Neer took a turn and froze in his place.
'What the hell!?'
In front of him, one of those beasts or zombies was there… Her back faced him. She was engrossed in her feast. The smell of blood permeated the surroundings, and the floor turned red from white.
The feast was a teenage boy.
The bloody and savage scene made Neer nauseated. He wanted to vomit there, but his survival instincts stopped him from doing it. However…
He was trapped.
He can't move forward and can't move backward. In both places, zombies were there to welcome him to Hell or, worse, to their bloody bestial festival.
A shudder ran through him.
'I don't want to become like them!'
There was not enough time! He had to make a decision and that too quickly. His next item of interest was just beyond her. He raised his knife and pointed it towards the zombie girl.
And crept forward.
Coming into the striking zone, he didn't waste a moment and plunged the knife at the point of connection of the spinal cord and brain. Striking at the same place again and again. After three precise hits, he kicked her on the back.
[You assassinated a Zeroth Order Being.]
He didn't come to terms with killing a life… or a monster, yet, when a spherical white energy flew from the dead zombie and entered his body. He was shocked for a moment, even scared.
[You acquired the Soul Ashe of Unknown Zombie, Level 2. Agility +1, Health +1]
But, when he felt the white energy nourishing his muscles, bones, and every part of his body, he was amazed and felt more powerful than a moment ago. He felt intoxicated with this feeling!
The feeling of getting stronger.
However, he was in the middle of… God knows what! He just wanted to make it out of here alive. He didn't pay attention to the red-lettered messages or his feelings.
He jumped over the dead body of both the dead zombie and the unfortunate boy, lying cold on the floor in the pool of his own blood, and grabbed the mop handle from the shelf to use it as a weapon. He also grabbed a glass bottle containing some acidic substance.
He assessed his surroundings quickly and waited. His nerves were on fire. His heart beating like a crazy war drum. Droplets of cold fear slid down his forehead.
Eerie and crashing sounds were coming from the front of the shop.
Neer was not able to make out whether it was coming from the Obese Zombie or some other new guest who entered the shop to participate in this morbid madness, consuming the world.
'Come on!' Clutching the acidic bottle in his right hand and mop handle in his left, he waited. He waited patiently. Even when he wanted to run away and hide somewhere safe! But where was the safe place? Nowhere.
And then the monstrosity appeared. Slowly but surely, he came in front of him. His white eyes, without the black part of normal humans, looked haunting and inhuman. His speed was slow compared to humans, but his strength looked anything but normal.
Neer waited. Waited for the zombie to come closer. Otherwise, he could miss at a long distance due to his trembling. When the zombie was near the corpse of the dead zombie girl, he threw the acidic bottle at his face.
He missed it. But not completely.
The impact was on his chest. The smell of burned flesh spread everywhere. But it didn't affect him, as if he was imperceptible to pain. Neer took another bottle and threw it again. This time, he aimed it perfectly.
SMASH! CRACK!!
The acidic bottle struck the zombie on his face. His face burned with a sizzling hiss, his eyes damaged beyond recognition. But it was not enough to take him down.
Now, he was blind. What Neer wanted.
"Come on! Neer. This is the time." Encouraging himself, he dashed forward, jumping over the dead bodies and striking the zombie on his head with the metal mop handle, relentlessly. Seeing that it was not giving him the expected result, he took out his knife, dodging the flailing hands or blocking them with the mop handle. He plunged it straight into one of his eyes. One was not enough. He retracted it and plunged it again. Blood oozed out from his wound. And then, red letters floated in front of him.
[You eliminated a Zeroth Order Being.]
[You acquired the Soul Ashe of Unknown Zombie, Level 3. Strength +2, Health +1]
[You reached Level 2.]
"Ha!…ha..ha.." Taking deep breaths, he calmed his rattled mind and heart. Distanced himself from the corpses of the dead zombies a little and observed them.
Red. All over the floor, red was prominent. Bodies lay there staring who knows where. Seeing this dreadful sight, Neer couldn't control himself and vomited. Whatever little was there in his stomach.
After a few moments, he controlled himself, reined his emotions, and examined the bodies properly.
"What is that?" Near the male zombie, there was a small cube-sized object, which seemed to be made up of black glass. Neer picked it up and studied it. It was smooth, just like glass.
[You acquired a Black Cube. You can use it to gain a magical skill or sacrifice it.]
Reading this got Neer excited. Magic? It was magic! Who would not get excited learning that they can perform magic—a thing of fantasy? But he controlled his impulse to learn a skill. He searched the body of the girl, and there he got a red cube. But this time, there were no red letters to inform him what it was and what it could do.
"What to do now?" Neer doesn't know what to do now. He was in total darkness about what was happening to the world. What does this cube do? He doesn't know anything. Nothing. So, he suppressed his dream of being a magician and started thinking towards a different branch of thoughts.
'It seems like this Black Cube is a precious thing. It could be used to learn a magical skill or for sacrifice.' But, sacrifice? For what? It doesn't mention anything, which means it was to the user's discretion and imagination.
'Hmm, if that is the case. Then, the gamble is on.'
He kept the Black Cube in his palm and wished for something. A few moments later, the Black Cube disintegrated into particles of light. In a swarm of particles, it surrounded him and entered his body.
[Black Cube is sacrificed.]
Deep inside his soul, the swarm of particles condensed into a strange symbol. Deep black in colour.
[Your wish is fulfilled.]
Neer waited for more strings of letters. But nothing came. Just a simple 'Your wish is fulfilled', but where was his fulfilled wish!?
"Damn, this is a scam!?" Neer was getting mad at… Kriya Scribe? Yes, it was Kriya Scribe. This thing was a conman!
"Hehe, why the quick assumption, little boy?"
Hearing an unfamiliar but pleasant voice in this deserted place put him on the edge. He flicked his head sideways, trying to locate the source. But there was no one.
"Where are you looking? You can't see me, not yet."
"Who are you?" Neer asked, with caution in his voice.
The voice paused for a few moments. Then, replied with a slight humour in her voice.
"Your wish."