Chapter 4: This Is Unfair!
Ding!
Just as he was collecting his thoughts, another sound appeared in his mind.
---
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[#~System Notification~#]
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[Notice.]
[The designated user has been determined to possess abnormal circumstances.]
[Assessment Complete.]
└ User awakened several decades beyond the standard tutorial period.
└ User was unable to participate in beginner guidance.
└ User was unable to receive initial player resources.
└ User was unable to access tutorial missions.
[To ensure fairness, the Overlord System shall provide a special introductory mission.]
[...]
[Generating Mission...]
[Mission Generated Successfully.]
***
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[#/Special Tutorial Mission/#]
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[Mission] - Establish Your Authority.
[Description:]
As a zombie overlord, authority is the foundation of your existence.
A group of zombies has been detected nearby.
Demonstrate your sovereignty and establish your first subordinate.
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[Objective:]
■ Successfully subdue at least one zombie.
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[Detected Targets:]
■ Zombies × 7
[Distance] - 312 Meters
[Direction] - North-East
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[Rewards:]
■ Reward quality will be determined by mission performance.
■ Greater authority demonstrated will yield greater rewards.
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[Failure Conditions:]
■ Mission Abandoned.
■ User Death.
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[Time Limit] - None
---
"Hold the fuck on, DECADES?!!" Ethan crashed out almost instantly, his voice loud and uncontrolled.
For a moment, he forgot all the worries he had previously. He had anticipated that a long time had passed since he turned into a zombie.
Maybe years, maybe even a decade. But several decades were simply out of his expectations.
’Come to think of it, I was being too optimistic... How could anyone devour more than seven hundred thousand lives within a decade? Even several decades is too short, but it has better chances...’ Realizing this, he let out a long, deep sigh.
"This introductory mission sounds interesting. I’ll be able to gauge my capabilities and limits."
Since Ethan saw his status window, the numbers had lingered in his mind. Just like a traditional game setting, his strengths were numbered.
Although he couldn’t tell how strong he was, he had been wanting to test it out.
"The system said my current rank is ’E’... At least I’m not a bottom-feeder..." He smiled half-heartedly, trying to console himself.
Although Ethan was a stranger to whatever development had been made in the past several decades, he knew about the basic system of players.
The players’ ranks varied from ’A’ and went all the way to ’F’, where the latter was naturally the worst.
In common words, an F rank was nothing different from a normal human’s. E-rank, however, was someone who could barely be called "awakened."
"Currently, my rank is ’E’, but my class rank is ’SSS’. Paired with my skill—Infinite Evolution—it won’t be wrong to say that, unlike normal players, I can upgrade my rank... Of course, that’s only if it really lives up to its name... Hmmm... Could this be because of my race?" Speculating about different things, he quickly began to move towards the north-east.
Although Ethan was curious, he knew that he couldn’t answer such questions by himself. Thus, he decided to set the topic aside and do the mission instead.
***
A few minutes later, Ethan had reached much closer to the tower he had seen before. Still, from his point of view, he was quite far away.
But at this moment, his footsteps had come to a halt. For the past minute, he had been walking carefully and slowly, trying not to create any excessive sound.
"Gruu..."
From nearby, muffled, weak groans could be heard continuously.
Immediately, Ethan looked over, only to find a group of seven zombies roaming mindlessly at a small distance.
Their clothes were just like his—withered and barely clinging to his body. However, unlike Ethan, their bodies were in much worse shape.
A skeletal body that made it nearly impossible to distinguish their genders; withered patches of hair; as well as corroding flesh that sometimes fell off their bodies as they walked by—revealing their crumbling bones.
Even if Ethan did not have a way to measure their strength, he could easily guess that they were clearly of a lower rank than him.
"Strange, apart from their appearance, I can also feel a sense of relief surging through my mind and heart. It’s almost as if I ’know’ that those zombies are weaker than me..." A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, snatching his focus off his targets.
"Monsters are known to have a primal instinct of strength between one another. Although I regained my consciousness, my body is still that of a zombie... Could it be another one of the features of having this body? But if so, why didn’t the system mention it earlier?"
"Hmmm..." Thinking hard, he suddenly shrugged his thoughts off, "Eh, who cares?"
Ethan quickly closed the distance with the zombie group in a few leaps. Just as he was about five meters away, the other zombies felt his presence and froze.
[Your skill—Zombie Sovereignty—has been activated.]
[All the lower-rank zombies in the vicinity submit to your presence.]
The zombies hurriedly turned around and saw Ethan approaching them. As soon as their eyes captured his figure, they bore their fangs and growled aggressively.
Suddenly, a certain feeling of fear emerged in their hearts.
At once, they began seeing something that didn’t really exist. A mass of dark energy enveloped Ethan’s body, making his figure look fierce and authoritative.
Their bodies shook, and their eyes trembled as they quickly knelt in complete submission—their forehead touching the dusty floor.
One could easily tell that if their bodies were still functioning, they’d be sweating rivers.
---
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[#/System Notification/#]
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[Special Tutorial Mission Complete.]
[Objective Achieved.]
└ [Successfully subdued 7 F-Rank Zombies.]
[...]
[Mission Evaluation Complete.]
[Reward calculation has been updated.]
[...]
[New Feature Unlocked.]
***
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[#/Undead Registery/#]
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[Information regarding all undead under your authority will now be automatically recorded.]
[Current Registered Undead: 7]
---
Ethan slowed down and gave a look of disapproval. Clicking his tongue, he said:
"That was anticlimactic... Didn’t even get to test my strength..."
Although, as if responding to his complaint, a new system window appeared before his eyes.
---
[A continuation mission has been detected.]
[Generating Mission...]
[...]
[Mission Generated Successfully.]
***
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[#/Special Tutorial Mission - 2/#]
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[Mission] - Escape the Territorial Lord
[Description:]
The zombies you subdued were members of a territory ruled by a superior undead.
The territorial lord has detected the disappearance of its subordinates.
It has entered an enraged state.
It will actively pursue the source responsible.
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[Objective:]
■ Survive.
■ Escape the Territorial Lord.
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[Target:]
■ High-Tier Monster
└ [Territorial Lord]
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[Rewards:]
■ Rewards will be determined according to the player’s choices and overall performance.
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[Failure Conditions:]
■ User Death
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[Time Limit] - Until pursuit ends.
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"The fuc—"