The woman gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, as though accepting her fate..
However, before the zombie rat could reach her, a terrifying force slammed into its head with a resounding 'BANG!', and its skull exploded into shards of blood and flesh.
The scent of burnt flesh filled the air. The gory aftermath splattered onto the woman, widening her eyes in shock. Seeing the decimated corpse of the zombie rat, the woman turned her gaze to the person who had saved her.
It was a bulky, muscular man standing at a terrifying three meters tall, dressed in a pair of scorched jean shorts that reached his knees and a black T-shirt. A faint brilliance surrounded him like the sun, and steam exhaled from his body at intervals.
This person was none other than Elias.
[You've killed a Level Three Mutated Zombie Rat. +90 Experience Points]
[Obtained Rat Tail Whip]
[Obtained Mutated Rat Daggers]
[You've reached Level Three. You've obtained 3 free attribute points.]
The system alert about killing the mutated zombie rat appeared briefly before disappearing. Two white orbs appeared beside the corpse.
Elias felt his body invigorated once more, before picking them the two white orbs, and the information about how to utilise the two orbs immediately appeared in his mind, as though he had done it countless times before.
Elias could neither use a whip nor daggers effectively, because he had never trained with such weapons. With his racial skill, [Adaptive evolution], he could grasp the basics of wielding them quickly, but doing so in a life-or-death situation was too risky.
He quickly stored the items away in his bag.
"Are you okay?" Elias asked, staring down at the woman.
He didn't stretch out his hand to help her up, afraid that he might burn her from the heat he was currently radiating.
Her eyes widened in shock, thinking he was a monster, before quickly shifting to surprise when she realised he was a normal human being like her.
Where had such a man come from?
However, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts. How could she entertain such ideas at a time like this, when an apocalypse had descended upon the world and monsters were emerging out of nowhere?
Upon hearing his question, she nodded in response.
"I feel a pain in my back, but I think I can still walk," she said, standing back up on her feet.
"Good. Stick close to me and don't leave my line of sight if you want to live!" Elias said, quickly walking toward the gymnasium.
Elias had heard the woman saving students and advising them to head over to the gymnasium if they wanted to survive. He understood that it was indeed the safest location, so he quickly headed in that direction.
The woman nodded quickly, stood up, and followed closely behind him. Though her back still ached, she stayed close to avoid losing sight of Elias. As for the two orbs that Elias had stuffed into his backpack, she pretended as though she hadn't seen them.
After all, he had saved her and that ungrateful student.
Meanwhile, upon noticing Elias quickly eliminating the giant mutated zombie rat and his interaction with the woman, other students rapidly followed him, understanding that he was their only hope of survival.
Witnessing this, Elias did his best to save as many as he could, eliminating both zombies and monsters in the process and gaining experience points. However, it was no easy feat.
The only reason Elias managed to save so many was due to his overwhelming stats, slaughtering through the onslaught no matter which path or method of attack the enemies took.
[ You've killed eight Level Six Wide Mouth Mutated zombies. +960 Experience points.]
[You've killed five Level Eight Split-Mouth Zombie Dogs. +800 Experience points.]
[You've killed four Level Ten Mutated Zombie Rat. +1,200 Experience points.
...
[You've reached Level Four. You've obtained 3 free attribute points.]
[You've reached Level Five. You've obtained 3 free attribute points.]
..
[You've reached Level Six...]
....
[You've reached Level Eight...]
[You've reached Level Nine...]
As for those who had already been caught or bitten by the zombies, Elias made no attempt to help them, as they were already dead.
As Elias continued to push through the onslaught, he also noticed something unique within himself. He was adapting to the battle. His attacks became smoother, his sense of danger sharper, and his control over his strength deepened.
Elias struck down the mutated zombie much faster and more powerful than the previous one he had fought, along with several mutated animals.
If previously he had fought like a brute, now he fought like a somewhat skilled warrior. Elias quickly deduced that this was due to his racial skill, [Adaptive Evolution], one of the perks of being a High Human.
Elias has been using [Solar Ascension] for the past 10 minutes, depleting his Sunlight reserves by 70%. The blazing heat emanating from him, along with the golden brilliance that enveloped him, was steadily weakening. His body was caught in a severe strain that intensified with every fleeting second, pushing him closing to the brink of his limits.
However, every time he felt the burden of the unique skill bearing down on him, he took the opportunity to level up once more, revitalising his body.
He attempted to convert his mana to sunlight, and it depleted all of his mana reserves in an instant, making him understand just how powerful the skill was.
This time around, Elias discovered that the sun was constantly replenishing the sunlight within him as it was depleted. However, it wasn't sufficient to counter the depletion.
Though Adaptive Evolution allowed him to sustain the mode for a few minutes longer, the strain reemerged, several times stronger, causing him to grind his teeth in pain.
Elias realised that although levelling up revitalised him, it was no different from running around with an open wound on one's leg, with medicine smeared on top.
Obviously, a skill that boosted his abilities by 200 per cent came with its own inherent risks.