"We need to leave!" I glanced behind us. The commotion caused by the explosion had attracted a large tide of zombies to congregate. They were stirred into action, groaning and lumbering towards the river banks with uneven footsteps.
"Now!"
I roared my lungs out. I could not let these five die lest I fail the challenges. My voice shook them out of their reveries as I ran forward, heading straight for the entrance of a high-rise building.
"Wake up!" Gunther shouted out, shaking himself from his stunned state and rallying his friends. He looked at me, "We need to find a safe location!"
"I know. Follow me!" I sprung forward and made a gesture with my blade. Just a few dozen metres in front of me, zombies of various levels were appearing, moving at different speeds.
I heard a set of rapid footsteps following me from behind, indicative of the group's obedience. It was good that I established a bare minimum of trust between us through our earlier fights.
Otherwise, they would surely try a different, less efficient path.
Bang—!
The world before my very eyes had slowed to a crawl as I shot my first-ever bullet. My aim was off by several inches as the bullet whizzed past the zombie I wanted dead. Instead, it shot into another zombie further away. The zombie staggered from the force of the bullet as its left shoulder gave way, allowing its arm to fall onto the ground with a sickening thud.
My nose twitched as I ran forward and brandished my gunblade to pave a path through the thickening horde. The smell of corpses grew ever more rancid.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—! Slash—!
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie!]
[Kill Count: 21/33]
I blasted the heads of any nearby zombies and slashed through the necks of those within melee range. The Level 1 zombies that had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere were all being cut down, one by one.
Shiiing—!
I heard the swift unsheathing of a lethal single-edged sword. The katana in Ella's hands sliced through the zombies that I was not fast enough to fight against.
The burden I bore lessened as each member of the group joined the battle. They fanned out behind me, smashing heads and cutting through spines desperately and hastily. We made our way to the highrise building without any problems, and before any higher-level zombies approached us.
Once we were inside, I braced myself and slashed at what should have been nothing but air.
Whoosh—!
A shadowy blur of movement had erupted from the darkness, similar to myself when I utilised the Rushing Shadow Art. My blade, which had been flying through the air unperturbed, suddenly met resistance.
Blood splashed onto my face as I cut a Level 5 zombie in half. These undead assassins were truly a problem for those lacking in reaction time. The two halves of the zombie flew past me and landed on the ground outside.
[You have killed a Level 5 Zombie!]
[Kill Count: 22/33]
I acted like it was nothing and flicked the blood off my blade. Unsurprisingly, I had sprained my wrist because of the force that I had encountered. There was also my thumb...
Crack—!
I fixed my dislocated thumb back into its rightful place. The adrenaline coursing through my veins numbed my ability to feel pain.
"Damn," A chuckle escaped my lips as I shook off the dull feeling of my right hand and threw my blade to my left.
"You..." John gazed at me like an idiot, shocked by what I had done. "What kind of zombie was that? It was much faster than the Level 2 zombies that we had fought before..."
"Level 5." I promptly replied before walking deeper into the building. "Let's continue forward. Similar to Level 4 zombies, Level 5 zombies have a certain consciousness to them. They are also solitary kings, which means that this building should be empty of any undead bastards—they kill any moving thing in their territory."
"Where are you leading us?" Jane frowned as she gazed at my back. I gave her a passing glance and pointed up.
"We'll head to the upper floors before this area gets swarmed by zombies. Since you've lost your camp, we need to find supplies and a place to sleep for the night. I'm already starving." I sighed, uncaring for the fact that Jane still didn't seem to like me much, "I wanted to have breakfast on a floating diner, but alas, it seems like someone betrayed you guys."
"B-betrayed?" Jennifer yelped, "Why would someone betray their fellow humans when we're all trying to survive?"
I raised a brow, "You guys haven't heard of the zombification ritual?"
"The what?"
The group was shocked once again.
Well, it was to be expected. The zombification ritual was something humans could use to attain strength. They would turn themselves into conscious undead, infected, but not totally.
Those who went on the path of the lone wolf would discover this fact about the world. I was just using this information to get each member of the group to praise my existence even further.
"Something like that exists?" Jane's frown deepened, "How can we be sure that you're not making this up?"
I grinned, "I can show you."
...
When we arrived at the 13th floor of the tower, I lead the group to what was akin to a nest made out of corpses. The smell of blood and decomposition flooded my nose, making my eyes water and my stomach lurch. Although this was an important part of speedrunning the Three Tests of Worth, I dreaded it quite a lot.
"What... is this...?" I heard Ella's soft voice from beside me.
"A zombie cocoon." I pointed at the centre of the nest with my sword, "The Level 5 zombie collects its kills and places them all here. There is a reason why the building is eerily clean. When it collects enough dead things and this place becomes a breeding ground for the zombie virus, then some kind of material will spawn..."
I looked into the eyes of each person in the room.
"The Level 5 zombie will then consume this material, turning into a Level 6 zombie capable of human thought."
Ignoring the shock and doubt of the group, I walked into the nest of corpses, holding in my urge to vomit as the... things... beneath my feet squished and cracked with every step I took. Disgusting fluids burst out of several abscesses, giving me chills down my spine as they splashed onto my clothes.
When I arrived at the centre of the nest, I slashed open a rather special-looking corpse. It was webbed with green, pulsating veins.
A dim green glow appeared before my eyes. The source of the light was some kind of jade pebble, pristine, and unlike everything else around me. I fished the item out of the rancid corpse and faced the group.
"This here is a crystallisation of the zombie virus. This is the material that allows high-level zombies to evolve even further."
With a smile, I waved the green pebble in front of their faces.
"Now, what do you think happens when a human consumes this?"
Without waiting for their answers, I placed the item inside my mouth and swallowed it whole.