Zombie Rebirth

Level 1 zombie killed. 10 xp awarded.

Level 1 zombie killed. 10 xp awarded.

Level 1 zombie killed. 10 xp awarded.

I breathed a sigh of relief. The fights hadn’t been difficult. But something nagged at me. Were zombies really that easy to kill? Why had they gone down with so little effort? Zombie media flooded my mind, and one movie in particular started echoing a significant line:

“Remove the head or destroy the brain.”

I turned and watched the bodies for movement. The first guy was laying in a pile of viscera, with one arm completely missing and his torso more of a vague suggestion than an actual structure. He… didn’t move. I turned my gaze to the other zombies. They lay in pieces. As I looked closer, I noticed they were in terrible condition. The skin hung loosely, muscles in deep atrophy, with rot noticeable on the various exposed wounds. Even if they were undead, they had been in deep decay.

“Probably finished the job time had started more than anything,” I mused. With the zombies defeated, I turned my attention back to the wooden pole. It felt… ominous. The black-and-gold energy crackled from the top to the bottom in waves, highlighting the intricate carvings. I couldn’t identify what language it was, but it didn’t look like anything I had ever seen before. I wasn’t a language expert by any means, but this writing looked very alien. Some of the symbols made my head hurt just looking near them. As I was examining the thing, a box popped up.

‘Dimensional Anchor

HP: 150/150

Mana: 203/250

Mana regen per second: 0.67

Faction: Undead’

“Huh. Well, that’s handy. I wonder what it’s for?”

As if that was the catalyst, the examination box closed and a new one opened.

‘New Quest!

You have stumbled across a dimensional anchor! Four of these hold open a portal through which an army is invading. Destroy the anchors, close the portal, and maybe save your world. Or, you can find the leader and join them to rule over your own bit of paradise.

Rewards: 150xp, 1000 recognition, undiscovered rewards based on choices.’

I looked at the pole. I could destroy it, repel the invasion, earn recognition for doing that, and maybe become a hero. But it would require fighting more zombies, putting my life on the line, and generally sticking my neck out. On the other hand, I could leave the anchor intact, go find the Necromancer again, and work my way up his army. Probably would make me guard this anchor, since I killed the zombies guarding it…

“Fuck that,” I said. “I won’t bow to some half-assed necromancer.”

I cocked a fist back, and slammed it into the pole. It shivered, with a large crack starting from the top and running down below the ground. I shook my hand out, then went again. The crack widened, and the status box opened again.

‘Dimensional Anchor

HP: 90/150

HP regen per second: 0.01

Mana: 196/250

Mana regen per second: 0.67

Faction: Undead’

The mana had gone down, and HP regen had been introduced. I had seen it on my own sheet earlier. Still, two hits to take down 60 health. I wondered if it had some sort of damage reduction I couldn’t see. I jumped in place, shaking out my arms and rolling my neck, then took up a fighting stance again. I threw a flurry of three rapid, sharp hits, and watched in satisfaction as the crack widened and began to glow with a savage light. One last check showed my progress.

‘Dimensional Anchor

HP: 1/150

HP regen per second: 0.01

Mana: 191/250

Mana regen per second: 0.67

Faction: Undead

Warning: This anchor is about to fail.’

The last line was new. I watched as the light built and my instincts screamed to run. I bolted back into the hedge maze, sprinting as fast as I could. I was prepared for the explosion to be enormous. After ten seconds, I slowed, then stopped. I looked back. The pole had crumbled to ash, with a glowing remnant faintly wavering in its place. I walked back. The glowing remnant faded away, leaving a hole in the ground. I turned, ready to get back on track. Three more anchors. Then, the big, floating douche. I could do this.

Fifteen minutes later, I found the second anchor. At least, I think it was the second. The maze was huge. Far bigger than it should have been. I think the dimensional anchors were doing something to local space. When I arrived, I spied another four zombies. They weren’t hostile off the bat, but that was quickly changed when I charged in and tackled the largest zombie. A little box flashed by, so quick I couldn’t even register everything it said. All I caught was ‘Zombie Level 2.’

He hit like a mack truck. I did take him to the ground, but in a surprising show of martial knowledge, he tossed me off and rolled back to his feet in one smooth motion.

“You whelp, I’ve been sparring with stronger than you for a hundred years! I’m already level two!”

I gave him the side-eye. “Level two? After over a hundred years? Sounds pretty lame to me.” I internally cringed. Lame? Who says that anymore?

Apparently, that was a grave insult to the zombie. Heh, grav–

He slammed into me like a tsunami. I was lifted from the ground and slammed into the hedge. I can tell you now, that hedge did not feel like soft leaves. It was all hard branches that fought back. I swore I felt something inside me break. The pain was… not that bad, actually. It was weird. Ever since becoming a zombie, all of my senses were muted. I kinda liked it, after twenty years of being driven crazy just by my sense of touch.

I shoved the monster-truck sized zombie away from me, then smirked when I saw him stumble and go wide-eyed. I stood up, shaking out the pain. A quick check of my status showed how hard he hit.

Name: Alabaster Blackwood

Race: Zombie Human

Faction: None

Age: 20

Level: 0

XP: 40/100

HP: 154/200

HP regen per second: 0.09

MP: 0/20

MP regen per second: 0.00

Stamina: 100/120

Stamina regen: 0.06

Strength: 14*

Agility: 6

Constitution: 10*

Wisdom: 1

Intelligence: 1

Charisma: 1

Luck: 12*

Titles: Primordial Undead, Prime Undead, Star-born: Dragon

Skills: Unarmed Combat

Abilities: None

Spells: None

Notes: English, Zombie Common

“Is that it? You did 21 damage?”

His eyes went even wider. “What kind of monster are you? Aren’t you level 0?”

I laughed, then rushed in. He blocked my first strike with a forearm, swearing as it shattered. I pivoted and threw a knee into his side, launching him ten feet into a wall. That was when the other three launched at me. Again, two women and a man, making for an even split. The first died to an elbow to the forehead, which splattered his skull everywhere. His brain was more like a rotten slurry of maggots and juice than actual gray matter. A woman was next, though it was only possible to tell by the ancient, paper-thin dress. Her hair had fallen out, and her head fell when I slashed through her neck with a stiff bladed hand.

Level 0 zombie killed. 5 xp awarded.

Level 1 zombie killed. 10 xp awarded.

The final woman screamed and charged me, echoed by a roar from the man. He had finally extracted himself from the hedge wall, which was badly damaged where he had struck. I redirected her lunge into his chest, causing both to collapse to the ground. I stomped on her head, then crushed the man’s arms and legs. He was helpless, and looked at me with eyes full of hatred. Hatred, and fear.

Level 2 zombie killed. 20 xp awarded.

“Mind answering a few questions for me?”

The zombie did something. I think he tried to spit, but his salivary glands had dried up over a century before. Instead, he just made a dry ‘puh’ sound.

“Like, I get I can’t really torture you. No pain, not really. But I could do something else. Maybe I’ll bury you twenty feet down. With no arms, no legs, and no need to breathe, you’d be stuck down there for… gee, I dunno. Maybe a few millennia. Just stuck under thousands of pounds of rock and dirt, unable to move. Nothing to do but think.”

That caught the zed’s attention. “What? What could you possibly want from me?”

“Tell me more about being a zombie.”

“We’re generally dull, stupid, and witless. No charm or charisma. But the lack of brains is made up for in pure brawn. I’m sure you noticed.”

I had noticed. But I was supposed to be on-par with these creatures, and I was far superior.

“I’m fighting up two levels. Is that normal?”

He shook his head. “One level is a big gap, and it only widens as you get higher. Even so, a level 0 taking out a level 2 is really unusual. You must have been a gifted fighter before the process.”

“There’s that term again. What is this… process?”

“The zombification process, obviously. The hours of torture, of both body and soul, to become an undead.”

“Uh, no. I fell from a balcony, then woke up as an undead.”

“You what?! And right after the initiation… no. It can’t be. Tell me, boy: do you have any titles?”

I looked at my stat sheet again, then nodded. “Yeah. Primordial Zombie and Prime Zombie. Plus whatever star-born is.”

“I’ve never heard of star-born before, but if you really are a primordial, it’s no wonder you’re already such a monster. You are the first natural or artificially created zombie in the universe post-initiation.”

“Cool, I won something.”

“Yes, you won something,” he said with a dry chuckle. “You are destined to become one of the strongest beings in this universe. If you don’t die.”

“Well, thanks for the info.” I raised my foot, then hesitated. Did I want to kill such a helpful guy? It would push me much closer to my next level. And boy, did killing these zombies feel good. I waffled for a moment, with him looking up at me with hope in his cloudy eyes.