The next morning, Kaius woke up at 6am to get ready. In addition, he received two level up notifications from the System during the night.

It seemed that having his skeleton warriors kill zombies counted towards gaining experience. By now, Kaius had lost all connections with his skeleton warriors. This probably means that all the skeleton warriors had been destroyed.

Although it was a pity to lose a Basic Short Sword, Kaius was happy knowing that he can still level up while he slept at night.

Kaius brought up his status window and distributed his 12 attribute points.

Name

Kaius

Class

Necromancer

Level

9

Health

Normal

Mana

905/905

Strength

25

Vitality

25

Dexterity

24

Intelligence

178

Skills (active)

General

Eye of Mana (2MP): allows the caster to view more information on the target.

Dark Magic

Shadow Bolt (10MP): shoot out a bolt made up of nether energy in a straight line.

Corrosive Armor (30MP): wraps the caster in armor made up of corrosive nether energy, increasing Vitality by level *2, plus an additional (50% + level%) of base Vitality stat. When anyone except for the caster comes into contact with Corrosive Armor, deal initial nether damage plus additional damage over time. Consumes 10 mana per minute.

Necromancy

Summon Skeleton (20MP): summon a skeleton warrior from a nearby corpse. Max limit: 45.

Control Undead (35MP): Takes control over any undead creature. If the undead creature is more powerful than the caster, spell may fail and caster will suffer backlash, entering into the Weakened State for 4 hours. Weakened State reduces all attributes by 70%. Max limit: 45.

Skills (passive)

Mastery of Necromancy: as a being that has formerly reached the peak of necromancy, reduce the mana cost of all necromancy spells by 50%.

Mana Mastery: as a being that has formerly reached the peak of at least one type of magic, reduce the mana cost of all spells by 20%.

Nether Physique: as a result of successfully casting Nether Rebirth, Nether Physique has been acquired. Enhances the effects of all dark magic spells by 100%. Enhances the effects of all Necromancy spells by 200%. Possessor of the Nether Physique is immune to zombie virus. Increases resistance against dark magic by 20%. Increases mana pool by level * 100. Increases mana regeneration by 500%. Gain 5 additional Intelligence stat points and 1 additional attribute point per level up.

Favor of the Nether God: gained the favor of the God of the Netherworld due to possession of the Nether Physique. Increase experience gained by 100%. Gain 2 additional attribute points per level up.

Resistance

Zombie Virus: 100%; Dark magic: 20%

After getting ready, Kaius brought his backpack and bike and went to the meetup place.

---

Kelso Conservation Area, an escarpment lush with trees and various flora, was to the west of Milton. As it is currently winter, all the trees in the area lost their leaves, making the escarpment look like a barren wasteland.

Chad and his gang were already waiting at the entrance of the conservation area.

“Do you think he’s going to show up?” asked one of the guys.

“He better show up,” said Chad in a stern tone. Then he turned to look at his gang. “Do you all remember the plan?”

“Yeah.”

“Yup.”

“Yes.”

Several people responded.

“Should we really be doing this? What if we accidentally let him die?” asked a rather timid guy.

“Timothy you coward,” bellowed Chad. “So what if he dies? That just means more food rations for the rest of us.”

“Yeah, shut up Timothy,” rebuked Chad’s girlfriend. “Who cares about a loser like him.”

As they were talking, they heard the faint sound of tires grinding against the gravel road in the distance.

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound.

“Here he comes,” said one of the guys.

A few minutes later, Kaius rode up to Chad and his gang.

“Took you long enough,” said Chad in annoyance.

“I’m here at 7am sharp. It’s you guys that are early,” shrugged Kaius.

“Hmph, let’s see how long you can keep being so arrogant.” Chad turned to his gang. “Let’s go.”

Chad and his gang rode towards Belwood with Kaius following behind them.

After riding for roughly three hours, they finally arrived.

When they arrived at the entrance of Belwood, everyone got down from their bikes, took their backpacks off and tied it on their bike’s backseat. Since they were about to face off against zombies, no one wanted to carry anything that might become a hindrance later.

Chad turned to everyone and said, “all of you wait here. I’m going to lure a zombie over.” Then he turned to Kaius, “let me show you how a real pro deals with zombies. I’ll take the first kill; you got a problem with that?”

“Go ahead,” replied Kaius nonchalantly.

Chad sneered and muttered under his breath, “you’ll be begging for help in a few minutes.”

After a short while, Chad ran back, with a single zombie slowly following behind him.

Chad ran up to the group and said confidently, “all of you stand back a little. I’m gonna take this guy out in one hit.”

Kaius took a couple of steps back.

Chad’s gang also took several steps back, however, after doing so, they coincidentally formed a large semicircle around Kaius.

Chad waited for the zombie to come close.

When the zombie was a few meters away from Chad, one of the guys from his gang shouted, “Chad, kill it!”

“Go Chad!” cheered Chad’s girlfriend.

“Shut up! I’m concentrating!” Chad shouted as he took small steps to back away from the zombie slowly.

It just so happens he was backing towards the direction of Kaius.

When the zombie was a meter away from Chad, he suddenly sprang into action.

However, instead of attacking the zombie, he grabbed the zombie’s outstretched arms and flung it towards Kaius, who was a couple of meters behind him.

Much to Chad’s delight, he saw the zombie crash into Kaius, and both fell to the ground.

Chad swaggered up to Kaius’ side and saw Kaius struggling to keep the zombie that was on top of him from biting his face.

“Hehe, you little shit, not so tough now are ya?” Gloated Chad.

Chad had planned everything out right from the start. He would volunteer to be the first person to go and lure a zombie back to kill. Next, his gang members would spread out around Kaius to prevent him from running away. As the zombie got closer to Chad, he and his gang members would shout back and forth to make it seem like he was hesitating about going in for the kill. This way, Chad can keep Kaius distracted and not realize that he was coming closer and closer towards Kaius. Finally, when Chad was close enough, he would hurl the zombie at Kaius.

Chad stood tall and was delighted at how his plan worked perfectly.

The rest of Chad’s gang also came near Kaius to surround him in a tighter semicircle.

Most of them just looked at the struggling Kaius with a cruel smile.

“How long do you think he can last for?” asked one of the guys.

“I’ll bet one piece of food ration he lasts for 15 minutes,” replied another guy with glee.

“15 minutes? You think too highly of him. I’ll bet 10 minutes max,” said Chad’s girlfriend.

“I’ll bet 5 minutes and getting bit on the neck,” said the other girl.

“I’ll take that bet too,” chimed in another guy.

“Me too.”

“I… I’ll bet 7 minutes!” Timothy muttered timidly.

The remaining guys also placed their own bets, as though the life and death of Kaius was nothing but a form of entertainment for them.

Chad had a savage smile as he looked down at Kaius, who was desperately struggling to pry the zombie away from him.

“Don’t just stand there! Help me!” Kaius shouted from the ground.

“What are you complaining about? This is just part of our bet, remember?” Chad chuckled in satisfaction when he heard Kaius begging for help.

However, Chad wasn’t satisfied with just this. He wanted to further humiliate Kaius.

“Since I’m a generous guy, how about this. I’ll help you kill this zombie, but in exchange, you give me your bike, three months’ worth of food rations, and all the clothes you’re wearing right now.”

“Hahaha, Chad, I didn’t know you were so generous,” complimented a guy in laughter.

“Eww, Chad! I don’t want to see his disgusting thing,” one of the girls whined.

“Ok, ok, he can keep his underwear,” Chad pretended to reluctantly agree.

Down on the ground, Chad heard Kaius shout, “you’re really going to let me die if I don’t agree to your offer?”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules. A bet is a bet,” Chad copied Kaius’ earlier attitude and shrugged in an uncaring manner.

Chad saw Kaius turn to his gang, “what about you all? None of you are going to help me? You’re all just going to watch me die too?”

“Jack you loser! You made the bet. Accept Chad’s offer or face the punishment,” one guy ridiculed in delight.

“Yeah, accept the offer you loser,” mocked one girl.

“Accept the offer.”

“Accept or die.”

“Accept or die.”

“Accept or die!”

Chad’s gang began chanting the phrase loudly over and over.

Chad watched everything in satisfaction. Ever since he killed a zombie and leveled up, he always felt he was better than those that didn’t. With his gang chanting louder and louder, Chad began to feel as though he was a chosen one and above everyone else.

Chad was reveling in this feeling of superiority when a calm voice suddenly sounded from below.

“Is that so. This makes everything easier on my conscience then.”

A surprised Chad looked down and saw that Kaius had stopped struggling. The zombie also stopped moving.

“No way, did you kill it?” Chad asked incredulously.

Chad’s gang was also shocked and stopped their chant.

In the next moment, Chad and his gang became even more shocked.

Chad couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the zombie slowly stand up. Next, he saw an unharmed Kaius also stand up.

“What…” Chad struggled to get the words out of his mouth.

Before Chad could come to his senses, he heard Kaius mutter a single word. “Kill.”

Immediately, the zombie lunged at one of the guys that stood closest to the left of Kaius.

As the guy was still shocked and didn’t expect this to happen, he reacted too late.

A shrill scream came out of his mouth as the zombie bit down hard on his neck. He tried to push the zombie off him, but the intense pain and blood loss was too much for him to bear.

The strength in his legs soon gave out as he and the zombie fell to the ground. The guy struggled for a few more moments before he completely stopped moving.

Chad stared in horror at the scene of one of his guys lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Everything happened so fast that Chad wondered if he was dreaming.

However, the screams of his gang soon woke him up from his stupor.

“Chad, kill it!” screamed one of the girls.

Chad snapped out of his daze. A Basic Short Sword suddenly materialized from thin air into his right hand. He concentrated his vision on the zombie and raised his weapon high up.

As Chad was about to slash down on the zombie, a strong punch found its way to his left ribs and sent him flying a couple of meters before he fell to the ground on his back.

*Cough* *Cough*

Chad gasped for air. The unexpected attack had left him so disoriented that he had trouble getting back up. He could only roll on his side to look towards the direction of the zombie.

Chad saw that the zombie is now standing up. When he shifted his gaze a bit more, he saw that Kaius was also standing beside the zombie calmly.

“You… how…” Chad managed to squeeze out a few incoherent words.

Chad looked up at Kaius’ indifferent gaze and heard his reply, “I don’t remember giving you permission to kill my zombie. Stay there obediently, it’s not your turn yet.”

Then, Chad saw Kaius turn his attention to the corpse of his dead gang member and gathered mana in his left hand.

“Arise.”

Chad watched in horror as the fleshly body of his dead gang member quickly melted away. The only thing left was a skeleton that slowly stood up.

“Monster…” Chad murmured in disbelief.

Faced with a skeleton monster that came out of his dead gang member’s corpse, Chad heard the screams of the other people in his gang and saw most of them running away in all directions, completely abandoning him.

However, the disloyal gang members didn’t get far. Chad saw Kaius casually shoot out multiple dark energy bolts towards each escaping gang member. Every energy bolt found their mark and reaped the lives of each fleeing gang member.

In just a few short minutes, Chad saw that the only people still alive from his side were himself, Taylor who was also level 2 like him, and his girlfriend who stood frozen where she was like a deer caught in headlights.

As though in a nightmare that was without end, Chad saw that Kaius was not done yet and heard him mutter the same word again.

“Arise.”

The previous horrifying scene played itself over and over again as Chad watched even more skeleton monsters come out of his dead gang members’ corpses.

The bones made an eerie clacking sound as the skeleton monsters stood up.

Chad felt his mind was on the verge of breaking. He barely reacted when he heard Kaius speaking to Taylor.

“If you can kill all my skeleton warriors, then I’ll let you live. Don’t even think about escaping or I’ll kill you on the spot.”

Taylor was so scared out of his mind by now that he nearly pissed his pants. He was not confident about escaping at all, so upon hearing that he was given a chance to live, he gritted his teeth and decided to seize this chance.

To Chad’s surprise, Taylor had summoned a Basic Short Sword in his hand. Seeing this, Chad couldn’t help but get a bit angry.

Chad had specifically asked Taylor if the zombie had dropped anything after he killed it a few days ago, and Taylor said no.

“This lying bastard,” thought Chad.

Chad snapped out of his thought when he heard the sound of metal clashing against bones. He saw Taylor had rushed up to the nearest skeleton warrior and slashed at it with all his strength.

The next moment, Chad stared in disbelief as he watched the skeleton warrior stop the sword slash by grabbing it with its right bony hand. The skeleton warrior wasn’t done its counterattack yet. Its left hand tried to stab its bony fingers towards Taylor’s throat.

Taylor instinctively tried to jump back. However, when he tried to do so, he realized that the skeleton warrior firmly held his Basic Short Sword in place with its right bony hand. He was shocked at the physical strength of this skeleton warrior. Taylor could only let go of his weapon and jump back at the last second.

The skeleton warrior did not give Taylor any breathing room. After Taylor let go of the sword, the skeleton warrior flipped the sword around and gripped it by the handle and charged at Taylor.

Now unarmed, Taylor could only try his best to dodge. Luckily, the skeleton warrior wasn’t as agile as him, so Taylor was able to just barely dodge all the attacks thrown at him.

As though it was angry at Taylor for dodging all of its attacks, the skeleton warrior put all its strength into its next attack and slashed down hard at Taylor. However, just like before, Taylor managed to dodge this attack as well.

Taylor noticed that the all-out attack from the skeleton warrior made it lose its balance slightly and created an opening. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Taylor took a hard step forward and rammed the side of the skeleton warrior with his shoulder. This sent the skeleton warrior tumbling on the ground.

Seeing his attack succeed, Taylor felt like he finally saw a ray of hope in this nightmare and wanted to rush quickly to retrieve his weapon.

Just as he was about to run forward, Taylor felt a pair of bony hands wrap themselves tightly around his neck.

Feeling horrified, Taylor turned his head around and saw another skeleton warrior standing right behind him.

Taylor desperately tried to pry open the skeleton warrior’s hands, but the skeleton warrior’s grip was just too firm and wouldn’t budge.

As though this was the catalyst that had set off a chain reaction, two more skeleton warriors arrived at Taylor’s side.

One skeleton warrior grabbed Taylor’s left hand and bit at the left side of his face. The other skeleton warrior grabbed Taylors right hand and bit at the right side of his face.

Even more skeleton warriors arrived and started clawing and biting at the rest of Taylor’s body.

Chad watched in horror as numerous skeleton warriors clawed and bit off Taylor’s flesh piece by piece.

Eventually, Taylor’s bloodied body finally stopped struggling.

The skeleton warrior that was knocked to the ground got up and picked up the Basic Short Sword that once belonged to Taylor.

Looking at the mangled corpse of Taylor, Chad was so horrified that he couldn’t hold back anymore and puked on the ground.

Over to the side, Chad suddenly heard his girlfriend’s voice.

“Please don’t kill me, it was all Chad’s idea.”

Wiping puke off his mouth, Chad somehow found the strength and shouted angrily, “you bitch! How dare you betray me.”

However, Chad saw that his girlfriend completely ignored him and continued to plead with Kaius.

“I’ll do anything you want, please don’t kill me.”

Chad was about to shout again when he heard Kaius speak.

“I’m not interested in your body. Your skeleton on the other hand…”

The next moment, Chad saw dark mana glow from within Kaius’ eyes. Then, he heard his girlfriend’s agonizing screams as her flesh, blood, and organs quickly melted away. What remained standing was a skeleton warrior with bones that looked glossier and sturdier than the ones Kaius previously summoned from his gang members’ corpses.

“You can summon these things from living people too…?” Chad muttered with disbelief.

Chad gave up all hope when he saw Kaius smirk and heard his response.

“Now I can.”