The arrow was at the edge of the northwestern-most area of the map, inside the outline of a building. It pointed down, as if indicating an area of interest. I tapped on it.

Quest Marker: Daily Quest III

Oh. Well, that made things easy. The location wasn’t that far from here—less than a mile—but I doubted I would’ve even thought to go in that direction if I hadn’t found this map. That made me wonder—did unlocking the map mean I would be getting these for future quests, too? And how did it work for different kinds of quests, like the ones where I tasked with killing zombies? Would I get a highlight of their locations or something? That sounded a little too convenient. I tapped on it for more information.

Object: Quest Marker Quest Markers may appear for Quest Targets inside or near Mapped areas, depending on factors such as the detail level of the Map and the hostility and/or concealment of the Quest Target. A higher Intelligence will increase the probability of a Quest Marker appearing, and may also provide more information on the Quest Target.

That didn’t give a clear answer to my question, but having any kind of indicator whatsoever was already an unexpected windfall, so I didn’t have much room to complain. Now I just needed to get to that spot. The road the building was on was connected to the cul-de-sac I was on via a street that ran perpendicular to both. I just had to go west to the junction, then north for a bit, and hope I didn’t run into too many zombies along the way.

---

As it turned out, the Zombie Hunter Axe very much lived up to its name. It was also a fair bit of fun to use, I had to admit, as I split a creeper’s head in half like it was a piece of firewood. So much fun, in fact, that I didn’t even mind when a speck of the creature's brain matter landed on my forehead. That is, until the gunk started dripping down my nose and nearly into my mouth.

Ugh.

I wiped it off and checked over my surroundings for any more potential threats. Finding none, I glanced down to admire my handiwork. Around me were three corpses, one scalped, one beheaded, and one with its head split cleanly down the middle.

Zombie (Creeper) slain: +1 XP Zombie (Creeper) slain: +1 XP Zombie (Creeper) slain: +1 XP (Bonus x2) Oh, and the last one gave me some bonus XP! Only 1, but every bit counts. In fact, this was just enough to buy me the next upgrade I had an eye on. Item: Lumberjack Shirt Item Type: Equippable (Tier I) Equipment Slot: Torso Effect: Increases Physical Damage dealt by axes by 10%. Weight: 1 lb Durability: 5/5 Stock: 1/1 Price: 7 XP

Flannel shirts were never my thing, but I’d take substance over style every time. As I confirmed the equip option, the shirt flashed around me, the buttons already fastened before I knew it. I whistled. Barely even felt a thing.

Turning my attention back to the corpses, I waited for the drops to appear as they began to disappear. Nothing from two, a fiver from the other. I frowned as I picked it up. I guess zombie killing isn’t meant to be a very profitable line of work. I slipped the bill into my backpack and headed further down the street.

Those three were the first zombies I’d encountered since I’d ventured out from cul-de-sac, and I was already halfway down the adjacent street. Whether that was a sign of their relatively low population density, or they’d just cleared out from having charged the house earlier in the morning, I had no way to know. For my sake, I hoped the answer was the former. I didn’t mind running into little bands of creepers like the ones earlier—they proved to be little threat and provided easy XP—I wasn’t so keen on encountering any potential superiors, even if I was in much better shape to handle them now.

I stopped for a moment as I arrived at a branching street. It had a signpost reading off the street name, as well as a stop sign that I’m sure had been proving immensely useful in the current times. Speaking of which, I’d yet to see a vehicle of any kind so far, and, glancing down the street, that fact remained unchanged.

I did, however, spot two more lovely zombies trudging up toward me. I was deciding between going to kill them or just moving along when I realized I wasn’t about to be given that choice. The lead undead was making a beeline for me at full sprint, its jaw swinging wildly as it charged.

Of course, that only made the job easier for me. I held my ground, waited for the zombie to come in range, then thrust the axe forward into its face like a lance. Its head caved in and the creature fell motionless to the ground. Not taking any chances, I swung the axe across its neck, severing the zombie’s head from its torso. With my enhanced Strength and other damage boosts, the axe cut through zombie flesh like a knife through butter.

The second zombie approached at a more traditional zombie pace. I advanced on it with the axe positioned to strike, but froze when I sensed an oddity in the creature. I was about a dozen feet away from the thing when it came to a sudden stop and started to tremble. At first, it was so subtle I wondered if it was my imagination. Then the trembling advanced to a full shaking, and the creature’s body began expanding and contracting in irregular jolts.

That was enough warning for me. I activated a Quick-Roll and dove backward, just as an explosive burst sounded in my ears. The tactical earmuffs protected my ears from any would-be damage, but a blast of force pushed me back as I rolled away.

I was a bit dizzy, but otherwise unharmed as I got back to my feet. The axe was still in my hand, and I was surprised at how it hadn’t disturbed my roll in any way. In fact, I’d barely felt it at all during the movement, like it was just an extension of my body.

The zombie, meanwhile, was gone. Well, not exactly gone; there were bits of it here, there, and everywhere in between. A few flecks had even landed on me, but thankfully, they soon began vanishing away.

So, I had exploding zombies to deal with too now, eh? Well, isn't that fantastic. But what really annoyed me was...

Zombie (Sprinter) slain: +5 XP

I didn’t get any credit for the kill! I mean, I guess I didn’t actually kill it, so maybe it was fair, but why couldn’t this thing just toss me a bone every once in a while? It wasn’t even so much the XP I wanted, but the information on the new zombie. How was I meant to counter these things—did I have to kill them before they popped, or would they blow up regardless, in which case the only option was to figure out a way to kill them from a distance?

I sighed. Just a reminder I could never start to feel too comfortable. Still, there were a few things about the new zombie I could infer, even from that short encounter. First, the trembling had begun around five to ten seconds before the zombie had exploded, so that was roughly the warning I’d get form future zombies. Second, it couldn’t walk and explode at the same time, or else it surely would have continued coming towards me as it was getting ready to blow. Finally, there was the size of the explosion itself. This was harder to determine as I’d been rolling away from it as it happened, but a solid fifteen feet to avoid serious injury seemed like a good baseline.

Overall, I took the experience as a lesson to never let myself get too overconfident. Unfortunately, that lesson didn’t come with any additional reward, as neither of the two zombies gifted me any drops, either.

The introduction of a new zombie did, however, make me wonder if I was taking things too quickly. I still knew very little about the nature of these zombies, but it seemed logical to reason that they were going to grow in number and variance as I ventured further on. Of course I wanted to find the survivor as soon as possible, but it wouldn’t do either of us any good if I died in the process of looking for them because I was ill-prepared.

With that in mind, I began taking detours at each branching street, looking for more zombies to kill and XP to build. I didn’t attempt another home invasion—that was an unnecessary risk, I decided—but luckily, I didn’t have to. The zombies were scarce at first, but became more and more common the further I ventured out.

The creepers made for pathetically easy opponents, to the point where I found it almost comical how just one of these things had nearly killed me earlier in the morning. Now they were practically walking piñatas, waiting for me bash their heads in and hope for goodies to come out. I learned something else, too—the Scanning feature on my phone wasn’t just limited to items, but could give information about zombies, too, which I used in case I encountered any superiors that didn’t have outwardly signifying features.

Ultimately, I only ran into two superiors. One, a brawler that I defeated by keeping my distance and slashing at its legs until it collapsed, and two, a spitter, which I took care of by cutting open its stomach, causing the contents to spill out of the wound and devour the creature with its own deadly acid. After they were incapacitated, the finishing blow was easy enough to deliver, and my axe even rewarded me by giving double XP for both kills. Combined with the ten or so creepers I’d killed, I ended up with a grand total of 45 XP.

Unfortunately, I didn't have nearly the same luck with drops, as none of the zombies left behind any items of note. Still, the XP was a good enough reward on its own. I didn’t have any pressing items to buy, so I decided the best investment would be to bolster my attributes by investing the XP I’d gained into my path.

Path: Path of the Body III Path Type: Foundational (Tier I) Requirement(s): Path of the Body I Attribute Advancement: Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1 Power Advancement: Stamina Capacity +4, Stamina Regeneration +.05/minute Price: 18 XP Path of the Body (III) Purchased Path of the Body (IV) Unlocked

That still left me with enough XP to purchase another level of the Path of the Body, and I was about to do just that when more windows started popping up.

First Degree Mastery in Path of the Body Achieved. New Skills and Abilities have been unlocked in the XP Shop. A new Ancillary Path to Path of the Body may be unlocked. Select one of the following: Path of the Fighter Path of the Striker Path of the Warrior Path of the Guardian More paths? That sounded promising. I tapped on each of the options to expand them. Path: Path of the Fighter I Path Type: Ancillary (Tier I) Requirements: Path of the Body III Description: The Path of the Fighter is an offensively oriented Path that specializes close-quarters combat. Skills and Abilities developed through the Path of the Fighter pertain to hand-to-hand combat, the use of short-range melee weapons, and counter-striking. This Path is most effective in single combat in closed spaces. Attribute Advancement: Strength +1, Dexterity +2 Power Advancement: Stamina Capacity: +4, Stamina Regeneration: +.05/minute Price: 20 XP Path: Path of the Striker I Path Type: Ancillary (Tier I) Requirements: Path of the Body III Description: The Path of the Striker an offensively oriented Path that specializes in a hit-and-run style of combat. Skills and Abilities developed through the Path of the Striker pertain to high-octane attacks, the use of long-range melee weapons, and linear movement. This Path can be effective in both single and group engagements, but is not suited for close-combat or extended engagements. Attribute Advancement: Agility +2, Dexterity +1 Power Advancement: Stamina Regeneration: +.10/minute Price: 20 XP Path: Path of the Warrior I Path Type: Ancillary (Tier I) Requirements: Path of the Body III Description: The Path of the Warrior is a balanced Path that emphasizes versatility over a specific combat style. Skills and Abilities developed through the Path of the Warrior pertain to sustained offensive and defensive boosts, physical attribute enhancements, and the use of various melee weapons. This Path can be effective in both single and group combat in a variety of environments. Attribute Advancement: Strength +1, Constitution +1, Dexterity +1 Power Advancement: Stamina Capacity +4, Stamina Regeneration +.05/minute Price: 20 XP Path: Path of the Guardian I Path Type: Ancillary (Tier I) Requirements: Path of the Body III Description: The Path of the Guardian is a defensively oriented path that specializes in mitigating damage. Skills and Abilities developed through the Path of the Guardian pertain to increasing Resistances, attracting Aggression, and the use of shields and heavy armor. This Path is suited for longer engagements and is effective in group combat, but lacks the offensive output to be effective in single combat. Attribute Advancement: Constitution +2 Power Advancement: Stamina Capacity +8, Stamina Regeneration: +.05/minute Price: 20 XP

I read over each description multiple times as I considered which option to take. For starters, the Path of the Guardian was obviously out; even the description said it wasn’t optimized for single combat. In contrast, the Path of the Fighter was explicitly meant for single combat, but the idea of fighting zombies unarmed or at close range didn’t seem like a brilliant idea to me.

That left the Path of the Warrior and the Path of the Striker. The Path of the Warrior sounded like a simple, straightforward path that would provide a well-rounded boost to my current capabilities. That was well and good, but the same simplicity that made the path so versatile and easy to use could also be a limit to its ceiling. The Path of the Striker on the other hand, struck me as a more dynamic path with a greater potential if properly utilized. The ability to launch powerful attacks while keeping my opponents at range was exactly what I needed, and the hit-and-run style of combat synergized well with the skills and abilities I’d chosen for myself thus far. The path had its drawbacks too, of course, namely the lack of increase in Stamina capacity. It partially made up for that with increased stamina regeneration, but considering it would still be far too low to actually be relevant in the middle of combat, I would have rather had the increased capacity. Still, it would allow me to decrease the time between engagements if I wanted to maintain a high stamina, which meant I could move faster and gain XP at a quicker rate.

It was the more speculative decision, but taking intelligent risks was a necessary part of the new reality I found myself in. Running away from that fact would only put me in a worse situation down the line. Satisfied with the level to which I’d considered my options, I locked in my choice.