Mutant Core[3]
[Ace POV],
We were able to slow down the zombie's speed with the harassment from the three of us.
But we didn't kill it.
It was like we had a tacit understanding.
Chris did try to kill it once, but I stopped him in time.
This also shows that, while the zombie intelligence is high, it is only high among monsters and normal zombies.
It could not think as deeply as humans could.
If it could, it would at least detect an issue.
The issue is that I'm not sure if it would improve if it were at a higher level.
I'd rather not face a zombie like that if one existed.
Because of our improved physical strength, we were able to cover a distance that would have taken a normal human several minutes to cover.
At this point, I was already able to pinpoint the zombie destination without the zombie lead, so I motioned to Chris and Anna to let us end this.
But since Chris and I were not close to the zombie, we could only use long-range attacks.
Despite our attacks, the zombie did not try to fight back or change direction.
As a result of this, I began to have other ideas.
This is not the zombie thinking again; rather, it is acting on its instincts.
It's similar to how animals react.
They don't understand the concept of love, but most mother animals will choose to die for their cubs.
If I think about it, I'm similar to them in that I don't understand the concept of 'love,' but if I could sacrifice a few lives to save my mother's life, I would.
I'm not sure why I'll do it; I just know I will.
And this was before all this happened.
Because the zombie's demise was just around the corner, it didn't take long for the zombie head to fall.
...
[You have acquired the Primordial records of Zombified Mutated Human Level 18],
...
When I saw the notification on the panel, I knew it was already over.
It's ironic that this was still the same zombie who beat up Chris and me.
The transition of roles was quick.
It's exactly as I predicted: strength is gold, and having more is insufficient.
Fortunately, I didn't end up wasting my last free item ticket and instead exchanged it for a weapon.
As i was thinking of this things, I was made my way to the building the zombie was heading to when I noticed Anna's crow suddenly dive down from the air to the zombie.
Hmm, this looks familiar.
It was then that I remembered the scene of the crow taking away a blood red crystal from the first zombie I encountered and killed.
I was about to burn a crow when it suddenly changed direction in mid-air and flew to Anna's side.
Looking at this, I knew it was Anna who called back.
Because of the crow's actions, I knew there was a good chance that the blood red crystal I saw on the zombie before could also be in this one.
It's not that I can't give the crystal to the crow because it's obviously useful to it and will make both Anna and it stronger, but I wanted to know what it was first.
If its use is something more useful than being crow food, it would be a loss if I discovered it after the previous ones had died.
In this new world, anything useful is valuable.
But even if there's a good chance a crystal is inside the zombie, I'm not going to risk it by extracting it with my bare hands.
Finally, I had to resort to the laborious task of using the twin blades to try to fork it out, which resulted in me further mutilating the zombie's head.
After a while, I felt the tip of my blade strike something and knew my intuition was correct.
However, I am still perplexed.
The first zombie I killed was a special zombie that was different from the others, but when I busted its head, I didn't get a notification from the primordial chronicle that I killed it, but when this zombie's head was cut off, it died.
Is there a pattern to zombie killing?
Or unique zombies?
I stopped thinking about it because I couldn't figure out what was going on and tried to get what I assumed was a crystal out of the zombie without spilling blood on myself.
However, I did not use my hands.
I didn't want to risk turning into a zombie, so I continued to use my blades.
Aside from that, I don't think humans will taste good.
Particularly the gender that swallows certain things.
It's strange that I'm even thinking about it, so I concentrated on the zombies' course instead.
After extracting the blood red crystal, I checked the information in the primordial chronicle.
It's a good thing I don't have to touch it to view it.
...
[Mutated Crystal Core],
The core of a mutated creature.
.....
The primordial chronicle remains the same, with its hazy explanations.
If I didn't have the Alchemy Knowledge in my head and only knew a few things about cores, I would have dismissed the crystal core as useless.
However, cores should only be formed in rank 1 and above monsters.
Is it possible that zombies are unique to our planet?
After all, the primordial chronicles only stated general and basic knowledge and did not go into great detail because it was basic knowledge in the first place.
But, in any case, this is a good thing.
Cores can be used to make a variety of items in alchemy and are valuable to many species.
It is useful for formations and construction, and it can also be used as an energy source.
With this, I should be able to make something useful when I am a little more proficient in alchemy because attempting to make something now with precious materials will only result in waste.
As I thought of this things, I was about to make my way to the building when I heard someone exclaim beside me.
Anna had come to my side not long ago to possibly see the blood crystal up close.
'What's wrong?' I inquired.
"Ace, this is really a good thing," Anna said, with what I assume was an excited expression on her face.
When I heard this, I was confused.
I knew cores were a good thing but how did Anna know?
Perhaps guessing my thoughts, she explained.
"Cores can be used to evolve skills", she said.
Skills?
Evolve?