Tests

William opened his eyes with great fear. 

He immediately looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was nothing in his room.

Then he got up and checked the hole and the living room below. There seemed to be no zombies. 

Then he went to the window and looked around.

He saw a few zombies. As soon as he saw them, he quietly pulled the curtain and hid. The woman he had seen at night was now standing under a tree fifty meters away.

She had walked around all night, moving from the street across from the house to the side street where William's window could see. 

William took his gun and hung it on his belt. Then he took his crowbar and slowly opened the door. There was nothing there. 

Then he checked every room in the house. 

When he couldn't find any zombies, he relaxed and put the gun and crowbar on the counter. 

Then he thought about what he needed to do today. 

Of course, the system was what interested him the most. 

He immediately opened the system panel and checked it.

He focused on the + in the [STORE (+)] section.

Water (1 liter): 0.5 SC

Filling Ration (x3 meals): 0.5 SC

Knife (Lv1): 5 SC

Sword (Lv1): 5 SC

Katana (Lv1): 5 SC

Mace (Lv1): 5 SC

Leather Armor (Lv1): 5 SC...

Most of the level one items were between 1-10 SC. It was clear that the system provided certain privileges. 

As he scrolled down, he saw hundreds of items. All of them were level 1, and there were hundreds of them. Everything from defensive weapons to camping equipment was available here.

Then came the level two items. The level two items were also marked with (Lv2).

In terms of price, they were dramatically twice as expensive, and some items were even three times as expensive.

Knife (Lv2) 10 SC...

William couldn't see any level 3 items. He assumed that the system had adjusted the store to his level.

"Instead of wrapping books and magazines, I think it makes more sense to buy armor."

William thought and focused on the "Purchase" button.

After seeing a notification saying "Purchase complete," a white light appeared right in front of him. The light quickly turned into the leather breastplate he had purchased.

William couldn't hide his surprise. "What kind of magic is this!" 

His heart was pounding with excitement. "This must be a miracle," he thought, but then he calmed down.

"As if what happened yesterday wasn't a miracle..."

William then made a few more purchases, and in a short time, a complete set of armor appeared in front of him, each piece costing the same price.

Each piece was purchased for 15 SC. He paid a total of 90 SC. That was ten percent of the SC he had in his hand. 

In return, he had acquired a complete set of leather armor. Breastplate, shoulder protection, arm guards, calf and knee protection, shoes, and a helmet. "A satisfying trade." 

William then saw that each piece of armor was adjustable, with a belt-style adjustable connection on the back of each piece.

He immediately tried it on over his clothes.

"I guess the loose-fitting clothes are useless. Oh well, I'll take them with me as a backup."

William then took off the loose-fitting clothes and put on the tighter-fitting ones. He then put on all the pieces of armor one by one, struggling most with the shoulder pads, but somehow managing to do so.

"It's no wonder that every knight in the Middle Ages had more than one squire."

He understood how difficult it was to put on armor.

But once he had it all on, he felt very comfortable in the leather armor.

"I guess it weighs about five kilos?" William thought. He then moved around the house a little. 

It was easy to get used to, but the feathers on it were uncomfortable. 

"I shouldn't go out in the rain with this armor. It will definitely double in weight." 

William shook his head, but he had accepted that the world had changed. He wouldn't take off this armor until he leveled up or it completely broke.

He then made a 100 SP purchase from the system for trial purposes. Most of these were items purchased for everyday use. Pots, pans, rope, etc. And all of them were more durable than what he currently had.

William was about to close the store with satisfaction when his eyes fell on the crowbar on the counter.

"I think I can find something better." 

He scanned the system store again and finally purchased the simplest weapon he could use.

[Baseball Bat (Sv2)] 

The baseball bat that fell into William's hands was made entirely of metal. It felt solid in his hand. Its surface gleamed metallic gray, and it seemed capable of crushing a zombie's skull with a single blow.

"I guess a spear would be better for fighting zombies, but I can't risk the spear getting stuck in a zombie's skull." 

William picked up the baseball bat and swung it in his hand. It weighed more than five kilograms.

"It's a little heavy, but I can get used to it." 

He had played a little baseball in high school, so he thought this was the weapon that would suit him best. 

He placed the baseball bat on the counter.

At that moment, a sound that he would not like at all reached his ears.

"Grrrrhhh..."

The sound came very close to William. He immediately moved quietly to the living room window and looked outside from the corner of the curtain. A zombie similar to yesterday's female zombie was passing by on the street.

Fortunately, it was not coming towards him.

William quickly pulled the curtain and went to his room.

"I feel like time is running out."

He checked his computer, just in case, but even though there was electricity, there was still no internet.

He got up from the computer and headed for the dumbbells in the corner of the room.

He had bought them two years ago. Two 5-kilogram dumbbells.

William picked them up and brought them to the middle of the living room, where he set up a small gym using chairs and sofas. 

"Alright, I need to put in some effort to test this out." 

William sat on a chair and began performing some exercises he had learned earlier. 

He worked out with the weights for a full hour without hearing any notifications. 

[STRENGTH +0.1] 

Suddenly, all of William's fatigue vanished. This notification seemed to have a healing effect on him. 

Now, William thought he could work out for another hour. So he continued. 

Another hour had passed. 

[STRENGTH +0.1] 

"Am I imagining things, or can I work out endlessly?" 

Because William felt like he had recovered again, all the fatigue in his muscles was gone. 

But this time he was very hungry. 

He quietly cooked some meat from the cupboard and ate it. 

"The smell is driving me crazy... I hope zombies don't have such a good sense of smell."

William returned to the living room. 

"So, is this 0.1 power I earned the ratio I got after it was multiplied by my blessing, or did I earn 0.1 directly? If I earned 0.1 points directly, wouldn't a few days be enough to become a superhuman?"

William never expected these questions to be answered. 

"All experiences gained by the user, regardless of their source, are multiplied by 10. This includes system money and reward drops. Blessings do not discriminate based on source."

William raised an eyebrow.

"Then, can the blessing of the man with the blessing called matchstick fire burn anything he wants? Are you telling me that blessings do not discriminate based on source?"

William couldn't find an answer to that question. He shook his head.

But knowing that his own blessing was very powerful, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

"That explains the 900 SC I saw. Then the amount of power I gain for every hour of work is 0.001. I think I can work like this for a few more days."

William continued to train his muscles. He worked out as many different muscles as possible, but the number of points he earned remained the same, and only his STRENGTH statistic had improved.

[STRENGTH +0.1]

[STRENGTH +0.1]

[STRENGTH +0.1]

[STRENGTH +0.1]

...

Two days later, the food in William's cupboard was gone much faster. He had expected it to last a few more days, but his constant hunger had caused him to eat almost five times more than he normally would.

Finally, the power statistics in the system were as follows.

[POWER: 4.2]

[PHYSICAL DAMAGE: 1.55]

[PHYSICAL DEFENSE: 1.55]

[STAMINA: 1.55]

When William reached 4 points, he felt a different kind of strength in his body. It was as if he could now actually break walls with his fist and lift the baseball bat he had bought much more easily. 

Lifting dumbbells for a couple of days had unlocked a new ability in him. He had just received this notification, and William was glad that all his training had not been in vain.

[Weight Master: Lifting weights is a familiar situation for you. The feeling of the power you have gained makes you happy. Fatigue Resistance + 10%] 

William really felt the effect of this ability. He only tried it once, but he immediately understood the difference.

Previously, he couldn't lift his arms after an hour of intense training, until he saw the strength increase notification, but now that time had increased to almost an hour and ten minutes.

"Can I improve this ability even further? To a level where I never get tired?"

"Acquired abilities can be improved with more training and repetition." 

William nodded at the system's voice. It was just as he had expected. That was what he wanted to test. Could he gain an ability? And if he did, could he improve that ability?

From that moment on, everything was much easier for him because a new door had opened. 

He now knew that he could acquire and improve abilities with weapons such as swords, knives, and even baseball bats. 

"Maybe I'll acquire a few more abilities on my way to the gathering point."

William thought he understood the ability system completely. 

There was only one system feature left that he hadn't discovered yet.

[LIBRARY (+)]

William clicked on the + sign with anticipation.

[Cutting Principle – I: 12 SP]

[Basic Fire Starting: 8 SP]

[Sewing and Repair Guide: 7 SP]

[Power of Breath: 9 SP]

[Trap Setting Guide: 10 SP]

[Mind Note-Taking Method: 10 SP]

…

"So many choices!"

When William scrolled down, he saw almost a thousand training books, most of which were not for combat, but for survival. Unlike in the store, the descriptions of the training books here were visible when he focused on them.

All of these were abilities that William had struggled to earn over two days!

[Power of Breath: Provides panic control, focus, and a clear mind in times of stress. Emotional stability +%10]

"An excellent ability!" William couldn't believe his eyes. He immediately focused and bought it. 

In a short time, a book appeared in his hand. It was a thin book consisting of a few pages.

There wasn't much writing in the book, just a few small notes alongside some pictures of people sitting and meditating. It explained how to breathe in and out.

 William compared it to Far Eastern martial arts techniques.

He sat down and tried it. Nothing happened for the first few hours. Finally, when it got dark and it was time to go to sleep, he was about to give up when a notification appeared in his mind.

"You have learned the ability of the Power of Breath!"

 [Power of Breath: Provides panic control, focus, and a clear mind in times of stress. Emotional stability +2%]

Contrary to William's expectations, it did not provide a 10% increase. 

"I guess I'll have to work a little harder." William slept well that night.

The next morning, after doing some weight training and adding a little to his strength, he started meditating again. 

By the end of the day, he had managed to achieve the full 10% increase.

As he wondered, "Should I continue?", he realized he was hungry. Today, for the first time, he would eat canned food from the bag he had prepared. 

That day, William made a decision while eating his first canned food.

He would set off at first light tomorrow.