A sudden lethargy hit me as if the weight of the world collapsed into me. It made my movement unstable as my knees couldn't bear this sudden shift and I fell to the ground. As my consciousness faded away all I could see at the end of the messages I had just received was:
[MP- 0 | 12 reserved]
Are you sure this one is adequate?
I took a quick and sudden deep breath and my lungs burned as if the air wanted to rip me apart from the inside. I heard a voice near me. I need to run.
Why now?
The dead do not sleep.
Fuck. Fuck! I regain consciousness for the second time. They'll Evil Dead my face if I don't move. I push myself off the ground to run just to see it rush towards me instead.
What if it is still connected?
It will change and they will lose another.
We watch.
You watch?
Wait.
A waste.
No. A push to see.
[MP- 4/4 | 8 reserved]
My entire body wouldn't move. There were footsteps that I could barely tell from all the noise. At some point I landed on my pack and the decibel box had gone off. Blaring at my ears.
I knew I was done for if I didn't do something. For whatever reason they haven't killed me yet. Maybe it was the noise. How I'm sure I was trashing about trying to get away might have scared them enough to leave me alone.
There was a series of snarls and running motions to my left. A distraction?
Move.
I pushed myself off the floor. I damn near hopped that third time truly was the charm. My limbs shook from the exertion. By sheer willpower I managed a hunched position. If moving through wet gravel was what I felt before the stat gain, now it felt as being in a sea of honey.
I let out my best impression of a primal roar to try to intimidate. 'Get over here,' the roar was laced with my intent.
I hoped that my executioners were full of themselves. They would try to underestimate me. That's when I'll go after their throats. I have my knife. Magical world or not, an artery is an artery.
With every crime drama, school health class, and my own research on the human body when I was going through my edge phase flashing in my mind, I got into a low wrestling stance. That two-hour course was going to now count for something!
I whipped around and saw a bloody mess.
They were standing there staring at me soaked in blood. Missing pieces of themselves just like me. Unlike me though, they had no life in their eyes.
I looked around. Still tense and my joints creaking. There was nothing living before me. A few [zombie]s were running circles around us. There were even flashes of light coming from what I assumed were drifting [spirit]s. Just floating there with wispy robes. No more than fifty paces from me.
Ah, right. They were attracted to sound for the most part. As I unclenched muscles I didn't even know I had, I almost fell down from the lack of support. I proceeded to open my bag and turned the damn thing off. Couldn't trust how long the batteries would last. That made my new brother and sisters immediately start to look in different directions.
I took in the surroundings again. After a short while, I dropped to the ground, sitting on my ass. I need to take a moment. Too many things were happening again. If they weren't searching for someone already near us then I am fine. No hunting down people. Talking people . . .
I didn't just imagine that, did I? There was a disjointed voice accompanied by a female one. A conversation or an argument. I remember a lot of watches being thrown in there.
"I don't suppose any of you can speak? Tell me what just happened?" I asked toward the bloodied mob.
They predictably looked in my direction and nothing else.
Not in immediate danger. Okay. Found the "food" that I was looking for. No feelings to eat them. Guess because they are my new bois now and don't register as food anymore. What else was I worrying about? Getting stronger.
I'll take a look at them and everyone and whatever else in a bit. I should focus on the notifications before I get into another panic.
[Powered rush- LEARNED
SP Cost- 1
Movement Skill
Charge your body through the world's mana.
Chain +5% power to next attack
+1 Str, +/- 0 Stam-Null]
[Overflow- LEARNED
SP Cost- 1
Passive
Furiously drain surrounding ambient mana to compensate for lack of MP. MP will be reserved as a counter to preserve the caster from {soul burn}.
+2 Mag]
That's niiiiice. I fist-bump the air and whoop at the crowd before lowering my hands slowly.
"I- I did the thing," I told them.
First, I won't die. If I didn't pass out and stopped channeling magic then I would have got this [soul burn] the description is telling me. I don't need to know what a soul is to know that having it burn is really fucking bad. Second, I used magic. I don't recall how or how it even felt. Doesn't matter with me being able to still use magic. Third, I'm that good I can force the system to give me stuff. It was a few seconds after starting that had me collapse. Fourth, I had to purchase it for some ungodly reason.
So why didn't I get a healing spell or skill? What about the first aid with the bandage? It's more or less still skin and bones. Magically glue them together please! Same thing! Hell, I'm undead, the parts don't even have to match since I can still move as physics glares at me. What's so hard in closing me up?
The group of [zombie] have started to disband and began wandering in different directions. I want to corral them to get a better look. Pretty sure I can see a steel helmet and dagger on one. I want information. The runners are too far away for me to properly view their stat names. They also don't have clothes like the [white zombie] and [black zombie]. Actually, one or two have rags that are still attached to their shoulders and hips. Semantics. Nude is nude. The bloodied group is the fresh thing that might give me answers as to where I am.
With how caked they are in blood I am unable to tell where they are from. I'm secretly hoping that I slipped into a hole leading into purgatory or that the apocalypse happened. Because if I got sent to another world, how in the hell am I going to go back? I already tried. Worked out brilliantly.
As I continued to grumble to myself, I get up and take a running stance. It doesn't hurt to do everything I can to increase the chances of success.
I begin my swimming run. Replicating what I did before. I scream a bit to get everyone's attention again. Nothing is happening to me. What am I doing wrong? What was the description again? Moving, check. Charging is the same thing. Maybe it means it in another way. Through the world. Through the world is pretty vague.
There was a spark in me. A feeling closer to surprise paranoia without all the discomfort rather than the pulling away from a flame sensation. The world became slightly more in an instant and I could see past the fog of the forest. A thin veil of a transparent color covered me and I shot forward. A geriatric patient on pcp.
On one side, it felt exhilarating to move this much. On another, my old self could out walk me easily, even with the movement help.
[MP- 3/4 | 8 reserved]
All right. Hope that's just a one time cast and not a continuous drain. Found it curious that I could use it without having purchased it a second time. I'll do more experimentation later. Oddly enough, being partially immortal doesn't mean I have a lot of time as of this moment.
I wanted to celebrate as much as I could. Even without the literal joy being sucked out of me, this whole magic use is exciting! I can do anime stuff like not burn stuff since fire attacks don't do shit. Or figure how to heal by brute forcing the system again.
I placed my hand on one of the slow [zombie] near me for support. I might be pushing myself too much. Wait.
[Fresh Zombie Lvl. 1]
I need to get used to automatically doing this. I might miss something important if I'm not paying attention.
I was now near the outer circle of the group. They had taken my bait and the farther ones started to come back. Most of the runners were gone with only six of them left.
We should move now. If we keep staying here I won't get answers and the number of allies I have will diminish. Strength in numbers.
I took the dagger but couldn't bring myself to remove the helmet off the poor guy. Felt like too much touching the dead for me. I do a quick and larger scan of the group to see if there is anything else that I should be aware of them.
[Last Will Lvl 1]
[The Forest hears your call. Authoritative rights increased.]
[Last Will Lvl 1]
Reanimated Corpse
Vengeful Spirit
Undead
He was a brute of a man. Almost put the specialized zombies to shame in muscle mass. Well, at least what was left of it. Most of the meat of his arms was gone. Bones fully visible.
"Holy shit." I couldn't help but say out loud.
It wasn't just his arms. He was missing so much from every part of his body. He had been hollowed out.
I hated this feeling. As I stared at him, it felt both a familial warmth from a family member and the natural disgust of what I was staring at. And that's when my last tears were let out. I didn't know why. My mind was in conflict as to what I should think of this situation. None of it was telling me to feel sorry for him. Even back home, my ability to feel empathy for others was beaten out of me by my mother.
I can't scream out my frustration for this. I might catch someone's attention again.
I can't beat a tree or kick a rock. I won't risk hurting myself further without getting my [HP] up.
I hate how I don't know anything of anything. Not where I am. Not what is going on. The why? So much fucking WHY?!
Once I snap out of my stupor is when I notice the others. The rest of what was his group is crying too. And another wave of confusion hits me. Corpses crying? I can understand why me. I am still aware unlike the husks that everything else has been so far.
The loose strings of fat and muscle were entwining themselves every which way on the [Last Will]. Before long, a red aura began to emanate from his now crossed arms. Quickly enveloping all the [Fresh Zombie] near us.
[You are under the effects of a defensive aura
Final Conviction
Burst heal granted, +1 HP
Def +2]
"Why are you special?!"
I couldn't help glare at him. Here was someone that can heal. Those that could run haven't stopped at all this entire time. And here I am without any bonuses and a list so damn long it's giving me anxiety to even choose anything.
I might be an insensitive ass for saying this but, I can't trust a mindless monster to heal me on command. However it triggered wasn't immediately apparent. Either way, I wanted it.
"Purchase final conviction," I said out loud to make sure there was no error.
[Final Conviction is marked impossible to learn. Requires a {spirit} designation]
"Just give me something to find useful stuff. Anything really."
[Purchase {Clairvoyance} for 2 SP?]
"Sure, why not? No! Wai–"
[Clairvoyance
SP Cost- 0 (learned)
See the ebb and flow of all things. Making a specialization in how it connects.
Compatibility: High]
My gamer instincts screamed at me. Telling me that I should save it for more important things. Movement is important enough. I'll skip [overflow] for the negative as of now. Until I get a better grasp on skills.
[Dilapidated Zombie Lvl.1]
Reanimated Corpse
Undead
[General]
HP- 6/10
MP- 3/4 | 8 reserved
Str- 13
Def- 8 (+2 aura)
Int- ERROR +1
Mag- ERROR +2
Dex- 2
Stam- NULL
[Skills]
Skill Points- 7
Death's Grip Lvl. 1
Clairvoyance Lvl. 1
Powered Rush Lvl. 1
"Let's just go. Before I dig my grave further," I said while having my head in the palms of my hand. I swear I'm smart. Who am I trying to argue with here?
I turned to the now five runners and screamed, "you too! Don't think I forgot about you!"
Now where did the trail lead? If we weren't surrounded by, I don't know, security? Guards? Then the attack shouldn't have been found out. We have time. I have time to steal what they left behind. Clothes. A bigger knife? The possibilities are limited. I squint at the bloodied group. They look to be a bit too rural to have had anything of real value. At the very least, I can finally get some answers.