[ Player: Jason Shemrite ]
[ Serial Number: 336663996 ][ Rank: 0 (110/300) ][ STR: 11 ][ AGI: 12 ][ VIT: 11 ][ ERG: 32 ][ INT: 30 ][ Talent: Infinite Extraction - SSS ]–[ Distributable Points: 6 ]–[ Extra Talents: Semi-Enhanced Speed(E), Fireball(G), Weapon Reinforce(F), Enhanced Scent(D), Bite(F), Semi-Enhanced Endurance(E), Claw Sweep(I), Mighty Roar(F), Decipher(D), Bloodlust(E), Claw Sweep(F), Poison Claw(F), Fire Blast(E), Dash(F), Strength Up(D), Twin Thoughts(D), Kingly Aura(B), Vision Enhancement(E), Fast Recovery Speed(G), Phantom Pain(H), Curse Evil Eye(F), Charm(F), Hand of Paralysis(E), Minimized Energy Consumption(I) ][ Hunting Points: 60 ]"Steady progress." Jason checked his template once again, and it was really looking up there.He kept his Distributable Points for the time being, and saved them for a perfect opportunity later down the line.Because right now, they were moving closer and closer to the center of the forest. Nobody knew what was behind the forest, but this was the only way they could take.Everything was unknown."..."Jason walked besides the two man, the leader and the military man. The former was called Joe, an American citizen that was a boss, or rather leader of a gang.No wonder he was so calm, Jason thought.His gang was also community friendly, and just sold merchandise. Or so he says. While the military man was Adolf, and obviously, he was a soldier.He was a vice commander within a small platoon, and belonged to Ukraine. Jason would have never believed that if he never told him himself.'He looks Russian. Or maybe I'm being racist?' He thought once again, and moved away from those thoughts, focusing on the road.The road was important.And before them, a few tens of meters ahead, in an open space, many humanoid beings walked here and there slowly, seemingly being burdened by their body weight.They resembled humans, yet had half decaying bodies, and completely pale complexion. They also had mucus-like substances pouring out from their wounds, and worst cases, their mouths.Jason gazed at them, and his Talent [Decipher(D)] kicked in. A notice appeared before him, that told him of what to do to obtain information on the targets.[ TING!!! ][ Your Decipher has failed. Not enough Data has been extracted from the target ][ Please collect data from three to four targets before trying to Decipher them ]"..."He kept quiet and mentally willed the notices to move away. He then looked towards the leader to see what his next step would be, only to find out that they also stared back at him."...""...""...What?"All three men exchanged gazes for a while. Jason was finding it hard to believe that two grown up men were planning on relying on a college kid.'They gotta be insane.' Jason thought, dreading his own fate.The stare off continued until Adolf ran out of patience. So much for a soldier. How disappointing, Jason thought.The man was not aware of such thoughts though, and asked in irritation. "And? What information do you have?""Don't know. It's not like I can obtain information with just a glance. Or I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with." Jason clicked his tongue in annoyance as he whispered back.The military bear, Adolf, was about to say something again, but the leader, Joe, raised up his hand to stop him. And he stopped. A soldier following orders of a gang leader.How ironic. Jason snickered."Boy, what conditions do you need to obtain information? Touching a few of them?" Joe asked, and Jason nodded while adding, "At most ten of them."He said, snd nobody doubted him. Especially Joe, the leader of this group. He also nodded in understanding and further inquired, "Are you a Rank 1 player?""..."Jason paused, as that was a personal question. And he did not want any of his information leeking out to these guys, but the strength he showed previously was of Rank 1.Plus, he was prepared for this. It would also let others be more wary of him, hence he nodded. "Yes. I was lucky." He added."Luck is also a part of your strength." Joe said, then added, "Boy, I want you to join us." His tone was straightforward and direct.And so was Jason's reply, "Why?""Together, we can collect more Energy Essence and Hunting Points." Joe said. "This game is all about survival, and banding together to prosper within whatever we come against.""It's like an extreme version of teaching us about being dependent of one another. And I believe we should do such a thing." He concluded, looking at Jason intently."..."Jason thought about it, and carefully considered everything. Joining teams would be against his agenda, but tackling this world by himself would also be a problem.Of course, he believed in himself, and knew what he was capable of. He could survive alone, but what would that add up to, if he survived by himself?'What's the use of becoming the only one alive? I mean... I bet I wouldn't be able to stay sane... But teaming up with others is a bit too...'He thought, and was really conflicted at what to choose, until Adolf ruined everything. "You either agree, or go collect information from those guys by yourself."Jason frowned at him. He did not understand the hate this man had for him, and just asked back, his tone lower than normal, "Is that a threat, big guy?"Adolf snickered, his gun now pointing at Jason. "It might as well be now." He said, a smile of disdain on his face."..."Jason kept quiet and turned to look at Joe, who did not say anything. He kept quiet as if agreeing to whatever Adolf was saying.'It's like that... huh.' Jason thought, and immediately banished the thought of joining this team. It would be out of his agenda."Alright. I'll go." He said, and the leader looked up at him in surprise. The zombies before them were in the tens, or maybe even toppling above a hundred.He thought the kid would not agree due to pressure, yet he was surprised. But he should have expected this.After all, Jason was calm even under gun point, and most of Rank 1 players would be arrogant and overestimate their power.'Is he one of those type as well...? What a pity.' Joe thought, as even he would not want such a person within his team at all. It was similar to carrying a ticking time bomb.Adolf was also surprised, yet happy at that fact. Of course, he disliked the kid, but did not hate him. He would still try his level best to help.Especially after the boy realized that he was not that much of a big shot.'You should get humbled, brat.' He thought and watched as Jason left their hiding spot.He approached the zombies from a different direction, in case he implicated the others. '...Man, I feel like I let pride get the better of me.'He also thought of running, but he always felt the gun pointing at him. And Jason was sure that, Adolf had a Talent related to his gun, and it was not low ranked either."..."He cleared his thoughts of all those irrelevant topics. He then moved closer to the targets. They were a lot of them.[ Information Unavailable... ][ Information Unavailable... ][ Information Unavailable... ][ Information... ][ Information... ]...A total of one hundred and forty four of these notifications appeared within his vision. He was surprised that he could not obtain information out of these guys.'Now that's strange.' He thought with a frown on his face.He then checked the latest notification, that explained the reason why he could not obtain any information.[ Targets more than a single Rank higher than you. Information Unavailable ]'More than a Rank? Does that mean these guys are Rank 2? And also at the Level of the Great Lion? Am I even surviving this?' Jason thought in bitterness.Yet a part of him was telling him to go ahead and charge forward. It was not arrogance, or foolishness, but confidence. He felt like he could easily kill a Rank 2 if he gave it his all."..."And he went ahead to prove that feeling right. He took a single step, then dashed forward at full speed. His single step shattered the floor, and propelled him forward like a canon ball.He was so fast, he crossed a large distance in just an instant, and appeared before the first Rank 2 Zombie.It's appearance was repulsive and disgusting. 'Drop dead!!' He thought, all his rage gathered within his axe.And at that moment, he activated a lot of his Talents. He was really going all out in this case.[ You have activated the Level E Talent, Semi-Enhanced Speed - Your Speed has increased by two times ][ You have activated the Level F Talent, Weapon Reinforce - Your weapon's effects have been enhanced by 75% ][ You have activated the Level E Talent, Semi-Enhanced Speed - Your Speed has increased by two times ] [ You have activated the Level F Talent, Weapon Reinforce - Your weapon's effects have been enhanced by 75% ] [ You have activated the Level E Talent, Semi-Enhanced Endurance - Your Tissue density has increased by two times ] [ You have activated the Level F Talent, Mighty Roar - Your opponent's index has decreased by 75% due to hearing the mighty roar of a lion ] [ You have activated the Level E Talent, Bloodlust - All your statistic index has increased by two times, and your INT by half for the duration of the Talent ] [ You have activated the Level F Talent, Dash - Your Speed has increased by 75% ] [ Your two speed-type Talents have resonated. Your Speed has increased by three times ] [ You have activated the Level D Talent, Strength Up - Your Speed has increased by three times ] [ Your two strength-type Talents have resonated. Your Strength has increased by five times ] [
The shots did save up enough time for everyone to run a few more steps ahead, but the Zombies left within this small group were Tier 3 at minimum. They charged over like rabbit dogs, and easily caught up to the running players. '...Shit.' Jason cussed as he ran even faster, yet still making sure to remain behind. He had long deactivated his form, and his ERG was slowly building up back to 30. Yet it was still below ten at this moment, which meant the average stamina of a human. Sooner or later, he would slow down. Meanwhile Adolf did not stop firing his gun, but the Tier 3 and Tier 4 Zombies were tough enough to at least deflect the bullets with their bare bodies. And taking in the fact that they were undead, made them more frightening. "Kya!!" The little girl that had been running with the lucky woman suddenly tripped and fell. The woman holding her hand subconsciously paused, but when she got a glimpse of the rushing Zombies, she continued to run. Unfortunately, the fear was
'Fuck!! Jason you've gone and done it now.' He thought, bitter and in regret. His heart was being torn apart as he was considering whether to escape by himself, or stay with these people. But staying was sure death, yet he was blaming himself they were in this situation. Hence he found the decision a hard one to make. 'What now?' He thought, also going through all his Talents, and what he could use through his soroundings, but to no avail. '...Is this really it? The end of my journey? Fuck, but it just only begun!!' He thought and thought, but to no avail. He was so focused, he did not feel the little girl within his embrace nudging at him. His focus was on the noises his enhanced senses could pick up from far away, of multiple Zombies rushing towards them at full speed. Woosh~ Woosh~ Woosh~ Woosh~ They were like arrows flying through the air, piecing through the wind with barely any resistance on their bodies. 'Shit. Time is ticking. Time is ticking. There's not enough time.
They were sorounded. Every corner of this barrier was full of Zombies that kept up gathering around them. They were like worms squirming above each other within a small bucket. They were numerous. More than the hundred that they began fighting with. The situation was now beyond even Jason's might. Most of everyone looked at Joe, who also had a pale expression. Even Adolf besides him was stricken by fear as well. Then they moved their eyes to Jason, who also seemed fearful. Then they looked down in defeat. Their strongest warriors saw no hope, what of them? Beatrice also trembled in fright, and hurriedly held Jason and Anabella's hands. It was a subconscious action of hers, and both adults had no time to think about that. But Anabella did though. She also wanted to hug Jason's arm to feel safe, but was more afraid of him, than the Zombies outside. Even she could not explain that fear. It was a subconscious feeling. Meanwhile, Jason frowned and used his high INT and Talent, [Twi
They froze, as fear caught up to them. But Joe was still a man of action. He took charge of the situation. "Alright. We are moving on. Don't grab the others, and just keep pushing on. Pull your legs if you're tired." He said, and everyone once again marched on through the tunnel he was creating. None wishing to be the last person in the line. Meanwhile, the last person himself, Adolf, frowned as he looked back. 'That kid isn't here yet. Is he planning on running away?' He thought and turned to look back. He could still see the pit a few meters behind him. Due to the light from the pit. And it was obvious that there was no one coming after him. 'That brat. How could he–' But just as he was about to cuss at Jason, an explosion abruptly rang out and caused small tremors to appear within the tunnel. "The fuck?!" Adolf looked back in shock, and from here, he could see smoke and dust falling into the pit like a heavy downpour, and devouring any hint of light observable. The fear everyo
The shadowy figure instantly transitioned from where it stood... and appeared before him. It was as if it displaced itself from space, and shifted positions. Or rather, as if it was always before him, and only made its presence be known. "..." And it's appearance was so sudden, Jason just saw his whole entire vision turn dark. This thing appeared right before him, to the point where his nose barely touched it. And he could smell its iron-like scent, that was similar to that of blood, and hear its slow, regulated breathes that were similar to those of humans. But slower. And heavier. Jason did not even see how it moved. All he knew was that his life flashed right before his eyes. And his heart forgot to synchronize with its body. One man. One shadow. They stood toe to toe, and breathed into each. But nobody was sure what they were breathing into each other. Life? Or the more likely, death? Anabella also shakily looked back, and was mesmerized by the scene she saw. Not only her.
The crater was once more left in deathly silence. With the only sound being that of the wiggling tentacle shadow roots, reminiscent of splashing mud. And if one took a look at the area where the man was swallowed, they would see tentacle shadow roots, which seemed like multiple worms clustered together. It was disgusting. And repulsive. But what was worse, would be the follow up sounds of breaking bones, and grinded meat. Loud enough to be heard by everyone. ...!!! It made them shiver in fear. Joe even cursed within his mind, 'Son of a b*tch. What is wrong with this thing?' He thought in disgust, and apparent fear. Worst of all, the bump within the shadows that represented the man's buried body, was slowly, ever so slowly, being reduced in size. Until it was leveled perfectly with the ground. And also signifying the complete defunct of the unfortunate man. ...!!! And this only brought more fear to the people's hearts, erasing the very concept of hope they knew of. The shadowy
The shadowy woman stopped looking at her, and turned to look at other preys that it could easily attack. And that would be... 'Oh shit.' Joe, himself. She did not say anything and burst towards his direction. Her speed was very fast, being far faster than anything he had faced till this point. Not even the fastest athlete could compare. 'Shit. She's too fast.' He thought. It felt like a bull car was charging over at 40 miles per hour. And he was but an ordinary human, with more power than others. But he was also a fighter. An ex gang leader. "Earth Pike!!" He placed both hands on the ground, and strained himself to use his Talent. The earth below him shot towards the charging shadow woman, like a spear ready to piece through her chest. But she easily maneuvered it with a twirl-like turn. This allowed her body to shift sideways, and letting the earth pike to brush past her waist instead. 'Dammit. She dodged it. She's too fluid with her movements.' He thought as he pulled back. The