Chapter 3: Weekend Zombie Slayer

Chapter 3

The sound of piano playing could be heard in the empty concert hall.

The waxed stage was completely barren except for the lone grand piano illuminated by a stage light.

My fingers danced gracefully on the keys, as I reached the most important piece of the melody.

Thuk!

The music stopped as I stared at the treacherous hand that had ruined the atmosphere I had created.

Sighing I stood up from the bench and snapped my fingers, causing the music hall to melt away, being replaced by a lounge room.

"I suppose there is no helping it," I said as I called up my stats window.

Charles Bell

Class: The Gamer

Level: LV 5 Next Level: 15.30%

HP: 160/160

MP: 180/180

STR: 12

DEX: 10

VIT: 11

INT: 13

WIS: 10

LUK: 7

Points: 10

Money: 3,343 G/ 11 S/ 2 K

Inventory: 43/120

"My dexterity is still too low to play that particular piece."

I felt a small amount of displeasure at the fact that my piano playing, a skill I prided myself on in my previous life, had regressed so much.

Today was Saturday. I had official survived my first week of magic school, despite the staircase trying their hardest to do otherwise.

There were no lessons today, so I was free to explore that dungeon as much as I wanted.

The Room of Requirements had served as a perfect training ground, and I had used it every chance I could get.

After the first day, I had taken to a rather extreme training regimen that some might consider inhuman. They weren't wrong either as I took notice of my bodies strange mechanics and constantly pushed myself to the limits, usually resulting in me collapsing on the ground. It was fine however as any fatigue I received would be gone after a 30-minute rest.

My strength and speed were now equal to what my adult body used to have, which was strange considering I was 11. Though I supposed there were also abnormal eleven-year olds that were stronger than me even back in my original world too.

But that was beside the point. I could now swing the 4-pound rapier in my hand with ease and I had even managed to level up [Sword Mastery] to 5.

Turning in homework and studying also gave some EXP so I managed to level up twice as a result of all the class assignments.

Unfortunately, things weren't going as well on the magical side.

Spells rarely worked for me, and when they did, they were rather pitiful. Classes like charms and transfiguration which required the most wand work were the hardest for me.

However, there was nothing I could do until I raised my WIS, so I focused on theory until then.

"Well enough dilly-dally. Zombie slaying waits for no man."

Exiting the room, I began to make by way towards the dungeon. My equipment was safely stored in my inventory seeing as I didn't want to raise any questions by carrying around a sword through the castle.

Would you like to enter the [Zombie Dungeon]? [Accept/ Decline]

A blue window appeared as I neared the entrance to the dungeon leading to the potion's class.

I looked around to make sure I wasn't being watched before accepting, then walked down the steps.

Reaching the bottom, I noticed that the surrounding was different from what it should be. Instead of a small stone corridor there was a large suburban community that looked to be abandoned. There also didn't appear to be a ceiling as I saw the clear night sky despite it being morning.

I opened the inventory window and retrieved the rapier I had packed. I also changed out of my school uniform and into some spare clothes while I was at it. A shame that none of the armor I found fit me.

Giving the sword a few test swings, I walked forward.

[Rock: A normal piece of earth.]

[Grass: It's grass, what did you expect.]

Then I heard a gravel like moan.

"Urgg…"

"Well, aren't you a looker."

Out of a corner came out a zombie. It had green skin that looked to partially rotted with a hole on the side of its mouth exposing yellow teeth. The strangest thing however was that it was wearing a business suit.

Zombie LV 8

HP: 800/800

MP: 50

Description: Although it's slow, its strength is twice as much as when it was alive.

"So, it's true. The working class really are the living undead. Good to now," I commented as I dashed forward with my sword.

It noticed me as I neared and tried to lunge, but I rolled to the side then swept its legs under it, causing the undead to fall.

I stood up and stabbed it in the back of the head with the rapier.

Zombie: HP (450/800)

The tip of the blade met some resistance as it penetrated the skull, reminding me once again just how human my opponent was.

I felt a flash of aversion at the act of killing another living being before disappearing completely when the zombie began to stir.

Removing the sword, it made a wet sound as it exited the back of its head.

"This thing really smells," I commented as a sudden draft of wind brought the smell of rotten eggs and meat to my nose.

I brought by sword up before slamming it down on the exposed neck with all my strength intending on severing the head.

The zombie was decapitated in one swift motion, causing me to frown.

[Gained 350 experience.]

A skill has been created through a special action.

[Power Strike] has been created.

[Power Strike] (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.0%

Description: Strikes the target with a strong force. 15% increase to critical rate. 50% increase in attack damage.

Cost: 5 MP

"Ah, I see now."

The sword was sharp of course since I had recently sharpened it, but it shouldn't have been able to cut throw the neck that easily.

The corpse of the zombie turned into black smoke that dissipated into the open air.

"Shouldn't it have left some sort of drop or something. In most games, monsters usually leave behind money or items. Is this because my luck is too low?"

LUK: 7

STR, DEX, VIT, and INT could all be raised manually with some training, but it was different matter when it came to WIS and LUK.

Normally I would be inclined to raise my attributes through other means rather than using points, but the problem with that was that I had no way to do that with LUK, since you first needed to be lucky to raise it. The same went for raising WIS, you needed to be wise to make wise decisions after all.

I had 10 points that I could spend after I leveling up, but the question was if I should use them now.

If I chose to raise them now, then I could think of it as an investment for the future.

The system said that WIS was in charge of my mana regeneration and my magic resistance. 10 WIS for every 1%, meaning that with my current WIS of 10 I recovered 1.8 MP per minute, and it took 1 hour and 40 minutes to recovery it completely.

LUK would also help immensely with finding rare drops and better weapons.

"Eh. I'm sure it won't make that much of a difference this early one," I told myself before raising both my WIS and LUK by 5.

WIS: 15

LUK: 12

It seems that I was just in time as another zombie came limping toward me.

I waited patiently for it to reach me then I thrust my rapier at its heart calling on my newest skill.

"Power strike!"

The thin blade exited from its back causing it to pause momentarily before stopping all together as it became a wisp of black smoke.

[Gained 350 experience.]

[Your level went up by 1.]

It seems that the increase in luck really was the best decision as the zombie left something behind.

I went to pick it up and used observe.

[You obtained the item 'Soul Stone'.]

It was a small purple crystal with uneven sides the size of my pinky.

"Soul stone huh? I better keep this safe in my inventory. Anything with the word 'soul' in the title has to be important, even if I don't know what it is."

[Wise decision making causes your WIS to go up by 1.]

I saw a cluster of zombies in the distance and allowed myself a smile. My goal of being the strongest suddenly didn't seem so unreachable.

(Great Hall)

I chewed my food thoroughly, mentally going over what I had learned today.

First was that attributes tended to raise faster if you were in combat rather than in a safe location like the Room of Requirements.

Second was that although stamina wasn't shown, it was still very much present and running out mid battle would make you a sitting duck.

Third, [Gamer's Body] allowed you to take damage but not the injury.

I learned the last one personally as a zombie had gotten lucky and bitten my leg with enough force to tear off flesh. I killed it swiftly but when I went to see the injury, I noticed that beside a small amount of blood, there was nothing to indicate an attack, not even teeth marks.

It was such a curious sight, that I decided to test it by slashing my palm with my sword.

I noticed that my HP had fallen slightly but besides a little pain which disappeared a second later there was no lasting effect.

Anyways, thanks to the zombies I had managed to raise both my level and stats by a lot.

Charles Bell

Class: The Gamer

Level: LV 8 Next Level: 3.47%

HP: 200/200

MP: 180/180

STR: 14

DEX: 13

VIT: 15

INT: 13

WIS: 15

LUK: 12

Points: 15

Money: 3,344 G/ 2 S/ 13 K

Inventory: 55/120

I also managed to gain 2 new skills.

[Physical Endurance] (Passive) LV 2 EXP: 43.39%

Description: The body's durability increases, and you take less damage.

4% decrease in damage taken by physical attacks.

[Sense Danger] (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 67.33%

Description: A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to sense when a bad thing might happen. The higher the skill level, the earlier it can sense danger.

I now had a total of 10 skills, with [Observe] and [Power Strike] being the only active ones.

I would need to expand my arsenal before I returned to the dungeon again. I had to stop half way after my health got to low.

Making sure I wasn't being watched I snatched some bread and hid it under the table where I put it in my inventory to eat later.

[Gamer's Body] meant that I no longer required to eat or sleep, though I still chose to do both as food had the benefit of restoring lost HP and sleep got rid of mental fatigue.

Currently I was having lunch alone as the older students had gone to Hogsmeade while the younger kids had taken to exploring the castle.

Taking a pitcher of milk, I poured myself a cup which I then proceeded to place in my inventory. There was no need to fear for spoiled milk however as time didn't pass inside the inventory meaning I could keep food fresh for months or years at a time. I was truly grateful for this ability even if I had to spend 1 Galleon for each additional box.

Looking at the far end room I noticed Harry Potter eating with Ronald Weasley at the Gryffindor table. It surprised me to see that both looked exactly like their movie counterparts. "Observe."

Harry James Potter LV 5

Ronald Bilius Weasley LV 4

That was rather disappointing to be honest.

Going down the table I spot Fred and George whispering to each other.

Fred Weasley LV 23

George Weasley LV 23

Hermione seemed to have skipped out on lunch, probably at the library.

Behind me was the Slytherin table, Daphne and Tracey were getting up ready to leave.

Dumping the last of my food in my inventory, I followed after them.

"Hey there girls," I called out to them with a smile.

The two turned looking surprised at my sudden arrival.

"Charles."

"Hey."

"Looks like we all got into the House we wanted," I said pointing to the Ravenclaw colors on my robe to emphasize that I wasn't an enemy.

It seemed to have worked as the guarded look in their eye dropped by the slightest degree.

"Are you guys exploring the school too?"

Daphne brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before answering, "Yes, we figured since we finally have time."

"Charles, why don't you join us," Tracey said right after, either missing the glare directed at her by the blonde or ignoring it entirely.

"Well if you don't mind?" I said putting on a bashful face.

"I don't really-"

"No problem," the spunky brunette interrupted.

Oh, so there really was some friction going on between them. I wonder how I could use this. Neither the books or movies really went into too much depth with their characters so I didn't now much about them, but from the small amount I observed it was easy to draw a profile.

Daphne was the type to act cold and impassive in the face of conflict, no doubt a result of her pureblood background. She acted similar to some of the girls back at my private school who came from wealthy families. They tended to bottle everything up appearing to be strong on the outside, but where just one bad day away from exploding. We called these girls, ice dolls, beautiful to look at but easier to break. I remember me and my friends laughing whenever one of these ice dolls would finally crack and go full Carrie at school.

Tracey on the other hand was what we used to call snow flies. These girls tended to follow the ice dolls around like loyal pets but wouldn't hesitate to turn on them at the slightest hint of trouble. They would disguise themselves as friends all the while trying to tear them down. Snow flies fell into two categorize, obsessed or jealous.

A jealous snow fly as the name stated usually had some form of resentment to the ice doll they were following. It could be because they weren't as pretty, rich, smart, or anything really. They were usually the first to gossip and start any malicious rumors. They also tended to want others to join their flock in order to seem more important for being in the group longer.

An obsessed snow fly on the other hand was the one that you need to watch out for as they tended to be the more dangerous of the two. While similar, these types didn't do things out of malicious intent but out of some misguided attempt to get closer to their target. However, since they couldn't elevate themselves, they instead tried to tear them down to their level. Theirs was a warped mentality but it was still entertaining to watch.

I like many of the students at my private school tended to make bets to see how long these dolls would last, cause you know, rich kids.

Looking at the two girls I gave Daphne up to fourth year before she eventually cracked.

"Perfect, it will give us a time to catch up," I added as we headed down the hall to find a more private location. They were Slytherins after all and the couldn't be seen talking to a Muggle-born like me casually.

(Grounds)

"Ah, so this is how you do that," Tracey said as she wrote down the answer on a piece of paper, "as expected of a Ravenclaw."

Somehow our talk had derailed into me helping the two girls with their homework assignments.

"What about his one?" Daphne asked as she pointed to a question on the assignment sheet.

"Oh, let me see. If I remember correctly that should be in chapter 7, page… 132," I told her. She was to prideful to ask for the answer outright so instead I provided her with the section that would help her solve it.

Tracey on the other hand had no such qualms as she just wrote down the answer promising that she would look up the method later. I very much doubted that, but it was her choice.

After 15 minutes they finally closed their textbooks with a satisfying snap.

"All done?"

"Yes."

"Ah, you're a life saver," the fly said stretching her arms as if simply copying down the answers was some great task.

"That's good. So, do you mind if I ask a couple questions of my own?" I asked.

"Questions about wizarding society I take it?"

"Yeah."

"Urg! Daphne you take this one, I not good with rules and stuff," the brunet said laying down on the grass.

The blonde princess looked to be mildly annoyed but pushed it down, "What would you like to know?"

"Let's start off simple. Can you tell me about the legal system?"

For the next hour I received a run down on the judicial system, and despite it being from a biased source, I learned quite a lot.

The topic of half-breeds had sprung up during this time when I asked how wizards viewed Professor Flitwick, who was known to be part goblin.

From what I had gotten, some species of half-breeds were generally looked down upon like half-giants and half-goblins. While others were revered in the case of half-veela and half-vampires. In the end it all bottled down to how small your abnormality was and how powerful you were. In the case of Flitwick, while some purebloods couldn't stomach him for his ancientry they still held some small amount of respect due to his magical prowess.

There also wasn't anything called a magical guardian like most fans of the books liked to believe, which was good in its own way.

It was thanks to this that I was able to bust many of the misconceptions that fans tended to have.

For instance, there was no such things as magical binding marriages or even betrothed contracts. That might have been a common practice centuries ago but in this day and age it was more likely to get you sent to Azkaban. The selling of one's son or daughter to anyone else would be considered an act of human trafficking in the eyes of the law, which was deemed illegal by the ICW.

Another surprising fact was that despite Britain's long history of magic, it wasn't the most powerful. In fact, Britain only ranked in the top 50 magical countries. The first was, you guessed it, China.

It was disheartening to hear that we were just frogs stuck at the bottom of a well, but at least now I knew who my real competition was.

"So, what do you plan on doing after this?" I asked gesturing around me.

"You mean Hogwarts?"

"Yes, do you have a career in mind?"

"I can't say I have."

"I'm going to be Medi-witch!" Tracey butted in.

I looked at her hiding my annoyance, "Really, that's great." I turned back to the blonde, "I don't really know what jobs there are, but I figured you might have one since you've lived on this side all your life.

"Didn't you have any dream back in the muggle side?"

"Sure. In fact, until recently I always dreamed of being a musician."

"Oh? Were you any good?" Daphne asked offhandedly.

"Ha! Was I good? You tell me?" I said as I stared to tap my fingers on the grass as if I was playing a piano. After a few seconds I stopped and looked at Daphne's unsure face. I stopped and rubbed the back of my neck, "Ahem, admittedly it's more impressive with an actual piano."

That caused the usually stoic blonde to crack a smile, "I'll have to take your word on it."

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, don't believe me. It just shows your lack of musical appreciation, Tracey back me up here."

"Huh? Yeah sure, you have talent for tapping on grass," she said plucking blades of grass in front of her.

After a few more minutes of talking we parted ways on much friendlier terms.

As I was heading to the Room of Reequipments, I thought of my plans for the future.

I had decided to follow my dream of being the world's strongest but even I knew I couldn't do it alone. To reach the top one needed to be wealthy, powerful, and most importantly well connected.

My new power would help me with the first two but the last would need some work.

There was no doubt in my mind that Daphne could be turned into an important asset with the right training but did the benefits outweigh the costs.

Tracey had proven my initial assessment true in the way she hovered around those better than her. She would be easy to deal with when the time came, in fact I could use her jealousy to unknowingly drive Daphne further into my hand.

There was saying back at my old school, "Dolls make the best toys."

Perhaps not the nicest saying, but certainly the truest, and I was rather adept at playing with them.

(Zombie Dungeon)

Today was Sunday, the last day that I could enter the dungeon before I needed to go back to classes.

~Beware, beware, be skeptical

Of their smiles, the smiles of plated gold

Deceit so natural

But a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning

Bla-bla-black sheep, have you any soul?

No sir, by the way what the hell are moral~

[Singing]'s level has risen by one.

"Piercing Strike!"

My blade gained a blue shine as I thrust it into the body of a zombie. It gained a foot-wide hole in its stomach before disappearing into black smoke.

Scattered around me were different drops for the various zombies I had spent the past hour killing.

[You obtained the item 'Soul Stone'.]

[You obtained the item 'Tooth of the Dead'.]

[You obtained the item 'Rib of the Dead'.]

It was a shame that I had to pick up everything by hand but at least it gave me some time to recover my mana. Most of what they dropped was crafting items but some would occasionally drop some money too.

I had yet to find the boss of the dungeon, but I figured that was for the best. Once I reached level 20 I felt I would be strong enough to fight it, but until then I would hunt theses grunts.

As I walked down the abandoned street, I saw another group of zombies in the distance.

"Charge," I whispered the name of my newly created skill.

I was launched forward at twice my normal speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

Apparently the [Numbed Emotions] drawback only applied to spells and not skills.

The rapier cut the zombie in half, something that wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for [Sword Mastery] which increased the attack damage.

Using my superior dexterity, I danced around them chopping of their heads or stabbing them in the heart with the occasional kick mixed in.

+350 EXP

+350 EXP

+350 EXP

+350 EXP

+350 EXP…

[Your level went up by 1.]

It only took five minutes to take care of the twenty something zombies plaguing the streets.

Picking up the loot drops I continued forward.

Although there were houses all around, I chose to ignore them since they were just for decoration and were completely empty on the inside.

I wasn't sure if these creatures still held a semblance of intelligence, but I was begining to suspect that they did since they started to run away in the as soon as they saw me.

"Tch. Why are you make things harder by running away? Now I have to chase you all individually and waste even more time! So inconsiderate."

After an hour of completing zombie genocide I finally decided to call it quits and began to make my way toward the exit.

"Not bad, I managed to make about 6 Galleons and level up 3 times. I almost have enough points to raise my WIS to 50, then I can finally start practicing those spells."

[You sense danger!]

The hairs at the back of my neck stood up suddenly.

Without a moment to waste I ducked and rolled to the side, noticing as a ray of light hit the wall where my head was supposed to be. The wall now sported fresh new hole the size of a basketball.

I looked toward the direction of the attack and noticed a zombie in wizard robes, a magic wand held in their right hand glowing with black energy.

"Oh good, I was starting to wonder if there was a magic variety of you lot," I said pointing my rapier at the undead wizard.

It raised its wand and made a downward slashing motion.

An almost invisible blade shot forward making me do a half turn to dodge it, a good thing to as it cleaved the wall behind me in half.

I looked at the sword in my hand and decided my next choice of action carefully.

Summoning my inventory, I reached in and took out an old butterbeer bottle that swished with a mysterious glowing liquid.

The undead mage gave a raspy rattle like sound before beginning its onslaught of multicolored spells.

I didn't have the slightest idea what they did, but I wasn't about to find out, so I ducked and weaved my way through the spell fire until I could spot an opening.

Suddenly I felt like the floor was swept under me and as a result, I received a cutting curse on my arm. The spell should have completely loped it off at the elbow but thanks to [Gamer's Body] it remained attached by some unseen force before knitting back together leaving only a line of blood behind as evidence.

I threw the butterbeer bottle at the wizard when I saw it pause. It shattered on the ground in front of it causing an rapidly growing cloud of black smoke.

Seeing my chance, I gripped the handle of my sword tightly and stood up.

Then I ran.

Yep, I ran away.

Why? Well…

Zombie Wizard LV 32

That's why.

I used [Charge] to run up the stairs leading to the entrance of the dungeon and only stopped when I was sure it couldn't chase me.

[Wise decision making causes your WIS to go up by 1.]

[Physical Endurance]'s level has risen by 1.

"Looks like I won't be able to enter until I get stronger," I said with a sigh as I switched my clothes and put away my sword.

(Daphne)

The Greengrass heiress looked at the black-haired Ravenclaw boy with a small amount of curiosity.

Charles Bell was eating with them for the second time. He had shown up 10 minutes ago with a basket filled with food and asked if they wanted to have a picnic.

Tracy had accepted for them both, so she was forced to tag along.

Suddenly Tracey sprayed pumpkin juice out of her nose as Charles finished telling his joke.

"Cough. Cough. Charles you prat! You did that on purpose!"

"What me? Never," the boy said with an all too innocent grin on his face giving the blonde a sideways wink.

This caused Daphne to giggle.

She would admit that he was certainly fun to have around, despite his Muggle-born status. He was also very smart, which she thought was the reason why he was accepted into Ravenclaw so readily. It also helped that she thought he was rather cute.

Though if she would call him a friend, still remained to be seen.