The four suns of Destiny Eternal had finally dipped below the horizon, bleeding their crimson light into the forest canopy. Dusk was a dangerous time for humans, but for Montu, the creeping shadows felt like a welcoming embrace. He stood at the edge of his pit trap, the blood-red system window still pulsating before his eyes.
It said:-
[The host has completed the ultimate hidden quest]
[Infect a human within 24 hours of your arrival]
'A hidden quest?' he thought, his dead heart seemingly fluttering with phantom adrenaline. Infect a human within 24 hours?
In his previous life, zombies were nothing but cannon fodder. They were slow, rotting, and brainless. Players used to mock them, calling them "walking XP sacks." Nobody ever stopped to wonder if a zombie could be a leader. But then again, nobody had ever encountered a zombie inhabited by the soul of a human.
Zombies have the ability to turn others into a zombie by biting and infecting them with the virus. Only when the other party had no strength left, they were a level lower than the zombie or had their resistance decreased. This could sometimes also work on dead people, who died recently. Luck was shining on Montu.
[REWARD: UNIQUE SKILL – PLAGUE SORCERY (LVL 1)]
Montu's eyes scanned the text, his breath—which he didn't even need—hitching in excitement.
[SKILL: PLAGUE SORCERY - UNIQUE]
Description: The user is no longer a mere carrier of death; you are its architect.
Infection Rate: +10% probability when biting targets.
Command: The user can exert absolute mental control over the infected.
Capacity: 0/2 (Limit increases with skill level).
MP Cost: 20
Proficiency: (0/100)
"Overpowered," Montu whispered. "This is beyond broken. If I level this up, I won't just be an NPC. I'll be a General. I'll be an Emperor of the Damned."
He began to laugh, a dry, rattling sound that startled a nearby bunch of earth crows into the sky. He thought about the variables—the "butterfly effect" of his choices. If he had stayed one more hour in Orilon to enjoy the Chief's hospitality, or if he hadn't spent those agonizing hours digging this hole, this opportunity would have vanished with the sun.
'Luck,' he thought. 'Or maybe the universe just wants to see the birth of a new God.'
A low, guttural growl rose from the depths of the pit. It wasn't the sound of a dying man; it was the sound of something new. Montu leaned over the edge, peering into the gloom. At the bottom, the guard—Marcus—was twitching. But he wasn't human anymore.
Usually, a zombie infection turned the victim into a pale, sickly green husk. But Marcus was different. His skin was a mottled, ghostly greenish-blue, mirroring Montu's own unique tint.
"Like father, like son," Montu smirked.
He raised his right hand, pointing his skeletal fingers toward the creature below. "Plague Sorcery!"
A surge of mana left his body, far more draining than any other skill. Crimson smoke, thick and smelling of metal and rot, erupted from his palm. It didn't drift; it plummeted into the pit like a living thing, swirling around the new zombie until Marcus was completely engulfed in a red cocoon. A few seconds later, the smoke hissed as it was absorbed directly into the creature's pores.
[MP: 0/20]
Ding!
[CONGRATULATIONS: FIRST SOLDIER BORN]
[REWARD: 1 ATTRIBUTE POINT]
"This is officially the best day of both my lives combined," Montu said. He immediately dumped the new point into Magic. He knew he needed a larger mana pool if he was going to expand his army.
MONTU (NPC)
RACE = Undead(zombie)
Level=2
Exp points: (50/600)
Strength=5
Speed = 3
Endurance=6
Intelligence=5
Magic=3
Mind=0
HP=72/72
MP=10/30
Stat Points=0
Evolution Points:(0.5)
Exclusive Skills = God's eye, EVOLUTION
Unique Skills = Plague Sorcery[Lvl 1]
(Commamd-1/2)i (20/100)
Skills= Regenerate[Lvl 1] (60/100)
= Jab[Lvl 1] (0/100)
= Quick Steps[Lvl 1](10/100)
Gold:[768]
He reached into his inventory, pulling out the rope and the iron sword he'd looted from the guard's "human" version. He threw the rope down. "Climb," he commanded, testing the mental link.
The order didn't travel through the air; it traveled through the red threads of sorcery. Below, Marcus—or the thing that was Marcus—grabbed the rope. His movements were jerky, like a puppet on tangled strings, but he hauled himself up with a strength that surpassed his living state.
When the creature finally rolled over the edge and stood up, Montu took a good look at him.
The new zombie's eyes weren't the dull, milky grey of standard zombie mobs. They glowed with a predatory red hue, pulsing in rhythm with Montu's own internal energy. The jagged holes in his chest from the spikes hadn't disappeared, but they were filled with a dark, rubbery red tissue.
Montu tried to use [God's Eye], but the screen flickered and failed.
"What? My own soldier is invisible to me?"
[NOTICE: CONTROLLED BEINGS ARE AN EXTENSION OF THE HOST. VIEW THROUGH THE SKILL SUB-MENU, THE i OPTION NEAR THE SKILL]
Montu clicked the mark next to [Plague Sorcery]
[SOLDIER DATA]
Name: ???????
Race: Undead (Zombie) (Controlled)
Level: 5 (EXP: 0/1000)
Strength: 4
Speed: 2
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 0
Mind: 0
HP: 300/300
Stat points =0 (+)
Skills:
[Swordsmanship - Lv. 3] (Usable)
[Cloud Steps] (UNUSABLE)
[Gatling Fists - Lv. 3] (Usable)
Montu studied the stats. The guard had been Level 5 in life, and he had kept that level, but his stats had shifted. His speed reduced —a common zombie trait—but his Endurance had shot up to a massive 10. He was a meat shield.
"Wait... Stat Points?" Montu noticed a small '+' icon next to the soldier's attributes.
In Destiny Eternal, NPCs usually gained stats randomly. But because Marcus was under the influence of [Plague Sorcery], Montu could manually allocate his growth. It was like playing a second character.
"A Level 5 tank as a bodyguard," Montu grinned, his lips stretching. "And I don't even have to pay him."
He looked at the name slot, which was currently a series of question marks. He remembered the guard's look of pure terror as he lay dead in the pit. He remembered the blood and the spikes.
"Since you provided me with such a 'Happy' accident," Montu rasped, "your name shall be Happy."
The text in the window flickered and solidified.
[NAME REGISTERED: HAPPY]
The zombie tilted its head, the red glow in its eyes flickering as it acknowledged the name. It didn't have a soul, but it had a directive.
Montu tossed the iron sword toward the creature. Happy caught it out of the air with a dull thwack of palm against hilt. He didn't check the edge or test the weight; he simply held it at his side, waiting.
"Happy, follow me," Montu commanded, turning back toward the direction of the goblin camp. "We have a village to scout, an army to build, and a world to burn. And I think it's time we introduced the goblins to their new neighbor."
As the two figures moved through the dark woods—one a blue-skinned merchant of death, the other a silent greenish-blue sentinel—the forest seemed to go quiet in their wake.