Chapter 31: Race to Level 10 VIII

By the time he finished subduing the ghoul, Teo could already move. After suffering twice, he more or less figured out the reason for the paralysis. It was not an after-effect of the skill itself but due to what it does to his body. [Willpower Aura] buffs all his attributes beyond his body’s endurance, which shreds his muscles and tissues. As a result, after the effect wears off, his brain shuts off the body while it heals.

Now, Teo was genuinely thankful for this as it spared him from the pain of shredded muscles. He could only imagine how miserable he would be otherwise.

“Oh! You can already move.” Gloria commented, eyeballing Teo while he stretched on the floor. “Hey, you seem rather energetic. Where does all that fatigue go?”

Teo’s movements as he did sit-ups and pull-ups looked fluid, and his breathing was even. As if he had just woken up from a relaxed long nap. This made her confused. Logically, he should be in an even worse state than her, as he was the one who tanked the blows of the ghoul. Besides, there were even the effects of over-drafting on mana. Even she had yet to recover from the mild headache and lethargy that mana depletion brought.

“Hmm? You are right. I don’t feel fatigued at all.” Teo looked at himself, brows furrowing. “Must be due to that potion you gave me.”

“That’s impossible. Mana recovery potion only recovers mana, nothing else.” Gloria shook her head, debunking Teo’s claim. She was a regular consumer of the potion after coming to this dungeon, as she would regularly run out of mana due to her taxing skills. How would she not know about such a benefit if there existed one?

“I think it has something to do with your skill,” Gloria said, narrowing her eyes. “You were as good as new last time as well after the paralysis. Even though you were just a step away from death.”

Teo stopped and looked over his shoulders. “You even noticed that?”

At the same time, it got him thinking. Does he really have such an ability? It sounded too good to be true. However, now that she pointed it out, Teo had no choice but to look back at himself again.

Forget it. I’ll think about that later. Teo pushed this issue for another time with a snort, then concentrated on the ghoul. He felt the link between them, but, it was not as strong as the ones he had with the zombies.

Is it because it has high willpower?

While thinking about all sorts of possibilities in his head, Teo took out the core from his pocket and threw it at the face-down ghoul, who was barely clinging to its life. All of a sudden, as if attracted by something incredible, the beast began to wiggle.

Both player-to-bes jumped up like startled dears. Gloria whipped her gun at the monster, its muzzle facing the monster’s head. Teo held his sword in front of his chest, eyeballing the ghoul. The feeling in his heart at that moment couldn’t be explained in simple words. It was as if you finally got yourself a dog, only for it to bear its fangs at you.

Despite their reflex, all the ghoul did was reach out to the marble-sized core with its tongue.

Level 1 Ghoul has consumed the Mana core of Level 2 Zombie

+20 HP

Defense increased by a small margin.

You have fed your subordinate with a valuable object. Its loyalty rose by a little.

4 points of Leadership are freed.

There were some never seen before messages, but Teo’s attention wasn’t entirely on the wall of texts. Just now, he felt the link with the ghoul becoming stronger. Not to the degree of what he had with zombies, but just enough to actually command it. Though, what surprised him the most was the reduction of Leadership value after he fed it the zombie’s core.

Looks like there is a connection between Leadership points and the loyalty of the target. I should keep this in mind. For now…

Teo connected to the ghoul with the link and gave it a small command. Go back.

Moments later, the ghoul squirmed and retreated several steps. Its movements were sluggish, lacking the fluidity it had while fighting them.

“It’s cool now.” He said, putting away the sword.

“Are you sure?” Gloria didn’t buy it. The muzzle of her gun was still facing the ghoul.

“Don’t you trust me?” Teo exclaimed, eyebrows twitching.

“To be honest, no.” Gloria answered, “that skill of yours is too random for me to trust fully. While you’ve displayed your capability with the zombies, this is a freaking ghoul. I can’t let my guard down.”

“I like how honest you are, but what you said is kinda hurtful, don’t you think?” Teo sighed. “Well then, it’s time we take care of that.” He said, narrowing his eyes at the darkened hall where those men in uniforms ran.

Gloria followed along with his gaze, her own eyes narrowing a bit. “They are coming this way.” She muttered.

“I know. So, go to the side and focus on resting. Let me take care of them. Gotta test this guy over here.” Teo said, pointing his thumb at the ghoul behind him.

Gloria’s gaze lingered on the ghoul for a few seconds longer than it had been on Teo before she put down her rifle. “Alright.” She hummed.

“I’ll be right back.” Teo winked as he gave her a thumbs up, then set his course towards the divide that separates the first and second floors.

Following the map closely, he walked the narrow path illuminated by occasional soul lamps. The pointers that belonged to those uniformed people and zombies were heading his way, but they were still quite far from where he was. From his estimations, they would take at least half a minute to reach him.

Teo quietly stepped into the darkness and concealed his aura. Well, tried to. He had seen Gloria do it before and thought of mimicking the process. Unfortunately, all he managed to do was to replicate the posture without the essence.

I’ll have her teach me how to do it later.

Gloria was a walking treasure trove of knowledge. She knew almost everything related to [Players] that he didn’t.

The clicking sound of footwear soles against the rocky floor brought him out of his reverie and dragged his attention toward the darkened corridor, [Observe] active. Level three gave him an increased range with night vision, and the new function, [Lie detector(mana vision)], was useful in more ways than one. It made [Observe] an amazing tool for reconnaissance.

Teo didn’t have to wait long for a silhouette to enter his detection range. Their auras were dim and unstable, like a candle’s wick against a storm.

Hm? Only two?

Only two auras entered his range when there should be three. Teo couldn’t help but sigh. The implication was obvious; the last one fell to the zombies.

With time, their auras became pronounced, and he finally made out their true appearances. However, the horde of zombies hot on their heels pulled his eyes away. He would deal with them later. For now, there were rather pressing matters to deal with.