1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 95: Husk
"There’s something nasty approaching," Hara warned. "Mind if I sit this one out?"
"Sure thing," Noah said, flipping his axe.
What stepped into the chamber with clammy footsteps was not a hulking being, but a decrepit figure. A pale man with skin drained of its color, covered in blisters and wounds that looked far from being able to be survived.
[Greater Identification] [A-Rank Close-Quarters Combat Skill]
["Husk"] [Designated Level: Appx. 15] [Species: Undead]
[Weaknesses: Physical Attacks | Light]
’What’s that?’ He questioned.
While he held his ground, keeping his distance while he observed the unknown entity, he watched it stumble towards him while salivating at the mouth. Having lived a life through his fair share of comic books and movies, he had a theory in his head already, watching the groaning, blistered figure stumble his way.
’It’s...a zombie,’ he realized.
While the initial idea formed in his head of potentially helping and reversing whatever happened to the undead man, the idea was dismissed by one look into those hollow eyes:
There was not a soul remaining there.
"Raaah!"
The husk lunged at him, leading with its mouth agape as it snapped its teeth together in an attempt to get a taste of him. Noah ducked away, using the bottom of his axe to knock the undead’s jaws shut with a harsh impact.
"Sorry, I’m not a juicy steak," he dismissed, following up with a spinning kick delivered to the husk’s abdomen.
The impact drove the lumbering man-eater away, stumbling back before it caught itself. To his surprise, it had shocking durability, for a walking corpse, at least.
’It’s reinforced by mana? A kick like that should’ve gone right through its gut,’ he questioned, watching the rabid fiend come towards him again.
The entire time, the sleuth remained on the other side of the room in complete neutrality, spectating from a safe distance.
As it lunged for him again, Noah swung his axe with resolve to end the horror’s hunger. In a single motion, the undead’s head was removed from its shoulders, sent flying off as its body dropped.
"--" Noah watched the husk collapse, hardly experiencing a sense of triumph.
[EXP: +1,000] [26,000/250,000]
["Undead Slayer" Proficiency +1] [4/999]
"Good job," Hara complimented, walking over only when the confrontation reached its end, crouching down to inspect the now headless body. "I’ve heard of the undead roaming ruins to defend their treasures, but not quite ones like this."
"Yeah?"
"You know, the run-of-the-mill skeletons and the sort," Hara said, standing up with a slight groan as he cracked his back. "This one is different from the usual undead. It has traces of advanced magic through its muscular structure, though I don’t believe it consciously enhanced itself."
"Are you saying somebody else strengthened it?" Noah asked.
"Possibly," Hara theorized. "There could be a necromancer here. If you want my advice, I’d say the best course of action would be to tuck-tail and run."
"Not really my priority here," Noah said.
"Thought so. Worth a shot," Hara sighed.
Continuing further into the ruins, they were aided only by sparse torches along the walls as the structure expanded into an open area. It smelled of rotten meat and mold; an unpleasant aspect to the lifeless remnants within the mountain.
"Ah," Hara quietly reacted, standing in the center of the dim chamber. "We walked into a trap."
"What?"
"They’re coming," Hara warned calmly. "From all directions–got it?"
"Yeah, guess I’ve got it," Noah huffed quietly.
Soon enough, the uneven footsteps were loud-and-clear, coming in from every side as the undead seemed to pour in. The man-eating corpses sprinted through the doorways, sealing off any path of escape.
’If these are something akin to zombies, then I just have to be wary of their bite–piece of cake,’ he thought.
He stood his ground while the swarm of undead closed in from all sides, letting them close the distance before–
[Tintri]
Entering the world of slowed time, he immediately claimed the heads of five husks in a single motion, spinning around while letting the edge of his axe do the talking.
[EXP: +3,000]
Fountains of putrid blood spewed from the headless corpses as they dropped down without a fight.
[Mega-Chop]
He instinctively swung behind him, using the raw air pressure to cleave through the decrepit bodies of the pair that lunged like feral beasts.
[EXP: +2,000]
It was simple enough, he felt; even if their bodies were strengthened by mana, it didn’t seem to be a considerable amount–
At least, until he found himself staring at the goliath that stomped its way into the room. It presented itself with a bestial roar, as the rotting man-giant clubbed at its own chest of decaying, yellowish flesh.
[Greater Identification] [A-Rank Close-Quarters Combat Skill]
["Husk Tank"] [Designated Level: Appx. 18] [Species: Undead]
[Weaknesses: Fire]
"You’re a big one," Noah remarked under his breath.
Even from across the room, the roar of the goliath carried its rotten breath a far enough distance that he felt his nostrils disturbed. It hardly resembled a man anymore, with much of its skin bubbled and overlapped like multiple layers of organic jackets.
"Ruuuuuahhh!" The tank released its roar, charging towards him.
It crossed the distance with respectable quickness, forcing him to duck down as its giant fist wildly swung over his head. Rather than a "hand", what the goliath swung was more akin to a flesh-hammer, as there was a lack of fingers at all.
[Mega-Chop]
The axe was brought up against the exposed side of the giant, cleaving straight through its midsection. To his surprise, there was no toughness to the tank, instead feeling like cutting through dough as it separated–
Just as the axe went through the other side of the goliath’s waist, its flappy flesh reconnected seamlessly like puddy being smashed together.
’That’s freaky,’ he thought.
As if it wasn’t just bisected a moment prior, the giant slammed its fist down in an attempt to flatten him into a pancake.
[Tintri]
He slipped back, disregarding his axe entirely as he holstered it in his belt, choosing a different approach. All he knew from his assessment was that the undead tank was weak to fire–an element he was more than familiar with.
’Alright, let’s see how this works out,’ he planned.
Standing his ground, he goaded the goliath as if it were a raging bull. It huffed and roared, rushing towards him with stomps that shook the chamber. Just as it closed in, he dashed to the right, flicking a fireball into its body as it stumbled by–BOOM.
The impact ignited into a cloud of heat, igniting the rotten giant as its flesh sizzled and burned. Despite it being entirely bathed in fire, the mindless brute didn’t keel over, only seeming to have its rage stoked with the inferno clinging to its body.
’This thing is pretty tough. Guess I should stop messing around,’ the thought solidified itself in his mind as he concentrated a higher output of mana through his body.
As the blazing zombie stomped towards him, its roars mixing with the chaotic element in a glowing mess of burning flesh, he held his hand out.
"Tyrannosaurus Blaze."
A spell he handcrafted himself, with some aid and brainstorming with the elf. Using the apex predator of a time long ago in his original world, he drew forth the thoughtless carnage into a fleeting form–
At the snap of his fingers, mana formed into a mass of fire, taking the shape of the colossal dinosaur as it rushed towards the goliath with its jaws parted. Around its hulking body, the elemental predator’s teeth clasped, capturing the goliath’s body in an explosive chomp.
[EXP: +20,000] [51.000/250,000]
["Undead Slayer" Proficiency +5] [9/999]
"Alright," Noah said, looking back. "All clear."
A safe distance away, the sleuth gave a thumbs-up, only approaching once all parts of the goliath’s body had completely stopped moving. Above all else, Hara was cautious; that unnatural degree of carefulness was a blessing in itself.
"I have to ask again," Hara started while leading the way through a rather narrow corridor. "Is venturing further into this place really worth it? As far as I can see, there’s not much in the way of treasure and quite a bit in the way of man-eating horrors."
"When you put it that way...Well, it’s not about risk-to-reward. There’s someone using these ruins as a base that poses a danger to the people," Noah explained. "I’m here to put a stop to that."
"Very noble," Hara said, looking back though with not much stake in the value of valiant cause.
Through walking as their steps echoed, a passage stood at the end of the dim corridor. Ropes made of bones hung like a curtain, warding off any thoughtless crossing.
"Hey, Master..."
"Yeah, you can return," Noah permitted.
Without a second thought, the sleuth vanished back into the spirit realm, leaving him alone in the dark unknown. There was no way to see what laid in the chamber ahead, undoubtedly filled with nothing good.
