Chapter 10: The Portal
Chapter 10: The Portal
Sam placed the bottle on the table and turned his attention to the orbs on his bed.
He started by crushing the black orbs first.
[Hammer]
[Quiver: 13 arrows]
[Rod]
Sam was pleased with the hammer and the additional arrows. The rod, however, wasn't something he needed, so he decided to give it to someone who could make better use of it. Next, he crushed the two grey orbs.
[Bow (Common Grade)]
Accuracy +2%
[Arm Guard (Right) - Common Rank]
+Defense
He examined the arm guard. It was lightweight, and he didn't feel any discomfort in his movements while equipping it. Satisfied, he picked up the two remaining green and blue orbs and crushed them.
[Boots (Rare Grade)]
Skill: Air Thrust
+Agility
[Leather Armor (Elite Grade)]
Skill: Temperature Control
Skill: Auto Repair
+Mana
"Jackpot." Sam picked up the inner armor and inspected it closely.
The armor was both light and sturdy. It didn't cover his hands or elbows but provided solid protection for his shoulders. To test its durability, he attempted to scratch it with his long knife. The blade left faint marks, but nothing significant.
Satisfied, he glanced at his phone. 9:30.
Opening his contacts, he saw numbers of school and college friends, including Emmy's, but he didn't call anyone. The phone lines were still active, and the internet was working—for now. But for how long? No one knew.
He hesitated. The last thing he wanted was to hear someone crying for help or to experience the eerie silence of a call left unanswered. Instead, he scrolled through social media. It was flooded with videos of zombies and mutated animals. People were posting their addresses, pleading for someone—anyone—or the military to come and rescue them.
Amidst the chaos, Sam found an intriguing post about a site that compiled information on weapons, skills, mana, zombies, and mutant creatures. He started reading through it. One particular discussion caught his eye—people were talking about a High Human Mana Core.
Sam's eyes widened as he noticed the author's name. Ryan.
He read more about what people had discovered. Engrossed in the information, he eventually drifted off to sleep, the distant howls and grunts of zombies serving as his lullaby.
When he woke up, Sam's eyes darted to the table. The slime was holding its shape well. He walked over to it.
"Good morning."
Noticing Sam, the slime oozed out of the bottle. Sam played with it for a while, stretching and compressing its form.
"Now, remember the shape of the bottle and mimic it."
The slime morphed flawlessly, replicating the bottle down to the smallest detail. Sam picked it up and inspected it. "Nice."
After that, he took a shower—bringing the slime along. Once refreshed, he put on his gear and packed his bag, ready to explore the lower floors. Before leaving his room, he concealed the slime inside his quiver, instructing it to separate the mana arrows from the black-grade arrows.
When he stepped out, he noticed a crowd gathered in discussion.
Blake had just traded his bow for additional mana arrows—though after a tough negotiation, he only managed to get three out of seven.
Once everyone had calmed down, the formation was set. The shield bearers took the front, followed by the damage dealers, with archers positioned at the back.
Four people carried shields—Garry, Max, and two new recruits. Sam was grouped with Roy and David, the boy he had traded his bow with. Roy, too, carried more arrows than before.
'Looks like yesterday's grind paid off for everyone,' Sam thought.
More people had joined the fighters after witnessing the increased strength and gear the battle-hardened group had acquired.
With everyone ready, they cleared the blocked stairway and descended to the first floor.
The fight was easier this time, thanks to the chaos from the previous day. The group moved systematically, knocking on closed doors. Some rooms had three or more zombies, while others contained survivors.
In one particular room, they found something unusual.
A purple glowing sphere hovered in the air, spinning ominously.
Sam recalled reading about this in the online discussions. People called these things 'portals,' and they came in different colors. However, those who had entered them had yet to return.
"It looks like this portal is the reason zombies from other buildings swarmed ours yesterday," someone muttered.
"Let's skip the portal for now and focus on clearing our building first," Blake suggested.
Everyone agreed. They barricaded the room with tables and beds, locking the portal inside before moving on.
Descending further, they reached the hostel mess hall. Sam and the two other archers readied their bows, positioning themselves closer to the shield holders for a clearer shot.
As they entered the lobby of the first floor, Sam and his archer companions fired their arrows, maintaining a safe distance while thinning the zombie horde.
The sight of zombies exploding upon impact was unsettling, but everyone steeled their nerves.
Still, some people couldn't handle it and retreated.
When they opened the mess hall doors, zombies surged forward.
Sam and the two boys unleashed their arrows.
From the far corner of the mess, a black rat charged at them.
Garry blocked the rat's attack with his shield and swiftly finished it off.
During the battle, everyone was instructed to ignore the system notifications in their minds and focus on survival.
After slaying over fifty zombies in the mess hall's seating area, they moved into the kitchen. More zombies lurked there—along with a swarm of mutated rats.
After a brutal fight, they cleared the area and discovered several members of the kitchen staff hiding inside cupboards and storage rooms.
With the mess hall secured, they barricaded the building's main entrance and took stock of the remaining food supplies.