Corrupted Bear

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Rustle

Our footsteps in the falling leaves are too loud. Or rather, should I say, Yin's footsteps are a little loud. While I don't have access to various stealth skills, I have plenty of experience avoiding making noise in the wild. For a long time, before I gained the title of one of the Five Death Gods, I leveled in the shadows only striking once the enemy was distracted. Hence my debut name in the beginning of the Calamity…Black Butcher Lin. To be honest though, this time around, I don't plan on using my butcher's knife for much. I've already resolved to go to a certain place where I know a special zombie will appear with a powerful blade. All that matters right now is getting Yin to a high enough level that she'll be able to slay that zombie.

"Shh…we're close." I press a finger to my lips while holding the slim girl back. She has her newly sharpened katana out. "Look at the ground."

"Eww!" Yin recoils as she sees the droppings left behind by a wild animal. Many people don't know this, but the strongest enemies right now are not Fresh Undead, which have a high concentration of the virus, but instead, strong animals in the wild which have been corrupted. Provided they are strong enough to resist total infection, these monsters will actually give a high amount of experience and eating their meat is said to strengthen their hunters. Though the virus is responsible for great death and misery, it is also the bringer of great change. Many babies born after the Calamity were exposed to trace amounts of the virus in the environment and actually turned out stronger than people from before. As a result, the world became a much tougher place in general.

"Bear." My explanation causes Yin to grow afraid. "Based on the time…it's probably not that infected. The meat might still be good." A hungry expression appears on my face which makes her shudder. I take out my cleaver. "Depending on the concentration of virus, it might be a little tough for your sword right now. And your level is only three so a bear is a bit tough for your first time." Frowning, I think it over. It's true that a wild bear is an extremely tough animal. But it's worth a ton of experience. Probably enough to get Yin straight to Lvl. 5 which would unlock the true power of Hunters. "Okay, I have an idea! It's risky, but I think it should work!"

"Tough for my sword?" Yin whimpers a little as she hears my words. However, she does not run away. After slaying several zombies, she's already begun to change. The mindset of a Hunter is taking over. While I don't expect her to become as ruthless as me, that would be too much, I think she will soon learn to be a decisive warrior. Ignoring her, I go over to a sapling nearby and test it with my hands. The trunk is about the right length for me to grasp. Drawing back my cleaver, I start hacking it down. ��W-What are you doing, Lin?"

"Making a spear. It's a shame because I'll take some of your experience which I don't want to do, but it shouldn't be too much. At worst, I'll hit Lvl. 2. But you'll definitely get to Lvl. 5 which will be huge." Stripping the side branches and leaves off the tree bough, I work on fashioning it into a working spear for large game. I'm not a spear user so I prefer not to use them, but I'll make an exception this one time. Once the trunk of the tree has been prepared, I work on whittling the top into shape. Cutting notches into the branch, I pull the end apart into three thick prongs which I then work on sharpening. Once it's complete, I have a rudimentary trident. While I work, I mention a few things to Yin. "So, there's something you should know about me."

"Ohh are you finally going to tell me your secrets?" Yin grows excited for some reason as I put in the finishing touches. "Did you make a pact with the devil for incredible knowledge?"

Pah!

Smacking the top of her head, I shake my head. This girl…

"Obviously not. Well at least I don't think so." My rebuttal only causes Yin to become more suspicious, but I keep going. "Listen up! Normally, most people won't turn undead when they die unless they were bitten and injected with a sufficient amount of virus to trigger an infection. Understand? The bite introduces the virus into the bloodstream and if it's a high concentration, the sudden increase in viral load causes people to rapidly die after being bitten. However, this does not usually apply to wounds that aren't bites, and in higher level undead, their infectivity is actually reduced because they have less virus in their system!"

"I think I'm with you…but why are you telling me this now?" Yin narrows her beautiful brown eyes at me. "Lin?"

"Well, I'm telling you because you should know. My situation is a bit different than other people. If I die…even if it isn't from a zombie, you must immediately sever my spinal cord. Or failing that, you can destroy my skull." I point ominously at the skull in question. "Otherwise, you'll regret it. I don't know how or why, perhaps it's best just to call it a curse, but you can think of me as someone who has already been bitten. If I should fall, it is your responsibility to kill me twice!"

"HAH?" Yin gasps as she understands what I'm asking of her. "But Lin…you're perfectly normal. I've never seen you get bitten. And we've even slept together, you're definitely not infected!" To this I can only sigh. Even I don't know how I became this way, or why the Gray was formed. The best way I can describe it really is like a curse. I suppose this might be the price of being the first to hit Lvl. 100 in my previous life. There's really no way to know.

"Look, I may look okay, but this will happen, I assure you." Staring into her eyes with a steely resolve, I make sure to hold her gaze until she is forced to blink and look away. "This is serious and it's why I refuse to level. There's something…something evil inside me. You can't see it, but you have to believe it is there. If I can't trust you to finish me off, then maybe it'd be better if I left now and found someone who can." At this, Yin's surprise fades from her face. She stiffens and I see her hands clutching the handle of the replica sword tightly.

"I…I don't know how you know this. But you've never been wrong before. I'll believe you. Just don't…don't go, okay?" She steps in closer with a troubled expression. Seeing the way her lips pout ever so slightly, I can't bear to hurt her feelings much more.

"I need your promise, Yin. Swear it to me. That if I should die, you will ensure my corpse does not rise again. Do I have your word?" I say solemnly. Only when she nods do I let the serious expression slip off my face. "Okay, this spear is ready. Here, take my cleaver. I think the enemy might be too fresh to use your sword on. I'll hold it down. Then you finish it off. Got it?"

"Got it!" Yin accepts my cleaver and sheathes her sword. For now, she still hasn't memorized the action and still has to look as she puts it away, but already, she has look of a swordswoman. One day, I hope to see her decimating the battlefield as one of the new generation of death gods in this world. Perhaps she will take my place in this timeline. Heh, that's funny. Who would have thought Black Butcher Lin would be training a woman to take his place?

"Okay, follow me." I spend the rest of the afternoon tracking down the location of the bear. We encounter more droppings from time to time, as well as scratched up trees that the beast has rubbed itself against and sharpened its claws on. By the time the sun is setting, I'm sure we've gotten close. It's actually Yin who spots the cave in the side of a small hill. Huge claw marks are carved into the stone around a deep, dark hole. There's no mistake. This bear is definitely big and recently corrupted. Looking at the entrance, I get a creepy feeling. To be honest, by the time I fought a Corrupted Bear, I was already Lvl. 7, in my last life. And I had a party at my back.

"Is it in there?" Yin hangs back, unwilling to go near the dark cave. I examine the outside for clues. There's plenty of fresh bear tracks and droppings so I know we're in the right place. "Do we have to go inside?"

"No…it'll be too dangerous to enter its den. Instead, let's smoke it out." I fumble around in my coat and find my flint. Looking around, I start gathering dead wood to make a fire. Once I have a good blaze going, the sun is already almost over the horizon and nightfall has begun to set. The forest has become a dark place full of terrors. Our fire is now the strongest warmth in this place. Grabbing a dead branch full of leaves, I place it in the flames until it begins to smoke and char. "Okay, I'll smoke it out of the den. With any luck, it'll run itself onto my spear. Then you finish it yea?"

"L-Lin!" Suddenly as I'm about to toss my burning branch into the bear's lair, I hear a scream from behind. Fear blossoms inside me as I realize I've miscalculated. A prickling feeling takes over my stomach as my heartbeat pounds and adrenaline spikes through me. A second later, the terrifying roar of a Corrupted Bear tells me everything I need to know.

Crap. It was behind us.

GRAWWWRR!