A Gamer's Guide to Zombie-ing!
Chapter 2 - Will to live
Patch Notes:
Chapter 1: I'm a zombie?
-Added [Rosetta Stone] perk as the third WP buy.
-Added AGI stat.
-[Fleet-Footed] now doubles AGI instead of DEX.
-Shifted [Status] from being center to the side.
-Skill [Pierce] renamed [Thrust].
-Changed MC's name (explanation end of chap)
-Fixed minor grammatical errors.
Arthur's eyes shot open only to be invaded by the sting of dirt. He gasped, but his mouth, too, was filled. His natural reaction was to cough, but that made his situation even worse. He panicked and tried to wrestle himself out of his earthen prison. His actions amounted to nothing as he still remained in roughly the same position. His heart swelled with regret. This had to be the consequence of choosing [Bad Starting Location]. He didn't think that he would be transported beneath the ground!
'To think this is how my second life would end...' Arthur accepted his fate.
Athena spoke with barely concealed amusement,
... You realize you're a zombie, right?
I do.
Oh, good. I suppose you remember that you don't need oxygen to live, then.
Oh.
Arthur felt like a moron. Athena no longer hid her amusement and promptly began laughing.
Now that she mentioned it, he didn't feel any stress in his lungs nor the need to breathe. He immediately calmed and began analyzing his predicament.
'Seeing as I'm not crushed by the weight of the earth, I must not be too far underground.'
Arthur mentally prepared himself before beginning the arduous task before him. He found that the earth around his right arm had some give, likely due to a small pocket. He pushed out his fingers and wiggled them, slowly but surely causing some dirt to fall between them and fill the newly open space. By repeating this process, he managed to bring his right arm above his chest. He then used his arm to clear a small bit of space above him. He brought his left arm up above his chest, too. Exerting all of his strength, Arthur pushed up and towards his feet with the earth.
After performing this last action, Arthur was forced to take a break. He had managed to upright himself by a few degrees, but he was completely drained. Fortunately, he only had to wait ten minutes to regain all of his stamina. He continued his excavation, and over the course of several hours, he finally uprighted himself from his previous prone position.
During this time, he had a few interesting conversations with Athena. He had missed this point earlier because he was wallowing in his sorrow, but apparently there were other people with the Gamer System. Athena explained that no Gamer would meet another because they had their own unique multiverses. She said that many years ago, multiple Gamers shared the same multiverse. This resulted in annihilation of entire universes, and in some cases, entire multiverses. The System did not take a liking to this, and adjusted accordingly. Gamers could still interact with each other solely through the [Shop]. The [Shop] was an interface accessible at level 10, and it was a hub of trade where all of the Gamers sold their wares. The System also had a hand in the [Shop] by creating artificial prices for some items, otherwise there wouldn't be a way for new Gamers to sell undesirable items for the multiversal currency, Credits.
By using the timer on his [Mark of True Death] trait, Arthur discovered that a full day had passed since he had been teleported to the world of DxD. He made fairly good progress, and could tell he was getting close to the surface by the higher concentration of small rocks as compared to large rocks. Quite a few times now, Arthur had to subvert a large boulder. That made digging his way to the surface take way longer than it would if he had no obstacles.
Another half day would pass until Arthur's hand finally broke the surface of the Earth. It took him thirty minutes to fully extract himself from the ground. He lay on his hands and knees, sputtering almost a full pound (0.45kg) of dirt from his mouth. He habitually took a deep breath once his mouth was clear, wheezing from exertion. Most of his nails were torn from his fingers, and those that remained were caked with dirt. Arthur's eyesight was heavily obstructed. He had access to about 10% of his full vision.
Arthur wiped the spit off his mouth with the back of his hand. His first order of business was finding a water source. Not only to wash his hands, eyes, and body, but also to drink from. The system didn't explicitly say that he didn't need water, so he had to function with the assumption that he did. It was odd to Arthur. He was supposed to be a zombie, so why did he need water? Or a heart? Was he less "dead" than other undead? How did that work? He digressed.
The land that Arthur was transported below was a clearing in the middle of a forest. Around its edges were pine trees roughly twenty feet (6.1m) tall. Their branches were long with thousands of needles on each of them. At the base of the trees were thick bushes. Most simply had green leaves while others grew red berries or were of beautiful colors. Presumably because of his [Dragon Eyes] perk, Arthur could see just fine in the night - almost as if it was day.
He stumbled through the foliage, not used to his new, practically atrophied body. He gathered a few scrapes and bruises from bark or thorns, but all of his injuries fully healed in less than ten minutes - even his lost fingernails.
Dawn had nearly arrived by the time Arthur came upon a pond. It was remarkably calm with a creek flowing into it. Arthur gleefully jumped into the water. He had not been transferred to this world with any clothes, so dirt had entered very... uncomfortable areas.
Arthur sighed with pleasure while Athena snorted. The grime of over a day and a half of being stuck beneath the earth and digging was gradually washed from his body. He floated on top of the pond, watching the night sky. The stars and constellations were more prominent than he had ever seen. The moon was full and bright, and Arthur felt it was almost close enough to touch. The scene brought peace upon his restless soul. For a few minutes, he simply stared at the stars, mind devoid of thoughts.
Arthur would be happy to spend the rest of eternity to gaze upon the starry sky, but the world had other plans. Day broke as the sun rose almost imperceptibly from behind the forest. Its warmth bathed Arthur who released another satisfied sigh.
He knew this bliss could not last. Perhaps that was why he wished to remain in place - to soak it all in while he could. Regardless of his reasons why, he fell into a tranquil sleep.
The sun was past its zenith by the time Arthur awoke. Sometime during his sleep, he either floated or made his way toward the shallow exteriors of the pond. He stretched mightily, the grogginess of sleep escaping him.
Good afternoon, Arthur.
"Good afternoon, Athena," Arthur gave a small smile. He exited the water, his back slightly sore from a protruding rock. He massaged the ache, remedying it slightly.
"I think it's time to enter the dungeon."
I agree, but you should first look at your notifications.
Arthur looked toward the top-left corner of his vision. He could see a bell with a red dot on its upper edge. He focused on it, and a few notifications appeared in front of him.
[Quest Alert!]
[Tutorial]
Objective 1: Clear the first zone of the Undead Dungeon
Objective 2: Obtain Level 10
Reward 1: 500 Credits, 1 Uncommon Gacha Token
Reward 2: [Store] Unlocked
[He Who Lived]
Objective: Overcome the [Mark of True Death]
Bonus Objective: ?
Reward: 100,000 Credits, Epic Gacha Token, 3x Levels
[END increased by 1!]
[END increased by 1!]
[STR increased by 1!]
"Did my stats increase from digging?" Arthur was impressed. That was a 25% increase to his END stat.
Yes.
"[Status]."
[Arthur, N/A]
Race - Lesser Undead (Zombie)
Level - 1 (0/40 EXP]
Class - Knight, Lvl. 1 (0/40 Exp)
HP - 50/50 (5 per minute)
MP - 20/20 (2 per minute)
SP - 100/100 (10 per minute)
STR - 12 (14.4)
END- 10
INT- 2
WIS- 2
AGI- 7 (14)
DEX- 6
CON- 5
LCK- 5 (2.5)
CHA- -3
Stats - 2
Credits - 0
Arthur scratched the side of his head, a clump of dirt falling. "I guess I should use those stat points."
Without hesitation, he put both of them into his CON stat.
"Athena, what are gacha tokens?" He noticed those rewards in the quests earlier, but he got distracted by the stat increases.
Athena answered in a chipper voice,
Gacha tokens are consumable items that can be used to roll for a random item of matching rarity!
Arthur nodded, but asked another question with a more reserved tone, "Is it possible to get detrimental items? Like cursed objects and stuff?"
It is possible to roll cursed items, but they don't pose an immediate threat. Anything you roll from the gacha is not dangerous unless you make it dangerous or if the item has penalties for its use. If this wasn't so, no Gamer would willingly use the gacha system. The System understands this.
Reassured, Arthur continued looking at his status. He clicked the tab in the upper right with the word "Skills." Among the top few, he found the skill [Dungeon Traversal].
[Dungeon Traversal: Skill] Lvl. MAX
You have the ability to create, reset, and exit dungeons. Dungeons Unlocked: Undead
"Before I go in, do I get a starter's kit or anything? I'd rather not fight naked and without a weapon."
There are no starter kits.
Arthur sighed. Couldn't he get a bone? He was first trapped underground and now this?
If he was being honest, he knew it was his fault. He reaped what he sowed. He chose [Bad Starting Point], so he has to face the consequences. Fortunately, it seemed like he was past [Bad Starting Point]. But, what if he wasn't a zombie? Any normal Gamer would have died. His survival was pure luck, and he knew it.
He shook his head. There was no point ruminating, the past was the past. Arthur instead walked around the base of the trees. He scanned the forest floor for a branch. Just because there was no starting weapon didn't mean that he had to enter the dungeon completely defenseless. He eventually found a suitable branch that effectively became his club. He returned to dungeon interface and clicked [Undead]. He closed his eyes, waiting for a blinding white light to envelop him.
Pffft- HAHAHA!
Athena roared with laughter. Arthur peeled an eye open and saw that he was still in the same area.
Exasperated, he said, "Athena, stop laughing. How the hell do I go to the dungeon?"
Athena was gasping for air. She tried to speak a few times, but her trembling voice gave way to laughter.
Arthur's eye twitched.
Sorry, sorry. You just have to think the words [Dungeon: Undead] with the intent to enter.
Athena did not sound apologetic at all. He said in a strained tone, "Thanks."
'[Dungeon: Undead].'
A flash of white engulfed Arthur. When he opened his eyes, he was in the undead dungeon. He found himself in a hospital parking lot. Oddly enough, there were no zombies in sight. He warily scanned his surroundings and quietly made his way to one of the side doors of the hospital. His goals were such: Find clothes/protective covering, find a better weapon, and kill zombies.
[Quest Alert!]
[Kin Slayer]
Objective: Kill 100 zombies (0/100)
Reward: Title [Zombie Slayer]
The name of the quest made him raise a brow. They were just dungeon-created zombies, they weren't truly kin. Then, he paused. Wasn't he a dungeon zombie just two days ago? Were the other zombies like him? Were they poor souls used as training for Gamers, too? A feeling of guilt welled up within him. He would kill them - it was a kill or be killed world he lived in - but he wouldn't feel good about it. The quest name no longer felt so inaccurate.
On entering the hospital, Arthur found himself in a stairwell. He ignored the stairs and went for the door into the hospital. When he opened it, he heard the sound of shuffling feet. Down the corridor, in the first room to the right, was where the sound originated. Arthur crept up, making as little noise as possible. He peered past the doorframe and saw wrecked employee lounge. A zombie dressed in nurse scrubs mindlessly shuffled into a wall. The zombie's back was facing Arthur, and he capitalized on this to make his way towards it. He crept forward, mindful of the messy floor. When he was close enough to hear the zombie's faint groaning, he raised his tree branch high before swinging it down upon the zombie's head. Two cracks sounded. One was the branch, the other was the zombie's skull.
[Lvl. 1 Zombie Defeated!]
(20 EXP, [Nurse Scrubs, [Decayed Tooth]x2 obtained!)
Arthur looked at the shattered branch in his hands. Now he needed a new weapon. At least he has some clothes, though.
'[Inventory].'
[Nurse Scrubs: Apparel]
Blue nurse wear.
1 Defense
Arthur equipped the scrubs immediately. The defense was probably pathetic, but at least he was covered.
A sudden screeching made him spin around, his heart thumping. A new zombie was at the entrance to the room. On its way in, it had bumped into a chair, which then noisily scraped across the tile flooring.
His heart was furiously beating. He never felt more alive despite never being more dead. A cursory glance showed that there were no weapons in his vicinity, so he had to make the fight a brawl. He shifted into a rough boxing stance and stalked forward.
The zombie continued shuffling towards him. When the two were only three feet (0.9m) from each other, Arthur took action. He lunged and swung his right fist hard against the zombie's skull and followed with his left. The zombie was knocked over and grabbed Arthur's left wrist. Both zombies fell to the ground with Arthur on top of the other. He began a furious assault on the zombie, bodily fluids flying in every direction. Ten swings later, Arthur finally heard the chime of the system. He sat up from straddling the zombie, panting.
[Lvl. 2 Zombie Defeated!]
(30 EXP, [Decayed Flesh]x3 obtained!)
[Level Up!]
4 STR, 2 END, 2 AGI, 2 Stat Points
Dark-red blood and brain matter covered Arthur's face, fists, and scrubs. He stared at the zombie's caved-in face before curling over and puking. He puked until he had nothing left in his stomach and began dry-heaving. He gasped and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. All that did was smear the blood and brains across his face. He looked at his vomit, and was horrified to see that instead of regular food, there were chunks of flesh and brains. His second round of dry-heaving ensued.
'I can't do this. I can't do this.' He chanted in his head. The first kill was fine. He never saw the face of the zombie, so he was able to dehumanize it. This was not the case with the second zombie. The entire time he beat it, it stared at him. Its face was abnormally intact as compared to the rest of its body. It looked human enough if one ignored the sickly skin and milky eyes. It was enough for Arthur to feel like he was killing an actual, living human being. He could still see its face; its image was burned into his mind's eye. He could see those eyes as it received the beating. They looked like those of eternal judgement and damnation. The guilt he was suppressing resurfaced with a fury. Panic overcame him. He lay on his knees, fixated on the zombie's body next to him.
Athena spoke firmly,
Arthur, you did nothing wrong.
"I know. I know I did nothing wrong. It was me or the zombie, but I can't get it out of my head. It makes me sick. I was fully prepared to do whatever it takes to live and grow stronger. To be the best. But, I didn't think they'd be... so human," Arthur said, pained.
You can't falter. What if there were more zombies? What if the enemy wasn't a zombie? The world is cruel and unforgiving. You have every right to feel this way, but you mustn't let it get in the way of your survival.
She paused, the continued.
What would your parents want?
Arthur look at his bloody hands. His eyes stung from the stench of decaying flesh. "They would want me to live."
Then live.
He lay on the floor for a few seconds longer, still looking at the zombie's brutalized face. His guilt remained, but he felt within himself a rising determination. He must live. He would not squander his second chance at life. He was one of the lucky few to be given this opportunity to grow powerful. He would kill more zombies, but he wouldn't forget his actions. He would remember the weight of strength.
Arthur rose on unsteady legs. He poked his head out the corridor and found no zombies waiting for him. He retreated deeper into the room and mentally said, '[Status].'
[Arthur, N/A]
Race - Lesser Undead (Zombie)
Level - 2 (0/80 EXP)
Class - Knight, Lvl. 2 (10/80 Exp)
HP - 70/70 (7 per minute)
MP - 20/20 (2 per minute)
SP - 120/120 (12 per minute)
STR - 16 (19.2)
END- 12
INT- 2
WIS- 2
AGI- 9 (18)
DEX- 6
CON- 7
LCK- 5 (2.5)
CHA- -3
Stats - 2
Credits - 0
The stat points once again went into CON. Arthur was quickly nearing the strength and speed of the average human.
Right before his second fight, he saw a potential weapon in the corner of lounge, but it was too far away to be of use at the time. Behind a couch, there was a lunch desk flipped on its side. Arthur pulled the couch over to the side and made lots of noise in the process. The sounds of growling zombies came from further down the corridor. Arthur hurried and grabbed one of the table's metal legs that had broken off. It was still attached to a chunk of table on one end. That gave it enough heft to collapse any skull. Arthur's grip tightened at the thought.
He sneaked to the left side of the doorway, waiting for the new arrivals. He heard them pause just outside the doorway. Feeling impatient, Arthur grabbed a piece of rubble and tossed it at the other end of the room. The zombies perked up and limped into the room. When the last zombie was well into the room, Arthur glanced outside to make sure that he could safely take these two out without intrusions. The hallway was clear again.
Arthur looked back to the zombies which were now standing at the center of the room. He snuck towards them and obliterated the head of the taller one. The second one's head snapped toward Arthur and snarled. It lunged toward him but was knocked to the side. Arthur grunted as he treated the table leg as a sledgehammer. It slammed against the skull of the second zombie which had began crawling towards him.
[Lvl. 3 Zombie Defeated!]
(40 EXP, [Liquified Brains] obtained!)
[Lvl. 2 Zombie Defeated!]
(30 EXP obtained!)
[Level Up!]
4 STR, 2 END, 2 AGI, 2 Stat Points
Allocating his stat points, Arthur curled his lip in disgust at the drops from the first zombie. What could liquified brains even be used for?
It has a variety of uses with the [Alchemist] profession!
'It was a rhetorical question, but thanks for answering. What do you mean by profession?" Arthur began making his way down the corridor, checking the rooms for any zombies or supplies. Sadly, all of the food seemed to have long since become rotten.
Professions are unlocked at level twenty. For many Gamers, this is not only their main source of income but also how they equip themselves with powerful armors, weapons, and accessories.
All thoughts of trashing the drops were disregarded. After this conversation, he began systematically clearing the first floor, and by the end of it, he was drenched in blood and and other visceral body parts.
[Lvl. 1 Zombie Defeated!]
(20 EXP, [Femur Bone] obtained!]
[Lvl. 3 Zombie Defeated!]
(40 EXP, [Zombie Eyeball]x2 obtained!)
[Lvl. 4 Zombie Defeated!]
(50 EXP obtained!)
...
[Level Up!]
4 STR, 2 END, 2 AGI, 2 Stat Points
...
[Level Up!]
4 STR, 2 END, 2 AGI, 2 Stat Points
After killing the last zombie on the first floor, a chest appeared with a puff of smoke.
'[Observe].'
After a close encounter with a level seven zombie and Athena's subsequent berating, Arthur finally formed the habit of using the skill [Observe].
[Common Dungeon Chest]
'Is this thing safe?' Arthur studied the chest from different angles. It was made of dull metal and finely-sanded wood. He knocked on it a few times, testing if it was truly hollow and not some elaborate death trap. He had once been surprised by a zombie jumping out of a cabinet, so he wasn't taking any chances.
Yes, it's safe. Dungeon chests contain treasures that match the theme of its dungeon. For example, if you were in a vampire dungeon, you may open a dungeon chest and receive a wooden stake.
'I see,' without further hesitation, Arthur opened the chest.
[Treasure Obtained!]
[Bloody Machete: Weapon] (Common)
A sharp, lightweight weapon with dried blood permanently stuck to its blade.
1.5*STR Slashing Damage
'Looks like my luck has turned,' he gave a light smile. With his blood-stained hair and face, he looked especially murderous.
The metal table leg he got from his first room had long since been bent and made useless. Ever since then, he had been using femur bones he obtained as a drop from killing zombies. He didn't have time to scavenge for a new weapon because after his first few fights, the zombies started attacking in back-to-back waves.
He wrapped his hand around the machete in the chest and immediately felt a connection. It felt familiar to him despite the fact that he has only touched a machete a handful of times before in his life.
'This must be an effect of the [Sword Proficiency] class...' Arthur reasoned.
With a machete in hand, Arthur backtracked to through the corridor to the stairwell. He cautiously marched up it, watching for any sudden movements. When he reached the top, he was met with a door with chains wrapped around it.
[Would you like to proceed to the next floor?]
[Y/N]
Arthur checked his status again, making sure he was as healthy as he could be. Then he looked through his inventory to see if there were any items of use. After confirming that there was nothing he had that would increase his survivability, he clicked confirm.
The chains around the door broke into particles of light. Arthur opened the right door and entered the second floor. He was once again in a corridor, but while the corridor on the first floor was demolished, this corridor was clean and void of any obstacles. The scent of sterilization was thick in the air. Fluorescent ceiling lights flickered every so often, contributing to the eerie atmosphere.
Arthur raised his guard and proceed with caution. He approached the first room on the left. It was a tidy with an operation table in the middle. Different life support machines stood by the wall. Next to the operation table was a small table with wheels. On top of this table were scalpels, forceps, tweezers, and other tools that Arthur couldn't name because he lacked the medical knowledge.
The stillness of this floor was unsettling. There was no shuffling, growling, groaning, or anything. The only sounds were of Arthur's heel meeting the tiled floor. Each room that he cleared that held no zombies fed into his growing wariness.
'Athena, what's going on?' He asked mentally. Even though he couldn't sense any enemies, Arthur still made sure to make as little noise as possible.
You'll see.
Arthur frowned at Athena's elusive response. He slowly but surely made his way to the end of the corridor without a single hint of zombies. His knuckles were white from his strong grip on his machete. When he reached the very last door, he paused. It was faint, but he could hear the clanking of metal. He was alert to the extreme. He quietly spat on the door hinges to diminish sound. He cracked the door with a thumping heart.
No sound.
Slightly reassured, he continued opening the door to be met with a gruesome scene. A zombie in a doctor's coat was operating on the head of comatose zombie. The "doctor" carefully removed the brain of the zombie and placed it in a jar filled with a clear liquid. Around the operating table were nurse zombies with hands clenching various cutleries. Arthur gulped.
'[Observe].'
[Doctor Z]
Race - Lesser Undead (Intelligent Zombie)
Level - 10
HP - 500/500
MP - 270/270
SP - 120/120
STR - 43
END- 16
INT- 27
WIS- 2
AGI- 31
DEX- 82
CON- 50
LCK- 0
CHA- 10
[Mini-Boss Lvl. 10 Doctor Z Encountered!]
Doctor Z abruptly ceased all movements while in the middle of spinning a lid on the jar. It slowly turned its head 180 degrees like an owl towards Arthur. A mad grin split its face. It released an insane cackle before pointing at Arthur.
Arthur slammed the door shut and sprinted down the hallway. The door was blown off its hinges, and out ran the three nurse zombies.
[Nurse Zombie]
Race- Lesser Undead (Zombie)
Level- 8
HP- 130/130
MP- 30/30
SP- 298/300
STR- 25
END- 30
INT- 3
WIS- 1
AGI- 19
DEX- 9
CON- 13
"Fuck! I wasn't ready for this!" Arthur sprinted down the hallway where he had rolled out a few stretchers. Originally, he placed them in the hallway so he would hear if zombies walked up behind him, but they also functioned as an effective barricade. He jumped behind them and faced the nurse zombies, machete at the ready.
When the first nurse zombie reached the barrier, Arthur roared as he swung his machete horizontally, activating [Slash] at the zombie's neck. A translucent silver hue lined the edge of the machete as it decapitated the zombie, causing blood to spray from its neck-stump like a fountain. The decapitated body's forward momentum made it break into the barricade. Arthur had to dodge slightly to the side as the body continued rolling on the floor. The second zombie was not too far behind the first, and it dove over the stretchers in a snarl. It smashed against Arthur's side who grunted in pain.
[Lvl. 8 Nurse Zombie Defeated!]
(150 EXP, [Tennis Shoes] Obtained!)
[Skill [Slash] has leveled up!]
[-5HP]
His back hit the wall. The zombie bit Arthur's forearm and pierced the skin.
[-10HP]
Arthur sneered as he reared back his arm and [Slash]ed the left arm of the zombie off. He held his forearm away from his face to create some distance between him and the zombie. The third zombie then barreled over the bloodied stretchers. Arthur relied heavily on his [Dragon Eyes] to align his machete perfectly with the zombie's right eye. He activated [Thrust] at the same time, and his machete buried itself deeply through the zombie's brain and out of its neck. Arthur felt his wrist snap from the pressure of the third zombie's momentum, and his arm was launched back and slammed into the wall.
[-15HP]
[-5HP]
[Lvl. 8 Nurse Zombie Defeated!]
(150 EXP, [Toe Ring] Obtained!)
[Skill [Thrust] leveled up!]
[-10HP]
The second zombie tore part of Arthur's forearm skin and sleeve off. Arthur yelled in pain and kicked it away towards the opposite wall. He reached over with his left hand and ripped the machete out of the third zombie's head. He stood up and was about to charge toward the second zombie until he was hit in the back by a condensed ball of purple gas. He whipped around to find Doctor Z at the end of the corridor, cackling with glee as it readied another spell.
Thus, Arthur had to split his attention between dodging the mad doctor's poisonous spells and attacking the last nurse zombie. Arthur cursed the third zombie in his mind. He now had to use his left hand which was not only debuffed by [Wrist Surgery] but also naturally weaker because he wasn't ambidextrous.
The nurse zombie charged at him while Doctor Z simultaneously fired a poison orb. Arthur let his machete fall to the ground and grabbed the neck of the nurse zombie, using it as a makeshift shield to block the spell. The poison ball exploded into a thick fog, blinding the zombie.
Arthur quickly dropped to the ground and grabbed his machete. He shot up and charged at the disoriented nurse zombie.
By now, Doctor Z discovered Arthur's immunity to its poison. It began sprinting towards the grapple between Arthur and the nurse zombie, but it was too late to save its minion.
Arthur used his right arm to change the trajectory of the nurse zombie's wild swing to pass him. A jolt of pain shot through his arm from his wrist, but he merely grit his teeth and bared with it. He [Slash]ed diagonally at the top side of the zombie's forehead, separating most of its upper head from its body.
[Lvl. 8 Nurse Zombie Defeated!]
(150 EXP, [Nurse Scrubs] obtained!]
From the corner of his eye, he saw Doctor Z reach the barricade, ripping a scalpel from its left coat pocket. Arthur shoved the fallen zombie towards Doctor Z. The doctor jumped over the dead nurse in an impressive feat of acrobatics. What it didn't expect, though, was that this was according to Arthur's plan.
Arthur grinned in a fashion uncannily similar to when the mad doctor first saw him. He had saved every item drop from the first floor no matter how puke-inducing and gruesome. This resulted in a rather large stockpile of intestines, stomachs, and other organs.
He unloaded tens of of intestines, liquified brains, and other slippery insides on the floor before the mini-boss could land.
Arthur laughed at Doctor Z's horrified face. He derived sick pleasure at watching the mini-boss slip and fall to the floor with a loud snap of its ankle. He did not let this prime opportunity slip by. While the mini-boss desperately tried find stability, Arthur jogged forward, carefully watching the zombie's hand that held the scalpel. The next step of his plan could potentially be painful, but it insured the greatest chance of victory.
He knew that the mini-boss had monstrous levels of dexterity, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for it to have a skill to get it out of its poor situation. Therefore, the first thing that Arthur had to do was immobilize the hand with the scalpel. He clenched his teeth as he stepped directly onto the mini-boss' hand. The zombie chuckled darkly as it flipped the scalpel upwards.
[-7HP]
Arthur screamed as he felt the scalpel pierce through his foot, but he didn't let his pain distract him. He collapsed atop the zombie and used his weight to pin it down. Tears came to his eyes as he felt the mini-boss clamp its teeth into his thigh. He stabbed its back repeatedly with the machete, mixing a few [Slash]es with regular swings of the blade.
[-4HP]
The mini-boss didn't take kindly to being pinned down and attacked. It thrashed about, and Arthur's previous trap worked against him as the zombie became slippery and difficult to hold down. With a roar, Doctor Z kicked Arthur in the chest with its healthy leg, sending him flying down the corridor.
[-12HP]
Arthur felt one of his ribs snap. He coughed a mouthful of blood and glared hatefully at the mini-boss. This was a zombie he wouldn't feel bad about killing.
[Doctor Z]
Race - Lesser Undead (Intelligent Zombie)
Level - 10
HP - 35/500
MP - 183/270
SP - 46/120
STR - 43
END- 16
INT- 27
WIS- 2
AGI- 31
DEX- 82
CON- 50
LCK- 0
CHA- 10
Doctor Z rose to its knees. Its once-pristine cost was stained with blood and had a massive hole on its right side. Arthur had chopped to the zombie's spine, and he would have cleanly cut through it with one more swing. The mini-boss flipped open its lab coat with a raspy cackle, revealing tens of scalpels. At an inhuman speed, it started masterfully flinging the scalpels at Arthur with pinpoint accuracy.
Arthur's pupils thinned to a barely visible slits. He watched as the scalpels sang through the air to his heart, eyes, throat, and joints. He immediately felt overwhelmed. Any direction in which he moved was blocked off by more scalpels.
Is there where I die? Bile rose in his throat. He didn't want to die. He wasn't able to enjoy his new life. To grow to become the strongest. He had the power to grow to rival gods, and this was where he would die? He refused.
The world greyed. A thin, golden line appeared at the tip of the scalpels and followed their trajectories. Arthur felt his hand move before he could consciously command it. His machete arched through the air, intercepting the projectiles before they could reach their mark. A few slipped past his defense, but he parried all of the scalpels that aimed for his vitals. The mini-boss' grin turned feral. In its hand was the last scalpel it had. It cocked its arm back and launched the scalpel with all the strength it could muster.
The trajectory was directly between the middle of Arthur's brows. This last attack was beyond any of the others the zombie Doctor had sent. It was halfway to Arthur before he could even react. He twist his head back, the scalpel cutting cleanly through his ear and piercing the wall behind him.
Arthur panted, color returning to the world. He could barely stand upright, with wounds and gashes spread across his body.
[HP- 18/150]
[Skill-
He ignored the notification and flashing health bar in the bottom left of his vision. He walked unsteadily to the mini-boss that had become a raging beast after its failed attack. It crawled on the ground toward Arthur, leaving a trail of blood and guts. Spittle flew from its mouth as it growled.
Arthur observed this with weary eyes. The mini-boss' hands were completely ruined, likely from the strain of its ultimate attack. He watched as its health slowly drained as it struggled to reach him. His hands trembled from the lack of energy, but he reversed his grip on the machete. He half-lunged half-fell on the zombie, stabbing it through the brain.
[Mini-Boss Lvl. 10 Doctor Z Defeated!]
(1000 EXP, [Doctor's Coat, [Scalpel] obtained!)
[Level Up!]
4 STR, 2 END, 2 AGI, 2 Stat Points
[CON increased by 2!]
[STR increased by 1!]
[DEX increased by 3!]
[DEX increased by 2!]
[Sword Proficiency] leveled up x3!]
[Skill [Dragon Eyes; Enhanced Perception] leveled up!]
Arthur rolled onto his back, chest heaving. He navigated through his [Inventory] and shakily retrieved various medicines. He popped a few pills, slightly increasing his health regeneration. His hand fell into the pool of blood.
'This... is going... to be hard to clean off...' Arthur thought before closing his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.
After thinking it over, I changed the MC's name to Arthur. It didn't really make sense to force him to be Japanese. Most of the supernatural characters in DxD don't even have Japanese names. Plus, Arthur sounds way better than Arata.
This is the first time I've ever written a fight scene, and I'm 100% that I was unable to convey the scene exactly as I had pictures it in my mind, but it's whatever.
Also, I added the [Rosetta Stone] perk because there is no way in hell I'm going to make a chapter where the MC learns Japanese.
I did use the "patch notes" thing for Gamer of the Void. Not sure if the author of that story was the dude who came up with it, but I thought it was pretty smart.
Have a great day. :)
Published: 26 November 2022