With the compounding upgrades, they managed to defeat fifteen zombies that day. They could’ve killed even more were it not for the approaching nightfall. Returning back to the shelter, they greet the gatekeeper and eat their fill before retiring for the night. In the camp, the situation had somewhat stabilized. Outbursts had diminished, people weren’t crying or fighting randomly anymore. Samantha’s workload had lightened so much that she could finally sleep after three days without rest.

 It was calm– tranquil. The atmosphere lulled people to slumber. All but one person carrying a backpack through an empty tunnel.

 A pair of gates whined softly as rusty hinges rubbed against each other. In the sky, a full moon illuminated the lightless city. The cosmos above seemed to mock the insignificant existences below. Circumstances weren’t ideal, but Soren had killed in worse conditions without magically enhanced perception.

 He traced a different route than the one the team used the last couple of days. He navigated through the city towards the police station on the opposite end of their usual hunting grounds, where the portal had first opened. The place was teeming with brawling zombies. Six pairs of grey, flickering eyes fixated on the sole living being. Attacks froze midair. Within microseconds, a ceasefire was formalized.

 The messengers of undeath charged, their footsteps pulverizing the brittle human bones beneath. The creatures moved to encircle their meal, but Soren did not wait for the trap to be set. He pounced at the most isolated zombie. No elaborate plans or intricate strategies were used. He accepted one powerful blow in return for a lethal one. The force traveled from his chest, along his spine, to the tips of his toes, the improvement to his durability allowing him to withstand the impact with a slight slide back. Dangling, mushy flesh sizzled as he gripped its neck. One hand controls the zombie’s fate, severs the head from the body, extinguishes the sickly flames. The other catches the falling skull and throws it at one of the two closest skeletons.

 The undead’s jaw was knocked askew, rendering it blind to the flaming palm that severed its torso from its legs. Downward momentum converted to circular as Soren redirects it, snatching the bottomless torso without harming the fight’s rhythm. At the apex of the circle, Soren hurled the ribcage at the other zombie, cracking its shoulder. The creature lost its balance and stumbled to the ground. Yet, Soren couldn’t snowball his initiative, even as {Belligerent} boiled his blood.

 Fist on his temple, he blocked a massive swipe.

 Health : 41.3 → 34.8

 The pain was sharp but manageable—a once-lethal blow now reduced to a mere annoyance. Soren staggered back, deliberately letting himself drop to the ground to evade a slashing claw. From his prone position, he executed a precise scissor kick, trapping the zombie’s knee and ankle joints. His flaming hands shoved against the falling skeleton, and with a burst of fire, the zombie was sent hurtling into the air, bone fragments scattering.

Soren rolled away from a violent stomp, narrowly avoiding another zombie’s claws. A resounding crash signaled that the airborne undead had collided with its stomping comrade. Swiftly navigating around the disoriented skeletons, he kept his distance from a bigger zombie. The creature slammed its fists in anger, bashing its wounded allies into a pile of broken bones. This one had to be higher level. Although he hadn’t detected any significant Mana fluctuations, its strength was evident.

With a guttural roar, rotting lungs expelled foul air as the creature brandished the remains of its fallen allies like crude clubs. Soren retreated, skillfully maintaining his position at the edge of its frenzied attacks. Mana bubbled from his core, flowing through his veins and pooling into his right hand.

Mana : 5.1 → 4.1

His reserves dwindled as the threads wove into a blinding white sphere. His veins throbbed, strained to the breaking point by the compressed energy, but Soren did not falter. The raging monster swung its ‘club’ one final time, shattering it to splinters.

Mana : 4.1 → 3.3

Pain twisted his features as he released the spell. A blazing orb shot into the night sky like a second moon, the air quivering in its wake. It made its way forward until it met an obstacle of bone. Like a knife through butter it sunk into it, trailblazing a molten path through the being of undeath, and into its ally. Two skeletons collapsed into ponds of lava. By the time the fireball reached the third, it had insufficient energy to destroy it. Halfway into its sternum, the spell imploded. Underneath a rain of fire and bone, Soren collected the essences.

“You have absorbed the essence of a level 3 Zombie-[Common]. +0.1 Strength”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

At first he’d thought that leveling would get easier the stronger he became. How wrong he’d been. He was exhausted, his legs weighed about a ton, and his arm hurt as though his blood vessels had ruptured. Picking up the last crystal, he carved two femur bones into sharp spears. Opportunity lingered for no man. The hunt must go on.

“You have absorbed the essence of five level 3 Zombies-[Common]. +0.2 Durability, +0.3 Strength”

 Soren held onto his damaged backpack as he ran from the veritable army of zombies chasing him. Despite his desperate dash, he tossed a few essences behind him, creating enough of a diversion to slow down the closest ones. That distraction might have saved his life because his agility was nowhere near enough to outpace the higher-level skeletons. Any hesitation would have meant being overtaken.

 He raced toward the tunnel, yanking open the reinforced door and leaping inside, a few more essences spilling from his backpack. Without glancing back, he slammed the door shut behind him. Scratching and clawing, echoing along the tunnel, but the reinforced steel held firm. Safe for the moment, he made his way back to his sleeping area.

“Leia” he murmured nudging her shoulder. “Leia wake up”

She opened her eyes wearily, flinching at the sight of Soren inches away from her face. “Is it already time to hunt?” she asked stifling a yawn.

“Absorb these,” Soren ordered, opening his backpack. It glittered a muted grey.

“Did y–ᵒᵘ ᵍᵒ ᵒᵘᵗˢᶦᵈᵉ ᵃᵗ ⁿᶦᵍʰᵗ”. Her words were muffled by his rough-skinned hand. He gestured at the crystals, not bothering to answer her question,

“Do not make any noise,” he whispered in her ear when she was about to touch one. She gulped. Was that even possible?

The essence suffused her being. It caressed her mind and bathed her soul in ecstasy, but she had to remain silent and unmoving. Excruciating didn’t even begin to describe the pain of rejecting the essence’s gifts. Soren knew the pain firsthand. Unblinking, he saw her eyes fill with blood.

 She was still shivering when he placed another orb before her; a poisonous fruit, the devil’s promise. She gazed pleadingly into Soren’s eyes, sinking into pools of blood. She could feel the sticky, wet blood permeating her being with cold. There wasn’t a choice.

 “You have leveled up. +1 Free Attribute Point”

  Crystal after crystal injected her body with essence, extending the torturous feast. She almost yelled in relief when liberation came.

 “I-i’ve l-lev-v-eled up” she stuttered through cluttering teeth.

 “It can’t be. You’ve only absorbed four,” he said, disbelieving her claims.

 “Are you lying to me?” he asked, his gaze narrowing.

 The colour drained from her face. She fervently shook her head, breath stuck in her throat. Drenched in blood, her eyes pleaded for mercy.

 “No matter. You haven’t reached saturation. You can absorb more,” he said impassively. Their eyes reflected each other, both scintillating like diamonds in the dark— so similar, yet so different.

 “Please don’t make me. Let’s distribute them among the party. Or better even to the entire camp. Think about how much stronger we’ll be if the hundreds of people here are organized and utilized correctly,” she regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. He wouldn’t have forced her to absorb the essences secretly at night if that was his plan.

 She’d seen how he switched faces. One moment callous, the other happy and joking, he changed personalities at the flap of a butterfly’s wings. She knew him because she’d helped him become part of the camp despite knowing what he was capable of.

 During the prison break, he had gathered sacrifices. Then, he antagonized the group and played into Peter’s distrust, expecting her to diffuse and smoothen the situation. He wanted to gain their trust. She knew he’d given Lee information about the system and thrust himself into the center of battle. In every situation, he was in control. From the first moment, he expected their revolt. When he first followed Lee back to the shelter, he knew he could escape. When battling, he never panicked or fatigued— in control, always. If she became a liability, he would kill her. There wasn’t a choice— not for her.

 A mocking smile. Soren’s hand extended. Another wave of essence. More euphoric torment.

 Soren assessed the woman before him. She was smart and capable, bold and daring, yet so– so emotional. Waist-long, raven curls cascaded down her back. One wrong move, a single misstep, and an enemy would latch onto them. Yet she kept it. Just because she liked it.

 Pride and greed, were they worth dying for? He almost grinned. He wasn’t one to talk. The man whose pride had cost him his freedom and his sanity. The man whose greed had saved him from fates worse.

 He played with the crystal in his palm. A few days ago he’d absorbed his very first essence, gouged that mage’s eyes out, and vaporized that hellish prison. Perhaps it was only fair his greatest strength be his greatest weakness.

 A warm, pleading touch on his forearm woke him up from his trance. Her twin pupils quivered. He’d lost her. Far sooner than he expected. He was too forceful. Had he shared the essences, there was a chance he could win her back, but she wasn’t worth it. Everyone outlived their value at some point.

 However, he couldn’t kill her. Not yet. They would question her disappearance. Already they didn’t trust him. He’d experienced enough betrayals to know when someone trusted him or not. Peter was warmest to him. Eric was wary, and Lee… Lee had never believed him– not for a second. He was dangerous. Under no circumstances could he be allowed more strength than necessary.

 He should kill them all now, while they were asleep. It was the simplest solution. He could get it over with, but he needed them to clear out the police department. He couldn’t deal with all those zombies on his own in a reasonable timeframe. Too many level 4s and 5s. There had to be higher levels. By himself, he stood no chance against that kind of force. But with a few distractions, he could buy enough time to sever the dragon’s head.

Greed, he smiled to himself. His hand extended. The night was short.