The next day, early morning.
On the street east of Baron Raymont's Estate.
A living corpse with half of her cheek rotted away was kneeling on the ground, gnawing on something gory in her hands.
As she ate, a sudden rush of footsteps interrupted her, coming from behind and approaching rapidly.
When she turned her head, she saw only a black figure standing behind her, holding something. After that, everything went dark.
The newcomer was Wu Shuang. Running all the way here, he swung an axe right into the neck of this street-dwelling living corpse.
The sharpened hand axe proved remarkably powerful. Though it didn't decapitate her in a single blow, it came close, biting deep into the neck.
Wu Shuang then delivered a heavy blow to her head with his short hammer. After she hit the ground, he struck twice more to ensure she was completely incapacitated before casting Appraisal Spell and searching her body.
The living corpse seemed to have been eating a large rodent—a Gray Great-Rat. She had been so engrossed in her meal that Wu Shuang had taken her down with a surprise attack.
However, she carried little of value, just a coin purse containing perhaps a few dozen coins.
Wu Shuang stashed the coin purse, quickly retreated into the narrow alley he had just emerged from, and summoned the handbook to check the living corpse's name. Cross-referencing it with the map, he located her residence, then dashed out again toward the street opposite.
He tried to avoid lingering on the main streets, as many houses in the eastern district harbored living corpses.
These clearly non-human creatures still seemed to retain the concept of home, staying inside their houses for extended periods. Consequently, there weren't many on the streets, though Wu Shuang had still taken down three along the way.
Bursting into this living corpse's home, Wu Shuang immediately shut the door tight and threw the bolt.
Just then, a noise came from the inner room. A male living corpse wielding a wood-chopping knife stepped out. Upon seeing Wu Shuang, he instantly flew into a frenzy, charging forward with faltering steps and raising the knife high.
Wu Shuang was prepared. He hurled his axe, striking the creature squarely on the shin. The blow threw him off balance, though he didn't fall completely, merely faltering for a moment.
But that was enough.
Wu Shuang raised the iron-plated wooden shield strapped to his left arm and charged, slamming hard into the living corpse to knock him down. He pinned the creature's weapon hand with his shield and struck viciously at his face with the hammer.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Three dull thuds, accompanied by the crunch of shattering bones, and the living corpse went limp.
Even so, Wu Shuang picked up his axe from the floor and chopped into the creature's neck to ensure his cervical spine was severed. Only then did he stand straight, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.
His practice over the past few days hadn't been in vain; the results were showing.
Even though he had only rehearsed some moves in his mind before, translating them into actual combat proved immensely helpful.
As long as he practiced more in the future and reinforced it through real combat, these movements would eventually become combat instincts, transforming him into a true warrior.
However, after continuous battles and covering a few hundred meters on foot, his stamina was depleting a bit too quickly.
In his current state, he was still too weak, unable to reach the Ruined Church without splitting the journey into two legs. Thus, he found a temporary shelter to rest and recover his stamina.
After confirming there were no other dangers in the house and that none of the windows or doors showed any signs of movement, Wu Shuang sat against the wall, drinking water to recover his stamina while opening the handbook to consider his next move.
He was currently located at the foot of the low hill, where he could clearly see the Ruined Church at the summit. The straight-line distance was less than 300 meters, with a road leading straight up the mountain.
Thanks to the good visibility, the location's official name was now marked on the map...
"Sea God Sanctuary... Sea God?"
Wu Shuang muttered to himself. This was the first time he had heard of the existence of a god in this otherworldly realm.
He just wasn't sure whether this god was an actual entity or merely an imagined spiritual totem.
He checked his stamina—it was at 63%. He planned to recover up to 85% before taking action.
He had come well prepared this time: dry rations, a lantern, bandages, medicine, and every necessary tool.
But constrained by weight, the only digging tool he had brought was his repaired shovel. The rest were weapons. Honestly, the load was still quite heavy, consuming a portion of his stamina just carrying it.
For melee weapons, he only brought the short hammer, hand axe, and a dagger as a desperate last resort, leaving the shortsword behind to travel as light as possible.
To ensure his survival, he had even purchased the Holy Blessed Pill listed in the market for 3,500 coins. It might have been overpriced, but life-saving supplies were not something to skimp on at a time like this.
He rested for roughly an hour, tidying and checking the items in the house along the way. He took almost nothing except money, as that wasn't his primary focus today.
After checking the street conditions through the window, he wasted no time. Carefully pushing the door open, he sprinted out and jogged toward the low hill, taking care to conserve his energy.
He encountered no further living corpses on the way. The view was open, as there were no other buildings within dozens of meters of the Sea God Sanctuary.
Yet for that very reason, Wu Shuang's movements were completely exposed. This kept him in a state of high tension throughout the run, looking left and right with the nagging sensation that eyes were watching him from the shadows, making him jumpy at every shadow.
It was likely trauma left behind by previous ambushes—he was practically suffering from PTSD—and he could only push through it and press onward.
Arriving before the stone wall of the Sea God Sanctuary, he looked back at the path he had traveled to confirm no pursuers were following before heading toward the main entrance.
But as he drew near, he heard an unusual noise—what sounded like digging soil. He immediately softened his steps, held his breath, and peered around the wall.
A person stood in the courtyard, standing around 1.7 meters tall with a hunch. If straightened out, he might reach two meters.
Clad in a dusty gray robe, he held a massive iron shovel over two meters long, digging up soil shovel by shovel. He appeared to be raiding a grave, pursuing the exact same goal as Wu Shuang. Nearby lay an opened grave alongside a mound of fresh earth.
"Another player...?"
Wu Shuang speculated, though something felt off—the fellow gave him a distinctly non-human vibe.
Casting an Appraisal Spell, Wu Shuang quickly confirmed his identity in the handbook. He wasn't a player, but a town resident—and a rather unusual one at that.
【Grave Digger Pike Von】
【Description: Pike Von was a homeless vagrant from out of town. Taken in by the sanctuary's priest, his exceptional physique eventually led him to become a grave digger, earning his keep by digging graves, burying the deceased, and maintaining the cemetery. The priest arranged quarters for him in the sanctuary's cellar, where he also assisted with daily chores around the holy ground.
But good times didn't last. Not long after, the priest died of a strange disease. Pike Von gradually grew dishonest, often creeping out at midnight after burials to unearth graves and rob their contents before restoring them by morning, turning him into a notorious grave robber.】
...
"A grave robber..."
Wu Shuang thought to himself. So he had bumped into a colleague in the trade.
That said, this guy named Pike was indeed much stronger than an ordinary human, though not to an absurd degree. Moreover, having turned into a living corpse, he wasn't unwinnable in a fight.
Checking his weapons and gear, including Argus—pre-loading percussion caps and securing the trigger lock to prevent accidental discharge—he carefully crept up from behind Pike.
Rate on N.U.
