22

We were starting to leave behind rotten flesh simply because we had no use for it. I couldn't craft with it, and the stench was, well, like rotten meat so most of us could barely stand the smell. I was the only one that seemed to be completely unaffected by it. I knew that disturbed the other woman in the group, but I couldn't exactly explain that I'd worked on a farm for years, and they didn't exactly do a good job of disposing of the corpses until they were rancid. Top it off those corpses were right next to an area I spent at least two hours in daily while I was there. 

In other words. I was a professional at ignoring the nastiest scents the average person could imagine. I reacted the fastest when a zombie was spotted simply because I wasn't grumbling about the smell. 

"You're getting most of the kills," Someone complained when I got another kill. 

Even though it took me two whole arrows to take the zombie down. 

"If you'd stop grumbling about the smell you might notice the zombies before me," I snapped in an irritated tone, "If you hadn't noticed I'm slower then you."

It was unnecessary, but I was tired, and it felt like we'd been in here for days. My stamina was running low, and with me repeatedly drawing my bow my muscles were starting to complain. Then there were the angry red welts on my arm from when my bows broke. Yes, bows, plural. I'd broken three of them so far. 

Luckily I had plenty of supplies to make new ones when the old ones broke, but the problem was all I could do was make poor bone bows. I guess I'd been a little too positive about my crafting skill. I settled into a deep state of concentration. Once we finished I would be able to take a break. The zombies were thinning so we didn't have much more left.

I could keep going until we were done. Maybe I would get a point in stamina because of how hard I was straining myself. Then another twenty or so zombies later we received the all clear notification. The others all left at once, and I decided to take advantage of the last hour this floor of the dungeon was open. I started sprinting as much as I possibly could. 

My muscles were already strained to the maximum, and my stamina was exhausted so I thought I might get a point in stamina while I was at it. I pushed myself as hard as I could. Sprinting back, and forth in the small amount of clear space I had. It was only about a fifty foot wide clearing. I took advantage of the whole space as long as I could, and decided to leave the dungeon when it gave me the ten minute warning.

I sighed heavily as I nearly collapsed as soon as I was clear of the portal. I pulled out my phone, and it had only been about an hour out here. I smirked a little to myself. I could do this every time I was in dungeons. I would need to focus on weaker dungeons, but I'd be able to gain stat points while everyone else was focused on clearing the dungeon as fast as possible. 

I straightened slowly. Walked over the the checkpoint, and sold everything in my bag. I still had a good number of materials from yesterday, and I wouldn't be allowed to leave with the cores anyways. I didn't bother trying to get my share from the others because I didn't care. I had earned another seven hundred dollars today, and I was frugal enough to put some money away above, and beyond the thirteen hundred I paid in rent monthly. The five hundred from yesterday had been enough to put me over the line I needed to make for rent. 

This seven hundred would dwindle down to three hundred once I finished paying my monthly bills, but three hundred was way more then I would spend on food as long as I wasn't stupid about it. I decided that I would eat what was left of my frozen food today, and make myself some scalloped potatoes after I got some sleep. I headed back to the hotel in the dark, and went up to my room quietly. I hadn't gotten my two thousand done for a strength stat point yet so while my food was microwaving I did some more crunches since my legs didn't agree with squats. Then I ate, and went to bed. 

I knew I'd lose my progress on stat grinding at seven tomorrow morning, but I was simply too tired to care. Pushing myself to do crunches had only made that fact even more obvious. I turned on a show to listen to as I fell asleep, and passed out not long after I turned the show on. Leaving my phone plugged in next to the TV, and not bothering to worry about it for the time being. I didn't even bother checking my stats. 

I rolled out of bed, and checked my phone. I realized the screen didn't come on like it normally did. My phone was dead as a doornail. My cord wasn't properly plugged in last night. I'd accidentally pulled the cord out of the wall the night before. 

I didn't notice that the little lightning bolt didn't show up on the battery. I cursed my exhausted self, and gave my phone a few moments to gather a charge before turning it on. It was about almost four in the morning. I was a little weirded out that my sleep schedule was so messed up, but I didn't have a set job anymore, and I didn't need a regular sleep schedule. I started alternating between different exercises to try, and get that one strength stat. 

I only had three hours. I was determined, but I could only do so much. I wasn't the fittest person, and my body was revolting against all this exercise because before I'd awakened I didn't exercise. I inhaled slowly. I kept going until my limbs burned over, and over again.