"Even I didn’t level up." William spread his hands. Alissa’s lips twitched. She held her forehead. "I shouldn’t have asked you."
’We can only level up in the portal.’ William thought, recalling information from his past life. After he’d found the portal in the Ice Apocalypse, he entered it along with others. Only then did he learn that it was not just a teleportation vortex. It led people to a tower where one could get stronger.
’Hence it was named the levelling portal.’ He sighed. ’This is why I wanted everyone to enter it.’ Without levelling up, one would remain a mere mortal and could be easily killed by even a Tier 1 zombie. Hence, William, Felisia, and even the Game Master guided them towards it.
"We might get the answer in it." William pointed to the portal. "What are we waiting for?" Alissa asked. She walked forward and waved her hand. "Let’s go right in."
"Did you get a notification about my faction?" William questioned instead of answering. Alissa sighed, turning around. "Again, thinking of helping others." She fiddled with her ring finger. "Yes, I did."
William grinned and waved his hand in mid-air. He clicked empty air a few times. The next moment, a blue luminous panel flashed in front of Alissa.
[ Ding! William Knights has invited you to his faction! ]
[ Ding! Accept or Reject? ]
Alissa accepted it without any hesitation.
[ Ding! You have joined William Knights’ faction! ]
"Let’s go then." Alissa knew William’s next steps, which were to bring everyone from his faction here. Just as she walked a few steps ahead, another notification flashed.
[ Ding! William Knights appointed you as Faction Deputy Leader! ]
[ Ding! Your authority is just below Leader William Knights in William Knights’ faction! ]
[ Ding! Lead your faction to victory! ]
"Deputy Leader, huh." Alissa licked her lips. "This is going to be fun." She pointed to herself. "And by the way, are you sure about me being... Deputy?"
"I’m sure." William raised his thumbs. ’In my past life, you helped me raise my faction to the top.’
"So, let’s go." Alissa leaped onto the tracks. "Let’s meet my faction members." William followed from behind. ’She’s quick.’ He frowned as he noticed he couldn’t keep up with her. She was able to cover twice his distance in the same amount of time. "You need to get in shape." Alissa groaned, stopping for him to catch up.
"Yeah! I should." William smiled apologetically. ’After all, who expects the Apocalypse to pop up? Much less be prepared for it.’ He clenched his katana grip. ’But Tiering up can solve it.’
He glanced back at the locked waiting room once before entering the corridor.
As soon as they stepped out of the subway, they found many zombies roaming around.
"Growl!"
"Growl!"
"I would’ve liked to kill them all," Alissa muttered, glaring at the undead with bloodthirsty eyes. "It’s money no one would like to miss out on," William added, patting her shoulder.
"So, leader?" Alissa locked her eyes with William, who picked up the cycle he’d thrown before, "What’s next?"
"I would like to check your skills since you haven’t used them in a long while." He ordered, sitting on the main seat and glancing at her sharply. "Leader is already checking an underling’s power?" She playfully asked, sitting behind William.
"Yes, I cannot leave lives to weaklings," William replied, raising his chin and head, imitating a general. "This leader has to carry the burden of his choices."
"Hahah." Alissa broke into a laugh. "Let’s go." She patted William on his back while pulling her bow. She swiftly nocked the arrow.
She raised the bow horizontally; it wasn’t touching William nor affecting him. William scanned the road. "There are around a hundred of them and..." He pedalled as he took off. Unlike before, he kept his speed low as he had already found the portal. He rushed in to lend a hand to Alissa and find the portal as fast as he could. He raised his brows. "How much time is available for others?"
"I don’t know." Alissa shook her head. Zombies began to notice them; a few were already shambling towards the duo. William clicked his tongue as he muttered, "Faction status." Since they had already cleared the mission, they couldn’t check the remaining time.
A new glowing, transparent screen appeared in front of him. "Whoa!" Alissa peeked in curiously. "Faction status." She was able to see it due to being the deputy leader, and William himself wasn’t feeling the need to hide it.
[ Ding! Opening faction status panel!
Faction Name: Unassigned
Faction Leader: William Knights
Faction Deputy Leader: Alissa Melody
Faction Money: 0
Faction Members: 71 {True faction members: 47} ]
He tapped on Faction Members, and a new screen flashed with a long list. He just randomly clicked on one.
[ Ding! Faction Member
Name: Chris
Loyalty: True Faction Member
Status: Healthy {Lost one arm}
Current Main Mission: Main Quest 1—Survival ]
William tapped on the current main mission while he pedalled. They reached close to a zombie in front, just three meters away. Whoosh! Alissa released an arrow as it pierced the zombie’s head, smashing part of its upper section into bits. The ground nearby was pooled with blood and bits of brain matter.
"These arrows are too strong." She said, still mildly impressed by their power. She glanced at the white arrow she had pulled out. "Compared to regular arrows, these aren’t just sharp..."
William cut in, "They are strong as well."
Alissa nodded. "Yes, way stronger and sharper—and light." She nocked it onto the string lightly. "And I don’t need to use my full strength." She pulled the string to just one-quarter of the bow. "Due to this, I’m not tired at all, nor do I feel any strain in my arms."
Even after killing many undead in the subway, she felt she could go on for hours before she could feel her arms hurt. This was due to their especially low weight. Unlike ordinary arrows, they were two to three times lighter. "And what troubles me is how?" Alissa muttered, while whoosh! blew another zombie’s head to pieces.
"What?" William asked, closing his screen. "I didn’t get you?" Alissa raised her voice, patting William’s back. "Do you know archery?" She shook her head. "Well, anyway, arrows are light. They should’ve been flung by the wind, but don’t." She rubbed her bow handle while nocking another arrow.
"Haha. That’s what troubles you." William laughed out loud. "You knew it, don’t you?" Alissa figured it out and smiled. "So do tell me."
"It’s because of Ether," William replied, then clicked his tongue. ’Crap! I answered it.’ He was so relaxed that he forgot to hide some details. "Ether?" Alissa tilted her head. "What is it?"
"Now, we don’t have time." William shifted the topic. "I checked it. We have only around twenty minutes left." He slowed his pedalling speed and turned his head back for a moment. "Is it enough time?" Alissa didn’t answer. Instead, whoosh! She blew another nearby zombie’s head off.
"There are old people, right?" She questioned, scanning the stores. She spotted a few humans who were peeking at them while hiding. ’He’ll also try to help them.’
She found a middle-aged man with untidy black, short hair behind the cash counter in a store, crouching while holding a crossbow. He aimed it right at the entrance, which was locked tightly from inside, but two zombies were banging on the mirror, trying to force their way through.
She took a deep breath. "You’ll need something to speed up...or else."