Silence after violence was worse than noise.
Luna stood there long after the creature collapsed, staring at its twisted body. The broken metal rod still trembled in her hands. Her heartbeat was thunder in her ears.
She had killed something.
Not metaphorically. Not in a dream.
Killed.
The glowing system screen floated patiently before her eyes, as though waiting for her to accept it.
[LEVEL: 2]
[RANK: SURVIVOR]
[KP: 10]
[STATUS: STABLE]
She swallowed hard.
"Okay," she whispered to herself, voice shaking. "Okay… if this is real, then I need to understand it."
The rainless air felt heavy, thick with rot and smoke. The sky above was a constant crimson dusk, as though the sun had died and never fully set. Distant groans echoed between ruined buildings.
More zombies.
She needed shelter.
Luna forced her legs to move.
She stepped carefully through the abandoned street, scanning everything like a detective. Broken glass. Crashed cars. Storefronts looted long ago. Posters peeling from walls warned of evacuation zones that no longer existed.
This world had collapsed a long time ago.
"Explore first. Learn. Don't panic," she muttered, repeating the words like a mantra.
A flicker of motion made her freeze.
Not a zombie.
A human.
A boy stood across the street, leaning against a bus stop shelter. Dirty clothes. Blood-stained knuckles. Sharp eyes watching her.
A player.
Her instincts screamed.
He lifted a hand casually. "You're new."
She didn't respond.
He smirked. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead."
That did not make her feel better.
"Name's Ryo," he said. "Level 8. Hunter track. You?"
A blue screen appeared automatically.
[PLAYER PROFILE SHARED]
NAME: LUNA
LEVEL: 2
RANK: SURVIVOR
Ryo whistled softly. "Damn. Fresh spawn."
She tightened her grip on the metal rod.
He noticed. His smile widened. "You'll die alone out here. Join me. I'll show you the basics. Safe zones. Loot areas. That kind of thing."
Luna hesitated.
Her chest tightened with memory.
Trust gets you killed.
Still… she was alone. And ignorant. And this world clearly didn't reward ignorance.
"Fine," she said quietly. "But I don't trust you."
Ryo chuckled. "Smart."
They moved through shattered alleys and broken staircases. He showed her how to listen for zombie movement, how to tell the difference between slow walkers and faster mutated types. He explained Kill Points. Skills. Rankings.
"Most players die before level ten," he said casually. "Some by zombies. Most by other players."
Her stomach dropped. "Other players?"
He glanced at her. "Yeah. KP farming. Kill Points transfer if you murder a player."
The words were said too easily.
They entered an abandoned supermarket. Shelves overturned. But still—some canned food. Bottled water. A jackpot.
Luna felt a strange spark of triumph as she stuffed supplies into a backpack.
I can do this.
For the first time since waking up, hope flickered.
They climbed to the roof of the building. From here, the city stretched endlessly—ruined but vast, dangerous but filled with possibilities.
"This is a good temporary base," Ryo said. "Only one stairwell. Easy to defend."
Luna nodded, sitting down carefully.
She watched the horizon. Studied the patterns of distant zombie movement. Memorized everything.
This wasn't just survival.
This was learning.
Evolving.
Then Ryo spoke again, his tone casual.
"You're lucky, you know."
She looked at him.
"You died and got a second chance. Most people in this world?" He shrugged. "They were already broken when they arrived."
Something about his gaze made her uneasy.
"You're different," he continued. "Soft, but not stupid. That's rare."
Her grip tightened slightly on the metal rod.
"You could go far," he said. "If you survive tonight."
Something shifted.
Instinct screamed.
She stood abruptly.
Ryo's hand moved.
Fast.
He lunged.
Luna twisted instinctively—but his blade still sliced across her arm.
Pain bloomed.
"Sorry," Ryo said calmly. "Nothing personal. You're just easy KP."
Blood trickled down her sleeve.
Rage surged.
Fear, betrayal, humiliation—memories of Ishara, of blood on concrete, of dying helplessly—
Not again.
Luna didn't scream.
She moved.
The rod swung with precision this time, not panic.
Ryo barely dodged.
His eyes widened.
"Interesting."
They fought across the rooftop, blows clashing, rainless wind howling around them. He was stronger. Faster. Experienced.
But she was adapting.
Learning.
She used the environment. Tripped him near the ledge. Slashed his shoulder.
He stumbled back, stunned. "You're only level two—how are you—"
The system chimed.
[CONDITION MET]
[TRAUMA TRIGGERED]
[SKILL AWAKENED: HEART SENSE]
[DESCRIPTION: Detect hostile intent and betrayal within close range]
Suddenly, the world sharpened.
She could feel it.
Ryo's murderous intent pulsed like a dark flame.
Luna met his gaze calmly.
"You were going to kill me the moment I relaxed," she said softly.
Ryo stared. "What the hell are you?"
She stepped forward.
"Someone who already died once."
One final strike.
He fell.
The system flashed again.
[PLAYER KILL CONFIRMED]
[KP TRANSFERRED: +60]
[LEVEL UP: 6]
[TITLE UNLOCKED: FIRST BLOOD]
Luna stood alone on the rooftop, chest rising and falling.
The city stretched before her.
Terrible. Beautiful. Endless.
She wasn't shaking this time.
She walked to the corner of the rooftop and looked down at the world below.
"This place," she whispered, "is brutal."
Then, more quietly:
"But I'm still here."
She turned back toward the supplies. Toward the stairwell. Toward survival.
Toward growth.
She began planning.
A safer base. A higher place. A routine. A system.
Not just surviving anymore.
Thriving.
And far away, unseen, another player's screen flickered.
[SPECIAL PLAYER DETECTED: LUNA]
[OBSERVATION STATUS: ACTIVE]
The game had noticed her.
And the world of NecroEarth had begun to watch.