Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

As the countdown hit zero, Shane felt the world shift around him.

One moment, he was standing on solid ground, and the next, he was surrounded by a headache-inducing vortex of light.

It felt a lot worse than the previous transportation…

Nonetheless, this didn't take long as the surroundings exploded in a dazzling flash, leaving him in complete silence.

Shane opened his eyes and found himself in what looked like an ancient coliseum.

'Arena, huh… I wonder if the Challenge Zone will change or not…' He mused.

The massive arena was encircled by crumbling stone walls, and vines were even snaking their way through cracks. Obviously, the arena appeared to be neglected by whoever was managing this place.

Then, a faint, magical glow illuminated the battlefield making the place really bright but it was accompanied by a cold, eerie wind in the arena…

After observing for a moment, the arena's dirt floor stretched out wide, about 200 meters, giving plenty of space for combat.

[ Welcome, Survivor Shane, to the Zombie Challenge Zone. ]

[ You have entered Level 1.

Objective: Eliminate all enemies to progress.

Reward: Each successful level grants increased rewards. ]

Shane smirked, cracking his knuckles as he glanced ahead.

Whom~

About 30 meters away stood his first opponent: a Runner Zombie. It growled like how they usually act…

"Just one? This'll be over before it starts." Shane muttered… He certainly liked how the first level was a warm-up for everyone.

The moment the System chimed, signaling the start of the match, the Runner Zombie finally sensed Shane's presence, and with its instinct, it bolted toward Shane without any hesitation.

Its speed was impressive, covering ground quickly… But that wasn't just enough for Shane.

He didn't even flinch. He raised his hand, summoning his three Blight Fang Daggers…

Whoosh~

The weapons hovered mid-air, their greenish glow from the poison coating them had even glowed faintly.

"Let's see how sharp you are today," Shane muttered.

With a flick of his fingers, the daggers flew through the air like arrows. The first dagger struck the zombie's knee, causing it to stagger, while the second pierced its chest. The final dagger drove through its skull, ending the battle in an instant.

The zombie collapsed to the ground and rolled to the ground due to its momentum…

Thud…

As it stopped moving, the System also confirmed his success.

[ Level 1 cleared. Preparing Level 2. ]

This preparation was the 30-second gap for each level that had been communicated to them before.

Shane swiftly retrieved his daggers and sat cross-legged to conserve his stamina before the arena shifted slightly. The glow around the edges of the coliseum increased, and this time, three Runner Zombies materialized about 30 meters away…

"So the number increased instead of changing the Zombie-Type… This shouldn't be a problem to others," Shane muttered as he readied Blight Fang Daggers.

As the zombies charged, Shane remained on his spot, calculating their trajectory. Well, his Telekinesis Talent was only a rare grade, and his control was limited. The daggers couldn't do complicated maneuvers and would just mostly be in straight lines.

Thankfully, with his Armament Expert, Heightened Awareness, and Aura Mastery, this limit was easily compensated.

Whoosh~

Soon, the daggers shot forward with incredible speed.

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The first dagger struck a zombie in the neck, sending it tumbling. The second dagger skewered another through the forehead, while the third required two strikes—one to the leg to slow it down and another to its chest.

Within seconds, the battle was over. Shane hadn't moved an inch from his starting position.

Well, it was easy since the level was too low. He wasn't expecting that much at all.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

[ Level 2 cleared. Preparing Level 3. ]

Anyway, the subsequent levels came fast, since Shane eliminated them as quickly as possible.

The Level 3 challenge had Seven Runner Zombies… They weren't special and just had a larger number. Because of their number, Shane adjusted his strategy, using his telekinesis, Shane positioned his three daggers at some angles that could help him skewer two or three Zombies at once…

The zombies didn't stand a chance.

The Level 4 challenge came, and he fought eleven Runner zombies. Because of this, Shane decided to spend a bit more Spirit Points and incorporated his Aura Mastery a little bit more, making the daggers extremely sharp.

Then, the Level 5 challenge came, where he faced eighteen runner zombies.

This time, although Shane still remained in his spot, he had to use a bit of his Energy Wave, sending a ripple of force across the arena to destroy the horde, making them easy targets for his daggers.

None of the fights could last a minute at all.

Anyway, the Levels 6 to 9 grew harder, with more Runner Zombies spawning. They even started getting faster as if they were getting better shoes to run.

By Level 9, Shane faced 50 Runner Zombies at once… The Runner Zombies were still not a threat but since he wanted to end this quickly, he was forced to mix in his Shadow Hunt ability to teleport behind his enemies, thinning the horde methodically.

Finally, Shane reached Level 10…

'Is it going to be a hundred Runner Zombies or something?' Shane guessed as he knew that every tenth level would be a huge challenge.

[ Level 10 initiated. Opponents: 30 Runner Zombies, 2 Runner Leader Zombies. ]

The Runner Leader Zombies were taller, with stronger builds and sharper teeth… Their eyes also had a hint of intelligence that was normally absent in the regular Zombies.

"This is going to take more effort," Shane muttered, summoning his Blight Fang Daggers and pulling out his Silver Throwing Knives.

The 30 Runner Zombies charged first, followed by the two leaders. Their speed was terrifying as if they were boosted by the Runner Leaders as they swiftly closed the gap within seconds.

Shane had a lot of things in his possession that could swiftly end this, including some explosives and even his Automated Turret. However, instead of using those, Shane decided to throw his Blight Fang Daggers into the air, using his telekinesis to hover them around him like a protective shield.

After some calculations done in a few moments, the daggers darted out in quick bursts, taking down the smaller zombies one by one.

The Silver Throwing Knives, on the other hand, weren't controlled by his telekinesis but simply threw them by hand…

He did this in rapid succession, focusing on thinning the horde before the leaders arrived.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

By the time the Runner Leaders reached him, only eight regular zombies remained.

The first Runner Leader pounced at him, swiping with his hands, hoping to catch Shane and eat his brain. However, Shane just activated his Arcane Veil, deflecting the attack with an arcane barrier.

Using the opening, he drove a dagger into its chest… Well, the Zombie was a bit tall, so the head was a bit harder to hit in such a quick, close combat. However, Shane was still strong enough to raise his dagger and split the Runner Leader Zombie's upper body!

Thud!

The second leader roared, as it to rally the remaining zombies to attack simultaneously.

"Come!"

Shane activated Predator's Surge, enhancing his speed and agility. It may be a bit overkill to activate this powerful Fusion Skill but Shane was hoping that there was some sort of hidden quest in this Challenge Event, so he wanted to kill them all in less than a minute.

That was a thing in the Fairy Realm Invasion after all.

He then dashed to the side, avoiding the coordinated assault of the Runner Zombies.

With a quick activation, Shane threw an Energy Wave into the group, staggering them. He followed up by targeting the leader's legs, crippling its movement before delivering the killing blow to its head.

The remaining Runner Zombies were no longer a threat and Shane ended the battle with a few more swings of his dagger.

[ Level 10 cleared. Preparing Level 11. ]

"Mhmm… This is a good warm-up…" Shane muttered to himself as he retrieved all his weapons.

[ Level 11 initiated. Opponents: 3 Spitter Zombies. ]

"This is getting interesting."

Shane's eyes narrowed as three new figures materialized at the far end of the arena.

The Spitter Zombies were the familiar bloated, greenish bodies oozing with acidic liquid. Their elongated mouths twitched unnervingly, already primed to spit their deadly projectiles.

"So, we're upping the stakes, huh?" Shane muttered, summoning his Blight Fang Daggers and readying his Silver Throwing Knives. Of course, he knew how troublesome these Spitter Zombies could be, so he decided to use the safety tokens he had made since defending against the Acid Spit with his aura would consume a lot of his Spirit Points.

As the battle started, the Spitter Zombies let out a wet, gurgling roar before launching streams of acid toward Shane.

Their speed wasn't too surprising, but Shane was forced to react immediately since he didn't want to get hit by the acid at all.

By spending 40 Spirit Points, his Pixie Oak Safety Token activated and created a Protective Aura.

Whom~

As the barrier materialized in front of him, it absorbed the first volley of acid spits. The liquid sizzled as it hit the shield, leaving dark scorch marks on the dirt floor around him…

However, at the same time that this happened, the heads of the Spitter Zombies also rolled to the ground…