The problem was a giant of a zombie not only in height but also in bulk, towering over three meters and covered in wave upon wave of rotting fat and it was standing in the middle of the damned bridge.
Thinking about his current predicament, namely his home being on the other side of the river, he decided to try going through. The bridge was four meters wide and the zombie was covering more than half just with its body, so simply running through wasn't going to end well. Which left only one choice, "Attack!"
The dagger zipped through the air and impacted the mass of fat on its chest like a stone thrown into the pond, sinking nearly all the way in leaving only the end of a handle sticking out like a blue gemstone.
The reaction was immediate and terrifying, the giant bellowed so loud, John felt the deep reverberations in his stomach, and then it took a slow step forward.
"Thank the gods it's slow." He exhaled in relief and kept the maximum distance for his summon to work. The problem with this tactic showed very soon, because it may have started slow, but with each step, it was gaining more and more momentum and soon it felt more like a freight train than a fat zombie. Seeing no chance to outrun it, John pushed himself with everything he had and as he stepped out from the bridge, he took a sharp right and jumped into the grass leading towards the river, hoping to lose the massive thing in there. Taking a roll and getting ready to jump in, he spared a glance behind and saw it just barreling out from the bridge. Except it didn't stop and kept running forward for another five seconds into the park before finally slowing down enough to turn back.
Watching it pass him and being unable to stop made John quickly rethink his plan and run over the bridge instead. It could have been around a hundred meters long and with his training and the headstart, he was able to clear it with a couple of seconds to spare. On the other side of the bridge was only a sidewalk leading left and right and in front of it a big wall of some factory compound as John took the right and continued running, he heard a crash. The stupid zombie didn't even try to slow down and smashed right into the wall. His dagger had returned after the first pass, but now he had another idea to try and willed it to attack its left leg.
The crash didn't seem to cause any damage, likely due to all the fat cushioning the impact, but it took a couple of precious seconds for it to gather itself up and charge. Knowing the terrain, John had no trouble navigating through here even with barely any light and just as the entryway into the compound came up, he stepped in and waited for the zombie to pass. It had, and a few seconds later he turned and once again ran back towards the bridge. As he did, it was once again unable to stop and ran further to his left.
The distance between the bridge and the entrance was around fifty meters, and with the time it needed to slow down, turn and speed up, he was able to rest long enough to not get winded. This stupid battle lasted for a couple of minutes before John finally noticed a change. Its left leg was now covered in a golden web of cracks and the zombie was taking longer to pick up speed. This on one hand made the fight easier, but also more dangerous, because it didn't have to slow down that much and was turning much faster.
Feeling doubts about his current strategy, he was about to try something else when the zombie's leg buckled and the whole mass toppled to the left and kept rolling like a bowling ball for a few more meters. After that, it tried to stand up, but its leg was not able to hold it and it once again fell down.
"Attack the head!" He yelled and watched his dagger first bounce off from its skull and then embed itself through the eye socket. It took ten more minutes of it first trying to get up and later crawling towards him with golden cracks spread to its upper torso when its head finally crumbled and a blue shining ball the size of a tennis ball shot towards him.
"Finally, it…" He was stopped mid-sentence, because the moment the ball hit his chest, the world lost all color and froze once more.
[Congratulations! You are the first in this world to overcome the zone guardian.
Rewards: The first choice amongst three unique modifications for a single-use card Create shelter, Fate is increased by 3.
Note: Create shelter card is guaranteed to drop from every zone guardian killed during the first month of the apocalypse.]
[Make a choice!
Inexorable advance, Infallible bulwark, Inviolable escape.
Note: This card cannot be traded to anyone else and immediately used up on the Create shelter card.]
Well, that explains nothing. Rereading it one more time, he had to accept what he got and make the best choice with what he had. So, coming with the knowledge of there being some Create shelter cards and him having a unique opportunity to modify them somehow, he tried his best to imagine what those names could do.
Inexorable advance sounded like a shelter capable of movement. Maybe also of fighting? Hmm, going next, I'd bet Infallible bulwark is a massive defensive structure, and the last probably has something to do with masking and avoidance of conflict.
To begin with, there was a choice bearing the least amount of interest and it was the Inexorable advance. He couldn't imagine himself commanding some kind of a mobile bunker and frankly, that choice didn't appeal to him at all. This left the bulwark and the escape and he would lie if he said having a strong defensive retreat didn't sound great, but this same thing would also bring a target on his back and he was in no mood to try and organize a massive shelter filled with desperate and magically enhanced people.
Oh well, let's see what I'll get, I choose Inviolable escape!
[Perfect choice!
You are now the unique holder of a single-use card Create an Inviolable escape shelter.
Even better luck on your adventure!
Note: Don't forget to read all the modifications of your new card before using it.]
The world unfroze for a fraction of a second and then froze again.
[Congratulations! You are the first in this world to kill a zone guardian in perfect condition, alone, and with no outside interference.
Reward: choice of two out of five very precious rewards, Fate is increased by 3.
Note: And the strong get stronger, lucky get luckier.]
[Make a choice!
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1: A single-use rare card, which can upgrade any ability modification card of the same or lower rarity by one.
2: A random epic ability modification card.
3: Two random uncommon body modification cards.
4: A single-use common card that permanently increases one basic attribute by 5 with a maximum base of 20.
5: Stack of 500 white and 25 blue piles of ash.
Note: For more information, ask the guide in your closest shelter.]
After reading the choices, John was able to decide what to do with three of the items immediately. Choice number one was too good to be passed on, number two too risky and number five felt like not giving that much of a benefit.
This left the choice between two uncommon body modification cards or the single-use one. What also became very apparent, the zone guardian wasn't expected to be killed this early as a solo kill, because there were no shelters around to find the guide in.
Taking a guess, body modification cards would somehow increase his stats, but if that were true, why would one common single-use card doing something similar be on the same list? This felt like a choice between more benefits now or an investment into the future and if the one common card has a comparable value to the other options, it could be a long time before he gets another chance of getting it.
I choose number one and number four!
[Excellent! Your new cards will be waiting in your deck.
Note: Your deck's size is slowly increasing, keep this up and one day, some might even call it big.]
"Call it what now?" He looked around himself, finally able to move, but obviously couldn't see anything amiss. "Is this some kind of a cosmic joke? Well I didn't find it funny… ok, maybe a little bit funny, but seriously?" Shaking his head, he prepared to open the deck, "Apocalypse… oh, that mother fucker. Now I am going to think about that stupid joke every time I have to pull it out." A small grin spread on his face.
"Apocalypse deck!"
The first thing he noticed was the second pile of dust—or ash—right next to the white, with blue color and number ten above it. Next, the stack of unused cards now had six cards in it, which meant five were added from the guardian and the following rewards.
First, with a white border, named Increase melee damage, giving a 10% increase in the damage dealt with any ability bearing a melee tag. The second, also white and named Increase Focus, gives plus five Focus while linked to the body card, the two single-use cards, and finally the one called Create Inviolable escape shelter with a picture of an archaic stone arch in the middle of a forest. This card didn't seem to have any description, but when he focused on it, the picture faded out and a wall of text appeared instead.
[Inviolable escape - a unique modification changing most of the aspects of a normal shelter, leading to many advantages, but also disadvantages. The main two differences are no need for a designated place, because it is built in an isolated subspace, and the shelter can house only a single person, the owner.]
"Great," he laughed out, "so instead of a massive fortress or a mobile bunker, I got a private campsite." It wasn't as bad as he made it out to be, and deep down he was glad for this outcome. He never liked socializing with others and had no aspirations to become a leader and savior of those around him.
Create an Inviolable escape shelter!
The card vanished in a flash of light and as he blinked to clear his vision a burning pain suddenly hit the right side of his chest. It was so sharp and unexpected that he lost his balance, fell to his knees, and desperately clutched at his breast. "Urgh, what the fuck is-" and as suddenly as it came, the pain was gone. "going on?"
Taking his shirt off and turning towards the moon, he used the bit of light provided to see his chest, and what he found was a white tattoo of a stone arch placed directly over his right breast.
His deck was still open in front of him though, so he put his shirt back on and focused on the remaining cards first. It took a bit of fumbling around to figure out how to move the cards around, but soon he was admiring the changes to both his summon and his body card. To clarify, the cards were the same, but now around each was slowly orbiting its linked card like a planet around the sun. Also, his body's description now had his Focus valued as E and his Fate as F.
I had the four Fate before the last two gains, which could mean F starts at a ten? Hmm, it could also be at five for all I know. His internal monologue was interrupted by a shout from his right.
"Hey, you a person or one of those dead guys?" Spoke a gruff male voice.
Turning to see who was asking, he could see a group of three standing right at the end of the bridge. "Yeah, a person, I was just messing with my… uh, never mind."
"What's the golden thing above your head?" This time a distinct female with a little hint of an accent he couldn't place. They, clearly satisfied with him not being a threat, started to head his way.
"It's a…" John was about to respond, but at the last second thought that it would be better to keep things simple and not give out any unnecessary details. "It's some kind of flying weapon I got after killing the first zombie, helps me defend myself, you know. You guys also got something like that? By the way, my name's John. What about you?"
"I am Tom and these two," the third guy of the group said, "are Martin and Vicki. We are heading towards Saint Ann's church, do you want to join us? Oh, and yes, all three of us have a card."
I don't think I can say no. There is only one direct path home and that's exactly where they are heading. "Yes, it's where I need to go as well. I was heading towards the rusted statue." John replied.
"Great, welcome aboard. Mart here is our tank," said the woman, now only a few feet away and showing a freckled face surrounded by locks of ginger unruly hair, "Tom is the ranged damage and I am a support. You can stay near us and try to help out if you can. We have noticed that some parts of the park were safer, so let's hope the city is the same."
The Martin guy just grunted in acknowledgment and pushed past John, continuing further on the route around the factory. He was a bulky guy, but whether it was cords of mussels or layers of fat remained hidden under his black coat. "Hey, we got some over here." He shouted as he rounded a corner.
John followed the rest and behind the corner saw the bigger street, filled with one or two zombies every dozen meters, and Martin currently trying to beat one with his glowing fists. "A little help here!" He shouted at us as we watched the street ahead.
"Yeah yeah, sorry." Mumbled Tom and every couple of seconds he swished his hand and with a crack of air a small lightning bolt arced from his palm at the zombie on Martin's left. It wasn't extremely effective, but each hit left a burned flash and made it unable to move for the next second.
Meanwhile, Vicki used their tank as a distraction and crept behind the zombie currently getting punched in the face, and with a wave of her hand, a white mist spread all over it. As it got covered, the unnatural jerky movements became even more sluggish and soon, Martin was chipping frozen chunks of flesh with every hit. The zombie fell soon after and after they teamed up on the second, it shattered a few seconds later, the whole fight lasting under twenty seconds.
"Good job everyone, it's getting easier and I bet soon we could face three without too much of a risk," Tom said after getting the ash ball from delivering the finishing blow.
"John, maybe you should also help out instead of staring at my ass," Vicki added.
"What, I wasn't…" John tried to defend himself, being caught off guard by that remark.
"Sorry, I was just joking," she continued, her stern face changing in a fit of giggles, "you should have seen your face."
"Vic." Martin's deep voice having a no-nonsense tone left little room to argue.
"She was right though," Tom joined in, "you should show us what that flying knife can do."
No, I don't think I should. John was the type of person who valued few reliable friendships over shallow social interactions, and over the years he learned to trust his gut, and right now, it was telling him not to trust them.
"Sure, I'll try to do my best." He said out loud, keeping his face calm and not showing his internal thoughts.