Wisdom: 5 (+3)
Intelligence? Wisdom? These things were unimportant to Eric, who was a close combat enthusiast. His endurance was so high now that he regenerated 1 stamina every 2 minutes. Not only that, he only needed around 2 hours of sleep a night. This was a big boon for him. His level made it so that he had access to a wide variety of skills.
Critical Hit - (No Level)
Cost:
1 Skill Point
Requirement: Level 4 Weapon Mastery.
Passive Effect(s):
When you strike an undead's weak spot, deal 50% bonus damage.
After acquiring this skill, it was like Eric grew wings. After several tests, he found that a zombie and feral zombie’s weak spot was the head. A spitter zombie’s weak spot was the organs that extended out of their stomach. When critical hit activated, he dealt critical damage to the undead.
He also acquired one of the first skills that opened up for him.
Heavy Blow - Level 1
Cost:
1 Skill Point
Requirement: Level 2 Weapon Mastery.
Effect(s):
Consume 1 stamina to perform a heavy blow. Deals 100% increased damage.
Eric was walking along the street. When he found a spitter zombie in front of him, he pushed off the ground and flew toward it. His speed was incredible. He was faster than even Usain Bolt in his prime. Eric hadn’t truly understood the value of agility until he put a few points into it.
The spitter zombie spit out a blob of bile, but Eric easily ducked underneath it. He appeared at the side of the spitter zombie as he activated heavy blow. There was a loud bang as the organs of the spitter zombie exploded.
-114
The spitter zombie was knocked backwards. Before it hit the ground, it dispersed into motes of light. He dealt more than its maximum life and killed it in one hit! The combination of critical hit and heavy blow was a staggering 150% bonus damage. Eric wasn’t surprised. This wasn’t the first undead he killed in one blow. When he glanced at his screen, he paused. Yet another title appeared. When he gave it a look, his jaw dropped.
One-Hit-Kill
Effect(s):
Every time you kill an undead in one hit, recover 1 stamina. Doesn’t work on undead 10 levels lower than you.
*Acquired after killing 100 undead in one hit.
“What?” Eric trembled with glee. The only way he could kill undead in one hit was from the use of skills. That meant he consumed quite a bit of stamina. With this new title, he could last quite a bit longer.
“Oh, hoh~~” A voice suddenly rang from behind him. He could feel their breath on his neck. Eric was shocked and immediately jumped forward. He spun around and prepared for combat. Whoever could sneak up on him was quite terrifying.
When he saw his ambusher, his jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Before him was a stunning beauty of a woman. Her skin was pale, but her lips were bright red. Her hair was black and reached her waist. She wore a loose robe. Her breasts were slightly visible through the thin cloth. Eric blushed and tried to look away.
“How innocent~~” The woman covered her mouth with her hand as she chuckled.
Eric couldn’t help but admonish her, “What are you doing out here? It’s dangerous to go around without a weapon.”
“Dangerous? Haha,” The woman found his words amusing. The woman took a step towards him. Eric stepped back. He was still cautious from earlier.
“Oh? You aren’t enchanted by my beauty?” The woman found this surprising.
“I won’t deny you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but I already have someone in my heart,” Eric explained.
“Oh?” The woman frowned. It seemed like she was hurt by his words.
Eric suddenly froze. How had he realized so late? This woman's eyes… they were red! That wasn’t normal. He casually looked up as fear gripped his heart. This woman…
Level 130 Vampire Veronica
Health: 1580/1580
“A vampire!?” Eric exclaimed in shock. How could a vampire be here? And it was level 130?
Veronica pursed her lips, “What’s wrong with that?”
Eric was filled with terror. He was powerless before a creature of this level. No wonder it snuck up on him without him knowing. Its agility was way beyond his. As he stood there, he realized something strange. This undead was talking to him. Plus, it didn’t seem like it was hostile? Eric’s thoughts spun quickly.
After a second, he smiled slightly, “Nothing wrong with that. I was just startled, that’s all.”
Veronica laughed, “Oh? You’re different than those other humans.”
“Really? What makes me different?”
Veronica suddenly disappeared, only to reappear in front of him. Eric didn’t move. He was afraid if he did, she would attack. Eric looked calmly into her eyes. He felt like he would be lost in them, but he stayed firm. He thought of his crush, Elizabeth.
Veronica caressed his face as she said, “You move with purpose. Not like those other humans who have lost themselves in depravity.”
“Purpose?” Eric pondered this word.
“You are so… delicious…” Veronica licked her lips.
As she did so, Eric caught sight of two long fangs. He shivered inwardly and quickly felt that the situation was turning for the worse. He decided to do something crazy. He raised his finger and pressed against her lips as he said, “If you ate me, I’d be very sad.”
Veronica widened her eyes in surprise as she thought, “This human…”
Eric quickly lowered his hand, stunned at what he just did. What was he doing? This was a vampire, an undead! They were enemies.
Veronica looked up and frowned. Eric’s heart gripped in fear when he saw this frown. He thought he was going to die.
Veronica looked back into Eric’s eyes as she said, “The sun is about to rise. I have to go.”
Eric understood he passed the difficult stage, but he had to continue the act. He forced a pained smile as he said, “Will we… meet again?”
Veronica suddenly leaned in and met his lips. Her tongue forced its way inside. Eric felt dizzy. What was happening? He didn’t know. Plus, he didn’t even know how to kiss!
Before he could gather his thoughts, her tongue disappeared. When he opened his eyes, she was gone. Eric felt sad for some reason. After looking around and finding nothing, he hurried back to the school. He hoped that he’d never encounter her again, and yet some part of him did. He told Michael that high level undead were in the city and to prevent people from going there. He didn’t get into the specifics of his encounter with the vampire.
In a dark location, Veronica frowned to herself, “What am I doing? For some reason, I didn’t want to eat him…”
Chapter 27
“Yo,” Michael sought out Eric on the morning of the 22nd day.
“What’s up? We haven’t hung out for awhile,” Eric yawned as he replied. Two hours of sleep was tough for him, but he forced himself to wake up.
“I know. Things have been busy recently. Anyway, a new undead should appear from this day forth. I’m preventing anybody from exploring until someone verifies what it is,” Michael explained his new plan. He was trying to prevent casualties. So far they’ve been able to handle the undead that appeared, but that might not always be the case.
“I understand. You’re sending me?” Eric now understood why Michael sought him so early in the morning.
“Exactly. You up for it?”
Eric agreed without thinking about it. He was already planning on going to see what new undead appeared. They talked briefly before Eric left the school. He walked along and observed all the undead he came across. Zombies and feral zombies now spawned at the same rate, while spitter zombies were still as rare as before.
15 minutes after leaving the school, he found it. He hid behind a car as he inspected the new undead. It looked exactly like a feral zombie except for its massive arm. It was bigger than even a body builder’s thigh. Eri
c looked up and read the name.
Level 1 Charger Zombie
Health: 150/150
150 health? That was a lot for a level 1 undead. Now he had to figure out if the charger zombie had any special abilities. Eric stood up and banged his bat against the car in front of him.
The loud noise caused the charger zombie to spin around. When its eyes locked onto him, it roared. The roar was hoarse and deep, like some type of animal. It hid its body behind its large arm and charged forward.
“It can’t be…?” Eric immediately rolled out of the way.
The charger zombie bashed into the car, pushing it a few feet back. When the charger zombie stepped back, a large indent could be seen on the car. If Eric got hit by that, he would lose a huge chunk of health.
Eric narrowed his eyes as his thoughts turned. What would be the best way to deal with this zombie? As he was thinking, the charger zombie sprinted towards him. Eric stepped to the side as it ran past him.
His eyes lit up when he noticed something. The charger zombie only ran in a straight line. If that’s the case…
Eric stood in front of a car and taunted the charger zombie, “Come here, ugly!”
The charger zombie roared and once again charged towards him. Eric stepped to the side as the charger zombie rammed into the car. For a brief moment, it was stunned. Eric activated heavy blow and attacked the charger zombies head.
-63
Eric clicked his tongue, “Tsk, no critical hit.”
Before he killed the charger zombie, it was best to figure out its weak spot. Eric continued to taunt the charger zombie to attack him. He felt like he was leading a bull around with a red flag.
After several more attacks, he found its weak spot. It was its arm. The normal sized one. He dispatched the charger zombie and looked towards the XP he acquired. He wondered how much it would give this time. He wasn’t disappointed.
500 XP Acquired.
500? Nice.
Eric made his way back to the school and informed Michael of the charger zombie, “It is strong enough to push a car several feet away, so it's best not to engage it head on. It can only run in a straight line, so lead it into a wall or some other obstacle. When it’s stunned, attack it. Rinse and repeat until it dies.”
“Cool. Thanks, man. I’ll let the others know,” Michael turned and was about to go spread the news, but he remembered something. He glanced over his shoulder and said, “I upgraded the quest board to level 3. Go check it out.”
“Haha, about time!” Eric promptly ran to the cafeteria and looked up at the quest board. The level 2 upgrade increased the amount of quests the board showed at a time. What would the level 3 upgrade give?
Eric scanned through the list of quests and frowned, “What is this? A personal quest? It’s so expensive as well.”
Elizabeth saw Eric enter the cafeteria and mutter to himself in confusion. She walked up to him and said, “You should purchase it. It’s a permanent quest and doesn’t take up a quest slot.”
Eric looked at Elizabeth and gulped. He couldn’t help but remember the events of last night. That kiss was unforgettable. He cleared his thoughts and asked, “You bought it?
“Yeah. I barely had enough points.”
“Oh? What does yours say?” Eric was curious. Everyone should have different quests, right?
“Uhh,” Elizabeth blushed in embarrassment as she muttered, “It’s strange…”
“Now I’m even more curious! What is it?”
“Well… whatever...” Elizabeth explained her quest.
Personal Grade Quest
Goal: You feel a sliver of emotion upon the line between life and death. The closer your target is to you when they die, the more XP you acquire.
Reward: Bonus XP
*Never expires
Eric couldn’t help but look at Elizabeth with a frown. He asked quietly, “What does that mean? You don’t feel any emotion?”
Elizabeth sighed. She knew this would happen if she shared this. Perhaps she wanted to tell someone? She didn’t know. The arrow was already shot, so she had to explain. She looked at her hand as she said, “Ever since David died, I’ve become numb. I don’t really feel anything anymore. But… when a zombie is charging towards me… I feel fear,” Elizabeth shrugged, “It’s better than nothing.”
Eric suddenly embraced Elizabeth. He whispered into her ear, “I’m sorry.”
“Eh?” Elizabeth was stunned. Why was he hugging her?
Eric repeated, “I’m sorry.”
Tears began to form in her eyes. She slowly raised her arms and hugged Eric. She pressed her head into his shoulder and cried. She felt mostly sadness, but a little bit of happiness. Was that strange? Was she allowed to feel happy? Maybe if she wasn’t so careless, her boyfriend didn’t have to die. Maybe if…
As if Eric could read her thoughts, he said, “It wasn’t your fault.”
Elizabeth shook. Her shoulders trembled as she leaned back and looked Eric in the eye. She bit her lips as she said, “Thank you.”
Eric gave a warm smile, “No problem.”
They stared at each other for a few moments. Just as Eric was about to say something, Elizabeth said, “Well… I’m going to go hunt now. Goodbye!”
Before Eric could say anything, Elizabeth ran out of the cafeteria. Eric was startled. Did he smell? He sniffed his armpit and smelled his deodorant. A gift from Connor. After a few seconds of thinking, he couldn’t figure out the answer, so he shrugged and purchased the personal quest for 10,000 kill points.
When he read the description of his personal quest, he immediately ran out of the cafeteria and began to hunt. He couldn’t be more satisfied with his personal quest!
Personal Grade Quest
Goal: KILL! KILL! KILL! Your desire to wipe out every undead fills your soul. For every consecutive undead you kill within 30 seconds, bonus XP will be acquired. Each undead kill adds 30 seconds to the timer. As long as the timer doesn't end, your bonus XP will get higher and higher. There is no cap. Bonus XP multiplier resets when the timer reaches 0.
Reward: Bonus XP
*Never expires
Chapter 28
After significant testing, Eric came to a conclusion. For every undead he killed, the experience he acquired was increased by 1%. As long as he kept the timer from resetting, the percentage would get higher and higher. Right now, he was at 58% bonus XP per kill. The timer reset when he encountered a charger zombie.
It was unfortunate that he had to sprint everywhere now. It consumed much more stamina than walking around. Still, with his One-Hit-Kill title, he was able to regenerate some stamina back.
Eric spent the day hunting in the suburbs. He wanted to avoid heading in the direction of the city. His growth slowed as a result, leaving him frustrated. He was too strong for the suburbs now. He had gotten used to the fast XP when he hunted near the city, so he was hesitating. Should he go back?
“Surely I was just unlucky when I encountered a vampire, right?” He consoled himself as he made a decision. He would go back!
He hunted all day before going back to the school to take a nap. When he awoke, he snuck out and headed towards the city. When he reached the edge, he began to hunt. During the night, he was significantly more powerful. His night hunter title was almost level 4. He also had the overcoming the levels title.
As Eric attacked a feral zombie, his heart suddenly clenched. For some reason, he felt the need to roll to the side. He immediately followed his instincts. As he rolled, he felt a pain shoot up his back. He was ambushed!
Eric stood up as he clenched his teeth. He glanced at his health. How much did he lose?
“Eh?” His tension released as he let out a light chuckle. He had only lost 2 health in that attack! Wasn’t the monster that ambushed him pathetically weak?
After glancing at his health, he looked up and found another undead next to the feral zombie he was fighting. It was a skeleton. Its bones were gray, and they had numerous holes. The bone
s were in terrible shape. The skeleton turned to look at him. He could see a faint red light in each of its eye sockets. He looked up and read its name.
Level 1 Revenant
Health: 1/1
“Hahaha, 1 health?” Eric found this hilarious. This was the thing that ambushed him? The weakest undead he’d ever seen?
ZOMBIE SLAYER!!: A LitRPG Apocalypse Page 14
