Two years passed in the blink of an eye. The joyful school life made Raisa barely notice how quickly time flew by.
Now, she was about to enter her third year. As she looked into the mirror, she noticed a slight bump beneath her shirt—her chest had begun to grow. It really looks like I'm going to become a full woman in this life… she thought.
Thanks to her diligent dual cultivation with Kenji—and being able to practice Moon Cultivation since a year ago—her body had begun to change. The Moon Cultivation had first made her skin softer and clearer.
Although the Moon Cultivation wasn't as fast as the one with Kenji, it could be done alone. Combined with a nutritious diet—milk and papaya being her favorites—Raisa started to notice her chest growing at the age of 10.
She could feel her size gradually increasing. And with her persistent cultivation, she had finally accumulated enough energy to awaken her second Vassel.
However, to obtain a second Vassel, one had to pass a special trial.
Her classmates were shocked—Raisa and Kenji had become the first students to reach the two-star energy level.
Kenji and Raisa then headed to Mr. Macau's office, as promised by their teacher, to learn how to awaken their next Vassel.
Inside the office, Mr. Macau was sitting comfortably, reading a book.
Upon seeing the two students who were the first to reach the second star, he felt a surge of pride. Although, truthfully, he had only reached the second star when he was in sixth grade himself.
Back then, he had pushed himself to the limit to reach the second star, because if he hadn't achieved it before the end of sixth grade, he would've had to repeat the year.
Now, in front of him stood two exceptionally talented students who had already reached the second star level in just their third year.
Raisa and Kenji entered the room, and the teacher politely welcomed them in.
"Before I teach you how to awaken your next Vassel," Mr. Macau began, "I need to tell you that each person's trial will be different."
"But the final result will be graded: C, B, A, S, SS, and the best of all—SSS. The higher your grade, the stronger the Blessing of the Vassel you'll receive."
"I will do my best to get SSS," said Kenji with determination.
"Ah… I'll try my hardest too. I just hope the trial won't be too difficult," Raisa replied, a bit nervous but hopeful.
"Alright, let's begin the test," Mr. Macau said. "Follow me to the garden."
---
In the garden…
"Take a branch—any will do—and draw a circle," instructed Mr. Macau.
Raisa and Kenji followed his instructions, sketching a circle on the ground with the branches they picked.
"Now," he continued, "channel your star energy into the circle. If your energy is sufficient, the circle will glow."
They both placed their hands near the circle and started channeling their energy. A soft light began to shine from both circles—and even after they stopped channeling, the glow remained.
"Good," Mr. Macau said, clearly pleased. "Now, sit inside your circles. Close your eyes, and in your heart, say: 'I am ready to undergo the Vassel Trial.'"
Raisa and Kenji exchanged a glance, then sat quietly inside the glowing circles. As they closed their eyes and repeated the phrase in their minds, the light grew brighter.
Raisa slowly opened her eyes—only to realize she was no longer herself.
She was Miranda.
She looked down and saw her elegant, battle-ready figure, now clad in tactical gear. The familiar weight of AK-203 appeared in her hands as she instinctively summoned it using the blessing.
Suddenly, a green interface floated before her:
---
[ MIRANDA TRIAL - STAGE 1 ]
Objective: Survive 10 waves of zombies.
The higher your rank, the better the reward.
Rewards:
[Second Vassel]
[Chance to enhance Miranda's Blessing]
---
"Zombies?" she murmured.
She turned toward the window. From the height and layout, it looked like she was in a high-rise apartment. She peered down at the busy street below—cars, people walking, everything still normal.
Then—
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the area. Miranda's gaze snapped toward the source—it was a gas station, engulfed in flames.
Then, something terrifying happened.
People on the street began to collapse one by one.
Moments later, they rose—but no longer human. Their movements were jerky, their eyes lifeless, and their mouths agape. The infection had begun.
Miranda shut the window with urgency. She took a deep breath and reviewed her mission.
"Ten waves... if I just start shooting, I'll make too much noise," she muttered.
Quickly, she turned to secure the apartment. Using her knowledge from zombie movies in her past life, she barricaded the door with furniture—desks, shelves, and anything heavy she could find.
Then, carefully, she opened the window again—this time to assess the enemy.
What she saw was pure chaos.
The city was overrun. Zombies spilled out from buildings, clawing at anything that moved. The ground was covered with blood and smoke, screams replaced by growls.
Miranda gripped her rifle tighter.
Thanks to her intense training in marksmanship, Miranda began firing at the zombies outside.
Tratatatata!
A burst of rapid fire echoed through the air. Despite the chaos, most of her bullets hit their marks—right in the zombies' heads. Each shot to the head caused a zombie to collapse instantly.
As her magazine ran out, she summoned a fresh clip, effortlessly reloading. Now that she had reached Star Rank 2, her summoning capacity had greatly increased—she could now summon hundreds, even thousands of bullets.
The street below her apartment quickly became a graveyard of motionless corpses.
Then—
Bang! Bang!
The door behind her began to shake violently, the sound of rotting hands pounding on it.
Miranda glanced back.
"They're inside the building already…"
Knowing the door wouldn't hold for long, she dashed into the bathroom, flung open the vent above the sink, and peeked inside. A narrow air duct led upward.
"A way out," she whispered with relief.
Still, she didn't stop fighting. With one hand, she kept firing out the window, thinning the horde below. But as the door behind her began to crack and splinter, she knew it was time.
Miranda grabbed her rifle, leapt onto the sink, and pulled herself into the air vent.
The crawl space was tight, dark, and filled with dust.
She crawled forward slowly—but with every movement, her large chest and curvy hips made it a struggle.
Tch… beauty can be a curse, she thought with a grimace.
The things that once turned heads were now obstacles to survival.
After a long and grueling crawl, Miranda finally emerged from the vent—relieved to find no zombies waiting for her.
It seemed she had entered another apartment room. She cautiously approached the door and peeked outside.
The hallway was eerily quiet.
She gently opened the door, moving with calculated steps. Her sharp eyes scanned the surroundings until she spotted a stairwell leading upward.
Without hesitation, Miranda began to climb.
The stairwell seemed endless, each step a test of endurance. Her muscles ached, but she pushed through. When she finally reached the top, she burst through the rooftop door and quickly shut it behind her, placing a metal pipe across the handle to block it.
Gasping for air, she sat down for a moment, allowing her star energy to recover.
The cool wind brushed her face.
Then, with her stamina returning, she approached the edge of the rooftop and looked across the cityscape. A nearby building stood just a few meters away—close enough to leap.
With a short run-up, Miranda leaped across the gap, landing with a roll on the adjacent rooftop.
Her destination: the gas station that had exploded earlier. She believed the zombie outbreak had started from that location.
"If there's a clue… it's going to be there."
And so, she began rooftop-hopping, moving closer and closer to the epicenter of the chaos.
Miranda reached the rooftop of the nearest building and peered down at the gas station that had previously exploded.
To her surprise, the gas station appeared intact—there was no sign of fire or damage. But what caught her attention was a strange vehicle parked nearby. It was scorched and destroyed, but on its side was a green skull symbol overlaying a large green letter V.
To get there, Miranda had to descend the building.
She moved carefully, tying a knife to the end of her AK-203, creating a makeshift bayonet. For silent close combat, this would let her stab a zombie in the head without making too much noise.
It proved to be a wise decision. As she moved, a few zombies were attracted by the sound of her footsteps, approaching hungrily. Without hesitation, Miranda jabbed the blade cleanly into their heads—silent, efficient kills.
Along the way, she killed a few more zombies. Observing their behavior, she realized something critical:
Zombies relied on hearing to detect prey.
That meant she could safely ignore those too far away—so long as she remained quiet.
After safely reaching the ground, Miranda approached the wrecked vehicle with the green skull symbol. It was charred, twisted, and riddled with bullet holes. Yet inside, she found something strange—a note, mostly intact despite the fire, seemingly coated in a fireproof chemical.
As she read it, cold sweat broke across her skin.
---
[CONFIDENTIAL: EVO VAMIR VIRUS REPORT]
1. Once inhaled by any human or animal, instant transformation into a zombie will occur.
2. After becoming a zombie, the infected will undergo evolution—growing stronger with time.
3. Based on our study of 3 test subjects, the evolution follows this timeline:
1st Evolution: After 24 hours
2nd: After 3 days
3rd: After 7 days
4th: After 14 days
5th: After 30 days
6th: After 2 months
7th: After 4 months
8th: After 6 months
9th: After 8 months
10th: After 1 year
NOTE: Zombies that reached 10th evolution became nearly indestructible. We were forced to launch three subjects into space to get rid of them.
---
Miranda's expression hardened as she clutched the paper.
Now she understood the true purpose of the zombie waves.
"This isn't just about surviving wave after wave," she muttered. "It's about stopping the zombies before they evolve."
She frowned slightly.
"If we eliminate them early… we can avoid later waves. But if we wait… allowing any to reach even half that evolution timeline is suicide."
The real mission was now clear:
Exterminate the zombies—fast. Before a year passes.