Catherine and I sat beside the fireplace with three dead corpses around us. It wasn’t a place to have a nice conversation with a girl, but I doubted she cared. Her eyes were still gleaming and she swallowed up every piece of information I said like a young child listening to her mother’s folktales. When I was done, which was pretty quickly, she wiped off her skirt and stood up.
“Judging by what you said, you are an abnormal.”
“Yes, your father mentioned that. He said I was a soul struck in the body of an undead. Is that the case with all undead?”
I recalled the soldier who had woken up dead right in front of me. He didn’t look like someone who had a soul in his body.
“No, most undead are governed by their own basic individual thoughts, which is to eat human meat, or there are necromancers capable of controlling hordes of undead. Abnormals are different. You are merely trapped inside the body of an undead.”
My eyes lighted up. “So my real body might be somewhere?”
The gleam in her eyes faded at that. “I didn’t mean you were alive somewhere else. Your soul simply stirred somewhere after your death, and someone decided to bound it to the body of an undead.”
Anything optimistic that was left inside me flew away with the little breeze that blowed past me. The fire crackled, and I looked around the corpses, wondering if they would come back to life similar to the dead soldier.
Despite my glum face, Catherine grinned. “Once again, allow me to thank you for rescuing me from the bandits. What should I call you?”
Up until that point I had never thought a name for myself. I had other issues like sating a hungry stomach and fulfilling the requests of an old man.
“Call me anything you want,” I mumbled, standing up. “I made a promise to your father to bring you safe in exchange for meat. I’m going to hand you over to him, then devour everything on top of his mule. If I really feel hungry, I’ll eat the mule too.”
I beckoned her to follow, jumped over the charred corpse of the female bandit and scaled up the slope. Catherine was beside me quickly.
“I’ll call you Hitch,” she lifted the edges of her frock from her fingers then skipped after me. “Thank you for saving me.”
“Why did those bastards kidnap you?” I looked at her charred hands. “And how did you cast magic?”
“Those two are very related questions. I am a witch capable of low magic. Recently there has been a decree issued by each Dukedom to hunt down witches and bring them to the Red Priests. They will be cleansing us. But I believe cleansing requires me to be tied to a wooden pole right in the middle of the square, until some bastard lights a fire and I burn while the townspeople throw rocks at me.”
That explained the kidnapping. That also explained how she looked less fearful of me.
“And I assume the Priests aren’t hunting witches just for fun?”
“No, two years ago a great wizard unleashed a curse upon this kingdom. A curse that created your kind-” she paused and looked at me to see if I was offended. When I remained impassive, she continued. “-and the demons. So everyone now sees wizards and witches as their favorite punching bag.”
I stared at her charred hands, and the cold gaze she had when she burned the female bandit alive. It was at that moment I wondered if I was on the right side of the fight.
Why should I care? All I care about is eating meat.
I willed my familiar intangible companion to appear once again.
Hello, do you require a helping hand?
“Bastard,” I cursed.
Kate looked back. “What?”
“Nothing,” I swayed her off.
“Oh, you have the system?” her eyes gleamed as she stared at the blue screen. “What is your rank?”
I stared at her eyes, then at the screen. “You see this? Your blind old man failed to see it.”
“It is only visible to people who are of a certain class,” Kate said. “See mine?”
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Her one appeared in red. And I read the contents of it while peering close.
Name
Catherine Northmorrow
Class
Wizard
Rank
E
Status
Wanted [Expand section for crimes]
Skills
Fire Hurdle
I Like Them Fried
Crispier The Better
Bouncy Balls
“Are you sure these are legitimate skills? What does bouncy balls even do?”
“I would love to show you when I gather more strength. Casting magic takes too much power, and it takes time to gather back the energy. But once you scale up with your rank you find a better chance to cast spells with less energy.”
I barely heard what she said. I was still looking at the screen in fascination. “How do I get mine?”
She tapped the top right corner, and a new screen appeared, listing everything that I needed.
Name
Who even cares?
Class
Undead
Rank
Z
Status
Clearly, dead
Skills
Generous Healing
Spitter
“I could really do with a better status,” I grumbled.
“The system was much better before,” Kate explained, walking again. She seemed to know how to find her way back. “But when the wizards cast the great spell and caused The Breaking it went out of it’s mind.”
I stared at my screen. It was funny to imagine my life was governed by an intangible magical screen.
“Bastard couldn’t at least give me a name.”
☠☠☠☠
By the time we reached the old man the sun was high, it’s heat enough to sweat both me and Kate in buckets. The mule stood in the same position chewing grass, and the old man was deep asleep, with his head cocked to the side.
“Abel,” Kate shrugged his shoulder. “I’m here.”
He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight and then moving over to Kate. His head bobbed up and down, scrutinizing every inch of her. And he grabbed her with both hands before pulling her down and hugging her close. “Ohhh you are alive! My sweet little Kate!”
“Yes, yes,” Kate’s eyes were red, and she pushed herself back from the grip. “Nice to see you too Abel.”
“B-but this is almost unimaginable! I thought they would kill you. I thought everything would be lost. I even had this weird dream of speaking to an undead to save you. Ahh! Is this a dream too? Can you hit me?”
I walked over and kicked him in the ribs.
“Ahhh!” He groaned then noticed me. He stared at his mouth agape for a few moments, then blinked twice. “So it wasn’t a dream?”
“And you owe me meat.”
“Curses! Kate, as you see I stroke an agreement with this gross creature. I believe we owe him meat.”
“As long as you’re not feeding me to him I don’t care.”
Something vibrated in my remaining hand, and when I looked at it, a new message was displayed.
Side Quest Complete!
Achievement Unlocked - Average Side Quest Enjoyer
40 skill points gained!
New Skills Available!
I didn’t give a damn, as soon as I heard the old man’s words I sprang near to the mule and started untying the parcels. Each time I found dry meat I gobbled them up. With the heat of the sun you could almost call the dry meat roasted.
All the while I was eating I kept my ears open for the conversation that was going on.
“I told you this was a bad idea!” Abel snapped, the coughed, then spoke again. “We were only in the start of the road and even now they are sending bandits to get to us. Imagine what we’d have when we reach the kingdom.”
“And what? Wait in the village awaiting our fates? I refuse to die without knowing why Lord Zeylin casted that spell on this world.”
“You and your idiotic ambitions! Could have been a normal girl, hid your magical capabilities, married off, and lived happily ever after. But nooo, go across the kingdom searching for a non-existent wizard!”
“Who asked you to come?”
“The smart part of my brain that advised me you’ll find trouble along the way. And that smart part is slapping my face right now!” I heard a thick slap. When I looked back the old man was rubbing a side of his face. “You know why he slapped? Because he was right!”
“Well we’re not alone. We have someone who we could take with us.”
There was silence. I looked back to see both the father and daughter staring at me.
I swallowed nervously. “I really hope you are speaking about the mule.”
The old man shook his hands. “A damned undead? Why young lady, kill and resurrect me instead!”
“Oh he’s going to come,” Kate gave me a sneaky smile. “Aren’t you Hitch?”
“Hah! You gave him a name? What’s next? Ditch the mule and ride on his back?”
“I thank you for the meat!” I carefully tied up the parcels and dumped them onto the creature. “But I’ll take my leave. Quest is complete, and I’m going to be off-”
I bowed down and turned around just before Kate opened her mouth.
“The wizard we’re searching can find a way to cure you.”
I stopped, paused for a few moments, then turned. “What are my alternatives?”
“Run around the kingdom, meet some Red Priests or the Duke’s army, then die when they stab you with a silver sword. But you won’t die. Since you are an abnormal your soul will be trapped inside your body. You’ll live forever unable to move, trapped inside an ugly mass of-”
“Alright, I get the point,” for a woman being searched by the entire kingdom she did have a way of convincing someone. “Where are we heading?”