Cherreads

Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 – Leveling Up, Nearly Dying, and the Intelligent Undead

Day three.

I sat behind the shattered display of an eyeglass store, staring at my faint reflection in the cracked glass.

My right arm was still trembling from the earlier fight against a small horde of zombies. I counted… around twenty Rank 0 creatures? Not hard when you've got Claw Lv 5 and muscles like rebar. But still… this body, strong as it was, wasn't human. Stiff. Slow. Strange.

I wanted to rest. Not because I was tired. But… I just wanted to pause. Sit down. Be alone. Reflect on life—or death, in my case.

I stood up and started walking again, dragging my feet through the dark aisles of a supermarket, hoping to find that one last creature to push me to Level 10.

And then—

ZRAAK!

Something burst out from behind a pile of collapsed shelves. Fast. Heavy. It slammed into me and sent me flying into a freezer wall.

Cracks spread across my body. Cold seeped in.

"Ugh… damn it…"

My eyes caught it. Over two meters tall. Muscles bloated beyond reason. Half its face torn off, but one eye glowing red.

A Rank 2 Zombie.

"Why do they always show up when I just wanna take a break?!"

I stood—slowly—and took my stance. It didn't wait. It lunged and punched straight at me.

BOOM!

The punch obliterated the fridge behind me. But I survived. Barely. My left claw blocked its arm, and my right claw slashed at its neck.

[Claw Lv 5 – Critical Hit]

Black blood sprayed, but it didn't stop. It only went wilder.

I dodged. Leapt behind a shelf. Grabbed a glass bottle and hurled it at its eye. Not to hurt it—but to buy time to think.

This body was strong… but I wasn't a natural fighter. I was just… an ordinary person who happened to become a zombie girl with an RPG system.

"Think, Sylvia! You were an office worker! No way you lose in a logic game against a walking pile of meat!"

I started moving to the other side. Lured it into a trap between fallen shelves, pinning it down for a few seconds. Then—

[Bite Lv 2 – Neck]

I bit its neck with all my strength. My fangs hit bone, then pierced through.

It thrashed. But it was enough.

With my final burst of power, I tore into its chest, stabbing deep with my claws. And finally—

[Zombie Rank 2 – Eliminated]

[Level Up!]

Name: Sylvia

Race: Zombie (Rank 0)Level: 10/10

Evolution conditions fulfilled.

Evolution path unlocked.

Please choose your evolution at a safe location.

I collapsed onto the floor.

Not from exhaustion.

But because… I won.

Alone.

Against something that should've killed me.

"I'm still… here."

With stumbling steps, I returned to my little hideout. A place where I could feel—even just a little—like myself.

And when the status screen appeared again…

[STATUS]

Name: Sylvia

Race: Zombie (Rank 0)

Level: 10/10

Stats

HP: 5/1000

MP: 0/0

STR: 150

VIT: 1000

INT: 10AGI: 12LUK: ERROR

Active Skills

~ Bite (3/10)

~ Claw (6/10)

Passive Skills

~ Regeneration (5/10) – 5 HP/sec

Title~ Reincarnated

Evolution Available.

Please select:

And the screen… lit up.

Three silhouettes appeared faintly.

Three choices.

Three paths.

Three fates I could choose.

But that… would be for tomorrow.

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