Matthew Carslen was accidentally thrown into a post-apocalyptic fantasy world where different races existed, but all were zombified and everything was in ruins. He had only gone to the supermarket when he fell into a sudden spatial rift of unknown origin.
Appearing in a gloomy environment with a gothic style that seemed taken from dark fantasy and horror films, Matthew felt fear, more than fear, his heart almost jumped out of his chest.
He, who had planned to study medicine after graduating from high school, now lay lost in an unknown world.
Run!
Yes, he had to start running as soon as he arrived.
About 13 zombies were chasing him, and not to greet him.
With the putrid smell in the air, he felt like vomiting, but he still kept running until he reached a building.
He went inside, closed a wooden door to a room.
Bang! Bang!...
The zombies were violently banging on the door. At that moment, he looked around at the dark surroundings; everything was covered in dust, and the few pieces of furniture were badly deteriorated.
He hid behind a sofa whose fabric was torn.
Then he began to remember what he was doing and recalled that he had been sleeping before going to the supermarket.
In his small apartment, on a mattress lying on the floor.
"Yes, this must be a nightmare, and I never went to the supermarket."
The wooden door creaked; the wood wouldn't hold any longer. The putrid smell was entering and blending into the surroundings.
His heart was racing. He punched himself hard, trying to wake up.
Bang!
The wooden door fell, and he was still in that sinister place.
He bit his hand hard, trying to wake up. He believed that pain might be the solution. But the pain only fueled his despair. His hand ached, and horrific zombies of various races pounced on him, tearing out his entrails, flesh, and other body parts.
He felt as if the painful and traumatic experience had lasted an eternity, but it only lasted a few seconds. After the zombies devoured everything within reach, the virus contaminated the remaining part of Matthew's body, and the zombies lost interest.
[Frankenstein System, welcome host]
[You have been infected by the zombie virus]
[Congratulations, host]
[You are a zombie with high potential]
The notifications piled up, and Matthew lay unconscious in a pool of blood, his flesh exposed, his bones gnawed, his intestines spilling out, his right arm missing, and bite marks all over his body. "Damn it." Matthew cursed in a strange voice, which was normal given his body was covered in severe injuries.
"Damn it." Matthew cursed again as he read the notifications.
In his mind, troubled by trauma and the virus, emotions of anger, revenge, murderous intent, and more swirled.
After so much pain, and seeing how they stretched his insides, there was no room left for fear.
[Host, you have maintained your rationality]
[Host, your body is in a state of decay]
[Host, replace your body with useful or higher-level parts]
[Host, by replacing the useless parts, your body will become stronger and you will rank up]
[Zombie: Rank F-] Matthew glared at the system angrily, but the anger didn't last long. In the end, he knew it was useless to try to do anything when he was so weak.
"How do I replace the useless parts?"
[Heh heh heh. You must devour any useful parts you can get.]
"..."
Matthew was speechless for a few seconds, but after all the irrational things that had happened to him, the system's suggestion didn't seem strange.
He looked at a virtual notification:
[Zombie: Rank F-]
"Will I rot?"
[If the host reaches Rank C-, they don't need to worry about rotting.]
Matthew brought his left hand to his face; his arm was covered in bites that revealed flesh and bone.
Matthew stood up slowly; his body could barely be considered a usable body.
As he walked, his intestines dragged along the floor, leaving bloody footprints with each step.
He left the room where his humanity had perished; he knew that if he continued to cling to the past, he would only literally rot. As he walked, sometimes resting his left hand on the walls of that gloomy building, he reached the stairs and saw a human zombie standing in the middle of them.
Matthew stopped, but quickly realized that the human zombie didn't see him as a target.