Lucian ignored the zombies he heard from across the room on the third floor. He and the horse carefully strode toward the stairs. The elevator was surely not working, and he was sure he would not want to jump from the third floor, no matter how fantasy-like the horse was. Not that it could fit in the window, he thought.
He easily reached the stairwell and led the horse downward, creeping to avoid attracting unwanted attention. As they descended, Lucian spotted two zombies across the hallway but ignored them; every minute mattered.
When he reached the first floor, three zombies roamed the lobby. He recognized two of them as the security guards of the dormitory. The third was a student—an unfamiliar girl around his age—probably returning late from somewhere.
What caught his attention were the bite marks all over the girl's neck.
Were the security guards the ones who turned her into a zombie?
Lucian didn't take long to confirm his thoughts as he got closer with his horse. He saw the blood-stained mouths of the security guards, probably from the poor girl. He felt pity; dying from the pain of being chewed alive was perhaps not the best experience. The apocalypse came so unexpectedly that it turned the world upside down for most people. The same went for him. He had lacked direction after his parents died, but now, for the first time, he had a drive—a goal and a purpose—to first find his friends.
Lucian gave a mental command to the horse. It moved forward, aiming for the nearest zombie—the girl.
The Shadow Steed advanced soundlessly, its hooves barely making a whisper against the tiled floor. Lucian marveled at the way it glided through the corridor, silent as smoke. When the zombies finally turned toward them, it was already too late. The horse reared up and kicked, sending the girl flying back before stomping down with crushing force. The floor trembled faintly with each strike.
Once the girl stopped moving, the horse turned toward the first guard, trampling it next. The second guard stumbled toward them, and Lucian took the chance—he swung the sword with both hands. The zombie staggered but kept crawling, so he turned again and again until the blade crushed its neck, leaving it motionless.
Lucian checked the bodies. Nothing dropped this time.
He sighed, realizing the skill book earlier must have been pure luck.
He searched the guards' pockets and found a set of keys, immediately heading toward the front gates. Even with adrenaline pumping through his veins, his hands trembled. His thoughts were racing. He was still just a student—thrown into an apocalypse he barely understood.
The horse stood guard as Lucian worked on the locks, ready to strike at anything approaching. Once the gates finally clicked open, he tossed the keys aside and mounted up.
He'd already tested the horse earlier—riding wasn't tricky. Though it moved like a normal steed, he could also command it directly through his thoughts. He acknowledges that it was probably thanks to the skill book and not because he was talented at horse riding.
He climbed up onto the horse and prepared to go toward Ivan's. Lucian gripped the reins, steadying himself.
With a kick, the Shadow Steed leapt forward, galloping into the night. Lucian guided it toward Ivan's dormitory, avoiding zombies along the way. Strangely, none of them seemed to notice him at all.
[Subskill — Shadow Veil (Passive): While riding the Shadow Steed at night, the user blends with the darkness, becoming nearly invisible unless someone focuses directly on them.]
Lucian smiled as he read the description of the subskill. The zombies couldn't even tell a horse was running right past them.
With the night as his cloak and the moon casting faint light upon the streets, Lucian easily reached Ivan's dormitory. The building stood three stories tall, farther from the university. He remembered Ivan lived on the first floor, at the farthest end of the property.
As he came up in front of the gates, he noticed zombies roaming around the dormitory hallway. The gate was locked, preventing Lucian from easily commanding the horse to dominate the zombies. He had to come up with another way to get inside.
Lucian circled the perimeter around Ivan's dormitory and found a possible passage. It was a wall two meters from the road, and for some reason, he confidently knew that the Shadow Steed could easily cross it. As he prepared to jump, the horse reared upward, dashed toward the wall, and leapt high.
It easily jumped and bypassed the wall, but what Lucian saw inside was a nightmare—zombies roaming everywhere.
But how?
They roamed the courtyard like restless shadows, ten to twenty in total. How? Lucian thought. It's the middle of the night… why are there so many here?
Ivan's dormitory grounds were extensive—about the size of two basketball courts, with buildings along the northern and western sides. There were maybe thirty rooms on the first floor alone. Unfortunately, Ivan's was in the farthest corner from where Lucian had entered.
He decided to move carefully. Galloping here would be suicide; one wrong step and the entire horde would notice. The horse's silent steps carried him slowly through the shadows.
Then—a voice.
"Help! Please help!"
Lucian turned toward the sound. A male student about his age stumbled into view. The guy had a bite mark on his neck and tears streaking his face. He was limping, running from a pursuing zombie, and must have caught sight of Lucian and the Shadow Steed.
Lucian hesitated. His logical part said no—he hadn't directly confirmed whether infection spread through bites.
The student screamed again, but the noise only drew the horde's attention. Dozens of heads turned toward them.
Lucian was about to act when the man suddenly froze mid-step. His eyes rolled white, his body convulsed—and he collapsed.
A heartbeat later, he began to rise again.
Lucian's stomach dropped. It's that fast?
Without another thought, he pulled the reins and dashed toward Ivan's room, leaving the scene behind.
Behind him, the newly turned zombie let out its first rasping moan.