Chapter 5: Hard Decisions

Chapter 5: Hard Decisions

Being able to manipulate his mana was the key to unlocking other skills under [Electric manipulation].

He check his panel and saw a new skill was added under electric weaponry.

[Abilities: ]

1. Devour: Cosume the abilities of those you defeat. Requirement: Physical Touch.

2. Electricity Manipulation

Skills Unlocked:

[Electric Weaponry:] Charges melee weapons with lightning, enhancing their damage. Requirement: Melee Weapon

- Lightning Slice (Unlocked)

- Lightning Stab (Unlocked)

The way he directed his mana to use [Lightning Stab] was more different from when he used [Lightning Slice]. This had enabled him to unlock the new skill.

Though the difference was minute, Grey was able to sense the change.

Grey wondered what would happen if he could fully manipulate his mana.

He would be able to activate new skills by being creative with his mana flow.

Grey grinned joyously, he had so many ideas but for now, he wanted to level up and increase his mana pool.

He figured he would only be able to unlock high-level skills if he had enough mana to back them up.

Growl!

The zombie he had impaled was still alive, despite a gaping hole in its chest.

Grey shook his head. Even with a hole in its chest the zombie still wanted to take a bite out of him.

He figured the only way to kill a zombie was to decapitate them.

In that case...

Grey swung his axe and used [Lightning Stab] once again this time aiming at its head, but all of a sudden he felt dizziness wash over which cause him to stagger backward. Luckily he was able to grip the stair railing before he fell back.

“What was that?” Grey asked confusedly.

Growl!

The zombie used this chance to pounce at him but Grey kicked it backward, took a step towards it, and dug the axe into its skull.

Tti-ring

[ You have killed a Zombie]

[Level Up!]

- All Stats Increased by one

- You get 2 free stats points.

- Loot 5 gold

He was level three now.

Grey exhaled in relief wondering why his body suddenly went weak.

"Stat!" he called and saw that his magic point was zero and was blinking red.

He didn't have any mana left, yet he had tried to use another [Lighting Stab] which consumed 3 mana point per hit.

While Grey had been fighting without the system, he never really had to strength to finish them off only disabling their movement so he could flee.

But using these skills made things easier and more effective. And Grey couldn't deny the fact that he found it quite satisfying to finish them in one move. If only it didn't come with a cost.

Grey sighed.

If it was a stronger creature he was fighting and he got dizzy like this, he might have lost his life.

Grey figured he had to be more careful. So he made a mental note to check his mana use while fighting and made sure to leave at least one point for the sake of caution.

He might soon face stronger zombies and any room for weakness could be exploited and it would only spell his doom.

"Come to think of it there might be a way to raise my mana."

Grey recollected the way the system worked seemed like that of a video game, and if he remembered correctly adding stats points to his intelligence should increase his mana.

Grey didn't forget the system had given him 10 free stats points for awakening the system, and 2 for each level up. So he should have enough to test it out.

Grey called out his stats, and saw he had 14 free stats points to distribute. Which meant he could test his theory.

"System add 4 to intelligence!"

Tti-ring

Name: Grey Adamas

Level: 3

Race: Human

Class: None

Title: None

HP: 320

MP: 74

[Stat]

Strength: 12

Stamina: 12

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 16

Perception: 12

(Available point to distribute: 10)

"I was right."

Grey said with a grin.

His Mana which was initially 34 had increased to 74. And since he had added 4 points to get to that, it meant for every single point he added to his intelligence his magic increased by 10.

If he added the remaining 10, it would increase by a whopping 100.

With the addition of his current mana making it 174.

Which meant he could use his abilities freely.

He was tempted to pour it all into it but then he decided not to rush things and thinking about it carefully.

Though the abilities were amazing and dealt a lot of damage they didn't exactly augment the rest of his stats.

He wondered what would happen if he was in a situation, where he was surrounded by a large number of zombies.

He certainly wouldn't be able to fight or use his weaponry skills forever, as his stamina wasn't unlimited.

Or if he had to deal with a really fast zombie--though he hadn't seen one yet he wouldn't ignore the possibilities. A speed-type zombie would take his head before he could even raise his axe.

Heck, if he lost his weapon he wouldn't be able to use any one of his skills under electric weaponry as the basic requirement was a melee weapon.

Despite how large 172 mana points seemed, it wasn't unlimited. And if he ran out of mana in a fight, it would only be a matter of time before the zombies overwhelm him.

"Yeah...definitely don't want that."

Grey shook his head.

He wasn't going to add any more points to his intelligence at least for now.

To make an adequate decision he decided to carefully recollect what he knew of each stat.

First, strength which was muscle power, increasing it will raise the power or force he could release with his pure physique. Something he needed if he wanted to fight close range.

Agility would make him faster or rather make his opponent look slower depending on the point of view.

Also, something useful but, the zombies he had seen so far weren't that fast. They were slow enough for him to handle at the moment so agility would have to wait.

Intelligence would have something to do with his increasing his MP. And like he had thought earlier it would be disadvantageous for him in a close melee combat.

Stamina would enable him to fight longer in a fight and it should also affect health. Which was something he could also consider improving.

And last but not least perception, he had no idea what its effect was.

Grey was tempted to test it by adding one point to it, but he shook his head at that thought.

He was in a dangerous situation where he had to be careful with what he had, as the stats point didn't come free.

If he squandered it on something he wasn't sure may or may not help him at the moment, he was surely going to end up dead.

The perception was a no-go not at the moment.

After all his analysis, Grey made his decision. He wanted to ability to pummel his way out of any situation either by using a weapon or his raw fist.

So with that thought Grey was leaning towards pouring his stats into strength.

He was going to grow it first, and once it had reached a sufficient number he could increase the others to match it, basically building balanced stats.

This was Grey's plan.

With a decision made, he muttered. “System, add 10 points to strength.”

Tti-ring!

[Stat]

Strength: 22

Stamina: 12

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 16

Perception: 12

(Available point to distribute: 0)

Immediately Grey felt the effect. His muscles grew thicker and his body bulkier. His shirt and pants had even gotten tighter

He swung his fist and felt the raw power come off it.

"Great, With this strength he should be able to disperse a zombie easily." Grey grinned joyously.

He felt invincible and was itching to test his strength.

He planned to clear the way up to the highest floor and fight his way down.

Though he didn't know how many zombies were in the building or what kind he would face, he knew that in other to grow he had to level up.

“ Daily Quest”

Tti-ring

[Daily Quest Now Available]

[Kill 20 Necrotic: 15/30]

Grey was halfway there. He only needed to kill 15 more.

He climbed up the stairs and heard the sound of something fast approaching. He grip his axe tightly but as it got closer coming into view, Grey saw it was a zombie.

Sliding down the stairs. Grey chuckled at the sight, "Of course they would."

It would definitely be hard for them to find balance not when most of them had deformed limbs.

He used [Lightning Stab] paying attention to how his mana flowed from his hand into the axe before it pierced into the zombie's head.

Grey was starting to get familiar with the process. Though he wasn't close to control, but the more he used it the better he got.

The climb up had been relatively easy. Grey was able to kill them without a sweat because they kept tumbling down.

They might be walking down the stairs without losing balance but the instant they saw him, they get agitated and lose their balance.

Grey noticed not every one of them had a good motor censor, after all, he did see one creepy crawling zombie.

Grey reached the 6th floor and saw that the door had indeed been broken.

With a sigh, he stepped into the office.

Three more zombies noticed his presence and trudge towards him driven by an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

The first two were males and the third was a female.

He recognized the female as she was close friends with Jace. Jace had considered her to be a beauty. But she was far from the pretty lady she once was

The first one reach him and Grey raised his feet and kicked the male zombie right in the chest which caved in on impact. Its body was sent it flying and it crashed into the wall.

Grey gaped at the power of his kick. 22-point strength was stronger than he had anticipated.

He wondered how fast he'll become once his agility reached that point as well.

Grey moved smoothly decapitating the second zombie using his raw strength, and used [Lighting Stab] to finish the third.

Grey casually walked toward the male zombie he had kicked earlier. It couldn't stand because Grey's kick had shattered its chest and rib cage.

Grey made an arc towards its throat with his axe and the zombie head fell to the ground.

Rrrr,!

Grey then heard the slow soft shuffle of the zombie dragging its feet on broken glass. He rose to his feet and turned toward it.

Grey stared at him blankly aiming to find something. Any trace of life he could cling on too. But he found nothing. Jace was gone.

He mindless zombie that had only one goal which was to seek human flesh.

Grey raised his axe and said with an emotionless voice. “Don't worry Jace, I'll make it quick.”

Swish!

Tti-ring

[You have killed a zombie]