Jyera World Apocalypse

A Level 1 zombie moved slowly through the streets in an eternal, endless cycle. It observed its surroundings, crossed the street from one side to the other, observed again, and crossed again. This was the pattern of a low-intelligence zombie, and it would only break this pattern if it heard a noise or saw something moving.

"Swish"

"Sssk"

A white arrow pierced the air and struck one of the doors of a black SUV, catching the zombie's attention. But before it could get close enough to the source of the noise, another arrow tore through the air and pierced its chest.

"Thunk"

"Oaarrgh"

The attack startled the zombie, and it continued to look around, trying to figure out who had wounded it. This instinctive survival trait was the only trait they possessed.

"Swish"

"Throw"

"Oaargh"

The zombie groaned again as another arrow struck its abdomen, but all it could see were two tall buildings on opposite sides, and an empty street with abandoned vehicles...

"Throw"

"Thump"

Finally, after the fourth arrow, the zombie was hit in the head and fell dead to the ground.

***

[You killed a level 1 zombie!]

[Obtained Creation Points x4]

"That was harder than I thought it would be..."

Lucien said the words in a pitiful tone as he nocked his fifth arrow to his bow.

He was now on the second-story balcony of his building. It was a high, safe spot, with a prime view of the street for this first attempt at practicing on live targets with his new weapon.

The first zombie was barely 50 meters away, and he had already suffered so much. It seemed he would need a lot of practice before he became a good shooter.

Turning his gaze back to the street, Lucien soon spotted a second target.

Unlike the previous zombie, this one wasn't moving. It stood hidden at the entrance of a dark alley, only occasionally poking its head out cleverly and carefully, as if waiting for an unsuspecting target to pass by.

A Level 2 zombie, clearly waiting for another victim to emerge from the buildings.

Taking a deep breath, Lucien fired again, this time aiming to hit the zombie's head as it appeared to peer down the street. But since he was a little over 70 meters away this time, three arrows had already been fired, and most of them didn't even reach the zombie's head.

But this time, the zombie realized it was being shot at; not only that, but it also discovered where the arrows were coming from. When Lucien nocked the fourth arrow, he saw the zombie completely emerge from the alley and look up in his direction.

Lucien realized he had been spotted and panicked, firing the fourth arrow too quickly, missing completely.

The zombie began to run toward the building, and Lucien desperately tried to hit it, but the most he managed was an arrow to the abdomen, which infuriated it even more.

When the zombie reached the massive grate at the building's entrance, it leaped high and reached the top, almost entering the building in a single bound.

Lucien desperately fired another arrow as he climbed the final section of the grate, hitting another arrow, this time in the arm.

But even with two arrows in its body, the tenacious zombie finally entered the building, falling to the ground at an awkward angle. Without any signs of injury, it got up, ready to run to the reception area.

But its attempt to harm Lucien ended right there, when a black cat the size of a black panther ambushed it from the side, knocking it to the ground.

Its massive feline jaws opened and closed around the zombie's skull, making a snapping sound and crushing its head, killing it instantly.

[Your pet has killed a level 2 zombie!]

[Obtained Creation Points x4]*1

Lucien breathed a sigh of relief. The system had warned him about the strength, intelligence, and resilience of these level 2 zombies. But he never expected the zombie, which appeared so cowardly and calculating, to come at him so boldly. Luckily, he had left Mr. Mustache loose on the ground floor after his morning walk, or he would have had to deal with that monster hiding inside the building...

After his last experience with the level 2 zombie, Lucien changed apartments, using the window of the opposite apartment on the second floor to continue shooting, but this time, he prioritized only the level 1 zombies until he gained more experience with the bow and arrow.

He continued his practice until he had used up all 30 or so arrows he had made so far. Only then did he finally set out with Mr. Mustache to collect the corpses of the zombies he had managed to kill and retrieve the arrows he had fired.

With more corpses obtained, more arrows were created, and Lucien fired more and more arrows daily, improving his skills, while also safely collecting numerous crystals daily in preparation for his journey.

Lucien kept in touch with his friends via radio every day, and the days passed quickly. At the end of the third week after the apocalypse began, it began to snow at night, but the snow still couldn't accumulate... And when it finally reached a little over 30 days since the apocalypse began, a message full of information was sent by a survivor to all radio stations.

"Hello, my name is Rick, and just like you, I am one of the survivors of Jyera... I am currently transmitting from the Gherian Continent... First of all, I ask that you do not respond to this message, since we are probably being heard by someone with bad intentions. I have some essential information so that all of you can survive this apocalypse..."

"The first one is about how to use the crystals that are inside zombies and monsters to strengthen yourself and become stronger..."

"The second piece of information is about the winter that is coming to Jyera and probably Jyor too, due to the blockage of sunlight. You still have about 30 days before it starts. Gather supplies and wood to keep warm during the worst part of the winter; this difficult period will last for a long time. last almost 1 year… During this time, only level 3 mutant humans should be able to walk outside; anyone who tries to do so will probably freeze in minutes… So only leave your hiding places if it is strictly necessary…"

"The third piece of information is about the end of winter, when this happens, the first level 3 mutant zombies will emerge. Do not try to fight these aberrations… Run away, find a new shelter, and try to share information about these monsters among the groups of survivors… Cooperation between humans is essential for us to survive… The powers and abilities of these monsters can vary, but the most dangerous are those with non-human traits such as…"

"And lastly, even though it is just a theory, I must still warn you… Somehow, I know about the future of the apocalypse, and I am sharing parts of this future with you, to the point of putting my group in danger…"

"Since the first day of the apocalypse, I ended up being the target of two assassination attempts in a row; one by drones and the other by a type of android of unknown origin… A surviving space engineer analyzed one of the drones and the android's arm after the life-and-death battles I went through, and we were able to confirm that its material and technology were not originally from our species… I suspect that this apocalypse we are facing is not natural either…"

"For now, just be careful, and act cautiously with my last warning in mind. Stay safe, become stronger using the crystals, and survive!"

Shocked by the message, Lucien immediately asked the system his biggest question about the man named Rick:

"Is he one of the System Holders?"

[I can't confirm this information. But he could be someone special who can remember the previous apocalypse; there should be some of them scattered throughout Jyera…]

Lucien didn't give up hope of finding the others who also had a system and asked again:

"What about the communication system? Has there been any progress in fixing it? I wish I could talk to this Rick; he seems like a good person, and he's also on the same continent as us."

[I may need to disable most of my primary functions to focus on recreating this nonexistent function. Also, I repeat, stay away from strangers until you can become stronger and have more experience discerning good people from bad. Otherwise, they'll just use you because of your skills…]

"But… I thought maybe I could help him and his group with the items I can create… He also said they tried to assassinate him just because he knew what he knows. Speaking of which, shouldn't you have told me the apocalypse was caused by aliens? That's something very important…"

[This is a topic that would be explained to you later… This person named Rick may not be a System holder, but someone close to him certainly is. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to convey that kind of message on a large scale with the technology issues. But now that he's done it, he's just put a big target on his back.]

"So, you mean the aliens are really real? And that he's now in danger?"

[There were many theories about the origin of the apocalypse, and an attack by an alien race was always considered. Mainly because there were groups of suspicious humans doing dangerous things that only worsened the apocalypse... When the time comes, we'll look for more clues about this. Right now, just focus on your own missions and problems...]

Lost in thought, Lucien reflected on the system's last words and turned his attention to the wall in the dining room. There was a detailed map of the route he would have to take in the coming days to get supplies to his friends to survive the winter. Unlike what Rick had said, only people in the central regions of Jyera had four weeks; in Kaelor, they had less than two weeks...

Besides going to his friends, the route marked on the map also passed through places like small markets and convenience stores, as well as many places where he would plant bombs...

Without realizing it, Lucien stayed until nightfall, fiddling with the maps and reviewing his plans, and for the first time, the light in his apartment was on, allowing another survivor to notice his apartment from afar...

***

AN: This chapter has paragraph notes from the Author.

Remembering that he only gets half the points when it is the pet that kills.