Another Midnight Hunt (IV)...

"Fuck!" Daichi cursed loudly as the Zombie swiped his free hand toward him. His eyes grew wide in surprise and fear. In a situation like this, fear was a natural emotion, however, fear is a double-edged sword. While it may break a person, there is also the possibility they'd be able to face that fear and exceed their limits. If they could achieve that breakthrough, then they would be able to push themselves even harder, until they could finally overcome what they feared.

That is what happened with Daichi right now, he was afraid, but instead of freezing in fear, he decided to push himself harder. 'I can't die here! I am still way too young to die, and there are so many mature women out there who need my love!!' Daichi screamed inside his mind and he forcefully raised his leg even though his position shouldn't have allowed him to do so. Daichi placed his leg on the Zombie's chest and used all the Points in his Strength parameter to push the Zombie away from him.

Daichi winced in pain as pain shot throughout his leg… he was sure that he'd severed some of his muscles and cracked his bones in a couple of places with his last stunt, but at least that had saved him from getting scratched by the Zombie, as both the Zombie and Daichi were blasted in opposite directions. Daichi didn't need Kyoko's Appraisal Skill to know that it was a Zombie, who just like him, had reached the pinnacle of Level 1.

Daichi barely landed on his feet and leaned on his left leg as his right leg was probably useless for the time being. Daichi winced in pain, but there was nothing he could do right now… Right now, he wished Saya could use her Skill to create healing Potions, that would have been really great. Thankfully, Saeko and Bella arrived beside him to give him support.

"Daichi-kun, are you alright?" "My Lord, are you okay?" Both Saeko and Bella asked Daichi, looking really worried. Saeko was really good at handling her emotions, but Bella was a completely different story, she had started to release her bloodlust, which was directed toward the Zombie. To be honest, both Daichi and Saeko were taken aback by the potent bloodlust Bella was releasing, especially Daichi.

Daichi had witnessed his mom's bloodlust and he thought that his mom was a monster, but her bloodlust was nothing compared to Bella's. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of atrocities Bella must have committed for her to have this amount of bloodlust… It was simply insane… 'Darkest Witch in History indeed' Daichi repeated inside his mind, he finally understood that her Title wasn't just for show…

Daichi finally returned to his senses, he immediately shook his head to clear his mind. Right now, he had much more important things to deal with. Even though Bella was a monster, he wasn't going to stop taking care of her and he even might end up loving her in the future. She might be a monster, but she was his monster. Daichi chuckled humourlessly…

"I might have injured my leg… but otherwise, I am fine, though that Zombie seems to be in a better condition than me" Daichi said while shaking his head as the Level 1 Zombie finally stood up. The Zombie might seem to be injured, but it wasn't, That is how Zombies generally were. It seemed that even after leveling up, the Zombies still stayed in their usual decaying state.

"Bella, do you have a Spell to heal my leg?" Daichi asked in a hopeful tone, now he was sure that he had cracked his leg in at least a couple of places. So, if he really wanted to fight, then he needed to heal his leg. The Zombie was dangerous, he needed to heal his freaking leg.

"Um… no" Bella answered with a sullen look. "Though I do know a Spell which will numb all the pain in your leg, it will only work for an hour and you will end up injuring your leg, even more, when everything is over…" Bella answered slowly with an unsure look on her face. The Zombie wasn't a gentleman, so he decided to use this chance to lunge at the trio…

"Okay, cast the Spell!" Daichi yelled out hurriedly and it was Saeko who decided to face the Zombie until Daichi and Bella were ready. Saeko's Katana clashed against the Zombie's claws, creating sparks. Without wasting any more time, Bella cast the Spell on Daichi and he felt the pain disappear instantly… Bella seemed to be slightly reluctant, but she still cast the Spell on Daichi.

"Saeko, be careful! That isn't a normal Zombie" Daichi screamed and dashed towards Saeko while Bella decided to stay back to help the duo… The Zombie roared and pushed back Saeko. Bella wanted to help the duo, but right now, she was in no position to help them. She needed to keep the other Zombies away from the fight.

When Saeko was pushed back by the Zombie, Daichi jumped in front of the Zombie to stop it from attacking Saeko, The Zombie growled menacingly and both Daichi and Saeko grunted when an invisible pressure descended on them.

"He has a damn Skill!" Daichi yelled as Saeko also jumped into the fray. Both of them could feel that the invisible pressure was trying to hold them down… Even though Daichi wasn't feeling pain in his leg, he was trying to push too much pressure into that leg. Saeko swung down her Katana as she activated her Skill, the Zombie was strong, but it wasn't that strong. Her Katana sliced through the Zombie's arm like it was cutting through butter.

Daichi wasn't going to miss the opening Saeko had created in the Zombie's defense… He swung his metal pipe using all of his power and smashed the pipe on the side of the Zombie's head… Several cracks were heard and the head of the Zombie cracked open like a watermelon.

[You have gained the Mana of a Level 2 Brawler Zombie. Strength +5, Agility +7, Health +5, Stamina +6]

[You have gained 1 Status Point to distribute freely]

Daichi blinked in confusion, and then he cursed inside his mind. It wasn't a Level 1 Zombie, who had reached the pinnacle of Level 1. It was a fucking Level 2 Zombie. That was something Daichi wasn't expecting… The Zombie even had a Job. That must be why the Zombie seemed to be so strong and it needed both Saeko and Daichi to deal with it.

[Mana Archive commends you for slaying an existence 1 Level higher than you. You have gained an additional Skill slot].

Once again, Daichi's eyes grew wide in surprise… He didn't even know that someone could have more than one Skill, but it seemed that they could. Daichi shook his head and glanced towards Saeko, who seemed to be similarly surprised just like he was a couple of moments ago.

"Saeko, did you also receive an additional Skill slot?" Daichi asked and Saeko simply nodded her head.

"By the way, what are those?" Saeko asked pointing toward two orbs lying beside the unmoving corpse of the Level 2 Zombie. Daichi couldn't call it dead since it was already dead when it was a Zombie. Daichi slowly leaned down and picked up one of the orbs and as soon as he did that, a small screen appeared in front of his eyes.

[Skill: Static

When the Skill is activated, an invisible pressure descends on the enemy or the enemies making them slower. The effect of the Skill would decrease with the number of enemies, but the effect of the Skill will increase if the Agility of the user is the highest parameter]

[Crush the orb to acquire the Skill]

"Saeko, your Agility is the highest parameter, isn't it?" Daichi asked as he glanced at Saeko from the corner of his eyes. Saeko looked at Daichi with confusion, but she still nodded her head.

The Skill was perfect for Saeko, the Skill would have been good for Daichi too, but the effect of the Skill would increase with Agility as the highest parameter. So, even if Daichi acquired the Skill, he wouldn't have been able to use the Skill to its full potential. Right now, Daichi had no way of increasing his Agility parameter, and unlike Saeko, he wasn't a martial artist, he was a brawler.

So, Daichi tossed the orb toward Saeko. "Crush it" Daichi said, and Saeko caught the orb on pure instinct. Daichi noticed that her eyes became unfocused and after only a couple of moments, she crushed the orb. Daichi smiled and grabbed the second orb lying on the ground. Once again, a small screen appeared in front of Daichi's eyes.

[Weapon: Zombie Claws

A weapon created from the claws of a Level 2 Zombie. The weapon contains Zombie Infection. The Zombification can be avoided if the victim is one Level higher than the user and the special effect of the weapon will be nullified if the enemy is Level 4 or higher]

As soon as Daichi read the weapon description, something clicked inside his mind. He had no way of confirming his theory at this moment as he had much more important things to deal with. So, he quickly shoved the weapon into his pocket. Then he turned towards Saeko, who was staring at him expectantly.

"Saeko-chan, let's go and help Bella. We can't let her have all the fun" Daichi said with a grin and Saeko softly chuckled and inclined her head after hearing his words.

But before the two of them could even take a step, the whole bridge shook and a huge explosion erupted from their side of the bridge, making everyone freeze in shock and surprise…

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