The Unlikely Ascension

" I'm not gonna make it," he thought as the baton missed the top of the railing. He was sure he would die.

But his luck stat worked. The baton's L-shaped part caught in the next hole of the steel railing.

"Shit," he muttered as he hung precariously.

The zombies on the rooftop grew more frenzied at the sight of him and began running toward the edge. With no intelligence, they started falling off in batches. Many died, but they didn't stop.

Summoning all his strength, Sanjay climbed the railing into the balcony. He watched as the zombies continued grinding their teeth and jumping from the rooftop. More zombies were now converging on the building from other parts of the city.

Sanjay didn't wait. He broke the apartment's glass door and entered. Luckily, there were no zombies inside. He checked the entire apartment for any hidden zombies and useful items.

On the wall, he found a decorative sword. He brought it down to check its quality. It wasn't a dummy; at least, it was better than the baton for now. He tucked the baton into the waistband of his pants.

He cautiously opened the corridor door and saw two zombies roaming the hallway. Closing the door quietly, he muttered, "Okay, I need to get out of this building."

The zombies in the city were already converging on the parking lot. He didn't know when he might be surrounded. With so many zombies still jumping from the roof, the ground could soon be covered with their bodies, allowing them to climb up.

The system announced:

[You killed one zombie.]

[You killed one zombie.]

[You killed one zombie.]

The announcements continued for a few minutes before stopping.

"Let's check the status first."

STATS

Name: City Hunter

Level: 5

Exp: 224/800

Skill : Replicate

VARIABLE STATS

Strength: 7

Agility: 8

Mana: 10

INVARIABLE STATS

INT: 6

LUCK: 9

CHARISMA: 6

Current Available Points: 5

Looking at the available points, he was astonished. If two points were awarded for every zombie killed, that meant he had indirectly killed three hundred sixty-two zombies. It seemed the system had allocated points for the zombies jumping off the roof due to his influence. However, the system had now stopped awarding points, likely because the subsequent batches of zombies were following instinct rather than dying due to his actions.

This windfall of points was huge. He wondered how many people had secured so many points this early.

He tried adding points to the invariable stats of Intelligence, Luck, and Charisma but found it impossible. It seemed only variable stats could be increased. He added two points to Strength, two to Agility, and one to Mana.

"Okay, the general rule of adding points to variable stats still works."

After the adjustments, he felt significantly stronger. The strength he now possessed exceeded what he had achieved after twenty years of physical training in his previous life. This place was magical.

With his upgraded stats, he took the sword and opened the door. The two zombies in the hallway howled and rushed toward him. Before they could react, he slashed one zombie's neck. As the second zombie lunged at him, he dropped the sword and fell to the ground. The zombie's strength was almost equal to his own. It tried to bite his neck, but Sanjay punched it in the face, causing it to fall to the side. Grabbing the sword, he slashed its neck. After a brief struggle, the zombie was dead.

After killing three zombies, Sanjay realized it wasn't as easy as he had thought, especially without a gun. He inspected the sword, which had become dull after only two hits. Clearly, it wasn't made for killing.

He imagined replicating the sword, and an identical, undamaged one appeared in his hand. His mana dropped from ten to eight. Now he understood his power better—he needed to touch an object to replicate it.

If he could touch guns or other weapons, perhaps he could replicate them inside the tower. The possibilities seemed endless: medicine, armor, and more. However, nothing from the outside could be brought into the tower, not even clothes. Everything had to be generated inside.

Descending the stairs cautiously, he encountered two zombies on the next floor. This time, he was much faster. He slashed both zombies as they charged. His sword became damaged again, and he created another.

By the time he reached the ground floor, he had killed one to two zombies per floor. His mana was nearly depleted after creating so many swords. The poor quality of the swords was frustrating, but they were still faster and better than the baton.

Exiting the building, he checked both sides of the road for zombies. Thankfully, most of them had rushed toward the parking lot. Spotting a gas station a few meters away, he moved cautiously, avoiding noise and scanning his surroundings.

At the gas station, he found a gallon of gasoline. Opening it, he touched the liquid and replicated it. A flow of oil emerged from his hands, and he realized he could control the speed. Checking his mana, he saw it had dropped by one for almost one liter of gasoline—not bad.

He entered the gas station's convenience store and found it empty. Gathering supplies like food, he found a bag to carry them. In the office, he locked the door and secured it with a cupboard. There was no electricity, so he didn't bother with lights—attracting zombies was the last thing he wanted. The smell of gasoline would also mask his scent, making the gas station an ideal hiding spot.

Sitting on the manager's chair, he opened a packet of chips, one of the few edible items not too expired. As night fell, he heard the occasional growling of zombies and even human screams. Holding his sword tightly, Sanjay remained alert, knowing an attack could come at any moment.

---

The next day, the sun was bright, and today he had a wild plan running through his mind. There were only three hours left before the mission would end. He planned to kill as many zombies as he could; he didn't plan to stay here for long.

Yesterday, his daring actions had given him a good idea. After his stunts the day before, the zombies within a two-kilometer radius had reached overwhelming numbers. There was almost no place to run anymore.

He checked outside the convenience store. There were hundreds of zombies roaming. From the back door, there was a service stairway leading to the rooftop of the gas station.

The rooftop of the gas station was as high as a fifth floor. He had no idea why this place had such a high ceiling, but it worked to his advantage. The height would be crucial for his plan.

He pulled out a rope he had found in the convenience store and tied it to the baton he had previously acquired, making sure it was tight. Then, he gathered all his strength and threw it toward an apartment building fifteen meters away.

Yesterday, when he was running toward the gas station, he noticed this apartment. It was a large building, similar to the ones he had fled from earlier.

His aim and luck were both on point. The baton got caught in the railing of the opposite building. He checked to ensure it was secure, and it was. Next, he took another rope and threw it toward the roof of the apartment building. After that, he tied both ropes to an exposed pillar.

He double-checked the ropes to confirm they were secure. Once satisfied, he began climbing. In his previous life, he had been trained in mountain warfare, so he was no stranger to climbing between hills using ropes. With a bit of luck, he was taking a calculated risk.

Carefully, he climbed the rope, moving slowly and steadily. From his vantage point, he could see the streets below swarming with thousands of zombies, if not more. Most of them were just wandering aimlessly, howling from time to time.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of intense effort, he reached the apartment's balcony. The climb had drained nearly all his energy. He untied the baton from the rope and re-secured the rope to the railing. Then, he pulled up his backpack, which he had miraculously tied to create a makeshift ropeway from the gas station rooftop.

Two hours later, he emerged from the apartment building carrying a small portable soundbox that he had found in the convenience store.

The soundbox was playing heavy metal music, which he couldn't understand, but it would do the job. He threw the box into the middle of the street between the gas station and the apartment building.

Upon hearing the music, all the zombies in the area turned to face him. A few seconds later, they all screamed and rushed toward his position. Sanjay ran for the upper floor as the zombies broke through the large entrance door and charged after him.

Sanjay sprinted to the upper floor with all his speed. The zombies were relentlessly pursuing him. These zombies' thirst for human flesh was not to be underestimated. Thousands of zombies poured into the apartment.

The apartment was a seventh-floor building, and Sanjay finally reached the roof. He locked the rooftop door just in time.

A few moments later, the zombies arrived at the door, pushing and banging, trying to break it down. The door held for a while, but after several seconds of sustained pressure, it gave way.

Sanjay was ready. He rushed to the rope he had already tied, wedged the baton between the rope, and began descending toward the gas station rooftop in a dramatic, heroic manner. As he looked down, the music from the soundbox was still playing, and thousands of zombies below were howling and staring at him.

He reached the gas station rooftop, but the zombies did not. Just like before, without brains, they began tumbling over the edge one by one. But this time, there were far more of them.

Sanjay pulled out a lighter from his pocket, lit it, and glanced down at the falling zombies, as well as the ones still rushing toward the rooftop.

"Your time has come," he muttered softly, trying to sound like the heroes from the movies he had once watched.

The lighter fell, catching fire quickly and spreading in all directions. It ignited the zombies in its path.

Sanjay then took another lighter from his pocket and burned the ropes he had used to climb. The fire spread through the ropes, igniting the apartment building.

Sanjay watched as the fire spread through the building, engulfing the zombies and the structure itself. Earlier, when he had entered the building, he had carefully poured gasoline all over it. He made sure every part of the apartment was doused with gasoline.

Spreading the gasoline had taken him two hours. He had even taken breaks to replenish his energy and eliminate any wandering zombies he encountered inside.

Soon, the system announcements began:

[You killed one zombie]

[You killed one zombie]

[You killed one zombie]

Sanjay felt a headache coming on. Was the system going to announce every time he killed a single zombie?

"System, can you please just tell me the total number of zombies killed at the end?" Sanjay said in frustration.

After he spoke, the system stopped giving further announcements.

"Wow, we can do that? Why didn't I think of that before?" Sanjay shook his head. It must be basic knowledge in this world, but of course, he wouldn't know that. He only had a week's worth of knowledge, mostly from browsing the web.

He looked toward the building. The flames were slowly spreading. Gasoline, being one of the most flammable liquids, didn't take long to ignite. The zombies that had rushed to the rooftop were turning into charcoal one by one.

Some fell into the crowd of zombies below, who had been trying to enter the burning building. These zombies quickly caught fire as well.

Within a few minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames. The fire even spread to the zombies on the street.

"Okay, this is taking too long."

He pointed his hands toward the ground and shouted, "Go to hell!"

Gasoline poured from his hands and spilled onto the zombies. Some were already burning, and soon the zombies that were wet with gasoline caught fire as well.

Sanjay didn't stop. Like a hose, he spread the gasoline across the entire street. He didn't need to aim, as the street was jam-packed with zombies. The flames spread, and the zombies began burning fiercely.

From a distance, he could see more zombies rushing toward him, drawn by the commotion. There was no escaping now, but his mana was almost depleted.

He glanced at his available points and smiled. With his right hand, he continued to pour gasoline into the crowd, and with his left hand, he started adding points to his mana.

He used all the points he had gained from killing zombies and replenished his mana, pouring more gasoline into the new wave of zombies. He wasn't sure how many zombies were getting burned, but it looked like a sea of fire.

A few minutes later, the burning continued.

[Congratulations on completing the mission. You can either continue the mission or leave.]

Sanjay took a deep breath in satisfaction when he heard the mission completion alert from the system. He was nearly exhausted and had little mana left. He had taken a gamble, and it had paid off.

He spoke softly, "Leave."

Then, he disappeared from his location. A few seconds later, the entire floor of the gas station erupted in flames, and something massive happened.

"BHOOM!" A huge explosion rocked the gas station, and all nearby zombies were either torn apart or burned to a crisp. The fire quickly spread to nearby buildings and streets, engulfing everything in its path and killing every zombie present. Sanjay had no idea how his luck played such a huge role.

Sanjay had just exited through the tower gate when he received a notification. After entering the tower once, the system became permanent for life, no matter where he was.

[You have killed 10,398 zombies.]

"What? This is absurd." He was sure he had killed about two thousand zombies with the fire, but where did the other eight thousand come from? He had no idea. 10,398 seemed like an absurd number. He didn't have the guts to go on a rampage spree with so many zombies.

[Congratulations on being the first to kill 10,398 zombies.]

He couldn't believe it. Surely, no newbie—or anyone, for that matter—could kill that many zombies.

[You receive an SSS ranking on the first floor.

You get 10,000 tower points.

You can choose one of the following prizes:

1. 3 points allocated for invariable stats

2. Bring out anything of your choice from the tower.]

Sanjay was flabbergasted. According to history, no one had ever received an SSS ranking for any floor of any tower. The best-ranking anyone had achieved was A rank. The person who had gotten an A rank became famous overnight.

But what shocked him even more was the prize. He had received ten thousand tower points. Tower points were like currency inside the tower, and looking at the other two prizes, he was even more stunned. He had never imagined he would get three points for invariable stats—it was unheard of.

But then, he began wondering how everyone knew that the person who achieved A rank was telling the truth. Could they be lying?

[Congratulations, City Hunter, for receiving the first-ever SSS ranking for the first floor of the South Asian Tower.] *3

The announcement echoed in everyone's mind, no matter which tower they were in or where they were.