He was infuriated that he was spied on just now, and even now his fury was reaching its maximum peak.
Who would’ve thought that the barrier mage, the weakest looking mage in the group, who he thought was already dead by that point, was still alive and somehow managed to spot him?
Alex grumbled, thinking that he was using some sort of hacking tool, but then realized that it’s not possible. He’s used to implementing hacking tools, so the only thing he can think of when looking back at that annoying mage was that he was just incredibly lucky.
Still, luck doesn’t amount to skill. What does amount is planning ahead. So now that the barrier mage saw him, it was only natural to move ahead with the plan.
And what better way to move than towards the group that was close to dying? Using his own way of transportation, he used a boat he made specifically for traveling between the tower’s levels.
The boat was made up of the same stone material, using his own zombies to power the mechanical stuff that Alex just didn’t care to study on. All he knew is that when he got that skill book, Mind Over Matter, he took control of the bodies that were around this tower. The ship is the only way to traverse through the layers of the tower. The other zombies were working overtime on the ship to ensure their master doesn’t have to inconvenience himself to move.
It was a great way to get around the annoying tower. He wasn’t sure about it, but he knew that the people that once used this ship used it for this very purpose, but then again, Alex was never the type to care much about lore in video games.
All he cares about is having fun and beating other people. That’s the point of video games–to kill and have fun. And right now, he was gonna do a lot of that.
He looked down at the scene, watching the fight occurring at the very cave that the group was using to give themselves a rest. It was laughable to think that they could actually hide away in a cave in the tower he controlled. It was so hilarious, almost like finding an annoying camper in a shooting game and driving the gun so close to their heads and waiting a little before finishing him off. It would be such a humiliating insult to the guy who never bothered to check his back.
He loved those moments. Though he did have to use a tool to finally spot the guy camping. It was only fair, since the game was so bad that it actually had spots that were impossible to find unless someone finds some glitch in there to get in. It was the developer’s fault for making such a thing possible, and Alex only wanted to make it fair by making sure he can do the same, without relying on the developer’s own game mechanics.
Normally, he wouldn’t like hacking, but then, wouldn’t it be great if one can just make his own hacking tools? That way, whether breaking the rules or not, he was still doing it with his own skill, not using his parents’ credit card or anything to do the work for him.
Still, the group was rather annoying to deal with. The low level noobs should’ve died right about now, but the big guns finally unleashed their power. Alex could’ve sworn he saw more that were missing, figuring that they’ve died or something.
But right now, these people are beginning to get annoying. The big black guy was the most infuriating, using his body to practically take on as many large zombies Alex threw at him. He knew he was built like a tank, but the undeath should’ve turned him by now.
It looked like he was getting there, but the damn bastard was a tough nut to crack.
The other two were just as annoying. The supermodel of a warrior was dancing about, just cutting all of his precious zombies to pieces. Normally dumbass men his age would salivate over her, wondering if they could preserve her shapely body with his kind of skills, but Alex isn’t like that.
He was all for equal rights, and that means treating women like the men–as useful body parts to make his zombies better.
Then there was that mage. Another mage, but this guy was a clear threat. He was using some type of fireball that wasn’t made of fire to accurately take down many of his special zombies that had the ability to turn someone almost instantly, where even levels wouldn’t matter. The damn mage shouldn’t be able to know about it, but somehow he did.
At this point, all of his hard work was about to get evaporated by these three. But he could see it–the exhaustion on their faces, and their energy was lacking compared to before.
Alex smiled. He loved this tactic, walling them into a corner and wearing them down little by little. No matter how strong they were, they won’t be able to handle the exhaustion.
This isn’t a game anymore, and now Alex was using everything in his power to ensure his victory. He closed his eyes and called up his good backup for this.
A large rumbling ensued, causing the other soldiers to look down. Alex’s smile turned feral when he spotted his greatest creation, something that his high level Necromancer class created from all the creatures he killed throughout this time.
It was a lot of work, but seeing it rise up and roaring with as much fervor as possible got Alex giddy. This was what hard work looked like, and he was ready to reap all the benefits.
…..
Zeke was very sure they were making good ground on getting to their destination. Although the constant screaming and supposed death throes of his comrades beside him were jabbing at his confidence.
They fell through the abyss, something that he was used to after hours of jumping around. Even after ensuring their safety, he couldn’t defend anyone from the emotional stress this was causing them. Eventually, the darkness receded as everyone could plainly see that entering through the abyss was actually entering into another layer.
A layer where it still didn’t make sense to Zeke until now. He wasn’t sure, but the last tower they were at didn’t have this, despite the similarities. And he now realized that each tower has their own way of traveling through them.
One in particular he noticed was an actual ship, but it didn’t look like one at first glance. The vehicle had a flat surface, with what looked like a pole with strangely glowing patterns on top of another surface wedged onto the pole, acting as the sails. Underneath the flat surface has layers upon layers of condensed stone and glowing patterns much like the sails, making it look like a very plain interstellar ship if he thought about it.
It wasn’t active, or at least that’s what his senses picked up after scanning it with his Recovery. He knew that Mana could actually charge it, but by that point his barrier had already missed it by a few hundred feet. Still, it was an interesting discovery.
It was too bad he couldn't really relay his findings to the others who were still screaming their heads off. Mikella was, of course, tugging onto Zeke like her life depended on it despite his skin nearly getting torn off by her fingers. Myra was holding onto Piker of all people, and Piker himself didn't scream, though the blank look on his face as he stared wide-eyed at the fall didn’t really help his cool facade any further.
As they were currently indisposed, Zeke took it upon himself to act as the eyes of the ship, so to speak. He kept peering through the barrier as they jumped from layer to layer of the tower, ignoring every enemy they came across. That also included the zombie that looked like a wraith.
An undead creature with cloth that seemed to come alive with no actual body underneath, just the hem fluttering about as it tried to approach the barrier. It flexed its skeletal-like hands up towards them and immediately tried to swallow them all with a dark putrid plume of smoke towards them.
Zeke didn’t even have to tell how dangerous that was. Even a warrior who relies on instinct than Mana could tell that breathing that in would kill you in an instant. It was a plume made entirely of Undeath, the very corruption that could turn people into zombies.
Of course, that didn’t amount to anything as his barrier not only swiftly flew through the plumes, it also found the poor wraith underneath and squashed it from the powerful force of his superball barrier. Being at the front, Zeke could see the entire process of the wraith getting squashed and turned into paste under the force, seeing that the barrier was clear enough to watch everything.
That made his future traumas of zombies and wraiths haunt his mind for weeks to come, something that Zeke couldn’t fix and would receive nightmares for who knows how long. But not now, at least.
Several minutes passed as Zeke tried to control the direction of the barrier, something that the others finally picked up by using their kinetic energy to force the barrier to move as they wished. It was actually difficult to control such a thing despite being so close to it, even when Zeke was giving them all the authority for it. It was simply because the momentum was too strong, even if the action to actually control the barrier was possible. Even the warriors were stunned by how much power the barrier could have once it acted like a projectile, something that Zeke was starting to realize that it could turn into a volatile weapon if need be.
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Then again, he wished he didn’t have to be inside the damn thing for it to count. Unfortunately, his Barrier Craft skill told him that he can’t actually launch a super condensed barrier from his hand to act as an attack, like a certain projectile attack made by a fighter from the streets. That would be considered using the action for offense, which his skill didn’t allow. Yet for some reason, it does allow Zeke to use it to ram into enemies as long as he was inside.
Skills were weird, but then he figured it was impossible to do if it was below a certain skill level. Since his skill was level 9, perhaps nearing its max, it made sense that he can control the skill in any way he chose to now–to an extent, of course.
Eventually the entire ride was over, reaching over to the room where it was extremely familiar to the three, but not to Zeke, being as he was kidnapped at the time. It was the same room as always, surrounded by platforms and chains rattling in the ceiling.
But there were a lot of new things in place when the three left before. They managed to land in a small crevice at a corner of the wall into the next room, not only giving them a good hiding spot from what was going on outside, but giving them vantage points to see below.
Everything was a mess. Zeke noticed through the others that the cave was down there, where everyone was. However, at the front of the cave were the leaders fighting a whole horde of zombies, some reaching as high as giants and others as small, but just as deadly as the giants.
And finally, at the distance beyond, Zeke saw the perpetrator of them all.
“There he is,” Zeke said, pointing at the side for the others to follow.
That’s where they saw the one in charge of everything. He stood there at the top side of the room, looking down on everyone like the old classic boss in a video game. He had two severely strong looking zombies decked in heavy armor by his side, all the while peering down with crossed arms and a sneer at them.
Just like he saw earlier, the kid looked no younger than 18, with blond locks that were so oily that it looked like he hadn't showered for weeks on end. His clothes were tattered, but it was clear that they were made from his own country, with the very familiar red jacket of the baseball team from his state. Taking the chance, he Identified the kid.
> Necromancer, Level 52
Fuck…Zeke shook his head. Not only was this kid high level, he was even reaching towards the Journeyman stage. His class had to be some type of Necromancer class, considering all those zombies around him and the group below were following his commands.
“H-He really is from our world…” Mikella said, almost awed and in shock. “I can’t believe there was someone else other than us.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Zeke said. He wished it wasn’t so, especially if he came from their own world. “But it’s the truth. And that guy could not give a flying rat’s ass whether the people down there died or not.”
Zeke couldn’t help but feel his chest tightening in rage. Down below, he could see the soldiers hiding in the cave. They were tired, exhausted, and they looked afraid. He did see some were missing, the ones that the three told that died while he was away.
Kidnapped against his will, and that caused their deaths. If he wasn’t taken away, if Alex hadn’t taken him away from them, they could’ve been alive.
That made Alex his enemy, regardless of his age or where he came from. Still, Zeke wanted to at least settle this personally, considering that they came from the same world. Not to mention…
“Is he alone?” Zeke asked his partner, getting Mikella’s attention. “Or is there someone else with him?”
“Oh, shit…” Mikella gasped. “That’s right. But there’s nothing but zombies… unless–”
“We need to get down there!” Myra interrupted their thoughts, ready to unsheath her weapon but held it back since they were still in his barrier. “They need our help!”
“The leaders looked exhausted,” Piker relayed, a look of consternation on his face. “I have never seen the general look so pale before. The undeath must be taking its toll.”
“Wait,” Mikella called out, getting their attention. “I think something’s–”
A rumble occurred, getting everyone to instantly prepare themselves. Or rather, to make sure to stay still in Zeke’s barrier as the rocks around them started to shake and fall into the abyss. From the abyss itself came a large creature climbing up along the platform.
What appeared was a colossal titan of a zombie. Ranging higher than a five story building, it climbed up the platform with its hulking fingers pressing onto the stone. It nearly broke, but it was sturdy enough to hold as it held itself up.
It was so huge, it used the tower itself as footing, the walls caught beneath its giant feet. It was formed out of every single zombie imaginable, as if used together seamlessly over and over like finely woven thread. There wasn’t even blood adorning the body, yet it was gruesome to look at, what looked like skin and muscle made entirely out of rotting parts.
Zeke couldn’t help but use Identify, and was staggered as a result.
> Colossal Zombieman, Level ??
He knew that having question marks at his stage meant that it was Journeyman rank, but it felt different from the Red-maned giant. Compared to the giant who specialized in combat and magic, this thing specialized in being a huge-ass zombie. The leaders looked ready to fight it, but their eyes clearly showed hesitance, and Val looked back at the others in worry.
The others in the barrier stood silent, unable to figure out what else to do. It was then that Mikella prodded his shoulder, getting him to turn.
“Zeke, do you think we can use this barrier to make a surprise attack?”
His eyes widened. He didn’t think about using it as an ambush, but further thought made him consider it.
“That’s probably a good idea, but we’ll need to have a lot of momentum, won't we?” Piker added, pointing backwards from their ‘travel’ to here. “Like we did with those other monsters?”
“I think I might be able to recreate that momentum with my runes,” Zeke said, catching their attention. “But we’re gonna need to power it up with a lot of energy… what do you guys think?”
“I think you’re offending us if you think we can’t handle providing you the energy,” Myra said, her fierce smile returning. “Go for it. We’ll get ready!”
“Zeke,” Mikella asked. “How’s your Mana?”
“Around half, but I think I can manage it,” Zeke grimaced. “But I’m not really certain if the barrier can withstand the impact if we’re doing what I think we’re doing…”
“It’s good enough,” Piker added. “Zeke, focus on reinforcing the barrier and making the rune. We’ll provide the power.”
Hearing all of them in accordance, Zeke nodded to himself. The battle seem to have started with both Zacharia and Cloud attacking the monster while Val continued to take on the smaller monsters, now all by herself. Zeke immediately went to work, not willing to lose anybody else.
He created several barrier mediums and plastered them straight onto the superball barrier. There, he drew the connecting runes to create the rune array they planned on. Just like before, he used the mediums to use the power of kinetic energy, but instead of forcing it through the barrier like they did with the red-maned giant, it was created to direct the flow of energy around the barrier. For that, he had everyone put their hand on his shoulders and back to transfer the energy.
It was a weird experience. It was a trick Cloud taught him along with Val. One can actually give their own resources to another to help fill them up again. However, the transfer rate was extremely poor, transferring only around 60 to 80%, depending on how high their resource stats are. But for the three behind him, their Endurance was high on the marks, so he received a lot of power.
He still wasn’t good with detecting kinetic energy. He didn’t had Kinetic Perception after all–but fortunately he didn’t had to. His Gloves of Sanctuary was carrying everything on its back as the gear helped the energy flow through his body, through the gloves, and straight into the array on the superball barrier. Thanks to that, all the energy flowed through easily without any lost resources.
Then, he created an opening below the barrier, putting another medium on the ground right below the superball. He drew another rune array to help ‘push’ the barrier forward, also powering that with the help of his comrades. Still, even with the added kinetic energy, he had to focus on transferring them properly, and that wasn’t just draining his Mana–it was draining his mental focus. But despite it all, he was actually… sharper.
He didn’t know why, despite feeling like a dullard his whole life before coming to this world. He never felt more focused, so in-tune with the work he’s doing. That reminded him of what Cloud mentioned before. About how he had a special knack for this kind of stuff that nobody else could even replicate.
He wasn’t sure about that, even now. But in this moment, where everything was on the line to help others, he couldn’t help but lean on that idea, to use his own special talent to help.
And soon his creation was done. With one array on his barrier and another underneath, he was prepared. He looked back to find the other three nearly sweating and exhausted, almost looking ready to faint. Their Stamina was low now, but the barrier was charged with kinetic energy thanks to his Recovery skill’s senses.
“You guys might wanna get ready for this,” Zeke smiled, a hint of madness in his eyes. “We’re going to have a bumpy ride.”
The others couldn’t help but agree, showing the same fierce look in their eyes. Zeke turned around, then willed his Mana to activate the two rune arrays.
In that single, short moment, the chaos outside reaching the apex as the Colossal Zombieman continued to make an onslaught to his group, Zeke wished with all his heart that this would work.
The runes activated, and the unmoving barrier that was stuck in place for a while suddenly charged forward with the impact of a cannon firing.
Zeke had already reinforced the barrier, but in this mad rush ahead, he noticed the barrier’s density flashing. The force was so strong that it was actually causing the barrier to nearly break from it. He didn’t take into account just how much power each of his comrades’ kinetic energy would be.
But that was barely a problem. No, the real problem was that he didn’t think he would go this fast, so now the barrier was rushing straight into the torso of the giant zombieman.
In another single instant, the barrier made contact, a powerful force of air exploded from the crash between the two opposing forces, with the one pushing forward winning. The zombieman’s entire body nearly collapsed upon itself as the barrier dragged the giant body forward, straight into the tower’s walls.
Then they broke through it in a hailstorm of rock and debris, entering into another room. Then another, and another….
And another.