As the warm atmosphere surrounded me and Ella, I looked at her and asked,
"Ella, are you sure you'll join me wherever I go?"
"Yes, Jefford. I would stay with you. Besides, if it weren't for you, I would've probably been walking alongside the undead right now," she said as she squeezed my hand.
"I'm glad to hear that, Ella. But we have to continue improving ourselves. The battle that will soon befall humanity will decide whether we remain a living species—or become just another of the countless extinct ones that once existed in time," I said as I looked at her seriously.
"Yes, I'm ready. Let's farm some zombies," she said as she cast her buff once more on both of us.
Status Check:
> Jefford Cliff (Master)
HP: 2300/2300
Mana: 780/1000
Mana Regen: 1 MP/sec
Class:
Storeman
Close Combat Warrior
Fort Warrior
Attack Points: 10 (+45)
Attack Speed: 2 (+0.25)/sec
Speed: 6 steps/sec
Others: Not unlocked
Buff: All attributes improved by 25%
Duration: 25 minutes & 00 seconds
> Ella Mai (Lover)
Level: 1 | EXP: 1400/200
HP: 2600/2600
Mana: 3200/35,000
Mana Regen: 100 MP/sec
Class: Healer
Attack/Healing: 250
Heal Speed: 1/sec
Speed: 5 steps/sec
Others: Not unlocked
As I checked the status window, I smiled slightly—seeing Ella's companion status change to Lover made my heart skip.
As I continued to admire the change, she called me out.
"Jefford, can you use your interdimensional space to move this mountain of corpses so we can finish off the remaining zombies?"
I nodded and took a few magazines from my inventory, handing them to her.
"Get ready. Once we remove this cover, another battle will commence."
"Yeah, I'm ready," she said, full of anticipation, as she aimed her gun toward the stairs.
Once I removed the mountain of corpses, dozens of zombies rushed toward us—only to be cut down by the bullets being fired by Ella.
I glanced at her for a second—she was full-on commando. Her staff was strapped to her back, her hair tied in a ponytail, and her arms tightly gripping the gun as she bombarded the zombies relentlessly.
A few minutes later, the entire perimeter went silent. All that was left were hundreds of zombie corpses and a system window congratulating me.
> System:
Congratulations! Ella has leveled up to Level 2.
HP increased twofold.
"Ella, congratulations," I said as I hugged her.
"Aww, you're so sweet, Jefford. But shall we start searching for a new hideout? It's getting dark soon," she suggested, looking at me with affection.
"Okay, let's go," I answered.
After a few steps, we reached a supermarket. At first glance, you'd think it was filled with zombies due to the blood smeared across every corner, window, and floor—but surprisingly, it wasn't.
I was starting to feel confused when the system popped up again:
> System – Special Mission:
Use the Fort Warrior class and engulf the mall within the fort.
Successfully defend it from the horde of monsters.
Reward:
Increased stamina
Ability to check current progress of power in upgrading the Ultimate System to the next level.
Seeing the system window, my eyes sparkled. I immediately told Ella about the mission.
"Ella, are you in?" I asked, full of anticipation.
"Of course, Jefford. I'll support you with everything I've got."
With her approval, I used one of my class's passive skills and created a large fort that engulfed the entire mall.
> System:
You have now created a Fort with the help of your class.
Hold out against 100,000 normal zombies and reap the rewards.
Immediately, the fort rose from the ground and multiple zombies started rushing toward us—only to be effortlessly taken down by the fort's cannons.
Ella, shocked by the absurd ability, asked with curiosity in her voice:
"Who controls the cannons?"
"They're operated by puppets I control through mana," I explained.
"And yes, this fort drains my mana—when it hits zero, it'll start consuming 100 HP per second instead."
"But I know you'll heal me, right, Ella?" I looked at her.
"Yes, I will. Let me use a new buff I unlocked after leveling up."
She stood tall and cast another buff—not on a person, but in a large radius.
> System:
Ella cast Mass Aerial Attack Speed Buff
All attack speed within the radius is increased by 2x.
Note: Can be used simultaneously with direct buffs.
Current radius: 3 kilometers (same as the current size of the fort).
After reading the buff description, I smiled at her and turned my gaze back to the horde.
As they entered firing range, the cannons rained down hundreds of shells every minute.
> System Notification:
Normal Zombie killed. (x1000 per minute)
> System Update:
Master, current zombie kill count: 1800/100,000
Incredible progress in just 2 minutes. Please continue!
I looked at the field outside the fort—endless waves of zombies marched toward us, only to be shredded by the fort's relentless bombardment.
The endless battle continued for hours, deep into the night. Ella was getting visibly tired.
> System Update:
Current killed zombies: 80,000/100,000
"This is quite easy," I said as I patted Ella's head.
But the moment I removed my hand, she collapsed from exhaustion.
> System Warning ⚠️
An unexpected Mutated Zombie has been attracted by the bombardment.
Use all available resources to finish this task.
Failure Condition: Death of Ella
I froze in place. My eyes locked onto Ella—she was breathing slower and slower.
The air itself felt heavy, suffocating. As I drew deeper breaths, I sensed it—a terrifying zombie, 10 feet tall, with bulging muscles like a steroid-infused bodybuilder.
I remembered Ella's fear... this was that zombie.
If she woke up now, she wouldn't survive—not unless I killed that thing.
As the mutated zombie charged along with 20,000 others, I activated the fort's special skill.
> System: Skill Activated: You Shall Not Pass
For 3 minutes, the fort consumes no HP or Mana.
All firepower is multiplied by 4x.
Caster will fall into 8-hour sleep afterward, leaving the fort vulnerable.
Seeing the trade-off, I clenched my fists and yelled at the giant:
"Eat this, mister!"
I hurled 4 grenades at the horde. It barely scratched them.
As they reached firing range, cannon speed increased from 3 to 12 rounds per minute.
Within 90 seconds, nothing remained but the tank zombie—approaching the wall.
With a powerful punch, it shattered a portion of the fort, but was immediately bombarded by a storm of shells.
> System Warning ⚠️
Kill the mutant zombie within 30 seconds.
Failure: Death
Seeing that word—death—set me on fire.
I summoned all the dead zombies I had into my interdimensional domain and hurled them at the mutant to confuse it.
As it hesitated, I threw every grenade I had at its face—blasting its head halfway off and revealing a glowing red Core.
The Core floated toward me and merged into my body.
> System:
Congratulations.
You have successfully defeated 100,000 zombies.
New Task Received:
Warning ⚠️
Survive the Curse of the Red Core
Reward: Ability to use Runes
Failure: Madness
As I read the new task I collapsed to the ground and fall to a deep slumber.