A few kilometers away from his mansion,
Allen was perched atop a tree in an area sparsely populated with zombies.
'There are only 30 of them in the vicinity and no sign of any survivors.' He thought.
'I don't want to waste bullets on them. It's better to fight them in close-quarters combat.' He decided before lunging at the nearest zombie.
Puchi~
Thud!
A zombie head rolled over with a thud as Allen cleanly cleaved it apart with his steel dagger.
The sound attracted the attention of the other zombies as they ran towards him.
"Bring it on, corpses." He said before throwing the dagger at the nearest zombie.
Puchi~
"Grrooah!"
Thud!
It groaned as the dagger went through its head as it fell on the ground lifelessly.
"Hiyaa!"
Allen charged at the zombies with power as he gripped the axe tight and swung it with his might.
Chak!
Thud!
The third zombie died as Allen's axe slashed through its head.
Bang!
"Graagh!"
He kicked a zombie that was about to lunge at him in its torso as it flew back, taking down the zombies behind it.
"Haah!"
He spun 360 degrees, instantly killing 10 more of these undead creatures before unleashing fierce moves that took down 5 more of their brethren.
More zombies were surrounding him as they all attempted to take him down with their sharp nails and razor teeth. Yet, none succeeded as Allen unfolded moves beyond their comprehension and took them down without a hitch.
Just like that, Allen killed the rest of the zombies in the area as he stood staring at their chopped corpses with an expressionless face.
"That wasn't so bad." He said to himself.
He was just about to move when he felt something behind him.
"...!"
BANG!
Splash!
Allen quickly turned around with his right fist swinging as it came into contact with another.
The opponent's arm was blown away with rotting blood splashing everywhere as Allen's fist overpowered it greatly.
"Grrargh…!"
It threw another fist but Allen simply dodged it before punching it with his left fist in its torso, making it fly some distance.
However, Allen didn't stop with his assault as he threw the axe towards its head and to his surprise, the zombie dodged it successfully.
It was about to charge at him when he decided to end it without any further hassle.
Dududu!
Thud!
He fired his machine gun, as its head turned into blood and brain matter with its body falling to the ground.
"Hooh…"
Allen heaved a heavy breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding as he simply stared at the now-dead zombie without moving towards it.
'What the hell was that? If it weren't for my enhanced physical abilities, it might've been me who was critically injured if its surprise attack had landed. What type of a weird creature is this?' He wondered as he still held the trigger, waiting to fire at the slightest anomaly.
The Zombie he just killed was not only stronger than the ones before but also faster and strangely… more intelligent.
'Although not much. After all, if it were truly intelligent, it would have picked up the axe I threw at it and fought me using that.' Allen thought to himself.
'System, do you know what that was?' He decided to ask the only one he knew who could answer his question.
[Yes, that was a Grade 1 Undead.] The System replied.
'Wait, what did you say? Grade 1? Undead?' Allen was confused.
[Zombies are part of the Undead. Different Undeads have different levels of strength. The zombies you've fought till now were common Ungraded Undead. This one which you've just killed is a Grade 1 Undead, basically, a more powerful zombie.] The System answered.
'Tell me more about this Grade 1 Undead?' Allen asked.
[Yes. Grade 1 Undeads are basically Zombies who are stronger, faster, and slightly more intelligent than the Ungraded Zombies. They can be killed with normal bullets and sharp weapons without a problem.] The System explained.
'Is that so?' Allen asked with a raised eyebrow, indicating his curiosity.
[Yes.]
'Then, are there any more Grades?'
[There are. According to the data I have, there's supposed to be at least 10 Grades of Undead with Grade 8 onwards being immune to bullets.]
"..."
Allen's heart sank as he heard about them being bullet-proof.
[However, they can still be damaged and also killed by bombs. Not just that, they're also extremely rare. Although, I am not aware of the ratio.] The System said, easing Allen's worries slightly.
'Hopefully, I won't come across Grade 8s and higher any time soon.' He thought, pressing his temples.
[However, there are benefits to killing higher grade zombies.] The System said.
"Benefits? What do you mean?" Allen asked, with a raised eyebrow.
[See the notifications.] The System said and did not provide any further explanations.
Allen did as the system said and went through the notifications.
It was the usual thing about him killing zombies and receiving around 150 SP for killing the 30 zombies.
"...!"
Shock covered Allen's face as he read the last notifications.
[Congratulations!
You've killed a Grade 1 Undead!
Reward: i) 500 SP, ii) Water- 50 L, iii) Sound Grenade X1]
[Congratulations!
You've killed a Grade 1 Undead for the first time!
Reward: i) 500 SP, ii) Diesel- 20 L, iii) Military Grade Combat Knife X1]
Allen almost burst into laughter as joy filled his heart upon knowing what the rewards were for killing the Grade 1 Zombie.
However, he suppressed himself, showing only a smile as he opened his mouth.
"System, where are the rewards?" He asked.
[They are available in the Inventory.] The System replied.
"I want the Combat Knife and Sound Grenade." He ordered.
[As you wish.] The System agreed.
Wheesh
Two black-blue lights appeared over Allen's hands as they took the shape of a sharp knife and a round grenade.
Allen looked at the weapons in his hands like a kid seeing his Christmas presents.
"Alright~"