Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Chapter 174: Unexpected Gains

Zane returned to the bunker complex shortly after killing the mysterious visitors who had appeared. He had no recollection of what had happened after he killed the men. But when he returned, his lips were stained with blood, and he had gained several levels. Four, to be exact.

Though Zane logically knew what it was that he had done when he blacked out, he himself did not want to admit it. And thus he entered the bunker with a haunted gaze, which when combined with his black cloak, one that had a hood pulled over his head, and his bloodstained lips made him appear as if he were one of the Undead in which he normally slayed.

The moment Zane appeared within the bunker with such a monstrous appearance, Madison mistook him for an undead who had somehow made it past their defenses, instead attacking Zane with her flaming sword while screaming at him.

"Die Monster!"

Zane acted entirely on instinct, disappearing on the spot and re-appearing behind the girl with his short sword held to her neck. He was not all mentally there after the horrifying realization of what he had done… For a second time.

It was not until the other girls arrived at the scene, spurred on by Madison's shouts, did they realize what was happening. With Elena's shouts, waking Zane from his stupor.

"Zane, stop!"

When Zane realized that he was holding Madison hostage, who was herself on the brink of tears, he could not help but drop his sword, an act which caused it to vanish from thin air and go back to his inventory.

Zane then fell to his knees, shocked by what he had done on instinct, all while the women in the bunker ran up to him, concerned that he was injured because of his blood stained appearance.

"Zane, are you alright!?! What happened?"

Angelica was so worried that she had forgotten about Maya, who seemed to have vanished into thin air. Reappearing in front of Zane and hugging them an before Angelica could lay her healing hands on him.

Zane was surprised by this act. The girl's blood-red eyes met his own eyes, which were as black as the abyss, and for whatever reason, Zane suddenly felt oddly comfortable with what he had done. Recovering from the mental blow he had suffered as he rose to his knees and assured everyone he was alright.

"I'm alright… The blood isn't mine… I don't know who those guys were, or where they came from… But they had hostile intentions towards us. They also seemed to know about Stygian Iron and had equipment that was clearly crafted by a Grimforge. It appears we are not the only ones out here in this wasteland who know such things…."

This was not exactly the best of news for the girls to hear. After all, until now they believed they had a monopoly on the equipment manufactured from the Grimforge, which allowed them to be more powerful than others at the same level who were lacking it.

But now that was no longer the case. An unknown enemy had appeared, one that was nearly as well equipped as they were. This was indeed a harrowing thought. One that caused the girls to remain silent.

Though they wanted to ask why Zane's mouth was covered in blood, they did not do so. Instead, they allowed the man to walk back to his quarters, where he washed the blood off of his body.

---

While Zane was in the shower, he stared at his own system. He had inexplicably gained four levels after killing those men. No… He knew exactly what was the reason. He had been compelled by the voice to devour their hearts.

The men were all around level fifteen, which was higher than half of his party. This also meant that he gained a significant increase in XP from each of their hearts. With the six of them combined, he gained four whole levels, allowing him to advance to Level 25 without even meaning to.

But that just left how he should spend his nine XP points and his skill point…. Naturally, Zane wanted to increase his physical attributes to a base of 20 first. So he invested all of nine of his attribute points into Strength, Dexterity and Constitution.

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[Attributes:]

[Strength: 20]

[Dexterity: 21 (+9)]

[Constitution: 20]

[Intelligence: 17]

[Wisdom: 17]

[Charisma: 17]

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As for his skill point. Zane knew exactly where he would put it, and that was into Commander of the Dead – Tier III, which would give him the greatest immediate boost in combat power. Something which he suddenly felt was sorely needed after interacting with hostile survivors who were similar in strength to Elena and Olivia.

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Skills:

[Dead Man Walking – Tier IV]

[Commander of the Dead – Tier III]

[Description: Your ability to control the undead around you has improved by leaps and bounds. You can now usurp control over Tier III Undead. In addition to this, your Horde Size has increased by 250, giving you a base amount of 500 Undead Servants to control]

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With this increase in horde capacity, Zane now had the ability to control 550 Total Undead, thanks to the benefits of his equipment. Zane also was now at level 25, giving him the ability to finally use that Undead Essence he had obtained via his previous achievements.

But he would wait to apply that to his gear at a later time. After all, he did not yet know when he would get another chance to acquire such a valuable resource, and the longer he waited, the higher the level his gear would be when he applied it.

Thus, this random visit by the forces of the Federal Government, or at least what remained of it, had turned out to be quite bountiful for Zane, even if the means he had used to acquire such gains had been terrifying.

The thought that the mysterious voice, which Zane knew belonged to the mysterious stranger from his dreams, had such power over him was truly a frightening prospect. But at the end of the day, that was a concern for another time...