Tap… drip… tap…
The sound of something wet hitting the floor stirred Riku from the darkness. His head pounded like someone was slamming a drum inside his skull. His back was stiff, twisted awkwardly between a toppled chair and a cold, blood-smeared floor.
He groaned, blinking slowly.
The fluorescent lights above flickered weakly—some completely dead. Shadows loomed over overturned desks. A foul, metallic stench hung in the air. The kind that made you want to gag.
Drip… tap…
It was blood.
His eyes widened.
The classroom—his classroom—was a warzone. Puddles of blood pooled on the tiles. Smears and handprints stained the walls. Desks were flipped, some bent at odd angles. One of the windows was cracked, a trail of blood leading toward it. The glass door leading to the hallway was splattered red, with smeared handprints on the inside—as if someone had tried to hold the door shut.
He reached up and touched his forehead. Dried blood matted part of his hair. A bump throbbed on the side of his skull.
"Ughh… How long was I out…?"
He fumbled for his phone. It was still on the floor, screen shattered. No power. Useless.
Slowly, painfully, he sat up.
Silence.
There were no more screams. No more thundering footsteps. No groans. It was quiet.
He stumbled to his feet, hand on the wall for support. The clock above the whiteboard blinked—then he realized it was dead too. But outside… the sun had shifted.
Judging by the fading light streaming through the windows… three hours. Maybe more.
Three hours… and I'm still alive?
A miracle. Or luck.
He wasn't sure which.
Riku took a deep breath. "I need to get out of here… now."
But then—ping.
A digital chime echoed in the quiet room.
Riku froze.
What… was that?
And then he saw it.
Hovering in front of him—flickering softly—was a translucent, floating blue screen. It shimmered with a faint glow, suspended in midair like a projection from a game HUD.
He blinked. His mouth went dry.
[WELCOME, PLAYER: RIKU HAYASHI
ARMORY: DEAD ZONE PROTOCOL – SYSTEM LINKED
REALITY INTEGRATION: COMPLETE
SHOP INTERFACE ONLINE]
He stepped back in shock.
"What the heck is this…" Riku muttered under his breath as he stared at the interface. "Am I hallucinating?"
He waved his hand toward it—and the screen responded. The tabs rearranged slightly, adapting to his movement.
[You have been chosen to possess the system]
[Integrating User Status…Complete!]
[User: Riku Hayashi
Level: 1
Experience Points: 0/700
Skill points: 100
SP BALANCE: 5,000.
Quest:
Armory Shop:
Inventory:
Skills:]
As absurd as the display was, it felt familiar. It was the same interface in the game.
It doesn't make sense… This sort of thing only happens in manga, manhwa, or isekai games... but it's real. Right in front of me.
He hesitated for a moment, eyes darting around the room, half-expecting a zombie to burst in or the interface to vanish. But it didn't. It remained, floating patiently like it was waiting for him to act.
"I need to secure myself first."
He reached for the door and slid it closed. He locked it for good measure and once everything was secured, he interacted with the system, particularly the skill points.
There was a brief description explaining its function. Skill points are points that can be used to increase the stats of a certain skill. It's like the system.
System Points on the other hand is the currency of the shop. He could use it to purchase an item from the shop. To earn system points, he would need to kill zombies, complete quests, and saving fellow survivors, which yields a lot of system points.
As for the Armory Shop, there were two categories. Weapons and Vehicles. Virtually every weapon developed by an arms manufacturing company around the world can be found in the weapons category, same in the vehicles. Ammunition of the weapons can be used but there was no food or fuel, or any other type of materials. He would have to get it on his own.
For the quest, they are given at any point in time. Sometimes it's situational, if it worked like in the game. Heck, he remembered the quest not being mandatory. They are more like suggestions on what he could do. Still, if he wanted to make quick progress, he could choose to complete the quest.
Inventory is self-explantory. Most purchased items are directed in inventory. He could store items there but there is a limited space.
Lastly, the Skill. He tapped the tab and the familiar setup appeared in the interface.
[
Skill Points Available: 100
> Hand-to-Hand Combat: [0/10]
> Weapons Handling: [0/10]
> Melee Weapon Proficiency: [0/10]
> Tactical Awareness: [0/10]
> Driving: [0/10]
> Piloting: [0/10]
> Maintenance & Engineering: [0/10]
> Medical Knowledge: [0/10]
> Scavenging: [0/10]
> Stamina & Endurance: [0/10]
[Allocate] [Auto-Assign] [Reset All]
]
The basic overview of the parameters is that hand-to-hand combat, the higher the level, the more effective his hand-to-hand combat be. Same in weapons handling which affects the accuracy and efficient use of a certain firearm. The concept of the weapons handling is similar to melee weapon proficiency. For driving, the higher the level, the better he gets in manoeuvring and kind of vehicle, be it a commercial or military vehicle. Piloting is simply the skill to fly an aircraft. It would also affect the availability of certain vehicles and aircrafts if the level of the driving and piloting skills are low.
Maintenance and engineering is a skill that affects the ability to repair and reinforce vehicles, weapons. It's a useful skill for operating equipment and machinery.
Medical skill affects the ability to tend to the wound, except zombie bites. Scavenging is for finding loot such as food and supplies. Stamina and endurance affects his ability to run, carry weights, and resistance to fatigue.
This is a lot to take in. Earlier there were zombies wreaking havoc in the school, and now he received an overpowered system to take on the zombies. He wondered if it was only him or there were others.
He shook his head. For now, he should be grateful that he had this skill. For now, he has to allocate points and get the hell out of this place. There were people important to him, his little sister, his mother and father.
He began contemplating where to put his points. Logically, for better chances of survival, he thought of putting the majority of skill points to Hand-to-Hand Combat, Weapons Handling, Melee Weapon Proficiency, and Stamina & Endurance. In this early stage of the apocalypse, he didn't need the other skills—at least, not yet.
No point in leveling Piloting if he didn't have access to an aircraft. Same with Maintenance or Medical Knowledge—he didn't even have a toolkit or medical supplies. For now, his priority was survival. Killing zombies. Staying mobile. Defending himself up close if necessary.
His fingers hovered over the interface as he began allocating points.
[Skill Points Available: 100]
He tapped on the first one.
Weapons Handling: [30/60]
A soft chime echoed, and a thin bar filled beneath the label, pulsing faintly. Immediately, the system responded:
[Weapons Handling Lv. 3 Reached]
[Firearm recoil reduced
Aim stability improved
Reload speed improved.]
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Lv. 2 [20/30]
Hand-to-Hand Combat effectiveness increased.
Acquired all the basics of a variety of martial arts.
Melee Weapon Proficiency: [20/30]
[Melee Proficiency Lv. 2 Reached]
Swing speed increased
Reduced stamina cost during melee combat
Stamina & Endurance: [20/30]
[Stamina & Endurance Lv. 2 Reached]
Sprint duration increase.
Carry capacity slightly increased
Fatigue increased.
Tactical Awareness: [10/20]
Instincts are heightened up to 100 meters radius.
Allows detection of nearby threats through subtle cues like sound, movement, and line-of-sight anomalies.
Improves reaction speed and decision-making during combat encounters.
Just as he tapped [Confirm] on the interface, a strange sensation washed over him.
At first, it was subtle—like the air around him had thickened, buzzing faintly with static. His skin prickled, and a soft hum vibrated through his chest. Then suddenly—
[Processing…]
[Uploading Allocated Skill Parameters]
[Synchronizing with Host Body]
[Estimated Duration: 8 seconds]
Riku's eyes widened. "Wait—what?"
He doubled over as a surge of energy shot through his spine. His vision blurred for a moment, and he nearly lost his balance.
Every nerve in his body lit up.
His muscles tensed involuntarily. Veins in his arms and legs pulsed with heat, like liquid fire was being injected into them. He clutched his chest as a wave of power pulsed outward from his core, radiating to his fingertips and toes. It didn't hurt exactly—but it was overwhelming. Like his body was being rewritten from the inside.
His heartbeat spiked—then calmed.
His breathing, which had been shallow and uneven since waking up, became smooth, rhythmic, efficient. He could feel the difference instantly.
The slight ache in his arms? Gone.
The fatigue in his legs? Gone.
The shakiness in his hands? Gone.
It was like a warm reset button had been pressed on his body.
His posture straightened instinctively. His vision sharpened. Even the way he stood felt more solid—more grounded. His fingers flexed unconsciously, and to his surprise, his grip felt stronger. Controlled.
[Skill Synchronization Complete]
[Weapon Handling: Calibrated]
[Muscle Memory Installed]
[Balance and Coordination Enhanced]
[Combat Efficiency Boosted]
"…This is insane," he muttered, lifting his hand.
He grabbed a metal ruler lying on a nearby desk and swung it experimentally like a blade. No delay. His wrist moved like it had practiced that motion hundreds of times before.
This wasn't just a stat boost—it was as if the system had injected the training directly into his nervous system.
And then the interface flickered again.
[New Quest Available]
Quest: First Blood
Objective: Eliminate a zombie (0/1)
Reward: +650 EXP, +500 SP]
Riku read the mission details, it was exactly the same as the first mission in the game.
Just the thought of him being able to survive in the apocalypse using this system by purchasing weapons made his heart throbbed.
Whoever is it that gave him this system, they had his everlasting gratitude.