Chapter 2, Home is Gone_1

About half a month ago.

Wu Heng received an ancient-looking bronze key.

Whenever he inserted the key into any door and opened it, it would become a portal to another world.

This reminded Wu Heng of the novels he had read in the past, where the protagonist could travel between different worlds with just a thought.

However, he was a bit behind - he needed a key to physically open the door.

But it didn't matter, as long as he could get through, the method didn't matter.

The initial location in this other world was a remote village.

The village was poor and underdeveloped, and the villagers were quite exclusionary.

Wu Heng hitched a ride with a passing caravan and, after half a month of travel, arrived at the nearest town – Black Stone Town.

Just when he was about to use the key to trade items from both worlds and achieve his dream of financial freedom.

The world as he knew it changed completely.

The familiar modern world vanished, replaced by hordes of wandering zombies. The hallways echoed with the thudding sounds of zombies trying to break into rooms.

Wu Heng was stunned.

He had just been on the road for half a month, barely making preparations for amassing wealth.

And now his home was gone.

Seeing the city he once lived in reduced to this state brought a deep sense of melancholy.

He didn't know why any of this was happening.

However, he could imagine that if he hadn't been on the road in that other world when the zombie outbreak occurred, he might have become one of the undead.

They say that electricity can be stored for a few months even if power generation stops, but the electricity here was gone and he didn't dare to drink the water.

Luckily, Black Stone Town was able to provide him with food and drink.

In his bedroom, Wu Heng gathered his weapons and ventured out.

There wasn't much left in his living room, most of his belongings were sold for money in Black Stone Town.

And under the current circumstances, they were essentially useless.

Standing in a corner was a terrifying skeleton warrior.

This was one of the zombies that had lingered outside his window from his previous trip which Wu Heng had killed and attempted to summon.

He had gained an undead minion since then.

[Skeleton Warrior]

[Level: 1 (0/100)]

[Attributes: Constitution 10, Strength 12, Agility 8.]

[Trait: Hollow Skeleton]

Bone Manipulation had two forms of summoning.

One was summoning from the original corpse where the form and attributes of the summoned entity were largely influenced by the body itself.

Meaning, the stronger the body was in life, the stronger the summoned skeleton would be.

The other form was summoning based on the amount of collected bones.

Once a certain quantity of bones was gathered, a skeleton warrior could be summoned.

"Take it!" Wu Heng tossed the iron sword to him.

Clatter!

The noise of grinding bones sounded as the standby Skeleton Warrior reached up stiffly and grabbed the incoming iron sword.

It maintained the sword-wielding pose, waiting for the next command.

Wu Heng also picked up another short spear and tested it with a few swings.

Thoughtfully, he got a pot lid from the kitchen and wrapped it around his arm, using it as a makeshift shield.

He finished his last preparations.

He went to the front door and pressed his ear against it.

Faint footsteps could be heard, along with the sound of shuffling on the floor.

It seemed like there weren't many zombies in the stairwell. If there were only one or two, it shouldn't be a problem to deal with.

As long as one was killed, the number of skeleton warriors would increase.

Even if there was danger, as long as he didn't get infected, he could retreat.

The advantage was his; there shouldn't be a big problem.

Having decided, he didn't hesitate any further.

He instructed the skeleton warrior to approach the door, took a deep breath and opened it directly.

As the door was slowly opened, a thick, foul stench rushed towards him.

His throat started to itch, and he was about to cough but forced it back, fearing it would attract zombies.

As he fully opened the door, he could see the hallway's walls stained with blood and scratches, the dark, bloody, muddy floor, a scene as horrifying as a horror movie.

Luckily, there were no zombies waiting for him as soon as he opened the door.

"Go!" Wu Heng said in a low voice.

The skeleton warrior, holding its iron sword, followed the instruction and walked out. Wu Heng carefully closed the door behind them and followed.

Just as they stepped out, they saw a zombie at the turn of the staircase below, turning its head upward at the sound.

Its hair was matted with blood, skin greyish-white crisscrossed with black veins, mouth wide open with black, serrated teeth.

It was the old lady who lived on the second floor. Wu Heng recognized her.

He remembered that she had offered to set him up with someone before.

That seemed unlikely now.

The sudden appearance of a man and a skeleton warrior startled the zombie slightly.

Then it let out an angry snarl and charged up the stairs.

"Kill it!" Wu Heng commanded the skeleton warrior nervously.

He had to face the zombies. This was the first step towards surviving.

The skeleton warrior immediately engaged and rushed towards the attacking zombie.

The zombie's charge was fierce, but the skeleton warrior had an advantage being at the top of the stairs, it swung its iron sword down effortlessly.

Psh~!

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed as the iron sword heavily hacked into the shoulder of the zombie.

The zombie, seemingly unfazed by pain, stumbled, tripped over the stair, and dived right between the skeleton's legs.

Showing its gruesome fangs and claws, it lunged toward Wu Heng's crotch.

This terrifying attack meant to nullify his lineage scared him into a quick retreat.

He backed off, took a glance at his lower body to ensure it was not assaulted, then breathed a sigh of relief.

The zombie stuck under the skeleton continued screaming.

Psh!

The Skeleton Warrior's second thrusting sword sunk into the zombie, with the iron blade piercing through its body.

Wu Heng held his short spear, aiming to stab the zombie at its eye holes.

Tak!

The zombie waved its arms about, causing the spear's thrust to veer and strike its forehead instead.

The skin cracked and flesh split apart, but the spear failed to penetrate the skull. The zombie started thrashing about even more violently, managing to stand up and almost topple the skeleton.

Amidst the struggle, both the skeleton and the zombie tumbled down the stairs.

With his fast-clenched iron spear, Wu Heng intended to cooperate with the skeleton to kill the zombie when…

Suddenly, the sound of frantic running came from above. Yet another zombie covered in rotting flesh rushed down at breakneck speed.

Having spotted Wu Heng, it leaped off the stairs, charging at him from several steps away.

Shit!

A sudden surge of fear hit him like a wave.

Wu Heng acted without considering any strategy. He raised the shield on his left arm and crashed it head-on into the zombie.

With a thud, the zombie was knocked down mid-air as dark, bloody liquid splashed around.

Wu Heng was also knocked backward against the wall behind him.

As the zombie rolled down the stairs, Wu Heng got up gritting his teeth, and thrust his iron spear into its decaying body. Even in its deteriorating condition, its body showed remarkable resilience.

Stabbing it felt as though he was piercing soft leather.

A few stabs later, but none of the attacks appeared deadly enough to the zombie.

The zombie quickly rose and attacked again, with Wu Heng fending it off with the shield and stabbing at its chest and abdomen with the short spear.

This is difficult!

If he gets scratched or bitten, he's done for.

He swiftly glanced at a slightly ajar door behind him, contemplating a retreat when…

An alert sounded in his ear.

[Experience gained +10.]

[Summoned entity - Skeleton Warrior experience +5.]

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced down.

The fight around the corner had already ended - the Skeleton Warrior, with its weapon advantage, had smashed the zombie's head and killed it.

"Come up here and help kill this one."

The Skeleton Warrior quickly paced up and blocked in front of Wu Heng. Its iron sword, once more, lunged at the zombie.

The fighting styles of the skeleton and the zombie were remarkably similar, with barely any defensive moves.

They just kept attacking.

All-out offense.

With the zombie no longer tagging along, Wu Heng quickly retreated down the corner below the stairs, casting "Bone Manipulation Skill" on the recently killed zombie.

Sheathed in necromancy, the zombie's flesh started to dissolve like hot wax, revealing a human skeleton that stood up using both its hands for support.

"Go, attack there." Wu Heng pointed at the upstairs fight location.

The just-risen Skeleton Warrior responded to the command and rushed upstairs empty-handed.

Wu Heng, in the meantime, shook his arm to alleviate the lingering pain from the earlier collision.

The saucepan-lid shield in his hand was already distorted from the impact. But it was this makeshift shield that had saved him from the zombie's charge.

Zombies were not necessarily formidable because of their attack strength.

The most troublesome part was the toxins in their bodies.

If bitten or scratched, he might die unjustly.

The battle upstairs was still in full swing.

Two skeletons had cornered the zombie. One was using its sword, the other its fist, and a hail of attacks rained down on their target.

Black blood and bits of flesh scattered everywhere.

Eventually, amid an angry roar and thrashing from the zombie, a sword thrust speared through its neck. The zombie stopped resisting and slouched down lifelessly.

[Experience gained +10.]

[Summoned entity - Skeleton Warrior experience +5.]

The experience was once again topped up.

This was just like the games he used to play.

And that was why he chose to become a Necromancer.

Black Stone Town did not allow him to experiment with magic or summon undead creatures.

But he had this world to himself.

He can rely on the zombies of this world to level up and accumulate strength.

As long as he had power, the restrictions set by Black Stone Town on Necromancers would naturally be resolved.

He cast the Bone Manipulation Skill.

Wham~!

Blood and flesh fell off, and the third Skeleton Warrior rose again.

Before it could do anything, two more zombies ambled up the stairs from below.

Simultaneously, they raised their heads and looked upward.

"Attack!"