The students began murmuring among each other. If there was something else that they longed after other than food and safety, it was power.

After all, if they were strong enough, would Leon even dare to propose such outrageous conditions.

However, they only longed after such power. Most of them were still overwhelmed by the fear of zombies and other dangerous creatures that were now roaming the campus.

Seeing none of them ready to volunteer, Leon was slightly disappointed. He turned around to leave when he saw a hand raised in the crowd.

"Hm?"

He turned back, looking at the person who had volunteered.

It was the girl who had reminded him about his food a few days ago before he went out to the female dormitory.

Pleasantly surprised, Leon nodded with a faint smile. He didn’t expect that such a shy girl would be courageous.

Surprisingly, after the girl raised her hands, five more people raised their hands.

Two of them were guys that Leon had rescued on the first day of the apocalypse, while the other three were completely unfamiliar ladies.

Two of them were students, while one seemed to be a sports trainer with great body and overall fitness.

After confirming that was all the volunteers he got, Leon returned to the table and informed the others.

"You got 24? That’s more than I expected."

Leon shrugged. "Six of them are my personal recruits. The rest are just workers."

Samson’s brows rose. "Recruits? That sounds majestic."

He couldn’t help but chuckle, wondering what the world had suddenly become. Still, he couldn’t afford to lose himself. His daughter still needed him.

"If we’re going to work with that, we should head out now. Returning before nightfall is crucial."

Selene said, then stood up calmly. The others at the table also stood up, then Leon called over the 24 volunteers. Meanwhile the rest stayed behind.

Selene addressed everyone seriously.

"We’re going on a risky journey to provide for ourselves. Stay close to each other and do not spread apart. Or else even we might not be able to defend you. Does everyone understand that?"

She spoke naturally without any nervousness. After all, she had been the Student Union President before the apocalypse started.

The twenty-four volunteers nodded, then immediately got into formation.

Selene and Reymond stood at the forefront, while Leon and Samson manned the left and right flanks respectively.

Meanwhile, Gwen stayed at the rear, placing the powerless volunteers at the core of the formation.

Like that, they departed from the field house, stepping outside the building once again.

Rain hadn’t fallen ever since the apocalypse started, so the air was quite hot and the land was dry. Even then, plants still flourished perfectly.

"Is this because of mana, Thyra?"

Leon asked in a low voice as he walked with the greatsword strapped to his back.

The seductive demon turned her attention to him and nodded.

"You’re right. Mana is the basic energy for life now, so the plants are adapting to it too."

Leon nodded in understanding, then grabbed the hilt of his greatsword. There were some zombies coming in from the left, so it was his job to take them out.

"Z-zombies..."

Someone among the volunteers mumbled in fear as they watched the zombies approaching them.

Selene glanced back, but seeing Leon ready, she wasn’t concerned. Instead, she paid attention to the black-haired boy himself.

When the zombies finally got close and could sense the strong life force emanating from Leon, they immediately ignored those behind him and lunged at him.

Something dark flashed in Leon’s eyes, and then he moved.

One casual swing and four zombies were beheaded, their bodies dropping to the ground with full thuds.

A few students behind him let out startled yelps, clearly not accustomed to such gore and brutality.

[You have slain...]

[You have slain a Level 2 Normal Zombie!]

Leon read the messages that had appeared and clicked his tongue.

These zombies were too weak, and he didn’t benefit in the slightest from killing them.

More were still coming though, so he had to kill them.

"Why don’t you let your ’recruits’ handle them?" Thyra suggested, interrupting his thoughts.

He blinked, realizing he had actually overlooked that. It wasn’t his fault entirely, as the recruitment was Thyra’s idea after she convinced him to get some people who could work with him.

"Alright. Give me my spear."

Thyra nodded then took out the red spear from her storage ring. Really convenient.

Leon’s eyes couldn’t help but glisten with jealousy as he looked at the storage ring on her finger.

At first, he had thought it was an engagement or wedding ring, but she explained to him about its usefulness and how convenient it was.

Unfortunately, she refused to give him her own storage ring, and he had to wait until he could get one from the Star Stream as a reward.

To the others, they just saw a red spear appear in his hand, startling even the evolvers among them.

Although Leon had returned with a mysterious black tracksuit and that large black blade, they didn’t think he had gotten something even more amazing.

Little did they know that he hadn’t gotten anything more amazing. It was simply a convenient ghost who was keeping his items for him.

"You. Come here."

He pointed at the girl who had first raised her hand to join him.

"What’s your name?"

Now that he evaluated her again, the girl was indeed quite beautiful. Although nothing compared to Thyra, her scholarly aura made her likeable.

The girl raised her head and looked at him. "Cassie Jane."

"Cassie..."

He let the name roll on his tongue, then he handed the weapon to her.

"I want you to kill that zombie that’s coming now. It’s a bit slower than you are, and you have a longer weapon. It should be quite easy, am I right?"

Cassie pressed her lips tightly and nodded.

Leon stepped aside, allowing her to face the zombie while he stood ready to intervene.

Although nervous, the girl forced herself to approach the zombie, then when it was three feet away from her, she stabbed the spear straight into its hideous, disfigured head.

[You have slain a Level 3 Normal Zombie! +3 Agility points gained!]

[You have leveled up to Level 1! +3 stat points gained!]

Cassie’s eyes widened as she saw the messages, and soon a smile bloomed on her beautiful face.