DOOMSDAY LEDGER

Chapter 8: The Killing Tutorial

The morning sun rose in a very rude manner. There were no birds chirping, no cool dew, and definitely no chicken porridge vendor passing by clanging his bowls. The pale sunlight streamed through the ventilation gaps above the instant noodle fortress, highlighting the dust motes floating in the air and emphasizing the chaos inside the Cosmo Mart.

Elian slowly opened his eyes. His head still felt heavy, a lingering side effect of being a living generator all night. He stretched his stiff body in the cashier's chair; his spine cracked like a bitten cracker.

The first thing he saw was Mr. Hendra. The middle-aged manager was already awake, kneeling reverently in front of the bread shelf. He wasn't praying, but counting the remaining stock of unflattened white bread while muttering about loss margins.

"Morning, Sir. Have you figured out the total losses yet?" Elian greeted him with the raspy voice of someone who just woke up.

Mr. Hendra turned, his face oily and his eye bags thick. "Total physical asset loss reached forty percent, Elian. Gondola racks broken, glass shattered, fridges damaged. If the central auditor came today, I'd have a heart attack on the spot."

"If the central auditor came today, he'd probably try to eat your brain. So relax," Elian replied, stepping down from the cashier's chair.

He checked his own status.

[User Status]

Name: Elian

Level: 1 (60/100 XP)

HP: 100/100

Mana: 50/50 (Fully Recovered)

Status: Hungry (Stamina -10%)

His stomach growled. The hunger was real. Elian grabbed an open loaf of white bread from the counter, took a slice, and ate it without jam. It tasted bland and dry, but he needed the calories.

In the corner, Rico stretched awake from his sleep on a pile of boxes. He yawned so wide that a fly might be afraid to enter.

"Hooaahm... Damn, my body's wrecked. I dreamed I was being chased by a ghost, and then I woke up and it was actually the apocalypse," Rico complained, scratching his bulging stomach.

Lina was also awake, sitting hugging her knees with a blank stare. She looked calmer than last night, perhaps because the human brain has a defense mechanism to shut down fear when it's overdosed.

"Guys," Elian called. "Eat whatever you can for breakfast. We need energy."

Just as Elian swallowed his last bite of bread, a loud chime rang in his head. Louder than a fire alarm.

*Ding!*

A red screen lit up in front of his face, blocking his view of Rico, who was picking his nose.

[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: REST PERIOD OVER]

[Tutorial Phase 2 Initiated: Combat Fundamentals]

[Description: A new world requires new laws. The law of the jungle. Kill or be killed. You cannot hide behind instant noodle boxes forever.]

[Mandatory Quest: First Blood Audit]

[Target: Kill 5 Hollow Walkers (Common Zombies)]

[Time Limit: 2 Hours]

[Reward: Level Up to Level 2 + 5 Attribute Points]

[Failure Penalty: Permanent Level Reduction & 'Shock Sting' Skill Deleted]

Elian choked on his bread. "Ugh! Damn it!"

"What's wrong, El? Choking?" Rico asked, patting Elian hard on the back.

"The System..." Elian coughed, his face red. "This freaking System is giving me homework first thing in the morning. I have to go outside."

"Outside? Where?" Mr. Hendra stood up, alert. "There are still monsters out there, Elian! Don't look for trouble!"

"I have to kill five zombies in two hours, Sir. If I don't, my power will disappear," Elian explained quickly, simplifying the complex system message. "And if my power disappears, we all die when this noodle box wall breaks."

Silence for a moment. They all knew how vital Elian's role had been last night. Without his static electricity, they would have been Mr. Bambang's dinner menu.

"I'm coming," Rico said suddenly. He stood tall, grabbing his wrench from the floor.

"Are you sure, Ric? This isn't a game. It's daylight out there, they can see us more clearly," Elian said, hesitant.

"Exactly. You need bait, right?" Rico grinned, but his eyes were serious. "In any game, a squishy mage like you needs a thick-skinned Tank like me. I'll draw them out, you shock them. Deal?"

Elian looked at Rico. This parking attendant might have a trash mouth and absurd behavior, but his guts were commendable.

"Deal. But don't die a stupid death. You still owe me cigarettes from last night," Elian said.

"Relax. I have an armor plan," Rico winked.

Ten minutes later, combat preparations were complete. And Rico's appearance was truly absurd.

Rico had wrapped thick stacks of fashion magazines and gossip tabloids around his arms and legs using brown duct tape. On his chest, he had taped a thick wooden cutting board taken from the kitchenware section. He looked like a hobo version of a cardboard robot.

"How is it? Cool, right?" Rico showed off his arms wrapped in magazines featuring capital city celebrities. "Zombie teeth won't penetrate paper this glossy. I call this: Gossip Armor Level 1."

Elian suppressed a laugh, but had to admit the idea was creative. "Alright, Broke Iron Man. Ready?"

"Ready, Captain Electric."

Elian turned to Mr. Hendra and Lina. "Sir, Lin, lock the fortress door as soon as we leave. Don't open it unless we knock the code: Knock-Knock-Knock-Pause-Knock."

"Be careful, son," Mr. Hendra said, his voice trembling. He handed them two bottles of mineral water. "Take this. Don't get dehydrated."

Elian nodded. He and Rico climbed the instant noodle box wall, peeked out through the ventilation gap, and then jumped down onto the wet asphalt parking lot.

The air outside smelled foul. The stench of rotting flesh was accelerated by the humidity from last night's rain. The sky was a cloudy gray. On the highway, the scene was like a painting of hell. Cars were crashed, black smoke billowed in the distance, and corpses were strewn everywhere.

The zombies were everywhere. Standing still like statues, or walking aimlessly, dragging their feet. The sunlight made their gray skin clearly visible, exposing gruesome, gaping wounds without censorship.

"Okay, five targets. Let's find ones separated from the main group," Elian whispered.

They spotted the first target: A zombie wearing a city sanitation worker uniform (the orange squad), standing blankly near a utility pole, holding a broken broom.

[Hollow Walker - Lv. 2]

[HP: 40/40]

"That's one. Rico, lure him away from that car, in case his friends are inside," Elian instructed.

Rico nodded. He stepped forward, hitting the cutting board on his chest with his wrench.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

"Hey! Street sweeper! This area isn't clean yet! Do your job right!" Rico yelled.

The orange squad zombie turned. Its cloudy white eyes stared at Rico.

"Graaa..."

It started running. Slow, not as fast as the Runner zombie from last night, but still threatening.

"Come here, ugly!" Rico backed away slowly, luring the zombie into the open area in the middle of the parking lot.

When the zombie was close enough and swung its hand to scratch, Rico raised his left arm wrapped in magazines.

*Screech!*

The zombie's claws tore the magazine cover but were stopped by page ten. Gossip Armor worked!

"Hold him, Ric!" Elian shouted.

Elian ran from the side, his iron pipe already charged with Mana. He didn't want to waste much energy, just a small current to paralyze the nerves.

"Static Shock!"

Elian jabbed the iron pipe into the zombie's waist.

*Zzt!*

The zombie jolted stiffly. Its HP bar dropped slightly, but the *stun* effect was what Elian was after.

"Hit its head, Ric!"

Rico swung the wrench in his right hand with all his might.

*Thwack!*

The zombie's head dented. It fell to the ground. Elian finished it with a sharp jab to the back of the neck.

[Target: 1/5]

[XP: +15]

"Awesome! One down!" Rico cheered excitedly. "My armor is valid, boss! It didn't penetrate!"

"Don't celebrate yet. That was just a warm-up," Elian said cautiously.

Their commotion had attracted attention. From behind a black SUV, two zombies emerged simultaneously. An elderly couple who were still holding hands—or more accurately, their hands were tangled in the dog leash they carried. The dog was gone, only the leash remained.

"Two at once. Grandpa and Grandma," Rico reported. "I'll take the grandpa, you take the grandma?"

"Don't be ageist. Take the one closest to you!"

The grandpa zombie lunged at Rico. He was more aggressive than the street sweeper. He tried to bite Rico's neck. Rico panicked, pushing the grandpa's face away with the cutting board on his chest.

"Hey, Grandpa! Your breath smells like a sewer!" Rico shouted, wrestling.

Meanwhile, the grandma zombie targeted Elian. She walked with a limp but her hands reached out wildly. Elian backed away, maintaining distance. He saw the grandma's HP bar was low.

[Hollow Walker - Lv. 1]

[HP: 20/20]

[Status: Frail]

"Sorry, Grandma," Elian muttered.

He didn't use an active skill. He simply swung his iron pipe with all his might toward the grandmother's knee. The brittle old bone snapped easily. The grandma zombie fell. Elian immediately stepped on her neck and struck her head.

[Target: 2/5]

He turned to Rico. Rico was struggling. The grandpa zombie was surprisingly strong; he managed to knock Rico onto the asphalt. Rico's wrench flew away.

"El! Help! He's trying to kiss me!" Rico shrieked, holding the grandpa's neck with both hands. The zombie's yellow teeth were only inches from Rico's nose.

Elian ran. His Mana was still 40/50. Enough.

He jumped, landing a kick on the grandpa zombie's ribs, sending him flying off Rico's body.

"Get out of the way!"

Elian aimed his palm directly at the chest of the grandpa zombie, who was trying to get up.

"Maximum Shock Sting!"

This time Elian didn't use the pipe as a conduit. He channeled electricity directly from his hand.

A bright blue light exploded.

*ZRAAAAR!*

The grandpa zombie's body was instantly incinerated. The smell of burnt flesh stung their nostrils. His heart—if it still existed—must have exploded. His HP bar immediately hit zero.

[Target: 3/5]

[Mana: 30/50]

Rico got up, breathing heavily, his face pale. "Holy hell... thanks, El. I seriously thought I was going to die getting kissed by an old man."

"Grab your weapon. Don't let go again," Elian warned sternly, though his own hand was trembling from the massive energy release. "Two more to go."

They moved more cautiously now. The sound of the electrical explosion must have attracted more attention.

They saw a small group of zombies, about four of them, huddled around a dead cat near the sewer.

"There are four of them, El. We only need two more targets. What's the plan?" Rico asked.

"We lure two, leave the rest," Elian strategized. He picked up a pebble. "See that red sedan over there? The alarm looks sensitive."

Elian threw the stone at the windshield of the red sedan parked a little distance from the zombies.

*Crash!*

The glass cracked. The car alarm immediately blared. *Ding ding ding ding!*

All four zombies immediately turned and ran toward the sound of the alarm. But one zombie—a young man in a futsal jersey—tripped on the curb and fell. His friends left him. And another, an office worker woman, walked very slowly because one of her legs was broken, leaving her far behind.

"Opportunity! The one who fell and the limper!" Elian exclaimed.

They both ran to intercept.

Rico slammed the futsal kid zombie who was just starting to get up. "Gooal!" he yelled as the wrench hit the head. The zombie didn't die instantly; Rico had to hit it three times until it was still.

[Target: 4/5] (Assist counts as a kill for party members in close proximity—The System is being generous).

Only one left. The limping office worker woman.

Elian walked toward her calmly. The zombie hissed, trying to scratch, but her movements were too slow. Elian felt cold. He felt no pity anymore. This was just a number. This was just a mission target.

Elian raised his iron pipe. "Done."

*Thwack!*

A clean hit to the head.

[Target: 5/5]

[Quest Complete: First Blood Audit]

Suddenly, Elian's body glowed golden. It was warm, comfortable, and intoxicating. The fatigue in his muscles vanished instantly. The scratch on his arm closed itself. Mana was fully replenished.

*Ding!*

[LEVEL UP!]

[Elian has reached Level 2!]

[Status Updated:]

HP: 100 -> 120

Mana: 50 -> 70

Stamina: 100 -> 110

[Attribute Points Gained: 5]

Elian felt... strong. Very strong. His vision was sharper. He could see the detail of the pores on the dead zombie's skin. He could clearly hear Rico's heavy breathing next to him.

"Holy hell..." Rico stared at Elian, who had briefly glowed. "You... you actually leveled up? With a divine light effect and everything?"

"Yeah," Elian clenched his fist, feeling a denser flow of electricity in his veins. He opened his status menu. There were 5 unused attribute points.

Without hesitation, Elian put 3 points into [Intelligence] (to increase Mana capacity and skill damage) and 2 points into [Agility] (to run faster).

[New Elian Status]

Strength: 10

Agility: 12 (+2)

Intelligence: 15 (+3)

Vitality: 10

"Let's go back, Ric. Mission complete," Elian urged. He felt satisfied.

"Wait, El," Rico held Elian's shoulder. He pointed toward the "Kimia Farma" pharmacy in the shophouse next to Cosmo Mart, separated by only two units. Its glass door was shattered, but the interior looked relatively intact.

"Since we're already outside, and since you're in Super Saiyan mode..." Rico licked his dry lips. "Our first aid stock is gone, right? My dad has diabetes, and I need insulin or at least alcohol for this wound."

Elian looked at the pharmacy, then at Rico. He had just leveled up; his confidence was high. But he also remembered the rules of horror movies: greed leads to death.

However, he saw the wound on Rico's arm covered by the magazine duct tape. Blood was seeping slightly. His friend needed antiseptic.

"Okay. We'll loot that pharmacy. Quick, quiet, then get out. Don't take anything unnecessary," Elian decided.

"Roger that, Boss!" Rico grinned widely.

The two of them crept toward the pharmacy, unaware that on the second floor of the shophouse, a pair of human eyes were watching them from behind the window curtain. Eyes filled with calculation and... a makeshift firearm.