Ch. 13

( Haru Pov )

A zombie, something so horrifying to look at that I could not take my eyes off of.

I watched in horror as it slowly made its way towards me.

[ Level 1 undead ]

[ Health: 25/25 ]

A panel showed on top of the zombies head.

Grauk grauukk!

The zombie screamed as it moved a little faster.

I stepped back in fear and tripped on an arm.

" Ah!" I exclaimed as I fell to the floor and crawled backward.

The zombie rushed at me as it Aldo tripped over the arm and fell where I was previously.

Graa!

But it didn't stop the zombie as it grabbed my ankle.

" Ahh!" I shouted as I kicked the zombies head.

[ -3 ]

[ -3 ]

I continued to kick the zombie until its grip loosened.

I was reminded of my magic as I faced my palm towards the zombie.

The zombie was pushed back and hit the ground.

[ - 12 ]

I wanted to use this chance to run, but I felt the wind brush against my back, like it was telling me to fight.

Should I? Or should I run?

The gentle wind kept guiding me to the zombie as I quickly tried to calm myself.

I aimed my palm at the zombie as it slowly got up.

" Wind slash. " I muttered as a slash of wind shot out to the zombie cresting a cut by it'd collar.

[ -15 ]

Graakk! The zombie groaned as it fell to the ground.

The zombie's health bar turned zero, and it fell to the ground.

I blinked my eyes as I stood there, scared to move in case the zombie wasn't actually dead.

[ Ding! Zombie slained ]

[ 15 exp ]

[ Rotten flesh ]

" Ugh." I covered my nose as I smelled the disgusting smell of the rotten flesh in front of me.

I felt like puking but managed to hold it in.

" Gotta run." I muttered as I walked the opposite direction but felt a pull from the wind guiding me to where the zombie came from.

" Sigh..." I hesitated before falling the wind and walked towards the opposite direction.

I stepped over the zombie hesitantly, wondering if it'll come back alive.

I tried to keep my mind occupied from the gory scenes around me.

I watched where I stepped, making sure I didn't step on any blood or limbs.

My mind was in a mess as I regretted entering this dungeon.

' And the portal...it's gone too.' I thought as I couldn't spot the swirling portal anymore.

I made my way out of the alleyway but soon took cover behind a dumpster.

' Tha..th...that's a lot!!' I was alarmed by the sheer number of zombies.

I covered my nose as the stench was awful, making my stomach churn.

' Feel like I'm gonna throw up.' I thought as I barely held myself together.

I couldn't take my eyes off from the sheer number of zombies moving through the empty street.

' I shouldn't have listened to that damn wind.' I cursed before stepping back to hide behind the dumpster.

I sighed as I sat down mentally tired.

' I lost my will to live...' I thought as I remembered the large number of zombies behind me.

I closed my eyes for a second before opening them.

' I gotta get stronger. And this is a challenge I must pass.' I managed to find my resolve as I opened my eyes.

I peeked over the dumpster and saw a lesser amount of zombies in the streets.

' I should've chosen Thief.' I thought I observed the surroundings.

' I could use the cars for cover.' I thought as I spotted a large number of cars in the street.

' The wind guided me here for a reason... I'm guessing it has to do with this horde.

I looked across the street to see a general store.

Now that I had a better look around the area, I was still in Japan.

' A general store... maybe that's my target.' I concluded.

I spotted a flipped car and decided to slowly walk their as I felt my legs shaking from fear.

Graak! Graa

A zombie groaned as it walked past the car.

I held my breath as I heard it slowly walk away. I used this chance to quickly move to the car, which was a van.

I heard footsteps and entered the van, closing the sliding door and hiding under the window.

Graak!

The zombie screamed before hearing rapid footsteps leaving the area.

' They can run...' This realization hit me sending another chill down my spine.

I calmed myself down for a few minutes as I observed the van.

Inside, there was a family photo hanging by the rear view mirror.

' it seemed they ran from this van in a hurry.' I thought as I looked around to see bags filled with clothes and supplies.

' A knife!' I thought happily as I found a brown pocket knife.

[ Pocket knife ]

[ Durability: 100/100 ]

' There's a Durability limit... I should be careful when I use it.' I thought as I continued to search.

There was a protein bar and a flashlight.

[ Protein bar ]

[ + 15 health ]

[ Flashlight ]

[ Battery: 89/100 ]

' This is good for now.' I thought as I went to look outside of the window.

' It's clear. The horde must've moved somewhere else.' I thought as I slowly opened the door.

Click

I slowly pushed the sliding door to the side and stepped out before making my way towards the store.

Just in case I used the cars as cover, and as soon as the store was a few meters away, I quickly ran to the door and tried to open the door.

" Come on, come on." I muttered as the door rattled.

" it's locked." I muttered as I tried to find a way in.

' If not this, then let's ry the other store.' I thought as I spotted the building next to the general store.

It was a pawnshop.

Click.

The door opened as I slowly pushed it open but stopped halfway.

" Huh?" I looked down to see blood and a body stopping the door.

" Ugh, bleh!"

I reached my limit as I stepped back and hunched over the ground and used the wall for balance as I puked.

" Haa! Haa!" I looked at the dead face that was filled with horror and fear as it laid motionless on the ground.

I closed my eyes before opening them and using my small stature to squeeze through the door.

" Ugh. Haa!" I made it inside as I looked around, trying to keep my eyes off the dead body on the floor.

Except for the mess and blood on the floor, the place didn't look ransacked.

' It's like it was just opening... does that mean the apocalypse wasn't that too long ago?' I thought as I explored the building.

I climbed over the glass counter after closing the door.

I grabbed the flashlight and used it to light up the store.

The electricity was out, and the windows were boarded.

I looked around to see many things. Old phones, jewelry, clothes, batteries, and a gun on the wall.

I found a bag and grabbed a few batteries for my flashlight, some food and drinks I found in the back. I also grabbed some extra clothes just in case, and I couldn't find any for my size.

I also found a first aid kid in the restroom.

' It feels like I'm in a game.' I thought to myself as I continued to search the store.

' Now for the gun... how do I reach it?' I thought before trying to jump at it but failed.

I sighed as I continued to search the store.

' A map!' I thought as I grabbed it and used the flashlight.

" So I'm in... this isn't Japan..." I frowned as I observed the map more.

The signs and words were written in Japanese. Yet this place wasn't Japan as I didn't know the cityscape.

I sighed as I looked up in frustration before folding the map and putting it into my bag.

' Now to get that gun and the ammo.' I continued to search the store before checking the back of the store.

As I opened the door to the back of the shoo, I heard a sound of something dropping.

Dukk!

I froze in place before flashing my light to the source to find someone hunched over a dead body.

Grkk!

The sound of someone biting into the flesh of the body's arm entered my ears.

My breathing became heavy as I saw the zombie stop eating and look in my direction.

Gr-

Before it could shout, I shot a wind blade across its back.

Slashh!

[ - 13 ]

Blood dripped to the ground as I saw its exposed spine.

Graa! It shouted as it ignored the pain and crawled towards me.

I shot another wind blade as it slashed across its face.

[ Critical hit! ]

[ - 35 ]

[ Zombie slained ]

[ 15 exp, rotten flesh ]

The zombie's head fell to the ground as I continued to stand in place before looking at my hand.

The zombie was so close that its blood was spilled on my hand.

It was chunky with black goo inside its blood.

I hurriedly grabbed a shirt from my bag and wiped it off the blood but realized it was harder than I expected.

" Damn it!" I cursed as tears welled up in my eyes as I fell to the ground.

I was scared as I let myself continue to cry on the floor with only a flashlight.

I felt pathetically weak as the sense of realization engulfed me in my fragile mentality.

If I couldn't handle a mere zombie in this low-level dungoen, how could I handle the villains in the depth of my world.

So today, I took an oath to never succumb to the despair that filled me today.

And with the wind guiding me, I shall continue forward.

[ Spirit 6 -> 7 ]

[ Hero's Heart level 1 -> 2 ]

I felt the wind brushing my hair as I wiped my tears and stood up with a new resolve.