Chapter 18: Natalia Woods

This was the first time that Zero was feeling like this ever since he became… sentient. Every fiber of his rotting body was completely frozen; even the fading maggots inside of him refused to move as the woman's eyes once again stared at him from head to toe.

"So… you lied about being a Slayer?"

"..."

This time, Zero opted not to talk– as talking was what got him into this situation in the first place. Instead, he just stood his ground; his pale blue eyes, the only thing visible under his hood. And this pair of eyes, the woman stared at.

And very slowly, she placed her hand on Zero's shoulder and he could do nothing about it. Her fingers, carefully trailing towards the side of his hood almost as if she was about to pull it away… and once again, Zero could do nothing.

Once again, Zero experienced something for the first time.

Sandie and the Wind Mafia said that Zero's kind was one of the weakest monsters that roamed the world– and now he truly felt one. This feeling of… being completely overwhelmed was something that he was feeling for the first time…

…and he truly did not like it.

"Oh?"

A smirk then slowly crawled on the woman's face as Zero… suddenly returned her glare. The woman's strength was on a completely different level than him and he feels that, even his maggots feel that.

But what he does not feel, however, was fear. After all, he was an Undead.

Whether or not that was the right decision, he was about to find out as the woman now has both her hands on his shoulders; patting them and fixing his cloak.

"Well…" The woman then once again looked Zero straight in the eyes,

"...You have the biggest balls in the men around here and that's enough for me."

The woman then suddenly burst out in laughter, causing the entire tension that froze Zero's body to instantly disappear. He also heard the other humans inside the building laugh, looking at him as they waved whatever it was they were putting in their mouths.

"..."

"Oh, don't look so confused," the woman then once again patted Zero's shoulder; this time, almost causing him to tumble forward, "I don't know where the fuck you came from. And honestly, I don't care– I told you, we're not that strict here in Concretespire. Come, follow me. I'm allowing you to sell your materials here, but you have to take the test later so I can give you a card."

"..."

"By the way, my name's Natalia Woods. And if you haven't noticed already, I handle this branch."

"..." The only thing that Zero understood from everything the woman said was her name. But since the weird aura that prevented him from moving was gone, that was the only thing that really mattered as he walked towards Sandie and the others.

"Where are you going? I said follow me."

But alas, before he could take a single step, he was suddenly pulled away by Natalia. And now that the weird aura surrounding her was gone, Zero could finally truly smell her scent and see what she looked like.

Her red hair bounced as she dragged Zero away; her pale arms, littered with all sorts of scars.

"Hey, you done processing all the materials that Wind Mafia brought?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, give 80% of the earnings to this guy. I just need to get something ready."

And with that, Zero watched as Natalia left, leaving him alone in front of a counter with a lady standing on the other side… smiling at him for some reason.

"Will you be receiving the payment in cash or card?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"C… cash it is, then."

Zero was right. Keeping his silence was probably the best option for him right now as the lady in front of him just started moving around without him even saying anything. And so, with the lady turning her back to him, Zero once again made his way towards the Wind Mafia.

"W… where are you going!? You forgot your payment!"

But once again, his path was blocked as the lady behind the counter suddenly stood in front of him.

"Please, I don't want to get in trouble again," the lady then handed something to Zero before quickly returning to her station; the smile on her face, once again activating as another person talked to her.

"..." As for Zero, the only thing he could really do was stare at the thing the woman gave him– a pouch. Zero then slowly untied the pouch, only to see several… rocks in it.

He followed the Wind Mafia into the Safe Zone. Met a woman who could probably extinguish him with one finger… for these rocks?

Of course, he wasn't really expecting anything and was just going along with the Wind Mafia– after all, that is what he was most accustomed to since he was still just a mindless zombie; moving with the horde until they find something or someone.

…But rocks? What was he even supposed to do with these?

[Reader of Fate: The Dude, advises Zero to dip now that he has the money.]

"Zero!"

Zero didn't even have to approach the Wind Mafia group anymore, as Sandie, Anna, Gab, and Isa made their way toward him.

"You got your money?" Anna looked at the pouch for a few moments, before crossing her arms and looking Zero straight in the eyes,

"Come to think of it, I haven't personally thanked you for saving me and my friends back then…" Anna then unfolded her arms as she let out a short but very deep sigh,

"So thanks, I really owe you one."

"...Okay?" Zero only tilted his head to the side.

"Well, I would have stopped with just gratitude, but these girls wanted to repay you or something," Anna then shook her head as she once again crossed her arms, "The team's actually leaving Concretespire early tomorrow, so what do you say we treat you with whatever you want tonight and call it even?"

"...Treat?"

"Yeah, do you want a new weapon? Do you want to eat somewhere? That kind of stuff," Anna said, "Either that… or Sandie volunteers to sleep with you."

"Anna!" Sandie's eyes quickly widened as she covered Anna's words. Isa and Gab, who were quietly standing on the side, could not help but burst out in laughter– almost as if they planned this all along.

[The Readers of Fate are telling you that this is your chance to eat one of them.]

[Some of the Readers of Fate want you to eat them in a different way.]

"Maybe we can–"

"Sorry girls."

And before the four could even say anything more, Natalia suddenly returned from wherever she disappeared to and quickly approached Zero.

"The guy's booked for the night," Natalia then said as she once again placed both his hands on Zero's shoulders.

"...Ma'am?"

And then suddenly, silence in the entire lobby. Not only Anna and the girls, but also those that were having fun and drinking in the lobby bar or just idling around turned their eyes towards Natalia and Zero.

"Zero here is to take the Slayer test."

And with those words, the silence turned into an orchestra of gasps.

"The… test, ma'am?" Sandie could only take in a small gulp as she lightly stepped forward.

"Yes," Natalia then placed her arm over Zero's shoulder, "It's either that or I punish him for popping a Bubble without a proper license."

[Reader of Fate: The Dude, tells Zero this is why he advised him to dip.]

"But… at this time, ma'am?"

"Yes," Natalia nodded as a large smile appeared on her face, "The guys from the Association already left…

…so I'm testing him myself."

[Reader of Fate: The Dude, tells Zero he really should have dipped.]

**AUTHOR NOTES**

Undying Monarch is officially contracted now. The release might be two times a day, separated by at least 10 hours– or just once a day, depending on if enough Readers of Fate interact.

We can now also officially Gift the book, yay!

I am trying to find a way how we can integrate the Gifts into the story in a way that wouldn't make Zero extremely broken– but it will be included, for sure.

As much as possible, we want the future readers to still fully enjoy Zero's story as they try to catch up to the latest happenings. There will be times that I would solely focus on Zero, there may also be times that I would ignore the Readers of Fate– So let's all try our best to give them one hell of a story!

This concept is fairly new to me, so please, do support me! And Do give gifts and continue to vote!

Thank you very much and let's have fun watching and making Zero grow! Let's do this!