The first thing Phod heard was someone swearing.
“Left! Left, damn it!”
That was followed by an explosion.
Boom!
Then someone shouted,
“I told you left! Why the hell did you shoot the wall?”
Phod furrowed his brow.
What kind of hospital provided such damn attentive service...?
His eyelids felt as heavy as if someone had piled rocks on them.
He tried to open them.
White light stabbed into his eyes, forcing him to close them again.
His head throbbed.
His throat was dry.
His chest felt heavy, like he'd just run up ten flights of stairs, even though in reality, running up two would probably leave him gasping.
“...Water.”
His own voice was pitifully faint.
No one heard him.
Phod moved his fingers.
This time, they moved.
Okay.
He still had fingers.
A decent start.
He slowly opened his eyes again.
The hospital ceiling.
An IV line.
Light green curtains.
And—
More than ten transparent windows.
Phod froze.
Oh.
His brain really was broken.
A message floated in the center of his vision.
[Welcome]
[Player 0]
[Foundation System connection successful]
He closed his eyes.
Opened them again.
The message was still there.
“Shit...”
This time, his voice was loud enough.
Bow whipped around.
“Phod?”
She nearly flew to his bed.
“You little shit!”
Phod flinched so hard his head hurt.
“Ow... Sis, take it easy.”
His mother, standing by the door, turned around. Tears immediately streamed down her face.
“Phod!”
His father came in behind her. Usually, his expression was so still that it seemed nothing could ever surprise him, but now his relief was written all over his face.
His mother gripped his hand tightly.
“How are you feeling, honey? Can you see me?”
Phod looked at his mother.
Above her head was a message.
[Human]
Name: Napa Condition: Normal / Fatigued Selection: Refused Ability: None
Phod blinked.
The message didn't disappear.
He looked at his father.
[Human]
Name: Witthaya Condition: Normal / Slightly high blood pressure Selection: Refused Ability: None
Phod fell silent.
“Phod?”
His mother squeezed his hand.
“I can see you.”
“See what, honey?”
Phod looked at his mother again.
That could wait.
There was something more important right now.
A heavy impact sounded from the hallway.
Crash!
His father immediately turned around.
Phod looked over too.
Then he saw what was standing behind the glass door.
[Undead — low-grade reanimated corpse]
Threat level: 3
Condition: Deteriorated
Weakness: Brain / Soul Core
Observation: Destroying its limbs will not completely stop it from moving.
Phod stood frozen for two seconds.
Wait a second.
He turned to look at another one.
The message was the same.
Look at a person—there was data.
Look at a walking corpse—there was data too.
“Bow.”
“What?”
He turned to her.
Then he nearly forgot to breathe.
There was more information above Bow than above anyone else.
[Selection Survivor]
Name: Bow Innate ability: Restoration Compatibility: 41% Condition: Low energy / Fatigued
[Development paths detected: 7]
[Most suitable path: Sealed]
[Insufficient conditions]
Phod stared.
“Sis...”
“What now?”
“What the hell did you do?”
Bow pointed toward the door.
“The world ended.”
“I can see that.”
“I got powers.”
Phod went quiet.
“Healing?”
Bow stopped short.
“How do you know?”
Phod had no idea how to answer that himself.
Another burst of noise came from outside.
“Two more are coming!”
the security guard shouted.
The young man with fire powers raised his hand.
Phod looked through the gap in the door.
[Awakened]
Name: Thanwa Ability: Spark Proficiency: 3% Remaining energy: 58%
[Usage error]
— Using too much force from the shoulder — Trying to “throw” the flames instead of setting their point of origin — Unnecessarily losing 34% of energy
Phod furrowed his brow.
Throw fire?
Thanwa swung his arm.
A fireball shot past the corpse and slammed into the wall.
Whoosh!
“Again!”
the security guard cursed.
Phod sighed.
“Bow.”
“Yeah?”
“Open the door a little.”
“You just woke up.”
“I’m not going outside.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Help the guy who's about to burn down the hospital.”
Bow looked at him.
Then she cracked the door open.
Phod shouted,
“Fire guy!”
Thanwa turned around.
“Who the hell are you?”
“A patient!”
“And?”
Phod took a breath.
“Don’t throw the fire!”
“What?”
“Your hands aren’t cannons!”
Thanwa’s face tightened.
“Kid, you just woke up. Don’t—”
“You create fire from your palm, right?”
Thanwa stopped.
Phod pointed.
“Then don’t think you have to throw it. Think of a wick right in front of you, and light it!”
“What?”
“Look at its chest!”
One of the corpses was dragging its feet closer.
Phod saw the distance floating in the air on its own.
8.2 meters
7.5
6.9
“Six meters!”
Thanwa raised his hand.
“I’ve never lit anything from six meters away!”
“You’d never had fire coming out of your hand before today either!”
The security guard let out a laugh despite holding a chair.
“Give it a shot!”
Thanwa gritted his teeth.
This time, he didn’t swing his arm.
He simply raised his palm.
He stared at the center of the corpse’s chest.
A small flame appeared there.
Whoosh!
The corpse stopped for a moment.
Thanwa’s mouth fell open.
“Holy shit...”
Phod hurriedly said,
“It’s not dead yet! The head!”
“Got it!”
Another flame appeared on its face.
The security guard rushed forward and smashed its head again.
The body collapsed.
The window above Thanwa changed immediately.
[Proficiency: 3% → 5%]
[Sub-technique discovered: Remote Ignition Point]
Phod stared.
It really increased.
It wasn't just a number.
His advice had genuinely changed someone else's ability.
His heart began to pound.
Not from fear.
His mind was simply racing faster than his body.
If other people could develop...
Then the message he'd seen above Bow—
[Evolution path: 7]
What did that mean?
Before he could think any further, a voice sounded inside his head.
[Player 0 has begun using the Foundation System for the first time]
[Basic abilities unlocked]
— Inspect — Analyze — Record — Guide
[Note]
[Seeing a path does not mean the destination will be reached]
[The target’s decisions, experience, resources, and environmental conditions will continue to have an effect]
Phod read it and chuckled softly.
Good.
At least the system wasn't telling him to press a button and turn everyone into gods.
A roar rose from the fire escape.
This time, there were several voices.
The security guard turned.
“More are coming up from below!”
Phod looked at the stairwell door.
Black shadows moved behind the glass.
One.
Three.
Five.
More and more kept appearing.
A system window appeared in front of him.
[First Foundation Quest]
[Maintain a temporary safe zone]
Objective: The hospital’s fourth floor
Condition: At least 30 survivors must remain alive until 12:00 a.m.
Reward: Unlock the basic creature database
Penalty: None
Phod raised an eyebrow.
No penalty?
Another line of text appeared beneath it.
[The Foundation System does not punish failure]
[The world will do that instead]
Phod fell silent.
Then he looked at his father, mother, and Bow.
He looked at the injured people lying all along the hallway.
He looked at the security guard, whose hands were still shaking.
He looked at Thanwa, who had just discovered that his power was more than what he'd thought it was.
Then he looked at the dozens of shadows behind the stairwell door.
Phod let out a long sigh.
“Yeah...”
He slowly pushed himself upright.
His head felt ready to explode, but he still forced a smile.
“Wake up and I’m already getting put to work.”
Bow pushed his shoulder back down onto the bed.
“You’re lying down.”
“Sis.”
“What?”
Phod pointed toward the door.
“If I just lie here...”
Another impact rang out.
Bang!
The door shook.
Phod gave a dry smile.
“Pretty soon, they’ll come lie down with me.”