Lost in Confusion
According to her, she and her friend were having a night of partying at the KTV. Since the next day was Sunday and there was no school, they planned to party until morning. But at midnight, when they heard a strange sound, they didn't think much of it. They figured it was just a problem with the KTV equipment. It wasn't until some friends started screaming and falling to the floor that they knew something was wrong.
At first, she tried to help her friends who were in pain. But then, one of the girls who was hurting jumped at another girl who was trying to help. Even when people begged her to stop, the girl kept attacking, biting into her friend. Panic spread as others on the ground started biting the people close to them. It was total chaos.
Zombies weren't new, and with the fallen girls turning into flesh-hungry beings, everyone at the party ran away in a hurry. They weren't all friends; they only knew each other because of the girl who threw the party, a rich classmate whose dad owned a fancy hotel. The girl and a few others escaped from the crazy scene in the KTV room and found lots of confused people outside. They didn't stop running until they were out of the building. But the screams kept going as hundreds of KTV rooms filled with people crying for their lives.
The scene was like a bad dream; lots of car crashes happen with people screaming in pain. For a sixteen-year-old like her, who never really hurt anyone, it was clear she wasn't ready for this new reality. The surrounding chaos left her in pieces, but a few girls convinced her that going to the city outskirts and waiting for things to calm down was the best plan.
After some searching, they found a taxi, but during their escape, the taxi driver suddenly turned on them, grabbing one of the girls. Not knowing the other girl well, she quickly decided to run away alone, opening the door and fleeing. The group started with five people, but one got bitten. The girl in the front ran out through the right door, while the two girls at the back went through the left. She was near the driver and chose to go out through the left door.
As for how she got here, she said, "When I reached the outskirts, I found some zombies nearby. Scared for my life, I hid in a construction site. It seemed like a place where zombies wouldn't be, as construction workers usually aren't there on midnight Saturdays. I stayed hidden there for three days."
She stopped, feeling emotional. "Th... Thanks to the tons of food at the party, I didn't eat for two days. But today, unable to handle the hunger, I went out to find food. Just as I was about to go into a nearby convenience store, a zombie attacked me, and I screamed."
Her eyes went to the road. "My scream brought two more zombies, and I thought I was done for... until you showed up," she said, looking guilty.
Lucas, who had a midnight snack of strawberry grape cake, spent his first day sleeping and lived far from the center of the village near a lake, coughed a bit, acting embarrassed.
"So, what's your name?" Lucas asked, now looking at the girl next to him.
Startled by the question, she paused before saying, "I-... I'm... My name is Lucy. Nice to meet you."
"Hi, Lucy. My name is Lucas," he said with a warm smile, focusing on her.
"What level are you at?" he asked.
Lucy looked confused by his question, wondering if he meant some game level.
"I don't play games much," she said, not getting his question.
"No, I mean your system level," Lucas explained, looking at her, a bit puzzled by her answer.
Lucy stared at him blankly for a moment.
"Opening system!"
He pointed at the holographic words that appeared in front of him.
---
Name: Lucas Tharla
Age: 16 years old
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Level: 5 (210/400)
Stats:
Agi: 14 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Str: 24 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Int: 25 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Vit: 25 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Unallocated Stat Points: 2
Skills:
Unallocated Skill Points: 5
Coins: 15
Achievements Completed: 2 ᐃ
Items: 3 ᐃ
---
Now in the narrow path she came from, Lucy followed his gaze as he pointed at what looked like a brick wall. She couldn't understand what he meant.
'Is he insane?' she thought, feeling confused.
"Come here with me," Lucas said, grabbing her hand and leading her away.
Lucy, surprised by the sudden touch and the whole situation, couldn't find her words. She found herself being pulled along by him, unable to keep up mentally.
Their journey eventually took them to the entrance of a white building. As Lucas led her inside, Lucy struggled to keep up and struggled to keep her thoughts in check. An uneasy feeling crept over her as she imagined different bad things that could happen. Just thinking about it made her shiver and almost brought her to tears.
Lucas, seeing her distress, quickly understood the situation and let go of her hand.
"Touch this!" he said, pointing at a button on a nearby black table.
Startled by his choice of words and fearing his intentions, Lucy looked up at him. But her gaze moved as she followed his finger to the black table. There, in a corner, she saw a button.
She hesitated, biting her lip. "Should I press this?" she mumbled, unsure.
Seeing her uncertainty, Lucas gave her a reassuring smile and nodded, trying to say it was safe. However, Lucy found his smile more unsettling than calming, given the situation.
After thinking about it, Lucy bit her lip again and closed her eyes. With caution, she reached out her finger and pressed the button.
"Ting!"
The sound of something metallic dropping echoed in her ears as soon as her finger touched the button. Startled, she quickly pulled her hand back and shut her eyes, getting ready for whatever might happen.
Opening her eyes, Lucy looked at the black table in confusion. Nothing seemed to be happening, and she gave Lucas an unsure look. Why would he have her press the button if nothing was going on? 'Yeah, this man is crazy,' she thought, becoming more skeptical.
But her confusion didn't last long as multiple sounds echoed in her mind.
---
[System Class Change Detected, Starting System Profile!]
"Opening system!"
---
A holographic screen appeared above the black table, and Lucy's eyes widened in surprise.
---
Name: Lucy Lyons
Age: 16 years old
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Level: 0 (0/10)
Stats:
Agi: 7 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Str: 12 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Int: 17 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Vit: 32 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Unallocated Stat Points: 0
Skills:
Unallocated Skill Points: 0
---
"Hmm?" Lucy said, as if she was looking for some answers from Lucas. To her surprise, he just grinned and pointed at the black table. She turned back to the table, and this time, a holographic screen appeared above it. It looked like the profiles she had just seen.
But the message on the screen wasn't what she thought.
---
[Class Change Initiated!]
[Error, The Player Hasn't Reached the Level Requirement Yet!]
---
Lucy got even more confused, and she was left without words for a moment. She had just gone through a lot—from being scared for her life to doubting Lucas's intentions to dealing with strange technology. Her head was spinning, and she couldn't understand everything that had happened.
As if there weren't enough surprises, the holographic display changed again.
---
Achievement Cleared:
[Bronze] Eighty-Eight to Discover the Class Change Building.
Rewards:
Basic Katana [Uncommon]
---
"A katana?" Lucy said, looking at the black blade that had appeared in front of her. She was getting less surprised by the weird things happening. After all, her brain could only handle so much. She picked up the katana and checked its length, which was about 60 cm.
Feeling both confused and frustrated, Lucy looked at Lucas, who still had a smile on his face. She figured that asking him more questions might not give her the answers she wanted.
"Is that it?" she asked, still finding it hard to believe.
But the holographic screen had more to show her.
---
[System Items Detected, Updating System Profile!]
---
Getting a bit used to the strange situation, Lucy sighed quietly. "Here it goes again," she mumbled to herself.
The updated profile showed up in front of her.
---
Name: Lucy Lyons
Age: 16 years old
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Level: 0 (0/10)
Stats:
Agi: 7 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Str: 12 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Int: 17 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Vit: 32 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Unallocated Stat Points: 0
Skills:
Unallocated Skill Points: 0
Coins:
Achievements Completed: 1 ᐃ
Items: 1 ᐃ
---
Lucy stared at the holographic screen like she was in some weird dream. The whole situation was confusing and left her completely baffled.
They both stood there in silence, and Lucy waited, half-expecting more weird stuff to happen. But as time went on, nothing new came up. She turned to the guy next to her, her eyes showing how confused she was. "Can you explain? What is all of this?"