The moment Gerhard stepped into the Zombie Dungeon again, he felt much more sure of himself than the first time. Despite the same, quiet, suffocating tension pressing against his senses, he knew that he was prepared for this. How much worse could it be compared to the Underhive?
Gerhard exhaled slowly, preparing himself. His mind remained perfectly calm, as always, but his instincts sharpened, and he had gained some experience. Plus, he was armed with enough weapons to clear the dungeon.
A brief glance at his status confirmed what he already knew: his investment of 5 SP into INT, combined with his growing control over Mana, had slowly changed how he fought. His Mana pool was now sitting at 400 MP, pushing his regen to 10.8 MP per minute.
With his [Mana Shield - lv.23], he could now have one shield active at all times. He wasn't as limited as he was previously. He could let his [Firearms Mastery - lv.10] shine.
He equipped everything in one smooth motion. The Autogun appeared in his hands, solid and now familiar after training with it for a while. The Lasgun rested in his inventory, only one short grab away. The Power Sword hung at his side, dormant, but he could use it quickly. He had trained that precise part extensively over the last few hours, so as not to be caught unarmed. His Flak Armour was still in place.
Gerhard tapped the autogun.
Click.
He pulled the magazine slightly, checked it, then pushed it back in. It was full. From his inventory, he retrieved several spare magazines, each carefully created earlier. He slid them into place across his vest, within easy reach.
"Alright… controlled bursts."
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
A thin layer of shimmering blue energy wrapped around him, giving him that extra safety he always sought. His MP dipped to 370 right away, but a minute later it rose to 372 MP.
After seeing that everything was working... for the 10th time, a small grin appeared on Gerhard's face.
"Now let's make some noise."
He stepped into the open and met a single zombie, which turned toward him. He wasn't trying to be as quiet as he had been the first time around, since it was going to get loud.
Then another and then a third. Three zombies started to drag themselves towards him.
Gerhard raised the autogun and pulled the trigger.
*BRRRRT—!!*
The weapon roared to life with a burst of fire. It wasn't like a lasgun - not as clean and not as precise. And more importantly, it was loud and violent. Shell casings spilt onto the ground in a metallic cascade as the recoil kicked into his shoulder. The first zombie's torso tore apart under the burst, staggering but still not quite dead, hanging on that last HP.
Gerhard adjusted instinctively. He sent short bursts of three rounds and then paused. The zombie turned to dust, and the second one was moving forward, right into another round.
Three rounds.
Pause.
Re-position.
The second burst hit the second zombie's head, turning him to dust. The sound echoed through the entire dungeon, announcing to every dead that something was going on.
And from every direction, Groans were heard, announcing the arrival of all the undead. Gerhard smiled.
"Yeah, that's the drawback."
The autogun didn't just kill the zombies, which it was rather good at, but it also attracted all those who hadn't known he was here, killing their brethren.
From alleys, broken doorways, the roofs of huge buildings, and collapsed corridors, zombies began to emerge. Dozens, hundreds of them, drawn by the noise like starving beasts.
Gerhard didn't move; he didn't have to. At least right now. He kept firing.
*BRRT—! BRRT—! BRRT—!*
Bodies jerked and collapsed as rounds tore through them, but the horde kept coming. They didn't feel pain, they didn't hesitate, all they wanted was a piece of Gerhard. It took two shots to the head to kill them or four to five to the stomach.
At 15 meters, they began walking faster.
Click.
The magazine was empty. Gerhard's hands moved with practised skill. The magazine was released, the empty mag dropped, and a fresh one appeared in his hand.
SLAM.
Palm strike to lock it in. He racked the weapon and brought it back up in one fluid motion.
Two seconds was how long this took. Not bad for a noob. And without further ado, he went right back to firing.
The first zombie reached him, its teeth slammed against the barrier, but didn't penetrate it. It shimmered lightly, but held. Gerhard stepped forward rather than back, evaluating the space as more optimal in that direction.
A short burst at point-blank range erased the zombie's head. He turned as he walked, firing another and another, while the pressure mounted.
More bodies, more zombies, more danger... too many, it seemed. Gerhard exhaled sharply and switched weapons. The autogun disappeared into his inventory after the mag had been emptied, since he didn't have time to switch out for another one.
The lasgun appeared in his hands.
"Come on, ya shits!"
The battlefield changed.
*PEW—!*
A red beam punched through a zombie's skull, but didn't stop, even hitting the two behind it. Not quite killing them, but doing damage. The first one dropped immediately, turning into smoke.
*PEW—!*
Another set died instantly. Where the autogun had shredded into the bodies, the lasgun cut through them and penetrated multiple bodies at once at times.
In a heart-skipping moment, the Mana Shield broke, almost giving Gerhard a heart attack. But Gamer's Mind came in clutch, making him cast it again, right away.
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
He continued firing, using the Lasgun's full charge of 150. Gerhard continued to move, weaving between advancing corpses, firing at a somewhat measured rhythm. Each shot counted, and thankfully, each shot killed.
His Mana Shield flickered as claws and teeth scraped against it, but the drain no longer mattered as much. He only had to keep an eye out for it breaking. If he played it right, he could do this endlessly... well as long as he had ammo.
...
After sustained fire, the lasgun clicked dry.
Charge: 0/150
Gerhard didn't stop moving, though. His left hand, which held the lasgun's front, gathered Mana.
[Charge]
Blue arcs of energy crackled between his fingers and flowed into the weapon.
Charge: 1 → 5 → 12
It wasn't efficient, not yet. But it was enough for now. The damage the skill did to the power pack had reduced considerably, making it 'battle-ready'.
He resumed firing immediately.
Minutes passed as the bodies fell and turned to black smoke. The streets and halls eventually cleared. Causing silence to finally return.
Gerhard lowered the weapon slightly; his breathing was steady, and he felt completely in control. He had killed roughly 250 zombies in less than half an hour.
"Okay… that was actually insane."
Then, Gerhard's Danger Sense activated. The ground trembled beneath his feet. And then, a wet, slurping sound echoed through the ruined streets, like flesh being forced together.
Gerhard turned around and saw the reason. A pile of corpses had shifted and rose. The bodies fused, twisted, and merged into something larger. The arms forced their way out of the core of flesh. The many zombie faces stretched and warped.
A towering zombie formed, standing at 25 feet and towering above Gerhard.
-
[Legion Zombie – Lv. 34]
HP: 15,200 / MP: 1,200
An assembly of zombies full of resentment. When a large number of zombies feel threatened due to mass hunting, they merge into a Legion Zombie. It has no magical abilities, but has immense strength and stamina. It is, however, very slow.
-
Gerhard stared at it for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Yeah… that tracks."
He didn't hesitate, like he might have if he were a normal human. He brought the lasgun up and pulled the trigger.
PEW—PEW—PEW—
Beams struck the creature, doing damage.
HP: 15,200 → 15,040 → 14,900
Barely anything, Gerhard frowned. It was tanky, which seemed to reduce the lasgun's usual damage. He switched weapons again. Taking out the autogun and placing the lasgun in the inventory.
The autogun roared to life as Gerhard kept pulling the trigger.
BRRRRRRT—!!
Bullets tore into the mass, ripping chunks free, but still didn't really do much more damage.
HP: 14,900 → 14,100
The Legion Zombie didn't react to the damage or the pain. It simply raised one massive limb and brought it down.
Gerhard moved to the side. Barely.
The impact slammed into the ground where he had stood, sending shockwaves through the area. Even through a layer of Mana Shield, the force rattled him.
"…Okay. That thing hits hard."
He stopped firing for a moment, having a better idea. If this thing's physical damage resistance were high... then something else would do the trick.
Gerhard moved to the side and continued firing the autogun, doing chip damage while the Legion Zombie grew enraged and moved towards him.
The weapon vanished into his inventory, his hand moved to his side, and he drew the blade.
Click.
The Power Sword activated. A blue, crackling field surged along its edge, humming with energy. The air seemed to distort around it. If he had had time, he would have found it really cool, but alas, he was in the middle of a fight.
Gerhard stepped forward as the Legion Zombie swung its massive arm again. Thankfully, it was too slow. Gerhard slipped inside its reach as the Legion Zombie smashed its large hand on the ground and slashed.
The blade passed through flesh like it wasn't there, cutting deeply into the wrist and almost taking off its hand.
HP: 14,100 → 11,800
Gerhard's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh, yeah. That's the answer."
The fight changed from then on. Unlike a usual 'mage' or a noob that was only level 7, while the Legion Zombie was level 34, Gerhard seemed to actively chase the boss monster.
The Legion Zombie rose to its feet, roaring as it held its wrist, which was holding on by a thread, and Gerhard used that. He pulled out his lasgun again, firing at the boss monster's head, enraging it even further.
It roared and stomped on the ground hard, trying to squish Gerhard. He constantly adjusted his body, firing in short but controlled bursts, dodging the heavy but slow strikes and keeping an eye out for a sudden burst of speed.
And as he predicted, such an attack was about to arrive. Gerhard thought about it and made a decision.
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
The massive left hand, which wasn't damaged, impacted with the five layers of Mana Shield and sent ripples through it. Four of the outer barriers broke apart and cracks appeared on the last one. But it held, and that was all that mattered, for Gerhard was now close enough.
He dropped his lasgun and pulled back his power sword, slashing it through the air with all of his power.
[Power Strike]
The Power Sword, which was amped by the [Power Strike], cut through the massive arm of the Legion Zombie in one go.
HP: 10,270 → 5,500
The massive creature staggered and roared in surprise and pain. The massive hand with a short part of its arm fell to the ground. It staggered and stumbled.
Gerhard charged forward, once again, swinging the power sword through the air and using the skill.
[Power Strike]
The power sword split apart the Legion Zombie's leg and made it crash to the ground. Its face lay right before Gerhard, looking at him in pure shock and anger.
He stepped forward slowly, with his sword at his side and looked at it. This was it. He lifted the blade and thrust forward, piercing deep into the boss monster's head and killing it.
HP: 283 → 0
The Legion Zombie collapsed and dissolved into black smoke.
[You have defeated the boss monster Legion Zombie]
[You have received the title 'Zombie Slayer']
[Massive EXP gained]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
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