'Status Window.'
Bi Chen wasted no time in summoning his Status Window, allowing a dull white screen to appear in front of him in a flash. The screen had a pale glow about it, warbling with unsettling life, but he ignored it.
He was in a hurry, after all.
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Name: Nameless Zombie (Lvl: 2)
- Race: Lesser Undead
- Status: Slave (Alive, Fully Recovered)
- Integrity: 1
- Physique: 1
- Aptitude: 1 (100% Essence)
- S Points: 3
- Number of Vassals: 0
[Current System Evaluation]
You are a weak, pathetic little Zombie who has inherited the remaining embers of the Sovereign Undying Lord's power and awakened the Sovereign Undying Body.
You need to grow stronger.
[End of Information]
The moment he observed this, Bi Chen's mind rapidly processed the information and what it meant for him in his current predicament.
'I must have Leveled Up after killing that Master, but that means I only have three S Points at my disposal. Each Level Up gives me 3 S Points that can be distributed among the three main Stats: Integrity, Physique, and Aptitude.'
Integrity controlled durability and overall defense.
Physique had to do with strength, agility, and all physical aspects of offensive competence.
As for Aptitude, it had to do with the use of Essence. The higher the Aptitude, the more Essence a person could use, and the higher the recovery of said Essence.
'The System Evaluation says some stuff about a Sovereign Undying Lord, but I don't know anything about them. I also have no idea what Vassals mean, but they can't mean Slaves. After all, a Slave can't enslave another… unless this is a perk of the Sovereign Undying Body.' He wasted no time dwelling on this, instead he coldly calculated his next step with the information he could understand at the moment.
'I have no Geist, which means I don't have any use of Essence. My Integrity and Physique are at the very bottom, but I can at least regenerate if I am not struck with a fatal move, which means improving my Physique is the best thing for me to do at the moment.'
With a single thought, Bi Chen spent all of his S Points to improve his Physique.
Instantly, there was a qualitative change in his body. While invisible to the wary, aggressive eyes that watched him, he noticed the difference almost immediately.
'I feel stronger… considerably stronger.'
Now, he had even greater confidence that he could slay the rest of the Slaves. They still had the advantage of numbers, but if he managed to kill a few and Level Up, he would be able to spend even more SP to improve his stats—getting rid of the rest.
'I should go for the human. In the Race Compendium, the Human Race is listed at [Average]. It isn't a lot, but the rest here are listed at [Weaker] or [Weakest], which means I'll get a lot more Essence by targeting the human. Plus, eliminating the most dangerous one is the best move I can make now…' He nodded to himself, steadying his blade as he watched the Slaves draw closer and closer to him.
They were wary of him, undoubtedly.
He had killed their former Master, so of course they would be suspicious of his methods—even if they felt the urge to eliminate him. Even though a deceased Master's remnant will was strong; it could not completely override the Slave's survival instincts.
'I don't know how to use a sword, but… I'll have to manage somehow.' He swung the blade a few times, causing the Slaves to shrink back in fear. However, they soon realized he wasn't up to anything in particular, so they advanced forward.
'Oh well, it was worth a try anyway!' Bi Chen couldn't scare them off, so he would simply have to resort to fighting.
'Here goe—'
"I can't take this anymore…" The human among them suddenly broke into a yawn, effortlessly swinging the longsword in his grasp.
In a flash, the heads of the three slaves next to him—the Wolfman, Kobold, and Halfling—were all lopped off. Their headless bodies fell to the ground, with fountains of blood gushing out of their exposed necks like geysers.
Their heads soon rolled on the ground, depicting the same wary expressions they had before their demise. They hadn't even noticed that they were beheaded until it was too late.
'Eh? What is happening?!' Bi Chen was stunned by the sudden development.
He did not—could not—understand.
"Unbelievable!" The human remarked, the rage in his eyes vanishing like it was nothing but an illusion. It felt like he had been pretending all this time, and his current expression depicted how he truly felt.
The human had dark brown hair, with soulless black eyes and a roughened face. He had scars all over his body, and he was dressed rather ordinarily, but his well-toned physique hidden beneath his rather baggy clothes showed he was no slouch.
If that wasn't proof enough, his expert use of the longsword and his swift execution of his three comrades showed his immense skill. There was no doubt about it—
He was strong!
"How did you do it, Zombie?" The human asked, stepping forward in a casual stride. "How did you break free from the Unwritten Codex and kill your Master?"
"…."
Bi Chen fell silent, but his thoughts were reeling rather quickly.
—The Unwritten Codex!
Every Player of "Please Touch Me, Master" knew all about it. It was the ultimate law that governed the world of Alteir, and it could not be broken, no matter what.
'Masters can not directly harm fellow Masters; they can only use Slaves to do so. Slaves can not harm their Masters, but can harm other Masters. Slaves can attack any Slave, as long as it is not contrary to the will of their Master.'
These three were the fundamental precepts upon which the Unwritten Codex was built.
It was the ultimate law of the world.
'He killed his fellow Slaves… why? The Codex permits it, but his focus should be on eliminating me, since I killed his Master. No, hold on…' Bi Chen's eyes widened as he observed the "Slave" marking on the human's head.
It was still black!
'How come? I killed the Master, so it should be white now…'
"You don't have to be so worried. I won't harm you…" The human stopped advancing after observing Bi Chen's nervous expression. "That bitch isn't my Master, her father is. He planted me among her Slaves so I could protect her from any Abomination that threatened her life, or any Master that tried to attack her with a Slave. But… since he never spoke about her very own Slave attacking her, I had no reason to stop you—and I also have no intention to harm you."
'Ahh… I see.' Bi Chen's eyes widened with realization, and he understood the situation rather quickly.
'He is a Slave dissatisfied with serving his Master, but since he can't take the life of his Master's daughter, he is glad I did it for him. He also killed the Slaves afterward, since they are no longer the girl's slaves, but are simply rogue Slaves. He also doesn't need to kill me due to all the things he clearly listed out just now.'
It was also highly unlikely that this man was lying, considering how strong he was.
Since Imelda's father had told him to protect her, it meant he had to have been capable to an extent. At the very least, he would be able to slay a Rank 2 Abomination by himself, maybe even escape with his life if faced with a Rank 3.
Killing the current Bi Chen wouldn't be too difficult for him.
'So should I trust him?' Bi Chen already knew his answer to that question. 'No… I can't.'
Even though he had been caught off guard by this human, and he was still reeling from shock, the man's intentions were very obvious to him.
'He saw that I was able to break away from the girl's control, so he wants me to show him how I did it. Whether it's completely breaking free from the control of his current Master, or breaking the Unwritten Codex and killing his Master, he wants a method to achieve his freedom from the girl's father.' Bi Chen completely understood this human's thoughts.
He would have perhaps been willing to cooperate under certain conditions, but that possibility never existed from the start.
After all, Bi Chen did not know any methods that could achieve that.
'I transmigrated into this body, which means my Essence Signature changed from the Zombie to me. That means I would be a Rogue Slave until a Master touches me and enslaves me. If that girl had noticed and touched me, I would have been under her control again.'
Thankfully, that didn't happen, and Bi Chen was still a rogue Slave.
'But such a method can't work for this guy, which means I'm pretty much useless to him. I doubt he would have let me live after I told him what he wanted to know, but I don't even have a solution to his problems, so he is definitely going to kill me.'
There was no escaping his demise.
Also…
'This is crazy. I have been dealt all the worst cards from the very start. I belong to the weakest Race, and I am a Slave. I killed a Master, and I am currently trapped in a Labyrinth with someone far stronger than I…' The situation was very clear to Bi Chen. 'There's no use struggling and uselessly clinging to life. Even if I survive this encounter, things won't get any better for me. I have no advantage in this world, and I'll eventually meet a very miserable end.'
Before that could happen, he reckoned he would simply take matters into his own hands.
"Ssssoorrrry maaan… yoooou'rreee ooonn yooouuuurrr owwwwn…"
"Hm? What are you—?"
SQUELCH!
Bi Chen stabbed himself with the blade through his head, instantly piercing his brain.
With his very minimal Integrity and higher Physique, he was able to gather enough strength to send a fatal blow to himself with a single move. The glow of life in his eyes vanished, and his entire body collapsed on the hardened ground.
He died.