Chapter 42. Something about this one

Ash and Grim decided to go zombie slaying once more. The duo set out hitting the outskirts of the cryptic golem's territory.

Meeting another group of zombies, Ash had Grim take care of them. Unless the group was dangerous enough, he had no plans to interfere. The goal was to improve Grim's accuracy and learn to fuse claw swipe and blood let even faster.

Three straggling zombies moved around as Grim launched at them. Talons gleaming red until he was upon one of them. The impact caused a gaping hole that killed one instantly.

Responding quickly, one of the zombies swung it's arms like a twister at Grim. He easily swooped to the side before using a combo of both claw swipe and blood let crushing the attacking zombie. The last zombie jumped at Grim trying to bite him yet failed as Grim launched his claws up through the bottom of the mouth to the top of the head.

Ash observed mentally taking not of things.

' I can feel a spark from his ability the more he fights. If we reach perfection in these two skills, we might be able to fuse them into one skill.'

Flying down, his partner puffed its chest and hopped around. Rolling his eyes, Ash spoke only in his link telling his partner nice work.

The duo fought a couple more groups before stumbling on one particular zombie.

'Why is this guy alone? None of the previous ones moved alone like this, something is up.'

Ash cautioned Grim as he unsheathed his saber. The zombie had a strange glint on its skin but the face wasn't visible. Hunched over in a metallic looking crevice, the zombie's figure was deathly still.

Ash had Grim go on full alert before he moved in tandem with his partner to kill the creature.

Grim used claw swipe while Ash cut out with full force. Shock ran through the duo as the attacks bounced off. The skin was like metal as sparks flew, the zombie remained hunched over with no visible face.

Brows furrowing, Ash felt a chill up his spine as he finally noticed something wrong.

'This is a metal vein, but I can't feel any qi. This thing...can't be evolving right? No, we need to kill this guy now!'

Some monsters were able to level up, purify their bloodline, or mutate through the absorption of qi veins.

A status check revealed his worry.

Name: iron wielding zombie

Lvl: 7

Status: ?????

Innate skill: armor skin

Techniques: Needle blast, infected claw, Metal twister, infectious bite,

{Str: 4.7 Sta: 5.1 Agi: 4 Vit: 3.8 Int: 3.4 Spi: 2}

Grim charged [piercing ray] with all his energy while Ash charged up [flash point] as much as possible. The two awkwardly held their poses but a crisp noise broke their focus as the hunched over figure rose.

The spine straightened out as jagged knife-like projections extended. Nails a silver black color and a dark silver, metal like armor covering the feet to head. The face looked like a pin cushion with needles driven deep into the face. Eyes of eerie calm and what seemed like a dagger lodged into the bottom of the mouth.

The creature merely moved but the ground cracked as Ash felt the very wind tear in front of him. Unleashing his full powered attack, a mere clang resulted in numbness and disoriented steps for Ash. The zombie feet merely stepping back twice.

Ash immediately used his blood affinity to strengthen and increase his capabilities. A blood red hue steadily covering him while Grim's beak glowed a dazzling white.

'Gotta make sure this thing takes Grim's attack. Ear's a good spot given how everywhere else is harder than iron.'

Ash engaged the zombie in a flurry of slashes and hacks but was kept at bay with it's strength and use of infectious bite. There was no way he would take that hit. Those metal teeth and black saliva were strong indicators to avoid.

Grim's beak shined a bright white as a glow emitted. Rushing forth Ash opening up a clear shot for the ear.

'Now, the ear!!!'

Grim fired the ray pushing the bird back. The shot zoomed forth and caused a bang upon hitting the zombie but Ash didn't have the response he wanted.

A dagger that looked as if a ten-year-old made it deflected the attack. The hand was steady with no signs of swaying. A large empty space on the underside of the zombie's mouth, the hilt no longer keeping the occasional black liquid from spewing from time to time.

"AAAHWAHHAHAHA... HA"

The undead creature making strange noises as it stood upright with it's body vibrating. The armor an original dark silver was now turning pitch black. Standing in a t-pose, the zombie spun with a force that mad the air scream.

'Evade immediately!'

Grim moved as did Ash. The now storm of metal bits shot at Grim, the previous tornado no longer needing the zombie to maintain it, a raging long-range attack now.

Grim could barely evade the attack before a dense metal covered fist attacked his midsection. Using the blood affinity, Grim was able to shift his body enough to let the blow narrowly move past his body.

Ash was shocked because the zombie was moving at speeds far faster than he had seen before and the last attack did not seem to be in the skill list he had seen previously.

Hurriedly performing another status check Ash was confused.

Name: Dagger Blessed Zombie

Lvl: 9

Status: ??????? [Unavailable]

Innate skill: Armor skin- Causes armor to develop on the body of the host.

Techniques: Needle blast, Infected claw, Rapid Metal twister, Infectious bite, Dagger wielding(Introduction), Dagger blast

{Str: 6.0 Sta: 5.4 Agi: 4.3 Vit: 4.3 Int: 3.7 Spi: 2.4}

"Is this thing still evolving? What the... wait, what kind of metal is in that vein."

Ash still sensed some qi in the vein. 'Buddy keep him distracted but use full usage of your speed and element.'

Ash proceeded to dash over to the site of the metal vein while the zombie fought Grim. Ash saw that it was a bit deeper than he thought and reached in taking a part of a metal ore. The ore itself was radiating a dense metal and sharp energy.

"Ouch, what the heck! I can't recognize this metal, but it seems kind of---" The ore had cut his hand the moment of contact.

Glancing down into the hole, Ash saw something so small he thought he was seeing things. It was a small blade, the remaining blade of the zombie's dagger, yet it radiated something else. It was like it was alive. It looked cracked with a violet gem in laid on the blade. Ash carefully stored his strange ore within a special box in his pack. He then focused on the blade again.

'Something isn't right, what the heck is that thing.' Ash looked a it and could almost hear... whispers.

'It's gotta be an artifact, but what----"

A loud screech could be heard along with pain flowing through his link. It shook him until Ash realized something, he hadn't woken up from his original glance at the dagger. His partner was at his shoulders bloody and exhausted. A couple of needles were present in his partner's foot and chest.

'Sorry buddy, I thought I only.... how long was I looking at it?!'

Grim responded saying he was seemingly staring at the thing for minutes for what should have been seconds. Grim had called for the link no more than thirty seconds after Ash left because the zombie was too much for him to handle alone. He had already used [berserk] and was drained, barely holding onto consciousness.

Looking at the zombie, it seemed to only be getting stronger. A resonance formed between it and the dagger. The dagger glowed a dark light as it lifted and zoomed to the forehead of the zombie sinking in with a sickening slush.

'Fuck, I don't know what this thing is but it is clearly more than a regular zombie.'

"Mu, Mu ...Mu ... Mu"

"Is this thing trying to speak. Naw, we're good, time to leave." Ash popped a healing pill into Grim and backed away with his partner holding to his shoulder. Grim was bleeding a lot and was weak.

"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, I just had to pick this one right!"

"AWAWWAAWAAWAAWW!!!"

Using blood burst with every bit of qi he had, Ash fled in the opposite direction from the now growing and screaming menace.

Back at the site of the zombie a massive wave of metal energy was irradiating. The metal qi vein now void of anything but the zombie was now three meters in size. Purple armor adorning it while sick green skin could be seen occasionally. Needles present at the joints and along the spine. A ghastly roar emitted.

"In agony I left you dear friend. In agony I will leave the world decaying, it's residents bags to be splattered against the ground. Seethe in torment, forever!!"

The beast's mouth did not speak but a voice talking in strange sentences could be heard as a sharp bladed horn ran from the zombie's helmet. A purple glow flashing every time the voice spoke, in it's now meaty hand, a dagger glowing a blackish green. Another menace was born.