Level Up Arcana

Ch.5 Side Quest

Seven students were backed against a stone wall as five zombies staggered toward them with uneven, hungry steps.

Among the trapped group were four boys and three girls. Two of those girls screamed in pure terror as they clung desperately to a boy with a buzz-cut, their faces covered in tears and snot running down their chins.

"What do we do, Ash? I don't want to die!" one of them wailed, her voice cracking.

"Waaahh!" the other girl sobbed even louder, her nails digging into Ash's arm.

The sound of their crying filled the courtyard, drawing even more attention from nearby zombies.

Ash, the buzz-cut boy they clung to, furrowed his brows as worry and bitter regret twisted his face. Had he known things would turn out like this, he would've dumped these dead weights the moment the chaos started instead of playing hero.

You see, he'd had a momentary spike of lust back in the library when he saw these beautiful girls cowering in fear. Like every self-proclaimed 'gentleman', he'd offered his protection in exchange for their bodies later. They'd agreed because of how desperate and terrified they were, and everything was going fine at first.

Until they encountered this group of zombies. And clarity hit him like a hammer to the skull.

Now regret ate at him from the inside. How was he supposed to protect anyone when he couldn't even ensure his own survival? His grand plan of using this apocalypse to score had backfired spectacularly.

The zombies shambled closer, their pale faces twisted in mindless hunger. Blood dripped from their mouths. Their eyes were empty, reflecting nothing but an endless void.

Despite their shaky, uncoordinated movements, they quickly closed the distance and lunged straight for Ash at the front.

His body turned ice cold.

He froze in place, every muscle locking up from pure fear. Sweat poured down his face in thick streams. His limbs lost all sensation, feeling heavy as lead. Despite his rugged outer appearance and tough-guy act, he couldn't react in the face of real danger.

His mind screamed at him to move, to do something, but his body wouldn't listen.

The zombies were right there, their arms outstretched and mouths wide open.

Panic flooded his system.

And in that moment of primal terror, survival instinct overrode everything else.

Ash grabbed the two girls, who were clinging to him, and shoved them forward with all his strength.

"Take them!" he screamed, stumbling backward.

The girls flew forward, completely unprepared for the betrayal.

They screamed — a sound filled with shock, disbelief, horror, dread, and crushing disappointment all mixed together. If they'd known it would end like this, they never would have followed him. They never would have trusted his empty promises.

Now they were seconds away from death.

They squeezed their eyes shut, bracing for the pain, ready to accept their terrible fate.

But the killing blow never came.

Instead, a sharp 'whoosh' cut through the air, followed by a loud 'SPLAT' as something hard smacked into the lead zombie's face.

The creature's head snapped off to the side violently. It stumbled, crashing into the zombie beside it, and both tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap.

The girls opened their eyes, confusion replacing their terror.

Standing between them and the remaining zombies was Raiden, gripping a broken wooden plank in both hands. His silver-white hair was messy, his uniform already stained with dirt and blood that wasn't his own.

His gray eyes were sharp and focused at this moment.

"Get behind me," he said, voice calm but firm. "Now."

The girls didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled backward, putting distance between themselves and the zombies.

The three remaining upright zombies turned their attention to this new threat. One of them was a girl who couldn't have been older than sixteen. She let out a gargling hiss and lunged at Raiden.

He sidestepped smoothly, bringing the plank around in a wide arc. It connected with the zombie's temple with a sickening 'crack'. The creature dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

[You have killed a Level 1 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]

The white orb of light shot into Raiden's chest. That same warm sensation spread through his body, his mana reserves expanding just a little bit more.

Two zombies were left standing.

They attacked together this time, coming at him from both sides.

Raiden's mind raced. The plank was already cracking from the previous impacts. One more solid hit and it would break completely. He needed to end this fast.

The zombie on his left was closer. Raiden jabbed the end of the plank into its face, buying himself a second. Then he spun and brought the plank down overhead onto the second zombie's skull.

The wood splintered on impact, breaking apart in his hands.

But the zombie went down with its skull caved in.

[You have killed a Level 1 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]

The last zombie, the one he'd jabbed, recovered and lunged with a snarl.

Raiden had no weapon now. Just his bare hands.