Ethan recognized this guy immediately. He was the vice president of the student council named Matthew Thorne, and they were in the same major.
Matthew was an old fossil who insisted on hierarchy. He was also notorious for hitting on girls in the department. Since he was very covetous of a title and higher rank, he joined the student council.
"Hi." Ethan greeted, waving one hand. All attention was drawn to him, not only for his size or his bronze shield but because he is a newcomer. If he were part of them before, they would have definitely noticed such a huge man.
"How did you get in?"
"Do you know how to get out?"
"Who are you?"
He was immediately bombarded with questions, everyone rushing at him.
Matthew became annoyed, shouting, "Everyone, calm down! Damn it!" All attention was back at him, and his annoyed expression, replaced by the smile of a saint. "Sorry for my outburst. A lot of things have been going on, and with you guys acting like children, it is really hard for me to think.
Matthew then walked through the crowds, standing beside Ethan and placing his hand on his shoulder like they were buddies. "Ethan here is a close friend of mine. Served in the military for four years, really big guy." He said, smiling at the crowd. "So please. Calm down. I will come up with a plan to protect you all."
Seeing Matthew and Ethan standing beside each other, the crowd quieted down, moving away. Ethan knew Matthew used him to gain control of them but didn't care much. It was the smart thing to do, and as Matthew said, it would be hard to think with all their noise.
'But your goal wasn't for control but leadership.' Ethan thought, looking down at Matthew, smiling at his handiwork.
Noticing Ethan staring, Matthew let go of his shoulder, looking up. "How did you become so... big?"
"Stat point."
"Oh, I see." Matthew mumbled, rubbing his jaw. He looked at the bronze shield saying, "A shoulder, I would guess."
"A Paladin." He corrected. Exposing your class may be a stupid idea for some people, but knowing your allies well is crucial for this current situation. Ethan wasn't going to try to fight the boss himself. Who knows how powerful that thing would be.
Matthew looked up, surprised that Ethan had corrected him. 'Normally, people would hide their class... I guess he already sees me as a leader.' He thought, smiling internally. 'With this meat shield on my side, I can take control of all these people in no time.'
"What is the plan?" A boy asked, walking up to them.
Matthew quickly scanned the boy with his special eyes. 'Mid fit, no weapons, cheap tracksuit. Trash.' He concluded, a smile growing on his face. "I am thinking. We might just have to wait for a rescue team."
"Wait a minute… Did you say we would stick it out? Right here?" The boy asked, visibly confused.
"Yes. What’s wrong with that?" Matthew hysterically retorted, the fake smile still plastered on his face.
"You saw the message that appeared after 1 million people reached level ten, right?" He asked, more confused.
"Yes. It said, recorded in akasha, XP gaining increased, dungeon..." Matthew finally realized the flaw in his plan. It was a wishful thought to think rescue would come. The army couldn't help people in every corner of the land. And even though they could, it would be stupid to expect help before the dungeon monsters get buffed.
'Haah. And I thought you were the vice-president of the student council." The boy mumbled with a sigh.
The smile on Matthew's face threatened to fall, so Ethan immediately stepped in. "If Matthew had enough time to think, he would have come up with a better plan." Honestly, if it were an ordinary school day, he would burst out laughing at Matthew's stupidity, but it wasn't. From his four years with Matthew, he learned a lot of things.
Matthew is a bastard who will do anything so things will go his way. If things don't go his way, he will go off, making sure the person who made it all happen pays. In a situation like this, if Matthew drops from the position of power, things won't work out well. Out of revenge for making him look stupid, he might do something that would cause their death.
"Please, leave and let us think this thought." Ethan continued. He is looking out for everyone by sticking to Matthew's side like a dog. Or else they either have to kill Matthew, or they will all die. The thought of killing a living being doesn't stick well with him.
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"That must be it." The boy half-heartedly said, walking away.
"If I wasn't distracted, I would have thought it through." Matthew said through clenched jaws, glaring at the boy walking away.
"So, what's the plan?" Ethan asked.
"Let me--"
"Zombies!" A scream came, cutting off Matthew.
Five zombies were seen dashing down the hall like an Olympic athletics with their red eyes focused on the 49 men in the lobby.
"Ethan!" Matthew shouted, with Ethan already moving.
"You don't have to tell me." He said.
He ran through the crowd, throwing people out of the way like they were rag dolls before putting his shield in front of him. Three zombies slam into his shield, and he immediately used it to throw the three zombies into the air.
Matthew saw the chance to show off, a grin growing on his face. He dashed forward before jumping on Ethan's raised shield. "Chain cut." He uttered, his arm holding the sword moving like a blur and decapitating all three zombies in the air.
Just then, two level 10 spearmen ran up behind Ethan, stabbing forward at the last two zombie's heads, killing them instantly. Matthew then dropped to the ground in front of Ethan, stabbing the head of the three zombies that fell next to him.
The moves looked so coordinated and smooth that it seemed as if they planned it out beforehand. Everyone was in awe at the performance that they started clapping like it was some kind of play.
"Please. Please. Keep it down." Matthew said, suppressing the grin growing on his face.
Ethan walked past Matthew and stepped on the head of a zombie, crushing it. This cashed shiver to go down the spine of those who saw it, including Matthew. If that man kicks them or remotely attacks them, what would happen? They thought.
Seeing what Ethan was doing, Matthew shouted. "Double-tap. These bastards are persistent. I don't yet know the part of the brain you should focus on, but I will find out soon." He then stabbed the head of a zombie next to him using one hand, saying, "Now, let's get on with the plan."
Everyone fixed their eyes on Matthew, waiting for him to speak. They now see him as their leader and the one who would bring them out of this mess.
"You guys saw the system message. Right?" He asked, scanning the room.
"Yeah."
"It said we have to kill the boss."
"When we tried to leave, something blocked out path."
Mutter started sounding through the crowd as Matthew shouted to get their attention. "It was a wishful thought to think rescue would come. The army couldn't help people in every corner of the land. And even though they could, it would be stupid to expect help before the dungeon monsters get buffed." He said, noticing the morale of the group go down exponentially. "Calm down. It is my responsibility to keep all of you safe, so trust me."
"We have to take the fight to the monster before it brings it to us." Matthew continued, pointing up. "So, who is with me?"
He looked around the room, everyone deadly silent. No one would want to risk their lives to kill a monster they know nothing about. Seeing this, Matthew said,
"The first 1 million people that leveled up allowed for the EXP we get from the monsters to increase. So you will level up and have the power to protect yourself and others." Matthew said, trying to make it sound less dangerous.
'So that's why these fuckers could level up. I had to kill more than 1,000 zombies and almost died just to reach level ten, and these fuckers level up without any hardship.' Angered, he slammed his shield into the ground, which caused spider webs cracks to spread out. "All you fuckers should stop acting like bitches. Either stand up and fight or stay here and die. I won't raise my shield to protect you pussies."
Everyone became more meek, acting like a child around their angered parent at his tone.
"I am in." One of the spearmen said, placing his spear on his shoulder. He looked to be in his early twenties, standing around 6 feet with a slim built build, long black hair that fell over his ear, and wore blue jeans and a black shirt. "I don't wish to fall behind in strength in this dangerous world."
Matthew smiled at this, but he frowned internally. 'If this keeps going on, he might steal my leadership.' He thought, saying, "Who else wants to join?"
"I am in." The other spearman said, spinning his spear. He looked exactly like the first spearman making Ethan think they were twins. "If my brother is going, I won't be left behind."
'I was right.' Ethan thought, turning to the two other level tens. One was a man holding a sword and shield, and the other is a man holding two daggers.
Matthew looked in the direction Ethan was looking, seeing the two-level tens. "Are you two coming?" He asked.
The one with the sword and shield shook his head, looking around as if ashamed. "I will stay here to protect everyone here."
"Me too--"
"Only one person is needed. We will be clearing every floor as we go up, so there is no need for two people." Matthew cut of the man, glaring at the man. "You are coming."
The man was about to refuse but seeing the eyes of the others, their eyes telling him to go or else he won't hear the end of it. He shut his mouth, standing up and moving behind the four of them.
"We only need one more and no more. We might be tangled up together in the hallway, which would be annoying in a fight." Matthew said, his eyes going straight to the boy who came up to him and made him seem stupid. "You. You would be coming with us."
Without waiting for a response, he pulled his sword out of the head of the zombie before turning around. Ethan knew that he was planning for the boy to die on this journey but gave it no mind.
"Let's head out." Matthew said, "Ethan, go in front. You, two spearmen, go behind him. Dagger, behind them. Non-level ten, behind him. And I will guard the rare."
Everyone listened as the formation formed. Ethan immediately started moving forward, going to the stares, and started climbing to the first floor. No one spoke, with the only sound being their footsteps or Ethan's shield occasionally scraping against the wall of the stares.
"So, Ethan. How heave is this shield." The first spearman to join them asked. He walked behind Ethan to the right, his spear on his right shoulder.
"Don't know." Ethan responded, looking at the bronze tower shield. "But it is light for me."
"Iron tower shield normally weighs 19 pounds. With that being bronze, I would say about 30ish." The second spearman said, looking at the shield. "May I ask what your strength is?"
"20." Ethan said as he kept walking. Noticing they weren't moving with him anymore. Turning around, he saw all of their shocked faces staring at him. "What?"
"Did you put all your ten stat points into strength?" The first spearman asked, staring at Ethan.
'So they only got one point each level? It might be because I was part of the top one million.' He thought. "Na. I already had fifteen straight."
"How strong were you--"
"We should focus on the task at hand." Matthew ordered from the back of the line.
"Sure." Ethan said, turning around and continued walking up the stairs. It became silence once more before Ethan broke the silence, asking, "So how many points do you guys get per level now?"
"Three. Jumping from one to three? The gap between a level ten and level twenty would be huge." The first spearman replied.
'So only in the first ten levels do I get an advantage... shame.' He thought, reaching the second floor. Without pushing open the door, he climbed to the third floor.
"Where are you going. We are supposed to clear each floor." Matthew shouted, seeing Ethan ignore his plan.
"Chill, bro. Just want to check something out." Ethan replied, continuing to head to the third floor. When he reached it, a red message popped up.
[Warning]
[Out of Bound]
[Clear the first floor to unlock the second floor]
[Return to the battle area before ten seconds]
Not wanting to see what happened after ten seconds, Ethan immediately returned to the second-floor stairs.
"The second floor is out of bound. Staying there for more than ten seconds would cause your death." He explained, going to the front of the group. "We have to clear all floors."
"That was the plan before." Matthew grumbled, pointing at the door. "Now, open it."
"Wait." Ethan said, closing his eyes and started praying. "God, I pray. Give me your sense." A golden glow grew on his body before expanding over 60 meters, forming an orb around him. When you are within the orb, you wouldn't notice it. But at the edge of the orb, you will see the golden aura marking the edge of the skill. "From my sense, I see 200 zombies." He said, turning to face the stunned group. "And that is only sixty feet in front of us."
"What skill was that?" The second spearman asked.
"Divine Sense. A Paladin's first skill." Ethan responded, turning to face the door.
"Get ready. This will be a hard floor. Ethan, you just focus on keeping the zombies in front of you, and the spearman would focus on stabbing the head of the zombies. Anyone that goes by would be killed by me or dagger guy. None level ten, you focus on finding something that can be used for a weapon." Matthew commanded, "Now, Ethan, open the door."