[You have killed Lv.3 Zombie]
[You have earned 1200 Experience]
Ellis, breathing heavily after slaying yet another zombie, couldn't help but smile.
It was a gruesome sight, as blackened blood splattered across his clothes, mixing with older, dried ones. In front of him lay the zombies he had just killed, their bodies twisted in unsightly ways, all due to the terrible now seemingly blunt weapon he wielded.
Whether anyone could distinguish him from the other zombies now, given his blood-stained appearance, Ellis didn't know, but he didn't care either. He felt no freer, no more fulfilled than before, as the thrill, the indescribable feeling that he was truly alive in this moment, was enough for him.
He'd been killing zombies for about three hours since he woke up, and found a game like message window in front of him.
[You have been awakened]
[The "Twilight Codex" system has arrived on Planet Earth. You can now view your status.]
His first reaction was naturally disbelief, but after some checking, he came to accept that it was his reality.
The awakening had happened early in the morning, and since he was late, he immediately made a temporary weapon before heading outside and starting his hunt, all while staying in the vicinity of the house where he lived. He didn't want to be overrun by others due to an excuse like oversleeping.
Now, in just those few hours, he could barely recognize himself, or his own body, as his strength had greatly increased.
If he hadn't been asleep when the mana awakening happened and had started killing zombies since the very morning, what would the result have been? The outcome would have been even more astounding.
As his breathing became steady, Ellis placed a hand on his stomach, which had been sending clear signals of emptiness. Still, he decided to kill a few more zombies before finally really stopping; for he was hungry, after all the physical effort he had exerted, after all.
Having already made his decision, Ellis resumed walking, remaining cautious of his surroundings. He feared stumbling upon a large group of zombies with a mutated one among them, a scenario he'd already faced once in the past three hours.
It had been his hardest battle, one he'd barely got through unscathed. Though he believed that, if he faced them again, he'd triumph a lot more easily, he still felt he needed at least some rest, first, as one could never be too careful.
'Well, I doubt there's another group nearby.'
While thinking so, Ellis continued navigating his way through the residential buildings, some of which showed signs of damage.
He also noticed that a few people still remained in their apartments. They hadn't responded to the morning call for survivors to gather; instead, they had chosen to stay hidden in their homes.
Ellis would occasionally spot them watching him from their houses, but he didn't care. As long as they stayed out of his way, he wouldn't mind; otherwise, he had no problem sending them on the same trip as the other zombies.
Now, walking slowly with the blunt knife in hand, Ellis couldn't help but remember his wasted resolve, the decision he'd made yesterday after struggling through twenty-one years of life, only for it to vanish as soon as he woke up today.
Only for it to delay his leveling up journey!
Living in a small, militaristic country; one that, even in this modern world, faces a lot of interference from much stronger nations.
No, it was actually pretty much controlled!
So, naturally, life here, at the mercy of others, concealed under the word "democracy," couldn't be any harder.
But for every rule in the world, there is an exception, and in his country, it was no different.
Those connected to the upper echelons of the military, or to people from other countries, enjoyed an easy, even luxurious, life.
And he was supposed to be one of the privileged, as both sides of his family had military ties, high-ranking ones, at that, not to mention the other connections.
But because of his father's twisted personality, wanting to make up for everything he endured under his own father by forcing it onto his son from the woman his father had chosen, Ellis's life turned out even more miserable than that of the common people.
Ellis had been restrained and subjected to domestic violence for as long as he could remember, as the concept of children's rights, something he had only heard of online, didn't exist in his country.
He was also unable to choose anything in his life. Even now, far from home and in university, his life was still a huge mess.
Studying medicine, the only other prestigious path in his country aside from the military, was naturally his father's choice too. He wanted his other bastard son, from some whore, to succeed him in the military. He couldn't give that "glory" to Ellis, as he was not worthy of that "shit" apparently.
Even with his father taking out his frustration on him, there was still his sister and his mother, and while they were unable to provide him with physical support due to their own difficult situation, they still loved him and held him dear more than anything. And that made things a little more bearable for him.
But that was it. He still wasn't satisfied; he wasn't happy. Even then, he didn't know what he could do to make things better.
Especially after he had tried to rebel once against his father when he was a teen, only for things to spiral in an even worse direction later.
Still, Ellis didn't lose hope. He simply waited for something out of the ordinary, no matter what it was, to occur, something that would enable him to overcome his situation and his father.
He was waiting for a chance to turn the tables. But, in the end, reality wasn't like the stories, and nothing happened during his twenty-one years of life.
As time went by and he slowly lost hope, it was only yesterday that he finally decided to rebel against everything, and take more drastic measures after talking with his sister and mother.
He knew that there was no guarantee of a good outcome, but after grouping with his sister and mother, and putting into motion the plan he had been preparing long before… but had still felt wasn't safe enough, there was at least a chance of success.
With no change in his surroundings or circumstances, he had realized that if he didn't take matters into his own hands, then nothing would ever change, after all.