BXBX NOVEL Chapter 4: Energy Crystals
Injecting it into himself, Jeremy instantly felt his body react; it was as if his genes were stirring restlessly.
He felt a warmth spreading through his body, akin to the heat of a high fever, causing sweat to bead on his forehead.
However, this sensation soon faded, and once his body returned to normal, Jeremy checked his attribute panel to find all his stats had increased to 19 points.
Moreover, Jeremy noticed his movement and reaction speeds had significantly improved.
Clenching his fist, he could feel his strength had more than doubled; he was brimming with inexhaustible power. After adjusting to his new capabilities, Jeremy decided to find a monster to test his skills on.
Looking through the glass window, his gaze settled on a middle-aged zombie in a suit wandering the hallway.
Information immediately appeared in front of him:
[Zombie (Common)]
[Level]: lv1
[Health]: 150/150
[Attack]: 12-14
[Defense]: 2
[Skills]: None
[Notice: This is a common level 1 zombie, with a weakness in its head.]
Jeremy noted the hint at the bottom.
It seems the All-Seeing Eye's abilities were more extensive than he had imagined, even capable of pinpointing a monster's weak spot.
Casually grabbing a military dagger, Jeremy confidently pushed open the office door and stepped out.
The middle-aged zombie, hearing the noise, immediately halted, turning its gaze towards Jeremy.
It was then Jeremy realized… this zombie seemed to be their history teacher?
However, because the teacher's facial flesh had completely deteriorated, neither Jeremy nor Emma had recognized him initially.
Upon seeing Jeremy, the zombie charged at him with renewed vigor, its previously sluggish steps now swift and determined.
To an ordinary person, the sheer ferocity of the zombie might have been enough to induce leg-trembling fear.
But Jeremy remained unfazed, waiting until the zombie was about to pounce before his previously calm eyes became sharp and piercing.
With a powerful surge through his legs, Jeremy's movements were lightning-fast as he delivered a kick straight to the zombie's shin.
"Crack!"
The grating sound of bone breaking echoed through the hallway. The force of the impact instantly fractured the zombie's shinbone, with sharp bone shards piercing through the flesh, causing the zombie to collapse awkwardly onto the corridor floor.
Yet, such an injury was not enough to incapacitate the zombie.
Seemingly devoid of consciousness and pain, it got up, dragging its broken leg, and lunged at Jeremy again, mouth agape.
Jeremy was prepared.
His wrist flicked, and the cold, menacing military dagger in his hand stabbed out swiftly like a venomous snake.
"Thud!"
The dagger plunged deep into the zombie's skull, with red and white brain matter splattering into the air.
The zombie's form stiffened instantly, the red glow in its eyes quickly fading.
[You have killed a lv1 Zombie, gaining 5 experience points!]
Glancing at the zombie's corpse, Jeremy pondered.
Reaching level 2 required 50 experience points, and a level 1 zombie provided 5 points. This meant if Jeremy wanted to level up, he needed to kill 9 more level 1 zombies.
Jeremy estimated the number of monsters on this floor.
Unlike Emma's office, where she, as the head teacher of Class 3-1, had her own private space, the school's regular teachers often shared offices, usually three or four to a room.
With over a dozen offices on this floor, and assuming most teachers were not present, there were likely more than twenty monsters around, averaging one or two zombies per office.
With this in mind, Jeremy felt confident in his ability to handle them.
He had already gauged the strength of a level 1 zombie. Although they were somewhat stronger than the average person, that was about the extent of it. As long as he didn't encounter too many at once, these brainless creatures were not difficult for Jeremy to deal with.
As Jeremy passed by an office, a prompt from the All-Seeing Eye suddenly appeared:
[Notice: There are two lv1 zombies in the office to your left, one of which contains a tier 1 Energy Crystal.]
"Tier 1 Energy Crystal?"
Jeremy paused, recalling information from the beginner's manual.
Energy Crystals were special substances formed from the condensed energy within monsters, divided into 10 tiers. They could be used for trading items, enhancing attributes, unlocking treasure chests, and upgrading skills.
Essentially, Energy Crystals were the universal currency in this post-apocalyptic game.
Understanding the importance of Energy Crystals, Jeremy didn't hesitate. He pushed open the office door.
A thick scent of blood rushed to his nostrils.
Jeremy surveyed the office and found it in utter disarray, with splattered blood and entrails everywhere on the walls and the floor, indicating the horrific ordeal the people in the room must have gone through.
Amid the sound of gruesome chewing, Jeremy's gaze shifted.
In the corner of the office, a petite female teacher was grotesquely gnawing on a severed hand, while the other zombie was feasting on a human head.
Jeremy could barely discern that the head belonged to a male, his face half-eaten and only his terrified eyes remaining, making it impossible to recognize his original appearance.
The moment Jeremy entered, both zombies ceased their actions.
They slowly turned their heads, blood-red eyes fixing on Jeremy.
Jeremy's gaze remained calm as he faced them.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Enraged by Jeremy's stare, the zombies clawed their way towards him in attack.
Facing the two charging zombies, Jeremy's eyes were cold. He shifted his weight, turned his hip, and powered through his waist, delivering a vicious high kick straight to the head of the leading zombie.
Jeremy's move was swift and fluid, making it seem as though the zombie had run into his kick.
"Boom!"
The dull sound of the impact echoed through the office.
The temple of the zombie caved in under the force of Jeremy's kick.
Its body flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into an office desk meters away.
Papers fluttered down like snowflakes as the zombie twitched twice before lying still.
A one-hit kill!
[You have killed a tier 1 zombie, gaining 4 experience points!]
The smaller zombie halted in its tracks, momentarily stunned.
It glanced at the other zombie and then at Jeremy, a flicker of fear passing through its eyes, hesitant to advance further.
"Well, you know fear?" Jeremy observed the zombie, chuckling lightly.
Monsters possessing Energy Crystals differed from their ordinary counterparts; they had the potential to evolve, which Jeremy surmised was akin to humans capable of awakening extraordinary abilities.
However, Jeremy was indifferent to its potential. His interest lay solely in the Energy Crystal.
Sensing the impending danger, the petite female zombie turned and fled.
She dashed towards the window, seemingly intending to escape through it.
Jeremy was not about to let his prey slip away.
Clenching the military spike in his hand, he took a step back with his right foot, aimed carefully, tensed his muscles, then swung his arm, hurling the spike with force.
"Whoosh!"
The spike shot out like a javelin, tearing through the air with a fierce whistling sound.
The zombie, sensing the danger, looked back, only to see a flash of dark light, brief and fleeting.
"Thud!"
The zombie's head was instantly pierced by the spike, its force pinning the corpse firmly against the wall.
[You have killed a tier 1 zombie, gaining 6 experience points!]
Looking at the zombie hanging on the wall, Jeremy twisted his arm, reminiscing the feeling of battling enemies on the battlefield.
He stepped forward to retrieve the spike, and the zombie's body slumped to the ground.
Crouching down, Jeremy used the spike to crack open its skull, digging around before extracting the Energy Crystal.
The crystal was the size of a mung bean, crystal-clear and jade-like, its surface emitting a faint glow.
Holding the Energy Crystal, Jeremy recalled the information from the beginner's manual.
It was hard for him to believe that such a small object could randomly enhance one of his attributes by one point.
Considering Jeremy's individual attributes were around nine points each, this tier 1 crystal was equivalent to one-ninth of his attributes.
Remembering how to use the Energy Crystal, Jeremy placed it on his forehead. At first, he felt nothing, then a cool sensation spread across his forehead as the Energy Crystal seemingly liquefied and merged into his body…