EARTH 

On the day of the fall, the continents of the world convened, creating earthquakes of unimaginable magnitudes, as if returning to when the world began.

THREE YEARS AFTER THE FALL

Earth was transformed that day. The old world is now one continent covering a surprisingly small portion of the earth while the oceans fill the rest.

With the exception of strange landmasses that rose (like pimples) quite suddenly and with no apparent cause.

Three years after the Fall, the old world order is no longer following the old more. Life now proceeds as Right by Strength.

That day, every single world power, the USA, China, The Middle Eastern States, Russia, and Europe, every nation was attacked by inexplicable forces. 

First there was the mutant beast. Then there were the humans who were bitten by the mutated beasts, who became mindless killing machine. And not long after, the beasts evolved.

Heroes and Kings arose from the dust to fight back the tides. A majority of the former USA is ruled by Raymond the Earth King and his brothers while the remaining states all have their own Kings. 

Texas has its own King, so does what was once Florida (though most of Florida was destroyed around the eastern seaboard when the Fall first happen).

In Eastern China, the Martial Lord, Yue Xing, fights for supremacy against warlords in Shandong, Jiangnan, and Hebei.

To the West, Feng Jing, the Mad Tiger, controls what once used to be the Northern Chinese Plains.

In Former Russia, when Moscow was decimated by the Fall, a young recruit rose to the occasion and thus was born Bear King Boris Ivanov who then proclaimed himself the Tsar of New Russia. 

All over Russia there sprouted warlords and militant groups, and mercenaries. Some followed Boris, the rest were less than accommodating towards the new regime.

In Former Turkey, Usman the Scimitar, rules while contending with the still extant tribes. 

Former Germany is controlled by a group of NeoNazis (who knows how they gained power), persecuting whomever they can. Their leader goes by the title Fuhrer Bradheim, the One Eyed King, and the only opposition he faces is David, the Iron Lord.

There are no longer any clear cut borders or even nations, the only order left is enforced by the nearest army. 

For example Yue Xing has established his own dynasty called the Yue dynasty in his domain after he conquered a few cities, while Feng Jing establishes his own dynasty of Wei. 

Former Japan has Houtarou Oreki the Swift Dragon and Hikigaya the Lazy Tiger. Both of those men have great armies, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and are evenly matched resulting in matching, stable, spheres of influence.

Imagine the world when all these powers have gathered on one continent, all these heroes and villains.

Government?

They all crumbled that day. Human Rights? If you have power, you are practically a god. 

Weapons like bullets and bombs have no effect on people who followed the World Orb System.

But after three years when some stability has been found even, the age of war has begun: these warlords have begun to expand their power. 

After all, not all these Kings are good natured people. Since the Fall, in order to survive, how terrible the things they seen, how terrible the things they have done to get to where they are now.

If not for luck and some powerful skillbooks, would they be as powerful as they are today. Some Kings, before the Fall, were office workers, blue collar workers, some lived even lower lives--criminals.

Before the Fall, they had nothing, no prestige, no strength, no fame, living in routine every day but now they live like Kings. 

All of them are many things now. Some are killers, some are rapists, some are ruthless, some are compassionate, but they are, all of them, brave. If not they would not reach where they are now.

But even all these Kings, all these heroes under heaven fear one thing.

An army? They could fight armies. But him? They do not dare.

His power is mysterious and deadly. He is Lord Shadow.

He fears no King, fears no armies. He go where he pleases does what he likes. He is like the wind. He is unpredictable. 

If he wants to take anything no one could stop him from doing so. If he doesn’t want to do something, nothing could force him. 

Some people hate him, some people adore him, some people fear him, and some people respect him.

He has no armies or cities or even Kingdoms but no King dare offend him.

Who doesn’t know the stories of 20 Kings fighting Lord Shadow at the Stone Gates? Lord Shadow decapitated people's heads like paddy stalks, drenching the gate red.

Or what about the Battle at the Dragon Cliff where Lord Shadow appear out of nowhere and stole in front of all the world the Skill book, Dragon Palm, driving the Ice Queen Katarina to swear a blood oath that she would kill Lord Shadow should they ever meet.

Or how about him slaying the Seven Generals to Save a Friend? Lord Shadow, to save his sworn brother from an execution, killing countless heroes under heaven, and after he saved his brother, he even dared to return and loot all the belonging of the Generals.

Lord Shadow is one man, yet he dares contend with the whole world by himself. Such power cannot help but be admired. 

Some Kings want to recruit him; others have put bounties on him. Yet, if Lord Shadow appears no Kings have the power to contend with him.

Of course, like all stories, his story begins with humble beginnings.

This is his story of how a man working in a dead end job grew to become one of the most famous men in the world, feared and revered.

***********************************************************************

2: CHAPTER 01: THE WORLD ORB

THE COUNCIL OF QUON

There is one person in the table, he is old and blind in one eye, covered by a golden eye cover, but his body is full with muscle, in his left hand is a golden spear, sighing while, looking at the Interactive Construct in his hand, showing the Weron fleet approaching the Planet Earth with light speed.

In his heart he already has a plan to counter the Weronian offensive but he needs the other piece of the World Orb from Zeus.

Earth holds sentimental values for him. Both Asgard and Olympus has made exploratory expedition to Earth before.

Was it 5000 years ago, or was it 7000 years ago? Odin has lived so long he hardly remembers.

When he landed there, he found out that humans have just begun creating community and their technology was still primitive.

They even worship him when he arrived with his son. But Odin was convinced that if left alone to their devices, while they may stumble and fall, one day they will learn from their mistake and they will progress.

Asgard and Olympus is Type Three Civilization. Yet they do not colonize too much planets in fear of the Destroyer…or as humans call it the Great Filter.

And then a person enters the room. The man kneeled. The man was a messenger.

‘Did they arrive?’ Odin asked

The messenger was about to reply when from the distance Odin could see his old friends. Odin gesture the messenger to leave him and he messenger nodded.

‘Zeus you arrived.’ Zeus was a white bearded, muscly man wearing his Council robe, power emanated from him, and sparks of lightning can be seen dancing on his fingertips.

‘Odin it has been a long time’ Zeus said but his face doesn’t show that he is happy after all today it was Asgard that calls upon the Council to assemble.

Olympus and Asgard even though they are allies, they also have been conflict. He doesn’t like it when that One Eyed guy smiles. It irritates Zeus for some reason.

‘Is it just the two of us?’ Odin asked

‘The other has sent their proxy telling that they will follow our decision. They would agree if we agree. I brought Hermes with me.’

‘And I brought Frigga.’ Odin said.

Saying this, light flashes into the room and Hermes appears beside Zeus while Frigga appears beside Odin.

‘So, the Weron has begun their move?’ Zeus asked as he sits on the council table. Frigga and Hermes respectively take a seat beside their King.

‘Yes’ Odin reply

‘And?’ Zeus asked creasing his eyebrows.

‘Earth need to be protected.’ Odin said. Zeus creased hard.

‘How about the Time Lords? Did they respond?’ Zeus asked again, Odin shakes his head

‘They are neutral in this matter.’

‘Bunch of spineless coward. Hmm. One day I hope they fall. Considering the Da-’ Zeus sighed after seeing Hermes rolling his eyes.

‘Ehem’ Zeus coughed a bit then he said, thinking about the problem they are now presented.

‘Even though Weron intend to attack Earth what can we do? They are not a part of the treaty and Olympus has been at peace for too long. Do you think we would readily offend The Weronians because of one planet?’ Zeus raises a point and Hermes nodded at his King

Zeus is not cold hearted to let Earth suffer but he has his own planet to worry about.

If they send the Olympians to fight the Weronians, then the Qarthan will have an opportunity to attack Olympus.

While they have non-aggression treaty with Qarthan, and they both enjoyed peace for the last 2800 years, they are still bitter feelings on both sides.

Odin then said.

‘They might not have our technology but they are a warring race. Unbelievably strong and ruthless. And since they have departed years ago, they will reach Earth in 50 years by Thor calculations.’

‘Which is why even if we started pursuing them now, we would only see Earth destroyed and razed when we get there’ Zeus retorted back.

‘That is the thing. They are not destroying earth, they are rebuilding it.’

‘To what?’ Zeus said puzzled

‘To their liking. Weronian have no planets. When they fought the Ervenian race their planet was blown up. Since then, they have been roaming in space searching for a home.’

‘I know’ Zeus said waving his hand.

‘You don’t have to give me a history lesson.’ Zeus said annoyed electricity crackled in his hand. Odin just sighed.

Immature as always Odin mused. Then he said

‘Recently I discovered they obtained a World Engine from the Merchants of Sarens. If they used it at earth, then..’ Zeus holds up his hand.

‘I understand now.’ he said gritting his teeth and pale in his face, lightning sparks produced from his sweat.

‘But what could we do now?’ Zeus asked

‘I have a solution’ Odin said.

‘What solution?’

‘The World Orbs could save Earth’ And at this Zeus is shocked. The World Orb. That damned weapon.

‘You want to use it against Weron? That plausible but you know about The World Orb. It has its own consciousness. Asking it to unleash its energy and destroy a race might backfire on us.’

‘Yes, but the World Orb would not refuse us if we ask it to save a race instead of destroying one. I don’t think it would complain’

‘Save what? Humans?’

‘Yes, humans. They are weak and primitive but it is of course because they have just started in this great journey. In a thousand years or ten thousand years or maybe a million years they might reach our Planet technology in the past but not right now. They have a right to at least protect themselves from these irresponsible invasions’

Zeus began understanding Odin plans.

‘How could the world orb help?’

‘Make them stronger.’

‘How?’ Zeus asked. And Odin comes closer and whispered to Zeus. Zeus then nodded in understanding

‘But many would die.’ Zeus said after that. Odin holds the hand of his wife and smiles a bitter smile

‘Astronomical amount. Humans are still not developed and they have maybe 6 billion or 7 billion people.’

‘Then why? Olympus will not allow such cruel treatment to an alien race.’

‘Yes, many of them will die, but they will survive when the Weronian fleet comes. This is the only choice.’

Zeus then thinks for a while, his mind making calculations and then he nodded and said.

‘Then meet me in Zeron with your piece of World Orb. If the Council allows it, then maybe your plan will work.’

Saying this they then talk about other matters and then that evening they take the World Orb from both of their treasury.

The World Orb is the most powerful thing in the Universe, or any universe.

It could change realities, govern times and many other abilities but it have its own consciousness.

And because of that it is a very dangerous item in the whole universe. It is tahnks to the Elder of Universe that it programed the Orb to judge any order it received it by using Elder of Universe morality as guidance

When the Olympians and Asgardian ask the World Orb to strengthen human on Earth, the World Orb finds a system that the humans could understand.

They could not be strong if the World Orb use too complicated a method, or if the World Orb gives them knowledge before its time, which might lead them to their own ruin.

And then a light invisible to naked light sprouted from the World Orb and shot faster than any FTL speed, reaching Earth in a blink of an eye.

And the Fall begins. Or as the Olympians and Asgardian call it, the rise begins.

*************************************************************************

3: CHAPTER 02: THE FALL

The computer café in Temerloh is just beside the elementary school of Joy Park (At my place it is called Taman Bahagia. When it is translated to English it becomes Joy Park).

A customer parks his bike outside the café and rushed inside pushing the door. The outside is raining heavily.

There are not many customers today considering the heavy rain. It is the monsoon season in Malaysia, but at least the rain lessens the effect of the fog from Indonesia.

Quickly he asked the cashier to open his computer. He is a regular customer and he is in a hurry.

He needs to open his Garena account and defeat his friend today.

Thinking about it the customer smiles in glee.

‘Brother Azief, open Computer 6.’ The man said.

‘Okay wait a bit.’ The unsmiling man called Azief clicks the button on the server and click the screen on PC 6 and its open.

Right now its 3.00 pm. He finished his shift at 5.00 so he still has 2 hours left. He just finished eating and he put his lunchbox inside his bag and put it under the counter.

He then returns his gaze back to the computer in front of him. He is reading some novels in Wuxiaworld, the new chapter by Er Gen just come out yesterday.

This is the only thing he does every day. Reading novels, watching movies and frankly its boring and unrewarding.

Of course reading ISSTH is never unrewarding but when he look back at his life he doesn’t accomplish much, all because the circumstances of his family and his lack of confidence.

After finishing his diploma, because of lack of money he could not take his degree.

Even if he takes it his country is govern by stupid politicians, arguing about race, religions, throwing shits at each other like monkey in a zoo, while the common people like him suffers, the ringgits are declining, the oil price is high, taxes are high, people is being choked by their own government, while the ministers live like Gods, some of those in religious position do not even say anything to those politicians, and jobs are scarce.

What good is it to have a degree in a nation like this? One might say he is wrong but that is his opinion.

There is something wrong about his country. It’s not even a world power yet the scandal is world level.

The corruption, the nepotism, the lack of free speech and all of that problem with human rights. (Just hope the ISA will not arrest me for this if they ever decide to scour the internet)

So, when he got a job at a nearby internet café he accepted it. At least he will have some money for his own expenditure.

He lives in Malaysia. The country near him is Thailand, Indonesia and what else? To be honest he sucks in geography.

This job is not too bad but the salary is not too high. But still. It’s better than not having any money.

He has no girlfriend. Not because he can’t get one mostly because he doesn’t have confidence.

In his eyes, girls only like you when you have a car, money or looks. He doesn’t have money, doesn’t have a car, and his look is okay, not great.

He doesn’t have acne like when he was in high school. That was the worse time to have acne.

Sometimes the work can be stressful after all the kids entering the café are usually kind of act like a thug.

Even though he has told them to smoke outside so many times they regarded him as nothing but a tool.

If not because he doesn’t want to cause trouble he would kill them. Azief is mild mannered, and only proactive with his friend.

But his head is full with dark fantasy.

But of course he never did any of the things he imagines to anyone. He doesn’t want to get the death penalty.

After all he is not insane. But who doesn’t have some dark fantasy in the back of their minds when they are being scolded or when they are powerless, and really angry at a person.

And how many acts on those instincts? Not many. Today the rain is heavy and not many people come to the café.(For the sake of convenience the internet café will be called café now)

Sometimes he asks himself where his life is going. He spends 3 years acquiring a diploma and now…..he is working on an internet café.

To be honest there is nothing wrong working at an internet café but….if that is his career path why did he even bother using the loan to further his studies other than putting himself under debt.

It’s not even a career…it’s just a job.

Sometimes, there are days he just wants to run away, from the problem which is student loans, and with not a good job ever knocking his door.

He has been in many interview but coupled that with his shyness around strangers he doesn’t really do well.

He is also not handsome. He is not ugly though. The one thing he noticed that handsome people is usually easier to get a job.

And science has proven that right.

Then another person entered the café.

‘Oh, you. PC 9 right?’ Azief immediately recognized the person.

The man nodded and smiles, while Azief quickly open the computer.

Azief then sighed and then return watching YouTube, reading novels and listening to songs.

Then suddenly he heard a voice inside his head.

‘I am the World Orb. Your world is undergoing great changes. Either become strong or perish. Luck and perseverance will help you in the coming days. Considering your aptitude, the most suitable weapon for you is a dagger.  Prepare yourself for the worst is yet to come.’ 

Then the voice disappeared. And then with a flash of light a dagger appeared in his hand. Azief was so surprised he falls from his chair.

Then he looks at his customer who also in the café with him. He looks at the regular customer and at his hand is a blade.

The other has a bow and arrow behind his back. The customer also looked dazed and shock fills his face just like Azief.

‘What is happening?’ Azief said when suddenly an explosion happens that shakes the foundation of the building.

Quickly he tossed his earphones, and seeing the cracked walls he ran out of the building as fast as possible.

‘Run!’ Azief yelled to the two people in the café and quickly those two customers tossed their earphones and run to the exit when suddenly the roof gave out and the two people were crushed to death by the debris.

Azief was trembling; his hand is trembling holding the sharp dagger.

‘What is happening? What the fuck is happening!’ He screams in his mind.

Then suddenly he looked upwards and sees meteors, big red fiery balls falling from the sky and his eyes follow the ball as he finally realize where it is heading.

Oh my god!

Just across the street from the café is an elementary school. Many kids studied there all came from the suburbs (in my place it called Taman kind of like suburb I guess) and then it crashed to the football field, leaving a huge crater, as the fire burns the football field grass.

And the street shakes like an earthquake just happens, the nearby building around the football field either caught fire or their walls cracked.

All around him people are crying and running, some hide themselves under table fearing this is an earthquake when suddenly something appear in view of him

Name: Not yet Given

Gender: Male

Level: 01

Class: None

Strength: 12

Agility: 6

Vitality: 9

Stamina: 7

Spirit: 11

Endurance: 10

And then he looked at the crumbled shop in front of him and he could see the seeping blood from the two customers.

He looks at his bike outside the shop and remembers he left his bike key on his bag. His bag is under the counter of the café.

People have already been calling firemen, police and all of that service. Usually he would not go to the debris and wait for the firemen to arrive but then he could see that there are still many of that fiery ball is coming.

‘I don’t have time to wait. Maybe the next time that thing falls, it would land on me’ thinking like this Azief made up his mind.

He then looks around him. Some even kneels and pray to God.

‘I need to get my key and get the hell out of this place’ he said. He steels himself and goes to the debris.

What could make the building crumble like this? He mused.

It was like that planned bombing of a bridge or buildings. It falls downwards like something melted the pillars.

He was looking when he spotted a big egg.

‘What is this?’ He is thinking to get his key and quickly get out of here.

Then another ball of fire fall not far away from the school, and its make another fierce shakings and the streets cracked and some cars who are rushing to get out of this got into an accident with a truck.

People screamed and horn the cars, while some are just plain running from the area.

‘I need to get it fast’ Azief said, his tone is full of anxiety and he ignored the egg when suddenly the egg cracked.

‘What is this?’ This time he notices the egg. It was like something is clawing its way out from the egg.

Suddenly from the cracked egg appear the most hideous chicken he has ever seen in his entire life with one a beak shining like sharp knife and having a pure black eyes, kinda like that demon in those Supernatural TV series.

It also has a horn at its head, making it abnormally ….scary.

‘Oh fuck. What the hell is this thing!’ he screamed when the chicken lunged into him and accidentally by luck he swings that dagger in his hand and accidentally slit the chicken throats.

Almost at the same time a little blue book and golden coins come out of the chicken corpse and fell within his reach

What the hell is this? A game? He mused. And then he looks all around him and he could not believe what he is seeing.

************************************************************************

4: CHAPTER 03: THE BEAST

All around him he could hear shrill screams. He looks behind him and he could see many beasts appears from the crater from the previous meteor.

There are some guys wielding a machete and someone using a blade to try to attack the monster. Some succeeded before being overrun by the sheer number of the beast.

And then Azief quickly understands. Aliens! Thinking on his feet, he quickly took the blue book and the golden coin.

Is this a game? It looks like a game! And then he remembers the words. Become strong or perish.

Fuck all this!

Then he quickly runs. He has no chance of survival if he waited for any law enforcement or policeman to come and truthfully he is afraid of what comes out of the craters.

He did see the beast that rise from the craters and they were not the kind of beast he has ever seen.

He knows of the back alley here and he could hide in one of the other shops considering people are in chaos.

Ah Seng shop he remembered. Ah Seng has a candy store just behind the café and sometimes Azief go there to buy some chocolate.

Then he feels something shaking and he could feel the ground is shaking. A distance away from him he could hear terrible screams, and people praying to God….no practically screaming for God help.

The cries of help and the scream are like a war drum as smokes of fire rises from the building near the gas station.

Then a huge explosion, a fire that reach such considerable height that Azief could see it even though he is block by a two story buildings.

The gas station is attacked. Hope the beast also dies. The more beasts that die, the more higher his chances for survival.

His heart beats like a drum, more like an EDM factory, erratically and almost like his heart is jumping out of his body, using all his strength and vitality to run as far as possible from hat scream.

If not for survival Azief would crumble in fear. Run, and run.

Why is he afraid?

It is because he could clearly see some of the beast that appear from that crater when he was running to safety.

If he were near that elementary school he knows he is going to die. It is by luck that he killed a little chicken that just begins to hatch but if he had to fight that ugly big thing, he is surely going to die.

It looks like a cat but twice size bigger than cats, to be honest it look like a tiger and is currently now mauling and eating people like a snack.

Azief ran dodging the people who is sprinting on the opposite direction of him using their bikes and cars to escape the area. Then a crash sound can be heard.

Another accident he mused while running with all people trying to run out of this area of course some people are going to get into accidents. 

When he reached into Ah Seng shop he quickly sees no one is there. They must have run too. He thought to himself.

Quickly he run inside the store and close the door. Then when he enters he realized why there is no one.

Red blood fills the floor and he could see Ah Seng corpse lying on the floor, his innards is gone and his left eyes were crushed by something.

It was almost like whatever killed him did not finish its meal.

Then a shrieking voice sounded out near Azief and suddenly from one of the counter a flying bat is flying towards him.

‘Fuck this’ he said and he slashed wildly and one of his slash strikes the bat wings and the bat fell down to the floor.

Seeing this opportunity, he quickly stabs the bat to death.

‘Die, die you fucking bat! I’m going to grind you to meat paste and step on your fucking corpse!’

And this time only the golden coin appears. Killing the bat he quickly reached out and put the golden coin inside his pocket.

And then he spits on the fucking bat. Partly because he is fucking scared and he shrieks like a girl.

Thinking about it his cheek is red in embarrassment. If anyone ever sees him at that state, he would feel like hiding in a hole.

Then quickly he barricaded the door with glass pane, steel panes, chairs, table and anything that is heavy and sturdy.

Losing his key in the most inopportune moment! What bad luck!

‘Is this a game?’ He asks himself. Then he checks the blue book he got from killing the little chicken.

SKILL BOOK: BEAST TAMER

YOU CAN TAME THE WORLD ORB BEAST. TO TAME USE THE SKILL ON ONE OF THE BEAST AND KEEP HIM FOR THE INDICATED TIME TO TAME THE BEAST INSIDE THE BEAST PORTAL. ACTIVATING BEAST PORTAL REQUIRE 10 SP FOR EACH HOUR. THE COOL DOWN DEPENDED ON THE BEAST TAMED.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

‘Beast tamer? Whatever’ Azief said. It is still a skill. And in a game the many skills you have the better.

Azief has begins to look at this as a game. Looking it like that he could at least pretend to be calm.

‘Yes.’ Then a light shone down on him, a light only he can see and then he immediately understands. In his mind a card of a chicken appears.

YOU HAVE LEARNED BEAST TAMER. AFTER YOU HAVE KILLED A PARTICULAR BEAST, THEN YOU CAN BEGIN TO TAME THEM. EACH BEAST HAS DIFFERENT TIME FOR TAMING.

Then a bat card appears in his mind. So now he can tame bat too. In his mind the name of the chicken is Small Horned Chicken and the Bat is Small Vampiric Bat.

‘This is a game’ he said to himself. Or a world like game? What happen to common sense huh? He said in his mind.

Anyway after that he looks at his weapon. His eyes immediately discern the weapon and a screen appear in front of his eyes, kind of like the interface in the game when you identify stuff.

RUSTY DAGGER.

ATTACK: 0-6

SNEAK ATTACK: 0-12

DURABILITY: 99/100

So killing two of those beasts take one durability and their HP must not exceed 6.

‘No’ Azief shakes his head. The bat need to be strikes twice so maybe its health was around 10 or 12.

Then he looks around his surroundings. The cries and scream can still be heard outside the shop.

He only knows the man is called Ah Seng. Azief shakes his head looking at the condition of the corpse.

Azief don’t know much about Chinese culture and how to handle their dead but at least he knows that this is a kind of an indignity for them.

Thinking about it, it is an indignity to corpse everywhere.

‘Ah Seng rest in peace, ok? I already kill the bat that kills you so I hope wherever you are, you will rest in peace.’

He took one of the blankets on the back room of the store and covers the corpse.

‘Now I need to check what happen outside.’ He said.

But he is to afraid looking in the front door. He also has made sure the back door is barricaded and Azief is trying to make as little as noise as possible.

Checking the back door is like the first thing he did. He learns many things looking from slasher movies. It was always the back door.

He doesn’t want to attract the beast to come here. He went and climbs to the second floor of the shop and peer outside from the black tinted window pane.

Outside he could see, monstrous beast is running around killing people. Some were torn to shreds, others were stomped to death and some were bitten eaten right at the spot.

Azief almost puke when he sees one tiger like beat stomp a pregnant mother and then slowly rips the flesh of the pregnant mother to shreds with its claws.

There is even some beast that is flying and they seem to be leaving the area, probably to spread more destruction.

Some slither, some crawls, Azief even saw a centipede as large as a car, a scorpions as large as a humans, and spiders.

But they all begin leaving this place.

It was like this is not their initial destination. Mostly the big beast, in which Azief has decided to call them boss is not interested in this kind of small area.

Of course, they are not interested, they are the boss, Azief thinks. Surely they want more than just a few hundred peoples.

So they might go to Mentakab, Maran or even terrorize the Temerloh city, or attacking the major city Kuantan.

As long it’s not him they are eating, that is fine.

Some of them are small; some of them are medium build while some of them are large. Thankfully these beast lack intelligence.

At least that is what he feels.

They only rely on their sense of smell and sight to attack and do not attack the shop unless they detected humans in it.

‘Thank God I didn’t rush to my bike’ he said in whisper mode. He watched as the street is filling with burning cars and corpse burned beyond recognition.

The survivors are being chased by the beast and being eaten. Seeing all of this scene, his heart beats race faster. But he tries to remain calm.

‘Ok, what now?’ He said to himself to make himself focus.

He needs to return home and search for his family. He quickly went to his pocket and realized his phone is also in the debris.

Could he use the phone line in the shop? Quickly he went back down and he found it. But to his disappointment, there is no line.

The line is not working.

‘What happen actually?’ Azief then said calmly. Even though his family is separated from him by only 4 kilometer.

Usually a man who has families like him would already be in panic but he still remains calm.

Why?

Because if truth be told he doesn’t care that much about his families. Not because he hates them or because they hate him…..but because there is no bond.

There are roommates. Of course people said he has to be thankful being born into the world.

He wants to spit on to such people. What is good being born in the world? If he wasn’t born then he wouldn’t be hurt, wouldn’t have to worry about employment, about money, and all those existential problems….and most importantly he wouldn’t be here right now, in risk of being eaten by such horrifying beast

Why would anyone want to get born? If they can choose, knowing what they now know, would they still make the same decision?

He thinks not.

 Azief is not athletic but he is not bad in it either. He has a good muscle, not too lean and but not too chubby either.

He has some muscles thanks to working in the electronic stores where he has to climb   two floors to send a dishwashing machine when the company delivers the order, every day.

In his family, they were more like roommates then family.

When he got home, Azief would retreat to his room, and pay some games or watch some downloaded movies from some sharing sites.

His relationship with his brothers is also not quite good. But that doesn’t mean he wants them to die.

But honestly?

Even if they die, he doesn’t think he would be that sad. It was more like losing a roommate than a family.

After all in the modern world, not everybody have the family like those in TV or dramas.

Not everyone is always eager to see each other in the holidays or always greet them with good smiles.

Hmm…then what should he do now. Then he made a decision.

‘I need to make sure that big beast and their minions leave first before I go out or I’m going to get eaten like the rest of them.’

Then he returned to the second floor and watches from the top the events happening outside not knowing in the first floor the corpse is wriggling his fingers under the covers.

*************************************************************************

5: CHAPTER 04: THE MUTATED SAPIENS

It was night and Azief is almost asleep when he hears a sound. Alert, Azief quickly woke up and then he peek at the first floor.

He swears he heard a sound from the first floor. By now, most of the people around the area has been dead or been eaten.

The moonlight shines brightly. Night like this, Azief unusually went to go drink coffee with his friend Nizam, talking about redundant thing.

And when he goes back at night he will look at the stars. Azief is not usually sentimental. Life is harsh, education is harsh and the country is harsh.

Not knowing what to do after getting out fresh from college, not getting any calls from any company, and with no great prospect, Azief sometimes just blanked out in some days asking does all this means something?

To get married in his country, the dowry he has to pay for the bride family must exceed RM10, 000.

Ten thousand ringgit! Azief wanted to shout to such family. Are you marrying your daughter or selling her!

Then they look at your education level, your job, what is your annual income, how could Azief compete.

Living in this kind of society makes him feel like he feels useless.

He couldn’t even make a thousand every month; his salary is six hundred ringgit how could he even dream to marry. If he could not marry why even bother searching for a girlfriend.

It will distract him finding money.

Then a roar bring him back to his present moment

Azief is quite lucky in that the beast did not detect him here and no humans discover him there.

It was dark but he could see with the aid of the moonlight. Then he heard the noise again and this time his eyes gazed towards the first floor.

Then he noticed something is moving from the cover of the corpse. Then outside he could hear people moving. He turns his gaze to the window pane.

Then Azief look outside and then he gasped in shock. The corpse that has been bitten is mutating into half human, half beast, almost like that liquid thing in Prototype.

One person has a cat leg with human face. But not all of them managed to merge with the beats. Some become like a zombie.

Then something nagged in the back of his mind.

‘Wait a minute!’ Realizing what he forget Azief quickly jump from the stairs and reach to the covers.

He could see Ah Seng corpse is beginning to move.

‘I’m not going to wait. Sorry Ah Seng. ’ He already sees what happens to the other corpse. And he is sure as hell; the same thing is going to happen to Ah Seng corpse.

Without hesitation Azief drive his dagger to the corpse head, and the blood seep through the covers not staining Azief clothes.

Yeah, and who says watching zombies movies wouldn’t profit him! Strike the brain and the zombie is dead.

Then a light shine down on Azief body.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 02. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS AND ADDITIONAL 3 STATS POINTS FOR BEING THE TOP 57 PERSON OUT OF 100 TO USE WORLD ORB SYSTEM TO KILL THE MUTATED SAPIENS.

‘Put 2 to strength, two to agility and three to stamina.’

 Azief then could feel his body is getting stronger and his body getting light and feel a rejuvenating energy in his body as his fatigue slowly dispersed.

A skill book dropped from the corpse, the golden coins, and a glove.

‘I’m lucky’ Azief said to himself as he sat on the corner exhausted, his stamina dropped by one point.

That stab is using half his strength and the body of the zombie is quite sturdy. Not all like he imagined.

Azief thought it would be kind of liquidy. If that thing really gets up Azief really thinks he will be too scared to stab the corpse.

He then checks the glove.

MUTATED SAPIENS PROTECTIVE GLOVE.

-ABLE TO BLOCK INFECTION FROM LEVEL 3 AND 10 BEAST IF BITTEN-

Bonus: Strength + 2

Stamina +2

Quickly Azief equipped it.

And he feels he is getting stronger. Now as he sits in the corner he is thinking how he is going to go home.

He could not stay here all the time or he is going to starve. And additional 3 points? Is there some achievements?

If I do it faster than anyone else, do I get some additional rewards? Is there some ranking I don’t know about? He thinks to himself.

Outside he could hear people walking but Azief now knows it is not really people that are walking but their corpse.

Zombies. Mutated sapiens….No…zombies Azief decided. I’m going to call the corpse zombies. Or do I want to call them stiff?

They give quite the experience. And they move slowly. If he make precise blow to the head, he could easily overpowered a zombie.

But he has to wait. Why?

Because when he looks earlier there is still one large beast prowling the area, their boss Azief thinks.

Azief thinks that when the beast leaves, they leave one of them to guard the area. Kind of like a guardian…or a dungeon boss.

It looks really similar like the alien in Alien, down to the green fluid around the mouth. Would it also have face sucker or something like that?

‘Haish’….he could not wait that long. He get up and take one of the chocolates in the counter and eat it slowly and trying his hardest not to make a sound when he is chewing.

Chocolates.  Can’t live just by chocolates.

But he can’t charge outside either. Charging outside mean he wants to be eaten. He might not be a genius but he is not an idiot.

Then he hears the sound of crumbling bricks.

Azief went back to the second floor and look through the windows, seeing something that resembles a badger is wildly punching on buildings and structure, destroying little shop and buildings.

The badger has other badger following him. They are as tall as 7 feet and very powerful, each punch destroys half the shop.

The other two is not as strong as the one is punching. The other one dig the shop with its sharp claw, searching for what Azief don’t know.

‘Fuck!’ As Azief realizes something. The first is the infantry. Now the seeker. They are seeking humans.

I thought they were idiots. Who thought even this beast has this kind of coordination?

Thinking about this Azief is sweating. One building takes the badger about 15 minutes to search and destroy. One little shop takes them less than 10 minutes.

‘I’m going to die. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’ he cursed.

And the badger is careful not to get caught up in the debris. One of them was unlucky enough and gets crushed by one of the building debris.

If not for the other badgers, that one badger would already be dead. So they also help among their peers. Azief observed.

Solidarity. That’s bizarre.

Then slowly they worked their way back to the shop where he is hiding. His face is going pale.

‘Is this how it is going to end?’ he asks himself.

Should he try to make a run? He looks outside and he found that impossible.

He can’t.

With the badger and that huge beast in the elementary schools and with the mutated sapiens out there, just nearby his shop marching like an aimless zombie in Walking Dead, he would be eaten.

Is he the only one around Joy Park who is still human? Because it is beginning to look like it.

Slowly, and slowly the badger is making their way to the shop. The badger work systematically.

They were like a demolition expert. They didn’t care about the mutated sapiens only destroying buildings.

Azief then sit down and take a bite of a chocolate candy and already give up.

‘So here is where I’m going to die.’ He is giving up because the badger has already destroyed the shop beside his.

‘Hmmm. What a worthless existence. I am young, virgin, poor and now I have to die being a zombie! This is not fair! I lived according to the rules. I pay taxes, I don’t break the law, I did good. Okay I may not do good much, but I do not do evil either. To die like this-‘ and then Azief feel the shaking of the building.

He closes his eyes. Nothing comes to mind. Usually when people is going to die, life flashes through their eyes, or at least the important moments, or a face.

There is nothing but the darkness resulted from him closing his eyes. No flashes, no people, no moments.

He never truly lived, he discover at that moment. His routine is the same, internet, reading books, working.

With so little money, and so little friend, he never goes anywhere.

He never did anything crazy, or idiotic, fearing to break some laws, always fearing something.

If not the law, people. If not people, the future. If not the future, the present. He always fears something.

Always that one something, Always the almost but not quite.

He was about to say his prayer when suddenly the shaking grew more powerful. Quickly Azief open his eyes back and then he realized this is not the badger doing.

This is a very powerful earthquake.

The items in the candy shop all fall from their racks, the counter shakes on such ferocity that the glass panes shattered while Azief was brought forward and almost fall to the first floor if not for his quick grabbing of the railings.

What Azief don’t know is that right now the World Orb is creating a super continent, combining the nations and continents all over the world.

Usually when a super continent is formed it takes millions of years and usually it is preceded with a great extinction, volcanoes spurted its fiery lavas, creating mountains, plates of the earth moves resulting in terrifying disaster but the World Orb can change realities and time.

All it takes to combine all these continent only produce a little shakings all over the world, with a little but a few seconds, without damaging the world as so much but a quake.

But this was enough to create a miracle for Azief at this moment and for some others lucky people all around the world.

Azief looks outside and could see the streets jutted out, showing the solid hard ground, building crumbled by itself and then one of the buildings opposite Azief hiding place drop itself to the badgers that is coming to his hiding place and at the same time crushing the zombies around the shop.

And the shop beside Azief hiding place is also dropping itself to his hiding place. All the building falls like a nice set of dominoes.

At that time he made a decision.

‘An opportunity.’ He gets up from his kneeling pose and said

‘Thank you god’ And smirking he jumped out from the window of the second floor and landed outside with a thud.

He feels some pain but no bones are broken. And it’s not like the second story is too high from the ground. The candy shop is not situated in the mall, just a normal shop.

‘I guess it does work a bit like a game.’

Thank god he put many of his stats toward strength. And now he looks around the area of his sight and when the dust settles he smiles.

‘Easy prey’ he smiles coldly.

Why does he say that?

Because in front of him now, he could see three badgers is struggling to get out from the debris and about a 100 zombies that have their bodies cut into two, some only have half of their bodies, crawling to get outside the debris.

‘Be strong or perish right?’ he said looking at the moon.

‘I guess I’m lucky’ and he takes out his dagger.

‘HEHEHE’ he laughed.

*************************************************************************

I use Kardashev Scale for grouping the planet. Type 1 civilization has the ability to use all of the energy on their planet. We’re Type 0.7 not quite yet at Type 01 civilization.

Type 2 Civilization can harness all the energy of their host star. We can hardly imagine how someone would do this but at least the close we came is imagining the Dyson Sphere.

Type 3 can access power comparable to that of the entire Milky Way galaxy. Anyone living in such Civilization, probably mastered interstellar travel, possibly even colonizing the entire galaxy.

*****************************************************************

6: CHAPTER 05: CHANGE

Looking in a distance he doesn’t see any threats that are coming to him. Destroy the biggest threat first. He decided

The zombie is many but they are slow and they do not seem to possess any coordination.

Anyone with a stick could fend them off.

‘Be brave’ he said to himself.

Even though his hand is sweating because of fear Azief quickly jump onto the debris and arrived near the badger.

The badger breath stinks and each time it exhales, a gust of wind appear from his nostril. One of the smarter badgers is trying to drill its way out of the debris. Another one is wounded heavily, blood seeping from its wound.

You think I’m going to let you do that! Azief thought to himself and he stab the badger and blood flow out from the stab wound.

But it is not enough.

So Azief stabs it again. And again. And again. Repeatedly he stabbed and Azief stamina is draining and finally when his stamina only left with three the shrieking and scrabbling badger died and then a light shone down on him.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 05. YOU HAVE EARNED 6 STATS POINTS.

3 level up! This badger gives a lot of experiences. He smiles in satisfaction

‘Hu. Hu’ Azief is taking his breath. It takes almost all of his stamina to just kill one badger. And another badger is beginning to dig.

Not one of these badgers can be allowed to escape. If not the consequences will be disastrous. In Azief mind, a badger card appears.

THE STRONG FIST BADGER.

A skill book appears and golden coins are all around the badger corpse. Quickly Azief takes it all and put it in his pocket.

The book is small so he just put it in the pocket.

‘All to stamina’ Azief said and he feel his body is getting rejuvenated.

Then he jumped to the part of the debris and stab quickly on the back of the head of the badger.

CRITICAL HIT: DOUBLE DAMAGE

Oh, so like a game there is also critical hit. Smiling now knowing that the badger neck area is critical point, Azief keep stabbing it and blood flowed around it while the badger is struggling to get out.

And after another ten strikes to its neck, it died with a whimper. This time Azief still have 8 stamina.

This time a skill book appears with the golden coin.

‘Another skill book. What a bountiful beast you are.’ He exclaimed

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 08. YOU HAVE EARNED 6 STATS POINTS.

Another three level up. In normal circumstances, he understands to kill these badgers might be an impossibility at his current level and he was doomed to die.

After all it takes more than ten strikes to make one badger fall to ground. He needed to have greater strength and a lot of agility if he was fighting these badgers in a fair ground.

Who would have thought he would encounter such luck! Trapped under the debris with nowhere to go while he repeatedly stabs the badger neck area.

Now only one left, this one badger is badly injured, one of its claws was broken. Azief was about to stab its neck when he remembered something.

Smiling he then said.

‘All 6 to Spirit.’ His body is full with vigor and power course through his vein, his eyes becomes clearer.

Then he quickly activated the Beast Tamer skills. The information flowed into Azief mind and he then understand what he need to do.

He approached the wounded badger and touches the badger and a seal appear on the badger forehead.

The seal was shaped like an Orb. Then a voice enters his ears.

YOU HAVE USED THE BEAST TAMER SKILL. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO USE IT ON THIS BEAST?

‘Yes’ Azief reply.

Then the beast turned into an orb of light and a portal open and its shot through inside the portal.

TAMING TIME: TWO WEEKS.

What! Seeing this Azief is clearly shocked. Two weeks! It requires 10 SP every hour and it will drain Azief SP right now.

Now Azief SP is 7.

Another hour it will drain another 10.Of course at that time his SP will rejuvenate only to then supplement the taming process but then that means for two weeks he would not be able to use his SP for anything other than taming the badger.

He was about to curse but then he remembered.

The badger is surely strong that is why the waiting time is long. He also remembers the scene where the badger is destroying the structure.

Having a beast like that under his commands he will at least be save from anything weaker than the badger.

It surely will help his survival in this new world.

When the information flowed inside his mind he also understands how beast taming works.

If the beast is stronger than you, beast taming will not work. But then how is he able to make that badger obey him to enter the Beast Portal?

Because at that time the badger is weaker than him, wounded, it will is low due to seeing its comrade dies and trapped under the debris.

It is kind of like Pokemon and the seal is like pokeballs. If the Pokemon is weak after fighting it, touching it the seals will appear if they are weaker than you.

If not they will struggle and be release from the taming processes.

While Azief was thinking of this he doesn’t notice a zombie has managed to crawls out the debris and heading slowly to him.

The zombie is crawling since his lower body has been crushed leaving only his upper body dragging his innards

‘Uargh’ a zombie appears while groaning like zombies do, grabbing Azief ankle when it saw the human standing on top off the debris, trying to eat him.

 Azief who is startle by this sudden touching (he really doesn’t like to be touch without proper warning) began saying curse word,

‘Fuck! What the hell! Fuck!’ as he kicks the half body zombie head.

And the zombie hand release its grip from Azief ankle, tooth dribble out from his mouth, his jaw dislocated, black blood mixed with red blood flowed from the zombie jaw..

‘Fuck, that zombie humiliates me.’ Azief using the dagger stab the zombie head with frustration and humiliation.

And this time a ring appear and the golden coins. He quickly grabbed it and was about to examine it when he notices the hundreds of zombie is crawling out.

‘This stiff. Oh fuck! More of them stiff.’

He look at the incoming horde. He then takes a deep breath and smile coldly, a hint of greed in his eyes.

‘Ok. No pain no gain. Only the strong survives the weak perish.’ he then said smiling.

He out of everyone understands these rules better than anyone, and quickly accepted the rules of this new world.

It is kind of his ability to adapt to situations like these mostly because it is the kind of situations he has been dreaming of.

Ok, maybe not the people turning to zombie part, or the giant beast eating people, but he did fantasize living in a kind of game world, or fantasy world and who wouldn’t?

At least it is more interesting than the world he is living now.

Working hard doesn’t guaranteed that you’re going to have a great life, it guarantees you to be a worker of some crazed millionaire or a greedy entrepreneur disguised as a great philanthropist when all the businessman only wanted is the tax break when throwing their towel onto the ring of charity.

At least now, he gets the reward according to his effort. It still requires some luck too.

‘You’re all going to die…..again’ He said smiling coldly to the crawling zombies coming out of the debris.

And he began his killing spree. Having only Half of a body and slow, the zombie is just a fish getting ready to be chopped.

Azief stab all the zombies head. The baby zombies, the woman zombies, the granny zombies, the MILF zombies, the glasses zombies, he saw them as nothing more than corpses.

Most people wouldn’t have his heart to deal killing a baby. Even though it is a zombie it still looks like a baby even though there is a large chunk of meat missing from the baby arms.

But Azief?

He just kicks the baby zombie head like striking a football and the head splattered into droplets of red liquid.

He stomp, kick, punch, stab while dodging the blood and the bites. He knows now if you are bitten you will become one of them but he doesn’t know about the blood effect so he takes precaution not to get any on him.

Of course there are some splatter drops on him but at least he was not drenched in it.

His luck is truly amazing. Just a minute ago he was praying and accepting his death, now he is diligently stabbing zombie head.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 09. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

This time Azief decided to reinforce his agility.

‘All to agility.’ He needs to be faster, both in reaction and before the other zombies nearby is alerted to his killing spree.

And he feels his feet are getting faster and lighter. Then he realizes something else. His stamina is also steadily declining.

But sometimes these zombies dropped some vial like glass. Killing about 5 of them Azief realizes something after drinking the vials.

The blue vials restore his stamina, the red one his vitality. Right now he already has 2 blue vials.

He doesn’t have time to check its information but he understand the concept. Potions. He works in a cyber café how could he of all people does not understand potions?

Playing Skyrim, Oblivion and fantasy genre adventure games, potions is one of the most integral parts of any quest.

It restores health, grant strength and many other supportive functions. It is like a doctor in a box…or vials…or a case in glass, depending on the game.

And Azief keep stabbing all those poor zombies stuck under the debris.

Azief would find a hole and when he hears the groaning sound he would target that area finding the right moment to stab the zombie head.

Each strikes at the head gives double damage and mostly they die in the first stab though there are some that is more resilient than others and need multiple stabbing.

This time Azief don’t have time to check any of the items.

He just put it inside his pocket. He also grab a kindergartener bag from one of the child zombie in which he crush the head with his dagger.

Putting it around his bag he uses it to store his loot.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 10. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO CHANGE CLASS RIGHT NOW. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO GO TO SAFE ZONE BEFORE CHANGING CLASS.

RIGHT NOW YOU ARE IN THE RED ZONE. FIND A SAFE PLACE FOR YOU TO CHANGE CLASS AND ACTIVATES THE CLASS FUNCTION.

Class change! Azief screamed in his mind. Of course he can change class. This is beginning to feel more and more like a game.

Then he hears the groaning and turn to face his back behind.

His hand holding his dagger while looking at the dozens more zombies near him and he said. He knows his dagger could not last longer.

And seeing the crawling zombies the only thing he could say was.

‘Ah, shit!’

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7: CHAPTER 06: AGILITY

 

The moonlight shines the dark night. Smokes can be seen filling the city of Temerloh. Gas station near the Joy Park is still burning since the afternoon, even at night.

The smell of corpse was disgusting and revolting, the smell of rotten flesh could make anyone puke.

Blood seeped through the open ground, creating a hell like scene, the tar road red with the blood of the victims of the great beast, mangled bodies scattered everywhere, feet and hand can be seen in different places.

However in Joy Park there is still one man holding his dagger, just trying to survive this cold and terrifying night.

But right now he is surrounded by zombies. Thank God most of the monster already left and only the big giant Alien is left in the elementary schools.

The badger has been neutralized. And now only the zombies are left. But that doesn’t mean he is confident to survive all their onslaught.

But at least his chance of survival is higher fighting against the zombies rather than fighting with the beast he saw in the afternoon

And that is all he needs. Red zone huh?  He knows if he changes his class he might get more power and even more agility.

But the system recommended him to get out of red zone first. This means he is in the red zone and trying to change his class in the red zone might get himself killed

But what is red zone and safe zone? How should he know where is the red zone and where is the safe zone?

The World Orb! Do you have no tutorial! He wanted to scream

Did the system of World Orb ( as he decided to call this world from now on) judged that since he is in a battle state that means he is in a red zone, or is there some places where there is a safe zone where the zombies can’t thread?

He needs to find about this later. So many things he doesn’t know. And whatever the times, if there is something that is true, knowledge is always equal to power.

Accumulate knowledge, means you are accumulating power. Then he took out one of the vials from his kindergartener bag.

These vials, Azief don’t know when he will get it anymore so he made a decision. What is important to him now is strength and stamina.

Stamina is for him to last longer killing these stiffs, while with more strength he will kill this zombie in less strike which reduces the stamina.

A dilemma.

Faster speed in killing or endurance to last longer? So what is more important to help him?

He still has two vials.

So he quickly made the decisions.

‘All to strength.’ Agility has to wait.

Even though agility made it faster for him to reach the debris are and make him more agile, the zombie is not fast.

For now, agility must not be his priority. Why did he even add stats to agility just a moment ago?

‘No’ he said.

‘There is no use regretting. Agility has its uses. I need to think of it like that.’

At least with this speed, and strength, combined with stamina he could finish the zombie faster before the other zombie is coming here.

Most of them are still slow, but if Azief learns anything from zombies’ movies, if there is slow moving zombies, then they are also fast moving zombies.

Azief goals are to gain as much loot as possible from this trapped zombie. They are weak, trapped and easy prey.

When will Azief get such luck again?

If he is stronger at least maybe there is a chance for him to go home or at least to go to the Store mall just a 500 meter from the signal post which is just 300 meter from where Azief is situated right now.

And the world has definitely changed from this moment on. Strength might be the new rule and if strength is the new rules, he wants to be the judge.

Azief began stabbing again. Jump, stab. Jump, stab. And collect the loot. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

There is shoes, necklace, ring, boots,, and some skill books that sometimes appears. Azief bag is almost full.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 11. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to strength’ he said.

His strength is now 18 and with the additional bonus of the gloves it’s 20. It takes only one strike now with 1/3 of the power he used against the first zombie he met.

It makes his stamina decrease slower and makes him killing zombies easier.

By now he has five blue vials, 3 red vials, and 6 green vials. He didn’t drink yet the green vials.

Then his rusty dagger cracked.

‘What-‘ then quickly Azief look hard at his dagger and the information appear on his eyes.

RUSTY DAGGER.

ATTACK: 0-6

SNEAK ATTACK: 0-12

DURABILITY: 10/100

‘Ha’ he sighed. Durability is low and maybe in another 30 or 35 strikes, the dagger will be of no use.

But he did not panic. After all killing many of the zombies he did get a few items of importance.

Seeing this, Azief take out a blade from the kindergartener bag.

He looks at the blade.

NORMAL BLADE

ATTACK: 5-15

SNEAK ATTACK: 0-20

DURABILITY: 140/140

‘Why didn’t I use this? Idiot!’ he scolded himself.

Azief throw his dagger into the kindergarten bag and change his weapon. A blade is longer and its reach is also longer.

He begins his killing again. One zombie jump, while its innards dribbling out of his decapitated body.

Azief dodge the zombie surprise attack, spins his body and slash his blade and the zombie head is separated from its head, then quickly he stab the head and it smashed to smithereens of mutilated flesh and liquid of blood.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 12. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to agility’ he decisively decided. In his mind, one particular plan has emerged when he saw that zombie from nearby area is beginning to swarm around him.

He could not last longer after all.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 13. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to agility’

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 14. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to agility’

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 15. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to agility.’ Each time he added it to agility. While drinking the vials with lightning speed. All the blue vials almost run out.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 16. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to agility’

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 17. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS.

‘All to agility’

The sound begins attracting another horde of zombie to come to Azief area. Azief also know this and he has a plan.

He hopes his game knowledge will help him here.

‘I hope this work’ as the last of the zombie around him has been stabbed.

Azief pull out his blade from the zombie head, with two kindergarten bag behind him, one is a kindergartener bag with Ben 10 designs, made from China while the other one has some pink pony.

He looks utterly ridiculous.

He stands there waiting as the horde of zombies from the surrounding areas is coming towards him, one step at a time.

*************************************************************************

8: CHAPTER 07: JUMP

The cold night wind blows and the smell of death permeated through the streets of Joy Park.

Azief could smell the flesh, could hear the crackling noise of building on fire, and he could even hear his own heat beating.

He was nervous kind of like nervous when he has to do a speech in front of a class. A nervous excitement.  

Instead of nervousness because of fear.

Right now adrenaline and other hormones are producing dozens of chemical reaction inside his brain, urging him to survive.

 Seeing all these zombies coming towards him, he did not freeze in fear instead he prepares his heart and strengthened his courage.

Bravery.

More than ever he needs that right now. To survive the world right now, power is needed but without bravery power is nothing.

‘It is all or nothing’ Azief said.

‘If I am wrong, I get eaten. If I’m right I might save myself from this area.’ Whatever he will do he will not go to the elementary schools.

That alien! I will not fight it. That is truly sending myself to the jaws of death. He mused thinking of that beast in the elementary school and shivered with fear.

But he has already had a plan.

From behind him, from his front, from his left, from his right, all the zombie sis coming towards him, surrounding him, walking listlessly, groaning and dragging their feet.

I hope this kind of agility is enough.

Azief look at the trees nearby the debris, not affected by the crumbling buildings since it was far away from the candy shop.

Just near the candy shop is a high tree almost three story high.

When the zombie began to spot a human in the middle of debris they quickened their steps and move a little faster.

This is of course the mutated zombies who mutated some of their body parts with the corpse of the beast.

Azief quickly climb to the three and with his agility, it was an easy task. But that is not his true plan.

The zombie then all reached under the tree trying to climb the tree to no avail.

Some of the mutated zombies succeeded only to be cut down into pieces when they reached Azief position.

Usually he just stab the incoming mutated zombie.

Some claw the tree bark with their fingernails, and their fingernails stuck inside the bark of the tree, while some zombie smash their head to the tree trying to bring it down, while some is trying to eat the sturdy bark of the tree.

Underneath him is almost 350 zombies all waiting for him to come down.

‘Thank god they are stupid’ Azief said as he climbs higher.

He then set his position.

‘The signal post’ he said to himself.

If he jumps from this height before, he doubt he would survive but when he jumped from the second floor before, he has a slight pain only.

And when that happens his mind has begun formulating plans.

Now his agility is high and his strength is also better than the last time. He thought to himself.

 Wouldn’t he felt no pain compared to the last time?

His plan is to jump far from this tree as the focal point, land gracefully on the ground, and sprint towards the signal post, running to the residential areas, rest there for a while before going to the mall.

But once he does that he doesn’t know what he will see or encounter.

After all the residential is close to the signal post, they must have also been attacked and they must have zombies too.

But danger is everywhere. And now at this point he has no choice but to gamble. If he stays here, sooner or later he would be found out.

Now that he has chosen to fight, better go all out.

But the structure of residential area made it easy for Azief to hide and find some house that has no occupants, maybe rest inside for a while like he did in Ah Seng shop.

But why did Azief try to attract all the zombies nearby to his area. Simple. Because he want his path unblocked.

He realizes that there are some zombies in the sign post area and the many shops nearby the sign post area.

They are deterred from the residential areas because of the scattered cars but they formed a barrier if Azief wanted to cross over.

If all congregate in one place when he jump all he has to contend with is the traffic congestion from the abandoned cars instead of running through a wall of zombies.

 Then looking from the highest point of the tree, he took the view that is in his front. Hundreds of zombies fill the area, all wanting to eat him.

All with variety of stiffs, all are horrifying, all lost a few limbs, some lost eyes, one even lost his private parts.

That must have been painful Azief think to himself. Maul by tigers probably considering the large hole in the zombie hip areas.

What an awful sight!

Below him the zombies are still trying, those that managed to climb were immediately dispatched by Azief.

He prepares the vial for stamina and vitality, if anything should happen.

‘Bravery’ he said. And then he added.

‘With a mix of stupidity and stubbornness.’ And he smiles bitterly.

He closes his eyes. He take a deep breath, inhaling the stained air, cold sweat running behind his back, a droplet of sweat dropped from his forehead and he opens his eyes. 

He is no longer trembling like the first time he was attacked.

‘Now or never’ he said and his heartbeat quickened. And he laughs a bit, trying to ease the nervousness.

Then he launches his body to the air.

The branch on where he was standing broke into pieces because of the powerful force of his jump, and he launches himself like a rocket, wind whooshing around his face, feeling like he was flying and he begins falling down as he use all of his agility to land as gracefully as possible without injuring himself.

If his bones are broken, especially if the broken bone is his feet, he would surely be sitting duck.

It happens in almost second, but he could swear it felt like a lifetime for him to land.

He landed onto the cold tar ground, and he rolled to lessen the impact.

‘Ouch’ he said, there is some slight pains, like a cramp when he landed 10 meters away from the congregated stiff.

He smiles in pain while drinking the vials for stamina and vitality. He got up. Then he looks behind him as the zombie turn their head back slowly towards the area he lands.

‘Groaning stiffs’ he said. The zombie began walking towards him, moving away from the tree.

A large force of undead is coming for him. He looks at the signpost and he ran like the wind.

In front of the signpost is dozens of cars burning and corpses littered the road. Azief did not slow down even when he sees golden coins or some books.

Maybe later he thought to himself.

He doesn’t have time to pick it up. Being too greedy when you are weak is courting death. No….I’m not going to be eaten stupidly.

He jumped through the stacked burning cars as his stamina is draining one by one because of the speed in which he is running, and he passed the sign post and is now running again with all his might to the residential areas.

He is trying to distance himself from the horde. And he enters the residential areas, jumping through the tall brushes of the houses.

Most of the houses near the sign post belong to middle class family but further in you will see some bungalows and some high wall belonging to some rich families.

He met a stray zombie from the residential areas, wandering aimlessly.

‘More stiff.’ He said, clearly annoyed. He is tired, it is night and he lack sleeps, nervous and in the verge of breaking down.

A man can only take so much in a day.

The world change, the zombies is hunting him and let’s not forgets that alien looking thing in the elementary schools.

Remembering that, he could not stand still.

And the gruesome sight he has witness today. To be honest he want to lay on a comfy bed, get some rest without having to worry being eaten by some beast or bitten by these stiff and turns into them.

Azief brandishes his blade and it shines in the moonlight night. With one swift movement, Azief made a slashing motion.

 He runs while slashing the zombie head, and the head flies three meter away, the body falls down naturally.

And then there is another zombie preventing his way to go to the residential areas. Again he slashed and the head is decapitated.

I made the right decision to raise my strength and agility. His speed is faster and his strike pack more punches than before.

One slash is all he needs. Combined strength with speed and the power double.

Physics.

Even a pebble travelling 200 mph could destroy a man skull. Imagine that with sword. Speed and strength.

The only thing he lacks now is stamina. Finished killing the stray zombie, Azief decide to find a place to rest. He can’t keep going like this.

He spotted one of the large house, and jump from outside entering the bungalow, like a cat.

The zombies find it hard when they are obstructed with walls or any kind of obstruction. A little bit like the small giants in Shingeki.

And in closed space like this it is easier for him to deal with zombies if they ever managed to breakthrough.

Here his agility could shine.

He is trying to find some of the house that is suitable for him to make some kind of a hideout like he did in Ah Seng shop.

He has so many items he has lost count. He needs to check it and see if anything could help increase his strength.

He keeps jumping and slashing. Jump through the bushes, slashing the stiffs that block his way.

As long as he did not make too much noise or mess, the horde will not come after him. Many of the residents must have cleared out before the massacre really happens.

Azief notices there are not too many stiffs here. Then he hears the horde. He turns back and recognized familiar faces.

‘Fuck, why can’t they leave me alone!’ It was the zombie he ditches when he jumps from the tree.

Then he jumped into one of the huge house and decided to hide under a dog home. Even though he is stronger than before, even he is not confident to take on the entire horde.

He waited. And he waited. Tine passed as the zombies keep walking around the area.

For an hour Azief made no sound. He almost fall sleep at that moment. He is tired, frustrated, nervous and nervous.

He repeated nervous two times. Because he can’t stand it anymore. He waited for a long time before he hears the footstep moving away.

Then when he made sure the zombie has decided to give up the search Azief slowly went out of the dog house.

His stomach suddenly growls and Azief look left and right, fearing any stiffs could hear that. It was pretty loud to his ears.

Now he needs to find some food.

His stomach is growling. After making sure there is no zombie nearby he decided to break into this bungalow looking house.

It doesn’t seem to have zombies or it might have some noise inside

In a house like these they are surely some food. He began imagining meat, chickens, eggs.

Azief slowly walked to the front door. He was about to break the lock with his hand or blade when suddenly the door open.

‘Come in’ the voice said. Azief gripped his blade tightly and was in a battle stance. All he need is a reason and whatever that made the noise would be neutralized.

‘Who’s there?’ Azief asked.

‘Come on inside. Quickly before the corpse come.’ The voice comes from behind the door and it sounds like a Chinese.

He spoke Chinese. Azief knows this and he understand it, and it puzzles him. Why? Because Azief knows he doesn’t know Chinese other than the normal greetings.

Azief still cautious buts seeing no other choice enter the door and slowly closed it.

******************************************************************

9: CHAPTER 08: THE OBJECTIVE

The house was spacious. That is what Azief could say. That is what he could see even though in the darkness of night.

The electricity has been cut off so there is no electricity. Maybe that is better he mused. At least with this the noise factor is not a problem.

If not with alarm ringing of or even the sound of a blaring TV or anything electronic might gain the attention of the stiff.

He could not describe the interior because most of it Azief doesn’t know. There is some painting on the wall while there is some lying in the floor.

The wall itself is beautiful with something resembling mauve color as the wallpaper of the wall. It has a second floor.

But it could be said the interior is a shadow of its former self. The plasma TV is on the ground, traces of broke glass from drinking glass and even some chandelier lights in the trash can.

It must be because of the shaking Azief mused. He remembered the strong shaking which save his life.

But it is clear that this house is expensive. Azief is sitting down in the sofa. Comfy and soothing.

He even tries bouncing on it when the owner is preparing his drink.

The man is drinking cold water from the fridge and pours it in one of the glasses while bringing it to the table I the living room.

Azief look at the man in front of him. The man is a middle age man.

35 years old, a businessman and have some shops in the Temerloh area. His name is Tan. He did say his full name but Azief decided to call him Tan.

He is divorced and has no children. How does he know all this? He asks him before he sits down.

Well, when you threatened a man with a blade to his throat, rarely anyone would hide secret.

Azief fear the man is a bad man. That is why he made preliminary checks when he enters the house.

He couldn’t be too sure after all. Then Azief check any signs of bites or infections or even wounds.

The man looks clean.

Other than some smell of sweats, he’s clean. Only after he is sure, Azief sit down on the man sofa after boarding up the exit and entrance of the house.

Azief is pleased to know the man has great security system, and even properly boarded up the back door.

The back door, always. I guess being a rich man has great advantages. Azief mused. Azief plan was to enter the house, rest for a while then checking his loot.

 After that in the morning he would go to the mall to stock up on supplies. Food….that is important. Food, water. And then another motto.

Always on the move.

That is what he decides. Stock up enough supplies to find some safe place. Or find some shelter or government base.

Though he doubts the government could drove back this calamity. HEHEHE he is smiling while thinking to himself.

I would like to kill a politician one or two of them. That would be extremely satisfying. Just imagining fills his heart with glee.

His second objective is to return home to his village. His village is not far from the town, 15 minutes if he rides his bikes.

But now with the road unusable with cars filling the road and not one of them is moving, how could he ride bike in such situation?

Not to mention the sound of the bike will make every stiff in the vicinity hunt him. It takes him hours for him to lose the stiff target on his back.

He is not inclined to repeat that experience again. Azief then look in front of him as Tan take his seat on the front of him, face to face

‘So what do you want?’ Azief said cutting straight to the point. He wants something. Azief could feel this deep in his heart. Why else would he save him?

The man sighed.

‘You know I saw you.’

‘Saw me?’

‘Yes, I was in second floor when the first meteor falls. I was startled by it. And scared. Terrified if I’m telling the truth’

‘You did not run’ Azief asked.

‘No’

‘Why?’

‘Because I was a little late. It happens too fast. Though thinking back it might have been a good thing. I too wanted to run outside but thank god I did not.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I saw what happen to those who ran out from their home. Some call the law enforcement officers when the meteor first fall, waiting for police that never came. Others were shoving and pushing each other from each other way, trying to run when many more meteors fall. Some were trampled by others when the beast begun coming. They all ran, and they all fall. Some ride their bike and their cars and ride the hell out of here. And then the big beast came. The beast was fast. It was a giant Meerkat ‘he said.

OH, that’s new Azief mused. He didn’t see a meerkat when he was running.

‘Then?’ Azief said, his eyes hold a trace of interest.

‘The Meerkat with one swipe of his claws cut a person to meat pieces like a grinder. Those who run is easily caught by the meerkat and eaten. I was not brave enough to get out and at that time I thought at least I rather die in my house than die outside like a bug. So, I close my iron gate, and locked my door and waited until the beast came to my house.’

‘And then?’ Azief said curios how this middle age man survive the onslaught.

‘It never came.’

‘It never came?’

‘Yes it never came. It was almost like they lost interest and they move somewhere else. At that time I heaved a slight relief.’

Azief also see this scene though from a different vantage point. The bosses Azief said in his mind.

‘Why didn’t you go out after that when the beast has disappeared?’ Azief asked.

‘No’ he shakes his head.

‘I was afraid there is other beast that is in hiding so I waited.’ Azief nodded. He was of the same thought though not entirely for the same reason.

For Azief there is still the alien in the elementary school. A viable threat to his survival and Azief waited for the opportune moment to run away.

Azief knows, that sooner or later hiding in a place like small shops or houses will get himself caught and eaten.

This man….Azief mused as he looked at the middle aged man, sizing him up and made a judgment, If he did not meet me will he stay in his house all the time? He would surely die when the death outnumber the living.

‘You must not be the only one who survived hiding in your own home. There must be others. ‘Azief asked.

‘Yes, there was other but they all have been tracked by the zombies and bitten.’

‘Tracked! How!’

‘Noise, strong smell but they usually respond to noise mostly. Most of those who hides in their home sometimes have other thing weighing them down ‘

‘Such as?’

‘A child. With such great slaughter how could babies not cry ‘and at this Azief understand.

‘There are also who can’t stand the pressure and crack.’ Tan added

‘Some believe they could brave the danger using the weapons they were given and try to fight the zombie horde only to be eaten by them. Some of them managed to kill a few of them but the zombie is too many’

Just a few hours after the beast appear and so many have died. Azief could not believe how fragile human life is.

Is this another mass extinction event?

‘I understand’ and Azief take another drink.

For a while there is silence in the dark house.

‘Other than me, the person around my neighborhood has either been eaten, or turns to zombies. The beast is no longer a threat since they have left’ Tan said.

‘So, what is it you want?’ Azief said this time his eyes glare at the man.

‘You invite me home, thus increasing your risk of being detected. You don’t know if I’m some thief or a bad person. Surely you did not save me from the kindness of your heart.’

He smiles bitterly.

‘I want to ask a favour.’

‘What favour?’

‘Bring me out of this area. I know sooner or later, the zombie will outrun this place. I can’t stay here indefinitely. Right now I still have many foods but later? I might even starve to death.’

‘Why me?’ Azief said crossing his arm looking at Tan

‘I said I saw you didn’t I? I saw you slash zombies like a piece of paper, running like the wind, almost reaching the same speed as the meerkat I saw.’

‘Oh?’ Azief said looking at him, curiously.

‘Hmm, I can do that. But where would you like to go? Any destination? Because I have my own destination too. If it’s on the opposite route, then I can’t.’

Azief said honestly.

His priority right now is supplies and then going to his village. Azief does not have high hopes but he does not like to wonder.

Is his family still alive? Or not? Considering the damage he could see in the city, maybe his village has been ravaged.

Either way, he needs to make sure.

If they survive, Azief would surely shelter them and even find some safe place from his family to live.

If not, he would have to find a safe place by himself. He does not have hopes for some survival camp.

But Azief is sure he is not the only one who has the power granted by the World Orb. People stronger than him might even have better starting point, or stats.

There will be warlords. There will be criminals. Azief recognize these possibilities when he saw those zombies.

People with power would either abuse their power or help the people. Heroes and villains. Snakes and dragons.

And skill books.

It does not drop that often.

Mean that someone might even form armies by promising skill books to their followers. Having skill books would help anyone surviving the new age that is coming.

And with this golden coin, there might be a new currency in town. Azief don’t know what is the function for the golden coin but he is sure they have a function.

Hoard all the things.

That is what he learns in Skyrim though usually the weight limits prevents him from taking so many items.

People who are athletes, soldier might have 13 or 14 stamina or agility or even strength compared to when he first started out.

But are they as lucky as him?

Killing a strong fist badger, and stiffs as many as he did? If not for leveling up killing the badger he could not handle the slow walking zombies that easily.

Then Azief also has to consider if the mutated sapiens is because of the bite, then would they also retain the abilities of the former body?

For example would a long jump athlete who turned to zombies, can they jump really high when they turn to zombies?

Same goes to sprint runner zombies or a weightlifting champion zombies?

Azief sighed thinking of all this while Tan was about to say something but he shut his moth to wait Azief finished whatever he is thinking about.

Then his mind once again turned to his family.

 Even though Azief does not have particular feeling toward his family, it is still his family. He couldn’t just leave them.

They are his blood.

Azief believe that family is stronger together, united. Even though in his family there is no bond, it’s not like he did not try forming bonds.

It’s not like he hates them. IT is a complicated feeling. They are family but they don’t feel like a family, does not care each other like a family.

It was more like playing house, each one playing a designated role. The father brings home food.

The mother makes the food. The sons study and work while appreciating the hard work of the father and the mother.

Rinse and repeat until the sons have their own sons. And the cycle continues.

Role playing. Azief mused. But, Azief knows, that his family, some of them also thinks like him.

It is just most of his family is like him, stoic and does not know how to express feelings. All busy with their own problems.

Azief close his eyes and then opens it again.

‘One step at a time. Slowly. Slowly’ he said to himself barely a whisper, only he could hear it.

Then he turned to Tan and asked

‘So how about it? You want me to get you out of here?’

‘Really?’ Tan Said.

‘We can settle your business first. I think following you provide a better chance of survival then staying here.’ The middle aged man said.

‘Not without compensation of course.’ Azief said resolutely.

‘Of course. I have money.

‘I don’t want money. I want something else.’

‘What do you want then?’ Tan asked in polite tone.

‘You’ll know when the times come’ Azief said.

Truth be told he doesn’t know what he want but he could not let Tan just mooch off him without giving him something.

Money? It’s just paper at this point. Tan doesn’t seem strong. But if Azief could help him level up, Azief chance of survival is higher.

Tan nodded.

‘Whatever you want I will give it to the utmost of my abilities. When will we go?’ Tan asked.

‘Will we depart tonight?’ Tan said as he spoke in slow voice. He is clearly afraid that any zombies could hear and attracted them here.

‘Tomorrow’ Azief said

‘Tomorrow?’ Tan reply puzzled. He want to get as far as possible, as fast as possible from these abominations.

‘Yes, tomorrow.’ Azief answer with confidence. After all most of his stamina is drained even though he could restore it with the vials he does not want to waste it.

Not to mention his mental capacity has been used to the max. He is tired physically and mentally. One man could only see so much in a day.

‘But the zombies are outside so wouldn’t it b- ‘

‘No, it’s precisely because they are outside. Mr. Tan, I am tired and extremely exhausted. You saw me fighting those stiffs right? It’s not easy. And if I have to fight them again, in my condition, I don’t think even I could survive it’

‘But in morning it will be easier for us to be detected.’

‘Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the zombie would move to other areas by then like the monstrous beast. Wouldn’t that be an ideal time to escape for both of us?’

Then Tan also nodded.

‘I can help you. Considering you did not kill the zombie your level is still 1 right?’ Tan nodded.

‘If you are trying to fight the stiff with your level right now you would surely just be their meal.’

The man nodded.

‘So, what now?’

‘Now, you show me the bedroom so I could rest. Then in the morning we can go.’

Tan just nodded.

‘Fine, we’ll do it that way.’

Azief then went to the bedroom and close and locked the door. Tan is still sitting in the sofa, drinking water.

There is red wine in his fridge, a cheap red wine. But he did not dare drink it. When he is drunk he tend to make many noise.

He hears the door being locked.

That young man doesn’t really trust me. But I have no choice other than to trust him Tan mused.

He is desperate. Like Azief he is alone. He has no family. Whatever happens to his wife is not his concern.

If she died, good riddance.

That woman cheated on him. Azief. He is now his way out from this area. Then where would he go?

He doesn’t know. But if he found a safe place he would go there. Tan believes there is some shelter camp.

Contrary to Azief believe that such shelter camp will be for warlord recruitment camp. This kind of scenario is not foreign for anyone who watched post-apocalyptic movies.

Especially now that there are even people who exhibited powers beyond normal humans capabilities.

Azief speed is fast but it still can be compared to athlete in the Olympics. But what will happen when he reach higher levels?

Won’t he be like a God?

And this is true to others too. As long you have enough bravery and resourcefulness you can be one.

In a way, it is a fair world. You get what you deserve from you effort. At least it is fairer world than before.

Drenching his nervousness, he went to his bedroom, trying to sleep.

************************************************************************

10: CHAPTER 09: RESULT OF LOOTING

He close the door and he sit down on the bed. He lay down for five minutes and then he get up.

His hunger is no longer a problem. There was some bread on the man fridge so Azief helps himself.

And now he is getting up.

If he keeps lying down he will be asleep before he knows it. For now there is another thing he must do, a most important task.

What important task?

Because now it is time for him to class up.

‘Hehehehe’ he smiles in happiness. Class up! Isn’t this the main reason he runs all the way here, other than dodging the stiffs?

Surely he is now in a safe zone right? There are also the items and the skill books he never had the chance to check before.

First he arranges everything from its types.

13 Vials, 5 rings, a variety of items, from boots to paulders, hundreds of golden coins, and 7 skill books.

First he examines the ring. There are 5 rings he got from his effort. He checks it. And a status window appears in front of his eyes.

STORAGE RING

-ABLE TO STORE 99 ITEMS OF THE WORLD ORB. NO ADDITIONAL EFFECTS.

‘Storage ring!’ Azief exclaimed gleefully.

‘I should have used this when I was running away.’ He remembers of the things he couldn’t loot because of the lack of space and the fact that he had to lighten his load.

Even though it has no other additional buff at least it could help me stores thing. And when I have time I need to get back the loot.

Azief quickly put the ring into one of his finger. Then he checks the second.

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

-INCREASE STRENGTH BY 2.

‘Good’ Azief said. More strength. It will make his killing easier.

What Azief like is that the rings has no durability restriction or time restriction in the rings like weapons.

At least even if he keeps wearing it, it would not suddenly crack. But Azief think that it could be destroyed if it is attacked.

Azief also put the ring on his right hand finger.

Then he checks another. This one ring gives a dark luster and aura of power. Azief took it and examine it.

RING OF DARK SPIRIT.

RARE ITEMS. IT DEPENDS ON LUCK AND PERSEVERANCE. BY KILLING MANY MUTATED SAPIENS, THERE IS ONE IN A MILLION CHANCES THIS RING WILL APPEARS.

PART OF THE RANKING PROGRAM, IT ONLY HAS 100 IN EXISTENCE. ANYONE WHO HAS MADE THEMSELVES IN THE RANKING OF THE WORLD ORB IS ELIGIBLE TO GET A CHANCE IN OBTAINING THIS RING.

ADD 10 TO SPIRIT AND CAN BE ENHANCED WITH THE SOUL OF MUTATED SAPIENS UNTIL IT REACHED ITS LIMIT.

‘What the hell? Ten to spirit. You are too nice, World Orb! Too nice. HEHEHE’ Azief was about to scream.

10 Spirit. His spirit consumption problem has just been solved. Of course Azief equipped it too.

At least his spirit can be used at the same time he is using it to tame the badger. Not even one day pass and he still has 14 days before he has a reliable protector.

A tank. That is what Azief imagine.  A badger with an offensive power that sweeps everything.

And he will kill steal. After all the badger is his pet. There is no problem if he kill steal. Safe and protected while he reaps the benefits.

Then he checks the other two.

One of them is Ring of Speed which adds 1 to agility and another was another ring of minimal strength.

Azief equipped all of it into his right hand finger. Bling! Bling! He mused smiling, looking at his status.

NAME:            NOT YET GIVEN

GENDER:         MALE

LEVEL:                         17

CLASS:             NONE

STRENGTH:     18+6

AGILITY:          22+1

VITALITY:         9

STAMINA:       16+2

SPIRIT:             17+10

ENDURANCE: 10

EQUIPPED:      Mutated Sapiens Protective Glove

                        Storage Ring

Ring of Minimal Strength.

Ring of Minimal Strength.

Ring of Dark Spirit.

Ring of Speed

 

Then he checks the vials. He has 6 blue vials; each one restores 10 stamina, 2 red vials that restore 10 vitality and one green vials that restore spirits.

The golden coins are stored in the storage rings. Before he checks the items he decided to class up first.

Class up! He said in his mind.

YOU HAVE FULFILLED THE REQUIREMENT TO CLASS UP. THESE ARE THE OPTIONS. PLEASE CHOOSE CAREFULLY.

 And list of class appears. There is the generic one. Paladin, Knights, Warriors, Archers, Healers.

They can be chosen for infinite times. No matter who anyone can choose this class.

He is not trying to be a generic character. Even though the normal class is easy to obtain and has its own advantage he had already had a plan in his mind.

He will treat this like a game.

Then Azief tries to ask.

‘Is there any unique class or rare class? Or maybe even secret class?’

UNIQUE CLASS ACCESSED.

Then a list appears in front of Azief eyes and he reads the first five.

EARTH CONTROLLER

ICE SOVEREIGN

WEAPON LORD

BEAST KING

SHADOW LORD

His eyes look until the bottom. It was about a 300 unique class.

‘Variety of choice’ he said.

First Azief check Earth controller.

AFFINITY WITH NATURE. THOSE WHO IS EARTH CONTROLLER COULD CONTROL THE EARTH, HAVE POWER BESTOWED BY THE EARTH ITSELF.

CAN SENSE THING UNDERGROUND. ABILITIES MANIFESTED WILL BECOME STRONGER BY EACH SUCCESSIVE LEVELING.

REQUIRES 30 STRENGTH DURING CLASS UP. HALF OF AGILITY WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO STRENGTH.

30 strength! Azief is just 25 and that is because of his items buffs. Without it his strength is just 18.

30 strength! Anyone who has such stats could clearly just choke the stiff head to kill it.

Then he checks the others.

Ice Sovereign requires living in the Icy region. What a weird requirement. Most likely like Russia.

Maybe someone from Russia will chose this Azief mused. Or maybe anyone from the Antarctica? North Pole?

Then he checks the requirements for Weapon Lord

Weapon Lord requires comprehension in weapons. Martial Artist would be suitable for this, Azief thought to himself.

Beast King requires a pet. Azief still has two weeks before he got his first pet. How could he wait for the pet to be tamed before he class up?

Does anyone already have a pet at this point of time?

That would make his survival in jeopardy if he has to wait that long. Now. He wants to class up now. But he also wants a unique class.

From what he reads on the interface once the Unique class is chosen no one could chose it again. Unless the Chosen dies.

Those who chose the Unique Class is refer to as Chosen. This is not a term Azief make up; it is described in the explanation for unique class.

It means there are only 300 people in this world that will have unique class.

While being normal class also have its advantage, unique class is always better. Isn’t that always the case?

The rarer things are, usually they are more valuable. And most of the stories he reads about game in internet usually the protag always get a secret class or unique class.

Like that Wee-

Anyway, it’s just good. Sometimes you have to gamble. Then Azief look at Shadow Lord requirement.

SHADOW LORD

THE SOVEREIGN OF DARKNESS. THE SHADOW LORD WORKS IN DARKNESS AND HAVE THEIR POWER FROM DARKNESS.

THEY WORK IN THE SHADOWS, NIMBLE AND FAST. IN THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT THEIR POWER WILL UNSTOPPABLE.

REQUIRES 20 AGILITY DURING THE TIME OF CLASS UP. CHOOSING THIS CLASS WILL CONVERT HALF OF YOUR STRENGTH TO AGILITY.

Convert half! He is clearly shocked.

18 divided by 2 is 9.

That means I have to sacrifice my hard earned 9 stats points to get this class. Is it worth it? He asks himself.

Shadow Lord. The name seems domineering. But is it worth it? Everyone knows that strength is important and now it wants me to sacrifice it?

What if he chooses it and regrets his decision. I don’t think I can change my class after I chose it he mused.

Azief then check other classes but most of them have their own weird requirements. Some sacrifice agility for strength some convert vitality to spirit.

Azief even spotted Grand Priest Necromancer but the requirement is too harsh. Whoever choses it must have a great backup because all of the stats will be converted to spirit.

For the first few weeks, someone of warrior class must protect such figure until the Grand Necromancer gain power or level up and having some stats point.

If not the moment anyone choses the class they surely would be an easy prey for the zombies.

Then while Azief is thinking one entry disappeared. Earth Controller disappeared.

EARTH CONTROLLER HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY RAYMOND.

The voice of the World Orb echoes in his ears.

Then another entry disappears.

BEAST KING HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY BORIS.

Then another one. Then another one.  More and more is disappearing while Azief is anxious.

He didn’t even have time to choose and one by one the entry is disappearing. Right now there is only about 233 class left.

‘Ah fuck it! I chose Shadow Lord.’

Then another notification appears.

SHADOW LORD HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY NOT YET GIVEN

‘What!’ Azief said as he looks at the notification.

 His face flushed red. He is sure somewhere in the world someone is laughing at him.

After all since he could see the notification of other people choosing, won’t they also see his notification?

In USA, Raymond who just class up look at the notification chuckles.

‘What? Is that a noob? Not Yet Given! He still doesn’t name his character’ He is resting in abandoned building while classing up.

He was in New York to attend the Comic Con when the meteors fall and beast appears. He is using a mace.

He kills many of those zombies by relying on the stairs fighting it as a group with the people that follow this one man.

Raymond is following a man called Leonard. He has an arrow and support Raymond brilliantly.

So Raymond is raking on EXP right now and has already gained many items.

Leonard is the leader of the group while he is the second man. Leonard is of course has many more items then Raymond but he is injured right now, so Raymond is leading the group.

Leonard is one of the security guard at the convention. He helped the people to run to safety when the beast first attacks.

Raymond was given the responsibilities of handling the safety of the survivors because of his strength. It was because Raymond chose to specialize his talent.

Putting all his stats into only one category, sacrificing the others. At least in the beginning. But that is enough for him to gain respect among his group.

Raymond gives all his stats to strength since the beginning.

Even if he has low stamina that is ok. He is not fighting alone. There are others. Some have blades, some have guns.

Raymond is looking at the notification while chuckling.

Anyone playing a game usually knows that when you play any game the first thing to do is name your character.

Raymond got 5 starter stats for naming himself as Raymond. Even giving name give his stats. It is the reward from the World Orb.

But Raymond also found this Not Yet Given person is powerful even though he laughs at him.

Why?

Because even without the starter pack he got to class up and not just normal class up but Unique Class Up that means he is not a normal man.

In another part of the world, the road is painted white and red. The snow keeps falling, and the blood seeped under the snow.

Boris and Katarina in Russia have also just class up. They look at the name that is just floating in the announcement in their well protected bunker.

Boris and Katarina father work for the FSB and their grandfather too.  

Their grandfather and father prepare the bunker for the imminent nuclear threat during the Cold War.

Paranoid old fuck. But at least it has its uses. It’s not nuclear war but it’s good enough.

The moment Boris get level up when he killed a Snow Wolf, he immediately killed his father.

His face when he was stabbed repeatedly by Boris still remains as fond memories in Boris mind.

For all that his father has done to him and Katarina, Boris wanted to torture that decrepit old man.

But time does not allow for such things. He killed his father and left his body in the cold street, letting his father body rot.

At least if his father turns to zombie, he can kill him again and gain experience.

If not for his power isn’t sufficient for killing the beast near the city he would have brought his sister to Moscow.

The Army remnants has begun calling for survivors to join the New Army of Russia headed by Ranko.

It was led by Ranko one of the high level operatives for the KGB who survives the fall. Ranko quickly uses his subordinates to try to maintain control in Moscow.

There are some other ways to contact those in power. Moscow has fallen…..but not for long.

The New Army is trying to regain it back.

Electricity is down but certain transmission has other way. Boris who picked up some of his father training clearly recognizes the transmission and heard the announcement.

Killing the zombie, both Boris and Katarina has class up and now he is reading the announcement by the World Orb.

Boris just snorted while Katarina is chuckling, looking at the name Not Yet Given.

In Germany, Karl is just tending to his wound after killing a few stiffs. He was terrorizing some of the people who are in debt with his boss.

Karl is a low level thug in a crime organization. He was doing his usual job, threatening and blackmailing people when the fall happens.

He is holding his Barbed Stick, a sturdy iron bat and he just level to level 12 and has just found a safe zone.

He sees the name Not Yet Given and then realized he has the same name. It struck him.

Karl never plays any games but even he knows some games rules.

‘Name his character or I will make the same mistake like this idiot’ he said to himself.

At that moment Azief doesn’t know, but people who is classing Up in the Unique class sections is holding their laughter reading the announcement.

Azief on the other hand is embarrassed right now, his face is flushed red.

He finally understands why his status shows his name as Not Yet Given.

He still doesn’t name his character. If this is a game then this also follows the rule of the game.

Name your character.

Then as he is still reeling from the embarrassment, a light shone down and an item appear on his hand.

SHADOW LORD SET IS REWARDED

He then examines it one by one.

HOOD OF SHADOW LORD

-DECREASE THE CHANCE OF BEING DETECTED BY MONSTROUS BEAST AND MUTATED SAPIENS. INCREASE VITALITY BY 2

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

HIDDEN BLADE OF SHADOW LORD

ATTACK: 15-25

SNEAK ATTACK: 10-35

DURABILITY: 200/200

STORE AROUND THE WRIST AREA CONCEALED BY A HIDDEN COMPARTMENT UNDER THE CLOTHES.

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

SHARP SWORD

ATTACK: 15-25

SNEAK ATTACK: 10-30

DURABILITY: 220/220

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

VAMBRACES OF SHADOW LORD

-INCREASE ENDURANCE BY 6

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

CLOTHES OF SHADOW LORD

-CONSISTING OF AN UNDER TUNIC AND UPPER TUNIC. INCREASE VITALITY BY 10

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

TROUSER OF SHADOW LORDS.

INCREASE AGILITY BY 6

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

SHADOW LORD BOOTS

INCREASE AGILITY BY 5

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

BLACK SASH

INCREASE VITALITY BY 2

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

BLACK GLOVES

INCREASE STRENGTH BY 2. WEARING THE SAME PAIR WILL INCREASE STRENGTH BY 4.

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

Azief put them all down and look at these items. And he realizes something? Is Shadow Lord…..Assassin Creed?

Then he equipped all of them. He was about to check his new status but then it appears again.

The voice of the world Orb speaks again.

THE ITEMS OF THE SHADOW LORD HAS SPECIAL PROPERTIES.

IT COULD ABSORB THE SOULS OF BEAST, MUTATED SAPIENS AND HUMANS, STRENGTHENING ITS PROPERTIES.

ITEMS OF A SHADOW LORD CAN BE REFINED BY SOUL AND STRENGTHEN BY SOUL.

ALL OF THE UNIQUE CLASS HAS UNIQUE WEAPON AND EACH ONE HAS THEIR OWN WAY FOR REFINING THEIR WEAPONS.

AS ONE OF THE UNIQUE CLASS, CONGRATULATIONS FOR SURVIVING THE FIRST PHASE. TO COMPLETELY RETAIN THE UNIQUE CLASS, I, WORLD ORB WILL GIVE YOU A QUEST TO TEST YOUR ELIGIBILITY.

THIS QUEST IS AUTO GENERATED TO ANY OF THOSE THAT CHOOSES THE UNIQUE CLASS DEPENDING ON THEIR NATURE AND THREATS.

QUEST

DESTROY THE DEMONIC ERTHEN

The Demonic Erthen is a low level beast in the planet of Qarthan. They have acid spits, parasites that could live under the skins and strength that surpass the Homo sapiens. Defeat the beast to gain your class rewards.

TIME LIMIT: ONE MONTH

VICTORY CONDITION: KILLING THE DEMONIC ERTHEN

FAILURE CONDITION: FAILING TO KILL THE DEMONIC ERTHEN IN ONE MONTH

REWARD: UNIQUE SKILL OF SHADOW LORD

In the case of failure, the class of Shadow Lords will return back to the roster of Unique Class Up and all the experience collected during the tenure of having the power of Shadow Lord will be given to the next inheritor.

Then the images floated inside his mind.

‘It’s that damn alien.’ Azief cursed in his heart.

Azief reading this wanted to cough up blood

‘What the hell?’ Just when things are looking up! Now he has no choice but to fight that alien.

Damn you world Orb! he said in his heart.

*************************************************************************

11: CHAPTER 10: LORD SHADOW

Reeling from his anger to the World Orb, he is getting tired and he wants to sleep. But there are still a few things he needs to do.

He unequipped mutated sapiens glove and equipped the black gloves that have pair.

Then he checks his status

NAME             :           NOT YET GIVEN

GENDER          :           MALE

LEVEL              :           17

CLASS              :           SHADOW LORD

STRENGTH      :           9+8

AGILITY           :           31+12

VITALITY          :           9+14

STAMINA        :           16

SPIRIT              :           17+10

ENDURANCE   :           10+6

EQUIPPED       :           STORAGE RING

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF DARK SPIRIT.

RING OF SPEED

HOOD OF SHADOW LORD

HIDDEN BLADE OF SHADOW LORD

SHARP SWORD

VAMBRACES OF SHADOW LORD

CLOTHES OF SHADOW LORD

TROUSER OF SHADOW LORD

SHADOW LORD BOOTS

BLACK SASH

BLACK GLOVES

Ah name! He remembers.

The quest will have to postpone until later. He is still too weak. And he needs more strength. Agility is good and all, but strength is undoubtedly is equally important.

For now a name.

Then he remembers the notification. It display the chosen name. Then that means he could also choose another name.

It doesn’t mean he has to choose his real name.

Shadow Lord. Lord Shadow. It’s simple. It’s powerful. It sound like a good name and who says anyone has to name themselves the same name.

Azief never liked his name. There is a story of how he got his name.

‘I want to name myself’ and a voice sounded out

‘What is your name?’

‘Lord Shadow’

There was a silence for a while then the voice rings out in his ear.

‘Lord Shadow is registered. Congratulation for taking a name. As reward for completing this task, The World Orb will grant you 5 additional stats point.’

Then the voice disappears

5 additional stats points! Azief sighed in regret.

He should have named his character earlier. He might even survive the initial attack and maybe right now far away from Joy Park if he knows about this.

This World Orb is really annoying. It never told you everything. You have to found it by yourself. What a shitty game!

But at least he knows now where to spend these points. He just lost half of his strength. IF not for his item his strength could not be compared to before.

‘All to strength’ he decided unhesitatingly

And he feel stronger his muscle contracts and certain muscle is formed inside his body. A 4 pack? Something like that

But his strength still pales in comparison then before.

Anyway this is not yet time to rest. One last task. The skill books.7 of them. He smiles in glee imagining the power he would get.

He checks the first book.

SKILL BOOK: BODY FORTIFICATION

PASSIVE SKILLS. PERMANENTLY INCREASE ENDURANCE BY 2. AT LEVEL 20 IT WILL INCREASE BY 2 AGAIN.

AND THEN AT 30.UNTIL LEVEL 40.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

‘Yes’ Azief said and the book disappeared and his body feels stronger. A passive skill. That is what Azief need.

It doesn’t cost SP and enhances his stats.

One down six to go. He checks another one.

SKILL BOOK: HEAL

YOU CAN HEAL ABOUT 5 VITALITY POINTS FOR EACH USE. ACTIVATING COST 10 SP. COOL DOWN FOR 30 SECONDS.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

‘Yes’ Healing. Now at least my vitality can be healed by myself though it sacrifices SP a bit. And like before the book disappears and the information flows into his mind.

5 to go. Hope something more useful.

SKILL BOOK: BEAST TAMER

YOU CAN TAME THE WORLD ORB BEAST. TO TAME A BEAST, USE THE SKILL ON ONE OF THE BEAST AND KEEP HIM FOR THE INDICATED TIME TO TAME THE BEAST INSIDE THE BEAST PORTAL. ACTIVATING BEAST PORTAL REQUIRE 10 SP FOR EACH HOUR. THE COOL DOWN DEPENDED ON THE BEAST TAMED.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

Wait! Isn’t this Beast tamer? He already learned this before. Azief was about to try another but then a thought struck on him.

Why did the same book allows me to learn it again?

‘Yes’ Azief said curios of the results.

Then a ting sound can be heard inside his mind.

SKILL BOOK: BEAST TAMER LEVEL 02

YOU CAN TAME THE WORLD ORB BEAST. TO TAME A BEAST, USE THE SKILL ON ONE OF THE BEAST AND KEEP HIM FOR THE INDICATED TIME TO TAME THE BEAST INSIDE THE BEAST PORTAL.

ACTIVATING BEAST PORTAL REQUIRE 5 SP FOR EACH HOUR. THE COOL DOWN DEPENDED ON THE BEAST TAMED.

TAMING TIME: 1 WEEK

‘Hoh! It upgraded my taming time. It even reduces the SP used for taming.’ So, to upgrade skills you have to find the same book again.

A new discovery!

‘So, that is the way to level up skills. Or maybe there is another way.. Hmm. Azief is glad with the discovery he found.

4 more. Hope another beast tamer book. One week is reduced just by leveling to next level. If another one appears. Then maybe today I will have my own pet.

He looks at the next skill book with expectation.

SKILL BOOK: PRECISION

PASSIVE SKILL. HELP INCREASE YOUR ACCURACY. ATTAIN MINIMUM CAPABILITY OF AIMING THROWN PROJECTILES.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

‘Yes.’ Azief said listlessly. You can’t have everything. But precision is also good. After all if he has flying projectiles this passive skill will really help.

3 more. And this time.

Yes, an attacking skill.

SKILL: SLASHING WIND

ACTIVE SKILL. PRODUCED A SLASHING ENERGY DIRECTED AT YOUR OPPONENT. INCREASE YOUR STRENGTH BY 5 AND AGILITY BY 2 DURING ACTIVATION. LAST FOR 5 MINUTES

ACTIVATION COST: 15 SP

COOL DOWN: 10 MINUTE

Strength by 5. That would be an explosive power if released at the right moment. Azief mused, imaging himself fighting in a desperate battle and suddenly using this skill, taking his enemies completely off guard with his burst of energy.

There is still 2 more skill books.

SKILL BOOK: PERCEPTION

PASSIVE SKILL. COULD DETECT MUTATED SAPIENS WITHIN A DISTANCE OF A 100 METER. WILL FEEL A DISTURBANCE ONLY YOU CAN FEEL

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

‘Yes.’ Azief said. This would be useful.

1 more.

SKILL BOOK : LIGHT STEPS

PASSIVE SKILL. INCREASE AGILITY BY 5. A VERY FAST MOVING SKILL MAKING YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE RIDING THE WIND.

USEFUL IN GETTING AWAY, IN JUMPING AND RUNNING. MAKING YOUR BODY LIGHTER LIKE THE CLOUDS, FAST LIKE THE WINDS.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THIS SKILL?

‘Of course yes’ Azief said. Agility 5. Even with his current agility he is fast like an Olympic athlete.

Another five stats to his agility. Wouldn’t he run as fast as a car now, or at least comparable to a car?

Even the stiff would be left eating the dust if they decide to chase him.

Thinking about it, Azief might have underestimated the usefulness of agility. After all, if there is Superman then there is Flash.

Strength or speed? Having even one of them raised to the peak can also make someone very powerful.

The moment he said yes, the book disappeared and his feet feel lighter.

‘Now it’s done.’ He looks at the variety of items on the bed and stores all of it inside his storage rings.

There were boots, some blades, gloves and clothes. Azief intend to arm Tan tomorrow. With his speed, Azief is confident to outrun the stiff even when he is by himself.

Combined that with his strength as long he does not met some high level beast, he will be safe.

The quest also has one month expiration date.

It is enough for him to return to his home and then came back to fight the aliens. He knows without the unique class he could not be anyone in this chaotic world.

But that is a story for tomorrow he mused. Now he wants to sleep.

He unequipped all of his clothes and sleep half naked. It is hot and he could not stand it. And the process is equipping is easy.

Just think of it like Erza equipping herself with armours.

Crashing his body to the comfortable puffy bed he immediately went to sleep after just five minutes.

Outside the zombies are still prowling the street, searching for any signs of life. Only Azief probably get a good night sleep that night.

And the moon slowly gets clouded by the clouds as darkness falls.

*********************************************************************

12: CHAPTER 11: THE OUTSIDE WORLD

That morning Azief woke up at 6. He always woke up at 6. Habits. The outside is still dark. The sun has not yet dawned.

He rubbed his eyes.

He almost thought he was dreaming yesterday with all the gore he witnessed, and killings, and then when he looks at his surrounding he knows this is not his house.

It’s not his room. It’s not his place. And it is certainly not his bed. He sighed and the first thing he uttered when he woke up.

‘Shit’

‘Yesterday was not a dream.’ He said. The stiffs, the aliens, the monstrous beast, all of it were not in his dreams or imaginations.

The world ended yesterday. That is what he thought to himself. The world as they know it has ended.

And a new world begins today.

He wanted to lay his body right back to bed but he can’t when he remembers there is still a threat near him.

Even though most of the stiffs here just patrol with aimless walking and has low intelligence, Azief don’t know if something new is going to happen.

Something new means something he doesn’t know. And he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like not knowing.

 Especially when such ignorance could lead him straight to the jaws of death. And he prefers to see Death when he is ready, old and decrepit; living in a house beside a beautiful lake, with a woman he loves.

Die of old age. That is what he wants. He doesn’t want to die of illnesses, of gory accidents, or drugs.

He wants to die the natural way, of boredness of life. I live again today he mused. Even better, die while having sex.

He laughed a little at his unreasonable musing.

Today will be a heck of a day. He knows this is in his heart. Today he will begin his plan.

So, he got up and equipped all his armour. He looks almost like Altair in Assassin Creed. The only difference is the difference in colors of the attire and the black aura enveloping him.

It was small and barely detectible. Still, there is that aura.

Then he looks outside the window from his bed. The second floor really does give quite the view to the outside scenery, which is full with corpse, and walking corpse.

Azief could see all the prowling stiffs…..walking aimlessly…and groaning. Most of them are far away from the house.

Azief perception then envelope the radius of 100 meter.

Nothing dangerous Azief mused.

‘Good’ he said. At least he knows that his passive skills are useful in detecting enemies.

Now he is getting ready. First target. Food. The Mall. With the rings he surely could store many things.

He’s going to raid the crap out of the Mall. Canned food, first aid kit, medicines if there is any, everything useful.

But to do this efficiently he needs to have a helper. This is where Tan come in.

He opens the door and went down the stairs. He look around the sofa near the living room. Tan was there, sleeping peacefully on the couch.

Azief approach the sofa and move him.

‘Wha-‘ and  the moment Tan recognize Azief he quickly regain his composure.

‘Azief. You scared me. I thought it was the zombies. I thought they have breached my house’

‘No, they did not. I would have noticed and you would have been dead. Get up. We’re going to move.’

‘Yes.’ Tan said bitterly. Azief is clearly not respecting him even a bit.

Both of them clean their faces and then getting ready. Tan brought his bag. It was big but not too big that it would hinder him from running and it has back support.

They were in the front door and Azief has to say something before they venture outside. It was important so Tan understand what they will be doing outside.

‘Tan listen to me. Do you know where we are going?’ And Tan who was behind Azief stopped and said

‘The mall.’

‘Yes. Here is what I want you to do. You will store food, drinks, anything useful. Don’t pick up anything not useful. That is your job. Pick up canned food, snacks, chocolate bars, aid kits anything in your mind that you deemed useful for our survival.

Tan nodded.

‘Now I want to know. What level you are and what are your highest stats, and your World Orb item?’

Tan reply honestly.

‘I’m level 01, and my highest stat’s is Spirit and my weapon is a staff.’ He said

‘Did you bring the staff with you?’ Azief said seeing there is no staff near Tan. Not in his hand and not on his back.

‘No.’ he said

‘Where is it?’ Azief asked

‘At the kitchen.’ Tan pointed to a staff disguised as a broomstick. No, it is not a broomstick but at least that is what Azief thought last night when he was woken up at 3 am.

‘Go bring it’ Tan went into the kitchen and bring the staff. Arriving in front of him Azief then quickly say

‘Now I want you to also level up when we went outside‘ Hearing this Tan face turns pale.

‘But I’m afraid of the zombies.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll weaken them enough. You need to gain some power if you want to survive. If you become a dead weight I’ll leave you. It’s that simple.’

‘You…wouldn’t do that would you?’ Tan said his voice is trembling. Could this young man have the heart to leave him being eaten by the zombies?

The answer would be yes. Azief don’t know Tan.

He doesn’t even owe anything to him. If he is a dead weight and only hinder Azief survival, then Azief would leave him in a heartbeat.

After all if he could not benefit from having Tan on his group then what function does Tan serve. Mascot?

Tan is not cute and he certainly not beautiful and Azief hate mascot. Especially if the mascot is cute and cuddly.

He hated them with a passion of a thousand burning suns.

He is helping Tan precisely because Tan could help him and vice versa. Tan wanted his strength; Azief wanted someone who could at least store items.

He did not ask much. And if Tan level up, it is not only good for Azief it will also be good for Tan.

His chance of survival will also be higher. Then Azief answer after musing all of this in his mind.

‘I would.’ Hearing this Tan face turned pale but then a face of determination appears on his faced.

He understands the world today is different than the world yesterday. If you are useless you will be thrown away.

So he makes a decision lightning fast.

‘Then what is it I have to do?’ Tan asked, his eyes shows determination. Azief seeing the middle aged man have such determination is delighted.

After all if possible even he does not want to needlessly being cruel to people. The world may have changed but he is not.

After all the world has only changed for one day. There is still sanity in Azief mind and many other people that survives the first impact of the world changing phenomena.

This might change later but for now, he is still him from yesterday.  Some parts of the world right now are of course inhabited by both crazies and sane people.

But who will triumph? The strongest, the smartest, the most resourceful of the human race. Whether it is evil men or good men, these qualities will become their weapons.

And sometimes the luckiest.

Azief could be categorized as one of the lucky people who survive the first impact armed only by luck.

He is twisted a bit, have certain dark fantasies but even he have certain lines that he would not cross.

Don’t rape people. Don’t fuck little children. And don’t fuck little children. See, how he just repeated the same restriction.

It’s that important. Don’t kill is not one of them. They are not many restrictions in his life. Oh, and no smoking. It’s more like a restriction towards other rather than to himself.

Azief has always hated the smell. He could tolerate people smoking. After all that is their damn freedom.

If they wanted to die of lung cancer, a blackened lung at the end of the autopsy table, at the age of 36, that is their right.

Most of his friends are smokers. But having that fucking smoke being blown to his fucking face or even his clothes feels like someone stood on a chair and pissed on his head.

But if he needs to kill, at least it would make his heart lighter if the one he killed deserve it. That two lines, is one line he would never break.

First because he doesn’t like to force people to have sex with him. It’s disgusting and really degrading.

The second is because he has little sister and brothers. What sick people would have sex relation with a child not even of age?

No matter how the world changes, Azief will never broke these two lines. Then Azief look back at Tan and said

‘Easy. Don’t be a dead weight.’

‘But I’m afraid of the zombies and I’m weak. Being afraid I could handle. But I’m also weak. Bravery is not enough. I don’t want to be eaten or bitten. I see enough people being brave …..and they all die in scream’

Azief nodded in understanding. Azief too was lucky. If not he too might be walking aimlessly…groaning in the street like the other stiffs.

If not for his luck, and his gamble, maybe he will not be as confident as Tan. It is because Azief has fought the zombies and won that make him have this confidence.

Strength breeds confidence.

He of course understands the fear in Tan hearts. He too was fearful before. But it is because of that fear that he ran away from Ah Seng shop and keeps moving.

Because if he did not have that fear in his heart, he will not survive. Fear is good. Fear keeps him alive.

Then Azief said smiling at Tan

‘I will not let you go to the frontline without any backup. Here are some items that will help you.’ Azief open his palm and light flashes inside the living room and a variety of items appears.

‘Equip all of them.’ Tan took it, examined it and equipped a robe, a knife, a boot and a glove.

The robe helps him to avoid infection from level 10 to 15. Azief does not have such robe but somehow he believes that his Shadow Lord Set is capable of enduring infection.

He checks it when he was startled at 3 am because of the shrieking of some beast. He woke up and for about 15 minutes Azief look from the second floor.

It was at this time, he realizes something about his attires. It was fairly happenstance.

He notices that the Shadow Lord attire has special properties. He checks the robe and found some golden thread.

When examines, it shows that anything that is not level 5 higher than his current level could not infect him.

It is one of the perks choosing unique class. After 15 minutes of stakeout, Azief returns to sleep and woke up at 6.

But then this also means that other unique class might have the same abilities or maybe an entirely different material.

Then Azief said to Tan after Tan has equipped all the equipment.

‘Now here is another thing I need you to understand. I am the main attack, the cavalry and you are the support. So, when you level up I want you to invest in spirit. When you reach level 10, quickly class up and chose healer profession. If you can promise me this, then I promise I will do my best not to ditch you.’

Tan just smiles bitterly. Does he even have a choice? But he is not that too bitter. After all he is just a healer. He knows of course what it means.

Tan is a middle aged man but it’s not like he live under a rock all this time. He of course plays a few online games.

He knows what healer is. He kind of like being the support. At least he will not fight in the front line.

‘I agree.’ Tan said. Azief nodded.

‘Ok, so here is the plan. In the elementary school there is a beast. From what I see he is the boss around here. Most of the other beast has moved to other places maybe making their own place in other regions or states. Anyway they are not our problem. Here most of them are only stiffs’

‘You mean zombies?’ Tan said. Azief rolled his eyes and said

‘I mean stiffs. They are slow, most of them weak, and stupid. But maybe they will evolve. If we can rise in level maybe zombie could too. Either way, they are our main enemies right now.’

‘So what’s the plan against that?’

‘The plan is to level up. I think near the mall there will be many more stiffs waiting for us there. I might be powerful against these stiffs but against a horde? I can’t win in such situations. So here is what I propose. A cleaning up operation. For today we will not raid the mall yet. It’s too dangerous and stupid. We level up first, strengthen ourselves and then we raid the mall.’

‘I thought you said to me that will raid the mall today?’ Tan asked in confusion. He heard that Azief was planning to raid the mall yesterday.

‘Change of plans.’ Azief said. He changed the plans when he looks outside a few moments ago.

His eyes have become clear and his sense is also more sensitive than before.

He might have been too rash and optimistic. Thinking about it Temerloh has quite a population.

It’s not as big as the big cities but it is still a lot. And there might even be some survivors. Maybe Azief should strengthen himself first.

Tan just shakes his head. Even though Azief changes his plan in a drop of a hat, he does not have any choice but to comply. To go outside alone would surely spell his doom.

‘And how do you suppose we do that?’ Tan asked

 Worried but already have accepted his role.

‘By killing them of course. Look, this residential area is filled with back alley and narrow roads. It is the perfect setup to trap and kill them.’

‘But I’m not like you.’ Tan said pointing the obvious

‘I know. Here how it’s going to go. I will cut the stiffs hands and feet and you smash it with your staff. Deprive them of feet and hand and they are easy prey for you. Sooner or later a skill book will appear. If it’s a sword skills, or body technique you concede it to me. If its magic or healing skills, I will concede it to you. How about it?

Tan just nodded.

‘Good, now we go out.’

They open the door and the outside is still dark. He could see a few zombies a few meters from them, still walking not realizing that inside the high walls and decoration bushes two living man is walking in the city of the dead.

‘Here we go’ Azief said and he smiles.

***********************************************************************

13: CHAPTER 12: FOR TOMORROW

Outside they walk near the alley. They are searching for zombies. Tan is still pale when they had to face five zombies before they reach here.

The wind carries the smell of rotten flesh.

And it was nauseating…..for both Azief and Tan.

Tan even puked once when he encounters a very gruesome five year old zombie with maggots poking in a hole which appears to be where the brain was.

Wriggling and sticky in the child zombie head, while the boy try to approach near him. Azief slices the boy head like slicing paper, one slice and it’s done.

And then they face with the five zombies which hinder their path on circling the residential area.

But it was at that time Tan  look at the lightning sped fast reflexes of Azief. Azief moved past the five zombies like water, slicing them like slicing a piece of paper, heads fly in seconds.

It is thanks to Azief that their relatively short journey is safe and secure. If he is alone, tan didn’t think he will made it past the second house before he is dead.

Then Azief perked up and brought Tan to another location.

‘That is another stiff.’ Azief spotted a zombie walking with three of his zombie friends in the back alley.

Azief pointed the zombies to Tan

‘Prepare yourselves Tan. I’m going to attack them. Whatever you do don’t scream’ Tan nodded.

The last time he screams he attracted 10 zombies. If not for Azief dispatching the zombies head, Tan would already be dead.

Even at that time Azief was sweating.

Not because of the 10 zombies but because of the fear. Fear that the ten zombies would then attract more zombies.

And more zombies.

What Azief fears from the zombies has always been their horde. Fighting A lone zombie, he is invincible. Thousands of them? Even he would be overwhelmed. He is not a one man army.

Thinking of this Tan is startled when he hears the sound of Azief dashing from his initial position.

Azief has begun his attack.

Azief dash forward and it was like he was the wind itself, arriving just a few meters from the zombies and with one slice, one of the zombie arms flown away to the nearby drain.

Another zombie went forward and tries to attack Azief. Azief crouch downward with lighting speed, slicing the zombie legs and it was cut clean off. 

Comparing the speed of Azief and the zombie is like comparing an oxcart and an F1 race car.

It is incomparable. Of course this comparison make sense because of the zombie slow reaction time.

Azief then jumped from his position, taking some distance from the stiffs.

‘Come on Tan. Hurry up and kill these suckers’

Tan also come forward steeling himself and smash the zombie with his staff. Brain matter exploded and one of the vilest smells enter both of the men nostrils.

Azief was about to puke smelling such travesty to any senses it came towards. Not to mention Tan.

Combined that with seeing the zombies maggoty face, and the holes in their body which shows Azief and Tan of what is happening inside the zombie bodies, Azief become faster in dispatching them.

The three zombies are made quick work by Azief and Tan. Then they retreated. This is Azief plans.

To find isolated zombies and defeat them.

‘Did you level up?’ Azief said when they reach at a safe place. They were in somebody house.

There were one zombie inside the house but Azief quickly dispatch the zombies when he first enters.

The body is ten covered with one of the blankets in the house. After throwing the head outside, there is no threat from the headless corpse anymore.

At least that is what Azief believe and there is nothing that he sees that challenge that belief.

Before Azief cover up the body of the poor man, he did have time to examine the body.

From the looks of it the zombies have wound on his feet. The man must have got bitten and then return back to his house. Azief mused

‘I level up to 4.’ Tan said when he has clean himself with tap water in the house. Azief get up from his leaning and said.

‘Good, let see our loot.’ Tan shows the loot to Azief.

‘We got a few vials. Some for stamina, some for health, some for spirit.’ Tan summarized their loots details.

Azief nodded in satisfaction.

‘That is okay. That’s good.’ Azief said. Azief take the stamina, health vials while spirit is all given to Tan.  

‘So what now, Azief?’ Tan asked

‘We keep going. We level up some more. Tomorrow we will go raid the mall. If you level up higher, tomorrow will be easier.’

Tan nodded. They then went out and hunt some more zombies determined to clean up the zombies around the base of their operations.

They did this for the remainder of the evening. And by the time it reaches almost night, Azief has level up to 19.

Both of these four points from his two level up is given to his stamina. Now Azief stamina is 20. He rarely gets tired now and his stamina drains slowly.

Tan has almost reached level 10. Tan has learned Heal and Stamina Drain. Both of that technique is envied by Azief.

Azief also has a theory that the reward correspond to whoever killed it and chose the reward based on the difficulties of the killing and the nature of the people who killed it.

Of course he doesn’t have anything to back that up. It remains his opinion. But still he envies Tan skills.

Stamina drain makes sure that Tan rarely has problem with his stamina and rarely Tan has to drink the vials.

While Heal is the same as Azief skills, clearly Tan has many more points on SP then Azief. Not to mention Azief is also using it to tame his pet.

They are now in another house. They decided this is where they are going to stay the night.

They killed about 70 zombies today. Azief also discovers that if he wounded some of the zombies before Tan do the finishing moves, they both shared the experience.

Azief even tested this in a zombie by guessing how many zombies Tan needs to kill to level up.

And he is sure of this. A party system Azief mused. Right now they are resting. They are drinking water. After all the battle both men were exhausted and thirsty.

Inside Azief ring is countless supplies, and water is a necessity.

‘How is your ring?’ Azief asked.

One of the zombies he killed before, dropped a storage rings. This one Azief gives to Tan. Tan is now capable to kill a zombie by himself.

But they still move in a group. Until now they did not see any survivors yet. During their wandering in this residential area, they also noticed many zombies are camping out in front of the mall.

The mall was closed. And the zombies prowls nears it. Azief feels something weird. Usually if the zombies detect nothing they would leave the area.

Could there be survivors in the mall? He thought to himself. It would be a perfect hiding place.

It has supplies, it has food, it has everything. If someone hiding in there, they could last for months, if not years.

Of course that is if the zombie doesn’t manage to break through. If they did, then it will be a nightmare.

Both Tan and Azief made a decision, to check that place out tomorrow.

Still, if there are too many zombies there and the people inside do not want to open the mall, how could Azief enters?

Hmm. Should he break the door? With his strength right now, Azief feel breaking down iron steel is not that hard.

Maybe they blockade the entrance with furniture’s or heavy things. Maybe I sh-

‘The ring is good’ Tan answers and Azief finally came back to where he is standing. He is always lost in his own thoughts.

‘I store all the supplies on my ring now.’

‘Good.’ Azief nodded.

‘Will we continue?’ Tan asked. Azief look outside from the windows and shakes his head. Night is approaching.

‘In night my vision is not that clear and I think the zombies are stronger at night.’

‘So, will we stay at this house tonight?’ Azief nodded and then he ordered Tan.

‘Board the front door, and the back door, make sure nothing like rats or bats is inside the house. I don’t want to get bitten when I’m asleep.’

Tan nodded and he moved back to do what Azief orders him to do.

By now, it is clear that Azief is the leader in this duo. Tan might be older but Azief is stronger. Not to mention he gives Tan item generously.

One day of fighting zombies could create a feeling of familiarity and that is what is happening.

It also helps that Azief is strong. To Tan eyes, Azief was his get-out-of-zombie hell ticket. Young, strong and powerful.

Tan could only sigh in envy.

In his mind, Azief probably get his power by bravely attacking the beast when it first appears.

Contrary to Tan expectation, Azief was like him.

He was fearful, and he too hides in a shop, just like Tan hide in his house. The difference is that Azief was lucky.

In all of his life, Azief is never that lucky. It was the first time and if not for that luck, Azief will not be as powerful as he is now.

On the other hand, Azief just finished his bed. Azief look outside the window and heave a sigh of relief.

Today with his strength and Tan support Azief is becoming more confident that the zombies pose no threat to him anymore.

Speed, strength, endurance each one eclipse the zombies. They are nothing but paper when sliced by Azief sword.

Smiling contently he closes the windows. Outside unbeknown to him a creature resembling a cat is prowling and its nose just smells its prey.

*************************************************************************

14: CHAPTER 13: REMINISCING OF HER, IN A COLD NIGHT, WHILE THE WIND BLOWS SOFTLY.

NIGHT

Azief and Tan take turns guarding the house. The house was one story house and it does not have the security like Tan previous home.

Neither could Azief look from a high position like in Tan house but he has to make do with the cards he has been given.

It doesn’t have high walls or stone walls, like Tan house.

So, they take turns guarding it. It is now Tan turns. Tan look outside, sighing in relief. He survives another day in this new world.

He is also happy that he has reached quite high level.

Even though he is middle aged when he level up he could feel his body getting stronger.

From what Azief told him at level 10 he could class up. He had to thank Azief. If not he might have stay inside the house all the time waiting for the inevitable moment.

Tan took up his wallet and he opens it. In his wallet is a picture of a woman wearing a cheongsam. Seeing it he smiles a bitter smile.

The woman is the woman he loves. He….did not marry her. Both of their family objects to the marriage.

He then married his wife, and every day was unhappy. He married Joyce because Joyce was his father ideal candidates. Rich and come from a respectable family.

The world has turned to hell. And if he could only see her again…..that would be a miracle. Tan never knew where she goes, after he broke her heart.

Reminiscing of her, in a cold night, while the wind blows softly.

‘Right now you must be as old as me’ He said, reminiscing their childhood playing near the Pahang River.

He still remembers riding the boat to go to the city. He remembered the mango tree where he carved his name and hers.

He remembers the mischief they did.

He remembers it all, and each memory haunt him. People always say that to live a fulfilled life is to live with no regrets.

He has many regrets. But if anyone asks him about his greatest regret it would be his decision to leave her.

Since that day, he never truly felt content. There was something missing. That missing part was with her. He smiles bitterly and closes his wallet.

A what if? If he survives his hell, Tan is determined to search her again. This time, he will not regret. Tan then look back outside.

The outside was quiet and dark.

Tonight the moon is covered by the clouds and only silence, groaning of the walking corpse and the whispers of the wind accompany Tan as he look out.

A chill in the air with the smell of death.

Then Tan spotted something…something moving. It was fast and it was big. Tan heart almost leaps up.

Tan was about to wake Azief up but Azief has already waked up. Azief was taking a light nap for a while and his passive skills perception senses something.

Azief felt a tingle and he wake up immediately. He unsheathes his sword and stand at the ready.

Tan look at Azief and nodded.

‘Is there something?’ Azief said almost a whisper. Tan nodded.

‘What is it?’

‘I can’t see. Too dark and too fast.’ Azief nodded and he too looks outside. Around the house the zombie was cleared out.

But the other part of the residential area still has some remnants of strays zombies. Could it be there another beast?

Then suddenly something landed in the house roof and the sound was clanging. The house only has zinc roof not stone roof.

This time both Azief and Tan is in high alert.

‘Prepare to fight’ Azief said as he gripped his blade. This is not a zombie he mused. It is something else.

Then the roof gave out and with a booming sound something landed on the floor making the cement floor cracked by its weight.

When the dust settles the first thing Azief see was the big yellow eyes, shining in the darkness and slowly Azief eyes is accustomed to the dark and seeing in front of him a giant cat with fangs like the saber tooth in the prehistoric era.

 It has sharp barbed claws, and vicious looking eyes.

There is a bulge in its forehead. It looks at Azief and Tan like they were its meal.

‘Get behind me!’ Azief said to Tan urgently.

Not a moment Azief said that the beast leap and tries to claw Tan. Azief with his speed dash forward and using his sword clash with the claws.

The clanging sounds sparks fire, lighting the house for a second.

It was powerful and overbearing, the pressure of the claws bearing down on him. The ground on where Azief is standing cracked and Azief almost coughed up blood.

Azief then push the beast away.

It makes Azief back away for 10 steps. And his vitality almost decreases by half.

‘Heal me!’ Azief ordered Tan.

Tan quickly activate his skill and heal Azief. The beasts who look at Tan change his gaze towards Azief.

Then it roars, like a howling of the wolf to the moon. The whole house vibrates.

Should I run? Azief mused. No he thought.

Considering that even I could not see it movement, if I run I might become an easy prey.

Its agility must be off the charts. I can’t outrun it. It is good that the beast is trapped inside the house.

He must go on the offense.

This time Azief takes the initiative dashing forward with his feet, and appear inside the beast range of attacks but thanks to Azief own agility he managed to keep himself afloat in the barrage of attacks by the beast.

The claws of the beast nearly swipe Azief head but Azief is determined to kill the beast.

If not his survival is jeopardized. He could run but he is sure the beast would be faster than him.

If he fights the beast at an open place, he might not have a chance.

Each claws strikes make a dent at the house walls, and claw marks is scratched on the wall revealing the cements.

Then Azief lost a step when he was dodging and one of the beast claws swipe Azief arms.

‘AAAAHHHH!’ Azief scream in pain, blood drenched his shirt, red liquid drips from his arm. Claw marks in in Azief arms.

The pain is indescribable; chunk of meat was removed from his arm. One could not imagine such pain unless they experience it themselves.

Tan on the back is trembling, and dropped down his knees on the floor of the house.

‘STOP LOOKING DAZED! HEAL ME TAN!’ Azief yelled in his pain.

Tan who is screamed back to sanity, quickly get up and cast heal on Azief and Azief feels his wound is closing up.

The chunk of meat that has been swiped is forming itself. This is truly magic Azief mused. To even restore meat.

He could heal himself but that will distract him from the beast attacks. He could not afford to take the beast halfheartedly.

The beast did not stop its attack.

Even though the house is small and give little room for the beast to attack, the beast still manage to wound Azief who has quite the agility.

The house was a mess with claw marks decorating the house, the wall is just barely hanging on.

But at least this time Azief has understand it’s attack pattern. In game the boss always has a pattern.

Some when in desperate situation will use combo attacks, some have programmed patterns.

And the beast also has certain patterns.

It always swipes its claws at right, right and then left. It sometime change the direction of these attacks but with Azief agility he could predict it now.

The counterattack begins.

Azief this time distance himself away from the beast and when the beast moves towards him Azief use his hidden blade and throw it lightning fast.

The hidden blade entered the beast flesh near its hind legs.

Yes! He celebrated in his heart

And Azief take another distance and is now outside the house. Before he is not confident of fighting the beast in the open but now he is.

The beast in injured. He has certain advantage in this.

His heart is beating hard; his concentration is pushed to the utmost. This is the most concentrated state he has ever been in his life.

Even in exams he was not this concentrated.

This is a life and death battle. One mistake and he is done. His brain is pushing his limits, urging him to survive, to overcome this obstacle towards its survival.

He look at the beast, analyzing its strength, its weakness, analyzing everything his eyes could see, and praying that his eyes did not miss anything.

Blood is flowing from the beast legs and it limps. Its leg are its weapons. Dismantle that, and his speed is not that frightening.

Tan on the back is providing heal. Every time Azief is in a pickle Tan will cast heal while conserving his SP when Azief dodging the attacks.

This is his advantage. The beast could not heal himself and there is no one would heal it.

The beast on the other hand is more incensed by the attack. Blood thirst surged inside the beast.

It wants to eat this homo sapiens badly. It then lunged with ferociousness and it roars with deafening sounds.

The roar could be heard 3 kilometers from all directions. The zombies near the gas stations, near the mall, near the elementary schools all heard the roar and begun walking .

The horde has started to move toward the roar, leaving the mall.

*******************************************************************

MEANWHILE IN THE MALL

A woman who is peeking from one of the windows that was boarded up, look in confusion as she sees the retreating zombies from the mall.

What happened? she mused to herself, while racking her brains out on how to survive. In her hand is a bow.

She looks outside and only a few zombies is prowling near the area.

‘I have to gamble’ the woman decide. She waited for the horde to go.

And then she moved outside, the sound of her opening the steel opening, attract the attention of the few zombies who was there.

They walked slowly to the sound. But the woman was prepared for it and she was ready for it.

 Her hands holding the bow like a professional athlete and the first shot is fired to one of the zombies with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the zombies straight at his head, piercing the zombies head.

And her attack continues, and sometimes she could hear mid shooting the roar of certain beast not far away from her vicinity.

Each roar fills her heart with nervousness.

But she is focused at the task at hands. After she kills a few of them she close the door again (tell me if anyone know what is the steel door in the mall is called so I could correct this sentence) and wait for an opportune moment again.

All the while she thinks of the roar.

What happened?

*************************************************************************

15: CHAPTER 14: MOONLIGHT IN THE CITY

The beast wants to kill Azief.

It want to eat and ripped the homo sapiens to shreds. Its anger is uncontained, hurt by a mere sapiens.

Azief also sense the beast anger towards him but that work to its advantage. At least that is what he thought until he remembered again he is not dealing with a human.

Human in anger will slip up and open up openings because of their chaotic state of mind. But not for animals. And certainly not for an alien animals.

He need to take some distance first as he sees the beast become even more stronger, his paw strikes is accompanied with a swooshing sound and the air almost look distorted.

Azief jumped leaping the walls of the neighbor house while the beast pounces on the walls of the neighbor house cracking the pillars of the small stone house.

Another strike and the walks crumble.

Azief feels alarms are ringing off in his heart.

‘Fuck! The beast only keeps getting stronger! Fuck this logic!’ Azief could not help but curse seeing the strength of the beast.

Then Azief take some distance again leaping to another house while Tan maintain a considerable distance from the beasts but near Azief so that he could cast heal if the circumstances allows it.

But the beast is not using only its paws this time. It also uses his tail this time, determine to destroy these humans.

This time the beast began using his tail and tries to whip it to Azief. It was fast, and it was powerful.

Azief was caught unprepared by this attack from the beast tail and was thrown back five meters destroying another neighbor house walls.

It was like someone throws a sledgehammer to his body.

Blood drenched from Azief mouth because of the internal injuries. A few of his bones is broken and the pain is unimaginable.

This is the worse conditions Azief have ever experienced in all of his life.

‘Wait for me!’ Tan yelled

Tan is running to Azief with urgency and quickly casts heal on Azief wounded area. Slowly the pain leaves Azief body, replaced by a pale faced Tan.

Tan then handed him a few vials and Azief gulped them down quickly and his stamina returns.

It was only at this time Azief noticed that the beast has tails like that one dinosaur that have spiky tails.

But the beast has something like dull sword in its tail. A sword tail if he has to describes it. It was a mace. Something like that.

This time both Azief and the beast stare at each other. Azief did not use all his strength yet but his vitality and stamina is decreasing speedily.

If not for the heal that Tan provides and the stamina vials, Azief would be dead by now. He wiped out his blood from his mouth with his hands.

He is stubborn. He will not die to this beast! He did not just survive a zombie infested area, to be eaten by something that look like a combination of a tiger, a cat  and some fucked up combinations of other animals.

He will live! He will survive! And he will thrive in this new world! His determination is like a flame that gives him strength to get up and look into the eyes of the beast with courage in his heart.

It is foolishness.

But some people says that bravery is one part stupidity one part stubbornness. His internal injury is partially recovered.

Tan is doing his best but even his healing has cool down. Azief wanted to use his heal technique but he need to free up his hand and that might cost him.

He fears when he is healing his body will be strikes with that enormous paw and he will die of insta kill.

It also takes some time before the healing light shone down on him. This is why he task Tan with healing him.

The beast and Azief is locked in a deadly battle.

This is not like the zombies that he always slices like they were mere leaves, when he reaches level 10. Zombies are easy.

He slices zombies like paper but now his attack rarely does him any good confronting with these beast.

Truly there are many more horrifying creatures roaming the earth right now. Azief truly believes that the world he live snow is more dangerous….and more exciting.

Magic, monster and god know what else?

Azief is just one step away from level 20. But this beast manages to force him to this pathetic state.

This just shows that the beast is high level.

With all his buffs he still could not do any considerable damage other than the injury he inflicted to the beast legs.

It restricts the beast speed but that did not make the beast any weaker. Only its speed is restricted.

They circled each other, in a battle for superiority. Then the beast roars again, and it leaped, toward Azief like a gust of wind.

 Azief dodged this attack with difficulty, narrowly escaping from the attack, and jumped sideways, landing a few meters from the beast.

Azief activates Slashing Wind, his body gain strength and speed.

And then he slashes with all of his strength and combine that with his agility the power that was released was extraordinary for normal human…no…it surpass human power already.

This skills last for five minutes and has a cool down of 10 minutes. He needs to try to win this in the next five minutes.

His blade made a half moon arc and it slashed the beast front legs. With a clinkering sound blood gushed out from the wounds. It was like hitting steel!

Azief finally realized how powerful this beast body really is.

The beast also recognize the danger it is in and leaped ,distancing itself from his prey, and landed a few meter away from Azief.

This time it is truly angered.

ROAR!!! The beast roars again, almost like it is howling to the moon.

Ignoring the wound the beast leap towards its enemies, with eyes that is fill with killing intent towards Azief, blood drenching its skin, and confronted with such sudden burst of speed and unexpected power, Azief was pinned down by the beast, sending him straight to the tar ground, his face was scratched and blood seeped out from his wound.

The pain of having your face crash to a tar ground is a new experience and Azief could not help but curses again.

And blood spurted out from his mouth before he even has the time to curse at the beast. He could only curse the beast in his mind.

The sound of bones cracking can be heard, and the tar ground cracked.

Tan on the other hand also look at this battle with trepidation. He could not run because he is sure the beast could catch him.

He hopes that Azief could defeat it. If not he will become the meal. But Tan also noticed something seeing the battle from a distance, one that is overlooked by Azief. One tiny detail.

The bulge on the beast head. It’s been bothering Tan since the beginning of the battle.

Then something struck Tan

‘Could it be?’ Seeing Azief pinned down, with an expression of pain in his face, it might be their only chance.

Tan then yelled, hoping to God he is not wrong in his observation and conclusion.

‘The forehead Azief! Smash the forehead!’

Azief on the other hand has a shortness of breath, feeling dizzy and he feels that he could be flattened to the ground.

The beast is like a steam roller. But then he hears Tan yells. He looks at the beast head and he too realizes the bulge.

Is that it? he also mused, his mind reeling from the shock of the beast and finally he sees a ray of hope.

And that is all he needs. A chance to fight back. At that moment his desire to live is strengthened because…he now at least….maybe....have a way to defeat this colossus obstacle in front of him now.

Hope….gives him strength.

He then uses all of his strength to punch the bulge and the beast was shocked and roar in pain.

It release its claws from Azief body and Azief quickly take this chance to jump away, still in pain, but alive.

‘HEAL’ Azief yelled.

Quickly Tan cast heal and Azief drink the stamina vials and vitality vials. His wound closes up and he feel he could breathe again.

The bulge! Azief realizes and is confident this time.

It might be the beast weakness. This time the beast takes precautions. It moved a few meters away from Azief and then its gaze turned fiercely to Tan.

Azief on the other hand is trying to lure the beats to him thus he distances himself from Tan not knowing that underestimating the intelligence of this beast is disastrous.

Azief believes that the beast would focus on him since he has wounded the beast. He is wrong.

It understands that the other human is helping the pinned down humans. The alien beast has intelligence that could match human intelligence.

They are not like zombies.

It changed its target and this time it leaped to Tan without warning. Azief seeing this from a distance could not help but feel shock.

Tan was far from Azief and at the time Azief was preparing for the attack by the beast, not anticipating the change of target by the beast.

‘Fuck!’ Azief cursed as he realized he could not be in time to help Tan. Tan was a sitting duck.

Tan invest all of his stats to spirit not strength or endurance, and in a split second a shrill scream can be heard.

Tan lost his hand in one swipe, blood gushing from the wounds as Tan fall to the ground.

He is not yet dead but he is about to. Azief jump to Tan position, trying to at least, defend Tan, even though he might have been too late.

He in midair positioned his blade to aim at the beast forehead.

With his speed combined with the beast just attacked Tan, and not expecting Azief speed, his agility shine.

He stabbed the bulge and like a fountain the bulge is gushing with red blood and the beast fall down.

It shrieked and try to make a last swipe to Azief but it was a dying struggles, blood gushing out like a dam that has crumbled, the tar ground turns even blacker in the cold night, illuminated only by the moonlight.

Azief strikes another one at the beast stomach and blood spurted out again from the open hole.

It still breathes and tried to make another claw strikes but weakened and slow, Azief easily dodge it.

This time Azief stab the beast at its heart and then at its eyes. After stabbing it for another 10 times, the beast fall down and a notification appears.

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO LEVEL 20. YOU HAVE EARNED 2 STATS POINTS AND ADDITIONAL 5 STATS POINTS FOR BEING THE FIRST 25 PERSON OUT OF 100 TO LEVEL TO LEVEL 20.

SKILL POINTS UNLOCKED.  EVERYTIME YOU LEVEL UP YOU WILL BE REWARDED WITH STATS POINTS AND SKILL POINTS.

‘All to Vitality’ Azief said. Today he learns how important vitality really is. Then another notification appears.

YOUR SOUL ABSORBING ABILITIES HAVE REACHED THE REQUIREMENT FOR EVOLUTION. CHOOSE YOUR DESIRE SHADOW LORD ITEM TO EVOLVE.

‘Sharp sword’ Azief said quickly his eyes could not leave the pathetic state of Tan bodies. And another notification appears.

YOUR SHARP SWORD HAS ABSORBED THE REQUIRED SOULS TO EVOLVE. WILL YOU ACCEPT ITS EVOLUTION?

‘Yes’ Azief said as he rushes to attend to Tan injuries. He runs to Tan sides.

THE SHARP WORD HAS EVOLVED TO BE THE DARK SWORD OF SOULS.

DARK SWORD OF SOULS

ATTACK: 30-55

SNEAK ATTACK: 40-70

DURABILITY: 1220/1220

HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

Azief did not care about all the messages from the World Orb when he holds Tan in his arms, his head on his embrace.

The red blood near Tan arms is turning black and his vein is turning blue. Azief look at this occurrence and is confident that Tan in infected.

And it is fast. Could the beast have certain infection rates? Azief expression turned hard. He does not know what he had to do in this situation.

He knows he has to make the hard choice. But he doesn’t want to. But he has to. And that is why it is so hard.

‘I’m infected aren’t I?’ Tan said. Azief said nothing only nodding. Tan coughed.

‘Your face shows everything, young one.’ Tan smiles bitterly.

He looks upwards and he could only see the dark cloud is moving away showing some glimpse of moonlight.

Tonight is beautiful. Tan mused. A few meters from their area a horde of zombies is marching their way.

‘Could you do something for me, Azief?’ Azief said

‘Anything.’

‘In my left pocket there is my wallet. I want to see it’ This request make Azief feel strange but he did it anyway.

‘Open it’ Tan asked weakly. Azief open it and Azief realizes there is a photo of a woman wearing a cheongsam.

She looks beautiful but the picture was in black and white. It is also crumpled and beaten up.

It is an old picture.  Then Azief slowly shows the picture to Tan and Tan look at that picture with a face of pain and regret.

‘I guess I will never see her again’ Tan said mournfully. Then Tan close his eyes and said.

‘Azief, cut off my head.’ He said.

‘I don’t want to turn like them.’ From the distance Azief perception has already sense the approaching horde.

Azief just nodded. It was not easy.

This is the first time he would kill a man, a living human being…and that man is the man who might have possibly save his life by telling him of the beast weakness.

Azief is not a hero type but he knows how to treat gratitude…but he is not capable. There is only one choice; one thing he could do the moment Tan was infected.

‘Make it quick.’ Tan said, smiling bitterly.

‘I will’ Azief replies sadly.

 Azief laid Tan body on the ground and then nodding to Tan, and Tan nodding back as he closes his eyes, his mouth shows a trace of smiles with a hint of regret, and Azief slice off Tan head and the head rolls away. 

Azief took all the items, the rings and the vials except the robe.

It is a meaningless gesture.

 After all the robe could be used for other things but Azief feels that at least this is something he could do for him.

He does not have the heart to strip Tan out of the robes, leaving him naked. That would be too cruel of him.

This is a meaningless gesture and he knows he is being a fool. But so be it! He is stubborn that way.

Without looking back he dash on a different direction from the zombie horde by himself.

‘Alone again’ he whisper to himself.

**********************************************************************
 

16: CHAPTER 15: THE HOWL THAT BREAK THE SILENCE

There was silence.

Only silence.

And the smell.

It was the smell that she could not stand.

But she endures it.

The smell. And the silence.

Because the alternative is the outside. Sometimes her ears could pick up the sound of the groaning outside.

There is no longer screams she mused. Only the groaning of the dead.

And sometimes she checks from the third floor, looking down with full concentration, trying to look any possible way to get out from this mall.

But she also knows that she is safe in this mall. Unless the beast comes again. She has to make a plan.

But for now, the mall is her safe place. This is where she will be safe for a while.

And truthfully if she could, she want to stay inside this mall, never going outside, praying that the abominations outside would just disappeared and all of this was a bad dream.

There are some places in the mall she could not enter.

She could if she forces it but the alarm would ring and that would attract attention from the outside.

And any attention from the outside is not good.

Inside the mall the different stores that have the automatic shutters are generally places with precious items (gems and jeweler stores) and alarms.

Near the management office is security door and they have heavy security doors where the guards watch the security monitors operate the different alarms in the mall.

But Sofia only knows this because she always hears this from his boyfriend who also worked in the mall with her.

She as a cashier, him as a guard.

And also one of the first few people who abandoned her inside the mall when the calamity happen.

But she could not blame him. She has a part in the reason why her boyfriend leaves her at that moment.

Sofia is the only child of a poor family. She doesn’t have enough money to further her studies and her father is an abusive fuck.

Her mother has divorced her father a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean that her father did not come sometimes, making a mess, or beating her mother to an inch of her life.

Domestic violence is an issue for her but not such big of an issue for the police.

Sofia has been working in this mall for about 1 and a half year. Before that she worked at a restaurant as a waiter.

She is 24 years old.

And right now, the only survivors of the mall workers. Most of the workers when the calamity struck ran outside.

She did not.

Is it because she could predict that running outside will be a bigger risk to her safety?

No.

She was just too scared to even move, even when her boyfriend Mad yells towards her to run.

Thus she was left behind.

It took her about 5 minutes seeing the chaotic rushing of everyone inside the mall running outside to be eaten by some horrifying beast.

Some of the beast has sharp horns, some have gigantic tusk and claws and many others. Sofia just hide…..and trembles inside the store in the third floor, hoping and praying the beasts would not find her.

And she was lucky.

The beast quickly left the place after killing dozens of people. In her hand at the time was a bow.

It materializes out of nowhere.

When she gets out of her hiding spot the only thing she sees was corpses. Dozens of corpses littered the mall, like a piece of garbage, blood filled the area.

The mosaic floor is slippery because of the blood. Then remembering where the emergency door is she pushes the buttons and the door closes.

She would rather spend time in the mall with all this bodies rather than risking her neck out, and run into the gigantic beast she saw.

That night she takes a nap in the bed department when a sound startles her. Thankfully she has quite the sensitivity.

It was at that night Sofia believes that nothing will be the same again. The dead rises from the ground.

And they all wanted to eat her. It was at this time she uses her bow. Using 10 arrows she shot 10 zombies.

Sofia once learned at a Sport School in Temerloh. She was once of the representatives for Archery but she did not get any scholarship.

Personal problems interferes. But her skills are genuine. She was a talent.

Her bow handling is impeccable.

One arrow released, one zombie will fall. She always aims at the head. It’s the only thing that seems to work with the zombies.

She did not tremble in fear, her breathing was stable and she tries her hardest to be calm. Because if she is not calm, then she will miss.

And missing a target might cost her life.

She could only concentrate and ignores the state of the corpse which is all pretty terrifying.

 Some is walking with holes in their bodies, some have their lower body ripped off but still crawling towards her, black blood flowed from the corpse’s body with something resembling a maggot squirming in the pool of blood left behind the half body zombies.

Then she picked up her bow and repeat.

In the mall she remembers there are about 45 people. The one that has died and remains in the mall is 32 people.

Then she has to kill 32 zombies.

At 3 am she finally finished dispatching every single zombie in the mall. She was exhausted, mentally and physically.

Her finger is chapped and bleeding, and her shoulder blade might be sprained. She si sore in her arms and bleeding from her fingernails.

But it is amazing that she survive the onslaught of the zombie using a bow and alone inside a mall, populated with zombies.

How did she do it?

Sneak attack. Hiding in the racks and shooting from an advantageous position. She rises to level 7 and she put it all on agility.

She also gets new stats, accuracy which she quickly put some points in it. It helps her making her shots more accurate and her eyes also could see farther away.

The skill books she has she quickly learned and the gold coins that dropped from the zombies she quickly put it inside her Storage ring.

She also put many snacks and food inside it.

Then she making sure that all of the threat has been neutralized, she takes a light nap at 5 am until the next day.

***********************************************************

The next day she wakes up and sees that there are zombies walking and marching around the mall.

She maintained her silence. She did not make a sound. Even when she has to eat a snack she eats it at the highest floor, far from the ears of the zombies.

She looks at the general surrounding and waited. It works before, why wouldn’t it work again?

After all she is saved because she was late at running and had to hide inside the mall. If she rushed outside, then she might be one of those zombies.

There is no danger today. It wasn’t until at night she heard a howling that make her shivers.

There is a beast she mused. Could it be the same beast that attacked the people before? Have they all not retreated? Might some of it is still here, prowling searching for prey?

This is all she could think about that night. She was in a state of alert all night. But after hours of silence she lowers her guard.

Fuck! What was that howling she said as she is eating some snacks in her bed on the bed sections.

She is hungry and she is tired mentally. The fear pressures her mentally and the silence did not help in making her anymore calm.

Her boyfriend his dead, and even probably her mother.

No, she did not die! She stubbornly insisted. If it’s her father, she could accept, even celebrated, but her mother?

The only one that truly cares about her…..she must live. And for a moment there is this fire of determination to survive this calamity and find her mother..

She was about to rest when she heard sound of slicing outside. The sound caught her attention.

‘What’s that?’ She gets up from her bed and jumps down gracefully from the third floor and landed like a cat on the first floor.

Her bow is then at ready.

Is it a monster? she thought to herself. She then peeks outside from the cracks and she sees a man shrouded in black clothes, slicing zombies like paper.

He is standing in one spot, steady like a mountain.

Aura of power emanated from him.

His move was fluid like water and his strikes are domineering. He did not rush towards the dozens of zombies congregated in front of the mall.

Instead, he only needed to move a few steps to dodge the zombies attack, sometimes jumping only a few centimeters from the zombies before slicing them.

He did not run towards them, but he is waiting for them to come to him with confidence. Sofia is full is excitement.

Why? Because the man is clearing out the zombies in front of the mall with ease. Sofia knows how hard it is to do this.

Even she has to use all of her wits and abilities to kill all the zombies in the mall and it is not without difficulties.

Aided with the closed environment and an environment which provides cover for her archery.

But the man is standing in the middle of the street with nothing but a blade and slicing the zombies like they are ants.

This is true power. He might be a soldier or a policeman that survive the initial attack.

Could it be he is a special forces of the government sent from the government to battle these monster? She thought to herself.

Sofia is a woman who believes in the government. In Malaysia there is only one party that matters.

It is also the only party that has ruled Malaysia for the past 5 decades.

That means since the beginning of the formation of Malaysia, this one political party has amassed enough influence to treat the people like peasants.

But Sofia still believes the government. Why? Because after all, surely the government, however corrupt wouldn’t desert their own people.

She looks intently at the man trying to see his appearance. But it was night, it was dark and the man is wearing hood.

She could not see his face because it is hidden by the hood. Having him would surely would increase her chance of survival.

He looks relaxed but then suddenly his eyes darted at her. Sofia was startled. Did he see me? Impossible.

Sofia moved away from the crack and feels her heart beating in fear.

***********************************************************

Azief is dodging the zombies attack with apparent ease. This is merely child play to him.

His level is now 23 and he got 4 stats points and 2 skill points. He did not use his skill points yet.

He needs to think really hard what he will use it on. If somehow he got better skills later, he doesn’t want to regret.

And after all the threat isn’t high right now. After killing the Fanged Giant Cat he did not encounter a beast or monster that reaches its level.

And he wanted to shelter inside the mall. And stores some food. Then he will begin his journey home. Considering his power right now, there is not many beasts that could fight him.

This is just a stop. One of many he mused.

He needs to make sure whether his parent survived or perish this calamity. If they survive, Azief would protect them until they find a way to safely live inside this new world.

If not, Azief must find a way to live safely in this new world, alone.

So he is clearing out these zombies in front of him. It’s not hard dispatching zombies anymore and withy his strength they are merely EXP.

Azief is farming EXP but he also realizes as his level increases and now that he reaches level 20, it is harder gaining EXP by killing zombies.

He also realizes that when anyone reaches the 10 level marks, something is unlocked. For example, when he is level 10, class change is unlocked.

Level 20, skill points is unlocked. Then what will be unlocked at level 30?

As he keep slicing the zombies he also have time to loot all the golden coins tat fall when he defeated the zombies.

It takes him only one strike to kill any zombies.

His speed is astonishing and the zombie could not keep up with his agility. Right now his agility is 35 points.

Combined that with all his buff, his agility is 47.

His speed could rival a car right now and the zombie who was originally slow is even slower in Azief eyes.

‘Should I utilize Divine Sense?’ Azief mused as he used the technique.

Then suddenly as he cast out his divine sense he suddenly sense a living person. He turned his gaze to the direction.

There is someone who is still alive! The Divine Sense technique he got from one of the zombies he encountered when he is coming here.

The zombies were faster than any zombies he met but compared to his speed the zombie was still lacking.

Of course if it was before he level up to level 10, surely he would die fighting that zombies. But he is now level 22.

And the technique he gets from the skill book is divine sense. It could detect living organism.

Another survivor? And in this mall?

This time Azief start slashing with more speed, killing many of the zombies and before he knows it, the front of the mall was littered with heads.

None of the zombies get back up again. Then Azief said, staring at the mall and he said.

‘Open the steel shutter’ he said, his eyes staring at the steel shutter. If the people inside did not want to open he would force his way in.

Suddenly there is a sound and the shutter gate is going up. Azief sighed in relief. At least the people inside is not unreasonable.

Then Azief open his hood and as the shutter got up completely, he looks in front of him. A woman is waiting for him and they both looked at each other.

He looks at her in shock, and she looks at him in shock.

‘Sofia?’ Azief said, completely shocked looking at her. He knows her.

‘Azief?’ Sofia said. She could not believe it was that boy.

For a moment, as the wind blows, the street that is filled with countless decapitated bodies, there was this awkward silence.

If this was a movie, there would be that cawing sound by the crows.

‘You..’both of them said at the same.

‘Anyway hurry up! Come in before more of their thing comes here.’ Azief just nodded, and he could not believe what is happening today.

He gets inside and the mall is shut down again.

*******************************************************

17: CHAPTER 16: WITH A CALM HEART

MALL

He enters the mall, his clothes fluttered by the wind. For a few moments both of them looked at each other. They didn’t say anything.

‘You….are strong.’ She said. Extremely she mused. But she did not say that out loud. There is still this awkward atmosphere between them.

Even after the shutter gate is closed, that atmosphere did not diminish.

‘Hmm’ Azief replies without expression. His eyes look around his surrounding and his blade turn into a light and enter his ring.

He has a storage ring too Sofia realized.

‘You survived huh?’ he then added. From the tone of his voice, it seems that he did not think that she could survive it.

‘Hmm’ she replies. Azief look at that woman again.

Both of them have complicated expression on their face. This is because of their history….or should be said…lack of history.

They were not boyfriend girlfriend or even friends.

They were just in the same class. Both of them learned at Sport School across Temerloh. She was an athlete. He was the class fool.

At least from form 1 to 3. From Form 4 to Five he became this argumentative person. When he was form 1 he wanted to fit in.

Form 2 till 3 he was in peer pressure.

Form 4 and Form 5 he wanted to do well in the final exam only to find out he got too much pressure to ace the exam that he caught a high fever a few weeks before the final exam.

He didn’t blame anyone on that.

It was him putting pressure on himself. Anyway, Sofia and him are only classmate. Nothing more.

They don’t hang with the same crowd but they don’t have any problem with each other either.

The occasional hi and waving hand when they meet each other and that’s it. But they both recognize each other.

Azief did not change much other than his face has little trace of acne and a few black spots on his cheeks.

Sofia still is slender and her face also did not change much. She still sports a long hair, and her face is a little tanner than before.

Before she was pale white.

Azief always forget names. But he rarely forgets a face. The reason why he always forget name is usually because the other person doesn’t strike him as important in his life.

But faces? Even if he wanted to forget he can’t.

Azief wanted to move from this area and collect his thoughts. After running from the zombie’s horde Azief need to distribute the skill points.

He also needs some mental rest. He has been fighting a life and death battle with a terrifying beast and even lost one of his companion.

And he has to even kill his companion. It will be surprising if he could be all calm. The only reason he maintains this calmness is because he knows howling or screaming won’t change a goddam thing.

Tan would still be dead, the world is still fucked up and his life will not be any better. Being clam on the other hand, let him take all of it and analyze the most efficient way to survive this.

This personality of his is only suited for living alone or a solo player. Even in games he did not have many friends.

Friend he made in the game is usually for quest or guild raiding. Even among his real life friend, he is very practical and rational.

But not cold. He appreciates his friend. Why? Because he has only a few of them.

It was after he graduated that he becomes this realist type of person.

‘How long you have been here?’ Azief asked as he turn to what he calls now Lord Shadow mode.

He then put the hood back on and one could not see his face clearly.

His word is clearly intending to make this conversation faster. There is many things Azief need to do right now and plan.

First would be his return to the village. First he will check his Eldest Uncle (Malaysia usually called this Pak Long. I don’t know if this is the right term in English or if there is another term) and his Third Uncle.

They live in the entrance of the village near the road to go to the city. His families live down deeper.

Then he needs to return to the elementary school and battle that alien beast. He is convinced that the Lord Shadow class is a class that offers him great powers.

He will not relinquish it even if he had to die trying. He out of everyone knows what is important now.

Status means nothing. Paper money means nothing. All that matters is this power granted by the World Orb System

There is also that little bead that he left with the corpse of the beast. He only notices it after he decided to come back after he left Tan body.

But at that time the horde was already there. Azief decided to go there again after he is rested and the horde pulls away from that area.

‘How long?’ Azief asked again is time his tone is unintentionally colder.

Sofia is startled by this sudden change and replies

‘2 days.’

‘Weapons?’ Azief quickly asked without looking at Sofia face. His eyes are scanning the mall and he activated his divine sense to see if there are any living people inside. His sense revealed nothing.

‘Bow and arrow.’

‘Appropriate, considering your aptitude. I guess the World Orb system does give weapon best suited to our abilities.’ he said as he turn his view to Sofia and appraises the bow in Sofia hand.

‘You are using a blade right?’ she asked. Azief nodded.

‘Yes. Have you class up?’ Azief said

‘Class up?’ she asked perplexed.

‘You don’t know about it? What level are you?’ Azief said startled. He though this girl must have reached level 10.

‘7.’ She said. Azief sighed.7…..she could fight a few zombies maybe a dozen of them. The stiff is not that powerful.

But this shows that she is capable. Azief look at the holes in some of the stiff that is laying down in the first floor. Arrow hole in their head.

Impressive he mused.

But later on they might evolve. They might not. Either way, if they evolve it’s good to have a few plans.

‘Wait until you leveled up to 10. Then you can class up. Choose carefully. I will only be here for a while. I wanted supply and then I will get going at dawn.’ Azief said, announcing his intention.

She might have design this mall as her territory.

Considering the disparity of levels, Azief is not that worried about her trying to attack him. After all even if she lied, Azief is confident that he can subdue this girl.

It has only been a few days since the fall.

If she has spent her time here inside the mall without going outside to raise her level then it stands to reason that this girl is not his match.

He fought a gigantic tiger and survives to tell the tale. He could handle this girl.

‘Can I come?’ suddenly Sofia asked.

Inwardly Azief sighed. Of course he expected this. But after what happens to Tan, Azief is not confident to guide someone again.

And he is sure his destination and hers are different. But she lives in a village too at least this is his opinion.

Which village he did not know but since she learn at the same school as him, either her family lives in village like him or living in that residential area near the school.

(In Malaysia there is Taman which translates to park. But this is a place where people live with many houses. So I called it residential area kind of like a suburb)

He doesn’t have the confidence to try to protect anyone. From that experience he learns that nothing is certain.

Even with his power. He thought nothing could harm him and there are no beasts to hinder his progress. He knows now he needs to be careful.

Without full knowledge, nothing is certain.

The world is changing and he would be a fool if he thinks he understands all the change that is happening right now.

He could not make guarantee that Sofia would be safer with him. Maybe the zombies like the beast will also leave this place and following him might lead her to more danger.

He doesn’t have any bad feelings toward Sofia but he doesn’t have any good feeling from her either.

‘I’m going back to my village. There might be other beast in my way home’ hearing this Sofia trembles.

But then she decided. Considering the power she saw coming from Azief, he might be stronger than her.

No…he is stronger than her. She might be safer with him.

‘It’s fine.’ She replies. For a while under the hood, Azief tries to think what to do….He then sighed.

‘Fine’ Azief reply.

‘But if you are coming with me, you have to contribute. And if you slow me down, I’ll leave you. If you attract monster that I have no way of handling, then I’ll leave you. If you try to harm me, betray me, I leave you.’ He said coldly.

This is the first time Sofia feels to be so distrusted. If it’s from her abusive father or from her frenemy she could accept it and not be as shocked as she is now.

But she forgets it has been years since they were in high school.

6 years could change a person. In her memories, the man he knows is not as cold as this.

It is because the years of battling depression alone and the fact that Azief for most of his teenage years have low self-esteem that has changed him to be like this.

He rarely trusts people other than his close friends and he is awkward in making new friends.

And now the world has changed where the law of strongest applies. It’s not Azief never read any stories like this.

If it’s just a zombie apocalypse then food is a necessity. But it’s different if there is magic like elements involved.

If there is a skill to heal won’t there be skills to cultivate food? Make rains? Even change the very law of the world if this idea is taken to the extreme.

And what is the variable in this new world?

Guns?

Nuclear weapons?

No. In this first few weeks, if the government could launch nuclear weapon it might have kill many people and monster alike.  

But no such action has happened.

Which leads Azief to the conclusion that whatever this alien thing that descended here has decided to attack the capital of each nation, every military ability that humanity possesses.

If that is the truth, then there are certain intelligent creatures or certain directives they are given.

The World Orb System? What is it? Azief believe it want to make humanity stronger? But for what purpose?

Are they in an experiment?

Is this a curse or a blessing disguised as a curse? Or is this just the first wave of an alien invasion?

There are still too many questions that needs to be answered. But there is one thing is certain.

Old weapons like guns and cannons would be rendered pretty useless after this.

Mankind will be the greatest variable of this new world. Not new technology or old weapons.

When people reach an unbelievable level won’t they be like Gods?

Even now, Azief who is level 23 can moved with unbelievable speed. Then he looks at the direction of the second floor of the mall and then he said.

‘Now, pack some supplies. At dawn we moved’ he said it to Sofia and he goes to another corner of the mall.

His words are cold and have no hint of compassion at all. It was almost mechanical. The worst thing to do in this kind of world if you want to survive, is to form attachment.

Azief is not confident he can protect her. That is another concern. He doesn’t want Sofia to think that he is some kind of hero who would help her without reward or have some expectations that he would bite the bullet for her.

He has no such inclination to jump in front of bullet or die for her. He did not know her well enough to do such things.

Then after taking many of the snacks inside his storage ring he jumps to the second floor with one leap and landed with ease.

Sofia is looking from the first floor.

She could jump down but not jump up. Jumping down is easier since her agility is high. She could maneuver herself and her body is light.

But to jump up she needs a strong lower body and lightness. Strength stats which she lacked the most.

She is confident she made the right decision. She nodded to herself. She would follow him until she either become stronger or she has no use for him.

It’s not like Sofia wanted to kill him.

She wanted to use his strength to survive this new world. And Sofia knows that Azief understand this too.

It’s not like Sofia could not understand, that while she uses him, he is also using her. A mutual; benefit kind of relationship.

To use her for what, she still doesn’t know. But the fact that he did not refuse her offer, means that she has some use to him.

Which means she is to be her support team. At least that is her conclusion, to be some sort of his gopher.

 And it’s fine by me. Smiling and relaxed for the first times since the fall, she climbs the stairs, slowly, with a calm heart.

*************************************

18: CHAPTER 17: MOVING OUT

They did not say anything for a few hours after that.

Azief jump to the third floor and choose one bed as his bed after he finished storing some item in his storage ring.

The 99 space in his storage ring is about to be full. Luckily he still has other storage rings.

He is situated very far away from Sofia. Sofia is already asleep. Azief does not understand how could she sleep so peacefully?

Unbeknown to him is that it is because of his presence that Sofia could sleep so peacefully.

Before, every noise could send her into a panic attack but now she is confident that Azief could save her.

The reason she is not afraid being raped by Azief is because she still remember the class clown.

If Azief knew this he would scoff. Not like he would rape her. She is not his type. And he doesn’t like to force woman to have sex with him.

And sex is the last thing is his mind right now.

Azief check his status.

NAME

LORD SHADOW

GENDER

MALE

LEVEL

20

CLASS

SHADOW LORD

STRENGTH

14+8

AGILITY

35+12

VITALITY

9+14

STAMINA

20

SPIRIT

17+10

ENDURANCE

12+6

PASSIVE SKILL

SKILL LEVEL

BODY FORTIFICATION

01

PRECISION

01

PERCEPTION

01

DIVINE SENSE

01

ACTIVE SKILLS

SKILL LEVEL

BEAST TAMER

02

HEAL

01

SLASHING WIND

01

EQUIPPED ITEMS

RINGS

STORAGE RING

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF MINIMAL STRENGTH.

RING OF DARK SPIRIT.

RING OF SPEED

 

SHADOW LORD ITEMS

HOOD OF SHADOW LORD

VAMBRACES OF SHADOW LORD

CLOTHES OF SHADOW LORD

TROUSER OF SHADOW LORD

SHADOW LORD BOOTS

BLACK SASH

BLACK GLOVES

 

WEAPONS

HIDDEN BLADE OF SHADOW LORD

DARK SWORD OF SOULS

 

After he level up to level 20, his status info become less scattered then before. Is it an update?

A patch? An expansion pack? An update from the system? He doesn’t know. But at least it is easier for him to view his own status right now.

He has been thinking along the way on what would help him tomorrow. He could level up his slashing wind skill to level 03.

That is one thing he could level up. That would probably make his offensive power increased.

Or level up what he most wanted to level up. There is heal, divine sense, and precision. Leveling up heal would surely give him healing power powerful than before.

A healer warrior or healer rouge. That is the one of the path he can walk.

Leveling up precision would also help him in attacking vital points he suppose. Maybe even get an additional skill. But what he wanted right now is a companion.

A companion he could trust and will not hesitate to protect him. Someone who could take the bullet for him. He wants a pet.

He opens the information about the skill he wanted to level up.

SKILL BOOK: BEAST TAMER LV 02

ACTIVE SKILLS: YOU CAN TAME THE WORLD ORB BEAST. TO TAME A BEAST, USE THE SKILL ON ONE OF THE BEAST AND KEEP HIM FOR THE INDICATED TIME TO TAME THE BEAST INSIDE THE BEAST PORTAL. ACTIVATING BEAST PORTAL REQUIRE 5 SP FOR EACH HOUR. THE COOL DOWN DEPENDED ON THE BEAST TAMED.

Then Azief look at the taming time of his current beast.

TAMING TIME: 6 days

Another six days for the strong fist badger to be tamed. In 6 days many things could happen.

He couldn’t wait for future skills right now. He will bet on now rather than the distant future. The future is a fool dreams. It might not even come.

But now? Now is certain. Azief made his decision.

‘One skill points to Beast tamer.’ He said and then the ting sound can be heard.

SKILL BOOK: BEAST TAMER LV 03

ACTIVE SKILLS: YOU CAN TAME THE WORLD ORB BEAST. TO TAME A BEAST, USE THE SKILL ON ONE OF THE BEAST AND KEEP HIM FOR THE INDICATED TIME TO TAME THE BEAST INSIDE THE BEAST PORTAL. ACTIVATING BEAST PORTAL REQUIRE 2 SP FOR EACH HOUR. THE COOL DOWN DEPENDED ON THE BEAST TAMED.  THIS SKILL IS NEARING PERFECTION. AS THE SKILL NEARING PERFECTION THIS SKILL WILL EVOLVE.

TAMING TIME: 17 HOURS

Not even a day. Azief smiles. Then after he is sure there is no other threat in the mall, he put his body down onto the bed and finally he sleeps.

It was dawn. Azief was already ready. He has washed his face in one of the mall sinks. He is now at the entrance of the mall.

‘You’re ready?’ Azief said under the hood.

‘Ready as I could be’ the woman replies.

‘Open it.’ The girl open the door. Most of the stuff in the mall has been cleaned out from the shelves and into their storage rings.

Sofia even has two storage rings. Since it can only store 99 items of the World Orb, Sofia is designated as the looter.

Azief would be the main attacker. In a way, she replaces Tan function. The sun shines and bathes them with its brightness.

Then Azief ordered.

‘You will follow me to the back of this mall. A few meters from here would be the place where I fought a beast yesterday. I need to go there’ he said explaining their current objectives.

‘Why? ‘Hearing his explanation finally Sofia could understand the roaring sound of the beast she heard  yesterday. So it was him that slays the beast.

‘I need something.’ Azief replies

‘What could be so important?’

‘Do you want to follow me or not? Make a choice.’ Azief said and then ignoring her he walked to the area he travels before.

Sofia gritted in anger.

He did not listen to my opinion whatsoever. In Sofia opinion this might attract more beast to come there.

She is worried about her safety.

But either way, she has to make a choice. Now that she is out ….she make a choice to follow.

Azief is walking the road with ease. The distance of the beast corpse is not that far from here.

Sometimes there are stiff come running to them but easily dispatch by Azief. Sofia sometimes snipes from behind and gets some experience.

But seeing this new act by the zombies made Sofia feel her heart sank. Now they can run? The same thing goes through Azief mind.

First they can only walk like they were limping but now they could run? Like I thought! These stiffs evolve too.

But even though they have gained some speed, compared to Azief agility and Sofia, they are still a bit lacking.

Azief has his agility combined with his strength that deters any incoming zombies, but Sofia has her agility and accuracy.

Every time she pulls her bowstring, it will always strike the head, the vital position of zombies.

No matter how strong they are as long the arrow smash their brains, then the zombies would fall.

Azief once again admire her accuracy. If she could be brave in the beginning, probably she would be as the same level as him or might even be higher.

But contrary to Azief opinion the reason Sofia could pull the bow and aim with precise concentration towards the stiff, is primarily because she fears the abomination.

She could not afford to miss.

She is not squeamish looking at blood but she is afraid of getting bitten.

Of course she was given some clothes and items of the World Orb system by Azief that prevent her from getting infected by low level zombies but that doesn’t dispel the fear one bit.

Usually when Azief slashes and the stiff die, a golden coin would appear.

But now, there is silver. There is copper. But it is different if it was Sofia who kills the stiff. It will always drop gold and there are even a few items.

Azief notices this and he makes another hypothesis. What if gold only dropped when fighting monster that is higher level or the same level?

What if the stronger people got, the harder it is to gains something from a lower level opponent?

If this is true it would explain why when he killed the zombies rarely now they drop skill books or item.

Instead it dropped copper, and silver. Maybe if I reach level 30 and I kill zombies, nothing would drop in the future.

Maybe it is to restrict powerful people farming skill books or farming gold. Is that why this happen?

But Azief keep killing. His spirit affects his stamina. The stronger his spirit the faster his stamina regenerates.

At least that is what he deduced so far.

And killing zombies does not take much of his stamina. He only need to dodge a few centimeters and chopped of their head.

When his sword evolves its offensive power also increase and this time Azief could see orb like thing flew to his armour and equipment.

But only those of the Shadow Lord equipment.

‘Capturing souls’ Azief muttered.

Even though it only dropped silver and copper Azief is not down with this fact. Because he realizes something.

As he kills stiffs with his Dark Sword of Souls, he could see something resembling an orb entering his sword.

Not to mention the durability of his weapon. He realizes that when he is resting the durability of his weapon get recharged by one for each hours.

And by his calculation he could kill 100 or maybe 200 zombies before his sword durability dropped by one. If he encountered a beast, now, that is a different story.

Thinking of this he is happy. This means he doesn’t have to change his armour. He thought he has to change to new armour every few weeks.

But if this is the perk of his unique class, then maybe he could enhance his whole attire to be godly.

But this also makes the possibility that other Unique Class also is the same like him. Armor that could evolve.

As they keep fighting finally they reached at the area his battle with the beast.  Azief could see the trace of the blood of Tan and the beast from afar.

His eyes could see farther than before.

Tan corpse is nowhere to be seen only bits and pieces. But then suddenly Azief is started. His face turned red and he clenched his fist looking from afar.

Someone is trying to steal his bead. He is seeing someone grabbing a shiny thing from the beast corpse that he killed!

He rushes like the wind leaving Sofia who was collecting the loot stupefied.

‘Wait for me, idiot!’ she yelled as she stop looting and run to Azief.

Azief then arrived at the scene of the beast corpse and immediately like a shadow; he appeared next to the man as he did a jump kick to one of the man.

The man was muscly and has a moustache. He even wears armour. He was thrown aback by the force of Azief kick. His armour cracked.

He did not even have the chance to protect himself. He looks shocked at Azief and only seeing a man, with a hood and a black robe.

Who is this? the man mused.

About 11 people behind the muscly man gasped. There are 2 Chinese, a man and woman, who is very close to each other, and 3 Indians ladies and 6 Malay man behind the muscly man

Azief stand near the beast corpse, and look at the beast corpse only to grit his teeth in anger.

Where is the bead! he angrily thought to himself. He clenched his fist and look back at the direction of the dozen people.

He has fought hordes of zombies, risks his life to fight the beast, and even lost one of his companions to the beast and now, that he comes to reap the effort of his fighting, someone dares to stole it.

If there is one thing Azief couldn’t tolerate, it is stealing his stuff.

His robe fluttered by the wind giving him the impression of a great expert fighter and his hood covering his face, emanating a mysterious aura.

The dozen people who look at this young man from behind the muscly man could feel their hair stand up.

‘WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU STEALING MY LOOT!’ Azief yelled his voice thundered around the area.

The muscly man feels himself shivering, unconsciously. He could feel a baleful aura emanating from the hooded man.

He is not some martial artist or someone who has psychic powers but the killing intent of Azief could even be felt by someone as unperceptive as this man.

Azief has killed zombies…hundreds of them, cutting them like they were grass, but he never killed people.

But he does want his bead back.

If he found out any one of these people take his bead, then their whole items will be looted by him.

He couldn’t care less at this point. That bead must have something really special. And it is mine! Azief mused.

He fought for it and almost dies for it. Azief has never felt what it was like to be strong. But since the Fall, for the first time in his life……he believes that he is strong.

At least stronger than all 12 of these people before him. If only he have a technique that could discern the level of these people.

And all these 12 people all have eye-catching items, but only one have an armour. Then the one with the armour must be their guardian or something like a vanguard.

Azief did not see anyone moved out to support the muscly man. Which means, not one of them is stronger than the muscly man.

Heh!

Azief is not a bully…..but that doesn’t mean he can’t be one. If they really took my bead, then you twelve people will find me something that would compensate me for that bead he thinks to himself

Behind him a woman can be seen coming to him and her face is shocked seeing the people gathering on that spot near the beast corpse.

It was 7 men and 5 women. Since she get out from the mall, she never see people, and today suddenly a dozen people appeared.

They all had a variety of weapon. Some have scimitar, some have something like an edged shield, and some have whips.

In one of the hand of the group was a shining bead. And then Sofia realized the corpse of a gigantic beast and looking at this tense atmosphere she understand.

That group took Azief loot.

What will happen now? She mused. She looked as Azief standing straight like an immovable mountain, his face was hidden by the hood but Sofia is sure that Azief is glaring at the group.

Sofia looks at the group and they also look at Azief with a wary expression.

Then Azief moved.

***************************************************

19: CHAPTER 18: UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER

Hamad is a normal policeman. He patrols the area around the Joy Park when the fall happens.

Since then he has saved survivors of the zombie’s apocalypse. A zombie apocalypse. He mused when he sees the dead rise that night.

At least that is what he believed.

Unlike Azief who conclude this as some alien experiments, Hamad believe that what is happening now is because of some virus that turns men into zombie, kind of like the zombie movies.

Hamad is a fan of such stories. Zombie stories. Apocalyptic stories. Along the way he saved a Chinese couple.

The couple both has a bow. They survived the slaughter using their bow. They do not know how to use it, but Hamad had to admit they have the aptitude for it.

 There are the first people he saved and that follow him. They are always strength in numbers. His experience in the force only reinforces this idea.

This trio then leveled up until level 10 and changes their classes.

Hamad became a Berserker. The couple becomes an archer. They them met 6 Malay people stuck inside the debris of a falling building.

They luckily survived and survive because they killed Mutated Rat.

The Mutated Rat dropped potions and skills book. The 6 people survived using their own strength, and even managed to dig a tunnel to make a makeshift cave inside the debris.

They live inside the debris waiting the zombie horde too go to other places.

One night the horde of zombies suddenly moved to another part of the Joy Park. It was at that time; they come out of their hidings and stumbled upon Hamad.

Safety in numbers they said and they joined forces. Hamad rank swells. Not long then they also reaches level 10 and change classes.

It is ironic.

That they are at the deeper part of the Joy Park and only a few kilometers away from Azief hiding spot.

The reason why the zombies hordes move is also because they hear the roars of the dying beast.

If they all knew this, they should thank Azief.

They all decided to go to the Capital when they find more survivors, they meet 3 Indian ladies, who were hiding and remain undetected.

They are at the moment the lowest level member of their group. At the third day, as Hamad is the strongest among all of them, they appoint him as a leader.

He has that kind of leadership….though it only shines now after the Fall.

They decided to venture out, Hamad as their vanguard. At dawn they moved out. It was then that Lakshmi discover something.  

A gigantic beast corpse. She came to Hamad and report to him. He and the other crew came to the site and look in awe.

‘What is that?’ she asks.

‘I don’t know’ Hamad said. He discovers that after the fall, he could understand Indian language and even Chinese.

It is more like it was translated in a way he understands. His previous theory about this is a virus might need to be reexamined.

‘Maybe it is dangerous…or still alive…or maybe like the others it would rise once again.’ the Chinese man said while shuddering. The girl beside him holds his hand.

By now Hamad knows that this couple is engaged. Amber and Roy. That is the way they introduce themselves.

They didn’t tell Hamad their Chinese names and Hamad doesn’t care. What did people care about names anyway after the fall.

Other than to name the characters it didn’t have any use. Hamad before the Fall is very aversive towards Chinese rather than Indians.

In other words he is almost like a racist.

But now?

Race means nothing now in this new torn and shredded world. They don’t even know if any semblance of order existed.

It was like the moment the Fall happens, the whole world shut down.

In other part of the world…..many are calling it the end of the world. Some say this is the rapture.

Some say this is God punishments.

Other says these are manmade. Of course Hamad doesn’t know this, but as he could survive in this world, others could too.

The word is not yet ending. It just has begun, the long awaited evolution of humanity.

But to Hamad….he believes that this is not that.

Maybe it is another extinction event….and maybe this time…it doesn’t seem like humanity could ride it out so easily like last time.

True, humanity was faced by an Ice Age, a gigantic volcanic eruption, smokes that covers the sky and even clouded the whole world for a few years, during the Stone Age, and even survives the tectonic shifting…but the dead rising from the dead to kill the living….that is something new.

As he approached the beast corpse, he looks behind him and sigh.

Hamad even though he is not a high ranking officer, he is a responsible man. He has a loving family in Johor, a grandmother at Lipis, and his relatives in Taiping.

He is a family man…but he married a Temerloh woman. And right now he is wishing to just go home.

Maybe …that is the only thing that is on anybody mind right now….to go home, to find a home….to belong…..somewhere….other than this hell.

It is common to see in movies and read in books, that when the world order crumbles, anarchy spreads.

That is true, and probably are realistic portrayal when order is crushed by a group of people.

But this situation is not like that.

The dead rises as mindless killing zombies, a plaque waiting to happen. Does the world fall to anarchy…yes…but of the chaos from what happens from the zombies.

The situation is different.

Why?

Because this time humanity has an enemy to unite against. To unite against these rising dead people, to rise against the beast that is devouring humanity.

If there is one thing Hamad knew it is this. Give an enemy to the people, and the people will unite.

Why does politician like to blame one person when they are involved in a scandal? Because they know how to control the people sentiments.

They have other things to hate and destroy rather than the usual which is to hate each other and kill each other.

So instead of the rule of the jungle…it is a more complicated relationship than that. Hamad was walking to the corpse, his hand hold his fist tighter.

He is afraid. Of course he is afraid. Only crazy people are not afraid. The beast was gigantic….something resembling of saber tooth in the prehistoric age.

He takes a deep breath. Calm down. he mused. ‘I can do this’ he said. He needs to make sure that the beast is dead first.

He crouched down and picked a pebble. He turns to his group and said.

‘Fallback. I need to check whether this beast is alive or not.’ The other nodded. He throws the pebble with all his strength to the unmoving beats.

After gaining no response he throws it again with the same results.

‘It’s dead’ he said. The other heaved a sigh of relief. Then as Hamad was about to walk away, in the corner of his eyes he could see something was shining.

He approached the beast corpse.

‘Sir Hamad what are you doing?’ One of the Chinese spoke.

‘We must go!’ He urgently said, the woman beside him was nodding; worried looking at the corpse like it could suddenly leap to her.

‘Wait a minute’ Hamad said. As he tries to find that light once again, he finally realizes there is something that resembles fluorescent light is coming from around the beast stomach.

He then cut a small opening on the beast corpse. It takes him awhile because the beast corpse was very sturdy like steel.

And his effort was rewarded. He found a bead.

‘What the hell is this?’ He was saying.

As he looks at the bead suddenly he felt his hair stand up. Danger! He mused. Hamad has Danger Perception, one of the skills he got from a skill book.

He was about to back away when suddenly something slammed against him and he could feel an indescribable pressure coming down on him, pain in his rib, as he was thrown backwards far away, sliding his face to the tar street, blood dripping from the lacerations.

He struggles to get up.

What is it? A beast? A new type of zombies? He then realizes that his armour cracked. His steel armour…cracked.

What kind of power is this? Even zombies could do nothing to him when he was equipped by this armour.

Hamad checks the durability of the armour and his durability dropped to 45. One attack and the armour dropped forty five of its durability.

Of course it is a low level armour but still….normal zombies would need at least 5 minutes of attacking him to drop even one durability of this item but…just now one strikes is enough to drop 45 points of durability.

If Hamad did not wear the amour he would have been badly injured. As he looks at his attacker he could see from under the hood, it is a young man.

And Hamad could not help but feel shocked. He wears a black robe with black sash…an all-black attire, like Death.

The only thing his attacker is missing is a scythe. But his attire is like the Assassin Creed uniform, with intricate designs. It’s not an armour but his attacker look elegant wearing it.

Behind him Roy and Amber was gasping. They just survive the zombie’s apocalypse and now they are being attacked by hooded man.

They also feel fear.

Hamad is the strongest in their ragtag bunch. But his attacker downs him in one strike. They all wanted to aim their weapon to the man but Lakshmi said

‘Don’t’ she whispered.

‘Stay your hand, Amber, Roy.’ Lakshmi could see that whoever this hooded man he is strong.

He has that air around him. Lakshmi come from a family that practice Silambam. Her brother especially is an expert in Silambam.

She could feel the same air around the hooded man like her brother.

The air of a strong man. Sita and Rani come closer to Lakshmi. The three of them is friend. They were having only a drink near the park that day when the Fall happen.

Following Lakshmi they hide and run. Before Hamad saved them, Lakshmi saved them first. Now seeing that Hamad is easily attacked, Sita and Rani came closer to Lakshmi like before.

The 6 Malay man was about to ready their stance but they decided to listen to Lakshmi. They tch and they keep their hand from their weapons.

But truth is, they also feel an indescribable aura from the hooded man. One of them was trembling.

Hatta the leader of this 6 man group feel it deep in his heart.

What Azief could not have expected is that as his level climbed up, his body becomes stronger and breaking past the constraints of normal human.

Human with their evolutionary instinct, could clearly feel this pressure emanating from a superior human.

What it means is, with Azief level, people who did not level up will feel the same pressure they are feeling now.

Lakshmi group feel it the most since they are the weakest in the group. Azief is the predator and they are the prey.

Their instinct is telling them, teaching them….that this hooded man is dangerous. The man could be seen gritting his teeth in anger.

Hatta has Eagle Eye after he kills a mutated bird. His scimitar ….he wanted to grip it but he fear that he might provoke the hooded man.

Azief could see far away because of his level and his body is transforming. But Hatta also gain that same ability thanks to a skill book.

He has Danger Perception, Eagle Eye, and Slicing Wind. He also has heal. Of his group he has the most skill.

After they met Hamad they join Hamad group because Hamad is stronger, his levels are higher, and he has many more skills than him.

If not Hatta would go it alone with his 5 friend.

Then the hooded man clenched his fist and look at their direction and Hatta feel pressure bearing down on him….his heart trembles and his hand is shaking.

One glance and he is almost defeated Hatta angrily mused but now he is convince of Lakshmi warning. He looks at Lakshmi direction and nodded. Laksmi also nodded.

This man is too dangerous.

The Hooded man robe fluttered by the wind, an unrestrained air around him, emanating a deadly aura.

Their hair stands up. Then suddenly the man yelled, his voice thundering shaking the very core of being of the group.

‘WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU STEALING MY LOOT!’

Hamad could feel fear seeped into his heart. His heart trembles, his hand shaking, sweat formed on his back.

Never had he felt such fear…so small.

Clearly the man is younger than him….but his power is stronger than him….His level is higher Hamad believes.

But how could that be? Hamad even have a group to consistently rise up their level.

Is he not afraid that zombies would hear his screaming and come here? By now, Azief power has a reached a level where he is not afraid even a hundred zombies.

He could heal himself and fighting slow moving target is not something that he fears. If there is one thing he fears is that a beast would appear out of nowhere.

Not one person came out to help him Hamad bitterly sighed. Well, he could understand why they didn’t help him.

Maybe this hooded man is Hamad enemies, and they all didn’t want to get caught up in his own personal conflict. But Hamad did not know who this person is.

This man attacked him without provocation. And another reason is maybe because the group behind him could feel the same pressure he is feeling.

He could see Lakshmi and her two friends are having difficulty breathing.

At first his mind puzzles why the man suddenly attacked him. But now he understands.

The bead he is holding is the man possession. Which mean…..wait! As he realized something.

He looks at the gigantic beats corpse and look at the hooded man. This means he is the one that kills it!

Oh my god! What I have gotten myself into! If this man could kill a beast like that, his power level must be off the chart!

The crowd behind Hamad also takes a deep breath understanding what the hooded man means.

He killed the beast, so whatever loot that came out of the beast is his. But law of possession hardly matters in this new world. Strength is the new law. And Azief has a lot of it.

Then suddenly from behind the man Hamad could see a woman with a bow running towards the hooded man.

She looks shocked seeing us Hamad mused. She looks at Hamad hand and he could see that the woman also see the bead.

Is she his allies? It looks like it. She stopped moving and takes a few distance from the hooded man.

Then the Hooded Man moved.

********************************************************

20: CHAPTER 19: FIRST APPEARANCE

He appears in front of Hamad, looking down on the man.

‘Give that to me’ he said coldly. This kind of tone is common for Hamad. This is an ordering tone.

Only his superior uses this kind of tone. But the hooded man words send chills to his bone. It was cold and devoid of emotion.

Hamad is a police officer.

Only a traffic officer, but he knows how to judge people. But hearing the hooded man talk he can’t figure out the man emotion.

Is he angry? Or calm?

Azief on the other hand doesn’t like police. Not because he did any crime before, but because police is always corrupt.

He doesn’t have that favorable impression on the police force.

At least he knows a few policemen who take bribe. It’s not like a thousand millions of bribe.

Sometimes it is only 50 ringgit or 60 ringgit but it is still a bribe. Many truck drivers, reckless truck driver, was let go when they pay the fee.

Of course when this is ask towards the police chief there is no such record of this conduct he would say.

The higher up takes millions of dollar bribe, the underling take hundreds of it.

To Azief they are all the same. He doesn’t like the police but that doesn’t mean he hated them to the bone either.

He just dislikes them when he heard this kind of stories. And Azief also acknowledge that there are still some good people in the force.

After all, not all policemen like that. Many of them have noble intention for joining the force. But the bribery, the corruption….taint the noble profession.

Some people are just greedy and evil.

On the other hand Hamad quickly hand the bead to Azief. He didn’t even hesitate. The feeling he felt from Azief was a crushing pressure.

Like Azief is something else. Of course Hamad did not know as you level up, the restriction of the feeble human body will be abandoned.

Azief is evolving, a superior species in front of a primitive homo sapiens.

Even Azief doesn’t know this but he notices it. His body is stronger than even a normal human.

Then from behind come a girly voice.

‘What’s that?’ Sofia asks. Azief coldly said

‘My loot.’

Azief look at the bead with his eyes….and he doesn’t know what to do. He touches it and feels it.

Its solid but it is also a little bit squishy.

Is this a gem? Enchanting items? Or something else? Could it be he has to eat it? If he follows the game rules, if this is not a gem or not enchanting ingredient then it is something he could eat.

The item description did not light up when he touched the bead…could it be because he has to eat it?

He is not sure but he could not just look at it either. He could put it inside the storage but…that might invite other problems.

If this something like a sensor device or something that other beast could smell, then he would be dead by the evening.

 Azief could see that the group of people looking at him, wary at him, looking at his conduct.

Sometimes their gaze would look at the shining bead.….Now its awkward.

They must think I know what this is. I come so coolly, so imposing. He mused. He could not break character right now.

For some reason this kind of worries suddenly invade his mind.

Let me try he mused. If it could not be eaten he would just spit it out. He then put it inside his mouth.

Eugh! It was bitter.

But Azief just endures the taste because the bead suddenly melts inside his mouth and then he feels his feet becoming lighter and his body suddenly undergoes another transformation.

His bone break and when Azief was about to scream in pain his body regenerate itself almost a second later.

What is this? he mused.

‘You’re alright?’ Sofia asked from behind as he approached Azief. She is shocked that Azief would just swallow the bead.

Did he know what that bead was? Sofia mused.

Azief just hold up his hand and Sofia stopped approaching him. Lakshmi and Hatta quickly surmise the relationship between the hooded man and the girl with the bow.

The leader is the hooded man, the girl is his support.

Lakshmi on the other hand is looking at the hooded man expression. She did not expect that the hooded man would eat the bead.

They didn’t know what the bead was for but….they did not think it was for eating. This man must have been very adept at this new world rules.

Lakshmi understand the rules after days of experimenting. She believes they live in a world of game like element now.

What causes it, why and how…she doesn’t know the answer to this question. She could only try to accept what is happening.

She did not play to many video games but it’s not like she never heard about it. Levels, skills…this is a game she concluded.

A game layered unto the reality of this world.

Hatta is like Lakshmi observing the hooded man to see that the hooded man face turns a little hard and then suddenly the hooded man smiles.

Azief is smiling because he just got a sweet update from the System

You have eaten the bead of life

Awarded 5 strength

Awarded 5 agility

Immunity against infection from Fanged Giant Cat

He smiles in satisfaction. Just like he thought it is something good. Maybe other beast also has this kind of beast.

He should check back the Badger corpse. At that time he only grabbed what he can see but the bead might be located inside the body.

But then he has to enter back near the elementary school and Azief is not sure if the alien like beast in the elementary school would not burst out from the school and terrorize the area.

Should he take a risk? No! He decided.

Well, immunity and the stat it awarded might be a boost but…..he need to preserve his life first.

He is not sure how strong the alien in the elementary school is. but he is willing to bet it’s not weak.

He needs to avoid going there first.

Maybe it would stay only inside the school because it is a part of a quest…or maybe not. Azief would not risk it.

Some people would say only with great risk come great rewards.

Well, the main protagonist will always said it before embarking in a high risk fight and they would win.

But he is not the main protagonist. He is not the hero. He is not even sure if there is a hero in this new world.

If he said the same line and take risk, he would be dead. Most of the time when you take a risk, you failed.

That is why they called it a risk.

It just gives you a little hope, thinking you could do this, only to realize that you are in over your head.

Azief is not stupid. He would rather lose some fortune rather than loses his life.

Azief then approached and crouched down at the corpse. Then he searched around the beast corpse for anything else he might have missed ignoring the crowd in front of him.

By now, Azief has determined the group level of power. With Sofia behind him, they could hold down their own against this group if they turn hostile.

Since they are awed by his performance and after ascertaining that Hamad is the strongest among the group, Azief held no wariness and now is scouring the area he left before.

‘Azi-‘ Sofia was about to ask what he was doing when suddenly she is being shushed by Azief.

‘Shh!’ Azief said

‘My name is Lord Shadow.’ He declared so that Sofia could stop talking. This girl couldn’t take a hint! He angrily thinks.

 Then a bar appears on his head announcing his name to the crowd.

‘Lord Shadow’ one of them said.

Hatta on the other hand just realize something. So he didn’t need to name the character the same name as his name.

Thinking about it…name is nothing but names.

Maybe the purpose of naming a new character is shedding the old you and living in this new world.

Hatta was thinking about this intently.

After all, this new world is more exciting. Hatta was a nobody, a bully and a troublemaker. He always hang out with the bad crowds, even almost joins a triad.

Why did he do all this? Because he is bored. What could life offer him? He is selfish, impulsive and rash.

The routine life suffocates him, the order stifles him, only the chaos give him a  peace of mind, only the chaos give him something that resembles a life he wanted.

He revels in it…on the lawlessness…yet Malaysia still has order. The only reason he didn’t break any laws…is because he is weak.

Give power to him…..and you would get a tyrant. So he wears a mask. He doesn’t believe in orders, in rules, he hated that people have to follow a certain rules to succeed.

Why couldn’t you lie if you could be successful doing it? Why won’t you oppress everyone if you have the power?

He is warped, twisted……was it because of his upbringing? He doesn’t know.

 He once asks himself this question.

But the Fall give him a new excitement. A rush. A new world order.

But when he had to name his character as Hamad tells him, he unconsciously choses Hatta, his old name.

Thinking about it whatever or whoever constructed or changing this world, must have decided to give the option to name yourself…so that you could choose what you could be in this world.

And Azief embodied that choice.

At least that is what Hatta thought. Azief on the other hand is still looking at the corpse. He almost whistles in joy.

Enjoy the little things. Zombieland. He still remembers that quote.

The world might be ending, his family might have already been eaten, or worse turns to zombies, order has crumbles, and million has die….but well…..enjoy the little things.

He just got a boost on his strength and agility. Even before he could run as fast as a car. Now…..who knows? He might even be half as fast then Flash.

Hamad is standing up now. He looks at his group and they all stand still. They do not dare move.

The girl beside Lord Shadows as Hamad decided to call the hooded man is helping Lord Shadow searching.

‘Ouch.’ As the sound of steel clashing could be heard.

‘This beast skin is hard.’

Lord Shadows only nodded.

‘Hmm’ he said.

He said it slow but everyone could feel his displease. Then he makes a piercing pose with his hand and then using only his bare hand he pierces the beast and blood spurted out.

‘Hey! Don’t you fear getting infected?’ the girl said.

‘I have immunity’ he said.

Hearing this, Hamad group all gasped. Immunity! They don’t think anyone could have immunity against the monsters.

Of course this is a misunderstanding on their parts. Azief does have immunity but against the fanged Giant cat.

Not the zombies.

But even if he did not have immunity against the zombies, as long as the zombies did not exceed his level his armour would protect him.

Not to mention his agility is off the charts. The zombie could not even chase him if he decided to flee.

But to the group when he said he had immunity that means he is not only immune against the giant beast but also to other zombies.

Well, it is understandable why they would misunderstand. After all the giant beast is surely more dangerous than normal regular zombies.

If he has immunity against such beast then he should by transitive property also have immunity against the weaker zombies.

‘See if there is anything inside’ he said. Sofia look and see nothing. There is a black bile. Azief also looked at it and it emitted a black miasma.

‘What is this?’ he mused. He grabbed it and ripped it out from the beast corpse.

Then a voice ring out in his ears

YOU HAVE REMOVED THE POISON IN THE BEAST BODY. THE MEAT IS NOW SAFE TO BE EATEN. EATING A BEAST MEAT WILL INCREASE YOUR STATS DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF THE BEAST.

Oh? This is smoothing new! So I could eat the beast meat? And it even increases my stats. But by how much?

Azief didn’t think it would rise it up very much but still it is an improvement and this bile. It still glowed.

He looks at the bile of the beast.

Then could the Badger and the other beast and monster he encountered also have something that stores the poison inside their body?

If he was a doctor he would research this. They could even make an antidote. And Azief feels excited then his excitement is quickly doused down by his own logic.

 But he is not a doctor so he does not know. What a waste of time thinking about it?! he mused.

If the bead gives him boost in his stats and its body gives additional boost, then wouldn’t this bile also give him something?

its poisonous so…...then maybe it could be made as a liquid to slather the weapon creating a poisoned sword or a poisoned arrows.

Heh he smiles.

This is a good fortune. Then after looking at a glance there is nothing else Azief look at his surroundings.

Gold coins littered the streets. This is not mine he mused. Then this must be the dozen people work.

‘Hmm’ he nodded.

He doesn’t know what the function of the gold and this currency is but it must have something useful too.

Even when Azief wanted to check his gold he couldn’t check it. The windows did not appear.

Could it be…..that he has to unlock it first? Hmm…maybe that its. Then he looks at Sofia and said

‘Store this thing inside your rings’

‘What! this beast!?’ she said perplexed

‘Yes.’

‘What are you planning to do with it?’ Sofia asked.

‘Eat it’ he said and the group gasped. Eat the beast!? Azief did not explain more.

‘Can you-‘

‘Just do your job would you?’ Azief said.

‘Hmph’ she snorted

‘Fine.’ And Sofia stores it inside her storage rings.

Then Azief grab the gold that is scattered on the streets. Since gold only occupies one space, the currency only occupies three spaces no matter how much the quantity.

There is three currency of this system.

Gold, silver, copper. Hamad seeing that Lord Shadow ignores him and stealing right under their noses wanted to yell but he fears the repercussion.

Hatta is holding tightly at his scimitar but he couldn’t move. Lakshmi just look calmly. She understands.

The strong rules.

This new world rules is simple. If Azief was weaker than them before he would not dare to appear so overbearing and only could look in frustration and curse his luck as his bead is taken by this twelve people.

But he is strong and so, the situation is reversed.

Even though Azief is leisurely taking all the gold coins and storing it inside his storage ring no one said a word.

They didn’t dare to go either. Hamad tell them to stay.

Hamad is thinking to ask this person to join them. He would even give the title leader if the hooded man would join them.

It would be safer if they could go to the capital with the hooded man.

After Sofia finished storing the beast meat which takes only took one spot in her storage rings she help Azief with looting the gold.

Then after five minutes they finished looting the area.

Azief, Sofia realizes did not come closer to the area around the elementary schools like something was there.

This act of him is also noticed by Hatta and Laksmi. Lord Shadow stooped from nearing the area.

They recognize that this must mean something is near the elementary school.

Then as he finished Lord Shadow looked at the group and said.

‘Thank you.’ Saying these two words ……he walked away. With just these two words, he unceremoniously just wanted to walk away.

He didn’t even care about them, nor did he make any acquaintance or trying to say anything.

He did not try to explain anything…he just did what he needs to do and now it’s done…he is focused on his mission.

To Azief what matters now….is for him to go to his village, determine the safety of his family and the challenge the beast at the elementary school.

he doesn’t have time to baby sit these dozens people.

It might be cruel, but letting them slow him down would be cruel to his family. He has already delayed enough from going to the village.

One might wonder how could he talk about the safety of his family like it was an objective, like a mission…..but that is the only way he could stop…..thinking about the terrible things that could happen to his family.

He will handle when it happens.

If there is grief to be had…..it will be when grief is deserved. He would not grief because of his assumption.

He will not cry or mourn until there is something to cry and mourn over.

Even though his mind is telling him….that for his parent to survive is impossible…even though his mind has think of this scenarios hundreds of times, replaying all the possibilities….his heart yearns to believe.

Sofia, behind him is nodding with Azief decision to disperse from this place.

If they wanted they could join this group and their lives would be safer…but that is not the reason she follows him.

Azief has told her that he wanted to go to his village and search for his family. The same could be said for Sofia who wanted to see her mother.

Sofia herself is anxious about the safety of her mother. Her village is farther way from Azief….but either way she needs to pass through Azief village first.

When that time come, she has to separate himself with Azief. Before that time come she needs to strengthen herself up.

Like Azief her heart yearns to believe that her mother….is alive and well. Sofia was following Azief back as they walk to the streets fill with destroyed cars.

Azief has got what he wanted…..now he is walking home.

Then Hamad said looking at Lord Shadow walking away without even sparing them a glance.

‘Wait Lord Shadow!’

Azief look at the man and the man stopped, fear crept into his heart. But he steels himself. And he ask Lord Shadow

‘Would you join our group?’ his request ringed out in the empty streets, the wind blows Lord Shadow robe as he stand there.

For a while his mouth was about to move…and then he smiles a mysterious smile.

And the crowd waits for his answer.

***********************

21: CHAPTER 20: THE GREAT WARLORD PERIOD

FORMER UK

LONDON

John is running with a 4 feet long blade rushing through the zombies, mowing them down with apparent ease.

His level now is 21. He is a Dark Knight, his armour gives of the aura of death and power. He is alone in the street.

He then spotted a building.

‘Heh’ He smirked.

I guess this place again he mused. He jumped from his current position and landed on the second floor.

Then he looked down at the population of the zombies. His effort is working. Most of the zombies around this street are almost eradicated.

‘Huu’ he heaved as he walked straight to one of the room and open it with one of the keys he has.

This is the third time he would spend his days here. It has been three days since the fall.

John….is his new name. He didn’t like his name before and his life before. Fighting zombies is not too much of a problem for him.

He is 30 years old, his body is muscly and his hair is black.

There is some battle scars in his body, mark of a veteran. He opens the door and sits down on one of the chair.

Taking a breath he produced something from his ring.

A few breads and fresh water.

Then finding a bed he throws himself to the bed, exhausted from all the hunting.

He is not afraid of the zombies because he has barricade the apartment and even if they somehow manage to breakthrough he is more than enough to dispatch tem easily.

It is only the beast he fears. For these three days he did not stop killing zombies to raise his level after what happened in the underground bunker.

John was a bodyguard to one of the wealthiest man in the world. Wilhelm Rothschild. When the Fall happened he was beside the man.

John has seen many things about the Rothschild, that he might even believe the conspiracies about them.

There is a lot of conspiracy theory about this particular family and it’s not hard to imagine. Since they have been meddling with the world since the Napoleonic War.

But when he first accept the job...to him it was just a job and he couldn’t care less about the Rothschild stories or myths..

He did his job well, and that’s it. He doesn’t have family so he has only to care for himself. Living in a dilapidated orphanage when he was young, bounced from foster home to foster home, he learns to fend for himself.

The Rothschild is his employers, that is all that matters.

But he has seen suspicious dealing ranging from people of dubious background that made John….suspicious of the true nature of this particular family.

‘Hah he sighed. All this mystery doesn’t matter anymore after the apocalypse he inwardly thought.

Then his mind flashback to that moment.

Three days ago, like always he accompanied Wilhelm to one of his mansion in London to meet with an associate.

It was a normal morning like any other. Wilhelm did not bring other bodyguard other than him. The man he is supposed to meet is someone from the IMF.

An old friend.

It was then, when they were waiting…..that happen.

Suddenly a voice speaks almost like they were beside them, and the weapon appeared in his hand.

He has a blade, Wilhelm has a dagger. At first john was confused with this turn of events, but he was fast to adapt.

He quickly surmises levels are a measurement of power and his constant protection for the safety of Wilhelm increased his level.

He meets small monsters even zombies when they were running away.

he was sufficient in swordsmanship training so using blade for him is not an inconvenience. The reason why he uses blade to fight the zombie is because he won’t get experience if he uses guns.

John quickly understands that if he did not level up…sooner or later even he could not escape the tragedy that is happening in the streets of London.

People bitten by the beast, screaming and bleeding fill the city. Some died and immediately rise as zombies, some take a little more time to become zombies.

It depends on the toxicity of the toxins the monster have and the immunity a person have….at least this is what he believes.

He never played any games but he did understand it. Levels and items. This type of thing…it is easy for him to understand.

The only problem was he did not loot the gold. He doesn’t have the time. He needed to go and escort Wilhelm to safety. How could he have time to loot the gold.

But he did loot the vials and the skills book. By now he has two offensive skills and one support skills.

It is a world…governed by game like elements laws. It works by that kind of logic. It took him a few hours of hiding, rushing, charging to finally arrive at the bunker.

Nearby the mansion, is a bunker constructed for the family in cause of a disaster.

John followed Wilhelm to the bunker and they holed up there. For a while it looks like they will be safe until night came.

Wilhelm tries to call the police, the army and the highest top of the government but it was almost like the whole world go dark.

There is no communication whatsoever. That night when they were about to go to sleep….a noise woke them up.

The bunker feels like it was being shaken by an enormous force. A beast has detected us.

The beast smells our scent and attack the bunker. The bunker that could withstand nuclear weapon could not bear the destructive power of the beast.

When the entrance was ripped apart by the monsters, both he and Wilhelm was lost for words.

It was something that resembles a dinosaur, which uses its claws to rip apart the bunker entrance.

It was hideous, its teeth was gleaming in the dark, there is a chunk of flesh lodged in its teeth, its claws was razor like sharp and it size was like a two story buildings.

John hides….Wilhelm on the other hand panicked and tries to run which resulted in him being eaten.

John on the other hand slip past the dinosaur like beast when it was occupied in digesting Wilhelm.

It tries to pursue John but it was slow. Maybe that was its weakness John thinks as he is jolted to the present.

He looks at the ceiling…and wonder….can he defeat it?

He chose the unique class Dark Knight when he reach level 10. One of the prerequisite to become a fully-fledged unique Class for him, is to defeat that beast.

Which is why he did not leave yet from London. The monster is here…so he needs to defeat it here.

John is a resolute man. Since he entered the Special Training Forces, and even was sent to some of the harshest place in the world, his boldness is what kept him alive.

And he has chosen to brave this danger to reap the benefits later on.

‘HAA’ he sighed.

‘A long way to go. But Hell always has a long road’ he said as he get up from his bed.

***********************************************************

FORMER USA

NEW YORK

IN AN ABANDONED BUILDING

Raymond is in a building, overlooking the gigantic beast just near the gas station. The beast sniffs and looks around the gas stations.

Sometime it swipes its hand and vehicles exploded. It has great strength and its arms is bulging.

He is still in New York. Well, unless he could fly or teleport, he would be stuck in New York for a long time.

In the street, it was full with zombies, burning buildings and cars that blockaded the streets.

Because of the panic of the initial Fall, many accident happen in the street. There is many destroyed corpses in the stress.

Some was burned in the car. On the way here Raymond could see a charred corpse of a baby and his mother.

It was heart wrenching and eerily creepy.

Even though it has been three days, Raymond still could not believe what has happened.

‘Is it coming here?’ a voice from behind Raymond enters his sears. Raymond did not turn back only shaking his head.

‘It doesn’t seem to notice us.’

‘Good. Let Nick take the next patrol.’

‘Ok’ Raymond replies.

Nick comes over and switches patrols. They have been using this building after they finished raiding a nearby stores.

By now their party has grown to 24. There is elderly, the young, womans and childrs even one pregnant mother.

There is a lot of more people from when they started and lots of them they lost too. In this journey how many friends, how many strangers have they saw dies?

It is only been three days but the destruction…oh, the destruction is in par on what people might call…apocalypse.

Raymond sits down in one corner and pat the back of his new friend, Jesse.

‘How is the leveling?’ Raymond ask showing an amiable smile. Jesse is a teenager, and the one he saved from one of the zombies during their journey here.

‘Not long till I reach level 10’ he said excitedly, his eyes is full of admiration towards Raymond. Raymond rub his head and said

‘Good. I’m going to rest for a while. If you have any question about leveling up, ask me.’

‘Un’ the boy nodded.

Raymond went into a corner and take a seat one of one of the chairs. He take his meal. Just a few snack bars in his storage rings and some beans.

Then a few others people in the group come to Raymond asking him about how to level up and what they should choose for their class up.

Raymond patiently teaches them on what to choose. He is a gamer….after all. But now who would have ever thought he is a gamer.

His level is 23,his body is getting muscly and even though he is still a little chubby, one could tell the fat is leaving his body, constructing his muscle.

Well, constant running and encountering life and death battle would surely make you lost weight.

Then suddenly Raymond feel his hair stand up and he catch the gaze of Leonard looking at him.

Leonard avert his gaze.

Just my imagination I guess Raymond mused.

Nowadays his relationship with Leonard is strained. At the beginning he was Leonard most trusted person but nowadays he always uses Nick.

For some reason, Raymond feel that Leonard does not like him.

But that couldn’t be. Raymond only has admiration for the man. He saved him, and this group.

Unbeknown to Raymond , Leonard is jealous and fearful of Raymond growth. From that chubby little cosplayer, to the man he is now, to possess such leadership and amiable personality that made people feels close to him, this is his strength Leonard mused.

When he was injured, Raymond led the group.

And contrary to Leonard first initial impression of Raymond, Raymond lead his group well…not well….but great.

They raided many stores successfully, leveling up and classing up.

Many of the people in the group admire and respect Raymond power and all that he has done for the party.

And inevitably Raymond becomes stronger than Leonard in the group. Coupled that Raymond is a full-fledged unique class, his power is almost appear godly.

He could control the earth, in minimal amount but it is enough to do the trick.

He could create quagmire, produce some shakings, move stones with his mind and senses enemies by closing his eyes and focus.

His skills and abilities rose when he defeated the Red Giant Ape. He did not do it alone. It took 20 men to restrain it and kill it.

Two died that day….and Raymond transforms into this powerful person.

When he fight with his Stone Warhammer, he is unstoppable, producing shakings and vibrations.

Leonard when he first forms the group it was out of necessity.

Now he wanted to rule this party and create his own country. He is part of a militia once. Of course, his militias are all freedom loving American…..except him.

Now, the United States has crumbled and this strange power is bestowed towards them.

He wanted to rule. He wanted to conquer. He wanted to be the ruler.

Leonard understand the new world well….but if he wanted the world he dreams of to become a reality, Raymond is  a thorn in his flesh.

And he needs to remove it, even if he has to remove his flesh.

Raymond on the other hand doesn’t notice this.

And so the game begins.

*********************************************************

FORMER JAPAN

KAI

Hikigaya is one of the few that’s survives the fall. He run from the high school as fast as he can and in this three days he has managed to level up to level 26.

If anyone heard this one could not help but wonder how strong this man is.

Looking at him no one could guess how did he become this strong. He then saves his classmate, and now is forming a base near the mountains behind their school.

The leader? Him.

He who was despised and ignored in the class. Other than the members of his Counseling Club, he is despised by the school.

But now they all have to listen to him. But Hikigaya is not a man that hold grudges. Contrary to his appearance he is very nice.

He has droopy eyes, like a dead fish, a revolting smile and his hair sis always the bed hair.

But how did he become this strong? It is because he uses his head. When the voice came, all of his classmate got blades, katana, bows, and the likes but all he got was a trapping devices and a storage rings.

Good thing is …is that he has 99 of those traps.

So while some of his classmate who survived the first attack uses blade to kill the smaller monster, he went to the back of the school to fight the Black Gigantic Worm.

And fight means he prepared an ingenious trap.

He uses almost 75 of his trap to lure the worm to him and exploding it in a chain of explosion in a cave which trapped the worm and subjected it through multiple explosion.

That day, the hill is full with explosion, holes fill the land. In one kill, he level up to 19.

The beast was level 27. It took him two days to kill the beast. Thankfully the beast didn’t have regenerating power or anything that helps its health.

If not he might lose.

But of course he has planned it since the beginning and investigates the monster before moving out to kill it.

He then shakes his head, he doesn’t want to remember that day. He spend that day hiding, running in fear, eating barks of trees, while trying to survive , the mental pressure and the threat of dying.

He looks at his current situation.

In front of him, people are making their tent as the mountain is now safe from gigantic beast.

They only have to deals with the zombies but the hill provide a natural barrier.

He stood overlooking the schools. He intends to take back the school. He has saved about a 100 people nearby and under his rule.

People started calling him the tiger of Kai, maybe because of his armour that looks like the armour of Shingen Takeda.

Not to mention he is in Kai. The Tiger of Kai and the Dragon of Echigo. Hehe. He laughed. Who would have thought?

He wears the kuwagata kabuto the horned helmet, the mempo, the face mask which gives him quiet a great stats to his strength and spirit, the boots , the shoulder guard so much like the popular portrayal of Takeda Shingen, which comes his nickname the Tiger of Kai.

By now, he has a tachi and a wakizashi as his weapons.

He still uses trap, but now his strength is enormous he is thinking of stabilising the surrounding areas.

This is what the people wants he mused.

He only take the role because  no one else could take the roles and because only he has the smarts and strategy to go with the plan.

He is a Unique Class, an Illusion Archmage. His spirit is high and he has already become full-fledged Unique Class.

His magic is powerful and he has 7 skills. 3 were supports skills 4 is offensive. He looks at the school and he smiles.

‘I guess….this is the beginning’ he said and smiles under his mask.

*******************************************************

Thus all around the world crouching tigers and hidden dragons all emerge from their respective countries.

Each of them has their own ambition and goals; all of them has strong will to survive.

The curtain to the Great Warlord Period opens.

*************************************************************

22: CHAPTER 21: BESIEGED ON ALL SIDES

 ‘Would you join our group?’ the man request ringed out in the empty streets, the wind blows his robe as he stand there.

For a while Azief mouth was about to say no…but then he remember something. How could he forget about such important thing!

Idiots! he inwardly thought.

He remembered the beast in the elementary school. That alien like things, that gooey green stuff coming out of its mouth.

That fucking beast! The last requirement to become a Chosen

His eyes look scrutinizing the group in front of him. Twelve people. He look at the Malay man, leading the 5 man.

Looks strong he mused. But for some reason Azief could feel an uncomfortable feeling looking at the man.

Then he looks at the Indian girl with her two friends. A stick as her weapons. Why did the world orb give her that?

Hmm he mused. He then tries to remember the quest requirements for Shadow Lord class acquirement.

He doesn’t have to do it alone, he finally remembers.

Well, when you keep battling and responding to situation without a chance to compose yourself, certain thing got pushed out of your mind.

This best describes Azief right now.

The only thing that matter is that the beast is destroyed. The only thing that matters is the beast is defeated, no matter the means.

It didn’t have any restriction.

He smiles. Then he asks.

‘What is your name?’ he said in a grave tone looking at the muscly man. Behind the muscly man, his voice startled the Indians ladies.

While the man holding the scimitar, is gripping his weapon tightly. For some reason, that man look like he is dead afraid of me Azief mused.

‘My name is Hamad.’ The muscly man replied, still looking cautious at Azief.

‘Hamad. Where is your destination?’ Azief follows up. By now, he has certain alternatives but he couldn’t delay going home.

‘The capital.’ Hamad reply

‘KL?’

‘Yes.’ Hamad nodded and Azief put his finger on his chin. But his general expression is hidden because of the hood.

‘Hmm’ Azief has to think about this.

‘Are you joining them?’ a voice from behind him piped up.

‘We need to go fast. Our destination is different from them.’ Sofia said, her voice was anxious, almost like pleading.

She is right Azief mused. This is not their real objectives. Their objective right now is going home, not to help strangers.

Azief knows that too. But….this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Could he…Hmmm…there is another way.

But it’s not certain that they will wait. But still, it is better than doing nothing.

He needs to move fast. Now that he has the strength to mow down zombies, he could go home.

Sofia is also a good support partner.

‘Then how about this?’ he said to the group. The group listens intently.

‘I’ll give you a choice. In 3 days I will come back here and help you go to the capital. But only if you waited. If you wait three days, then I’ll show an opportunity of a lifetime.’

Azief said only this. He did not say what the opportunity was, remaining as vague as possible.

How could he say that he will ask them to fight that alien with him? Of course he couldn’t say this.

Azief could be selfish and cold sometimes to strangers. But he is not entirely lying. After all there is still many loots that he left under the debris of the buildings when he runs away from Ah Seng shop.

It’s just now, that he knows that there is a super creepy looking alien standing near that building, how could he bravely enter there again without some backup plan?

And if they help him defeat the alien they would also gain levels, and not to mention the alien certainly would drop some powerful loot.

‘Three days?’ Hamad asked.

‘A lot could happen in three days’ Hamad said frowning. He thought Lord Shadow could help them.

After all, seeing the disparity in power, Hamad has already regarded Lord Shadow with high estimation.

What he needs now, is someone strong.

‘Yes, a lot could happen’ Azief said, nodding in agreement. After all, he knows, he is asking for too much.

‘Of course in this three days if you manage to level up sufficiently and is confident of your strength you don’t have to wait for me. After all this is just a selfish request of mine. You also have your own destination, your own goals and objectives. It’s just that I have some matter I need to confirm if I were to join your group. The more the merrier, isn’t that right? I know what you want. You want my power because my level is higher. Yes, it is only because my level is higher, that I could so overwhelmingly defeated you. There is no need to hide this from you. After all, not many survive this calamity. I’m not so cold not to even give some pointers. Not to mention you have a lot of people in your group.’

Hamad nodded.

‘I wanted to join you. Of course I want to. After all, if there are more people, our ability to survive would also soar.’

The group behind Hamad agrees, nodding their head.

‘But, I also have my own things to pursue. I could not leave here until I confirm one thing. Either you accept or not, I hold no hard feelings. Just think of it, that we have no fate.’ Azief said.

Hamad then said.

‘If we were to wait, where would we wait?’ he said asking.

Then Azief smirked.

‘If that is the problem, I have the solution. Nearby here, there is a supermarket. The zombies around it have been neutralized by me. You could go and wait there. There are still a lot of supplies.’

Hamad was silent for a while, thinking, contemplating. He did not answer. Then he said.

‘We’ll see.’

Azief just nodded.

Then he said.

‘Farewell. Until three days later then’ as his robe fluttered he walk away with the archer following him.

‘An aura of a strong man’ Lakshmi said from behind.

*****************************************************************

AN HOUR LATER

Stiff corpses fill the area, walking, crawling, squirming. Black blood drenched the tar, and limbs scattered everywhere like some abominable plants sprouting from the earth.

A woman and a man leisurely walking through this corpse infested land. Sometimes the lady would release and arrow which would always be ended with a shriek from the target.

The man sometimes leisurely slashes his black intimidating sword and heads would fly. Then the man stop walking as he approached one of the stiffs.

‘This could work.’ The man crouched and grabs something from a decapitated hand.

A key jangling with numerous key chains.

‘This is his bike right?’ In front of the man and woman is a sport bike. The man is Lord Shadow, the Archer is Sofia.

Sofia by now has level up to 13 and Azief is still his same level. It is hard to raise level just by killing zombies now.

Sofia took the Archer profession. Azief has explained to Sofia that choosing the Unique Class, will give you a super hard quest but the return is also good.

Being a Chosen means you have to also did some hard quest to make sure you are worthy to wield it.

She chooses to have a safe life.

‘What do you think, Sofia?’ Azief asked.

Sofia nodded

‘I guess so. It looks like it’s the right bike.’

‘Hmm’ he nodded.

He checks his pet taming time. 7 hours. Not that much anytime anymore before he could see his pet.

Azief starts the ignition and the bike started. Good. It works, he mused.

Quickly Azief rides it.

‘What you are waiting for? Ride it.’ Sofia blushed and ride behind Azief. She put her hand on his waist and Azief ride the bike.

There is still many stranded cars, buses, trucks, stuck on the streets but using a bike it is easy to maneuver through the abandoned vehicles and the burning cars.

There are the occasional zombies but with the speed of the bike, they could maneuver them safely.

He could just run using his feet and he would be even faster but that consume stamina. Not to mention the small city Temerloh is just near his village.

He then arrived at the bridge. And he stopped.

Why? Because he has notices it. Sofia might not have noticed because she has been closing her eyes the entire times.

Riding through the streets, there are many gore scenes, which should only have existed in a horror movie.

How could Sofia bear to see all the corpse and all the horror scene. Azief also many times wanted to puke or close his eyes, but he perseveres.

Fighting zombies is different than looking at the heart wrenching scene of a helpless struggle.

The corpse on the way, shows them that many have futilely tries to get into safety only to have their hopes crushed.

But what did he notices exactly? A horde of stiffs coming to them with speed and their lifeless body, some crawling, some in one leg, all with the intention of eating them.

‘Why stop?’ Sofia said as she opens her eyes. Then she looks in front of her. A bridge….a bridge full of stiffs.

She looks behind her, and an army of zombies. Front or back, zombies all around.

‘You can’t shoot arrows from behind as I zigzag riding the bike, can you?’ Azief asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

But as always, things couldn’t be that easy.

She shakes her head. Azief sighed. If she could, he could ram the zombies in the front while Sofia shoots from behind.

But thinking back, that plan is not really feasible. Then he has to make a stand right here.

Well, he could understand Sofia. It’s not like they are the kind of people who would survive a zombie apocalypse or something like this.

Usually, in the movies, the people that survive this type of thing, is ex-military, a mad scientist, the old guy who spouts the world is ending type and the hidden ability type of man.

Not at all, like him and Sofia. He survived because of luck, she survived because he helps her.

Maybe, to survive this, we need each other. He mused as he smiles slightly.

What is this? I’m getting too bright. He shakes his head. Monologue in his own head is not helping anything.

‘So I guess we have to fight them here on this bridge.’

‘You mean-‘she said as her face paled as understanding dawned on her.

Behind her were 100 zombies. On the bridge is another 100 give or take. Azief just smiles bitterly.

‘You got a zombie, I got a zombie! Everybody got a zombie!’ and Azief laugh a bit, chuckling at his own joke.

‘What is that supposed to be?’ Sofia asked. 

‘A joke?’

‘Yes.’ Azief replying, still holding his laughter as the zombies keep walking towards them, closer and closer with each step.

‘You have the gall to joke? Right now?’ Sofia said shaking her head incredulous.

‘Why not? It’s not like things could get any worse.’ Then he nervously looked at the sky and said

‘And, no, I’m not challenging you, World Orb. This is good enough shit for one day.’ Sofia just shakes her head and readies her bow.

Seeing there is no other way, she really could only fight.

She has conquered her fear….a bit.

‘I might raise another level like this’ Azief said, smacking his lips. Level. Experience. Battle experience.

In this new world order, he will become a new existence, a powerful existence.

That is the only way to survive. He needs to keep reminding himself this, if he ever grows complacent.

‘You….’Sofia said and she grabbed Azief robes, and stare straight at his eyes under the hood.

‘I just level up to level 13. I can’t fight that many zombies. You can handle it right?’ She said, seeking confirmation.

Azief nodded.

‘You just support me from behind.’

‘Fine’ she said, heaving a sigh of relief. After she fought many zombies they always drop arrows for her.

I guess it will only drop if archer is the one that kills it. The World Orb give items that is suitable for the people who kill it.

At least that is Azief deduction.

The groaning becomes louder, the footsteps also become faster. Some of them are running towards Azief.

Azief only smiles and he sheathes his sword, small black aura surrounding the weapons.

That is the only thing he could do right now, smiling.

‘You’re ready?’ he ask Sofia as they stands on the bridge, two warriors looking perfectly comfortable with each other, facing a horde of zombies, approaching them, as the sun is beginning to show its face.

‘Ready as I will ever be.’ Sofia answer and she smirked.

‘Don’t die on me. You owe me too much. I wanted to collect the interest’ Azief said, smirking.

‘If you don’t die, how could I?’ Sofia said smiling in annoyance even though they might be in death door; she is unnerved by the confidence of Azief.

So different from her memory.

‘I guess I will charge then?’ Azief still ask

‘Go, already.’

‘Be careful’ Azief said, almost like a whisper. Sofia just smiles in understanding. No matter how cold Azief is, there is a hint of warmth in his voice.

Sofia recognizes this warmth. After all, Azief is not a psychopath. He of course, have some kind of compassion, if not he would never even help Sofia.

For someone who hates being called a hero, he sure does a hero’s job she mused.

Azief then with his speed, charge to the hundred zombies as Sofia let loose her arrows.

The battle starts on the bridge. 200 stiff fighting two Homo sapiens. Who would survive? Who would die?

*******************************************************************

23: CHAPTER 22: THE BRIDGE OF PARTING

The sun is showing, the mist is clearing, a beautiful morning…..if not for the 200 zombie’s attacking them Sofia mused, as her hand keep shooting to the horde.

She keeps her position stable.

She is focusing on the front while Azief is charging on the zombies behind them.

‘Hooh’ Sofia exclaimed as sometime she steal a glance at Azief position. I guess this zombie horde is not really a big problem for him. She mused

Azief is using his speed to charge the 100 army of zombies. He was like a beast that flitted around, leaving only dust behind him.

His sword is ready to reap some souls, and his eyes are full of killing intent.

‘YARGH!’ He yelled, giving himself some encouragement and he crashed to the horde, and he attacked, his dark blade emits its luster and first blood is draw.

First strike was a slashing right motion.

For a while the moaning and the groaning stop and Sofia could only hear the crisp sound of meat being sliced.

Ten zombies’ was slashed to two, their head flies in the air and drop to the tar with a thud, their bodies followed after.

Azief smirked.

He did not stop his attack, instead he follow up with a spinning slashing motions, his feet turn and his sword spins like a grinder machine.

It was almost like he was dancing in the bridge, with heads and limbs as his fireworks, the spurting black blood his decorations and the harsh sounds of his swords swinging right and left, his song.

It was beautiful.

On the other sides of the battle, Sofia is jumping around while aiming at the zombies head. Her accuracy is top notch and her agility is also not bad.

Her confidence against zombies is rising.

As long as she maintains a considerable distance with the zombies there is nothing to fear from them.

If she feels herself to be overwhelmed she will retreat for a while before using Rain of Arrows.

It consumes a lot of her Spirit but it is useful when using it against a horde. The Accuracy drooped but it inflicts a lot of injuries.

Azief is still mowing down the zombie’s horde on the back with relentless and fast attack, chopping down zombies like they were cow meat.

Black blood sputtered everywhere, heads rolled around his feet. For a while he truly look like a sovereign of darkness.

With a hood covering his face, with a black robe fluttering in the morning breeze and a black sword in his hand, and this many corpses around him, he looks like an undefeated Dark God.

Another zombies try to grab Azief when he is slashing one of the bigger zombies.

Azief swiftly sidestepped to the opposite direction and with a swift slash, the zombies head flew, black blood came out of its neck like a fountain, gushing out.

Each of the zombies that attacked Azief, he only need to sidestepped and slashed and their intestines would came out, their heads would flies, their limbs would be gone.

To Azief eyes, they are slow…too slow.

He sidestepped and he slashed. It is the same routine for each one of the zombies. Why should he change to other routine when this one works?

They are not ferocious beast like that Fanged Giant Cat which requires his full concentration and speed.

This is zombies and most of them is low level. There is a few who could run and stuff but even that few, compared to his speed is nothing threatening.

Then ten zombies leap to him.

Ok, this is unexpected Azief mused but he was ready to slash them with his active skills, Slashing Wind but then he was interrupted.

From behind him barrage of arrows rained down the zombies.

Each one of the arrows effectively and efficiently lodged itself on the brain of the zombies. Azief had to dodge the shower of black blood.

Azief look behind him and see Sofia smiling.

‘You owe me!’ She yelled.

‘I owe you nothing!’ he yelled back.

‘Hmmph!’ Sofia snorted.

He got it under control. She just loves to interfere.

Rain of Arrows and Accurate Shot. Two of Sofia skills that is very suitable for her archer profession.

Rain of Arrows creates a rain of energy arrows. It consumes a lot of the user spirit. Accurate Shot is used to shoot a powerful shot of arrows.

Another zombies leap up and Azief is once again interrupted.

What are you doing! He wanted to yell but he endures.

She uses her Accurate Shot. One of the arrows even penetrates a zombie head only to shot the rest of the three zombies behind it.

‘I’m going to activate Rain of Arrows’ she yelled.

‘You need to be fast handling the back so we could defeat the front. They are hiding inside the buses and some of them are still stuck behind the big truck’ she yelled again, looking at the advancing stiff.

Now, Azief understand. She helped because the front needs his melee attack. After all her specialty is long range attacks and his was melee combat.

Azief could understand her fear towards the zombies. If not for that damn fear, she would be a fine companion Azief just look at her and nodded.

‘Careful with that’ Azief yelled when Sofia activated Rain of Arrows. He is still worried about the range of the attack.

Even though rain of arrows is not as effective as Accurate shot it is an AOE attack.

If it was humans they are fighting right now, many would have died or suffer injuries, their bodies would be riddled by arrows.

But fighting zombies, it does not have meaning unless it hit the zombies head.

‘Come on quick Azief. The front is coming faster!’ Sofia is overwhelmed now and she couldn’t retreat no more.

If she retreat again she would be truly trapped and bring trouble to Azief who is killing the back.

Every time Azief stamina runs low, he drinks the vials. Even though skill book and item hardly come by right now, the vials drop as usual.

Most of it is stored inside his ring. The other is stored inside Sofia storage rings.

‘Wait a moment!’ He yelled back.

‘I’m almost finished’ and he gripped his sword tighter.

 By now the back has decreased its number by 50 zombies. This time the attack of the zombies becomes intensified.

The zombies become faster.

Some of them try to grab Azief again. Azief rolled on the ground escaping from their grab and taking some distance and he activated Slashing Wind and about 25 of them were cut into two.

They still crawled with their intestine dragging on the bridge, looking at him with that empty hole where it used to have eyes.

Azief while attacking the other zombies smashed the crawling zombies head with his feet.

Every time he stomped the zombies head, the tar cracked because of his powerful stomping. He realizes it too that the ground cracked.

He is becoming strong he mused.

Then with one last slash, the final zombie on the back finally all neutralized. Then a message appears.

YOUR SOUL ABSORBING ABILITIES HAVE REACHED THE REQUIREMENT FOR EVOLUTION. CHOOSE YOUR DESIRE SHADOW LORD ITEM TO EVOLVE.

‘Clothes of shadow lord’ he said. He has been thinking about this for a long time and he unhesitatingly chose the clothes of shadow lord.

THE CLOTHES OF SHADOW LORD HAS EVOLVED TO BE THE ROBE OF DARKNESS.

ROBE OF DARKNESS

INCREASE VITALITY BY 50

STEALTH STATS ACQUIRED

YOUR MOVEMENT WHEN HIDING WILL BE HARD TO BE DETECTED.

WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY OR YOUR MOOD IN AN UNSTABLE EMOTIONAL LEVEL, THIS ROBE WILL EMIT A BLACK AURA SHROUDING YOU WHICH WILL GIVE  A BOOST OF 5 PERCENT TO STRENGTH AND AGILITY.

- HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

Whoa! It rises a lot. He inwardly rejoices.

Vitality increased to 50. Like I thought! Choosing a unique class would always give you powerful stats.

Smiling Azief yelled.

‘Hold them back for a while Sofia. I’m coming’

‘Alright!’ she yelled back. Like she got any other choice she mused. Sofia uses her Rain of Arrows again.

Her spirit is almost depleted from the constant usage and now she is just waiting for Azief to come help her.

Azief on the other hand is busy gulping vials of stamina potions, health and spirits potions. He looted all the gold, copper, and silvers.

Sometime he looks at Sofia and confirming that she could still hold on, he continued. She needs to be tempered by fire he mused.

Not to mention if worse comes to worse, with one leap he could arrive at Sofia position. As he search the battlefield, he found only one items and one skill books.

For now he put it inside his storage rings first. Then he rushed to Sofia aid.

‘How is the situation?’ He asked when he arrived at Sofia. Sofia barricaded herself behind a large car while sometime she snipes from the sides of the car.

‘They are slowing down because of my attack’ she said, while not forgetting to compliment herself.

‘The bus is slowing them down’ Azief said boringly as he look at the zombies, stuck at trying to pass a fricking bus.

Stupid stiffs he mused.

‘Heh. I help’. She said proudly

‘Fine.’ And Azief analyze the battlefield as calm as possible.

His heart is still beating erratically, pounding like a drum after the last battle and now he need to risk his life again but for some reason; it’s not as scary as the first time.

‘I guess, you got accustomed to it huh, heart?’ He said it to himself, barely a whisper as he smiles bitterly.

 There is a bus in the middle of the bridge.

Probably it lost control during the fall and slide thus obstructing the other vehicles and right now stooping the advance of the zombies.

Though there is a gap since the bus did not cover the whole bridge.

 It is easier for Sofia since she could shoot an arrow of any zombies who went through that gap.

It could be said, that it is a dinner serve in a platter.

But before long the zombie manages to tear down the hull of the bus and the bus no longer become a buffer.

‘Did you level up?’ Azief asked.

‘Level 16.’ Sofia reply while taking a breath

‘Good’ he said.

‘It’s my turn then.’ And he smirked.

‘Your clothes are different than the last time I see it’ Sofia asked, realizing there is something different about Azief new clothes.

‘Well’ he said nonchalantly and then he runs towards the zombies hordes. He was excited and the black aura shrouded his attire.

 Sofia looking from afar could see the black aura shrouding Azief is shocked.

What other things he has under his sleeve? she mused

This time Azief ignored any defensive maneuver, instead choosing to slash as powerful as he could.

He was almost like an unstoppable tornado fighting with the zombies.

Limbs fly out, heads scattered through the bridge like some decorations, and blood flow like it just rained.

It took about 15 minutes before the whole zombies on the bridge are eliminated.

And shockingly it is done only by one person…..with some help from the back, Azief had to admit.

Damn, I could have done this all alone he mused.

Sofia level up to 19 and Azief is standing on the middle of the bridge like a victorious general.

Azief don’t know why but as he level up the feeling that he is strong could not be denied. Another message popped up.

YOUR SOUL ABSORBING ABILITIES HAVE REACHED THE REQUIREMENT FOR EVOLUTION. CHOOSE YOUR DESIRE SHADOW LORD ITEM TO EVOLVE.

‘Now this is fortunate. So, my items are evolving again.’ This time he tries to upgrade the Dark Sword Of Souls only to be greeted by the rejection message

INSUFFICIENT FOR EVOLUTION.

It seems that to evolve the first stage of the Shadow Lord items it will take about a hundred or more zombies.

But for the second stage of evolution it might double that requirement.

Sofia on the other hand is collecting the loots. Many vials were dropped this time, and there are also some skill books and items.

Azief then try not to evolve his item.

And the windows disappeared. But when he touched the evolution trigger menu in the status windows the same message greeted him.

This time his mind begins to formulate plan.

Should he wait until the evolution reached the peak for the second stage evolution? After thinking for a while he decided against it.

‘I evolve TROUSER OF SHADOW LORDS.’

THE TROUSER OF SHADOW LORD HAS EVOLVED TO BE THE LIGHTWEIGHT TROUSER OF DARKNESS.

LIGHTWEIGHT TROUSER OF DARKNESS.

INCREASE AGILITY BY 15

YOUR MOVEMENT WILL BE FASTER.

WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY OR YOUR MOOD IN AN UNSTABLE EMOTIONAL LEVEL, THIS TROUSER WILL EMIT A BLACK AURA SHROUDING YOU WHICH WILL GIVE  A BOOST OF 5 PERCENT TO AGILITY.

- HAVE ABILITY TO SELF TRANSFORM WHEN IT REACHED THE SOUL REQUIREMENT

‘Huhuhu’ he laughed.

‘What?’ Sofia said as she heard the voice.

‘Nothing’ he replied, his cheeks was red because of embarrassment. He was too excited.

Thankfully his face is hide by the hood if not he really could not endure the embarrassment.

After finish collecting the loot they rest in one of the abandoned car. It was a minivan. Surrounding them was hundreds of zombie’s decapitated head and limbs.

‘What did it drop?’

‘A few skill books and a lot of vials.’ Sofia reply

‘How many skill books?’ he asked.

‘This is the most important.’ He stressed.

‘Three.’ Sofia answered

‘I’ll take two you take one’ Azief shamelessly said.

‘What! I should take two, you should take one’ Sofia countered.

‘Why?’

‘Because I’m a woman and weak.’ She said confidently

‘You don’t seem weak to me when you shot those zombies head to smithereens.’

‘My appearance deceives you. I was afraid, so afraid’ she said suddenly showing a scared expression.

‘Your acting ability is lousy’ Azief said boringly.

‘Tch. Count it as you just concedes it to me. My level is weaker than you, and even my skills are not as many as you.’

Azief look at the woman……and then he sighed.

‘Fine, I might not be a good guy, but I could not let be so selfish.’ After this they will also separate.

Consider it my lost he thinks inside his head.

‘Fine, you take two but I will choose what skill book I want.’

‘Fine’ Sofia cheerfully responded.

Azief then took the books and examine it.

Levitation

Swift Kick

Fear Aura

This is the three skill books Sofia found. Levitation enables a person to levitate 100 centimeters from the ground.

That is all that it does. But Azief is sure that if he could level up this skill it could even exhibit signs of flying.

Swift Kick is an active skill. To execute it would consume 40 spirits and it will send a fierce wind gale kick at the target, dealing a lot of damage, presumably.

Fear Aura is giving a fearful aura to beast and zombies. Maybe if it is leveled up it will even works on humans.

‘Come on, choose one’ Sofia said impatiently

‘Ok, fine, wait a bit’ Azief said.

Then he choose Fear Aura

SKILL: FEAR AURA

YOU CAN EMIT AURA OF FEAR AFFECTING THE MENTAL STATE OF BEAST AND MUTATED SAPIENS IT WILL ALSO MAKE THEIR MOVEMENT SLOWER AND THEIR SPIRIT WILL BE LOWERED BY 2 PERCENT. A PASSIVE SKILL. TO USE IT, ONE NEED TO WILLS IT, THINKING IT IN THE MIND.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL?

‘Yes’ Azief reply.

‘You’ve chosen, right? Sofia asked impatiently.

 Azief nodded and Sofia grabbed the two books an quickly learned it. Light shone down on her and she smiles.

She gets out of the car and suddenly she released a kick to the air and a wind gale erupted from the tip of her feet sending itself to the air.

Powerful attack he inwardly thought.

After they drink stamina vials and spirit vials they continue their journey . This time, since the zombies on the bridge have all been annihilated, they should have take their time.

But Sofia was anxious and keep running and as they jump through the cars and vans that obstructed the streets finally they get pass the bridge.

Looking in front of them both of them look at each other with a wistful expression.

Sofia then said

‘I guess this is it?’

‘Yes.’ Azief reply.

They have talked about this. Now Sofia is stronger than before, and braver, she could go by herself to her mother.

Of course she would still be in danger but it’s not like Azief is invincible. In their new world, all places is full with dangers.

He is not strong enough yet to guaranteed she would be safe with him, not to mention he accompanying Sofia was a short term plan.

‘We separated hall and half?’ she ask

‘Okay’ Azief replies.

Sofia give the vials, separated half of it for her, the other half for him.

Azief could see she is anxious to go to her village by now Azief knows that she lives in the Wide Swamp village.

Azief live in Stone Cape Village.

After the bridge they would pass a sawmill and then they will be an intersection.

Entering that intersection would lead to his village. Going forward will go to her village. She could not accompanied him to his house, and Azief would like it that way.

This is his problem, he would solve it by himself.

Then Sofia extended her hand.

‘Thanks for all the help.’

‘Don’t ‘Azief said.

‘I didn’t do nothing much. It is mutual benefit.’

‘Hmph’ Sofia smiles

‘For a man who doesn’t like to be hero, you sure look like one.’

‘What?!’ he said flustered.

‘Until we meet again’ she said as she dashed forward from the bridge running with her fastest speed.

With the sun just getting up, her figures were like a heroine and Azief couldn’t help but smile.

This time, his feelings weren’t as heavy as before. Smiling he too dash forward, rushing to go….home.

***********************************************************

24: CHAPTER 23: THE MYSTERY LOOMS

He has entered the intersection and what greeted him was a scene of devastation. There are no zombies coming towards him……only a lake of blood.

And slithering creatures, near the entrance of his village, slithering around the dead, eating their flesh.

Azief hold back the urge to puke.

A lot of blood. He mused, gripping his hand more tightly and strengthen his resolve.

He at least should have expected this. The devastation is almost as bad if not worse then what he has seen, coming here.

Bodies scattered about with frightening expression on their face, a black red crow eating a man eyeball, a silver rat eating a man finger, a red snake swallowing an old man, its belly is bulging in a shape of a child.

Probably the snake ate a child before and now it is trying to swallow the old man. Azief inwardly thought.

The entrance of his village is full with crawling and slithering beast….but they are all small.

Rats, crows, snakes. But it is not gigantic like the beast he fought before. Should he have come faster? He thought to himself.

He takes a rest before moving from his initial position in the bridge. Searching for items and vials, or anything that could strengthen himself.

He alos rtake this moment to learn one of the skill books he found.

He took it and he elarns it

EYE OF NIGHT

PASSIVE SKILL. WILL ACQUIRE NIGHT VISION AND SEES FARTHER THAN DAYTIME. SENSES AT NIGHT WILL BE GREATLY ENHANCED.

‘Hmm’ Azief said. This will complement nicely with stealth and his other skills.

He then checked the items.

It was a brown pills and it smiles really bad. At the time Azief did not have time to check the pill but now he have the time so he sniffed it and he almost barf.

He then checks the information of the pills.

DIARRHEA PILL

WORK EFFECTIVELY FOR MONSTERS OR HOMO SAPIENS BELOW LEVEL 20. WILL CAUSE ANYONE EATING IT TO SUFFER TERRIBLE DIARRHEA. TO LEARN THE RECIPE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS NEED TO BE CLEARED.

REQUIREMENTS:        EAT THE PILLS

                                    AN ALCHEMIST (PRODUCTION SKILLS IS NOT YET UNLOCKED)

Azief decided then. Even if he fulfills the requirement he would not eat this unappetizing pills.

But Azief then had an inspiration. More like, a revelation. Production skills exist.

And it has not yet be unlocked…..which means if his level is high enough or he did something that fit the criteria the production skills will be unlocked.

If there is a diarrheas pill wont there be like some EXP pills or pills that give boost to stats or something that would improve the body?

‘Hmm’ and this time he smiles. Anyway, this might be useful later. So, he keeps the pills inside his storage rings.

Finished with this, he looks at another direction.

He looks at the direction of Sofia village and as he expected there is a lot of beast corpse littered the streets.

He knows this is Sofia doings. Arrows riddled the beast corpse. Her experience must be harrowing.

He shut his mind of from Sofia.

Sofia has her objectives, he has his. He uses his fear Aura and black aura wafted from his body and some of the rat freeze on spot.

The snake however only shivers a bit before they change their target to him.

Azief did not wait. He kicked the ground and in one second he already arrived in front of the swallowing snake, and with one slash the snakes was slices like tofu.

A few rats tries to run away but Azief quickly activated Slashing Wind and the fleeing rat all turned to pool of blood.

In a few minutes the snakes slithers away; the rats flee to the holes and burrow themselves deep inside it, and the crows flies to the sky, squawking.

‘Huu’ he sighed.

He looked at the empty streets. Even though the snakes and the rats even the crows, are low leveled, they are a lot of them.

It’s good that they are intimidated of him.

If he has to fight them all, it would take a long time. He would win…he believes but it will take a long time.

And the longer it is, the higher the probability that his family did not make it. But he did not entertain that thought.

Or at least he tries not to.

In his heart…however there is this nagging sensation…that coming here is a big mistake…that he should have make that deduction long ago, that his family couldn’t possibly survives the initial fall.

‘Hope’ he said louder than he expected. Hope that keep him going. His feeling is complicated when it is about his family.

He shakes his head and tries to push this out of his mind.

Azief crouched and examines the snakes. He removed the black thing inside the snake bodies and the windows telling that it is safe to eat the meat appeared again.

He then stores it inside his storage ring.

He searches for a bead but he could not find it. Not all beast drop bead he deduced. Only certain types of beast or maybe it depend on luck.

He moved forward passing Amir house and entering the village.

There is the hill he mused. But when he reached the hill, he was shocked. His gaze is looking at this bizarre scene in front of him.

A palm print can be seen imprinted itself on the hill.

A beast! he inwardly thought in shock.

There is a giant beast here! As he moved from the hills, he could see from far away his First Uncle and Third Uncle house.

Should he check their houses first? He then hesitated before making a decision. He needs to check it too.

So he slides down the hill and arrive at the narrow path, near the swamp. The swamp was swamped with snakes.

‘Heh’ he smiles.

I could even make a pun with swamp he mused chuckling at his own joke. He brought out of his sword as power surged through his body.

He then dashed forward dispatching the small snakes that obstruct his way with one slash of his sword, the snakes powerless in front of him.

Hundreds of them were sliced like leaves.

This time Azief did not stop to collect the snake meat instead he dashed forward leaving the snake meat.

He is too anxious to look at his uncle’s condition.

Then he arrived at the entrance of his Third Uncle house. His first uncle house is behind his third uncle house, so he had to check his third uncle house first.

Opening the gates and with just one glance, he could already imagine the outcome of his curiosity.

He closes his eyes and take a deep breath.

‘Breathe, breathe slowly. Azief, be calm’ he said to himself.

‘Take a deep breath and be calm. There is nothing you could do. Breathe’ he keeps saying, almost like a chant and he open his eyes again.

He spread his divine sense trying to ascertain if there is an enemy but there isn’t.

He takes a step and another step and another step, trying his hardest to look at the corpse in front of him.

The front door was open and her Third Aunty could be seen sprawling on the front yard, a deep gash behind her back, her head was full of holes, something resembling a claw marks.

Azief expression turned hard.

Passing the corpse he enters the house, cautious with each step. Whatever that did this, might still be here.

Entering, another scene shocked him and he gripped his sword tighter.

Blood trail can be seen from the kitchen area leading to the front door, a bloody hand print on the TV and he could see his nephew bodies, split into two, the lower part on top of the living room table, the upper part on the sofa.

His face shows that he suffers heavily before his life was snuffed out, his eyes was gouged out, a hole was dug from his stomachs, his intestines juts out and fill the living room table, a slush of black blood still drips from his wound.

The boy was young…just a 15 year old kid.

Azief avert his gaze. He then went to the kitchen and finally he could deduce what happened in this third uncle house.

Whatever beast that did this come from the back. How did he deduce this?

The back part of the house disappeared, leaving only debris of stones and the corpse of his third uncle.

Even though his third uncle face was smashed into a pool of blood, he could recognize his figure anywhere.

A little stocky and tall. Azief did not say anything, only offering condolence in his heart.

He then spread his divine sense again but he could not find any enemies near his vicinity or at least enemies that could hurt him.

Whatever that had attacked this place has flee to other places.

From the back of his third uncle house, he walk straight to his first uncle house but he did not have to enter to know that his first uncle is no more.

Why?

Because his first uncle house was flattened by something very big, leaving only a large foot print.

The footprint is almost square…and it reminds Azief of a Brontosaurus foot print. He cast out his divine sense again as a precaution but does not find anything other than the small beast nearby.

Confirming that his third uncle and first uncle are dead…his worries only grew.

He then dash from his first uncle house and in no time he is in the narrow path again, and climbing the hill with his greatest speed.

Looking down the hill his eyes that could see further than before, he determined that there is not giant beast nearby.

He jump down the hill and rushed forward.

The distance from the hill and his house is only 1 kilometers so with his speed he run like the wind, slicing the snakes, the wasp and the other small beast that tries to obstruct his way.

500 meters he mused as his feet keep running.

His stamina is declining but with his large supplies of vials, he quickly gulps a stamina potions and spirit potions.

As he run, he slashes. As he slashes, the beast scattered.

100 meters he mused and then seeing the small ditch in front of his house, his heart beats fast.

In front of his house there is a small ditch and then finally…he reached home.

The creaky, rusted gates, the stone wall that his father built a year ago, the green grass in front of the garage, the white orange mix color of his house, because of the flood a few years ago.

All of it was still the same….but for some reason, his heart could not calm down. It was silent, eerily silent.

He hopes that his family is safe. He hopes his family is at least well. He walked from the ditch and step by step he came closer to the gate.

Opening it, it creaks and in a village where this is no one, the creaking sound awfully loud. He steps forward again but he could not hear any sound.

Only the winds.

He did not dare cast out Divine sense, fearing of what he might discover…fearing that his family is all dead.

Closer and closer he came to the front door. The front door is still closed; there is no sign of blood anywhere, not in the front yard, not in the grass, nowhere…only silence.

Fear crept inside his heart.

An absolute silence that give birth to countless of horrible imagination inside Azief minds. He closes his eyes, and he chants again, calming down his nerve and he grab the knob and turn it to the right.

The door opens.

He hoped that he did not see anything that would make him regret. He hope…that his family had hidden themselves well.

But what greeted him …….was despair.

************************************************************

25: CHAPTER 24: REBORN ANEW

It was a shadow of a figure stamped on the pink wall. There is no trace of blood only shadows of people trying to run from something.

If he wanted to describe what it is, then it could be described like someone who has died of a nuclear blast.

He sees the red figure on the wall, and he could make a faint figure of a man holding the hand of a woman with children running behind them.

His family.

He has no doubt about this. All the things in the living room has disintegrated, only ashes and dust remains.

There must be some beast that could do this. A beast that has some unique power this kind of thought cross Azief mind.

Unconsciously, tears started to fall from his eyes. His knees become weak and he collapsed lifelessly on the living room.

No matter, how their relation is, they are still families. But this state did not last long. Azief quickly steel himself and he got up….but his hand still trembling.

His knees are still wobbly and his heart is still beating furiously, an indescribable anger rising up from his heart and stuck at his throat.

At this moment he wanted to wail and yelled to the heavens. But he endures it. He endures the unfairness, he endures his anger, he endures the pain.

Because there is nothing else he could do.

He was powerless before and he is powerless now.

This sense of….defeat….is not something unfamiliar. All of his life, he never did achieve anything great.

He always had great aspirations but he never had the means.

And never before has he is being confronted by his own powerlessness other than now. The feeling he felt. The fear and anger.

Fear to this new world, fear that from now on….he would be alone. And anger to the world for what has happen.

He is truly alone now. No family. He has no close friend other than Nizam and Yusof. Other than that, he only has his family.

But he got up. He got up because he has to survive. If the world is expecting him to fall and crumble, he would prove the world wrong!

He gritted his teeth, his eye is still red, he clenches his hand and he got up. In life, there are certain defining moments that shape a person.

And for Azief, that moment was the moment he determined himself to survive. He was reborn at that moment.

He didn’t know it, but his heart has already hardened and his determination only fires him up.

He tried to surmise what happens here.

Seeing the way that they died Azief begins to believe there is some weird beast prowling around his village.

His mind also flashed towards the peculiar way his third uncle and First uncle demise. He also notices that he barely met a stiff when he is entering the village.

And most of the zombies he met in the intersection did not come from this village.

Living in a village, he almost knows everyone.

At least, once is a while, when there is a feast (it is called kenduri in my country, but I don’t know what to call it in English so I wrote feast) he could see the elders and the villagers.

But what made him uncomfortable is that he doesn’t know what it is.

There is something nagging in the back of his mind, sensing that there is something eerily wrong about his village.

He scans his surrounding but he could not find any hostile’s monster and this is what makes him feel more unnerved.

There should be many zombies. Even though his village is small, there should be at least a few that has turned into a zombie but there isn’t.

Only monsters. And none of that gigantic beast.

Some crow, a little snakes and a few rodents. At least it should have a horde of zombies prowling around like in the city.

He moved forward and enters his room.

He could only see ashes but the wall of the house is fine, only the thing inside the room was completely disintegrated.

What manner of creature did this? he thinks to himself.

His room was clean; he then walked to his sister room. The same. And to his parents room. The same.

They all left dust and ashes.

It was like a nuclear blast happens inside this house but the house is perfectly fine. There is another thing that bothers Azief.

It has been a few days.

Supposedly, his third uncle and first uncle should have turned into stiffs but they didn’t. Something bizarre is happening in this village.

He then came to the living room again, looking at the figures the wall. He doesn’t know what to say…or do.

The tears come again but this time he quickly wipes it.

He then crouched down and he caressed one of the figures. It is his youngest little brother. He was only ten years old.

The world is unfair!

Azief always plays with him when he has the spare time. Then he looks at the figure of her mother.

Even though they rarely talk, her mother still cares for him, in her own way. Azief knows this and realizes this.

They both are clumsy, in the way they expressed their feelings towards each other, but Azief understands.

And then his quiet father.

It seems fathers are like god. Distant and aloof. They are complicated emotions inside him…It was not sadness…but regret, maybe.

He was a 23 years old man, with no job or prospect, he is not yet married, and he has no money.

He still lives in his parents’ house, and rarely helped his parents other than helping washing the plates, or cleans the yard.

Other people sons, each month give some allowance money to their parents but he couldn’t even do that because his job gives him only a little bit of money.

Even living for himself was hard enough.

His parent did not say anything or tries to rid him out of the house and for that he is always grateful.

But he like other sons also wanted to make his parent proud. Wanted them to live in luxury and repay their care.

To be a filial son.

Then looking at the figure of his parent he said, eyes streaming with tears, teeth gritted in angers, eyes bloodshot, like a devil just escapes from hell, his robe emitting a black aura around him, making him look like a Death God

‘Watch over your son. Your son will someday be a great man, shaking the world and make you proud in the Afterlife. No one will not know my name! And if I ever get to know, what beast did this to you, I will end its life, grind its meat and make it suffers a thousand fold of your pain!’

That is the only thing he could offer. A promise to the dead. At least, this way he could motivate himself.

With one last look, he exited the house with tears filling his eyes.

**********************************************************************

The clouds still is blue, and the wind pushes the clouds. It was a sunny day. But a gloomy atmosphere surrounds Lord Shadow.

He went inside his neighbor hose. This time the circumstance of his neighbor death is also suspicious.

It enhances Azief initial conclusion. That there is some weird beast running around his village.

Their heads were all missing and their bodies were mutilated to such gory extent.

However Azief has…...for some reason, has accustomed himself to seeing such level of gore.

He stills feel uncomfortable, but he can’t barf every time he sees a horrifying corpse.

After all, for some reason, Azief believes he would meet many more corpses like this in his journey.

Uncle Zulkifli is his neighbor.

He is short, stocky man. His corpse is at the living room, his hand gripping tightly a kris.(keris is a weapon. google it for anyone interested)

But his head is nowhere to be found, only a pool of blood from his severed neck.

As he walked deeper inside the house, he could see a naked young woman. This must be the second daughter he mused.

Azief knew the second daughter of his neighbor.

Slightly tall than the first daughter, she also has a whiter skin. She left for Australia before, learning there….but it seems she return.

She should have stayed there, Azief mused.

Azief crouched down and looked at the corpse. The woman breast…..was severed from the chest with maggot eating the meat.

The white skins were stained with the red blood, and the deep scratches, leaving a deep gash.

But it was not that, that attract his attention, it was the white thing on her vagina. Azief looked and at first he thought she was raped….but then where is the rapist?

Looking at her nails and hands, there is signs of struggle. The wounds are indication of that. There is also some kind of fur stuck on her nails.

Azief examines this with rapt attention. She was raped, there is no doubt about it.

Then a thought crystallizes inside his head.

Could it be, whatever that killed her, is trying to mate with her? Its sounds absurd but if this is true…..Azief shudders thinking of this.

But in the city he never sees this kind of corpse. Another mystery he mused.

He neared the corpse and tries to smell the corpse. The smell was of course not pleasant but when Azief smells near her vagina, he really wanted to puke.

It was rotten but the white things smell pungent. It’s semen he is confident with his answer.

He is calmly analyzing the corpse. Anything could be a clue.

‘Hmm’ he sighed as he got up.

‘Whatever that attacked them, is not the same thing that attacked my family’ he said.

He walks again to another room. Another woman. Auntie Ta. Also dies the same way even more brutal.

It seems the area around her thigh all were ripped apart. There is also the semen sprayed around the corpses.

It was a ghastly scene. Around the corpse was maggot, wriggling about, near the wounds and some is inside the corpse stomach, moving about

Maybe, my family died in a better way he said consoling himself. At least whatever beast that killed his family, did not submit such torture to its victim.

Walking to the kitchen he had to be careful not to slip because blood pools from the kitchen, flowing to the living room.

This time, he found another deformed corpse.

‘Another children’ he sighed.

The boy name was Syakir and was a friend of his younger brother. Their age is not that far apart.

The body is missing its lower part and the head is also not there. What beast did this? He mused.

Other than the occasional snakes and rats, he found no other beast. Could they have retreated from this village?

There are too many bizarre things that is happening in his village. It is not like the pattern of attack he sees before in his way home.

Zombies attack is quite simple and while they are dangerous, they do not try to rape anyone.

They are mostly moving log.

They don’t even have any ideas. Their strategy consists of trying their hardest to charge at their targets.

They are stupid, EXP farming method.

But Azief is also cautious.

If he did not know the level of his enemies and even what they are, not to mention he doesn’t even knows the abilities of these monster, remaining here might be a problem.

He wanted to avenge his parents at least and kill whatever beast that kills his parents but he is also faced with the possibility, that the beast has long fled the area.

If they do not flee the area, then they have moved deeper to Across Log village. And then he has also has to consider the level of his enemies.

If they are stronger……hmmm…he wanted to avenge his parents, not send himself too early to meet his parents.

‘Hmm’ he needs reinforcement.

It took him about 6 hours since the battle at the bridge and he checks his taming time. 1 hour left.

He needs reinforcement and one person comes to mind.

‘I guess, I have to fetch her.’

He said, his face was grim and full of determination. He then went out of his neighbor house and look at his old house.

‘I will avenge you’ he said, looking wistfully at his house.

Saying this, he dashed out from his neighbor house, heading back to the entrance of his village, his heart is full with despair but his face showed a calm expression.

A cold calmness, sharp like a blade.

********************************************************************

26: CHAPTER 25: THE WORLD IS CHANGING, ONE STEP AT A TIME

The bloody step finally stops. He looks left and right. He is near the entrance of Wide Swamp village.

There are not many obstacles that hinder his movements other than the abandoned cars and trucks that sometimes block the roads.

He looks behind him. Countless of stiff, lying on the tar streets, with arrows stuck on their head.

Sometimes Azief also spotted a few scenes where the tar street was riddled with small holes no doubt from the rain of Arrows skills.

It’s not hard to find Sofia trails. Follow the bodies he mused.

He knows he needs reinforcement if he wanted to kill whatever beast that terrorizes his village.

And he also knows that in group, he is safer. He is secure and his safety would also increase.

So, he has already made a plan when he set out to find Sofia.

When he set out from his village dashing from the entrance of his village to Sofia village he met many zombies.

He slashed them all, kill them all, but even after killing several of them, Azief level did not increase.

He also did not find any roaming beast. Whether they have gone far away or they are hiding in some villages.

First he would recruit Sofia. If Sofia parents is still alive, then the plan would have to be changed  a bit or he has to find another companion.

If that doesn’t work, he still has a backup plan. That is joining with Hamad group to help him kill the alien in the elementary school.

Then when he has reached the criteria to become a full-fledged Chosen, he will set out to his village and kill whatever beast that has terrorize his village.

Azief acknowledge that both of his plans has flaws but he has to make do with what little resources he have.

Sofia approval hinges on the condition of her mother, while Hamad group approval hinges on that they are waiting for him.

If he gets Sofia, Sofia might be inclined to join him fighting the beats in his village.

But Hamad group?

Azief knows, that they will only, if persuaded strongly, help him with only the beast in the elementary schools.

They might not help him with the beast in his village.

He enters the entrance of the village. He takes a deep breath and drinks the stamina vials, gulping it down.

Suddenly a light shone down on him, trapping him, his body felt frozen. He could not move.

‘What is this?’ Azief fearfully said.

The light form like a prison, imprisoning him inside the sphere of the light.

Then he could see from the confines of his light prison, the world shakes again, some of the stall near the entrance of the village crumbles, and the light shone downs on the cars and buses and they all disintegrated into dust.

The hospital beside the entrance also disintegrated, and corpses inside the hospital fall down onto the hard ground with a thud after the hospitals vanished.

However the stiff corpse was not attacked by this light.

Then another shakes happen. Azief could not move….but he could feel his body is getting healed inside the light, his muscles is resting and his body feel comfortable.

He could feel his stamina is recovered.

What is this light? he mused. It doesn’t seem to harm him. It only binds him.

As he thinks of this suddenly the tar cracked and from it emerges green grass. Slowly the tar streets was disintegrated by this grass as it covered the land.

It vines and it crawls, covering everything in green.

Unbeknown to Azief, the same phenomena that happens to him now, is happening all over the world.

His world is undergoing another change by the World Orb. A stream of water appears from some of the cracks, creating a picturesque scene.

Trees bloomed into existence and flowers emerges from the cracks.

The stiff corpse was disintegrated into the soil and become fertilizer for the grass, as tree suddenly spouted from the ground.

For fifteen minutes Azief was in the confines of the light and finally he was released. Azief then looked in front of him.

Grass all around, trees and most of the buildings were disintegrated around him. When he looked towards his east, he could see a mountain peak.

What surprising is that, Azief knows that there is no mountain around that area.

There is Smile Mountain but it is not around that area. Looking at the area of Smile Mountain, he could see a gigantic mountain, reaching the clouds.

Whatever this mountain is, it is not the old Smile Mountain.

There are no buildings anymore.

Even the hospitals near the village entrance was transformed into a large vast of lands with huge trees, resembling a great forest.

It was like the places that Azief knows before, in a second changes to a new world. Azief walked through the grass and crouched down.

There is a signs that survives the light.

Azief look at it.

Wide Swamp Village. It is still his world…but for some reason, Azief could not believe it.

The air become more refreshing and evens the smell of smokes and soot can no longer be smell.

It was like Azief on top of a mountain peak breathing fresh air.

Then suddenly a notification appears.

-WORLD TRANSFORMATION HAS BEEN INITIATED-

-DISTRIBUTION OF HIGH LEVELED MONSTER HAS BEEN ACHIEVED-

-THE PANGAEA WILL ONCE AGAIN BE SEPARATED UNTIL THE NEXT TRANSFORMATION-

Then the notification stops. World Transformation? Pangea? What does this all means? Azief did not realize it but the world has changed back to their initial positions.

Japan which was united with Russia and North Korea when the first world transformation begins has now once again returned to its original position, an island nation.

Only the people that lives around this border see that scene where land in front of them suddenly disappeared

Azief shook his head. For now, this doesn’t concern him. However he is worried about Sofia.

He moved forward and enters the village. In front of the village, the downward hill is no longer replaced by soothing that resembles a garden.

 Colorful flowers fill the once tar downward hill. Smells of fresh blooming fklowers can be smell.

He walks ahead not having time to enjoy such scenery because of the anxiousness in his heart.

Follow the bodies he mused.

Even though the geographical location of this place has been slightly transformed, and even the wooden house has disappeared, Azief could still recognize some of the places.

He once used to hang around this village when he was teenager.

In the afternoon he and his friends used to ride their bike and explore the villages nearby. The Far Swamp village, the Rhino Swamp Village, Bachok village and River Gau village and so on and so forth, so he has some knowledge of this place.

Even though the house has vanished, even the pillars but the stiffs did not disappear. Now this bothers Azief even more.

Why did in his village there is no stiff but here in Sofia village there is stiff?

Is there something different here? No, he shakes his head. The different thing happens in his village.

This might be the normal patterns.

The normal pattern is when people are bitten by the beast, a few hours later they would turn to stiffs.

How long does it take for the corpses to turn to stiff?

Azief need to research this later. And whether it is possible to cure zombies…this too must be researched.

After all there are alchemists. Seeing the description on the pills he got, then Alchemist will exist someday when they reached the requirement.

He keeps walking.

Unlike his village, the snakes and rats did not appear. Only stiffs. Could the stiffs eat the snake and rats?

‘Hmm’ this is too early to make any conclusion Azief thinks to himself.

Azief wanted to understand about this new world so that he could survive it.

Knowledge is power. Soon enough Azief smell an aromatic smell. The smell of meat. Azief instead of running to the source of smell, walk slowly.

He had a guess who produce this smell. After all he has swept this place with his Divine Sense

As he navigates himself inside the bushes he finally could see from where the smell come from.

It was a peach tree. How did it appear, Azief don’t know. He keeps walking forward.

Cleaning himself up, he emerges out from the bushes. The sound startled the person roasting the meat and quickly the bow behind her back was aimed at him.

Azief only smiles bitterly.

Seeing the blood covered Sofia, with eyes that were swollen, and her distraught appearance, one could guess her experience.

‘It’s you.’ She said listlessly and quickly she lowered down her bow and stares at Azief….not knowing what to do.

She almost looks like she was lost. There are signs of tears on her eyes, and she look like she aged ten years.

The wind blows it gentle breeze, caressing Azief faces, as his robe fluttered slightly. He looks the person in front of him and he smiles bitterly.

For a moment, there is only the sound of the wind and the smell of the meat.

Sofia look at him and he look at Sofia, both have seen terrible thing…and Azief could see in her eyes…..there is despair now.

No more hope….Only despair. And he approached her.

*************************************************************************

27: CHAPTER 26: IF THE WORLD DOES NOT WANT TO HELP, THEN FIGHT THE WORLD! IF THE WORLD DARE OBSTRUCT, DE

 ‘Hmm’ Azief sighs.

Sofia was sitting under the Peach tree, shading her from the sun. Dried leaves was scattered around the fire to make it bigger.

In her hand, is a skewered snake roasted on the spitfire.

Not far behind the trees were remnants of houses. There are some traces of old houses and a lot of stiff corpse can be seen on the patch of green land.

‘May I join you?’ Azief said

She just nodded listlessly. Azief walk to her and sit on the chopped log beside her.

For a moment they do not speak to each other, just looking at the fire, Sofia keep roasting the meat.

The firewood crackles and sometimes Sofia would use her hands to fan the flames.

Sofia eat the meat, her face shows no emotions. Azief could only feel coldness coming from her.

She gives one skewered snake to Azief and Azief bites it. It was supposed to be delicious but Azief could not feel excited from it.

And seeing Sofia listless face, Azief had the feeling that her experience is no better than him, if not worse.

They eat in silence.

They are no beast that came to attack them or snakes that slithers, or any rats that came peeking.

There isn’t even an sound of stiffs groaning. Azief divine sense monitored the area and he could sense nothing dangerous or out of the ordinary.

They finished eating and Sofia leaned herself at the tree, looking at the sky, like someone who has lost the will to live.

Azief would even believe it, if Sofia would let herself die under the tree. She did not look like she will move from the tree.

Then, looking at Sofia face, he resolves himself.

‘So….how did it go?’ Azief asked.

She did not say anything……but her eyes started getting moist. Slowly, a tear formed and it falls to the ground.

She did not say anything but Azief could feel her grief. She must have her own traumatic experience.

Azief has his, and she has hers.

She was vulnerable, she was exposed, she was weak…..but she was also beautiful, all at the same time.

At that moment, under the tree, looking at the skies, with eyes that was full with tears…..she was beautiful.

Azief knows, nothing he could say could calm her. Nothing that he could say, could console her.

So, he edged closer and guided her head to his shoulders.  But he could lend her his shoulder to cry on he mused.

So, Sofia leaned in to Azief chest and she cried and she howled and she wailed, beating Azief chest, unleashing a cries that could rend any man hearts.

Azief hugged her and let her cries.

For five minutes, one could only hear the cries, the Job like lamentations, the curses and then finally the tears stopped, the curses stopped and so is the lamentation.

Azief bears it all because he could understand the pain.

Maybe not all of her pain could be understood, but he could understand a fraction of it. The pain of losing someone….losing a family….to feel completely alone, in this new and terrifying world.

It was a special kind of agony, a special kind of torment, to be alone…and afraid. And Azief understand what it feels to be alone…to be afraid.

They were in embrace, under the tree, both of them, losing someone important that day, both of them faces their own agony, in their own way.

Azief by becoming more stubborn, intend to defy, while Sofia cries and become determined.

Both of them lost something that day, but they also gain something.

Azief gain his indomitable Will and Sofia gain courage….Azief because he refuse to obey the world orders that has conspire to buried him under his own misery, Sofia because she has no choice.

She must be valiant.

Sofia stifles a sob and  she releases herself from Azief chest.

‘You’re ok?’ Azief said, there is a hint of concern in his voice.

Sofia nodded weakly. And then she asked

‘Why did you come here?’

The wind sways, bringing new springs, autumn leaves fall shedding the past. A fateful encounter leads to fateful destiny. Encounter and parting is destined.

A lifetime relationship, an oath spoken, only death would defy.

***********************************************************************

‘Let us raise hell in this new era!’ Azief said, looking towards Sofia with his eyes fiery. His usually cold eyes, and usually uncaring manners disappeared.

It was full of determination, fiery enthusiasm and a glint of madness.

A few scattered leaves beneath Sofia feet was blown away by the wind  and there is something in his eyes, that Sofia could not ignore.

There is determination, a steel determination.

‘I will not inquire what has happens to your parent but if I may guess, they’re dead.’ Azief said.

‘Y..ou!’ Sofia was about to get angry when Azief said

Like mine! He said gritting his teeth.

‘I have no else in this world other than my family. They were not loving or joyful parents but they did not abuse me either. They try their best. They struggle against the world. They try to do right! They follow the rules! They pay taxes, pray to God, and they live a live not lying to people. The world is unfair! The people are unfair! The evil rules the world and the good perish. It is a world of wolves. And my parents were sheep! You, Sofia. Do you have anyone else other than your mother?’

Azief asked, his eyes looking intently at her. There is anger in his eyes, a silent fury and regret.

‘No’ she said, her voice was cold.

‘HAHAHAHA’ Azief laughed unrestrained and he got up from the log.

His hood cover his face, and his robe fluttered wildly, his robe emitting this black aura that shrouded him.

‘You have no one else in this world! So do I!’

He declared and he looks at the skies.

‘When I was a child my parents always told me these three things. Do good. Treat people like you want yourselves to be treated. Always be grateful! And I did all these things. I did good, but people did evil! I treat people well, people betrayed me! I was grateful but people repay kindness with enmity! And the longer I live, the more I see. Good people don’t last long. Good deed is not repaid. My father lives his whole life as a security guard. To me, I have always felt grateful to him. Even though he rarely has time for my mother, for me, or my siblings, as I grow older I understand what he has sacrificed for the family. Not one moment in my life, I was ashamed of my father works. He never lied even when he could. He never did evil even if the person deserves it. But people have always scorned my father. To this kind of people, I did not befriend them and they do not befriend me. I did not befriend them because their obnoxious behavior. They did not befriend me because they think I’m not worthy.’

Azief said all of this passionately like a declaration of some sorts. He looks to the sky, like he wanted to crush the clouds, and trample the heavens.

His rage is a towering fury! How could he accept what happen to his family! Even he survives!

Even he!

God should have save his little brother, should save his mother and father. Not him! Out of everyone in his family, he deserves the least to survive.

Is it survivor guilt’s? Azief don’t know. But he keep his gaze at the skies, looking it like he wanted to declare his intention to the world.

He then looked at Sofia and sees her dried up tears. Her mother must have a great meaning in her life.

Her mother shouldn’t have died. Good people supposed to be rewarded not punished.

‘This is a world of wolfs. The world doesn’t care whether you do good or evil! It will still keep moving unceasingly, caring nothing about us, mortals! It does not care a bit about good or evil! The world doesn’t judge men by their worth, and it isn’t about what just! Evil men can hold power their whole lives and be wept for when they pass. Innocent men can be spent like coins because it's convenient. I will not be like that! IF THE WORLD DOES NOT WANT TO HELP ME, THEN I WILL FIGHT THE WORLD! IF THE WORLD DARE OBSTRUCT, I WILL DESTROY IT! In this new era, I would raise hell, so that in my death, everyone would remember my name! I will carve my name in history! How about it Sofia? Will you follow me?’

He said and his eyes look expectantly. This is his declaration, bold and arrogant!

If the world does not want to help him, then he will fight the world! If the world dare obstruct him, he will destroy it!

Isn’t this arrogant!

‘I…’and she thought about all those moments she was with him, and how she has lost everything.

She lost her mother, and the way she lost her….rend her heart apart.

Thinking about it, she wanted to cry again. Wanted to wail again. Wanted to scream again until her throats could not scream.

Wanted to mourn…for as long as she possibly could. Wanted to run  and hide.

But the tears did not come. She endures it. The wail does not come. She endures it. The scream did not come either. She endures it.

She did not run nor did she hides. She bears it. All the pain, all the anger, all the grief and a new emotions surge.

Anger. Wrath. A burning fury. To the world! To everything! And Azief words resound in her ears.

THIS IS A WORLD OF WOLF!!!

‘Yes’ she mused.

World of wolfs and she is a sheep. And sheep get eaten by wolf. And she remembers Azief story about his father and about his mother.

Her mother is not any different. And that’s why she loves her. But the world takes her mother away from her.

She was not rewarded. All of her sufferings, all of her patience with the world did her no good.

IF THE WORLD DOES NOT WANT TO HELP ME, THEN I WILL FIGHT THE WORLD!!! IF THE WORLD DARE OBSTRUCT, I WILL DESTROY IT!!

This word stuck inside Sofia mind, resonated strongly with her sentiment and touched her anger.

She got up, with fury in her hearts, with fiery determination shining in her eyes and she hold out her hand.

‘Let us raise hell…..Lord Shadow’ Sofia coldly said and she shook Azief stretched hands. Thus, Lord Shadow and Sofia the Divine Archer was born that day.

************************************************************************

In years to come, this momentous event was referred as the Promise beneath the Peach Tree.

Sofia was the first companion of Lord Shadow as they carved their name in history

************************************************************************

28: CHAPTER 27: ME AND YOU, AGAINST THE WORLD

After a few hours burying one stiff and mourning in front of the makeshift grave, Sofia has calmed down.

It is useless making a grave Azief would usually say but for some reason he couldn’t say it this time.

She is building a grave for her mother.

Azief began understanding what happens and why Sofia was so unnerved before. Burt he kept his silence.

There is time for saying something and there is time for silence. And Azief knows that this is a time for silence.

He just watches from behind, waiting. Then after she calm down Azief began asking Sofia to prepare herself.

She is level 17 right now.

Then preparing herself, slinging the bow behind her back, arrows ready for her to released, she is ready.

Wiping the tears on her eyes, she steeled herself for the new world. Determined not to be a sheep.

‘So, what is our objective?’ Sofia asked Azief.

Azief looked at Sofia while his eyes darted left and right looking around the bushes. He spotted a few places that were transformed by the System.

He could see there are monsters if they go deeper. But not any large beast. Azief don’t know if that is a blessing or not.

Azief wanted to strengthen himself fast.

A trove of experience and items. But he decided to bolster his rank first.

‘Our objective is the monster at the elementary school.’ He said. He first needs to become….Shadow Lord and enjoy the benefits of a Chosen.

Sofia of course knows that Azief needs to defeat the monster in the elementary school to become a full-fledged Unique Class.

‘Are you using me?’ Sofia eyes narrow.

‘Yes’ Azief said and he said it shamelessly with no change on his facial expression.

‘You!’

‘We use each other, Sofia. We benefited each other. Me and you.’ He said, looking sincerely at Sofia.

Azief is many things and has many flaws in his character but if there is one virtue that enables him to have friends, is that he is steadfast and loyal.

Once he has a good opinion of someone he would surely make friends with such person. Azief is not one that makes friends lightly.

He weights all the pros and cons before choosing a friend. But once he chosen, he will not regret.

Then he said it

‘You and me against the world.’ He said smiling, looking at the sky. Sofia was stunned.

‘Us? Against the world?’

‘Yes, us.’ Azief said

‘The world order has crumbles, the world itself have changed. Look around you Sofia. Peach tree in the middle of nowhere, green grass as far as the eyes could see’ and then Azief pointed to a peak of mountain

‘A mountain that reaches the clouds, monsters and undead roamed the world. This is our opportunity make a name for ourselves.’

‘How?’ Sofia asked. Azief looked back at Sofia, and he seems to be thinking then he said.

‘Become stronger. The World Orb has warned us. Be strong....or perish. If you don’t want to perish be strong. Survive. Grovel if you must. Stay alive! And be strong! That’s it.’

‘But….can we?’ Sofia asked as Azief began walking. Sofia follows from behind.

‘Why not? Of all the people that perish, we survived. Both of us survived all that horrors. Whether by luck or by the machinations of fate or by destiny or by coincidence, we survive‘

‘And that….makes you think we are chosen.’ She said snickering. Sofia believes that Azief feel that they were chosen.

A self-form of megalomania, to think that the world revolved around themselves but Azief quickly dispel her thoughts.

‘Hah!’ Azief gives a dry laugh.

‘Chosen? No, we’re not chosen, Sofia. If you think like that, abandon that thought. We were random cause. No reason, no rhyme, but we survive, a product of luck and chance. If anything, we are cursed. But we do have advantage’ he said as he cut the bush in front of him with his blades.

A few snakes slithers on the ground.

Azief stomp it with his feet and blood splashed on the ground.

‘An advantage?‘ Sofia said as she released her arrows at one of the snakes.

‘Yes, a head start. Right now, all around the world I guess, there are some people like us. Survived the resurrection of the undead. Fight the roaming beast like I did. Seen terrible things like we have. Experience sorrows and despair. And all of them, countless of people forged by fire, have walk to the new future. Some would cling to the old ways. Surely there are a few people who would try to rebuild the old systems out of the ashes. They will fail. Some people are bad at understanding the changes that is happening right now. But of course they would be also those who are fast in understanding. Some would fall and descend to their most primal and animalistic instinct, killing and doing whatever they like. I’m not surprised if we encounter some kind of crazy man creating a tribe, or a man pronouncing themselves as prophet’

He said, his eyes already anticipating the dark possibilities of the future.

‘If you meet a person like that, there is no need to reason with them, Sofia. Just put an arrow in their head. As there are heroes emerging in chaos times, villains and crazy people also would be born. We have a head start…and we better grab it. Before they realized it’

‘Hmm’ Sofia nodded as she slings back her bow behind her back.

‘It seems you have thought a lot about this.’ She said

Then Azief look at the peach tree behind him, watching the swaying branches of the trees, and release a sigh.

‘Do you have any other thing left here?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Baggage, perhaps?’ He asked. And Sofia understands. Anything she regrets about, other things that needs to be cleaned up.

Sofia understands that Azief and her, they probably won’t be coming here for a few years. Looking at the grave of her mother, closing her eyes, she answers.

‘No’ she said.

‘Good, then we will move.’ Azief lead the way and begins walking. They were both astounded after they leave the peach tree.

All they could see was a huge forest. The place where Azief was confined before has a stream of clear white flowing water.

The sound of the water flowing creates a calming feelings and the fresh clear air helps. The greenery is astonishing.

It was like nature was never tainted before.

There are no longer tar roads, modern transportations or buildings. It was like the world made anew.

On top of them, they could see a clear blue sky with bird flying around. Large trees provide shades from the sun.

‘This is….something’ Sofia said in astonishment as they walked through the forest. Azief nodded in agreement.

They take a rest under the shades, near the creek of water. Then Azief take one of the large bottles in his storage rings, pour out the content of the bottle and then fill it up with the creek water.

The creek water doesn’t seem like it is polluted and it just has been created, so the chance of it being polluted by anything is minuscule.

‘Do you have supplies?’ Azief asked Sofia as he stores the bottle back inside his storage rings.

Sofia nodded.

‘At least the System didn’t take that’ Azief said in relief.

He looks around and he could see that all of the buildings he pass during his journey coming here, all vanished, like it never existed.

He also checks his storage rings and there is still a lot of snacks.

‘Do you recognize the way to the elementary school?’ Sofia asked.

‘Even though the road has disappeared and were surrounded by the forest, I think I can still pinpoint the area.’

‘I’ll follow you then.’ They got up from their resting places and they walked again. Then Azief remember something.

‘Wait a bit’ he said and he halted his movement and he smiles. How could he forget?

‘What?’ Sofia stopped.

‘I remember that the time has ended’

‘What time?’ she asked .Azief smiles in glee.

‘Just wait. I’ll give you a shock’. He remembers something very important. His pet. This is a perfect opportunity to summon his pet.

‘Summon’ he wills it in his mind.

And then a notification appears.

SUMMONING SUCCESSFUL

SLOT FOR SUMMONING BEAST REMAINS: 9

A portal appears behind Azief back and from that portal appears the Strong Fist Badger. The strong fist badger come in front of him and kneels.

Then a notification appears.

The status window of his pet appears in front of him

NAME

-

GENDER

MALE

RACE

STRONG BADGER FIST

CLASS

ORDINARY

PASSIVE SKILL

BODY FORTIFICATION

DIGGING

ORE MINING

MINERAL MINING

SMELL SENSES

ANIMAL INSTINCT

ACTIVE SKILLS

STRONG PUNCH

SLASHING WIND

IDENTIFYING EYES

SHRIEK OF BADGERS

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTE

NONE

SPECIAL SKILLS

NONE

It is not the same like his status window. It only shows Azief skills. And then there is also special skills and special attribute.

But Azief could see that this Badger is one hell of a monster. Ore mining, mineral mining, digging, all these techniques would help if he could become a blacksmith or alchemist.

But for now, he doesn’t need that passive skill of his pet. He quickly names the beast Badge.

He always has been terrible naming things so he couldn’t care less. Looking at the status window of his pet it really is different from his status windows.

It doesn’t have level and such.

There is also a limit to capturing beast. Ten is the limit Azief presumes.

Maybe those who choose Beast Tamer or some class that is related to rearing beast would have a larger slot.

But just because you can tame beast doesn’t mean you will tame one. It is hard because you have to weaken them, and not kill them.

Not to mention there is a limit of 10.

Azief don’t know if his pet is permanent or not. What he means if he has recruited ten beasts would he have no other choice but to keep that beast?

What if he encounters another beast more powerful and has a lot more potential? What then?

If it is permanent summoning, then Azief would lose a chance.

If the beast he captured and tamed can be released when he found a new and more powerful beast, then Azief would not worry that much.

This World Orb system! Send me some tutorial manual at least. Then he realizes something else.

What is that? Ordinary class? Does beast have class? Azief touch the screen written ordinary and then another explanation appear.

YOUR PET IS OF ORDINARY CLASS.

Then appears the list of ranks in my mind.

[Ordinary] [Extraordinary] [Unique] [Legendary] [Apex] [Godly] [Heavenly] [Ultimate] [Otherworldly]

Azief understand then. Class up or evolution right? He mused.

The beast could also evolve. Azief look at Sofia, her hand is at her bow, ready to release her arrow at the beast.

‘Put down the bow. It’s my beast.’ Azief said, chuckling

‘Your beast?’ she asked incredulous, her eyes look at the beast from head to toe.

‘Yes, I have the Beast Tamer skill that is why I could tame this beast.’ Slowly she put the bow back behind her back.

She come closer to the beast and looks at it.

‘What do you intend to do with it?’

‘Level him up. As we walked through this forest surely there will be some stiffs and beast that we will come across. Three is better than two, right?’

Sofia just nodded. Then the beast got up and Azief said.

‘Destroy any snakes or rat you found. If you found any beast that is beyond your capability, retreat.’

Azief of course got all the information on how to order the beast when the notification appears so he quickly orders Badge to work.

Better level him up until he could class up.

The Badgers nodded and began walking in front of them.

‘Sofia you support him’

‘Ok’ she said. Azief and Sofia then keep walking. When the snakes and rats drops vials, they would quickly loot it and stores it.

These vials are important.

Azief did not join in killing the snakes and the rats because he knows it will not help him that much.

In about 15 minutes they encounter a problem.

Azief knows they are on the right track and Sofia knows it to but the scene in front of them make them slack jawed.

The Temerloh Bridge that has long connected the villages and the town….has disappeared and in front of them right now is a cliff.

The wind blows Azief robe as he stand there dumfounded. The bridge disappeared…how can he cross to the city right now?

Under it is the Pahang River, no longer brown colour because of the development project and the sand reclamation but blue as the skies, with large crocodiles could be seen sometime showing their head on the water surface.

Sofia look at Azief dumbfounded expression and ask

‘What now?’

Azief look across the cliff and could see the city….now transformed into a forest. He shakes his head, looks at the sky and said.

‘You never let me off easy, do you World Orb?’ He said, clearly he could not accept this.

His plan was perfect. At least, it was perfect before. Then looking at the hill beside the cliff he said.

‘Then I guess we have to swim across.’ Saying that, he climbed down the right side of the cliff and is sliding down.

Sofia shaking her head, and then follows him from behind. And as she climbed down she is thinking to herself.

What did I sign up for following him?

**********************************************************************

29: CHAPTER 28: CROSSING THE RIVER

As they climb down they could see some weird palm trees and bamboo tress sprouting like mushroom after a rain.

Instead of coconut in the palm tree, there is something red as its fruits. The bamboo tree on the other hand…..is quite normal, like a normal bamboo tree.

‘Weird’ Azief said whispering under his breath.

But Azief couldn’t have the time to check the palm tree instead he arrived at the bottom and begun examining the shores.

The sandy bank of the river overlooking the city.

He climbed down to the bank and look at the city across from where he is standing. He looked at the clear water of the river.

‘It has always been brown’ Azief said

Sofia nodded as she walked three steps behind Azief, maintaining a lookout. Azief on the other hand is admiring the view.

This is the first time he saw that the Pahang River could be so beautiful.

His mother once told him that when his mother was a child, the colour of the river was clear, blue and beautiful.

But Azief did not had the chance to see the scenery that her mother always talked about because by the time he was born the river turns cloudy and brown.

‘So, how do you swim?’ Azief asked looking at Sofia. Sofia was dumfounded.

‘You don’t know how to swim?’ she said realizing why Azief is asking her this question.

He shakes his head, confirming Sofia confusion. She could not help but be shocked. This guy is clearly intending to cross the river but he does not know how to swim!

Is he an idiot!

‘I thought you said we are going to swim across.’ She said trying to calm herself again, by taking a deep breath

‘Yes, I did say that.’ Azief said as he walk around the sandy bank and his eyes look around left and right, searching for something.

Sofia follows from behind.

‘But you don’t know how to swim?’ Sofia said, her annoyance can slightly be heard in her trembling voice.

‘I can learn’ he said.

‘Now? Right at this instant?’

‘Now. Right at this instant’ he said. But his eye is still looking around. Azief is of course is not that stupid but he doesn’t want to give the satisfaction to Sofia that he is incapable of swimming.

He already has a plan if he could not swim across. Seeing the threat in the river, he of course thinks of other alternative in crossing the river.

He is just messing with Sofia. Looking at the river he also realized a life threatening problem and sooner or later, Sofia would realize it too.

When that time comes he will let Sofia choose. This is his quest and if Sofia get caught up in it she might die, so…..he will ask her later.

When it matters.

‘You’re insane.’ She said exasperatedly

To be honest, Azief once attend swimming lesson when he was in college. It was mandatory really, since his course obligated him to learn swimming.

But he was never any proficient in it.

As long as he keeps paddling his feet and moves his arm he would not drown…..but floating himself on water, he never did get a hang of that.

Azief look at the river again and sighed

Not to mention there is the crocodiles looking at him and Sofia, like they are its meal. At times like these, Azief wanted a skill to know the level of his enemies or at least their rank.

By now, Azief has some understanding of beast. They do not have levels like human but rank.

Ordinary would be like his pet. He could only imagined Ultimate rank beast.

‘AH!’ Azief remembered something.

‘What?’ Sofia said shock suddenly hearing Azief yelling. Sofia was looking at the water and thinking how to get across.

She is still annoyed at Azief. She realized that Azief is messing with her, so she focus her mind on other thing, namely on how to cross the river.

‘Couldn’t I just ask my pet to swim?’ Azief said a flash of inspiration. Why couldn’t he let his pet swim and he rides from behind.

His pet is also large and could accommodate him.

‘Swim’ he said to Badge. The badger nodded and then jumps into the water….only to drown.

The badger struggles to move forward and struggle pitifully and Sofia began to worry about his pet.

‘Azief’ she said, her eyes glaring at him. Fine he thought inwardly

‘Return back’ Azief said and the portal opens and Badge was sucked into the portal. The portal could be activated if the beast is not that far with the owner.

The higher the rank, the wider the range of summoning or unsummoning.

Summoning would always open a portal behind the owner back but unsummoning could be done from far away depending on the rank of the beast.

‘So, that didn’t work’ he said nonchalantly. Sofia chuckles.

‘Did you look at badge face? It was so pitiful.’ Sofia then broke into laughter. Azief also cracked a smile.

He also sees the desperate look of his badger. It is kind of funny.

‘We make a raft then!’ Azief declared and Sofia just nodded. Seeing that Azief gaze always linger round the bamboo tree near the river bank, Sofia already guessed Azief thoughts.

And that is exactly what Azief is thinking

There is bamboo tree nearby so he could just cut that. It also helps if they are attack by the crocodiles.

At least the raft could provide at least some type of protection….no matter how miniscule.

Of course Azief is not entirely ignorant on how to swim it just that he is not confident he could swim that far to the city.

‘Can you swim?’ Azief asked Sofia. Sofia smirked and then floats.

‘I do not know how to swim but I can levitate’ she said. One of her skills she got before when she was fighting alongside Azief in the bridge.

One of the skill she got was levitation. She smiles arrogantly, a smug smile, she one upped Azief.

‘But you can’t move when you levitate right?’ Azief said and the arrogant smile in Sofia mouth faltered.

She floats back down, looking annoyed at Azief. Azief just chuckles in satisfaction

‘Now, help me make the raft.’ Azief said as he walks to the bamboo trees, readying his blade to chop the bamboo shoots.

‘Fine’ she said.

For hours they worked alongside each other. Azief cut the bamboo shoot while Sofia arranged it.

Sometime the crocodile would try to come to shore but usually Sofia would deter the crocodile by attacking with her rain of arrows.

Then seeing that Sofia does not a thing about how to build a raft Azief orders her to be the lookout.

Sofia was impressed. She didn’t know Azief could build a raft since no one teach this in school.

And Azief don’t strikes Sofia as an outdoor man or the type of man who likes to do stuff like building stuff.

If anything Azief looks like he hasn’t seen the sun for a very long time.

And she is right.

But Azief is a writer, albeit, an amateur writer. Azief had a lot of things in his mind and sometimes the best way to release what he felt in his mind is to write the stuff down.

He joined an amateur writing sites and active in it for a few months before shutting down his account because of the negativity about his story.

He just makes a love triangle and the people flames him from it so he stopped writing….at least he stopped posting it in the site.

Anyway, as he researched many things when he wrote the story, he also accidentally research on how to build a raft.

Who would have thought knowing such stuff actually could have a practical application in modern life?

Thinking about it Azief smiles under his hood, thinking that it was a stroke of luck he knows how to build a raft.

Azief slashed four pieces of bamboo tree with ease like cutting leaves while Sofia now take care of the lookout.

Even though they didn’t see any zombies horde, which is weird, they still need to be cautious.

And then there is still the crocodile near them , that is constantly watching over them.

Azief began building the raft with the four large piece of bamboo. One set is about 8 feet long, the other 12 feet.

He then places the longer piece on the bottom, the shorter one on top to form a square.

He then uses the vines he pulls from the nearby tree, up in the bank to lash together everything.

He makes sure it is lash tightly.

It is the foundation of the raft, the frame. He then secure smaller bamboo pieces side-by-side on top of the frame until it's completely covered.

Then he ties four more bamboo sections to the far edges of the pontoons, spanning the length.

Sofia was looking at Azief diligently working on making the raft and sometimes she would shot the few crocodile that came on the bank.

The crocodile is not gigantic and easy to handle but their physical appearance is a bit different from the kind of crocodile she sees in zoos but she couldn’t describe what different about it.

If they are attack by the arrow they retreat, but the arrow could not penetrate the scaly armour only annoy them.

But what is weird is that the crocodile did not attack them…..like they are testing her and Azief.

Sofia had a bad premonition about this and Azief also share the same feeling. But he must cross the river to get to the city.

What worries Azief is that he could feel that there is something big inside the river….and he has a pretty good guess on what that is.

A gigantic beast. This is what he first realizes when he arrive don the city bank and by now, Azief is pretty sure, that Sofia has also realized it too.

There is the mutated beast and then there is the gigantic beast.

The mutated beast is like the mutated snakes or rats he found in the villages or the horned chicken and Vampiric bats he found when he was in the city.

The gigantic beast is like the beast that he fight with Tan or the beast that is in the Elementary School.

The experience Azief get fighting such beast is massive as well. When he defeated the gigantic beast, his level shot up in almost an unbelievable rate.

But mutated beast gives only a little bit of XP and easily dispatched by a high leveled player.

In about half an hour Azief already completed the raft. With his strength it is easily completed.

‘I’m finished.’ He said and Sofia jumped from her lookout and landed on the bank.

She nodded, looking at the river with her worried expression and Azief nodded. They both understand there is no time to lose.

It is evening and it is getting dark.

But both of them also understand that crossing this river safely would not be as easy.

While Azief utilizes his sense to determine whether there is a gigantic best inside the river, Sofia also has her way.

Maintaining a lookout from high up on the bank, she chanced upon something.

There was this one moment when Azief was busy building the raft, she could see a large shadow underneath the water….swimming.

It was like a building…swimming underneath the river. One could only imagine the size of the monster beneath the river.

It would mostly resemble a dinosaur like crocodile….a supercroc as it is so famously termed.

She once watches National Geographic and they show that once upon a time, crocodile is even bigger than the Tyrannosaurus Rex and even eat Tyrannosaurus Rex for its meal.

So even if she does not show it, she is nervous an afraid as hell.

She stands beside Azief as Azief is preparing to take off. She hold Azief arm, look at him and was about to warn him but Azief gripped her hand.

‘I know’ he said.

‘But?’ She asked.

‘We have to do it.’ Then he stopped before continuing.

‘I have to do it’ he said.

‘There is no other choice?’ she asked again.

‘There is no shortcut in becoming strong. Sometime we have to face death in the face.’

‘I think I have been facing death for too long, that I’m sick seeing him’ Sofia replies smirking

‘False bravado’ Azief said, smiling bitterly.

‘At least I have that.’ She replied but she also realized that Azief hand is trembling. Both of them know what is ahead of them.

They’re betting on their luck. There is of course, maybe another way.

Maybe they could go back to Sofia village and climb the mountains and find experience there, or return to Azief village and grind their experience there…..but who could guarantee that there is no other beast like the beast in the river?

Who could guarantee that the next beast they would encounter is not some godly beast that they could not defeat?

Life is unpredictable and cruel.

You can run away and hide. Or you can face death in the eyes, and instead of running and hiding, or crying, sobbing uncontrollably, fear with your knees wobbling, you could look death in the eyes and wink.

That’s right. Azief wanted to wink at death. He wants to mock death. But the only way to mock death is to stare death right in front of his face.

He does not want to die, but he does not want to live like before either.

He wanted to be resolute and unyielding. He wanted to be someone….who matters. He wanted strength.

He decided he wanted to cross the river. Since he decided to cross the river he will cross it, no matter the obstacle. He is stubborn. No…to be more exact, he decided to be stubborn.

Decided….that he needs to risk his life. He need to bet his life, muster his courage, face his fears, and survive it, to become stronger, to become someone that matters

Azief then hold Sofia hand, and look at her eyes and ask.

‘You can go away you know. You don’t have to follow me’ he said. He decided to face death….but he couldn’t decide that for her.

When they talk about crossing the river they did not think that there is a gigantic beast underneath the river.

Looking at Sofia, he is reminded of Tan and how he failed to save him….and he doesn’t want the same thing happened to Sofia.

Sofia look at those eyes, there is no hesitation; there is slight fear but also an unyielding perseverance in those hazel eyes.

‘You and me’ she said, a smile on her face.

She dropped down her head, looking at the sand on her feet and then she raise up her head and her eyes locked with Azief and remembering their promise underneath the peach tree she said

‘You and me against the world, remember?’

‘Hmph’ Azief smiles.

‘Yes, you and me, against the world.’ Azief said, a slight bitter smile formed on his mouth, as his clear hazel looking in front of him.

Saying this, they push the raft to the river and jump on the raft as the river current push them sideways.

Azief took out his makeshift oars and give one to Sofia.

And they began paddling to the city.

*********************************************************************

30: CHAPTER 29: EMBRACING THE COLD

The water was still. Azief is paddling slowly, looking left and left and below, looking at the large shadow and he take a big gulp and steel his resolve.

Sofia is preparing her arrows, looking left and right and looking below she gulped and she look at Azief, both of them feeling and doing the same thing.

She could see the shadow of the beast which she and Azief have decided to call Supercroc.

Slowly, slowly they paddle and then one of the small crocodile began showing its face. The water ripples outward as more and more crocodiles emerged.

They looked like normal crocodiles only that their nostrils were positioned on the tops of their heads rather than the tips of their snouts.

They circle behind their raft but they did not attack, just circling around behind and did not even bother to try to encircle the raft which is strange.

‘Sofia, vigilance’ Azief said, as he keep paddling.

For some reason, he felt that to reach the shore of the city is somehow an arduous expedition when it is not that far.

The current push them sideways, but Azief arm strength prevent them from getting washed away by the currents.

And the current is not that hard or fast that Azief could not handle it. What he is most afraid of is the supercroc if it would suddenly attack them.

They are now in the middle of the river and the supercroc did not do anything to them, no movement from it, almost like it didn’t care about the raft.

But Azief still could not dispel the bad feeling in his heart.

Azief once has the opportunity to learn kayaking. He had a Diploma in Tourism Management and one of the courses is marine related fields.

He learns scuba diving, swimming, kayaking, safe and rescue and many others.

While he could not claim he is the best in the kayaking, he at least has some good basic on how to steer a raft.

Though he used kayak in his studies, the principles is not that different and considering the strength he possess now, the speed in which Azief used to cross the river could only be described as he is riding a motorboat.

‘Azief, there is movement!’ Sofia said, almost yelling.

Sofia was surveying the surrounding when Azief was paddling when she realizes the crocodiles in the river suddenly dive down and the shadow beneath them suddenly getting bigger and is emerging.

Azief who is paddling could also see that the shadow is approaching them from below.

‘Shit, shit, shit!’ He looked at Sofia. Then he looked at the fast approaching supercroc and he made his choice.

‘Try to survive’ he said to Sofia.

‘I’ll see you on the other side’

‘That’s a promise’ Sofia said and they both almost like they have agreed beforehand jumps upwards like they were flying.

Then from beneath the river a blast occurred like a bomb being thrown into the river and a gigantic crocodile appears from the water blast trying to eat Azief and Sofia, its gigantic jaws is trying to gobble up the two humans.

Sofia jump to the right to avoid herself being eaten and then she dived down inside the river with a plop.

The moment she dived down she swims underwater…her destination?

Across the shore.

She did not look back and she is not worried about Azief. Azief is stronger than her and surely he would arrive at the shore faster than her so she using her hand keeps swimming forward not looking back.

Some of the small crocodiles chasing her from behind. She could not use her arrows underwater. And she could not stop either.

In her mind and her eyes is only the shore.

Azief on the other hand, has decided to do something…..stupid.

Sofia thought that Azief would also do what she did which is to avoid the crocodile but Azief knows that someone had to stall the crocodile and between the two of them, he is the only one who could do that.

He is not a self-sacrificing hero…..but he knows he is the only one who could do this.

At least, he is the only one who could do this between the two of them.

He will stall the crocodile and when he jumped instead of diving down to the river, he landed behind the supercroc large body.

Azief was shocked and awe by the supercroc physical characteristic. 

It has long bodies, splayed limbs, and narrow, flat, tooth-studded snouts with powerful jaws and it also has an enormous size.

It measured about 40 feet long from head to tail and weighed in the neighborhood of 10 tons.

The only way to describe it is as terrible and monstrous.

Landing on the back of the crocodile, Azief tries to remain calm. His balance is flawless. As he increase in level he did find that all of his sense, abilities are all heightened.

While the very notion of remaining calm during fighting a 40 feet long and ten ton crocodiles may seem preposterous, ridiculous even, doing so may be the only thing that saves his life.

‘He is just EXP. Boss-like creature. It must have a weakness’ Azief muttered as he gripped his hand, sheathed his bald and run around on the back of the crocodiles.

If anyone could see him right now, it is like an ant running around on a human arm. Like Kratos fighting Gaia.

The crocodile then splashed into the river water and another huge splash shakes the rivers, ripples resonating everywhere.

The other crocodiles disperse from the area leaving Azief and Sofia…..and the Supercroc.

Azief then remember something about his last fight about the beast.

Even though the beast he fights with has greater power than him, they are also equipped with a weakness.

 Azief is aiming for this weakness. The crocodile look left and right still not realizing that the humans its chasing is behind his back.

Azief could see that Sofia has begun emerging to the surface of water to take some breath as she is swimming vigorously to the shore, not looking back, a dozen of crocodile following her from behind.

The crocodiles did not come towards the Supercroc probably because the Supercroc also eats crocodile.

When Azief jump upwards before, Azief could see that the Supercroc eat the small crocodiles.

When Azief said small, it doesn’t mean that the crocodile was small, but it is small compared to the Supercroc.

Sofia who is swimming right now, of course did not think Azief is right now on the back of the croc and even risking his life for hers.

The Supercroc is not going back into the river. If he did Azief could then jump and also join Sofia in swimming away.

He might not know swimming but he could still manage.

But even if he follows from behind, Azief knows, how could they outmatch the crocodile in the water.

Someone needs to stay. Someone needs to stall. And he is the leader of the group. There is a reason why leaders have the privilege of ordering the people beneath them.

Why? Because when shits hit the fan, it is the leader job to clean it. The leader bears the hard work, the daunting work and as such has the privilege of ordering the subordinate to work.

At least, that is how it is for Azief.

The Supercroc locates its target and using its large feet it dashed forward. And its target is Sofia. Right now it still doesn’t realize Azief is on his back.

Not good Azief said inwardly.

The croc is chasing Sofia now and with its speed, it could reach her in matter of second.

Azief run as fast as the wind, with water splashing around his black robe and the sound of wind rushing in his ears as he decide to attack the croc.

He remembered on things about fighting a crocodile. As he remembers one of the weaknesses of a crocodile, he activated Fear Aura and he jumped up the air.

The moment he activated Fear Aura, the crocodile quickly realizes someone is behind it.

But the croc did not turn and Azief who was in the air; stab downward like a thunder striking the earth, attacking perfect and accurately at the crocodile eyes.

He turns in midair, performing one of the moves he once saw in TV.

When he strikes he activated Slashing wind, making it a double damage. One from the wind slice and another from his brute strength.

While the croc scale was hard, there are someplace where the croc is relay vulnerable and it is at this place, Azief believe lies it weakness.

DOUBLE DAMAGE ACHIEVED

The eyes were bleeding as Azief landed on the tip of the crocodile mouth. The croc releases something resembling shrieks from its mouth, expressing its pain.

Azief did not delay in his next attack. He doesn’t have time to stop. He needs to use the opportunity he had to defeat the croc.

As the croc is now bleeding from its right eyes, Azief now is charging from the tip of the mouth to the left eyes, running through its nose and when he arrived in front of its left eye, Azief stabs the crocodile repeatedly.

One strikes, two strikes, three strikes, quickly it reaches a dozen strikes.

With his arm speed and the frequency of his tabbing, the croc left eyes was turn into a squishy matter as the crocodile roared in pain.

Azief was forced to jump backwards, as the crocodile roll around the water.

When the croc rolled again to his original position Azief then landed again on the back of the crocodile.

It is possible to do because he jump really high and it takes about 20 seconds for him to fall while the crocodile only rolls for 5 seconds and reached its original position in another 5 seconds which gave him an estimate of how high he needs to jump and how far he can jump to reach the best possible distance and time to land exactly at the back of the Supercroc.

Now the croc is no longer interested in chasing Sofia instead it began to focus on killing this human running behind its back.

People say that the eye of the tornado is the safest place.

Now, Azief knows, that’s true.

He is standing on the crocodile back but the crocodile could not do anything to him other than rolling along a few times in the water.

Every time Azief felt that the croc would roll, Azief would jump upwards before landing back.

If he only had Levitation skills, he could use this kind of tactic to mess around with the croc.

It is also lucky that the croc is stupid. If only it turns around a little longer or dives straight inside the river, how could Azief land on his back?

He would surely drown. But what Azief doesn’t know was that the ebast is not some normal beast, it was gigantic beast.

Even if there is 10 men with Azief level, they could not defeat the croc.

This is a suicide mission. Even if Azief blinds the croc eyes, how could Azief defeat such monsters?

This is why the Supercroc did not roll around for too long or dives straight into the river because it look down on Azief.

Then suddenly the crocodile roll again with force and the impact of his giant body rolling around the river, create a spiral in the water and splashing of water rose for ten meters around the area, while at the same time dispersing many of the other crocodile in the river and this time it caught Azief in surprise.

Azief was drenched from the water and his vision was hindered by the splashing

Blood is still bleeding from it eyes and it only uses its sense of smell and touch to try shaking off Azief from it back.

Azief was shaken off and in midair he was struck by the crocodile tails and it was like he was being hit by a truck as he coughed up blood and his skin shredded around his stomach area.

Azief was thrown far away when the crocodile turn his direction, looking at him and charged forward, opening its mouth and was about to swallow him whole.

But at this juncture he maneuvered himself and using his feet kick one of the teeth of the Supercroc and he shot farther away but not yet far away enough from the range of attack of the croc.

Azief hand was in the range of the crocodile mouth and the croc did not let this opportunity go.

With one bite, Azief who was in midair yelled in pain, his scream drowned by the splashing water.

Sofia on the other hand could not see what is happening behind her because she is frantically trying to run from the crocs.

All she could hear was the mighty splashing of water and the feeling that there is a struggle going behind her.

Azief look at his left hand. His left hand was bitten and stuck in the gap of the crocodile teeth but the teeth pierce his pinky fingers and his pinky finger was crushed already, only meat in tatters.

The crocodile is now trying to drag Azief down.

And considering its weight, to drag Azief down is easy. Even though Azief hand is as strong as steel it was easily bitten by the crocodile.

Azief knows if the croc drag him down, it’s over for him.

So, he quickly made a decision.

‘FUCK!’ He cursed as he steel his body for what is coming. Gritting his teeth he swings his blade to his left hand and cutting his own hand off.

And blood spurted from his amputated hand. It gushes out. The blood didn't gush in a constant flow, but in time with the beating of his heart.

And the pain? Oh, the pain! He wanted to pass out but he couldn’t. He tries to shut it off but he cant.

So, he gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, trying to remain conscious. The crocodile is blind on both eyes.

Luck and circumstances saves him again. If Azief was thrown just a little bit deeper inside range of attack of the croc, instead of losing his arm he would be swallowed down inside the croc stomach.

If he did not kick the croc teeth and uses it as propulsion, he would end up as a meal for the croc.

When the croc come rushing at him before, he could see the croc large bowels and in it, was full of zombies in squishy goo, some is being disintegrated in its stomach.

Maybe that is why Azief could not see any zombies since he came to the bridge. Maybe all of them were eaten by this supercroc.

Azief then fall down to the river but the moment his feet reached the water, he propels himself up using all, of his strength on his feet and a water blast erupted as he once again jump onto the croc back.

He stands there, bloodied and weary.

The blood drips on the back of the croc.  The blood is leaving his body, his left hand arm becomes pale, and the pulses in his heart began to beat slower, weaker.

His stomach is full of ripped flesh and the water makes him winces in pain, but he forces himself to remain upright and conscious.

Strength also leaves his body since there are some rings enhancing strength in his left hand.

Now his left hand is in the deep river.

At least his storage rings are in his right hand so he quickly conjures up health potion and with one hand gulped it down.

The bleeding slowly stopped around his stomach areas but the missing hand did not reform.

Using his right hand he held the stump and from the bandage he got from the storage rings he quickly tightened it almost like a professional.

Occasionally the croc would roll around but it did not dive inside.

Then Azief could sense a large horde of monster is coming here. He wanted to curse. What now? he mused.

But then opening his eyes he could see.

The retreating small crocodile before is coming again but it did not chase Sofia who is nearing the shores but is coming towards the large croc.

More and more join this horde of crocodiles, swimming to charge the Supercroc.

Could it be?

Azief could see a ray of hope. But even though he sees it, it did not change his current situation. He is feeling unimaginable pain.

He just realizes that one of the Supercroc teeth manage to injure him and blood is also gushing out from his left arm.

No matter how much pressure he applied, the blood had still gushed between his fingers and oozed.

The blood had spread to his dark robe making it seems even darker and black aura envelope Azief, making his feet feel lighter.

He could feel life, draining away from him, his body becoming cold.

‘Heh’ he smiles. He doesn’t know why he smiles or why, but he smiles anyway, his mind is blank, but he smiles.

Is it because it is hopeless? Or is it because there is nothing else to do? His mind is blank right now.

If not this croc, the large horde would get him. Realizing this, he feels fatigued, feel tired. But he decided on one last thing.

He needs to leave some gift for this croc that cost him his limbs.

Then as he decided, this time he run forward, each steps harder than the last but he could not stop now.

He then jump and this time stab on the croc head and blood gushed like a fountain.

It’s head is like a fountain of blood attracting more and more smalls crocodiles and then as he resigned himself to death, Azief jump from the top of the crocodile head.

As he was about to fall into the river he look at that large wide open mouth of the Supercroc, he smiles, and laughed as he throws something since the Supercroc mouth and he fall to the river.

With a large sound he fall to the river. The area around his fall quickly turns red with blood keep gushing out from his ripped out hands and slash marks.

In the water, his head is pounding like a drum, every cell in his body screaming for oxygen.

He keep fighting until he could feel that his head is about to explode, his vein could burst right now, he has to take a breath but he doesn’t have the energy.

Opening his mouth, trying to breath, he could feel the water assault his throats and he begins to fall.

He falls further and further into the darkness until it threatens to swallow him whole. Closing his eyes, he let the river take him away.

He smiles again.

His last view, is looking at the Supercroc fighting with a hundred crocodiles, its blood madly gushing about, and the supercroc struggles in vain.

‘Take that!’ he mused in satisfaction.

And as he let the darkness envelopes him, he thinks of his lofty ambition and the people that he left behind, the friends he had, and wondering, would they cry for him, if they knew he dies?

He wanted them to at least feel sorrows for him. Would Sofia mourn him? Would the Princess mourn him?

As he finally gives up to the cold and the darkness, he closes his eyes, eases up his body, opening his arm wide, he embraces his death and the deeper he falls.

And then, he at the last breath he takes…..he smiles in contentment.

**********************************************************************

31: CHAPTER 30: ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EXPERIENCE

Opening his eyes, it was like he is doing some strenuous exercise. It felt heavy and everywhere in his body it ached.

He could feel the heat of fire near him and a damp towel on his head. In his stump is a bandage.

His stomach is bandage by gauze and his robe is folded neatly beside his bed.

His body is exposed but he is not cold. He could see a blanket on his body and he pushed it away with his right hand.

He looks around slowly. He is on land, with high trees, and the sound of crickets in the distance.

Then he heard a huge splashing.

It jolted him to shocks but he calmed himself down. Looking upwards he could see stars. He is not in the river but he is near one he deduced.

It’s night he mused.

Did he survive? He looked around and he could see Sofia beside him, leaned on a huge tree branch, sleeping.

He on the other hand is lying on a bed of leaves. Beside him is about ten bottles of vials. Most of them is health potions if he has to hazard a guess.

Sofia must force it down my throat to try heal my injury, he mused.

He looks at his left hand. Then he sighed. He only has his right hand now. Even health vials could not help regrow lost limbs.

At least he knows now.

But Azief is not saddened by this fact. He is sure that there is other way to regrow back his hand.

Look at the bright side….which is….hmmm…he could not think of any bright side of losing an arm.

He sighed again

‘Sofia’ Azief weakly said

The girl quickly opens her eyes and then she finally realizes it was Azief.

‘Azief! You’re awake? Are you okay?’ She said as she run to Azief and checks him.

‘I’m okay’ as he said this Sofia hugged him and one could hear her sobbing.

‘You…why…didn’t you….’she said stuttering at every sentence. Sofia felt guilty looking at his conditions.

He lost his hand because of her. By the time she was at the shore she began to realize that Azief was fighting the Supercroc.

When she realizes this, she jumps back into the river, trying to join the fight.

But it was that time she sees that hundreds of crocodile coming attacking the Supercroc, ravaging it like a pack of hyena.

But the Supercroc did not go down easy and Sofia was trying to see among the chaos where is he until she saw a silhouette falling into the river.

Sofia quickly dives inside the river, swimming like mermaid.

Thanks to her high agility even though she is in the rivers, her speed did not deteriorate by much and she quickly arrive at his location.

By that time Sofia heart was in turmoil. She didn’t think he would sacrifice so much just to keep her safe.

For the first time, she could feel that she could rely on him and sees him as a man.

When she saw him, falling deeper and deeper into the river without any response, her heart lurched as she quickly dragged his body upwards.

Avoiding the fierce fighting between the hundreds of crocodile with the Supercroc on the surface of the water, Sofia dragged Azief to the shore.

When they reach the city shore, his face was pale white, his skin was cold, and he was constantly bleeding from his wound.

A deep gash mark on his left arm, and a stump on what used to be his hand, and nonstop bleeding from the stomach.

As she uses cotton and gauze to bandage the wounds and stop the bleeding, her tears kept falling.

She places him under a huge tree, behind a large rock as she gather leaves to make a bed for him and take some dry wood to make a fire.

Then she disrobes him and cleans his wounds.

Sometimes when he went into shock, Sofia would pour some health vials inside his mouth and he would calm down.

She also makes a damp towel to try helping his body fight the heat. When the shocks stop, he was then inflicted by a fever.

It has been hours but the fight between the supercroc and the other crocodile is still not ending.

By the time he was settled in the city shore, the Supercroc has many injuries. Combined with Azief blinding both its eyes, the supercroc is in dire straits.

But the small crocodiles also have suffered many casualties.

Hundreds of crocodile corpse floats on the river, and the area around the clash is dye red, making it look like a river of blood.

Sofia is not that far from the shore which is why she could see the fight.

Sometimes the Supercroc would go underwater and the other crocodile would follow and then they will emerge back at the surface and fights again, each time fiercer than the last.

The area around their fight becomes bloodied as the clear blue water turns red because of their fight.

And the smell also began to reach the city shores which invite some beast to the shores.

Most of it is just some snakes and there is an ape like creature which is a little bit stronger than the normal beast she encountered.

She uses her rain of arrows to riddle it with arrows, protecting the unconscious Azief.

She rose to level 20 and put one skill points to her rains of arrows which make her rain of arrows more powerful and it also decrease the usage of SP to use the skills.

Sofia did not dare venture deeper into the city fearing that she would meet another beast which is why she camped out here, not too far from the city shore instead of making a camp deeper into the area.

She is also worried about him and she could not leave him behind, not after what he has done for her.

So, denying her survival instinct, instead of leaving him…she stays with him, nursing him until he recovers from his injury.

Then she leaned into the tree branch, tired and spent, and she surrendered her mind to the night.

It wasn’t until he awakened that she was stirred and quickly she hugged him.

All these memories fill her mind when she hugged him and she was grateful that the only familiar face she has seen since the Fall is not dead.

Then releasing him from her hug, she stares at him, more like glaring at him and then she began to said with a voice that is trembling, with an appearance  of messy hair and a swollen eyes, she said with a hint of anger and gratefulness

‘Don’t do that again’ and finished saying this she hugged him again.

And he sits there, on the bed of leaves, unmoving, not knowing what to do. In his life, there is rarely a time where he hugs somebody or people hug him.

Even in his family there is no hugging.

So he smiles and he nodded his head. He could feel her body heat, her chest heaving and could hear her rushed heartbeat.

He didn’t know….that hugging could be so sensual.

‘Hmm’ he replies in a non-committal gesture.

‘It’s okay now’ he said.

‘I’m okay’

Finally she released him and then he look at her, like he has never seen her before.

Sofia is not a world class beauty and Azief could say that even though he doesn’t have many romantic relations with the opposite sex, he knows a few of pretty beautiful people.

And Sofia could not be considered a beauty that would make you look twice. She is innocent enough and beautiful enough for a girl in a village.

But for some reason, looking at her now, she looked beautiful in a way he couldn’t describe.

And he smiles at himself. Like before, he smiles not knowing the reason he smiles. It was not hopelessness like before.

Could it be…and he extinguishes the thought.

Sofia finally realizing that she hugged him too tight before and hugging him with no clothes on, she could feel heat rushing to her cheeks and she almost yelps in surprise.

She blushed red in shyness and averts her gaze from Azief bare naked body.

‘We can rest here for tonight’ Sofia said after she calmed herself. Azief nodded.

By now he has heard the story of how she saved him from drowning and he has also heard about the attack of the crocodiles with the Supercroc.

Hearing this of course he is surprised.

The fact that he survives and the fact that the supercroc has been fighting for hours with almost an army of crocodile and is still not defeated, Azief is grateful enough that he only loses his hand.

Maybe his pill could sap the energy of the Supercroc and help the horde wins the war between the Supercroc and the Alliance of Crocs.

Azief decided to call them the Alliance of the crocs for laughs but Sofia was not laughing when she heard the joke.

She just says that he has a very terrible naming sense. He got up and he said.

‘Help me to wear my robe.’

‘Rest, Azief.’ She said, clearly not agreeing with him even moving around. She worries too much.

He shakes his head. He wanted to see the monsters that have bitten his hand. He wanted to see its downfall with his own eyes.

‘I want to check the battle.’ He said to Sofia while Sofia just sighed.

‘Why would you do that?’ she asked.

‘That beast made me amputate my own hand. If you could imagine cutting your own hand and the pain of doing it….’and he sighed then he continued.

‘I wanted to see it last moment with my own eyes.’ He said

‘You…you stubborn oaf’ she said.

Clearly she was angry yet she came forward and helps him with his robe. Then they walked nearing the shore and look behind the rock.

Sofia always maintained a lookout

By now hundreds of crocodiles bodies (this sounds wrong. Carcasses, corpses?) floats around the area.

There is only two crocodiles fighting the supercroc by now but the supercroc has been injured heavily.

It was bleeding from everywhere, its hard scale has already been shattered, and it has lost it right leg.

From the looks of it the two crocodiles going to  win as it eat the exposed flesh of the large crocodiles, like they are feasting on a large banquet.

‘There must be a lot of loot there, waiting to be looted’ Azief said as he looked at the hundred dead crocodiles.

‘Hmm’ Sofia agreed and nods her head.

If not because that she feared that there is other hidden danger in the river, she would swim and loot them all.

‘Look’ Azief said and that startled Sofia.

‘What?’ The last moment of the Supercroc and there is a smirk in his face. Sofia feel chills looking at his smirk.

He looks at the stump on what used to be his hand and looking at the Supercroc last moment he heaved a sigh of relief.

‘It is done’ he said coldly, and his mind has already thinking about what’s next and whether he needs to change his plan.

‘Let’s go and make a camp underneath the tree. We’ll discuss other stuff in the morning’

Sofia nodded and they were about to return to the huge tree when suddenly Azief felt pain in his left arm and he fall down.

He falls suddenly and without warning and Sofia who was behind him was shocked and quickly she rushed to him, lying on the sand, wriggling in pain

‘Azief, what’s happening? Hey, answer me. Are you okay? Where do you feel pain? Tell me.’  Sofia was anxious and perplexed on what just happens.

Azief is right now feeling a pain he never felt before, as blood jutted out from the stump and he could see in front of his eyes, as nerve and veins was formed out of thin air.

When the nerve and veins was completely constructed, flesh appears out of nowhere, this time encapsulating the nerve and veins; all the while he has to bear the pain that felt like he was being skinned alive.

Then as if that was not enough, he could hear his own bones cracked and he howls in pain.

 Sofia was beside him hugging him, as he began seizing and Sofia looks at his pain like she could felt it and tears keep falling, fear, anxiety, all this is mixed in her emotions.

She doesn’t want to lose the only person she knows in this dark and cold world. She has lost her mother, her boyfriend and now she is going to lose him too?

She could not accept that.

She could not accept another lost. And thinking of the dark days ahead, even if she survives, she would be alone again, and that thought scares her more than she cares to admit.

In Azief body, his bones keep breaking, almost like his bones were branches of a tree, the sound was popping and the broken bones can be heard loudly.

Then his bones reform and his skins stretched, which brought another level of pain, and his scream filled the area.

He howls and he screams, tears of pain flowed from his eyes, gritting his teeth, and Sofia is trying to hold him down as she is also scared and shocked at seeing this occurrence.

There is nothing she could do because she know nothing why this suddenly happens ,so she could only cried because of fear and she hugged him trying to console him, trying to ease his pain somehow.

A minute later, the pain stop and so does the scream and then both of them look in awe and shock of what has transpired

Sofia is more shocked than him. She look at him as he gets up and she could see he was taller than before and even ….handsome than before.

Azief has this black spot on his face and scars because of acne but now, his face was flawless.

Looking at his arm, Sofia could see a well sculpted muscle and then she look at his height. Azief height is 172cm before but now he is 182 cm now.

Standing he emits some kind of a powerful aura, and with his black robe combined with the oppressive aura around him now, he looks almost like a death god.

Sofia who was close to him could feel herself feeling weak, like his aura is oppressing her somehow unintentionally.

His pale face before is now full of energy and he look healthier and powerful, like the injury he had before was a lie.

What has happened to him? she mused. Azief on the other hand is overjoyed and excited.

His hand returned. He also felt a primal strength coursing through his body, and he realizes that he is taller and stronger than before, the feeling like he is invincible and then a notification appears.

Looking at it, he was dumbstruck and then slowly a smile formed on his mouth, finally understanding what has happened to him.

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32: CHAPTER 31: ONE DAY, A THOUSAND AUTUMNS