Are you happy, are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat?
Out of the doorway, the bullets rip! To the sound of the beat,
Another one bites the dust!
— Excerpt from "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen

Martin Harvie woke up with an aching body. He was still processing what had happened and at the moment, he still felt the phantom pains of the electricity running through his body.

He can't believe such events had happened in reality, much less to himself.

'Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy?' Martin thought, chuckling to himself. He was a long time fan of the band Queen ever since he heard Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio when he was five and thought that the song mirrors his feelings at the time in the orphanage.

Such musings cannot hold a candle to the elephant in the room however, such as the words that were somehow being displayed in front of his eyes no matter how he moved his head.

[Salutations Player! Welcome to the Multiverse!]

He was just browsing his phone in boredom when he received that email. He would have never thought that the words 'turning your life around' would feel so sarcastic right now. Who would have thought that just mindlessly opening a link that was an attempt at phishing would result in your body being bathed in electricity and being warped to god knows where with only clothes on my back. Truly, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.

'Is this a blessing? Or a curse?' Martin thought to himself while he was carefully looking around him. It seems he was somehow transported inside an empty classroom. All the chairs are carefully arranged at the far sides of the room except for the lone chair that he was currently sitting in in the middle of the room.

There were no lights aside from sunshine that was peeking through the curtains. It appears to be just afternoon based on the position of the sun. It is eerily quiet despite appearing to be in the middle of the class hours.

For obvious reasons, he was very uncomfortable with the current atmosphere. While he was not in a hurry, Martin felt the need to hurriedly leave the room to find other people in the building however he forcefully calmed himself and quickly assessed his options.

'I don't actually have many friends before and despite it being an obvious bait, my instincts probably kicked and therefore opened that email spontaneously which might have turned to be right or a wrong decision right now but clearly, this is the card I was dealt with right now. It's probably better to learn about these words that are still somehow on display.'

And so for the next 15 minutes, Martin explored the functions of what he called the 'System'. It appears that after the initialization (when he was electrocuted), he was granted the system along with its basic functions.

'Status' Martin called out in his mind.

---

[STATUS:
Name: Martin Harvie
Race: Human
Level: 0
STR: 0.7
CON: 0.8
DEX: 0.8
INT: 1.0
WIS: 1.1
PER: 1.2
KARMA: 100]

---

If the information from the system were to be believed that is; aside from level and karma, every point in a stat constitutes a common human average ability. This means that aside from Wisdom (WIS) and Perception (PER), I was far below average ability in Strength (STR), Constitution (CON) and, Intelligence (INT) which irked me so much. I get that from my way of life, I would be below average in my physical stats (STR, CON, DEX) however I can't accept that I was below average in INT.

'Damn, did the system just called me an idiot? Maybe it did not measure my stats correctly.' Martin thought to himself and swore that he is not in denial.

Moving on.

In games when you kill a monster or complete a quest and got awarded with experience points, your character's experience bar will be filled which would result in a level up. It was not like this in the system. In the system, the level is the approximate measure of one's strength by calculation of the stat points. Every 100 total points of all the stats aside from Karma means one level. This means that you would level up if the total amount of your base stats were to reach every hundred points.

The stats are increased by going through rigorous training of mind and body or buying enhancements through the 'System Shop' which houses almost everything in existence including skills and abilities, however; to buy from the System Shop you would need a large amount of Karma points.

Normally, Karma means the sum of one's actions in this and previous states of existence. It is not included in the information given but this might mean that if you've done bad things, you'll be given negative Karma and if you've done good things then you would have positive Karma. This might be an oversimplification but for now, it's okay as a benchmark.

'I don't remember doing bad or good in my life though? Is picking a penny on the street and not returning it considered bad Karma? How about helping a grandma cross the street? ' Martin was currently warring with his thoughts for the moment. Such was the effect of a hundred Karma on his psyche.

He was troubled by the amount of his Karma because according to the system, just being born would net you 1000 Karma. That means somewhere down the line, he lost 900 Karma.

He does not remember it but when Martin Harvie was still a snot-nosed child on the orphanage, He constantly teased and heckled one of the orphan girls. His constant annoyance and harassment through teasing had given her low self-esteem and a negative outlook in life and somehow turned her into a shut-in later in life.

He also pestered and harassed the caretakers of the orphanage and especially the director of the orphanage that somehow annoys him every time he sees his face.

There are probably other such alike circumstances but the bottom line was, he did not lead a proper life.

All actions have consequences and right now, all of it has accumulated and bit him back in the ass.

Even just living a proper normal life should have given him some more positive Karma, however, his lifestyle of wasting his time on internet cafe even when he was living on the edge had earned him negative Karma. Such was his life.

Erasing the negative thoughts in his mind, Martin chose to move on to his current circumstances.

What he thought to be the second most important in the system.

'Mission Board.' Martin called out in his mind.

---

[MAIN QUEST: Survival!
World: E-484F5444
Term: 3 Days

Description:
You have been selected as a potential player by the Nexus. All new players are sent to a different world for initiation and are given a mission appropriate to their level. Please prove yourself by completing the main objective.

Background:
You are currently a student of Fujimi Academy and it will soon be overrun by a horde of zombies. Your time is limited and if you do not escape, you will certainly die.

Main Objective:

1. Earn 1000 Karma and survive for 72 hours.
   • Reward: 1000 Karma.

Bonus Objective:

• Kill as many zombies as you can (0).
  • Reward: ???

Failure Conditions:

1. 1. Karma must not fall below 1000 before the mission ends.
2. 2. Completion of all the Main Objectives.
   • Penalty: Death.

Notice: The mission will start in 40 seconds.]

---

"Okay-okay-okay-okay. Not only was I suddenly pulled into another world, but I'm also expected to survive a zombie apocalypse? What's more, I only have less than 40 seconds before the shit hits the fan? ARE YOU SHTTING WITH ME!?" He cried out in outrage, huffing in the process.

If Martin Harvie was to be asked honestly what he's most hated and most feared genre in any media then it would unquestionably be——Horror.

'Fortunately, there are only zombies here… I don't know what I would do if there are ghosts or something like the Final Destination.' He thought while calming down.

He took deep breathes for about 10 seconds and again realized he had no more time for this shit.

Martin Harvie quickly looked around for what would be a suitable weapon and suddenly ran straight to the lockers as he thought of the mops and broom that might or might not be inside. Fortunately, fate has not abandoned him as he quickly took the mop and proceeded to break-off the head to use it as a makeshift staff or spear or whatever they want to call it.

'It's suspicious that no one heard or came to investigate here with all the ruckus that I'm doing here… anyway.' Such thoughts are still running through his head while he ran out of the classroom.

Out of the corridor, there was no one except for him. There are about 5 seconds left in the mission counter when he heard a commotion outside the window. Looking outside it's obvious he's at the top floor of the building. Just his luck.

Adjacent to the building was what he thought the main building as he saw the classrooms that had people in it. Some of them might have also heard the commotion outside as some of them were clearly looking outside the window.

If he's eyes were not fooling him, that thing outside is definitely a zombie. Just looking at those erratic movements while it repeatedly bangs the gate. Creepy and disgusting.

The teachers had taken notice and came out to the gate.

*Ding!*

[Notice: The 'Main Quest: Survival!' have already started!]

"Oooohhhh shiit!!" Martin very loudly cried out in alarm as he rapidly ran in the corridor. He thought that he was heard by the students, however, the students were focused on the commotion outside and did not see him running.

He blazed through the corridor and rapidly ran down the stairs without caring for the consequences. When he was about to run down the next steps down for the next floor he saw a silhouette at the corner of his eye.

Martin thought he saw the janitor of the school and had thought to warn him of the impending doom.

"Yo bro! Heyy!!" He shouted panicked at the janitor not caring for any demeanor at this point. He did not notice that he's already speaking in a different language.

Martin thought the janitor noticed him as it immediately looked behind only, without changing its posture, it's head spun at 180 degrees.

The graphic scene (for him) quickly registered in his brain and it froze him in place. Such a feat does not belong to a human.

Having realized a little late that he was shouting at one of 'them', he was late in running away.

It immediately noticed the prey in the vicinity and madly chased for it. Its arms are raised as if in preparation of hugging its only friend only, its prey is its friend.

Martin immediately regretted his decision. Why did he choose now to be a busybody? He should have just immediately run away to safety.

One of the universal truth in any world, it is that there is no medicine for regret. Because if there is, people would not find an escape out of reality.

As if to spite him, he received a message that drove him to the edge.

*Ding!*

[Notice to Player: Congratulations! You have been granted a 'Tutorial Quest' by the Nexus.]

---

[TUTORIAL QUEST: Man Up!!

Description:
Regain your courage and defeat the fiend that's been haunting you.

Main Objective:

1. Kill the janitor zombie (0/1).
   • Reward: 100 Karma.

Bonus Objective:

• Kill it within 3 hits.
  • Reward: 100 Karma.

Failure Conditions:

1. Don't get hit.
   • Penalty: Death]

---

*Snap*

He might have been hallucinating but he genuinely heard something inside him… Snap. Is it his sanity?

"Nah, it can't be. Right? Ahaha...ha...ha" He laughed in denial of what is happening. Is this world conspiring with the system to kill me? Such thought was running through his head as the janitor zombie was almost upon him.

He was between fight or flight. What was he to do? He only knows how to punch common thugs and then suddenly, he was now fighting zombies!

That's too big of a leap, isn't it!?

And he just now noticed… That right now, he is very tired!

He just now realized that he is running while on an adrenaline rush and when the shock had hit him, the adrenaline had also worn off.

His body was hit with the feeling of exhaustion all at once! Right now, Martin only has a tired body and a mop stick while facing his first zombie in his first zombie apocalypse in his first world travel.

Damn! That's many cherries popped. All at once. And with a zombie. How cool is that? Fuck!?

He quickly shook his head to erase such idle thoughts. He's escaping from reality again! How sad is that!

While the exhaustion has dulled his senses, it had not dulled to the point that he would not notice the enemy approaching.

Right now, his priority is to survive this exchange. If the games and movies are to be believed, one hit on an exposed wound or a bite from it and I'm down. If I become a zombie, would I join its party or would it join my party? Maybe I would join their zombie genealogy. Haha.

Anyway, this zombie is too slow. Here I am escaping from reality and it still had not arrived. Well good for me.

The movies say that a zombie's weakness is the head right? Let's first try hitting its head before anything else.