New quest available!
Here They Come
Before he died, that zombie managed to alert a few of his friends. Now they’re homing in on your position. You could just run away, but only cowards do that. Instead, why not strike them down as they arrive and earn yourself some more sweet, sweet loot?
Task: Defeat (10) zombies
Time limit: 30 minutes
Reward: 1,000 XP, Yellow Quality Loot Box
A half-dozen dots had appeared in my vision. Most of them were white, but the closest one was the same angry yellow as the zombie’s had been. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the others probably weren’t friendly. At least I finally knew what the yellow color meant.
Luckily, most of the dots were distant, behind several rows of shipping containers. Only two of them were anywhere nearby.
Despite what the system had said about being a coward, did I actually want to fight these things? They moved slowly enough I could probably leave, or simply hide in the crate until they left.
But if I did that, likely the system would just throw something worse at me next. Besides, I had no idea where these zombies were coming from. If I went running off, who was to say I wouldn’t encounter more?
No. I needed to deal with this now.
I started in the direction of the nearest dot, the only one that had turned yellow. It had another white dot beside it, though, so I figured I’d encounter more than one zombie this time.
As I moved, I pulled up my interface. It couldn’t have been more than an hour since I last looked at it, but with everything that had happened it felt like forever.
Of course, I also hadn’t looked at it since before the tutorial. I almost stumbled in surprise when I saw how much had changed.
Name: Bubba
Race: Canid (Advanced)
Class: Wildling
Level: 0
XP: 600/1,000
-Equipment-
Collar: Worn Leather Collar (lv 2)
Left Front Leg: *Empty*
Right Front Leg: *Empty*
Left Back Leg: *Empty*
Right Back Leg: *Empty*
-Racial Skills-
Skill 1: Night Vision
Skill 2: Enhanced Smell
Skill 3: Song of the Night
Skill 4: Pack Loyalty
-Class Skills-
Skill 1: Claw Slash 1 (2%)
-Stats-
Power: 6 (+2)
Speed: 5
Agility: 4
Presence: 5 (+2)
Mind: 5
Points Available: 0
My eyes were immediately drawn to my class skill. A 2% hovered at the end of it. Interesting... Did class skills grow according to a separate system from leveling? I wasn’t certain, but resolved to check it again after this fight was over.
I moved out of the current row of shipping containers, past a large machine I thought might be a forklift, and into the next row. The two zombies were shuffling their way down the row, about ten feet apart from each other. My lips pulled back in a growl as I saw them.
Already I could imagine my jaws crunching into their heads, breaking bones and crushing their rotting, festering brains.
It wasn’t a pleasant image, but it wasn’t unpleasant, either.
I loped forward, building speed the closer I got. The zombies noticed me and let out a pair of howls. Arms swung in my direction, but I was already leaping.
It took all my willpower not to lead with my teeth, but I had a feeling that would be ill-advised. The zombie hands didn’t have the power of my claws, but they were still human. They could grab, and hold, and crush. I didn’t like the odds of being embraced by one of these rotting shamblers.
So I activated Claw Slash again, sending a zombie head tumbling. This time the zombie to whom the head belong tumbled backwards, where they lay flailing, trying and failing to stand.
The other lurched towards me and I danced out of the way, barely avoiding its outstretched arms. My skill was on cooldown, so I just had to keep my distance until the minute passed and I could strike again.
In the meantime, I led the zombie a short distance away, then looped around him. The first zombie was just regaining its feet, but dropped with a clatter of limbs as I chomped down on its snarling head.
You have defeated: Zombie (Basic) — Level 1
100 XP and 1 Common Core awarded.
The other zombie had closed the distance while I dealt with its friend. I scampered back further, leading it down the corridor of shipping containers towards the intersection. My cooldown still had another forty seconds or so to go. I glanced behind to make sure it was still following.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
When I turned back, it was just in time to see a white dot move around the corner and into view. Another zombie.
Dammit. I’d forgotten to keep track of the other approaching zombies. A quick scan showed the other dots were still somewhat distant, but now I had a monster to either side of me, with the shipping containers penning me in.
Should I try to break past one of them? I needed space to maneuver until my cooldown finished—thirty seconds left. The zombies lurched closer.
Attack with my jaws, or slip past? Both risked getting caught in an embrace. I hesitated until the zombies were almost on top of me. The closer one suddenly lurched forward with a burst of speed, so I shot forward and under the arms of the second. A hand grabbed a handful of my fur, and I felt a sizeable chunk rip free as tugged away, but then I was past!
I spun, slowly backing away. The zombies moaned and followed with their shuffling steps. Ten seconds on cooldown now. Five seconds. Three. One.
I charged.
Too late I realized my mistake. The zombies were closer than before, and no sooner had I jumped, claws extending, than they lurched forward with that unnatural speed. My Claw Slash took off the first zombie’s head, but still his arms managed to wrap around me. We tumbled to the ground together.
I struggled to break free. Even as I did a shadow fell over us. Moans echoed in my ears, and then teeth bit into my back. I let out a yelp of pain and struggled even more fiercely.
Twisting, my teeth bit into a zombie’s arm. I twisted sharply, and the arm snapped off like a dry tree branch. Suddenly the tight grip loosened, and I wiggled my way free. Except I still had the second zombie hanging from my back. I shook and kicked, but he refused to let go.
Arms circled my belly. Teeth snapped and tore the skin along my back. I was bleeding from at least three places now. My fur was coated in sticky gray. I kicked again and connected with the zombie’s stomach. He launched away.
I turned, the action sending ripples of pain through me. The zombie lay on his back, moaning. The headless one stumbled about in the distance, swinging arms searching for me fruitlessly.
Even though each step was agony, I limped forward to where the prone zombie lay. He growled and reached for me again, but before he could do anything, my jaws snapped down on his face. A satisfying ‘crunch’ filled the air.
You have defeated: Zombie (Basic) — Level 1
100 XP and 1 Common Core awarded.
Staggering my way back, I found the last zombie’s emancipated head and silenced it with another quick bite.
You have defeated: Zombie (Basic) — Level 1
100 XP and 1 Common Core awarded.
Its wandering body collapsed.
Then so did I.
The wounds in my back were searing agony. While I didn’t think any of them were life threatening, the amount of blood pooling around me wasn’t a good sign. There was at least one hole as big as my front paws put together. If I didn’t find a way to staunch the flow, I was in trouble. But I was so tired...
As I lay there, another message appeared in my vision.
You appear to be injured. Would you like to view a tutorial on healing?
The blood loss was leaving me dizzy, so it took several long moments before I managed to concentrate hard enough to confirm. The message winked away.
Oh no, did baby get a wittle boo-boo? Did your first battle not go like you expected it to? Well, have no fear, we here at Cainox figured that would happen once in a while, so we came up with a perfect solution!
I knew the words couldn’t hear me, but I growled softly at them anyway. Couldn’t they hurry up and help me already?
So, you know those cores you’ve been picking up from monsters? Well, they aren’t just for show or as some crappy-ass alternative to cold, hard cash. While the anthronites that comprise these monsters might be ‘corrupted’, the ones filling the cores are as pure and unmodified as the day they came off the assembly room floor! Meaning that if you crack one open, you can put them to all manner of uses. Most important to you right now, I’m guessing, would be healing whatever nasties are giving you trouble.
To use, simply activate one or more of the cores and target your body with them. There are other ways to use these cores besides healing, but I’ll let you discover those for yourself. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
Okay, that’s it for this tutorial. Get ready for the stupid boilerplate those nerds in legal insist I have to include here.
Warning: Cainox Global Industries would like to remind users that per their signed Interface Liability Agreement, CGI is not responsible for any negative experiences that users may encounter while utilizing our systems, except in cases of gross negligence or total system collapse. All adventures, both those sanctioned by CGI and created by third parties, carry an inherent element of risk, including but not limited to: INJURY, DISMEMBERMENT, and DEATH.
The words zipped past my eyes almost too fast to read. At last, they disappeared, and I feebly summoned my inventory.
-Inventory-
(4) Common Cores
My vision was fluttering. Darkening, lighting back up, darkening again. With all my willpower, I selected the cores.
(2) common cores utilized on self.
The effect was immediate. I felt the bleeding stop, the lightheadedness washing away like it had never been there. As I lurched back to my feet, an itchy sensation settled onto my back, and by the time I was standing again, I could feel the flesh knitting itself back together.
I stood and shook, droplets of blood flicking in all directions, coating the doors of the shipping containers, but other than what was coating my fur, I was unharmed.
Amazing.
Quest update: (7) zombies left
Time remaining: 23 minutes
Bending low, I stretched out my front paws, working any kinks out of my muscles. That done, I set off at a fast pace towards the next white dot. More had begun creeping in at the edges, leaving me no worries about meeting my quest quota before time ran out.
Energy coursed through me after my sudden healing. Already the memory of the pain was fading. Eager now, I loped ahead in search of further battles.