After resting for a few minutes, Alex once again set out to hunt zombies. In the City of Death, finding them was hardly a challenge—it was their domain, after all.
Sure enough, not long after, he spotted more than a dozen zombies staggering down another street.
The brick he'd been using earlier had already shattered, but on the way he'd picked up a thick iron rod. Compared to a brick, this weapon felt far more natural in his grip.
A few minutes later, all dozen zombies lay sprawled on the ground, their skulls caved in beyond recognition.
"As expected, strength changes everything."
Alex let out a sigh. Before, meeting zombies had meant certain death. But now, with real power coursing through him, the roles were reversed. Zombies in front of him had only one outcome—obliteration.
"My strength and defense rose by a few dozen points, the other stats much less."
He did a quick calculation in his mind. Zombies mostly dropped strength and defense attributes, with speed and agility trailing behind, and spirit points the rarest of all. From over ten zombies, he'd only gotten a bit more than ten spirit points.
Probably because their minds are so broken to begin with.
After clearing the street, Alex was about to head toward another when a faint sound caught his ear.
He froze, listening carefully. It seemed to come from a nearby shop.
"Could there be zombies inside?"
Curiosity stirred, he approached. The door wasn't locked, and a light push swung it open. Instantly, a wave of stench hit him in the face, forcing him to cover his nose and mouth.
And then—
A flash of cold light swept before his eyes!
Thanks to his agility—now more than twice that of an ordinary human—Alex's reflexes saved him. He twisted aside just in time.
Only then did he see clearly: it was a blade.
A burly, humanoid zombie was gripping a massive broadsword, hacking it down at him with terrifying force.
"What the hell—since when do zombies know how to swing weapons?!"
Alex was startled, but there was no time to think. The blade whistled down again. He dodged once more, then swung his iron rod in retaliation, smashing it toward the zombie's skull.
Although strange for wielding a sword, the zombie was no stronger than its kin. With Alex's overwhelming strength, the iron rod cracked its head like a melon.
Two glowing orbs drifted free of the corpse. One looked normal, but the other had a faint blade icon shimmering within it.
Ding! "Absorption successful. +20 Experience Points."
Ding! "Absorption successful. Skill obtained: Basic Blade Technique Lv.1."
Suddenly, Alex's mind flooded with insights—stances, swings, angles—knowledge of swordsmanship as if he'd practiced it for years.
He quickly pulled up his attribute panel:
Strength: 455 / 100 Speed: 333 / 100 Agility: 285 / 100 Defense: 412 / 100 Spirit: 220 / 100 Skill: Basic Blade Technique Lv.1 (0 / 100) EXP: 500 (Note: A normal adult male averages 100 in each stat.)
Sure enough, his panel now showed a new skill entry.
"System, upgrade my Basic Blade Technique."
Ding! "100 EXP consumed. Basic Blade Technique upgraded to Lv.2."
Ding! "200 EXP consumed. Basic Blade Technique upgraded to Lv.3."
Alex noticed that each level required double the experience of the last. To reach level four, he'd need 400 EXP—and he had only 200 left.
Still, with the technique at Lv.3, the difference was clear. His movements felt sharper, his instincts cleaner.
If Lv.1 was like someone who'd trained a year or two, then Lv.3 was equivalent to a decade of practice—a true foundation, small but solid.
From the hands of the burly zombie, Alex took the battle blade.
If he wanted to unleash the full potential of his Basic Blade Technique, he needed a proper weapon to match it.
Leaving the shop, he continued his hunt for zombies.
An hour later—
Slash!
A zombie's head went flying, rolling across the blood-soaked pavement.
Ding! "Absorption successful. +10 EXP."
In just this one hour, Alex had walked through more than a dozen streets, slain over five hundred zombies, and gathered thousands of attribute points and experience.
"Upgrade Basic Blade Technique."
Ding! "400 EXP consumed. Basic Blade Technique upgraded to Lv.4."
"Continue."
Ding! "800 EXP consumed. Basic Blade Technique upgraded to Lv.5."
Ding! "Skill detected: Basic Blade Technique has reached Level 5. Automatically advancing—Blade Mastery unlocked."
Buzz… buzz…
Almost instantly, the blade in Alex's hand trembled violently, humming with power. At the same time, he felt an uncanny bond with it—like it had become an extension of his own arm, like he had trained with it for decades.
"So the skill can evolve… into Blade Mastery?"
His face lit up with excitement. His strength had soared again.
"Raaaghhh!!"
More than a dozen zombies charged toward him. Alex didn't retreat. Instead, he dashed forward, battle blade flashing arcs of cold light.
In the next moment, zombie heads flew through the air one after another, their bodies collapsing into headless corpses.
If any true blade master had witnessed this scene, they would have been stunned. Such refined technique… no less than twenty or thirty years of training could produce moves like these.
"Meowww!"
Just as Alex was savoring his progress, a chilling cry echoed down the empty street.
At the same instant, a wave of killing intent washed over him. The blade in his hands vibrated sharply, humming with warning—just like the instinctive danger sense of a seasoned swordsman.
He had no time to dodge. Instinctively, Alex raised his weapon to block.
Scrreeech!
Sharp claws raked across the steel, leaving four deep grooves in the blade's surface.
A black blur darted past his vision, too fast for him to see clearly.
Ding! "Evolution point detected within five meters. Absorb?"
"Absorb!" Alex shouted in his mind.
Ding! "Absorption successful. Acquired skill: Shadow Cat Step Lv.1."
Skill: Shadow Cat Step — Innate ability of the Shadow Cat Demon. Grants extreme agility and doubles movement speed."
Alex froze for a moment. Wait… I can even absorb mutated beast talents?! That's insane!
But the black shadow gave him no time to think. It darted toward him again.
Alex quickly activated Shadow Cat Step.
His body suddenly felt weightless—like he had wings. In an instant, he reappeared a full meter away.
The spot where he had just stood was now occupied by a sleek black cat.
"A Shadow Cat Demon!"
Memories surged in his mind. Once an ordinary stray, the apocalypse had twisted it into a predator with terrifying speed. Even Evolvers struggled to track its movements.
And yet… Alex had run into one.
The Shadow Cat Demon, its ambush foiled, turned into another streak of black and pounced.
"Hmph!"
Alex let out a cold snort and swung his blade. A blinding arc of steel forced the cat's eyes shut.
He seized the moment and brought the blade down.
Shhhk!
A miserable shriek split the air.
The Shadow Cat Demon fell to the ground, twitching violently, before falling still—dead at last.