—Crash!
—Roar!
The sound of wood splintering, objects crashing against obstacles, hunger-filled roars, and fearful cries finally drifted into Kael's ears.
At the same time, Kael could see flickering shadows at the entrance of the stairs, causing his heart rate to spike.
"It can't be..."
Almost as if it had given him enough time to ponder, the violet interface flickered back into his view.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE AWAKENED SUCCESSFULLY!]
[PRIMORDIAL SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
--------------------
NAME: Kael Draven
RACE: Human
CLASS: Primordial Conduit (Primordial rank)
Level: 1 (0/100)
STATS:
Strength: 4
Agility: 4
Vitality: 6
Mind: 8
Energi: 25/25 (Unique)
LAW AFFINITIES
Fire: Initiate (1%)
TALENT: ??? (Requirements not met)
SKILLS: None
ACHIEVEMENT POINTS: 0; FEATS: None
-------------------------
"Huh?" Once again, Kael was shocked. His surprise momentarily overshadowed the fear that almost overwhelmed his body.
'A system?'
He was not unfamiliar with a system. After all, he spent most of his time reading. School books when he was working, and novels during his free time.
Barely five seconds passed, giving Kael little to no time to observe his system, as his status page flashed away and a new system message appeared before him.
[YOU HAVE TWO PATHS AVAILABLE TO YOU]
[Path 1: Walk your own path, ponder the mysteries of the laws of reality, and create your own skills, with no limitation to the number of skills you can create per rank. More benefits are available to this path.]
[Path 2: Allow the system to create skills for you using the laws of reality every time a milestone is reached. Number of skills per rank are fixed, but faster and smoother growth is guaranteed.]
[Now choose your path]
[Beware, once chosen, the path cannot be reversed]
—Bang!
A sound of collision instantly drew Kael's attention.
Shifting his eyes, Kael's breathing seized when he saw a hunched figure shaking its head groggily, cracks spread out on the cemented railings before it. The figure shifted its gaze to the right, its head raised up as it drew quick breaths, almost as if smelling for something.
Kael slowly turned his back to the railing as he crawled backward, his eyes not leaving the figure for a moment.
As if sensing movement, the figure's hunched body stiffened, a low growl escaping its mouth.
With slow but smooth movement that sent Kael's heart hammering against his chest, the figure turned towards him.
'No, no, no, no!'
'Please no!'
Alas, as Kael shuffled back until his back met the railing, the figure's eyes simultaneously locked onto his.
"A zombie..." Kael gasped, his eyes wide in horror.
Even when reading novels, Kael had never been a fan of the horror genre. He usually preferred the action-fantasy genre, while occasionally reading isekai-type stories.
Yet Kael could swear the figure before him didn't match the appearance of any zombie described in novels or shown in movies.
The boy's body hunched grotesquely as it rested on all fours. Razor-sharp fangs filled its mouth, as saliva mixed with a red liquid flowed down its lower jaw. Kael could glimpse the meaty flesh hanging between its fangs, while the zombie's eyes—red sclera with black veins spreading outward—fixed on him with increasing intensity.
For a moment there, it felt as if the world held its breath.
—ROAR!
But that didn't last long as the zombie released a feral roar before lunging forward on all fours like an ape. Its body touched the tiled floor only once before it was propelled forward, covering a distance of almost fifteen meters.
'FUCK!'
'I have to move...'
Kael knew from all the novels he had read that he had to act now. If not, he would die.
His sharp mind went into overdrive as he considered what options he had.
He had no weapon.
And his back was pressed against the railing.
There was nothing he could do except face it directly.
'But that would be suicide.'
Kael could almost hear his heart beating beside his ears. The zombie was still in the air, covering the distance, as his mind churned intensely.
'Wait!'
'We are high up the building. If I could just throw him off...'
With that thought formed and with no time to waste, Kael commanded his legs to move as he planned to stand and place his body in a more advantageous position.
Alas, no matter how Kael tried to move his legs, they felt like jelly and refused to budge an inch.
'Bloody hell!'
The adrenaline pumped within him, yet the fear made his legs root to the ground.
'I still have a bit of time...'
While all this sounded long to describe, barely three breaths had passed since the zombie growled before lunging into motion.
Kael had always been intelligent since he could remember, so several thoughts could form within his mind within that short time frame.
He estimated the zombie would have to lunge at least two more times before it could reach him, so he had to stand up no matter what before then.
But as if fate was mocking him...
The zombie, whose momentum had flung it into the air, allowing it to cover several meters, was now descending back to the ground under the influence of gravity.
Until...
—Fwoosh!
Two streams of flames ignited from its bare feet, propelling it forward in a blur.
'Wha—'
Kael's widening eyes barely showed his shock when the zombie arrived before him.
—Bang!
The force of their collision sent cracks spreading outward on the railing behind Kael from the point of impact, stone chips scattering in all directions.
At the same time, Kael felt the back of his head become wet as his vision spun.
He could feel the obstacle behind him almost giving way, sending a wave of horror through his body despite his groggy mind.
'I need to move!'
Forget the zombie—falling from such a height would spell his doom.
He tried to focus his mind back and orient his body, only for a burst of pain to erupt from the left arm he had subconsciously raised to protect himself.
"ARGGGGGH!"
A painful scream spread outward from the top of the building before mixing with the noise coming from below.
The sound of something tearing filled the surroundings.
In between his choking cries and tear-filled vision, Kael caught the zombie feasting on his flesh as its clawed hands gripped his body tightly.
Blood pooled beneath him, its metallic scent filling his senses.
Fear finally overwhelmed Kael's usual calm.
He could smell death right before him.
'No!'
'I can't die.'
'Rose is still within the building. How can I allow my little sister to die?'
The tears spilling from his eyes increased as an image of his sister filled his vision.
The zombie feasting on him didn't seem to care about his emotions as it took quick bites, its razor-sharp teeth soon meeting white bone, and with a chill-inducing...
—Crack!
The zombie tore off Kael's left forearm.
"ARGGGH!"
Seeing the zombie chewing his own bones with a delighted light in its terrifying eyes almost sent Kael into shock.
But once again, his sister's image tethered him, preventing him from fainting.
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS A FUCKING NOVEL?!"
Kael suddenly shouted as he raised his stump once again to stop the zombie lunging for his neck, as his right hand was unfortunately pinned behind him. The fear in his eyes slowly gave way to anger and something else.
"GIVE ME POWER!"
As if sensing his intention, a breath passed as the zombie bit into the flesh around the stump again, sending a spike of pain through his body, before a system message appeared.
[PATH 2 HAS BEEN CHOSEN!]
A second later...
[NEW SKILLS UNLOCKED!]
*****
AN: Thank you for reading. Vote power stones if you enjoyed the chapter😁.