Confusion - That was the sole emotion Elias was feeling as he opened his eyes. He lay on the blood-drenched soil, flies buzzing all around with crows feeding over carcasses. The air felt heavy, and a strong smell of rotten flesh filled his nose. It made him want to be sick.
His mind was a jumbled mess, memories were fragmented and moreover he didn't remember what happened. All he remembered was that there was a loud crash and his world came down as he got knocked out after being hit with blunt force on his head.
After some struggle he moved his neck, only to see rotting corpses of the people in the research team he was leading. A sharp pain erupted in his head, it was akin to something clawing at his brain.
He screamed in pain but his scream stopped the moment he heard his voice, it was hoarse and inhumane. After his body was no longer stiff he got up and sat against a tree. Dark green blood stained his hands and body with his left arm missing from the elbow down.
Despite his arm being amputated he didn't feel any pain, as if he didn't even know he was missing an arm. Grabbing the fallen bag with his right hand, he took out a water bottle and finished it in one big gulp.
When he tried to stand up, his legs felt week. Especially his left leg. Glancing at his body his eyes widened as he saw his left arm missing and the left side of his body rotting like a zombie.
Then he looked at his right side, the rot didn't spread to that side. This made him more confused. His breathing became faster, he was panicking. He grabbed onto a nearby tree to calm himself and he tried remembering. But it was pointless.
Despair hit him like Truck-kun hits an isekai protagonist. Tears formed in his eyes but he closed them as the tear from his left eye felt like a highly concentrated poison. He was alone surrounded by mangled bodies of his team, broken and now he wasn't able to even cry.
He cursed his fate as he hung his head low. A bright light flashed in front of him as he lifted up his head. A green floating digital window appeared in front of him.
[You have awakened. Would you like to know more about the Necrotic Ascension System? ]
[Yes/No]
He clicked on "No", thinking his mind is playing games with him. But then another screen appeared in front of him.
[Choice deferred]
The screen faded away into nothingness as he was left alone. No sound, only his slow rhythmic heartbeat making him more and more paranoid.
*****
After and hour of sitting against the tree looking like a corpse he finally got up. Dusting himself up with his right hand he started to gather anything useful and intact from among the dead bodies.
A standard-issue ZIA blade, a special paralyzing handgun, a ration pack, a somewhat intact rot meter, some batteries and his special-issue ZIA phone. He closed his jackets zipper and threw the bag on his shoulder. Looking at the map on his handheld tablet he was about 50km away from Nova Terra.
He was inside the Gravewild Expanse. He'd need to cross the Redline Sector-31, The Dregs and the Echo Trench to get back to Nova Terra.
Nova Terra, The Core Bastion was the main city which regulates all laws regarding undead and the main hub for zombie investigation since it housed the Zombie Investigation Authority(ZIA). Being the biggest walled city among the fifteen cities scattered all over the world.
Dr. Elias Grey, was the team leader for Team Alpha of DZR(Division of Zombie Research). A sub-division of ZIA. Surveillance drones had detected a new type of Shambler, so he prepared his team and got some security personnel from the security division to assist him in this mission.
The mission was simple, capture the new type of Shambler one alive and one dead. Also take samples of their surrounding areas and update the beacons set up every 5km with the new data. But it ended badly.
He was quick on his feet since night was approaching and during the night time it gets more dangerous in the Gravewild Expanse. The trees infected and merged with the undead exhibited sentience.
He reached the edge of the Expanse, the trees there were not that infected. He set up his equipment, a sound detector alongside a rot meter were placed on the ground. As soon as something came within 500 meters of the perimeter, an alarm would awaken Elias.
He lay down on the cold hard ground, his mind started to remember the scene. A team member of his pushed Elias away, the back of his head hit a tree and he fell unconscious. The rest was just a blurred mess.
He looked up at the vast night sky, full of shining stars dozens of light years away. He raised his hand towards the sky trying to grab the endless sky, he muttered.
"I don't know if I'm dreaming, or if I'm the nightmare."
*****
Hours passed, Elias was now deep asleep. The wind blowing ever so slightly. The rot meter suddenly made a beeping noise alerting Elias.
From above the tree he was under a Stalker dropped down on top of him. Elias barely rolled to his side when another leapt from his left.
Elias threw the blade at the one on his left as it jumped to gnaw at him. It hits its eye, making its movement erratic. The other one jumped and clung to his back, biting at his neck.
Elias screamed in pain, grabbed its head, and rammed himself into a tree. He did it again and again until the grip of the Stalker lessened giving Elias enough time to break free.
The Stalker on his back fell down limp as Elias breathed heavily, he reverted his attention to the other one. The sharp pain came back, he felt his brain would explode any instant. The rot spread from the left side onto the right side. Elias felt his skin changing, rotting as if someone threw highly concentrated Hydrofluoric Acid.
"No, not now! Don't please...don't." His voice was rasped, as it was more growl than a scream.
The second one recovered enough to leap at him again but this time Elias didn't give an opening. His red eyes stared at the Stalker. He had grabbed its throat with his right hand.
The green floating window once again appeared in front of him.
[Combat threshold met. Synchronizing corrupted cells.]
[You have leveled up.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Disguise - You may appear fully human for limited durations. ]
[New Skill Unlocked: Grafting - You can graft other undead.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Distribution - You can distribute the grafted flesh anywhere on your body.]
Elias muttered "Graft". The zombie spasmed. Then slithering like worms, its flesh peeled away. Veins, muscles, strips of its skin crawled towards Elias. His stump burned, bones cracked as they grew. The zombie was giving him its arm...one scream at a time.
Only bones remained of the zombie which fell down on the ground, the neck still in his hand. He turned towards the one laying down behind him. He reached for the blade and impaled its heart making the creature scream as it fell dead seconds later.
He was out of breath, he looked down and then pushed himself to stand up once again. A thousand thoughts came to his mind. What was this green floating window? And did he gain powers? Why was he different...not fully human nor fully undead.
He glanced at the bodies of the undead laying on the ground before walking towards the dark steel and oxidized concrete ruins in the distance. Ash swirling around with a red sky looming over.