Sigh!
Matthew bought the "monster" pill.
"Screw it, I'm a zombie, at least for now."
He gripped his jet-black spear and approached the dog that was wandering among the zombies.
"It'll only be five seconds."
Matthew looked at the zombie dog; the dog seemed alert.
"Maybe if that dog had reached rank D+, its instincts would have been even more heightened."
He didn't dwell on what wouldn't benefit him.
Swallow!
AH!
His mind was spinning, but he controlled himself and swung his spear before the three seconds were up, crushing the zombie dog's neck with the iron shaft.
It was an instant, and it was all over.
"Damn, that's a lot of strength."
[The host may be even stronger than that]
[Get 50 brains and the mid-level Frankenstein shop will open]
Matthew was satisfied with the result. He crouched down and began using his knife to pull out the dog's gums and teeth. He set them aside to devour later, then bit into the front paws, tearing away tough, somewhat rotten meat. After the meat, he reached the bones. It was a slow process eating just one of the D-rank zombie dog's paws. Even with his damaged teeth, he devoured the other paw, after which he had to devour the gums and teeth he had previously pulled out.
[The host's teeth have been replaced with stronger ones]
After devouring the teeth, he set about devouring the zombie dog's head, starting with the snout.
As he devoured the zombie dog, the sun rose and reached its zenith.
Matthew collapsed beside the putrid pool of blood and filth left after the zombie dog was completely devoured.
[Host's sense of smell has improved]
[Host's strength has improved]
[Zombie: Rank D-] Matthew looked at his current rank; he was satisfied.
"I think I should look for other Rank D zombies. And some Rank C ones too. If I find them, in a month, I can rank up again. I won't be reckless. I haven't even found a way back, and if I return as I am now, they'll just lock me up in a hidden laboratory, and I'll never see the light of day again."
As evening arrived and the sky began to darken, he headed for the bridge, which was quite dilapidated.
He crossed cautiously and decided to look for new cities where there might be zombies that could help him continue increasing his rank and perfecting his body.
Night fell, and since he didn't feel tired, he decided to just keep walking. As he walked, he decided to test the changes he'd made upon reaching a new rank, and thus he understood the power of the enhancements. Now he could run much faster than before; he no longer moved uncoordinatedly. He even concluded that he was faster than an Olympic athlete. He didn't tire easily, and his senses had improved.
"I'm a rotting zombie, but even so, I'm stronger than a human who has consciously trained their body. Hmm, this was the power those who awoke in stories desired, well, aside from the fact that I transformed into some kind of undead."
Matthew walked along a path overgrown with weeds sprouting from the asphalt.
As the sun rose, Matthew saw a few scattered houses.
He approached some of them, checking their interiors. Most were empty, and a few contained dried corpses. Finding nothing useful, he decided to continue on his way, figuring any zombies in those houses would be low-ranking.
Night fell again, and he kept walking. At dawn, as he walked along the paths bordered by Mother Nature, he was startled to see a long-limbed zombie making a chilling sound as it chased a pack of live dogs.
[Zombie: Rank D+]
One of the dogs crashed into Matthew, and the zombie lunged at it.
Matthew also felt a strong urge to eat the dogs alive.
He raised his jet-black spear.
Bang!
Stab!
The spear pierced the head of the unsuspecting zombie. At that moment, the dog got up, slightly wounded, and ran away.
"Damn, it's hard to resist the urge to eat living things."
Matthew sat down, thanking his luck that the D+ rank zombie had lowered its guard, overcome by the desire to eat.
Now, it was Matthew who devoured the long-limbed humanoid zombie.
He chewed the grayish flesh that emitted strong odors, then the bones; he spent almost the entire day devouring the zombie.
[The host's joints and tendons are more flexible and resilient]
[Zombie: Rank D]
Matthew was grateful he didn't have excessively long arms and legs.
"Will I run faster now?"
Matthew didn't hesitate and began to run as fast as he could to test the new benefits he gained from devouring the zombie.