Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

As soon as Diana slammed her hammer to the ground, a wave of energy passed through the ground and disrupted the Siren Zombies' actions…

Diana used this chance to immediately get closer. After all, the Siren Zombies would want him to stay far away and get blasted by their sonic waves.

There was no way she would do that..

Unfortunately, the disruption she made was not enough.

There were still about 15 meters between them when the Siren Zombies screeched!

EeeEeek!

Their soundwaves rippled toward her in an almost visible wave of energy….

Diana doesn't have great agility, but she still has Survival Skills that she can use.

She used Armored Dash and charged forward!

Together with her armor and her enhanced endurance and resistance, it allowed her to endure the attack and also to get close to them!

"Urgh…"

The sound was deafening, but her body held on… It was also thanks to the Dragon's Veil Elixir protecting her from the brunt of the sonic assault.

As she got closer, she then swung the Titan's Wrath, activating its Seismic Crash ability at the same time.

Bang!

The hammer struck the ground, releasing a powerful shockwave that rippled outward. Two of the Siren Zombies were caught in the blast, and their tall figures were thrown backward.

One of them recovered quickly, and it leaped at her with extended claws.

Diana turned, bringing the hammer up in a sweeping motion that connected with its torso.

Bam!

The force of the blow shattered its chest cavity, and the creature crumpled to the ground and defeated!

As expected, the Siren Zombies have incredible skills, but in the end, they have a weaker body. They could still be defeated.

Nonetheless, she had no time to celebrate her small win as another Siren Zombie unleashed a concentrated sonic blast…

Screeech~

The sound attack slammed into her and sent her skidding backward.

Diana groaned in pain as blood started trickling from her ears.

Thankfully, she consumed two of her remaining potions before the battle started. At this point, she was already extremely exhausted.

Only the Berserker's Potion kept her moving, numbing the agony and flooding her muscles with adrenaline.

She knew very well that once the potion's effect subsided, she would be killed.

'I have to keep going… I just need to win this round… I don't care about the next level.' Diana thought as she moved her body, exerting every ounce of energy in her body…

She then sprinted toward the closest Siren Zombie, dodging another soundwave as she brought the hammer down in an overhead strike. The impact cracked the arena floor and obliterated the Siren's head in a spray of black flesh and other matter.

The remaining Siren Zombies coordinated their attacks, and their powerful screeches combined into a single devastating wave.

Screech~

"You---"

Diana fell to one knee as her body started trembling under the assault. She gritted her teeth, refusing to give in.

"Just one more push…" She muttered while her vision was already starting to become cloudy.

Activating the hammer's Titan's Wrath Awakening, she unleashed a burst of energy that surged outward, disrupting the soundwave that was coming at her…

It wasn't really effective, but it was enough to at least make an opportunity for her next move.

She used her Armored Dash once again and charged forward! Her body almost seemed like it flew as she struck one of the zombies square in its core, the blow leaving nothing but scattered flesh on its head!

The final Siren Zombie was already too close to her, so instead of attacking with its sound blast, its claws raked across her arm.

"Aahh!"

Diana cried out in pain but retaliated with a spinning strike, the runes on her hammer flaring one last time!

Boom!

The attack crushed the Siren Zombie into the ground, ending the fight, finally ending the fight.

Diana staggered and felt extremely relieved after hearing the confirmation from the system. She was missing an arm at this moment but she didn't mind it anymore…

[ Level 30 cleared. Preparing Level 31. ]

She fell to her knees, using the hammer to support herself. Blood dripped from her wounds, and her vision blurred with exhaustion.

Despite her battered state, a small smile tugged at her lips. "I made it... somehow."

Reaching into her satchel, she found her last Spirit Stone and held it tightly, its faint glow providing just enough energy to keep her conscious.

She looked up at the arena ceiling, murmuring, "Shane, you better be proud... because I'm not doing this again anytime soon."

With a groan, Diana sat on the ground as she awaited her death… With her battered state, there was simply no way of fighting back. Perhaps if a Walker Zombie started coming at her, she would have a really hard time just to kill it.

She looked at her Spirit Points and noticed that there were only 30 points left. She could not use the Armored Dash or any important skills at all.

'I just hope that it won't be a painful death…' Diana wryly smiled at this since there was no option to log off or leave this Zombie Challenge…

There was only death that awaited them to end this.

[ Level 31 initiated. Opponents: Eight Fire Zombies. ]

'What?! Fire Zombies?!' Diana certainly had a level of resistance against heat since she had worked as a full-time blacksmith before. However, she kind of hated this resistance now since this would undoubtedly give her a painful death!

The ground trembled as eight Fire Zombies emerged. Their charred bodies glowed like molten rock, and every movement they made left smoldering embers behind.

'Ugh… I have to die quickly… Should I just use the hammer?' She thought for a moment…

Flickers of flame escaped their mouths as they growled at her.

As they approached her to get into their fireball's range, the heat that was radiating from them was starting to suffocate her.

Diana gripped her hammer tighter, a sad smile forming on her lips… It had also become difficult for her to raise her hammer.

The Berserker's Status was already gone, and her body started feeling the side effects of the potion.

As the first zombie got into its range, it spat a ball of fire at her!

"Ahhh!"

Diana blocked it with her hammer instinctively, but the flames engulfed her shoulder…

Another Zombie spat at her, and she stumbled backward… Her survival instinct was starting to work even though she just wanted to end this battle…

Nonetheless, as all the Fire Zombies attacked simultaneously, her body couldn't take much more. Flames surrounded her, consuming her entirely.

Thankfully, the pain was fleeting… Somehow, the system shielded her from the true horrors of death.

As the world faded, a calm, monotone voice echoed in her mind…

[ You have been defeated. Calculating rewards. ]

"Ohh… I died… Now, where am I?" She mused.

Apparently, Diana's body reappeared in the waiting void of the system's interface as numerous notifications scrolled before her eyes.

[ Rewards have been calculated

[ Levels cleared: 1–30. Total experience gained: 14,750 EXP. ] Continue your saga on empire

[ Level Up! ]

[ You leveled up 7 times, reaching Level 31. ]

[ Zombie Cores Collected: 1,250 Zombie Cores. ]

[ Materials Gained: Hardened Zombie Claws x10, Acid Gun x10, Screamer's Vocal Fragment x10 ]

[ Item Rewards: Epic-Grade Elixir Pouch x1 ( Contains 5 random Epic-Grade recovery elixirs ), Rare-Grade Spirit Talisman x1 ]

[ Special Title Unlocked: "Hammer of Resilience": Awarded to Survivors who reach Level 30 while wielding a crafted weapon. This Title grants a 15% increase to crafting speed and a 20% damage boost when using crafted weapons. ]

Milestone Reward:

For reaching Level 30, you have earned a special Legendary Item:

[ Infernal Forge Gauntlets ( Legendary ): Forged in the fires of ancient volcanoes, these gauntlets enhance the wearer's crafting and combat abilities. It is also capable of igniting enemies on contact.

Effects:

Molten Grip: Increases crafting precision by 15%.

Blazing Strike: Melee attacks deal 20% bonus fire damage.

Forge Mastery: Enhances crafted items' durability and effectiveness by 10%.

Soulbound Item: This time can only be used by Diana ]

'That's a lot...'

Diana thought as she quickly checked her inventory. She then sighed in relief as the gauntlets indeed materialized in her inventory.

She had exhausted a lot of items in this battle, after all. All the consumables she used were already gone, and the system wouldn't compensate her. Thankfully, the Legendary Item alone was already more than enough to profit from this event…

"At least I didn't come out of this empty-handed," she muttered, a faint smile tugging at her lips despite her exhaustion.

'Wait… I don't feel tired anymore…' Diana thought as she confirmed that aside from her tattered and bloodied clothes, she was actually in full health.

'Right… Where am I?'

Diana soon realized that she had been transported to the Waiting Zone, a serene area that was completely different from the brutal arena of the Zombie Challenge.

The place was a circular garden-like courtyard with marble fountains spouting crystal-clear water.

There were flowering trees with silver leaves that provided shade, and seating areas were scattered throughout, offering a place to rest.

'There's a lot of people…' She thought after observing the place while standing in a huge circular platform where people would start to appear from time to time…

She immediately understood what was going on and just started to relax herself.