Ethan stared silently at the screen that floated before him. Everything around him stopped as if time stopped moving. He thought back to his rage and his descent to madness. He was sure he was going to turn into a zombie, but the system saved him.
So now, he has to pick.
Using his mind, he clicked the first one to see its description.
[Pain Path]
[Become stronger, faster, more durable, etc. from the pain of oneself and others, possibly unlocking abilities related to the affinity and enhancing the existing powers]
'Huh...' He thought to himself, looking at the description. 'Amazing power for masochists, but it seems like an interesting path.' He had no more opinion on it, so he went to the second path.
[Fighter Path]
[Sturdy class with good melee and missile capabilities. Generally very average in abilities and skills]
'This seems like a better path than the last one. With this, my fighting ability would be better. Fighters are basically tanks but with attack powers.' He stopped to think for a while, 'But, they are too basic. If I had to choose between fighter and pain, I would choose pain. Just because it isn't as common.' He thought, going to the third one.
[Berserker Path]
[Tremendously powerful in melee combat, but completely incapable at magic. They have high resistance to damages, and Rage gives a wonderful bonus to damage]
'...This must have come from when I raged on the zombies...' He thought, reading the description. 'I don't want to lose my mind in anger, so this is out of the question. But still better than the other two.'
[Monk Path]
[Monks can use their fists as weapons, providing them with powerful unarmed attacks. Difficult to start but immensely powerful as the path is explored]
'The class that fits me the best.' He had nothing else to say about the monk path, so he went to the last path.
[Paladin Path]
[They are melee fighters with a strong ability for divine casting. Paladins can both participate in battle and aid companions by healing them]
'Paladins are the most durable, survivable, and self-sufficient class in all fantasy games I have played. They both make excellent solo characters and are excellent additions to nearly any party regardless of existing capabilities.' Ethan thought, already knowing what class he was going to pick.
Out of all of them, Paladin was the best. He won't be going solo as going solo in an apocalypse is stupid, but when the time comes, it is definitely possible.
So he picked Paladin.
It was an obvious choice. Survivability was top tier, damage mid-tier, and support mid-tier. If he wanted to join a team, he would be a crucial member, and if he goes solo, it would be less dangerous. Their self-healing and buffs will come in clutches and would save his life at desperate moments. What else do you need?
[Paladin Path chosen]
[Compatability 49%]
[Due to the low compatibility, a chance to change path would appear at level 11]
[Biggener item gained]
[Returning to the real world]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Your body was severely wounded]
[Looking for alternate options...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Consuming all path point to heal body]
[Healing...]
[Completed]
[Welcome]
Ethan opened his eyes with a gasp, finding himself back in the real world. Looking around, he saw thousands of dead zombies lying around him, with him standing on top of a large pile. The moon still hung in the sky, but it was back to its white color.
He looked at his body, finding himself naked with his body healed with no stain of blood left, except for his legs covered in blood. He was also holding a bronze tower shield half his height. Frantically searching his body for any bite mark or sign of mutation, he found nothing, sighing in relief after he found nothing.
'Luck saved me. I leveled up to level 10 before being erased.' He thought to himself, remembering falling into an empty void. It made him shiver.
The loneliness he would have. He hadn't even entered the void, and he was already losing his sense of self. Looking around, he smiled.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He gave these zombies happiness. Death is their only salvation.
Shaking his head, he cleared his mind of those thoughts, slapping his face. "Let's focus. Status screen." He called out. A gold screen with a silver rim popped up.
[Ethan Hawke -
Paladin Path: 10(+3 stat point every level)
Race: Human
Job: None
Mana: 10/10 (1/min)
Vitality: 15 | Strength: 20 | Speed: 15 | Charisma: 9 | Wisdom: 14 | Dexterity: 13 | Defence: 0 |Free stat point: 8 | Path Point: 0
Path Skills: Divine Sense, Lay on Hands
Skill: Arm Enhancement, Legs Enhancement]
Ethan immediately noticed the change. First, his level was replaced by Paladin Path, meaning he may only gain one path. But the message did say he could change Path at level 11, so it might be different. All his path points were gone. He now gets three stats points for every level instead of 2. The sense stat is now charisma. Intelligence now wisdom. And he has two new stats, Dexterity and Defence.
"It seems like sense and intelligence isn't useful for Paladins, so they replaced it for something useful. Well, let's see what these path skills are." He said, clicking on the first one.
[Divine Sense
Type: Active
Level: 1/100
Cost: 5mp
Prayer: God, I pray, give me your sense
Effect: The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. Activate it, and for the next five seconds, you will know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity.
Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Lay on Hands
Type: Active
Level: 1/100
Cost: 10mp
Prayer: God, I pray. Give me the ability to heal these wounds
Effect: Your blessed touch can heal wounds. At the current level, you can only heal small wounds.
Cooldown: 10 seconds]
Seeing these path skills, he couldn't help but get excited. With the first one, he would know the location of monsters when activated. And the lay on hands, he won't need to worry about light injuries.
His excitement immediately left as they came when he remembered his MP stat and how long it takes to regain. "My mana. How do you gain those?" He asked himself. Thinking for a while, he decided to add one point in wisdom to see its effect.
Unsurprisingly, his mp stat didn't increase, but he did notice a change in his mentality. His was calmer than before. He doesn't know how to explain it in more detail, but that's what he felt.
"Eh. Maybe it has more effect I haven't found out." Ethan sighed, looking back at his stat.
Since he is a Paladin, his build won't change much. Strength and vitality would increase his size and weight, increasing his defense. Paladins are melee combatants, and more in those stats let them stay in combat for longer. The next would be Dexterity, as it is preferable for finesse weapons. Wisdom is next. As a front line, keeping a calm mind is significant. Speed comes next, then charisma and defense.
Taking a deep breath, he immediately placed 5 points in Vitality, bringing it to 20. His organs started shifting within his body, causing him great discomfort but no pain. After thirty seconds, the discomfort switched to his skin and bones, feeling as if millions of ants were biting on them. The discomfort traveled throughout his body, ending after five minutes.
"I guess now have a peak human body. Having Peak Human Durability, Peak Human Endurance, Peak Human Immune System, Peak Human Metabolism, Peak Human Longevity, Peak Human Survivability." He muttered, a wide grin growing on his face. "Hehe. The taste of strength is astonishing." He was certain no one below level 10 could beat him. Even bullets won't be much of a threat anymore. In this new era, he was one of the strongest beings.
Suppressing his excitements, which was hard, he threw the remaining two into Dexterity, bringing it to 15. His posture became better with his balance changing. It wasn't as good as it was when he had the boot but it was better than it was before.
'Time to find some clothes before heading to dorm A.' He thought to himself, looking at the dark dorm a. None of the light in the building was on, but he was sure he saw the silhouette of a man staring at him before it quickly ducked away.
Ignoring it, Ethan began walking back to dorm B.
Entering the building through the front door, a zombie jumped at him, and he casually swang his shield, slamming the zombie into the wall. He used it to pin it to the wall before punching its head, crushing its brain, and killing it instantly.
Shaking the blood out of his fist, he walked to the first room, finding five zombies in there. Quickly taking care of them, he proceeded to search the room, looking for clothes for his new size. Finding nothing, he went to the next room.
He searched to the third floor, killing 43 zombies along the way, before finding clothes that fit him. It was an XL-sized T-shirt with the attack on titan logo imprinted on it, long black pants, and a belt around his waist. During his journey to get clothes, he found out his height increased to 6'5 and weighing 287 pounds. He is powerfully built, with short messy black hair, dark brown eyes, and light skin.
Picking up his shield, Ethan walked out of dorm B, going straight to the back door of dorm A. Reaching the door, he tried to open it but found it locked, which wasn't a problem as he could easily break it.
'Na. It is a Steel Door with Sub-Frame. I don't think I would be able to break it.' Ethan thought to himself, knocking on the door. "I might be able to pull it out its hinge... well, let's try."
As he was about to pull on the door, he saw the other door down the hall get opened. A scrawny boy walks to the front of the door, holding a broomstick while trembling. He had short black hair and wore a messy black button-up shirt and brown dress pants. It seems like he was getting ready for something until all hell broke loose.
"W-wh-who are y-you?" He stammered, pointing the stick at him.
"Ethan Hawke. A student of this school and totally not a zombie." Ethan replied, looking at the boy who trambled further. "Can you open the door?"
He vigorously shook his head, "N-no. It is against the rule."
"Understandable," Ethan muttered with a nod. With that, he pulled the door as hard as he could, ripping it out of its hinge with a loud noise.
The boy stepped back, falling to his butt as he saw Ethan's full size. A man this muscular is not in our school. Even though he is a freshman, he wouldn't have forgotten someone as big as him or would have heard of this man from others. He thought, letting go of the broom crawling backward while still on his butt.
Ethan smiled at his reaction, "No worries. I won't crush you." He said it in a manner, letting the boy know he could do it. Fear was the best way to gain control. 'Well, I already had control over the situation.' He thought to himself, knowing he did that to scare the boy.
And it worked.
The scranny boy pissed his pant as the giant carrying a bronze shield almost his height on his right arm gave him a crazy smile. Just as Ethan walked in, a message popped up.
[You have entered a duengion]
[Duengion: Feeding School]
[Dificulty: Biginner]
[Clear mission: Kill the boss on the fifth floor]
[Timer: 49 minutes left. Monsters will get buffed when time runes out]
[Entry Limitation: 49/100]
[Note: The baby is born, and it is feeding time]
"Fuck" He muttered to himself. Who would have thought Dorm A would be a building? Turning around, he tried to leave, but a purple barrier stopped him. "I am trapped."
"T-this is a dungeon." The scranny boy said in a low voice.
Ethan glared at the boy, causing him to shiver. "Like I didn't notice that."
Ethan then walked past him, going to the door at the end of the hall and opening it. Just as he opened it, multiple items were thrown. Bringing the bronze shield in front of him, he ducked behind it, blocking all the projectiles.
"I respect that as it was self-defense," Ethan spoke loudly from behind the shield, standing up straight. Behind the door stood seven boys, each of them looking like the typical nerd. "But what if it was your guy?"
They looked at each other, not knowing what to say before one of them spoke up. "We had a code." He said, trying to sound as confident as he could.
Ethan knew they were lying but decided to get down to the matter at hand. "Where are the others?" He asked, knowing there's no way they could survive by themselves.
"They are in the lobby." The one who spoke up replied.
Nodding, Ethan walked through the halls, making multiple turns, before reaching the lobby. There he saw 40 men gathered in the lobby with hundreds of dead zombies around them. Given that only four of them were holding actual weapons, it was obvious that there were only a few who had hit level ten.
It was rowdy, with everyone screaming at each other. One man kept shouting at another who held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, spitting on his face. Two others were about to start going at each other throats. Many were vomiting, some even fainting. Everything was a mess, and the stench of the dead zombies wasn't making it any better.
"Everyone, calm down!!" A blond-haired handsome man wearing the student council jumper shouted. He held a long sword in one hand, showing he was a level ten. The room lobby became silent, with some muttering at each other. "The student council will figure it out!" He shouted once more.
"What the fuck is the student council going to do!?"
"Yeah, what!?"
"Go kill the boss, and we will be out of here!?
"Please calm down and lower your voice. Monsters in the top floors may come down due to your noises. Please follow my instructions!” He continued, trying to gain control of the crowd. His eyes finally stopped on Ethan standing by the door that led to the lobby. "Ethan? Is that you?"