The night ends with the last of Yin’s friends. Bodies litter the river, the shore, and the town, but for now, it is over. Yin collapses after that last kill. I catch her as she goes down and gently take back my cleaver.

Finally, it should be over.

Even though in this timeline she barely knows me, Yin risks it all by falling asleep in my arms.

She’s still too trusting. It’s unfortunate that she couldn’t learn the truth about her friends, but perhaps it’s better that she didn’t have to experience the pain of betrayal.

Feeling a little lonely, I feed wood into the fire, watching it crackle and spark as the moon sets and the sun begins to rise. As the first rays tickle my face, I let myself drift off a bit, dozing lightly. During the day it is safe, at least from undead that is. Eventually, I am awoken to something shifting in my arms.

“Who are you?” Yin struggles to wakefulness. When she sees the bodies of her friends she gasps and breaks free from my hold. Tripping on the ground, she falls to her hands and knees. “Oh my god, oh my god! What’s happening? It wasn’t a dream?!” The sight of my cleaver on the ground next to me frightens her. She scoots away, her oval face tightening with terror. “Y-You made me kill them!”

“Would you preferred I do everything for you?” I say wryly, still somewhat tired. Fortunately, as a Lvl. 1 Hunter again, my stamina is a little better than the average human’s. Pushing to my hands and feet, I stretch. Yin stares at me, watching closely as I put my cleaver into my coat. “I helped you become a Hunter. They were already dead. Come, there should be a settlement not too far from here.”

“I…you…what’s a Hunter?” Yin’s expression reminds me very much of the last time I explained the rules to her. Despite the differences in how things turned out, she’s still the same person inside. It’s too bad she doesn’t remember who I am. I suspect the knowledge of what happened might break her though. “I’m…Lvl. 2. What does that mean?”

“Think of life as a game now. One where dying means you’ll become one of them.” I turn to the headless corpses on the ground. “Succeeding in killing zombies or other Hunters will help you become stronger.” Cracking my back, I walk over to her. She flinches, but when I offer her my hand, she accepts it. “My name is Hei. I’ll help you become strong enough to survive. But I won’t hunt myself.”

“I…let’s say I believe you. Why didn’t you just kill my friends…the zombies yourself if that’s how this works?” Yin catches on quickly now that the situation isn’t so stressful. It’s not surprising. It might seem ridiculous to those before the Calamity, but after seeing so much of the world fallen to undead, your sense of reality starts to get…loose. I shrug, starting to search the bodies of her friends for anything that isn’t spoiled by the water. A couple energy bars, some cooking utensils, I grab a still damp backpack from Donovan’s back. The food inside is dry, some instant noodles and spare water bottles.

“I don’t want to become a Hunter.” I answer her question as I rummage through her friend’s things. She looks away as I go through each corpse. “Listen, either accept my help or don’t. I don’t care, there’s a settlement coming up and I can drop you off there if you want. Just remember, a lot of people are going to become Hunters soon. This world is going to change, and in the beginning, everyone is going to be searching for weak zombies to kill. Some people will grow desperate and try to hunt other Hunters when they can’t find enough prey. If you’re weak…then this will be your fate.”

“I…” Yin’s beautiful face grows cold as she realizes what I’m trying to tell her.

The savagery of human nature will only grow worse from here on out. Until people get high enough level that killing others stops being worth it, this world is going to become a battlefield.

“You were trying to get me to kill them so I would level up?”

“Yes.” I straighten from the last body and wash my hands in the cold river water. She looks at me suspiciously.

“How do I know this isn’t a trick? What if you’re just going to kill me one day? Like fattening a pig before you slaughter it.” Yin eyes the spot in my coat where she knows my cleaver is hidden. Once again, I can only shrug.

“Like I said, believe what you want. But I could have just killed those zombies. And if you kill another Hunter, you’ll only gain half their experience. So, it would be pretty stupid of me to let you kill them. Especially, her.” I point at the corpse of Crassia. “She was Lvl. 5. Killing her actually leveled you directly to Lvl. 2. If I kill you right now, I’ll only be halfway to Lvl. 2.”

“Oh…” Yin frowns, scratching her head. She thinks it over for a while, her wariness slowly easing. “I guess I really have to trust you then. And it’s not like you did anything to me while I was sleeping…right?” She suddenly looks herself over as if scared she’s missed something and I have to hide the beginnings of a real smile. Not the fake, vengeful kind. An honest to god, genuine one. Wow, I can still smile? In a slightly better mood, I walk past her and begin to leave town.

“We’re going?”

“Yup. You coming?” I call over my shoulder. She hesitates a moment, but then quickly follows. Listening to her timid footsteps behind me, I take advantage of the noonday sun to lead us to a settlement that I remember being nearby in the early stages of the Calamity. The trees have a different atmosphere during the day, less sinister. Bright light streams down in-between the leaves and paints everything a beautiful golden color. The yellows and greens are a stark contrast with the terrifying, blank gray which covered my vision last night.

Back…I came back. I’m here now. Yin killed me before I could get too strong. It’s okay.

I have to shake my head to clear away the dark thoughts. Though my body comes back when it dies, the memories remain. I can still taste the foul blood in my mouth, a sweet sickly flavor like rusted metal. My hands tremble imperceptibly and I shove them into my coat pockets.

“Are you okay?” Yin walks beside me with concern. Somehow, despite the fact that we barely know each other, she’s managed to pick up on my discomfort. I straighten my features, doing my best to put on an impenetrable mask to hide the feelings. “I uhh, never got the chance to thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Hey, let me finish! I meant to say I never got the chance to say thank you for saving me. And teaching me to fight. It’s weird, I don’t know why, but it feels like we’ve met before.” She says earnestly and bows her head. I look away with a nervous cough.

There’s no way she remembers the past? That timeline never happened in this world! It must just be a coincidence.

“Anyways, even though I don’t know why you chose to save me, I’ll always be grateful! Thank you!”

“…” I don’t how to answer that. Even if we have met, to her, nothing I say will make sense. We walk on in silence for a time, passing by the endless trees and following the river. Out here in the country, it’s too early for many monsters to appear.

Good. It’s going to take some time to train Yin to fight on her own. If anything were to come now, I’d probably end up having to deal with it myself.

“So, we’ll be at an actual town soon. Like I said, eventually everything will be consumed by the virus and Hunters will start to turn on each other. But for now, if you want to stay there, it will be safe for a long time. Have you made your choice?” I ask her.

“I…I don’t know anyone else now that Rui and Donovan are…” The cute girl trails off, her voice going quiet behind me. “Let’s get there first and then I’ll be able to give you a satisfactory answer.”

“Suit yourself.” I lead us onwards. The air has a sweet scent. Nature has recovered quickly while humanity has been busy trying to stop the Calamity. Flowers line the road, and while I know one day, they too will be tainted by the virus, right now, they are beautiful. What day is it? Right…it shouldn’t have been long since New Years right? Shrugging, I pull out my phone. It has already stopped working, but it feels good to hold it again after so long. When the power button doesn’t work, I toss it into the river.

*Plonk*

“Why’d you do that!” Yin panics as she sees what I did. “Even if there’s no signal, you shouldn’t go throwing it away!” She stares at the river sadly, but the ripples have already faded in the rapid current. Her hands pull out her own phone. “I’m almost out of battery. But there hasn’t been a signal in so long. And none of the buildings have electricity anymore. What’s happening to the world?”

Gently, I approach her, gazing out over the rushing river. I remember what it was like to discover the first time. The crushing isolation of being completely separated from the ever-present connection of WIFI and text messages. Of course, I was pretty isolated before any of this started, but even for me it was a shock. I can’t begin to imagine how a pretty girl like Yin must feel.

“Do you have any family? Anyone who might still be alive?” I ask quietly, listening to the river pass by. She is quiet for a long time.

“My parents might be alive out there. But to be honest, I tried to call them for days after this started. Back when there was still a signal. They…they never picked up.” Her brown eyes glisten, like they’re filled with morning dew. “My parents never missed a phone call from me before in their lives. If they were still there…they would have found a way to contact me. I have some cousins, but I’m not close to them. They live in Tiendas.”

“I…I see.” Once again, I have no words to comfort her. Other guys were smoother talkers before all of this went down. Maybe they would know what to say now, but even with another lifetime’s worth of experience, I don’t know how to help. “I have no one either. Well, except…”

“Who?” She turns to me curiously. “Your siblings?”

“No…not by blood anyway.” My thoughts go to Sasha, James, and the rest of the gang. They must be out there by now. I hope they are able to level up without me. But Sasha is tough. They all are. They’ll make it! “It doesn’t matter. Let’s keep going. Things are going to get ugly soon. We shouldn’t waste time.”

“Ugly?”

“You’ll see.” I start walking again and leave the picturesque river behind. The sun has begun to set once more. Soon it will be the domain of the dead once more. We need to make it to that settlement soon. I hope my memory is right. Green trees and vibrant flowers fade into duller colors as the light leaves us. Yin grows afraid, drawing nearer to me. However, I leave my cleaver inside my coat. Perhaps I am overconfident but the knowledge of two lifetimes grants me a sense of security even it shouldn’t. When the sun truly dips down beneath the horizon, I notice lights in the distance. A clearing in the trees signals what we’ve been looking. “We’re close, look.”

“Oh!” Yin skips happily as she sees where my finger is pointing. “You were right!”

“Did you doubt me?” I say wryly. Ignoring the look, she sends my way, I quicken my pace. The forest has begun to sound eerie. Creaking overstrained boughs, swaying leaves, and swishing water mix together to give the whole place a spooky atmosphere. However, I’m at home in the darkness.

Too at home.

Though I spent most of my time with the other Death Gods in my past life, we always hunted in the dark. As a matter of fact, in the early days, this would have been the perfect time to gain some levels. Before the System Monsters come over. Right now it’s just weak undead. I stop, thinking it over. “Yin, do you want to be strong? Answer me honestly.”

“Be strong?” She stops while thinking over my words seriously. “Well, in the past, I never cared about staying fit. But after what happened to the others…yea, I want to become strong. As strong as I can! I don’t want to be eaten!” Her conviction might be new, but it is firm. I nod in approval.

I can work with this. She really does remind of Sasha in a way.

“That’s a good answer.” I reply. Though I’m supposed to be experienced, it’s hard to maintain the role of a teacher. In my past life we spent all our days leveling together as a party. I’ve never taught anyone before, unless you count a few newbies at the gym before the Calamity. Shaking my head, I sigh. This is going to be hard. “It’s about time to start your first lesson then.” Taking out my cleaver, I hold it out to her. “We’ll have to get you a real weapon soon, but for now you can use this.” When she gingerly takes it from me, her face wrinkles up.

“Why do you even have this?” She asks. I shrug, digging around the shore.

“It was the first thing I had on hand when the apocalypse started. And it works. You saw how effective it is.” I find what I’m looking for in the mud. A solid-sized stone bigger than my fist. “This will do.”

“Huh…I see.” Yin shakes her long black hair. It’s pretty snarled with all the things that have happened. The pretty girl looks more like she’s going to chop vegetables than zombies with my cleaver in hand. “What now?”

“We’re going to get you to level up, quickly. Right now, there are probably several people who have figured out that killing lower-level zombies can make you stronger. But they don’t know how much bonus experience from higher-level monsters matters. If you’re willing to risk your life, the world will reward you!” I wind up with the stone, aiming towards the center of the river. Comeon, there should be at least one, this close to a human settlement!

*Ping*

My throw sends the stone skittering over the surface of the water. I’m not a pro but in my spare time I liked to skip stones. The flat rock bounces over a dozen times before beginning to lose momentum. I’m rusty. However, it falls perfectly in the center of the river, leaving behind plenty of splashes.

“Woah!” Yin claps in amazement and I lift an eyebrow at her reaction.

“You ready to fight?”

“What?” She stops clapping slowly, my cleaver hanging limply by her side. “Fight what?”

Then the river begins to ripple as the things underneath take the bait. Two pairs of rotten arms rise up from the waterbed, clawing their way to the surface. These are not like Crassia. They are true Drowned Souls, hardly fresh. Their flesh is rotting, and their smiles disfigured. White bone shows through their pale flesh as they snarl and climb onto land to seek the one who disturbed their rest. Backing away, I leave Yin to fight them alone.

“Wha-where are you going?!” She yelps as they find their footing. The limbs of these undead are unnaturally long and when they squat on the shore they seem almost like human frogs, staring grotesquely at Yin. “Hei!”

“Relax, they’re just Drowned Souls. And they’re a higher level than Crassia was, probably Lvl. 7.” I grin. This is better than I expected. Whatever is happening in that settlement, it probably isn’t peaceful to have birthed such strong undead nearby. Evidently some people have been busy doing what people do best. Murdering each other and hiding the bodies. Good thing, I decided to help Yin grow stronger before entering town. “I’m here, but it’s your responsibility to fight.”

“You want me to fight two?! Look at me! How can you make a girl fight!” Yin howls in disgust at me. However, the Drowned Souls are already advancing on her. “Is this even normal?”

“Not really, most people would form a group or party and fight weak zombies together. But I told you, this is a shortcut. You won’t even need to split the experience with me. Isn’t that great?” A ruthless smile crosses my lips. Though it wasn’t Yin’s fault, technically she is a little bit responsible for getting me killed in my past life. Time a little payback. Besides, it’s good for her…

“I…HEI HELP!” She scrambles backwards as one of the Drowned Souls steps forward. Due to the length of its limbs, when it pounces it covers an extraordinary amount of distance. The long-limbed white ghoul drips water which evaporates without leaving a mark on the ground as it reaches for Yin. I call out instructions from behind.

“No! Listen to me, low level zombies can only infect you with their bites! Getting hit by their claws is not as dangerous!” Perhaps trying to teach in the middle of live combat was not the best idea, but like I said, I’m not the best teacher. My grin stretches wider. Also, ever since dying horrifically twice, I feel like I’ve changed. My emotions are hollow, I care less about what people think, even cute girls like Yin. “Remember, you must sever the head to completely disable them, but you can also remove limbs to cripple them first!”

“Easy for you to say!” Yin dodges a swipe as the second Drowned Soul jumps up onto the river shore with her as well. “I’m going to die if you don’t do anything! There’s two of them for crying out loud!”

“You’re not going to die with me here. I promise you.” Something about my words causes Yin to look back at me. When she sees my smile, her face stills and she grows quiet. Unfortunately, she also stops moving. I swear and dash forwards. With my speed as a Lvl. 1 Hunter, I’m not much faster than an ordinary human. My leg comes back and I spin around to deliver a vicious roundhouse to the Drowned Soul about to rip her head off. “Pay attention!”

“I am! You just…weren’t teaching me well!” Yin growls. I pin the downed zombie down with my foot on its head. Pointing at it while watching the other one limp towards us, I sigh.

“Kill it!”

“Fine!” The cute girl runs up and lifts my cleaver up on high. This time, she does not miss, and though the Drowned Soul is freakishly large, its body is completely waterlogged. Dirty river water and zombie blood spurt out as Yin hacks its head off with one blow. Spinning off the corpse, I dance in front of the other one and sway under its claws. The Drowned Soul hisses and I wince as its spit lands on my face. “Hei!”

“Never get distracted by a teammate!” I leap straight up to get my foot level with the thing’s head. Then I twist around and smash my kick into its face. Even a zombie will temporarily lose focus if you rock its brain hard enough. The thing totters backwards and I hold out my arms. “There, now it’s all yours. You can get scratched but if you get bitten you’re dead, understand?” My protégé doesn’t respond as she quickly walks up to the Drowned Soul. I nod approvingly. She’s not hesitating anymore. Perhaps it took a bit to make her understand, but now that she gets that this is life or death, she’s just as good as any of the others in our party.

“Hah!” Yin let’s out a cute grunt as she swings for the Drowned Soul’s face. With its limited intelligence, it doesn’t know how to block and simply attempts to tackle her. I’m a little afraid that Yin won’t expect it, but she already knows to dodge backwards and try again. This would be impossible if the Drowned Soul was in perfect health, but it’s already been disoriented from my perfectly placed kick. When it misses, it overbalances and then the cleaver is there to meet its neck.

*Thunk*

For a while, we don’t speak. The decapitated bodies dribble blood gently onto the shoreline as the lonely wind blows. This time, it is better for Yin. Her hands are shaking, that won’t change. But she’s still standing. Still ready to fight if more enemies come. That’s what I want to see. Someone ready to take on the world. In a few days, the real Calamity will begin. I need to get her strong enough with this time. Watching her chest heave and the little jumping vein on her neck, I wait for her to regain her senses.

“Did you level up?” I ask. She nods, holding my cleaver as if it’s dirty. Gently, I go over and take it from her and wash it in the river. “Don’t worry, their blood is not infectious, it’s only the bites, for now.”

“I see. You know so much.” Her gaze turns suspicious briefly, but I avoid it, pretending that I’m still washing the cleaver. “How did you know they would be in there?” She nudges the dead bodies with a toe. Her disgust and fear of the undead has begun to go away with experience. It’s impressive really. Not too many people would be capable of adapting this quickly.

“Drowned Souls are simply those with heavy resentments that die in the water.” I look out at the lights of the settlement. “We’re close-by to a town, so I suspected someone might have died in this river. Remember, if you’re ever planning on swimming somewhere from now on, it’s a good idea to check if there’s anything inside first. They’re easily aggravated so throwing a stone should be enough usually.” My explanation is detailed. Drowned Souls are not something most newbies fought too much, but I learned early on that they were excellent experience.

“Ah, thank you…teacher.” She replies, clasping her hands. This time, it’s my turn to feel weird. Teacher? I’m not old enough for that!

“Just call me Hei.” I say, trying to hide my embarrassment. Even in two lifetimes I’ve never been called teacher before. “Now that you’re Lvl. 3, you’re probably the highest-level person alive right now. Well, except for some freaks maybe.”

“Really?” Her brown eyes are confused. “What does it mean though? Does my level really matter that much?”

“To a Hunter, your level is the most important thing besides your combat skill and knowledge.” I explain. “Perhaps you haven’t noticed it yet, but don’t you feel better already? Your endurance has improved, your eyesight, even your physical strength. But these are all just basic enhancements. Once you hit Lvl. 5, you’ll be able to truly choose what you want to make stronger.” My words gradually penetrate and she begins to grow excited. The cute girl throws out a few punches, her ripped jeans stretching in a rather nice way as she tests her body.

Lol…this girl, am I really going to be able to keep her alive?

“I do feel different!” Yin gasps as she discovers the difference. “I can even jump higher!” Watching her jump up and down like a little kid, I have to look away. Everyone reacts that way the first time. Becoming a Hunter is great. Well, it’s great until you realize your power comes from killing others, but even then it’s amazing nevertheless. “This is amazing!”

“Isn’t it?” I smile at her excitement. We’re surrounded by the corpses of two Drowned Souls, but she’s grinning from ear to ear. This picture is a little wrong. That’s just how life is during the Calamity though. As a Hunter you need to get used to such things. “Now you see why I want you to level up as much as possible.”

“Yes! But wait…” She frowns, her oriental face scrunching up as she glances at me. “What about you? You’re helping me so much, even holding them down for me, but you never take the kill. Isn’t that bad?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I hold my clean cleaver and let the river water run off of it. “Even after you gain a few more levels I still know more than you. Levels are important but they aren’t everything. If you get cocky and think you can take on everything just because you’ve killed a lot of zombies, you’ll regret it one day. There are worse things than the dead coming.”

“Huh, if you say so, I guess.” Yin raises her hands in defeat. Unexpectedly, she darts in with the speed of a Hunter and grabs my sleeve. “Well, I’ve decided! You’ve helped me so much. If you don’t want to hunt that’s okay! When I’m stronger I’ll protect you instead!”

“Haha…” I chuckle dryly, letting myself get tugged along. “I’ll be happy to see that day come.”

“Wait for me then!” The cute girl is suddenly leading me along and once again I have to hide my smile.

Maybe…just maybe…this girl will be able to survive this messed up world.

#

I consider training Yin outside some more before we go into town, but right now we only have one weapon between the two of us. Plus, as a Lvl. 3, she’s already too high level to get a ton of experience from Fresh Undead. We need to pass through and find a better place to train. The town up ahead has a wooden fence all around it. It’s still new. The planks are haphazard and roughly shoved in the ground, but it will serve its purpose well in the beginning of the Calamity. Guards man their posts, holding weapons made from just about anything they could find. There are a lot of poorly constructed spears and clubs. I don’t see anyone with a sword. Disappointing, but it makes sense. There weren’t a lot of blacksmiths left in the modern world. The age of swords didn’t really start until stronger zombies began to show up from other places.

“Why don’t we get a gun?” Yin points at some of the people watching us approach. “See, they have rifles!”

“Guns are no good. In a few days gunpowder will stop working. There’s a corrosion in the air from the virus which eats away at most technology. Plus, you’ll barely gain any experience killing zombies with a gun. It’s considered cheating.” My detailed explanation causes her to look at me once again with wonder. “You’re better off learning how to use a weapon now, while the undead are still weak. Like I said, thing’s are going to get a lot worse in a few days.”

“Then that’s it? I have to fight them head on like a caveman?” Yin sounds rather put out. The cute girl pouts and her silly expression is totally unfitting of someone who decapitated multiple zombies last night. I shake my head.

“The system is not so unfair!”

I yawn, covering my mouth as we get near the fence. The townspeople look at us suspiciously, but since we’re obviously human, they don’t raise their weapons.

“Bows and arrows, even crossbows will eventually become popular. But to really hurt the undead with a ranged weapon you’ll need higher stats and special skills. Most people aren’t good enough and just use a sword or other close-range weapon. Once you unlock skills and learn Basic Prescience, melee combat will seem less dangerous.”

“Prescience?” She glances at me with curiosity.

“Prescience is one of the first skills you’ll need to train. Didn’t you notice when you fought the Drowned Souls, they seemed to move a bit slower than they should be? Almost like you could predict their movements? That’s the System trying to help your perception.” I warily keep an eye on the townspeople as they get closer. “Listen, I’ll explain it all to you later, this knowledge is valuable. I don’t want anyone else to hear it, people will be suspicious how I know what I do. Right now, the important thing is finding a place to stay the night and getting you a weapon.”

“Ah, okay.” Yin falls silent. I greet the guards at the gate, exchanging small talk. The town is large enough that strangers are not unwelcome, though I don’t like the way some of the people stare at us. They’re not afraid we might be infected. If we were bitten, there would be marks, and we probably wouldn’t have lasted long enough to reach town. The thing with the early zombies is that there’s so much virus in their saliva that one bite can turn anyone. However, so much virus makes them weak, the human body struggles to function with so much contamination. Later on, other creatures will only have trace amounts of the virus and Hunters will be a higher level. Thus, it will be increasingly less likely to be infected by a single bite. However, the creatures will also be much stronger. The Calamity is a curious thing. Ever changing. This knowledge can only be obtained with countless lives. However, I am an exception to the rule.

I know it all.

“Okay, we’re in.” I stride quickly past the guards as Yin struggles catch up. A couple of the men fix hungry stares on her, but she doesn’t notice. “You got any money?”

“Some cash, but not much.” The girl reaches into her pocket and pulls up a sadly beaten wallet. “Why?”

“We’re spending it all. The only currency that will matter soon is hard goods and System Coins.” I take her wallet and the people nearby give me dirty looks.

“Hey that’s mine!” She yelps but I hold it up out of her reach, checking how much is inside. Taking out my own wallet, I check to make sure my memories are correct. Yin’s indignant face changes as she sees how much cash is in my hand. “Holy crap, what did you do, rob a bank or something?”

“Nah, I was a fighter.” I combine the wad of bills and start checking out what people are selling. Several people are pawning things on the side of the road or outside their porches. “Most important thing is that we get a second weapon for you. I might take a gun if I see one, but honestly it would just be robbing you of experience if I had to use it. I doubt anyone would sell a firearm anyways.”

“Huh.” Yin browses the meager items on display. There are various articles of second-hand clothing, things raided from shops, and the occasional weapon here and there. Lots of baseball bats. For some reason people really liked those. They’re worthless though. Too easy to break. It’s like everyone’s running a flea market now. After several stalls, I find what I’m looking for.

“How much for this?” I hold up a long replica katana. It’s clearly not weapons-grade steel. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s a reproduction prop for shooting movies. But it should hold up.

“It’s not real.” The owner of the stall, a thin tall woman with her auburn hair in a bun, has the decency to warn us. I shrug, pulling it out of its sheath. The thing is pretty untouched, and unfortunately, unsharpened. But I can work with this. “Fifty and it’s yours.”

“Done.” I count out the bills and walk away with the sword under my arm. Yin taps on my back.

“You know that’s my money you’re holding there.” She says plaintively, clearly a little afraid. I shrug, giving her back her wallet.

“Not much in there anyway.” I smirk and she smacks my shoulder. It stings a little bit more than it should since she’s Lvl. 3.

*Pah!*

The loud noise her hand makes on my flesh causes several people nearby to turn towards us and Yin goes red with embarrassment.

“Oops!” She cries as she takes the sword from me. “My bad! I didn’t think…anyways, why’d you buy this thing? It’s fake.”

“It’s a replica, not fake. If you were fighting other people with armor, it’d break. But the zombies right now are different. Their flesh is soft and easy to break, even for a low-quality sword. I just need to find something to sharpen it with and you’ll be fine.” My words don’t inspire confidence. To be honest it’s a good thing the sword is a replica and not real. The maker wasn’t true to traditional standards and made it short enough for Yin to use.

“Right…is this really okay?” I hear her whisper to herself, but she doesn’t argue further. Going around, I spend the rest of my cash to buy any food that will last. We don’t even need to rent a room which is nice. Due to the Calamity, there are a lot of unoccupied houses now…

#

“Alright, we’ll spend the night here. I’ll be in this room.” I go to one corner of the house and find a dusty bed to sleep in. “We’ll leave early in the morning, so don’t stay up late.”

“Umm, Hei, do we really have to leave so soon?” Yin calls out to me. I stop at the door to my room. “I mean, this place is pretty safe. They have a fence and everything. Getting to the city would be nice but why can’t we just stay here for a while?”

“You’re welcome to stay if you want.” I shrug, gnawing on a sandwich. One of the villagers baked their own bread and was willing to sell it to us. The “fresh” food tastes amazing even if it’s only prepackaged meat and a little cheese. “But like I said, the zombies will grow stronger soon. Eventually, the only way to keep large settlements alive will be to use a sort of virtual currency you get from killing undead. They’re called System Coins.”

“System coins?” Yin takes off her jacket and I feel my breath catch a little bit. She really is far prettier than she should be. There’s a bathtub upstairs and this place even still has a little running water so we took showers and it felt amazing to wash the river gunk off of me. Her wet hair glistens in the residual steam from the wash. Swallowing, I almost choke as she unbuttons the top part of her blouse. Unfortunately, she’s wearing a t-shirt underneath.

“System Coins are automatically accredited to the Hunters responsible for killing undead. They can be used to purchase a sort of undead repellant for towns. It’s not infallible, the higher level undead can ignore it, but if you buy enough of it, you can keep a settlement from being overrun by wandering zombies. Basically, even if a town has a lot of fortifications, people will still need to leave and hunt zombies or else a horde will come.”

“Jeez, that’s kind of unbelievable…” Yin trails off as she goes to wash her clothes upstairs. I’ve already done mine. They’re draped over the side of the couch and I have a spare shirt and jeans on from my bag. “But since you’re telling me, I guess I’ll have to accept it. Hei, will you ever tell me how you learned all this?” She looks at me and I just focus on chewing my sandwich.

“Eh, alright, I won’t press you since you saved me. Listen, I don’t need you to tell me all your secrets, but I hope you’ll grow to trust me one day.” Her worried face leaves mine to attend to her laundry.

“So, you’re saying that we’ll always have to hunt the undead no matter how safe the town looks? And if you’re right, and the zombies are going to get stronger…it’s better to train now.”

“Bingo.” I move to close the door slowly. “Also, the undead are easy to see, but they are not the real threat. Some people have probably already discovered that you can gain levels by killing. Be careful…these towns may be safe from the undead but they won’t protect you from the worst killer of all.” My mind unconsciously recalls a heavy weight falling on my head, the pain of having my hands and feet stomped down. For a second, I almost ask Yin if she remembers but then I catch myself. She doesn’t know anything about that. As far as she’s concerned, her friends were heroes who died protecting her. Perhaps it’s better that way.

“Goodnight.” She murmurs after hearing my warning. I slide the door closed and lock it from the inside. The deadbolt outside is thick, and all of the windows are locked, I checked. We should be safe until the sun rises. Staring the giant moon, I sigh.

How did I go from being a member of the strongest party to taking in a girl? I can’t do this for long, I’ve already accidentally had to level up because of her. Who knows what will happen if I become too strong. But maybe if I can get her to level faster than me, she can stop me if I die. It’s brutal, but I should tell her a bit about what to expect. Others might only become zombies, but that thing is inside me. The Gray…it almost felt like it talked to me before I died last time. And it happened after I hit Lvl. 100. Is this world really just a trap?

#

Scritch…

The noise outside my window immediately causes me to wake up. Even though this body hasn’t experienced the life my mind has, it still understands that the world is dangerous. Raising my head slowly, I peer over the edge of the windowsill. My eyes have adjusted well to the darkness and I can clearly see two people trying to find a way to get the door open.

“Shh…they’ll hear you!” One of them whispers as another man fumbles a lockpick inside the keyhole.

“Whatever, just keep a lookout, they’re definitely sleeping by now. Did you see that babe?” The lockpicker sounds like he’s sneering. I can imagine the smug smile on his face as he jiggles the lock. “Why she’s staying with such a chimp? Dude’s not even tall!”

“Probably took advantage of the circumstances. Besides, did you see that wad of cash he had? Dude’s loaded! We’re gonna strike it rich!” The man, in charge of keeping a lookout, crows as his friend unlocks the door with a click. “Nice one bro!”

“It’s deadbolted. That’s a problem. These guys sure are cautious!” The lockpicker sighs, reaching into his pocket. “I have a credit card here, maybe I can get it open. Give me a minute.” Listening to the two go on, I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I can’t tell if they have more sinister motives or if they’re just thieves. Idiots, cash won’t even be worth anything next week. And I spent it all. I go to my door, grabbing my cleaver from under my pillow on the way out. Guess it’s time to get up!

Opening the door quietly, I pad outside into the living room in my spare clothes. I can see a thin card poking up at the thick metal deadbolt. A muffled curse comes from outside as the man drops it and the credit card slides to the ground.

“Damnit!”

This time I can’t resist and roll my eyes.

These guys suck!

To be honest, I’m not above just killing them. Later on, in the apocalypse, this kind of behavior would mean they’re coming in to murder me. But after overhearing their conversation I’m kinda tempted to see where this goes and what they plan on doing when they get in.

Smirking, I silently walk next to the door and stand behind the hinges. Just in case I keep my cleaver down at my waist. A few seconds later, I hear the idiots finally get the deadbolt free. The door clicks and someone pushes it open just far enough to peek inside. When they see the living room empty, I hear a quiet fist-bump. Then they try to sneak in, right in front of me. I hold out a hand, pressed between the wall and the door. There’s a fifty percent change they try to close the door in which case I’m going to be found. But if they’re amateurs like I suspect, then they might leave it open. And then I can have some fun!

“Which room do you think he took?” One of them hisses to the other as the come inside. Unlike my bare feet, they’re wearing heavy boots and their footsteps are so obvious I wouldn’t be surprised if Yin woke up. It’s at that moment that a noise echoes from the room to the side. There’s a slight creak of the floorboards and a disgruntled moan which could probably make god’s cry. Holy crap it’s Yin! For a second I’m tempted to just take these guys out right here and now, but her door is already creeping open.

DAMNIT!

“Oh crap!” One of them shouts and the door opens all the way. A black-haired sleepy beauty pokes her head outside, squinting in the darkness!

“Hei? You up?” She murmurs as she stares right at the intruders! Behind them, I sweat bullets holding my cleaver. Comeon Yin! Read the atmosphere here!

“Um we were just…” The smaller thief holds up a hand in surrender. Unfortunately…that hand also has a knife.

“KYAAA!”

#

Yin’s high-pitched scream rings through the house with the force of a banshee. It’s kind of cute, if you ignore the fact that the sun hasn’t even risen. The two would-be thieves raise their heads to see her and panic.

“Why are you awake!”

“Crap! Run!”

They turn around and blindly turn around to leave. However, as they get to the exit, I shove the door as hard as I can and it smashes into their faces. Both of them go tumbling down to the floor. Pulling the door off one of their heads, I raise my cleaver on high, prepared to do some early morning chopping!

“Wait Hei!” Yin cries out, seeing me prepared to commit murder. She exits her room completely and holds her hands up. “Don’t kill them!”

“You sure? I heard these guys outside talking about robbing us…and other things…” I let my cleaver slam down viciously into the floorboard next to one of their heads. The man whose neck has narrowly avoided being chopped gulps nervously. They begin to beg piteously.

“Don’t kill us! We were just hoping for some money! We definitely had no ulterior motive!”

“Yup yup! What he said! We definitely had no thoughts about doing anything else!”

“Uhuh…” I murmur quietly while yanking my cleaver out of the floorboards. These guys are fast, and immediately get to their feet when I don’t finish them off. Before I can get another shot off, they disappear into the night. All I catch is a fading glimpse of bright yellow hair before they go. Shaking my head, I slam the door, making sure the deadbolt is secure and turn back to Yin. Surprisingly, she’s not petrified with fear and has come out to meet me.

“Thanks for letting them go.” She whispers to me.

“If that’s what you want…” I start to say, but then gulp as I realize she’s just wearing an extremely thin and small t-shirt. It barely manages to go past her waist to cover the top of her thighs. Seeing where my gaze is going, her face goes scarlet, and even without a Hunter’s nightvision skill I can still see how red she is. Fortunately, I have the willpower of the lost god and manage to look away.

“Eke!” She squeaks a bit and pulls the t-shirt down. However, instead of running back to her room, she stays in front of me. After a moment, I realize she’s not going to leave. “Uhm, I mean it. Even though you’re the kind of person to just cut off trouble before it comes, I don’t want to hurt people. This world has enough dead already.” Her face grows downcast, and she trembles slightly. Suddenly, I can think about more than just her scantily clad body. Well, just a little bit more, but it’s something. “To be honest, I couldn’t sleep. I haven’t been alone since this all started. Rui and I would always stay together and keep each other company in the night. My room feels so dark and big, even though I know it’s perfectly safe, I don’t want to close my eyes. Silly right?”

“N-No, not at all.” I cough. If I show how much effect seeing just a little bit of her skin has on me, it’ll ruin her image of me! Resolving myself to play it cool, I force myself to stop looking away and stare into her eyes. Damn this is hard! “I’m sorry, I didn’t think of that. Maybe I can sleep in the living room, you could keep the door open so you know I’m nearby?”

What are doing Hei! This is a perfect chance to get closer to her. Ugh, damnit, grow a pair, even with two lifetimes you can’t make a move!

“Oh! Well that’s very nice of you to offer. But to be honest, that couch looks really uncomfortable.” Yin nods at the dusty thing which has mothballs and holes everywhere. “I mean, didn’t we technically already sleep together for warmth after…after you saved me? I know I’m a stranger, and maybe not your type, but since we’re spending so much time together and it’s the end of the world and all…” She trails off awkwardly, staring into my eyes nervously. My heart is beating fast. Way faster than when I killed those zombies. Hell, it feels like someone has lit a fire in my stomach. I’m hungrier than the Gray right now. Damnit, why does it feel like we’re arguing the wrong sides? Why is being a man so hard?

“If you put it that way…I guess we’ll be spending a lot of time sleeping together to conserve warmth while hunting. So I mean, uh yea.” I’m having trouble saying the words without sounding lecherous. Yin looks at me strangely as I try to get my head together. “Uhm yea, YEA! I’ll just uhm…” Unsure of how to precede because I’ve never gone in a girl’s room before, I lose all momentum. My ears burn, but fortunately the supposedly shy girl in front of me takes action.

“Cool! Yup, thanks. Uhm, okay that sounds weird, but uhm yea I know I can trust you, Hei. You did save me after all!” A glorious smile stretches her rosy lips as she grabs my forearm and pulls me to her room. I’m not sure if it would feel creepy if I shut the door, but she slams it for me. Looking me over, her smile grows a bit confused. “You go to sleep with all your clothes on? I won’t mind if you want to take them off.”

“I just…learned to be prepared in case I need to leave quickly at night. I’m used to sleeping with them on.” Shivering at the thought of stripping in front of her in the same room, I just stand there stupidly. The unabashed girl finally turns a bit shy and hops under the blankets, patting the bedside next to her.

“Oh, okay! If that makes you comfortable. But I’m not going to get dressed, it’s okay in the wild, but I’d prefer to be comfortable while we have the chance. Besides, I have Mr. Thiefcatcher here to protect me!” Her smile lets me get on top of the blankets with her. Suddenly I’m intensely aware that her bare legs are underneath the blanket, and it didn’t seem like she was wearing shorts underneath that t-shirt. Trying to avoid looking directly at the girl’s face, I just stare up at the ceiling. Oh my god. This girl…is a natural born killer! In the wild, she acted so helpless, but now I’m getting led along like a puppy on a chain! Can I even call myself a man after this? Wait, don’t think about manhood. This is just two friends sleeping together to keep each other company. A sleepover, right? Totally normal…

“Huh?” This time it’s my turn to let out a little squeak as Yin rolls over under the blankets. Her leg goes over the top of mine as she puts her arm over me. I freeze, completely still. The blanket is in-between our bodies, but I can feel…everything through it. She’s so soft! Trying desperately to keep my mind clear of any deviant thoughts, I start thinking of Buddhist scriptures. Let go of your earthly tether…

“Did you say something Hei? I just thought you might be cold since you’re not taking any of the blankets. Am I too hot?” Her sleepy voice whispers in my ear. This is the moment where if I was an experienced man, I’d say something witty and seal the deal, I think. But all my confidence fades away in the sheets. The devilish girl beside me almost seems to be waiting for me to make a move. But I have no idea what to do. After a moment, her breath begins to slow and I realize she’s falling asleep. This woman! Are you serious? Can she really just climb on top of me and fall asleep like this?