"Brat! How dare you!" the thugs snarled, charging at William. The second man swung a straight punch aimed at his face.
William sidestepped smoothly, smacking the flat of his blade across the man’s mouth. He winced, clutching his face, before William spun mid-air and landed a solid kick to the back of his neck, dropping him unconscious.
Thud!
The remaining two men hesitated, looking from their unconscious companions back to William.
The remaining two men froze for a moment, instinctively taking several steps backward.
As William flicked his katana, he glanced at them.
"Together! Don’t be afraid of a mere kid!" They regained confidence and lunged at William simultaneously, throwing punches from two sides.
William dropped low, dodging both fists in one motion. He drew his other weapon swiftly and swung both, stopping them an inch from their throats as he stood up.
"One move," he said, eyes cold, "and I’ll slit both your throats." They knew he could kill them before they even blinked, as they had witnessed his speed.
The two men swallowed hard, exchanging a nervous glance. Before either could decide what to do, William turned his blade flat and struck, slamming their heads together with a loud crack thud! Both collapsed, a large red mark branding their temple.
"Whoa!" the crowd exclaimed.
"I didn’t know William was so strong."
"This isn’t the same boy who always helped us..." An old woman muttered, her eyes widened.
They looked at him as someone they could rely on instead of simply a helpful student.
Watching through his hologram feed, the Game Master nodded approvingly. "Not bad." His attention shifted to another feed—a middle-aged man drinking water straight from a tap in a kitchen.
"Von, is he going to be the first zombie?" Felisia asked, pulling another plush chair from thin air and sitting next to the Game Master.
"Indeed," Von nodded, sipping his tea. "But this is too slow." He eyed the timer ticking above the screen. "Fifteen minutes in, and we’re yet to see a zombie." Game Master glanced once at the countdown before tapping the armrest with a finger.
Felisia grinned slightly, covering her mouth with her palm. "After all, they know how to take care of themselves in a zombie apocalypse."
The man on the feed would have taken precaution, if not for his thirst.
Moments later, the man collapsed onto his bed, his skin shifting from pale to crimson, eyes clouding over with a milky-white iris, nails darkening to black. His body jerked unnaturally, bones cracking, crack! crack! The sound echoed through the silent apartment like dry branches snapping one after another.
He rose with a monstrous growl, "Grrr!" shuffling forward.
Its steps were far slower than an ordinary human; even a crawling baby would run faster.
The Game Master raised his palm, and a status panel flickered into view.
[ Ding!
Zombie
Stage Zero: Walker {Normal}
Level 1 ]
"Let’s speed this along," he muttered, eyes glowing crimson.
[ Ding! Game Master’s authority has activated! ]
[ Ding!
Zombie | Walker {Normal} has evolved into Zombie | Runner {Elite} ]
The zombie flashed briefly with gray-red light—no visible change to its form—yet in the next instant it burst into a sprint, faster than any human, covering more than ten steps in a single second, and in the next moment it smashed straight into the bedroom door.
It fell down bang! then soon stood up. It slammed into walls and objects in a row, unable to adjust to its new strength quickly. It glanced around with a blank stare.
Felisia raised an eyebrow as the Runner struggled.
"Finally," the Game Master grinned, waving a hand. "Now go. Let the apocalypse begin."
The front door shattered under his power, letting the zombie loose.
His attention drifted back to William.
The crowd stared in awe at the high schooler who’d just taken down four grown thugs, but soon they focused on the situation. William turned to address them as chaos resumed—people scrambling to loot, fight, and hoard supplies once more.
"That’s mine!" two middle-aged women screeched, wrestling over a trolley stacked with rations.
"Everyone!" William barked. "I’m warning you... if you don’t listen, you’ll end up like them," he gestured toward the unconscious thugs.
A man shoved past another, sneering at William. "What are you doing, boy? Quick—stock up and hide indoors."
"Yes," a kind-looking old man nodded. "Boy, your strength won’t allow you to take on multiple zombies at once."
"Do you all really think hiding will save you?" William snapped, sheathing his katana. "For how long?"
The question lingered over the crowd, yet no one had an answer.
Some paused, turning toward him. "Kid, it’s best you come with us," a middle-aged woman offered. "I’ve seen you help us many times—you’re kind-hearted."
An old woman chimed in, "But this isn’t ordinary life anymore."
A young man hissed, "We’ve all seen zombie movies. We just need to hide and avoid getting bitten."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. "Yes—we just wait for the authorities."
"Authorities?" William laughed bitterly. Silence fell. He pulled out his dead phone, shook it for emphasis, then smashed it against the pavement. "This is useless now. How exactly do you think the government, the army, anyone, will coordinate a response with the entire communication grid down?"
Color drained from every face. "And them..." he pointed at the unconscious thugs, "—they’ll cause chaos everywhere. Unless you get stronger, there’s no stopping any of this."
He sighed. "Hiding just delays the inevitable."
The shattered phone remained where it fell.
A young man stepped forward. "What do you mean, get stronger?"
"Try saying ’status,’" William raised his finger.
"Wait." The man held his forehead. "How can I forget about this?"
Confused, but curious, everyone murmured the word, "Status."
[ Ding! Opening status! ]
A glowing blue panel flickered before each of them. William glanced at his own status panel.
[ Name: William Knights
Age: 17
Ability: None
Authority Path: None
Level: 0 ]
"Level zero," an old man muttered, reading his own panel.
William nodded. "That means ordinary human. Reach Level One, and you gain supernatural strength."
"Supernatural strength?" murmurs spread across the crowd.
"Reach Level Ten, and you’re capable of true superhuman feats." William gestured toward a faded movie poster on a nearby wall, an orange-burning, glowing man. "Remember that film, Supernova Man? The one with the flame-wreathed hero who could tear through bank vaults barehanded?"
A woman gasped. "Don’t tell me—we could do that too?"
A teenager stared at the poster before slowly looking down at his own status screen.
"If you continue leveling, you may one day surpass even Supernova Man," William said grimly. "So tell me—do you really think you can hide from beings like that?"
Everyone involuntarily let go of the trolley and the resources they were clinging to.
"Unless you get strong enough to face them, hiding only gets you killed." William landed the final blow.
Everyone glanced at each other with pale faces. One by one, people let go of the trolleys they had been fighting over.
"Then what do we do?" a man pushed forward, desperate.
"The quest," someone hissed from the back. "Reach the portal, isn’t it?"
William nodded. "Once we unlock leveling, we gain access to real power."
Two middle-aged men in the back exchanged a sly grin at the mention of power, whispering to each other.
"Bro, it’s power. We can become Supernova Man."
"It’s indeed possible now."
"We’ll stick with them until we become strong."
"Once..." They nodded in sync, with a gleam of light in their eyes. The two men exchanged another glance before quietly moving closer to the back of the group.
"But how do we even reach a portal?" someone asked, drawing everyone’s attention, just as William opened his mouth to answer.
"Save me! Someone, please!"
A scream tore down the street—a young man was sprinting for his life, more than five zombies with torn clothes, crimson skin, and cloudy eyes shambling steadily behind him.
"Grr!" "Grr!" They growled.
William cursed under his breath. "Damn it. They’re already here."
"Zombies."
"They’re already here, hide."
"Don’t get bitten or scratched."