The battle was a blur of gore and adrenaline. To the survivors, it was a nightmare. To Ren, it was a harvest.
Ren stood atop a pile of rocks at the choke point, his machete dripping with thick, black ichor. His breathing was steady, rhythmic, utterly unlike the gasping, panicked breaths of the others.
The last walker—a bloated man in a flannel shirt—stumbled toward Rick. Rick raised his Python, click. Empty.
Panic flared in Rick's eyes. He fumbled for his speed loader.
Ren didn't run. He threw the machete.
The blade spun through the air with mathematical precision, embedding itself deep into the walker's skull with a sickening thunk. The corpse dropped inches from Rick's boots.
Silence descended on the quarry. The only sounds were the crackling of the dying fire and the sobbing of the traumatized survivors.
[System Notification]
[Quest Completed: Survive the Herd]
[Kill Count: 62 Walkers.]
[Bonus Objective: Save Amy (Completed).]
[Bonus Objective: Save Ed Peletier (Failed - Deliberate Inaction).]
[Rewards: 1000 System Points, Skill Book: "Tactical Leadership", 1x Low-Grade Healing Potion.] [Level Up! You are now Level 2.]
[All Stats +1.]
Ren exhaled, feeling the surge of power as his level increased. His muscles knit tighter, his senses sharpened. He walked over to the walker at Rick's feet and yanked his machete free.
"You okay, Deputy?" Ren asked, wiping the blade on the dead walker's shirt.
Rick looked up, pale and shaken. He looked at the carnage around them. Dozens of bodies, mostly piled around the rocks where Ren had directed them.
"I... yeah," Rick stammered. "I'm out. Ammo's gone."
"That's why we use blades," Ren said, his voice cutting through the quiet. He turned to the group. "Sound off! Casualties!"
"We're good!" Glenn shouted from atop the RV. "Morales is okay! The kids are safe!"
"Jim's hurt!" Jacqui cried out from the treeline. "He's bleeding!"
Ren walked toward the fire. Andrea was on her knees, clutching Amy so tight her knuckles were white. Amy was sobbing, burying her face in Andrea's shoulder.
Ren crouched down beside them. The Incubus Charisma rolled off him, a comforting wave in the midst of horror.
"Amy?" Ren said softly.
Amy looked up. Her face was streaked with tears and dirt, but she was alive. In the original timeline, she would be bleeding out right now, bitten in the neck.
"You saved me," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I saw it. That thing... it was right on me. You saved me."
Ren reached out, wiping a smudge of blood from her cheek. "I told you. I keep my promises."
Andrea looked at Ren. The look in her eyes had shifted. It wasn't just attraction anymore; it was reverence. He had saved her little sister. To Andrea, that made him a god.
"Thank you," Andrea choked out. "I don't know how to..."
"You don't need to," Ren said, standing up. "Just stay alive."
He walked over to where Carol was standing. She was staring at the shredded remains of Ed's tent. Ed's body was a mess, torn apart by the initial wave.
Carol wasn't crying. She was shaking, but there was a strange look in her eyes. Relief?
"I'm sorry, Carol," Ren lied effortlessly. "I couldn't get to him in time."
Carol looked at Ren. She remembered the training. She remembered him telling her she could be strong. She looked at Ed's corpse—the man who beat her, who made her small.
"It's... it's okay," Carol whispered. She looked at Ren, and for a split second, an understanding passed between them. She knew. Or she suspected. And she didn't care. "He... he didn't suffer long?"
"No," Ren said. "Quick."
"Good."
The Council of War
Morning brought the grim reality of cleanup. The smell of death was overpowering under the Georgia sun.
Ren, Rick, Shane, Dale, and Daryl stood by the RV. The power dynamic had shifted visibly. Rick was still the Sheriff, but everyone kept looking to Ren for validation.
"Jim's bit," Dale said heavily, rubbing his face. " ribs. Bad bite."
"We know what happens," Shane said, pacing aggressively. "Fever burns him out, then he comes back. We need to handle it."
"He's a person, Shane!" Dale argued. "We don't just put him down like a dog."
"He's a ticking time bomb!" Shane shouted.
"Enough," Ren's voice was low, but it silenced them instantly.
Ren leaned against the RV, cleaning his fingernails with a combat knife. "Jim is dying. That's a fact. But we have bigger problems. This camp is burned."
"What do you mean?" Rick asked.
"The noise, the smell of blood," Ren explained. "More will come. The herd was just the vanguard. If we stay here another night, we die."
"So we move," Daryl grunted. "Where?"
"The CDC," Rick said immediately. "In Atlanta. There's food, fuel, maybe a cure."
Shane scoffed. "The city? That's a suicide mission. We need to go to Fort Benning. It's secure."
"Benning is a hundred miles away," Ren interjected. "We have a wounded man, low fuel, and no ammo. We won't make it to Benning."
Ren knew the CDC was a dead end for a cure, but it was a goldmine for him. The System might have specific quests there. Plus, Dr. Jenner's technology could be useful.
"Rick's right," Ren lied. "The CDC is our best bet. It's a secure facility. Even if there's no cure, there's high-grade walls and generators."
Shane glared at Ren. "You're siding with the cowboy? You said the city was a death trap yesterday."
"Situations change, Shane," Ren said coldly. "Yesterday we had a camp. Today we have a graveyard. We leave at noon."
Shane looked around the circle. He saw Daryl nodding. He saw Glenn nodding.
"Fine," Shane spat. "You lead them right into the meat grinder. Don't say I didn't warn you."
While the group packed up, Ren slipped away to the woods to check his rewards.
"System, open Shop."
Ren checked his balance.
[Current System Points: 1,550] (500 from preventing Amy's death + 1000 from Surviving the Herd + 50 from Social Dominance).
"I have enough for some upgrades," Ren mused. "The fight last night showed me a weakness. I have power and charisma, but I lack utility and range."
He scrolled through the infinite shop. He needed something to help with the logistics of a harem and a traveling group.
"System, search for 'Spatial Storage' skills under 1000 points."
[Search Complete.]
[1. Inventory Expansion (+50 slots) - 500 pts]
[2. Pocket Dimension Builder (Level 1) - 800 pts]
[3. Bag of Holding - 300 pts]
Ren's eyes lit up. Pocket Dimension Builder.
"If I'm going to have a harem," Ren thought pragmatically, "I can't drag them through mud and zombie guts forever. I need a mobile base."
"Purchase Pocket Dimension Builder (Level 1)."
[Purchase Confirmed. -800 Points.]
[Remaining Points: 750.]
[Current Space: 10m x 10m sterile room. Time flows normally. Can store living beings.]
"And for the rest..." Ren thought about his offense. He was melee-focused. He needed a ranged attack that didn't rely on finding bullets.
"System, show me Elemental Skills within my budget."
[1. Fireball (Level 1) - 500 pts]
[2. Elementalist: Lightning (Level 1) - 700 pts]
[3. Water Bullet - 400 pts]
"Lightning," Ren decided. "It's fast, lethal, and works on nerves."
"Purchase Elementalist: Lightning."
[Purchase Confirmed. -700 Points.]
[Remaining Points: 50.]
Ren held up his hand. Small arcs of blue electricity danced between his fingers. It looked like the Chidori from Naruto, but raw.
"Perfect," Ren grinned. "Now let's get this show on the road."
The convoy moved out at noon.
Rick led in the police cruiser. Dale drove the RV. Shane took the rear in his jeep.
Ren rode a motorcycle he had "found" (pulled from his inventory, a sleek black Ducati he bought with starting points earlier).
He insisted Amy ride with him.
"It's safer," Ren had told her. "I can maneuver faster than the RV."
Amy sat behind him, her arms wrapped tight around his waist. She could feel the hard muscles of his back through his shirt. She pressed her face against his back, smelling his scent.
"Ren?" she shouted over the wind.
"Yeah?"
"Are we really going to be okay?"
Ren revved the engine, feeling the bike surge forward. "As long as you hold on tight, Amy. I'm not letting you go."
Amy squeezed tighter.
[Affection Level: 85/100 (Love)].
The CDC
They arrived at the CDC at sunset. The streets were littered with bodies and abandoned tanks. The smell was horrific.
"Keep it tight!" Rick ordered over the walkie-talkie. "Watch the corners."
They reached the front of the massive building. The shutters were down. It looked abandoned.
"It's locked down," Shane said, banging on the shutters. "No one's home, Rick. told you."
Walkers began to emerge from the shadows. First a few, then dozens.
"We need to go!" Lori screamed.
Rick was desperate. He shouted at the camera. "We're still here! I know you're in there! Please!"
Ren parked the bike and dismounted. He helped Amy off, handing her to Andrea.
He walked up to the shutter, right next to Rick.
"Move," Ren said.
"Ren, we have to go," Rick panicked.
"I said move."
Ren placed his hand on the heavy steel shutter. He channeled his new power.
[Skill: Lightning Discharge]
ZZZZZT!
A massive arc of blue electricity surged from Ren's hand into the electronic locking mechanism of the shutter. The circuit board inside fried instantly. The magnetic locks disengaged with a loud CLANK.
The group gasped. Shane's jaw dropped.
"Did you just..." Glenn stared. "How did you...?"
"Static shock," Ren said with a smirk. "Grab the bottom. Lift."
With Ren's super strength assisting, he and Rick heaved the massive shutter up.
Bright light flooded out.
They scrambled inside just as the walkers reached the stairs. The shutter slammed shut behind them.
"You're all crazy," a voice echoed.
They turned to see a lone man in a lab coat holding an assault rifle. Dr. Edwin Jenner.
He looked at the group, tired and defeated. Then he looked at Ren.
Jenner frowned. "You... your bio-readings. The sensors picked them up outside. You're not... normal."
Ren stepped forward, shielding the group. "I'm the guest. And we need a shower."
------
The CDC was a paradise compared to the quarry. Hot water. Wine. Real food.
The group celebrated. They drank wine, laughed, and washed the grime of the apocalypse off their skin.
Ren showered in a private stall. He watched the water run off his scars—wait, he had no scars. His skin was perfect.
He dressed in fresh black tactical gear he had stored. When he walked into the mess hall, the room went quiet.
He looked like a model who had wandered into a war zone.
He sat next to Andrea and Amy. He poured himself a glass of wine.
"To survival," Ren toasted.
"To survival," the group echoed.
Later that night, while everyone slept in the rec room, Ren found Dr. Jenner in the control center "Zone 5".
Jenner was staring at the massive screen showing the firing neurons of a brain—Subject 19 (his wife).
"You're not human," Jenner said without turning around. "I saw your vitals on the scanner when you fried my door lock. Your cellular regeneration is off the charts. Your muscle density is impossible."
Ren walked in, sipping a glass of scotch. "I'm what comes next, Doctor."
Jenner turned, his eyes bloodshot. "Are you the cure?"
"No," Ren said. "I'm the evolution."
Ren walked up to the console. "I know about the fuel, Jenner. I know the generators are running dry. I know this place goes thermonuclear in..." he checked the System clock, "...twenty hours."
Jenner slumped in his chair. "Then why did you bring them here?"
"Because I need something from you," Ren said. He placed a hand on Jenner's shoulder.
[Incubus Charisma: Persuasion.]
"I can't save the world, Jenner. But I can save them. I have a way to leave this place. Not just the building. The inevitable death."
Jenner looked at him, confused. "What do you want?"
"Download the data," Ren commanded. "Everything you have on the virus. The genetic sequencing. The failed cures. And... I want the remaining samples."
"Why?"
"Because," Ren leaned in, his eyes glowing blue. "In the world I'm building, I might need to make my own monsters."
Jenner hesitated, then laughed. A broken, manic laugh. "Why not? It's all burning anyway."
[Quest Generated: The Legacy of Science]
[Objective: Secure the CDC Research Data.]
[Reward: Intelligence +5, Unlock "Bio-Engineering" Skill Tree.]
"Do it," Ren said.
As Jenner began the transfer to a drive Ren provided (System USB), Ren looked at the screen.
He had the strength. He had the girl. Now he was getting the brains.
The explosion tomorrow would be spectacular. But for Ren, it was just fireworks celebrating his ascension.
He turned to leave. "Oh, and Jenner? When the time comes... open the doors. Don't make me blow them open again."
Ren walked back to the sleeping quarters. He saw Amy sleeping on a cot. He sat on the edge.
She stirred, opening her eyes. "Ren?"
"Go back to sleep," he whispered, stroking her hair.
"Stay with me?" she asked sleepily.
Ren smiled. He kicked off his boots and lay down beside her on the narrow cot. She immediately curled into him, head on his chest.
Ren closed his eyes.
One world down. Infinite to go.