Skit Iyuthum The Rotting

"My name is not Skeletor, it is Skit Iyuthum The Rotting"

Suddenly hearing a voice, Grant immediately started looking around trying to find the source, but no matter where he looked, the only thing he could see was the group of zombies and Skeletor.

That's when a realization suddenly struck him, "YOU CAN SPEAK?!"

Grant was staring directly at the skeleton across from him when he first heard the voice, so it was hard for him to believe that the voice was coming from the skeleton itself. But he received an answer to his curiosity almost immediately.

"I am not speaking, per say. But I do have the ability to transmit my thoughts to other monsters and individuals. How else would I communicate? By playing a tune on my rib bones?"

"Hold the fuckin phone. Transmit your thoughts? How the hell do you do that?! And I'm pretty sure you're making a joke.. but it would be pretty cool to communicate using rib bones to make noise... just saying."

The skeleton just shook his head at Grant's smartass response but continued "speaking" moments later.

"Mana of course. I am after all almost a Tranquil tier monster. That is the tier above Enlightened if you are not aware. I mastered the ability to control mana the moment I entered the Enlightened tier of The Path.

You can only understand me because mana that is laying dormant in your body, working in conjunction with The Path, is translating my thoughts for you to understand. Apparently as an audible language in your case."

"Wait, fuck, I won't let you distract me! What do you want?! Are you the one controlling these zombies to attack me?!"

Grant didn't know what the skeleton wanted, but he knew that if it was really about to enter the second tier of The Path, then he would be in trouble if he was forced to fight him. Grant only grew more tense when he heard the skeletons reply.

"Yes I am. When I met you the other night I was surprised by your level and the strength you displayed. I was curious how strong you actually were, so I was planning to slowly gather a large horde of these zombies and then hunt you down.

For someone or something from a race that stepped onto The Path just recently to have reached your level of strength is no small feat. I couldn't continue with my mission without testing you to see what made you so special.

I never would have thought that you would appear before me of your own accord. It really did derail my plans but I figured it ultimately made things easier.

When you killed my sentry, I was alerted of your presence, and decided not to wait any longer and sent the horde after you."

Listening to what Skit had to say, Grant was starting to feel somewhat like a lab rat. But he decided to stick it out and try to glean as much information on the skeleton's true intentions before he made a move.

"I see. So are you satisfied with the results? Or are you going to continue to test me? You know I won't hesitate to fight you to the death if I have too."

Skit started laughing at Grant after his vow to fight, or at least that is how Grant perceived it.

It was hard to tell what emotion the skeleton was trying to display exactly because it had no facial muscles to move so it had no facial expressions.

"You are funny human. A fight to the death with me would be utterly pointless. I could kill you with a single use of any one of my skills. You may be strong, but you are not nearly strong enough.

My job, if you will, is to test new races on The Path to see if they are worthy of cooperation with my race. Every new world that enters The Path, presents a new opportunity. The inhabitants of my planet are ruthless and violent but we are not completely unreasonable.

Unlike some of the other races you will encounter, we do not seek fights just for the sake of fighting.

Besides, I only have 10 minions left anyways, and wasting these guys on you would not be worth the effort I had to put in to raising them, so I will not pursue a fight any longer.

You have passed my test."

The way Skit said the last sentence really annoyed Grant, but before he could show any emotion on his face or in his eyes, he suppressed his feelings.

"So, now that I have passed your test, what happens?"

"Meet me in the park where you fought the giant javelina, in three days time, and we will continue our conversation.

You may be compelled to avoid meeting me, but it would be worthwhile for you to humor me.

The dungeon I used to cross into your world is located there and that is also where I will present you with an opportunity to cooperate."

{You would do well to listen to him. While I would not say that he is one hundred percent trustworthy, if he is willing to cooperate this could be an invaluable chance for you to increase your strength immensely.}

[No shit Sherlock. I can tell just from his aura that what he said earlier about killing me instantly is entirely within his capabilities.

I have a feeling that if I don't meet him in three days time, I will be dead in four.]

Grant was annoyed that Sherlock would choose then of all times to interject but he had more important things to focus on, so he just gave him a cursory response before speaking to Skit once again.

"Fine, I will meet you in the park in three days time. It's a date. Please refrain from sending any more waves of zombies at me during that time. While I do enjoy a tough fight, I do not enjoy wasting my time."

Once again, Skit "laughed" at his brazen response.

"As you wish human. I will take my leave now. I will see you in three days time."

With that, Skit and the ten oversized zombies, walked past Grant and headed for the door. Grant never let his guard down, just in case the zombies or Skit attacked but after they passed by him, and seeing that he was at least staying true to his word in this situation, Grant finally relaxed. Before Skit could reach the door however, Grant yelled out to him one last time.

"My name is Grant. Not Human!"

Skit just waved his boney hand as he passed through the doors with his zombies and then disappeared.

[Well fuck, guess I have three days to train up Robin and Richard before I have to go deal with whatever that scary ass skeleton wants.

Plus, I HAVE to reach level 25 and figure out my Path before then!]

While lost in thought, Grant surveyed the area one last time before he finally put Wet Noodle back into it's scabbard and then he finally relaxed.

He wasn't absolutely certain there were no more zombies in the building but seeing how many dead zombies were laying around him, he figured it would only be a small handful if any at all and he would be able to deal with them without his sword.

Grant spent the next hour or so scouring through the Walmart, grabbing anything and everything that he could find that he thought might be useful, including camping supplies, food, water, etc.

After filling up a couple carts worth of food, Grant grabbed the biggest blanket he could find and tied everything into one large bundle. The bundle of goods ended up being the size of a large outdoor shed but he managed to pick it up and carry it without issue.

Once satisfied with his setup, he began his journey out of the store and back to the gun shop.

Before he could leave, he had to bust up the wall of the shop to be able to drag his makeshift bag outside, but Grant enjoyed that part of his day. What young man didn't enjoy wrecking something without any fear of repercussions?

Grant thought that the surprises for the day were finally over but he was once again proven wrong when he ran into a group of survivors that were walking down the street heading in his direction.

There had to be at least 20 survivors in the group too which surprised Grant as well. They were all walking in a tight group down the road looking vigilantly at their surroundings. As it turned out though, the one leading the group was actually someone that Grant knew from before The Path's emergence.

"Ethan! Is that you man?!"