Zombies and Nightmares

Zombies were monsters naturally found in the Land of Trials. As for nightmares, they were players who had zombified after being bitten or killed by zombies.

Mortal-grade nightmares were the weakest type of nightmare there was. However, they were still stronger than zombies. Compared to zombies, they were harder to kill, but the loot they dropped was also better than the typical loot of zombies.

James already knew that the nuclei of zombies could only push the stats of a player to ten points for each stat. After that, only the nuclei obtained from nightmares could advance a player's stats. So, the notification that explained the limitations of zombie nuclei didn't come as news to him.

'Let's get going.'

He stood up, sheathed his daggers, and continued moving down the corridor.

Gah! Gah! Gah!

A series of low, guttural grunts suddenly pierced the silence enveloping the corridor, echoing ominously from ahead.

Hearing the grunts, James tensed up and came to a sudden halt.

He focused his gaze toward the source of the noise, but saw only darkness.

His goggles only allowed him to see up to 60 feet. Everything beyond that was submerged in darkness. The grunts were sounding from within the darkness.

'I wonder how many are approaching. I hope they are zombies and not nightmares.'

James kept looking cautiously in the direction of the grunts.

Soon, an entire group of grotesque, mangled, and rotting figures entered his vision. 

Their flesh and skin hung loosely from their bones, swaying with each labored step they took.

Grey worms danced out of one hole in their body and entered another.

The intenstines of two of them were dangling out of their stomachs that were split wide open from the middle. More horrifyingly, the tangled mass of their intestines dangling from their stomachs streched and pulled with each step they took, threatening to unravel completely from their eviscerated abdomens.

To feel shaken to the core at such a horrifying sight was an instinctual reaction, nothing to look down upon. Until recently, James was just an ordinary college student who had nothing to do with the unnatural. His blood ran cold when he saw the unsettling figures.

Like Melody, he too was afraid of scary things.

One time when he was a child, he saw a horror movie and was left so terrified, he was afraid of being by himself in his room with the lights off. 

That night, the six-year-old him did a lot of stupid things out of fear. As if he was afraid there was a monster hiding in his closet, he hid under the covers and didn't dare get a wink of sleep as he was afraid that if he closed his eyes the monster would come out and get him.

His grandma came to comfort him. She stayed by his side until he fell asleep. The next day when he woke up, he stopped feeling afraid of being in his own room at night when it was dark. If she wasn't there, maybe he would have continued feeling afraid for many a days to come.

All of this has been said to explain that back then when he was in the US, there was always someone to look after him. Before being summoned, he would receive help whenever he needed it as he was surrounded by understanding people.

Howeve, in this place, he was… He was all alone.

He had no one to depend on but himself. 

He was all he had.

He had to do everything by himself, that included overcoming the fear he was feeling, and he had to do it now, or else it would be too late!

Oof!

He slapped both his cheeks to recover his composure.

Immediately, he began concentrating.

'They look like zombies, but they might be mortal-grade nightmares.'

Zombies and nightmares share the same features, so it was hard to tell them apart based on their features alone.

'In the novel, it's mentioned there are only two ways to tell them apart. The first is their movement. Zombies can't run. They can only stagger about. But nightmares can sprint and even leap. The second way is by looking into their eyes. Zombies have lifeless eyes, but the eyes of nightmares contain a hint of life as if they are coming to life. I hope they are zombies and not nightmares.'

James could deal with a group of zombies with his current physical capabilities. However, dealing with a group of nightmares was impossible.

The group of scary figures was moving at the pace of a snail. They were grunting while staggering towards him. This trait of theirs was similar to zombies. However, James didn't judge them as zombies immediately.

Why?

Mortal-grade nightmares had a hint of intelligence. The longer they survive and the more they hunt, their intelligence gets greater. They end up developing a unique way to hunt the living. Although they can walk properly and even run, they act like zombies and stagger about to lower the guards of their targets. When they near them, they burst with explosive speed and catch them off guard!

James was afraid that these were nightmares acting as zombies to fool his senses and catch him off guard.

'Their eyes will tell me the truth.'

James directed a gaze of scrutiny towards their eyes.

He noticed their eyes weren't as lifeless as a zombie, rather they gleamed with a hint of intelligence.

They were nightmares.

His heart sank.

He wasn't ready to confront a group of nightmares.

He didn't let his emotions show on his face, though, afraid that the nightmares would understand he had already caught on to their act and charge at him.

The nightmares continued with their act as they believed they had James fooled. 

True to their acting, their movements were as slow as a snail.

James quickly estimated the distance separating them. They were about 50 feet away from him. Considering he doesn't give himself away, it would take around a minute for them to reach him. He had a very little amount of time to come up with an appropriate way to deal with them.

'If it was just one or two, I could have managed, but there are five of them, the outcome of engaging them in close combat might be extremely unfavorable to me.'

'I can not afford to take chances. I am not Melody. I can't regress endlessly. I only have one life.'

If he wanted to save up on ammunition even in this situation, he had no choice but to add a supernatural twist to his very being.

Besides, using firearms in this situation wasn't a good idea either. It was the same as committing suicide.

Zombies and Nightmares were attracted to noise. His guns and rifle weren't equipped with silencers. If he used them, all the zombies and nightmares in the area would be drawn to him. He would be swarmed by them. Then he would have no choice left but to waste even more ammunition to take them out or risk dying. And maybe he would run out of ammunition before he could take them all out. Then, he would certainly be doomed!

'I guess it's time I stop holding onto my trial points and unlock a class,' James thought.