"A Peak Tier 2, just a few steps away from becoming a Tier 3," Klaus observed, his eyes narrowing as he sized up the creature. "I guess it wants my blood for that final push."
A sinister smile curled on Klaus's lips as he tightened his grip on his sword. "Just so happens, I also want that stone in your head," he said, his voice low and menacing.
Without wasting any more time, Klaus lunged at the Zombie, his sword slicing through the air with deadly intent. The Zombie reacted quickly, raising its bone sword to block the attack. The clash of blades echoed through the forest as the two engaged in a fierce battle, each strike sending sparks flying.
Klaus could feel the power in the Zombie's attacks, but he was faster, more agile. He dodged a swipe aimed at his head and countered with a swift slash across the Zombie's chest. The creature staggered but didn't fall. Its sharp gaze locked onto Klaus filled with a hunger for more.
"This bastard has some skills, but its nothing in front of Master Klaus. You can die now" Klaus laughed.
The Zombie swung its sword again, but Klaus was ready. He sidestepped the attack and drove his blade into the Zombie's side, twisting the sword to make the wound deeper. The Zombie let out a guttural growl, but Klaus didn't stop. He yanked his sword free and delivered a final, powerful strike to the creature's neck.
The Zombie's head rolled to the ground, its body crumpling a moment later. Klaus watched as a stone, slightly larger and brighter than the others, fell out of its head. He knelt down and picked it up, his sinister smile returning.
"A Medium-grade stone, just as I hoped," Klaus muttered, examining the stone before storing it away. "One step closer to the city, one step closer to a better life." Klaus laughed and the moved even deeper.
Even though the zombie was an upgraded version, Klaus didn't feel any real danger from it. If anything, he felt like he hadn't even begun to tap into the full potential of his sword. It was like he was holding himself back. So, he decided to head deeper into the forest. If he could find more of these zombies, he might start to understand something important about the sword path.
Clang!
The sound of clashing swords echoed through the trees as Klaus's sword was suddenly blocked by a bone sword. As he ventured deeper into the forest, he quickly realized that the zombies here were different—they weren't ordinary at all.
These ones had sharp, focused gazes and moved with a more coordinated attack pattern. It was the kind of precision you could only get through training. That meant not all zombies were brainless; some were skilled fighters capable of going toe-to-toe with humans.
"This is getting exciting," Klaus muttered, parrying an attack from the zombie. He swung his sword in a wide arc, aiming for the zombie's waist, but it managed to pull back just in time. However, it wasn't fast enough. Before it could fully retreat, Klaus delivered another swift strike to its neck, killing it instantly.
"Huh, I leveled up again," Klaus muttered to himself. It wasn't until after he'd stowed away the zombie stone that he realized he'd reached Level 8 Awakened.
"Now I've got 200 free points to distribute. Looks like it's time to step up my game." Without hesitation, Klaus allocated the points, focusing on just three of his attributes. He added 70 points each to Strength and Stamina, and 60 points to Agility.
"I should probably focus on Defense next time," he mused, glancing at his status window. Feeling the surge of strength coursing through him, Klaus couldn't help but smile.
Name: Klaus Hanson
Age: 16
Talent: Celestial Elemental Overlord
Class: Weapons Overlord
Bloodline: Dormant
Physique: Nine Reincarnation Divine Body
Realm: Awakened - Lvl: 8/12
Strength: 230 | Agility: 270 |Stamina: 240 |Defense:100 | Intelligence: 100| Health: 1000
Spiritual Qi: 75,800
Stat Points: 0
"Just four more levels, and I'll become Ascended. Then I can really step into the big leagues and go on some intense hunts," Klaus grinned, and like the wind, he dashed off into the forest, heading straight for the core region. This time, he was aiming for Tier 3 monsters and zombies.
It didn't take long before he encountered his first Tier 3 monster. With his stats boosted, Klaus didn't waste a second—he immediately unleashed a series of devastating attacks.
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Far from where Klaus was, a young man with dark hair stood before thousands of humanoid figures that at first glance looked like ordinary zombies. But these zombies were different—they were more relaxed, each holding a bone sword.
It was a bizarre and slightly unnerving sight. Normally, zombies don't feel pain; their only instincts are to kill and feed. Seeing these vicious monsters standing at ease and clearly awaiting orders was a clear sign something was about to happen.
At first glance, the young man didn't seem like a zombie, but a closer look revealed that he was indeed one—just an exceptionally powerful one. He was a Tier 3, probably at the peak of Tier 3.
"This time, we're going to wipe out all the humans that have entered our territory," he announced. "Those of you who haven't broken through the barrier will get to feed on them first. So go out and kill as many as you can. Today, we're going to make sure there are no survivors."
A loud, guttural growl erupted from the zombies at his words. In an instant, thousands of them began to move, ready to turn the forest into a sea of crimson.
At another location, a different handsome zombie gave the same speech, prompting another group of thousands of zombies to march toward the area where the first group had gone. Each of them wielded a bone sword.
The scene played out in yet another spot, where thousands of zombies were moving in unison toward a single destination. It was the same story at multiple locations, with all the groups seemingly converging.
The Zombie Forest sees thousands of experts coming through every day. It's so vast that even with tens of thousands of experts roaming around, the chances of running into each other are slim—unless you know the forest well.
For those with some connections or backing, detailed maps of the forest are available, showing at least parts of it. If you have one of these maps, navigating the forest becomes much easier. And this means the forest's owners can also track where the crowds are gathering and plan their attacks accordingly.
It's a perfect ambush plan and unluckily for most, these Zombies have become even more intelligent in the past years. This time, their numbers are so great that if all goes well, they will lay waste to all humans in the forest.
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After hunting for a while, Klaus decided it was time to find a place to rest for the day. He needed 76,800 points to level up to Level 9. Thanks to his recent upgrade and the boost from killing a few Tier 3 monsters, he had racked up 3,000 points for each one he took down.
He'd underestimated the power of Tier 3 monsters. When he clashed with them, he quickly realized they were tougher than he'd expected. He had to strike harder and faster to take them down. But with his enhanced abilities, he managed to hold his own and come out on top.
After his intense battle, he had amassed about 70,000 points. He found a cave to rest in for the night. The next morning, he set out again, venturing deeper into the territory of zombies and monsters.
It was quite a sight. His sword flashed continuously as monsters fell one after another. His space ring was nearly filled with monster bodies. He had to start removing Tier 2 monster corpses to make room for the more valuable Tier 3 ones.
[You have killed a Tier 3 Monster called Silver Fur Lion. You have received 3000 Exp.]
[You have leveled up. Current Level: Level 9 Awakened. You have received 150 Stat points.]
"Killing humans really does pay off," Klaus sighed, glancing at the messages. "Even zombies bring in more than regular monsters." He'd been hunting for a while, but the experience points he was getting felt pretty disappointing.
He noticed that killing a Tier 2 zombie gave him 1,500 EXP, so a Tier 3 should've been around 5,000. Yet, the 3,000 EXP he got for each Tier 3 monster kill felt like a real letdown. It was clear that the rewards weren't matching up to the effort he was putting in.
"There is something wrong" Just when Klaus was relaxing and gathering his thoughts on how best to use his 150 points, he felt an ominous feeling in the air. He doesn't know why but he felt the danger in two ways.
"Am I overthinking things, this is strange," he muttered to himself and then shrugged it off. He stored the monster's body and started walking away. However, after moving a few steps, he felt the feeling again, this time, a little more stronger than he has expected.
He also got a faint idea as to where the feeling was coming from. he quickly started making his way there despite the danger he was feeling. Klaus didn't know why he was going toward the danger, but he felt no resistance, instead, every part of his body wanted to go there.
Because of this, he didn't use his points, instead, he saved them for later trouble. Back in the academy, he overhead a lecturer that advised the students to always save their points for when they really needed them.
Klaus had only moved for a few minutes when a loud explosion erupted a few miles away from the direction he was going.
"This aura, it seems she has come here too" Klaus smile and then hasten his steps