Cedric looked warily at the unexpected foe.
He glanced at his sword and his hand. Only the handle of the sword survived from that acidic spit, his hands were also covered with burns and were emitting wisps of smoke.
A grimace made its way onto his face. He wasn't in as much pain as he would have expected, however, the surprise of meeting a new enemy type remained fresh for him.
Clenching his hand, he adjusted his stance. He stomped forward and leaned his upper body backward, then with a grunt, he gathered his strength in his hand and threw the remains of his sword towards the mutated zombie.
The projectile pierced several zombie heads before nailing itself to the head of the mutated zombie, who then exploded into a pool of vile acid.
'So they explode when they die. Good to know.' Cedric sneered as he summoned his Training Sword.
His burns were already healing thanks to his 『Recovery』 skill. It also didn't hinder the way he held his sword so he just shrugged it off.
In hindsight, he should've expected a Mutated Zombie to appear. He inwardly berated himself for letting his guard down and causing injury to himself because of his carelessness. That being said, this is the first time that a Mutated Zombie appeared in his battle and he certainly wasn't expecting them.
Mutated Zombies/Undeads are stronger compared to the normal ones because of their mutation. The one he killed just now was called a 'Spitter' for they can spew toxic acids towards their targets.
Normal Zombies and Mutated Zombies are of the same Tier. It's just that, if Normal Zombies were Lv.1, then Mutated Zombies were Lv.2 and above.
They shouldn't pose a problem to Cedric so long as he remains careful from now on. That being said, knowing that they appeared this early into his run, then it's safe to assume that their numbers will only increase the longer this goes on.
Solving that particular problem, Cedric returned to his killing spree. His body once again turned into a blur of motion. Everywhere he passed, exploding zombie heads followed his wake.
While the Training Sword wasn't crafted with combat in mind, it's still sharper and more durable compared to his old sword. Cedric noticed the difference easily as he was now killing zombies more efficiently than before. Now, he could easily demolish groups of 100 with less effort.
'Man, if my killing speed was this fast with a Training Sword, how fast would it be if I used a proper combat sword.' Cedric mused inwardly.
Still, now's not the time for that. He concentrated on his task, keeping an eye out for any Mutated Zombies that may appear anytime soon.
A minute later, another mutated zombie appeared. He didn't miss this one because its mutation was obvious even with the naked eye.
It was a 'Boomer' - a fat yet deceptively fast zombie whose goal was to get close to its target and die by explosion.
Spitters also explode on death but the difference between them and Boomers was the lethality of their explosion. The former explodes and leaves a pool of acid behind while the latter is akin to a grenade when it explodes.
Of course, the stronger the Boomers were, the more lethal their explosion became.
As soon as Cedric laid eyes upon the Boomer, he immediately charged towards it. Seeing him getting close, the Boomer turned feral. Once he was close enough, the Boomer's eyes lit up.
It was then that everything slowed down for Cedric. Still keeping his eyes on the Boomer, he immediately caught the difference within its physiology. With how fast his brain processes information, he immediately knew that the Boomer would explode soon, but he wasn't deterred.
In fact, this was his goal. He wanted to bait the Boomer to explode itself. He already had a path of retreat planned out as well but...for some reason, he felt strangely confident.
Moving along with his instinctual desires, he skirted around the Boomer. In his eyes, everything moves painfully slowly. He took a couple of strides around the undead; stabbing, and cleaving the other zombies that spawned along with it.
When he saw the Boomer's skin ripping apart, Cedric took a couple of steps back and paused.
Time seemingly resumed by then. The ground shook and the air screamed after the Boomer exploded. All the zombies who were caught within the explosion radius got blown up as well.
'Would that count as my kill or not?' Cedric mused to himself.
He then shrugged as that wasn't important right now. Moving his legs once more, he went towards the nearest cluster and continued his killing spree.
Time then passed and Cedric realized the current trend of the spawn. At the 20-minute mark, a single Mutated Zombie will spawn each minute that passes, surrounded by a cluster of ordinary zombies.
Cedric has seen numerous types of Mutated Zombies at this point...
Aside from Spitters and Boomers, there are the 'Constrictors'. They have mutated tongues that can stretch up to 50 meters. Their task was to bind their targets using their tongue, allowing the other zombies to have their way with the target.
'Wailers' are Mutated Zombies who have mutated vocal cords. Their cries turn all zombies around them more feral, making them faster, and more aggressive.
'Runners' are the infuriatingly fast ones. These zombies were so fast that they could run laps around mortals easily. They weren't faster than Cedric of course but their reflexes were sharper. They're the first type of zombies who manage to evade a strike from him but so far, they're not a problem.
'Brutes' are considered as the Giants of Zombies. They're slower compared to other mutated but they're incredibly tough. They could take hits and hit hard. They couldn't hit Cedric of course since he was too agile for them, and their weak points are highlighted in his vision. They didn't cause him a problem so far as well.
And the last one he identified so far, was the 'Scavenger'.
'Scavengers' are probably the most feral type of Mutated Zombie out there. It's impossible to miss them since they're really fucking loud. Even louder than 'Wailers'.
What makes them different is the way they hunt their target. They're fast, could leap high, and are probably on steroids. Their limbs are mutated. They have claws that they love to use to dig the intestines of their targets, seemingly scavenging their bodies in search of something important. That's how they got their names.
One by one, the Mutated Zombies didn't pose any threat to him. Even when they're surrounded by a cluster of zombies, his sword cuts through them just as easily.
Their vulnerable spots were visible to him. His senses could also pick up their intent, allowing him to react accordingly and ahead of them.
Glancing at the digital clock, he was just in time to notice that it was reaching the 30-minute mark. This meant that the horde would evolve once more.
And just as he expected, it truly did. The horde evolved and he immediately took note of the changes.
First of all, the number of spawns didn't increase, the minimum was still at 100's.
The difference was in their strength. If previously, the common Zombies were at Lv.1, now they're at Lv.2, meaning that they're tougher, faster, and more aggressive. Mutated Zombies appeared in pairs now too. Increasing the pressure on Cedric even further.
'Damn, no wonder previous me didn't manage to get this far. This is absurd.' Cedric grumbled at the changes he observed so far.
This trial was really trying to kill him. How can Acala give something like this to anyone? Like, what's the big idea? Either way though, this was his problem. Thankfully he came prepared or else this attempt would end up in failure as well.
Now that the pressure increased, Cedric had to exert more effort into his killing spree. It's still within the realm of abilities, meaning that he could still handle it.
Cedric's clothes were now being drenched in sweat. It didn't make him uncomfortable though so it's still fine.
From his looks, it seems that he's still not having a difficult time with this sharp increase in difficulty. That's not entirely wrong though, but it doesn't mean that he's lowering his guard down.
It's the opposite actually. He just doesn't show it in his face but Cedric was immersed and attuned with his senses. He's conscious of all actions he is doing thanks to his 『Multitasking』 skill.
He tore through hordes of Zombies like he was reaping wheat. His foes were trying hard enough to catch him but he was too agile for them to handle. Even the 'Runners' and 'Scavengers' couldn't touch him at all.
His clothes were already dirty though. It has turned sticky and yucky from all the grime that accumulated from his killing spree. Still, he didn't concern himself with this and focused his efforts on killing as many zombies as he could.
Time then passed in his personal purgatory. Immersed in his killing spree, Cedric reached another milestone. The 40-minute mark arrived, bringing forth another evolution to the horde...