《Divine Hell》 Book 1: The New World- volume 1: The Beginning- Chapter 1:Keta OniHoNay An average undergraduate student who was bored with his life was silently staring at the limitless dark sky. There were no stars nor was there any moon present, all there was but endless darkness. ''Sigh..sigh...acca or ca? my luck sure ran out..sigh'' the endless sighing youth was standing on the balcony of his house, his body bent, while leaning on the wall. ''Son you do know that girls don''t like men who sigh alot, don''t you?'' a somewhat young women''s sweet voice rang in the youth''s ear, snapping him out of his melancholy. ''waaah Ma! you scared the heck out of me, how many times do I have to tell you knock before you enter my room, damnit I am an adult now'' ''Yes you are, my lovely little young adult'' the women said while rubbing his hair with her hand, spoiling her son without showing restraint. ''Its that time already..deep breaths'' ''why are you so tense, there should be absolutely no pressure on you, just tell your dad and me what you want to do, come your dad is waiting in the living room'' her comforting words were wasted on her son as they entered his left ear and passed through his right ear. With some hesitation the youth called Keta finally followed his mom downstairs. His clothes were in a total mess, and even some deep sweaty smell was leaking out from his clothes. It could very possibly be because the last time he took a bath was a week ago. The small distance to the living room took an eternity to cross. Keta was already sweating profoundly, he could even hear his own heart smashing against his chest producing ''boom.booom'' sounds. As he arrived in the living room, which was decorated with all kind of things like the hide of a bear hung on the front sparkling white wall and beside it were photos nicely hanged. But Keta didn''t even spare another glance at them as he nervously took his seat on a rose colored red couch which could host four more people. Right next to his couch was placed an one seater sofa, sitting on it was a middle aged man, clearly age had taken a toll on his once handsome face leaving behind the inescapable scars of time. His eyes emitted a special kind of radiance showing his rough experience in the cruel and merciless world. Yet despite all these, his natural smiled hinted a trace of gentle warmth aimed towards his only son. Ignoring his father''s questioning gaze, Keta randomly looked around the living room, in his view came decorations worth millions but nonetheless nothing could stop his wavering eyes. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. His eyes were focused on the pictures hanging on the wall. ''My forefathers sure had it easy hunting bears and bulls and growing old with pride in their bones..sigh'' ''Keta, I hope you have come to a decision, the admission deadlines is already upon us'' a strict voice echoed in his ears, as he finally somehow faced his father. ''I don''t know..I can do whatever you want'' replied Keta, even though the words that came out of his mouth were firm his trembling legs gave away his current situation. Pin drop silence, for a moment there was not a single sound. The air suddenly became heavy as tension began to suffocate the two opposing men. ''Why must you be so lazy...all your friends already sent their admission and guess what? none of them told you about it.'' ''You know Rin, she topped in A levels and look at you, you barely passed. At least put in some effort now and think what do you want to be?'' Ken didn''t say a word, he just kept staring daggers at his father because he knew this is not the end. ''Never before in our mighty Oni''Ho''Nay have been anyone so lazy and useless, even the servants of our glorious family fare better than you...tell me son, why must you sully our family''s hard earned name?'' cried his father, at this moment his eyes were glowing under the light but he quickly drank his tears. Now Keta finally lost his calm. ''Family this, family that, can''t I just live my life peacefully as monks if its not going to become excited'' screamed his heart. But before he could voice out his anger and long built up frustration a strange sound reached his ears totally startling him. Keta knew beside his mom and dad no one was allowed inside the living room, the guards even more so since they aren''t even permitted in the house. He looked at his father, trying to confirm if he heard what he heard but when he looked at his father''s face, he was deeply scared. At this moment, his father''s expression was truly hideous, his eyes were fully opened, his face showing obvious disbelief. Never before in his entire life have Keta seen such an expression on his father''s face. He was looking at something, something that was behind Keta. Humans are curious creatures and Keta is no exception, he turned his head backwards and what he saw almost took his soul away. Chapter 2: Despair ''Aaah! Mom what happened? al.l this b.blood'' shouted Keta as he fell down from the couch in a unsightly manner on his back. His eyes were locked on his mom. Her forehead looked as if it was smashed, blood was coming out from her eyes and nose. Her mouth looked like a well full of blood instead of water. She was speaking something, no, it was more like she was growling. Even her skin color was changed at the moment, before she had a healthy red color which perfectly matched her curvy and seemingly delicate body but now her skin was pale white. Her body was wailing as if she could fall any moment. While Keta was in an extremely shocked state, unable to even move his dad had already rushed to his mother''s side, quickly grabbing a hold of her to prevent her from falling. His father''s body was trembling violently as if he was the injured one bearing all the pains. After some gradual stumbling while desperately trying to stand, finally Keta succeeded as he hurriedly ran towards his parents but before he could even reach them, the scene in front of him shocked him to the very core of his soul. In front of his eyes, his mom had sunk her teeth deep in to his father''s neck and she pulled her head back munching the flesh. The sour smell of blood quickly reached his nose wanting him to puke. Keta who belonged to the 21st century was well aware of the fantasy world existence termed zombie, so he already knew what was happening before him only he refused to believe it. His father suddenly had a change of aura. Killing intent so strong began to emit from his body that it began to materialize in a dense form. He grabbed her neck with one hand and using the second he smashed his fist into her face. Punch after punch was delivered, each creating a roar shaking the very floor he was standing on. In just a moment his mom''s head turned into crimson paste which spread all across the floor. Showing such fierceness and taking decisive action like this, only a true veteran could react like this. Keta was stood there just like a dumb statue watching it all unfold in front of his eyes, all these events were etched into the deepest part of his brain ''Kee..ta grab some weapon and run into your room, lock the door and call your uncle Zue. Here pierce my head with this, you should know if you don''t do this, I will turn into....'' his voice was unwavering and absolute as he commanded his son. But how could a spoiled child like him show the virtues of a veteran and judge the situation, he just stood there blankly going over what his father actually requested of him. ''Damnit! There is no time to waste, hurry you bastard'' but no matter how much his father taunted him, Keta didn''t move an inch. Finally with a frown he took his hunting knife out of his pocket, his life long friend that accompanied him all the years. Holding it straight on the floor he said ''Live, you must live...promise me, no matter what...you must live!'' Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. When Keta still didn''t reply his father shouted with all his might, his voice shook the heavens themselves ''Remember this if you die, I and your mother will be tormented even in death, if you die...Y.you must live my son, for our sake if not for yours'' saying this he spitted a piece of organ along with a mouth full blood. Just after saying that his father placed the knife under his chin and with a movement of his head, the knife pierced through his head as if it was tofu and came out from the top of his head. Just like that he lost both of his parents. ''Wuu'' he cried, tears flooded from his eyes as his knees tackled the marble floor. He said ''I promise father, I promise'' At this moment bright light came out of his parent''s body and soon he saw two round globe shaped azure balls near their corpses. But right now he was trying to wake his parents, hoping it was all but an illusion. ''Maybe father is alive, yes people live even when shot in the brain, yes father is definitely alive, father can''t die'' he said to himself, forcefully making himself hold onto a belief he himself created to escape the abyss infamous by the name of despair. He grabbed the hilt of the hunting knife and pulled it out of his father''s head and waited for him to wake up but nothing happened other than a shower of blood coming out of the two holes. Finally after some crying he moved onto the azure spiral pattern balls. As soon as he touched them he felt a warm touch, similar to his parent''s gentle warmth that slowly moved from the balls to inside of his body. Now his mind although shaken but was capable of commanding the body once again. He quickly did as his father instructed. Locking himself in his room, he hastily called his uncle Zue but no matter how many times he tried there was no network. He was just going to throw the phone when his room''s door was heavily knocked. Growling voices could be heard, but at least for now they couldn''t possibly break open the door. Keta was scared, he jumped onto his bed and sat cross legged, practicing the meditation technique his father taught him. He could see some scenes playing in front of him, his father would always try to pass on family techniques while he would fear and curse him for that. Gradually the scenes vanished and all that remained was calmness in his mind. These events forced him to come out of his spoiled life style, in a way it awakened his family bloodline within him. Once his mind was calm he once again grabbed the two azure balls of energy in both his hands and sat cross legged. He could already feel a stream of inner energy slowly circulating around his body following the path of his meridians.That was a very relaxing feeling, as though a warm stream of water was rinsing every inch of his inner organs. Chapter 3: Fear [face.everything.and.Rise] Chapter 3: Fear [face.everything.and.Rise] ---------------------------------------------------------- -Congratulations! You have met the certain system requirements. Now you are a Player. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition: Absorb energy from more than one power orb to obtain beginner survivor status. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Two days ago the azure energy balls disappeared into thin air and a window was magically displayed in front of Keta''s eyes. Followed by another weird but void of color screen. He who was already deeply panicked from the recent experience almost let out a miserable howl from fear and anxiety rushing up like an erupting volcano. But he bit his Condition: Absorb energy from more than one power orb to obtain beginner survivor status. Two days ago the azure energy balls disappeared into thin air and a window was magically displayed in front of Keta''s eyes. Followed by another weird but void of color screen. He who was already deeply panicked from the recent experience almost let out a miserable howl from fear and anxiety rushing up like an erupting volcano. But he bit his tongue and endured, refusing his urge to shout like a maniac. Knitting his eyebrows, he focused on the screen before him with full concentration, for he had a sense, whatever it was, it was very closely related to his survival in this new strange world. Character Information Window Name Keta Oni''Ho''Nay Level 0 Species Human Occupation Beginner Survivor Fame 0 Mana 1 Health 5 Mental Power 1 Strength 2(+1) Agility 3 Stamina 3 Wisdom 1 Intelligence 3 Luck 6 * Title: Beginner Survivor [strength+1] * Sponsor: D3vil -Equipment Information- Weapons: Equipment: , Secondary Equipment: ''What is this? Isn''t it like the games I used to play?'' words came out of his mouth, clearly he thought out loud. ''My mental power and wisdom are only 1? what is wrong with this system and who is this d3vil?'' endless questions were roaming in his small brain If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.but he knew no matter how much he racked his brain on it, the only thing that it would achieve will be thorough mental exhaustion when he is already physically exhausted and tired, he ran out of food two days ago but never dared to go to his kitchen to restock his laughable supplies so naturally he starved. This proved that the judgement of the system was right on the mark. Clearly Keta''s current mental power was very weak enough to get his concentration destroyed only after a couple of focused seconds. His intelligence was fairly high when comparing it to his pitiful wisdom and mana, thank God those books finally did someone some good. After some hours of consideration Keta finally realized somewhat the situation he was in. His parents had always taken his decisions for him, off course it was out of their kind intentions but it had a rather devastating effect. Memorizing in studies had already long ago limited his innate gift to think and whatever was left of it was conveniently crushed by his parents unintentionally. Keta was now in a very serious situation. He was starving for two days and it was his first time to starve. Hunger so strong that it would shake the fat on his stomach every time it roared and his mental condition wasn''t doing any better. It is said that hunger lets your emotions run wild and the current dominant emotion in Keta now was not grief, agony or anything else but it was fear. It was squeezing his soul, maybe for the first time in his life he thought too much. He thought how he could die and at least thought round about hundred different ways before forcefully going to sleep in the constant noise of the annoying banging on the door. The next morning nothing changed, he still had to make a decision, a very critical one at that. Should he venture out to take the food from the kitchen and risk dying like that or should he remain holed up in his room and wait until he is weakened so the zombies can finish him off. Finally after convincing himself for hours he made a decision. He will march to his kitchen and this decision was definitely not made by the assistance of bravery but through the terror of fear. Holding his father''s hunting knife, he was getting ready to face the hideous creatures that were carving for his flesh. Chapter 4: Risk earns profit What could Keta do? Even though he tried his best to open the door discreetly when those zombies didn''t seem to be around, who could guess that they were just taking a silent peaceful stroll outside his room which wouldn''t remain as such once he is spotted. Their fowl smell made him remember how his socks used to stink when he lazily kept them on for weeks, now smelling that from someone else made him realize the pain he caused his mom. Their low growls continued to startle him from time to time. Holding his breath with extremely light breaths he sneakily moved. In his view, there came zombies. He could clearly see them and could recognize most of them. The head guard was very friendly with him and often helped him sneak in and out from the mansion and even hid many of his things from his dad. He treated Keta like a younger brother but now he was standing outside Keta''s home, his eyes crimson and nose bleeding with strange shiny blood. His movements extremely sluggish and his expression completely unknown to Keta. He became a zombie. Crying for these two days, he had no extra tears in stock to spend them on this brother of his even if he wanted. From what Keta knew, zombies were slow, they couldn''t see well but their senses to hear and smell were top class. But he thought of this too late, now he was already standing outside the assuring security of his room and not too far away from the zombies. Surprisingly the zombies weren''t attracted to him, this made him doubt the previous knowledge he had about the zombies. But after some more thinking he realized, it was because he didn''t smell like a human from any angle. If anything he smelled like the garbage gathered at a scrap yard for years. For this feat, he was absolutely proud of himself. Off course on his way, he was scared witless many times but it was from the same fear that some strength was born in his weak heart. Gradually his movements became more bold and his hesitations were already becoming cold. Now between the kitchen and him was the spacious living hall, where his parents departed from this world. Thinking he was already over his parents death he bravely entered the living hall. But upon seeing the mutilated corpse of his father his entire body began to tremble. Fear, it was definitely there but there was more to it than fear itself. There was rage, his father was a very proud man. In his entire life, his father knew all the answers. He never cowered like him and would do everything he said. In simpler words he was the sun to him, too perfect and impossible to reach. Its heat could evaporate the oceans and scatter the earths. But now it was laying there with nothing left. Even recognizing him was only barely possible because of the unique clothes he was wearing, even after being tattered, they still didn''t lose their glamour. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. In anger he viciously slammed his foot on the ground and a herd of zombies were naturally attracted to him. Caring for nothing else he took his hunting knife and lifted it up, standing in a totally offensive stance of his family martial arts, he was like a crouching tiger ready to hunt its prey. The nearby zombies were the first to arrive, they brandished their claws on him trying to grab him. They saw him as nothing more than food, for it was their one and only instinct. Like a swift butterfly, the hunting knife danced, appearing and disappearing before the zombie. Its hands were just now cleanly bisected but strangely enough the blood shower was never released from them. It was actually not so strange, since only the living can have a pumping heart and only the pumping heart can create a blood shower but Keta was unaware of this for now, all he had in his mind was revenge. Revenge on who? he had no idea but he had to do something, there should be someone to blame, only then can he say to himself ''it was not his fault''. The hunting knife was like an spear, never letting the zombie near its master. After the time one takes to breath thrice, the zombie had its head flying. The headless body soon collapsed roughly on the floor creating a loud ''Thud'' noise. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Notice: Everyone can be a player after just absorbing the energy balls but only the true survivors are registered as players- -You have killed a weak level 0 zombie. You are now registered as level 1 player- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition: Kill a zombie. Reward: +5 stat points- +1 mentality for thinking deeply and the title ''True Survivor'' is granted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Under the effects of the title, user is granted a bonus of agility+2. Seeing the blue screen suddenly flash in front of his eyes, he somehow came to his senses and realized the predicament he was in. The zombies would be here any moment, quickly choosing to escape he ran towards the kitchen totally ignoring his principles to not make a noise. His movements were similar to a swift tiger as he pounced towards the kitchen. chapter 5: Struggle Desperately he ran towards the kitchen. With already heavy breathing he quickly locked the kitchen doors once he was inside. But before he could even take a deep breath, there were already people, no sorry, zombies waiting for him. The only reason he was alive up until now despite his continuous foolish mistakes was because the zombies were simply too slow. For an average man, zombies run at their walking speed but even for a lazy practitioner of ancient martial arts, zombies were simply slugs. Combined with the effect from the bonus agility, the zombies in front of looked incredibly sluggish. But due to his low stamina, his own movements were no longer graceful but were a desperate struggle to survive. He smashed his foot on the floor to gain the momentum, this gave him a head start as he jumped towards the nearest zombie. In total there were three of them, but thankfully they were standing far apart from each other. With his increased strength, Keta chopped towards the zombie. His aim faltered due to the excessive fatigue and the hunting knife chopped of the zombie''s arm. Forgetting all martial arts, Keta was simply now sending countless slashes towards the zombie. He was pressured, no matter how many times he slashed at the zombie, even with his increased strength, all it did was somehow stop it in its track. But unfortunately stalling for time was not a strategy he could use because zombie reinforcements were already on their way. ''Think damnit!'' shouted Keta loud in his mind. All this happened in the time for one to take ten breaths. By now the other two zombies were already making their way towards Keta, attracted from the noise generated from Keta''s fighting. ''fuck it..damnit'' said Keta in a low shout, afraid to attract even more zombies as he grabbed the kitchen knife which was simply left on the basin near him. Keta knew, this time his mother''s laziness to put the knife back in the shelf had saved, even after death she was helping him.. With no spare time to laugh, he hurled the knife without taking much of an aim towards the zombie standing in front of him. The hit was right on the mark, all those aim/fire games actually did some good to Keta. Seeing this, Keta wanted to retort to those who always told Keta that he was wasting his time on these foolish kids games. ------------------------------------------------------------ -Notice- Killed level 1 zombie. 10xp gained. ----------------------------------------------------------- -Notice- Due to desperate struggle you have gained once again. Reward: Monster core, +1 mentality and +1 stamina for overworking. --------------------------------------------------------- -Notice- You have leveled up! You are level 2 now. -gained 5 stat points. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Please distribute your stat points. ---------------------------------------------------------- Several screens casually appeared in front of his eyes somewhat blocking his view of the approaching zombies. In his highly concentrated state, Keta quickly dismissed the messages as if he was dealing with his touch mobile and it actually worked. In the spur of the moment, Keta never realized the fact and just continued towards the zombie. Realizing the importance of the first strike, Keta now moved towards the next nearest zombie, completely ignoring the azure ball that appeared over the killed zombie. With heavy panting, he stopped in his tracks. Now the distance between the zombie and him was only of four breaths at maximum. Arching his right hand back, as if charging a Gatling gun He gripped hard on his hunting knife, tilting it slightly in his hands. As he waited for the zombie to approach, he realized this was the most concentrated moment in his entire life. Even this thought was a distracting thought, quickly dismissing it mercilessly he patiently waited just like a hunter waiting for his prey to approach. Cold sweat ran down his spine, after all guts and boldness couldn''t be gained in a day. Despite being scared shirtless he didn''t abandon his posture. Because now the zombie was already in the range of his attack, it was now either him or the zombie. Their life depended on it, only the zombie was already the dead walking. Like a cannon ball launched from a cannon, his hand became a blur as the hunting knife already pierced the zombie''s face. In one clear strike the zombie was killed, even though in writing it was simply written but the events that took place were very critical. The accurate moment to launch the attack, the precision of the action and the most important, his wavering focus at the moment of life and death. ------------------------------------------------------------------ -Notice- Killed level 1 zombie. Gained 5exp. Additional Rewards: Enhancement technique. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Some lights shined on the newly dead zombie''s corpse. At this moment even Keta''s mental energy was almost depleted. Coupled together with the fact that he was starving for two days and now he was extremely exhausted not only physically but mentally too, he quickly fell to his knees, breathing like his life depended on it. The last zombie had now already arrived. With no more strength to even lift a single finger, Keta helplessly watched as the zombie approached him. His eyes became lifeless and his face became pale, the rebound of those previously forced efforts had already hit him. Combined with the effect of hopelessness, it acted like a deadly poison corroding his last strand of remaining will. chapter 6: Game ''Noo! '' ''Don''t...don''t come any closer...'' ''Aaaah!'' screamed Keta who was at this moment scared silly. Staring death in the eye is not as simple as they show in the movies and tv shows and now Keta himself was realizing this dreadful fact. Finally his weak knees gave in and he fell on the floor. The zombie was now at his legs, fiercely kicking the zombie on pure instincts, Keta dragged himself backwards, away from the zombie using his hands. At this moment, he knew, he was done for. Because of his desperate kicks on the zombie''s shaking legs, the zombie became unbalanced as its body started to fall towards him. The zombie had his mouth opened as it was approaching him. To stop the zombie from crashing into in his own body, he lifted his hunting knife straight upwards to stop the falling zombie. Keta quickly moved his head sideways, for he didn''t want the zombie liquids to fall on him, especially on his face. This was by no means his intelligence or brain working but it was his spoiled reflex. Being the rich young master he was, he too had a disgust towards some things. And as soon as he spotted the ugly zombie felling towards him, his body moved by reflex, hence saving his miserable life. The hunting knife easily pierced through the zombies mouth and came out from the back of its head. Quickly, wasting no time, he pushed the zombie aside and stood up. His first reaction was to monitor himself, not for wounds but to check if any of that disgusting thing''s remain fell on him. This disgust even overwhelmed his previous life threatening fear. Thankfully he was clean, only his plain white loose shirt had been tainted with that shiny zombie blood, but that too was only some minor drops. As soon as the disgust was over, the situation once again became known to him as he powerlessly fell on the ground right beside the dead zombie. Taking ten to fifteen minutes to review what happened with him, he assured himself by taking another five minutes and then moved towards the fridge. Taking out a water bottle from the group placed in the back, he uncapped it and cleaned his hands. Then he splashed the cold water on his face, giving him a cool sensation. Quickly after, he drank water as he was in a desert suffering from drought for years and finally found a well full of water. For now, he was almost recovered, even though hungry, his stamina had recovered. After eating the left over fish from few days ago, his strength was restored. ''What was that annoying window?'' ''appearing in front of me suddenly in a battle, was it trying to kill me?'' ''Wait a minute....could it be..no way...Impossible!'' A trace of excitement could actually be seen on his weak face. In an deep expectant voice he shouted in a low voice ''Character Window'' As expected, a blue vivid screen suddenly appeared in front of him out of now where. Even though he had already guessed it would appear but still it didn''t keep him from being happy. ------------------------------------ Character Information Window Name Keta Oni''Ho''Nay Level: 4 Species: Human Occupation: True Survivor Fame 0 Mana 1 Health 5 Mental Power 3 Strength 2(+1) Agility 3 Stamina 4 Wisdom 1 Intelligence 3 Luck 6 stat points= 20 * Title: Beginner Survivor [strength+1] * Sponsor: D3vil -Equipment Information- Weapons: Equipment: , Secondary Equipment: ------------------------------------------------------ ''haha...just as I thought...its insane!'' said Keta. ''If it is really a game, and zombies drop items, then the ones I killed just now should''ve dropped something...azure balls!'' now Keta was once again in high spirits, he still remembered the warmth from the azure balls. Closing his nose tightly using his fingers, Keta slowly moved towards the dead zombies, pretending to be an expert still on guard. But the fact that he couldn''t bear the rotting smell of the zombies and blocked one of his primary senses just because of discomfort proved that he was far from their level. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. There was an azure ball near the corpse of a zombie, happily he picked it up and moved towards the others hoping to charm lady luck. He then noticed a somewhat bright light emanating from under a zombie, it was very different from the light emitting from the power balls, this made him become endlessly curious. He moved towards the zombie, not daring to touch the filthy thing he using the hunting knife to flip its corpse over. If his dad was alive at this moment and saw his son using his beloved hunting knife to flip over zombies, he would surely die, maybe even now he was turning in his grave. A purple scroll was lying there simply, the light was getting weaker and weaker by the second. Remembering the gaming drop concepts, Keta quickly grabbed the scroll and as soon as he did a window appeared in front of him. This time he was not even surprised as he calmly focused on the window. --------------------------------------- Growth type Enhancement Skill [one time use] Properties: If you apply it to any of your items, it would become a growth type. It would grow with its user. As for its growth conditions, it depends on your item and luck. ---------------------------------------- If this was a game, he was destined to grow. And when he would, his current items would simply become useless to him, since at that level, they wouldn''t support him but perhaps even hinder him. And if he wanted anything by his side to the end, it would be the thing left by his parents, the marveled expert ranked hunting knife. Clearly he knew, if the skill was applied unto this, he would suffer in the short run, since the hunting knife would match his current level and actually degrade but in future he will be able to keep it with him at all times. Making a decision, he didn''t hesitate any longer and said in a firm voice capable of shaking even the mountains ''Use it on the hunting knife'' As soon as the words left his mouth, the scroll disappeared in thin air and a bright light covered his hunting knife. Suddenly in the process, Keta felt as if someone dealt a heavy blow on him. Soon he felt a bitter sweet taste in his throat, rising up at an astonishing speed. Blood, it was blood. Like a fountain, Keta''s mouth sprayed blood like it had finally gone wild. At least two mouthful of blood was expended, the blood didn''t fall on the floor but turned into a well organized stream as it moved towards the hunting knife which was covered in shining light. The hunting knife simply drank the blood and finally the light around it disappeared leaving behind a pitch black short sword. It was no longer a hunting knife, but a short sword. At this moment, Keta was once again feeling weak but the excitement kept him fully energized, even though he was confused, he was patient, because it was after all a game, and he had played countless of these to know that he was going to get something special. At this moment a ''ding'' sound rang in his ears and a window soon appeared in front of him. ----------------------------------- Fiendish Blood Devouring Short Sword lvl4 properties: As its name suggests, its a blood devouring sword, with blood it was born and with blood it will grow. The blood it gets at the time of creation will be forever its owner and the owner can always sense where it is. Similarly to level up it will need to devour the blood of any species, its evolution speed and type will depend on the blood it devoured. Current skill attached: Madness : strength (+5), agility (+5) for five minutes after activation. After the given period of time 5 points of stamina are consumed. Blood fiend: Once it is in contact with blood, it will automatically absorb, after a certain amount of blood is absorbed it can level up. ----------------------------------------------- ''hahaha.... I have hit a jack pot....with this, my chances of survival if not tripled have at least grown more than double'' exclaimed Keta in a joyous voice after reviewing the information with great care, and eyeing his new partner ''The blood fiend short sword'' Chapter 7: Ancient Manual ''Dad always ranted on and on about the energy between heavens and earth, saying that this information was passed into the family from generation to generation, and it was from my father to me'' ''Before this I always thought it was some prank or a misconception passed from one generation to another, after all how many martial practitioners were there in this world? But still no one felt this mentioned mysterious energy'' ''Although the azure ball in my hand can''t be the energy from heavens or earth, its still an energy, most probably it should be the zombie''s energy source, the more they eat the better they cultivate'' Thinking so far, Keta was proud of himself. But suddenly what he said to himself just a moment ago struck him like a tribulation lightning bolt. ''I..If the more they ea..t the bett.er they cultivate...wouldn''t that mean the stronger they become?'' ''Growing type monsters, what sick type of RPG is this? '' saying this much, cold sweat was already running down his spine. Right now Keta was cultivating according to his family''s ancient arts, according to how his father instructed him. He was actually using the information passed from generation to generation, the one he thought was the peak of foolishness itself. What was passed on was actually the manual to cultivate the energy between heavens and earth, only in this age there was no one who could sense this particular energy, maybe it disappeared or maybe some other reason was involved but Keta didn''t care. Even though the energy from the azure ball was not the heaven and earth energy, it was still an external form of a powerful energy, so Keta thought ''If there can be mobs with item and skill drops then sure this manual can actually have some merit, there is no harm in trying anyways''. So Keta was now cultivating according to the manual only the energy source was different. Previously when Keta absorbed the energy from azure balls, it flowed in his body freely and wildly totally out of his control, but now their movements were guided precisely according to his thoughts. The stream of pure energy now actually had resistance, off course it was a minor one or if they went berserk in his body, he could only imagine the dreadful end he would meet. Taking the shape of a snake, the energy was swiftly crawling through his body, after going to the section a little below his stomach, the snake started to coil, the energy started revolving and it was actually like a Tyre spinning at high speed. The revolving spiral sucked in, fog of energy which was casually floating around in his body previously, which increased its spinning speed by tenfold. The energy it sucked was actually what Keta got from the first two azure balls. Only that energy wasn''t being utilized efficiently. For quite some time, the spiral remained and then finally it started showing some signs of settling down. Suddenly the revolving spiral came to a halt leaving behind a core, a core of his own. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Heavens, now even he had a monster core? cried Keta in alarm. He was sensing all the dramatic changes in his body, the technique handed down was actually proving useful. Quickly he placed his right hand on his forehead and started to gently massage it. Thinking deeply, he was trying to remember the words his father passed onto him, what were the results if someone practiced this technique successfully? His soul became focused on his thoughts and memory and his thoughts started flowing out like a streaming river. ''Once the specific amount of energy is obtained, one can form a dantain. Once the dantain is refined, a martial practitioner can almost have an unlimited future growth potential and even his life expectancy can increase if his cultivation increases, for the path of cultivation reach even far beyond immortality. '' These were a part of the words passed onto him by his father, when he was actually told this, he thought it was some fairy tale his father told him so he can become hardworking towards the martial arts but sadly for him Keta had no desire to achieve immortality before. If it was not for his father literally drilling this information into his head, there was no way Keta could remember it now. Again and again his father would repeat the information to be passed on, after he wakes up, before eating, before sleeping, this information was everywhere to haunt him and he cursed his father for that. But now he realized, sadly it was too late. He could now not apologize to his father neither can he thank him or change what had happened. Once he recovered from the regret and despair slightly, he instantly became excited which in turn made him forget about the worries he was facing just now. ''Then...then I am....I am like the traditional wuxia/xanxia heroes now?'' At this moment he was grinning ear to ear, imagining wild things which were even impossible to count as possibilities. ''What if I can actually do a Kami Hami Ha!'' [Dragon Ball z reference] In this mad joy he actually attempted to do a Kami Hami Ha and he quickly failed which was no surprise. Even if his idea was correct, he would still need time to learn the technique, even the natural born genius Goku who belonged to the mighty race of sayans needed to actually see the kami hami ha to launch it once, how could he even begin to compare himself with him. Still Keta was very happy, every time his father told him about the information, even his father had showed deep interest and excitement in this but sadly even despite his serious efforts, there were no gains. But now he actually had done it. ''How proud would father be!'' ''Hahaha....'' His laughter at this moment was very strange. As if a musical instrument was being played by an experienced expert, sweet yet sour, full of happiness yet hollow as sorrow. Chapter 8: Cries for help ''Even though now I posses the legendary technique passed down in the family, who would have thought practicing it was this hard'' Keta was crying bitterly while focusing on cultivating in his family arts. According to manual, he have to rotate the energy in his dantain again and again, purify it and then adjust to it. However the pitiful child was at this moment adjusting the newly core inside of him, so far, forget about rotating his core, he couldn''t feel it without spending a real deal of sweat and effort.. His current task was to feel his cultivation base as if he was feeling his breath, but right now clearly it required a lot of concentration. Only the zombies were really annoying, banging on the kitchen door from time to time, growling like they had nothing better to do. This disturbance made it very hard for Keta to enter deep mediation. ''Aaah, fuck...I quit'' said Keta giving up in annoyance. His mood quickly took a turn, such mood swings are regarded serious symptoms in psychology for mentally ill people, it was a good thing there was no psychologist present here. ''Lets do something about those stat points, clearly, I can''t make a rash decision here, only after proper reasoning can I decide how to invest these stats'' exclaimed Keta in excitement. ''For now I can do without increasing strength, as for intelligence, wisdom, health and such, I can''t add skill points to them. Maybe its a beginner level restriction so we can spend our points wisely, or it can be a permanent feature, in which case we will have to increase them on our on'' pondered Keta. ''For now I don''t really want to fight the zombies and only want to keep my little life, so the most wise decision should be stamina and agility, so I can run, run far enough and fast enough'' Making his decision, Keta summoned the magical screen by chanting its name ''Character Screen!'' ''Put 10 points each in agility and stamina'' ordered Keta in a tone full with authority. -------------------------------------------------- Character Information Window Name Keta Oni''Ho''Nay Level: 4 Species: Human Occupation: True Survivor Fame 0 Mana 1 Health 5 Mental Power 3 Strength 2(+1) Agility 13 Stamina 14 Wisdom 1 Intelligence 3 Luck 6 stat points= 0 * Title: Beginner Survivor [strength+1] * Sponsor: D3vil -Equipment Information- Weapons: Equipment: , Secondary Equipment: ------------------------------------------------------- ''The rise in stamina and agility was dramatic, maybe I should have divided them equally'' thought Keta. Agility and stamina from 3 and 4 had grown to 13 and 14 respectively. The change was actually more than 4x times. It was an astronomical change. Keta could already be considered fast and had stamina far above average people due to his father''s harsh training since childhood, but now he was simply a monster in these fields. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ''What is done is done, no point in crying on spilled beans. Lets try my new strength'' said Keta, in his tone there was no regret whatsoever about his previous decision. Keta got up and ran towards the other end of the kitchen, and before his speed was actually this fast! Heavens in merry seconds his speed was now equal to his father? It has to be known that his father was a genius level expert and was really devoted in practicing martial arts. At this moment, Keta''s speed could easily rival his dad''s perhaps even surpass his by small margin. In his excitement, before Keta could stop himself, he crashed in the sink, his head shot towards the glass window, breaking the glass, his head came out of the broken window and came to a halt. ''That was close, if my neck had gotten slashed by the glass, I would have died on the spot, even my instinctual struggle could have granted me instant death'' he didn''t know whether he should laugh or cry, he who didn''t die from the zombies would die from a stupid accident. Very carefully, with all his mental power focused, he slowly started to pull his head back, trying to avoid any tucks on his face or chin. Still he couldn''t help but glance down from the window, unto the street which was filled with the blood thirsty zombies. He saw an old man, not exactly old but in his late middle age stage running towards his villa cursing words at him. ''You stupid cow brain! just had to attract their attention, who the hell told you to create this much noise'' shouted the old man. Wait is this mister insane? clearly he is the one shouting, even if his crash in the window shattered the glass, and the glass smashed on the street, it did create some noise but it was nothing compared to what the old man was doing now thought Keta. ''If I get out alive from this, I will spank your ass so hard that you won''t be able to sit for months, damn boy just you wait'' shouted the old man once again. ''What the hell is wrong with this senile old man?'' thought Keta. Even though the old man''s words were very provoking, Keta was in no mood to fight it out with the old man. Since even a single shout from him could invite several visitors from outside the kitchen. Even thought the kitchen doors are pretty sturdy and won''t fall off easily, once they are attacked on heavily and continuously even they can''t remain standing, after all when they were set here, there was no previous intention to set a fort here. Suddenly a thought hit his mind and his mouth curved shaping in an evil smile. ''This old man is unexpectedly incredibly shrewd and brutal, to save his own life he wants to doom mine'' said Keta to himself while coldly staring at the old man who was currently running from a crowd of hungry wild zombies. Chapter 9: Companion Author''s note: [today''s ranting part] Emotions are what makes us human, is a constant argument that is given in favor of emotions yet emotions are a major factor in our judgements makes it an uncertain factor, humans like you and me don''t like uncertainty so we are probably not sided with emotion yet we live with them, because we can decide what side we are on but we can''t decide whether to have emotions or not. ------------------------------------------------------- ''Does this old man take me for a fool? He wants me to shout back at him, this would make the zombies come after me, taking advantage of the convenient distraction he can escape'' ''Admirable! you pack of old bones, I will be showing something that will bring your youth back'' Taking his head out, the youngster cautiously backed out. Grabbing a steel kettle he came back to the window. This time he opened it properly. Squinting his eyes, he took aim, like a hawk eyeing his prey. Then with a swift movement, like the movement of a whip, his arm danced and disappeared. When it did appear, there was no kettle in his hand. Now the kettle moved straight towards a honda car that was parked near the place where the old man was running to. The kettle smashed in the windscreen, breaking it into pieces, it tackled with the front driver seat which stopped its charge. Though now, the car started howling, as if it was in serious pain. The alarm rang, it was the anti-theft alarm. Almost all cars in this age have it installed, it may even be the security feature necessary for them, but the youngster didn''t care, for he only cared if this car had one, and it actually had. Yes, this youngster was precisely Keta. At this moment he was absolutely proud of his aim and strategy to punish this shrewd old man. The old man somehow attracted the attention of some unwanted zombies, so he ran. In the process of desperate running, he found a ray of hope, a strand of sunshine. There was a boy, a human, even though his head was coming out of a broken window, he was still a human, a living human. The old man wanted to request the youngster''s help, but he was afraid. What if the youngster denied him, his should would attract even more zombies and without the youngster''s help, he would only quicken the process of zombies catching him. So he thought of a plan, an evil but desperate plan to live. Everyone has their own sense of right and wrong, most people find what benefit them right and what hurts them is wrong, the old man was the same so there was no question of morality at all. Coupled together with how the world just changed, even if he had morality, it would be surprising if he chose to stick to it. He planned, he would insult the youngster. These youths being hot blooded as they are, will quickly follow back with a reply with an even more explosive shot, which in turn will attract the uninvited pursuers running after him, giving him a chance to escape from them. The plan seemed just too perfect, his life was already safe. But this what he thought, and his happy thoughts didn''t last long. The youngster never shouted back. In anger and frustration the old man continued with his barrage of insults, this time his voice was even more louder. But to his horror this time again the youngster never replied. Soon he saw a vicious smile on the youngster''s face and from his experience he knew his scheme was already out in the open. He had nor the time or the place to appreciate the youngster''s clever mind instead he wanted to curse him even louder, but fortunately he stopped himself or he will be cutting his own foot with the axe. But once again his mind stirred and his body trembled, this time, a loud voice near him almost startled him so bad that he was going to fall down and almost run back to where he came from. Only his clear and experienced mind somehow coerced his body into not falling down and continue its desperate struggle. His mind was now already in a turmoil. He glanced towards the car where the noise was coming from and notice the broken windscreen. ''Judging from the angle, whatever broke the windscreen came from the sky'' he thought. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ''It may be the heavens punishing me'' he sighed, his sigh contained very complex emotions. Regret was definitely there but as for what he did or for the results, it was too complicated to know. You have to understand that, when the world changed, all the rivers and natural food became corrupted under the influence of the foreign virus introduced by D3vil. So animals in this case would for sure die of starvation, and for eagles and birds to fall of during their flights due to starvation was nothing uncommon. The old man thought it was probably some eagle or some bird, and it was a way of heaven to punish him for his dirty and evil intentions. He then lifted his head, to see the youngster he just tried to indirectly kill. With a apologetic expression hung on his face, his eyes finally saw the youngster''s face. His face couldn''t help but change several times. His current expression was very hideous to behold. The youngster was currently showing him the middle finger, a common trend in youths these days. With this old man''s clever mind, it only took an instant for him to figure out that it was not the heavens that punished him, but it was this brat. Fury and killing intent rose in his heart. He wanted to kill this insolent brat. Yet for all he could do was run with even more struggle behind it. His speed increased but the zombies just didn''t stop coming. Right now the old man truly looked like a runner from the Olympics and surely after seeing his spectate no one would dare to call him an old man. With a grin hung wide on his face, Keta was extremely pleased with the results. Especially the old man''s expressions, they were priceless. He was now watching the old man with deep interest, an interest people show towards animals in zoo, it was that kind of interest. Soon the zombies almost surrounded the old man. With no way of escape, the old man quickly went towards a car. With the advantage of some distance between the zombies and him, the old man had some time. His fingers played with the lock of a car, sometimes there was a obvious rhythm while other times it would just look crude. There was a common hair pin in his fingers that was actually playing all the beats. It all happened in seconds, the old man somehow unlocked the doors. He instantly jumped in and locked the doors from inside. After this went in the middle of the car and layed down in the middle keeping his distance from the windows and the doors. He shouted ''Young man you are too vicious. I was just trying to save my life, but you, you are just sentencing me to death even when you are all safe and sound, young man you are too cruel..*sob*'' He actually cried in the middle of his dialogue. The old man truly believed he would die this time. He could almost see the reaper with a black scythe in his hands waiting for his little time to run out before finally taking his life. Seeing all these events unfold in front of him, Keta was left speechless. Originally he only wanted to get back at the old man and wanted him to run a little faster. But he could''ave never imagined that so many zombies would pop out of nowhere and surround this old man. Even though what the old man said was just bullshit, but it was not just some bullshit. This time, because of him, again, someone would die. Did life enjoyed toying with him, killing people while making him the knife. He already had enough. ''Now what to do? Should I go out and help him somehow? or should I just let it pass'' the choice was very conflicting. It was reason was emotion, the two were fighting ever since the creation. And Keta was just now another battlefield for them to prove their dominance above the other. Chapter 10: Bloody Rescue Author''s Rant: It can be said that everything that we humans do have something behind it to convince someone, that someone can be you yourself. Even if you are drinking a cup of coffee you are convincing yourself that it tastes good. No matter how small it may be, there will definitely be that something to convince. You every action, your very speech and your motion are aimed to convince someone. -------------------------------------------- Time waits for no man, its the saying of the old. Just like all their words, it can be trusted. As Keta was busy in deciding, the time for the old man was already running out. The zombies had already besieged the car. Now the old man couldn''t escape even if he wanted to, he had successfully prolonged his life but at the cost of watching this live horror in front of his eyes. ''Damnit I am not that smart anyway.....fuck it!'' shouted Keta in his mind as he rushed towards the kitchen door. In the middle of his charge a question popped up in his mind. ''Right now he was in the kitchen, previously all the noise attracted the zombies to the living hall, now even streets are filled with zombies because of his doings'' ''So if he does go this way, and even somehow manages to kill his way out of the living hall, then continue killing all the way to the old man, it would already be too late'' ''But he was no war god with boundless strength to kill all the zombies so clearly what he was going to do was same as sentencing himself to his own death'' thought Keta. ''I think from now on, even if I am not smart, I should think real hard before making any move'' said Keta while laughing dryly as if mocking himself. After thinking for some more time, he had an idea. No he remembered an idea from a movie he had seen. He quickly rushed towards the kitchen drawer, hoping his mom kept them. Yes, there they were. Big and thick supermarket plastic bags. He could tie them all together and make a rope, by tying the rope with the corner water pipe which is embedded in the wall, he can leap down from the window. Just like how that girl with long hair used her hair to escape from the tall castle. The plastic bags were used to hold very large quantities of material, so holding his weight was not a problem for them. Just as he finished the preparations, he was ready to become the Spider man. Another thought just came in, totally ruining his happy parade. Now if he uses this way to leap out of the window and go down to save the old man, one how does he plan to save the old man once he is down there. Two, once he does save the old man, how does he plan to get to his safe heaven, because with his weak strength he can''t possibly pull himself backup, and even if he had enough strength to pull himself backup, the zombies won''t just be staring at him leaving, they will rip him to shreds before anything. Once again he halted his steps and started to think. One after another plan was being rejected by his mind. Finally after putting a lot of effort he thought of a satisfactory plan to save the old man. Only he couldn''t return here. There was no way. Biting his lips, he made a tough decision. He took another plastic bag, this one was relatively a lot smaller. He then took out another one, ripped its straps and tied them to the previous one in a way that now it looked more like a school bag, that could be hung on shoulders. Keta didn''t stop here. He took another bag out and once again ripped its straps, this time he made holes in upper middle part of the previous plastic bag and passed the straps through it. Then he hung the bag on his shoulders and tied the additional straps on his waist like a belt. The bag was now perfectly glued with his body. He just filled it with food supplies and some knifes. Time was already short, there was was no spare time to go to the living hall and grab the medicinal supplies. He could only rely on what he could see in his vision. Quickly after packing his bag, he put his plan into motion. As soon as he jumped out of the window, he realized to his horror that he was going away from the wall. His original plan was to do this, like how mountain climbers do. But in his excitement he jumped hard and now he was going more and more further away from the wall. He clenched the rope he made hard, this stopped his momentum a bit, but now he was being pulled towards the wall at high speed. Unable to stop himself, his face crashed in the wall, yes it was the all popular face wall in flesh. ''I know now, why they say being spider man is not easy'' Keta in a totally embarrassed voice, his face was already red as a cherry. Fortunetly the crowd down there was not interested in his comedy the least bit, so at least he saved a bit face and some flesh. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. After his miserable display, this time Keta was acting with much more cautiousness, there was no trace of excitement left in his body. Soon he landed on the street, it was good that the car had attracted all their attention. Now Keta could act freely and would be safe for the time being. He slowly moved, once again imitating to be hitman. In his bag he had meat very tightly wrapped in plastic and some soaps and liquids were randomly spread on the plastic to block the smell of the meat from leaking out. He carefully took the meat wrapped in plastic out of his bag. His hands were trembling, if the smell of meat still leaked, he would meet his creator. For now, no zombie noticed his presence. He ripped open the plastic and threw it towards the opposite direction of the car, while he himself was even further away from the car. The smell soon got noticed by the hungry zombies, leaving behind the mouse hiding in a wall they all rushed towards the raw smell of meat. After some time there were almost no zombies left around the car, but some who had their legs crushes and were crawling brainlessly. Wasting no time, Keta rushed towards the car. His hands gripped the Blood Feind tightly. His speed was abnormally fast, with phantom movement, his blade pierced through one of the zombie''s head and with even more speed he pulled it back and sent it towards the one standing by his side. The speed and the motion was incredible but unfortunately the angle and strength just wasn''t enough. A strong man can pierce through anywhere, but a man with less strength needs to aim before striking if he even wants to hope of piercing through his opponent. Off course speed equals to distance into time, but in that case you need speed equal to flash to get it converted into raw strength. Not stopping in the least, Keta took his sword back and repeatedly smashed the sword on the zombies head. The sword was absorbing blood like a dry river finally getting its hold on water. Blood in large amount formed a stream from the zombie''s head, in air it floated towards the Blood Fiend, as it crazily sucked it all in an instant. As if it was some black hole. The zombie soon fell down powerlessly, the sword had crushed its brain. There were no zombies left here now. He quickly called the old man to come out. The old man was speechless. He thought he would die. Zombies were everywhere, on the doors, on the roof, everywhere on the car, there were just zombies and zombies. As he was going to die, in death he remembered God. To achieve salvation, he could at least ask for his forgiveness. In the middle of his praying he felt that the movement of zombies. He thought even more of them were coming, but when he opened his eyes, zombies were actually leaving. He was having a very hard time believing all this. Maybe this was the heavens rewarding him. Once his view cleared he saw a youngster with a pitch black short sword in his hand, easily killing a zombie in one hit. The youngster then moved towards the next zombie, his sword couldn''t pierce through it in one hit but he ruthlessly continued his strikes until the zombie fell limp on the ground. But what was even more amazing and magical was this youngster''s sword. Large amount of blood was being sucked by it, it was such an amount that even from a mile away one could see something sucking blood. He was just staring at this youngster, with eyes opened wide. Then he heard his second call ''You better come the hell out, I even risked my life to save you'' He felt a little bit fear remembering the youngster''s ruthless actions so he quickly got up, unlocked the doors and came out. He was trying to size up the youngster before him and he knew the youngster was doing the same. After a moment of silence, the youngster pointed his finger in the air and said in a firm unwavering voice ''Look that was your future....I changed it'' As soon as the old man looked towards where the youngster''s finger was pointing to, in his vision came, hundreds of zombies stepping on each other, tearing away each other, to get one bit of the piece of meat. He could already imagine the horror he would suffer, the slow and painful death if the zombies got near him. They would eat him alive. The youngster''s words had merit, but they were very scary. ''You are coming with me, I see you have some skills'' the youngster said in a commanding tone, as if it was all normal to him. The old man couldn''t help but nod his head quickly, as if very scared to offend this youngster any further.