The Many Faced Man

As the dream had neared its end I became more lucid, hastening the dream towards myself in a.d.u.l.thood. I had long ago decided it didn't matter if those experiences were real or not, to move on regardless, to truly forget.

Occasionally I did, but on occasion, I would remember it and think back. Wonder if it was real or false. Wonder if I had missed an opportunity for greatness.

Then, I would also think, If what I did was wrong. But then, the answer would always be, of course not. I grew up eating souls, I never saw a single one complain, although maybe they were just too weak to.

It is hard to find wrong in an action you have always done. Many people eat meat around the world, knowing the creature they eat may have had a mind closer in ability to their own than they care to think. I felt the same, the spirits did not seem to know what was happening to them, so I believed it was fine.

The book brought back memories of what I did then. [Intro to Necromancy], I knew very well that it probably showed up because of all the undead. It is common that the 'loot' is associated with the 'kill'.

Remembering my childhood, all the hesitation and eerie feelings about the book seemed to go away. Maybe, this would be the place where my talent would lie anyways. Necromancy was always something which dealt with the dead, and maybe, in practicing it, I could find some answers as to what was the void or what was death.

The book, which I had left on the floor nearby, pulled my eyes towards it. The full cover on it now seemed strangely appealing, and I even had a mild smoldering affection for it. This book was my gateway to power beyond human understanding.

Taking advantage of Eva still being asleep, I again took out the [Intro to Necromancy] book. Opening it up to the first page, the dark aura pours out. This time, I try and take in the aura, trying to swallow it like I did with the spirits of past.

I manage to move some of it, and the aura enters my body... and nothing happens. Most of the aura is intangible, even to my 'spiritual field', no matter how I attempt to interact with it. I can only move and shift some of the aura around, and maybe compress it slightly, I think?

But no matter what I do, it cannot be absorbed, nor does it seem to be benefitting me in any way or imparting knowledge either.

Hearing movement from the other room I realize Eva must be awake. I promptly shut the skill book and threw it in the new backpack I'd found a bit earlier. A few minutes later Eva came walking out of her room.

{Me}"Goodmorning!"

{Eva}"Oh, hey, Goodmorning."

She looks at me with a tired look on her face. She looks pretty cute with a bedhead like that.

{Eva}"I'm sorry, have you been up waiting for me?"

{Me}"Ah, yeah, I've been up just looking over that skill book again."

{Eva}"Oh, nice. Have you eaten breakfast? I think there is some gas still, I can still make some pancakes."

A smile comes on my face,

{Me}"That sounds great."

...

{Me}"So, what sort of trouble do you think we ought to get into today?"

I say as I shove a big piece of syrupy pancake in my mouth.

{Eva}"Well there are bound to be more survivors here somewhere. It'd be ideal to take over this apartment complex entirely. It would be a good set-up with lots of resources to scavenge over time.

It's relatively easy to defend as well since it has a good sized and gated courtyard. Those people you said you met earlier had a similar set-up, right? Plus if we find more survivors we can keep out any zombies with ease."

{Me}"Yeah, it seemed like they were doing well for themselves. Having a good base of operations is going to be essential. Especially if things are only going to keep getting worse. We can just keep clearing out floors and seeing if there are any people. Hopefully we can get enough people so that we can form a decent force."

Eva finished up the last of her pancakes.

{Me}"You good?"

{Eva}"I'm good!"

{Me}"Alright! Let's go kick some zombie ass!"

Bang! My club split straight through a zombies skull, splattering its blood all over. Eva followed up, using a lamppost to push the zombie that was behind the last one back to the ground. Then finishing it with her knife.

We had already made it to clearing the 6th floor when Eva leveled up again. Getting excited she pulled up and showed off her status.

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Name: [Evalune Frailia Doris]

Gender: [Female]

Species: [Human]

Class: [Apprentice Druid]

Initial Tier, Level (2/10)

Status:

[HP: 12/12] [SP: 10/10]

[Wood Aura: 1/1]

[Str: 8] [Int: 11]

[Vit: 6] [Spd: 10]

[End: 8] [Per: 12]

[Aura Capacity: 1]

- Determines maximum overall aura quantity that can be held in the body.

[Plant Attunement: 0]

- Determines attunement and capability to interact with and manipulate plants.

Imprinted Skills (1/1):

[Plant Aura Mentality: lvl 1]

- A skill imprinted in the user, allowing for passive cultivation as well as innate active cultivation knowledge. The user's nervous system will gradually be transformed, enabling the instinctive manipulation of Plant Aura. (Enables Apprentice Druid Class Skills)

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{Me}"Your doing great! You'll be ready to solo in no time."

She gives me an accusing look.

{Eva}"Your going to make me go on my own?"

{Me}"I didn't say that, it's always good to be able to though, just in case."

She rolls her eyes,

{Eva}"Yeah, I guess. I'd much rather always be in a group though. A Druid doesn't exactly seem like it's suitable for going solo anyways. With the way you fight, your class is something similar, right?"

I roll my eyes and say nothing. She actually thinks I already have one, which is why I brought it up earlier... I feel like it might be a bad idea to clarify that right now though, so I let it go.

We continue farming the

Apartments of zombies and moving upward.

Eventually, we came across Andrew and Nathan in one of the 9th floor rooms. Out of this entire building originally filled with people, only these guys survived?

Talking to them a bit, both were good friends and your stereotypical "Gamer" types. Under normal circ.u.mstances, I get along better with gamers than other people. Both also happened to be skinny and slightly cowardly though, with the latter being a bit of an issue in the apocalypse.

Apparently they had gone out and fought against the zombies on one occasion, but neither every managed to level up, nor had they heard of such a concept from anyone either. They hadn't yet dared to venture out and risk themselves again since their last escapade.

We had talked to them through the door after clearing the few zombies out in front of it. They had a lot of stuff stacked up blocking the doors though, we'd cleared out the 8th floor while they did so, afterwards we laid out and had lunch with them.

Apparently when the electricity was still working an announcement had been made to gather on the roof. Eva apparently just hadn't heard it due to the zombies harassing her at the time. Go figure.

While we were at it I also explained to them that a leveling system existed, and that you had to kill zombies to get it. The amount varying from person to person, which seemed to be true. Eva corroborated the story, and surprisingly those guys took it in stride.

They joked around and with us a little about how ridiculous it was but seemed t ok thoroughly believe it, especially so when Eva surprised them with her Status screen.

Eventually, we moved on to discussing strategy.

There were 15 floors to the building total, not including the open roof, which could be considered the 16th floor.

{Nathan}"But there was a major problem with getting up there. The zombies on the 12th level up are tougher. It's like all the more badass zombies went up there so they could have first dibs on people on the roof when they had to come out."

{Andrew}"But below there was just an even larger amount of zombies that will just continuously come in, and there won't necessarily be more supplies to be found out there anyways!

So after we found out about the stronger zombies higher up on our first expedition, I figured we should wait instead and eventually that group on the roof should be able to break through to us right?"

"So we just waited it out. Good move too, we'd have just been throwing our lives away trying to go on our own but since you two are here, we might be able to break through to the roof to group up with them."

After eating lunch, we headed up to the 11th floor and cleared it out. But in one of the rooms we came across we found a 'Hulking' zombie, so we stopped and discussed the next plan of action.

"Well, the top floor is the 15th floor," said Andrew, "and we have to make our way at least through the hallways one way or another to get up there."

"Eh, no need to be worried about how we do this. Just follow the same routine. Wipe them all out and move on. Simple." I say.

"Your belittling the Hulking and leveled zombies too much." Said Nathan, "They are really hard to deal with, we barely got away last time. It's only because they had just finished chomping on someone else that we even managed to escape."

"Well, just like us, the zombies are getting stronger. If we are too afraid and don't do anything against them they may get even stronger to the point we literally can't do anything...

You all can go back to your guys' place, and I'll scout it out alone. I have confidence to escape even if I can't kill them.", I said.

Eva gave voice to worry, but I convinced her I'd be fine. She'd seen me fight plenty the other day and knew I could handle myself better than others. I walked up the staircase to the 12th floor...

I was unimpressed. The zombies still looked just the same, no Hulking zombies. Nothing special about them whatsoever. I had 'cloaked' myself using asteroid dust before coming, so I managed to just walk up behind a zombie and I bashed in its head without it so much as noticing my approach.

It really is so much easier dealing with these guys if I keep my domain close in. I always kept it relatively spread while I was with the others so they wouldn't all focus on the others. It's actually easier to solo, and I need to keep this advantage to myself for awhile so I can keep up with the others.

I cleared out the 12th floor hallways just like that, in a very relaxed mood, like I was just cleaning up the place. Then I started checking out and clearing rooms. Until finally I came across another particularly danger-filled room.

Inside was an abnormally freakish hulking zombie, it's skin lightly releasing steam, the whole room was quite hot. Even its head looked quite thick. Even if I were self-confident I wouldn't pick a fight with THAT, I haven't even gained any levels! My weapon is just a club too!

No thank you.

So, I went back downstairs to get some backup. When I opened up the door they all jumped. "Hey guys, I'm back." "Shit man, did you go out for a damn walk! We thought you weren't coming back!" Said Nathan.

"Sorry." I said with a face full of apology. "I probably should've came back and told you guys but I got too caught up. I managed to clear out all the 12th floor hallways and a good bit of the rooms though."

Nathan and Andrew looked at me like a plant had grow out the top of my head. Andrew said, "Dang, I didn't think you were that strong. Those zombies up there are really something. What level are you now?"

I wryly smiled at him, "It doesn't really matter right? Levels don't really make a huge difference between people just yet. What matters now is our original skills as people and the size of the party we can build. Levels are all low at this point, so numbers aren't everything."

I pause, "Speaking of, to be earnest the reason I came back is because I encountered one I thought would be a bit tough on my own. I figured if I take you guys out we could all level a bit, we could probably face him together with numbers."

Nathan grinned, "Well, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. Like you said, this whole thing just started, they can't possibly have leveled up much at all by this point. Even if they look scary, there should not be too much difference."

We came to a general consensus and went out to do so. First, we went to the 11th floor and took out the Hulking zombie there. The fight was easy enough, the only issue is they are a bit more hands-on than a normal zombie. They will try and grab you first rather than going straight for the bite.

After taking care of the first one adrenaline was running high and we went straight to the 'BOSS' of the 12th floor. However, when we opened up the door Andrew's face went pale at the sight of the beast.

He stopped in the doorway in panic, pulled Nathan back out of the doorway, shut it, and turned towards us.

Andrew's face ran with a cold sweat, "Really Dause, this thing seems a bit too much, right? Shouldn't we be making our decisions as an entire group? I no longer agree with this, we should turn back.

Maybe those leveled zombies don't seem like a big deal anymore, but they are still a huge threat no matter how you look at it. And THIS guy, he is definitely too much to fight, we need to go back. We simply can't take such risks."

Unable to help it, I argued back with him a bit "Your already aware these zombies also have the leveling system. Are you just going to hide out until they are smart enough to sniff you out. Or until they are strong enough to break down your door with ease?

Okay, I mean no, that is not okay. I can't do much about it right now, so just go back then. And we will take care of this."

Andrew snapped back, "The police and the army are trained to handle crisis'. What we need to focus on is figuring out information. Figuring out where the army and police may be setting up safe zones.

Once we figure out where they are, we can go and work in the safe zones. They will keep off the zombies and we will help out with logistics. Or whatever else it is they have need of us doing."

I reeled myself back a bit, "That's also a gamble with your life. At least if you try fighting more zombies in acceptable conditions, you know you will get stronger. If you get stronger, you have more security in keeping your life and the lives of those around you.

It only makes sense to try and grasp your fate in your own hands. If you don't actively try to get stronger, you'll only be able to leave your fate in the hands of others. What do you think happens when others decide your too weak, that they don't need you.

Every strong and able human should be trying to fight the zombies and all else out there which attacks us. The more of us who fight, the stronger we will be as a collective. The stronger we remain as a collective, the more humans might survive this war."

At that moment, an arm busted through the door behind Andrew, smashing into him.

Shit.

He coughed out blood and flew back into the wall, making a loud impact as he hit the wall and cracking in some of the drywall.

I lunged out with my club catching just behind the elbow of the arm that was still outstretched. The elbow gave and bent in the wrong direction, likely the bone was shattered, the huge zombie's arm hung limply. It roared, busted the door off its hinges and plowed through, then came at me, the door still attached to it's arm, and swung its other arm around at me.

I easily dodged back out of its range. I steadied my club and brought its side up again at the hand that just passed me. With the excess force applied to its already moving hand it was knocked off balance.

Nathan took advantage of the opening. Coming in he swung at its face, knocking in some teeth. It wasn't enough to knock it down though. It reached up and grabbed the bat. Nathan instantly let go and backed away.

The zombie, who had wanted to use the bat to pull him in, threw it down. Clambering after him, it's jaw unhinged, showing only a few broken teeth remained in its mouth. Eva jumps in again, swinging at the large zombie with her new bat.

It dodges Eva's swing, and it moves quickly to the side. Then it brings back it's one huge arm. It's intent is obviously to use a large swing with all its weight to hit Eva. It's open stance with it arm drawing backward makes it an easy striking opportunity.

I rush forward with my own club close to my body and behind my shoulder facing straight backwards. I bring my club down with all my weight directly on the bridge of it's nose. It's face caves in and it falls backwards, it's brain has obviously been crushed in.

Eva and Nathan both sat and then keeled over a bit, s.u.c.k.i.n.g in air. Both were obviously worn after facing the huge zombies immense strength. I went over and checked on Andrew.

I could tell at a glance he wasn't breathing. His ribs were caved in, all kinds of issues with his organs may have been stirred up from the damage. I went up and checked his pulse. Nothing.

"Hey you guys, he's gone."

Nathan came over, and kneeled next to Andrew. Tears came down his face.

"Ah, buddy, why did we come here. Now your gone, what am I gonna do alone. I'm sorry I couldn't help you buddy, I'm sorry."

Guilt gripped on my heart, I had asked these two to come with me. Now one was dead. I felt I could've stopped him, made him act more cautiously. But then, he was a grown man, he has his own way of life.

Risk lies in all things, and despite my paranoid approach towards situations, I still end up being careless. He was careless, and was beat to death due to his hesitation. This is why in room breaching, the door is always called the fatal funnel.

We had already opened the door, alerted the enemy, you cannot just take it back and try to go home at that point. The zombie knew we were there, that much was obvious to any of us. Andrew was still thinking in terms of a normal world though, he imagined that door would keep him safe from the zombie, he never imagined he would be killed in such a way.

Perhaps I'd unawaringly only avoided such an end until now due to the cloaking dust. These monsters, Nathan and Andrew feared them deservingly.

Nathan was sitting in a corner seemingly in a light state of shock. Eva stayed near him trying to comfort him.

Life was precious now, I tried to think this one couldn't be helped. It is still true we would be even more likely to all die if we waited instead. The will to fight them was something we all needed now. If some die, or if I do, that is also destiny...

I walked up to them, "I'm sorry Nathan, it was a bad way to go." "Yeah, it was, and all the fault for it lies on you. He wouldn't have been going in there if not for your egging us to come along."

"I'm sorry Nathan, we should've spent time on normal ones first, I was wrong. I'll take care of them alone from now on. You two can grow stronger later, when this place is a fortress and you can kill zombies safely."

"Whatever Dause, you and Eva, leave me alone please? I'll be fine on my own, I just want to take care of Andrew myself. He was my best friend."

Me and Eva left him there as he asked and moved down the hallway. "Let's just clear out what's left together so it's safe here," said Eva. I nodded to her and proceeded into the next room.

Shortly after the whole floor had been cleared out. Eva headed back, and I moved forward, I got caught up in the process and taking out my anger on them and moved up to the next floor.

I went through that floor very quickly, exhausting myself. But I still moved forward. On the 13th floor there were two Hulking Zombies, on the 14th, there were five. None of them were grouped up though, so they were easy enough to kill off.

I stopped at the staircase to the 15th floor. That area was absolutely congested with zombies. From the looks of it, the entire floor is packed full of them. It would seem, they are still trying to get onto the roof, so there should still be people there.

The only problem is, if it were a normal person who came here, this horde would instantly turn around and change targets. I couldn't see any decent way to break through this crowd, so I turned back.

I went back to the 12th floor, and picked out a room that had been clean. I stashed my stuff, locked the door, covered it with dust, and went to sleep.

Andrew's death still weighed on my mind, but the exhaustion from the fights let me pass out with ease. Perhaps, this might be the only way I would get rest in the days to come.