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7.05% Starting from Zero / Chapter 12: Catching Up

Chapter 12: Catching Up

I led Lucky towards the depth of the valley, as usual, Lucky just cleared everything we came across along the way. But for some reason its leveling speed is becoming slower, almost the same pace as me.

We finally saw something new, a zombie with long fangs and enlarged sharp claws. Identified as "Mutated Zombie", level 60, whose attacks can paralyze the target while carrying a deadly poison. Movement is somewhat fast and is resistant to attacks, vulnerable to fire. Heart is weakpoint.

I approached it quickly, asking Lucky to deal with targets around us while fighting it one-on-one myself. I'm 38, could try it.

Just when I tried to slash this thing, I found its claws already in front of my face. I jerked my blade back in mid-air and jumped backwards. Damn that was close, my face was almost ruined!

I tried to move to the back and attacked, but the monster turned quickly and parried my sword with one claw, then swiped with the other one in an instant.

Ow!

I took a direct hit and lost 600 HP. Man that hurts, if I eat several more hits like this I'm a goner!

Just when I'm trying to back out I took another claw hit on my back. Turning around, I saw another Mutated Zombie just spawned behind me.

I have no other choice but to make some distance with a side-roll. But the two zombies leaped towards me while waving their big claws. This isn't good, they're too fast!

When I'm about to give up, a serial of fireballs blasted the two mobs away. I sprung myself up and got ready to dodge further attacks. But then I realized the two zombies are burning. No wonder it said they are weak to fire!

I recalled that my second class, Tamer, can use some magic too, so I started to throw small fire bullets. However with my low Intelligence they barely did much damage. Fortunately, Lucky's fireballs are quite effective.

After dealing with the Mutated Zombies, we came to a hollowed-out part on a cliff, just enough for us to hide inside. We stand at the cave exit while Lucky blocks the whole entrance, I stood on its back. (Now Lucky is above 15 meters. Of course it can't stay on my shoulder anymore!) And spam some fireballs here and there. The spawning rate here is very fast, we can't clear the area even with our full speed! Because we're killing something that is way beyond our own level, we rose fast. I reached 58 at around 8 pm, and Lucky is 58 too, just like me. During our grind I found out that the level of your Companion in [Zero] is limited by its master's level, it will never exceed master's level no matter how much exp it earns. Lucky just obtain one level every time right after I level up myself.

Despite the time (the time in [Zero] is consistent with the real world), the place is still pretty bright due to our endless fireballs. Zombies outside kept trying to rush in while waving their shimmering green eyes and claws but they never succeeded. I felt hungry so I recalled Lucky and logged off.

I removed my helm and saw Wayne readying food on the table. "Aha! A perfect time to come out!"

"Shoo. Forget it. This is mine. No share for you!"

I dropped my face and pretended to be considering. "Sighhh. I finally found a nice secret spot to grind. I was planning to bring someone along, but now..."

"Boss you're the best! I'm always admiring your coolness, oh please help me level up and show that magnificent and selflessness image of yours for everyone to see! Here this dinner is my gift to show my loyalty to you! Enjoy!" Wayne immediately ran over and started to flatter.

"Haha. Now that's what I'm expecting. But seriously, are you going for an account tomorrow morning?"

"You bet I am!" Wayne passed me a bowl of food. "So what's your level now?"

"58."

"What the-- Weren't ya only like 29 yesterday?"

"Heehehe! It's a secret! Tell you what, the spot I mentioned is really good. A heaven for new players to train up. Only problem is the terrible air condition. Do you have the latest system news?"

Wayne put down his food and went carry his laptop to me. "Not much. Only two important ones. One is the female player Red Moon I told you yesterday, she got a Sacred equipment from a system reward. The other one is the system is now in auto mode, all NPCs will run according to their AI! From now on Zhong Hua Company will not manipulate anything in the system and will guarantee absolute fairness."

"Sacred equipment? What is it?"

"Rea fa ya felf!" Wayne mumbled with his mouth full.

Then I saw it on the web page. The player has obtained a Dark Bracelet, Magic Attack + 20-30, Luck +1, and can control a monster whose level is more than 100 below the wearer, but can only control one at a time. Looks nice but not that useful at the moment. My Hermit's Ring is way better!

I rested after finishing my meal, and woke up at 5 am. Dang it I overslept! I checked Wayne's bed, he's already gone to join the queue. I ate something, satisfied my toilet needs and entered the game again.

I appeared in the cave. It's totally dark, I didn't see any zombie eyes which would otherwise look like green light bulbs in here.

I called Lucky, it came out with a thunderous dragon roar which probably traveled really far. Now I know what a monster king looks like!

The roar was imposing but its only result seems to have attracted a horde of zombies. I saw countless green dots coming this way! We're surrounded not long after that. Lucky filled the place with fireballs because it has infinite Mana points. I just stood on its back, bored. I could throw some small fireballs for fun at the beginning, but my miserable mana pool became depleted pretty fast. Considering that wasting Mana like this is meaningless, I remembered I still have an unidentified ring on me, so I took it out and started to Identify.

I never knew what the ring is, I didn't success after using Identify for somewhere like hundreds of times. The skill is now level 7, it should have pretty decent success rate by now, but I just couldn't get the ring identified. Lucky, however, is working really fast. The dawn is about to break and both of us have reached level 67.

I checked the rankings. The order didn't change but the guy on the top of the list is now 74! Man he's good!

Because of our level, the level 60 Mutated Zombies around here have begun to yield less and less exp to us. So we started to move deeper into the valley.


Chapter 13: They're After Me!

We marched deeper while clearing those Mutated Zombies on the way. Then I felt a decrease in their numbers. Looks like we're near the next monster zone. Just as expected, we saw something ahead, almost 2 meters tall. Its body is fully covered in black armor, without any part exposed.

I used Identify from afar. Undead Fighter, level 100, attacks will absorb HP, high Defense, adept at using combo skills, 20% resistant to Dark magic. No particular weakpoint.

Ohh this thing looks strong! I ordered Lucky to stay guard. I'll try this loner out on myself. Lucky started to protect the surrounding area while I charged at the Undead Fighter. He spotted me soon, with a shift in hand, a jagged black sword appeared in his grasp. I rushed to his face and slashed downwards. The fighter dodged it with a neat side-step. Using my great Strength, I forcefully jerked my sword from downward slash to a horizontal sweep.

A hit. Clang! A really big recoil pushed me back three steps. Jesus that's some hard defense. The hit only dealt 113 damage!

Just as my attack has finished the Undead Fighter charged toward me. He's fast. He reached me in an instant and I don't have time to evade. I kept stepping back but he still hit me spot-on with a sweep. I felt my body shook and blood came out of my throat. That was like getting run over by a truck. But the attack didn't end. The Undead Knight used the recoil force and spun in a circle, slashing from the other direction, then followed by a fast third sweep. Now I'm totally crashed, I took three hit! My HP is down to 19.

Shit he almost finished me with just one combo! Anyone else in my shoes would have been dead by now. But I got pretty high HP. Plus I'm no ordinary people, I have the Collar of Protection!

I didn't get the chance to finish my thoughts before the fighter charged again. Damn it, there's no breather!

"Lucky! Help!"

Hearing this, Lucky immediately reached us with a powerful gust, which caused the Undead Fighter to lose his balance and started spinning funny. I took the chance and cut him several times. I may not kill him but at least that felt good!

Realizing it's not good idea to mess with Lucky, the Undead Fighter started to flee without hesitation. But those two legs have no chance against Lucky's wings. Lucky quickly caught him in a claw swipe, sending him crashing into a cliff, then he disappeared in a white flash. I ran over, ah I'm rich! There are two gold coins on the ground! Ah hahaha! It's not surprising that high level monsters carry more money. Pity he didn't drop his equipment. If I can get my hands on such cool armor set I'll be the center of the crowd!

While I'm daydreaming, I heard noise coming from the valley. It felt like the footsteps when an army is marching. And it didn't take long before I saw what it is. A row of eight Undead Fighters appeared around the corner ahead, running towards me in an orderly formation. What's worse is that there are more arrays coming behind them and I'm not seeing a stop.

Well all I did is killing one of the outer guards, do they have to send a freaking army on me?!

Lucky deserves to be a top-class companion, it reacts fast -- Lucky just grabbed me and started to escape without a second thought. God knows how many tens of thousands of Undead Fighters are after me, I sit on Lucky's back and can't even make out where this crowd ends! Lucky is fast but it's only level 67, and couldn't fly very fast with me sitting on its back. I watched the undead force getting closer, and threw some magic missiles now and then, to no avail at all. But my actions inspired Lucky. It turned its head around and started to shoot explosive fireballs. Totally different from my pathetic spells, each of Lucky's fireball can crumble a small mess of them with ease.

Frankly speaking, this could have been a nice way to grind up only if we're not being chased like scared puppies. Those undead fighters ran after us all the way the the valley entrance. When we exited the valley, I looked back, praying that those undead would stop their pursuit. Because they're already out of bounds!

Unfortunately the God didn't hear my prayer. (I'm a Dark Fighter, maybe I'm praying to the wrong god? Lemme try Satan next time!) The valley exit didn't stop the huge army any bit, they just rushed towards us without stopping. We turned and started running right away. I patted Lucky's back and ordered him to fly into the Lost City. The valley faces the backside of the city and the city gate is on the other side. Let's see if you can just jump into the lake and chase me, the monster in the lake will definitely do something!

We dropped flat on the ground as soon as we're past the city wall. Lucky is down out of exhaustion while I'm too scared to stand! Man those guys are terrifying. I'd better avoid them in the future!

But we reached level 70 after all this run-and-blast. Aha! Level 100 monsters have nice exp reward. It's a pity I couldn't pick all those gold coins back!

While I'm panting I hear a familiar voice above me. "Ziri? Hey mate, what happened to you?" Clark stared at the cracks on my armor and asked.

I saw Clark and answered: "Just my luck! I went to train in the Dark Valley and met those Undead Fighter or something. I killed one of them and a whole damn legion is on my tail now. They chased me all the way here!"

"You...killed an Undead Fighter in the Dark Valley?" Clark raised his voice.

"Yeah. Did I do something wrong?"

"Well aren't ya a brave one!"

"So...what happened?"

Clark just laugh: "I sure can't tell you the whole thing, come with me now, I'll find you someone who'll explain to you."

I followed Clark into an Appraisal Shop. Then Clark introduced me to the shop owner, who is the guild master of the Appraiser Guild in Lost City. Hearing that I killed a fighter in the Dark Valley that old man laughed hard and almost choked himself to death. Oh wait, he doesn't need to breath!

"What's this all about?" I'm starting to get annoyed because they just laugh.

Seeing I'm getting angry, the old man tried to hold back his laughter. Hard. "So...you really don't know?"

"Know what?"

"You took the wrong turn in the Dark Valley and encountered the guards of Dark Palace. You're lucky it's just one of the outer minions!"

"Huh? Minion? That was level 100 Undead Fighter! And thousands of them! Those were just minions?"

The old man chuckled: "The Dark Palace is a forbidden realm for us denizens of the dark. All of us vowed to protect the place with all we have."

"That serious?"

"Of course. The place is the source of dark powers. Legend says that the Star of Genesis which created the world split into two halves, one of them is dropped inside the forbidden area, becoming the source of darkness!"

"Is there a reward for taking that dark source? Any quest for it?"

"Take??" Guild master and Clark stared at me, agape. The guild master claimed: " It's impossible to take the dark source! There are way too many guards! What you saw today is the outermost part of the forbidden area. There are endless level-250 Undead Guardian Knights behind those fighters, and level-350 Dark Sorcerer Formations. Suppose you can sneak past these ones and reach inside the forbidden area, you won't get the source either. Rumor says there are eight identical Hidden Palaces, each with 7 floors, and each floor is protected by countless guards ranging from level 400 to 800. Now do you still think you can do it?"

I'm not convinced. "I have Lucky, I can raise him to level 800. What kind of monster can fight against a top leveled dragon companion?"

"Let's not ask whether you can reach level 800 at all. You won't do anything even if you are 900. The last two guardians of the dark source, are two level-1000 Dark Fiend Dragons!"

"Ugh. That looks hopeless."

----------------

P.S. That reminds me. The author is going to tease various gods and deities of different cultures and religions in the future, too. Again, please don't take it serious.


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