2 Chapter 2: Level 2

He still felt a sense of loss from killing two of his fellow students; Alex began to clear the entrance as another male zombie shambled towards his door, this time a boy with a stocky body, someone that Alex didn't particularly like.

However, he still felt it was too cruel of an end, the boy's face half-eaten and his eyes drooping down horrifically.

Slow, steady steps forward.

Alex approached the giant zombie, whose arms grabbed him, yet far too short, thanks to the boy's poor genes.

The putrid stench of the corpse filled his nose like a sour piece of meat forgotten over a long holiday. Its body almost rolled over him; the undead felt no pain or issues with stiff joints as it snapped towards him with an unnatural angle, sharp, mangled teeth biting at his nape.

"Shit, these things don't play fair..." Alex murmured as he circled the zombie tugging his neck away.

'I have to know how they move, what kind of reflexes...'

"Sorry, although I didn't like you, let me use your body to study the undead!"

Ten minutes passed by quickly; during this time, Alex discovered the speed and reaction of the zombies were lower than an average human, 'but in most zombie movies or novels, the zombies eventually evolve or grow stronger, so let's keep this as a basis for their future changes."

"Novice" zombies, since my weapon is a novice, let's call these guys that!'

Boom, crack! Alex hammered a powerful left hook into the zombie's already shattered jaw smashing his face and brain into pieces. He spent the last ten minutes hitting the zombie in other places, wondering if it would kill them through accumulated damage; however, he failed.

"Scott, we weren't friends, but I hope you can find peace on the other side. Maybe reincarnate into a harem fantasy... Not another apocalypse."

Once again, the white light entered his body, making him feel a little refreshed as he checked; his stamina increased from 7 -> 10.

'It seems that the white light restores some fatigue while also recovering my stamina and willpower. Does this light also change me somehow? Let's keep it in mind and move on.'

Alex began to scour the wrecked dorm for spare bottles and stole a thick, well-made backpack his friend used for climbing on holidays.

'Simon, forgive me; I'll make up for stealing this if we can meet again!'

This time the red coin that appeared hovered for a moment, allowing Alex to get a firm glance at the text written on it.

"1 Apocalypse Coin"

"I'm not sure what they are, but it seems they are counted on my status page; let's wait for a safer area to inspect them."

There was no grey scroll this time, so he began to leave the broken doorway, walking down the second floor of the boy's dormitory. 'Thank god it's the end of the first half of the semester, and everyone's gone home.'

It is time for people to visit home as there are two weeks off. He checked each room slowly as he approached the second-floor stairs and window, which looked over the large courtyard.

Along the way, he procured several water bottles and light snacks that would last a few days. 'However, why do these non-meat foods make me feel sick, like smelling the boy's toilets in the morning after curry night?'

Shuffle, step, step. A zombie approached from behind him with half its jaw missing, now that he had killed several of them, although he couldn't be used to it and was OK like those Chinese protagonists who killed without batting an eyelid.

Alex could now hold his negative thoughts and feelings inside without significant issues.

His body lowered before stepping towards the zombie, eyes watching for the moment it tried to grab him, sending a fierce knee into the fleshy broken face of the zombie, snapping its head right off with the decisive blow, disgusting, foul-smelling blood spraying everywhere.

Suddenly, the door behind his back crashed open, knocking him forward before the door fell to the ground. 'Fuck!?'

"Damn shoddy construction! Why cut costs in such a dormitory? We pay so much to sleep here!" Alex said in frustration as he stepped away, stumbling slightly due to the poor angle as the zombies moved towards him rapidly.

As he moved away, his right leg kicked out almost on instinct, knocking two down with a loud thud, which took him a few moments.

Although his stamina was magically restored instantly, the fatigue of using his brain was restored much slower.

Alex looked at the standing zombie with pale eyes, a chunk of someone's flesh between its teeth as those razor-sharp teeth chewed with a strange, eerie smile as blood oozed from the broken jaw, forcing Alex to step back in natural disgust.

"C'mon, they are just people you've seen. What will you do if they are your family or close friends?" Alex said, trying to bolster his crumbling morale.

Something he learned from fighting against the corpse of Scott earlier, these zombies don't fight by sight but are closer to smell or detecting the living somehow.

Creepy white eyes follow him as his body slowly inched to the side, close to the window allowing the zombie to approach him.

'I need to find a sword or weapon; although these suit my combat type, they are only valid for defence and countering.'

Hindsight 101 if he gained that ghoul skill a moment sooner, maybe he wouldn't have chosen them and gone for the sword or a spear.

Step, stumble. The zombie entered his striking range, and his left leg shot from around his body like a powerful whip as he smashed into the zombie crushing his temples with the bronze sabatons and impaling the zombie's head.

This time when the white light entered his body, the mechanical voice sounded out.

-You have reached level 2 - There are two attribute points and one bonus for your Ghoul race; please distribute them!

"Strength, Agility and Stamina!"

Alex yelled like an idiot, causing the other two zombies to roar in anger and delight at finding new prey, before charging forward.

His combat with zombies seemed to have consumed his stamina at a much greater pace than he expected; he was only fighting four zombies, yet even with the restoration now down to 7 again. It seemed to kill them, and using his full power blows took far more effort than he imagined.

Taking advantage of his increased speed and power, his body dashed forward, the two zombies still a few paces away; he smashed several right jabs into the left zombie's face knocking him down, before stomping on its head and crushing it into a paste, twisting his foot twice to make sure and to help pivot his hips to lean back, avoiding the proper zombie's wild lunge that sliced his chest causing an extended narrow cut that began to trickle with blood.

'Too close!'

"Fuck!"

Bang! His left hand smashed down like a hammer at the zombie now less than ten centimetres ahead of him, not stopping as his hand struck over and over until the grey matter and mushy flesh filled his hand, and the poor zombie no longer had any head to be mentioned.

"Hah... Hah... I need to get serious; this isn't a duel or training, a single swipe from a higher level, and I'm fucked!"

Moments later, the two bursts of white light filled him with a refreshing sensation; it seemed that things that shocked him or caused intense emotion drained his willpower, too, as it began to increase. 'Let's be careful in the future and slowly increase it.'

- Congratulations, you are the first human to kill five zombies with the gifted weapons. You will be awarded a Novice level skill.

Please Select Your Skill:

Skill 1: 'Eagle Eyes' can detect the information of monsters less than five levels above you and boost your natural eyesight, making them more precise and vibrant. How wonderful! Look, you can even see the specs of the dust! Now clean your room properly!

Skill 2: 'Multi lingual' allows you to master five languages instantly, giving you the ability to speak, listen and write with college-level adequacy.

Skill 3: 'Self Contraception' no longer worry that you might have a child in the end times; you choose when your sperm is live or blank!

- Reminder, these skills are passive and do not count towards your two active skill limit.

Alex ignored the text scouring the area for more food or water, smashing the vending machine and taking all the chilled coke for quick sugar, energy drinks for caffeine and water for survival. 'Well, sue me if things return to normal!'

"Give me 'Eagle Eyes'"

A bright white light flashed before his eyes; the light burned before forming two strange star patterns, then two tiny eagles, before piercing into his eyes.

Alex felt the world transformed. He now wondered if this was how cultivators felt when they broke through a realm, and it described them seeing more clearly; he could even see the movements of a fly that passed by the window in almost slow motion.

'It seems they also give me the ability of heightened perception of movement.'

He stepped towards the large window, placing his hand upon the glass only to see a group of students desperately fending off a large group of zombies; inside his vision, a strange sensation occurred as the information appeared in his mind and vision above each zombie.

Novice zombie level 1- a being eroded by the virus created by the supreme god, only left with the desire to feed on flesh and blood.

Viral Infection (Passive) - as long as this creature's fluids manage to enter the body of a living creature, they will infect the person with a Stage One Infection; the chance and speed of infection depend on a person's endurance, the time increasing two minutes every five endurance the target has.

The only method of curing is one of the special curative fluids sold at the special End Time Safe Zones.

"There's a cure...!"

A moment of guilt and hope-filled Alex as he continued moving, managing to stash a few boxes of bandages and primary painkillers into his back before jogging down the steps with loud taps.

There was a zombie at the bottom of the stairs. However, he jumped down, both feet first and crushed the first-year boy, who was much shorter than him, under his feet without mercy, a slight grimace before he slapped his cheeks.

He tried to analyse the white light with his 'Eagle Eyes' but failed, seeming to have too little skill level.

"Alex, it's the end of the world! Let's go!"

He looked at the mirror at the entrance and checked his current information.

- Alex Faust

- Lesser Half-Ghoul: Stage 1

- Level 2

- Occupation: N/A

- Title: N/A

- Strength: 15 [10]

- Agility: 13 [10]

- Endurance: 11 [10]

- Stamina 11/14 [10]

- Willpower 4/4 [10]

Immunity to any infection from sources below level 4

Skills: Eagle Eyes

However, Alex didn't notice something important! His eyes now filled with black tendrils that seemed to slowly paint his sclera black and turn his green eyes into luminescent torches; seeing several zombies walking across the yard caused him not fear but delight, as his face began to smile, a side effect of his ghoulish blood...

The desire for battle, a desire to feast.