7 Chapter 7: The Readers of Fate
"You only have 10 Powerstones and you dare open the shop!?"
[The Readers of Fate are telling the Shopkeeper to 'Chill the F out'.]
"W… what the!? You guys wanna fight!?"
The Zombie could only tilt his head as the weird woman that suddenly appeared before him started flailing around; her long black skirt, waving along with her like some sort of… umbrella. Suffice to say, he was completely and utterly confused with what was going on right now.
He was suddenly in a white room with nowhere to hide, and then there was a weird woman dancing in front of him. He didn't have to think much, however, as once again, his instincts took over as he suddenly lunged toward the woman…
…only for him to pass through her as if she was just a cloud of smoke.
And so, once again, the Zombie's confusion was at its peak; his pale blue eyes, looking at the woman from head to toe.
"...That's awfully rude of you, sir."
The Zombie then slightly took a step back as Zeni crossed her arms; tip-toeing on her feet so that she would become taller than the Zombie, but alas, even hunched, the Zombie was still taller. And so, the only thing Zeni could do was raise her head almost to the point she was looking at the ceiling to make it seem like she was looking down on him.
"How dare a host with a measly amount of Powerstones try to touch me?" Zeni stomped her foot, "You think just because the Readers of Fate are giving you Powerstones you–"
[The Readers of Fate gifted the Host 45 Powerstones.]
"..." Zeni's eyes started to twitch as she once again waved her hands randomly.
Seeing this, the Zombie turned his head towards the words and letters that were popping out in front of him. Could it be… this woman was seeing the same thing? After all, whenever the words pop up, the Zombie would also wave his hands to remove them.
The Zombie wanted to say something; but seeing as the woman was still busy flailing her arms, the only thing he could really do was wait. And finally, after a few more seconds of her fighting the air, she seemed to have calmed down as her breaths echoed throughout the entire white hall.
"Fine…" Zeni then patted her skirt as she once again faced the Zombie,
"...It's not like you can buy anything with this much Powerstones. I've never seen a host as poor as you. Do you know the last one that came here already had 400 Power–"
[Reader of Fate: Mister Rabbit, tells Zeni to tone down her attitude.]
"What are you going to do about it!?" Zeni raised her fist in the air, "I swear, these Readers of Fate…"
"..." The Zombie was now trying to find a way to escape from this mad woman.
"Anyway," Zeni once again let out a sigh, "Let me introduce myself again…
…I am Zeni the Shopkeeper. And as my name suggests, you can buy things from me– sadly to say, the Powerstones you have now is not even enough to buy a drop of the cheapest delectables in my shop."
"..."
"You can gain Powerstones when the Readers of Fate like you enough to give you some," Zeni continued despite the Zombie not responding, "Pft, but seeing as you don't even have enough Powerstones to afford anything in the shop– nobody likes you."
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Zeni's eyebrows started to furrow as she approached the Zombie, "What? Do you like being treated like shit, you perverte– What the fuck are you!?"
And as soon as Zeni and the Zombie's eyes met, she could not help but fall to her butt; tripping herself as she suddenly took a step back.
"S… Status!" Zeni then said as she raised her hand, and as soon as she did so, several letters once again appeared in front of the Zombie; this time, however, they were in some sort of… box.
[Name: N/A | Race: Undead (Zombie– Upgradeable)
Lv. 5
Vitality: 5
Strength: 8 (+20%)
Intelligence: -1 (Limited Growth)
Agility: 7
Mana: 1
Status Points: 0 (+1 Each Level Up)
Skills: Skill Absorption Lv. N/A, Speech Lv. 1, Enhanced Strength Lv. 2, Enhanced Hearing Lv. 3, Summon Flames Lv. 1 ]
The Zombie could only stare at this box for a few seconds; his pale blue eyes, slightly glimmering as… he once again waved it away.
"Z… Z… Z… Zombie!?"
And in contrast to the Zombie's uncaring attitude, Zeni started crawling backward on the floor.
"You… you're a zombie!?" Zeni then stood up, almost somersaulting in the air as she put as much distance between her and the Zombie as much as possible,
"What… what are the Readers of Fate even thinking of supporting a freaking zombie!? Do you think this is some sort of game!?"
[...Heh.]
"W… what do you mean 'Heh'!?"
And so, once again, the Zombie watched as Zeni started flailing around and talking to herself. And seeing as she once again became… frenzied as soon as the words popped up in front of the Zombie, she truly was seeing the same thing as him.
And so, with the Zombie's confusion slowly being replaced by curiosity… he slowly walked towards Zeni.
"S… stay where you are, unholy creature!" Zeni then stretched her hand towards the Zombie; and as she did so, a luxurious sword materialized in her hand, "This… this is the holy sword Excalibur that costs 1,000,000 Powerstones! This can eradicate you in a single swing so don't–"
"You…"
"Eep!" The sword in Zeni's hand started to tremble as the Zombie got closer and closer.
"Do… you…"
"N… no, my… I don't have a brain! I'm merely a–"
"Do… you know what I am?" The Zombie finally found his words.
And as soon as Zeni heard the Zombie's words, the expression of comical fear on her face faded; along with the sword in her hands.
"They… haven't told you what you are yet?" Zeni then stood up as she looked the Zombie straight in the eyes, "Oh… you poor, poor thing."
"..." The Zombie then slightly took a step back as Zeni slowly stretched her hand towards his face.
"We… all have a role to play in this world," the tone of Zeni's voice changed; enough that the Zombie could feel a slight warmth coming from her ethereal hand; the expression on her face as well, slightly became stoic,
"Yours is yet to be written, undead."
"Name… do… I have name?"
"That's… not for me to decide," Zeni shook her head, "You–"
She was about to say something else, but before she could do so, the hood covering the Zombie's head disappeared, revealing his slightly rotting face.
"You…" And once again, Zeni's eyes started to twitch, "Just…
…Get the fuck out of my shop, you poor little shit!"
And with those words, the Zombie once again found itself in darkness. Beneath his feet, the two guards that he devoured before he was transferred to the white room. It felt like he spent a very long time in the white room, but it would seem the light of the moon that seeped from the windows were still the same.
"..."
Zeni. Zombie. Shop. Status.
The Zombie then looked up at the ceiling as numerous new thoughts entered his simple mind. There was, however, one that stood out–
–The Readers of Fate.
The words and letters that kept popping up in front of him– Zeni seemed to refer to them as the Readers of Fate. Just… what exactly is–
"Bro, I told you. The two are probably just smoking out here."
"Pft, can they even afford a cigarette these days? I swear– Wait, someone's there."
Well… now isn't exactly the time for the Zombie to think about things he doesn't know. Zeni, Zombies, Shop, Status, the Readers of Fate-- all of those were irrelevant right now.
"Who… who are you!?"
"Oh… oh fuck! I… isn't that Ben on the ground!?"
Now…
…Now was the time to devour.
