Under the zombie manager's menacing gaze, I wandered between overflowing racks of clothes, tried on exorbitantly priced sneakers, and chose a roomy and sturdy backpack. The total cost was about three times my monthly salary.
"It's good that I can choose whatever I want and not have to pay anything, huh?"
On the way out, I stopped at a coffee vending machine - the heartless machine didn't care about the world's impending collapse and still demanded money. I had to go back and take some cash from the register. The head on the pike stared at me with even greater disapproval, and it took a while to mentally promise her that someday I would definitely repay the debt. Going out, I had a cup of hot chocolate in my hand.
The dark clouds were gone, the sun was shining, and a pleasant warm wind brushed against my cheek. After taking a sip of the thick, oversweetened liquid, I was struck by an inexplicable anxiety. It was always like this with me: a moment's rest and unpleasant thoughts would immediately creep in.
And where did they come from? After all, I am currently healthy, well-fed, equipped, and even have a place to spend the night. However, the tangle of my thoughts spun, reminding me about Liza, the past world, and my parents.
«No, I have to take a break... What's it over there? »
My gaze focused on a building with tall columns, surrounded by neatly trimmed shrubs and lush trees. The Palace of Culture1, standing out with its unusual architecture, was located across the road from the square, and was with its flower beds and monuments in front of me at a glance. Therefore, a couple of dark silhouettes stood out in the background of bright colors. They ran towards the square, showing themselves from time to time in the shadows of deciduous trees.
At first, I mistook them for altered ones, but after observing their movements for a while, I realized that they were ordinary people. They often stopped, endlessly looking around. Great, just great! I need to talk to them; maybe somewhere out there is a shelter for us, survivors?
Throwing the half-finished glass of chocolate into the trash out of habit, I quickly walked towards people on the run. In the meantime, they had already crossed the wide road, but did not notice me through the glare of the water fountain, and the noise it made.
I realized too late where these couple of fools were heading. I started shouting and waving with my arms over the head in an attempt to attract their attention, and walked at a pace as fast as I could. I had to stop them anyhow! Come on you fools, turn around!
A man with a child - a girl about thirteen years old, heard me when they were already on the porch of the hypermarket. They froze at once and peered with interest and a degree of apprehension at the figure approaching them. The bearded man even readied his bat.
“RUN! RUN AWAY!”
I was about thirty meters away when dark green tentacles shot out from the bowels of the store. The creature seemed tired of waiting and decided to make the first move. The slimy limbs of the monster instantly entangled the bearded man by the shoulders and legs. The victim's face quickly turned blue; his mouth opened in a silent scream, and his eyes filled with horror.
“Dad!” A brave, but stupid girl rushed to the bearded man to help, but waving her arms chaotically around herself, she collapsed on the floor filled with glass fragments. She did not even notice that a pair of thin tentacles of the monster had already been wrapped around her ankles and thighs. There was a crunch and a desperate cry filled with pain, and then the octopus swiftly dragged the prey to its domain.
It took me about three seconds to rush to the porch and look into the wrecked doorway, but there was no one there. From the depths of the room, behind the overturned shelves, came soft sobs and chomps. Among the debris, I noticed a greenish tentacle gliding over the tiles like a snake.
My back quickly covered in cold, sticky sweat and, in order not to become another victim of the slimy creature, I hurried away, often looking behind. Having run a good distance from the accursed place, my stomach twisted and I collapsed to the knees. Why didn't I immediately start running? Why didn't I hurry to them?
Numb and lost in my thoughts, I leaned on the spear and got up only after a couple of minutes. As if on the algorithms set beforehand, I went to the grocery store and stuffed a full backpack with food, and then, mindlessly, wandered back to my shelter.
At my temporary refuge another surprise awaited me: at the broken window, on the sill, basking in the sun, sat the same fatty cat, and under it, pushing and shoving, five altered ones were clicking their mouths. The feline occasionally glanced lazily at the white-skinned creatures.
The creatures paid no heed to me. Looking at the unintelligent flesh-eating creatures, a fierce malice flared up inside. I had to make a great effort to cool my head and not immediately rush into a reckless attack.
The first thing I did was to check the system alerts: one monster of the 2nd level; the rest were had lower levels. While they were focused on the cat, I had the opportunity to prepare - to get the trap out of my backpack and put it in front of me. Just in case, I also unsheathed my saber and put it on the asphalt nearby.
After some warming up jumps, I grabbed the spear with both hands and, giving free rein to my anger, shouted:
“Hey you, dumb-headed bastards, come at me!”
All five, stopping their scuffle at once, turned their heads at the same time. The reptilian monsters rushed at me, spitting, and clattering their mouths. The largest specimen, pushing aside its brethren, charged forward, its yellow eyes filled with hungry madness. I spread my legs wide and held the spear in front of me. The screech of the monster broke the midday silence of the yards. The bone trap worked perfectly: the spikes pierced her calf and both thighs. Now the immobile and bleeding creature was no longer dangerous, unlike her friends.
They bolted at me, avoiding their screeching fellow from two sides. Wielding a spear, I swept the lightweight creatures aside. Out in the open, it was too easy to deal with the creatures' witless claw attacks. Filled with burning fury, I saw their every movement and always had time to react in advance. The accuracy of my attacks was also on top, so the fight did not last long. I didn’t even need a saber. In truth, I probably used the trap in vain.
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Approaching the last writhing being, I watched with some pleasure how it, breaking off its long claws, crawls on the asphalt. In her evil yellow eyes, there was only pain and a desire to sink her teeth into my flesh. With unthinkable pleasure I plunged the spear into her back, and then again and again. The creature squealed in pain, and along with its suffering, all the accumulated anxieties, worries and fears disappeared. The images of the bearded man and his daughter dying in front of my eyes faded and vanished.
You eliminated level 2 Altered, gained 6 experience.
The reptilian was already dead, and I, still pretty sweaty, poked it with my sharp stick until my eyes stumbled upon a lighting brilliance. I stopped my last strike and it took me a while to recover, after which I leaned over a book.
“Oh, that's...”
Passive skill book: Stealth. Volume 1.
Do you want to learn: yes/no
“Finally! Yes” The book vanished from my hands. I really wanted to immediately check what kind of a skill it was. Oh, it's a passive! I looked around - dead bodies were scattered everywhere. I had to do something with them; I couldn't just leave them here - they will attract other monsters.
I didn’t have the intercom keys, so I had to leave the spear with the saber here, and climb into the apartment the same route as I did the first time. Now, healthy and no longer exhausted, it was too easy. The joyful cat was already spinning and rubbing next to the bowl and demandingly looked at me.
“Sure, sure! Here, your reward for luring them out!” I fumbled in my backpack and pulled out a stick of boiled sausage. Having cut off almost half with an old dull knife, I threw it into the woolen pie's bowl. “Well deserved.”
Still, without thinking twice, I decided to move the corpses into the building. Firstly, I had to open a couple and study their insides, and secondly, I needed a supply of bones for future use.
In order not to stain my new clothes, I undressed and set to work almost naked. Although the creatures weighed a little, but after five times I had to walk back and forth, I finally got exhausted.
A small mound of bodies formed on the third floor - I was afraid to leave them any lower. Before nightfall, it will be necessary to open another apartment and drag the bodies there. It would be nice to cover everything with polyethylene... Do I have to go to the store again?
Sitting in the kitchen, I gulped down a half-liter bottle of soda. A refreshing breeze blew in from the broken window.
“Oh, how much work will have to be done ... later! And now, status!”
Name: Alexander Zakharov
Level: 2
Death’s adept (class progress 10%)
Experience bar: 116/480
[https://sun1-97.userapi.com/impg/4M6VbyKB7BrWBVlWKCPiUBHX8eaueS7hUuBL7g/oNRr7Efc75E.jpg?size=502x737&quality=96&sign=454be6bac3c263ab67d339983f50ca7e&type=album]
“System, do you believe this is okay? Where's the descriptions?” And as usual silence as a response. I can only guess what this ability does… Maybe the monsters will notice me less often? Too bad I can't check it right now. There was nothing else new in the status, so I closed the menu and put the kettle on the stove.
The cat, having had his fill of sausage, laid down again on the window's sill, and attentively watched the chirping birds outside. Having brewed a bag of tea in a cup, I kept him company. A short rest was beneficial, and after ten minutes I was ready to storm the neighboring apartments.
At first, I walked up to the fifth floor, and just pulled the door handles - there was a hope to stumble upon an open apartment, but, alas, I was not so lucky. Sometimes I heard rustling and rattles inside the apartments, and once someone even tried to escape the concrete trap. Too bad it didn't work out for him.
I've gone through several options in my mind, and settled on the simplest - to climb to the third floor through the balcony. Unfortunately, as soon as I looked up, I understood its unsuitability: I couldn’t grab onto it with my hand, the edges were sharp on the outside, and If I add my weight and gravity to the equation, then after five minutes of such wall climbing, I would be lying on the ground without fingers and broken legs.
Plan two: American special forces style – fast-roping from the building’s roof. I discarded it at the stage of reflection. It would be funny, having survived so long, to die from falling from the fifth floor. Would be a feast for those who were altered.
For the third plan, I just happened to stumble upon the right tool on the balcony - a heavy crowbar. I noticed a couple of wooden doors in the hallway; I believe it's possible to hollow out or break off the locks; it will not be difficult for me. I even had some experience: my grandfather together with me had to urgently change the door in the country house.
The first suitable apartment was just opposite my current one - it had a wooden front door. The lock was simple, but the boards turned out to be not so flimsy at all. Words cannot describe how much I suffered. The sweat poured from me in streams, and while I was using the crowbar, it got to me how wonderful it would be if the passive lockpicking skill dropped earlier from the monster!
With a few snack breaks, I managed to open the damn door in about an hour. The lock itself I pulled out in parts, and here it is - the moment of truth. Without letting go of the crowbar, I creaked open the door, stepping into an empty apartment.
The apartment's floor was made of chipboard; the walls were covered with cheap, faded floral wallpaper. I flipped the switch - let there be light! For my objectives, this apartment was perfect.
Having dragged the creatures’ bodies into the spacious living room, I attended to the search for tools for butchering. The tools I needed were found on the same balcony as the crowbar. From a modest chest of drawers, I pulled out a hammer, pliers, a couple of screwdrivers, tape, a chisel, and an axe. There was also an old, rusty saw, made of a thin sheet of metal, which is unlikely to be useful to me. I had to grab a couple of knives from the kitchen, and I found a bag of plastic bags under the sink. Having collected everything I needed, I returned to the corpses.
In a deserted living room, right on the floor, I laid out the polyethylene, after separating the bags into one layer, and connected the parts with tape. I chose the least damaged body - the altered had 1st level - as the first test subject.
Before the autopsy, I examined my subject. In combat, there is never really any time or opportunity to get to know these creatures better. The mouth, the same as with other creatures, was elongated; small scales formed around and above it; the cornea of the eye was bright yellow; the pupil was heterogeneous. There was practically no hair on the pale body, as well as, in fact, other secondary sexual characteristics. Elongated claws on the hands, and small skin membranes appeared between the fingers, which I believe are named interdigital webbing.
“Ho-ho, they also have an elongated tailbone. These guys will definitely turn into some kind of dinosaurs.”
I rolled the corpse back on its back and started working with the knife, cutting the monster open from throat to groin. At this stage, I had to puff quite a lot. Knives were blunt, and I did not find a sharpening stone in granny's apartment.
To open the thorax, I had to grab a hammer and a chisel. The bones of the creature were more like those of a bird in sturdiness, and after a few blows, the protection of the internal organs fell.
To be honest, I am familiar with human anatomy only from the pictures in the textbook, but I happened to butcher quite a lot of animals. The «strange inner world» of these creatures stunned me. Roughly speaking, by now it has become clear why thrusts aren't particularly effective against these creatures. Their insides seemed to be thrown into a blender, grinded, and then poured back into the body, and on all this splendor a great many large and small bumps and tumors grew.
I got a little uncomfortable. Before, after all, I used bones only from the limbs; and with them there was the least trouble. And now... I don’t even want to touch this muck.
“Oh, and now I have to open these rotten bags every day. I hope I get used to it quickly."