7 Ambush

Suddenly, a shrill voice, worthy of a tenor, called out to our position. When I turned to check, it was Ethan and Agatha, along with other young people standing on an improvised stage.

Solis hurriedly responded with obvious panic, "Nothing, Mr. Ethan, I was just explaining the new class system to my friend."

When Ethan saw me next to Solis, a wicked smile spread across his face.

"Why, if it isn't my good friend Alex. I really thought you were dead. It's good to see you're still alive."

The hostility in his words was palpable, and he even displayed the sword he had at his waist, a blatant threat that might have intimidated others but felt like a joke to me.

With a smile, I decided to play along, "I thought the same, my good friend. It's nice to see you're healthy and without a scratch after eliminating so many walkers to get that sword."

Ethan's face instantly contorted as if he had sucked on a lemon.

"Zombies, what a stupid name. Everyone calls them walkers."

With this response, he made a sound of dismissal and simply ignored me.

Well, zombies, walkers, they're the same thing. Although it might be better to correct what I call them since the former is associated with things like necromancy, and for some reason, I was sure I'd encounter something like that sooner rather than later.

Suddenly, a man slightly bulkier than the other young people on the stage stepped forward. This man was named Balthor, another one who could be included in the top 10. I could only shake my head at the mixed group of people on the stage, as the saying goes, "God creates them, and they gather together."

"Attention, comrades," Balthor exclaimed in a booming voice. "With the opening of the new Class system, we have decided to organize you better to make the most of this new mechanic. Report to your groups for assignment and pay your dues. You must also inform us of your special classes immediately."

I knew it; these clowns are only thinking about exploiting the other students. I turned and began to walk towards the exit, but a voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Furthermore, whoever cleared the infection zone must come and deliver any rewards they obtained for the community's disposal."

With that, I turned my head and saw Balthor with a nasty smile, not only him but also several others on the platform. Ugh, I really hate all those cruel bastards.

"You can't leave, Alex, not until we know who cleared the boss of this level, and we evaluate the reward."

"I don't need your permission to leave. There are still many walkers outside, and it would be prudent to deal with them before they accumulate with the next wave."

I continued walking, and although Balthor kept talking, I didn't pay attention and left the building.

Once outside, I quickly began to hunt walkers. What I had said inside was my main focus. After all, there was a countdown to the next wave, and we had just under 2 hours left.

The number of walkers had barely decreased. Besides, with the vastness of the campus, it was very likely that there were many students trapped elsewhere unable to access a store. That would be another of my objectives, ideally freeing some pockets of monsters and recruiting new students, as those in the shelter had been completely influenced by that self-proclaimed Council.

Although the pattern of the walkers had changed, as they now roamed around instead of staying still, their strength or resistance hadn't changed much, so the way to eliminate them wasn't very different.

I began to fight groups of walkers, at first cautiously, but soon I decided to go head-on. I really needed to improve my melee combat skills; the battle against the walker boss had taught me that no matter how harmless they seemed, a loose blow could cause significant damage.

After getting rid of the third group of walkers, I realized something was missing. Somehow, I felt much lighter. To be honest, I had noticed that the mace somehow felt lighter, no, it was something else; somehow, I had become stronger.

The only thing that had changed recently was the activation of the classes, and with this, I had realized that my common sense had become useless. As much as I resisted thinking about it, more and more everything seemed like a role-playing and video game system, especially since obtaining a class granted an automatic improvement to the body. While the initial increase in strength wasn't much, I doubted there weren't other enhancements that could be developed.

I wonder, since there are techniques in the store that depend on mana, does that mean there can be powerful magic? Even though humans don't have the innate ability to manipulate mana, it doesn't mean that other beings don't.

A shiver ran down my spine. If I encountered someone with great destructive powers, my chances of victory would be low. It was like facing a soldier with a missile launcher with only your fists.

"I need to become stronger," I muttered those words to convince myself. Walker hunting was straightforward, and now I could kill more than 200 without any problem. I barely felt slightly tired. It was incredible how my stamina had increased. The only thing that made me withdraw was the state of the weapon. According to the system, it had 8% durability left.

Although I didn't notice when its durability dropped so much, a simple calculation revealed that during the fight against the walker boss, it had dropped by more than 60%. So in the future, I would have to consider carrying more than one weapon or perhaps investing in a higher-quality weapon.

When I was about 300 meters from the main hall, I suddenly felt danger, something that made the hairs on my neck stand up. I quickly turned forward over my shoulder.

"You're quite the slippery rat, huh?"

Balthor was looking at me with a two-handed greatsword. Looking around, I realized I was surrounded. Among the attackers, I could recognize Ethan and Agatha, and many of their lackeys. Also, those whom I had hit in the previous conflict were there.

The attackers' eyes had a vicious glint, heralding war.

"Do you really want to fight in a situation like this?"

"I want to fight precisely because of the situation we're in, hahaha."

Balthor's maniacal laughter was shared by some of the members.

"Damn psychopaths."

I spat to the side and focused on my situation. If I wanted to escape, I had a chance if I headed north. That would take me away from the main hall to an uncleared area, although I intended to launch an expedition there to rescue other students; first, I needed to rest and replenish my weapon.

Seeing my furrowed brow, Balthor must have felt confident about intimidating me. He lunged forward, striking downward. The blow was clearly aimed at my head, and if it hit, it would probably split my skull.

However, such a predictable blow would hardly land on me. I easily made a small lateral jump, and when Balthor's sword hit the ground, I hit him in the side with my mace. Due to my bad posture, I couldn't hit him very hard, but I probably managed to break a rib.

Balthor fell to the ground, squealing like a pig, but before I could hit him again to incapacitate him, his lackeys rushed me. Three people ran at me with their swords held high and began to swing wildly in my direction, mostly aiming for my head.