'Yes, this place will be fine.'
After my first fight in this world, I found shelter from the daylight inside the rest of what I thought was a temple of some kind, judging by the symbols engraved on the walls. It wasn't that the sunlight affected me the same way as the other Undead, but I still found uncomfortable to stand in it. Probably, I was only relieved from the debuff to my Status, and not from the opposition that my kind harboured to it.
Also, there was a bigger chance to meet adventurers during the day, so it wasn't a bad idea to stay hidden somewhere, waiting for the Sun (or whatever that flaming celestial body in the sky was called here) to set and recovering from the wounds received the night before.
I was surprised to discover that a zombie was able to heal! Or, to be more precise, that my HP would slowly recover on their own, as the gash in my chest was still open. I'd have to find something to fix that, it would be quite the problem if I'd become a walking mess of holes and stitches.
Surely enough, healing magic was a no-go, as it could only cause more damage to me. Some kind of necromantic spell should exist for such situations, otherwise, how did the necromancers repair their servants?
Anyway, I put those thoughts aside and focused on the most important thing: the “Guide for Adventurers”!
Such a lucky find! With this book, I could understand more about this world and learn how to survive. So, sitting down in the shadows, I started to read the first page:
Official Guide for Adventurers
Chapter One:
Adventuring
1. What's an Adventurer?
Welcome, brave one, to the world of the Adventurers: intrepid explorers who travel to the four corners of the globe to unveil mysteries, solve problems and defeat the Evil that plagues our homes.
In this book, you'll find the guidelines to be one of these glorious people and leave your mark in history...
'Booooring! Let's skip to more interesting parts.'
I flipped the page and went to the next subchapter, finding a brief explanation about Adventuring Guilds, that would be expanded in the next chapter.
Skipping ahead of that, I found the next talking about the dangers of adventuring: traps, ambushes, monsters, criminals, etcetera. The list was going for a few more things, and it would be explained in another chapter.
The first chapter was all basic knowledge I've already known by my previous life's pastimes. The second chapter was about Guilds, so I passed that entirely. I wasn't really interested in joining a Guild, and anyway, I would have to face some slight difficulties if I'd ever wish to join one
The next chapter was about an adventurer's possible Jobs. That was something that interested me: knowing your enemy is half of the battle, as they say, and by understanding how they fought I could prepare my countermeasures. It wasn't necessary to deepen on the subject at the moment, so I just gave a quick read on their basic abilities and uses, keeping in mind to dedicate more time to these pages in future. There were also charts about the available career paths, how convenient!
Then, a special note near the end caught my eye:
… There have been records about the presence of monsters with Jobs in specific circumstances. This seems to happen in monsters with humanoid bodies and/or extremely high Intelligence and Wisdom scores. It's a mystery how these creatures are able to have access to the Job System, as it should be only available to the Blessed Races.
Researchers are trying to find the answer to this enigma for decades, as it could cause problems if...
'Now that's good news!'
Monsters were able to get Jobs, same as the adventurers. That would give a nice advantage in a fight, combining the natural abilities of a creature with the ones learned by training. Shame that there weren't more details about that topic. I'd have to discover more about it the hard way.
But that was for later, I had to read another chapter before the end of the day. It was the one that could contain precious information on this world, so it was better to study it attentively.
And there it was! Second-to-last chapter, after the "Environments" and the "Dungeons" ones, the "Monsters and Races"!
'Excellent! This will help me.'
Chapter Seven:
Monsters and Races
1. The creatures in this world
On all the surface of Ragna, there are many creatures who inhabit it. These are divided into three categories: the Blessed Races, the monster and the animals.
The Blessed Races are beings favoured by the Gods and that carry their blessings since their creation, which the name originated from. They have a great culture and civilization, forming flourishing settlements with functional governments.
They are composed by the humans, the elves and the dwarves. Each Race has its strong points and its flaws, so to balance each other out.
The monsters are all the creatures who lack the Gods' Blessing. Most of them are simple beasts, that will attack any being who enters their territory or catch their eye. Some of them are of a more peaceful disposition and will only react to who bothers them.
Some monsters have an humanoid-like appearance and behaviour, able to develop a primitive form of civilization.
But there exist also creatures with higher intelligence and power than the Blessed Races. Those being are extremely dangerous to anger and must be approached with caution. Fortunately, the ones who can really constitute a threat are very rare and tend to isolate themselves. Still, even the most expert adventurers must pay attention to these monsters.
And then the text proceeded to talk about the animals; just a couple of sentences on how they were originally peaceful monsters that were domesticated centuries ago until they lost all their dangerous features and could be used for produces.
At the end of the last paragraph, I found another special note:
After the Treaty of Junica in the year 754, the Beastmen and the HalfBreeds are not considered part of the monster races anymore, granting them minimum civil rights, for the kindness of the human Queen, Junica the Fifth. So, it's forbidden to kill them without justification, and punishable by law.
'So, even in this place, there is some kind of racism towards the more monster-like beings, huh?'
Obviously, in the sub-chapter dedicate only to them, I found that almost all the monsters were described as some kind of plague, that it was to be destroyed on sight, with only a few exceptions. There were also beneficial monsters and neutral ones, those were to be left alone unless there was the necessity.
Unfortunately, if I wanted to read more about the many kinds of monsters, I had to get my hands on the "Monsters's Encyclopedia"'s volumes, as stated by the book I was reading. A not-so-simple feat, as they were stored in the Guilds' archives.
'I'll have to rely only on Identify for information, then.'
Not that it was a bad thing, I would level up the skill quickly by using it often, but usually, it was better to have the data on your enemy BEFORE you meet them, not at the moment!
Sighing with annoyance, I put away the Guide in my sack, and just laid there, reflecting on what happened in the last hours and what to do next.
I was a zombie in a dungeon, I was sentient and I was strong. But what there was for me to do? I never had great goals in my life, I was a simple guy, living a normal and boring life. Even if I had a dream, that was meaningless now.
In every story that I read with this kind of plot, the main character either always had something happening to them that made them want something or they already had some kind of plan. But in every story, they had a whole world to explore, while I was stuck here!
I could exit from the dungeon, but then I would be targetted by everybody, especially with the face I had. Disguises could work only so far, and surely the amount that I would have to use will be very suspicious to see.
If I wanted to go out, I had to evolve, hoping to become a more "human-like" Undead, and to do that I had to survive and grow stronger!
'Alright! For the time being, I will focus myself on my growth. Once I'll have reached that point, I'm going to find a new objective!'
I only had to wait until the evening, where I would be able to move out without discomfort from the light, then I could hunt down some lone adventurer to get more experience and level up. In the meanwhile, I could exercise myself, learning how to fight better with the sword and practising some fighting moves while wearing armour.
"Ehi! Let's look in that ruin! It looks promising."
"You told the same thing for that old crypt down the road, and we only found spiders and rats."
"Oh, come on! This looks like a temple, and it's bigger. There must be something in there!"
"... Alright. I'll trust your "instinct" one more time. But after this, no more dilly-dallying. We have a quest to finish and I don't want to stay in this creepy place any longer!"
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Yay!"
Two voices, the first female and the second male. They were coming closer to the building I chose as a temporary shelter and they clearly wanted to enter to explore it.
From their tone, and the enthusiasm of the girl, they seemed to be rookies. Two youngsters that wanted to see the world and have adventures.
How unfortunate that their dream brought them to this place because if they entered here, they would found me, and I'd have to attack them, to kill.
I stood up, donned my helmet and grabbed my sword, ready to fight. I moved from my resting spot to stand behind a column near the doorway.
'Looks like I'll have to do an early shift.'
The sound of footsteps was closer and closer, I stood in wait, unmoving like only a dead could be. The door opened, a feminine figure entered, followed by a boy with a large backpack. As both of them went inside, I slowly moved behind them, my weapon hanging low, a strategy formed in my mind.
'Nothing personal, kids. It's just the way it is.'
Lifting the blade over my head, I struck the first blow, starting this encounter.
You inflicted a moderate wound. HP -5
The boy's scream echoing in the chamber as the sword cut his calves, the girl spinning on herself to see what was happening, only to find me jumping onto her, to strike again. No mercy allowed!
STATUS WINDOW
Name: N/A
Race: Zombie (Revenant)
Level: 2
Rank: E-
Sex: Male
Age: 23 years
Job: None
HP: 26/26
MP: 28/28
Status: 100%
Rank ups: None
STR: 16
INT: 14
DES: 14
WIS: 14
VIT: 13
CHA: 12
SKILLS
Darkvision
You're an undead, a creature of the night and darkness. You can see clearly in the dark.
Lvl -
Passive
Undead
You are not alive. You don't need to eat, drink and breath to live. You don't need sleep anymore. Immunity to poisons, diseases and drugs. Immune to fatigue. Immune to mental influences. Critical Hits ineffective.
Lvl -
Passive
Minor weakness to sunlight
As undead, the pure light of the sun damages you. Your abilities will suffer a malus of 15% until you're under direct sunlight.
Lvl -
Passive
Slow Movement
You are stiff as a tombstone. Your body is rigid and limits your movements. Speed reduced by 50%.
Lvl -
Passive
Weakness to Fire
Your flesh burns easily. You take 50% more damage from the Fire attribute.
Lvl -
Passive
Weakness to Holy
Your very existence is a heresy. You take 50% more damage from the Light attribute. Healing spells damage you.
Lvl -
Passive
Resistance to Ice
Your body is already stone-cold. You take 50% less damage from the Ice attribute.
Lvl -
Passive
Resistance to Darkness
The source of your life is dark energy. You take 50% less damage from the Dark attribute. Necrotic spells cure you.
Lvl -
Passive
Immunity to sunlight
You can bask in the sun without a problem. Any malus you could have under the sunlight is cancelled.
Lvl -
Passive
Hand to Hand Combat
Fists of fury! You can do more damage while fighting unarmed.
Lvl 1
Passive
Sword Proficiency
Cut them up. You can use melee weapons of the Sword category.
Lvl 1
Passive
Language Comprehension
You can speak! You can read, understand and speak many languages.
Lvl -
Passive
Easy Growth (Hidden)
You grow faster than weeds. Your growth is enhanced. Skill acquisition and development is easier. Stats are improved. You gain more EXP.
Lvl -
Passive
Identify
Knowledge is a great weapon. You can see the Status of other creatures. You can appraise items. Improved version of Appraisal.
Lvl 2
Active (no cost)
Infection
Germs thrive in your mouth. Your bite attack has 15% probability to infect the target.
Lvl 1
Active (no cost)