Forging a good relation (part 2)

"Pneumatic punch!"

*WHOOOOOOOOSH* *UMPF* *WHAAAM* *SQUELCH*

[Race: Undead (Zombie dog)

Rank: F

Level: 8

HP: 0* MP: 0*

ATK: 0* MAT: 0*

DEF: 0* MDF: 0*

SPD: 0* LUC: 0*

*(Debuff – incapacitated – time remaining 00:04:59)

Skills: (Low-level Appraisal skill necessary for viewing)]

Zorey started the next day by clearing up all of the remaining undead in the Temple's basement; the Zombie dog that just a bit under three weeks earlier seemed like an unpenetrable wall became a stain on the wall of its cell with just a single skill.

"...this is ridiculous... Pneumatic punch wasn't in the book of basic skills; I will have to ask the big sister or teacher about it..."

The black-haired boy muttered to himself while staring in disbelief at his own fist, wondering about the details and damage multiplier of the clearly overpowered Skill.

It was actually the first time Zorey used it since beheading the Iron Fang dog and stopping it from rising as an undead – the suspicion that pneumatic punch was too good prevented the boy from testing it out like he would any other skill he received.

First of all, his entire body was feeling rather off – although he didn't lose any HP – but there definitely was some sort of strain.

Also, despite its obvious power, the Skill had a rather jarring downside of completely locking the boy's movement – with bullet punch, Zorey could move around and dodge – and even slightly alter the trajectory of his skill-controlled fists, but with the pneumatic punch, the same seemed impossible.

His own body was moving too fast and was too involved, as if every single muscle, tendon, and bone in his body was solely focused on delivering as much damage as possible, with his fist becoming the conduit for the destruction.

"Appease undead."

*HAAA~*

*crack*

Zorey shook his head, and the rotten blue flesh and bones sticking from the wall oozed out a spectral white figure of a Stone Fang dog."

"Graugh! (I submit to the strongest!)"

*whoosh*

The specter barked, lowering its white body, and rolled on its back before disintegrating into 0s and 1s that floated up and disappeared – with its earthly remains turning into dust that floated to the ground with a soft sound.

A couple of minutes later, the black-haired boy emerged from the basement, breathing out with satisfaction after a job well done.

"Hoho~! That sounded rather proud. Did my apprentice's hard work finally pay off?"

"Huh...?! Wh...?! Teacher Gael!"

The black-haired boy was startled by the sudden greeting, and when he turned to the side, he saw the blond-haired man in black robes with a white shawl tied around his waist and called out in excitement.

"How did it go? Did you manage to properly resolve the malice holding back the undead?"

Gael approached Zorey and patted the boy's head, tousling his black hair.

"Teacher... the truth is that was the case about halfway there, but then things became difficult, and I ended up resorting to Incapacitation... did... did I fail the training...?"

Zorey's shoulders dropped, and he asked anxiously, glancing at his teacher's face trying to figure out whether he was in trouble or not.

"Hooo...! So it was like that, t seems that I underestimated the undead I chose for you. I've heard from Mrs. Luterestia that you were very diligent, so I am sure that you did whatever you could."

Gael smiled reassuringly and continued to pat Zorey's head.

"You see, beating up the undead isn't a bad thing, actually. In the years to come, you will realize that it's actually a more valid option than resolving their malice. But the thing is, if you beat up the undead, then there is no chance of them staying behind as appeased undead ready to be contracted."

"AH! That makes so much sense!"

Gael explained, making Zorey let out a gasp of realization as it became much more understandable why Wiggles was the only undead that stayed out of every undead that he appeased.

"Of course, the situation is different with former humans. If you get caught on trying to appease them when they suffer the Incapacitated debuff, the backlash that you will face will be really harsh. You might get treated the same as a murderer. So you know. No matter what, with named undead that retained their Class, you must do your best to either have their resentment resolved or convince them to let go of it."

"I understand, teacher!"

The blond-haired man nodded his head with a wise expression, and the black-haired boy cheered out, more relieved that he wasn't in trouble than anything else.

"..."

"...?"

But as Zorey moved, the hand he used the pneumatic punch with throbbed in a strange way – not really causing pain but rather slight discomfort that was similar to a breeze of unpleasantly cold air on the skin, so the boy grabbed and rubbed the spot of bother which ended up earning him a concerned look from his teacher.

"Well, even if it was a calm undead, a fight is a fight. You can have the rest of the day free. I want to rest a bit too; requests from the nobles are always a pain – but if you want, you can stop by my room in the afternoon, and I could take you to the city like I promised... even though that's way overdue."

Gael nodded in understanding – even though he and his student were misunderstanding each other so much that they looped around and were under the impression of being completely in tune – and said before walking back inside the Temple.

"Really?! Thank you, teacher! I will do my best to be done with before that, then!"

Zorey gasped and nodded his head enthusiastically at Gael's back, convinced that his teacher must know a lot of places that neither Kaipo nor Belinda had ever heard about – like a shop that would sell priest of death exclusive equipment or something along that line!

Because of that, the black-haired boy hurried back to the place Belinda was renting out.