[Skill Gained: Mighty Aura]
[Stats Increased]
The skull seemed perplexed with her choice. “Interesting, that skill is not built into any class that has access to those other two options.”
“That’s why I chose it, Humps. Sure, the ranged attack would be handy, or even the area slow… but, uh- I forgot where I was going with this.”
“You want to support your party?” The Observer nodded at her.
“Sum of the parts, and all that. I don’t want to be like the annoying Cleric and think so little of my Party members. They may only be zombies for now, but we could be a lot stronger in the future because of my choices now.”
“You’re really in this for the long term?”
Sally looked almost insulted at the question. “What choice do I have? I didn’t ask to be a Monster - and after tonight, we can agree that the term is loosely granted, huh?”
“It’s not my position to place judgement. For what it’s worth, you are interesting to Observe.”
“Aw, don’t go all soft on me, Humps. I don’t trust your number-daddy, but you are cool enough.” She smiled and turned to the horde of zombies, crossing her arms in thought.
For a brief moment, the purple energy surrounding the Observer turned the briefest pink-peach before returning to the eldritch purple.
“I can’t travel with twenty-odd zombies,” she huffed, “not only are they slow, but they will attract unwanted attention. I already will, but a group of flesh-eating undead will be too much of a hindrance. As cute and adorable as they all are.” She pouted and turned back to the floating skull.
“What are your plans now?”
“To find more powerful friends. Then, I don’t know, destroy the establishment - maybe God?” Sally shrugged.
“That’s… I’m not even going to address that. That would be a lot of adventuring parties to be the pooper of.”
“Well, whatever I used to be, I may not have been the life of the party… but here, I can be the death of the party.”
“That would make a good tagline, maybe even title.”
“I doubt it. Oh, Chuck, come here.” She beckoned the Party member over before she plucked the arrow from his socket with a wet sucking noise. “Such a goof. I suppose I need to replace a party member with… that one.” A zombie joined the Party.
“You did promise you’d name them if they levelled up again,” Humphrey reminded her, bobbing around her in an arc.
“Ack, fine. Funny what you choose to know and tell me. Chuck, Grams, Suits, and McDoots.” Her head rocked back and forth. “Is that too demeaning? I suppose this is just my nickname for them, rather than actually forcing them to live under my given cringe identities?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks, Humphrey, always a good chat. So, tell me - do I get Quests, or do I have to wander blindly throughout the world in search of danger and tasty meat suits? People.”
“There should be a Quest menu under your-“
“Oh! More importantly, can I loot these dudes?” She jerked a thumb back towards the dead adventurers.
Humphrey made a shrugging gesture in the air, shifting up and down. “Monsters can’t loot, usually.”
Sally approached the Ranger, waving off the zombies who were finishing their snack. Strangely, it did not repulse her to see the state of what remained of the man. It did make it a hassle to try and dig around for valuables, though. “Is there not a way this is gamified?” She waved her hand at the chewed-up mess.
“Yes.”
“Humphrey, I swear…”
“Use the STAR if you can.” The skull floated slightly further away to avoid her ire.
“When did we even start capitalising that,” she muttered, “I don’t even want to know if it’s an acronym.” Sally pointed the odd device at the corpse and jabbed at it.
Nothing happened.
She prodded it repeatedly again, impatience building a scowl across her face. Then, a buzzing started in her head once more. A screen popped up, filled with nonsense numbers in a disjointed pattern—pressure built up inside her skull as the word ERROR burnt into her mind. The throbbing almost deafened her before a pop cleared her head.
[Inventory Unlocked]
[Parse//Read Error... Scan Unl]
“Oh, cool, I get headaches and broken abilities. Whoever made this is the true monster.” Sally rolled her eyes and jabbed her finger on the STAR once more. This time a small window popped up.
[10 Gold]
[Longbow - Common]
[Arrows - 18]
[Small Medicine Pack]
Sally took the med pack and gold. As much as she had wanted a ranged weapon, the longbow looked like something she had neither the skill nor the muscles to use. Not that she could check her own stats yet. With a sigh, she wandered over to the wizard - his face still agape in shock after she had sliced a gape in his neck parts.
[15 Gold]
[Zap Wand (3 Uses)]
[Spell Components (4)]
[Lucky Rabbit’s Foot]
“Hold up!” She whistled. “This a magic trinket, Humpster? The Wand sounds useful too.” Sally hit Loot All.
The STAR was spun to find the Inventory tab, which soon opened up to a large UI screen. Reaching the trinket, it was pulled out of the part digital screen and appeared in her hand. She clipped it to her belt.
[Lucky Rabbit’s Foot: +1 Luck]
“Hah, wasn’t so lucky for the rabbit, right?” She beamed around the clearing looking for the Observer. “Nor for the Wizard, I guess.”
She sat down on one of the least broken chairs littering the doorway and looked out into the village of Hillan. Well into the middle of the night now, the area was only lit by the two moons in the sky. It was almost serene, like watching ducklings paddling around a pond. Except it was bloodthirsty walking undead. Oh, an undead duck might be a nice pet.
As she placed her head in her hands, the Observer made his appearance known by clipping the doorframe as he hovered beside her.
“Everything okay, Sally the Unliving?”
“Pfft, who knows,” she closed her eyes, “I’m pretty sure I used to work in that diner as a normal person. Now I’ve just eaten part of a man trying to kill me because I’ve woken up as a zombie - one that defies the laws of this world.”
“True, but you-“
“I’m also followed around by a floating skull that is watching me to see exactly how I break the rules and only gives me information at random.”
The Observer said nothing but looked at the sky with the zombie woman.
“I’m sorry, Humphrey. Just venting, and I know none of this is your fault.” She sighed and gave a sad smile to the skull. “Do I even need to sleep? I can’t tell if I am tired or just… dead.”
“It’s okay, Sally. I hope one day to be released from the constraints placed upon me. And, yes. Even monsters need to rest sometime.”
“You think we will be safe here for the rest of the night?” She looked around at the empty houses. It was a remote location for sure, the gnarled wear of the wooden structures, the dust-laden surfaces - all a testament to this.
“Yes.” Humphrey caught her glare. “I will awaken you should anyone approach, and you have these zombies still, as a safety blanket.
“Thanks, Humps,” her frown turned upside down, “we’ll spread the zeds out, put some lit candles where I am not sleeping - to draw attention away.”
“Smart,” he nodded, “I have no arms, so I will just bob about and provide mood lighting.”
Sally grinned and hopped to her feet. “Just what I’ve always wanted from a third party constantly spying on me!”
They had chosen one of the empty residential houses as their base for resting. Despite being dusty and relatively plain, the bedroom was surprisingly comfortable. A single bed with a comfortable mattress, a bedside table with a few desiccated flowers, and a set of drawers. Above the bed, a painting of the village hung.
For the undead woman caked in gore, it was quaint and peaceful. Under the soft purple lighting of the Observer that watched out of the single window, she soon fell asleep. Her Party rested just outside the room on the second floor, spread amongst the landing at the top of the rickety staircase and the grime-encrusted bathroom. A few select shambling corpses were placed downstairs, with the rest split between the other nearby buildings.
Sally awoke to the bright morning sunlight cascading through the window, illuminating the bed, save for the shadow of the floating skull.
“You’ve been there all night?” She yawned and swung her legs over the side of the bed, throwing back the covers.
“As I said I would. I do not need rest. Just a mandated two-week holiday annually.”
She brought up the Party UI and saw that everyone had been fully healed overnight, including herself. “I thought I felt better,” she murmured and wiped her eyes. “Is there a way I can clean my uniform? I mean,” Sally waved her STAR around, “like with magic instead of effort?”
“Yes. In the right location.” Humphrey moved across the room, closed to the door. “I’ll let you know when the opportunity arises.”
“Thanks,” she rolled her eyes, trying to decide if that was helpful or not.
“So what’s the plan for-“
The STAR lit up in a brighter silver; Sally shrugged and poked at it.
[Login Bonus: Day 1 - Receive Gift?]
[Skill Gained: Mighty Aura]
[Stats Increased]
The skull seemed perplexed with her choice. “Interesting, that skill is not built into any class that has access to those other two options.”
“That’s why I chose it, Humps. Sure, the ranged attack would be handy, or even the area slow… but, uh- I forgot where I was going with this.”
“You want to support your party?” The Observer nodded at her.
“Sum of the parts, and all that. I don’t want to be like the annoying Cleric and think so little of my Party members. They may only be zombies for now, but we could be a lot stronger in the future because of my choices now.”
“You’re really in this for the long term?”
Sally looked almost insulted at the question. “What choice do I have? I didn’t ask to be a Monster - and after tonight, we can agree that the term is loosely granted, huh?”
“It’s not my position to place judgement. For what it’s worth, you are interesting to Observe.”
“Aw, don’t go all soft on me, Humps. I don’t trust your number-daddy, but you are cool enough.” She smiled and turned to the horde of zombies, crossing her arms in thought.
For a brief moment, the purple energy surrounding the Observer turned the briefest pink-peach before returning to the eldritch purple.
“I can’t travel with twenty-odd zombies,” she huffed, “not only are they slow, but they will attract unwanted attention. I already will, but a group of flesh-eating undead will be too much of a hindrance. As cute and adorable as they all are.” She pouted and turned back to the floating skull.
“What are your plans now?”
“To find more powerful friends. Then, I don’t know, destroy the establishment - maybe God?” Sally shrugged.
“That’s… I’m not even going to address that. That would be a lot of adventuring parties to be the pooper of.”
“Well, whatever I used to be, I may not have been the life of the party… but here, I can be the death of the party.”
“That would make a good tagline, maybe even title.”
“I doubt it. Oh, Chuck, come here.” She beckoned the Party member over before she plucked the arrow from his socket with a wet sucking noise. “Such a goof. I suppose I need to replace a party member with… that one.” A zombie joined the Party.
“You did promise you’d name them if they levelled up again,” Humphrey reminded her, bobbing around her in an arc.
“Ack, fine. Funny what you choose to know and tell me. Chuck, Grams, Suits, and McDoots.” Her head rocked back and forth. “Is that too demeaning? I suppose this is just my nickname for them, rather than actually forcing them to live under my given cringe identities?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks, Humphrey, always a good chat. So, tell me - do I get Quests, or do I have to wander blindly throughout the world in search of danger and tasty meat suits? People.”
“There should be a Quest menu under your-“
“Oh! More importantly, can I loot these dudes?” She jerked a thumb back towards the dead adventurers.
Humphrey made a shrugging gesture in the air, shifting up and down. “Monsters can’t loot, usually.”
Sally approached the Ranger, waving off the zombies who were finishing their snack. Strangely, it did not repulse her to see the state of what remained of the man. It did make it a hassle to try and dig around for valuables, though. “Is there not a way this is gamified?” She waved her hand at the chewed-up mess.
“Yes.”
“Humphrey, I swear…”
“Use the STAR if you can.” The skull floated slightly further away to avoid her ire.
“When did we even start capitalising that,” she muttered, “I don’t even want to know if it’s an acronym.” Sally pointed the odd device at the corpse and jabbed at it.
Nothing happened.
She prodded it repeatedly again, impatience building a scowl across her face. Then, a buzzing started in her head once more. A screen popped up, filled with nonsense numbers in a disjointed pattern—pressure built up inside her skull as the word ERROR burnt into her mind. The throbbing almost deafened her before a pop cleared her head.
[Inventory Unlocked]
[Parse//Read Error... Scan Unl]
“Oh, cool, I get headaches and broken abilities. Whoever made this is the true monster.” Sally rolled her eyes and jabbed her finger on the STAR once more. This time a small window popped up.
[10 Gold]
[Longbow - Common]
[Arrows - 18]
[Small Medicine Pack]
Sally took the med pack and gold. As much as she had wanted a ranged weapon, the longbow looked like something she had neither the skill nor the muscles to use. Not that she could check her own stats yet. With a sigh, she wandered over to the wizard - his face still agape in shock after she had sliced a gape in his neck parts.
[15 Gold]
[Zap Wand (3 Uses)]
[Spell Components (4)]
[Lucky Rabbit’s Foot]
“Hold up!” She whistled. “This a magic trinket, Humpster? The Wand sounds useful too.” Sally hit Loot All.
The STAR was spun to find the Inventory tab, which soon opened up to a large UI screen. Reaching the trinket, it was pulled out of the part digital screen and appeared in her hand. She clipped it to her belt.
[Lucky Rabbit’s Foot: +1 Luck]
“Hah, wasn’t so lucky for the rabbit, right?” She beamed around the clearing looking for the Observer. “Nor for the Wizard, I guess.”
She sat down on one of the least broken chairs littering the doorway and looked out into the village of Hillan. Well into the middle of the night now, the area was only lit by the two moons in the sky. It was almost serene, like watching ducklings paddling around a pond. Except it was bloodthirsty walking undead. Oh, an undead duck might be a nice pet.
As she placed her head in her hands, the Observer made his appearance known by clipping the doorframe as he hovered beside her.
“Everything okay, Sally the Unliving?”
“Pfft, who knows,” she closed her eyes, “I’m pretty sure I used to work in that diner as a normal person. Now I’ve just eaten part of a man trying to kill me because I’ve woken up as a zombie - one that defies the laws of this world.”
“True, but you-“
“I’m also followed around by a floating skull that is watching me to see exactly how I break the rules and only gives me information at random.”
The Observer said nothing but looked at the sky with the zombie woman.
“I’m sorry, Humphrey. Just venting, and I know none of this is your fault.” She sighed and gave a sad smile to the skull. “Do I even need to sleep? I can’t tell if I am tired or just… dead.”
“It’s okay, Sally. I hope one day to be released from the constraints placed upon me. And, yes. Even monsters need to rest sometime.”
“You think we will be safe here for the rest of the night?” She looked around at the empty houses. It was a remote location for sure, the gnarled wear of the wooden structures, the dust-laden surfaces - all a testament to this.
“Yes.” Humphrey caught her glare. “I will awaken you should anyone approach, and you have these zombies still, as a safety blanket.
“Thanks, Humps,” her frown turned upside down, “we’ll spread the zeds out, put some lit candles where I am not sleeping - to draw attention away.”
“Smart,” he nodded, “I have no arms, so I will just bob about and provide mood lighting.”
Sally grinned and hopped to her feet. “Just what I’ve always wanted from a third party constantly spying on me!”
They had chosen one of the empty residential houses as their base for resting. Despite being dusty and relatively plain, the bedroom was surprisingly comfortable. A single bed with a comfortable mattress, a bedside table with a few desiccated flowers, and a set of drawers. Above the bed, a painting of the village hung.
For the undead woman caked in gore, it was quaint and peaceful. Under the soft purple lighting of the Observer that watched out of the single window, she soon fell asleep. Her Party rested just outside the room on the second floor, spread amongst the landing at the top of the rickety staircase and the grime-encrusted bathroom. A few select shambling corpses were placed downstairs, with the rest split between the other nearby buildings.
Sally awoke to the bright morning sunlight cascading through the window, illuminating the bed, save for the shadow of the floating skull.
“You’ve been there all night?” She yawned and swung her legs over the side of the bed, throwing back the covers.
“As I said I would. I do not need rest. Just a mandated two-week holiday annually.”
She brought up the Party UI and saw that everyone had been fully healed overnight, including herself. “I thought I felt better,” she murmured and wiped her eyes. “Is there a way I can clean my uniform? I mean,” Sally waved her STAR around, “like with magic instead of effort?”
“Yes. In the right location.” Humphrey moved across the room, closed to the door. “I’ll let you know when the opportunity arises.”
“Thanks,” she rolled her eyes, trying to decide if that was helpful or not.
“So what’s the plan for-“
The STAR lit up in a brighter silver; Sally shrugged and poked at it.
[Login Bonus: Day 1 - Receive Gift?]
