Chapter 5 – School Of The Undead (Part 3)
As Jack thrust the metal bar forward, he expected the hit to kill. However, a mere split second before it could land, he suddenly felt something he had never experienced before.
DING
Something in his head was severed out of nowhere, and he felt as if he had lost some sort of connection, along with a huge chunk of Aether, which made his entire world swirl upside down in a single moment. An intense headache struck almost instantly, one that threatened to crack his skull open.
"Agh…"
Then, the monster seemingly escaped the mind control and grabbed Jack by the neck without any hesitation. The boy struggled to break free as he fought the pain.
"Let… go…" he cursed as he tried to open his eyes and use Mind Manipulation again. However, he was surprised to find that the headache only intensified the moment he tried to use it, and the skill itself didn't activate.
'Is there some kind of penalty for when a target breaks through the control?' With clenched teeth, a splitting headache, and suffocation threatening him, Jack realized his grave mistake. He didn't know the sheer danger of trying to target something far stronger than himself.
He had thought the target might break free, but he hadn't imagined he would be penalized for such an occurrence — which, in hindsight, made a lot of sense considering the fact that his skill was mind-based. If that connection with his victim was severed, the backlash would return to him.
Just like how energy doesn't disappear or get created, the same applies to his power. However, all of that was far too useless in that moment when his life was flashing before his eyes.
"RAAAH!"
With a swing, the monster threw Jack several dozen feet as he landed on his back, rolling several times.
Jack felt his entire body shake from the impact as if he had been hit by a car. His bones screamed, and his muscles stretched to uncomfortable degrees.
Landing on his stomach, Jack groaned as he held his arm. 'Shit, I landed on my arm…' he cursed.
He didn't know if it was broken or not, but he could feel immense pain and numbness coming from it — something he feared was indeed a fracture. Yet, there was no time to assess his injury as he quickly rolled to the side, barely dodging the monster's fists.
The monster chased him and tried to stomp him to death. However, the boy quickly regained his composure and ran for it.
'Shit, I can't fight this thing. It will kill me in an instant!' Jack cursed as he rushed inside one of the classrooms and slammed the door shut a split second before the monster reached it.
BANG
Slamming into it violently, the monster shook the entire class. Then it slammed its fists again, shaking the entire door violently. It kept hitting it with more and more intensity while Jack stood in the middle of the class, not knowing what to do.
'Think, think, think.' He looked around. 'Dammit, I can't kill it with normal means. I need it to…'
Then, he saw it — the perfect idea. A smile crept onto his face.
BANGBANGBANG
Several hits later, the door hinges finally shattered and the monster slammed its way through violently, sending the door flying into the room. It looked around, even angrier than before.
There, it saw Jack, sitting on the window as he stared back at it with a small smile. Without hesitation, the monster growled and ran toward him, smashing all the chairs and desks in its way.
Jack didn't move as he waited patiently for it to get close. He wanted a specific moment — the perfect moment.
"RAAAAAH!!"
Now!
The monster lunged forward with all its weight, so Jack quickly sprang into motion, leaning back until he was almost falling off the edge. Then, he slid down quickly, a split second before the monster could touch him. Instead, it ended up flying through the window and into the ground.
BANG
Slamming into the ground headfirst, the monster's head burst open with a loud splash. It instantly died.
"Hah… hah…" Jack looked through the window and exhaled a long sigh of relief when he saw the monster's corpse. "That was so dangerous… That thing could've easily killed me…"
It was very clear that the monster had somehow grown stronger, faster than all the other Undead — which proved to Jack that these things did indeed have the ability to grow off eating their victims.
[You have killed a Level 5 Undead.]
[You have gained +50 Experience Points.]
[You have gained +4 Strength, +4 Agility, +4 Stamina.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have gained 3 bonus points to allocate however you wish.]
[You have acquired an Item Stamp.]
Suddenly, Jack felt a surge of power take over his entire body — a feeling so intense that he almost fell to the ground again. It was as if his entire body was suddenly pumped with sheer energy and power as all the pain in his arm magically disappeared.
Instead, he felt his muscles, bones, and even his senses grow sharper in real time.
"What the hell… That thing was Level 5? How many people did it kill?" Jack muttered. "And this power. Damn, it feels so good."
It was almost like a euphoric sensation — something Jack was growing addicted to rather fast. He liked the feeling of power coursing through his veins.
"I'm so much stronger now. I can feel it. Also, my arm doesn't hurt anymore," he muttered. "It seems leveling up heals my wounds? Or at least wounds of this degree. It also gives me points to use however I wish."
All these benefits felt very generous and quite satisfying. It was worth the risk, he felt.
"Now, coming to that last thing… I got an Item Stamp this time, not a Skill Stamp," Jack muttered. "Well, let's see what it is."
Tapping on the notification, he received the stamp, which was a beautiful blue color rather than the red of the Skill Stamp.
"Interesting. Doesn't look very different except for the color," he muttered as he inspected it.
[Item Stamp: A Stamp that holds the full records of an Unknown Item. Stamp your hand to acquire the item.]
"Fair enough."
Without hesitation, Jack stamped his hand, revealing a beautiful blue glow. Then, a moment later, the stamp vanished and something large manifested in Jack's hand — a long, thin object.
"Wait…" His eyes widened. "A sword?!"
What appeared there was a long sword with a thin blade, almost like a katana except not as curvy. It looked quite elegant with a black, matte finish and beautiful engravings across the hilt and handle.
"Wow, what a gorgeous sword…" he muttered.
[Name: Song Of The Night]
[Rarity: Rare]
[User Requirements: Level 2+]
[Description: A sword created in the darkest of worlds — a place where light ceased to exist eons ago. It absorbed the energy of the night and became a part of it. Capable of killing monsters up to Level 15. During the night, its sharpness and power increase by 30%.]
"Wow… Not just looks…" Jack almost blurted out. "This song packs some serious power. Up to Level 15? That's ridiculous."
Jack didn't even know how this thing had fallen into his hands from a monster that was ten levels below that. It was even Rare, which Jack didn't know much about yet. However, if it said it was rare, then he was taking it for what it was — rare.
"It actually came at the perfect moment. I needed a sword to fight. Well, keyword 'needed.' I don't know how to use one of these things. Oh well, I'll figure it out along the way, I guess," he muttered as he unsheathed the sword, revealing the beautiful, black, shiny blade.
It was so gorgeous it took Jack's breath away.
Then, he grabbed the sword with both hands and swung it around a few times. It was surprisingly not heavy and quite easy to swing. The sharp sounds it made as it cut through the air were sweet to the ear.
'This would definitely be able to cut some heads,' he mused. 'We shall see.'
Putting the sword back in its sheath, Jack turned around and started walking out of the classroom again.
His target… the rooftop, where he assumed the survivors — or a chunk of them — had gone.
***
Meanwhile, at the rooftop…
BANGBANG
Monsters banged on the metal doors violently, their growls shaking the world. They had been at it for several minutes non-stop.
Meanwhile, up there, all the survivors — students and teachers alike — sat in fear in one corner, watching as the monsters kept hitting the doors. The terror was clear in their eyes. Nobody knew what to do.
"We are going to die…"
"Mom… I want mom, hick…"
"Where are the cops? What is going on?"
"It's the end of the world for us… It's God's judgment…"
Nobody truly knew what was going on. Several minutes ago, they had been going about their day and now they were facing imminent death, completely stuck.
Among them, Alex sat in silence, his expression dark and clouded, and next to him… sat a girl.