Outside (3)
<Author's note: The things (racism, sexism, political views, etc.) depicted or mentioned in this story do not reflect the real world and are purely coincidences. If they do, please keep in mind that they are simply for world-building and are only work of fiction. Thank you for your understanding.>
"Okay, let's have you kill these zombies. Let's start with the D1."
Nathan was already standing close to the D1 and he went even closer.
Roar!
Roar!
Roar!
The D1 along with the other 3m-tall zombies continued roaring and were thrashing around, trying to get to Nathan. Unfortunately, they couldn't because their arms and legs were chopped off and they were pinned down to the ground with weapons.
When Zita stepped forward, the zombies started to thrash around even harder, causing the weapons that were pinning them down to wobble and loosen their foundation just a little bit.
The sight frightened her and she stopped.
Earlier, when Nathan called her out, she was so afraid when she saw the zombies. But while she was talking with him, discussing her powers, she forgot about them.
And now, her fear returned.
"What are you waiting for, kid?"
She tightened her grip on the [Grade D] Long Dagger's handle and continued stepping forward.
"Use your power to lift that dagger and kill the D1."
The dagger on her hands was less than 1kg.
She activated her skill [Lift] and the dagger floated in the air.
"Kill it quick before they escape."
She turned to the D1 and shot the dagger into its head.
Shoo!
Tuup!
Roar!
Clang!
The dagger only managed to penetrate the D1's skull a few centimeters before falling to the ground because it was thrashing around.
"Don't hit its skull, stupid. Hit the neck."
"I'm very sorry, mister," Zita said in a panicked voice and quickly activated her skill.
The dagger rose from the ground and hovered in the air.
Shoo!
Tuup!
Clang!
Roar!
Compared to the first attempt, the dagger was able to penetrate a few centimeters deeper but it still ended with the same result.
Seeing what happened, Zita continued panicking and did the same thing again.
Roar!
Shoo!
Tuup!
Clang!
Roar!
"Does your skill loses its effect on an item every time you attack?"
"No. It's just that it throwing it makes it stronger."
"Can't you just maintain it?"
"I can but it won't be as strong compared to throwing it."
"Do it."
Zita lifted the dagger and tried to stab it into the D1's neck.
This time, the force was no different when she was tried to stab the D1's skull from earlier.
"Stop what you're doing," said Nathan.
Zita looked at him.
He continued, "It's useless."
Hearing Nathan's disappointed tone, she felt dejected.
Nathan stroke his chin.
'The D1 has high STR and VIT… 12 INT gives 6kg… I can also suspect that 6 points is the attacking power. But when thrown, it doubles the power so it becomes 12 points.'
'If this child had a very high INT, she would be so OP. And with the currently available items now, the bonus stats of the First Tier [Grade D] would only give her +21 INT, +6 if she were to equip First Tier [Grade C] rings and amulet. She may not be able to lift me up because of my weight, but she can definitely throw things at me and kill me…'
'Hmm… I honestly don't know if this is a good idea or bad idea. But one thing is for sure, under the right circumstances she can definitely kill me…'
'I wonder what would happen if her INT is so high that it becomes enough to lift me up. Would I still be affected if I was invisible?'
"Mister, I… I can kill it by stabbing it normally."
Nathan wasn't sure what she meant so he said, "Huh? Sure."
She picked up the dagger with her hand and turned to the D1 who was roaring and thrashing around like crazy.
Although she was afraid to step forward, she didn't want to be viewed as useless.
For 2 days since the passing of her remaining parent, she had been asking Sweet Dave and the others to give her a chance to go out and kill zombies but none of them agreed. And now that she had the chance, albeit it wasn't Sweet Dave or anyone from the shelter but another Chosen One like herself and who also happened to be powerful, she just couldn't accept things to end like this.
She really wanted to become strong.
She tightened her grip on the handle of her dagger and slowly stepped forward.
However…
The closer she got to the D1, the harder it thrashed around and she could see the sword pinning it down to wobble and lose its foundation further and further.
With each step, her fear grew and grew that her whole body started to tremble and her steps became shorter and shorter.
Nevertheless, she still continued to move forward.
"Kid, we don't have much time. Hurry up. We still have to get you some clothes and then find a spot to rest for the night," Nathan said with a bored tone on the side.
The D1 continued thrashing around.
And then…
Clang!
Roar!
The D1 broke free but the sword that was used to pin it down was still stuck on it.
And because its arms and legs were dismembered, it crawled its way to Zita like a worm.
"KYAAAH!!!"
Zita screamed as she fell on her butt and dropped the dagger.
Thud!
Clang!
Seeing that D1 coming right at her, she was left completely petrified. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she wet her pants.
She closed her eyes and screamed in Iskaldian, "SMAMAK!!!"
And just when the zombie got a couple of inches away from her and was about to pounce its body using its dismembered arms…
Bam!
"Kid!"
Zita opened her eyes and saw Nathan stepping on the D1's back as he pulled out the sword that was stuck on its body and absorbed it into his [Artifact] Gold Spatial Finger.
She wiped the tears off her eyes.
Nathan changed his position. He pressed one knee against the D1's back and held down its head with one hand.
"Hurry up and chop off its neck."
And just right after Zita grabbed the dagger next to her and stood up, two other zombies nearby was able to break free.
Clang!
Roar!
Clang!
Roar!
It was an N1 and another D1.
Nathan panicked.
Crack!
Thud!
He quickly crushed the head of the D1 with a punch and grabbed Zita before jumping a couple of feet away.
With his STR at 69 (+5) points, jumping a couple of feet away was easy.
He put Zita down and stared at the D1 and N1 that broke free.
'That was too close…'
Normally, he could kill those two zombies. But when those two suddenly broke free while he was scaring Zita, he lost his composure so he did the first thing that came to his mind.
'Well, at least I didn't forget to grab the kid.'
He looked at Zita who was sobbing and covering her eyes as she cried out, "SmamaK… SmommyK…"
She was trembling that she could barely stand straight.
"Ehem!" he cleared his throat. "Now you know the dangers posed by the zombies. Just always be sure to follow my lead and be quick if you don't want to die."
Zita stopped crying and rubbed her eyes before replying, "Yes, mister…"
"Well, putting aside the Rank 2s, killing D1s and N1s would be too much for you right now. Probably even the M1s as well because they can cast magic spells. Let's just stick with the S1s for now. But first…"
He summoned a set from his [Artifact] Gold Spatial Finger.
It was only a normal full-STR set that was part of his collection.
Level 1-5 Rank 1s drop First Tier [Grade D] items and their bonus stats was only +3.
Meanwhile, Rank 2s drop First Tier [Grade C] items so the bonus stats was only +5.
And in Nathan's case, the reason why he had Second Tier [Grade C] accessories which give +6 bonus stats was from his time at the Divine Tower. He had them re-awakened by the Blacksmith at the Eternal Village, while the other rings and amulets were looted from the corpses of the participants who had their rings and amulets re-awakened as well.
"Give me back the crossbow and wear this set."
Zita unequipped the [Grade D] Mini-crossbow and gave it to Nathan.
"Wear this as well."
Nathan gave her his [Grade D] Spatial Bag.
Ever since he got the [Artifact] Gold Spatial Ring, he never really had any use with it anymore. But it was still useful in some way because its total available space inside was as big as a 30" x 50" duffle bag.
When she touched the items, especially the [Grade D] Spatial Bag, she was surprised to learn about their details given to her by the System.
The fear she felt from earlier vanished and she was surprised with the System loots.
"Wow…" she said as she stared at the bag with amazement.
"Wear it now, kid."
"Mister, my pants are wet…" she said in a small voice.
"What?"
Her pasty white cheeks turned red and she held her head down before saying, "I said I wet my pants…"
"Oh…" Nathan scratched his nose in guilt. "Uhh… Don't worry, we'll drop by a store later to pick up some clothes. For now, wear the items and let's get you to at least Level 15. Tell me what's your stats."
"Level 15?! Wouldn't that take long?"
"No, it's easy. Just trust me. Come on, wear it now."
She wore the System items and Nathan waited.
After she was done, he asked, "Now tell me your stats."
"Okay. System."
***
Level: 1
Exp: 0%
Stats:
• STR – 8 (+28)
• VIT – 9
• AGI – 11
• INT – 12
Equipment:
[Grade D] Long Dagger (11/12)
[Grade D] Helm (15/15): +3 Str
[Grade D] Heavy Leather Armor (15/15): +3 Str
[Grade D] Heavy Leather Gloves (15/15): +3 Str
[Grade D] Heavy Leather Boots (15/15): +3 Str
[Grade C] Ring: +6 Str
[Grade C] Ring: +5 Str
[Grade C] Amulet: +5 Str
[Grade D] Spatial Bag
Skill:
• Level X [Lift]
Description: Allows user to mentally lift physical object(s) within 10 meters. Target with higher INT compared to the user are immune. Power, speed and Mental Capacity based on user's total INT. No mana required and no cooldown.
• Mental Capacity: 6kg/6kg
Status:
• Chosen One
Description: You are unable to learn any other skill. But each level increase gives +1 point to all stats.
***
Zita closed her Status Chart and then said, "My STR is 8 (+28), VIT is 9, AGI is 10 and INT is 12."
'It still really feels like I'm violating her whenever I hear anything from her Status Chart...'
An image of Hae-won lying on the floor naked and crying flashed inside his head.
He gritted his teeth and said under his breath, "Fuck! Get out of my head!"
"I'm very sorry mister that my stats are so low…" Zita said and took a step back."
"No, no, no… It's not that. I'm sorry. I just remembered something which made me said those awful words."
"Okay…"
"Uh... Your STR is 8 (+28) and your VIT is 9, right?"
"Yes."
'Hmm… Fortunately, she didn't reach the 30-point threshold or she will break her bones if she uses her full force…'
'36 point in STR? I think that's enough to kill an N1. I remember killing N1s for the first time back at Haven Town without outside help. I was also able to kill D1s but it took more effort -- and plus, I was using that [Grade D] Large Axe…'
"Wait here. I'm going to take care of the D1s."
"Okay."
As Nathan was about to leave, he stopped.
"There's also some snacks, candies and drinks inside the Spatial Bag. You can eat them if you want. Just be sure you don't vomit during the killing."
"Okay!" Zita quickly said with excitement and started checking the items inside.
Nathan went to the zombies.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
He killed the zombies that broke free earlier and also retrieved the weapons he used to pin them down.
Now, he was bringing over an S1 among the zombies, holding it by the neck with his left hand while his right hand was holding a [Grade D] Sword.
Zita was eating a candy bar and choosing food inside her [Grade D] Spatial Bag.
When she saw Nathan coming, she stopped what she was doing and focused on him.
He threw the sword on his hand in front of her.
Clang!
"Use that. It's easier."
"Okay."
She activated her skill [Lift] to keep the [Grade D] Long Dagger hovering in the air and then picked up the sword with her two hands.
As she carried the sword, she almost tripped.
He dropped the S1 on the ground and held it down.
"Chop off its head."
"Okay."
"Remember, aim for the neck."
"Okay, mister."
She went to the side and raised the sword above her head with two hands.
She almost lost her balance again.
Nathan squinted his eyes.
'Is this kid a klutz?'
And with all her strength, she chopped down.
Whoosh!
The S1 was beheaded.
Ding!
A notification appeared in her head.
Nathan, on the other hand, continued observing Zita.
Surprisingly, she didn't vomit from killing the zombie. She instead let go of the sword and started jumping in joy because she jumped a few levels.
"Yay~! Yay~! Yay~!"
"Kid, calm down. What's level are you now?"
"Level 6~!"
"Just a few more then before you reach Level 15 and we can go find a clothing store," Nathan said as he extracted the nucleus on the S1's head.
Normally, he would just take the nuclei of the Rank 2s because their value was higher and he didn't have much space. But after thinking that he needed strong pawns in the Divine Tower, he needed more funds to pay for their equipment upgrades.
Zita quickly stopped jumping.
And with a big smile on her face, she said, "Okay~!"
Nathan stared at her blankly.
'This kid's mood swings are so unpredictable. One moment she's scared, the next moment she's jumping for joy.'
"Mister, what is that ball you're holding?"
"It's for the Divine Tower."
"Divine Tower?" She recalled the message of the System when the Second Phase happened.
"Forget about it for now. Follow me. You still need to kill the rest," he said as he walked towards the remaining zombies.
"Okay~!" she said with a big smile on her face.