Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Three days of hunting Howlers passed before Zane and the others were able to get enough kills to fulfill the requirements for their achievements. It appeared that, unlike most MMORPGs that Zane had played in his youth, the party system in this new world did not apply to one's achievements.

Meaning that every time Zane dealt the death blow to a Howler, he would get the recorded progress for it, and only him. Even if Elena froze the Howler in time, or Olivia paralyzed the creature with their skills, the kill was officially given to whoever dealt the final blow.

Zane, of course, suspected this was by design, to create discord between the living. As human beings, competition for resources was an innate and visceral experience. In this brave new world, leveling up was a competition, not only for resources, but for power.

The higher one leveled up, the more powerful they would become. And to level up, one needed to their consume blood crystals, which were finite resource, or grind achievements. Which Zane had confirmed was not shared in regards to their progress.

Because of this, there was no doubt in Zane's mind that humanity would fight amongst themselves in order to be the one who gets the achievement. Backstabbing would no doubt be a frequent affair, and a major concern for any survivor group.

This only further reinforced the idea in Zane's mind that whoever designed this system had not necessarily done it as a gift to humanity. But rather a curse. Regardless, Zane did not have to worry about such things. At least not completely.

Elena and Olivia were dependent on Zane's leadership and ruthlessness for long-term survival. They were more than willing to give rewards to Zane and wait their turn to gain such things themselves rather than fight with the man over their possession.

Thus, Zane was the first to fulfill the requirements for the achievement, followed by Elena, and ultimately Olivia. It was only after all of them unlocked the Achievement "Slayer of the Dead – Tier II" did Zane equally distribute the blood crystals that were gained during their efforts.

In total, there were 75 Tier II blood crystals split among three ways. Followed by several hundred Tier One Blood Crystals. Zane did not hesitate to consume this massive bounty, as his body was capable of processing them like popcorn.

And that it did, as the messages kept appearing with each blood crystal devoured.

---

[Tier II Blood Crystal Consumed!]

[+ 100 XP!]

---

This message repeated itself twenty-five times before Zane began consuming the Tier One Blood Crystals. In the end, he gained a significant amount of progress, leveling up one full level, as well as most of his next level.

---

[Level Up! You are now level 9!]

[+2 Attributes Points!]

---

Zane looked at his current attributes, which were already exceptionally high, or at the very least, his physical attributes were higher than even an elite athlete could possess. With this in mind, Zane decided to invest these two new points into intelligence, as he felt increasing his mental faculties would be a serious help to his long-term survival.

---

[User: Zane Graves]

[Race: Human]

[Subrace: Living Dead]

[Level: 9]

[XP: 7,500/8,500]

[HP: 150/150]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 15]

[Dexterity: 15]

[Constitution: 15]

[Intelligence: 12]

[Wisdom: 10 ]

[Charisma: 10]

---

Immediately after confirming he wanted to invest his attribute points into intelligence, Zane felt a surge of brain power. Hardship had made Zane cynical and ruthless, something that was a benefit in the apocalypse.

And though he was more learned and well read than the average eighteen-year-old, especially in today's age, where ignorance and stupidity were the norm. The truth of the matter was Zane was not exceptionally gifted in intelligence.

Everything changed, however, when he added these two points to his intelligence. If Intelligence could be measured by a number, then the closest thing humanity had to it was IQ. In this regard, the vast change in Zane's intelligence could be described as going from an average IQ of 100 to a well above an average IQ of 120.

While still far from being genius levels of intelligence, Zane's ability to think things through and process information had vastly increased. Zane estimated that if he were to increase his intelligence to 20, he would be a genius among geniuses.

He was beginning to understand that there were indeed used for intelligence, wisdom, and charisma that he had previously been unable to see. In fact, he vowed now to raise all three to 15, before bothering enhancing his physical characteristics again, as he felt that a well-balanced list of attributes was better for his survival than one dedicated solely to becoming a physical monster.

Especially when one considered that his current skill was a passive one that his attributes had little, if any, effect on. While Zane was contemplating these things, Elena and Olivia were undergoing the struggles of corruption.

Because they equipped the Corrupted title before consuming their blood crystals, the length of their time enduring such a state was decreased by a small percentage, and the XP they gained from consuming blood crystals increased by a small amount.

Ultimately, Zane would have to wait until the sun rose to speak to these women about the changes they made to their attributes during the two-level ups that they gained from the same amount of XP that Zane had farmed for himself.

---

In another part of the city, the Horde King known by the name of Bartholomew, or Bart for short was standing among the ruins of the old world. Gazing upon the sea of undead who mindlessly wandered about the city.

Standing next to him was a group of stalkers which surrounded the Horde King. He was ultimately forced back in his advance against the survivors of the Safe Zone. Leaving his rule over the small desert city contested between himself and the living.

This was a defeat, but one that came with some much needed information about the living and their capabilities. Since his defeat, Bart had been gathering information, not only on those superhumans who first revealed themselves during the Battle of the Storm, but also about another particular interest of his.

One of his lieutenants had previously reported about the existence of another Horde King within the city. Yet, after looking into this matter personally, by outright interrogating his peers within his their telepathic channel. The Horde King confirmed that none of his fellow Horde Kings had entered his territory unannounced.

So who was this alleged peer which dared to intrude upon his domain? This was a matter that needed investigation, even if there were more critical matters afoot. Because of this, Bart looked at three of the Stalkers beneath his command and issued them their orders. Orders which were separate from the others.

"You three... There stands a potential rival to my domain... I do not know who he is, or what he looks like. But he is hiding among the living, still scattered within the outskirts of this decrepit city. Go forth and find him. Bring him to me unmolested.

I would have words with this potential usurper before claiming his head!"

Upon receiving their orders, the three stalkers leaped off of the rooftop of the building and vanished into the night sky. No doubt they would use their superior speed, stamina, and perception to survey the city and its surrounding areas, looking for none other than Zane. Which had previously been reported to Bart at a time that made this matter difficult to deal with.

But with his defeat, and his army licking their wounds. The Horde King now had the time and manpower to search for Zane, and he would not rest until this new challenger to his throne was brought before him.

Thus, Bart gazed off into the moonlight of the clear night sky and smirked, thinking how soon enough order would be restored to his ranks. And the threat that lingered in the shadows would be snuffed out before it could become a problem.

Of course, there was another matter besides the existence of another Horde King within his domain, or the idea that the living had unknown capabilities that had yet to fully reveal themselves. And that was the idea of his mother....

Currently, the whereabouts of the being which the Horde King's referred to as their "Mother" was unknown. She had vanished shortly after giving "life" to her children. It was a worrying matter for the Horde Kings, who were now left to handle this new world by themselves. And deal with those living beings who remained to challenge their authority.

But that was a worry which had no immediate answer, and because of this Bart banished the thought from his mind, as he returned his attention to strengthening his army in an attempt to bring a second assault upon the Safe Zone, one that would hopefully crush any organizes resistance by the living with in his domain.