Chapter 1: Warning

"Listen well, Luke. The key to your survival relies on your ability to control yourself and not touch them. Don't lay your hands on that elf or on that dark elf and you will survive and gain much more…"

That familiar voice echoed through Luke's mind for a while, and then he slowly woke up. He stared at nothing for a while, and then he finally realized that he had a weird dream. Something about not laying his hands on someone… While scratching his face and getting rid of the drool, Luke recalled that the only girl he wanted to touch told him to get lost last week. She was the college's most cute girl of the first years, and Luke was just a guy who had a problem keeping his hormones in check… They weren't a good match.

Luke headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. It was already ten in the morning, so he was alone in the dormitory room. His roommates didn't like him very much, so they left to hang out that Sunday morning and didn't even consider inviting him.

While he was brushing his teeth, Luke fixed his bed hair and then nodded at himself while looking at his image in the mirror. Light brown hair and eyes and a semi-perfect face with nice proportions.

"Yep, not bad if I do say so myself…" Luke nodded. "I wonder why she said no while she looked so creeped out, I am not ugly… maybe the problem is my personality."

Suddenly, the whole dormitory began to tremble, and Luke felt his heart turning cold when he saw some cracks appearing in the ceiling. It only lasted for a single second, but that had been one hell of an earthquake…

"Woah, it has been a while… this was the first time I felt such a strong… what?" Luke frowned when he noticed that something had appeared in his hand… It was a knife.

Knife (Common)

A simple knife that has low durability, but it is perfect for surprise attacks and throws.

Speed +1

Durability 05/05

Luke opened his eyes widely. Was he still dreaming? First the weird dream, then the earthquake, and then a knife appearing out of nowhere… as if things weren't weird enough, Luke saw a HUD appearing in the left corner of his vision.

HP: 08/08

MP: 12/12

SP: 10/10

If Luke had the chance, he would look for a hidden camera that seemed like one hell of a crazy prank, but he didn't have time. He suddenly heard a noise coming from the door and then when he went to check, he saw a creature wearing extremely dirty clothes. Its skin was a lifeless brown, and it reeked of many body fluids. The beast had the shape of an adult human… it was clearly a zombie.

You received a quest.

Quest: kill the zombie.

Reward: a random skill book

"All right, mate, this prank is going too far," Luke said. "How much did those three idiots pay you?"

The zombie ignored Luke and just approached him while muttering incoherent sounds and with its arms pointed toward his head. Luke was almost sure that it was a prank, but his instincts made him raise his guard alongside the knife.

"You know… the law says that I can defend myself against those who invade my property," Luke said. "I am armed and I am dangerous, motherfucker."

When the zombie was only three meters away from Luke, he stepped backward and prepared to throw his knife. How could he miss a shot at that distance? At the very least, he will hit the creature with the handle of the knife. However, Luke knew deep down that throwing his only weapon was stupid.

Instead of that, when he passed by the bathroom door, Luke kicked it as soon as he was sure the zombie would get hit by it. It worked, but the creature didn't give him even a second for him to prepare an attack with the knife. However, the door returned to its original place, and Luke kicked it with all his might, hitting the monster again. The creature staggered, and Luke used that chance to dash forward while holding the knife with both hands. At first, he tried to aim at the creature's eye, but he aimed at the throat at the last minute. The creature trembled for a moment since Luke pierced the throat while aiming upward toward its brain. It was a good thing that he once had been a teenager with too much time on his hands, and he studied how to kill zombies effectively...

The creature eventually fell backward, but not before Luke could feel its darkened blood passing through the knife and then reaching his arms. Without thinking, he let the weapon go since that feeling creeped him out. When the creature fell. A dark book fell on the side of the corpse.

You obtained 01 experience points.

You obtained 01 gold coins.

"Did I eat something bad yesterday?" Luke asked in shock. "I can't believe that I killed a zombie…"

Luke would be lying if he said that he wasn't feeling excited. After all, killing a zombie was in the rank of the ten things he wanted to do before dying. Regardless, when he heard some grunts in a nearby room, he realized that he didn't have time to waste. He grabbed the book and prepared to clean the knife in the sheets of his roommates.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill Weapon Augmentation (Rare)

It increases the potential of the weapon to its utmost limits for a short time. The damage caused will be based on the weapon used, the level of the skill, and your STR.

Cost: 02 mana

"... The cost is pretty low for a skill of rare rank, I wonder why…" Luke frowned.

Once again, Luke was reminded that he didn't have time to waste. Screams began to spread around the campus, and that was a bad sign for two reasons. The first was that the people were dying, and the second one was the fact that those who are killed by zombies don't stay dead for long…