《Evolve or DIE !!》 Prologue : The Rise Of The Fall It was another normal day for Tim and as usual, he was overlooking a surgery at the city hospital as the head surgeon even though he was just 28 years old. He had completed his degree for becoming a doctor at the age of 24 and in 4 years, he was able to gain the respect of his seniors and juniors alike due to his ability to remain calm even in the most difficult and unfavourable situations. As a result, he was given the post of head surgeon by the directors of the hospital. Tim lived with his parents in a 3 room flat in New York. His parents were very loving and caring and he also loved them very much. Although, Tim wasn¡¯t so handsome that would make girls go all crazy about him, he couldn¡¯t be considered ugly and had decent looks. He had a broad face, a slightly crooked nose, blue eyes and jet black hair. He was a bit chubby, however his built was good as he was 5ft. 9 inches tall Just as the surgery on a middle aged man was about to commence, the moderately bright operation theater was lit up so fiercely that it seemed that the sun god had entered the operation theater himself. The brightening of the operation theater was accompanied by an extremely loud sonic boom that shattered all the windows and forced all the surgeons including Tim to close their ears. With his ears closed, Tim went to the shattered window pane to see what was happening outside. However, what he saw made him dumbfounded and his mouth agape. Thousands of balls of light which appeared like meteors were coming towards the earth at an astonishing speed, none of which could be compared to any less than the bright morning sun. The reason why Tim knew that those weren''t meteors was because they were perfectly spherical and unlike the meteors, which are bright due to burning in the air, those spherical balls were glowing themselves. The bright lights blinded Tim for a second or two before he got hold of his senses and immediately ran for cover under the table where the tools for the surgery were kept. While Tim took cover, the other surgeons and the middle aged patient, who hadn''t been anaesthetized yet, ran out of the operation theater because they knew that this was the sign of an impending disaster. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Tim also knew, that at such a time, running out of the operation theater was the better option but somehow, his mind felt that staying here would be the better choice and he couldn¡¯t force himself to get up. After about a good 10-15 seconds had passed, the sonic boom disappeared, but only with dozens of explosion like sounds. After removing his hands from his ears and heaving a sigh of relief, though he didn¡¯t knew what had happened and wondering about the same, he immediately ran out to grab his cellphone to call someone- police, ambulance, fire department or maybe even his parents- he didn¡¯t knew whom because his mind had gone haywire because of all the sudden commotion. Just as he picked up his phone, a strange voice resounded in his ears which caused him to drop his phone due to which it broke. "Good Morning humans or should I say, Bad Morning! *Evil Laugh* As of today, the earth that you know no longer exists. The earth is now filled with monsters, dungeons and to your rejoice, magic and stats too. If you wish to survive and live in a world filled with excitement, get stronger and if you don''t want to, then you all can bite the dust. Now you humans only have 2 choices: Evolve or DIE !!" ___________________ Author''s Note : Hello everybody, hope you like this re-write and as always, please follow, favourite, rate and review. Anyways, thanks for reading. Chapter 1 : New skill Hearing the strange voice in his ears, Tim could not help but feel confused and at same time, terrified. Taking notice of the voice in his ears, Tim knew what it meant but he couldn¡¯t believe it because such things only happened in f***ing mangas and novels. Just as he was pondering over what was happening and what he is going to do, the strange voice again resounded in his ears, or more specifically, his brain ¡°Since, you humans are very fragile, I''d give all some bonuses which will help you all to survive in this new world, cause if everyone dies , it won''t be any fun. Now, every person on earth will be given a random weapon and a skill according to the ability they have. HAVE FUN HUMANS!¡± Then, suddenly a blue window popped in front of his eyes
Analysing Abilities....
¡°No, no, no, this can¡¯t be happening, Are you kidding me? This is not some f***ing novel or manga¡±, Tim cursed out and pinched himself, hoping to wake up from this dream which would soon turn into a nightmare, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t because all that he was seeing and hearing was completely real. Just as he was cursing and pinching, another blue window popped up
Analysation complete
You have been rewarded with the skill ''Divine Serenity¡¯
Skill Name - Divine Serenity (Passive) Skill Type ¨C Unique Skill Level ¨C Beginner Lvl. 1 Description ¨C Reduces fear and disgust by 80% and allows the user to think calmly in any situation. Increases reaction time by 30%. Skill attributes increase with increase in the skill level. Skill book formation chance ¨C 0.1% Special Effects ¨C Locked
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Immediately after the blue window popped up, Tim felt a tingling sensation in his right hand only to find that a 2 foot saber with a black handle and golden carvings had materialized out of nowhere which was accompanied by another blue screen
Lowest level saber Damage - 5-12 Durability - 10/10 Trade Value - ????? Description - The most basic sword provided by the system to the players. It has low damage and low durability. Skills ¨C None
Tim felt the effects of the skill take up since now, his mind felt as calm as flowing water. Thinking carefully about the first time the voice had resounded in his ears, he came to an understanding that this truly was an apocalypse because there wasn¡¯t such high level technology on earth, and even if there was, it would definitely not be used to prank with people. He had read a lot of RPG novels so, he knew about all the problems, dangers and possible outcomes in a post apocalyptic world, though he never thought that it would come true. Before thinking of his next move, he decided to see the condition of the corridor because he could hear screams of agony and pain coming from it, through the circular broken translucent glass in the door of the operation theater. Tim also wanted to check the condition of the streets, however unfortunately he couldn¡¯t because the operation theater was on the ground floor and almost on the farthest end of the hospital building. He popped his head out of the circular opening in the door and what he saw truly terrified him despite his skill ¡­¡­¡­ ______________________________ Author¡¯s Note: Sorry for the delay, I¡¯ll try to release a chapter a day ( Though I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to). Please answer the poll and as always, please follow, favourite, rate and review. Anyways, thanks for reading. And yeah, I don¡¯t know much about operation theaters so don¡¯t take the first part of the story too deeply. Chapter 2 : First Kill Some of the humans had a grey skin with a face as ugly as shit and their joints were bent at inhuman positions and they were hacking and slashing barehandedly a few of the normal people which even included some of his friends at the hospital. Those normal people were desperately trying to push back the ugly people using the tools in their hands. Tim knew exactly what these ugly survivors meant ¨C ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!! If it hadn¡¯t been for his skill he would have immediately cowered in fear and would have sat back crying but now he kept on watching when he saw that his only close friend, Alex was attacked by a a zombie that injured his eyes as he screamed out, "Aaaaaaaaahhh, my eyes!". Hearing the desperate shouts of his best friend, Tim wanted to save him but he knew that if he went outside, his fate wouldn''t be any different from that of his friend. He could only clench his fists in anger and cry out to himself because he knew that he was powerless. By now, the screams of his best friends had died out, which most probably meant that he was dead. Although, Tim didn''t want to look back at the spot where his friend had died, but he knew that if he didn''t analyse the condition of the corridor, he would die too. He popped his head out of the window only to find out what he had expected as his friend was truly dead as blood dripped from his face and his stomach while some other zombies were trying to feed on the corpse of his friend. If Tim hadn''t gotten his skill, he would''ve ran out of the operation theater without thinking of anything else but now his skill prevented him from doing so. Tim turned his face away from the horrifying scene and analysed the situation of the rest of the hallway. By now, most of the normal people including his friends had died while the others were on the verge of death, and would die soon too. Just as he was analysing the situation and mourning in the inside over the loss of his friends, he saw something coming towards him through his peripheral vision. Tim instinctively backed off from that spot and withdrew his head back into the room only to find that a zombie had slashed its broken hand at the place where Tim¡¯s head once was. Without thinking of anything else, he immediately locked the door to the operation theater because he knew that if the zombies entered the operation theater, he would surely die. Thankfully, Tim had about a day''s worth of food in the operation theater but he knew that he couldn''t stay there forever and had to move as soon as possible. Tim thought while the zombies started banging on the door and one of them even popped its head inside the room through the hole in the door. Seeing the zombie¡¯s head popping from the hole in the door, Tim immediately thought of something as he looked at the zombie and then the saber in his hand. He slowly walked towards the side of the door and after closing his eyes, because he himself couldn¡¯t see what he was about to do, he slashed at the bare neck of the zombie causing the zombie to die as it fell lifelessly on the floor and its head dropped inside the operation theater. He slowly opened his eyes to see the consequences of his action when suddenly, a blue panel popped in front of his eyes.
You¡¯re the [32]nd person in the world to kill a ''creature'' recognized by the system.
For your feat of killing a ''creature'', you have been rewarded with the skill ''slash''.
Skill name ¨C Slash (Active) Skill type ¨C Common Skill level ¨C Beginner Lvl.1 Description ¨C Allows you to perform a moderately powerful slash with your weapon while it¡¯s power is increased by 75%. Skill attributes increase with increase in skill level. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Consumption cost ¨C 3 SP Skill book formation chance ¨C 25% Special effects ¨C None
¡°Skills?? Wait I am forgetting something extremely important from those novels and mangas that I have read. Hmmmmm, Oh yeah how can I forget something so important!!¡± Tim thought as he immediately screamed out in excitement ¡°Status window¡±.
Name - Tim VenegardRace - Homo Sapien
Level - 1 Class - ????
HP - 100/100MP - 0 ( Invest points in spirit )
Strength - 23Agility - 19
Vitality - 25Stamina - 18/18
Wisdom - 22Spirit - 0
UNALLOCATED POINTS :None
SKILLS :Divine Serenity, Slash
ITEMS :Lowest Level Sword
''Okay, since my status window mentions levels so, it must be true that I can get stronger by killing these zombies and other monsters that might have come with those spherical balls of light. First, I have to get my priorities straight- Get stronger, meet up with my parents and get to a survivor camp if any, or a safe place¡¯ Surprisingly, even after watching his best friend die in front of his eyes, killing a zombie that was about to kill him, he calmed down pretty fast. He picked up the head and threw it out of the broken windows on the other side and then covered it with a board using surgical tape to prevent any other zombies or monsters to come in from the outside. Tom then looked at another zombie that was popping its head from the hole in the door despite the fact that its comrade had died at the hands of the blue eyed man who was standing inside the operation theater while the other zombies kept on banging the door. Tim knew that due to the banging of the zombies, the door would not last for more than about 30 minutes since it wasn¡¯t very strong. He had to do something fast and he knew exactly what as he raised his saber above the head of the zombie that was popping through the hole in the door and a devilish grin formed on his face ¡­¡­ ______________________________ Author''s Note : Please follow, favourite, rate and review as it means very much to me and is the only thing that helps me keep going. Anyways, thanks for reading Chapter 3 : Moving Out The decapitated head of the zombie fell inside the operation theater while another zombie did the same as the previous one and popped it¡¯s head inside. Paying no heed to the decapitated head of the zombie, Tim raised his saber above the head of the zombie and slashed his saber downwards. After killing the 3rd zombie, the much awaited blue window popped up in front of Tim¡¯s face
You have leveled up.
For your feat of leveling up, you have been rewarded with 10 unallocated stat points.
Since, Tim already knew the different stats he had, he immediately added 5 points to stamina and 5 to agility knowing that increasing these stats would help him in escaping from the operation theater and outrunning the horde of zombies. Still, he felt that 10 unallocated stat points was a bit too much and knew that there would be a catch somewhere but since he didn¡¯t knew anything, so he could only hope for the best. After allocating his stat points, Tim noticed that the zombies had stopped popping their heads through the hole in the door probably because the pile of corpses on the other side of the door prevented them from doing so. ¡®Damn, now I wont be able to level up further. Looks like I was a bit too optimistic in thinking that the zombies would keep popping their heads inside and I would be able to gain a lot of levels. Now, I¡¯ll have to implement the next part of my plan with only a 25% increase in my agility and stamina.¡¯ Tim execrated as he picked up several elastic rolls of bandages from the operation theater which were to be used for the surgery. He opened up those large rolls and without hesitation, he wrapped loads and loads of elastic bandages around his head, his neck, his lower jaw, his abdomen and bit of it on his legs too. After he had completed wrapping himself up in elastic bandages, he had a half an inch thick covering of it on his head, neck and lower jaw while it was quarter an inch thick on his abdomen and his foot. Though, the bandages looked awkward and Tim also felt uncomfortable wearing it, Tim could not care less about such trivial things during an apocalypse. The reason why we was wrapping so many rolls of bandages around his body was because he knew that the biggest problem and danger during a zombie apocalypse was infection that spread through bruises and zombie bites, and it was highly likely that the same case was here too. These bandages would protect Tim from zombie bites and bruises and they could also reduce the damage he takes if he falls or is hit with something blunt thereby preventing him from incurring a fatal injury that could kill him. Even though these bandages would reduce his agility and increase his stamina consumption, he could probably move at the same speed with which he could move before the apocalypse because of the stats he had increased just now. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The reason why Tim was doing everything with so much haste was because he wanted to ascertain the safety of his parents as soon as possible and also because of the fact that he didn¡¯t knew how long would the door to the operation theater last with the continuous banging of the zombies. He knew that if he is surrounded by a horde of zombies in the cramped operation theater, he would surely die while he would at least have a shot at surviving if he ran outside. ¡®Okay, so now I have to make a run for the pawn shop that is about 70-80 meters away from the hospital and then he to the police station which is a further 200 meters away. Although, I don¡¯t know the condition of the outside world or if it is better than the condition inside the hospital, I have to bet on it this time and just pray that I survive. Well, even if I die, at least I¡¯ll die as a gallant warrior.¡¯ Tim thought as he chuckled to himself though it was no time to do a comedy. After that, he immediately stored 2 cans of food in his pockets and put some of the surgical tools such as scissors, scalpel and forceps in his makeshift bandage belt thinking that would come in handy while fighting the zombies or monsters along with his saber. He then peeped through the window which he had covered with black cardboard hoping to find a few zombies however, unlike his expectation, the concrete ground was devoid of any zombie except for a few bloodstains here and there and some broken bones lying on the concrete ground. ¡®Hmmmm, there should at least be a few zombie patients or doctors here, but strangely there aren¡¯t any and those bloodstains and broken bones lying everywhere give me an ominous feeling, but I have to move out. Well, whatever is waiting there for me can¡¯t be worse than a horde of 100 zombies standing in hallway¡­. Right?¡¯ Tim thought to himself as he jumped out of the window on full alert unaware of the danger about to bestow him¡­. ________________________________ Author''s Note : Please follow, favourite, rate and review as it means very much to me and is the only thing that helps me keep going. Anyways, thanks for reading. Chapter 4 : Optimism As soon as Tim exited the operation theater, Tim felt an extremely ugly odour permeating the air due to which, he immediately covered his nose with his free left hand. After he made sure that the nauseating stench no longer entered his nose or his mouth, he began running forward. Tim had ran without facing any trouble for a good 10-15 seconds and was about to reach one end of the hospital which was very close to the entrance of the hospital when suddenly something hard hit Tim on his left hand due to which he was forcefully thrown into the air. He flew for a good 1 or 2 meters before finally crashing into the hospital building. This was the situation in which Tim¡¯s makeshift protection on his neck and abdomen truly payed off. Although, Tim suspected the left hand, which had taken the full force of the attack to be broken and some minor injuries he took from crashing into the building, there wasn¡¯t any fatal injury. Tim then looked in the direction from which he received the attack only to find that a grey ferocious looking cat which was as almost as large as a fully grown tiger, blood dripping from it¡¯s mouth was looking at Tim with bloodshot eyes filled with incomparable killing intent. Tim stood up despite the injury on his arm because he knew that lying there and doing nothing would get him killed. He then heightened all his senses to the maximum amount and fixated his eyes and attention towards the mutant cat. As soon as Tim stood up, the mutant cat started running towards him with a speed which was incomparable to any human or cat that he had seen before. Thankfully, Tim¡¯s reaction was increased due to his unique skill as he immediately jumped out of the way of the pounce of the cat. Even though he had used all the force in his legs, he couldn¡¯t completely evade the attack of the mutant as it was extremely fast. He sustained claw wounds on his left while blood dripped from the wound and stained the sleeve of his shirt. Tim felt pain like never before as he howled out aloud in pain however, fate wasn¡¯t so good willed to allow him stop yet. Gritting his teeth, Tim bit his lip as hard as he could so that at least he could counter the attacks of the mutant cat. ¡®Shit, shit, shit, what should I do? At this rate, I¡¯d definitely die. Think Tim, think, there must be something that you could use to counter this cat.¡¯ Tim was cursing in his mind when he had an epiphany. The cat was, by now, running towards Tim again however, this time instead of running away, side stepping or trying to evade Tim also ran towards the cat at full speed. If anyone saw a person running towards a tiger like beast, they would definitely assume that he is a lunatic however, Tim had something even greater going on in his mind. As soon as both the cat and Tim closed in on each other, Tim immediately screamed out ¡°Slash¡± with a hint of pride and gave a disparaging look to the cat thinking that this move would surely kill the cat. However, the cat was very agile as it quickly sidestepped out of the range the attack and jumped to the side thereby easily evading it. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡®Damn! I thought that this would be a sure kill move but to think that it didn¡¯t even faze the cat and it was 3 of my precious stamina points due to which I¡¯m feeling fatigued already. Looks like this cat is on a much higher level than me and probably, I was a bit too optimistic to think that a common skill would kill a mutant cat that could easily decimate a horde of zombies. I¡¯ve got to think of something and fast because the longer the battle drags out, the lower my chances become of surviving. I only have the stamina to use the skill again once or twice without risking to face the consequences of stamina exhaustion.¡¯ Just as he was pondering about his next move the cat started dashing towards him when he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. This time, when the cat pounded at him, instead of side stepping or evading, Tim simple slid underneath the pounding mutant cat. When Tim was just below the abdomen of the mutant cat, he immediately activated his skill ¡®slash¡¯. He was definitely hoping to kill the cat this time because, however strong a beast may be, it can¡¯t survive an attack to it¡¯s abdomen¡­. Well, al least that¡¯s what Tim thought because of the study he had done in medical sciences before the apocalypse. However, what Tim didn¡¯t knew was that this world wasn¡¯t his normal everyday world that would follow every law of science and opposite to his expectation, his slash wasn¡¯t able to penetrate through the rock hard hide of the mutant cat. Instead of dying or even getting it¡¯s stomach and entrails hurt, what it did receive was a minor wound on it¡¯s stomach. ¡®No, no, no, don¡¯t shit with me destiny! Are you kidding me? That was a direct slash to the abdomen with an 75% increase in my slash power where my normal slashes were easily able to decapitate those normal zombies?¡¯ The cat got up again, however this time something had changed- not it¡¯s body posture, not it¡¯s HP and neither it¡¯s stomach which was almost unharmed, however what had changed were it¡¯s eyes which were filled with unprecedented anger and killing intent while looking down on the lowly human that had caused it to suffer an injury. Seeing the rage filled eyes of the mutant cat, only one thought came to Tim¡¯s mind¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m f***ed.¡± ________________________________ Author''s Note: Please follow, favourite, rate and review as it means very much to me and is the only thing that helps me keep going. And yeah, I''m eventually trying to increase the word count of the chapters. Please feel free to point out any mistakes I''ve made in the comments. Chapter 5 : On The Verge Of Death Tim had lost almost all hope to survive and was about to just sit there and await his death. He had even began remembering all his loved ones like his parents, relatives and his friends when suddenly, his mind caught on to something which the last silver of hope he had. What Tim suddenly remembered which gave him the last silver of hope was the weak spot that every creature must have ¨C be it a dragon or the mutant cat in front of him. It¡¯s Eyes!!!!! Tim now knew what he had to do if he wished to survive. The mutant cat pounced at Tim again hoping to turn him into minced meat however, this time it¡¯s pouncing speed was about 10-15% lower than the previous one probably because of the wound that it had received on it¡¯s stomach. This time however, Tim didn¡¯t even try to jump to the side or slide underneath the cat. He just casually took half a step to the side and immediately took a pair of scissors from his makeshift belt. As soon as the mutant cat closed in on him, he immediately stabbed it on the eye of the mutant cat with full force. Although Tim was able to weaken the cat quite a lot by attacking it¡¯s weak spot, it came at a price ¨C his left hand. The claws of the mutant cat had fully slashed his left hand and now, even his bone was visible to the naked eye. It was only because of the reduced pound speed of the cat that Tim was able to escape with only a wound on his left hand. If the cat had pounded at Tim with full speed, his left hand would¡¯ve definitely been removed from it¡¯s socket. Tim felt an unbearable amount of pain through his pain receptors in his brain. He bit his lip as hard as he could, due to which blood dripped from it and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Due to continuous blood loss, Tim¡¯s HP had dropped down to a staggering 20% as his eyes felt hazy and his face turned pale. He knew that he had to continue the battle and end it fast because he needed emergency medical care. The longer the battle dragged out, the lower his chances of survival became. However, even though Tim was at his limit, the cat still wasn¡¯t dead. It had about 30% of its HP left. The cat also got up despite its injury, however this time it didn¡¯t just mindlessly charge at Tim probably because even the cat was at it¡¯s limit. The rage and disparage in the cat¡¯s eyes had vanished because it knew that Tim wasn¡¯t some pushover and it would surely die if it isn¡¯t careful while fighting him. Tim forcefully pushed aside the pain as he ran towards the cat with all the leftover strength he could muster. The cat too, did the same and started dashing towards at about 40% of it¡¯s previous agility. As soon as the cat closed in on Tim immediately activated his skill ¡®slash¡¯. Since, the cat was not as fast as it was in the starting, it couldn¡¯t evade the blunt of the attack and the attack hit it square in it¡¯s uninjured left eye. Due to the force of the attack, the cat was thrown sideways while Tim felt the recoil of the attack on his hand. Not one to miss an opportunity, Tim ran towards the fallen cat and immediately stabbed his saber into the brain of the cat through it¡¯s eye socket. Tim¡¯s last move was the finisher as the cat finally died and 2 sweet blue windows popped up in front of him If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
You have leveled up.
For your feat of leveling up, you have been rewarded with 10 unallocated stat points.
You have leveled up.
For your feat of leveling up, you have been rewarded with 10 unallocated stat points.
However, Tim had no time to allocate his stat points as he would die soon if he is not given medical care. Time took one last look at the body of the cat only to find that a vial, about 6 inch tall, filled with red liquid had materialized on the corpse of the cat. ¡®Hopefully, this is a HP potion, cause if it isn¡¯t I¡¯d definitely die.¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately removed the cork of the vial and gulped down the liquid in one go. Although, the vial didn¡¯t instantly heal all his injuries, he felt a comfortable sense of warmth on all his wounds like a nurse was nursing him. Tim also noticed that his HP had stopped dropping however, he still wasn¡¯t out of the danger. If the blood loss wasn¡¯t stopped from his left hand, he could still die. To counter this problem, Tim immediately some of the elastic bandage from his leg and wrapped it around his left arm to stop the bleeding. After the bleeding stopped, Tim¡¯s HP started increasing, slowly but steadily. Tim was also exhausted to the point where he could go in slumber and not wake up for a whole day however, if he rested there, it would be completely plausible if he is infected by some random passerby zombie. He immediately remembered something as he added all the 20 unallocated points he had got from leveling up twice to his stamina. Tim felt rejuvenated like he had rested for hours, but it still wasn¡¯t as enough and he had to get somewhere safe to recover fully. ¡®I won¡¯t be able to reach the pawn shop if I move in my current condition. First I¡¯ve got to fully recover my stamina and HP by treating the few other wounds that I¡¯ve got. Oh yeah, I should probably go the basement bunker where all the extra stock of medicines and surgical equipment is kept. Since, many people don¡¯t wander around the bunker, I think there shouldn¡¯t be more than 2-3 zombies whom I could easily handle with my skill. There is also the metal reinforced security gate which can only be opened by using the ID so it could also act as a safe spot where I could rest.¡¯ Tim thought as he started moving towards the direction the bunker. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t encounter any zombie while making his way to the bunker. In the basement, there were three zombies that were banging the door to the bunker. Tim stealthily moved through the basement and reached the back of the zombies without gaining their attention. Upon reaching their backs, he immediately used his skill ¡®slash¡¯, decapitating all three of them at once. After killing the three zombies, Tim immediately used his ID to enter the bunker, closed the door and slumped down on the ground as he fell into deep slumber because of the exhausting battle that he had gone through. ____________________________________ Author¡¯s Note : Please follow, favourite, rate and review as it means very much to me and is the only thing that helps me keep going. And yeah, I''m eventually trying to increase the word count of the chapters. Please feel free to point out any mistakes I''ve made in the comments. Chapter 6 : In The Bunker *Yawn* ¡®What a strange dream? Dungeons, monsters and magic? A voice resounding in the ears? Those things can only happen in novels and mangas.¡¯ Tim thought as he slowly woke up and felt his surroundings using his hands only to find that he was sleeping on hard concrete while his hand got covered in dust. ¡®Damn, so it really wasn¡¯t a dream.¡¯ Tim thought as he regained his conscious and senses while slowly getting up. ¡®For how long was I asleep?¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately took a look at the wall clock hanging on the wall of the bunker. The shorter hand of the clock pointed at 5 while the longer one pointed at 1. ¡®Looks like I was asleep for about 3 hours which is completely plausible considering my condition after the battle. I¡¯ve got to check my status window to find out how much I¡¯ve recovered.¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately opened his status window.
Name - Tim VenegardRace - Homo Sapien
Level - 4 Class - ????
HP - 138/250MP - 0 ( Invest points in spirit )
Strength - 23Agility - 24
Vitality - 25Stamina - 28/43
Wisdom - 22Spirit - 0
UNALLOCATED POINTS :None
SKILLS :Divine Serenity, Slash
ITEMS :Lowest Level Sword
¡®Woah, my max HP has increased by 150% since the start of the apocalypse. It must be because of the level ups since, I haven¡¯t invested a single point in vitality. So, it must mean that I gain an increase of 50 in my max HP with each subsequent level up. Now that I think about it, my left arm doesn¡¯t hurt that much¡­¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately used his right hand to check the wound on his left one. As soon as he pressed the right hand on his left hand a bit, he felt an excruciating pain, not in his left, but right arm. Tim immediately removed his right hand and inspected it thoroughly since he was a doctor before the apocalypse. ¡®Looks like the injury on my left hand has healed quite a bit since the pain is no longer unbearable however, due to the continuous usage of my right arm to attack the monster with my untrained body, I¡¯ve sprained my right wrist.¡¯ Tim thought as he got up from the floor despite the pain while he inspected the stock of medicines, bandages, surgical equipments and canned food in the bunker. There were a few zombies that were still banging the metal door, though to no avail. Paying no heed to the continuous banging on the door, Tim went around the bunker and took all the medicines and bandages he needed after which he sat on a chair and kept all the medicines on the floor. He then took some normal bandages and put them on the few swellings on his face and legs that he had got as a result of falling several times. For his sprained right wrist, Tim applied some ointment and then used a sterile pad on it to improve the rate of recovery. He then removed the temporary first aid that he had done on his left arm after the battle and what he saw truly amazed him ¨C the bone was no longer visible to the naked eye and the wound had closed to some extent while the blood had clot. Tim estimated that the wound be fully healed in 3-4 days. Tim was dumbstruck seeing the condition of his wound because he had never seen nor heard of such an astonishing rate of recovery in his entire medical career. He applied some medicine to it and then another set of elastic bandages. After all was done, he took a pain killer and stored some painkillers in his pockets too because he didn¡¯t want the pain to hinder his progress and battle prowess. Just as he was about to sit down *grumble*, he heard a sound coming from below him. He immediately took a step back, picked up his saber that was kept on the ground and then looked in the direction from which the sound came only to find that nothing was present on that place. Just as he was about to shrug off the sound as his imagination, he heard the sound of grumbling again but this he understood that the sound was coming from his stomach because he hadn¡¯t eaten for a while. His cheeks turned red in embarrassment as he immediately picked up a can of fish from the bunker and ate it. ¡®Okay, looks like all the tasks here are settled but I should probably rest for an hour before moving on because acting in haste could get me killed.¡¯ Tim thought as he got down to rest in the bunker however, this time he didn¡¯t fall asleep. While resting, Tim was wondering about many things- Had the government fallen? What was the situation of the outside world? How was the rest of the world coping with the apocalypse? Who had caused this and what is his motive?. Just as he was pondering over these questions, he remembered that he hadn¡¯t properly analysed the system that included his stats, skills and weapons since the beginning of the apocalypse because he was in a hurry. He immediately opened up his status window
Name - Tim VenegardRace - Homo Sapien
Level - 4 Class - ????
HP - 209/250MP - 0 ( Invest points in spirit )
Strength - 23Agility - 24
Vitality - 25Stamina - 39/43
Wisdom - 22Spirit - 0
UNALLOCATED POINTS :None
SKILLS :Divine Serenity, Slash
ITEMS :Lowest Level Sword
¡®Hmmm, now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t invested a single point in vitality and the max HP is raised by level ups, so what role does vitality has to play? Looks like I¡¯ll have to invest some points in vitality the next time I level up to find out exactly what it does. Looking at the MP, I can guess that investing some points in spirit give me access to mana through which I will be able do magic. I wonder if I get some OP skill books so that I needn¡¯t have to worry about dying from a random monster. Well nah, I don¡¯t think so cause killing that overpowered cat just gave me a single health potion. I can¡¯t even imagine what I¡¯ll have to do to get a strong skill book. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The rest of the stats like stamina, wisdom, agility and strength are pretty easy to understand since their names are self descriptive of their functions. Next, is class which most probably, I would be able to choose when I reach a particular level. As for race, I wonder if race change is possible or if there are any other races besides humans that might¡¯ve appeared? Guess I¡¯ve got to hope for the best. Okay, so now let¡¯s analyse my skills and weapon.¡¯ After that, Tim immediately opened the status screen of his 2 skills and his saber.
Skill Name - Divine Serenity (Passive) Skill Type ¨C Unique Skill Level ¨C Beginner Lvl. 2 Description ¨C Reduces fear and disgust by 81% and allows the user to think calmly in any situation. Increases reaction time by 30.5%. Skill attributes increase with increase in the skill level. Skill book formation chance ¨C 0.1% Special Effects ¨C Locked
Skill name ¨C Slash (Active) Skill type ¨C Common Skill level ¨C Beginner Lvl.2 Description ¨C Allows you to perform a moderately powerful slash with your weapon while it¡¯s power is increased by 76%. Skill attributes increase with increase in skill level. Consumption cost ¨C 3 SP Skill book formation chance ¨C 25% Special effects ¨C None
Lowest level saber Damage - 5-12 Durability - 8/10 Trade Value - ????? Description - The most basic sword provided by the system to the players. It has low damage and low durability. Skills ¨C None
¡®Woah, I didn¡¯t notice till now that the first skill I got was a unique skill, probably that¡¯s why it has so many attributes unlike ¡¯slash¡¯. Hmmm, both my skills have leveled up too. I can understand the cause of leveling up of the ¡®slash¡¯ because I used it so many times but I wonder what caused a passive skill to level up? Well, I guess I¡¯ll try to find it out later on. Next is, ¡®Skill book formation chance¡¯ which is extremely low in the unique skill and much higher in the normal one. Skill books can only be formed when a monster dies so that means that if, I die there is a chance that my skills may form a skill book. Wait! That¡¯ll cause infighting among people if they come to know about this. Damn! Now I wont be able to trust any person I cross paths with. Looks like I¡¯ll have to stay on guard against monsters and humans alike. My unique skill also mentions a locked special effect, Hah! I wonder if it¡¯ll be overpowered. The durability of my weapon has also dropped by 2 which means 20% of the original durability. Looks like I¡¯ll have to use it carefully or else it won¡¯t last for more than a day or two and it is the only good weapon I have till now.¡¯ Tim thought to himself and closed all the blue windows. He then prepared himself to move out of the bunker since one hour had passed while he was analyzing his skills and stats. Since, elastic bandages were even more abundant here, he again wrapped then on his head,forehead, neck, legs and on his waist. This time however, he made the coverings about 50% thicker than before. He then picked up some surgical tools such as forceps, scissors and scalpel in his makeshift belt. He then picked up a bag and stored 3 days worth of canned food, some useful medicines and a bottle of water. He then ate another painkiller and did some exercise to stretch his muscles. After everything was done, he re-checked everything, just to be sure and then went towards the door of the bunker with a steeled resolve. However, Tim wasn¡¯t so dumb to charge into a group of zombies mindlessly. He took some fine thread used for surgical purposes and tied it up on 2 shelves that were on either side of the gate so that the zombies would trip and fall as soon as they enter the bunker making it easier and safer to kill them. He then slowly opened the door and immediately jumped back because he knew that the zombies on the other side of the bunker would mindlessly charge at him. The moment the door opened, the 5 zombies that were banging the door moved forward and as expected, they tripped to the thread. Not one to miss a chance, Tim immediately used his saber to decapitate all of them at once without giving them a chance to retaliate. Thankfully, there weren¡¯t any more zombies maundering around in the basement because it wasn¡¯t very large. Just as he was about to move forward, he was interrupted by 2 blue panels blocking his vision.
You have leveled up.
For your feat of leveling up, you have been rewarded with 10 unallocated stat points.
Since you have leveled up to level 5, you are now eligible to avail a class change
__________________________ Author¡¯s Note: Sorry for the delay, I had gone to an optician who had proscribed me from using any kind of gadget for 2-3 days. Please answer the poll and point out any mistake I¡¯ve made in the comments, I¡¯ll fix it. Anyways, thanks for reading. Chapter 7 : Class Change
You are the [34]th person in the world to reach level 5 and obtain a class change. As a reward, you now have an option to avail a unique class that hasn¡¯t been availed by other players yet.
Do you wish to choose a unique class?
¡°Yes!¡± Tim immediately screamed out in excitement but only after closing the metallic door of the bunker to prevent any monsters from coming into the bunker while he is choosing his class. As soon as Tim closed the door, a blue panel appeared in front of his face which showed 50 classes however, some of them had been greyed out which probably meant that they had been availed by other players. The classes which had been greyed out included some like [Bloody Berserker], [Holy Swordsmanship], [Elemental Archer] and many others. Tim immediately clicked all three of them since they looked the most attractive judging by their name and three blue panels popped in front of him
Class- Bloody Berserker Class Type- Unique Description- Keep your mind during the berserk mode and raise your battle prowess through the blood of your enemies.
CHOSEN
Class- Elemental Archer Class Type- Unique Description- Raise the strength of your arrows through the power of elements.
CHOSEN
Class- Holy Swordsmanship Class Type- Unique Description- The most powerful swordsman with the attribute of light who is also a born leader.
CHOSEN
¡®Damn, the information about these unique classes is extremely less. It doesn¡¯t even help to discern which class is better than which one.¡¯ Tim thought while swiping through the class list. While scrolling through the list, he opened up class descriptions of classes [Agile Warrior] and [Battle Tactician] which hadn¡¯t been chosen yet.
Class- Agile Warrior Class Type- Unique Description- Overpower your opponent through the nimble use of your body.
Would you like to choose this class?
YesNo
Class- Battle Tactician Class Type- Unique Description- Use your wits to think ahead in time and defeat your enemy.
Would you like to choose this class?
YesNo
Of course, Tim didn¡¯t choose any of them because he didn¡¯t want to choose his class in haste as it determined his survival chances. Just as he was scrolling through the class list, a class name caught his eye [Taming Summoner]. Though, it had a strange name and wasn¡¯t even appealing to the eye, Tim thought that it was a bit strange and he immediately opened the its class description
Class- Taming Summoner Class Type- Unique Description- Gain the power to tame your enemies and control them using your will.
Would you like to choose this class?
YesNo
¡®Eh? What¡¯s with this crappy description? All the other unique classes had an eye catching name or description however, this class has nothing special or more than a normal taming class. And, what¡¯s with the summoner thing? There¡¯s no mention of summoning in the description.¡¯ Tim was definitely not going to opt that class and was about to press ¡®No¡¯ when suddenly he heard a loud noise from the outside and at the same time, some rubble and dust fell from the roof. The sudden noise and the rubble distracted his attention and instead of pressing ¡®No¡¯, he mistakenly pressed ¡®Yes¡¯ after which a blue panel popped in front of his face. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Congratulations, you have chosen the class [Taming Summoner]
Class- Taming Summoner Class Type- Unique Class Level- 1 Description- This class once belonged to one of the strongest ancient races that got stronger by taming demonic beasts. This class allows the user to tame monsters and at the same time, get stronger using the stats of the tamed beasts. Also, this class saves you the hassle of taking your tamed beasts with you everywhere. Class Skills- Tamer 3 Dimensional Monster Storage Stat Sharing Last Breath
For your feat of successfully availing a unique class, you have been rewarded with 30 unallocated stat points.
¡®What the f***? What was that noise outside and why was there no panel asking for confirmation of the class? Wait a second.¡¯ Tim thought as he inspected the new class description. ¡®The class description changed? So, it means that you have to bet your luck on choosing a class? Well, since this class is already chosen, there¡¯s most probably nothing that I could do so anyway, I¡¯ll inspect the 4 class skills first before moving out of here since that strange noise was definitely something dangerous.¡¯ Tim immediately opened up the description of his 4 class skills as 4 blue panels popped in front of his face.
Tamer Description- Allows you to tame 2 intelligent beasts, however, not more than 15 levels above your level. Taming Chance- 10% if HP is below 20% 40% if HP is below 5% 100% if HP is below 1%
3 Dimensional Monster Storage Description- Allows you to store your tamed beasts in 3 dimensional storage. The stored beasts can be summoned twice in one day. Storage Capacity- 2
Stat Sharing Description- You gain 10% of your tamed beasts stats added in your total stats. The stat bonus disappears if the tamed beast dies.
Last Breath Description- Locked(You have to tame a beast first.)
¡®Okay, so the class description mentions levels too which most probably means that the class skills and attributes might also increase as I progress further which is of no f***ing use since this class is useless. Though, I can get 10% of my tamed beasts stats, but it is impossible to tame one. That, cat from earlier almost killed and if I had to tame with a full 100% chance, I¡¯ll have to reduce it¡¯s HP to below 1% which is insanely impossible. Damn! I¡¯m gonna f***ing kill whoever made that noise and caused the rubble to fall from the roof. Well, on the good side, at least I got 30 stat points which is worth 3 level ups. I wonder how many stat points I would have gained if I had chosen a normal class.¡¯ Just as Tim was pondering over his new class, the loud noise resounded in his ears again and at the same time, some concrete blocks fell inside the bunker grazing Tim by a breadth of a hair. ¡®Damn! I¡¯ve got to get out of here fast. Whatever thing is doing this is definitely too powerful and is not going to stop here.¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately opened the door of the bunker and ran outside taking his backpack and stored some surgical equipments in his belt. He made a run outside after killing the 2-3 zombies blocking his way using his saber. He had just got out of the basement and was expecting at least the buildings to be intact because it wasn¡¯t possible for beasts or zombies to be able to destroy them however, it was nothing like he had ever expected¡­ _________________________ Author¡¯s Note: Sorry for the delay, but I only write this novel for fun so there will be infrequent updates. And as always, follow, favourite, rate, review and comment because it¡¯s the only thing that helps me keep going. Thanks for reading! Chapter 7 : Class Change
You are the [34]th person in the world to reach level 5 and obtain a class change. As a reward, you now have an option to avail a unique class that hasn¡¯t been availed by other players yet.
Do you wish to choose a unique class?
¡°Yes!¡± Tim immediately screamed out in excitement but only after closing the metallic door of the bunker to prevent any monsters from coming into the bunker while he is choosing his class. As soon as Tim closed the door, a blue panel appeared in front of his face which showed 50 classes however, some of them had been greyed out which probably meant that they had been availed by other players. The classes which had been greyed out included some like [Bloody Berserker], [Holy Swordsmanship], [Elemental Archer] and many others. Tim immediately clicked all three of them since they looked the most attractive judging by their name and three blue panels popped in front of him
Class- Bloody Berserker Class Type- Unique Description- Keep your mind during the berserk mode and raise your battle prowess through the blood of your enemies.
CHOSEN
Class- Elemental Archer Class Type- Unique Description- Raise the strength of your arrows through the power of elements.
CHOSEN
Class- Holy Swordsmanship Class Type- Unique Description- The most powerful swordsman with the attribute of light who is also a born leader.
CHOSEN
¡®Damn, the information about these unique classes is extremely less. It doesn¡¯t even help to discern which class is better than which one.¡¯ Tim thought while swiping through the class list. While scrolling through the list, he opened up class descriptions of classes [Agile Warrior] and [Battle Tactician] which hadn¡¯t been chosen yet.
Class- Agile Warrior Class Type- Unique Description- Overpower your opponent through the nimble use of your body.
Would you like to choose this class?
YesNo
Class- Battle Tactician Class Type- Unique Description- Use your wits to think ahead in time and defeat your enemy.
Would you like to choose this class?
YesNo
Of course, Tim didn¡¯t choose any of them because he didn¡¯t want to choose his class in haste as it determined his survival chances. Just as he was scrolling through the class list, a class name caught his eye [Taming Summoner]. Though, it had a strange name and wasn¡¯t even appealing to the eye, Tim thought that it was a bit strange and he immediately opened the its class description
Class- Taming Summoner Class Type- Unique Description- Gain the power to tame your enemies and control them using your will.
Would you like to choose this class?
YesNo
¡®Eh? What¡¯s with this crappy description? All the other unique classes had an eye catching name or description however, this class has nothing special or more than a normal taming class. And, what¡¯s with the summoner thing? There¡¯s no mention of summoning in the description.¡¯ Tim was definitely not going to opt that class and was about to press ¡®No¡¯ when suddenly he heard a loud noise from the outside and at the same time, some rubble and dust fell from the roof. The sudden noise and the rubble distracted his attention and instead of pressing ¡®No¡¯, he mistakenly pressed ¡®Yes¡¯ after which a blue panel popped in front of his face.
Congratulations, you have chosen the class [Taming Summoner]
Class- Taming Summoner Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.Class Type- Unique Class Level- 1 Description- This class once belonged to one of the strongest ancient races that got stronger by taming demonic beasts. This class allows the user to tame intelligent beasts and at the same time, get stronger using the stats of the tamed beasts. Also, this class saves you the hassle of taking your tamed beasts with you everywhere.
Class Skills:1. Tamer 2. 3 Dimensional Monster Storage 3. Stat Sharing 4. Last Breath
For your feat of successfully availing a unique class, you have been rewarded with 30 unallocated stat points.
¡®What the f***? What was that noise outside and why was there no panel asking for confirmation of the class? Wait a second.¡¯ Tim thought as he inspected the new class description. ¡®The class description changed? So, it means that you have to bet your luck on choosing a class? Well, since this class is already chosen, there¡¯s most probably nothing that I could do so anyway, I¡¯ll inspect the 4 class skills first before moving out of here since that strange noise was definitely something dangerous.¡¯ Tim immediately opened up the description of his 4 class skills as 4 blue panels popped in front of his face.
Tamer Description- Allows you to tame 2 intelligent beasts, however, not more than 15 levels above your level. Taming Chance-10% if HP is below 20% 40% if HP is below 5% 100% if HP is below 1%
3 Dimensional Monster Storage Description- Allows you to store your tamed beasts in 3 dimensional storage. The stored beasts can be summoned twice in one day. Storage Capacity- 2
Stat Sharing Description- You gain 10% of your tamed beasts stats added in your total stats. The stat bonus disappears if the tamed beast dies.
Last Breath Description- Locked(You have to tame a beast first.)
¡®Okay, so the class description mentions levels too which most probably means that the class skills and attributes might also increase as I progress further which is of no f***ing use since this class is useless. Though, I can get 10% of my tamed beasts stats, but it is impossible to tame one. That, cat from earlier almost killed and if I had to tame with a full 100% chance, I¡¯ll have to reduce it¡¯s HP to below 1% which is insanely impossible. Damn! I¡¯m gonna f***ing kill whoever made that noise and caused the rubble to fall from the roof. Well, on the good side, at least I got 30 stat points which is worth 3 level ups. I wonder how many stat points I would have gained if I had chosen a normal class.¡¯ Just as Tim was pondering over his new class, the loud noise resounded in his ears again and at the same time, some concrete blocks fell inside the bunker grazing Tim by a breadth of a hair. ¡®Damn! I¡¯ve got to get out of here fast. Whatever thing is doing this is definitely too powerful and is not going to stop here.¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately opened the door of the bunker and ran outside taking his backpack and storing some surgical equipments in his belt. He made a run outside after killing the 2-3 zombies blocking his way using his saber. He had just got out of the basement and was expecting at least the buildings to be intact because it wasn¡¯t possible for beasts or zombies to be able to destroy them however, it was nothing like he had ever expected¡­ _________________________ Author¡¯s Note: Sorry for the delay, but I only write this novel for fun so there will be infrequent updates. And as always, follow, favourite, rate, review and comment because it¡¯s the only thing that helps me keep going. By the way, I''ve edited the previous chapters a bit however, the general plot remains the same so the you won''t have to reread them. Anyways, thanks for reading! Chapter 8 : Condition Of The Outside World Standing in the heavy breeze of the evening sun, Tim couldn¡¯t believe that he was in New York anymore. All the high skyscrapers that were meant to be everywhere weren¡¯t around there anymore. This was the city of skyscrapers? Only about 5% of the buildings were left intact and they were at most 1 storey or 2 storey high except for a few skyscrapers here and there. Even the hospital building which was 5 storey high was now 50% rubble. The wall around the hospital had been destroyed too. Before Tim could even wonder about who had caused all that destruction, all the zombies on the nearby streets started coming towards Tim. Tim immediately brought his mind back from the state of awe and despair, and immediately ran towards the place with the least concentration of zombies. He decimated the 2-3 zombies blocking his way using his saber by attacking at their bare neck while the other dozens of zombies started closing in in him. Tim knew that if he did nothing or tried to fight the zombies, he would definitely die. Tim looked around hoping to find something that could save his life when suddenly he saw¡­. a tree about 7-8 meters away from him. Tim ran towards that spot at his speed avoiding any zombies blocking his way. Thankfully, the zombies could only walk at about a speed of a normal person, probably even slower, so with Tim¡¯s speed he could easily evade or overpower a few zombies. As soon as Tim reached the tree, he remembered something extremely crucial¡­. that like most of the people, he had never climbed a tree. ¡®Damn, why the f*** didn¡¯t I ever climb a tree as a child? What should I do? Oh yeah¡­¡¯ Tim thought as he immediately remembered that he had 40 unallocated stat points from level up and the unique class. He immediately allocated 20 of those points to strength since that was the only thing that could help him right now. The reason why he didn¡¯t add all his points to strength was because he knew that he couldn¡¯t stay on the tree forever and would have to runaway at some point, so he saved the rest of the points for agility. As soon as Tim allocated the 20 points, he felt his muscles getting stronger and his body getting sturdier. Without even having the time to awe at this miracle, Tim immediately climbed the tree and fortunately, with his increased strength he could definitely do it even though he was carrying a bag. Just as Tim was about to reach the top of the tree, he heard a loud noise from behind only to find that the hospital building in which he used to work had turned into a pile of rubble. Tim didn¡¯t pay any heed to the collapse of the hospital building though internally, he was wondering about the type of beast had caused a building to collapse and how strong it would be. After about 15-20 seconds, Tim finally reached the top of the tree. As soon as he reached the top, he looked down only to find that a horde of about 200 zombies had gathered around the foot of the tree hoping to eat Tim alive. In the midst of the horde, Tim even saw 2 mutant dogs about 1 meter in length and half a meter wide. ¡®Well, at least I¡¯m saved for now. Now, I¡¯ve got to find out a way to escape from here. But first, I¡¯ve got to inspect my new body with increased strength.¡¯ Tim thought to himself as he checked his muscles and body only to find that his muscles were almost about the same as were while his body had become a bit sturdier. ¡®Okay, considering the condition of my body, it feels like strength increases muscle density and the constitution of the body.¡¯ Tim thought to himself as he considered the next task at hand, which was inspecting the surrounding. Just as he was inspecting the surroundings, he saw the receding figure of a 4 meter tall giant from the dust of the broken hospital building. Tim instinctively knew that this was the creature that had caused the destruction of the hospital building. Seeing the receding figure of a creature that had destroyed an entire building, Tim couldn¡¯t help but be afraid and at the same time wonder, how many of such insanely strong creatures had appeared on the earth and what would be his fate if he ever encountered one. Just as he was inspecting his surroundings, Tim looked down only to realize that he was f***ed. A horde of about 300-400 zombies had gathered all around the tree and there were also about 5-6 mutant dogs and cats in the midst of the horde. ¡®Damn, how will I get out of here?¡¯ Tim thought to himself as he started thinking and looking of ways to get out of the tough situation when he noticed that the concentration of zombies was the not the same all around the tree. ¡®Looks like there¡¯s no other way, I¡¯ll have to jump towards the side with the least concentration of zombies.¡¯ Thankfully, most of the zombies in the streets had gathered around the tree so, there were not much zombies lingering around. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. If Tim made a dash for it while the zombies are gathered around the tree, he could easily evade or probably even kill a few with his increased strength. Tim immediately got to a branch of a tree and removed some of his elastic bandage wrappings from his makeshift belt and his legs. He then wrapped the elastic bandages at the sole of his shoe evenly to reduce the force when he jumps down from the branch of the tree which was about 2 storey high. Though, it could not be considered much, with his increased body constitution, he could probably get away without a fracture. Before jumping, he allocated the rest of his 20 points to agility because he needed to be as fast as possible to evade the mutant beasts which were much more dangerous than the zombies. ¡®Okay, before jumping, I¡¯ve to decide where I¡¯ll go if I¡¯m able to evade the zombies and the mutant beasts. Hmmmm, the nearest destination which has the best safety is the pawn shop itself and thankfully, it is in the same direction in which I¡¯m about to run. Hopefully, it¡¯ll be safe since it was a mere 1 storey.¡¯ Tim thought as he allocated all of his remaining points to agility. As soon as Tim allocated the points to agility, he felt his body getting lighter and his legs gaining strength. Though, Tim was extremely scared and didn¡¯t even want to look at the horde of zombies but, he knew that as time elapsed, the situation would become more and more unfavourable for him. Tim took a large breath and readied himself for the upcoming evasion. He checked all his equipment and also made sure the elastic bandage on his sole was strong enough. When all was done, he immediately jumped towards the west which precisely had the least concentration of zombies lingering around at the base of the tree so, if he jumped with all his strength he could get in front of those zombies and run away. As soon as he jumped, the branch from which he had jumped broke and he was now about 20 meters high above the ground. Tim internally prayed to god hoping for the best and fortunately he was able to reach the other side of the zombies. When he landed on the ground, he performed a somersault and with his increased constitution and protection, he was able to get away with a minor sprain. Tim immediately looked back only to find that while the zombies hadn¡¯t even understood what had happened, the mutant beasts amidst the horde were making their way towards Tim. Tim had just taken a step to run, when he felt that he had stepped on something. He looked only to find that he had unknowingly stepped on the entrails of a dead person. He looked forward on the road, only to find that the whole rod was littered with cut-off heads, entrails, eyes and many other body parts. Seeing the horrifying scene, Tim felt nauseated and scared but he had no time to puke because the mutant beasts were closing in on him. Ignoring the nauseating stench and horrifying scene, Tim ran as fast he could stepping on several body parts. Thankfully, his skill had prevented him from losing his conscious that instant and he was able to run at his maximum speed which was about 100% faster than before the apocalypse. The zombies on the street were happily feasting on the corpses and they didn¡¯t even have the time to react to Tim who was running so fast. The mutant beasts did not lag behind too as they kept chasing Tim at a speed which was slightly faster than his own. The pawn shop was only 70-80 meters away from the hospital, so even with the mutant beasts catching up on him he could reach there without getting caught. In about 3-4 seconds, Tim reached the entrance of the pawn shop. He immediately entered the pawn shop through the automatic door and closed it using the button on the side. The reason why he knew how to close it was because he was a regular visitor of the pawn shop. ¡®Phew! I¡¯m safe for now. Thank you Phil, for making the entrance with reinforced glass or else these mutant beasts would¡¯ve broken the glass till now. By the way, what¡¯s with all the corpses on the floor? My unique skill truly is extremely effective, if I had to step on entrails before the apocalypse, I would¡¯ve definitely got a heart attack but now, I¡¯m surprisingly calm.¡¯ Tim thought to himself while the mutant beasts kept on attacking the reinforced glass, though to no avail. Even though Tim was safe, he was still on full alert because he didn¡¯t knew what awaited him inside the pawn shop. Tim was carefully moving inside when he heard a female voice, ¡°H-Help¡± ______________________________________ Author¡¯s Note : As always, please follow, favourite, rate, review and let me know what you think (and point out the mistakes) in the comments. Anyways, thanks for reading. Chapter 9 : Ally? Tim carefully took off his bag and put on one of the reception desks without making any noise. Though the voice seemed desperate, but Tim was no hero and would never risk his own life for some stranger. Tim stealthily went to the side of the room from the voice was coming and peeped in it through the side of the opened door. Inside the room, the zombie corpse of Phil, the manager of the pawn shop, laid lifelessly on the ground while dark blood dripped from it is neck. Inspecting further, Tim saw that a female, probably in her 20s, was being held down by zombie who was trying to bite her while she yelled and howled in fear. The maiden¡¯s howls were so loud that they were probably enough to even shatter glass. Hearing the desperate pleas and cries of the maiden, Tim wanted to save her as a human because he definitely could without risking his life however, he didn¡¯t act immediately because if he saved the girl, he would most likely have to take on the burden of protecting her and feeding her in this apocalypse. Just as Tim was pondering over whether to save her or not while the howls of the girl continued, Tim felt that he should at least save her as he still had humanity left in him. Tim immediately ran at his top speed towards the zombie who was now just inches away from the neck of the maiden while the intensity of her screams further increased. The girl was trying to cast off the zombie by pushing it away using her hands, though to no avail. Just as when she had closed her eyes knowing that this was her end, she felt something falling slightly above her breast which was accompanied by a liquid that stained her shirt. She slowly opened her eyes, only to find that the zombie that was attacking her was now lying lifelessly on her side while its decapitated head was lying on her breast along with a lot of blood. She inspected the surroundings to find out her benefactor who had saved her, when she saw a man with blue eyes who was strangely covered all around in bandages and blood. Although, she knew that this man was her benefactor, she couldn¡¯t help but feel scared for a moment as she shrieked out in fear, though not as loud as before. The blue eyed man in front of her was surprised for a moment after which he held down his hand towards her. She stopped her screaming and slowly grabbed the hand of the blue eyed man because it probably meant that he was helping her to get up. He slowly pulled her up and brought her back to her feet. ¡°Th-Thank You for saving me. If you hadn¡¯t helped me that time, I would¡¯ve definitely died. I¡¯m Scarlett, what¡¯s your name?¡± asked Scarlett as her eyes were filled with immense respect for the blue eyed man in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m Tim. Don¡¯t misunderstand me but I¡¯m no hero or savior, I just did what felt right but now you¡¯re on your own. I¡¯m not going to take your responsibility, you¡¯re free to do what you want.¡± replied Tim. Though his words may seem heartless, he was just being practical as he didn¡¯t want to waste precious resources of food for some stranger. ¡°B-But how will a lone girl like me survive in a world of zombies and monsters?¡± asked Scarlett as she felt that someone had stabbed her listening to the words of Tim who was probably strong. ¡°Not my problem.¡± ¡°P-Please, let me stay with you, I¡¯m willing to do anything.¡± Scarlett had already faced the horrors of the new world and was about to die once, so she knew that it was best to ask for help from someone strong like Tim. She didn¡¯t even have any resource or any information so if she decided to let Tim go, she would most likely die. Moreover, she had already experienced the fear of facing her own death, so she didn¡¯t want to experience it again. ¡°Why don¡¯t understand? I¡¯m not keen on carrying dead meat with me during an apocalypse. Besides, resources are scarce so I can¡¯t afford to spend something so valuable on a stranger like you.¡± ¡°I-I won¡¯t hold you ba-back. I¡¯ll g-get stronger and help you to fight monsters¡± Although, Scarlett replied a bit clumsily, it was evident from the glint in her eyes that she really wanted to get stronger and help Tim. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Tim pondered for a while before finally asking, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll let you stay with me however you¡¯ll have to accept four conditions first. Firstly, I¡¯ll help you get stronger by killing the zombies but when you reach class 5 and obtain a class change, you¡¯ll have to choose a healer class and heal me during battles. Secondly, you¡¯ll have only half the food as I have until we have an abundance in the food resources. Thirdly, you have to tell me all about your stats, skills and anything else you might know or have noticed. Lastly, I have to meet my parents as soon as possible so you¡¯ll have to follow me at that time. If you are willing to accept these conditions, I can allow you to come with me. Make your choice.¡± If anyone heard what Tim¡¯s conditions, they would accuse him of not being a man however, Tim couldn¡¯t care any less about someone being a man or woman until he/she is strong. Hearing Tim¡¯s conditions, Scarlett gritted her teeth in agitation because the conditions were extremely harsh. She knew that if she chose a healer class, she would never be able to get stronger as it was a support role and would always have to rely on Tim to survive. Although she didn¡¯t have much problems with the second and third conditions, she definitely was against the fourth one. She also wanted to ascertain the safety of her only support- her father but if she agreed to his conditions, she would most likely not be able to do so. ¡°I-I don¡¯t have any problems with the first three conditions however, I also want to me-meet up with my father so please after you meet up with your parents, pl-please help me to meet my father.¡± Tim also knew that his conditions were extremely harsh, so he hadn¡¯t expected that Scarlett would even accept the first condition but he was quite surprised on hearing that she didn¡¯t object against any of first three conditions. Since, the condition that she objected against was not too much, Tim could easily help her to meet her with her father if he ever met his own parents. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll help you meet with your father but only after I meet up with my parents. Now, tell me everything you know about the apocalypse, the system, your stats, skills and what happened in the pawn shop.¡± Scarlett started telling everything diligently without any trace of hiding anything, because she knew that Tim was reliable to some extent because he saved her and also the fact that if he found out that she was lying, he might not take her with him. She told him that 3-4 hours ago, she also saw the meteor like balls and the blue screen. She was dumbfounded seeing unrealistic things happening to her and was about to shrug it off as her imagination when suddenly she heard screams of people and sounds of pounding of animals coming from the outside. She was about to check the condition of the outside when suddenly a machete appeared out of nowhere in her hand which was accompanied by a screen regarding her skill and the weapon. She had got the rare skill ¡®business sense¡¯ which gave her a 25% discount in purchase of any item from the shop though, she had no access to the shop whatsoever which made the skill pretty much useless. She had carefully made her way to the first floor of the pawn shop when she heard screams of her manager coming from below so, she immediately ran towards the store room on the first floor and locked it because she felt that something dangerous was lingering in the ground floor. Soon after, the screams of her manager died down while she went to the window to check the condition of the outside. However, what she saw made her puke on the spot as she didn¡¯t have any mind calming skill like Tim and what she saw outside was exactly the explanation to the mutilated corpses that Tim had seen on the street¡­ ___________________________ Author¡¯s Note : As always, follow, favourite, rate and review as it is he only thing that helps me keep going. By the way, I¡¯ve tried changing my writing style a bit, let me know what you think about it in the comments. Anyways, thanks for reading.