Void Reaper: The Essence Apocalypse

The plan was taking shape in his mind, even as Valeria's last words still echoed in the silence of the store.

He stared ahead, as if seeing more than just the dusty shelves and shattered windows.

"My long-term goal is to return to my hometown. I need to find out what happened to my family."

He clenched his fists.

"And short-term? Today's fight made it clear — these zombies are getting stronger. And faster than I expected. If I want even the slightest chance, I need to speed up. The most important thing right now is learning how to use Void Manipulation in real combat and leveling up before the world leaves me behind."

He checked his stats. Level 3. And yet, he had already seen zombies reaching level six. These weren't creatures to be taken lightly.

"If I want to survive... if I really want to make it to my city, to my family... I can't afford to stand still."

Valeria didn't say a word. She stood beside him with arms crossed, her gaze fixed somewhere in the distance, but a subtle hint of silent approval curled at the corner of her lips.

Valeria glanced at him sideways. "How exactly are you planning to gain levels? Just run around the city and kill every zombie you come across?"

Adam ran through the map in his mind, recalling a place that might work: an elementary school, with a large courtyard and easy access to the upper floors. He could take one of the upper windows or the balcony near the gym — a perfect spot to control the area and strike safely from above.

Adam smirked and turned toward her. "I've got a pretty clever idea," he said, a glint in his eye.

Valeria raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. Adam just shook his head. "Don't want to spoil the surprise. You'll see."

Valeria gave a faint smile, as if she appreciated the defiance.

***

Two hours later, he was at the school. It looked like time had frozen on the worst possible day — the sounds of bells, children's laughter, and teachers' shouts now replaced by an ominous silence. Dust-filled hallways, peeling walls, abandoned backpacks and schoolbags lying like corpses. Chairs overturned, as if the students had vanished in an instant.

Adam climbed the creaking stairs and took position on the upper floor, by a window overlooking the schoolyard. The view was grim — an abandoned playground, rusted swings, a toppled goalpost, and benches buried under fallen leaves.

He dragged a heavy metal shelf near the stairway entrance. The screech of iron echoed down the corridor. He blocked the passage, leaving only a narrow gap barely wide enough to squeeze through.

Valeria watched with interest, moving behind him at a leisurely pace, like a cat unsure whether she was an observer or a participant. Her eyes followed his every move, but she didn't ask a single question.

Adam began searching the nearby classroom — overturned desks, metal chairs, even old boards and hanging maps. Most things were either too light or too awkward to carry. Eventually, he found a rusty but still solid fire extinguisher beneath the janitor's desk. Nearby were several bent metal rods, as if someone had once tried to barricade a door.

He gathered them all, dragged them to the window's edge, and gave Valeria a quick glance. She merely raised an eyebrow, as if filling in the rest of the plan in her mind.

Before approaching the window, Adam combed through more classrooms and hallways, looking for anything that could serve as a weapon or noise-making lure. He found smashed lockers, broken chairs, even a crate of balls in the gym. Most of it was too light, but he managed to dig out several concrete bases for signposts and a creaky flag stand. Along the way, he also located an old metal railing torn from the schoolyard fence.

Valeria followed in silence, hands clasped behind her back, watching each of his choices with growing interest.

Finally, Adam returned to the upper floor and approached the shattered window. With a strong throw, he hurled one of the metal rods into a nearby dumpster.

The sound was deafening. Metal slammed against metal with a thunderous clang that echoed off the school's walls.

He repeated it twice more. Each time, the sound was different — once dull, as if something snapped, another time long and drawn out, like a blade sliding across steel. Every strike reverberated through the empty courtyard.

Valeria watched from the side, and when she realized his intent, a quiet, almost pleased smile curved her lips.

When silence settled once again, Adam looked out — and spotted movement. In the shadows of swaying trees near the fence, figures emerged. First one. Then two more. 

Zombies entered his field of view.

The first mutant stepped onto the courtyard. Adam looked at the gathered objects by the window — concrete bases, rods, the extinguisher, bent metal scraps.

He glanced at his hand. His fingers trembled slightly, as if sensing the tension in the air. He took a deep breath.

"Time to see if this really works the way I imagine," he whispered to himself.

He focused, inhaling through clenched teeth. That familiar feeling returned — a cold, formless void moving just beneath his skin. He directed his attention to the metal block by the window. His fingers twitched, but he didn't move a muscle.

The object trembled.

It didn't leap into the air. Adam focused his will, guiding the block slowly across the classroom floor, carefully steering it toward the window. It floated just above the ground, pulled by a silent, invisible force. When it reached the window frame, Adam stopped it and exhaled.

His eyes locked onto the first zombie stepping into the courtyard. The block hovered at the window's edge. Its surface shimmered subtly, as if the space around it was drawn taut like a bowstring. Adam waited for the perfect moment.

When the creature moved into the marked zone, Adam released the tension.

The block hesitated for a heartbeat, then fell with indifferent grace.

The zombie reacted at the last second. Its dull, murky eyes flicked upward, as if instinct sensed incoming danger. In an instant, its head jerked back, mouth opening in a silent, inhuman snarl — and then the block crashed down.

The silence shattered with the crunch of crushed vertebrae, a flattened torso, and the wet, repulsive splatter of a body breaking against the concrete. The echo of metal rang out across the school grounds, and the mangled corpse remained as a broken mass, shapeless and lifeless.

Adam froze for a heartbeat, then slowly curled the corner of his mouth. A rare, genuine smile formed on his lips.

"It works," he whispered in disbelief, then let out a quiet laugh.

As more zombies approached from different directions across the courtyard, his eyes gleamed with excitement. His heart pounded like a drum, but this time not from fear — from anticipation.

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed] [Target: Zombie (LVL 2)] [Reward: +1 STR]

A system notification flashed before his eyes, but he didn't stop for a second. His hand was already rising again, guiding another piece of metal toward the window. This time, it was a heavy, misshapen pipe. Adam held it in the air and watched as another zombie stepped into the open.

Wham — the pipe shot downward, slamming into its shoulder and knocking it down.

The next one — a thin, wiry zombie — was crushed by a concrete base Adam slid off the windowsill without hesitation.

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 3)]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 2)]

[Reward: +1 STR]

Each move was now smoother, more precise.

Adam wasn't smiling in disbelief anymore. His face showed focused intensity, sharpened by each collapsing figure.

He dropped another metal fragment, hitting the target right on the skull. Another notification blinked in front of his eyes:

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 3)]

[Reward: +1 VIT]

He reached for another object… and froze. The pile of heavy things was gone.

He looked around the room, then back at the yard, where more undead shuffled in his direction. He hesitated, then grabbed one of the lighter metal rods.

He opened his eyes and looked at the metal rod in his hand. It was far lighter than the concrete blocks — almost too light to matter... and yet, that was exactly what caught his attention. When he focused Void Manipulation on it, he felt how effortlessly it moved under his will — smoother, no strain. It was like a blade on an invisible string, ready to cut through the air.

Adam blinked, analyzing the sensation. Maybe weight wasn't the key. Maybe it was speed. If he combined height, gravity, and Void's impulse... he could give a light object a striking force far greater than expected.

He smiled faintly.

"Alright... let's try something different," he murmured, preparing for another strike.

He focused on the light rod, holding it like a test sample. Essence swirled around his fingers as he gently activated Void Manipulation. The rod lifted soundlessly, as if suspended on invisible threads, and glided through the classroom toward the window.

When it reached the edge, Adam could feel its lightness granting him better control. He pushed the Void with a gentle nudge — not downward, but forward, in an arc. The rod launched from the window like a steel dagger.

At the same time, one of the zombies stood in the yard. The rod sliced through the air and struck it in the temple with a sharp crack. Bone split with a dry snap, and the body crumpled unnaturally to the ground.

Adam raised his eyebrows, surprised by the efficiency.

"That... works even better than I thought," he whispered with a wide grin.

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 2)]

He chuckled under his breath, looking for the next light object. A small concrete statue from the windowsill. A piece of a metal shelf. A broken chair leg. Everything within reach gained lethal power when Void accelerated its fall.

Ten times in a row. That's how many he killed. Ten corpses with crushed skulls or shattered spines lay sprawled across the courtyard. All level two. All dead before they could react.

The system kept speaking:

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 2)]

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 2)]

[Essence Record — Kill Confirmed]

[Target: Zombie (LVL 2)]

…and on, until the tenth.

Faint, flickering points began to hover among the corpses. Adam smiled as he noticed five small gray boxes floating slowly above the bodies. Suspended like ghosts, waiting to be claimed.

"I'll collect them later," he muttered, eyes still locked on the next zombies approaching from the fence line.

His hands began lifting new light objects again. The hunt continued.

A few more zombie kills later, the system made a different sound:

[Level Up: LVL 3 → LVL 4]

[Stat Points Gained: +4]

Adam staggered slightly. He grabbed the window frame as dizziness hit him. The world spun for a moment, and his heart raced without warning.

"What the hell...?" he muttered, breathing heavily. "Since when does leveling up make you dizzy...?"

"That's not dizziness," came Valeria's calm voice from behind him. She stood a few steps away.

Adam looked at her, confused, and she gave a small shrug.

"You got so excited playing with your little zombie hunt that you didn't notice you were burning through almost all your mana."

She stepped closer and added quietly:

"Your body is warning you that you're close to empty. Right now, you're probably feeling weak, maybe a ringing in your ears, maybe even nausea. Those are typical symptoms when your mana drops near zero. The best thing for you now is to sit down and rest for about 30 minutes until you feel a bit better and regenerate some mana"

Realization slowly dawned on his face. He sat down carefully, resting his back against the cold wall. His breathing was labored, hands trembling slightly, but the tension was starting to fade.

Thirty minutes passed. He still felt drained, but less disoriented. The headache had eased, and clarity was returning.

"Lesson learned," he muttered, still seated against the wall. "I really need to start paying attention to mana when I use that ability."

A small smile crept across his face as he began to rise.

"Time to collect the loot from my little massacre," he added with a hint of satisfaction.

He walked to the window, looked down... and froze.

They were gone.

Not a single gray box hovered over the bodies.