“Grandma!” Weak tearful voice pulled me out of oblivion.
I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet. The dishes I overturned rattled on the floor. Around me is the same workplace, or rather what is left of it. Mayhem, corpses, ankle-deep floor in thickened blood and a terrible stench. In the midst of all this horror, with her back to me, next to the body of my former chief, sat a neatly dressed girl with short pigtails.
Little Katya shuddered and quickly turned around. As soon as our eyes met, her childish face contorted in horror. It felt like she just saw the living dead. Girl squealed piercingly and, losing consciousness, fainted. Letting out a rueful sigh, I threw her over my shoulder and wandered over to the sink. Icy water pleasantly burned my fingers. I rubbed my face and stared at the reflection in the mirror.
“Oh, damn it…” No wonder why little girl fainted as soon as she saw me. Looking at me from a mirror was a man who had apparently not slept or eaten for a week. And he most likely lived underground for three years: pale face, as if it had been drawn with a chalk, dark purple circles under the eyes; large thick black veins, as if snakes slid from the neck to the temples. My eyes lost their usual color, and now looked more like a marsh or a muddy backwater.
I looked down at my injured wrist. Wound from the first bite looked lousy. I remember being bitten by a stray dog as a child, and even that laceration looked much better. Well, at least I don't bleed, and it doesn't hurt at all. I moved my hand; tried to clench my fist: no pain, no discomfort. Overall, I felt great. It’s like I had a week-long vacation on a sunny beach.
«I need to check something, but first …» In the midst of this carnage, I found a more or less clean corner. I threw off my butcher’s gown and carefully laid child on the floor, placing a backpack under her head. Girl didn't wake up and didn't even flinch. Just in case, I checked her pulse. «Still alive, good. And now…»
“Status!”
Name: Alexander Zakharov
Level: 2
Death’s adept (class progress 1%)
Experience bar: 75/480
Available skill points: (4)
[https://sun9-29.userapi.com/impg/81TZKn-szzjAcZIzO3nHtTmH0UVNBEAUcPcCRQ/nrlFqhbM63U.jpg?size=510x800&quality=96&sign=275465ac7a64eaed49d7d44ff8c9dadb&type=album]
My sight overwhelmed from the abundance of information and I started looking for details on infection from a bite. Time's left countdown was frozen at three seconds and there was no further information about it.
«That Tome of Eternal Life clearly did something to me. But what exactly did it do? Ehh, let's leave it for later. Let’s start from the beginning. I leveled twice and my stats changed after killing that hefty bastard... And what even that Death’s adept means? It sounds ominous and has no description, is it a class or something?... At least everything is more or less clear with my features.
But that skill - Bone transmutation, where did it come from? I've only found a tome. It says that I also need a reagent. Couldn't they make it easier? Isn't this a game? It was possible to make creation out of nothing, why did they have to complicate my life so much? »
On an intuitive level I understood the capabilities of this skill. The principle of its operation was recorded in my mind like information on a hard drive.
«There's also a (+) symbol next to its name. But how do I open it? »
And just as I wished for it to expand, a sheet with additional information opened up in front of my face.
[https://sun9-78.userapi.com/impg/cCbQf1n1yxSgXBYcqUGu17-QCJCYmS-1fkzWCQ/18AlHqNQvX8.jpg?size=554x387&quality=96&sign=a5a1c31233fb5fd47cc2b931bb0a7b2c&type=album]
«Skill points are spent on upgrades, everything's obvious here. But do I need to spend it now or should I save it for the future? »
I thoughtfully looked at a couple of deranged zombies next to the wall.
«One movement of these creatures would be enough to take my life. Yes, even the weakest ones pose a serious threat. I decided! » Mentally signaling to learn bone armor elements, in front of me a notification popped up:
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Do you really want to learn Bone armor elements (Bone Transmutation)?
Yes/No
«Yes. » The answer came out with some kind of sorrowful sigh, as if I was spending all my savings on some nonsense. I also spent the remaining three SP and learnt the rest of the upgrades. As I have nowhere to go, I need as much strength as possible right now.
«And now I'm in need of ingredients for Bone Transmutation»
After looking through the carcasses of dead creatures, I finally settled on an albino one. I would very much like to make a weapon from the bones of a big man, for sure it would be stronger. However, it will take much more time to cut him - knives here can barely cut through his hide, let alone his tendons. If only I had something like an electric saw... Eh, a shame, but it is what it is.
Now, more than ever, my cooking skills have come in very handy. To butcher this sinewy creature, I sweated a little more than half an hour.
Albino bones were extremely sturdy. Sometimes my carving knife slipped off, but did not leave even a mark on them.
“Phew, now I can move on to the second phase and infuse them with the energy of Nihility”
System also confirmed that new materials are completed and suitable for further usage; 10 energy of Nihility was used.
"What? I spent 2/3 of my mana just on ingredients? Feels like I wasted my skill points…”
Now comes the third phase - shaping. What sort of weapon would be suitable for me? I started seriously contemplating over a sword-type. Maybe some kind of a huge two-hander, or, at least, an ax! Then my gaze fell on the corpse of a giant with a stick in its eye socket.
All my remaining mana had gone into completing the craft. The bones melted into a homogeneous mass to form a real work of art in a few seconds.
I don’t know from what corners of my subconsciousness or was it by the will of the system that such beauty turned out, but I fell in love with this weapon at first sight. I think it's called yari. I don’t know if it was possible to set the color, but pure white defaulted by the system is good enough. Its shaft turned out to be about 2m, while the spearhead was 15 centimeters long, and two additional blades in the crescent shape were located perpendicular to it.
In the next second the spear was already in my hands. I swung it around a few times and struck with it in front of me. Flawless! Even when I used my now favorite knives first time, I was not so inspired!
Before I had the time to admire the most beautiful object in my hands, I heard a muffled scream. Katya was still asleep but, probably, she was tormented by nightmares. It’s no wonder! The child is too young to endure such a horror. She tossed and turned about in her sleep without opening her eyes.
«I need to wake her up. »
“Katya, Katya, wake up!” I shook her lightly by the shoulders. A pair of emerald eyes stared at me with a mixture of surprise and fear. Then, as I expected, the she started screaming and thrown a tantrum. Although I prepared mentally, the ultrasound hit my ears.
“Nooooo!” girl jumped up and pressed her back against the wall in the blink of an eye, as if she wanted to seep through it. “Please don't eat me!”
I threw the spear aside and grabbed her onto my hands. I covered her mouth with my hand - we had to be as quiet as we can be, or nearby pack of this creatures will come running to the screams. Out of fear, the girl kicked with all her might and beat in all directions with her fists and elbows, trying to escape.
“Quiet!” I shook her body from side to side. “Stop yelling and I'll let you go!”
At this point, I was already thinking about leaving her here and going about my business, but I quickly put aside the insidious thoughts.
«I can’t leave her - she will definitely die alone. »
After a while, she ran out of strength and stopped resisting. As soon as I let her go to the floor, she jumped aside and stared at me like a wild kitten; seconds later and she apparently recognized me.
“Uncle Sasha? You're alive?” Katie's voice trembled.
“Yes, I'm alive!” I patted my sides.
“Why are you… like that?” She clearly left out some bad epithet.
Looking back at the mirror, I thoughtfully rubbed my chin with a hand.
“Well, everything seems to be as usual! I always have been like that. Not a bit has changed,” I tried my best to smile as peacefully as possible, “I work here all day, but the bitter cold has not yet warmed up. You see, I’m talking to you, I don’t growl and I’m not going to eat anyone!”
My words calmed the girl a little. She glanced again at the barricade, where she could see the body of her former grandma Galina, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Are your parents at work right now?”
“Yes...”
“Where do you live?”
“Oblique 4.”
«Sucks, it's on the other side of town. »
“Uncle Sasha you…” The girl's voice trembled slightly. “Can you walk me home?”
I quickly considered her request. If we go straight, it's about 20 minutes’ walk. On a normal day, that’s not a problem, but breaking through a city succumbed into chaos with a child in your arms is simply impossible. It will not be easy to get out of here - hysterical screams and even shots can be heard from the street. And even if we get to her house, it's not a fact that Katya's parents survived. And I have to explain all this to a nine-year-old girl. How can I even do that?
“You see,” I stammered, unable to find the right words.
The brakes screeched loudly outside. Rushing out of the corner, an old steel-colored Logan crushed into the corner. The driver clearly lost control of the car. It crashed at high speed into a neighboring five-story building not far from our window. A piercing howl rang out from the metal junk. Something must have happened to the horn, as it didn't stop at all. My first desire was to rush to the car, maybe a person there needs my help. I had already made a movement in that direction, but I noticed that a whole mob of altered ones was rushing around the turn. Ahead of them was creature already familiar to me; rushing on all fours, like a gorilla.
In such scenarios, the altruist inside of me took a back seat and gave way to someone with a simpler mind. I abruptly grabbed Katya's armpit and rushed to the main exit of the diner.