For a while, we don’t speak. The decapitated bodies dribble blood gently onto the shoreline as the lonely wind blows. This time, it is better for Yin. Her hands are shaking, that won’t change. But she’s still standing. Still ready to fight if more enemies come. That’s what I want to see. Someone ready to take on the world. In a few days, the real Calamity will begin. I need to get her strong enough with this time. Watching her chest heave and the little jumping vein on her neck, I wait for her to regain her senses.

“Did you level up?” I ask. She nods, holding my cleaver as if it’s dirty. Gently, I go over and take it from her and wash it in the river. “Don’t worry, their blood is not infectious, it’s only the bites, for now.”

“I see. You know so much.” Her gaze turns suspicious briefly, but I avoid it, pretending that I’m still washing the cleaver. “How did you know they would be in there?” She nudges the dead bodies with a toe. Her disgust and fear of the undead has begun to go away with experience. It’s impressive really. Not too many people would be capable of adapting this quickly.

“Drowned Souls are simply those with heavy resentments that die in the water.” I look out at the lights of the settlement. “We’re close-by to a town, so I suspected someone might have died in this river. Remember, if you’re ever planning on swimming somewhere from now on, it’s a good idea to check if there’s anything inside first. They’re easily aggravated so throwing a stone should be enough usually.” My explanation is detailed. Drowned Souls are not something most newbies fought too much, but I learned early on that they were excellent experience.

“Ah, thank you…teacher.” She replies, clasping her hands. This time, it’s my turn to feel weird. Teacher? I’m not old enough for that!

“Just call me Hei.” I say, trying to hide my embarrassment. Even in two lifetimes I’ve never been called teacher before. “Now that you’re Lvl. 3, you’re probably the highest-level person alive right now. Well, except for some freaks maybe.”

“Really?” Her brown eyes are confused. “What does it mean though? Does my level really matter that much?”

“To a Hunter, your level is the most important thing besides your combat skill and knowledge.” I explain. “Perhaps you haven’t noticed it yet, but don’t you feel better already? Your endurance has improved, your eyesight, even your physical strength. But these are all just basic enhancements. Once you hit Lvl. 5, you’ll be able to truly choose what you want to make stronger.” My words gradually penetrate and she begins to grow excited. The cute girl throws out a few punches, her ripped jeans stretching in a rather nice way as she tests her body.

Lol…this girl, am I really going to be able to keep her alive?

“I do feel different!” Yin gasps as she discovers the difference. “I can even jump higher!” Watching her jump up and down like a little kid, I have to look away. Everyone reacts that way the first time. Becoming a Hunter is great. Well, it’s great until you realize your power comes from killing others, but even then it’s amazing nevertheless. “This is amazing!”

“Isn’t it?” I smile at her excitement. We’re surrounded by the corpses of two Drowned Souls, but she’s grinning from ear to ear. This picture is a little wrong. That’s just how life is during the Calamity though. As a Hunter you need to get used to such things. “Now you see why I want you to level up as much as possible.”

“Yes! But wait…” She frowns, her oriental face scrunching up as she glances at me. “What about you? You’re helping me so much, even holding them down for me, but you never take the kill. Isn’t that bad?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I hold my clean cleaver and let the river water run off of it. “Even after you gain a few more levels I still know more than you. Levels are important but they aren’t everything. If you get cocky and think you can take on everything just because you’ve killed a lot of zombies, you’ll regret it one day. There are worse things than the dead coming.”

“Huh, if you say so, I guess.” Yin raises her hands in defeat. Unexpectedly, she darts in with the speed of a Hunter and grabs my sleeve. “Well, I’ve decided! You’ve helped me so much. If you don’t want to hunt that’s okay! When I’m stronger I’ll protect you instead!”

“Haha…” I chuckle dryly, letting myself get tugged along. “I’ll be happy to see that day come.”

“Wait for me then!” The cute girl is suddenly leading me along and once again I have to hide my smile.

Maybe…just maybe…this girl will be able to survive this messed up world.

#

I consider training Yin outside some more before we go into town, but right now we only have one weapon between the two of us. Plus, as a Lvl. 3, she’s already too high level to get a ton of experience from Fresh Undead. We need to pass through and find a better place to train. The town up ahead has a wooden fence all around it. It’s still new. The planks are haphazard and roughly shoved in the ground, but it will serve its purpose well in the beginning of the Calamity. Guards man their posts, holding weapons made from just about anything they could find. There are a lot of poorly constructed spears and clubs. I don’t see anyone with a sword. Disappointing, but it makes sense. There weren’t a lot of blacksmiths left in the modern world. The age of swords didn’t really start until stronger zombies began to show up from other places.

“Why don’t we get a gun?” Yin points at some of the people watching us approach. “See, they have rifles!”

“Guns are no good. In a few days gunpowder will stop working. There’s a corrosion in the air from the virus which eats away at most technology. Plus, you’ll barely gain any experience killing zombies with a gun. It’s considered cheating.” My detailed explanation causes her to look at me once again with wonder. “You’re better off learning how to use a weapon now, while the undead are still weak. Like I said, thing’s are going to get a lot worse in a few days.”

“Then that’s it? I have to fight them head on like a caveman?” Yin sounds rather put out. The cute girl pouts and her silly expression is totally unfitting of someone who decapitated multiple zombies last night. I shake my head.

“The system is not so unfair!”

I yawn, covering my mouth as we get near the fence. The townspeople look at us suspiciously, but since we’re obviously human, they don’t raise their weapons.

“Bows and arrows, even crossbows will eventually become popular. But to really hurt the undead with a ranged weapon you’ll need higher stats and special skills. Most people aren’t good enough and just use a sword or other close-range weapon. Once you unlock skills and learn Basic Prescience, melee combat will seem less dangerous.”

“Prescience?” She glances at me with curiosity.

“Prescience is one of the first skills you’ll need to train. Didn’t you notice when you fought the Drowned Souls, they seemed to move a bit slower than they should be? Almost like you could predict their movements? That’s the System trying to help your perception.” I warily keep an eye on the townspeople as they get closer. “Listen, I’ll explain it all to you later, this knowledge is valuable. I don’t want anyone else to hear it, people will be suspicious how I know what I do. Right now, the important thing is finding a place to stay the night and getting you a weapon.”

“Ah, okay.” Yin falls silent. I greet the guards at the gate, exchanging small talk. The town is large enough that strangers are not unwelcome, though I don’t like the way some of the people stare at us. They’re not afraid we might be infected. If we were bitten, there would be marks, and we probably wouldn’t have lasted long enough to reach town. The thing with the early zombies is that there’s so much virus in their saliva that one bite can turn anyone. However, so much virus makes them weak, the human body struggles to function with so much contamination. Later on, other creatures will only have trace amounts of the virus and Hunters will be a higher level. Thus, it will be increasingly less likely to be infected by a single bite. However, the creatures will also be much stronger. The Calamity is a curious thing. Ever changing. This knowledge can only be obtained with countless lives. However, I am an exception to the rule.

I know it all.

“Okay, we’re in.” I stride quickly past the guards as Yin struggles catch up. A couple of the men fix hungry stares on her, but she doesn’t notice. “You got any money?”

“Some cash, but not much.” The girl reaches into her pocket and pulls up a sadly beaten wallet. “Why?”

“We’re spending it all. The only currency that will matter soon is hard goods and System Coins.” I take her wallet and the people nearby give me dirty looks.

“Hey that’s mine!” She yelps but I hold it up out of her reach, checking how much is inside. Taking out my own wallet, I check to make sure my memories are correct. Yin’s indignant face changes as she sees how much cash is in my hand. “Holy crap, what did you do, rob a bank or something?”

“Nah, I was a fighter.” I combine the wad of bills and start checking out what people are selling. Several people are pawning things on the side of the road or outside their porches. “Most important thing is that we get a second weapon for you. I might take a gun if I see one, but honestly it would just be robbing you of experience if I had to use it. I doubt anyone would sell a firearm anyways.”

“Huh.” Yin browses the meager items on display. There are various articles of second-hand clothing, things raided from shops, and the occasional weapon here and there. Lots of baseball bats. For some reason people really liked those. They’re worthless though. Too easy to break. It’s like everyone’s running a flea market now. After several stalls, I find what I’m looking for.

“How much for this?” I hold up a long replica katana. It’s clearly not weapons-grade steel. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s a reproduction prop for shooting movies. But it should hold up.

“It’s not real.” The owner of the stall, a thin tall woman with her auburn hair in a bun, has the decency to warn us. I shrug, pulling it out of its sheath. The thing is pretty untouched, and unfortunately, unsharpened. But I can work with this. “Fifty and it’s yours.”

“Done.” I count out the bills and walk away with the sword under my arm. Yin taps on my back.

“You know that’s my money you’re holding there.” She says plaintively, clearly a little afraid. I shrug, giving her back her wallet.

“Not much in there anyway.” I smirk and she smacks my shoulder. It stings a little bit more than it should since she’s Lvl. 3.

*Pah!*

The loud noise her hand makes on my flesh causes several people nearby to turn towards us and Yin goes red with embarrassment.

“Oops!” She cries as she takes the sword from me. “My bad! I didn’t think…anyways, why’d you buy this thing? It’s fake.”

“It’s a replica, not fake. If you were fighting other people with armor, it’d break. But the zombies right now are different. Their flesh is soft and easy to break, even for a low-quality sword. I just need to find something to sharpen it with and you’ll be fine.” My words don’t inspire confidence. To be honest it’s a good thing the sword is a replica and not real. The maker wasn’t true to traditional standards and made it short enough for Yin to use.

“Right…is this really okay?” I hear her whisper to herself, but she doesn’t argue further. Going around, I spend the rest of my cash to buy any food that will last. We don’t even need to rent a room which is nice. Due to the Calamity, there are a lot of unoccupied houses now…