42 Respite

It didn't take long before the situation calmed down.

'My Axe Mastery came at the right time… I don't know how I will survive that without such a skill…' Shane muttered as he took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. 

"Sir Shane, are you alright?" Anna asked as she pulled out the bandages she had prepared.

"I'm good… I just have a few scratches and dirt all over my body." Shane replied with assurance.

Harper and Anna heaved a sigh of relief since they were truly worried about Shane's stamina just now. They were just helping Shane kill the ones who survived in his hatchet, but they already felt really tired and their arms and backs were already aching. 

They couldn't imagine how Shane could last for long.

"You still need to treat those scratches. You don't want that to have infections. Let me clean it for you."

"Wait a moment… Let me just loot them all." Shane said as he quickly worked on it.

He swiftly started looting the zombies. 

[ Do you want to retrieve the loot? ] 

"Yes."

[ You have earned 10 Experience Points. ] 

[ Loots obtained: 1 Item Upgrade Crystal, 1 Zombie Core, 500mL water, 100mL Runner Zombie Blood, 1 Spirit Enhancement Bottle ]

[ You have earned 10 Experience Points. ] 

[ Loots obtained: 1 Item Upgrade Crystal, 1 Zombie Core, 500mL water, 100mL Runner Zombie Blood, 1 Spirit Enhancement Bottle ]

…

[ You have earned 10 Experience Points. ] 

[ Loots obtained: 1 Item Upgrade Crystal, 1 Zombie Core, 500mL water, 100mL Runner Zombie Blood, 1 Spirit Enhancement Bottle ]

After looting the twentieth Zombie, Shane suddenly received a surprise!

[ You have leveled up ] 

[ Map unlocked ] 

[ Hint: You can only view the areas you have explored. However, you can also use a member of your Clan to remove the fog areas on your Map. ]

"A Map! This looks great." Shane exclaimed after seeing the new function he unlocked.

He didn't hesitate to check it out. 

"Map…"

As soon as he imagined the Map, it appeared in front of him as he saw his estate, the orchards, the forest, and the mine from an eagle's eye view!

It wasn't a simple terrain map, but it felt more like a holographic map. Furthermore, he could actually see his dot or indicator on the Map… However, he could not find Harper, Anna, and Lucky. 

Specifically, he had a white dot on the Map so he wouldn't get lost. But he couldn't help but wonder why there were no indicators for Harper and the others.

'Will it be the same for the Zombies?' Shane mused for a moment, but an answer suddenly came to his mind.

'Right…' It seems that the Map would not help him locate zombies or his friends!

After all, he felt that if they really had a map function, the Zombie Detectors or even the Perception Stat would be useless! 

Shane couldn't help but shake his head after realizing this.

Anyway, after Anna confirmed that he was no longer injured because of his level up, they all started to work.

Specifically, they worked together to create a new barricade. 

This time, they decided to use the church as their base. They moved the wooden pikes, metal pipes, and metal wires that they had collected from the previous shelter. They also looted some more materials from the nearby buildings, such as nails, ropes, and planks.

With Shane's Woodworking Skill, he was able to make more wooden pikes a lot easier and faster. He used his hatchet to carve and sharpen the planks and branches into pikes. 

He made plenty of them as a layer of defense. After all, he was expecting to have Jumper Zombies in the next wave…

'Haa~ I hope there won't be too many of them…' Shane mused as he didn't feel comfortable fighting against numerous zombies that could jump from the trees!

Once they were swarmed, they would have a hard time to defend themselves. Because of that, Shane decided to place several more wooden pikes inside and outside their base!

Aside from that, Shane also used his ropes and his metal wires to tie and secure the pikes together, forming a sturdy fence aside from the metal fence they had.

On the other hand, Harper and Lisa helped Shane by carrying and placing the pikes around the church. They also used the metal pipes and the broken pikes to reinforce the fence, adding more strength and durability. 

Of course, since this was tiring, they also ate some of the food and water they had looted and rested for a while.

Lucky, Anna's dog, was also guarding the surroundings while they rest.

After a few minutes, they continued their work.

They used the metal wires and the simple obstacle traps to create some booby traps, adding more damage and deterrence.

Luckily, they got used to such tasks, and they were able to finish them quickly.

They worked with their nimble hands as quickly as possible, as they knew they had a limited time before the next wave. 

"Whew~"

Anna wiped her sweat as she looked at the church… It had truly been transformed! It looked nothing like a dilapidated church anymore!

However, there was no time to appreciate it. 

Shane had to check their weapons and equipment.

Since he had no ability to repair them, he could only upgrade them!

'Let's see how many Crystals and Cores I collected this time...' Shane thought as he opened his Status.

Luckily, an upgrade from Exceptional Rank to Master Rank was only 30 Item Upgrade Crystals, and Shane had plenty of them!