Chapitre 13: Screamer's Cry (2)

Shinon's heart was pounding in his chest as he ran through the dark corridors of the abandoned factory. He could hear the moans and shuffling of the horde of zombies behind him, and he knew he couldn't let them catch up.

Hundreds of zombies were chasing him, forcing him to adopt the hit-and-run strategy. But even then, the number of zombies ceaselessly kept increasing.

Walking on the floor was almost impossible, forcing him to the countless broken pillars to evade the relentless wave of fleshmongers. In the midst of his parkouring adventure, he noticed corpses strewn all over an inaccessible area of the factory.

'It looks like the factory base belonged to those people.' He thought while running away.

Some of the corpses had already begun decaying, which meant they had been dead for a while. It was likely they became fodder for the nest to evolve into the stage it was now.

"Aw hell, not again!?"

As he rounded a corner, he saw a group of Sprinters running towards him, their mouths open wide in hunger. Shinon drew his trusty sword and charged forward, his muscles coiling as he prepared to strike.

With a swift motion, he sliced through the first zombie, its head separating from its body in a shower of blood and gore. The next zombie lunged at him, but Shinon dodged to the side and plunged his sword into its chest before kicking it off the railing.

The zombie let out a gurgling scream before falling to the ground, lifeless. But as he turned to face the rest of the horde, he saw they were already too close for comfort.

"Where is that darned Screamer!" Shinon gritted his teeth, utterly frustrated.

He had been running around the factory, trying to find the sneaky bastard, with little to no luck. He saw it once, but before he could deal with the frail bastard, the horde appeared to protect it.

"If I want to look for the fucker in peace, I need to get rid of the horde first."

It was then that an idea hit him. Ever since getting involved with the zombies, he had rarely focused on his Blacksmith abilities. While they weren't suited for fighting, at the end of the day, an ability's potential was limited to the user's imagination.

"I guess there's no harm in trying." He mumbled and quickly leapt on a pillar poking out of the balcony and began whistling like a madman.

Aberrant zombies were supposed to be more intelligent than their ordinary counterparts. But when the prey was serving itself on a silver platter, they couldn't ignore their carnal desires and gathered below him, with some trying to crawl their way up to him.

Soon, over a hundred zombies had gathered there, waiting to be fed. Their moans grew louder and louder.

"This much should be fine." Shinon took a deep breath and jumped into the balcony above.

The zombies also rushed inside, following their prey. Shinon saw them coming but did not bother running away. The zombies, fooled by their hunger, charged at him.

It was then he ducked, slamming his hands to the floor and yelled, "Alteration!"

It was an ability exclusive to the Flintlocks which helped them alter the nature of a material. It didn't matter if it was made of wood, concrete, or steel; Shinon could break it with little effort.

Suddenly, the floor began vibrating at extraordinary levels. One would have thought an earthquake had made the factory its target. As the floor violently shook, the zombies lost their hold and fell to their knees.

However, they weren't ready to give up just yet and began crawling towards Shinon. Shinon slammed his fist on the floor again, and with a thunderous crash, the floor gave way.

Shinon felt a surge of satisfaction as he watched the horde of zombies stumble and fall to their doom.

Their rotting bodies couldn't help them as they slammed against the floor, turning into freshly prepared tomato sauce. The impact shook the entire building, and the sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing filled the air.

Those that somehow survived weren't safe either, as concrete boulders fell over them. In one swift move, Shinon gained dozens of Domination points. Now that he had obtained enough domination points, he had a choice to make. Which skill should he upgrade?

It was an important choice because it directly affected the chances of his survival in the scenario. However, before he could decide, he saw something that sent shivers down his spine.

A Bloater who was accompanied by not one but two Screamers!

Thankfully, they were at some distance, and it didn't seem the trio had noticed Shinon yet. But not wanting to test his luck, Shinon decided it was best to retreat.

He quickly drew on his shadowsmith abilities, creating a thick cloud of darkness around himself before disappearing into the shadows.

Just then, the Screamers screamed again, in unison, so it felt like there was only one Screamer. More zombies crawled out of the hole the Bloater was guarding, and they stumbled towards the factory.

Thankfully Shinon was already one with the shadows, and the zombies, unable to see their prey, walked past him.

'Shit... the Screamers aren't leaving the Bloater alone. How am I supposed to take them down?'

Just then, Selena's words echoed inside his mind. "The quickest way to kill Screamers is to attack them from a distance."

However, that only held true when dealing with a single Screamer. On the other hand, dealing with two Screamers was a difficult task. With a plan in mind, Shinon invested his domination points into [Shadow Manipulation].

[50 Domination points have been consumed to upgrade a skill.]

[The skill will be upgraded to suit the user's class.]

[Skill: Shadow Manipulation has been upgraded to level 3!]

[Upgraded effect: Any shadow can be used to hide the user's presence and can be used to cast a temporary illusion. (The effect lasts one minute +2 seconds for every unspent Domination point).]

[Upgraded effect: Shadows can be used to form weapons based on the user's knowledge of the weapon. Limit: Three weapons.]

[New Effect (Lvl 3 exclusive): The user can enhance Shadow weapons. Limit: 1 enhanced weapon at a time.]

A smile slowly played on Shinon's face. But before dealing with the Screamers and the Bloater, he found it wise to get rid of the new horde the Screamers had prepared for him.

Shinon took advantage of the shadow to strike. He emerged from the darkness, his sword flashing in the dim light, and began dispatching the zombies with precision strikes. One by one, they fell before him, their lifeless bodies dropping to the ground.

***

Mission Progress:

-> Learn more about different nests. (Completed)

-> Kill Roamer Zombies: 15/15 Killed. (Completed)

-> Kill Sprinters: 7/7 Killed. (Completed)

-> Kill Screamers: 0/2 Killed.

-> Kill Bloaters: 0/1 Killed.

Time Left: 2 days: 18 hours: 17 minutes