It wasn’t pain. It was something far more dreadful. When her back slammed into the ground a chill exploded from the impact and seared her rattling bones into stillness and dulled her mind. Rana was reminded of the time of her awakening. It was a pronounced chill that sapped at her mind and ground her body to a halt. The cage of the undead body called to her soul and wanted to trap her within for eternity.

Rana refused.

Her head rang and her vision wobbled, but Rana focused her attention and the hazy silhouette of her opponent formed in front of her. The bandit stood to the side and lifted his giant axe above Rana. He looked to slam the hunk of steel into her chest. Death was imminent and her mind was alerted. She rolled to the side and narrowly avoided the blow that plunged deep into the ground.

Rana pushed herself up and staggered to regain her footing. There was supposed to be an opening for her to claim victory but she wasn’t able to completely dodge Ground Slam and was hit by the aftershock. Even then death did not claim her. She wasn’t stunned and managed to roll away from the bandit’s follow up attack.

Rana flashed her Status.

Stats — Health: 92/100, Mana 12/200

She swiped it away just as quickly. She already had the information she needed. It was crucial for victory to know her own stats. What resource remained dictated the options she would be able to take. However, taking her attention off of her opponent even for a moment was a risk.

Only rookies needed more than a glance to read their Status.

Rana frowned. Something was amiss. Her remaining mana was expected to be low. She formed a Spell but was unable to cast it so it dissipated. Mana was unstable energy and couldn't be held onto for long. Her health only suffered minor damage which meant she was damaged by the force that slammed her into the ground.

Was her opponent faster than her? The bandit must’ve been higher level than she thought. Years of training was not enough to overcome the stats gained by a Class. The warrior-class at level one was slower than a mage-class, but with enough levels and a specialized investment into the agility-stat, they could become faster than the base perception stat of a level one mage-class. What if her opponent was a rogue-class? The rogue-class didn’t need extra levels to be faster than the mage-class yet the bandit was not fast enough to be one. Was it because of his weapon?

No. There was no time to doubt herself. The bandit already recovered from his consecutive assault and approached Rana once more. This time however he was faster. He saw her forming a Spell and knew he could get close.

Rana growled a silent protest. There were so many variables she had to consider and having to do so while avoiding his attacks was not an easy task. She had to come up with a plan quick.

That wasn’t right.

There was no plan. Rana was arrogant. The reason she failed was because she assumed victory was already within her grasp and believed in a future she has yet to reach. The path to victory was just an ordinary road before the goal was reached. She believed in wishful thinking and failed to recognize a certainty she had been denying ever since she awoke.

The path to victory was not wrong. There was no reason to hesitate. Hesitation grew only into defeat. Her knowledge was not wrong. The critical error was misinterpreting the details.

Rana stood still and began to channel mana.

“I won’t let you, mage.” the bandit said and charged forward once again. Rana waited for the bandit and focused intently on his weapon, his form, and his eyes. She read every detail of his body and prepared herself for his attacks. She would not let anything escape her eyes.

The bandit began a flurry of attacks. Each swing carried his entire might and his body was dragged by the momentum of his axe. His attacks were more pronounced and anticipating his moves became easier. However, he was not a complete fool. He knew he had to stop a mage-class from channelling mana. It didn’t matter if his prey avoided his blows. What threat would a mage-class pose without mana for Spells? Sooner or later he would land a hit on the frail body of a mage-class and end the fight.

That was his folly.

The bandit thought he was stopping Rana from channeling mana. He thought. He didn’t know. He was ensnared by his preconceived notions of reality and this rendered an error in his judgment. It was the same mistake Rana made.

The bandit was allowing Rana to get used to her new undead body.

Rana was not wrong about the bandit’s speed. His swings increased in ferocity as her opponent increased his effort into catching her with the weapon but it still fell within the Status range of a level one warrior-class. What Rana was mistaken about was her own speed. She concluded she was faster but it was a lucky coincidence she was right. Rana’s past body and mark was faster, not her current one. She thought she could dodge Ground Slam because her old self could. Her timing was off because the opening only existed for her old Status.

Rana needed to sit down and go over what she knew, to understand and internalize the knowledge she possessed. Her mind was her greatest asset. She would wield it. She would not allow it to dictate her actions.

First she needed to defeat her opponent.

Rana now knew that the opening she conceived earlier did not exist for a level one mage-class and she needed to find a new one. Fortunately there was another piece of information. She was not stunned by the aftershock and the answer was simple.

Zombies were immune to physical status effects.

There were two forms of status effects and they were mental status effects and physical status effects. Stun was a physical status effect and it affected only physical actions. It interrupted cast forms and paralyzed the body for a duration. The two forms shared little in common and each requires specific measures to defend against. There was only one thing in common however and that was status effects only affected the living.

Zombies were rotting bags of flesh reanimated with dark magic. They walked the earth not with bones and muscles but with the single evil urge of consuming flesh. Their bodies were just vessels to fulfill that urge. They were sins of cannibalism made into flesh. It was a chilling thought but it made sense. Rana’s mind was intact and the body was the vessel of her will. That was why she was immune to being stunned.

There was a hint of wind and Rana instinctively ducked. The giant axe swung above her and a few strands of hair were cut by its edge. The bandit was getting impatient. She was also had a better grasp of the difference between her speed and her opponent’s. It was time to end the fight.

She breathed into her mind, the mana within pulsated and she felt its rhythm. A slash interrupted her thoughts but she had already sensed her mana’s progression. She needed more. The two continued to duel in raised dirt and broken air. The bandit’s axe swung closer but Rana danced on the edge. Her mind was focused and sharper than the bandit’s blade.

The bandit lifted his axe and mana surged into his weapon. That was the sign, that was the benchmark.

Rana stepped to the side and planted her foot on the ground. Mana gathered within her palm and a Spell formed. She braced herself. The axe swung down to her side but the wind crashed onto her.

[Damage received.]

Rana didn’t need to read her Status to know she was heavily damaged. She took the brunt of the force but she knew she wouldn’t die from it. A warrior-class had double the strength-stat as the health and vitality-stat of a mage-class at level one. This also meant he would need to land a critical strike to kill a mage-class in one hit. A hit to any vital area would kill her.

Zombies had no physical vital area.

Rana unleashed the spell, Mana Blast exploded towards his head head and critical damage was inflicted. The bandit cried out in pain but he stomped forward with all his might. He was seasoned in battle. His huge arms grabbed Rana by the neck and lifted her up.

“You bitch!” the bandit yelled as blood spewed from his mouth. He then laughed manically as he held her in place. He held her close. “You got lucky but now what? You surprised me with your regeneration but you have nothing left! Too bad your Spell didn’t kill me! What good is a mage-class without mana?"

The bandit was indeed a fool. The moment he saw Rana’s formed Spell remained in her palm he should’ve realized his opponent could channel under duress. He didn’t. He believed the preconceived notion, the generalized idea, of how to fight a mage-class.

The bandit’s eyes widened. His pupils reflected the brilliant blue within her palm. Rana grinned. There was one thing the bandit failed to realize. To Rana, channelling mana was like instinct.

Rana striked her palm forward and blasted his skull with the spell at point-blank range. The energy was unleashed and the force punctured and squished the brain within.

“How…” with his dying words the bandit slumped to the ground.

Rana dropped to the ground and clutched her chest. Her mind relaxed and the damage she sustained crashed into her conscious like a tidal wave. She ignored her weakness and crawled towards the young girl. She wanted to tell her that everything was alright now.

The young woman recovered from her daze. The fight must’ve brought her attention back to reality. She looked towards her savior.

There was a smile that fell flat and time stopped as gentle eyes began to quake. The world stilled until only quickened breathing remained.

Then there was only silence.

The young woman screamed.