"Wait are you serious?!" I exclaimed, my eyes almost bulging out of my eye sockets,
"I'm just kidding! We don't do that here. I'm a friendly system, you know." The System responded hmph'edly.
"Says the one who got me into a killing spree in Si Shelter," I muttered.
"But that wasn't my fault! Your emotions got the better of you that for a moment, I lost the connection I have with you and defaulted you into a mindless zom- er, rabid human."
"Y-you, if you could come out here, I would've beaten the living daylights out of you." I threatened but of course, I didn't mean it.
That's why I was surprised when a woman suddenly appeared in front of me! And moreover, she looks a lot like Natalia!
"Wait... for real?"
"I can only manifest through your eyes so no one would be able to see me except you. As for my appearance, I just combed through your memories and it seems like this girl is a very important someone in your life."
My hand instinctively grabbed the side of my neck. "Yeah, right."
Before I get to enjoy the beautiful scenery in front of me— that is, Natalia's image without a hole in her stomach— the manifestation disappeared. I wasn't disappointed in the least since Natalia is not at the forefront of my mind right now. As I ate the half-eaten fish I kept on staring at, my eyes wandered towards the fire in front of me. "First, I need to get stronger. The System can only go so far." I told myself.
Rustle
Rustle
"Hey, there's someone over there."
"Do you think it's a zombie?"
"You idiot, he has a campfire, do you think he's a zombie?"
"What if he's a mutated one, you know, the one that could speak human language."
"Those are rare, do you think we'll meet a mutated zombie in the middle of the forest?"
"Sounds like it's an optimal place in meeting that kind of zombie."
"So, do we approach him or not?"
After hearing a faint rustling sound towards my left, I strained my ear. I could barely hear their whispers with my enhanced hearing but I managed to listen to everything they said. For some reason, they were talking about rabid humans that could interact with other humans. I, for one, found it weird. However, I was asleep for five years so I don't really know everything that's happened. "Do I call them out or do I just let them whisper about me?" I finally asked myself. In the end, I chose the former option instead of the latter.
"I can hear you, you know," I called out as I took yet another bite from the fish. Seriously, there were far too many distractions that I couldn't finish eating the poor thing.
Rustle
Rustle
Swish
"You can hear us?" One of them asked as the three of them emerged from the thickets.
"Yeah, you were being especially loud. What do you want? I'm busy eating so please make it quick." I called out waving my free hand towards them, gesturing that they leave me alone.
"What the, he's just on the Fifth Level of the Spirit Realm. We don't have to worry about him." The girl called out as she went towards us. "We're already in the King Realm."
Upon saying that, the group didn't hesitate to approach me, but I knew better. Without further ado, I summoned one of my Stage-3 High-Leveled Rabid Human in front of them. "Please, I won't do that if I were you," I told them.
Flinch!
I didn't even need to tell them anything since they willingly took a step back.
"So, what do you want from me and what are you doing in the middle of the woods?" I interrogated with a somewhat threatening tone. As for my subordinate, it just had to stand in front of them and release a menacing aura. Well, it worked, somehow.
"Is this... this is the dark element, right?" One of them asked.
"Yeah. Who would've thought we'll meet a master here."
"Didn't you say he's just in the Spirit Realm? That's impossible. Even those in the Dao Realm couldn't even practice the Dark Element."
And just like that, they started talking nonsense again. Blood Element or Dark Element, it seems like there were a lot more elements discovered while I was asleep. And also, it seems like I'm the only one who doesn't know about it. After all, everyone I met seemed to know what the Blood Element and the Dark Element are. Or rather, they happened to hear about it.
Then there's me who kept on pestering the System about the aforementioned elements. And just like me, the System doesn't seem to have any idea about it.
Before they could admire my subordinate a little bit more, I quickly retracted my summons and gestured for them to sit. After they've done so, I asked them again what the purpose of their visit was. "So, what do you want from me?"
One of the men turned towards the girl and confirmed for the second time if I was really in the Spirit Realm or not. After the girl reassured him about it, the man turned towards me and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, young sir. My name is Liu Zhi and I'm the leader of our party. May I ask for your name?"
"Yong Rui," I told them, purposefully implying that my last name was Yong and my first name was Rui.
"Oh, you're a girl?! I'm sorry if I called you young sir!" The man quickly apologized.
Due to my silken skin and youthful appearance, at first glance, I might've looked like a female in front of him since it was a bit dark as well. But I didn't want any of the misunderstandings after realizing that my disguise of a name backfired right in front of my face. After shaking his hand, I addressed his assumptions. "No, I'm a guy. It's just that, my name got a bit mixed when I was born and my parents didn't bother changing it."
"Oh, so that's how it is." Liu Zhi scratched his head. "In any case, are you perhaps alone, young sir?" He asked with great curiosity.
"Yes," I simply responded since I was still focused on eating.
"Then, would you like to join our party as a fellow zombie hunter?"