The music was a collection of classical piano songs from the 80s, coming from an old CD player.
When the party investigated the area, they found a half-eaten muffin, warm coffee, and a pile of curtains made into a makeshift bed.
It took them a couple of minutes to figure out who had been living there. The familiar handwriting was confirmed by the three friends.
Searching for the owner, they found him standing outside in the central fields of the campus along with seven other people and a mutated dog.
It looked like a fight was about to begin, but the strangest thing was that the old man was blocking the seven other people from hurting the elemental dog.
"Hey, it's really Professor Adrian!" Daniel almost bounced in excitement.
[Adrian lvl 2]
[5 / 14 Hp]
This was the professor who taught them how to code, how programs worked, and how society had tricked a rock into thinking.
The same professor who let them earn their IT certificates by the time their batch had graduated high school.
Vincent was pleasantly surprised, but a frown dampened his excitement. "Angel, is that the woman you confronted at the mall?"
Angel scanned the crowd. "Tch. Yup, that's her."
In an instant, Vincent had the group running out of the library and toward the commotion, weapons ready.
The situation became evident as soon as they started hearing the conversation.
"Move away, Professor. We need this XP to get Rissa past level 3."
"I understand that. But! Finnley has been with me since the start. He has saved me countless times. You can't possibly expect me to just hand his life over!"
The professor was a 56-year-old man.
Before the outbreak, he had shown a much younger and cleaner appearance. But without the luxury of grooming, his messy long white hair draped over his shoulders and his beard had covered half his face.
Behind him, a white-furred husky tall enough to reach an adult man's height when standing lay weakly on the floor. Snarling at the group in a low frequency, its hostility gleamed from its eyes.
[Northern Husky lvl 2], a green name tag.
[ 34 / 129 Hp]
"Then are you expecting us to go out of the school and risk our lives? It's like you're telling us to go die."
The person speaking had bright blonde short hair, blue eyes, and white skin. At 19 years old, William had just entered university when the outbreak began.
[William* lvl 4]
[24 / 24 Hp]
"You know damn well that's not what I meant! If you're so inclined to getting her to level up, then let me help!"
At this point, the professor could care less that these kids were once his students.
The other party appeared to have run out of patience as well.
"Please. You should have taken a combat class rather than the Rancher." Rissa rolled her eyes, touching her previously wounded ear.
It was healed by the cleric of the group the day after, yet Rissa could still feel the lingering pain. Subconsciously, she had gained the habit of pinching it to calm her nerves.
William gestured for Troy to come forward, his expression appearing difficult. "You leave us no choice, Professor. Please don't resist Troy that much. It would be best if you close your eyes."
"William!"
But even the familiar authoritative voice coming from the professor barely jolted William. His decision was final.
Troy strode forward, a grin on his face. He was a large, tanned man who had no relation to this educational facility, freeing him from any psychological burden.
Yet not even halfway through his journey, his clothes suddenly stopped him. And in a moment, he was lifted off the ground, dangling from seemingly nothing.
"W-What! Help! Get me down! Attack! It's an attack!"
"You're fine. It deals no damage," Vincent called out from behind the seven people.
Shocked, they sharply turned around, their blood draining from their faces at the sight of their large entourage.
William's brows knitted as he scanned over their levels, his stomach lurching. 'Why are they all level 3s?! Where did this group come from?!'
Rissa fared no better. As soon as she locked gazes with Angel's smiling eyes, she reflexively stepped back and lowered her presence, hiding behind William.
"Y-You! Put me down!" Troy's panic was palpable, his voice cracking.
"I will in a minute," Vincent shrugged, but he looked languid, turning to Palya instead. "Can you write that down? We'll do more experiments later."
"O-Okay, big brother!"
Palya's cheerful smile looked out of place in the tension, but she paid it no attention and happily started writing—Talia was helping her with a smile by using her hands as a table.
Vincent then scanned over everyone's levels, internally sighing in relief at seeing two level 2s, one level 3, and the rest being level 1.
Aside from William being level 4, he calculated that the risk of death in case of a fight was extremely low.
"Good day, Professor! Need a hand?" Vincent confidently strode forward, hands in his pockets.
The seven people split reflexively, creating a pathway. Before they realized what they had done, Vincent's party followed after their leader, stopping on either side of the professor.
It was a surreal feeling for the homeless crew to be in the spotlight. Secretly, they were bumping elbows.
Vincent had the clerics heal Professor Adrian. Then he looked at the husky. "Do you know if player healing works on monsters?"
The professor's eyes were pooling with tears, but he straightened his back and thanked the cleric before he answered. "I haven't seen anyone try."
"Hang on. You're planning on healing that thing? Are you stupid? It would've made more sense if you were here to KS!"
William's mind was running in circles, regretting that he didn't take a mage class instead of the monk. He was grateful for the bonus speed he gained, but at this moment, he utterly needed a ranged spell to take the kill.
Angel quirked an eyebrow. After getting approval through Vincent's eyes, she stepped forward, a hand on her hip while the other pointed to the direction of Wascana.
"Good news! Regina recently had its geese population blow up. You can contribute by culling some of them. Ain't that a win-win?"
"And risk getting overrun?!" Rissa couldn't help but retort, though as soon as her head stuck out, she quickly went back to hide.
Angel shrugged with open palms, rolling her eyes. "I don't fucking know. It's a skill issue on your part. Go harass someone else's dog, since it looks like that's all you're good at."
William stared at Angel's face. Her original red hair color was starting to show, making only the bottom half platinum blonde, but that did nothing to dampen her charms.
His throat locked up, unable to form words. He looked at the professor instead, who was looking at Vincent as if he was seeing his son.
"Professor, who are these people? I hope you aren't forgetting to explain to them the rules here in the university."
The professor was startled. Frowning, he made a difficult face.
"Rules? Who made them?" Vincent turned, finally looking at William.
"Who else but the three powerhouses? Heh, you may be level 4, but those people are about to level up to 7! Don't think you can join them just because you have eleven people behind you."
"Three people at 7? Have they tried a hand at the Frost Troll?" Vincent's mind instantly filtered through his words, narrowing to what really mattered.
William looked taken aback, his momentum shattered. "W-What the fuck. Why would they?"
"No? Tch, useless," Vincent blurted in disappointment. When he turned back to the professor, respect came back to his face. "What are the rules?"
The exchange had the professor's eyes widening in disbelief, yet at the same time, he was feeling extreme nostalgia.
'Mature, high level of awareness, and most of all, he is in control. As expected of the council president.'
A smile graced the professor's face as he explained.
The rules were as follows:
Anyone planning to live in the university has to give up a portion of their resources to any of the powerhouses. The reason given was that they were the ones keeping the monsters clear from the premises.
The second rule was the right of claim. It was necessary to voice out that you have claimed a spot or none of the powerhouses can help you if someone decided to occupy it when you were away.
The third rule stated that if any of the powerhouses needed manpower, you were expected to help, especially if an emergency occurred.
"The fourth—"
"There are more rules?" Vincent frowned, discomfort surging. He trusted no one at the moment to take care of his party's lives. "Forget it, Professor. Since this university has its own society, we'll have our temporary post somewhere else."
Everyone besides the party was shocked.
To them, the rules weren't asking a lot. In exchange for shelter, protection, and food, all you had to do was comply.
"What do you mean? Currently in Regina, this is the safest place to wait for the military. Where will you go?"
Concern laced the professor's tone. He wasn't as shocked to hear Vincent's resistance to the rules, but anywhere else was extremely dangerous.
Vincent blinked, looking past the professor's eyes and meeting his party's tranquil gazes—gazes that were full of trust. His lips curved.
"Outside. To level."