Chapter 3: Exchange

Chapter 3: Exchange

Sam walked out of his room slowly, carrying a long knife—12 inches in length—that he had acquired from previous fights. A bag slung over his shoulder held a chocolate bar and a few packets of chips. He had stored the remaining food items and his hammer in his storage chain.

Loud banging sounds echoed from multiple rooms.

"Looks like zombies don't have the intelligence to unlock a simple latch," Sam thought.

Ignoring the noise, he made his way toward the already open rooms. Inside, he found some more food supplies. Some rooms also contained electric stoves and cooking utensils.

Sam decided his best option was to head toward the food court and set up there.

Just as he neared the staircase, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him. Turning back, he saw Garry carrying a longbow.

"Hey Sam, were you the one fighting the zombies back there?" Garry asked.

Sam didn't know much about Garry, but at this point, he had no one else to ask about what had happened.

"Garry, right? Do you know what happened to all these people?"

Listening to this, Garry briefly explained what had happened but deliberately left out some details.

"Are you heading to the food court, Sam?" Garry asked.

"Yeah, I'm going there to collect some food and find a new place to stay. My room is full of dead zombies."

"I heard the noises. You've got guts fighting them. By the way, if you don't mind, can I join you?"

Sam remained cautious while talking to Garry. He knew that drawing a bow would take time, giving him an advantage in close combat. However, having an archer on his team could make the journey easier, allowing them to carry more supplies.

"It's okay if you don't want me to come along," Garry added.

"Do you know how to use that bow? If you can support me by killing zombies from a distance, I'll bring you along."

Sam got straight to the point. He knew that in order to survive this disaster, he needed to form a group.

"Honestly, I don't know how to use a bow. I have no prior experience," Garry admitted. He knew there was no point in lying.

Sam didn't reply. Instead, he went back to his room and returned carrying a spare hammer.

Sam didn't want anyone to know about his storage chain.

"I have this hammer—it suits me better. I can exchange this knife if you have something I could use."

Garry considered exchanging his bow for Sam's long knife. He had already tried multiple times to use a mana shot with the bow, but it had no reaction. Without arrows, the bow was practically useless to him—just a stick.

"What are its attributes?" Garry asked.

Sam was surprised that Garry even knew about weapon attributes.

"There are none," Sam replied.

"What a fool. He doesn't even know how to check attributes," Garry thought to himself.

Garry exchanged his bow for Sam's long knife, but when Sam checked its attributes, his eyes widened.

[Long Bow - Epic Rank]

+2% Clarity

+5% Accuracy

Can fire mana shots

Due to his increased intelligence stat, Sam could now see the full attributes of the bow.

Without showing any reaction, he went back to his room and placed the bow in his storage chain.

Garry had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. He knew he had just exchanged an epic-rank weapon for an ordinary knife, but he had to remain calm.

"I can always take it back from his room later," Garry thought to himself.

"Let's go," Sam said.

They moved through the hallway, locking all the rooms with zombies inside from the outside. This floor had 17 small rooms with two shared toilets.

The floor above them was identical, but the lower floors had larger rooms with attached washrooms, designed for four people.

As they reached the stairway, they caught a view of the opposite building. Some of its windows were open, revealing zombies trapped inside the rooms.

Von University had 15 hostels, each with a food court on the ground floor.