Level Up Arcana

New System Features

He caught the zombie's wrists as it tried to claw at his face. Its strength was surprising, pushing against him with unnatural force. Its mouth snapped at the air, teeth trying to find his flesh.

Raiden gritted his teeth and twisted, using the zombie's momentum against it. He pivoted and slammed it face-first into the stone wall.

He continued the assault, hitting it once, twice. Three times.

On the fourth impact, the skull finally gave way with a wet crunch.

The zombie went limp.

[You have killed a Level 1 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]

[You have levelled up to Level 2 Spirit Circle]

Raiden released the corpse and let it crumple to the ground. His chest heaved as he caught his breath. Even though he'd advanced to Level 2 Spirit Circle, he wasn't happy about it.

His hands were shaking from adrenaline, from fear, from the reality of what he'd just done.

He'd killed four zombies with his bare hands, a stomp of his foot, and a piece of wood.

Four things that used to be people.

The thought made his stomach turn, but he forced it down. There was no time to show weakness, no time to let feelings cloud his chances of survival.

The two zombies he'd knocked down earlier were already getting back up, groaning as they clawed at the ground.

"Raiden!" Jace's voice called out. "Catch!"

Something flew through the air. Raiden caught it on instinct. It was a metal rod, probably torn from a broken fence. Better than nothing.

He moved forward and brought the rod down on the first zombie's head with brutal efficiency. Then the second.

[You have killed a Level 1 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]

[You have killed a Level 1 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]

Silence fell over the small area, broken only by heavy breathing and distant screams from elsewhere on campus.

Raiden stood there with the rod still raised, staring at the bodies around him.

Five zombies. He'd just killed five zombies.

[Side Quest Progress: 5/5 Students Rescued]

[Side Quest Complete!]

[Reward: +50 System Coins, Black-grade Treasure Orb]

[Would you like to claim your reward now? Yes / No]

The glowing text hovered in his vision, waiting for an answer.

Raiden lowered the metal rod slowly. His arms felt like jelly. Every muscle trembled in protest.

Behind him, the seven students he'd saved stared in a mixture of awe, fear, and disbelief.

One of the girls, the one Ash had pushed, spoke first, her voice barely audible. "You... you saved us."

Raiden turned to look at them. Most seemed genuinely grateful, tears of relief streaming down their faces.

But Ash, the buzz-cut boy, stood apart from the group. His face was twisted in humiliation and barely concealed anger. He avoided making eye contact with anyone.

"Are you all okay?" Raiden asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

The students nodded, though several were still shaking.

Jace, Mira, and Kade jogged over to join him.

"That was insane," Kade said, looking at the corpses scattered around. "You just... how did you..."

"Adrenaline," Raiden said simply. It wasn't entirely a lie.

Mira studied him with those sharp eyes of hers. "You moved like you knew what you were doing."

Raiden shrugged, uncomfortable under her gaze. "I read a lot of webnovels. Guess some of it stuck."

"Webnovels," Mira repeated flatly. "You survived that because of webnovels."

"Hey, don't knock it. They teach survival skills."

Despite everything, Jace let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, zombie survival rule 101. Always aim for the head."

The tension broke slightly, though the horror of their situation still hung heavy in the air.

Raiden looked back at the notification still hovering in his vision.

[Would you like to claim your reward? Yes / No]

He focused on it mentally, thinking 'Yes'.

The text shifted.

[Reward Claimed]

[+50 System Coins added to inventory]

[Black-grade Treasure Orb added to inventory]

[New Feature Unlocked: Inventory]

[New Feature Unlocked: Shop]

More text appeared, scrolling past his vision faster than he could fully read. When it finally stopped, a new interface had materialized, translucent windows showing various sections.

One was labeled 'Inventory'. Another 'Shop'. A third showed his current stats.

It really was like a game.

"Did anyone else just get a bunch of notifications?" Raiden asked, glancing at the others.

Mira nodded slowly. "I got something about unlocking features. An inventory system and a shop."

"Same here," Kade added. "What the hell is going on?"

"The map," Raiden said, pieces clicking together in his mind. "When it activated, it said something about a trial. I think... I think it turned the whole world into some kind of game where you need to grow stronger by killing zombies and beasts or completing certain quests."

"A game where zombies are real and people actually turn into one when bitten," Jace said, his voice hollow.

Raiden had no response to that. Because Jace was absolutely right.

This wasn't a game they could quit. There was no reset button. No respawn.

Death here was permanent. Well, same as before, but in a more ruthless way.

And they were all players now, whether they wanted to be or not.