who desired her so much, she was thrilled despite her insecurities.


    Slurp~ Slurp~


    Unlikest time, Luke didn''tpletely lose himself in pleasure. While enjoying her delicious lips and juicy tongue, he moved his free hands and untied the towel covering her body and threw it away.


    Whoosh!


    As Lori''s round, big, and full breasts were released from the towel''s confines, they bounced to celebrate their freedom, creating an extremely tempting scene.


    Luke felt his cock harden even more when he saw them. Those small pink buds tempted him to pinch, kiss, and suck on them.


    As the towel was no longer covering her body, Lori felt exposed and wanted to cover her melons, but Luke didn''t give her a chance.


    He grabbed onto those two fluffy balloons and started kneading them, feeling their softness. Oh man, what a great feeling it was!


    ''No wonder that horny bastard kept finding women to y with. It''s just so much pleasurable.'' Luke thought.


    In his past life, his ''master'' would daily indulge himself into carnal pleasure. Whenever he saw some beautiful woman who wasn''t an evolver or a lot weaker than him, he would always bring her to his abode and would fuck her until he was satisfied.


    Um~ Mm~


    As Luke yed with her breasts and caressed and pinched her pink nipples, Lori would moan in pleasure, as if begging for more. How could Luke not fulfil her wish?

 Chapter 44 Bathing with Lori [2] (R-18)

    Chapter 44 Bathing with Lori [2] (R-18)


    He used a little more force because he could feel she liked it more when he was a little rough with her milkers and started kneading them into different shapes while paying equal attention to her nipples. He caressed, pinched and flicked them non-stop, making her let out muffled moans in his mouth.


    After a while, he broke their steamy kiss and started caressing her cheek and neck with his lips.


    Ahn~


    Feeling the tickling sensation on her neck, Lori moaned, her chest raised as she did.


    Luke, who was barely holding himself back from sticking his bulging rod inside her wet cave, almost lost his mind when he heard her sensual moan.


    His grasp on her breasts tightened by a few folds, and he bit onto her sexy cor bone, causing her to cry out in pain.


    "Luke¡­ you can¡­ put in it if you can''t hold back. I¡­ I''m already wet." Lori whispered, looking away from him out of embarrassment.


    "Alright."


    Luke nodded and helped her stand up.


    "Bend down and grab the bathtub''s edge." He said as he stood behind her, stroking his thick, 9 inch long, veiny shaft.


    "Mm." Lori obediently nodded and bent down, sticking her round, bubbly ass out toward him in an inviting manner.


    "You are so hot, Lori." He groaned and quickly positioned his cock at her entrance.


    "Thank you~." Loir cooed, and when she felt his hot thing touch her wetbia, she felt shivers all over her body.


    Luke rubbed the tip on her entrance before slowly pushing it inside.


    Argh~ Ahn~


    Both of them moaned simultaneously as his thick tip slipped past her vaginal folds and entered her tight cave. Yes, it was tight. Even though he didn''t know how tight a virgin''s vagina was, he felt it shouldn''t be any tighter than hers.


    For a moment he even thought if she was a virgin, but that wasn''t possible since she one go. But she wanted him to be more gentle? Was it possible? Furthermore, he had only put the tip inside her right now. What would she say when he was balls deep had given birth to a daughter.


    "Mm~ Be gentle Luke." She moaned, feeling his thick monster rip her insides apart.


    ''Am I already not gentle enough?'' Luke raised his brows.


    He was too horny to be gentle right now, but he was still not rushing to thrust it in one go. But she wanted him to be more gentle? Was it possible? Furthermore, he had only put the tip inside her right now. What would she say when he was balls deep inside her?


    "I''m being as gently as possible. It''s just that you are too tight." He said, grabbing her springy ass and slowly began pushing his hips forward.


    "Ahn~ It''sing~ It''s too big~,"


    Lori moaned as her vaginal folds tightened around his shaft as if trying to stop it from entering deeper.


    "Argh! This feels amazing!" Luke groaned in pleasure. The feeling of her tight, soft, and wet insides was too amazing, too addictive.


    He continued to move his hips forward and pushed his cock deeper.


    Ahhhh~!


    When half of it was inside her delicious cave, Lori let out a loud moan, which seemed more like a cry of pain rather than a moan of pleasure. At the same time, the pressure of his shaft increased several folds. It was as if she was trying to crush the intruder into meat paste.


    He stopped moving, leaned over her and started stimting her nipples with one hand while his other hand went over to her cave and started rubbing her clit to make her feel better.


    He then whispered, "Lori, loosen your body. Don''t be so stiff."


    "Ah~ I want to but~ It''s too big. It feels as if it is ripping my insides apart." Sheined while gritting her teeth to endure the pain.


    She then added, "Ha~ Give me some time, don''t move please~ I can''t handle it."


    "Okay." Luke nodded. He had an unnatural expression on his face.


    Weren''t the married women supposed to have aparatively loose vaginapared to virgin and young girls? Just how long had it been since shest had sex?


    ---


    Meanwhile, in the room opposite to Luke''s, Julia was sleeping peacefully when suddenly,


    Ahhhh~!


    She heard a cry of pain, which startled her awake.


    "What happened? Are zombies attacking?" She muttered. However, there wasn''t any disturbance on the ground floor and everything seemed calm. Then who was screaming?


    Feeling confused, she nced at her side where her mom was or was supposed to be, but she wasn''t there.


    "Where is mom?" She thought, but then a wave of drowsiness hit her and she closed her eyes while muttering, "Maybe she went to drink some water."


    ---


    After a while, the pain subsided and her inner walls adjusted to his size. She then said, "You can move now, but please be gentle."


    "Alright." Luke nodded and started pushing his cock further in. Lori still flinched, but there was less pain and more pleasure this time.


    When he was 7 inches deep, he stopped pushing deeper because he wasn''t able to control himself. So, he deciding to move.


    Slowly, he pulled out until there was only 1 or 2 inches left inside her tight canal, and then slowly pushed back in.


    Argh! Ahng~


    Both moaned in pleasure.


    Slowly and gently, he started increasing his speed and his veiny cock started to slide in and out of her cunt faster, giving them more pleasure.


    Pat! Pat! Pat!


    Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!


    As his speed increased, his thighs started to p against hers while her pussy made erotic squelching sounds.


    Every time his cock went in and out, waves of pleasure would hit his pleasure nerves, making him moan in ecstasy. To feel more pleasure, he started moving deeper and faster.


    "Ahn~ Yes~ This feels good~"


    Lori was feeling as much as or probably even more pleasure than Luke as her eyes were rolling up and her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, creating a vey lewd image.


    Pat! Pat! Pat!


    Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!


    Ha~ Mm~ Ahn~ Oh~


    After a while, the bathroom was filled with the sounds of the flesh pping against each other and Lori''s pleasure filled moans.

 Chapter 45 Leaving the city

    Chapter 45 Leaving the city


    After two hours, Lori left Luke''s room, limping slightly as she walked.


    She slowly opened the door of her room, careful not to make any noise lest she wake Julia up. She then tiptoed over to the bed andy down. Staring at the ceiling with a slightly dazed expression as she recalled the memories of thest two hours.


    ''It was incredible.'' She thought.


    Right now, her face had an enchanting rosy color as a happy and satisfied smile hung at the corner of her slightly swollen lips.


    After a while of relishing those sweet moments, she fell asleep.


    Meanwhile, in his room, Luke was sitting on his bed with a grin on his face.


    ''Heh, I''ve finally graduated from being a virgin and how amazing it was.'' He thought, bing excited once again.


    ''I wonder how would much those guys would envy me if they knew.'' As this thought crossed his mind, a frown appeared on his face.


    ''They must be hiding somewhere and trying to survive right now, right?''


    In his past life, he knew quite a few people who were in a simr situation to him. Although he didn''t get along with most, there were still a few who he was friends with and they helped him quite a lot.


    ''I hope I can encounter them again so they wouldn''t have to live a life of a ve this time too.'' He thought.


    Although he knew where they would be right now because in their free time, they used to reminisce about the past and talk about their family, friends, the ce they used to live in, etc. He couldn''t go there yet since the situation in those cities would be the same as this one.


    ''I need to be stronger quickly,'' He thought. Only after he became stronger could he find his friends, resist the Rulers, and reunite with his family.


    After a while, he flopped onto the bed and fell asleep.


    ---


    Knock! Knock!


    After sleeping for four hours, he woke up from the knock on his door. Still feeling groggy, he stumbled out of his bed and walked over to the door before opening it.


    Alice was standing there, looking at him with a cold expression on her face.


    "Is it my time to keep watch already?" He asked as he yawned.


    Alice didn''t answer, just turned around and left.


    "She is still salty about me beingte, huh?" Luke muttered. Then, shrugging his shoulders, he went in the bathroom, washed his face and went out of his room.


    In the living room, Rio''s family, James and Shadow, were sleeping in their makeshift beds. Alice had already entered her room while Ben was in another room, sleeping.


    He nced at them, drank some water in the kitchen and went out of the house. There were a dozen or so zombie corpses scattered across the ground a few meters away from the house. Alice and Shadow must have killed them while they were keeping watch because they weren''t here before.


    For the next three hours, Luke sat outside the house, looking out for zombies. There were some that came toward the house, one or two at a time, but he killed them before they reached the house and made any noise.


    By the time he was done with his watch duty, the darkness had receded and the sun was about to rise in the east.


    Creak!


    The door opened, and Shadow walked out, yawning. He sat beside Luke, nced at the zombie corpses and asked, "What''s your n? I heard you want to leave the city from the city walls? Is that true?"


    "Yes." Luke nodded in confirmation. "We''ll leave after breakfast."


    Shadow stared at him for a while before saying, "You realize we might face even more danger after crossing the city wall, right?"


    "Oh?" Luke looked at him in surprise because he seemed to know about animal evolving into beasts, but after recalling that he belonged to the Rulers'' underling''s camp, and his other identity, his surprised waned.


    He then looked at the clear sky and sighed, "I do, but we don''t have a choice."


    "How so?" Shadow asked. He was curious about his reasoning.


    "You see, at least 90% if not more city''s poption must have turned into those things already and the rate of their growth is far too rapid, to say the least. You saw that zombie I killed yesterday, right?"


    After a pause, Luke continued, "It had already reached level 11 and had be a first order zombie. You must have guessed it, right? After bing first order beings, they are no longer mindless that only act based on instinct but have gained intelligence. As for how difficult an intelligent being ¡ª no matter how low its intelligence is¡ªis to deal with, I think I don''t need to tell you."


    "If we don''t leave through the city wall and try to leave from the main exit, we''ll face dozens of them, which in other words is certain death for us based on our current strength. So, we''ll have to take a chance."


    "I understand." Shadow nodded.


    ---


    After everyone woke up and had breakfast, they packed some food that couldst them a week if eaten in moderation and walked out of the house, heading for the wall.


    As Luke walked in front of the group, he was looking at a handful of orange berries, deep in thought.


    "Aren''t you going to eat them?" Shadow, who was walking on his right side, asked. Alice, on his left side, also looked at him. He had been cradling these barriers in his hand since morning. Although she was curious, she didn''t ask.


    "You want to try one?" Luke asked, grinning at him.


    Shadow looked at him with a deadpanned expression in response. Since Luke hadn''t eaten them until now, he knew there must be something wrong with them and he wasn''t willing to be his guinea pig.


    "I''m joking." Luke chuckled and then said, "I believe these berries helped that zombie evolve to first order so quickly. But I''m not sure if they are beneficial or poisonous to humans."


    Shadow shuddered when he heard this. Just now, if he had eaten it just now out of curiosity and they turned out to be poisonous¡­ just thinking about it sent chills run down his spine.

 Chapter 46 Leaving the city [2]

    Chapter 46 Leaving the city [2]


    Luke then turned to look at the group behind him and said, "Remember not to eat anything in the wild, no matter how hungry you are. The chances are high that you''ll die if you do, understand?"


    "Yes, sir." Rio and others nodded seriously.


    "Good. Now¡­" Luke nced at professor Nina, Rio and Julia, and said, "Prepare yourselves. You''ll need to fight and kill zombies in a while."


    "Um, Sir Luke, can I have a sword? I can''t use this iron bar efficiently." Julia asked, lifting the iron bar in her hand.


    "That''s right, Sir Luke," Rio nodded in agreement. He cast a brief nce at the iron bar he held. While it was true that he possessed the strength to crush a normal zombie''s skull with it, wielding a sword would undoubtedly be far more efficient as it would allow him to swiftly slice through a zombie''s neck, killing it.


    "Luke¡­ I don''t have a weapon." Professor Nina softly chimed it.


    Luke nced at the trio and then Lori, Alice, and Shadow. None of them were carrying any extra sword.


    Sighing, he turned to Lori and asked, "How much mana do you have?"


    Since there weren''t extra weapons for professor Nina and others, the only option was to open the treasure boxes that were sitting in their backpacks.


    However, the problem here was, he, Alice and Shadow couldn''t open them since opening treasure boxes consumed mana and they couldn''t afford to do it because they needed to save it in case they encountered a strong zombie, who they couldn''t kill without activating their spells. If they wasted their mana on treasure boxes and then encountered a strong zombie, things might be ugly for the group.


    So, the only one who could afford to use their mana on the treasure boxes was Lori, since she currently didn''t have any skills that needed mana to activate them. In fact, she didn''t have any skills at all.


    ''Hopefully some zombie would drop a skill suitable for her before we leave the city.'' Luke thought.


    "25."


    Lori''s voice brought him out of his thoughts.


    He looked at her in surprise and asked, "How much did you say? 25?"


    "Yes." Lori nodded, smiling. "My other stats are just average, below 10, but for some reason my mana is so high, almost three times more than others." She wanted to tell him about it yesterday, but didn''t get the chance.


    "That''s¡­ great." Luke smiled, "You can be a healer or a mage type warrior with such high mana."


    He then took out 10 treasure boxes, handed them over to her. "Open these up."


    "How do I do it?" Lori asked.


    "Put your hand over them and just think about opening them."


    "Okay."


    Whoosh!


    As Lori put her hand over three boxes, light shed, the boxes disappeared, and two green gems appeared. They were mana gems.


    "Continue." Luke ordered, disappointed.


    Lori obeyed and in just a few seconds, she had opened all ten boxes.


    From the remaining seven boxes, they got two stamina gems, a pair of level 3 velocity boots and two level 3 swords.


    Luke gave the stamina gems to Kean and his mother so they could use them when they feel tired. Although one stamina gem each wasn''t too much, it was still better than nothing. As for two mana gems, he pocketed them.


    After giving the velocity boots and a sword to Julia and thest sword to Rio, Juke took out another five treasure boxes and handed them over to Lori, who dly opened them. She was happy to be of use to the group, or rather, to Luke.


    This time, they got a sword, an iron bar, and another stamina gem. Since the iron bar was of no use, Luke threw it away, gave the sword to professor Nina along with the stamina gem.


    "Should I open a few more? It would be good if we can get some more stamina gems." Lori asked, seeing that Julia didn''t get any stamina gem.


    "No." Luke shook his head. "You only have 10 mana remaining. Exhausted more of it may negatively affect you."


    "But¡­"


    "You can open more after you recover some," Luke said, interrupting her.


    "I understand." Lori nodded upon hearing this.


    "Alright. Let''s go," Luke ordered as they marched toward the city wall.


    But they had just left the street and approached the main road when they encountered arge horde of zombies. There were at least a thousand of them in the horde.


    Everyone felt chills run down their spine upon seeing them. Fortunately, the group was out of their detection range.


    "I''ll lead them away." Shadow spoke up.


    Luke nced at the horde before saying in a grave tone, "There might be some level 10 or even first order zombies among them."


    "Don''t worry. If there are, I''ll run away." Shadow chuckled and ran toward the horde.


    As they watched him enter the horde without any zombie noticing, Rio nced at Luke and said,


    "Sir Luke, although I don''t know why you allowed him to join us, but we should be careful of him and shouldn''t rely on him too much. I''m sure he won''t hesitate to desert us, just as he said if something went wrong or it benefits him."


    "Yes, Sir Luke. I agree with uncle Rio." Julia chimed in. She didn''t have a good opinion of Shadow for the reason none other than that he was Derek''s subordinate who almost defiled her.


    Luke didn''t immediately respond and continued to watch Shadow weave through the horde with light steps. He then nodded. "I understand your concerns. But¡­"


    He nced at the duo, his voice getting slightly colder as he continued.


    "Since I''ve epted him into the group, he is one of us now. Unless he betrays us, I don''t want to hear any of youin or talk behind his back. If you hate him, that''s your problem, but don''t bring that negatively into the group. Am I clear?"

 Chapter 47 Leaving the city [3]

    Chapter 47 Leaving the city [3]


    Seeing that he had be angry, Rio and Julia lowered their heads and nodded, "Yes, sir."


    Grrr! Growl!


    Just then, the zombie horde started moving, growling as it did.


    BANG!


    A loud bang resounded from the front of the group, causing Max and Alice to narrow their eyes.


    "He seems to have encountered a level 10 or above zombie or he wouldn''t have engaged in a fight." Alicemented and then asked, "Should we go and help out?"


    Just as she said this, professor Nina and others looked at Luke in worry. They wanted to advise against it because it was sure death if they fought against the horde.


    Luke thought for a brief moment before he tightened his grasp on his sword and nodded. "Let''s go."


    "Luke¡­" Professor Nina stepped forward when she heard this, wanting to stop them, but just then¡­


    They saw Shadow limping out of the zombie horde that was still moving away, ignoring him. He was cradling his gut with a painful expression, and there were bloodstains at the corner of his lips.


    Whoosh!


    Luke rushed to help him and asked, "What happened?"


    "There was a zombie the same as the one you killed yesterday, the first order zombie. As soon as I arrived in its vicinity, it noticed me and attacked." Shadow exined, putting his hand around Luke''s shoulder for support and grimaced:


    "It was too strong. I couldn''t take even a single punch."


    Luke nodded. Of course, a first order being was strong. He then asked, "What about the zombie? It didn''t chase you?"


    Hearing this, a smirk appeared on Shadow''s pale face, "When it punched me away, I hid amongst other zombie and quickly moved out of its perception range. It must be still searching for me."


    "It doesn''t make sense." Julia narrowed her eyes and said, "Since you caused amotion there, the other zombies must have noticed you, too. How did you manage to hide amongst them?"


    Thinking something, she nced at Luke and said meekly, "Of course, I''m not doubting you. I''m just curious."


    Shadow nced at Luke and then Julia before saying, "Although my concealment ability is pretty much useless against the level 10 or stronger zombies. Those below level ten won''t notice me as long as I don''t touch them directly or cause abination that is impossible to ignore. You must have seen it when I led you herest night?"


    Julia looked at him for a moment before reluctantly nodding.


    Shadow shook his head and looked at Luke. "It seems they don''t believe me, huh?"


    "Can you me them?" Luke asked.


    "You are right. Well, it doesn''t matter much as long as you, the group leader, believe me." Shadow chuckled and then said, "We should quickly leave this area in case the first order zombie leads the horde here."


    "Can you walk without support?" Luke asked.


    "Yeah. Don''t worry."


    "Alright. Let''s go guys." Luke announced.


    The group departed and headed toward the construction area. Luke nned to leave from the wall near the garden since there weren''t many zombies in that area.


    ---


    They avoided most zombies on the way to the construction area. But they couldn''t avoid the zombies on the way to the garden because there was only one road that led there.


    Fortunately, there were only a hundred or so from what Luke had seenst night.


    He turned to professor Nina, and others, as he pointed at the group of five zombies in front of them, "It''s time, guys. Kill them and evolve."


    He then nced at Lori. "Lori, you join them too. You need to level up and gain some fighting experience."


    Gulp!


    Professor Nina and Julia gulped when they saw the zombie trudging toward them and felt their resolve weakening.


    "L-Luke, I¡­ I don''t think we are ready yet," Professor Nina said, her body trembling in nervousness and fear. Julia had the same reaction.


    Before Luke could say anything, Lori red at the duo and coldly said.


    "What? You guys want to stay weak and be protected at all times? Is that really what you want?"


    "N-No. I want to be strong too, but¡­" Professor Nina said, gripping the sword in her hand tightly.


    She didn''tplete her sentence and Julia didn''t speak up at all, but everyone could see they were afraid.


    Luke sighed and nced at Alice. "Alice, kill one of them and stop the others for a while."


    Alice nced at him and nodded before immediately intercepting the group of five zombies.


    Shing~!


    Her sword swept out in a one fluid motion, severing a zombie''s head from its neck.


    She then kicked the rest of the zombies back.


    Luke walked over to the trembling professor Nina and pulled her into his embrace, gently caressing her back as he said,


    "Don''t be afraid, professor. I''m always here for you. I won''t let anything happen to you. You believe me, right?"


    Feeling his warm embrace, professor Nina calmed gradually calmed down and nodded, "Un. I believe you."


    "You want to be stronger like me and help me, right?" Luke asked again, his voice very soft.


    Hearing this, professor Nina''s eyes shed with determination as she nodded and spoke in a firm tone, "Yes."


    She didn''t want to feel helpless like she had yesterday when he didn''t return. She wanted to go look for him, but was also afraid that she would die since she was too weak to fight even the weakest zombie.


    At that time, she kept thinking, ''only if I was as strong as Luke or Alice'' and ''I need to be stronger.''


    Now, after she calmed down, she had regained her will.


    "Good." Luke smiled, sensing the change. He then pulled away, breaking the hug, and smiled. "Now, go and kill one of them."


    Professor Nina nodded and slowly walked toward the zombies that were being manhandled by Alice.


    Luke then nced at Rio, who, although a little nervous, wasn''t afraid like thedies. He nodded at Luke and followed professor Nina.


    Luke then nced at Julia. He didn''t know how he should motivate her, so he nced at Lori, who nodded.


    However, before she could say anything to her, Julia took a deep breath, walked over to Luke, hugged him and grumbled, "I should also get a hug."


    She then walked toward the zombies, leaving both Luke and Lori stunned.

 Chapter 48 Leaving the city [4]

    Chapter 48 Leaving the city [4]


    The duo exchanged a nce but decided not toment on it.


    Shadow, however, grinned at Luke as he nced at Julia and then at Lori. "You sure have some charisma, group leader."


    Lori, who noticed his meaningful gaze, frowned, and then suddenly her eyes widened.


    ''He¡­ heard usst night?''


    As she realized this, she couldn''t help but blush and feel worry at the same time.


    ''Who else heard us? Alice? Professor Nina? Or did Julia also¡­ no, no.'' She became frantic and cursed herself for not keeping her voice down but,


    ''How could I have? He was so forceful and so¡­ good.''


    She gave Luke a bitter look and scurried over to Alice''s side to kill the zombie.


    Luke watched her run away and then turned to Shadow. "You heard us?"


    "With how noisy you guys were, everyone must have heard you. Especially that cold beauty, Alice. I''m sure she heard you guys or she wouldn''t have been so salty with you." Shadow chuckled. It seemed he was having fun teasing him.


    Luke looked at Alice. Indeed, she wasn''t behaving normally around him, but he thought it was because she was angry at him for not keeping his word and worrying everyone. However, it seemed histe-night escapades with Lori also contributed.


    Suddenly, he nced at professor Nina, and his expression changed as he cursed in his mind, ''Fuck!''


    Shadow noticed him looking at professor Nina and shook his head, "I don''t think she or Julia heard you guys because there is no change in their behavior."


    "Aren''t you an observant fellow?" Luke snorted sullenly. Although he knew he didn''t do anything wrong, he didn''t want everyone to know about it, but it seems he had advertised it already.


    ''At least professor Nina doesn''t know.'' He thought, feeling relieved.


    Just as Ben had said, she was his crush, even though he didn''t have the courage to confess to her. So, he didn''t want her to know about it in case she started to view him as a perverted guy.


    ''I''ll need to be careful from now on.''


    Shadow chuckled, "It''s necessary to be observant."


    "Alright. Now you watch over Kean and his mother. I''ll make sure those four don''t get hurt." Luke said and moved over to Alice''s side and looked at Rio and others.


    "Are you guys ready?"


    "Yes." The squad nodded, gripping their sword even more tightly. Luke could see only Rio and Lori were in the right mindset, while Professor Nina and Julia were very nervous.


    Sighing, he nced at Alice. "Spread these zombies apart so they can fight them one on one."


    Alice nodded and then kicked the four zombies in their gut, sending them flying in different directions.


    "Go. Choose one and kill it. Be careful so you won''t get bitten or grazed by their sharp ws." Luke ordered the squad.


    "Yes." Lori was the first to charge at a zombie on the side. Then next was Rio.


    Lori didn''t face the zombie directly, but focused on moving around it and whenever she got a chance, she would sh at it, drawing the greenish blood.


    Of course, this method was excruciatingly slow and almost useless, since the zombie wouldn''t be weakened by bleeding. However, it also had its own benefits. She wouldn''t be at the risk of getting injured, would gain some fighting experience, and her fear of zombie would decrease.


    Rio, on the other hand was more forceful with his approach. He went up the zombie directly, which prompted it to lunge at him and w at his head.


    Rio, however, didn''t flinch. Just when the zombie''s ws were about to connect to his head, he tilted his body sideways, narrowly dodging it. Right after, he raised his leg and kicked it in the gut, sending it stumbling backwards.


    Taking this opportunity when the zombie was off bnce, he closed the distance, raised his sword, and swung it at its neck.


    Kacha!


    The sword went through the zombie''s neck cleanly, killing it immediately.


    (A/N: If you are wondering why the normal zombie can be killed just by severing their necks but the high leveled zombies need their heads to be stabbed, it''s because the life force of high leveled zombies is more tenacious than normal zombies who immediately dies upon getting their necks severed.)


    Thud!


    The dead zombie swayed and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Immediately, a globe of white light flew out of the dead body and entered Rio''s body and then he heard the evolution announcement.


    Bang! Bang!


    Luke kicked away the two zombies that were charging back toward them because professor Nina and Julia had frozen up when it was their time to engage.


    Luke pointed at Rio and spoke to them. "See, it''s not too difficult. They are just low-level zombies and doesn''t know how to fight. Go, kill them."


    Ha~!


    Julia took a deep breath and ran toward one of the two remaining zombies.


    Seeing this, Luke nced at Alice, who understood what he wanted without him saying it, and followed her.


    "Professor, you¡ª" Just as he started to say something to encourage her, she also took a deep breath and ran toward thest zombie.


    As he watched her trembling but determined figure move toward the zombie, a smile appeared on his face. It was imperative that she became an evolver, as only that could ensure her true safety.


    He then followed her to ensure she was safe. If she couldn''t kill it or was in danger, he would step in.


    However, it seemed he had underestimated professor Nina quite a lot.


    She used the same method as Rio and approached the zombie directly. However, unlike him, she didn''t wait for it to attack her and moved closer to it instead.


    Grrr!


    The zombie growled when he saw her appear less than two feet away from it and lunged at her, biting toward her neck while its hands moved to grab her body.


    This gave Luke a fright, and he hurried to step in. However, before he could,


    Kacha~!


    A crisp sound of bones and flesh being torn apart entered his ears.

 Chapter 49 Leaving the city [5]

    Chapter 49 Leaving the city [5]


    Luke''s eyes widened in horror.


    ''She is still not level 5. She will be¡­ infected.''


    As this thought appeared in his mind, his heart shuddered, and the ck rune representing [Berserk] flickered. A faint ck light silently appeared around him and his eyes started turning red. He seemed to have lost his reasoning at this moment, appeared even more ferocious than the mindless zombies.


    If he wasn''t this agitated and looked carefully, he would''ve seen a sword sticking out from the top of the zombie''s head while professor Nina firmly held the hilt under its chin.


    Whoosh!


    He appeared beside professor Nina and,


    Bang!


    Punched the zombie in the face, making its head explode. Along with its head, the sword inside it also shattered into pieces.


    "Professor, are you¡ª"


    He turned to look at professor Nina with a look of worry and guilt, but suddenly, he paused mid-sentence and his mind cleared because even though he had ''killed'' the zombie, he didn''t hear the kill announcement.


    What did it mean?


    It meant that the zombie was already dead when he blew up its head.


    Besides, now that his mind had cleared up, he could see apart from the zombie''s blood that had sshed onto her thanks to him, she didn''t have any visible injury.


    "Professor¡­ you killed it?" He asked, surprised. The ck light and red color from his eyes had vanished the moment his mind cleared.


    Professor Nina released her grip on the broken sword and pushed the zombie away, making it fall to the ground.


    Thud!


    She then turned around to look at Luke and her lips curled into a smile, "I-I did it. I¡­ killed it." Her voice broke even as she announced her victory.


    "Yeah. You did it." Luke nodded, also smiling. He then put his arm around her shoulders to support her because she seemed as if she would copse any moment now.


    Just as he expected, her body swayed. If not for his support, she would''ve fallen to the group.


    "Are you feeling lightheaded, professor?" He asked, looking at her face that had turned paler and her blurry eyes.


    "Y-Yeah. Give me a minute." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.


    Luke smiled, "It''s alright, professor. Take your time."


    He then turned to look at Lori and Julia, who were still fighting their respective zombies.


    The zombie Lori was fighting had gained many small injuries all over its body but they did nothing to slow it down as it rushed at Lori with ferocity every time but she dodged it each time, maintain a safe distance from it. Although it was taking her time, there was an excited expression on her face.


    As for Julia, she was as nervous and fearful as professor Nina was and her movements were too sluggish. If it wasn''t for Alice being there to protect her, she would''ve be the zombie food by now.


    Luke sighed, but he couldn''t me her. She was, after all, a sheltered, tender girl who devoted almost all her life to her studies and nothing else. How could he expect her to suddenly be able to fight these monstrosities? It was already good that she hadn''t fainted and was still trying to fight it.


    "Sss~!"


    Suddenly, professor Nina winced in pain, prompting Luke to ask, "What is it, professor? Are you injured somewhere?" He was worried that she had gotten some hidden injury.


    Professor Nina looked at him with a ming look and opened her right palm in front of him. The web between her forefinger and thumb was broken and blooding was seeping out from the wound, making the entire palm bloody.


    "How? How did it happen?" Luke became frantic when he saw this. He hurriedly took out a clean handkerchief, tore it up, and wrapped it around her hand, making her wince in pain due to his clumsy movements.


    "Damn it! We should have looked for some medical supplies." He said, gritted his teeth in frustration.


    "It''s alright. Don''t worry too much. I''m not your average girl who can''t handle such a small injury, you know it, right?" Professor Nina smirked while her heart warmed, seeing how worried he was for him.


    But then she put on an angry look on her face and raised her brows at him andined, "But did you have to destroy my sword, too? Now we will have to open more treasure boxes."


    "Huh?" Suddenly Luke''s eyes opened wide when heard this. "You mean¡­ I caused this injury?"


    "Yes." Professor Nina pouted adorably and said, "But you don''t have to me yourself. I know you did that because you were worried about me."


    Luke had a stiff, remorseful expression on his face.


    Seeing this, professor Nina sighed inwardly and then said, "Since you feel so bad about it, how about you help me kill a few zombies and level up."


    "Okay. I''ll help you." Luke nodded, feeling a little better.


    "Hey lovebirds! I don''t think this is the right ce and time to flirt, don''t you think so?" Ben called out, snickering as he stood beside Shadow.


    Luke nced at him with an impassive look on his face before turning to look at professor Nina and was about to lead her back to the group when he got a little dazed and his heartbeat increased because professor Nina saw blushing.


    "What are you looking at?" She huffed when she noticed him staring at her face.


    "N-Nothing. Let''s go there." Luke shook his head and walked her to the group where Ben and Shadow were grinning at him.


    He narrowed his eyes at them and thinking inwardly, ''I''ll deal with you twoter.''


    Ben and Shadow immediately stopped grinning and started congratting professor Nina on bing an evolver. Rio, his wife, and Kean also did the same.


    "Thank you." Professor Nina nodded.


    Rio then took out a book and handed it to Luke. "Sir Luke, I got this skill from the zombie I killed."


    Luke took the book and nodded at him. "congrattions on bing an evolver."


    "Thank you, sir Luke." Rio gratefully nodded.


    Luke nced at Ben and said, "Help me see if the zombie professor Nina killed dropped something."


    "Alright." Ben nodded and walked over to the zombie while Luke inspected the skillbook in his hand.

 Chapter 50 Leaving the city [6]

    Chapter 50 Leaving the city [6]


    [Steel Body (First order, Level 3, Active skill)]


    [Description: Once activated, the user''s body bes like refined steel. Steel body gives the user enhanced defense and strength but slightly reduces agility.]


    "It''s a good skill if you want to be a power fighter." Luke said and asked, "Have you read its description?"


    "Yes, sir Luke." Rio nodded.


    "Before you decide to learn it, let me tell you, you can only learn 3 external active skills until you evolve to the second order after level 50. So, now think about it whether or not you want to learn it." Luke said, before turning to look at Lori and Julia.


    Lori''s breathing had started to be rough after running around the zombie all this while.


    Suddenly, she went to the right side of the zombie and shed at its legs. But because the strike didn''t have much power behind it, the sword only gave the zombie a minor scratch. However, it sessfully attracted its attention to the left side.


    "She is going to kill it," Shadowmented from the side. Luke nodded in response.


    Indeed, right after she shed at its left from the left side, she took a deep breath and run around it at her full speed, arriving behind it. She then grabbed the sword handle with both hands and stabbed at the back of its head with all her might.


    Kacha!


    The sword''s pointed tip entered the zombie''s skull with a clear stabbing sound and came out of its forehead. The zombie froze, and then it fell forward.


    Thud!


    Phew!


    After killing it, she heaved a deep breath and smiled in satisfaction, but it was quite constrained because she was struggling to suppress the disgust which she felt upon taking a life. Fortunately, it wasn''t as strong as the first time, so she didn''t vomit.


    She then turned to look at her daughter, who was struggling to fight with her zombie.


    "Julia, don''t panic. Take deep breaths." She shouted at her.


    hands outstretched toward her; she stepped to the side and chopped with her sword Julia, whose face had turned pale white because of her multiple narrow escapes with death, heard her mother''s advice and started to take deep breaths.


    After a whileter, she calmed down a little and her hasty, panicked movements lessened, making it easier for her to dodge the zombie''s attack.


    She gripped her sword with both and when the zombie came at her with one of its hands outstretched toward her; she stepped to the side and chopped with her sword at its hand.


    Katch!


    Sword shed into the hand, cut the flesh but couldn''tpletely cut the bone.


    Grrr!


    The zombie growled and lunged toward her. Julia hastily pulled her sword back and narrowly dodged the attack by falling to the ground backward.


    Luke, Shadow, and others shook their heads when they saw this while Alice who was watching over her got ready to help her because after falling to the ground, she had put herself in the disadvantageous position since she wouldn''t be able to dodge now.


    Grrr!


    The zombie lunged at her, wanting to scratch and bite her.


    Julia paled when she realized what she had done, but she didn''t panic and hurriedly rolled off to the side, narrowly missing the w strike. She then quickly jumped to her feet and kicked the zombie''s butt, which was already leaning forward.


    Thud!


    Thanks to her kick, the zombie stumbled and fell face first to the ground.


    Looking at it lying on the ground, Julia''s modest chest heaved up and down as she took a few quick, deep breaths.


    She then rushed to its side, staying out of its hands'' range, tightened her grip on the sword and hacked it down at its neck.


    Kacha!


    The sword de shed three inches deep.


    Grrr!


    The zombie growled in pain and started to fumble with its hands and legs, wanting to charge at her.


    ''Damn it. I''m too weak.'' She cursed inwardly when she saw she couldn''t even sh through half of the zombie''s neck.


    After watching Luke, Alice and Shadow effortlessly beheading the zombies on the way, she had thought it was easy. Only now did she realize it wasn''t.


    Of course, she could''ve realized it the moment she failed to cut through the zombie''s hand, but her mind was working on overload at that moment, so she couldn''t register that properly.


    She adjusted her position slightly so she would be out of the fumbling zombie''s reach and then once again hack at its neck with all her might.


    Kacha!


    The sword cut deeper in the neck bone, but couldn''t sh through itpletely. However, she didn''t get discouraged, raised the sword again and then brought in down once more.


    Katcha!


    Still failed to sever its neck.


    Kacha!


    Kacha!


    Kacha!


    She continued to hack at it in a frenzy until she heard a voice in her head.


    [The evolution requirements have been fulfilled. You can ess your status now.]


    Thud!


    When she heard this, she dropped her sword and fell down on her bottom, taking deep breaths while smiling happily.


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    Lori ran over to her and hugged her tightly. "Are you alright, Julia?"


    "Yes, mom. I''m fine." She said and then smile even more brightly, "I have also be an evolver, mom."


    "Y¡­Yeah, congrattions!" Lori said, surprised by the fact that her daughter didn''t feel any disgust like a normal person would when they killed someone for the first time. She was even smiling so happily. Sure, the zombie wasn''t a human, but it was still a living being, wasn''t it?


    Alice was also looked at her with raised brows.


    "Sweet! She has potential." Shadowmented, standing beside Luke and then chuckled, "Don''t let her be your enemy. Who knows, she might also hack you into pieces too."


    Luke knew what he was hinting at and snorted, "Do you really have to spout nonsense every time? Ben is already enough for that."


    Saying this, he walked over to the mother and daughter duo and smiled at Julia. "Congrattions!"


    Seeing him, Julia smiled charmingly. "Thank you." She then turned to Alice. "Thank you, Alice. If not for you, I would''ve died many times before killing it."


    "It''s alright. I was just doing what he asked me to." Alice calmly said.

 Chapter 51 Minor healing

    Chapter 51 Minor healing


    Hearing this, Julia shook her head. "No matter the reason, you helped me. Thank you!"


    At her words, Alice''s gaze toward her softened a little, and she nodded. "Mm."


    Julia then slowly stood up, looked at Luke and,


    Whoosh!


    She threw herself at him and hugged him, burying her head in his chest. "Thank you!"


    Luke, Lori and Alice all were stunned by this. Alice''s eyes glinted strangely for a moment before she said to Lori, "You guys finish here. I''m going to check if there are more zombies ahead." Saying this, she walked away.


    Lori didn''t respond to her because she was staring at her daughter hugging Luke. This wouldn''t be a problem if she hadn''t done what she had done with himst night or if Julia didn''t have a romantic feeling for him, which she clearly had.


    ''No. Before things go out of hand, I have to¡­ talk to her.'' She thought.


    Luke froze for a moment and then nced awkwardly at Lori, whose eyes were narrowed at them and shuddered.


    Trying to sound neutral, he patted her back lightly and said, "Don''t mention it. You are one of my people and it''s only right that I make sure you are safe."


    Julia pouted and muttered to herself in a low voice, "As expected." And pulled back, breaking the hug.


    Just then, Ben, professor Nina, and others walked over and congratted her. In return, she also congratted professor Nina and Rio.


    Rio thanked her, took a deep breath and said, "Sir Luke, I have decided. I want to learn this [Steel body] skill. It suits my fighting style well."


    "Alright." Luke nodded and gave him the skillbook. Wasting no time, Rio immediately learned it and on Luke''s suggestion, he put the free status points into the [Agility] to negate the skill''s side effect a little.


    Lori checked the zombie Julia killed and found that it had also dropped a skillbook. She gave it to Luke, who checked it.


    [Minor Healing (First order, level 3): Consumes mana and heals minor wounds and illnesses. Limitation: Maximum Three use/per day.]


    Luke''s eyes brightened when he saw the details and couldn''t help but exim, "Our luck is good!"


    "Oh? What is it?" Julia curiously asked. Shadow and others also looked at him.


    "It''s a healing skill. From what I know, ordinary medication has be all but useless for evolvers like us. So, when we get injured or catch some sickness which is rare, very few things can help us. And the healing skills are one of them." Luke exined.


    "Really? That''s great." Julia excitedly said. Although her fever has gone down after the advent of mana, she still wasn''t feelingpletely fine. So, this skill was good news for her.


    While everyone cheered, Shadow''s eyes had narrowed as he looked at Luke, but he didn''t say anything. However,


    Alice, who had just returned to the group, heard him and asked, "How do you know normal medication won''t work?"


    Hearing this, Shadow and others also looked at him in surprise, thinking, ''That''s right. How does he know this and all other things?''


    Luke nced at Alice, and then just shrugged. "Just like I knew people were going to turn into zombies."


    Ben, Professor Nina, Rio and Shadow gave him a look but didn''t say anything as they could see he wasn''t willing to exin.


    Alice, however, frowned and asked, "Are you sure what you said is true?"


    "Absolutely." Luke nodded, which caused Alice''s expression to turn gloomy.


    "What is it?" He asked when he saw this.


    Alice took a deep breath. "My father, he has a heart problem."


    Luke understood why she got worried. To ease her worries, he said, "Don''t worry. As long as he doesn''t be an evolver, ordinary medication would work, but their effects would be slightly less."


    Alice still had that gloomy expression as she shook her head. "I know him well enough to say he must have be an evolver by now. Despite his heart condition, he is a strong man."


    "Since that''s the case, you don''t have to worry much. If he can reach level 11 and be a first order evolver, his heart problem won''t be much of a problem anymore." Luke said, "However, the only problem is¡­"


    "¡­He needs to do it because his heart problem res up." Alicepleted his sentence.


    Alice was silent for a while. She then turned around and walked in the city wall''s direction, saying, "Let''s not waste any more time here."


    "Yes." Luke nodded.


    Alice was silent for a while. She then turned around and walked in the city wall''s direction, saying, "Let''s not waste any more time here."


    Luke at looked her seemingly lonely figure and sighed before ncing at Julia, and professor Nina and asked, "Tell me how much mana do you guys have?"


    "I have 18," Julia said, surprising Luke. It seemed both mother and daughter had a high mana affinitypared to the rest.


    "I¡­ only have 8," Professor Nina said with a downcast expression. She wanted to have more mana so she could be of more use to Luke like Lori, but it seemed her luck wasn''t with her this time.


    "Eh? It¡­ it''s alright professor. You can always increase itter on." Luke said when he saw her expression.


    "Mm." Professor Nina nodded, not wanting to make him feel bad for her.


    "Alright. So, it seems Lori has the highest mana count among you guys. How about we give this healing skill to her?" Luke asked.


    "Yeah. Give it to her. I want to be a fighter like you, not a healer." Julia said. Professor Nina also had no objection.


    Luke then asked Lori, "Do you want it?"


    Lori smiled in response. "If I can be of more use to the group by learning it, I don''t mind. Besides, I can still learn 2 more skills after this."


    Hearing this, Luke couldn''t help but smile wryly. They seemed to treat the healing skill too lightly, even after he told them its significance.


    "Alright. Here, learn it." He gave her the skill. Lori immediately learned it and then Julia asked for her to help her with her fever.


    Lori nodded and activated the skill. A faint green golden green glow appeared on her palm, which she ced on Julia''s forehead. A momentter, she the glow vanished, causing Julia to blink.


    "That''s it?"


    "Yeah. See if you feel better or not?" Lori said she had used 10 mana units, the maximum she could use for now in this activation, but didn''t know if it worked or not.


    Julia ced a hand on her forehead and noticed the slight fever she had left was gone. She then took deep breaths and could breathe properly.


    "It really worked. I feel perfectly fine now." She said,


    Lori sighed in relief while Luke said, "Alright, let''s go."


    "Yes."


    ---


    While they were walking toward the city wall, killing all the zombies in their way, a man was looking at them as he hid in one of the half-constructed buildings.


    "So, you were the culprit behind that massacre." He murmured as an icy glint shed in his eyes. He nced in the city wall''s direction before rushing out of the building in the direction of the¡­ food factory.


    Strangely enough, just like they do to Shadow, the zombies were also ignoring his existence even if ran right past them.


    If Shadow saw this guy, he would tell Luke to leave the city quickly and hide or be prepared for a fight to death.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t see him.

 Chapter 52 Whats a grenade?

    Chapter 52 What''s a grenade?


    Although the city wall was only a five-minute walk from where Luke''s group previously was, it took them over an hour because Julia, Rio, Lori, Professor Nina, and Ben took quite a bit of time to kill zombies.


    Luke, Alice, and Shadow only joined the battle when they were outnumbered by a lot, were on the verge of getting injured or dying, or encountered zombies stronger than level 5.


    Thanks to this, Ben, Lori, and Rio had reached levels 6, 5, and 6, respectively, and were no longer prone to zombie infection, which meant Luke and others no longer had to worry about them as much.


    As for Julia and Professor Nina, they had reached levels 3 and 4, respectively, had gained quite a bit of fighting experience, and their fear of zombies had decreased significantly.


    Seeing them be evolvers, Rio''s wife also tried to kill a zombie but fainted when it appeared right in front of her. So, now only she and Kean were the ones who needed protection.


    Luke was very satisfied by this. Just a day before, he and Alice, as the only evolvers, had to worry about the entire group, but everyone could ensure their safety if they didn''t encounter an enemy three or more levels stronger than them.


    The only thing that Luke didn''t like was that no matter how many zombies they killed, they didn''t get any more skillbooks. In fact, even the drop rate of the treasure boxes was decreasing rapidly.


    ¡­


    Finally, the group arrived before the tall city wall.


    Julia looked at the wall and then at Luke with a confused expression.


    "How are we going to climb it? It is as smooth as a mirror."


    Luke shrugged. "Who said we were going to climb it?"


    He then nced at Alice and said, "Alice, use your fire magic and see if you can melt a hole in it."


    "Okay." Alice nodded and walked over to the wall. She then raised her hand, and a half-footrge ball of fire appeared in front of it. The ball of fire then slowly flew over to the wall and started burning against it.


    Sizzle! Sizzle!


    The group watched with rapt attention, but when nothing happened for over half a minute, they became disappointed. However, just before the fire was about to die out, Alice knitted her brows, twisted her hand before jumping back.


    As soon as she did,


    Boom!


    The fireball exploded, breaking a melting and breaking the wall in almost two feet in diameter and over a foot in depth.


    "Woah! It was quite powerful." Ben and Julia cheered before Ben sighed andined, "But the damage isn''t enough for us. Damn, why they had to make it so thick?"


    "Because if they hadn''t, animals from the forest would have swarmed the city before all this happened." Shadow gave him an impassive nce.


    "Ahem, I know that. But it has be a hindrance for us now." Ben said.


    Alice''s eyes narrowed. She believed the explosion atst could easily kill even a level 8 or level 9 zombie, which was quite an achievement for her given she had created this herself, but unfortunately, it wasn''t enough to blow a hole in the wall.


    Noticing her expression, Luke said, "Hey, that was quite a powerful attack."


    Shadow also chimed in, "Yes. If I''m not wrong, it was as deadly as an old version of a grenade''s explosion, which is¡­ remarkable."


    "Eh? What''s a grenade?" Ben asked in confusion.


    Hearing this, Luke sighed. The Rulers hadpletely taken out any and all the information about explosives and weapons from the world, stating that under their peaceful ruling, there was no need for such weapons of war and destruction.


    The people around the globe had praised them for this, saying that the crime would plummet as a result.


    However, they didn''t know the Rulers didn''t do it to lower the crime or mortality rate but to make the poption harmless like sheep.


    So, when the real shit hit the fan, they wouldn''t have the means to fight against the zombies or the beasts and had to submit to them for protection. If not, they could be zombies or beasts'' food and help them evolver so the rulers could kill them to be stronger.


    If they hadn''t taken out the weapons out of the equation, even a weak or sick person could kill zombies and not many would need their protection. Some might even try to fight them, which would surely be a headache for them.


    So, they took the easy route and removed the weapons or the information about them from the public. Even the police didn''t have any guns and would only use sticks and electric tasers.


    As he thought of all this, his gaze became cold.


    ¡­


    Shadow looked at Ben and sighed inwardly before nodding. "It''s something that explodes and causes destruction."


    "Oh? I seemed to have heard of such things on the inte, I think." Ben said with a pondering look.


    Right then, Rio stepped forward and asked, "Sir Luke, should I try to break it?"


    "It''s alright." Luke shook his head and then nced at Alice. "How much mana did you use just now?"


    "10 units." Alice said, took a deep breath, "Let me try again."


    However, Luke stopped her and asked, "How much mana do you have left? We can''t drain your reservespletely in case we need to fight again."


    Alice looked at him for a moment and then said, "40 units."


    "40 units? You¡­ have more mana than what I have." Hemented, surprised. He then asked, "Maximum, how much can use in one attack? You can see just ten mana unit fireballs won''t be enough."


    "I know. I can use 20 units." Alice said, "Now let me try."


    "Alright. Go ahead." Luke nodded, stepping back. Alice walked over to the melted and broken part of the wall before raising her hand.


    Whoosh!


    As she activated her [me Maniption] and channeled her mana, a fireball gradually appeared in front of her hand, which then started to swell and a momentter, it was two times bigger than the previous one.


    "Let''s move back a little more. The explosion would be bigger than before." Ben said and stepped back. Luke, Professor Nina, Lori and others also moved back.


    A momentter, Shadow frowned. "Why isn''t she attacking?"


    Luke also raised his brow. Unlike before where she had attacked as soon as the fireball formed, she was now just holding it in the ce.


    "Maybe she is having difficulty controlling it. Let''s wait and watch." He said, but got ready to step in to help her if she couldn''t control it.


    Alice''s eyebrows were knitted in concentration. She was trying to do something she hadn''t tried yet because it was too risky. But with Luke here, she wouldn''t have to worry too much. She hated to admit, but she somehow knew even if her fireball were to explode now, he wouldn''t let her die. At most, she would just get some injuries.


    Therefore, she focused on the fireball and then started using [me Maniption] on it once again, but this time without infusing any mana.


    Sizzle!


    The fireball red up as if it was about to explode, but she gritted her teeth and continued to use [me Maniption].


    Sizzle!


    A momentter, her hands started trembling, and sweat marred her face. The mental pressure was starting to overwhelm her, but she didn''t give up. She knew if she could seed in what she wanted, her strength would increase a few times at least.


    Sizzle!


    "Just what is she doing?" Ben mumbled from Luke''s side.


    "Look carefully and you would notice." Luke said with a hint of surprise in his voice as he kept his eyes glued to the fireball.


    "Mm? Let''s see." Ben nodded and squinted his eyes at the fireball. A moment of confusionter, his eyes brightened up. "I see now. She is making the fireball smaller."


    He then frowned. "However, why is she doing it? Can''t she control the bigger one?"


    Smack!


    Professor Nina, who was standing behind them, pped the back of his head lightly and admonished, "You should''ve paid attention in your sses. If you did, you understand what is she doing."


    Ben nced at her, and then at Julia and others only to find them looking at him as if he strangely. He coughed dryly and said, "It seems I wasn''t present that day. Why don''t you enlighten me, Professor?"

 Chapter 53 Accident

    Chapter 53 ident


    Professor Nina gave him an unimpressed look before saying, "I''m not a science teacher, so I don''t know if I can exin it clearly enough for you to understand."


    "But let''s say you have a ten metersrge balloon filled with water. If you nick it and it explodes, the sound of explosion would be loud and the water inside would want to flow down and outwards, right? If you are standing close enough, the water pressure might even push you back."


    "Now let''s suppose you somehowpress that water in a just one-meterrge balloon. The water quantity is same and balloon size is several times smaller than the previous one, but if you nick it now and it explodes, be it sound of explosion or the speed of water, both would be many times more. If the first explosion had pushed you just one step back, thetter may push you five, ten, or more steps back. Um, so do you understand?"


    Ben was silent for a moment and before nodding, "Yes, Professor. I understand." He then turned to look at Alice''s fireball and said, "So, she is trying to apply that same principle on her fireball to make it more deadly."


    "That''s correct." Professor Nina nodded.


    Swoosh!


    It took Alice another few seconds before the fireball started to shrink. However, from her pale face and trembling body, it was evident she was barely holding herself together.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    As the fireball kept shrinking little by little, the air surrounding it turned violent.


    When it was 75% of the original size, Luke and others started to feel faint pressure and heat radiating from it.


    Luke''s expression turned serious. He then nced at Professor Nina and others and said, "You guys should step back a little more."


    Professor Nina cast a worried nce at Alice and said, "Luke, how about you ask her to stop? It''s¡­ dangerous for her to continue."


    Luke nced at Alice and sighed. "It would be useless. She won''t stop until she seeds or¡­" He didn''t finish the sentence and then said, "Don''t worry, Professor. I''ll make sure she is safe. Now, retreat a little so you guys don''t get hurt in case something unexpected happens."


    Professor Nina nodded and retreated with Lori and others. Among the group, only Kean was looking at the fireball with twinkling eyes. As a kid, he loved to see such shy things.


    After they retreated, Luke walked over to Alice and stood beside her, fully alert. If she lost control of it, he was prepared to take her away at the first moment possible.


    Alice waspletely focused on manipting the fireball, so she didn''t notice him. Of course, her not being on guard contributed quite a lot to this.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    After a while, the fireball''s size was reduced to only 50% of the original, which was slightly bigger than the first fireball she conjured up.


    Right at that moment, Alice''s face had turnedpletely white, as though she had lost all the blood while her hands and legs were trembling violently. She looked she wouldn''t be able to hold on any second longer.


    Sizzle!


    Suddenly, the fireball showed signs of bing unstable, which caused Luke to step toward her and put his arm around her waist. Alice raised her brows and looked at him, which made the fireball even more unstable.


    Seeing this, Luke hurriedly shouted, "LET IT GO!"


    Alice snapped out of her daze and gently pushed the fireball toward the wall.


    Whoosh!


    Luke wasted no time, picked her up in the princess carry and retreated at his top speed. Ben and others were already over fifty meters away from the wall.


    The fireball slowly flew over to the ball and as soon as it collided against it, it started swelling. Within a moment, it had grown almost ten timesrger and then,


    BOOOOOM!!!


    It exploded with a deafening boom.


    Bang!


    Luke was only ten meters away when a shockwave hit him and flung him away. The shockwave continued and swept Ben and the others off their feet and sent them tumbling back.


    A few secondster, every calmed down, and the dust settled to reveal the group sprawled on the ground.


    Cough! Cough!


    Shadow and Rio were the first to cough out the dust and some blood before standing up. Rio''s eyes immediately widened and quickly searched for his wife and son, who were just a few meters away from him. His wife was protectively curled up around Kean and blood was flowing out of her mouth.


    Crouching beside her, he patted her face and called out to her in a panic. "Lisa! Lisa, are you alright?"


    Cough!


    Hearing his voice, Lisa, his wife, opened her eyes and coughed out a mouthful of blood, some of which sprayed on Rio''s face, but he was unphased. She then weakly said, "I''m¡­ alright. See if Kean is injured?"


    Rio nodded and hurriedly checked Kean. Apart from some paleness on his face and the fact that he was unconscious, he was uninjured.


    Seeing this, Rio sighed in relief and thanked his lucky stars that he had learned the [Steel Body] skill and didn''t wait for a better one to turn up.


    Why?


    Because right before the shockwave hit them, he had activated [Steel Body] which enhanced his defences multiple times and defended his wife and son with his body. If not¡­ he shivered and didn''t even dare to think about what the consequences have been otherwise.


    ''I have to try my best to be stronger so I can save them and also try to help Lisa be an evolver too. And if possible, Kean too.'' He thought.


    If they became evolvers, they wouldn''t be in as much danger as they were now. He also understood why Luke put forth the condition that required him to fight and be an evolver if he wanted to follow him. After all, he alone couldn''t ensure everyone''s safety, no matter how strong he was.


    Cough!


    Lisa coughed out a mouthful of blood again, catching his attention. When he looked at her this time, he finally noticed a broken part of concrete was stabbed into her left side, right below her ribs, and a small amount of blood was constantly gushing out of her wound, painting half of her stomach red.


    His face turned pale white when he saw this. Panicked, he wanted to pull out the piece of stone but stopped just before his hands touched it because if he pulled it out, she will lose more blood.


    "L-Lisa, don''t move and take soft breaths. I''m bringing Lori to heal you." He said, holding his tears back before moving, ncing around to find Lori.


    Shadow had already helped Ben and Professor Nina up. Both were injured, but they were just minor injuries, not worth worrying about.


    Rio rushed over to Lori, who was just standing up and helped her up. "Are you alright?" He asked, suppressing his panic, as it wouldn''t look good if he asked for her help without even asking if she was alright or not.


    "I''m¡­ alright, mostly." Lori said, wincing in pain because her left legs was twisted from ankle unnaturally.


    "Good. Can you¡ª" Rio didn''t notice her ankle and hurried to ask for her help but before he could say anything, Lori ran over to her daughter, limping as she did.


    Julia was unconscious and her face was covered in blood from the injury on her forehead. Lori''s heart almost stopped when she saw this. She hurriedly sat near her head, put it on herp before cing her right hand over her forehead.


    Under Rio''s gaze, she used the second use of her healing skill. For a moment, Rio wanted to stop her because he didn''t think just one use could heal his wife. But he didn''t because that would be too inconsiderate of him. Besides, that would worsen their rtionship, and maybe Lori would even refuse to help Lisa out of anger. He wasn''t ready to take such a risk.


    Fortunately, right after she used [Minor Healing] on Julia, her bleeding stopped and her eyes fluttered open.


    "Are you alright, my baby girl? Don''t move. Let me heal you better," Lori said with tears in her eyes and prepared to use her skill for the third time.


    Seeing this, Rio''s eyes widened in horror and he shouted out, "NOOOO! DON''T DO IT!"

 Chapter 54 Uninjured

    Chapter 54 Uninjured


    His sudden shout made Lori stop and nce at him with raised brows.


    "Lori, my¡­ my wife also needs help and¡­ she is seriously injured." Rio said, almost begging while fighting to hold his tears back.


    "Ah¡­" Lori finally realised that it wasn''t her daughter who was affected by the shockwave, but everyone.


    "M-Mom, I''m alright. Go help her." Julia said, trying to stand up, but as soon as she moved, a sharp pain assaulted her mind. Wincing, she stayed put.


    Lori became worried when she noticed this but Julia smiled, "I''m alright, mom. There is just some pain. It''ll go away. Now, hurry and go help aunt Lisa."


    "Alright. I''m going. You don''t move, okay?" Lori said, before standing up. Although she wanted to stay with her daughter to ensure she was fine, she couldn''t ignore Lisa, who, from what she could gleam from Rio''s expression, was in a bad condition.


    "Argh!" As soon as she stood up, a sharp pain in her left ankle made her wince.


    "Let me help you." Rio hurriedly came over to her. Putting her hand over his shoulder, he supported her waist with one hand and led her over to Lisa.


    Rio''s expression changed when he saw his wife. Her face had turned pale white. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her chest was barely moving. At a nce, it would seem she was no longer breathing.


    Fortunately, with his enhanced senses, he could see she was breathing, albeit it was very weak.


    He helped Lori sit beside Lisa. Lori looked at the wound on the right of her abdomen before carefully pulling the concrete shard out of it.


    Spurt!


    Ahhh!


    As soon as the concrete shard left her body, a jet of blood spurted out of the wound. At the same time, Lisa''s eyes snapped open and let out a loud, pained cry.


    Rio sat on her other side and grabbed her hand. "Endure it, dear. You will be alright." Lisa clenched his hand, her jaws clenched tight and her eyes constricting.


    After pulling the rock out, Lori was about to activate her [Minor Healing] when she recalled that Luke and Alice were the closest to the explosion''s epicentre and would most likely be injured.


    However, seeing Lisa''s condition, she gritted her teeth and while muttering, "Luke, Alice, please be alright." She activated her skill and ced her hand over her wound.


    As the skill took effect, her bleeding gradually stopped and her wound started healing, but it only healed around 20% before the skill''s glow vanished.


    Thud!


    Ha! Huff! Huff!


    Lori fell back, panting.


    She had exhausted all of her mana, and because in the explosion earlier, even though she didn''t get any major injury, there were many minor ones all over her body that had finally started taking a toll on her.


    At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and fall asleep, but couldn''t because she still didn''t know if Luke and Alice were alright.


    Besides, the explosion earlier was way too loud to not attract the zombies from all over the city or half the city at least. So, she couldn''t afford to rest now and be a burden on others.


    ¡­


    ''Hm? That worked?'' Luke thought, staring at the blue sky, blinking in amazement.


    Right before the shockwave hit him, he had instinctively activated his [Mana Amplification] and covered himself with ayer of mana. He had been thinking, if his [Mana Amplification] could strengthen his attacks and amplify the active skill although he hadn''t tried it yet, couldn''t he use it to enhance his body too?


    Because it wasn''t in the skill''s description, he had been hesitant to try. But the explosion earlier gave him the right opportunity to experiment, and the results pleasantly surprised him because¡­ he waspletely uninjured.


    Lying on top of him, Alice was also uninjured, as he had made sure to shield her. She struggled to open her eyes, raised her head to look at him with a guilty expression on her usually icy cold face.


    "I''m¡­ sorry." She said, and before Luke could respond, her eyelids drooped and she lost consciousness.


    Luke stared at her pale face in a trance before smiling wryly.


    ''Shouldn''t you have asked if I was alright before apologizing?'' He thought.


    Whoosh!


    Just then, Shadow, Ben and Professor Nina arrived. Thetter two looked incredibly worried, while Shadow had an impassive expression.


    His gaze roamed over him and Alice and, seeing both were without any injury, his brows raised in surprise,


    "You are¡­ unbelievable, dude. How can you be uninjured after enduring that horrifying shockwave? Even I got many wounds and my internal organs practically shifted even though I only faced the weakened version." He said, while pointing his wounds on his forearms, face and knees.


    Luke gave him an impassive look before saying, "Can you at least pretend to be worried? You are one of us now, after all?"


    "Eh? Yeah, I forgot." Shadow nodded and then wore a worried expression on face, his eyes almost tearing up as he said, "G-Group leader. Are you alright? Did you¡ª"


    "Stop that. Don''t make me cringe." Luke said, before gently moving Alice down to the ground.


    He then extended his hand toward Ben, who grabbed it helped him up.


    "Ugh!" Luke''s expression hardened, and he wobbled on his feet, prompting Ben to support him.


    "Luke, are you alright?" Professor Nina asked, arriving at his other side and putting his arm over her shoulder.


    This made Shadow click his tongue and mutter, "What luck!" which earned him a re from Professor Nina.


    "I''m fine. It''s just that my internal organs are shaken by the impact." Luke said and then asked, "You guys are fine, right?"


    "Yes, we only got some scratches, nothing major." Ben said.


    "Good." Luke nodded. "I never expected her fireball to be so strong."


    "But it fulfilled its intended purpose," Shadow said, pointing to the city wall.


    As they nced over, they saw a four feet high and three feet wide hole had been sted open into it.


    "Such a powerful attack and it could only st open a hole in it?" Ben said, amazed by the city wall''s sturdiness.


    Just then, a voice drifted over to them from a distance.


    "It''s enough for us. Thank you for your hard work. Now, can you let us kill you guys so we can use it and leave this damned ce?"


    Shadow''s expression turned ugly when he heard the familiar voice and cursed.


    "We are fucked!"

 Chapter 55 Submit or die?

    Chapter 55 Submit or die?


    Luke and everyone else turned to look in the direction from which the voice came and their pupils constricted when they saw over 20 men and women armed with swords, axes, iron rods, and some even had bows.


    Somehow, Luke knew all of them were evolvers and everyone was stronger than Ben, Julia, and others. Especially the two men leading the group¡ªOne with the crossbow and the other dark-skinned man with a scar on his forehead¡ªfelt very dangerous to him.


    As if to confirm his suspicion, Shadow said, "They are from the food factory. Every one of them is an evolver and stronger than everyone in our group except you, Alice, and me."


    He then pointed at the two men leading the group.


    "Those two are the leaders. The man with the crossbow is the main leader, the rulers'' underling, and the strongest of them all. I even suspect he should be as strong, if not stronger, than you and Alice. As for the other one, he is the right camp leader, and if he hadn''t grown stronger, he should be as strong as Derek."


    As they walked closer, Rio helped his wife up, picked up his son beforeing beside Luke and others.


    Because of her injury, although Julia was experiencing the sharp pain in her head whenever she moved her head, as soon as she saw these people, she gritted her teeth, lifted herself up and walked over to Luke''s side too.


    "Group leader, we should do our best to flee. We aren''t their match, especially with Alice being unconscious. But even if she wasn''t, we still wouldn''t have been their match." Shadow suggested.


    Luke took a deep breath and clenched his sword. "They won''t let us go peacefully. You can tell it by their expressions. And although you and I can escape, others can''t."


    Hearing this, everyone''s expressions turned ugly. This was especially true for Rio''s wife, who was shivering in fright.


    "H-Honey, he won''t abandon us, right?" She whispered to Rio.


    "I don''t think he would." Rio said, clutching her hand. He wanted nothing more than to flee now, but knew he and his family would most definitely end up dead if he did.


    Although they spoke in hushed voices, Luke and Shadow heard them clearly.


    "If we try to fight, things might end up even worse." Shadow said.


    "I know." Luke nodded, his expression turning grim as they walked closer to them. The only fortunate thing was that they weren''t rushing to surround them.


    The man with the crossbow¡ªthe main leader nced at Shadow and chuckled, "We meet again."


    "Unfortunately." Shadow responded, causing the dark-skinned man to snicker.


    "If Derek was alive, he would want nothing more than to hack you into pieces. Ah! How good that scene would have been?!"


    Shadow didn''t pay any attention to his remark and continued to stare cautiously at the main camp leader and others.


    The main camp leader took a step forward, his eyes peering at Luke, and asked, "I presume you are the leader of this small group?"


    "Yes." Luke nodded without saying anything more.


    The main camp leader stared at Luke for a second before saying in a very casual tone.


    "As you can see, the world has changed, and I''m sure you must have noticed the zombies are evolving rapidly. That must be the reason you are trying to leave the city and not get trapped here, right?"


    Luke didn''t respond, causing the man to narrow his eyes slightly as he continued, "No matter how strong we individually may be, we can''t survive alone. That''s why I am gathering the talented people. I can see you and that unconscious youngss over there are very talented."


    "You want us to join you?" Luke frowned. "Even though I had killed your subordinates yesterday?"


    The man nodded, "Yes. If you, that girl, and Shadow, agree to join us, I''ll forgive you for killing Derek and others."


    He then nced at Rio, his wife and Julia and said, "I understand why you guys left, but if you return to us, I guarantee every one of you will be treated with due respect."


    Julie snorted in disgust, but Rio''s wife was tempted. She wanted to speak up, but Rio clenched her hand to indicate she stayed silent.


    However, she still couldn''t help but speak up.


    "Why, honey? Since he has promised we won''t be treated badly, wouldn''t it be better to join them? They have, after all, more people, and we will be safer with them."


    Hearing this, Ben, Professor Nina and Julia revealed an angry expression. Rio, noticing this, promptly shouted at her, "Shut up!"


    "We are now a part of sir Luke''s group and he will be the one to decide what we should do." He dered and sighed in relief when he saw Ben and others'' expression ease up.


    Lisa was stunned. This was the first time her husband shouted at her and although she felt she wasn''t in the wrong for saying that, she kept quiet.


    The main camp leader smiled at Luke and asked, "So, what do you say?"


    "What if we refuse?" Luke asked, his grip strengthening on his sword''s hilt.


    Hearing this, the smile from the camp leader''s face vanished, reced by a cold, murderous expression as he stated, "If you refuse¡­ we''ll kill you."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The twenty or so people raised their weapons and moved to surround them.


    "Ben, take Alice and escape with everyone. Hurry!" Luke shouted before turning to Shadow, he said in a heavy voice. "Protect them!"


    "W-What do you mean? We won''t¡ª" Ben''s eyes widened in horror when he understood what Luke meant. The same was true for Professor Nina.


    Seeing them hesitate, Luke''s anger red, and he shouted, "GO!!"


    "No¡ª" Ben wanted to protest, but Shadow appeared in front of him and,


    p!


    pped him across his face and shouted, "What else can you do? Now stop being a pussy and let''s go."


    "But he¡ª" Professor Nina tried to speak, but Shadow interrupted her, "If he doesn''t have to worry about your sorry asses, maybe he can escape too."


    Saying this, he picked up the unconscious Alice, flung her over his shoulder, and rushed toward the wall.


    "He is right. We will just be a burden on him if we stay." Rio said before, picking his wife and son and following Shadow with his fastest speed.


    Ben, Professor Nina, Lori and Julia cast a reluctant nce at Luke and turned to run away but,


    Whoosh!


    A figure suddenly appeared in front of them and shed the sword in its hand at Ben.


    sh!


    Spurt!


    "NOOOO!!!"


    Just as Luke was about to activate his skills and engage the iing people in a fight to buy enough time for everyone to escape, he heard Professor Nina''s scream. Reflexively, he turned his head around to see what had happened and froze when he saw the scene in front of him.


    There was a deep, bloody sword wound on Ben''s chest and blood was spraying out uncontrobly.


    Ben looked down at his chest and then turned to look at him before his gaze gradually grew unfocused and he fell face first to the ground, his status unknown.

 Chapter 56 Berserk

    Chapter 56 Berserk


    Luke''s gaze became vacant when he saw this, and his heart almost stopped beating.


    The assant, a man in ck clothes, sneered at him in mockery. He then raised his sword and aimed it at Ben''s neck, intending to sever it.


    Thump!


    Luke''s heartbeat instantly sped up and within his soul, the ck rune representing [Berserk] pulsed with a reddish ck light.


    Whoosh!


    Before the man could bring his sword down, he froze in ce because Luke had appeared in front of him, and his hand was clenching his neck.


    The man looked at Luke in terror. Luke''s emotionless eyes¡ªwhich now had turned blood red¡ªmade him feel a fear he never imagined he could feel. Just looking into them made his soul shudder.


    The main camp leader and others were stunned. For a moment, they stopped in their tracks because of their shock.


    "Did he just teleport there?" The dark-skinned man asked the question that was in everyone''s mind.


    Because Luke had disappeared from his original spot and appeared in front of theirpanion before they could even blink. If the distance was just a few meters, they wouldn''t be so shocked, but he had crossed over 20 meters, and doing this within a split second was no simple feat.


    This horrified most of them. Only their leader, the man holding the crossbow, looked rtively calmer, but his brows were knitted together tightly.


    Just then, he noticed a faint, ck and ghastly energy seeping out of Luke''s body.


    "Mm?" His eyes narrowed. ''So, it''s a skill and maybe it''s a second order one.'' He thought, his eyes shing with greed and desire.


    He then shouted. "Don''t worry. It''s some special skill and I''m sure he can''t it use without consequences or he would''ve used it to kill or take me hostage. Now charge and kill them off. Remember to leave thedies alive, you got that?"


    "Yes, leader." Everyone shouted, feeling relieved. They then rushed at Luke and others once again.


    On the other side, the man in Luke''s grasp was shivering with terror and face had turned green because of the blockage in his windpipe thanks to Luke''s tight grasp on his neck.


    "P-Please don''t kill me. I-I have little k-kids to take care of." He uttered with difficulty.


    "Oh?!" Luke exined as though surprise which gave the man some hope. Inwardly, he seethed with anxiety. ''What are you doing, you bastards? Hurry and kill this monster!''


    When he noticed hispanions were once again charging toward them, he felt relieved and tried to dy for time, "Y-Yes. They don''t have anyone except me to take care of them. P-Please don''t kill me."


    "You¡­ didn''t think about¡­ his loved ones before killing him." Luke said, his voice horse as he was fighting to stay sane, but it was very difficult because of his overwhelming rage.


    "I''m so¡ª"


    "I don''t need¡­ your apology¡­" Luke said and clenched his hand.


    Crack~!


    The man''s eyes bulged out. There was horror, disbelief, and anger in them. He tried to say something too, but his neck had been cracked, his wind pipe squeezed into a bloody goo.


    "But¡­ he isn''t¡­" These were thest words he uttered with utmost difficulty before his life left him.


    ''There¡­ we lost a good tracker.'' The main camp leader sighed in his heart when he saw this. This man had good stealth and tracking skills. He was the one who found Luke''s group. If not for him, Luke and others would''ve left the city and he¡­ wouldn''t have a chance to get Luke''s extraordinary skill.


    ''Well, nothing can I do about it.'' He shrugged before lifting his crossbow and aimed at Luke''s head. ''Now, I just need to make sure Ind the killing blow so he would drop his skill.''


    He, Ramsey, had a special skill which no one knew about: Unlike others, when he killed any human being with his skill activated, they were sure to drop one of the skills they had learned. The only catch was¡ªit could only be used once a day.


    This was the first skill he got and after that, he had sneaked attacked and killed his superior and cousin brother, who was supposed to be the camp leader. From him, he got the camp leader''s position and this magnificent crossbow he was holding and the skill that made him feared by everyone in the group, [Annihtion Arrow].


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The others charging toward Luke arrived in his five-meter range, their weapons raised. Those with bows were standing in the distance, their bows aimed at him, but couldn''t release their strings since theirpanions were in the way.


    Luke turned around to face the crowd, and then, with a powerful swing, he threw the dead body in his hand at them. After that, he was about to charge at the three people who would be hit by the body. He wanted to take advantage of that and quickly kill them, however..


    BANG!!


    When the body struck those three, they were sent flying and when they crashed on the ground; they were¡­ dead, their body disfigured.


    Stunned, he nced at the dead body he threw. It waspletely disfigured, as though it had just endured the impact of falling from 100 meters tall building.


    It was squeezed tightly, head was burst apart, chest was caved in, a hand and leg were missing and the remaining leg was barely attached to the body by some muscles. It was a bloody mess.


    The crowd was stunned and the fear they had toward Luke reach a new high. Right now, they didn''t want to fight because even if they could kill him in the end, most of them would die and no one wanted to be among the unfortunate ones.


    ''Why am I suddenly so strong? I haven''t even used the [Mana Amplification] yet.'' Luke thought and then he noticed the reddish ck energy seeping out of him.


    Frowning, he closed his eyes to find out what was amiss. As he focused on the skill runes, he noticed the [Berserk] rune pulsating with the reddish ck light, and it also seemed to be going through a change.


    However, he didn''t have time to find out the reason it was happening because he was surrounded by enemies.


    Ramsey, when he noticed his subordinates had stopped, frowned and muttered under his breath, "Useless cowards!"


    He then pressed the trigger on the crossbow and the arrow, which was swirling with violet energy, shot out like a lightning bolt.


    Whoosh!


    Luke immediately noticed this and his first instinct was to chop it down with his sword when he noticed the violet energy swirling around it. He then prepared to dodge it but then realised that professor Nina, Lori, Julia and¡­ Ben was right behind him.


    If his instincts weren''t wrong, this arrow was capable of mass destruction. Meaning, if he dodged it, they would die or be severely injured at the very least.


    "Bring it on." He shouted and activated his [Mana Amplification] to enhance his [Berserk].


    Boom!


    As soon as he did it, he felt his strength increased by a fold. The feeling was addictive. The only downside to it was that he wasn''t used to this much power and couldn''t properly control it.


    Furthermore, he could feel his mana reserves were rapidly being drained and within a half a minute, he would run out of mana. Andstly, he could feel himself going out of control and his mind be blurry.


    ROAR!


    He roared like a wild beast, gripped his sword tightly, infused some mana into it, and then threw it at the iing arrow like a spear.

 Chapter 57 Escape

    Chapter 57 Escape


    BOOM!!


    The arrow and sword collided and exploded into a loud explosion.


    Powerful shockwaves, no weaker than the ones generated from Alice''s fireball explosion, spiralled outwards, sending those who were closer to the explosion''s epicentre tumbling back. Many of them got minor injuries despite doing their best to defend.


    As dust and smoke that had hampered everyone''s vision cleared out, the dark-skinned man''s and the main camp leader''s expression turned ugly because¡­ Luke and others had vanished.


    Furthermore, three of their people who were rtively closer to them were lying on the ground, their heads smashed in.


    "CHASE THEM!" the dark-skinned man shouted in anger and was about to rush toward the broken wall but,


    "Forget about them." Ramsey shook his head, stopping them.


    "But, leader, that bastard killed four of us, not counting the ones he killed in the factory. And as you said, that burst of power is because of his spell and he most definitely won''t be able to keep up. We can


    ¡ª"


    The dark-skinned man quipped. He was beyond angry because two of the four that had just died were his people and one of them was even his woman.


    "Shut up!" Ramsey red at him, which immediately shut him up.


    He then continued in grim tone when he saw many of them were dissatisfied by his decision, "I also want nothing more than to tear that bastard into pieces, however¡­ if we chase them into the forest, many of us will die because don''t forget, it''s not only us and the zombies that are evolving."


    Everyone''s expression turned serious when they heard it. Then one of them asked, "Leader, we are fully capable of fighting the zombies. We even killed that monstrous zombie earlier today. So, can''t we handle those beasts?"


    "Hehe¡­" Ramsey mockinglyughed, "Before everything went down, I was clearly told that beasts are way more dangerous than the zombies, especially in the early days. If we chase them and are unfortunate to encounter a second order beast or even a stronger first order one, except me and him who have some chances of surviving, almost all of you will die. Now, tell me, do you still want to chase them?"


    No one responded. A few momentster, the dark-skinned man asked in resignation, "So, are we supposed to forget about this humiliation?"


    To this, Ramsey revealed a sadistic smile.


    "I never said that. When we convene with others from the rulers'' faction, we''ll dere them wanted and make them everyone''s enemy. When that happens, they are sure to die once they are spotted."


    Just then, one of them spoke up, "Um, leader. One of us seems to be missing."


    When Ramsey heard this, his expression darkened. ''Did he escape willingly or was taken away?''


    ¡­


    Half a mile away from the city wall, Luke, professor Nina, Lori and Julia were hiding under the cover of thick bushes.


    Ben was lying on the ground beside them. Fortunately, he wasn''t dead, but his condition was very bad and blood was still flowing out of therge wound on his chest, which Lori was trying to stop.


    Apart from them, another person lying a few meters away, his mouth stuffed with a rag and his hands and legs were bound by a rope that connected to a tree behind him.


    Huff! Ha! Ha!


    Luke was sprawled on the ground, panting furiously. His clothes were already drenched in sweat, his face was pale and his eyes were bing unfocused.


    "Luke¡­ are you alright?" Professor Nina worriedly asked, cing his head in herp and wiped the sweat from his face with her handkerchief. Julia looked at both Luke and Ben in worry, her face was pale.


    "Ha! I''m¡­ fine. Just feeling a little lightheaded, nothing to worry about. You guys take care of Ben." Luke answered after taking a deep breath.


    Currently, he was focused on sensing the change in the rune of the [Berserk] skill. But strangely, he couldn''t sense it all unlike before, which made him frown.


    Lori''s brows were scrunched up as she tied some make shift bandages around Ben''s chest to stop the bleeding. She then looked at Luke, and asked, "You''ve exhausted your mana, haven''t you?"


    Luke couldn''t see her properly, but he nodded, causing her to sigh.


    She then nced at Julia and said, "Julia, help me open some of these treasure boxes. If we can find some mana gems, it would help him a lot."


    "Yes, mom." Julia nodded and the mother and daughter pair started opening treasure boxes one after another. Lori hadn''t recovered much mana after casting her healing skill a while ago, so she couldn''t open any box. Julia, on the other hand, opened over 10. Professor Nina opened another 10.


    Unfortunately, they only got 3 mana gems, but fortunately, there were over stamina gems too, which they fed him besides the 3 mana gems, hoping that a higher level of stamina would help recover mana more quickly.


    Lori then looked at the man bound to the tree, walked over to him and,


    p!


    pped him hard across his face.


    She then gave him a death re, took out the rag from his mouth and asked, "Tell me how much mana do you have left?"


    "Heh!" A mocking expression appeared on his face as he sneered, "You want me to open those boxes? Dream on bitch!"


    He then added, "Also, you shouldn''t have taken out the rag."


    As soon as he said this, he opened his mouth wide and was about to shout.


    Lori, however, was prepared and hurriedly stuffed the rag back into his mouth and shook her head. "No, I didn''t."


    She then went back, picked up her sword, returned and smiled darkly. "You seem unafraid of death, shall we see if that''s really the case?"


    The man''s eyes constricted, but he didn''t say anything and just stared at her defiantly.


    Lori hesitated and her hand trembled a little, but as she looked at almost unconscious Luke, Ben, Julia and Professor Nina, she gritted her teeth and stabbed her sword in his right thigh.


    "Mmmfff!"


    The man''s eyes widened, and he let out a muffled, pained scream.


    Lori took out the sword, causing him to scream once more. She then looked at him and this time, she could see fear in his eyes. Thus, she asked, "So, are you going to do as I ordered, or should I continue?"


    The man looked at her, then sword in her hand and gritted his teeth in hatred and anger before slowly nodding.


    "Good." Lori nodded and touched his forehead with a treasure box, "Do it." She ordered.


    The man looked surprised at this. He had thought she would open his hands so he could open the boxes.


    As if Lori knew what he was thinking, she sneered, "Do you take me for a fool? Now, hurry up and inject your mana into it."


    The man nodded and closed his eyes, and then,


    Swoosh!


    A white light shed and the treasure box vanished, leaving behind a glowing gem¡ªa Mana gem.


    Lori''s eyes shone. She then brought more treasure boxes one by one and until the man''s face hadn''t turned pale and his body was swaying, she continued to force him to open them.


    When she stopped, another 12 boxes were opened, and it seemed the man was quite lucky because she got five mana gems, a level 5 sword, and a few useless items.

 Chapter 58 Skill points

    Chapter 58 Skill points


    Leaving the dazed man behind, she fed the five Mana gem to Luke.


    She then looked at Ben and gritted her teeth. She wanted to help Ben because his condition was beyond serious, but what could she do now that her healing skill had already been used three times?


    In the end, she could only look at Luke. ''Once he wakes up, he will take care of everything.'' She thought.


    After eating 8 mana gems, he recovered 8 points of his mana, which helped him quite a lot. Slowly, he opened his eyes, but his brows were still furrowed.


    Seeing this, Professor Nina, Lori, and Julia heaved a sigh of relief and hurried to ask about his well-being.


    "Luke, are you alright now?"


    Hearing their concerned voice, he rxed his facial muscles and smiled lightly. "I''m fine. Thanks for the mana gems."


    "It''s alright. But Luke, Ben''s condition is terrible. I can''t do anything apart from stopping his bleeding by bandaging his wound." Lori hurriedly said.


    Hearing this, Luke frowned in worry. He didn''t know how he should help Ben. Suddenly, he remembered the berries he got after killing the first order zombie and the treasure box.


    ''I hope either of these two can help him.'' He thought and stood up.


    He could still feel his [Berserk] skill going under some change, but he wasn''t able to sense it now. However, he had a feeling it was a good change and hisbat power would multiply once itpleted its transformation.


    He took out the orange treasure box and saw it needed 2 mana units to open it. Since he didn''t have much mana, he stored it away before taking out the one of the ripe berries.


    Thedies watched him in confusion as he walked over to the man tied to the tree.


    Suddenly, Lori''s eyes lit up with realization, and she let out a sigh of relief.


    ''So, he brought this guy here to test if the berries are harmful to humans or not? Thank god I didn''t kill him.''


    Luke crouched down in front of the man, who struggled to open his eyes to look at him.


    Frowning, he took the rag out of his mouth and a berry inside and ordered, "Chew it down."


    The man seemed horrified. He didn''t know what he was fed and tried to throw it out, but a pnded on his face, which made him stop.


    Then Luke said, "Don''t worry. If I wanted to kill you, just a swing of my sword would be enough. Now, chew it down. It''s something beneficial to you."


    Hearing this, the man reluctantly chewed the berry before gulping it down.


    Immediately, a bewildered expression appeared on his face.


    Seeing this, Luke hurriedly asked, "What is it?"


    The man frowned and asked, "What did you give me? Was that an evolved fruit?"


    "Answer what I ask. If not, I don''t mind removing your head from your body," Luke coldly said.


    Hearing this, the man knew he was right, and this made his expression turn ugly. From what Ramsey had told them about the evolved nts and fruits, he knew although some could be extremely beneficial but most were dangerous to humans.


    ''This bastard! He is treating me as ab rat.'' He gritted his teeth in anger.


    Whoosh!


    p!


    Seeing he didn''t answer, Luke pped him again. "Are you going to say it or not?"


    From his expression, he knew the fruits wasn''t dangerous to humans because if it was, the guy wouldn''t just be gnashing his teeth in anger. He would be horrified. His bewildered expression right after he gulped it down had already eliminated the possibility of it being a slow fruit that takes time to take effect.


    The man was angry enough to not want to answer it, but he knew what his fate would be if he didn''t. So, he said, "When I ate it, I got the notification telling me I have gained one skill point."


    "Skill point?!" Luke almost shouted out in excitement when he heard this.


    "What''s a skill point? Is it rted to skills?" Lori asked when she saw him be excited.


    "Yes." Luke nodded and then said to her, "Lori, open your status and click on your [Minor healing] skill."


    Confused, Lori did as he asked and when she read the rows of words that appeared, she understood why he seemed excited.


    "So, we can level up our skills with skill points." She muttered.


    "Tell me, what is the requirement to level up your [Minor healing] to level 4?" Luke asked.


    "It''s one skill point." Lori answered.


    "Okay." Luke nodded and gave her a berry. "Eat it and use the skill point you get to level you healing skill up."


    "O-Okay." Lori nodded and ate the berry. As she did, a notification sounded in her head.


    [+1 Skill point, +3 Mana.]


    Hearing this, her brows shot up, and she turned to look at their captive.


    Noticing this, Luke''s heart throbbed, and he asked in a slightly shaky voice, "What is it, Lori?"


    For a moment, he thought the man had been lying when he said he got the skill point. Just as he wanted to curse himself for trusting him, Lori spoke up.


    "This bastard didn''t tell us what he got in full. Apart from the skill point, I also received 3 mana points."


    This made him sigh in relief. After ring at him, he said, "Ignore that for now and level up your skill. If I''m not wrong, you daily usage limit should increase."


    "Okay." Lori nodded and clicked on the [level up] option beside her skill. Immediately, the skill point disappeared and her skill rune in the depths of her soul underwent some changes.


    "It''s done?" She uttered in confusion because she didn''t feel any different.


    "Check your skill level." Luke said,


    Hearing him, she nced at it and then her expression became dull.


    "What is it?" Luke asked.


    "It levelled up but there is no change in the skill. I can use it only three times a day like before," she said sullenly.


    Luke was also a little disappointed. He then asked, "What''s the level up requirement to level 5?"

 Chapter 59 Saving Ben

    Chapter 59 Saving Ben


    "It''s 2 skill points." Lori answered after checking.


    "Alright." Luke nodded and then gave her another two berries. "Eat these and level your skill up."


    Nodding, Lori ate them and heard the announcements.


    [+1 Skill point. +2 Mana.]


    [+1 Skill point. +2 Intelligence.]


    She then used the two skill points and upgraded her [Minor healing] to level 5.


    When she read the description, she could help but sigh in relief and then smile in excitement.


    Luke, noticing this, asked, "It improved, right?"


    "Yes." Lori nodded. "Its efficiency has increased. The wound which previously would''ve needed 10 mana units, now only needs in 7-8. Most importantly, now I can use it five times a day."


    Then, without waiting for Luke''s order, she walked over to Ben, kneeled down beside him, slowly opened the cloth bandage over the deep on his chest before putting her hands over the wound.


    Luke, professor Nina and Julia, looked at her nervously, hoping that she would be able to stabilize his condition for the time being.


    As [Minor healing] was activated, the horrifying wound across his chest started healing. A few secondster, the skill''s glow vanished, and Lori took her hand away, panting.


    Thud!


    She fell back on her butt, her face pale from exhausting her mana and her blurry. "Luke¡­ band¡­ age his¡­ wound." She said, her voice breaking and immediately after, she fainted.


    "Mom!" Julia cried out in worry as she ran over and put her head on herp.


    "Don''t worry. She fainted just because she exhausted all her mana to heal him." Luke said, sitting down beside Ben and ncing at his wound. Although it only healed by 20-30%, it wasn''t bleeding like before and had stabilized. Now they could take their time and slowly heal him.


    Hearing him, Julia calmed down. After he bandaged Ben''s wound again, he sat down beside him and took out the remaining five berries.


    He gave Julia one to feed Lori and ate the rest. Immediately, he also heard the announcements, which improved his mood a little.


    [+4 Skill points, +2 Agility, +2 Health, +4 Mana.]


    [Luke Greyson]


    Level: 9


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Title: None


    Strength: 28 (25 +3) / Agility: 26 { (22+2) -> (24+2)} / Health: 23->25 / Stamina: 28 / Mana: 10 (40 -> 44) / INT: 101


    Skill points: 2 -> 6


    [Status points: 0]


    After that, he looked at professor Nina and Julia and said, "Let''s rest here for a while."


    Hearing this, both professor Nina and Julia revealed their concern about Ramsey and the gang finding them here, since this ce wasn''t far enough from the city wall.


    "Don''t worry. They won''t chase us here and risk encountering beasts. So, rest up, recover your stamina and mana. By then, Lori will be up too. Then we''ll be on our way," Luke said. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The duo nodded and found a ce for sit. Then, professor Nina asked, "Luke, what about Alice and other? How will we find them?"


    "If they can safely leave this forest, they will wait for us 20 miles in the east, near the town Rosewood." Luke replied before closing his eyes to meditate to recover his mana faster.


    Professor Nina''s heart clenched when she heard him say ''If they can'' and although it seemed Luke didn''t care about Alice and others'' fate, she knew it wasn''t the case. He cared but right now, they were also in danger and he needed to care for himself, injured Ben, Julia, Lori and her first. ''Alice, Kean, please be alright!'' She prayed in her heart.


    ¡­


    Two miles in east away from them, two figures were facing a wild boar which was over two times taller and bulkier than the normal wild boars. These two were Shadow and Rio. Behind them was Rio''s wife, Kean, who sat near the unconscious Alice, alert and ready to move her to the side if needed.


    "This fucker! Can''t you let us rest for a moment at least?" Shadow growled at the boar in frustration before shing toward it. Rio followed him, activating his [Steel body].


    Whoosh!


    Easily evading the boar, Shadow appeared beside it, raised his sword and brought it down on its neck. sh!


    The sword dug deep in the boar''s neck, causing blood to ssh out, but wasn''t deep enough to kill it immediately. Roar!


    The boar let out an enraged roar before turning toward Shadow and charging at him. Its response was so quick that Shadow didn''t have time to dodge. Fortunately, Rio had arrived, and he rammed his body into the boar, throwing it off course.


    Whoosh!


    Eyes narrowing in frustration and wariness, Shadow dashed toward it and before it could gain its bnce, he once again shed at its neck, this time using all his strength.


    sh!


    Rip~!


    The swordnded on the wound and ripped through it, reaching over 60% deep into its neck.


    "Fuck! Just how though its flesh and bone are!" Shadow cursed when he saw he couldn''t sh its neck off, even with all his strength.


    Fortunately, it was enough because as more and more blood sprayed out from its neck, the boar''s figure stiffened and its eyes lost the spark. Thud!


    It then fell to the ground with a thud, causing everyone to sigh in relief.


    A white soul orb shot out of its body and entered Shadow, who then heard the announcement.


    [You''ve killed a level 7 beast. +2 strength, +1 agility.]


    "We should find a ce to hide and rest. If we are lucky, miss Alice will wake up soon and we will be much safer." Rio suggested.


    Shadow didn''t answer for a while, his eyes narrowing in thought.


    ''Now, I don''t know if that guy, Luke, is still alive. Should I bother myself to take care of them? Can''t I just escape by myself?''


    As he thought this, he nced at the boar and then unconscious Alice and sighed, his shoulders slumping down. ''Forget it. I''m not strong enough to survive this forest on my own if I encounter more beasts. Besides, I don''t think that guy will die so easily.''


    Just then,


    ROAR!!


    They heard a loud roar, simr to the boar they just killed.


    "Fuck!" Shadow cursed and dashed over to Alice before picking her up and shouted at Rio, "Let''s move away from here."

 Chapter 60 Skills level up!

    Chapter 60 Skills level up!


    Near the broken wall¡­


    Ramsey''s group turned around and left after talking for a while.


    After half an hour¡­


    Rumble!


    The dust and rocks shifted in an area close to where Ramsey''s was standing to reveal a haggard, blood-soaked figure.


    If Luke and others were here, they would immediately recognise this figure because it was none other than James¡ªthe guy they found hiding in the closet.


    Right now, he had many injuries, some of which were still bleeding, such as his forehead and shoulder injury. Fortunately, they weren''t too serious.


    He stood with difficulty, looked around to see if there was anyone, and sighed in relief when he didn''t see anyone. Then, a fearful expression filled his eyes, as he mumbled, "S-Sir Luke and others, they¡­ left me. I need to find them."


    Mumbling this, he ambled out of the broken wall and entered the forest.


    ¡­ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After two hours, Luke opened his eyes. He had recovered most of his mana.


    ncing around, he saw professor Nina and Julia sitting in meditation, recovering their mana. Near them, Lori¡ªwho had woken up a while ago but chose not to disturb them after she saw them meditating¡ªwas also sitting in meditation.


    His gaze then drifted to the still unconscious Ben and he couldn''t help but feel his heart clench. Apart from his father and younger brother, he only cared about Ben and professor Nina. So, seeing him in this condition was very painful for him. Unfortunately, he couldn''t do anything but wait for the next day, so Lori can cast her healing on him once again.


    He then nced at the man tied to the tree not too far away from them and saw that he also had his eyes close. For a moment, he wanted to go and finish him off, but decided against it for the time being since it would disturb thedies. Instead, he summoned his status screen and went down to the skill section.


    {External active skills: Berserk Level 5 (First order), Mana amplification Level 3 (First order).}


    {Passive skills: Rapid steps Level 3 (First order), Basic weapon mastery (First order), Rapid Recovery Level 1 (First order)}


    ncing at them, he willed to see [Mana amplification] skill''s level up requirements which immediately appeared in front of him.


    [Evolution requirements: 1 skill point, 60+ Intelligence, 30+ Mana.]


    Seeing that he met all the requirements, he levelled it up to level 4. Immediately, a skill point was deducted and [Mana Amplification] skill rune in his soul went some subtle changes.


    [Mana amplification Level 4 (Active) (First order skill): The user can use his mana to amplify the effects of his active skills. He can also cover his weapons with mana to enhance their destructive or defensive power. Requirements: 60+ Intelligence.]


    ''There is no mention of enhancing my body?'' Luke thought when he read the skill description, which was almost the same as before.


    ''Maybe that application is too high levelled to be shown under first order, level 4? If that''s the case, aren''t I genius since I can already do it?'' He chuckled at the thought and then willed to see its evolution requirements to level 5.


    [Evolution requirements: 2 skill points, 70+ intelligence, 40+ mana.]


    ''Good thing the berries increase my mana to 44 units.'' He thought and levelled it up. Another two skill points vanished and the skill rune changed a little once again.


    However, when he read the skill description, it was almost the same.


    This time, he couldn''t help but feel a little excited because it meant that the body enhancement application of mana was truly high levelled.


    ''This means the skills'' usage isn''t limited to their level mentioned but how expertly you use and control them.'' He concluded and decided to continue his experiments with his skills.


    ''Let''s see what its evolution requirements are to second order.'' He thought.


    [Evolution requirements. 5 skill points, 5 Second Order mana cores, 100+ intelligence, 100+ mana.]


    Luke took a deep breath when he saw the various requirements.


    ''I wonder how strong it will be in second order.''


    He thought and then his eyes zeroed at the requirement of mana cores, ''Despite it being such a useful and powerful skills, it only needs 5 second order mana cores while the [Berserk] needs 10.''


    He then remembered how he had erupted with that insane power when Ben almost got killed and how the [Berserk] still seemed to be undergoing some changes.


    ''Maybe¡­'' His heart racing and eyes glinting in excitement, he thought, ''Maybe¡­ the [Berserk] will be a lot more powerful when it is at the second order level. Maybe even more powerful than the [Mana Amplification].''


    Phew!


    He inhaled and exhaled a deep breath to calm down and shifted his attention to his passive skills. He still had 3 skill points left and wanted to level up his passive ones.


    [Basic Weapon Mastery (Level 5) (First order)]


    <Evolution Requirements: 1 second order mana core, Intelligence 50+.>


    [Rapid Steps (Level 3) (First order)]


    <Evolution Requirements: 3 skill points, Strength 10+.>


    [Rapid Recovery (Level 1) (First Order)]


    <Evolution Requirements: 1 skill point, health 10+.>


    Since [Basic weapon mastery] couldn''t be levelled up right now, and levelling [Rapid steps] wasn''t worth it since it only gave 2 agility points, he levelled up the [Rapid Recovery] to level 2 and used thest 2 skill points to level it up to the level 3.


    [Rapid recovery (Level 3) (First order): The user can recover their exhausted stamina and mana, 1 point per minute.]


    A smile appeared on his face when he saw that [Rapid recovery] could now recover mana, too.


    ''Now I won''t have to worry about exhausting my mana and stamina too much.'' He thought.


    Just when he was celebrating, he felt his danger sense re up.


    Whoosh!


    A shadow leapt out from the bushes, and before he could react, it lunged at his captive. The guy couldn''t even open his eyes before his head was bitten off his shoulders.


    "An evolved ck panther!" Luke sucked in a cold breath before rushing in front of Professor Nina and others and shouting, his voiceced with urgency and a hint of dread, "Everyone! Wake up!"

 Chapter 61 Mutated Panther

    Chapter 61 Mutated Panther


    Even before he shouted out, Lori, professor Nina and Julia had opened their eyes and when they saw the savage looking, over double the size of a normal ck panther chomping down on their captive''s head off before chewing it and gulping it down, colour drained from their faces.


    "T-This¡­ h-how is this big¡­?" Julia muttered in horror. She had seen many types of animals when she was studying them for a college project in the past, even then she had found these creatures very dangerous and now that it was almost as big as a bull, she couldn''t imagine how terrifying it would be.


    "Is this what he meant by animals mutating?" Lori said, fear gripping her heart as sheid eyes on the beast.


    Professor Nina also had shock stered on her face as she looked at the panther.


    "No wonder he said zombies won''t be as terrifying as beasts in the near future." She mumbled.


    Luke''s expression was solemn. Among the beasts, feline beasts were the most dangerous because of their superb agility and attacks that can shred a human into pieces with a single w strike. Thebination of these two was just too deadly.


    His gaze on the beast that was eating the corpse with relish, he said in a low voice, "Professor, Lori, you guys take Ben and slowly back off. Don''t stay in its sight."


    Thedies hesitated for a moment because they knew he was nning to fight the beast on his own. But knew they wouldn''t be of much help. So, they took Ben and slowly backed off.


    "Luke, be careful!" Professor Nina said before moving behind a thick tree.


    When they started moving back, the ck panther stopped eating the corpse and raised its head to look at them with itsrge beady eyes before resuming its feast.


    This nonchnce made Luke frown because this meant the beast had gained intelligence and could see they weren''t escaping or it was confident enough to chase them down even if they escaped.


    "I just hope it hasn''t advanced to the first order¡­ if it has, things will be too difficult." Luke muttered. He then took a deep breath, gripped his sword tightly as his mana surged out and covered it.


    He then rushed toward the beast, wanting to take advantage of it feasting.


    "Grrr?" The panther''s pupil suddenly constricted as though it could feel the danger. Immediately, it pped the corpse away and lunged at him, its maw wide open and ws outstretched.


    Within a split second, the panther was upon him. The wind itsrge body brought pressed down on him.


    Gritting his teeth, Luke shed at the iing paw which targeted his head.


    nk!


    As the w and sword met, a nking sound sounded.


    ''Fuck!'' Luke cursed in his heart when he noticed he couldn''t sh through its ws even though he was using [Mana Amplification] on the sword.


    Swoosh!


    The panther''s eyes glinted with anger when it saw its w was stopped and it pped at his head with its other w.


    Knowing his head would burst open like a balloon, Luke stomped his feet and jumped back, narrowly dodging the w.


    Whoosh!


    Unfortunately, the panther no longer wanted to give him any chance to catch his breath and rushed at him. This time biting toward his neck.


    Luke''s eyes shed with a cold light. Since he couldn''t dodge, he stood his ground. Then his mana surged out in waves and covered the sword, amplifying its power.


    He then gripped the hilt with both his hands and stabbed upwards at the panther''s neck before it could bite his neck.


    Puchi!


    The sword encountered some resistance despite the fact that the area under the beast''s neck was one of the most vulnerable parts, but in the end; it was just some resistance. As he put more strength in the stab, the three feet sword plunged into its neck all the way to the hilt and blood sprayed out from the entry point.


    Roar~!


    The beast''s eyes widened, and it let out an enraged, pained, and helpless roar. Then slowly, the light left its eyes and its body slumped down, itsrge head pressing down on his shoulder.


    Thud!


    Luke fell down with the beast on top of him. At the same time, the kill announcement sounded in his head.


    [You''ve killed a level 10 mutated beast. +2 Strength, +1 agility.]


    [You''ve levelled up to level 10. You get 2 skill and 2 attribute points to distribute freely.]


    "Luke!" When professor Nina and other saw this, they hurriedly ran out from behind the tree.


    "¡­I''m fine¡­" Luke''s muffled voice came out from under the beast which was then lifted slightly and moved to the side and Luke appeared in their view, lying on the ground with a huge grin stered on his face.


    Thedies ignored his expression and hurriedly checked his body for injuries and only sighed in relief when they didn''t find any.


    Luke felt warm in his heart when he saw this and lightly said, "Don''t worry, guys. I''m¡ª"


    However,


    Drip!


    A water drop fell on his face, interrupting him. When he looked at the source, he found professor Nina''s beautiful eyes glistening with tears.


    He hurriedly stood up and said, flustered, "H-Hey, professor. I''m perfectly fine. Don''t cry, alright?" Whoosh!


    Instead of responding, Professor Nina hugged him, burying her face in his chest, and started sobbing.


    Reflexively, Luke wrapped his arms around her and gently patted her back. "Shush! Don''t cry, don''t cry. Everything''s alright."


    Professor Nina continued to sob and drenched his shirt in her tears.


    Meanwhile, Lori and Julia looked at this scene, their eyes flickering with a hint of envy.


    After a while, professor Nina calmed down but didn''t move away, nor did Luke try to. So, they stayed like that for a while more, lost in each other''s embrace.


    Cough! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Julia couldn''t continue watching this and coughed lightly, bringing them to their senses. "It''s alright, Luke. Professor Nina is good now."


    A slight blush crept up on professor Nina''s face and she pulled away from him, looking flustered.


    Luke sighed, feeling slightly disappointed to part from her warmth.


    Lori and Julia frowned in displeasure when they noticed his expression and quietly harrumphed.


    Not paying them any attention, Luke looked at professor Nina and carefully asked, "Professor, why did you cry?"

 Chapter 62 Overprotective

    Chapter 62 Overprotective


    "When I saw this beast almost bite your neck, I-I was so worried." Tears welled up in her eyes as she said this.


    Luke felt bad when he saw this and gently hugged her again, "I''m sorry for worrying you."


    Professor Nina pushed him back and said with a serious expression on her face, "Luke, I know you are strong. But please, try not to risk your life like that."


    "Um, but if I hadn''t done that, this beast might have killed us all." Luke awkwardly said, hoping she would understand him but what she said next made him question himself if this beautifuldy in front of him was really professor Nina or his overprotective mother.


    "I''m sure you would''ve handled it even without taking such a big risk. So, promise me you won''t do it again."


    Seeing how unreasonable she was being, Luke could only surrender, "Alright. I promise!"


    Hearing him, Professor Nina finally rxed.


    Seeing they were done, Lori spoke up, "Luke, we should leave this ce now. This blood stench would surely attract other beasts."


    "Yeah. We should leave, but first..." Luke nodded and stood up. He then nced at the dead panther, grabbed his sword and started hacking at one of its hind, meaty legs.


    Smack! Smack! Smack!


    "What are you doing?" Julia asked, frowning at the sight of the blood and flesh flying around.


    "Collecting food." Luke answered as he continued to hack at the leg.


    "Food?" Julia frowned before she realised they had left their supplies behind when they escaped.


    "Let me help you." She grabbed a sword and went to the other side and started hacking at the second hind leg.


    Lori and Professor Nina exchanged nces before they walked over to Julia and started helping her.


    Luke looked at them and sighed in his heart. He was sure, before the apocalypse, thesedies haven''t even killed a chicken or did anything crude like this, but now, they were forced to fight and kill those disgusting zombies and do all kinds of crude things to survive. A few minutester, they were finished chopping off its hind legs, but then a slightplication arose. Each leg weighed over 20 kilograms and, since Luke had to carry Ben, thedies needed to carry the legs¡ªa rather difficult task for the trio since their strength stats were below averagepared to a normal person.


    Looking at them struggling to carry the panther legs, Luke could only shake his head and mutter to himself, "And then you want equal rights..." (A/N: It is a pun/Joke. Lol!)


    "Huh? Did you say something?" Professor Nina asked, while Lori and Julia looked at him with narrowed eyes.


    "Nah, nothing." Luke hurriedly shook his head and then extending his hand. "Give me one, I''ll carry it."


    "No. You are already carrying Ben... Don''t worry, we will manage." Professor shook her head.


    "It''s alright." Luke said and grabbed the leg she was ''carrying'' while Lori and Julia carried the other one.


    They then walked away from the ce, moving in the east direction.


    After walking for an hour, the group found an abandoned cave. After confirming that it was really abandoned, they entered it and covered the entrance with tree branches and bushes.


    Thud!


    Lori and Julia dropped the panther leg in the corner and fell on their butts, panting. Professor Nina also sat down, heaving deep breaths. She also helped them carry the leg on their way here.


    Luke chuckled at them, dropped the panther leg before gentlyying Ben down. After which, he also sat down.


    After resting for a while, Julia looked at the meaty panther leg in front of her and said, "Why don''t we cook and eat it? I''m feeling a little hungry."


    Lori nced at professor Nina and Luke and asked, "Should we?"


    "Yeah. I''m also a little hungry." Professor Nina nodded.


    "Alright, I''ll go out and bring some dry wood, then." Luke said, standing up.


    Swoosh!


    Julia jumped to her feet and said, "I''lle along."


    "Alright." Luke nodded and walked out.


    Lori frowned as she watched Julia run after him, but didn''t say anything.


    Professor Nina noticed this and after they had left, she said, "I see Julia is attracted to Luke but you don''t like it. Why is that?"


    Lori stiffened for a moment but chose not to reply. Instead, she picked her sword and started to prepare to the meat for cooking.


    Professor Nina narrowed her eyes and said, "So, you want him all for yourself?"


    Lori froze when she heard this, and stuttered, "Y-You knew?"


    The corner of professor Nina''s lips curled up as sheughed. "Of course. Don''t you know how loud you werest night? If I''m not wrong, only Julia and little Kean don''t know."


    Lori blushed in embarrassment when she heard this but also sighed in relief after hearing that her daughter doesn''t know about it. She then tentatively asked, "Are you sure Julia doesn''t know?" Although Shadow had also told her Julia didn''t know, she was still worried.


    "Yeah. She doesn''t. But if she does, I can only say she is just too good an actor." Professor Nina said nonchntly, but depths of her eyes were flickering withplicated emotions.


    After a while, when she saw Lori had calmed down, she asked, "Can I ask something?"


    "Mm." Lori nodded.


    "Who was the first to make a move? Was it you or him?" Professor Nina asked, unconsciously clenching her fists.


    Lori frowned, not understanding why she was asking this. She then noticed her clenched fists and the expression in her eyes and immediately understood.


    ''So, she also likes him.'' She thought and suddenly felt her heart constrict because she knew Luke also liked her.


    ''Well, I never expected to keep him for myself.'' She smiled bitterly and exhaled deeply. She then said, "You don''t worry. I was the one who made the first move. I wanted him to save my daughter and didn''t know if he would risk his life for her, so I offered myself to him."


    Hearing this, Professor Lori breathed out, "I understand."


    ...


    Shadow and the group were resting in a small clearing, well hidden by trees. Alice was lying beside Lisa, her eyes closed.


    Kean tugged at his mother and muttered, "Mom, I''m hungry."


    "We''ll find something to eat, sweety. Just bear it for a while," Lisa said, hugging him.


    She then nced at Rio. "Honey, why don''t we go back and bring that boar back? We can grill it and eat it." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Rio shook his head. "Didn''t you hear what Sir Luke told us? We should avoid recklessly eating anything mutated, be it fruits or animals."


    "But we can''t stay hungry and we don''t know long many days it would take us to leave this forest and go to town Rosewood." Lisa argued.


    Rio didn''t say anything. He knew what she said was true. They needed to figure out what they could eat or what not. But the problem was¡ªhow? They couldn''t risk their lives bing genie pigs, right?


    Just then,


    "Mm¡­" Alice''s eyes fluttered open. She looked around and furrowed her brows when she didn''t see Luke and others.


    "What happened? Where are Luke and others?"

 Chapter 63 Law of jungle

    Chapter 63 Law of jungle


    Alice heard everything that happened and couldn''t help but feel guilty.


    "If I hadn''t lost control over my spell, things wouldn''t havee to this." She muttered.


    "Nah. Nothing would''ve changed." Shadow shook his head, "I say it was a good thing you were unconscious because if you weren''t, we would''ve tried to fight them and that would''ve resulted in most of us dying. So, don''t me yourself."


    Lisa red at Shadow. "Is this how you console someone?"


    "What?! Did I say something wrong?" Shadow raised his brows, looking confused.


    Lisa shook her head and ignored him. She then turned to Alice, wanting to console her, but Alice waved her hand. "I appreciate your good intentions. I''m fine."


    "Let me rest for a while, then we will go back and try to find Luke and others." She added.


    Shadow frowned, "I don''t think this is a good idea¡­"


    "It doesn''t matter if it''s good or not. I won''t leave them behind. It''s up to you guys if want to go with me or not. I won''t force anyone." Alice interrupted him.


    "What if they are already dead? Wouldn''t we be risking our lives in vain?" Shadow asked in a t tone.


    Rio and Lisa both didn''t want to take the risk, but when they heard this, both frowned in obvious displeasure.


    Alice furrowed her brows, and her eyes narrowed at thement. She then said in a chilling voice, "If they are dead, I want to see their corpses. If they are lives, which I believe is the case, I''ll look for them. But if they are really dead, I''ll avenge them by killing every member of the rulers'' faction."


    When she spoke thest part, Alice revealed a scary expression that made Lisa, Rio, and Shadow feel a sense of fear. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After a moment of silence, Shadow spoke up.


    "You rest for a while and recover. Then we''ll go look for them. I''ve some tracking skills so even if they have gone in different direction, it shouldn''t be too difficult to find them."


    "Hm?" Alice looked at him in confusion. The same was true for Rio and Lisa.


    "What is that look for? Did I ever say I was against your n?" Shadow wore a hurt look and shook his head.


    After resting for a while, the group ascertained the city wall''s direction and started their journey back.


    ¡­


    Luke and Julia were walking around their hideout, searching for the dry wood, when suddenly the duo heard an enraged roar, followed by a growl.


    Roar!


    Growl!


    "What was that?" Julia came near Luke, fearfully ncing in the roar''s direction, but couldn''t see anything because of the thick trees.


    "It seems two beasts are fighting." He said and then smiled reassuringly at her, "Don''t worry, they are quite far from here."


    Julia sighed in relief and patted her chest. "We have enough wood. Let''s go back." She said.


    Luke nced in the roar''s direction and nodded. "Okay. Let''s go."


    After they walked back to their hideout and dropped the dry wood, Luke nced at the trio and said, "You guys prepare the food. I''ll be back in a while. Keep the entrance hidden."


    Saying this, he turned around to walk out when Julia grabbed his hand. "Don''t go. It''s dangerous."


    Lori and Professor Nina exchanged a nced before Nina asked, "Where are you going, Luke?"


    Luke sighed and exined the situation, "¡­so I have to make sure those beasts don''te this way while fighting or we''ll be in danger here."


    Hearing this, the trio went silent. All of them wanted to say "I will go with you" but no one dared to because they knew they will only be a liability and a burden on him. If something went wrong, he would have to risk his life to protect them.


    "Be careful, okay." Professor Nina said.


    Seeing her worried expression, Luke squatted down in front of her and brought her into his embrace, gently patting her back.


    When he realized what he had done, he nked for a moment because he hadn''t nned to hug her so intimately. It just¡­ happened.


    However, he couldn''t act all shy now. So, he tightened his hug, feeling her soft body against his chest, and said, "I''ll be careful. I''ll avoid fighting if there is no need. Besides, I''m not that weak, so don''t worry about me, alright?"


    He waited for her response, but Professor Nina didn''t say anything. Just as he was about to let go, he felt her heart thudding loudly in her chest.


    "Hey, hey. It''s alright. Don''t worry. I''ll be alright." Misunderstanding the reason behind her increased heartbeat, he tightened his hug even more and caressed her back to console her.


    "O-Okay." Professor Nina pushed him back with a reddened face before turning her face around so he would not see her and said, "Go¡­ go now. We''ll have the food prepared food for you when you return."


    "Hm?" Luke raised his brows when he saw her act like this. A momentter, he realised what was going on and this realisation made his heartbeat faster too. However, before he could say anything to her, Lori pushed him out of the cave and covered the entrance.


    "Take care." Her voice sounded from inside.


    Luke stood there, looking at the now covered entrance and muttered, "Professor¡­ does she¡­ like me, too?"


    A momentter, he threw the thought to the back of his mind and rushed in the direction from where the roars had originated.


    After traveling for over half a mile, the sounds of fighting became clearer. Not wanting to alert the beasts to his presence, he slowed his speed down and cautiously approached the ce. After another hundred meters, he came across an open field where two beasts¡ªa four meters tall, bulky ck bear and a red striped tiger, around three meters tall¡ªwere engaged in a gruesome fight.


    The bear had many deep ws and bites wounds all over its body. Behind it was a cave and at its entrance was a bloodied corpse of another bear. There were two newly born cubs sitting near the bear''s face. They constantly touched its face all over with their small paws, trying to ''wake'' it up.


    Luke looked around and spotted six corpses of the red striped tigers strewn across the ce. Some had gaping wounds on their necks, which almost separated their necks from the rest of the bodies, and some had their bellies cut with their internal organs spewing out. One even had its skull smashed in.


    Seeing this scene, he understood this ce was the bears'' territory, and guessed that the tigers came to hunt them. The two bears fought them, killing them all, except for one, and while fighting and protecting their cubs, one bear died, leaving the other seriously injured bear to fight thest tiger.


    ''So, this is what they mean by thew of the jungle¡­'' Luke couldn''t help but sigh. Roar!


    The tiger roared and lunged at the bear, aiming to bite the bear''s neck. Despite its numerous injuries, the bear reacted and grabbed the tiger''s maw with both hands and, with a growl, it started tearing the tigers'' jaws apart.


    The tiger struggled. Its front ws shed opened the bear''s belly and chest, trying to free itself. The bears, however, had a savage look in its eyes. Itpletely ignored the injuries and with another bestial growl, Ripppp!!!


    It ripped the tiger''s jaws apart. Then its right hand shot out and grabbed the tiger''s tongue and ripped it apart too.


    But it wasn''t satisfied. It threw the tiger to the ground and stomped its head, breaking its skull. Immediately, the tiger stilled. The bear, however, continued to beat its dead body until there was only meat paste left.


    As Luke watched this savagery, he couldn''t help but cringe.


    ''This bear should be a stronger first order beast. I should probably get out of here before this bear notices¡ªoh fuck!'' Just as he took a step back, wanting to flee the scene, the bear suddenly nced in his direction.


    For a moment, he froze in ce. He then activated his [Mana amplification] to boost his speed, turned around and, just as he was about to rush away, he heard a thudding sound.


    Despite his fear, he was sane enough to notice that it was the sound of someone falling, not the bear chasing him. So, instead of escaping, he rushed behind a tree and took cover before peeking his head out and looking at the ce where the bear was.


    And indeed, the bear had fallen face first on the ground.


    ''Is it trying to trick me or is it really dead?'' He thought, his eyes shing with a greed. However, he didn''te out of hiding and continue watching it for a minute. When the bear didn''t move even a little, he confirmed it was dead. His heart racing, he came out of hiding and slowly approached the battlefield.


    "Oh fuck!"


    When he was just five meters away from the bear, he froze in his tracks and his eyes widened in horror.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!