They stopped at the outskirts of a ruined city as night fell, setting up camp under the shadow of broken buildings and starlit skies. The air was cold and still, until the eerie howl of a wolf echoed in the distance.
Emma stiffened, her eyes scanning the darkness. "Was that... a wolf?" she muttered, unsettled.
Aya nodded slowly, her voice quiet. "That sound always gives me chills... especially after what happened during the werewolf uprising."
Clarissa’s soft voice chimed in, calm and gentle. "The person behind that has already been dealt with. You don’t need to worry anymore."
But Veronica narrowed her eyes. "Clarissa, you really shouldn’t smile like that when you say stuff like that... It’s kinda terrifying."
Celestia, who had been listening quietly, tilted her head. "That happened before I joined you guys, right?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah. I guess I should tell you about it so you’re not left in the dark."
As Emma began retelling the story, the scene shifted.
Julian was a few meters away, silently working on setting up the tents with his shadow clones. After hammering in the last hook, he stood up and stretched, only to notice something in the distance, a black crow perched on a crumbling wall, watching them.
With a swift flick of his wrist, Julian threw a knife. The crow squawked and fell, lifeless.
Julian frowned. ’Are crow corpses edible?’
His stomach growled not long after, making the question oddly more tempting.
He walked back toward the others, only to find the girls still deep in conversation. Not wanting to interrupt them, Julian wandered over to the supplies and tried to prepare a meal himself. He laid out some ingredients, but quickly realized... he had no idea what he was doing.
"How the hell do I even cook this?" he mumbled, scratching his head.
Suddenly, footsteps approached. Clarissa and Aya appeared, looking surprised.
"Julian? You’re cooking?" Clarissa said with a small gasp. "Why didn’t you tell us? I’m sorry..."
Aya nodded beside her, looking apologetic. "Yeah, we didn’t know you were hungry."
Julian shook his head, smiling faintly. "It’s fine."
Clarissa stepped forward, picking up the knife. "Let us take care of it. I’ll cook with Aya. You just sit and wait, okay?"
Julian let out a quiet chuckle and nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Then Julian casually asked, "Hey, do you think crows are edible?"
Clarissa instantly looked horrified. "Don’t you dare, Julian. Crows eat corpses. They’re scavengers. You really shouldn’t eat them."
Aya nodded in agreement. "She’s right. But... if you really want to eat one, you can, technically. Just... you have to clean it thoroughly. Like, really thoroughly."
Then Julian said, "Oh, I see," and added with a grin, "Well then, good luck with the cooking."
Clarissa and Aya both nodded confidently.
"Leave it to us!" they said in unison.
Clarissa and Aya got to work, taking out some frozen meat from Julian’s inventory. Clarissa handled the thawing while Aya began slicing the meat into manageable chunks. As the campfire crackled beside them, they set a pot over the flames, pouring in some clean water from their reserve.
Clarissa turned to Aya. "Let’s make curry. It’ll warm everyone up."
Aya smiled. "Sure. I’ll prepare the vegetables."
Together, they worked in sync, sautéing onions in a bit of oil until translucent, adding chopped carrots and potatoes, then searing the meat before combining it all in the pot. Once the water began to boil, Clarissa stirred in a chunk of curry roux from a sealed packet, letting it dissolve and thicken the stew. The aroma of spices began to fill the air, drawing attention from the others.
By the time everything was ready, plates were filled and everyone gathered around the fire to eat. The warmth of the curry was a comfort in the cold, ruined city.
Celestia took one bite, then paused and looked down at her bowl with furrowed brows. "Wait... where did you guys get this meat?"
The group suddenly went quiet.
A shadow of memory passed through their minds, they all recalled that the last time they find meat like this, it had led to Celestia and her squad being kidnapped by raiders. The atmosphere tensed.
Julian, calm as ever, answered flatly, "We found it while scavenging through the city."
Veronica quickly added, "Oh, yeah! That’s right, we stumbled on a cold storage unit."
The others glanced at Julian, secretly impressed by how smoothly he could lie.
Celestia gave a soft sigh, almost nostalgic. "You’re lucky... Back then, whenever we tried finding meat, it was always spoiled. The power was out, and everything was rotting."
Again, the group fell into silence for a moment.
Julian nodded. "We were fortunate. The power must’ve still been on when we got it. It was preserved well."
Celestia looked satisfied with the explanation. "I see... That makes sense." She smiled and returned to eating.
With the tension gone, the conversation shifted. Clarissa glanced at the fire. "I wonder how the survivors back at the school are doing... I hope they’re okay."
Emma shrugged. "They’ll be fine. Most of them can protect themselves."
Veronica leaned back. "If you’re so worried, why not pay them a visit?"
Emma groaned. "Ugh, no way. That’s too far. I’m not walking all the way back."
They all chuckled at her reaction, and after finishing the meal, everyone helped clean the dishes and pack up. As the fire dimmed, they began laying out their bedrolls.
Celestia turned to Julian. "Should we take turns keeping watch?"
Julian shook his head. "No need. I’ve stationed a few zombies nearby. If anything attacks, they’ll make noise and alert us."
Celestia blinked. "Oh... I see. That’s convenient."
"Get some rest," Julian said calmly. "I still have something I need to do."
One by one, the girls nodded.
"Goodnight, Julian," Clarissa said softly.
"Sleep well," Emma added.
Julian gave a faint smile and nodded. "Goodnight."
Julian stood a little distance from the camp, the firelight flickering faintly behind him while the ruined city stretched in eerie silence. His eyes wandered across the night, but his mind was somewhere far deeper.
He crouched, grabbing a chunk of broken stone and idly tossed it before muttering to himself.
"...These zombies...."
His thoughts unraveled like threads pulled loose from a web.
It didn’t make sense. In the beginning, zombies were just mindless corpses. Now, some of them were mutating, absorbing others, growing larger. Then there were those that hunted humans deliberately, like they were thinking.
And worse still...
He clenched his fist.
There’s the type that turns humans into cocoons... like they’re trying to plant something inside them.
Then there was the most disturbing evolution of all, The Origin.
A creature, or perhaps a force, capable of merging with the DNA of skill users. It behaved like a parasite, integrating the traits and abilities of those it infected. It didn’t just copy, it used the skills in its own distorted way. Julian didn’t know the full extent of its power yet... but if it could combine multiple skill types?
"We’d be dealing with monsters that can match or even outclass us," he muttered.
The more he thought about it, the more everything felt like a twisted game.
He shook his head.
Then there were Aya and Celestia... Both had unusual skills that didn’t feel like they came from natural evolution.
He remembered Rayden’s skill, how it allowed the man to hold three skills at once but with clear limits. Yet he had never hit a wall. No system had warned him of limits. No penalty. Nothing.
What’s my limit? Do I even have one?
He stood silently, eyes narrowing as his thoughts deepened.
And then, as Julian stood there deep in thought, tracing the web of his growing power, he began to piece things together.
The [Domination] skill, at first he hadn’t thought much of it. But now, with Clarissa and Emma having received skills through him, it was starting to look like something far more powerful than he expected. Not just control... but the ability to shape others.
It might become his most overpowered skill.
He quietly reviewed what he currently had.
[Slave Mark]
[Extract]
[Mana Injection]
[Inventory]
[Boost]
And then, thanks to [Extract], he had gained two more elements.
[Shadow] and [Lightning]
When he put them all together... yeah, things were getting complicated.
But also dangerous, if he didn’t understand these abilities well, they could spiral out of control.
I have to keep learning. I need to keep testing, Just as that thought ended, Julian felt a presence behind him.
Then he turned his head, just enough to glance.
"...Emma?"
There she was, standing barefoot on the broken concrete, her arms crossed and a sleepy smile on her face. The firelight behind her flickered along the edges of her messy hair.
"What are you doing, brooding alone?" she said softly.
Julian let out a small breath and turned fully to face her.
"I was just thinking."
"About the zombies... or the world ending?"
He looked back toward the skyline.
"...Both."