Leonard acted the moment the thought struck him.
He swung the fire axe down hard on the zombie's head.
Once, twice, three times. Critical hit!
The final strike dealt a whopping 45 damage, shattering half of the zombie's skull.
It was truly a case of "lifting the lid off your head."
Leonard panted heavily, now stained with fresh blood.
But in his mind, some clarity had formed.
"The advantage of a triple strike lies in speed. Landing three headshots in quick succession can instantly kill a level-1 zombie."
"The skill has a 30-second cool down. Still quite long so I should avoid fighting multiple enemies at once."
"In one-on-one fights, I can absolutely dominate these zombies tonight!"
He felt his blood boiling with excitement, adrenaline racing through his nerves.
Out of habit, he looted the zombie.
This time, he got something.
He pulled a folded piece of paper from the corpse. Opening it, he found three blueprints listed inside:
Discovered weapon blueprint: 'Madman's Saw'
Discovered gear blueprint: 'Spiked Bracers'
Discovered upgrade blueprint: 'Level-2 Dorm Room'
"A blueprint!"
Leonard's eyes lit up as he immediately checked the details.
The Madman's Saw required a saw blade. He had none.
The Spiked Bracers needed iron nails. He'd run out before, but nails were relatively easy to find.
The Dorm Upgrade would reinforce walls and expand space. The main material? Stone, which he didn't have either.
"Night of Terror is just the first round of the game. This is the beginning not the end."
"If I upgrade the dorm now and carry it into the next round, it might give me an edge."
"Heh... free housing. Not a bad perk."
Leonard smirked.
Now with clear goals, he set off toward unexplored areas.
It was nighttime, zombies roamed. Most players stayed hidden inside.
The corridors were deserted.
Leonard was the only one scavenging around.
Soon, he found iron nails, along with common materials like component boxes, duct tape, and wood.
From a drawer, he also found a bottle of fresh water. Perfect timing, he was thirsty.
Fresh Water
Category: Food
Type: Water
Effect: Slightly restores satiety and sanity.
Description: "We don't transport nature. We produce water."
Leonard was already used to the tongue-in-cheek item descriptions.
Clearly, whoever wrote them was a twisted bastard.
Gulp gulp gulp...
Leonard downed half the bottle in one go, feeling much better.
He kept moving.
Another zombie appeared, descending the stairs, mouth and hands dripping with blood.
Fresh blood.
Maybe it had just finished its "dinner."
Leonard didn't hesitate and stuck to his usual routine.
Steady approach, a flash of UV light to disorient, then a flurry of blows to the head.
He was getting good at this.
Killing that zombie earned him enough XP to level up.
Most players were still stuck at level 1, trembling behind locked doors.
But he was level 3 now.
Target killed. Gained 10 XP. Leveled up to Level 3. Attribute points increased.
"This time I didn't unlock another skill slot..."
Leonard muttered to himself.
Last level-up gave him a skill slot. This time, nothing. Still just one.
Only being able to equip one skill felt a bit limiting.
With two or three, he could start pulling off combos.
Leonard's rise in level didn't go unnoticed.
The public channel displayed every player's name and level ranked accordingly.
Now at level 3, Leonard was at the top, standing out like a beacon.
Only two players were level 2 and one of them was Max.
[Holy crap, Zore's level 3 already?!]
[How did he level up so fast?]
[He must've killed someone and zombies too.]
[What now? Are we supposed to go out and fight zombies too? No way!]
[I'm staying in.]
[Hey boss, take me with you! I wanna team up!]
[Anyone want to form a squad? There's strength in numbers!]
Leonard, at the top of the leaderboard, received some private messages.
Most were just people trying to curry favor.
Some female players even sent revealing photos and short videos using the capture function, offering them as... "bargaining chips."
Leonard ignored them all and focused on his mission.
He swept through the corridor once.
Then he went down to the 7th floor to continue.
Things looked a bit tougher on this floor.
Two zombies were clawing at a door, and one door was banging from the inside. Someone trapped inside was trying to break out.
Leonard's arrival drew the zombies' attention.
One rushed at him, slightly slower than a normal person, movements stiff and jerky.
Leonard wanted no part of a multi-target fight, so he finished the first zombie off quickly with his flashlight and axe.
The second zombie limped toward him, dragging one leg behind.
Leonard waited calmly, gripping his axe.
Then, from the far staircase, loud voices echoed.
A group of seven people came into view.
At the front was none other than Max!
They saw the zombie heading toward Leonard and instantly recognized him.
"It's that guy again. Zore, the top-ranked player!"
Someone pointed.
Max, with a tattoo on his neck, darkened his expression and gave Leonard a cold, sinister look.
Leonard calmly waited until the zombie got close, then sidestepped nimbly and landed a triple strike to the back of its head.
Bang bang bang!
The zombie dropped instantly.
The whole sequence was clean and surgical.
Three attacks, blindingly fast.
"That's a skill!"
Max's eyes widened, instantly realizing what was happening.
He was level 2 and had a skill slot but no skill.
Leonard's insane speed and even the visible airflow gave away that it was an active skill.
Having finished off the zombie, Leonard noticed Max's group.
He didn't react, just knelt down and calmly looted both zombies—cool and composed.
His demeanor made it clear. He wasn't afraid.
If he'd panicked, it would've shown weakness.
Max's eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward.
"Let's go meet him."
With Max leading, all seven approached Leonard, weapons in hand at least a wooden club each.
They weren't scared. They had numbers.
Just as they closed in, Leonard finished looting and found a coil of wire useful and rare.
He stuffed it in his backpack and looked up at them.
His gaze met Max's directly.
The air grew tense.
"what is it?" Leonard asked calmly.