A rotting smell started to fill the air. It was so strong now that even Jake could smell it, causing him to wrinkle his nose. “What is this sme….”

“Shh!” Desaray turned and glared at Jake, who quickly closed his mouth. He knew he just messed up. In a situation where the people who will do the fighting are being quiet, he, as the on-looker and the one being protected, should not make a sound. 

“Desa,” Yu whispered before motioning with her claws and holding up one claw. Desaray nodded and got ready to fight. Becky also lowered her head slightly, ready to pounce on whatever it was that was about to arrive.

A shadow slowly formed in the thick fog. It was tall and humanoid-shaped, but the way it was walking was very strange. It seemed to have a slight shuffle in its step as if one of its legs were being dragged behind.

“Desa, I think this is….” Becky was about to confirm what was approaching them when the figure finally came fully into view. 

A young woman, well, if you could call her a woman. Her blue business suit was ripped in many places exposing more than what should be exposed. Some might take pictures of such a scene, that was, if she did not have a huge hole in her chest with rotting flesh hanging off her body. Her dirty blonde hair was all over the place and even had dirt and sticks sticking out of it. On her feet was a single blue high heel shoe while her other foot was twisted and mangled.

It was disgusting enough to make one feel sick to their stomach, but Desaray felt something was off. “Don’t attack unless attacked!”

Becky and Yu quickly backed up but kept their gazes on the zombie. This was all they could call it since it was a picture-perfect example of what a zombie would look like. Desaray walked forward and stood in front of the group. She looked at the female zombie with narrowed eyes. “Stop where you are!”

Desaray’s voice filled the air. The female zombie actually came to a stop. Her mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but only a mournful groan came out of her mouth. The female zombie raised its hand to its throat and shook its head. But the message was clear. Desaray understood that this zombie was sentient and was probably a human who turned into a zombie, like how she turned into a dragon. It was just that it could not talk normally. She took a deep breath before saying, “I guess you used to be human like me. Since you can not talk, can you still remember how to write?”

This time the female zombie nodded its head and, with great difficulty, bent over and began scratching the ground with the tip of its finger, which had no skin on it. ‘My name is Claire. A green thing attacked me here in this park while on my way to work, and I somehow killed it. Before I knew what was happening, a window appeared before me. Then I felt a great pain, and before I knew it, I was like this. What is going on? Why am I like this!? I want to die. But I can’t. I even stabbed at my own heart, but it did nothing. I jumped from a large staging area in the park and bashed my head, causing it to fall off, but it somehow reattached itself. I do not want to be like this. Please kill me….’

The female zombie’s head sagged as she knelt on the ground holding her head. Desaray could tell if the female zombie could cry, she would be drowning in tears at this time. She felt pity for the female zombie. She knew it must be hard looking like this. Becoming something you would only see in the movies.

“I understand….” Desaray took a deep breath before letting it out. This was not an easy decision for her. She did not like the idea of killing another human unless they were trying to harm her or her loved ones, but this was something that one could not cure. But… “Before I do what you asked. Let me ask you. If you say status, can you see a window appear?”

The female zombie lifted her head. She let out a mournful groan, and a blue window appeared before her. She stared at it in a daze before looking up at Desaray with questioning eyes.

“What are your evolution requirements?” Desaray asked. There was a chance, even if it was little, that her next evolution might change her appearance a little to something better than what she looked like now. So she did not want the female zombie to give up just yet.

The female zombie quickly scribbled on the ground. “I need to reach level 20 and eat the brains of three elite monsters….” A strange look appeared on the female zombie’s face. It was one of disgust. Of course, this was understandable since not many would rightfully want to eat the brains of another animal unless they had no choice.

Desaray realized that it seemed that reaching level 20 was the bare minimum for the second evolution. The same went for Yu and Becky as well. They, too, needed to reach level 20 before they could evolve. “I am only assuming this, but I believe with each evolution, there is a chance to have your body change in one shape or another. I can not be certain, but it is a high possibility. If we can change into these forms, there is nothing saying we can not regain a decent humanoid form after evolving a few times. If you are willing to do it, you can try leveling up first to reach your evolution requirements and see if that helps. If you still do not change for the better, then I will do as you ask. How about that?”