With approximately fifty students trailing behind him, Ethan arrived at the auditorium.
Yet he was not the only one to appear, Elijah, Ella, and Isaac had also arrived, each accompanied by their own groups of followers, varying in size.
None among them advanced.
The world had shifted into something unrecognizable; trust had all but vanished, and not a single soul dared extend even the faintest hint of goodwill.
They stood locked in a silent stalemate, each one waiting for the other to make the first move.
Seconds passed, heavy with tension, no one uttered a word.
Then it came.
Footsteps.
Soft. Measured. Unhurried.
The sound echoed through the tense air like a drumbeat of inevitability.
Heads turned sharply toward the source.
A woman with crimson hair emerged, her steps unwavering, each one soaked in eerie calm.
Blood dripped from both her spear and her body, leaving a trail behind her.
It was Jennifer.
Jennifer reached the front of the gathered groups without so much as acknowledging a single face.
Wordlessly, she moved past them, her bloodstained form silent and unyielding as she approached the auditorium doors, sealed shut with thick, pristine chains.
With a single, fluid motion of her spear, the chains snapped like twigs, clattering to the ground in pieces.
Without pause or a backward glance, she stepped inside.
The others exchanged wary glances, uncertainty flickering in their eyes, then, as if awakened by an unspoken cue, they surged forward.
Their footsteps echoed sharply against the stone floor as they rushed in, driven by a fear none of them dared voice.
As the last person crossed the threshold, the atmosphere shifted, urgency took over.
Everyone scattered, scrambling to barricade every point of entry.
Chairs, tables, anything they could find became fortifications against whatever might come.
With a heavy, collective sigh, many collapsed to their knees, their strength spent.
Others simply lay down wherever they stood, their bodies giving in to exhaustion and despair.
Soft sobs began to echo through the auditorium, some wept quietly, while others broke down, tears streaming freely down their faces.
Ethan remained standing, his eyes scanning the gathered crowd with growing unease, as though searching for a familiar presence amidst the chaos.
'Logan isn't here'
He had expected to see him, either along the way or already waiting inside.
But there was no sign of him.
'Is he dead... or did he never leave his room?'
The thought lingered as Ethan turned away and wandered toward a quiet corner.
Without a word, he sat down, the weight of uncertainty pressing heavily on his chest.
Time slipped by in quietness, each second stretching longer than the last.
None of the group leaders made a move, everyone remained confined to their corners, watching, waiting.
Then, finally, Isaac rose to his feet.
Without speaking, he began making his way across the room, approaching those he had identified as fellow group leaders.
One by one, he spoke with them briefly, his tone low and unreadable.
After several minutes, he turned and began walking toward Jennifer, after speaking with her, he shifted course and headed straight for Ethan.
Noticing the change in trajectory, Ethan lifted his head, eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Isaac approach.
A rifle was slung over Isaac's shoulder, the metal glinting faintly in the dim light, while a cutlass hung at his waist, swaying with each purposeful step.
"Good afternoon. My name is Isaac. I'm a lecturer"
He said, his voice steady but carrying the weight of the situation.
Ethan remained silent for a few seconds before replying.
"I'm Ethan"
He offered nothing more, there wasn't anything else to say.
Isaac gave a small nod, then continued.
"I'm calling a meeting. We need to discuss our next course of action"
Ethan's gaze shifted past Isaac, briefly settling on Ella, Jennifer, and Elijah, each in their own corner of the room.
"I'll attend"
He said quietly, nodding as he rose from his seat.
Without another word, he fell in step behind Isaac.
Seeing Isaac and Ethan approaching together, the others slowly rose to their feet.
Without a word, they all gravitated toward a quiet corner of the auditorium, silently acknowledging it as the space for their gathering.
They stood in a loose circle, faces blank, guarded.
Tension hung in the air like smoke.
Only Elijah wore a faint smile, a flicker of amusement or perhaps defiance playing on his lips.
The stillness was broken by Isaac's voice, calm but firm.
"How about we start with introductions? I'll go first"
He stepped slightly forward, meeting each of their gazes in turn.
"I'm Isaac. I teach Exercise Physiology at the university, but before that, I was a soldier"
At the mention of the word soldier, a shift rippled through the group.
Their eyes sharpened, attention narrowing on him, as if instinctively recalibrating their assessment of the man before them.
Isaac stood calmly beneath their scrutiny.
He looked like the rest of them, black hair, sharp features, but there was a quiet intensity in his posture that hinted at his past.
Among the group, only Jennifer stood apart visually, her striking red hair setting her apart like a flame in shadow.
"I'm Jennifer. Fourth-year student of Applied Mathematics"
She spoke with quiet composure, though the blood streaking her skin and armor-like stance gave her the appearance of a battle hardened woman.
Her crimson hair, wild and damp, only heightened the contrast, fierce yet undeniably beautiful.
"Elijah, second-year student of Theatre Arts"
Came the next voice, light and unbothered.
He turned to Jennifer with a charming smile, then casually averted his gaze, as if seeking a reaction but expecting none.
"Ella. Final-year Law student"
Her voice was calm, deliberate. Seated gracefully, her long black hair cascaded over her back like a silk curtain, elegance clinging to her even in the grime and fear of the moment.
She didn't try to command attention, but it followed her anyway.
All eyes shifted to the last remaining voice in the circle.
"Ethan. Third-year Mechanical Engineering student"
He said plainly.
There was no embellishment in his tone, no attempt to impress, just a steady answer, brief and grounded.
Silence returned like a slow, suffocating fog, settling over the group once more.
Isaac's lips twitched faintly.
At thirty-four, he was the oldest among them, a full generation ahead of the students he now found himself standing beside.
He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a composed voice.
"How about we start by sharing what we know?"
Ella suggested, her tone measured, authoritative without being forceful.
There was a collective nod, quiet, but unanimous.
Isaac exhaled softly and stepped into the opening.
"I believe the zombies are former humans, those who couldn't withstand the surge of mana when it awakened in their bodies"
He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing.
"Of course, it's just a theory. I don't have enough data to confirm anything. But from what I've seen… it makes sense"
His voice remained calm, but there was a subtle edge to it, a weight behind the words that hinted at what he'd witnessed firsthand.
"I think the same"
Ethan interjected, his voice steady.
He had arrived at the same conclusion from the very beginning, though he hadn't voiced it until now.
"I'm guessing that there will be other types of zombies attacking very soon"
He added, his eyes scanning the room as if weighing the implications of his own words.
The others turned to him, their gazes now fixed with varying levels of interest and concern.
Then, Elijah spoke, his tone light but tinged with a dangerous confidence.
"It doesn't matter"
He said, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.
"They'll all die under my fist's flames"
A flicker of disbelief passed through Ethan's mind as he regarded Elijah, his expression stoic.
'Is this guy brain-dead?'
Ethan thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the overconfident second-year.
"Why do you say that?"
Jennifer's voice cut through the momentary pause, her curiosity sharp and calm.
Ethan's gaze shifted to her, meeting her eyes with an almost analytical calm.
"From the system's notifications"
He began, his voice steady.
"it always says 'Normal Zombie' whenever we kill one. I'm guessing there will be stronger ones soon, and these won't be the slow-moving types we can dispatch without much trouble"
His words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of something unspoken.
At his revelation, a thick quietude descended upon the group.
No one spoke for a long moment, the realization sinking in like a cold draft.
None of them had considered it, not in the heat of battle, not amidst the chaos.
They had been too consumed by survival to think of what might come next.
"I asked the system what happens if we don't gather enough points as instructed"
Jennifer spoke, her voice softer than before, almost reluctant to voice the haunting truth.
"And the only answer I got was... DEATH"
Her words landed like a bombshell, shattering the brief silence that had followed Ethan's theory.
The air grew thick with the weight of what she had just said.
Another heavy silence descended, heavier this time, as the group processed the implication of her words.
Ethan's frown deepened, his gaze turning inward as his mind raced to grasp the full scope of what was being said.
The chilling reality began to sink in, the fact that their survival wasn't just a matter of fighting the zombies or avoiding death at random.
The countdown to their demise was not hypothetical, it was real, and it was staring them in the face.
Their fate was tied to something as cold as numbers.
"The system shop doesn't sell food"
Ella's voice cut through the thick quietness, her words matter-of-fact.
Everyone's frown deepened, as the weight of her statement hit them all at once.
None of them had thought to check the system for something as basic as food.
When the system had first unlocked, the first thing they'd done was buy weaponsm, survival tools to defend themselves.
Survival was their priority, after all.
Now, as the reality of their situation set in, it became clear: they were not only facing threats from the zombies, but from a hunger that would soon overtake them.
The thought of rationing their limited supplies became a cold, urgent necessity.
It could have been easier.
In the system shop, food might've cost a few points, maybe even as low as three points for a meal.
But it seemed the entity behind this twisted game didn't want things to be that simple.
They had been thrust into an apocalypse where survival wasn't just about strength, skill, or even strategy, it was about every single resource, down to the very food they ate.
And in this place, it felt like the odds were stacked against them at every turn.
Isaac turned to Elijah, his expression expectant.
"Do you have any information?"
He asked.
At Isaac's words, every gaze in the room shifted to Elijah.
He was the only one who hadn't contributed anything of value yet.
Elijah seemed to fall into a moment of deep thought, his brow furrowed as he searched for something to add.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke, his voice uncertain.
"Er... All means of communication are currently down"
He began, pausing as if considering the gravity of his words.
"Also, when we kill zombies, we gain stats"
The room fell into stunned hush.
Everyone exchanged a look, their expressions ranging from confusion to incredulity.
Of course, they knew that!
Hadn't they all tried reaching for their phones, hoping to call for help, only to find them dead?
Hadn't they all noticed the surge in strength when they killed their first zombie?
Ethan couldn't help but let out a quiet, almost amused smile as he shook his head, the absurdity of it all settling into the pit of his stomach.
'There's always the all-brawn, no-brain guy in the group'
He thought to himself, the irony not lost on him.
The urge to laugh bubbled up, but he quickly suppressed it.