Taking a few long deep breaths to calm himself, Gunther decided to figure out what the notifications were.

Skill Acquired? Dodge? Achievement Get? +15 Credits?

"Status!" Gunther said as a prompt filled his vision.

[Name]: Gunther Jones [Class]: N/A [Level]: 1 [Race]: Human Unassigned [Skill Points]: 0 [Credits]: 16

[Player] [Ability Stats]:

[Strength]: 11 [Dexterity]: 16 [Constitution]: 8 [Intelligence]: 18 [Wisdom]: 13 [Charisma]: 10

[Player] [Skills]:

"Dodge"

[Player] [Achievements]:

"HEADSHOT!"

I don't think this is a drill! Holy fucking shit, I have stats, levels, skills, credits, and fucking achievements? I wonder if there is a way I can spend these credits? Some game shop?

Thinking of the word shop brought up another menu that filled Gunther's Vision.

Welcome to the [Undead Era] [Player Shop]! Take +5 [Credits] on us, first-time shopper :)

Undead Era? Well, five more credits shouldn't hurt.

Gunther saw a giant shop window appear. The flash shop caught his eye.

Welcome to the [Flash Shop]! The [ Flash Shop] will update EVERY 12 HOURS with NEW EXCELLENT and UNIQUE [Items] from the [Human World]!

One Hour and Forty Minutes Remain Until the [Flash Shop] [Reset].

[Flash Shop] - Gunther Jones - 21 [Credits].

[Weapon] Katana - 20 [Credits] [Weapon] SIG Sauer P226 - 35 [Credits] [Item] Magickal Grimoire - 20 [Credits] [Item] The Way of Strategy - 25 [Credits] [Luck] +1 [Random] [Player] [Ability Stat] - 15 [Credits] [Item] Emergency Food Ration Pack - 20 [Credits] [Armor] Riot Helmet - 10 [Credits] [Pact] +2 [Charisma] - 35 [Credits] [Pact] + 5 [Levels] of "Martial Arts" [Skill] - 65 [Credits]

I could get a katana, a Magickal Grimoire, whatever that is? Maybe they spelled magic wrong? The extra stat is tempting, but I'm not sure how stats work yet. The riot helmet seems promising, but the emergency food pack could be my saviour. If I bought the food, I could stay here and reinforce my apartment. I could wait for this apocalypse thing to be over or make it longer until I need to scavenge for food. What's the deal with the pacts? They seem powerful.

Gunther contemplating his most optimal purchase in this new shop failed to notice he was no longer alone.

Knock, Knock.

Two light knocks came from Gunther's still open door. Gunther stood up and drew the knife he used to slay Moe.

"Pepperoni?" Said the man at the door.

Gunther began to prepare his trump card. He could have a katana at any second, vastly extending his reach.

"Have you been bitten?" Gunther said, adjusting his stance and becoming ready to leap at any moment.

"No, sir, apologies for the late delivery." The Pizza Man said, gesturing to a pizza box. The man clad in typical pizza delivery clothes, the sputters of red blood along his white shirt acted like an interesting pattern to the ensemble. In his right hand was a baseball bat with many nails protruding out the sides, resembling a form of mace; in his left a pizza box.

Gunther wasn't buying it.

That bat, maybe it was a shop purchase. This guy is dangerous.

"I don't want any trouble. Do you know what's happening? Where did you get that bat?" Gunther questioned the shady Pizza Man.

"I know as much as you, man; I got your pizza." The suspect Pizza Man said.

Fuck, what if he wants to deliver the pizza. But its the apocalypse? I was almost killed by a fucking zombie just now. Oh, Shit, Moe's body. It could have a weapon.

Gunther began searching Moe's pockets.

Who knows? The crazy bastard could have a gun.

"Sir, do you want your pizza or not?" The pizzaman said, interrupting Gunther's body search.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"First, have you seen any notifications? Weird prompts talking about skills and such?" Gunther said while standing up.

"Yes, I saw a few. I got an achievement too. It let me buy this bat." The man said, swinging his bat around as he was talking. The man decided to take another glance behind him.

I'm not going crazy, at least, I don't think so. This guy can see the notifications as well.

"It looks like we have company, dude; mind letting me in." The Pizza Man said, backing up into Gunther's apartment.

Gunther decided to team up with this odd Pizza Man as he seemed friendly enough and couldn't see any visible bite marks.

"Yeah, that's fine; I'll help you shut the door," Gunther said, catching up to the Pizza Man.

Managing to lock the door closed, they let out a sigh of relief. Even if there were some monsters on the other side, it should hold for a little.

"Mario, Bellini. Osteria." Mario said, extending his hand towards Gunther.

"Gunther," Gunther said, accepting the handshake with a confused expression plastered to his face.

"So, have you bought anything from the shop yet?" Mario said, resting the bat casually on his shoulder.

"Umm, not yet. I didn't see that bat listed on the Flash Shop." Gunther said.

"The Flash Shop looks terrible. I'm waiting until it resets. Nice apartment, by the way." Mario said, looking around the apartment.

"Umm, thanks; how much was the bat?"

"Just five credits. I bought a baseball bat for two credits and the nails for three," Mario said.

"That's genius. Could you make me one?" Gunther asked.

Mario's eyes glazed over slightly as a bat and a box of nails appeared on top of his pizza box. He placed the box on the floor and grabbed the baseball bat. A hammer appeared in Mario's hand as he worked on the baseball bat with practiced finesse.

"Any chance to level my weapon crafter skill." Mario chuckled, handing the now nail-ridden bat to Gunther. Gunther was at a loss for words. Not only had this person risked his life to bring him a pizza, but he purchased and made him a lethal weapon.

What an odd fellow. He seems almost to be enjoying himself.

[Weapon] [Weapon] Name: Mario's Nailed Bat of Friendship. [Special Effects]: +1 [Strength]. [Rarity]: [Uncommon]. 4-16 [Bludgeoning] or [Piercing] Damage.

Gunther's eyes lit up. "Mario, this is amazing. You just made a great weapon out of a few credits. Nonetheless, this increased my strength." Gunther said, a smile now plastered on his face.

Suppose my world is now some part of this insane system. Suppose I want any hope of survival. Then I better learn how to use this system.

"Thanks, Now we both have weapons; what should we try and get next?" Mario said, contemplating the Flash Shop he recently mocked. Gunther decided on what to purchase now that his situation had become much more favourable.

"Here," Gunther said, handing a riot helmet over to Mario. Gunther had purchased two riot helmets for ten credits each.

"Thanks a bunch!" Mario said as the helmet seemed to teleport from his hand onto his head.

"What the fuck? How did you do that?" Gunther said in shock.

"I just equipped the item, dude; chill," Mario said, his face smug.

[Armour] [Armour] Name: Riot Helmet. [Special Effects]: None - [Mundane]. [Rarity]: [Uncommon]. 80% [Damage Reduction] from [Bludgeoning] and [Slashing] Damage to the head while [Equipped]. 20% [Damage Reduction] from [Piercing] Damage to the head while [Equipped].

Would you like to [Equip] the Riot Helmet?

Yes No

Gunther mentally confirmed the Yes option. The riot helmet instantly appeared on his head, equipping the bat in tandem. Gunther started to feel a lot more optimistic about getting out of here.

"Mario, do you have somewhere safe to go? The number of potential zombies in this apartment complex is massive." Gunther said.

"Yes, Osteria," Mario said, gesturing to the pizza box.

Finally, Gunther ate his pizza and checked if Moe had anything that could help out.

[Weapon] [Weapon] Name: Brass Knuckles. [Special Effects]: None - [Mundane]. [Rarity]: [Uncommon]. +5 [Bludgeoning] Damage to "Martial Arts" [Skills] that involve punching.

These brass Knuckles could prove invaluable.

[Item] [Item] Name: 50g Bag of Sour Diesel. [Special Effects]: Too Low of an [Intelligence] [Player Stat] to see the details of this [Special Effect]. [Rarity]: [Uncommon].

Bastards. This fifty-gram score was huge; it should last me long enough until I can find some more. I guess increasing my intelligence score will reveal more about these notifications.

"Okay, once we come to grips with this system, I reckon we could fight our way out and get to Osteria," Gunther said.

"Fair enough, I have three skills currently. Stealth, weapon crafter, and nailed bat." Mario said.

"Could you try teaching me those skills? I can try teaching you my dodge skill." Gunther said.

"Sure." Mario agreed. After a few minutes of instruction from Mario, Gunther became more confident using his nailed bat.

[Skill] Acquired! Congratulations, you have learned the "Nailed Bat" [Skill].

Nice! I wonder if I can get more information on this skill.

Too Low of an [Intelligence] [Player Stat] to see the details of this [Skill].

Fuck. Again with the low intelligence. 18 doesn't even seem that low.

"You know, Gunther, you could join Osteria if you wanted. I could put in a good word," Mario said, looking serious.

"The pizza place?" Gunther said, confused.

"Osteria isn't just a pizza place, Gunther. Its owned by a powerful Italian mob family. Family Osteria." Mario said.

Damn, the fucking Italian mob. The mob could have guns, defences, food, and even a makeshift military force. That would also explain the absurd pizza delivery man.

"Mario, thanks. I will consider joining when we make it out of here." Gunther said, a smile on his face.

[Skill] Acquired! Congratulations, you have learned the "Stealth" [Skill].

[Skill] Acquired! Congratulations, you have learned the "Weapon Crafter" [Skill].

[Weapon] [Weapon] Name: Gunther's Wooden Spear. [Special Effects]: None - [Mundane]. [Rarity]: [Common]. 2-12 [Piercing] Damage.

After teaching their skills to one another and Gunther crafting himself a spear, they were ready to fight their way out.