Chương 21: The Talking Undead

Ch 21 - The Talking Undead There were so many monster corpses scattered across the area, and dealing with all of them had been absolutely exhausting. Zeph threw the axe into the ground, the blade sinking firmly into the soil. Then he dropped onto his backside and sat there, panting heavily from pure exhaustion.

"This is seriously one hell of a morning workout," he said, still out of breath as sweat streamed down from his forehead and soaked the rest of his body. He had smashed and torn apart nearly a third of the monster corpses. Honestly, he wasn't sure whether he should feel slightly disappointed or satisfied with the result. He turned to his right, where the inside of his backpack glimmered with the pile of monster cores he had collected.

"Sixteen monster cores." A grin spread across his face. It wasn't the number he had hoped for. It should have been much higher. Still, he had gotten them practically for free. The monsters had slaughtered each other, and all he had done was harvest the remains. Unfortunately, most of the corpses had already withered with time, while others had been damaged so badly that their monster cores had shattered along with them. Even so, he was still breathing hard.

Swinging that axe nonstop had left him feeling as if every drop of energy inside his body had been completely drained away. Zeph pushed himself to his feet and walked toward another side of the battlefield, where a thin column of smoke rose into the air. Earlier, while harvesting the monster cores, he had prepared a fire and set some meat to roast. The meat came from a deer-like monster, which he figured probably had the most tender flesh. Hopefully, it wouldn't taste too different from goat or beef.

He sat down on a rock as the aroma of roasted meat drifted into his nose, which had almost gone numb from everything he had been through.

"With this much meat, I should be able to put on some weight before long." He laughed. His gaze dropped to his shirtless body. It was painfully thin, so thin that he almost looked like a walking skeleton. On top of that, both of his arms were still darkened and rotten-looking, clearly visible from the outside. He truly looked even more like an undead now. Honestly, he hoped the mana core inside his body and his cultivation wouldn't just raise his level, but also increase his weight.

Most cultivators who advanced in level and rank experienced noticeable improvements in their appearance. Their faces became more refined, their physiques became stronger and more attractive. Some even continued growing taller despite already being at an age when they shouldn't have been growing anymore. But apparently, Zeph's body simply didn't have enough resources or nutrients for the mana core to do that kind of work. He took a huge bite.

"Ah, damn." It was still hot. Even so, he kept going, chewing slowly as he closed his eyes.

"Amazing!!!" he shouted a moment later.

"Absolutely amazing!" He continued eating while glancing at his water bottle, whose contents had reached a truly worrying level. He needed to find a fresh supply of water soon. Otherwise, he was going to die of thirst long before starvation became a problem. Fortunately, daytime inside this rift didn't last very long, which meant he wouldn't have to endure the scorching sunlight for too many hours. On the other hand, the nights were much longer. Which also meant he would have to stay alert for much longer.

Longer battles, longer dangers, and longer hours spent trying to survive.

"Is there any part of a monster that I can drink?" Ah, he really needed water. Within a day, or two at most, if he couldn't find a source of drinkable water, he might be forced to drink monster blood. He swallowed hard at the thought, his throat already feeling painfully dry. He had no idea whether monster blood was actually safe to drink, but maybe there was some way to process it, separate the impurities, and leave behind clean water that his body could use. Zeph spent quite a while filling his stomach.

For the first time in his life, he felt truly full. The feeling was so intense that it almost seemed unreal, leaving him deeply satisfied. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He had spent several days inside the rift surviving on dried meat and rationing every bite. This was the first time the rift had given him such an incredible feast. If only he could carry more supplies.

He let out a sigh as he realized how limited he was by what he could bring with him. Carrying too much would only slow him down, and that could easily get him killed later on. His backpack was already packed with monster cores, items he knew would be incredibly valuable once he got out of the rift. Still, he reminded himself that his priority should remain staying alive inside the rift first. That was assuming he could find a way to leave this place.

Maybe he would save some of the meat and bring it along as food for the next one or two days. Of course, that was only if he failed to hunt another monster whose meat he could roast later. Daylight would end soon. He knew that. Because of that, he returned to harvesting monster cores after finishing his meal, energized by the massive boost he had gotten from finally eating properly. Then, just before nightfall arrived, he finally finished searching through every remaining corpse on the battlefield.

He carefully checked each one and made sure he had harvested every monster core that could still be recovered. In total, he ended up with roughly thirty-five monster cores. Thankfully, monster cores weren't particularly large. Otherwise, there would have been no way to cram them all into his backpack.

"At this rate, I'll need a new backpack soon," he muttered. If not, he wouldn't be able to carry all the monster cores he was collecting.

"I want a dimensional storage item," he mumbled quietly. Items with dimensional storage effects did exist. There were craftsmen capable of creating and selling them. The problem was their price. They were absurdly expensive, and their value usually depended on the size of the storage space inside them. If Zeph could save enough money, maybe he could eventually buy one. Even a storage space the size of a backpack would already be amazing.

If he somehow managed to get one with a full cubic meter of storage, it would be even better. After securing everything, Zeph prepared himself once more despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on his body. He really should have taken some time to sleep. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury. The remaining undead would soon rise again, and he needed to be ready to follow them on another patrol through the rift.

Just like before, he would have to move carefully, stay alert, and survive whatever waited for him in the darkness ahead. The sun slowly sank below the horizon, and Zeph stood there in silence, swallowing hard as he prepared himself for what was coming. Gradually, the temperature began to drop at an alarming rate, and darkness soon stretched across the land. Something slowly stirred within him. It was the same sensation that always seemed to appear whenever darkness descended.

He felt his entire body and senses awaken several times over. His vision became sharper, and he could perceive his surroundings with far greater clarity. The darkness felt strangely familiar now, almost comforting. It was as if a hidden part of him only truly came alive when the sun disappeared. Then, after some time had passed, the first signs of movement finally appeared. Zeph glanced in every direction as the undeads, just as he had originally expected, were the ones with the green attribute who rose first.

Their seemingly lifeless bodies began to move once again. Soon after, all of the undeads with the green attribute started getting back on their feet. However... their numbers had truly fallen drastically. By his estimate, there were only seven undeads left.

"The red ones should rise as well, just later," he muttered.

"The green ones rise first, then they begin roaming again with their group. The red ones wake up later, some time after that." He nodded again and prepared himself.

"That means they normally won't end up clashing when they wake up, because they don't rise at the same time. Unless they happen to cross paths in the middle of the night, then a battle between them is bound to happen." Looking at the remaining undeads, the green group should still be smaller than the red group. However, Zeph had his reasons for choosing to follow the green group instead. More than anything, he wanted to see how the two groups differed.

After spending the previous nights with the red-attributed undeads, following the green ones seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn something new. If another large-scale monster attack happened, things would become extremely troublesome. Zeph would no longer be able to relax like he had the previous night, casually collecting the rewards while these undeads did all the fighting. At the very least, he was not completely without protection. Seven was still better than nothing.

The undead army finally began moving. Zeph adjusted the strap of his bag and quickly followed behind them. The wolf hide draped over his body like a cloak, while the hood concealed his head beneath the shadows. What kind of surprise would tonight bring him? What happened next was much the same as on the previous nights. The undeads moved forward with their usual sluggish pace, and Zeph simply followed behind them, matching their slow steps.

With their numbers reduced to this extent, he could no longer properly blend in and hide among them. With the outfit he was wearing, it was actually quite easy to spot him from a distance. Although, from a monster's perspective, humans and undeads were both targets anyway. That was one thing that worked somewhat in his favor here. After traveling for some time, the night remained quiet. Until, suddenly! An attack! Zeph stopped moving as his instincts screamed at him. There was an attack.

Every nerve in his body instantly tensed. This was a completely different warning from anything he had felt before. This was not a monster. The undeads showed no unusual reaction at first. They continued shambling forward as they always did. It happened so fast, but a sword slash cut through the darkness. Three undeads were struck directly in the head and sent flying across the ground.

"There aren't many of them. Finish this quickly!" It was humans! Zeph looked in every direction and spotted them. Two, three, four figures at once, all dressed in black cloak, rushed forward and attacked the undeads. The undeads realized they were under attack. They became violent and charged back with surprising speed. Their movements turned savage, and they fiercely resisted the assault.

"Stop attacking! They aren't a threat!" Zeph shouted at the top of his lungs. He quickly pulled back his hood, revealing his face beneath it. If they were attacking these undeads, then it meant they still did not know that the undeads were actually useful. Zeph revealed his face and hoped they would at least listen to him and consider what he had to say. However, the people only glanced toward Zeph in the middle of the battle.

"This undead can talk. Be careful. Let's attack it together," one of them shouted. Damn it!

"I'm not an undead! What are you talking about?" Zeph yelled back as loudly as he could.

"I'm human too! Just look carefully!" he shouted. However... An attack!

"You monster, die here with them!" Someone had already sneaked up behind him without making a sound. Before Zeph could react, a sword was drawn and slashed toward his neck from the side.