5 HOTD 2

While sitting in the car I tried to make a copy of the map from the phone. Marking all places of interest on it and writing down notes. While doing so I gained a few new skills which proceeded to level up as I was continuing to draw.

[Skill: [Drawing] unlocked.]

[Skill: [Writing] unlocked.]

[Drawing leveled up to 4]

[Writing leveled up to 2]

[Drawing LVL:4/100]

- Increases the speed of sketching, painting, and coloring by 2%/LVL

[Writing LVL:2/100]

- Increases the speed of writing by 2%/LVL

To be honest, they are nothing special, but still, the flat bonus is nice to have. Now with these new skills, I managed to unlock a few new classes.

[Class: [Painter] unlocked.]

[Class: [Scribe] unlocked.]

[Class: [Cartographer] unlocked.]

So with all that new info, I'm pretty sure some classes get unlocked by performing certain tasks, like in the assassin class's case, and other's when you unlock certain skills related to them. The magic-related classes probably unlock when I get mana. Next time I'll go to Harry Potter's world to try to steal some of Harry's blood.

Back on topic, my search for weapon stores, was unfruitful, seems there is a law against owning guns in Japan, so that's a bust. I did find a few sports shops and antique shops around, so those will be the first ones I check. As soon as I get a sword or a katana or whatever, that's long enough for me to fight these guys without getting personal with them, I'll max out my class and try to farm XP for a class that has INT as a stat per level. Hopefully, I unlocked one that does have it. If that's successful, I'll raid a few shops and store some food in my inventory. Then go back to killing till I can't get any more experience from them, find a place to rest, and repeat the process.

With a solid plan, a map, and a will, I check the surroundings and exit the car. Keeping [Muted Steps] on I rush towards the next intersection, ignoring all the zombies around me. A few of them look in my direction but even if they heard me they couldn't catch up to me. With 25 points in agility, my top speed is around 60 km/h and with my current stamina, I can keep it up for quite a while. That reminds me, I need to get the Bars System upgrade. It quantifies different resources and displays them as bars. It will help me keep track of different resources like stamina and mana later on.

Closing in on the first shop on the list I find it locked.

"Crap." I say aloud as I fiddle with the lock. "Breaking in would alert the zombies. So let's check the back entrance. If nothing else, I can force it open." Moving to the back alley I find it deserted, a metallic door, that connects to the shop, surrounded by a brick wall stands before me on an elevated platform. Right next to it stands, what appears to be, a garage door. My attempt at opening them ended in failure. So my next course of action was stabbing my knife between two bricks right next to the door's lock, trying to dislocate them. Wasting too much time on this, I successfully manage to remove a few bricks right next to the door's frame creating a wide enough hole for my hand to pass. Thanks to my increased dexterity, accessing and removing the latch and unlocking the door went without a hitch. Thankfully, the shop's alarm system wasn't turned on, or it didn't even have it. Turning the light on I move around the shop in search of anything useful. My search was kind of successful, I found an older wakizashi that barely had any edge and a blunt katana, the other stuff was practically useless, especially the old revolver I found. The cylinder was stuck and even if it wasn't, I didn't have any bullets. Looking around a bit more I found a stash of money and converted it all to UC. With a conversion rate of 8.000 to 1 I ended up with 5.7 universal currency. That was around 300 dollars, not a bad haul from my first shop. Placing my knife back between my belt and trousers, I swing the wakizashi around, trying to get a feel for it. After a few swings, I feel like something clicks in my head and I'm greeted with another class unlock.

[Class: [Samurai] unlocked.]

Surprisingly the weapon didn't unlock any new weapon skills. Seems like the system still counts it as a small weapon. Getting a better feel for the weapon I notice that it was supposed to be a one-handed sword. Taking out my trusty old knife, I swing the two blades alternatively and I'm greeted by a new notification.

[Skill: [Dual-wielding] unlocked.]

[Dual-wielding LVL:1/100]

- While wielding two weapons in different hands, usage of your offhand feels 1%/LVL more natural.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." I say out loud as a smile plasters my face.

Exiting the antique shop, I move towards my second target on my list, a large sports shop. If that one doesn't have a weapon with a longer blade, I'll have to go to the kendo dojo a few blocks away and pray they have a real katana there.

Exiting the alley, I run into a smaller group of walkers, my count ends up at 15, believing in my speed and non-existent fighting skills, I rush at them. The first one is beheaded before any of them even notice me, while the second one is stabbed through the side of its head. All their attention now on me, I pull out my blade from the, now, double dead monster and move towards the nearest target. Raising my left hand, I plunge my knife right into this one's forehead, while making a swiping motion with my right and cutting through the skull of another. Dodging to the right, I avoid a lunging zombie while bringing my right hand back and at the same time stabbing down right into the back of its head. I can already hear a few pings alerting me of new skills and level-ups, but I ignore them.

"Five down, ten more to go." I smile as, first time in years, I feel alive.

Towards the end of the fight, I felt a hand grab onto my right arm, the strength displayed by it was surprising and I'm sure it will leave bruising. Before the fucker could even think about sinking his teeth into me, I stabbed my knife right through his left eye. The massacre, because I cannot call it a fight, went on for a few more moments. Even with its relatively dull blade, the wakizashi performed fantastically, it went through these enemies with ease, like a hot knife through butter. Done with them, I try to stabilize my breathing, while still keeping an eye on the street. My little scuffle with these guys summoned a larger horde and it's moving towards me from the west.

"Time to find somewhere to get some rest and eat." I say to myself and move towards my next location marked on my makeshift map. Keeping my pace a steady jog, I look for street signs and follow the pre-planned route. Surprisingly, I barely met any other humans on the streets. It only has been, what, two hours since the school incident, and already the streets are almost ruled by these monsters. A street away from my destination, I'm met with, what I presume, is my first Tier 1 zombie surrounded by a hill of death. I stay hidden behind a car and watch it as it nears a zombie, decapitates it with a swift motion of its hand, and starts eating its corpse, while the surrounding zombies ignore it. While eating it the Tier 1's skin bubbles, his muscles increase in size and its color goes from deathly pale, to a more grayish one. It is evolving by eating other infected.

Thinking about it, these guys might be more problematic than I can handle right now. Choosing, to avoid it, for now, I move away and circle the block, increasing my travel time by another 10 minutes. Ultimately I arrived at my destination. The sports shop was a taller building with multiple stories, with each floor housing equipment for different sports. To my dismay, the store was overrun by zombies, but thankfully I didn't see a higher-tier one. Closing the doors and blocking the entrance, I swiftly take out the eight on the ground floor and look around. This floor had mostly training and bodybuilding equipment, which currently have no use to me. Moving to the next floor I find camping and mountain climbing equipment. I found only two zombies on this floor, which I stealthily took out. Picking up a nice sleeping bag and a few ice picks, placing the pick on the side of my backpack I force the sleeping bag into the main compartment, then I move onto the next floor. This one was a bit more interesting, with seven zombies and fighting equipment. Boxing gloves, bags, and different training tools, but nothing I was specifically looking for. Moving to the last floor I hear grunting and movement. Keeping [Muted Steps] active I find the floor overrun. Rows and rows of different swords, katanas, and other bladed weapons, most of them blunt practice equipment littered the room, but on the right side of this floor, behind glass containers, the real stuff is held. This floor was a bit busy, nineteen zombies in total, greeted me with a variety of different grunts. I guess people had a similar idea as me, but were not prepared enough and joined their crew. I almost chuckle at my bad joke, then stealthily move to the first row. Creeping up to the first zombie I plunge my knife right into the back of its head, then before it falls I catch it and silently put its body on the floor. Repeating the process for each zombie that's alone I enter the last row which housed five kneeling zombies, currently munching on someone's remains. Walking silently, I move behind them grabbing my wakizashi with both of my hands, and with a swift motion beheading three simultaneously, breaking the blade at the same time. Three 'Thuds' could be heard and the remaining two zombies focus on me. Looking at the handle with a grimace, I throw it at the nearest one and swiftly bring out my knife as the other zombie dive bombs me I plunge it right between its eyes. With its full body weight now on me I lose my footing and drop to the ground. The nearest zombie, not wanting to lose its free meal moves in quickly and bites down on my left leg.

"Fuck!" I yell out in pain, as I push the double-dead zombie off of me and plunge my knife into the head of the one tasting me. Grabbing its head with both of my hands I force open its mouth and pull its head off my leg. The wound is heavily bleeding and I'll need to treat it.

"Fuck." I say it the second time. I'm being too confident in my abilities and became careless. Looking around I spot an employee restroom. To my knowledge in Japan, by law, each shop is required to have first aid sets in their restrooms. Limping there I open the door and find another fucker right in front of me.

"God damn it!" Moving to the right to dodge its lunge, I move my hand toward my blade... Tapping the place where I usually place it, I find it missing. Panicking, I look around to find anything I could use to end this motherfucker. Then I spot a kendo sword on a rack a few meters away from me. Slowed down by my aching leg, but still faster than the zombie trying to stand up, I move towards the wooden sword. Grabbing it with both of my hands I lift it over my head, waiting for the zombie to close in. With all my strength I strike down its head, breaking the kendo sword in the process. The zombie lifelessly falls to the ground, the top of its head deflated like a punctured ball.

"What the fuck is wrong with me." I say with a sigh they go back to the location of the bite and find my knife laying on the ground. I pick it up and move back to the restroom, trying to find something to clean my wound. In the surprisingly clean restroom, next to the mirror, I'm greeted with a red metal box with a white plus on it. Forcing it open I find some alcohol, tweezers, bandages, and some gauze. Sitting down on the floor, I pull up the sleeve on my left leg and closely inspect my wound. Teeth marks cover my calf, but the bleeding has already stopped. Taking out some gauze I apply alcohol on it and clear the area around the marks, then squirt the alcohol on the wounds. The pain spikes for a few seconds and I have to grit my teeth, not to yell out in pain. Using the bandages and gauze I cover up the wound and then fix my pants.

"I think this was enough excitement for today." I say out loud. I stand up and walk out to the main hall, moving towards the glass containers, I open them and inspect the swords. The sharp katana sat comfortably in my hands. Swinging it around a few times I'm greeted with a new notification. Ignoring it for now I look around and find a few daggers with curved blades. A heavy smile plasters my face as I pocket them. With my shopping done, my next task is to find the cash registers and the office. Remembering I saw a few of them on the ground floor I move towards the staircase. As I descend each step on my left leg, pushes a jolt of pain through my body, as I fight through it, the pain suddenly becomes lighter and a new notification pops up. Sighing I ignore it for now and move downstairs.

"Jackpot" I say while forcing open the registers. The total amount before the conversion was around half a million Yen or almost three and a half thousand dollars and converted it stood at 62.5 UC. With a happy smile and two daggers in my hand, I move to the office standing right behind the register. I force the door ajar and peek inside. When I don't spot any movement I enter it. Moving stealthily and soundlessly I explore the room. Thankfully, it was empty, so with that knowledge I push a desk in front of the door take out my sleeping bag and some food, and lay down. While eating I check my notifications. What greeted me was a wall of text.

[Tier 0 Zombies x59 slain 4,130 XP Received]

[Global Level up x5]

[Global Level has reached Level 26]

[Class: [Rogue] level up x4]

[Class: [Rogue] has reached Level 25]

[Class: [Rogue] Max level reached additional class experience discarded]

[New class selection available]

[Selectable classes: [Assassin] [Samurai] [Painter] [Scribble] [Cartographer] [Warrior]]

[Skill: [Dodge] has reached Level 25]

[Skill: [Muted Steps] has reached Level 7]

[Skill: [Sneak] has reached Level 5]

[Skill: [Counter] unlocked.]

[Skill: [Counter] has reached Level 3]

[Counter LVL:1/100]

- After dodging or blocking an attack, the next attack deals 1%xLvl damage

[Skill: [Large Blade Mastery] unlocked.]

[Large Blade Mastery LVL:1/100]

- Increases damage done by large-bladed weapons by 0.75%/LVL

[Skill: [Pain Tolerance] unlocked.]

[Skill: [Pain Tolerance] has reached Level 2]

[Pain Tolerance LVL:1/100]

- Decreases pain felt by 0.9%/LVL

"God damn it I need to check my notifications more regularly." I say as I dismiss all of them and focus on my classes. I'm greeted with their details.

Assassin 0/50

+1 DEX, +2 AGI, +1 PER (Not Unlocked), +1 LUCK (Not Unlocked) per level

35% increase in damage dealt with small-bladed weapons.

40% increase in the learning speed of small-bladed weapon skills.

While attacking from the back user's attacks deal 50% more damage.

The user is 20% less likely to be discovered while using a stealth skill.

Samurai 0/50

+1 DEX, +1 AGI, +1 WIS, +1 PER (Not Unlocked), +1 LUCK (Not Unlocked) per level

35% increase in damage dealt with large-bladed swords.

15% reduced damage received.

40% increase in the learning speed of large-bladed weapon skills.

25% increase in the learning speed of defense-related skills.

40% increase in experience gained when the enemy killed in honor.

Painter 0/15

+2 DEX per level

50% increase in imagination.

30% increase in the learning speed of painting-related skills.

Scribe 0/25

+1 DEX, +1 INT, +1 WIS per level

50% increase in writing speed.

The books created by the user last longer.

The user gains the ability to gain experience by writing.

Cartographer 0/15

+1 DEX, +1 PER (Not Unlocked) per level

While drawing a map user's dexterity doubles.

The user gains the ability to remember the terrain around him to the smallest detail.

20% increase in movement speed.

Checking all of the options, the clear winner is Scribble, with the increase in intelligence. When I max that class my inventory will have three slots available and I can start storing some stuff instead of hoarding them in my bag.

[Class: [Scribe] selected.]

With all that done I check my status. Focusing on the scribble class level-up requirement, I notice some things don't add up. The amount required to level is more than double that of the Rogue class. Are the experience requirements class-specific, or does the amount increase with each new class? I can only find the answer after maxing it out. Done with the checkup I lay down to get some shuteye.

System Info:

Name: Andrew Thompson | Titles: Slime Slayer | Race: Human | Tier: 0

[Global LVL: 26 XP: 9,957/10,918]

[Class: Scribe LVL: 0/25 XP: 0/220]

[Maxed: [Rogue]]

Stats:

STR: 4

DEX: 29 > 33

AGI: 25 > 29

INT: 7

WIS: 9

Other:

Spells: [None]

Skills: [Sneak 1 > 5] [Muted Steps 1 > 7] [Dodge 15 > 25] [Small Blade Mastery 21 > 32] [Deception 1 > 6] *[Drawing 4] *[Writing 2] *[Dual-wielding 7] *[Counter 3] *[Large Blade Mastery 1] *[Pain Tolerance 2]

[WP: 1,566]

[UC: 68.20]