The University Quad was a graveyard.
Bodies were piled up near the fountain, near the library steps, and around the shattered cafeteria. The "Zombie Tsunami" had moved on, leaving stragglers behind to feast on the remains.
Su Chen stood on the roof of the Science Building, looking down.
To a normal person, this scene was hell.
To Su Chen, it was a recruitment center.
"Let's test the limits," Su Chen muttered.
He jumped down.
[Shadow Step.]
He landed silently behind a wandering Level 2 Zombie.
Crack.
His rusty pipe smashed its skull. The zombie fell.
Su Chen extended his hand. Dark mana swirled around his fingers.
"Rise."
[Mana -10.]
The flesh melted off the zombie's bones. The skeleton shuddered, then stood up. Blue fire burned in its eye sockets. It held a rusted kitchen knife it had picked up from the ground.
[Skeleton Warrior (Level 2)]
[Status: Loyal.]
[Maintenance Cost: 0 Mana/sec (Unique Trait Active).]
"Zero maintenance," Su Chen grinned.
Usually, a Level 1 Necromancer could control maybe 3 or 4 skeletons. Any more, and the mana drain would cause brain death.
But Su Chen had no drain.
He checked his Mana Regen. With the [Perfect Body] trait, his mana recovered at a rate of 1 point per second.
"I can raise one soldier every 10 seconds."
He looked at the hundreds of zombies roaming the campus.
"I have all night."
***
2 Hours Later.
The moon was high in the sky. The campus was silent, except for the clicking of bones.
Su Chen walked toward the Gymnasium.
He wasn't alone anymore.
Behind him, marching in perfect synchronization, were 50 Skeleton Warriors.
They held knives, pipes, and jagged rocks. They made no sound. They felt no fear. They were a white tide of death.
Su Chen stopped in front of the Gym doors. The double doors were bent outward, as if something massive had tried to push its way out.
[Eye of Truth Activated.]
[Boss Detected.]
[Target: The Gym Teacher (Mutated).]
[Name: Flesh Butcher.]
[Level: 8 (Elite Boss).]
[Ability: Shockwave. Cleaver Throw.]
"Level 8," Su Chen noted. "Highest level on campus."
He turned to his army. He didn't give a motivational speech. He just pointed his finger at the door.
"Kill."
The skeletons surged forward. They didn't open the doors; they smashed through them.
ROAAAAAR!
A massive roar shook the building.
Inside the basketball court, a giant monstrosity stood. It was three meters tall, stitched together from muscle and fat. It held a meat cleaver the size of a surfboard.
The Flesh Butcher saw the skeletons entering. It swung its cleaver.
WHOOSH.
Three skeletons were smashed into powder instantly.
But Su Chen didn't blink. They were expendable.
"Swarm him," Su Chen commanded from the back.
The remaining 47 skeletons jumped on the Butcher. They stabbed its legs, bit its ankles, climbed its back.
The Butcher roared, grabbing a skeleton and crushing it in its hand. But for every one it killed, two more stabbed it.
[-5]
[-8]
[-4]
The damage was small, but it was continuous. The Butcher was drowning in ants.
While the boss was distracted, Su Chen moved.
He didn't charge in. He climbed the bleachers, running along the upper railing.
He analyzed the Boss.
[Weakness: The Butcher has a exposed heart on its back, covered by a thin layer of muscle.]
[Opportunity: Wait for it to use 'Ground Smash'.]
The Butcher screamed in rage. It raised its massive cleaver high above its head. The muscles in its back rippled.
[Skill: Ground Smash charging...]
"Now."
Su Chen jumped from the balcony.
He was twenty feet in the air. Gravity pulled him down. He aimed the Sealed Dragon-Tooth Blade directly at the pulsing red spot on the monster's back.
The Butcher slammed the cleaver down.
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted the skeletons away, shattering ten of them instantly.
But the Butcher was stuck in the "recovery animation" for 2 seconds.
Su Chen landed.
SPLORTCH.
The rusty pipe drove deep into the exposed heart.
Su Chen didn't stop there. He activated [Iron Skin] to brace his shoulder, then twisted the pipe violently.
"Burst."
He channeled his remaining Mana into the pipe.
The Sealed Dragon-Tooth Blade glowed red.
[Weapon Skill Triggered (Hidden): Dragon's Bite.]
The pipe released a pulse of energy inside the monster.
The Butcher's eyes bulged. It didn't roar. It just gurgled.
Its massive body went rigid, then collapsed face-first onto the basketball court floor.
[You have slain the Level 8 Elite Boss: Flesh Butcher.]
[Experience +4,000.]
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 6.]
Su Chen pulled his weapon out. Black blood sprayed everywhere.
He looked around. Only 15 skeletons remained of his army of 50.
"Acceptable losses," Su Chen said.
He looked at the Boss's corpse.
[Can be Resurrected.]
[Cost: 200 Mana.]
Su Chen frowned. He only had 80 Mana (Level 6 cap increased). He couldn't raise this boss yet.
"A waste," he muttered.
But then, he saw the loot.
Floating above the corpse was a glowing blue card.
[Loot: Skill Card - "Weapon Mastery (Passive)".]
[Effect: You can use any weapon with 100% proficiency.]
And next to it, a key.
[Key to the University Armory.]
Su Chen's eyes lit up.
The University had an ROTC program (Reserve Officers' Training Corps). They had an armory on campus. Most people thought it just had ceremonial rifles.
But Su Chen's [Eye of Truth] read the description on the key:
[Access to: Tactical Gear, Riot Shields, and... Live Ammunition.]
Su Chen grabbed the key.
"Guns," he whispered.
He looked at his remaining 15 skeletons.
"If I give skeletons guns..."
A terrifying idea formed in his mind. A Necromancer was scary. A Necromancer with a firing squad was a nightmare.
He turned to the exit. The sun was beginning to rise.
[System Announcement: Day 2 has begun.]
[The Tutorial is over.]
[The Global Chat is now open.]
A new icon appeared in his vision. The chat box was scrolling at a million miles per hour.
[Global Chat:]
"Help! I'm in New York! It's hell here!"
"My mom just tried to eat me!"
"Anyone know how to kill the dogs?"
"Who is Anonymous? He's Level 6 already! I'm still Level 1!"
Su Chen glanced at the chat, then closed it.
"Let them talk," he said, walking out of the gym, his skeletal guard flanking him. "I have an armory to loot."