Even after Lucas had slain the first zombie, there as no response or dinging noise from the status. While that information seems useless, to Lucas, it was a small blessing. He knew that this zombie was just the first of many creatures that would eventually lose their lives to his bladed hands, and if he were to receive a reminder every time he took a life, he was sure he would go slowly mad.
Still, while there was no response from the status, what he did feel, was a small surge of energy.
While the energy didn't give any boost to his power, he could still feel it inside of himself. Rather, instead of not giving him and power or advancement, it seemed like it couldn't. It was as if there was simply not enough, whether in quantity or quality, to give any boost to his power. And so it gathered within him. Waiting for more to combine with.
That was enough for Lucas to have some expectations towards what was to come.
'Six of you left. Should be simple enough, as long as I don't get circled and ganged. Go after the outliers, wait for the right moment to strike. Don't get hit. Definitely don't get bit.'
Had he been a human, not getting bit by a Zombie would be something that he would never need to remind himself of. It was common sense. Yet, since coming to this new world, many things had defied the principles he had been taught. And that wasn't limited to the idea of waking up underground.
From what information had been given to him when he first encountered the Zombie, he understood just how their system of infection worked. It didn't matter whether the victim was a human or undead or anything else. A bite wasn't transmitted through the blood or saliva, but through a specific form of mana. As long as you have mana, a bite will convert you to a zombie. Even if you are a ghoul or other type of undead, as long as the level difference isn't much, a Zombie bite will transform the victim.
For most undead, that probably wasn't that big of an issue. Zombies wanted to spread, so even if you were bit you wouldn't die. But for Lucas, while not entirely sure, the bite would likely strip him of the sense of self he had retained from his first death. He wouldn't die if one of the zombies bit him, but it was likely he would no longer be himself. The only hope he would have then, was surviving long enough to reach the 2nd or 3rd evolution where he could regain that sentience. Whether he was still the same by then, however, was another question.
No matter what he thought about the situation, it was a no brainer that avoiding a bite altogether was the best answer.
'Zombie with the bangs seems to be far enough out of the group, now. This time, I go for the spine right away. The last attack was a little dramatic, so lets just go for a clean cut through the bone.'
Lining himself up, Lucas entered a stance that would allow him to propel forward at his max speed. The zombie took another step away from the group and Lucas launched forward.
Readying his claw like fingers into the shape of a blade, Lucas dug his hand into the neck of the Zombie as he passed by. Gripping the hard bone as soon as he felt it, Lucas carried forward with his momentum ripping out the spine as he stepped away.
A smile grew on his face as the second zombie of the group fell to the ground.
'Five more to go. Easy does it.'
Readying himself, Lucas shuffled around the edge of the group as he waited for another wanderer. Soon, he found his fourth target, and the moment the zombie stepped out from it's group, Lucas pounced.
He was growing faster with each zombie that he took out, but rather than it coming from an increase in strength, it was his soaring confidence and increasing experience with his new body that allowed him to exert his full force.
Much like the first two zombies, Lucas quickly tore out the spines of the remaining creatures.
'It may be due to their low levels, but they seemed to be really easy to fight. I suppose their low intelligence played a part in it, as well. They weren't very good at learning from the mistakes of their comrades, that's for sure.'
Lucas stood over the limp corpses of the undead monsters. It had taken roughly 20 minutes to kill all of the monsters, despite their low numbers. Most of it had been due to caution. Even if Lucas noticed a zombie beginning to wander out of the group, he didn't commit to the kill before he was sure that he wouldn't suffer for taking action prematurely.
Eventually, it paid off. A bite would have turned him into a mindless creature, and there wasn't much skin on his body to scratch, so Lucas was entirely wound free.
Chanting 'Status' into his mind, Lucas brought up his stats.
[Ding!]
[Name: Lucas Mann][Species: Ghoul][Classification: Devil]
[Individual Level: 0 (40%)]
[Species Evolution Level: 0]
[Natural Defense: 15]
[Attack Power: 35]
[Stamina: 130/210]
[Energy: 500]
[Strength: 5]
[Physique: 3]
[Agility: 7]
[Intelligence: 5]
--- ---
[Skill List][Passive: 2*][Active: 0]
[Passive:
- Elemental Resistance (Species)
- Mental Fortitude
- Detect Presence (New)]
Lucas open his status expecting to see increased stats or the such. He had remembered that he had received a notification back when he first heard the first zombie, yet he had never taken the time to figure out what it was.
Lucas was surprised when he saw that there was progress shown in the individual level section. He had assumed that each level would just come with time, but didn't expect his status to keep track of it for him.
'Forty percent of the way to the first level, I see. If there were 8 zombies, then I got 5% full for each one I killed. Seems a little low, but considering just how weak they were even as a group, I suppose it only makes sense.'
The last thing that Lucas noticed was his stamina. He hadn't thought that he had put much effort into killing the zombies, at least not enough to take away almost half of his stamina. In fact, he didn't feel tired or out of breath at all, just a bit more hungry than when he started.
'I suppose that makes sense, though. I am not alive, so I shouldn't limit myself to living standards. As an undead, what I live for is to eat, so it makes sense that stamina would be replaced with hunger.'
Lucas paused his thoughts and took a glance at the zombies. The grey bodies were severely mutilated. Cuts and slashes riddled their bodies and each corpse had a large wound where he had torn out their spine. There were several zombies among the group that had developed boils and other grotesque symptoms that seemed to have come from their time before turning. Lucas supposed that it was sickness that had killed them and the environment that turned them. After all, he had figured it was quite odd that there were so many undead in a single area.
'I am definitely not replenishing my stamina by eating those guys.
That being said, what will I eat down here? Surely undead creatures won't supply the best of nutrients. Also, where even is "down here"? Is this a cave? Or some fantastical dungeon, like from those novels?'
Lucas had begun to grow accustomed to his environment. Rather than being tense over every sound he heard, he knew that his new skill would help him with reacting to any creatures or beings that took up a fight with him. He was given a little more leeway to relax in this new environment.
Lucas' thoughts continued to explore the possibilities of his environment as he wandered deeper into the cave. He knew that leveling up would be the best answer to any questions he had, and the best way to level up was to fight more monsters.
He decided to trust in his new skill as he wandered onward, rather than make himself vulnerable by trying to focus his senses once again.
He made it several hundred feet deeper into the cave before he detected the first creature with his skill.
Pivoting into a ready stance, Lucas faced his left with a look of concentration. All he knew was that there was a creature close on his left. How close it was or whether it was preparing to attack, was something he didn't know. Thus, he readied himself to defend and counterattack.
After the initial blows, he would leap back and gauge the situation.
Waiting, Lucas kept his patience as he prepared for the encounter. A second passed by and Lucas felt a quick gust of wind. Lucas raised his guard just as the creature he had detected flew at him from above.
The creature had climbed up the wall, out of range from the small glowing plants that Lucas was relying on for light.
Because of the angle that the creature had attacked from, Lucas was not in a position to counter, so he made the quick decision to leap back several feet and prepare for the next exchange.
As he distanced himself, the full image of the creature came into sight.
Seeing the familiar bladed fingers, Lucas nearly dropped his jaw.
'Holy shit. He looks just like me. Well... you know.... with skin.'
[Ding!]
[Ghoul][Level 2][Evolution Level 0]