Gary was leaving Leah’s house in a hurry, but then something appeared in his path. With a rotten physique and disgusting smell, this humanoid creature with gray skin looked scary, to say the least.
“What the hell is this?” Gary found his heart beating faster with every fraction of a second.
[It’s a ghoul.] Ai quickly responded. [People who have eaten human flesh when they were alive will become ghouls when they are woken up.]
“A-Are you saying the dead are being brought out of their graves right now?” Gary was stunned to hear that. His heart pounded against his chest as the ghoul screamed and jumped at him.
Knowing and believing that he was now strong, Gary instinctively threw his fist at it.
His fist and the ghoul’s claws clashed. A shockwave of translucent energy leaked out of Gary’s fist and destroyed the ghoul’s claws and hand, but the ghoul didn’t care much. It greedily bit on his shoulder and dug its sharp teeth into his flesh.
“Ah! Let go of me!” Gary pulled the ghoul’s head by its hair, forcing it to let go of his shoulder.
Gary suddenly felt unable to freely move his body. “W-What’s going on? Why is my body freezing up?”
[The ghoul’s saliva has a paralyzing effect!]
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” Gary’s heart jumped into his throat. “Can’t you do anything about it?”
[No, your level is too low, but once you defeat it, I can help you develop resistance toward it!]
“No shit,” Gary was saying, and the ghoul roared at him. He also roared back, and the roar ended up freeing his body. “Haa!” he lunged at it and wildly threw his fists. The ghoul also attacked with its loose arms, but Gary’s fists destroyed its arms and then its body. He only destroyed the upper half of the body, but the lower half also soon disintegrated into bits.
Gary found himself panting heavily. “I… I really defeated a monster now, didn’t I?” he looked at his own hands, and he could see a faintly glowing translucent energy. “What’s this warm feeling surrounding my hands?”
[That’s spiritual force. It’s a high-level skill, which you are able to use now because Chun Fu’s spiritual force is still residing in your body, but it will soon dissipate. And then you won’t be able to use it.]
“What? Then when will I be able to use it?”
[When you reach the Energy Reduction echelon, you will be able to pull it off. But you should cross level 200 for that.]
“This really feels like I’m living inside a game, and it’s not as fun as I thought it’d be. Anyway, what level am I at now?”
[The life energy that Chun Fu had given you has helped in reforming your body, so your level rose from one to eleven.]
“Oh, it’s eleven, huh. Wait, I killed the ghoul, so is my level 12 now?”
[Nope. The ghoul you faced is too weak, so your level didn’t increase, but you gained some resistance to ghoul’s saliva and other related toxins.]
“The ghoul was too weak?” Gary’s shoulders slumped more than a little. “What was Chun Fu’s level when he died?”
[First, reach level 100, and then I’ll tell you what his level was when he died.] Ai harrumphed.
“So his level was higher than 100?” Gary was shocked. “Just how many levels are there?”
[Shouldn’t you get to your girlfriend?] Ai reminded him.
“You’re right,” Gary hurried to his home. Along the way, he wondered, “How did a ghoul show up here so fast? I’m sure there are no graveyards nearby.”
[You’re not that smart, are you? Graveyards aren’t the only places where humans are necessarily buried. That ghoul was probably buried in someone’s backyard or something.]
Gary was startled to hear that. He couldn’t help but feel worried about Leah. “I shouldn’t have left her alone. What if a ghoul or some other monsters attacked her?” he increased his speed, and he was running much faster than a professional athlete at this point. He wasn’t able to take sharp turns at the ends of alleys, yet, but he was somehow able to keep himself on his feet despite going so fast and taking many turns during the run.
Before long, he arrived at his house, only to stop in his tracks after seeing a crater right in front of his house. This crater wasn’t as big as the one Chun Fu made, but this one was made in the middle of the road.
[Talk about luck, that’s the dark witch’s body. You should burn it.] Ai ordered. [Hurry!]
“I don’t have matchsticks,” Gary said.
Ai hissed. [Aish! You can’t destroy that body with ordinary fire. You’ll need spiritual fire.]
“What the hell is that?”
[You still have remnants of Chun Fu’s spiritual energy. Just aim a punch at her and throw it from this distance. Make sure you are punching with the intent to destroy her body with flames.]
“Okay,” Gary punched the air, and fist-shaped golden flame flew out of his fist and struck the dark witch’s body.
[Keep striking. Don’t stop.]
Gary continued to punch with both hands, even though it was very arduous, but it quickly set the dark witch’s whole body on fire.
Gary was gasping and sweating profusely at this point. While the dark witch’s body was burning, Gary quickly entered his house. “Leah. I’m here.” He called for her, but there was no response.
“Leah! Where are you? Please respond,” he looked for her everywhere in the house but couldn’t find her. He put his hands on his head. “Where did she go? I told her to stay here.” It still hadn’t been an hour since he left, so why did she leave? Or was she taken by someone? These thoughts greatly stressed Gary’s mind and heart.
[Go out of your house once. I need to confirm something.] Ai said in a serious tone.
Gary scuttled out of the house and began looking for Leah.
Ai, on the other hand, noticed the vapors coming out of the dark witch’s burning body. [Those are not black vapors, which means… someone touched her. Which idiot did it?]
“Someone touched her?” Gary queried. “What will happen if someone touches her?”
[The dark witch’s blood is demonic blood. It is highly parasitic in nature. If a normal human were to come into contact with it, I’m afraid they’ll go crazy and probably even die.]
Gary’s heart started beating strangely. “Leah didn’t touch the dark witch’s body, did she?”
Gary looked around for Leah in that neighborhood but didn’t find her. He waited for a few hours at his house, hoping Leah would return, but she didn’t. So, he had no other choice but to go looking for her. He roamed the streets which were already getting quite dangerous at this point. He saw a dead dog rise out of the tar road and madly growl like a maddened zombie beast.He couldn’t help but greatly worry for Leah, not knowing what she was doing or where she went, let alone how she’d survive in this doomsday-esque day, where anybody could kill anybody without giving any reason whatsoever.There were trees everywhere, and he was yet to meet a single human even though he had walked many miles.“Everyone seems to have turned into trees, so why didn’t Leah and I turn?” Gary voiced his mind, not at all expecting that the system would answer his question.[You’re wearing an energy crystal, aren’t you? That thing saved you and your girlfriend.] Ai responded.“What?” Gary was pleasantly surp
Gary DID NOT like the way Ai was threatening him.“Fine. If I’m not able to find Leah within 24 hours, then you can go where you want,” Gary bluntly said. “I’m not going to think about anything else until I know what happened to Leah.”Ai liked his resolve, but she blurted. [You misunderstood me, Gary. If Leah had actually touched the dark witch’s body, then she’s probably already being infected by parasitic energy. If you don’t find her within 24 hours, then she’ll have completely gone crazy or will have become a completely different person. Then, you won’t be able to save her, not with the strength you have now. Maybe, if Chun Fu was alive, he would have done something, but Chun Fu is no more. Do you get what I’m saying?]“You are not lying to me, are you?” Gary inquired. “If you have the ability to do a wide-radius search, then do it right now and find where Leah is.”[For me to be able to do that, you should at least cross level 100 as your senses will sharpen from then on.] Ai an
The sky was still bright with the thunderbolts criss-crossing crazily with no end in sight. A brother was carrying his wounded sister of 16 and brought her to the hospital, hoping someone would be there to help her.But what awaited him were zombies that jumped onto them and devoured them alive. Soon, the siblings soon turned into zombies as well. And they roamed the neighborhood with half-eaten bodies. Both of them still had energy stone pendants hanging around their necks.Hearing the sound of footsteps, they ran toward the source, and what awaited them was Gary.With his fists, he destroyed their heads. The brother and sister were killed with one punch as their levels were weak, whereas the higher leveled zombies required multiple punches.One of the other zombies managed to bite on Gary’s fist, but having already absorbed the energy of zombies, he had developed the resistance to the parasitic virus flowing through zombie’s saliva as well as their sweat and their very breath.He di
There were many reasons why Gary ran away after seeing the tiger zombie. Ai had told him that he would be able to level up faster than others, so when he himself was level 18, how could there be a level 25 tiger zombie?Did this mean that the levels of animals were built differently compared to humans? Or was there something else that Gary didn’t know about.There were so many questions running through his mind, and the downright scary appearance of the tiger zombie didn’t help that either.Despite how he felt, he had to attack this monster for the sake of reaching his goal. He jumped and kicked up at the tiger as it came down at him.Before his leg could hit the tiger, its long paw struck his chest and sent him packing down to the ground. The tiger zombie landed on the ground and sprang forth to pounce upon him while he was still on the ground.[Get up!] Ai shouted. [You can’t fight that monster on the ground!]Gary, however, clenched his fist and readily threw his fist at the tiger
After defeating the tiger zombie, Gary received 20 free stat points. He didn’t use them but kept them as available so he could use them all when needed.[Name: Gary Lennon.Title(s): Zombie Killer.Age: 27.Level: 20XP: 110/200HP: 1204/2100STR(Strength): 759STA(Stamina): 380DEF(Defense): 330SPD (Speed): 352AGL(Agility): 301Available stat points: 20Energy Pot: Ghoul, Spider beast, lizard, zombie]Though he killed more types of beasts, he didn’t absorb their energy as per Ai’s advise.“I lost more than sixty percent of my health in the fight,” Gary thought. “After I leveled up, some of my health recovered, but it’s not much. Still, I can’t believe that even with my abnormally high strength stat, I was still overpowered by the tiger. If I hadn’t striked the spots that you told me to, I probably would have lost. The zombie’s defense was also stronger than me, how did I exactly win?”[Simple. The thigh has joint points, and I made you strike there from the side, and the tiger zomb
[You fucked up! Run!]“Where to?” Gary asked. As far as his eye could see, the streets and rooftops were full of monsters of all kinds. “Running away will not help me find Leah. Didn’t you say I shouldn’t run away if I want to think about saving the world?”[That’s…] Ai couldn’t find words at the moment.Gary turned around and walked to the center of the rooftop. It was a building with a little over 10,000 square feet in area, so there was plenty of space on the rooftop. It should be enough for a battleground.Gary stood there and waited for the monsters to come to him. The first monster that came upstairs was a land bird that resembled both ostrich and kangaroo, but it looked very terrifying.Gary instantly remembered the Terror Bird he saw in games. This was like a terror bird with arms as well. And its scream was ear-piercing.[It’s level 31!] Ai hurriedly said. [If you get hit by its beak once, you’re dead!]Gary clenched his fist as the monster bird furiously flapped its little w
A group of humanoid spider monsters were sniffing and searching everywhere as they roamed the streets.Through two small holes in a wall, a young lady was observing what was happening outside. She had a long thick brown braid that reached all the way below her bum. “These spider monsters are everywhere. They are in dozens,” she looked at the people behind her, most of whom were injured.“Can’t we escape without being seen?” an elderly man asked. “If we leave this city, then maybe, we’ll get to a safe place. There’s a mountain in the west. The monsters probably won’t get there.”“Unfortunately… these monsters are not that easy to fool,” she said. “They are leaving tiny threads everywhere. Those threads will probably send them signals if we touch them. Even I will have a difficult time crossing these roads without alerting them. Once I get spotted, I’m done for.”Her words didn’t help them at all. “You’re level 34, aren’t you? Even you can’t do anything, Sesi?”The brown-haired woman Se
More than thirty monsters with upper bodies of humans and lower bodies of spiders came climbing the building from every direction.Naturally, Sesi screamed in fright. “We should go!” Though she said that she had no way of escaping them because even though she was at a higher level than the spiders, the spiders were faster than her!However, Gary didn’t look the least bit interested in running away.He grabbed Sesi’s hand and picked her up into his arms, startling her.“W-What are you…” Sesi’s face flustered.He threw her up high into the air. “Kyaa!” Sesi let out a cute scream because she really wasn’t expecting that. She thought he was going to run while carrying her in his arms, but not this!The spider monsters did not care about Sesi right now because Gary was right in front of them, and they shot webs from every direction. But none of their webs hit Gary, for he turned into a blur and utterly destroyed the bodies of the spider monsters with his punches. One punch was all it took