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Chapter 1 Primordial Ascension

Caught between a raging storm, even the oldest trees were uprooted as their thick, long roots were dragged out of the soil through a land-shaking tempest.

Bushes, rocks, and dirt were flung through the air with a terrifying speed as nature's wrath engulfed the small ravine, temporarily cutting it off from the outer world.

The otherwise scenic view was turned into someone's worst nightmare as all that could be seen was darkness and the roaring sound of the wind that seemed to come from far away.

One could only feel an eerie gloominess that originated from the darkness in the deepest parts of the ravine.

The darkness engulfed a young man, whose entire existence was hanging by a thread, his ashen-white face bearing a pained expression.

Blood trickled out of his dry, parched lips and sky blue eyes that were slowly losing their vigor as mind-numbing exhaustion flooded him.

'Just give it a try they said' He recalled, his expression gradually worsening worse as unbearable pain spread all over his body.

His chest was beginning to feel numb as well.

'It is a breath-taking scenery on top of the mountainside?! Nobody told me they were being literal with that…'

'Why did I even consider coming to this trek…

At least, I could have avoided dying… '

A blood-smeared old tree trunk could be seen within the shroud of darkness that enveloped the young, dying man.

He had barely reached his 20s and decided to have a nice adrenaline kick and start his new year with a bang.

This was what he always did, seeking stimulations to make him feel alive.

But he had never expected a storm to manifest all of a sudden and throw him around like a ragdoll.

And it was one of the worst storms Dilan had ever encountered, at that.-.

Like the bushes and the trees, he too was flung through the air, and thrown into a ravine before he could even find the energy to scream.

When his body collided with something hard and cold, he heard the unmistakable sound of several of his bones crunching, snapped like twigs.

If that wasn't worse, he found himself hanging by an old tree trunk with its jagged tip protruding out of his chest

'Death…Well, It was bound to happen…somewhen. It's fine, I guess…'

Warm blood trickled down the tree trunk, running down his clothes and feet before falling to the ground of the ravine.

He should feel pain, scream, ask for help, feel desperate to stay alive, but oddly enough the only thing he felt was a numbing sensation overwhelming his body and mind that was beginning to shut off.

Dilan didn't even have the energy to move the corners of his lips.

Dilan knew that his time had come, but he was not too scared as his mind seemed to have accepted his fate.

'If there is an afterlife, please let it be more exciting and enjoyable…'

That being his last thought, Dilan closed his eyes, embracing the darkness around him.

However, it was at this moment that something unimaginable happened.

Blue lights flashed through the darkness, illuminating his surroundings, dragging him away from his journey towards eternal rest.

All of a sudden, the raging storm seemed to die down as if somebody had just switched it off.

It was almost as if the storm had never existed, to begin with, if not for the devastation left behind!

All the natural catastrophes that had rocked the entire world stopped simultaneously, while a mechanical voice manifested in the mind of all living beings, startling them even more than the destruction nature's wrath had caused.

[Planet's Primordial Ascension has been initiated. Planet formerly labeled as 'Milarn' will undergo its primary planetary awakening!]

[Log of the Ancient has been granted!]

Dilan didn't understand what was going on, but he was not really bothered because he simply awaited death to greet him like a long-lost friend.

He had already closed his eyes as he accepted his fate. 'After all, this life had been mundane and worthless, it's better this way,' he kept telling himself.

But even after a few seconds turned into minutes, Dilan was still conscious and alive…

Instead of dying, he felt as if he was slowly regaining some strength!

'What?! Am I not going to die? But…I clearly…' To be able to stay alive in his current state even for half a minute would already be a wonder.

Yet, several minutes had already passed, and the pain originating from his chest seemed to intensify. The dull ache was now replaced by searing hot pain that was making his heart constrict and beat frantically.

'I…can feel my body again?' He thought as his finger twitched while his mind was flooded with confusion.

And it was only after Dilan was sure that he wouldn't die that he opened his eyes once again.

His sky blue eyes gleamed vibrantly, only to face the dazzling azure-colored holographic screens that appeared out of nowhere.

[Host has regained his will to survive! Fighting on death's door, unwilling to succumb to the Lord of Death of the Abandoned lands, Origin ability has been granted to the host.]

[Origin ability [Regeneration] has been activated and overclocked due to the emergency situation of the host during the planet's awakening!]

Dilan, who had yet to cope with the fact that he was still alive and not dead, couldn't help but stare at the holographic screens in doubt.

'Am I in a game?'

He began to doubt that he was still on Milarn, but the pain in his chest was clear proof that everything he witnessed was real and not a dream.

Unable to move due to weakness and fatigue, Dilan could only stare wide-eyed at the azure screen that illuminated the darkness around him.

'Unwilling to succumb to the Lord of Death, huh? If you think so…weird robotic voice. I wanted to be alive, but not on old, boring Milarn…'

His cold and dry lips began to twitch as he felt energy seeping into his body, helping him regain some of his strength.

This shocked him greatly, even more so as the cracking noise of his broken bones that began to repair themselves.

It was far more agonizing than whatever he had felt so far, but Dilan didn't even have the energy to cry out in pain. Only a whimper escaped his mouth.

'I am healing.' Dilan realized, taking a glance at the next holographic screen that popped up.

[[Regeneration]- Tier-0 ★

[+2 Health], Passive →Enhances regeneration

Active →Uses up 1 unit of Mana to further enhance the regeneration effect for 10 seconds!]

Right now, Dilan was not even questioning the truth behind the messages anymore.

He was just confused that his body was healing, which included the gaping hole in his muscular chest.

Though, owing to the old tree trunk's jagged tip that was still stuck within him, this was near impossible.

But even then, the corners of his bloodied lips curled upward as a glint of excitement emerged in his eyes.

'Looks like I need to stay here a little bit longer…my old playground seems to be undergoing a remodeling!'

This thought flashed through his mind over and over again as adrenaline began coursing through his body once again.

His hands began to move instinctively, reaching out for the old tree trunk.

Grasping it tightly, Dilan used every ounce of the strength his body had recuperated to free himself.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but using up all the willpower that coursed through him, Dilan let out a roar that reached every nook and cranny of the ravine.

Only a moment later the old tree trunk cracked apart into splinters, freeing him of his misery.

Afterward, Dilan fell down with a thud, as a fresh bolt of pain shot up his arms and chest upon hitting the ground.

Turning on his back, he felt an itching sensation spread all over the hole in his chest, merging with the pain.

In an effort to distract himself, he looked around and his gaze ended up at the holographic screen that hovered in front of his eyes.

[Log of the Ancient can be opened at will!]

_____________

Name: [Dilan Cier]

Rank[Tierless (Level 0)]

Race [Human]

Occupation [None]

Title [None]

**

Strength= [1]

Health= [2/3]

Stamina=[0/1]

Agility=[1]

Mana=[0/1]

**

-Origin ability-

[Regeneration] Tier-0 ★

-Active abilities (0/2)-

-Passive abilities (0/5)-

_____________

Seeing the Log of the Ancient, Dilan's eyes gleamed brightly.

"A system…and stats as well? So that is how we're playing?"

Chapter 2 Mana

After his initial excitement had worn off, Dilan calmed down a bit.

He was too exhausted from being flung through the air in the raging storm, and being punctured by an old tree trunk…

'I should figure out what is going on, first… I guess.'

There was not much to figure out, to begin with, but mysterious changes were occurring all across the world.

After having faced a near-death experience, he simply lay on the ground as he let his body heal and repair itself at a miraculous speed.

The magical effect of his Origin ability was still working, the hole in his chest healing.

It was nothing short of miraculous and he took his time to let it sink in that he was truly alive.

His eyes were glued to the Log of the Ancient as he tried to make sense of the stats that were very similar to those in video games he would occasionally play.

**

Strength= [1]

Health= [2.2/3]

Stamina=[0.1/1]-.

Agility=[1]

Mana=[0.05/1]

**

'I guess <1 > displays the average strength of a human?'

Knowing that his athletic physique was above average, Dilan felt that it should have been higher than just '1'.

But he didn't have the energy to be bothered about the non-existent distribution of status points. Besides, who would he argue with?

Considering that the holographic screen that hovered in front of him looked like those of games, he was shocked at how easily he had accepted the new reality.

His Health stat was much higher than everything else but that was due to his Origin ability.

Right now, his body felt far tougher and stronger than before, and it recuperated at a rapid pace as well.

'Looks like having played games and read novels will finally pay off…To think that this would ever be possible…'

In the past, playing games and reading novels had been a small hobby of his.

But he quickly lost interest in them, which was why he switched to outdoor activities of a greater scale to seek thrill.

Yet, given the current situation, his mundane life on Milarn was bound to change.

However, even if the endless possibilities excited him, Dilan forced himself to look for his phone to see if it was possible for him to call someone.

He found it in one of his pockets after carefully moving his body, in an effort to prevent his wounds from tearing open.

Unfortunately, his phone screen had shattered to pieces, pretty much like the rest of it.

'Dead…'

His first thought was that it was frustrating to have no way to contact others, but after giving it another thought, he was not actually bothered about it.

'Well…my family will definitely be fine, without me even more so…so I shouldn't worry about them, I guess?

And my friends… they will be fine as well…If I can survive, they can too!'

Figuring that he had no means to contact someone, Dilan put his phone away.

Instead of wasting his time with something entirely useless, he averted his attention once again to the screen in front of him, taking a detailed look at the Log of the Ancient.

'Ranks…and…race? There will be more races than humans, I guess…Hmm, that could be interesting.'

Dilan was just about to distract himself further when his attention was drawn to the night sky.

It was still dark, but the sounds he could hear from the surface attracted his attention.

Several roars of different animals echoed through the area, reaching the ravine.

The roars made him shudder, reaching his entire being as chills spread all over him.

Dilan's heart began to beat wildly, but instead of fear, a nervous excitement emerged within him.

All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning shot through the ravine, crackling with electricity and followed by multiple faintly glowing outlines.

To his misfortune, he had been unable to see anything clearly.

This only fueled his determination to reach the surface, while he glanced up again.

The dark blue sky was now a deep shade of crimson followed by bursts of orange and yellow at random intervals.

It was as if a fireball had emerged and exploded a hundred meters above him, burning through the air and clouds.

The moment he saw the blazing flames that spread through the dark night sky, Dilan's eyes widened, and his mind went blank.

Due to the adrenaline that coursed through him ever since he had escaped death's bed, he momentarily forgot the [Mana] stat on the Log of the Ancient.

He simply accepted mana as if he had been absorbing it his whole life, something perfectly normal that belonged to the Log of the Ancient.

In games, this might be the case, but they were in reality.

Even if some weirdos might believe in its existence, mana was not supposed to exist on Milarn!

Thus, his ignorance prevented him from comprehending that the night sky had been lit up by the searing hot flames of a being that was not supposed to exist on Milarn as well!

Too much information had been bombarded on him just after he had escaped the clutches of death, and only now did he notice that the hole in his chest had closed in on itself and appeared to be almost healed.

He was perfectly fine with accepting his near brush with death just a little bit over an hour ago.

But seeing the gaping hole disappear from his body, leaving a mere scar was simply unbelievable!

Yet, it had happened and Dilan knew that he had to move on.

Something deep within him told Dilan that time was of the essence and there was no point in wasting it.

New and unknown dangers might be lurking on the surface, but his gut feeling told him that numerous opportunities awaited him.

And Dilan had never been scared of dangers.

As such, instead of hiding in the dark ravine, and waiting for someone to show up, he got up from the ground and approached the stone wall.

'Maybe 25 meters?' He gauged before placing his left foot on one of the several creaks on the massive wall.

With his skills and the enhancement his body received, he began to climb towards the surface slowly but steadily.

Sweat poured down his temples but he didn't mind the steep climb.

Yet, the moment he reached the surface his expression changed into a mixture of astonishment and interest.

He was hanging by the edge of the cliff and was about to throw his feet up and finally reach the top when he saw something.

A six-foot-tall ring made of a blue liquid came into his view.

Suddenly, a notification popped up right in front of him.

[Temporary Gate to (Hidden Goblin Lair) emerged. Conditions to enter not met (Level 5) All stats [1.5]]

"Goblins?!" He blurted out in disbelief before his eyes fell on the two short, dwarf-sized, green-skinned beings that turned in his direction.

Both of them had a long, crooked noses, and their hideous appearance was further enhanced by the grimace of two ugly existences that matched Dilan's imagination of Goblins nearly perfectly.

'So that is how the tides will change, for now?' He thought, clearly understanding what was going on as the Goblins charged at him, emitting weird noises.

*Kekekeke*

Chapter 3 Eaten

Based on the way the situation appeared to be, Gates that led to different planes had emerged on Milarn.

These gates unleashed ferocious beasts on the otherwise peaceful planet as they went on a rampage, wreaking havoc and killing mindlessly.

Empowered through mana, their strength was much higher than humans could ever wish to obtain.

Or that was at least the case before the Primordial Ascension.

After Dilan had experienced a series of shocking events one after the other, he felt that it would be pretty hard for anything to shock him.

But the hideous appearance of small, dwarf-like Goblins wielding stone weapons was more than enough to achieve this.

For a moment he even considered jumping back into the ravine.

It might break his bones, but he could avoid fighting against the two Goblins that stared at him while brandishing their weapons threateningly.

Yet, when he gave it a second thought, Dilan understood that if he were to give up right now, he would end up as a coward or worse, some beast's meal.

He could clearly feel that survival was not as easy as it seemed before, and mankind's laws that had governed the planet would lose their value.

If Gates like the one in front of him, and beings with the ability to spit flames had emerged all over Milarn, the world was bound to turn into a place that was reigned by ferocious, mythical beasts.

And, if he wouldn't buckle up, Dilan would either perish or be a slave to the strong, who were able to get hang of themselves!

Having read more than enough novels, and played enough games, Dilan was able to comprehend that the early bird caught the worm.

'The faster I accept reality, the stronger I can become…and the stronger opponents I can fight!'

Right now, Dilan cared only about himself and his continued survival.

His family would be hopefully safe and sound, and if his friends that had accompanied him to the trek weren't able to cope with the newly emerging dangers, nobody else would be rushing to their aid.

He had the strangest group of friends, but nearly all of them had learned various martial arts.-.

Their reason to practice the martial arts was quite weird- they wanted to fight wild beasts, and join illegal underground fights!

But that was not important anymore as Dilan could tell that everyone, who was somewhat close to him, would be fine. His gut feeling told him so.

Taking this into consideration, he was able to focus on himself.

Thus, he used his entire strength and pushed himself up to fling himself up on the surface.

It didn't even take him two seconds to stand on his feet, and he immediately clenched his fists and held his hands in front of his body like a boxer, ready to fight the two Goblins head-on.

However, it was just at this moment that Dilan clearly understood that the Goblins were not similar to the ones he knew from games and novels.

'These tiny monsters are faster than me!'

Realizing that they were faster than him, while also wielding weapons, Dilan took only a short glance back to the ravine before making a split-second decision.

With small and subtle movements, he placed his left foot forward and right foot behind. Dilan kept his fists tightly clenched while the Goblins rushed at him.

Having been surrounded by weirdos that sought kicks in odd things, he had a trick or two to fight, as well.

As such, he was not entirely helpless.

But then again, the spear-wielding Goblin bothered him a little bit.

Thus, Dilan focused his gaze on the said Goblin.

Both of his opponents were equally fast and had slightly higher agility than the average human.

With that taken into consideration, Dilan's mind entered a state that was known as a zone.

His mind was void of any distractions, and his attention solely focused on the two Goblins ahead.

Adrenaline was coursing through his body, pumping a large amount of blood to his muscles, which in turn led to more oxygen being circulated in his lungs.

His heart was beating wildly against his ribcage, but he was prepared for the fight that lay in front of him.

Thus, the moment the two Goblins reached him, Dilan saw the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Leaning forward, Dilan pushed himself through the narrow gap between the two Goblins.

This ought to allow him to reach the other, unguarded side of the spear-wielding Goblin.

But even before he was able to reach the narrow gap, Dilan felt that his entire right arm was being ripped apart.

The stone spear that had been thrust out, had deeply cut into his upper arm.

Before he could recover from the first attack, he saw the other Goblin smiling menacingly as the blade of the dagger glinted in his eyes.

In one swift and fluidic move, the hand of the tiny Goblin pierced the dagger into his thigh.

Forcefully tearing the dagger out of his leg a moment later, the Goblin began to cackle as Dilan's blood spurted in its face.

On the other hand, Dilan could only cry out in pain that spread out from his right upper arm, and his left thigh, shooting straight towards his head.

Blood gushed out from both wounds, but Dilan continued to move.

He had already expected to sustain a few injuries as he didn't own a weapon.

As such, he was mentally prepared to feel the pain.

It might have been a tad bit more painful than expected, but it was not unbearable to the extent that would render him incapable of any movement.

And he had a plan in mind that kept him from halting in his tracks.

Emerging in between the two Goblins, Dilan didn't hesitate to grasp the shaft of the spear that had strafed him badly.

Whirling around, he attempted to snatch the spear from the Goblin's tiny arms.

However, Dilan quickly realized that this was not as easy as he had assumed.

The only thing he had achieved was to move the spear, including the lightweight of a Goblin that was hanging from the spear, not wanting to let go of it.

That was not what Dilan wanted.

Nonetheless, he could make use of this, which led him to swing both the spear and the goblin around.

Hurling the spear-wielding Goblin away, he threw it right at his companion, who was flung backward.

This left Dilan alone with the other Goblin.

Loosening one of his hands from the spear, Dilan didn't even think anymore as he began to rain blows over the spear-wielding Goblin.

His only weapon was brute force, and that was what Dilan made use of.

Exerting all his strength in the punches, he attacked the Goblin mercilessly and it didn't even take five seconds before the crooked nose of the Goblin broke due to his repeated attacks.

However, the Goblin was still holding onto the spear, annoying Dilan the most.

The punch that he delivered after seeing this was even more powerful, and the Goblin's blood smeared his fist.

Yet, just when he prepared to deliver another set of punches, the other Goblin returned.

It jumped on Dilan's back, only to do something truly unexpected.

Without hesitation it sunk its foul teeth into Dilan's neck, tearing out a piece of flesh.

Using all its limbs the Goblin on his back inflicted various injuries at once.

A fresh bolt of pain shot out of his neck, making him lose his upper hand as he tried to throw away the Goblin that clung to him like a leech.

The pain was nearly unbearable, and he could be happy that the Goblin on his back seemed to have lost its dagger.

Otherwise, Dilan would have already been killed.

Knowing that Dilan moved instinctively.

The ravine was just two meters away from him.

And as if he had planned to do this from the beginning, he took a big stride towards the ravine's edge before throwing the spear-wielding Goblin into the ravine.

Unfortunately, this forced him to let go of the spear as well.

But that was perfectly fine as the Goblin on his back was not armed anymore!

Taking this into consideration, Dilan's left hand reached backward, trying to grab hold of the head of the Goblin.

With an iron grip on its head, he used every ounce of strength within his arm to attempt to throw the other Goblin in the ravine as well.

But the tiny monster noticed what he wanted to do.

Thus, instead of continuing to rip out Dilan's skin, and flesh in the neck, it took one last bite before tearing it up.

It used its claws to scratch and dig its sharp nails into Dilan's forearm, trying to make him loosen his grasp.

To its misfortune, Dilan's hold was rock solid, and he didn't even budge as he could feel his warm blood running down his forearm.

But the Goblin clung to him like glue and after a moment he realized that it was impossible to throw the Goblin in the ravine.

Thus, he allowed it to escape after having shown that he was not to be messed with and loosened his grasp.

A moment later the monster jumped off of his back and looked up towards the opponent that was far more unruly than it had expected.

Yet, the moment the goblin looked up, it could only see the blood-soaked body of Dilan, and his ice-cold eyes that wanted nothing else but the monster's death.

With a swift momentum, Dilan turned around before activating his Origin ability for the first time on his own.

[Regeneration]!

The effect of his ability was much weaker than before, but that was something he expected.

After all, the effect had been overclocked before.

Thus, the current effect seemed to be at its highest potency as of now.

But considering that Dilan could clearly sense how his body was reacting in response to the mana that was drained from his body, he began to smile.

The enhanced regeneration for 10 seconds was more powerful than he had initially expected, stopping the bleeding from the wounds all over his body.

Furthermore, his basic condition of an increased Health stat provided him an additional boost.

As such, Dilan could clearly sense that he wouldn't be severely restricted in a one on one fight against the unarmed Goblin.

Only now was he beginning to experience the sensation of mana as the energy he didn't even know his body had stored was drained from him.

In return the Origin ability had been activated, his body was invigorated, exciting Dilan as he looked at the unarmed Goblin, whose eyes began to quiver.

Pieces of his flesh were stuck between the Goblin's teeth, and blood was smeared on its entire face.

"You know…that is mine, you piece of shit!!"

Chapter 4 Essence

Angered about having been treated just like a snack, Dilan didn't even keep an eye on the stone dagger.

Instead, his attention was solely focused on the Goblin.

It was chewing on the tiny bits of flesh that it had ripped out of his neck while cackling and pointing its bony fingers at him.

Dilan felt ridiculed and annoyed by this taunting, but he quickly calmed down when he noticed that the Goblin was approaching him with slow steps.

Even if it was faster than Dilan, the Goblin noticed that its opponent was not easy to be defeated.

Thus, it took a glance at its surroundings, while trying to search for the stone dagger.

And it was at this moment that Dilan pushed his feet off the ground, accelerating towards the Goblin ahead.

He was already exhausted and felt like collapsing on a bed and resting for several hours.

However, that was only something he could do after the fight was finally over, which was why he wanted to speed up that process.

'I can use my weight to my advantage!"

This thought flashed through his mind, and Dilan implemented it immediately, using his momentum to punch the Goblin.

It might be fast and flexible, but its short legs hindered it from taking large strides to run away from him.

Using this to his advantage he followed the trajectory in which the Goblin was moving while trying to evade his first punch.-.

The moment he knew where it would end up, his left hand snapped out.

Moving like a snake, his hand reached out for the Goblin's neck, taking it off-guard.

Using all the energy he could muster, he tightened his grip and tried to break the beast's neck at once.

However, the Goblin wasn't going to go down so easily and it began to viciously scratch his still injured forearm.

As such, Dilan felt like letting go of his opponent at once.

The pain was just too strong, and the regeneration ability was not omnipotent.

But even though his body screamed at him to let go, Dilan clenched his other fist and began to bash it on the head of the Goblin as hard as he could.

One after another, he kept pounding at the Goblin mercilessly, his attacks getting fiercer and fiercer with every subsequent punch.

スマホで国内正規品ED薬を処方 - オンライン診療でED薬をご指定の場所にお届け.来院される方は短時間でED薬を処方します.

Blood was smeared on his entire hand, and his fingers hurt like hell but he kept going at it. He only stopped after more than a dozen hits.

Taking heavy breaths, he let go of the Goblin and staggered back a little.

The Goblin had stopped scratching him and the moment Dilan let go of its body, its lifeless body slumped to the ground.

It took ihm a few seconds, but when he was satisfied that the Goblin was truly dead, he fell to his knees while gasping for air. He took a few seconds to realize that he had just killed a living being.

However, instead of experiencing remorse or pity, he just felt an emptiness in his heart.

He knew that he had fought with his life on the line and that only one of them would have survived.

And in the end, it was he, who had survived which is what mattered.

Feeling the adrenaline slowly recede in his body, Dilan couldn't help but smile as he looked at the mashed face of the Goblin.

'So, are there experience points, or what?' He began to wonder, but the robotic voice did not resound in his mind.

This disappointed Dilan a little bit, and the pain in his arm began to flood his mind, preventing him from thinking straight.

The effect of his Origin ability had worn off already, and he didn't have even a single unit of mana to reuse it again.

As such, he had to wait until his body would naturally replenish some Mana, or until his Mana was to have replenished.

Just at this moment, he saw a faintly glimmering crystal in the head of the Goblin that he had beaten into a pulp.

Picking it up, Dilan inspected it for a few seconds before a message appeared in front of him, while a somewhat familiar voice resounded in his mind once again.

[Essence Crystal of a Tierless Level 1 Goblin(Adult)→ +0.1 Strength, +0.2 Health, +0.1 Stamina]

Upon hearing the familiar voice, he smiled faintly.

"So that's how it is. Are those our experience points? The essence of the monsters we kill?"

If that were to be true, killing thousands of Goblins would allow him to become hundreds of times stronger than the average human.

However, he had no idea how to absorb the Goblin's essence.

But just when Dilan thought about it, the crystal crumbled.

Energy circulated through his entire body, reaching every single cell and enhancing his physique in numerous ways.

A soothing sensation overcame him, and his smile began to widen as he clenched his fist.

Feeling that both his strength and his body's recovery mechanism had improved if only a tiny bit faster made him feel overjoyed.

Excited, he couldn't help but look at the corpse to look for more hidden treasures.

But there was nothing, except the holographic screen that swam before his eyes.

'Tierless, and Level 1…So did it spawn at Level one, or did it level up?' Dilan suddenly wondered.

It might not be of great importance, but he was currently at level zero.

As such, considering a possibility, Dilan imagined that the Goblin might have emerged from the Temporary Gate as a Tierless Level 1 monster.

Two questions flashed through his mind, and he couldn't answer either of them.

"Can monsters of a higher level emerge from the gate?' The question's answer was likely to be a 'yes', but if this included 'Tiered' monsters was something Dilan had no idea about.

Thinking about it, the fire that had covered the entire night sky was something either a beast of a higher level could have created, or it was a higher Tiered existence!

Unfortunately, thinking about the answer didn't really help him.

In fact, it would lead to the exact opposite and needlessly scare him.

With that in mind, Dilan began to search for the Stone dagger.

He spent a few minutes finding it and saw it lying in a heap of leaves. Upon picking it up, he quickly noticed that it was extremely tough and durable.

[[Reinforced Stone Dagger] <Tierless Trash treasure>

[+0.1Strength], Can inflict damage to monsters up to Level 5]

'Even weapons can give me additional stats?'

Stats were probably not only restricted to weapons, and given that there was a Stone Spear lying in the ravine, Dilan considered climbing down to retrieve it.

He was exhausted right now, but he was tempted to procure the Essence crystal of the Goblin that he had thrown into the ravine.

Furthermore, Dilan understood that the ravine might be the best place to rest, for now.

The dangers of the surroundings and the temporary Gate, whose liquid was swirling and gleaming in a bluish color, were unknown, after all.

Ignoring the pain shooting up from all over his body, he climbed down the ravine, after tucking the Reinforced Stone dagger in the waistband of his jeans.

Reaching the ground, Dilan grasped the Reinforced Stone dagger.

The Goblin he threw to the ground must have died, but it could have survived, somehow.

More insane things had happened during the last few hours!

Fortunately, Dilan's worry seemed to have been unfounded and he found the corpse of the Goblin.

It had fallen on its head so most of its head and neck had been disfigured.

But, he felt no pity for this Goblin either and instead his eyes fell on both the Essence crystal and the Stone spear.

However, what confused him the most was that there was grayish gleaming crystal right next to the Goblin's corpse.

"That's not an Essence crystal, right?"

Chapter 5 Ability

[[Lesser Immunity (Passive)] Ungraded ★★★

Gains low immunity against poison and infections! Immunity includes resistance to zombification, restricted to three scratches/bites a day. (3/3)]

Upon reading the message that popped up when he picked up the gray crystal, Dilan was a little bit astonished.

"That's an ability, not bad!"

His first reaction was joy, only for him to end up looking at the message with a conflicted expression.

'Zombification…zombies…'

He was no stranger to the word as he had seen plenty of movies made about zombies. As such, Dilan could tell that they would be quite difficult to fight.

Even though he procured two types of weapons, he knew that fighting a large group of zombies was not possible for him, not in his current condition.

Thus, the passive ability seemed quite useful.

There was no need for him to hesitate, which led him to think about binding the passive ability while holding it in his hand.

In response to his thought, the ability crystal crumbled, and a surge of energy swept through him.

A few seconds passed before the surge of energy dissipated within his body, replaced by the robotic voice in his head.

[Passive ability has been bound to your soul! Congratulations!]-.

Taking a look at his Log of the Ancient, he found out that the (0/5) next to the Passive abilities had changed to (1/5), and an additional ability called the [Lesser Immunity] Ungraded ★★★ was added as well.

Following that, Dilan felt that the scratches and the bites the Goblin had inflicted on him were disinfected.

A burning sensation spread over his wounds before disappearing a moment later.

Relieved that the wounds wouldn't fester, Dilan focused his attention on the Essence crystal of the other Goblin.

[Essence of a Tierless Level 1 Goblin(Adult) has been absorbed→ +0.1 Strength, +0.1 Agility]

Absorbing the essence of the second Goblin, he noticed that he didn't get 0.4 status points, but only 0.2.

'So the effect diminishes if I keep absorbing the essence of a beast of the same race? Seems like my body would gain resistance to the same type of essence over time.'

Feeling the changes, he predicted that he could only absorb three to four essence crystals of similar beasts before they would lose their value.

This was not little, but also not that much.

With the new intel, he turned towards the Stone spear and picked it up as well.

[Reinforced Stone Spear]<Tierless Trash treasure>,

[+0.1 Agility], Can inflict damage to monsters up to Level 5]

The spear enhanced a different property, which was quite interesting.

But Dilan quickly lost his interest because only one of the weapon's properties enhanced him at the same time.

With that in mind, he skirted away from the dead Goblin and decided to catch his breath.

Leaning against the stone wall, he quickly fell into a light slumber out of which he woke up a few hours later.

Looking at his left arm and his thigh, Dilan noticed that the injuries were mostly healed.

His mana was also refilled.

This time, Dilan was able to sense the mana within his body, but he was not able to control it.

Being unable to control it was fine for now as he could use mana only for his Origin ability.

There was likely to be more behind it.

However, it was not as if he would get enlightened all of a sudden and learn about every new change on the very first day.

That was just a dream, and with that in mind, he climbed up the stone wall.

Tucking the dagger back in his jeans, Dilan then thought of how to carry the Stone spear while keeping his hands free.

'I wish I had my backpack with me…I wonder where it is'

Sighing deeply, he climbed back to the surface after nearly half an hour.

Dilan continued to grumble to himself while hoping to find something to store away his weapons.

He was so distracted that he didn't even notice that the shiny bright blue color of the Goblin gate had lost some of its luster.

Only when he walked directly past it, did a message pop up right in front of him.

[Temporary Gate to (Hidden Goblin Lair) will disappear in [60 seconds]. The last batch of Goblins will emerge in [30 seconds]]

"Huh?" He blurted out, instinctively moving in a defensive stance, the tip of the Stone spear pointing towards the Gate.

But after seeing the countdown run slowly, Dilan relaxed visibly.

An idea popped in his mind, and after a quick look around, he found a safe place to hide.

'If they're less than five, I will fight them!' Dilan told himself, confident in his ability to fight a few Goblins.

He had a weapon, and was ready to advance, and become stronger!

And to do that he required the Essence of monsters, which he would only receive by killing them.

'I have yet to level up as well!'

With that in mind, he quickly went near the bushes he had spotted earlier before turning back towards the Goblin gate.

It was morning already, and the bright sunlight was reflected in the blue liquid of the gate, dazzling him.

Thus, Dilan couldn't look directly into it.

But just as he was about to grumble yet again, he heard the cackle of several Goblins.

There were a total of three Goblins, which was perfect for him.

As such, he was ready to storm at the monsters and eradicate them.

Yet, instead of rushing at him and fighting recklessly, Dilan quickly noticed that they spread out in different directions.

Two of them went along either side of the ravine in opposite directions, while the other Goblin approached the forest.

When Dilan saw this, his eyes began to twinkle.

Waiting for the Goblin, who was scouting the forest, he placed the stone spear on the forest floor before quietly pulling out the stone dagger.

And just when the lone Goblin passed through the thicket of the closest bushes, Dilan catapulted himself towards the monster.

Placing one hand over the Goblin's mouth to stop it from screaming, he used the other to slice the stone dagger across its throat.

Only a single move had been enough to kill the monster that was dragged back to Dilan's hiding spot.

'Soo..this should be enough…'

Once he was in a somewhat secured area and well out of earshot, he pierced the dagger into the skull of the Goblin to pull out its Essence crystal.

It seemed to be at the same spot for all Goblins, and Dilan subconsciously touched the area between his eyebrows.

However, a moment later he shook his head before absorbing the third Goblin essence crystal.

[Essence of a Tierless Level 1 Goblin Scout has been absorbed→ +0.1 Stamina]

[Essence pool has been filled. Host reached level 1! +0.5 Status points can be allocated!]

Nodding his head at the status screen, Dilan's assumption had been reaffirmed that one could only absorb the Essence crystals of three or four beasts of the same type before no status points would be added.

At the same time, his level up after absorbing the third Essence crystal meant that they had replaced the commonly known experience points in MMORPGs.

'Soo…if I still gain something from the Essences of the Goblins, I might as well kill the other two!'

With that in mind, he cleaned the dagger blade before storing it away.

Picking up the Stone spear, Dilan prepared himself to fight.

But what he had not expected to see was a second batch of Goblins that emerged from the Goblin gate, the moment he stepped out of the bushes' cover.

And only a moment later the dazzling reflection of the sunlight disappeared as the gate vanished, releasing strong mana currents that swept through Dilan's face.

"Oh…shit!"

Chapter 6 Intervention

What emerged from the Goblin gate the moment before it disappeared was not one or two but a total of 15 Goblins.

They wielded different weapons than the Goblins he had encountered before, and two of them were also using bows and arrows.

But that was not all because there was one human-sized Goblin towering over the ordinary Goblins.

His arms were overproportionally long, making it seem as if they were long poles whereas its legs were shorter in comparison.

Seeing the monster that seemed to be the most dangerous of them all, Dilan knew one thing for sure- the moment he was caught, his life would end!

Yet, even with that in mind, turning around to run for his life was not an option because he could tell that the monster would be faster than him.

Even if he was ready to fight with his life on the line, the Goblins in front of him were certainly not something he could defeat, not all of them at once.

Definitely not with his current strength!

And to understand this, Dilan didn't need his gut feeling to attest to the fact.

'Should I use my status points in Agility??'

His mind told him that this was probably for the best, but his body didn't move a single inch.

He was frozen in place, and could only stare at the monsters in front of him.-.

Oddly enough, they had yet to notice him and kept looking through the surroundings but missed him as he was hiding behind a huge bush.

This allowed Dilan to feel a ray of hope emerge within him.

But no sooner had he thought that he would escape them without being spotted, the human-sized monster which he had labeled as Goblin Warrior, turned in his direction, staring straight into his sky blue eyes.

'Fuck!'

All of a sudden the Goblin Warrior began to cackle before it slowly stepped toward him.

The scent of blood was thick in the air around Dilan, and it didn't require much intelligence to understand what he had done to the Goblins he had encountered.

Thus, the Goblin Warrior wanted to let Dilan suffer and give him a slow death, which was something he sensed clearly.

He had endured enough pain in the last few hours and wanted to avoid being tortured by all means.

Yet, his body was not listening to his commands and seemed to be rooted to the spot.

This made things even worse as his body and mind were being influenced by the unknown future he was to encounter.

However, just as the Goblin Warrior appeared in front of Dilan, something unexpected happened.

The Goblins that had followed the Goblin Warrior suddenly halted in their tracks, their hideous faces turning even worse as they stared at something behind Dilan.

At this moment, the mysterious energy, mana, seemed to shroud his entire body, suppressing Dilan's entire being.

His entire existence felt insignificant all of a sudden, and he believed that he was about to die.

Yet, contrary to his belief, the reality was different!

A being that was enveloped in bolts of lightning shot past him all of a sudden.

Grazing him, the lightning burned his right arm before a gust of wind splashed his face.

Through the lightning that brushed past his slim face, his shoulder-long brunette hair fluttered in the wind.

Dilan's sky blue eyes were wide open, as he witnessed how a slim panther with purple fur and eyes that were darker than the abyss pounced at the Goblin Warrior without a sign of hesitation.

It avoided the Goblin Warrior's spear thrust easily, before using its sharp claws and teeth to start tearing it apart like paper.

Meanwhile, the panther's bolts of lightning spread out, lunging out for every single living being in the vicinity.

The bolts of lightning ended the life of the ordinary Goblins at once as their painful screams filled the morning sky, while the terrific force of the panther was enough to tear out the Goblin Warrior's arm as if it was nothing.

At this moment, Dilan realized three things at once- first, that his existence was not only insignificant, second-that the entire world was changing into a place that followed the laws of the jungle, and third- that he was able to move once again!

The Lightning Panther was distracted but had managed to take down the entire Goblin group by itself.

Thus, Dilan used the chance to save his life.

Slowly backing off, he paid attention not to step on any twig around him and remind either of the beasts about his presence.

Making a detour through the thicket, Dilan felt that his heart was pounding wildly as he tried putting as much distance as possible between himself and the beasts.

His eyes were still fixated on the monsters ahead of him.

The last thing he saw was the Goblin Warrior using its remaining arm to thrust its spear into the side of the Lightning Panther, who reacted with a shocking amount of electric currents that began to crackle in and around its wide maw.

A moment later its fangs sunk into the neck of the Goblin Warrior, who screamed out in pain before quieting down forever.

This scene left a huge impact on Dilan, causing him to quickly make use of his five unused status points on his [Agility] property.

His agility was thus increased to become 60% more than the average human.

Dilan knew that this was not enough to flee from the Lightning Panther if it were to pursue him, but the energy that coursed through his body while he made use of the status points allowed him to fall at ease.

His mind was cleared, and Dilan turned around the moment he spotted an enormous tree.

Barely being able to avoid stepping on the twigs littered across the forest floor, he began to run through the forest.

Though, he maintained a slow pace and ensured of making no noise before rushing through the forest on the mountainside.

He was clutching the Reinforced Stone Spear tightly with his left hand and didn't even notice that his right arm was completely burned.

But his body was already trying to tend to the issues, while his muscles had pumped up and adrenaline kicked in again.

With the aim to get away from the fighting beasts, he kept running frantically for more than ten minutes. But now he had no idea where he was.

However, that was not something he could be bothered about because the Lightning Panther had not followed him.

That was a great relief, and Dilan slowed down.

Looking around he tried to figure out where he was, and his eyes went to the sun to roughly gauge his current location.

'If we're on the southern side of the mountain, then Rian should be quite near!'

Dilan was not eager to enter cities after he had heard about zombies, but he was hungry and thirsty.

The mountainside of Rian didn't have many edible mushrooms or mountain vegetables.

As such, he felt the need to reach Rian, even more so because it was just a small city with 500,000 citizens.

It was but a speck of dust on the vast expanse of planet Milarn, a small city, sandwiched between a mountain and an open plain.

'If I want to survive this apocalypse, I will need to team up with others. Otherwise, I will die the moment I encounter monsters like the Lightning panther!'

Making a decision, Dilan paved his way through the forest.

It was gloomy, eerily silent, and luckily, he didn't encounter a single terrifying monster on his way.

This allowed him to catch his breath as he had begun to sway a little after the continuous battle and running around.

His steps were slow but his guard was up as he kept walking towards Rian city.

On the way, he came across only a few hedgehogs and small animals that were relatively harmless.

They looked at him, mostly in confusion, but quickly averted their attention when roars of ferocious beasts reverberated through the surrounding.

Wanting to avoid them, Dilan quickened his pace and reached the outskirts of the forest relatively quickly.

To his misfortune, the growling and hissing of several monsters reached his ears, making him stop dead in his tracks for a moment.

"What is that?…"

Chapter 7 Merciless

To his right, a bunch of rotten corpses with mangled bodies were fighting a ten-meter-long python.

Their flesh was ripped-out in places with their guts spilling out of their abdomen, and bones that were sticking out of their bodies.

'Zombies!'

Their sight was truly unexpected.

His current position was quite far from the closest building to Rian, and he could already see more than a dozen zombies.

The zombies were trying to mindlessly tear the python apart just with their bare hands, biting into the python's flesh to rip it out with their teeth.

Meanwhile, the python was coiling its body around them before twisting their spines and bones alike.

Unfortunately, the zombies didn't need their spines to continue inflicting injuries on the python.

However, despite watching the battle from up close, Dilan didn't feel scared.

Instead, he wondered why there were a bunch of zombies so deep in the woods.

But considering that there had been a bad storm just a day ago, they might have been dragged through the air and hurled into the forest, just like him.

That was enough for Dilan to accept the fact that the zombies were around him.

And upon sizing all of them up, he quickly found that one of them was wearing a small backpack.

The moment he spotted the backpack, Dilan labeled it as his personal property.-.

Without wasting any more time, he advanced through the thicket while clutching the Reinforced Stone Spear in his hands.

His right arm ached a lot, but that was not something Dilan could bother about right now.

Focusing on the beasts ahead, Dilan emerged near the closest zombie only a few seconds later.

With the knowledge he had gained from games and novels, he aimed for the zombie's head and pierced his weapon through it mercilessly.

His eyes were ice-cold as he pulled the spear tip out of the zombie's head.

Adrenaline coursed through his body, and a smirk appeared on his face.

Zombies were not humans anymore, so Dilan didn't even think of granting them the slightest pity.

Instead, he would label them for what they were- monsters that had to be killed in order for him to stay alive.

That mindset allowed Dilan to move smoothly, thrusting the Reinforced Stone Spear in the heads of two more zombies before the rest noticed him.

The few that were not restricted owing to the large python's body that coiled around them moved towards him with slow movements.

Their speed was slower than the average human, and considering that some had broken their legs, Dilan had no problems evading them.

With a quick momentum, his spear pierced out, only to be retracted a moment later.

Repeating this move a few times, he swiftly killed a total of seven zombie corpses that were now lying on the ground.

Meanwhile, the other zombies were busy killing the python, who was fighting for his life and swallowed one zombie and had bitten off the head of another one.

When Dilan saw this, he quickly rushed forward and appeared next to the head of the python before thrusting the Reinforced Stone Spear in its right eye.

His attack was extremely fast, 60% faster than the average human, which enabled him to exert a powerful thrust.

The spear tip pierced into the python, killing it easily.

Afterward, Dilan didn't think of halting in his tracks as he moved backward before starting another onslaught of attacks, ending the life of the other zombies.

From the moment he had revealed himself until now, not even two full minutes had passed.

The sudden and rapid movements and the focus he required to fight all the opponents had tired him out.

Though he had just been walking through the mountain towards the city, Dilan had been on high alert.

A deep sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the corpses.

Without thinking too much, Dilan got hold of the small backpack before he stored the Reinforced Stone Spear, putting it in horizontal between the straps of his backpack and his back.

Taking out the Reinforced Stone Dagger, he started to work.

Dilan didn't even feel pity when he pierced the dagger into the head of the undead that stared at him with their empty, lifeless eyes.

"Nice, they have them!" He exclaimed, showing the first sign of emotion before quieting down, realizing that he was still in an unknown, and dangerous area.

Taking out the Essence crystals that had formed in each of the zombies, Dilan appeared in front of the dead python corpse.

"This one looks like a reticulated python. A few of them should be living on this sloppy mountainside…it will have an Essence crystal as well, right?"

Cutting open the head of the python, he did find an Essence crystal.

It didn't astonish him, but it explained a lot.

'These crystals are probably the catalyst for mana?' He thought while storing away the python's essence crystal, noting that the zombie it had swallowed whole was still not dead and twitching in the python's body.

Thinking that he shouldn't miss out on the essence of more beasts, Dilan thrust the dagger through the python's body.

A moment later, Dilan moved the dagger downward, as its blade cut through its belly, tearing it open.

Yet, he realized that instead of having hit the designated target, the zombie's head, Dilan had missed it by a few centimeters.

Because of that, the zombie was still alive and growling while reaching out of the python's body with its rotten arm.

However, instead of feeling afraid of getting scratched, Dilan just smirked before he pierced the Reinforced Stone Spear into its head and didn't miss it this time.

"I have an Immunity ability, you bastard!"

With a swift motion, he had killed the last zombie as well.

And as if on cue, the head of the zombie, which the python had bitten off, rolled to the feet of the other dead zombie.

This made it possible for him to take out the Essence crystal of both zombies.

"The python didn't even absorb the Essence crystal of the zombie it killed? Did it not know how absorbing the Essence crystal works, or is there some other requirement for animals?"

Dilan had no idea, but muttering to himself was quite helpful.

He had yet to come in contact with a human survivor. So, he was trying to hold on to his sanity, if only by blabbering to himself.

It allowed him to stay calm in the situation he was in, without feeling like he was caught in a video game, a realistic one where he had felt far more pain in a few hours than he had gone through in his entire life before.

Other than the 13 Essence crystals and the backpack, where he had stored the Essence crystals, Dilan didn't need anything else.

As such, he quickly walked away from the battlefield.

After a few minutes of resuming his walk, he spotted the grayish-white wall of Rian's mountainside hospital.

It was also his first stop as a supermarket was near the hospital.

There should be quite a few zombies as well, but they shouldn't pose him much of a problem.

'I can defeat them, as long as they're not too many or stronger…'

With that in mind, Dilan took a short stop to start absorbing the Essence crystals of the python and the Zombies.

This had not been possible before as he had wanted to avoid staying in the area where the monsters' fight had caused a loud commotion.

Now that he had put some distance between himself and his small battlefield, he absorbed all Essence crystals without wasting anymore time!

[Essence of a Tierless Level 0 Zombie has been absorbed→+0.3 Strength]

[Essence of a Tierless Level 0 Zombie has been absorbed→+0.1 Strength, +0.1 Stamina]

[Essence of a Tierless Level 0 Zombie has been absorbed→+0.1 Stamina]

[Essence of a Tierless Level 0 Zombie has been absorbed→ Host cannot gain more status points from ordinary zombies!]

[…]

[…]

[Essence of a Tierless Level 0 (Mutated) reticulated python has been absorbed→+0.2 Health]

After hearing the notifications while absorbing one Essence crystal after another, Dilan couldn't help but feel like he wouldn't level up, at all.

But finally, after the 9th Essence crystal crumbled in his hand, the message he had waited for appeared.

[Essence pool has been filled. Host reached level 2! +0.5 Status points can be allocated!]

Once he received the message, Dilan finished absorbing the remaining crystals before getting up from the ground.

A smile appeared on his face, and there was no way he could complain about the current situation.

Right now, he was still alive, and even his burned arm was slowly healing.

Feeling excited, and free of the shackles that had restrained him, Dilan stepped forward, making his way to Rian.

Chapter 8 New World

From a closer view, the city looked gloomy, with only a handful of cars that were driving through the streets.

They were probably survivors that were trying to leave the city.

But they were quickly blocked by hordes of zombies that had heard the cars' engine noises and were drawn to it.

Blocked off by the masses of zombies, and other vehicles that stood around, the few survivors found themselves in a tight spot.

The cars had probably been abandoned by the drivers that had been hit off-guard when the storm reached the city.

Most of the glass windows of all constructions had been blown away, trees had been uprooted along with various types of other plants, dirt, and stones littered over the once clean and bustling streets in the center of the city.

Seeing everything from an elevated spot, Dilan sighed deeply.

His eyesight had improved slightly, allowing him to perceive the outlines of hundreds of zombies in a certain alley far away from his current position.

The monsters pursued a few humans, craving to sink in their teeth in the flesh of the living.

Dilan's lips twitched upon seeing this, but there was no point in rushing through the main streets of Rian and attracting numerous zombies, just to die while playing hero.

This was certainly not how it worked, and he could only shake his head, sighing deeply before his gaze averted to the mountainside hospital.-.

The supermarket was only a few hundred meters away from the hospital, which was something Dilan clearly knew.

After all, he had passed through Rian when he had embarked on his adventurous new year eve's hike to the top of the mountain.

It had ended in a rather disastrous way, but Dilan was happy that it was not freezing cold right now.

Otherwise, the experience after the storm and the Primordial Ascension would have hit him much worse.

With that in mind, he continued to make his way to the hospital, his senses on high alert to not miss out on picking up the slightest noise around him.

It was silent enough to hear a pin drop to the ground.

This was even eerier than listening to the zombies' growling, and chills began to spread all over his body.

As such, Dilan was thankful when he saw a bunch of zombies not too far away from him, gathering around a large SUV.

He reached the large parking lot of the hospital and kept looking at the batch of ten zombies.

Most of them were nearly unscathed if one excluded ripped-out flesh and some guts spilling out of the injury of a few zombies.

With a calm mind, he took a glance around before realizing that the open parking lot didn't have many zombies around.

Approaching the zombies with slow and inaudible steps, Dilan was only 50 meters away from the batch of zombies, when a shrill and desperate voice reverberated through the surroundings.

"Argghhh, help me…someone help me!!!"

A moment later, Dilan spotted a young girl in her mid-teens, screaming for help.

She was running over the greenery of the hospital's front yard, her entire face overflowing with desperation and fear.

Four zombies followed her closely, nearly reaching her.

The teenage girl continued to scream at the top of her lungs while running towards the entrance of the hospital.

However, the moment she reached them, a total of 15 zombies were behind her.

Trying to open the doors, the young girl saw that metal chains had been tied around the inner side of the door.

There was only a small slit of glass in the door, but she had seen through it. With trembling hands, she tried to untie the metal chains and open the door.

But this made things only worse because the rattling noise made them keep coming for her and in that moment she understood that there was no way in.

Thus, the moment she turned around, her fate was sealed, when the 15 zombies were almost upon her.

Her eyes began to quiver as tears trickled down her cheeks while she helplessly let out a bitter cry,

"I…don't want to die…"

Unfortunately, the world was not fair, neither before the Primordial Ascension nor now, when Milarn could be labeled as a new world.

Almost everything had changed, and survival was the only thing that mattered, irrespective of the means used to achieve it.

The sole difference right now was that true strength became the biggest deciding factor over life-and-death, not political power.

Political power would still hold ground, but nobody could tell how long this would go on, while money went out for a toss!

And it was this true strength that Dilan used to pierce the Reinforced Stone Spear in the head of the zombie that was the closest to him.

Moving quietly behind them, he reached behind the unsuspecting batch of zombies.

Using his agility of 1.6 Units and the additional property of his weapon, Dilan didn't fear the zombies that had cornered the young girl.

They were not faster than the average human, and Dilan had a long-range weapon to keep them at a distance, if necessary.

That being said, he still didn't understand how he could be stupid enough to throw himself at 15 zombies just for the sake of a young girl who couldn't even keep her mouth shut.

Maybe he felt pity, or simply bad for a young girl that was thrown into a world filled with ferocious monsters and death.

Killing three zombies in no time, Dilan noticed that his movements had become smoother.

He had never been trained in spearmanship, but his talent in martial arts had always been high according to his friends with whom Dilan had sometimes trained.

Earlier, he thought that they were simply ridiculing him but now, he didn't seem to act like a fool while wielding the Reinforced Stone Spear.

Continuing his onslaught, Dilan's high agility was clearly showcased, and so was his highly increased strength as every single attack he inflicted had pierced through the head of the zombies he targeted.

Being focused on the shrieking girl, the zombies had been oblivious to his silent approach and attack, leading to their deaths.

Only when it was already far too late, did three zombies turn around to attack the closest living being they could smell.

Their growl and foul smell reached him, but Dilan didn't even think of backing off.

Instead, his eyes grew even colder than before as he began to move hastily, piercing the head of the closest zombie before he shot his leg forward with a powerful kick that hit the zombie on his left.

The monster had almost reached him, but his kick smashed it against the door behind.

Using the short momentum to his advantage, Dilan focused his next attack on the zombie on his right.

He finished it off with a single motion before finishing off the other zombie as well.

Afterward, only one zombie was left alive.

However, at this moment a trace of sadness could be seen in his eyes.

"Shit, too late…" Dilan blurted out when he killed the last zombie that had been leaning on the young girl, who had slumped to the ground.

Her eyes were still filled with tears, but her expression had already turned into a grimace.

She had several bite marks all over her body, and it took only seconds for her eyes to turn bloodshot.

Sighing deeply, Dilan bit his lower lip as he prepared himself for his next kill.

A moment later, his eyes turned cold as he heard the growling of the young girl before she shot towards him.

However, the moment she pounced towards him, Dilan had already thrust his spear forward, penetrating her head with a clean thrust.

"Rest in Peace…"

Chapter 9 Shot

With a trace of frustration in his eyes, Dilan pulled the Reinforced Stone Spear out of the female zombie.

The faint glint of an Essence crystal entered his view, only for it to fall to the ground.

This proved a part of his theory that every living being created one of such Essence crystals when the Primordial Ascension happened.

It was probably also linked with the entire System that revolved around the holographic screen, the increase of strength one received by absorbing the essence of other beings, and so on.

But Dilan couldn't even force himself to smile for having found out something new that might help him in the future.

Right now, he was just frustrated that he had been unable to save the girl.

Unfortunately, there was no point in feeling guilty because it wouldn't bring back the zombies he had just killed.

As such, instead of acting like an emotional wreck, Dilan took a look around, making sure that there was no zombie or other monster around.

After he was certain that there was nobody to surprise attack him, he stored the Reinforced Stone Spear away before using the dagger to get hold of the zombies' essence crystals.

There were a total of 16, and he packed them in the backpack.

Yet, just when he was done, Dilan heard a rattling noise from inside the hospital.

This led him to quickly reach out for the Reinforced Stone Spear while jumping backward.

His eyes were fixated on the hospital's doors that opened to reveal four pairs of eyes.

'Survivors?' Dilan immediately wondered, the tension in his body subsiding for a moment before he spotted guns in the hands of two survivors.-.

They were simple Glock 18 handguns, a type of weapon one could find quite easily in Rian.

Nonetheless, Dilan had never expected his first encounter with human survivors would be with someone pointing guns at him.

As such, he froze in place, while the group eyed him with their guns pointed at him, sizing him up.

The group of four consisted of two men and two women.

Both of the women were slim and scared witless while staring at him as if he was a monster.

They looked rather harmless, but Dilan didn't allow their appearance to trick him because the gun that was pointed at him could end his life in an instant.

Thus, he wanted to lift his arms to show that he meant no harm, only for the hoarse voice of the middle-aged burly man to reach him.

"Don't move, kiddo!" He ordered while pointing his gun at Dilan as well.

Meanwhile, the skinny young man behind the middle-aged man looked at the unfolding scenario in fright, his eyes flicking towards the large number of zombie corpses every now and then.

Doing as instructed, Dilan looked into the eyes of the middle-aged man.

He appeared to be scared as well, but not as much as the rest of his group.

This was a good sign, giving Dilan hope that he was more reasonable to talk to.

"Hello, my name is Dil-…"

While starting his introduction in a polite tone, he tried to placate the group as the middle-aged man simply looked at him with a neutral expression.

However, the young woman beside him started to quiver.

Her fingers closed down on the trigger, and it looked as if she was losing her sense of reasoning as she shouted out.

"You murderer!!!"

*BANG*

With an ear-splitting sound, the bullet shot out of the gun, astonishing everyone.

Even the young woman herself was perplexed, not understanding what had just happened.

Only when she looked at Dilan's left upper arm did she realize that she had shot someone, and nearly killed a fellow human.

Grunting in pain that went straight to his head, Dilan's head instinctively turned towards his left upper arm that had been shot.

The bullet pierced through his muscles and flesh, cleanly penetrating him and escaping out of his hand from the other side.

It didn't injure any of his bones, which was his fortune.

As he looked at his wound, large amounts of blood trickled down his arm.

Anger flared within Dilan because he had been shot without reason, only for the seething woman's voice to accuse him a moment later.

"We saw you killing the young girl!! You monster!!!"

Only now did he understand the reason for her doing so after hearing her voice that was filled with fright, desperation, and disgust.

'They saw me!'

However, instead of feeling the need to explain why the girl was beyond saving, Dilan wondered whether they had seen him moving faster than the average human and taking the Essence crystals out of the zombies as well.

This was more important because it looked like the group of four didn't know anything about what was going on with the world!

But it was only a moment later that Dilan's eyes widened slightly as the burly middle-aged man hit the woman that shot him.

"Bitch!! Do you want every single zombie to hear us?! Why did you have to shoot him!"

By shooting Dilan, she had not only wasted their scarce ammunition, but the burly man could also see a group of zombies approaching them.

They were relatively far away, and coming through the other end of the parking lot.

However, such a distance was negligible.

Taking a second glance at Dilan, the man could easily guess that he had gone through a lot in the last few hours.

His shirt was torn in the center of his chest, bloodied, and his entire right arm was burned.

Adding his ice-cold eyes, and the fact that he didn't scream out in pain when he had been shot, to his overall demeanor made it clear that Dilan was not to be taken lightly.

"If you don't want to be eaten by zombies, hand over your weapons, and we will allow you to follow us inside the hospital!"

Ignoring the young woman he had just hit, the middle-aged man named Jack looked deep into Dilan's eyes.

Dilan threw a short glance towards the back before looking at Jack's gun that was still pointed at him.

Sighing deeply, he knew that there was not really something he could do, right now other than listen to Jack.

Even if he didn't want to go inside, the number of zombies that had been attracted by the sound of the gunshot was simply too high.

Thus, with a swift movement, Dilan turned around the Reinforced Stone Dagger.

Holding the blade in a pinch between his thumb and forefinger, he reached out with his burned arm to hand over the dagger.

"You take it!" Jack told the skinny young man, Oliver, to take the dagger.

Oliver was visibly petrified but he shakily nodded his head and reached out for the dagger in his hand.

At this moment a notification popped up in front of him, and Oliver nearly exclaimed in surprise.

'Increase in strength? There are weapons like that now?'

It had not even been 24 hours and the world had been turned upside down.

Everything had changed!

Oliver saw that humans turned into zombies, how some of his friends had been eaten alive, and now a game-like screen popped up in front of him, saying that this stone dagger increased his strength.

And the most insane fact was that it truly felt like his physical strength had increased.

Thus, while holding the Reinforced Stone Spear, Oliver's eyes began to gleam.

For a short moment, he even forgot the fear of the unknown world into which Milarn had turned.

"Follow me! If you dare to act up, I will shoot you in an instant!"

Jack didn't care about Oliver's awestruck eyes as he ordered Dilan around.

Dilan just nodded his head in return, his eyes glancing towards the woman, who was tightly holding onto her gun with one hand while holding her bruised cheek with the other.

She was not even able to say anything against Jack's decision to take Dilan inside the hospital.

Fresh tears welled in her eyes, but everyone ignored her.

Even her friend was more focused on Dilan's backpack, where his Essence crystals were stored.

She had noticed that his speed was much faster than that of an ordinary human.

Thus, by connecting the dots, she had figured that the crystals Dilan had pulled out of the head of the zombies had something to do with this.

'Maybe…'

Chapter 10 Robbed

The atmosphere around the group of five was tense.

While Oliver stared at the stone weapons as if they were made out of gold, Sarah, the young woman, kept staring at his backpack.

Dilan noticed this quite early, and soon enough Jack started asking him questions.

"I won't beat around the bush. I don't really care if you killed that girl before she turned into a zombie or after, but why did you cut open the heads of all zombies?"

It was obvious that Jack had not seen the Essence crystals, but he was not stupid either.

As such, he asked the most important question.

'So he allowed me to come inside this hospital because he wanted information?'

Dilan understood the tricky situation he was in quite easily as well.

Jack was still pointing the gun at him, preventing him from doing anything as well.

Thus, he could only play along for the time being.

"If you cut open the heads of the zombies all around here, you should be able to find something called an 'Essence crystal'. Try it out, if you don't believe me."

Dilan had no plan of acting like a pushover irrespective of whether the gun was pointed at him.-.

That was simply not how he behaved.

As such, he shared a few pieces of information, leaving it up to the others whether they wanted to believe him or not.

He didn't really care about their opinion in that regard.

Jack looked at Dilan for a few seconds before raising his free hand when they passed by a bunch of zombie corpses.

"Open up one of the zombies' heads, Oliver!"

Carrying the weapon that once belonged to Dilan, Oliver was the only one who had the necessary tool to open up the zombies' heads right now.

Jack had made it pretty clear that he did not want to dirty his finger right now.

However, Oliver was too disgusted and frightened to even touch the zombie corpses.

Shaking his head vehemently, he refused to do what Jack asked as he couldn't overcome his fear.

When Jack saw this, he grunted in anger before snatching the Reinforced Stone dagger out of Oliver's hands.

Throwing a glance back at Dilan, he moved the handgun around while saying,

"If you make even one suspicious move, I will shoot you!"

Dilan thought that Jack was being too wary of him, but he just nodded his head.

At that moment, he noticed the unarmed woman appear behind him and began rummaging through his backpack.

This was something that Dilan didn't want to happen which was why he instinctively moved.

"Don't move!" Jack barked a warning at him again.

'Fuck you!' Dilan cursed in his head and went still as he helplessly saw Sarah take his Essence crystals away as well.

"He has these crystals! But what am I supposed to do with them now?" She blurted out, visibly confused.

While pondering about their use for a few seconds, she even considered eating them.

But it was just at this moment that the first Essence crystal crumbled in her hand, and a notification popped up right in front of her.

[Essence of a Tierless Level 0 Zombie has been absorbed→ +0.1 Strength]

Several Essence crystals crumbled one after another and an enlightened expression appeared on Sarah's face.

'I shouldn't have saved up the Essence crystals for later to level up in one go…' Dilan thought in vain before he heard Sarah's voice.

"I gained 0.1 points in Strength!" She exclaimed after devouring the first Essence crystal but quieted down afterward.

Sarah realized she should not have said it out aloud but now it was too late.

Upon hearing her, everyone turned towards her, astonishment visible in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Jack got impatient as he searched for an Essence crystal impatiently, and found his first after a few seconds had passed.

Like Sarah, he too absorbed it, and the crystal crumbled in his hand a second later.

"I only got its essence, no increment in Strength!" He said, before looking at the Essence crystals in Sarah's hands.

She didn't devour all of them, and seeing greed glimmering in Jack's eyes, she quickly handed them over to him without another word, afraid that he would hurt her if she didn't comply.

A moment later, the remaining 12 Essence crystals crumbled at once, causing Dilan to want to stab Jack with his stone spear.

"0.2 points in strength, and I leveled up with the last crystal!!" Jack exclaimed with a bright smile and a glint in his eyes.

When Dilan heard this, he was a little bit astonished.

'Even if it looked like the Level 0 Zombies had less essence than the Level 1 Goblins, it shouldn't have required 12 Essence crystals to level up for the first time…and he got only 0.2 status points in total…'

At first, Dilan was confused, but then a quite simple yet somewhat plausible answer flashed through his mind.

'Is it because I killed the zombies, and not them?'

This was quite likely, and when he saw that Oliver overcame his fear to use the Reinforced Stone Spear to start pulling out Essence crystals out of the few zombie corpses that laid in the hallway, he figured out something else as well.

'Monsters killed with guns won't provide any status points and only little to no essence?'

Dilan arrived at this conclusion, when Oliver absorbed the essence of more than 12 zombies without leveling up, or receiving a single status point.

The others comprehended this as well, which was why they kept glancing at the two Stone weapons.

But what they misunderstood was an important fact.

The Essence crystals that belonged to him did not provide more Essence and status points because he used a weapon that belonged to the system, but because he fought with his own strength.

However, this was not something the small group had realized yet.

Thus, the focus of the group of four shifted from Dilan to the Reinforced Stone Spear and Stone Dagger, and they lost interest in him.

Only Bianne, the woman who had shot him in the arm, didn't lower her guard around him.

Yet, even then, she didn't notice that Dilan had already used his Origin ability [Regeneration] to heal the wounds all over his body a little bit faster.

Additionally, his high Health stat helped him recuperate even faster.

As such, by the time they reached the area in front of the cafeteria, he had nearly stopped bleeding.

'I just wanted to get a few things in the supermarket…and now I'm here, in the cafeteria of the hospital…after being shot by some lunatic!'

This was the only thought that flashed through his mind after getting shot and robbed as well.

He was angry and wanted to beat up the entire group for acting as if they could order him around.

But instead of doing something stupid, Dilan chose to wait.

Knocking on the doors of the cafeteria, Jack seemed to become quite impatient as he looked back a few times.

He had heard a few zombies before and hoped that some zombies from other rooms or the second floor would not come and hunt them down.

"It's us. Let us in, quick!"

What followed after his silent demand, was the sound of furniture being dragged away before the cafeteria doors opened.

A moment later, Dilan saw more than a dozen survivors right in front of him, looking at the group of five, with a mixture of fear and apprehension in their eyes.

But curiosity trumped over all their emotions, as they all observed the newcomer. Dilan furrowed his eyebrows and he couldn't help but ask,

"You guys were quite fast, not bad…are there more survivors?"

Chapter 11 Survival

Right now, Dilan might have been deprived of his weapons and the Essence crystals which he had earned through his hard work, but he didn't feel or act like he was imprisoned.

Jack had already holstered his handgun, and Bianne followed suit.

"There should definitely be a few more survivors in the hospital, but we are already happy to have survived everything until now." Jack answered a moment later and shrugged his shoulders

His attitude towards Dilan had changed all of a sudden, confusing Dilan a little bit. Meanwhile, he continued, dragging Dilan out of his thoughts.

"Maybe there are a few survivors in different rooms, or on a higher floor, but there are also quite a few zombies."

Seeing how Jack mentioned only zombies, Dilan figured that they had yet to encounter Mutated animals or monsters such as Goblins.

This was quite an advantage because zombies were weaker than monsters like Goblins in various aspects.

As such, he decided to forget about the fact that his possessions had been forcefully taken away from him, for the time being, at least.

When Jack saw the relief on his face, he frowned but didn't ask anything.

"Where is the girl you wanted to save??" A woman in her 30s asked in concern while rushing to them.-.

Only a moment later, when she stopped in front of Jack, the woman saw Dilan's burned arm, the blood that had splattered all over his shirt, while fresh blood was trickling down his upper arm.

She noticed that there was even a bullet hole in his upper arm.

"Ohhh my gosh! What happened to you, young man??"

Dilan tilted his head, wondering why this woman was so emphatic and not scared of the things that were happening to the world.

This was certainly not normal but he quickly lost interest in her as Jack answered,

"We weren't able to save her."

Afterward, he added in a loud voice,

"But we found someone else…and we got new information!"

Once Jack said this, he took a deliberate pause to receive everyone's attention.

To Dilan, it felt like Jack was the survivors' beacon of hope, or at least he was acting like one.

He must have done quite a lot for the others during the last few hours to be trusted that much.

As such, Dilan evaluated the burly man once again, ignoring the fact that Jack revealed everything they had figured out just a few minutes earlier.

After Jack was done telling everyone about the little intel they procured, there was a collective shift of gaze as everybody's eyes darted towards the two stone weapons which Jack had put on the table next to him.

"I think everyone who wants to fight shall take turns using them. Like that we can procure Essence crystals, grow stronger, and after a few days we might be able to take control over the entire hospital!"

By not forcing everyone to fight, Jack wanted to focus on nurturing the survivors that had enough willpower to fight. And by giving everybody a fair chance, he wanted to avoid conflicts.

He even considered taking Dilan in his group because the young man looked like he was willing to fight with all his might.

"If what you said is really true, won't only two people be forced to fight from a close range? I would rather use the Glocks if I were to be honest!" A woman, called Ailee, voiced her concern.

She was in her late 20s, and her appearance was quite good. She had brunette, shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes, and looked visibly tired, fear masking her pretty facial features.

After all, Ailee had already noticed the lustful gazes of some other survivors on her!

Despite her fear to fight zombies more than anything, it was still better for her to face them instead of the lustful men, who she clearly despised.

As such, she wanted to figure out if it was possible for her to be in a relatively safe position by using one of the two guns they owned, while still receiving the benefits of the Essence crystals.

Her question was certainly important because the two survivors that were bound to fight in a close range were in a far more tricky situation than anyone else.

But that was not something Dilan could be bothered about as he looked at his weapons before staring at Jack.

"I don't want to act up right now, but who the hell allowed you guys to use my weapons?"

Dilan knew that he could use other weapons to kill the zombies.

After all, the Essence crystals of the Goblins he had killed with his bare fist gave him lots of status points as well!

Yet, even then, the Reinforced Stone weapons were far better than using just his hands and they also gave him enhancements!

Dilan didn't think that it would be possible for him to get any kind of useful weapon within the hospital either.

Thus, he didn't want to give up on the weapons that belonged to him!

"We saved you!! How can you be that ungrateful?!" Bianne suddenly blurted out, moving her hands up and down the air weirdly.

Hearing this, he couldn't contain himself anymore as he got up from the ground.

"You…just fuck off! Nobody here saved me!" Dilan retorted, his voice ice-cold sweeping through the room as he showed her the middle finger.

He turned back to Jack, ignoring Bianne, who was fuming in anger before Jack began to speak to him in a calmer voice.

"I know that you could shoot me if I were to try to get my hands on the weapons you guys robbed from me. But I know why you haven't killed me."

After he said this, Dilan took a dramatic pause and waited for a few seconds before continuing,

"First of all, you believe that I have more information for you, and second of all, I'm probably the only one in this room, who dares to fight zombies head-on."

Taking a glance at everyone in the cafeteria, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure if you would even dare to fight zombies, but that is not important right now. You need me if you want to get control over the entire hospital, otherwise, everyone here will probably starve to death here.

And that is after considering that the water supply is guaranteed before you guys run out of food!"

Dilan might not be considered the smartest, but he could tell if someone wanted to make use of him.

Jack was trying to do so by creating an opportunity in which he was allowing him to wield his own weapon once again, labeling it as his 'generosity' and 'fair chance'.

Understanding that Dilan had seen right through him, Jack didn't even feel offended by his words.

They were mostly true, and Jack had yet to come up with the courage to fight zombies from a close distance.

He had witnessed too many terrifying things in the last 18 hours that had shaken him.

"Do your words imply that you are willing to help me?" Jack thus asked, ignoring the gazes of the other survivors that weighed on him.

It was quite easy to tell that they didn't like Dilan, but that was not something either of them could care about right now.

Dilan had simply stated the truth, even if it was cold and bitter.

If someone didn't like this, it simply signified that they had yet to accept reality, that they were not ready to risk their life in order to survive even if it was just for one more day!

Chapter 12 Intimidating

"I want to stay here, but I don't plan on acting like a Samaritan. I guess the food supply is scarce, and if we were to clear the entire first floor, followed by the whole hospital, the number of survivors is bound to increase in this group.

You should take care of everything, and maybe label this hospital as your private property for all I care…all I would do is kill zombies, and take their Essence crystals!"

Even if Dilan thought of joining, or creating a group of survivors to fight zombies, other monsters, and mutated animals, his plan did not involve playing nanny.

Right now, the most important thing was to become stronger and level up, after all!

Otherwise, he would die facing monsters like the Lightning Panther.

If he had a safe place to return and rest as well after killing monsters the entire day, it would be even better.

As such, Dilan thought that it might not be bad to use the hospital as his resting place and to level up before exploring the outside world.

Oddly enough, Jack liked the way Dilan thought. This was also why he returned the Reinforced Stone Spear to him, seemingly without thinking too much.

The only thing that exposed Jack's true thoughts were the corners of his mouth that curled upward, which made it look like he was smiling slyly.

Dilan didn't take even a second to snatch back his weapon and Jack noticed that the young man was able to move far too energetically.

'Wasn't he bleeding like a punctured pig half an hour ago?' He wondered, only to shake his head.

What Jack didn't know was that Dilan's mana had recuperated in this half an hour, allowing him to use his Origin ability once again.-.

Thus, it was only a matter of time before Dilan would have completely recuperated once again.

"If there's someone else in this room, who would dare fight against zombies, I'm willing to hand over my dagger to them, otherwise, I will take both with me!"

He suddenly announced, after accepting the Reinforced Stone Spear before going over to the table and reaching for the stone dagger as well.

With his words, Dilan showed that he was willing to share his goods with others as long as someone else would fight by his side.

"Wait a moment!…I…want to fight!" A young, and somewhat familiar voice resounded from behind him.

Turning his head, Dilan couldn't help but lift his eyebrow as he saw Oliver who had raised his hand.

He had been the only one, who didn't act like a rogue when Dilan had first met the group of four outside the hospital door.

As such, Dilan regarded his level-headedness highly. Even more so in times when a good character was bound to be tarnished by the harsh environment, and reality.

Oliver's gaze was fixated on the stone weapons before he repeated himself.

"I want to fight, please let me use the dagger!"

If someone were to fight by his side, he would have expected him or her to ask for the Reinforced Stone Spear instead.

It was just a short spear, with a length of less than 1.2 meters. Nonetheless, it was possible to keep a certain distance from your opponents so as to avoid getting scratched.

As such, without thinking too much, Dilan handed over the dagger, while keeping his eyes on the young man.

'He is better than expected. Is it because the system is similar to a game, or is he gaining confidence by absorbing the essence of the monsters?' Dilan wondered.

One could clearly see the faint trace of excitement in the young man's eyes, and Dilan couldn't help but smile dryly while he studied the dagger.

"Don't die on me, alright?" He cautioned while Oliver nodded his head absentmindedly.

A few survivors looked a little bit dejected, which astonished Dilan a little bit.

Earlier, it didn't look as if anyone wanted to fight, but now that they had missed their chance, everyone's mood soured.

As such, Dilan decided to add something, so as to avoid being attacked in his sleep by someone who would want to rob him of his weapons once again.

"If someone else wants to join the fight, we can search for butcher knives or similar weapons to use. The Essence crystals will provide the same rewards to you which I gain by killing monsters with my weapons!"

Smiling after he finished his words, he tried to stifle a yawn.

He wanted to rest a little bit, and recuperate from his injuries before going out, when he heard Jack next to him ask in bewilderment and a tinge of anger,

"Why…didn't you say so earlier?"

Dilan answered honestly while shrugging his shoulders.

"I just wanted the weapons back that you guys stole from me!"

Afterward, he took a glance in the direction of the kitchen before asking,

"Is there something I can eat, or did all of you divide it into daily portions already?"

Less than one day had passed since the Primordial Ascension.

That meant it was unlikely for everyone to have understood how important rationing food supplies had become.

His question caused everybody to grow visibly discomforted.

Their worried and clueless faces answered what he had asked quite easily.

'So the opinions are separated in this regard. Some want to eat to their fill, while others think that small portions would be better for them to stock for the future.'

Nodding his head, he added,

"If there is a loaf of bread, I will take only two slices or so. That shouldn't be too much, right?"

After waiting for a few seconds, nobody countered him, which he took as a sign of approval.

However, even if someone were against him taking their food, he had an intimidating presence which was more than enough to prevent anyone from retorting to him.

Dilan had not noticed it until now, but since the Primordial Ascension had been initiated, his entire being felt different.

It was almost as if he was a newly hatched bird that had finally learned to soar in the sky and that he was free!

The few dangerous encounters he had experienced in a short period of time clearly showed him that the new world was extremely dangerous, and the slightest trace of fear or hesitation could lead to death!

His subconscious had understood this already, which was reflected in the faint traces of mana that shrouded his body.

Nobody was able to see his mana, and sensing the mythical energy was difficult as well.

But even then, everyone could see that Dilan was one of the few, who were ready for the new world.

Unbothered by the gazes that lingered on him, he ate a little bit, before sitting down in the corner of the room with the Reinforced Stone Spear in his hand.

Afterward, he closed his eyes to take a short nap.

Or at least Dilan tried to rest a little bit, only to hear the constant whispering of the other Survivors around him.

"Who the hell does he think he is to take away our food?!" One of the older women argued as shivers ran down her spine.

"He is way too scary…why did Jack and the others even allow him to come inside. Didn't they go out to save this little girl? The permanent resident of the hospital…what was her name again?" A different old woman replied to her with a voice that was laced with fear of the unknown and sadness.

"At least he seems to be a good fighter. Or he is just resilient, which would be great as well! He can protect us!"

It was Oliver, who jumped in their conversation, and pushed out his small chest as he added,

"Or I will protect all of us after killing all the zombies in the hospital!"

He wanted to play the hero, and this was fine as long as he survived.

However, one of the old women, who had spoken earlier, couldn't help but shake her head before she reminded him.

"Just remember this- in order to protect us, you have to stay alive first!"

Oliver shouldn't overestimate his capabilities, or underestimate the strength of zombies.

This would be a grave mistake.

Dilan reminded himself the same thing as well, only to fall in a much deeper slumber than he wanted to.