1 Newfound Power
"I'm going to die, huh?" Thomas let out a deep breath, the fine raindrops fell on his head, in the heavy rain, Thomas recalled the horrors of the things that had just happened three days ago.
It was a being he didn't expect to exist in the real world, as they should remain only in fiction. But they are real.
Zombies.
A man-eating creature, they're essentially a myth, a fictional being in movies and drama series but out of nowhere, they suddenly emerged in the real world.
Unlike the zombies in the movie and drama series, these 'zombies' were not slow, they were very fast. They were capable of running at a speed that can catch up to an average person.
Fortunately, he got to the rooftop before the true hell descend upon every nook and cranny of the school.
He locked himself on the rooftop but can still hear the agonizing cries of the zombies behind the door. He doesn't know how many of them are standing beyond the barrier that serves as his lifeline, but he wouldn't dare to find it out.
Thomas is safe here, the only problem right now is food. He hadn't eaten in three days, he doesn't have the energy to run or even stand up. The good thing is that there is a source of water, but it is coming from the rain that will end eventually.
But how long can he survive here? Yes, he was safe but he felt trapped. The only way to get out of this misery is through death.
Thomas couldn't believe it. Thinking of the afterlife. He had lots of plans in life, a bucket list to be fulfilled.
Thomas closed his eyes and hoped that death would be merciful.
At that moment.
A lilting tune, like xylophone notes, rang in his ears.
[Activating Apocalypse Survivor System.]
Thomas opened his eyes, his vision was blurred. Then his vision returned to normal. He saw a light blue screen floating mid-air. The words were written in white.
"Apocalypse Survivor System?" Thomas muttered.
[Apocalypse Survivor System]
[User: Thomas Harrier]
[Level: 1]
[Functions: Notifications, Inventory, Shop, Map, Summon Forces, Quest, Fortune Wheel, Skills.]
[A gift from the gods for one unique survivor of the Apocalypse. By using this system, you will be granted powers to survive the Apocalypse. Do you want to activate the Apocalypse Survivor System?]
Thomas couldn't grasp the situation clearly, he can only hear a computer voice ringing his head. Like what is happening?
In the end, Thomas weakly nodded.
[Activation successful]
[Apocalypse Survivor System activated]
[Notification: Congratulations on activating the Apocalypse Survivor System! You received a starter pack box.]
"Huh?" Thomas rubbed his eyes to see if he is just hallucinating.
The floating computer screen in front of him is still there, he tried to touch it but his hand went through.
A hologram? Thomas muttered under his breath.
Apocalypse Survivor System sounded like those in light novels or anime where mysteriously and miraculously, a person receives power.
Was his situation like that?
[Do you want to open the item "Starter Pack Box?"]
Not only does it sound like literary fiction but a game as well.
Thomas nodded doubtedly.
[Congratulations! You received Beretta M9, 5x 15 rounds magazine, 10x bottled water, 5x MREs, 2x First Aid Kit, Weapon Proficiency, Driving Proficiency.]
[Items that you received just now can be found in the inventory tab.]
[Inventory]
[Starter Pack Box] (1/1)
[Beretta M9] (15/15)
[MREs] (5/5)
[Bottled Water] (10/10)
[15Rnds Mag] (5/5)
[First Aid Kit] (2/2)
Thomas can only stare at the screen dumbfoundedly. He tapped the icon of the Beretta M9 and almost immediately, it materializes in his hand.
M9 - Beretta Handgun
Firearm, Semi-Automatic, 9x19mm Parabellum, Capacity: 15 Rounds, Damage: Low, Range: Short, Accuracy: Low, Rate of Fire: Average, Weight: Light.
"Hey, this is a real gun!" Thomas muttered. He put the handgun on his waist. He raised the Beretta M9 in his hand, he can almost feel the weight of it.
It felt real.
"So this is an M9 Beretta huh?"
Thomas looks at the gun in his hands, he knew about the weapon in the movies but had never actually seen a real firearm before.
This is too much for him to take. He was on the verge of collapse, accepted his death, then suddenly a computer-looking monitor screen appeared in front of him.
However, now that he got an obvious ridiculous ability, he might as well use it.
He put down the gun and tapped the MREs icon. One pack of a ready-to-eat military meal is immediately materialized in his palm.
[MREs - Meal Ready to Eat]
A pack of food for military use contains high-energy food with meat such as beef and pork, vegetables, and spices.
Thomas's eyes widened, as this was a blessing and gift to him. He hadn't eaten for the last three days since the inception of zombies.
The question now is how to prepare an MRE?
Suddenly, information about how to prepare an MRE was uploaded to his mind.
"What the hell?"
[The system gifted the user knowledge on how to prepare an MRE.]
"Ah...so that's how it is." Thomas chuckled after he learned the reason. "What a convenient perk."
And so, using the newfound knowledge, Thomas prepared the MRE.
It took him two minutes to prepare it. Once he believed that it was okay to eat it, he grabbed a spoon and fork that was contained on a plastic wrapper and ate the meal.
He munched on it slowly, but the feeling of having something to eat after three days of starvation made him devour it.
In just mere seconds, Thomas emptied it. His hunger hasn't yet been quelled so he opened one more and ate it.
Gradually, Thomas felt the energy returning to him. The hopelessness of his situation slowly disappeared.
After regaining his energy, Thomas began poking the system to learn more of its function.
It was a long panel to read and it took him ten minutes to completely finish it.
So this is how the system goes.
The system has eight features: Notifications, Inventory, Shop, Summon Forces, Quest, Fortune Wheel, Skills, and Perks.
First, the notification tab notifies new quests, achievements, completion of a task, and so on.
The inventory tab is infinite space where he can store stuff such as weapons, supplies, foods, and so on.
The third one is the Shop tab. The shop tab is where things got interesting. This is the tab where he can buy weapons, foods, supplies, military equipment. There are icons that are greyed out, indicating he can't purchase it yet, but he can make out a picture. There are motorcycles, vehicles, and even helicopters!
In short, it offers everything.
To buy an item from the shop tab requires only one thing, which is an Apocalypse Dollar. For every kill of zombies, completion of a quest, unlocking an achievement, and so on, he can get Apocalypse Dollar.
The fourth one is the Summon Forces. It works similarly to Shop Tab but instead of materials, weapons, or goods, Thomas can buy a "living being". However, instead of Apocalypse Dollars, Soul is used for the transaction.
The souls are the essence of every living being, they can be found in humans, animals, and even zombies. The only way to get souls is to take them from a living being by killing them.
The conversion goes like this.
[INFANTRY:
1 Soul = 1 Infantry
10 Souls = 10 Infantry
100 Souls = 1000 Infantry
Special Forces
3 Souls= 1 SF
30 Souls = 10SF
90 Souls = 30 SF
]
[Personnel: Specialist (Doctors, Engineers, et cetera = 10 souls. Laborers (Factory Workers, Construction Workers, Farmers, et cetera) = 1 soul.]
The fifth one is Quest Tab. This is where he can see available quests, special quests, ongoing quests, and the rewards upon completion.
The sixth one is the Fortune Wheel tab. Similar to games, most notably mobile games. The Fortune Wheel is where can test his luck. He can win Souls, Apocalypse Dollars, Items, et cetera. To spin the wheel, a special ticket is required. One special ticket is credited every day and it is the only way to gain it.
The seventh feature is the Skills tab. This is the tab where he can learn new skills and check the current skill he has.
For now, there are no available skills to learn. It can only show the skills he already has such as his recently gained skill. The weapon proficiency and driving proficiency.
Last but not least, the perks tab, the peculiar of them all.
[Perks:
For every ten missions you complete, the next mission rewards will be multiplied by a tenth fold. That applies to the first mission of the user.]
.]
In short, his first mission right now, the completion rewards of it will be multiplied by ten times the original reward.
Setting all that aside, Thomas breathed a sigh of hope. To think that he had given up in his life, only to receive an overpowered system. Seven billion people on the planet yet he's the one who got it. Too much for Chosen One trope.
[Current Quest: Kill 50 zombies.]
[Completion Reward: 100 Souls, 40000 Apocalypse Dollars]
He stared at the screen blankly. What seems to be an easy quest yields such an absurd reward?!
"WTF!" Thomas gasped. It was indeed an insane amount.
Now that he had a goal to achieve, he grabbed the Beretta M9 and ran over to the railings.
Hundreds of zombies can be seen in the field, walking erratically, their bodies convulsing sporadically. Good target practice for him.
The sad thing is that he only has an M9 Beretta, which only has an effective range of 50 meters. He can only shoot down zombies that are below him and those near the school building.
Since he's on the fourth floor, there's no way that those mindless creatures can reach him. The only way for them to get to him is through the door behind.
15 rounds, 5 additional mags. That gives him 90 rounds. It's more than enough.
"Okay, time to farm some souls and gain those juicy apocalypse dollars!" Thomas aimed at a zombie who was four floors below him. The bullet tore through the skull, ripping a part of the brain, and blood splattered on the wall.
