Chapter 48: A Weird Wolf Has Been Spotted! And It Is A Zombie?!

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A Weird Wolf has been spotted!

What will you do?

>Attack

>Defend

>Skill

>Item

>Flee

Seriously, this is the weirdest encounter that I have gotten.

And it is -quite literary- right from my nightmares!

What the heck is this?

It is a normal Ice Wolf, but the thing is covered in the slimy black ooze of my nightmares.

Seriously, is this not a nightmare either?

This thing looks hideous.

It is as if the Symbiotes of Venom took over a poor Ice Wolf.

It still hasn't detected us, and it was mostly walking around aimlessly while sniffing around.

It had several yellow-colored eyes popping around its body, everywhere it had this black goo.

And its tail had a seriously dangerous stinger made of the hardened black slime.

It looked out for blood!

And the jaws of the wolf were constantly dripping saliva and blood, it looked like… a zombie.

Freaky.

I quickly flew above it and observed it from a safe distance.

Yuki was quite terrified of it, she suddenly felt its strange, otherworldly presence, and started to shiver.

But I decided to analyze it…

…

Name: Nameless.

Race: Ice Wolf (Male)

Mana Core Cultivation: Rank 1 (Initial Stage).

Status: Parasitized, Unending Hunger, Insane.

Average Estimated Vitality: 223/266

Average Estimated Mana: 12/30

Average Estimated Strength: 130

Average Estimated Dexterity: 160

Average Estimated Magic: 20

Abilities:

[Molded]

[Undeath]

[Undying Stamina]

[Degradation]

[Crazed Agility]

[Crazed Consumption]

[Infection]

…

Oh…

Parasitized, yes, I can see that.

Unending Hunger? I bet that must suck.

And… insane?

Are you insane?

Can wolves go insane? I thought you needed sanity to go insane, I mean, animals do have some level of sanity, I suppose. So yeah, I guess it is insane somehow.

Ad those stats.

Hmmm.

They don't look at all like the stats of an Initial Stage!

What kind of overpowered cheat is this?!

So we are just going to ignore Mana Core Ranks and give shit monsters some new boost in power, I guess.

But I suppose that it only boosts physical attacks, its mana and magic are still low.

And its HP is slowly decreasing.

Is this the Degradation Ability taking effect? It seems that the parasite is draining its vitality slowly.

It also has other weird abilities.

My curiosity is enormous, so I inspect them while I float in midair.

[Molded]

The creature possessing this Ability has been infected by the parasitic Black Mold and has become a [Molded].

As a [Molded] the creature possesses superhuman capabilities, hastened regeneration, super strength, agility, and insane reflexes.

[Undeath]

A creature who is not alive, nor completely dead… an Undeath is someone that should be clearly dead but roams the plane of the living by some kind of supernatural means.

As an Undeath, the creature possesses immunity to fear, poison, and pain, alongside having unlimited stamina.

However, it also has unending hunger, and weakness to holy light and fire magic.

[Undying Stamina]

As an Undeath, the creature possesses endless stamina, and can also move even with zero mana.

[Degradation]

As an infected, your Vitality is slowly drained, but in exchange, your power keeps growing the more it is drained.

[Crazed Agility]

As you are insane, your agility and reflexes are of another level.

[Crazed Consumption]

By consuming prey, you can recovery Vitality and gain more strength.

[Infection]

You can infect a weakened foe with Mold, if it loses the battle of wills, it will become a Molded afterward.

…

Oh damn, he got the whole Zombie build, doesn't he?

And he can even infect with this mold stuff…

So it is a mold.

I see.

Well, then, the nightmare… what was it at the end?

Was that a premonition of the future? I guess I was right back then.

Oh damn, what are we going to do?

I kind of want to kill it…

Let's see.

I hover over it slowly, but it quickly notices me, damn it.

Even with camouflage, it noticed me.

The wolf roars and begins to jump, roaring monstrously, but it can't catch me.

"Groaarrwwrarwaarr!"

He keeps jumping pointlessly, even if he's breaking his bones every time he hits the ground from such a height.

Yeah, it lacks a complete sense of self-preservation, this thing is really "insane".

Let's see… from this distance… Icicle Spear.

I can more or less conjure this stuff incredibly easily at this point, so I create a large Icicle Spear and shot it at the wolf!

CLASH!

"GRAAGGH…!"

The wolf falls over the ground, begins to struggle, and then it gets up…

That should ha definitely killed you bud, the Icicle Spear literally went through your torso… all the way to your stomach.

But nope, he's moving, somehow.

I see it's HP and it is around 60 though.

Even if you're a zombie, you can still die, I guess.

I shot another smaller icicle spear into its head, which explodes into a bloody mush.

Splat!

The beast falls over the ground motionless.

And it doesn't wake up anymore.

It is dead…

Rest in peace, buddy.

I glance at the black mold there, but it is immobile.

I suppose it can't move by itself, so it spread through spores or by direct infection from the one that contains its original strain.

Should I eat it?

Everything screams that I should not.

But what if I get crazy Undeath Skills without the side effects?

Wouldn't that be awesome?

Yeah, but not worth risking getting infected and becoming a zombie, so I quickly fly away.

I decide to get over the snow for a bit until my Mana refills, and we walk around cautiously.

If this thing can infect others… then there are probably more infected monsters around.

It has been a while since I actually felt fear…

I don't know what is going on anymore.

Did this magic world undergo a Resident Evil-like apocalypse by any chance? I sure hope not…

Maybe I am just being stupid, and that mold is just a native species of the monster of this world…

Perhaps.

I hope…

I really hope so…

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