Chapter 3:
Searching the Catacombs
“HOW ARE YOU holding up, Sis?” Akina suddenly asked over breakfast.
For a moment, I thought she was talking about my health, but then I realized Akina had to be talking about FLFO. Should I play dumb? No, that seems pretty pointless, all things considered.
“I’m holding up fairly well, for what it’s worth. Occasionally taking down an enemy or two while filling out the map.”
“So you’re mapping the place?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be coming back, so I’d better get it done with while I can.”
“And by the sound of things, evolving into a high zombie won’t make the job any easier, huh…”
“Mmm. Once I’m done eating, I plan on tackling the second level of the place.”
“Oh, so it’s not just one floor?”
“I saw a flight of stairs leading down into the depths. Based on what the enemies are like, I might have an easy time leveling up.”
“Right, those of the same race only go aggro if you attack first. Usually, undead-type monsters are troublesome because they swarm you with numbers…”
Generally speaking, I was taking them on one at a time, and I always got a preemptive strike. Hunting zombies is becoming incredibly easy. The undead are creepy, filthy, and putrid—not to mention their drops are pure trash. However, the experience points—or EXP—isn’t bad, so parties with area of effect, or AOE, capabilities sometimes go after them.
Indeed, the EXP was the only thing good about them. Those parties would mow them down with fire and light magic and thus fail to raise any of their other skill levels. As the drops were literal stinking garbage, there was absolutely no money to be found. Honestly, zombies were not in high demand.
“Seeing as I can’t move properly at the moment, they’re actually quite convenient to my progress.”
“I’d say that’s mainly because you always get the first strike.”
“For now, I’ll spend today…ah, rather, I’ll have to spend the next few days mapping.”
“Huh? Was the place always that big?”
“It’s decently big, but I’m slow, and I trip now and then. Let me tell you, it’s super hard to get around. I’m hoping I can finish today, but I might find a third floor after that. You never know.”
“Ah…”
“Now let’s do this.”
“Yeah!”
After washing the dishes, I head to my room and immediately log into FLFO.
Hello again, my dear, sweet catacombs! I crawl out and promptly start down the stairs—nearly tripping over myself from my own impatience.
Right into my first encounter with a high zombie.
HIGH ZOMBIE LV 15
A rotten, reanimated corpse. They flock around whoever they see.
Yeaaaaah, now I get it. Looks like the high zombies range from level 15 to level 19. Visually…well, I honestly can’t tell the difference between them and normal zombies. Did anything change at all? I guess they’re walking a bit better—but I could just be seeing things.
I’d better not pin any hopes on my future evolution.
After spending the entirety of my Sunday mapping out the second floor, I stumbled upon the stairs down to basement floor three. I didn’t even manage to completely map out floor two. That is all. I’m going to bed a bit upset.
Come to think of it, does the game not treat the catacombs as a dungeon, ancient ruins, or anything? The sheer emptiness of the halls is quite disheartening. Seeing as it’s the starting point for zombie players, there’s a high chance I won’t find anything at all. But now that I’ve gotten this far, I simply have to map the whole place out.
I’m back at it the next day as soon as I get home from school. At school, I chatted a bit about FLFO with two boys I’ve known from kindergarten, but it will be some time before I can meet them in-game. Once my mapping is done, I’ll prioritize leveling up and evolving. Akina’s waiting for me, and I’ll need to get rid of Decomposing Body before I do anything else.
Now, what are the enemies like on floor three…? I’m not done with floor two, but let’s check since I’m here anyway.
LIVING DEAD LV 27
An undead, living corpse. They flock around whoever they see.
They’re around level 27 to 29 down here. Perhaps I can hunt here for a while? They seem to go up around ten levels with each floor, which would usually be quite a jump. Even if raising levels doesn’t influence things as much as raising skills, ten levels is quite a difference. Some enemies also come with higher skill levels when their base level increases.
Another thing of note—it looks like the next evolution after high zombie is living dead. I’m assuming that evolution takes place around level 20. I haven’t focused on hunting just yet, so I’m not even level 10.
Name: Anastasia
Race: Zombie ♀ Lv 5
Attribute: Dark
Genus: Low Undead
Species: Zombie
Skill points: 4
SKILLS:
Fist Lv 4, Strength Boost Lv 3, Endurance Boost Lv 2, Appraisal Lv 1
RACE (MONSTER) SKILLS:
Physical Resistance Lv 1, Automatic HP Regen Lv 1, Low Undead, Decomposing Body
Yep, I’ve still got a looong way to go. Punching is the only thing I’ve done to raise my skill level. My enemies topple over on their own, so I just have to crawl on top of them and start smacking away. I haven’t had a proper battle yet.
The problem is that they also have Automatic HP Regen, so it takes quite a bit of time to defeat them. My Endurance Boost went up on its own. I guess I gain experience in it if I walk, fight, and move my body. Physical Resistance and Automatic HP Regen are defensive skills, so they’re not going up. They might both increase if I get hit, but I don’t think that’s going to happen with zombies. I’ll be better off training those skills elsewhere.
I’d probably die if I went at the living dead head-on. They clearly move a lot more nimbly than my other undead kin. Their description changed from rotting corpse to simply “corpse.” Although they’re still a bit stilted, they seem far better off than zombies and even high zombies. I’m dubious whether or not I can beat them with the same tactics, so I should be careful with them.
Now let’s go back and explore floor two! Not that there’s anything there…
Monday—no results. Exploration rate: The second floor remains incomplete.
Tuesday—I finished the second floor. Yay!
Wednesday—entering the third floor. Catacombs exploration rate: 20 percent.
Thursday—absolute tragedy. Tripped into a living dead and was smacked to death. Going to sleep angry.
Friday—no results. Catacombs exploration rate: 50 percent.
Saturday—it’s been a week since I started aaand…no results. Just a little more to fill out the map.
Aaand now for Sunday. Let’s hope I can finish today.
It looks like I’m 100 percent dead if I trip and fall into the living dead, so I need to lower my already slow pace to downright sluggish. There’s a penalty if you die, and I hardly have anything as it is. All I’m really doing is being more watchful when I walk, but because I can’t even move properly, it makes me needlessly anxious. Would it be a load off my mind if I evolved first and got better legs?
I’ve already gone beyond the point where I can level—and high zombies don’t look much better.
It will be summer vacation soon. During the exam period, I can be back home by noon, and I’m sure I’ll be better off if I get all the troublesome mapping out of the way first. Once I evolve and get rid of Decomposing Body, I’ll probably be able to go outside. And once I leave, there’s no telling when I’ll be back here.
Just a little more exploration and I should finish. Watch your step, watch your step…huh. Perhaps I’ve gotten better at walking as a zombie. And the last bit is…a dead end. This means…yes! I’ve fully mapped this place! There’s no fourth floor.
I check over the maps of floors one to three. There aren’t any strange cutoffs, so I think I’ve gone through everything and found absolutely nothing.
Hmm? Am I just imagining it? Err, wait a sec. Let’s open each map in a different window.
Size-wise, the first floor is the smallest, the second floor the largest, and floor three is somewhere in between. I don’t see anything wrong with the first floor, but there’s a rather curious area on floor two. As a catacomb, every square inch should be crammed with corridors. That’s generally how it is with the third floor. But there’s this peculiar blank space on the second floor map…perhaps I should check it out. There could be a hidden room!
I’ve walked along the adjoining wall and didn’t find anything. But now that I’m taking a better look at it, this area in particular is a bit luxurious. Perhaps it’s a place for the dead with a bit of money to spare?
On the first floor, this area is just a normal walkway. On the third, it’s off the map. I see, I see. Could there be an open atrium running from the third floor to the second? If the entrance is on the third floor, that means the only path it could join with would be here. I know I can’t find anything on the second floor, and if it’s an atrium, that means it will be a long way down. I can definitely see these decorations camouflaging something.
All right, I’ll give it a shot—and if this doesn’t work, I’ll focus on leveling.
Yes, this has to be the passageway. If I find something, that means it was worth it to fill out the map after all! I stick close to the wall, but it’s just a dead end. There doesn’t seem to be anything on the surface.
Now, checking both sides…
“Hmm…?”
I find a spot with a bit of give I can press. Putting a little strength behind it, I keep pressing until it feels like something falls into place. But where?