Capítulo 22: Surviving the Apocalypse With My Beloved | Pt.2
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Tier: F+]
[Abilities: NA]
[Duration before the upgrade: 60 days]
Tora stared absentmindedly at the status screen in front of her. She had been forced asleep once it reached the 20-day mark. Her eyes were cleared, returning to what they were before. Her stiffened muscles and joints had softened a lot more than normal. She still moved a bit jaggedly but her speed increased slightly. It no longer took her hours to pick up a single book.
Her rank had increased, from F to F+. An upper F tier was slightly stronger than a normal F tier rank. She had been confused about this status window until she finished reading the novel.
A game, huh?
It was an odd setting for a novel. She remembered the query for this novel because of the zombie apocalypse setting.
'Dear Editor/Agent Tora Burkely,
I admire your insight and eyes for talent. This is why I am writing to you with a story you would find interesting. Surviving the Apocalypse With My Beloved is a zombie apocalypse story consisting of 85,000 words.
Zack Howard was a professional gamer for the team DICE. While test-running a newly released game, he found himself stuck, unable to log out. His only way out was humanity's survival and the cure's completed research. The search for a healer with an S+ healing ability led him to meet Julie Jensen. As love began to brew between the two, so did trouble.
Yours truly,
Asier.'
'As I thought, you have great memory.'
That query sucks. Why did you format it in such a way? Also, how you phrase it made it seem like you didn't write the story yourself.
'Amazing. To think that you could deduce so much from how it was phrased...Amazing indeed.'
Uh? What? Are you saying that you didn't write it?
'No comment.'
"Hah...Ugh..." She wanted to curse Asier out loud, but her speaking ability was nonexistent. Her tongue was still stiff, her jaw still occasionally locked and clicked every once in a while.
Thankfully, the building still has power.
The motion-activated lights were still doing their job. Tora stared at the ghostly paled thing in the mirror. The side of her head was decorated with a dark brown dried-up liquid.
So it was blood that kept dripping off my face...
The wound on the side of her head showed no signs of healing, rather it looked like it was rotting. The arm that had the bite mark was dark purple. The color spread to her shoulder and covered a portion of her chest.
The dried blood on her arms and face wasn't that alarming. What bothered Tora was the sticky blood that remained on the wounds. It neither dried nor leaked. It was simply just there, like pudding decorating her skin.
Gross. I want to gag.
Tora turned the faucet on. Seeing that running water was still a thing, she tried her best to wash herself clean. Her body had no reaction when she poked at her wounds. She couldn't feel pain.
In the novel, it mentions that water, gas, and electricity stopped running 2 months after the breakout.
Does that mean a week or so from now? The novel never really mentions exact dates or anything. It doesn't even focus on the loss of basic utilities because it mainly focuses on the awakened ability of survivors.
Tora felt annoyed and irritated. Not only was she this ugly, slow-moving thing, but the person she woke up as was the main villain of this story.
At least Allison and Hallie weren't world-ending bosses. This Nora person is a complete idiot. Who the hell wears a tank top and shorts during an apocalypse?
Although the novel follows Julie's perspective sometimes, it has Zack as the main protagonist. Everyone in this world, including Julie, was considered an NPC in a game. It was a power fantasy where the male protagonist dominates everything and gets all the girls.
The novel didn't go into much detail on how to quickly level up as a zombie. This left Tora with two options. Option one was to wait for the auto upgrade patiently. Option two was to try ranking up the same way Awakened Humans did in the novel.
[Duration before the upgrade: 60 days]
Sixty days are too long of a wait for barely an upgrade. I guess option two is the only choice I truly have.
Is this all that I can see on the status screen?
Tora wasn't familiar with the game systems. She never really had chances to sit down and play games before. Tora clapped softly to wake herself from falling deep into her thoughts. She needed to figure out a plan to upgrade quickly.
Her fingers were slightly stiff as they tried to unlock the bathroom door. It was difficult to grip small knobs and turn them. The door was easily pushed open, making a loud swoosh as it swung.
The building was eerily quiet. No signs of living things existed in this area. It was just her and the artifacts.
Let's walk around for a bit.
The Museum had a merchandise store and a café. Tora found that lots of frozen ingredients remained. The fridge, however, was filled with rotten food. The loaves of bread that were baked had mold growing on them. The fruits were turned into rotten liquid.
My sense of smell isn't working just yet.
Would eating anything help improve my body condition?
Tora, plagued with curiosity, opened a pack of snacks and ate it. To her disappointment, there was no taste, cravings, or joy in eating it. Nothing had changed after taking a bite.
Tora tossed the snack and explored some more. Her goal was to find a weapon she could use. She felt a childish excitement surge in her heart. The different paintings, statues, art pieces, outfits, and tools were eye-catching.
She also found an interesting fact while she shuffled around. This world is far behind in technology. Although utilities and equipment seemed advanced, the computer aspect wasn't.
Tora stared silently at the Great Sage's Staff that was on display. Her hands reached into her pocket for the key. Maybe it was because of her head injury, but Tora never had a good look at anything since waking up here.
A world run by magic...that would explain the random power awakenings.
So the reason why the power outage happened must be because the wizards have fallen.
'That's quite an interesting theory.'
I should visit the library.
Whether the world was run by magic or not, Tora didn't feel like dwelling too much on it. She had already wasted 20 days sitting in the bathroom.
Her hands reached for the beautiful blade floating atop the pedestal. Golden flames burned the hand that touched its hilt, slowly slithering up the arm and consuming her entirely.
Her vision was covered with the golden flames. Amidst it was a pair of eyes watching her intently. It was hypnotizing, drawing her in and trapping her beneath it. That's when she noticed the edges of its lips tilting upwards into a sly smirk.
"Don't get caught up in it." A whisper woke her from the illusion. There she stood, blade in her hands and no golden flames in sight. The bare sword was now covered by a beautiful scabbard matching the hilt.
[Item 'Sword of Ire' acquired]
[Ability 'Flames of Judgement 1' acquired]
[Summary]
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Tier: F+]
[Abilities: Flames of Judgement 1]
[Inventory: Sword of Ire]
[Duration before the upgrade: 60 days]
The flashy title was eye-catching, but Tora's mind was occupied by something else.
Asier...earlier— Her mind wandered to the pair of hands that gently embraced her. That was you, right? Or am I losing my mind?
What awaited her was silence. Asier had disappeared again.
.
.
.
After a few hours of swinging around her new sword, Tora set off on foot to a nearby building.
She didn't dare ride the bike for fear that the magic would stop working soon. Whether it was simply a utility outage or the whole world's magic failure, Tora didn't dare to speculate.
There was another reason for her moving on foot. If any 'humans' were around, the sound of the bike would attract their attention. This was the safest option for her who moved at a snail's pace.
The small grocery store was brightly lit, indicating that someone or something was moving around inside.
Tora unsheathed the sword as she approached one of the windows, noticing a few zombies as she peered in.
These ones are slow. Easy kill for me.
She no longer had a strong body like Hallie, but she knew how to execute deadly moves. Even if her movements were clumsy and awkward, she would still manage to kill a low-tier zombie.
She wasn't sure if these zombies had consciousness or not. The novel only focused on the protagonists, so Tora could only speculate that they didn't.
Her hand swung the silver blade, severing the head from its shoulders completely. Tora kicked away the heads rolling around on the floor, crouching down to dig out the small crystallized ball in the lower abdomen of the zombies.
Her heart remained dead, undisturbed by the action of butchering something that was once human. She wondered if this indifference was because of her zombification or if she had always been someone who felt no remorse for taking lives.
The crystals were crushed and turned into powder. Her body instantly absorbed it, leaving no traces behind.
[Attention: Life force of an F-tier Zombie detected x4]
[Duration before the upgrade: 60 days [-20]]
[Summary]
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Tier: F+]
[Abilities: Flames of Judgement 1]
[Inventory: Sword of Ire]
[Duration before the upgrade: 40 days]
Interesting... My body seems to be a lot lighter and less stiff.
The method she strove for had worked. It was now time for a massacre.
.
.
.
The lights that proudly decorated the streets and buildings began to perish, snuffed in an instant leaving behind only darkness.
The hand that gripped the body of the dead loosened, tossing it aside without an ounce of remorse. The small local shopping area had been wiped clean, leaving a single lonesome person standing in the darkness.
Tora returned to the Museum, locking up all entrances as she secluded herself in the security office.
A tiny bag filled with multiple crystalized balls was thrown onto the floor. Tora stomped on it, crushing a whole week's effort in an instant.
[Attention: Life force of an F-tier Zombie detected x97]
[Duration before the upgrade: 13 days [-485]]
[Upgrade commencing]
Tora felt her body shut down, falling deep into slumber. When she woke, everything had changed yet again.
[Upgrade successful]
[Rank 'Commander of the Dead' acquired]
[Tier: F+ —> A+]
['Flames of Judgement' 1[+2]]
[Ability 'Fire 1[+1]' 'Water 1' 'Wind 1[+8]' 'Infectious 1[+6]' 'Commander 1[+4]' 'Night Vision 1[+9]' acquired]
[Summary]
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Rank: Commander of the Dead]
[Tier: A+]
[Abilities: Flames of Judgement 3, Fire 2, Water 1, Wind 9, Infectious 7, Commander 5, Night Vision 10]
[Inventory: Sword of Ire]
[Duration before the upgrade: 60 days [-52]]
Not only did she skip tiers, but she also acquired new skills. Tora had come to understand the ranking system and the days needed to upgrade between each tier. Both Zombies and Humans had the same ranking system.
Starting from F, it was E, D, C, B, A, S, and K. Going from a normal letter tier to a plus letter tier took 20 days. Going from a plus tier to the rank above took 60 days. A total of 420 days were consumed for her to rank to A+.
Tora often wondered how Nora was able to become a King-tier zombie so quickly, but experiencing it firsthand made her understand how easy it was.
One crystalized ball equaled five days. Following the information given in the novel, Humans needed 60 days to rank up to a plus tier and 180 days to rank a tier up. Humans would need to kill at least 12 F-tier zombies to rank up to a plus and 36 more to rank up a tier.
This explains the fast growth rate of Zombies and why they could quickly overtake the population of Humans.
The Night Vision skill that Tora acquired was her magnum opus. Now that the power outage had happened, she needed something to help her see in the dark.
Tora spent the next few days learning how to utilize her skills and developing a combat style that worked for her. Her body had a bit more color to it. Her eyes no longer looked sullen and sunken. The wounds on her body had healed, and her nails had turned back to a light pink hue.
Her body was no longer stiff and awkward, with every movement appearing natural. She now resembled a sickly person. Her vocal cords could occasionally make sounds.
Let's save talking for later.
Tora secured and locked the building before her departure. She had checked to see if the bike would still function, but the blackout was global. The Death of Magicians made all tools and equipment made by it malfunction.
Before she departed from this small shopping area, Tora changed into a more adequate outfit. She covered her body up, showing no skin except for her eyes. From her nose down, she adorned black clothing.
The wind that brushed against her face didn't bother her in the slightest. Her feet, equipped with wind, shot forward with great speed that blurred out the surroundings. She would have been in trouble if it weren't for her Wind skill.
Whether a town library or a University library, I need more information and history about this world. A map would be nice also.
It took her an hour of sprinting to reach the edge of a large city. Skyscrapers decorated the scenery, making it slightly nostalgic. Her brain tingled, a signal pinging constantly as she noticed a few zombies around.
[Lower-tier zombies detected: 47]
[Ability 'Commander 5' can be used on lower-tier zombies]
The dead city was decorated in dried blood, with rotten corpses occasionally appearing along the streets. A beautifully constructed brick building stood out to her. The giant carving of a water symbol caught her eye.
A fire station?
Tora stopped and pulled her sword out of the sheath. Her priority was obtaining a map. A fire station was a plausible location that would have one.
The place was desolate. Tora played with her wind ability, swiping all the debris and junk on the floor away with a gust. The path had cleared, making it more comfortable for her to walk.
[Lower-tier zombies detected: 6]
[Ability 'Commander 5' can be used on lower-tier zombies]
[Ability 'Commander 5' activated]
She felt her vision blur for a split second. The Commander's ability gave her control over the actions of the zombies. Tora ordered them to search for a map.
They are mostly F-tier. Only one of them is at the E+-tier.
Although they were slow, it helped with time management. While they searched for the map, Tora inspected the fire station. In the spacious garage was a single firetruck. Two empty spaces and scattered equipment told a tale of looting.
A group of people must have passed through here a few weeks ago.
A zombified firefighter shuffled into the garage. In its hand were multiple maps that Tora had been looking for. The disheveled appearance was an indication of a fight.
"Th...anks," was Tora's attempt at speaking. Her voice dragged and nearly made a coherent word of it. The zombie stood there dumbly. It didn't move an inch unless Tora ordered it to.
I should try feeding it crystals to see if it'll rank up. For now, we'll focus on the library.
Tora cleared the floor, placing all the maps in her hands down. The city that they were in was called Sisley. The small shopping area near the town was called Grove Square of Grover Town.
Foliage Meadow was a large industrial agricultural area spreading a few hundred miles. This was the base location where the protagonist was in the novel.
Foliage Meadow had a small town in the middle that housed Zack's game avatar. It was the beginning point of the game and the main mission of establishing a colony of survivors there.
The open farmland surrounding the town aided in the delay of a zombie attack. By gathering people with the Plant ability, they quickly built a wall around it.
The second outer wall was built to accommodate the growing number of survivors. It took Zack 6 months to surround the entirety of Foliage Meadow with a fourth outer wall. He recruited and managed the people under him, developing the Kings and the councils that maintained the peace and well-being of those they ruled.
Tora scoffed as she recalled the novel. The idea of setting a base in an area that was filled with agriculture wasn't bad. It was the fact that Zack only cared for the already strong and neglected the weak. Instead of encouraging the weak to become stronger, he worked them to the bones as repayment for providing safety, accommodations, rations, and necessities.
If Tora were to set up a base of survivors somewhere, the military fortress in the east and the private University campus in the north would have been ideal. The already fortified facilities meant to combat natural disasters would be a better option than a small town.
Those locations would have a wall dividing their land and the public. All that needed to be done was to fortify the walls. This alone would save time and effort in constructing a new one altogether. These locations would come with already-built living spaces and open lands that could be turned into farming facilities.
In the novel, the stronger survivors would go as teams to scavenge for food and other utilities. There was no actual use in building a base at Foliage Meadow.
For the time being, Tora would avoid going near Foliage Meadow and focus on building her strength. The last two worlds had taught her that there was no use trying to peacefully stay away from the protagonists. The narrative would always push for her demise.
It's time to put my commander skills to use.
Regalos
-- Regalo
recibido Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder