While Grant and the skeleton, who he had suddenly decided to dub Skeletor, were staring at each other, Richard was doing his best to kill the zombie.

The closer the zombie got to him though, the more he panicked and the wilder his swings became. At this point he would have had better luck hitting the zombie if he just closed his eyes and swung the sword parallel to the ground, but alas he just kept swinging wildly.

While he may have been cutting piece after piece off of the zombie, it never stopped advancing towards him.

"Grant I need help! Please!"

Without even looking away from Skeletor, Grant hollered back, "Nah you're fine, you got this!"

Grant knew that unless Richard was the worst fighter in the history of the world, he would eventually figure out that all he needed to do was take a few steps backwards to create distance between himself and the zombie.

Grant could tell it was a super low level zombie which shouldn't threaten the kid at all.

Plus, he was more concerned with the random Skeleton that was sending warning signals screaming through every cell of his body.

[Sherlock, what the hell is that skeleton? It's clearly not a zombie or a monster native to Earth. Only in fantasy stories have full blown skeletons come back to life.]

{Their are three possibilities.

The first possibility is that it is a summon by someone on the Path of Necromancy. This possibility is extremely unlikely if not impossible. I have not felt anyone from Earth enter The Path yet. However, there are ways of avoiding my notice so I can not say with absolute certainty that it is not a summon.

The second possibility, is that it is a mutation of an existing deceased individual. Likely a corpse of a former human who had strong desires to cling to life. If a soul has a strong enough desire for life, even years after its passing it can be reanimated by the mana The Paths emergence releases into the environment.

The third possibility and also the most likely. Is that it is a monster that has escaped from a dungeon. When The Path emerges, dungeons also emerge with it. Most monsters will not wander past the edge of the dungeon due to the increased density of mana inside the dungeons themselves, but there is nothing keeping them inside if they desire to leave.}

[There are dungeons on Earth now?! Why did you not say so sooner! That's huge news!]

{At what point would you have liked me to tell you? While you wear half dead from blood loss, while you were complaining about your new armor, or while you were fighting hordes of monsters?}

Grant clicked his tongue at Sherlock's response. Sherlock was becomingly increasingly cheeky and rebellious. But since Grant had other priorities right now, he'd have to deal with the guide later.

"Grant! Please help!"

Once again Richards voice rang in Grant's ears. This time Grant couldn't help but look away from Skeletor and check Richards situation because he was becoming increasingly annoyed at the kids incompetence.

Grant splendidly seemed to forget or purposefully chose to ignore the fact that he couldn't even move the first time he fought a zombie.

"You seriously haven't killed that zombie yet?! It literally walks slower than a snail and you are wearing armor that is basically impenetrable... get your shit together kid. I got bigger problems over here!

Your family is just 25 feet behind you and this is your chance to prove you are capable of protecting them! I'm literally holding 20 zombies back right now with just the occasional kick and you can't kill one zombie?!

Kill that zombie with the next swing of the sword or I will go get your sister and have her do it! At least she seemed like she could handle the pressure of protecting you!"

The more Grant yelled at Richard, the louder he became and the more powerful his voice seemed to become. The sheer power and anger in Grants voice at the end of his rant was enough for Richard to start sweating under the pressure.

Without even a thought, Richard closed his eyes, swung the sword as hard as he could, and lopped the zombies head off.

Successfully executing Grants demands.

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Seeing that Richard had done what he requested, Grant looked back in the direction that Skeletor had been standing when a notification popped up in the corner of his vision.

{Congratulations on learning the skill: Terrorize

Skill Type: Vocal

Skill Tier: Normal

Skill Description: Imbuing your words with anger will motivate the target of your words to execute your commands. The skill only effects those who are weak willed or those who are terrified of you. Will not work on anyone above level 10.}

After a quick glance, Grant discarded the message because he was more concerned with Skeletor and what its goal was. The entire time they had been staring at each other, the skeleton didn't so much as flinch.

Grant knew it was unlikely that Skeletor was still standing there because the sense of danger he had been sensing had vanished without a trace while he was yelling at Richard sure enough, the skeleton had disappeared.

[What a weird monster. Is it even a monster? Would a reanimated person be considered a monster or do they have a mind and free will of their own?

In only a few days I've faced more scenarios and bizarre encounters than I thought possible.

Besides, what is with monsters just starting at me all the time? Am I really that good looking?

I'm not really into naked skeletons who walk around showing off their boney structures though...]

After scanning the backyard a few more times and confirming that he couldn't sense the skeleton anymore, Grant was finally let the tension run out of his body.

While Grant had been staring into the eyes of the zombie and directing Richard, the zombies had never ceased their attempts to bite or scratch Grant, so he had remained in the doorway kicking them back every time they advanced.

Knowing that it was unlikely that he would get any more out of Richard at that point, he decided to take over the situation himself.

"I'm sorry for pushing you so hard Richard. There was a situation and it effected my ability to control myself.

Give me Wet Noodle and I'll deal with the rest. Even with one arm, these guys are no better than annoying flies in front of me."

Without hesitation, Richard walked over and handed the sword back to Grant.

Grant was already feeling pretty shitty about how he had treated Richard and that feeling only intensified when Richard spoke to him with a depressed look on his face.

"I'm sorry Grant. I thought I was prepared for the responsibility. I have failed you. Maybe I'm not good enough."

Grant knew that he had let his emotions get the better of him and vowed that he would try and keep his calm even in tense situations. Just because Skeletor appeared and put pressure on Grant, didn't mean that he had to pass that along to a young kid who was doing his best despite never having done anything even remotely like that before.

"Don't worry about it Richard. Warriors aren't made overnight. Sometimes it takes month to train someone to fight with the necessary amount of courage. The fact that you stepped up and even tried, proves that you have what it takes, you just need more confidence in yourself.

I will not give up on you just because you panicked a bit at the end."

After Grant grabbed Wet Noodle with his free arm, he turned back to face the doorway and kicked the zombie in the front as hard as he could in an attempt to create an opening for him to exit the house. Instead of sending the zombie flying like he had intended, its body just exploded into a million tiny pieces which showered Grant in flesh, bone, and blood.

"DAMNIT! Stupid weak ass monsters! Look what you made me do!"

Although Grant was frustrated at the zombie's weakness, he knew that it was simply him who was too strong. While he was looking at the rest of the zombies crowding the back yard, Grant had a sudden flash of inspiration.

Without hesitation, he moved to put his plan into action.

Grant charged through the open door and dove in and out of the group of zombies, slicing and dicing them apart like the weak monsters they were. After a mere ten seconds, the now limbless bodies of the zombies littered the ground. A set of arms and legs were resting next to each torso, completely detached and unmoving.

From inside the door, Richard watched Grant with a serious look in his eyes. He knew he had failed to make a good first impression on Grant, but watching Grant fight was proof that if he worked hard enough, he could maybe, just maybe achieve that level of strength some day.

While Richard was standing there, Robin came running over and hugged his leg to peak outside the door.

"Wow Richie, you were right! Mr. Carrot is super strong! He's so fast! He's like an orange flash, one moment he's over there and the next he's over there!"

As she shouted she pointed exaggeratedly at Grant, like he was the coolest thing she had ever seen in her life. She had a shine in her eyes that said she was looking at her favorite superhero or something.

Richard couldn't help but look down at his sister and frown. He had told himself that he would do whatever it took to protect his little sister and his parents but he had not been able to do what needed to be done.

And yet here stood his sister, with a big smile on her face, looking at all the carnage in front of her as if it didn't effect her at all!

Was there something wrong with him? Was there something wrong with her? Or was she just that much braver than he was?

While Richard was lost in thought, Grant turned and hollered at him, "Richard, all of these zombies are still alive. They pose absolutely zero threat unless you put a leg or something near their mouths. If you want, you can take the kills. If not, I will do it myself. What is your choice?"

Richard snapped out of his thoughts with surprise plastered across his young face. He couldn't believe that Grant would go out of his way to make sure that there was no danger for him. He could see from the occasional winces on Grant's face that he was clearly still suffering from the wound on his arm, but he still put in the extra effort to make things easier for him.

Hesitating for only a moment, he walked up to Grant's side and took the sword from his hand. He vowed that he would not let his sister and mother down a second time.

While Richard was finishing the zombies, Grant ran through the open back door, through the kitchen, into the entryway of the house, and then out the front door.

While standing in the middle of the street, he started looking around in earnest.

"Skeletor!!! Where are youuu?! Better yet, what are you?!"