Ethan sat with his back against the wall, catching his breath as his pulse slowed down.
He still couldn't believe what had just happened. The world outside was falling apart, monsters flying in the sky, zombies eating people alive, and somehow, he had a glowing green system screen floating right in front of him.
He was beginning to wonder if he was in a dream, but at the same time, he was being slapped by the fact that he wasn't.
[Normal Mission: Don't Die.]
Yeah. Real helpful.
No matter what, he had to stay alive.
For Mom...
For Eva...
The night came by with Ethan unable to sleep after witnessing the greatest nightmare of his life, and even when dawn came, the fear was still deep in his heart.
Before he could even start thinking of what came next, a notification blinked onto the screen.
[Mission Rewards Received: +10 Boyfriend Credits for surviving the first day of the apocalypse.]
Ethan blinked in confusion at that moment.
"Boyfriend Credits? What the hell am I supposed to buy with that? Girlfriends?"
[You can check your stats and system features, host. It's not that hard.]
The sarcastic tone came again, and Ethan couldn't help but sigh.
"You really enjoy bullying me, huh?"
[It's part of my job, host. Keeps you motivated.]
"Sure…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head as he stood up.
"Alright, stats. Show me my stats or whatever the hell it is..."
The screen expanded instantly as bright text glowed in the room. A range of words lined with numbers could be seen, grasping his attention to read.
------
[Host: Ethan Reyes.]
[Age: 20.]
[Titles: The Rejected.]
[Skills: None Acquired.]
[Attributes:
Strength: 5.
Agility: 6.
Stamina: 4.
Charm: 1.
Intelligence: 7.]
[Boyfriend Credits: 10 BC.]
[System Features]
[Store (Locked).]
[Daily Intelligence (Active).]
------
"The Store is locked?" Ethan frowned, tapping the option.
A new text appeared.
[The Store unlocks only after saving one girl.]
He blinked confusedly. "Wait, what? Save one girl? Why does it have to be a girl? After all they did to me?!!!"
[Main System Objective: Keep every girl you come across safe in the apocalypse. Rewards include Boyfriend Credits, Skills, and Attribute Points.]
[Note: Saving the likes of your gender will earn you nothing.]
Ethan's jaw dropped at once, his face turning dark.
"So I get punished for saving guys now?!"
[You don't get punished. You just don't get rewarded. Big difference.]
"You're unbelievable…" He groaned. "This system is literally sexist."
The system didn't say a word back, and then Ethan shrugged.
"It's not as if I would be able to save people anyway. I can't even save myself," he muttered.
He was still shaking his head when the next notification appeared.
[Daily Intelligence Alert!]
[Day 0002:
— A zombie will bite Anna Voss by 7:17 AM, resulting in her turning into a zombie.
— At exactly 9:00 AM, the Mutants will leave the campus vicinity, leaving the zombies to claim dominion. 20% of current survivors will die, including Anna Voss.
— A small herd of zombies will discover one of the survivors' hiding spots. Could be yours.]
---
[Normal Mission 1: Save Anna Voss before she gets attacked by the zombie and bring her with you.]
[Reward: 50 Boyfriend Credits, and +2 Charm.]
[Normal Mission 2: Find a safer hiding spot in the dormitory and make sure not to get noticed by any zombie.]
[Reward: You stay alive.]
"What kind of reward is that?" Ethan scoffed with a dark look on his face.
[Being alive is the greatest reward in the apocalypse.]
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he sighed.
Then he lowered his eyes to his wrist to check the time on his wristwatch.
7:03 AM.
Ethan's eyes widened the moment he realized it.
"Hell no."
"You're telling me I have fourteen minutes before Anna turns into a zombie?!" he shouted, his face completely tense.
[Precisely. You may want to move your weak legs now.]
Ethan didn't need another reminder. He sprinted out of the room and through the stairwell, ducking past broken glass and overturned chairs.
The air smelled of blood and burnt wood, but Ethan was too focused to care.
He needed to save Anna, his childhood friend who had always wanted them to remain just friends.
Sure, he was pissed by her constant rejections, but he wouldn't let her die. Not when it would result in her becoming a zombie.
"A zombie Anna wouldn't be cute at all," he muttered.
He ran straight into the female dormitory, the first place that came to mind. He was careful, peeking into every hallway before dashing in.
He had to keep reminding himself that his Starter Aid had been used up.
But when he reached her dorm room, the door was open, and spills of blood could be seen all around.
His heart skipped a beat, but then he checked the time.
7:08 AM.
"It's not her," he decided to trust the system without asking questions, because it wasn't only Anna who lived in that dorm room.
She had two roommates... Gracie and Mella.
Ethan had asked Gracie and Mella out once, but unfortunately, it had ended just the way it always did.
Rejection.
He quickly turned away and ran out of the building, pondering where he could find her.
Until then...
A familiar voice, trembling and filled with terror, suddenly sounded.
"Somebody! Help!"
"Anna!" Ethan jolted and yelled, his heart skipping.
"It's coming from the canteen," he muttered.
Without wasting a second, he sprinted toward the canteen with a speed level he'd never possessed before.
He burst into the canteen to see Anna backed against a wall, eyes wide with horror. One zombie had stumbled in through one of the broken windows, its face half-missing, jaw hanging loosely as it staggered toward her.
"Anna, move!" Ethan shouted, sprinting forward.
"E-Ethan?!" she gasped, frozen upon seeing him.
He didn't have time to think. He just grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her away as the zombie's fingers scraped the spot she had folded herself into.
They dashed out the back door, footsteps pounding, breathing ragged.
"Where are we even going?!" Anna cried, her voice shaking.
"Anywhere but near that thing!"
Anna was breathing hard, still shrouded in fear, but she kept running with him.
As they rounded the corner, they both stopped when they noticed there was no more route ahead.
A dead end.
It was a tall fence, and the zombie was already staggering toward them again, snarling, its rotten fingers twitching.
"We're trapped!" Anna screamed.
Ethan's mind raced as he watched the zombie shuffle toward them, gashing its teeth.
No weapon. No escape.
They were both there, on the verge of getting into a situation that could end their lives.
However, it wasn't as if Ethan would let that happen.
He soon spotted a stone the size of two adult fists and gave a sharp smile. He swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he picked it up.
He was going to take his chances.
"Alright… let's do this the caveman way," he said.
"Ethan, don't—" Anna tried to call him back.
But he had already charged at the zombie.
With a loud yell, he swung the stone down with all his strength, smashing it into the zombie's skull.
CRACK!
A cracking sound was heard loud and clear, and the creature collapsed instantly, lifeless.
Ethan froze, panting as he stared at what he'd done.
"Holy shit… I killed it…"
[You just killed a Level 1 Zombie. You earned +5 Boyfriend Credits.]
His lips parted, and then a grin tugged at his face.
"Haha! I killed the son of a bitch!"
Anna blinked, stunned, still clutching her chest. "Ethan, you just... you just killed that thing?"
He turned to her, still shaking, adrenaline running wild.
"Yeah, and I don't ever want to do that again!"
At that moment, before they could even breathe, distant groans echoed again.
Zombies...
"Oh no…" Anna whispered.
"Yeah, time to go."
Ethan nodded as he gestured to her.
They dashed back the way they came, slipping through corridors and up another flight of stairs until they reached the room where Ethan had been hiding.
He quickly barricaded the door with a broken desk, then moved to cover the windows with mattresses and curtains. He was sure the zombies wouldn't be fast enough to track them.
Finally, they both collapsed to the floor.
Anna sat leaning against the wall, trembling. Her eyes were red, her breathing uneven, as expected from someone who almost died the worst of deaths.
"I… I almost died out there," she whispered, her tone trembling like she was sobbing.
Ethan looked at her and shook his head. "Yeah. Well, not today."
"You saved my life, Ethan," she said, her tone faint yet sympathetic, and he could see the emotions in her eyes.
"Thank you," she added softly.
Ethan was out of words, and just while he was struggling to give a reply, the system sounded again.
[Normal Mission 1 Completed! You saved Anna Voss and brought her with you.]
[Reward: +50 Boyfriend Credits, and +2Charm.]
[The Store is now unlocked!]
Ethan exhaled slowly, leaning his head back against the wall.
"Okay, let's see what this bully system has got," he muttered with a faint smile.