"Pain.."
Leon hissed, feeling the agony wrecking his body as his muscles tore apart and regenerated. He even felt his consciousness being eroded.
'Zombie in..stincts?'
His thoughts blurred, disrupted by the attack. Yet, he refused to succumb and lose the rest of his humanity. Instead, he collected his awareness into a single form and fought back against the erosion. The whole thing turned into a mental brawl between him and his zombie self, contending on who'd dominate.
By the time the evolution ended, his mind was cleared anew. His body felt new and alive, pulsing with inhuman strength.
He walked toward a glass door, wanting to check himself.
As expected, his crystal had turned bright yellow, though it didn't glow. His white hair remained the same, alongside his violet eyes that now had a mystical glow.
Closing his eyes, he whispered,
"Code 408D—Interface"
When he opened his eyes, he saw a hologram appear before him.
[Name: Leon White]
[Race - ???]
[Class: Smith-Weaver]
[Attributes: |Silver Hide||Zombie Transformation|]
[Level: Second Level Creature]
The information was short, though enough for Leon.
'So the code cannot classify my race currently. This is quite unsettling. Is it because I'm a rational zombie? Zombies with complete mind are only at the Seventh Level after all.'
The attributes displayed the abilities he'd received from consuming the female zombie and his own circumstance. His class remained the same, though a thought popped in his mind.
'Is it possible to have a dual-class?'
The thought, although fleeting, was undeniably important. If it was true, then...
A wild grin graced his lips and his eyes glinted ominous violet.
...
Four days after the fight with the second level zombie, Anna regained consciousness.
When she looked to the side, she saw a nurse dozing off on the chair.
"Oh."
The sound jerked the nurse awake and made her look embarrassed.
"Ah! You're awake. This is good news."
Anna gave her a confused look, prompting her to introduce herself.
"Uh.. My name is Sofiya Sidorov. I'm a half-russian who was studying nursing here in the U.S. At least before the world turned upside down."
The nurse's gaze turned downcast. "I don't even know how my family is faring over there. Probably dead. Haha, cruel joke. But hey, at least I'm alive. And it's all thanks to you guys. Now I don't have to worry about food or zombies—as long as I'm able to help, I'm satisfied."
Noticing that she might be boring her patient, Sofiya coughed awkwardly. "Uhm, sorry I'm ranting and all. Let me check your injuries."
Finally, she stood up and inspected the girl's injuries. The deep cuts had mostly healed, leaving behind still-healing scars while the minor scratches had miraculously disappeared.
'Wow! It's nice being an evolved...' Sofiya was amazed.
She looked at Anna's dull brown eyes which looked gloomy and felt a chill down her spine. She remembered the whispers she'd heard among survivors about how battle-crazy this particular girl was.
"Where is Cassie?"
Anna asked, unwilling to further waste her time.
"Oh, you mean Lady Cassie? Let me get her for you." Sofiya clapped, ready to leave.
Raising a hand, Anna stopped her and stepped out of bed.
"Nevermind. I'll find her myself."
Saying that, she left the room with steady steps. She was quite surprised by the way Sofiya had addressed Cassie, though. That tone, it was full of respect.
'What happened while I was out?'
When she finally found Cassie, she was a bit surprised. The girl was in a meeting with Old Pipe's squad, seemingly in a serious discussion. More surprising was the fact that she had changed her hairstyle.
'Hm?'
Noticing someone at the door, the girl turned with a frown which instantly transformed into a wide smile.
"Anna!"
Her joy was evident as she enveloped her friend in a tight hug. The others looked quite surprised and relieved by her recovery too.
"You sure recovered fast. I was told we might spend a week based on how dangerous your injuries were."
Cassie said with a relieved smile, though she was more restrained—no longer acting childish.
Anna nodded, acknowledging her only friend. "Thank you."
"Come on, sit with us. We were discussing how to distribute resources."
Cassie invited her to sit beside her, which she naturally accepted.
"Resources?"
Anna was a bit confused, not exactly updated on the situation.
Before Cassie could speak, Amelia (Ice) spoke. "Let me explain. Using the resources we have, we were able to purchase two weapons and two class cards. One of the weapons is a Warhammer, and the other is a Shield—both One-Stars. The class jobs are 'Blade Master' and 'Assassin' classes. Both of the unique rank."
With the information from Amelia, Anna had a rough understanding of the discussion.
"What's your take on this? I'd recommend Old Pipe for the hammer and that Daddy Ye uses the shield. Though I'm not sure about the class cards."
Cassie expressed her opinions, seeking Anna's.
"You're right. The weapon would undoubtedly benefit Old Pipe. And while I do agree that Daddy Ye make use of the shield, it'd only be temporary until we find someone compatible." Anna nodded, her expression stern. "Everyone here except Cassie and Little Tiger has a class. That leaves the choices to you both."
"Eh?" Cassie looked surprised, but quickly reigned it in. "Hmm. That's true."
Before she could say her mind, Little Tiger spoke. "Auntie Cassie, you can pick your choice first, I'm fine with anything."
The young boy had come to respect Cassie a lot after seeing how much his father and others accepted her decisions. It seemed he had even developed a crush on her.
Anna's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
"Alright. If you say so. I'll go with the Assassin class."
The others were surprised. They all thought she would pick the 'Blade Master' class.
However, Cassie's thoughts were quite different.
'If I can learn to utilize my axes as an assassination tool, although rare, it would be very useful—and cool.'
"Are you sure?"
Even Anna was a little bewildered by her choice.
Cassie nodded with a matured smile, then turned to the others.
"Then let's move on to the other pressing matters... our shelter's food provision."