The setting sun painted the ruins of the school in warm shades of amber and gold, but Adam looked at it without much awe. There was no room in his eyes for the beauty of colors.
He sighed heavily and scratched his head.
"Guess I'm sleeping here tonight," he muttered, turning back toward the interior.
He walked back into the school and made his way to one of the classrooms on the ground floor. The door creaked softly as he opened it, and the room greeted him with a chill and the scent of old dust. He dropped his backpack to the floor as if that gesture alone confirmed it would be his shelter for the night.
He sank onto one of the desks in a classroom that had once likely been used for biology. Now, only peeling paint and crooked chairs remained. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a water bottle and an energy ration. He chewed slowly, reluctantly, as if each bite was another slap to his dignity.
"This is disgusting," he muttered. "Next time I need to find a place where I can cook something decent."
"Finally, you're speaking some sense," came Valeria's voice as she appeared in the doorway like a shadow. "I can't wait to taste your cooking."
Adam blinked at her.
"Do you even need to eat? And who said I'd cook for you?"
Valeria smiled sweetly.
"I don't have to. But I enjoy it. And you should be honored to cook for a creature as beautiful as me."
Adam just raised an eyebrow and snorted before returning his gaze to the system window.
[Essence Record]
Name: Adam
Level: 5
Race: Human
Age: 21
Class: None
Title: None
HP: 70 / 100
Mana: 20 / 170
Strength (STR): 31 (1)
Agility (AGI): 22 (8)
Vitality (VIT): 25
Intelligence (INT): 7
Free Stat Points: 4
[Active Skills: Void Manipulation (Phase I, Tier: Novice) – Allows limited manipulation of attractive and repulsive forces on nearby low-mass objects. Effectiveness depends on the user's INT, mana, and imagination.]
[Passive Skills: Toughened Flesh (Unclassified Skill , Tier: Novice) – Slightly reduces incoming physical damage by reinforcing muscle fibers and bone structure. Current Effect: Physical Damage Received −3%]
[Equipped Artifacts:
Scout's Gloves (Normal Artifact) – Agility +2, increased grip precision, moisture resistance
Bloodshadow Dagger (Normal Grade) – +1 STR | +1 AGI
Shadowrunner Boots (Rare Grade) – Agility +5 | Movement Speed +5% | Sound Suppression +10%]
He looked at the numbers and shook his head.
"Thirty-one strength... Seriously?" he whispered in disbelief. "Didn't think that would be the first stat to skyrocket."
Next was Vitality—twenty-five points. No wonder his recent injuries vanished like he'd had proper medical care. Agility came next. Nominally twenty-two, but eight of those came from artifacts. Without the boots and gloves, he'd be much slower.
He glanced at Intelligence. Seven. Unmoving, as if the system itself was telling him: "Magic's not for you, buddy."
At least his mana had increased.
Still, after the last battle, it had nearly dropped to zero.
Adam furrowed his brow.
"So I added 120 points and ended up with 170... and after one fight I've only got twenty left?" he muttered. "Void Manipulation drains mana like a leech, or I'm just ridiculously wasteful."
He turned to Valeria.
"Hey... tell me something. How much mana does Void Manipulation actually consume?"
Valeria raised an eyebrow, thinking.
"Not entirely sure. Manipulation-type skills are... unique. As far as I know, simple usage drains mana at a rate of one unit per second while active. Like when you swing your daggers or lift metal rods. But that's just a general rule."
She paused, watching him carefully.
"But what you did to that mutated zombie? I can't measure that. If you dumped all your energy into a single burst, you'll have to start measuring it yourself. That's the only way you'll learn to manage the skill."
Adam nodded slowly.
"Yeah... that adds up," he admitted softly. "When I was lifting those metal shards, I didn't feel much drain. But that last hit... felt like someone drained me dry in one go. Next time I better watch the mana bar before I do something stupid."
He sighed and pulled his phone from his backpack. The screen remained black.
"Of course," he muttered. "Didn't charge it. If I'd known Doomsday was gonna hit the same day as lectures, I'd have packed power banks and spare batteries."
He stared at the dead device as if willing it back to life. The thought of his family hit him like a punch. If he just had one chance—one percent of battery—he could call. Hear his mom's voice. His dad's. His sister's.
The thought alone made his shoulders drop. His eyes glossed over unexpectedly, tears threatening to form before he could stop them. He wiped his face quickly with the back of his hand before anything could escape.
"Even if it worked, there probably wouldn't be any signal," he whispered to no one.
He set the phone aside and reached for bandages. Pulling up his shirt, he examined the massive purple bruise spreading along his ribs where the four-armed mutant had struck.
"Over twenty points in Vitality isn't for nothing," he murmured with quiet satisfaction. "Before the apocalypse, I'd be dealing with cracked bones after a hit like that. Now? Just a bruise."
"Good thing I activated that invisible barrier in time," he muttered. "It absorbed most of the impact. If that blow had landed clean..."
He changed the bandages on his forearm. The wounds looked surprisingly good—like his reinforced body was healing faster than it should.
His jaw clenched as the memory of the strike returned. "And at least it didn't make direct contact. If zombies can infect through skin, then avoiding that was worth every mana point."
"Romantic imagery," Valeria commented from the doorway, leaning with a sly grin. "You really know how to set a mood."
She paused for a moment, then added, "Although I think you might be mixing up some terms. You keep saying Vitality is the reason you're healing faster, but that's mostly HP at work. HP governs the rate of recovery and how much punishment your body can repair over time—it's what helps bruises fade faster and cuts close sooner. Vitality, on the other hand, is more about your overall physical condition—stamina, resilience, how long you can fight without collapsing, and how resistant your body is to taking damage in the first place. It's the stat that determines how long you can keep swinging when others start dropping, and how tough your flesh is when the hits come."
Adam frowned. "Then why are my wounds healing faster even though my max HP is still a hundred? That doesn't make sense."
Valeria tilted her head. "That's the point. You have a hundred HP to spend—your body can burn through it to accelerate healing. Think of it like fuel. If you break your leg, it might cost 300 or 400 HP to heal it in under a minute. Your system can do that. But obviously, it would drop your HP dangerously low, even to zero."
He blinked, not quite grasping it. "So... it's not a health bar? It's like... energy I can trade for healing?"
"Exactly," she nodded. "But you should never push it to zero unless you're desperate. Natural HP regen is painfully slow. Always keep a buffer—just in case."
Adam nodded slowly, processing her words, then looked up at her with a new glint in his eyes.
"Alright... that makes some sense," he said, rubbing his chin. "But changing the subject—Valeria. These zombies... can they infect you? I mean, is it like some kind of disease? Does it need direct contact with the skin? Or is there another way it spreads?"
Valeria looked at him with a faint smile that gave nothing away. Her gaze was too calm, too playful—like someone who knew the answer but had no intention of sharing it.
Adam sighed and looked away.
"Right... forget I asked," he muttered and lay down, closing his eyes.
The night passed quietly. Adam lay on his side, seemingly asleep, but his body remained tense. One hand rested close to the hilt of the Bloodshadow Dagger, ready to strike even in rest. The constant danger countdown had faded, but instinct wouldn't let him relax completely.