Chapter 3: Humble beginings
Name: Zombie
Race: Eternal Servant (?)
Level: 1
HP: -
MP: 12
ATK: 8
DEF: 2
MAT: 2
MDF: 2
HIT: 2
EVA: 0
AGI: 1
LUC: 15
Skills:
Undead body ([max])
Bite (level 1)
Corpse venom (level 1)
Title:
Rotten brain
Eternal servant
Cranberry was squatting in a very unladylike manner by the shed in the back of her family's mansion and staring at a piece of paper.
Her face was twisted in a sour expression.
The healer and the appraiser both agreed that her magic is unique, but precisely because of that neither of them could tell whether it will be strong or not.
For the time being she was only told that she is a level one Master of the eternal servant and her only new skill is the eternal servant.
...and that when once selected, the choice of the said servant became permanent.
"Haa... This sucks."
Cranberry sighed and hung her head.
"And by that, I mean that you suck, Zombie! Why are you so weak?! What's with that ridiculous title?! Are you mocking me?!"
She lifted her head and started glaring at the person by her side.
"Graough... (What can I do about it?! I'm just a child!)
Which, of course, turned out to be the blue-skinned Zombie.
"Graough...! (It's your own fault for choosing me!)"
He complained.
"Oh, don't you dare to groan back at me! Look at those stats! Look at them!"
The girl stood up angrily and shoved the piece of paper in his face.
"Your attack is barely passable for a level one creature but what the hell is this 0 in evasion?! How can anything that moves have ZERO evasion?! Explain yourself, now!"
Cranberry was fuming.
"Graough... (Th-that's probably because after turning into this form my muscles and joints became so stiff I can barely move!)"
Zombie tried to take a quick step back but instead, he just wobbled back slowly and Cranberry simply followed him, still angry.
"Your luck is good enough for such a low level, but then again, why isn't your health even listed, huh?! Is it because you are already dead?! Explain!"
She demanded with fire in her eyes.
"Graough...? (I-I don't know...! And about those stats, why there's no experience value?)"
Zombie slowly raised his hands protectively and asked.
"Tsk...! Graough this and graough that! All you can say is gibberish!"
Cranberry clicked her tongue while shaking her head and turned her back on him.
"...graough... (...of course you can't understand me...)"
Zombie sighed.
"That's it. I cannot allow my servant to be so weak! It would be too shameful"
The girl suddenly perked up and nodded her head as if she came to a conclusion.
She opened the door to the shed and disappeared inside.
"Graough...? (What are you doing...?) Graugh...?! (Wh-what are you doing...?!)"
Zombie groaned and gasped as the young lady emerged from the shed with two wooden training swords.
"Although I never dabbled in fencing, a lady like myself is clearly talented in everything so I'll be the perfect teacher!"
She proudly puffed out her chest.
The conclusion she came to was rather simple.
Since her servant is weak she just needs to train him.
She thinks his attack value is too small?
She will multiply it by arming him with a weapon!
"Catch!"
She exclaimed enthusiastically and threw him one of the swords...
The weapon followed a gentle lob and smacked Zombie in the face and fell on the ground.
"Graough... (Oh, that was surprising. I didn't hurt a bit!)"
He groaned in shock.
"What are you doing?! If your master is throwing something at you, you, a servant, are obliged to catch it!"
Cranberry frowned and stomped her foot.
"Pick it up! Now!"
She pointed at the sword beneath Zombie's feet with her own sword.
"Graough... (Ah! R-right! Sorry!)"
He apologized and reached for the weapon.
Slowly...
"...this is ridiculous...!"
Cranberry growled through her teeth and clenched the handle of the sword so hard that her knuckles turned white.
"I changed my mind, it's too early for you to learn fighting with a weapon!"
She walked over to the boy and kicked away the sword right before he could grab it.
"Instead we will focus on trying to raise your evasion and defense while we're at it!"
She declared and raised her wooden sword.
"Practice makes perfect! Try to dodge this!"
"Graough...! (What?! No! Wait a moment!)"
Zombie wasn't ready at all, still bent over from trying to pick up the sword that was now a good few feet away, but a flurry of attacks assaulted his back and sides regardless.
"Come on! I did say that we will try to raise your defense too but at least ATTEMPT to dodge it!"
Cranberry roared while swinging.
One thing was sure, the young lady was being honest when she said that she never learned fencing before.
Her attacks were crude and lack any finesse, she was using the wooden sword as nothing more than a stick or a thin bat.
"Come on! Come on! Dodge it!"
She also didn't lie when she said that she was talented.
It only took her a few minutes and she already got better with her technique.
Her batting technique that is.
"Graough... (It doesn't hurt a bit, but it's so annoying!)"
Zombie groaned while holding his arms high to protect his face.
"Don't you dare talk back to me and focus on dodging!"
Cranberry scoffed at him and took a step back for a full swing.
The sword ripping through the air made a clear threatening sound and slammed against Zombie's unguarded stomach and even though the boy couldn't perceive pain, the force of the hit was strong enough to send him flying.
/Proficiency level reached
Master receives a skill
Blunt weapons proficiency (level 1)
Base status points increased
/Servant receives a skill
Blunt damage resistance (level 1)
Base status points increased
"Graough...? (What?! You really can train like this?!)"
Zombie gasped in shock.
But, truth to be told, he didn't feel any different.
"Stop just taking it and dodge!"
/Proficiency level reached
Master receives a skill
Charge (level 1)
Cranberry's body started glowing faintly and in the next moment she was already by Zombie and her eyes were scary.
When her next swing connected with Zombie, a bad sound came from his right arm.
"Graough...! Graough! (H-hey...! It doesn't hurt but...! Isn't my arm broken?! We should stop for today!)"
"Come! On! It! Will! End! When! You! Dodge!"
The pleading groans didn't even reach Cranberry's ears, her body stopped glowing but her attacks became even fiercer.
She kept hitting and hitting him relentlessly, Zombie was simply too slow and stiff to properly dodge even a single strike so he had to try and move his body so that the noble lady won't break any more of his bones.
And honestly? He was getting quite good at it!
/Proficiency level reached
Servant receives a skill
Toughness (level 1)
Base status points increased
"Graough... (Maybe this isn't so bad...? Just like in games, the skills have to be useful, right?)"
Even in such a situation, Zombie managed to find a silver lining.
And, well, he couldn't feel any pain and all...
But just as he was calming down...
/Proficiency level reached
Master receives a skill
Bash (level 1)
"Gr... Graough... (Oh.. oh no...)"
A sweep from below sent him flying.
"Graugh...! (Graugh...!)"
Sometimes a groan is just a groan, the short-tempered girl must have used her new skill right away.
As Zombie was spinning in the air he noticed his master taking a stance.
Cranberry's eyes shone and Zombie already knew she's activating Bash again.
If she gets him like that...
(Even as an undead... won't I still become paralyzed if she'll break my spine?!)
Cranberry's weapon was already in full swing.
*Swoosh!*
Sensing the danger and taking advantage of already spinning he managed to throw himself off just enough for the deadly-sounding wooden sword to miss him!
"Graough..! (Safe!)"
Zombie exclaimed overjoyed!
/Servant overcame a disadvantage
Skill unlocked
Emergency dodge (level 1)
*THUNK!*
"Graough...! Graough...? (Awesome! That's a great skill! But, what was that sound...?)"
/Warning
Servant became severely damaged
Servant has insufficient mana to recover
Permission to use Master's mana required
"Grao...? (Huh...?)"