Spatial Manipulation System

Chapter 1 - Betrayal

Dave glanced around him as a bad feeling welled up in the pit of his stomach. Things had been really weird lately; the government had been moving resources, and some professors and other high-ranking people were taken away by armed men. No one knew where they were taken but there were countless speculations everywhere.  

Today at work, during his idle time, he saw a conspiracy theorist video about the world coming to an end. Although everyone was laughing in the comments, Dave felt apprehensive.

Slinging his bag over his shoulders, he started for the elevator when a startled voice resounded in the open workspace. 

“Where are all the executives of the company? I just went to submit my project but there was no one there” 

Startled, Dave glanced around at everyone who was starting to turn uneasy. 

“At this rate, even if nothing happens, out of panic, we will end the world ourselves,” Dave muttered to himself before hurrying towards the elevator.

He needed to head home and check on his girlfriend in case anything was really going to happen.

Once on the streets, he paid close attention and noticed how everyone was on edge, almost as if a single spark would cause them to explode. Clutching his sling bag tightly, he hurried forward. 

Dave lived in the suburbs with his girlfriend in a small apartment complex. Although he wasn't at the bottom and was a middle-class worker, most of the money he earned went to his girlfriend's upkeep. Fortunately, he was smart enough to hide a part of his earnings which he never touched. 

On arriving at the tall apartment building, Dave felt a rush of relief and pushed open the glass door into the lobby. 

“Hey Gavin” he greeted the guard as he headed upwards. 

“Dave! You're early” the startled guard replied, causing Dave to stop and turn to him.

“Yes?” Dave asked, tilting his head in confusion. 

“Nothing, nothing. It's okay, just surprised, that's all,” Gavin replied, raising both hands in a peace sign. 

Shrugging Dave headed for the stairs, the elevator had been out of commission for the past week and they were unable to reach the building owner. 

Behind him, Gavin watched with a grim expression as Dave headed up. He turned around and hurried to his booth, picking up his phone, he dialed a number. 

However, a moment later, only the dial tone came back.

“Oh no, that man is still up there. Anyways, it's none of my business; I already received my payment.” Gaven eventually shrugged and relaxed in his post with a nonchalant expression. 

Meanwhile, Dave reached his building floor and headed for his door when a low growl reached his ears. He turned around sharply, looking around the corridor behind him and at the other doors to see if any were open, but there was nothing. 

“Was that my imagination or did it come from someone's TV?” He muttered as he reached into his pocket for his keys.

With his left, he tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. Shrugging, nothing, he headed in and closed the door behind him. Leaning forward with one hand on the wall to support himself, he started taking off his shoes when he noticed an unfamiliar pair of male shoes on the rack. 

“Did someone visit?” He muttered to himself again, glancing around the living room, but there was no sign of a guest. 

He pushed the shoes out of his mind and a smile spread across his face as he thought about surprising his girlfriend with a scare jump. 

Sneaking towards the kitchen, he looked in and found it empty before heading for the bedroom. Walking forward cautiously, a playful smile was still spread on his face when a low sensual moan reached his ears. 

Dave froze in confusion. 

“What is she doing?” He wondered curiously and continued to the bedroom. As he got closer, the sounds of moaning, groans, and bed creaking reached his ears, and his playful expression slowly changed and morphed into one of pain and fury. 

He was not a fool. The sounds and the suggestive shoes made it clear what was going on. But he needed absolute and undeniable proof, so he continued forward quietly and slowly reached the bedroom door. 

Fortunately, the door was wide open, so he directly walked in, and sure enough, there was his girlfriend on some guy riding him wildly. 

“Clarissa” he called in a deep but calm voice. 

The two people on the bed froze for just a second before his girlfriend Clarissa rolled over, wrapping the blanket around herself as she did, and turned to the entrance, her rosy face instantly turned pale as she saw Dave standing there. 

Dave could finally see who was on the bed and his eyes widened. 

“Allan?” He asked, more confused than furious. 

Allan was his best friend since high school; they had kept in touch since then. He never imagined that Allan would betray him like this. 

“Why?” He turned to Clarissa.

“I, you… you weren't supposed to be home. Why did you sneak around? I didn't hear you enter,” Clarissa finally found her voice. 

“Oh, so you're saying it's my fault you got caught?” Dave asked, his voice calm and even as his eyes fixed on her.

“No, no, no, Dave, I didn't… he, he forced me! Yes, he forced me; I would never…” 

Shaking his head at her inability to structure a sentence, Dave turned to Allan who had worn his trousers and was midway on his shirt. 

“You were my brother” 

“Relax bro. Jeez, you scared me, and now my thing is flaccid. F*CK!” Allan cursed and he straightened his clothes. 

“It just happened alright. Your girl felt lonely when you were cramming for exams, and things just happened quickly,” Allan started to explain. 

Dave opened his mouth to speak but there was a sharp shriek in as the apartment door burst open. 

The three of them turned their heads towards the door as a deep breathing sound resounded through the room. 

“What is that?” Allan asked, more curious than nervous. 

He started towards the door but stopped when he saw Dave walking slowly backward away from the door. 

Soon he could see why, a figure strutted in. It was a man in jean pants and a jersey. There was a rod going through his chest, and around his legs was a severed hand holding his ankles as he walked, making a dragging sound through the ground. 

“What the f*ck is this thing?” Allan exclaimed and headed towards the figure with his hand raised when it let out a loud shriek, its rotten sharpened teeth on full display. 

In the next moment, it leaped at Allan, but his athletic figure jumped back and behind Dave, who wasn't far behind. Before Dave could do anything, he felt a force push him from behind and his vision closed in on the zombie. 

“Come on, Clarissa, let's get out of here,” he heard Allan's voice for the last time before the zombie tackled him and pushed him down to the ground. 

He felt a sharp pain in his arm where the zombie held him but his attention was on the sharp teeth trying to bite his head. Holding his arm under the zombie's neck, Dave groaned at the sheer strength and stench of this rotten thing. 

“I'll find you, Allan!” He roared in fury, reaching his other hand around the zombie’s side, he pulled out the bar stuck on its chest and stabbed it straight into the zombie's head. 

The zombie instantly went limp and he violently pushed it off him. Lying there panting and trying to recover from the shock, Dave found himself exhausted. 

First, the weird situation on the street; next, his girlfriend's betrayal and best friend's double backstabbing. On top of that, fighting a zombie. 

A sharp pain in his arm forced him to raise his arm and take a look.

His eyes widened when he saw nail wounds on the back of his arm where the zombie grabbed him. The wound was already greenish and starting to rot. 

He knew about zombies and knew what was happening to him. 

“No” he muttered in crippling anxiety when a loud sound attracted his attention. 

Words started to form before his eyes. 

[Awakening System Binding]

[Binding Complete]

[Please Explore System Features for Yourself]

Suddenly his vision changed into a small empty blue space, he looked around in confusion for a second before his vision was wanked out of it. 

A loud, distant shriek shook him out of his surprise, and he hurriedly sat up, not having the time to think more about the system. 

As he rose, he saw something shining in the body of the zombie he just killed. Hesitating for only a little, he stabbed into it with the rod in his hand and pulled out a small shining crystal the size of a dove’s egg. 

Reaching to store it in his pocket, he was surprised to feel it suddenly disappear from his hands. 

“Where's the crystal?” He mumbled in shock and it suddenly appeared in his hand again. 

“Spatial Manipulation..?” He muttered the words he heard earlier. 

“So that's what that space is?”

[Discovered Rank 1 zombie crystal, Absorb?]

The voice came again. Being a cultured man, Dave knew what a

system was, so he did not hesitate. 

“Absorb” he muttered. 

[Absorbed Rank 1 zombie crystal. Check Status]

“Status” Dave called out.