Chapter 5 New Skill

[Zombie Level 1 +100 Coins]

[Zombie Level 1 +100 Coins]

I paused for a moment to catch my breath. When the gate opened again, I walked back into Smoky Hollow. Of course, even though I was a little tired, I didn't care because it was all about the money. Hunting like this is the only way I can make a lot of money. Even if I worked all my life, I'd never earn it.

I looked to my left, and the zombies were coming closer again. Still holding the hammer in my right hand, I ran towards them. I thought the sooner this was over, the better.

I swung the hammer at the group of zombies, and they easily disappeared.

[Zombie Level 1 +100 Coins]

[Zombie Level 1 +100 Coins]

"Ah...!" My hammer came loose, and something hit my right shoulder hard. I turned my head to see a zombie biting me. I pressed his head with my left hand to release the bite. I held my breath, not expecting it to smell like garbage when I sniffed it from the front.

[HP -1]

[HP -1]

[HP -1]

"Shit!" My HP was dropping by the moment because of the bite. I squeezed my hand even harder to keep the zombie's head away from my shoulder. "Oh no!" Though their path was slow, one thing was certain, the zombies were now coming at me in droves.

"Newt. Why does my HP keep dropping?"

[You have a physical injury, of course your HP will continue to decrease, Master].

"Argh...! How did it get loose? The bite is so tight."

I hit the zombie's head to make it release the bite. After a while, the bite finally loosened. I wasted no time in picking up the hammer that had fallen earlier. I then struck the zombie that had bitten me with the hammer. In less than a second, the zombie vanished into ashes.

[Zombie Level 1 +100 coins].

I felt satisfied that I was able to destroy it. It was the first zombie that could hurt me.

I felt a pain in my shoulder from the bite mark, but I ignored it. With a burning grudge after a zombie bit me, I walked towards the horde with my back straight. I winced several times as the pain kept coming.

[HP -5]

"Why is my HP getting lower and lower, Newt?" I felt my vision become blurred until I closed my eyes several times, trying to regain my fading consciousness.

[Your wounds are festering, Master, so your HP is dropping rapidly].

My legs were getting weaker, my breathing was getting harder, and my head was getting heavier. 

Rotting?

"Am I going to die, Newt?" I asked with what little energy I had left. I couldn't even kick properly. My body felt weak, so I stopped. I felt cold sweat pouring from my body.

I bent my back to ninety degrees, trying to overcome the dizziness I was feeling. It's something I often do when I get tired at work. I tried to breathe as my chest felt tight.

[Name: Leon Durand]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 28 years old]

[Skill: -]

[HP: 10/100]

[MP: -]

[XP: 15/100].

I activated the holographic screen to see my current status, and unfortunately, my HP was only 10. I frowned as another warning suddenly appeared on the screen.

[HEAL 10,000 Coins]

[YES] [NO]

[HP RESTORED: 100/HP]

[ENTER AMOUNT OF HP]

[ ]

I looked at my balance, 307,900 coins. Without thinking, I pressed the 'YES' button and entered 50 to restore my HP.

Something seemed to straighten my back and lift it slightly. I felt something warm enter my bloodstream and radiate throughout my body. I could even see a white light enveloping my body.

It only took a few seconds for the sensation to dissipate and the pain and tightness I had been feeling to disappear completely. I looked back at my status.

[Name: Leon Durand]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 28 years old]

[Skill: -]

[HP: 55/100]

[MP: -]

[XP: 17/100]

"Why do I have to pay so much for my healing, Newt?" I tried to protest to Newt. Even though I only got a few coins from the hunt this time, I had to pay so much for my healing.

[You should be more careful, Master. Nothing is free in this world. Everything comes with a risk.]

"Argh... damn it! Your answer didn't help me at all."

I picked up the fallen hammer again and ran towards the zombies to complete the mission in this session. I had to be careful not to let the same thing happen again. Even though they looked very weak, their bite could almost kill me and cost me a lot of money. Imagine 10,000 coins, which is US$10,000,000.

Feeling annoyed and angry, I hit them one by one. As usual, they disappeared immediately with just one punch. It was so easy that I was so careless that one of them bit me.

"Damn zombie. Take my vengeance!" I was so excited this time. Even though I only had a few hunts left.

"Why isn't it dead yet?" I had already hit the zombie three times, but it wasn't dead yet.

"Why is it like this, Newt? Is this hammer's power diminishing?"

[A level 2 zombie with five times the power of a level 1 zombie.]

Right after Newt finished his sentence and I hit it five times, the zombie disappeared.

[Zombie Level 2 +500 Coins]

"Not too bad." Although it was harder to hunt, it was also more rewarding.

Something caught my attention. I frowned as a light the size of a tennis ball appeared after the zombie was exterminated.

"What is that?"

[It's a form of one of the random rewards you get].

I hesitantly touched the light, and just as my hand touched it, it disappeared.

[OBSERVATION SKILL LEVEL 1 HAS BEEN OBTAINED]

My heart felt like it had been stabbed for a split second, but it was fine afterwards. Perhaps that was the process of the skill entering my body.

"Level 1 observation skill?" My forehead frowned as I tried to understand the skill I had just acquired.

[You can use it to observe your opponent, Master].

Still feeling confused, I tried it by looking at the group of zombies coming towards me.

[ZOMBIE LEVEL 1]

[ZOMBIE LEVEL 1]

The writing suddenly appeared above their heads. With this skill, I could see their level. Most of them were level 1 zombies, and only a few were level 2.

"Will I get another reward if I kill level 2 zombies?

[The reward is given randomly. There is no guarantee that you will get more, even if you kill a level 2 zombie."]

I nodded, understanding Newt's explanation. So I don't know when I'll get it again. To save what little HP I have left, it's safer to hunt level 1 zombies.

"How many should I hunt, Newt?"

[Five, Master]

I nodded and then ran towards the group of zombies that I had confirmed were all level 1. After killing five zombies, the gates to Smoky Hollow reopened. Not wanting to be late, I immediately ran towards them and entered.

A split second later, I was back in my room. I looked around, still unfamiliar with my new room, which was so spacious. It's even bigger than the house I shared with Sofia.

I entered Smoky Hollow from my room. When the gate opens, Newt will tell me, and he will open the gate near me. I remembered that the gate opened at around 2pm. I hadn't slept on purpose because I was so excited about this hunt.

"Then tomorrow the gate will open around 10 am." I felt the excitement in my life again. I wanted to get some rest before I started hunting again.

I looked at the window. It looked as if the window hadn't been closed yet, for the curtains were moving like the wind. I lifted the curtain so that I could close the window. But when I looked down, I saw a white light suddenly shoot out of nowhere.

"What is it, Newt?"

[What, Master?]

Newt seemed confused by my question. Maybe I saw it wrong because I was too tired.

"It's nothing." I ignored him and went to the bathroom to clean up. As I took off my clothes, I looked at my zombie-bitten shoulder through the large glass in front of me.

"Totally clean and squeaky clean," I murmured softly. "Totally worth the money I had to spend."

I chuckled a little. Money wasn't a problem for me anymore. I could easily make money. After all, I was now the owner of a large company.