The bloodstained hallway stretched before Hunter like the entrance to hell.
Broken lockers lined the walls, their doors hanging loose. Blood smeared the floor, mixing with abandoned backpacks, shattered phones, and scattered books. The emergency lights flickered on and off, bathing the corridor in an eerie crimson glow.
Low growls echoed from every direction.
One...
Five...
Ten...
Hunter's enhanced hearing counted nearly a dozen zombies roaming the floor.
He tightened his grip on the Tyrant Blade.
Instead of fear, excitement coursed through his veins.
The Tyrant bloodline inside him seemed to awaken with every passing second.
[Passive Skill: Predator's Instinct Activated.]
A crimson pulse spread from Hunter's body.
Immediately, several glowing silhouettes appeared in his vision.
Each zombie was outlined in red, even through walls.
He could sense their movements.
Their breathing.
Their locations.
"So this is Predator's Instinct..."
It was as though he had gained a living radar.
The closest zombie rounded the corner.
Its university uniform was soaked in blood.
Half of its face had been torn away, exposing yellow teeth and shattered bone.
The moment it saw Hunter, it let out a terrifying roar.
The sound attracted every other zombie nearby.
Footsteps thundered through the hallway.
Hunter counted them.
Eleven.
"Twelve enemies..."
He smiled.
"Perfect."
The first zombie lunged.
Hunter stepped forward instead of backward.
His blade flashed through the air.
Slash!
The zombie's head spun into the air before crashing into a locker.
Its body collapsed.
[Zombie Eliminated.]
+20 EXP
Another attacked from the left.
Hunter ducked beneath its claws and drove his sword upward.
The blade pierced its skull.
Black blood erupted onto the ceiling.
Before the corpse hit the ground, two more zombies charged together.
Hunter kicked one into the other.
The impact sent both crashing through a classroom door.
Desks exploded across the room.
Without wasting a second, Hunter dashed after them.
His sword danced like crimson lightning.
One...
Two...
Three strikes.
Two corpses fell.
The remaining zombies hesitated.
Their instincts warned them that the prey standing before them had become something far more dangerous.
Hunter noticed it immediately.
"So Tyrant Aura really works..."
The weaker zombies actually feared him.
Unfortunately...
Their hunger proved stronger.
With an earth-shaking roar, the remaining eight zombies rushed forward together.
Hunter inhaled deeply.
Then he exploded into motion.
His speed had nearly tripled under Monster Mode.
To ordinary humans, he became nothing more than a blur.
One zombie lost both arms.
Another lost its head.
A third was split cleanly in half.
The hallway became a battlefield.
Blood splashed against the walls.
Corpses piled one after another.
The zombies never even landed a single hit.
Within two minutes...
Silence returned.
Hunter stood alone among twelve lifeless bodies.
His breathing remained steady.
His clothes were stained black with infected blood.
The system rang repeatedly.
[Level Up!]
Level 2 Reached!
All Attributes +2
Health Fully Restored.
Energy Fully Restored.
Hunter smiled as warmth spread throughout his body.
"So leveling up restores everything..."
That would make prolonged battles much easier.
Suddenly, crimson light rose from every zombie corpse.
Instead of three Blood Essences...
Twelve floated into the air.
Hunter stretched out his hand.
"Absorb."
The crystals shot into his chest one after another.
Warmth flooded every part of his body.
His muscles became denser.
His senses sharpened.
His heartbeat grew stronger.
[Blood Essence Absorbed.]
Strength +3
Speed +2
Agility +2
Perception +2
Vitality +1
Hunter clenched his fists.
He could clearly feel himself becoming stronger after every battle.
"This system..."
"It rewards slaughter."
A new notification suddenly appeared.
Hidden Requirement Achieved
First Zombie Massacre
Kills: 15
Reward:
New Passive Skill Unlocked
Blood Sense (Rare)
Blood Sense allows the host to detect living beings within a fifty-meter radius through their blood flow.
Hunter's eyes widened.
Another passive ability.
The Tyrant race truly deserved its terrifying reputation.
Just then...
"HELP!"
The desperate scream echoed once more from outside.
Hunter rushed toward the shattered classroom window.
Below, the situation had worsened.
The young man protecting the two girls had collapsed.
His metal pipe lay several meters away.
Five zombies surrounded him while dozens more slowly emerged from every corner of the campus.
The girls cried as they desperately tried pulling him to safety.
It was hopeless.
Hunter narrowed his eyes.
There were now over thirty zombies in the courtyard.
Far more than before.
The system chimed again.
Emergency Side Mission Updated
Survivors Remaining: 3
Time Remaining: 5 Minutes
Failure will result in all survivors being infected.
Reward Increased.
Skill Book (Rare)
500 EXP
100 System Points
Hunter looked toward the open window.
The drop to the courtyard was nearly three stories high.
For an ordinary human...
Jumping would mean certain death.
Hunter smiled.
"I'm not ordinary anymore."
He sheathed the Tyrant Blade.
His muscles tensed.
Then...
He leaped.
The glass exploded behind him as he shot out of the third-floor window like a cannonball.
Every zombie in the courtyard looked up.
Hunter descended from the sky with crimson energy swirling around his body.
Like a tyrant making his first appearance on the battlefield.
His first true battle...
Had finally begun.