2 Finally Getting To The Tutorial Boss

Putting my fist through another zombie, I put my arms on my waist and let out a breath of used air as I brought up my status.

[Name: William Hastings]

[Class: Barbarian Lv12]

[Rage: 98/98]

[EXP: 400/4000 ]

[Race: N/A]

[Strength: 98 (117.6)]

[Dexterity: 65 (78)]

[Constitution: 98 (117.6)]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Wisdom: 10]

[Sense: 65]

[Class Abilities: Rage (Active), Unarmored Defense (Passive) and Danger Sense (Passive)]

[Skills: Intermediate Unarmed Combat Lv4]

(A/N - For those of you who are curious, each point in Strength is approximately 100lbs worth of physical strength. Which means the MC can lift 9800lbs or 4445kg. Or 4.45 tonnes. Which means he can quite easily lift a car. So he's not extremely strong just yet but he'll get there. Dexterity is even easier: each point in Dexterity equals 1.0m/s which means he can move at 78m/s or 174 MPH. Constitution is hard to quantify but just imagine that he's got super stamina, he's quite hard to kill via normal injuries and he can heal quite quickly as well.)

Seeing that my only skill had leveled up and the stats affected by it had increased, I brought up it's description.

[Name: Intermediate Unarmed Combat]

[Information: Punching, kicking, shoulder barges--you've began to really understand how to use your own body as a weapon! Adds corrections to movements in combat and provides a bonus to unarmed melee damage. Adds a bonus of 20% to STR, DEX and CON.]

'Hm, it'd seem that every time the skill hits Lv4 or Lv8, it's bonus goes up,' I threw a few punches, feeling the flow of power being smoother than ever, 'Same goes for the movement correction. It gets better at Lv4 and Lv8, just like last time,' as I mused to myself about this, I felt my Danger Sense flare up for a moment and I sidestepped a blur. Said blur hit the ground with it's two massive hands, the ground concaving inward as cracks stretched out across the asphalt I was standing on.

Taking a look at zombie, I was a little shocked by it's similarity to another green giant - yet the rotting corpse looked very little like the Hulk upon further inspection.

[Evolved Zombie - Lv15]

'Higher leveled than me?' I thought, surprised to have finally found a zombie that was above Lv5. But said surprise only lasted for a few seconds as I smiled and burst into action. The lumbering zombie easily eclipsed me in terms of height and muscle mass, being a 2.3m tall behemoth that probably weighed more than 250kg - and that 250kg being pure muscle.

Yet, it seemed to lack speed. Which was a shame - because I didn't.

With a full Dexterity of 78, I easily crossed the few feet distance like I was teleporting and my leg whipped out with furious momentum and power. The zombie, still crouched, couldn't react as my foot found purchase in it's abdomen.

A bang echoed out as my foot, dwarfed by the size of my opposition, easily lifted the undead being off the ground and into the air a few meters.

Not wanting to let it off easily, I crouched down a little before pressing off with my enhanced strength. The road cracked as I did so, leaving two feet shaped indents in the process alongside a multitude of cracks and fissures.

Flashing up to the right height, I thanked my past self for putting all my free points into Dexterity. I'd found that not only did it increase my movement and attack speed, that it also gave me impeccable control over my massive strength. Which meant without my high dexterity, I'd have most definitely overshot my jump just now. But with it? I was right on the mark.

'I guess I have to thank my heightened senses as well...they're pretty good at helping me estimate distance now, after all,' I absentmindedly thought as I sailed up past the zombie before I stopped just a meter above it.

It continued flying upward and so did I, and yet as I reached the peak of my jump, it still continued flying upward. Which is what I wanted.

Lifting my right foot up, I kept my leg completely straight, showcasing the improvements to my flexibility that I'd also gained from dexterity. As the sole of my foot was pointed directly at the sky above, I slammed my foot back down, the heel of my foot cutting through the air like a blade as I performed a textbook axe kick.

The zombie, unable to maneuver itself midair, let alone react, couldn't stop the attack aiming straight for it's head.

*BANG!*

The moment of impact made my ears pop as my heel impacted the zombie's steel-like skull. The shockwaves created by the bang whipped outwards like actual whips, causing my clothes to ruffle and snap back and forth under the assault. Even the trainer I was wearing - one I'd picked up nearby from a shoe store - didn't go unharmed and practically tore itself apart trying to resist the force I'd put it through.

Worst of all, however, was the zombie. As quickly as it had shot up here, it was send down back to the ground even quicker. It shot downward like a cannonball and as it impacted the asphalt, the sound of crunched stone and cracking pavement echoed even further throughout the dead city of New York.

A dust cloud was kicked up from the impact as well, but that didn't bother me. Even without my eyesight, I could easily sense things in a dust cloud. '65 in Sense wasn't for nothing, you know?' I joked to myself before I began my fall back toward the ground.

As I hit the ground, I easily withstood the force even if the ground couldn't and cracked a little on impact. Standing up fully, I waved my arm, aiming to disperse the cloud.

I succeeded somewhat as the vicinity around me cleared up but I still couldn't see the zombie.

Though it's groaning sounds quickly told me where it was. 'Seriously, enhanced ears fucking rock, man,' I thought as I walked over to the origin of the groaning, slapping the dust away with my hand, the relatively small hand being able to kick up massive amounts of wind just by swiping it back and forth.

Within a few seconds, the area was cleared of dust and I could now see the Evolved Zombie. It wasn't pretty.

The place where my kick had hit it, it's head, was caved in on the side and one of it's eyes had popped out. It's chest was in similarly bad shape, with ribs broken and poking out the creature's skin. It's blackened and dead blood was slowly pouring out of it, looking like sludge as it dripped onto the ground below it.

Right now, the evolved zombie was climbing out of a zombie-shaped hole in the road, it's arms and legs completely fine when compared to the grievous injuries on it's head and chest. 'Though I'd guess they're not really bad injuries for a zombie that isn't alive anymore,' I gave a shrug.

Why wasn't I taking out the zombie straight away? Because I wanted to try something.

Settling into a basic karate stance, I pulled my right fist to my side, my knuckles facing the ground and my curled fingers facing upwards toward me.

I kept my eyes on the groggy and slow zombie, but I also turned part of my attention inside myself.

I'd activated my rage ability before, when I was taking on a horde of Lv3 zombies and the rage came from a source - my heart. What I was trying to do now, was to use that source without actually activating the ability. Entering [Rage] just to attack one creature was usually a bit of a waste. 'Mainly because even without the debuff, it's still exhausting,' I lamented, remembering how tired I'd felt after using the ability for a few minutes, 'It takes a toll on my body and I'd rather only use such an ability against something strong. Yet, as shown with this evolved zombie, my attack damage isn't enough to one-shot zombies like it. Which means I need an offensive ability that synergizes well with my [Intermediate Unarmed Combat] skill.'

I continued to search for the source and honestly, having experienced it before, it didn't take long to locate it.

Inside my heart, there was a burning inferno. Small, insignificant pieces broke off of the massive ball of fire and entered my bloodstream, flowing along with my blood cells as they empowered my body. 'Good to see it was so easy...now, to break off a bigger part,' I nodded as I mentally tried to break off a bigger piece.

Suddenly, as soon as I tried in fact, my chest and body began to feel extremely hot.

I felt a third of the inferno break off and I instantly began to regret my decision - though I didn't have time to sit around and lament as the evolved zombie was now out of the asphalt and standing up straight.

So, I made the best of a potentially bad situation and I grabbed the chunk of fiery rage and turned it into a stream that traveled from my heart towards my arm.

It hurt. Jesus fucking Christ it really hurt.

It was like shoving a red hot fire poker through my blood vessels. My blood boiled and my veins protruded and bulged unnaturally on my arm as I forced the energy through them. But I kept my focus as sharp as a blade, even as tears began to pool in my eyes as a natural reaction to such pain. Yet, I still pushed through it.

The rage and heat all collected in my fist and forearm, the veins bulging and wiggling like mini-snakes under my skin but also glowing in a faint reddish hue. The air around my fist distorted, like how it does on an exceptionally hot day.

The evolved zombie, now up and seeing me, charged toward me. Just like the others, it had it's arms outstretched, ready to grab me and yet I didn't move or dodge.

If I made more than a few steps, I felt as if I'd lose concentration and the fury I'd gathered in my arm would disperse - or even worse, explode. So, I just waited for the undead to get within range so I could counter it. Which didn't take long as the evolved zombie charged toward me with reckless abandon.

Taking a measured step forward, I entered the zombie's personal space, it's hands now overshooting and being well behind me. As I stepped, I threw the punch.

I put every bit of my enhanced strength behind it and used my unarmed combat skill to it's fullest to guide the punch to be as perfect as I could make it right now.

My arm blurred, covered in a red glow, before my fist impacted the chin of the zombie.

The previously hard bone of the evolved zombie simply...gave way. The hard skin and metal-like bone were practically melted as the accumulated rage poured through my fist and into the undead flesh I'd punched. It was like I'd just sent a beam of heat through the zombie - add that on top of the physical force of the blow...and you get some serious damage.

The evolved zombie, now headless, dropped to the floor like a puppet that had had it's strings cut. The dull thud snapped me out of my surprise at the effectiveness of such a on-the-spot technique.

Looking at the charred flesh, I touched my chest, 'Something that can char flesh like that...is inside my heart?' I wondered, my throat suddenly becoming a little dry as I thought about it. Though, feeling my heart beating along just fine, I could only put such worry on the sidelines for now.

Instead of worrying, I looked through my status and found the new skill before opening it up.

[Name: Furious Blow]

[Cost: 30 Rage]

[Information: A technique slapped together by an overly ambitious barbarian. Doubles the damage of any blow it's added to while also adding a heat effect that adds burn damage which scorches and sometimes even melts whatever is hit.]

'30 Rage? Damn, that's a decent chunk for me right now,' I sucked some air in through my teeth thinking about the cost before I gave a somewhat casual shrug, 'Though it does solve my problem for an offensive move. I wonder what else I can do with this source of energy inside me?' I wondered this while looking down at my hand which I'd just used to punch the zombie. It felt like I'd just dumped my arm in a bath of water that was much too hot and there were shoots of pain going up and down my arm...but it was still usable. I could attack again, easily.

Just as I was thinking this, however, a textbox popped up.

[Congratulations, you've killed 1000 Zombies! The boss will see you now!]

And with that, I felt my stomach lurched as I was dragged forward. Though not toward the corpse of the evolved zombie - it was more like I was pulled through the very space in front of me.

Everything went black for a few seconds and I couldn't hear or feel anything other than my own body. But then, with a flash of light, I found myself in a new place. My stomach turned and I felt the urge to throw-up as I fell to my knees.

Putting my hands out to support myself, I retched for a few seconds before nothing came up. Either because I had so little food in my stomach or because my improved constitution was coming in clutch. Though as soon as I stopped retching, I noticed something weird about the ground which I was currently on.

'Ash?' I thought before lifting my hand and rubbing my eyes of the tears retching brought to them. Using the back of my hand, obviously. The front was covered in the same ash that made up the floor.

Standing up, I looked around, seeing that I was in some sort of ruin - the ground was covered in ash and the circular walls surrounding this ashy place were covered in tombstones leaning up against them. The whole place felt extremely familiar to me and I finally understood why. In the center of this place was a creature that dwarfed even the evolved zombie that stood at a solid seven and a half feet.

And he looked way more buff as well.

He was also covered in thick metal armor and not too far from him was a glaive/halberd type weapon that was easily taller than me and the pole was without a doubt thicker than my arm.

'...Iudex fucking Gundyr,' I remarked in disbelief before I felt a stunning amount of relief when I realized he still had the coiled sword skewering him through the abdomen, 'Thank god for that. I need to mentally prepare myself before a fight with a goddamn Dark Souls boss.'

Sitting down, I began to rest. One, my arm was still hurting, and two I wanted to be in tip-top condition before I took on this boss.

"But seriously?" I asked myself in a whisper, my tone of disbelief evident to anyone who could hear, "Iudex Gundyr? Wasn't I the one who subconsciously made this entire dungeon? Then do I have some sort of suicidal wish?" I questioned my own subconscious' sanity as I let out a sigh for the umpteenth time today, "...Oh well. Not much I can get done by complaining about it. Focus and adapt, William - you adapted to the knowledge you were in the MCU...so knowing you have to fight a Dark Souls boss shouldn't be too big of a challenge, right?" I laughed weakly at my own joke before finally beginning to think about how to tackle the boss fight ahead of me.

'This is gonna blow ass,' I thought, 'I can just feel it.'