As I finished the zombie off I could hear faint sounds coming from the next street over. Clutching my spear tightly I advanced around the corner, to be greeted by the sight of another enemy. This one was similar in appearance, and it let out a hungry hiss on seeing me.

“Time to do this.” I hyped myself up. It was unarmed, if one discounted its ragged claws, so I should clearly have the advantage again. As it began to lope towards me, dirty spittle flying from dead lips, I readied myself. Thrusting with the spear, I forced it back, knife-edge gouging along its ribs, spilling dark, rotten blood. The injury did not slow it though, and it came on, heedless of how the blade tore at its innards.

I guess this is the problem with undead, they don’t care about injury… my fist hammered out, smashing into its jaw, sending it reeling backwards. It was a nice hit, even if I said so myself, especially as I was so unfit normally. The way it reeled back showed I had some decent force behind the blow, even if it was a bit off target from where I aimed.

“No time to admire my skills.” I muttered, dragging the spear free and thrusting again. The zombie was impaled clean through the middle. “Got you… uh…”

The zombie ignored the spear jutting from its chest and dragged itself slowly towards me, sliding up the spear. It was just like a horror movie… which made sense. Letting go with one hand, I used the other to punch the zombie in the head until my fists were sore and it collapsed into a pool of ether. Breathing heavily, I leaned on the shaft of my spear, breathing deeply.

As I was recovering, another noise behind me made me turn. Another zombie was coming fast, arms outstretched, jaws gaping wide. For heaven’s sake, don’t I get any rest?

After a brief battle I managed to subdue it with the spear, though now all the muscles in my body were aching and burning from the over-exertion. I definitely felt a lot stronger and fitter, but even so my muscles, or at least the Astral representation of them, were still way out of condition. As I was pondering what to do next, my heart sank as this time a pair of the undead were coming towards me through a side alleyway. Handling one at a time was going well, but if one got past my guard while I was dealing with the other one…

“Shit. I thought I had Fortune on my side, yet my luck still seems bad.”

Running towards them I entered the narrow alleyway, which was full of bags of rubbish and bins awaiting emptying. The scenery was rather depressing for a dream world, looking little different to the Material except for the strange lighting everywhere. There was even a large vending machine just up ahead, lights blinking softly.

The zombies had to bunch up to avoid the obstacles, coming in single file. My spear sang out, and as the zombie was jammed in, my blade pierced deep. Withdrawing and striking again I made quick work of it. As the first zombie fell dying I turned my gaze onto the second, only to scoot back in panic as it leapt up onto a bin and then over its fallen comrade, claws raking down at me. Instinctively I turned the haft of my spear, blocking the claws, impact sending shocks through my body. Dirty drool splattered on me and my muscles strained as I was pushed back.

Think. How do I get out of this? No use hoarding ether now… but I don’t want to use too much…

A memory of when I took on the female zombie in the graveyard came to mind, so despite the horrible outside stimuli of the moment I concentrated on my flow of aether, drawing in some of the ether that orbited me. The mass and hardness of my spear shaft increased, pushing back the zombie. There was a crunching sound as one of its wrists snapped, and I whipped around the spear, which was suddenly lighter again. The knife-head cut deeply, again with accelerated mass, and the zombies’ head rolled free, striking the ground with a thump before bursting into ether-light.

In relief I slumped down against the bin, barely able to remain upright. My pounding heart slowly stabilised, and I took stock of my combat style. Increasing and decreasing the mass and hardness of an object uses way less aether than creating something such as a weapon or fire, but I still feel I’m wasting loads with my sloppy imaging. It was definitely easier to imagine things here in the Boundary, so feats I could not perform back on the Material were possible, but doing it in battle was tough, dividing my focus, and that let even more aether leak away unspent. The clearer the image the less aether was used too.

In terms of using the spear, my thrusts were getting better, definitely, but there had to be other ways to use it, such as more blocking with the haft, or slicing with the knife edge. Practice would no doubt make perfect. As I rested, I could hear more groans coming towards me, coupled with the occasional sound of bins being knocked over.

Damn it, how many of them are there? I suppose it’s good, as I can get ether from them, but where are they all coming from? This isn’t even a graveyard. It isn’t Resident Evil, damn it! I pulled myself to my feet with a sigh and readied my spear. It was time to make some ether and develop my Territory!

********

You have gained in strength. Your level has increased from three to four.

The welcome message scrolled into my vision as I knelt on the ground, body shaking. How many of those damn zombies had I killed now? I stopped counting after a dozen. Cuts and bruises mottled my body, especially around my arms, which were bloody with both mine and the gore from the zombies. One-on-one I could easily handle them with my spear, unless I made a mistake, which I had several times, allowing them to slash me with their claws (and on one unpleasant occasion bite my forearm like some starving dog) but when they came in twos and threes it was much more troubling, and I had to use choke points and aether to hold them off.

As I recovered, yet another zombie was coming down the alleyway. I let out a bellow and charged it, ignoring the pains in my legs. This hard labour in the heat of battle was definitely having an impact, as I was handling the spear much better than I was to start with, though I knew my skills were crude at best, without any real foundation. Channelling a little aether I increased the mass of my spearhead, which drove into the upper body of the zombie, ripping a big hole. Dragging my arms to the side, the knife-edge ripped through under the influence of the heavier mass, and the zombie collapsed.

“This can’t go on. If this was an MMOPRG I’d say it was a good camping spot, but real life isn’t so kind. I can’t keep this up mentally…” Another issue was that if these zombies kept coming they would reach my Territory at some point. I glanced along the alleyway, to where a squat, two story house sat. Most of the zombies had come from that direction, and it was giving off an oppressive, dark feeling.

Shouldering my spear I crept towards the house, alert for danger. As I closed in could see quite a few lesser spirits drifting towards the house, only to vanish in a purple-black glow when they approached. As I watched further the dark glows coalesced into a zombie, which promptly set out from the house. Luckily this one had not gone in my direction.

I see. So this is the spawning site for them. They seem to be … eating… the lesser spirits for energy or something?

As I approached the little garden surrounding the house I felt a chill, deep in my bones, and another silvery message crossed my vision.

You have entered a Territory possessed by another. The Territory level is low so it has only a weak effect on you, but your aether will be slowly drained while you are within the boundaries of this Territory. It does not have an active barrier, but the owner of this Territory has been alerted to your presence.

As I read the message a great howling roar rang out and the front door of the house exploded outwards, a hulking figure crashing through it, eyes mad, jaws agape, acidic drool hitting the ground which then sizzled and burned. It stood seven feet tall, mottled with fungus and rot, and the claws on its fingers were the size of knives.

Holy hell that’s a big one. Maybe retreat would be the best option… I was preparing to run when the monster laid its mad eyes upon me and let out a huge cry of rage, strong enough that my ears felt like they were bleeding. It then rushed right at me, bounding across the ground with surprising speed.

I got the spear up just in time, and it impaled itself upon the sharp blade, sinking deep into the flesh of its shoulder. Even so that did not stop it, and it lunged at me, mouth agape, while from both sides its arms came swinging, fatal claws glinting.

Without hesitation I threw myself backwards, heedless of the bruises I sustained hitting the ground. It barely gave me time to pause for breath, coming towards me again. I vaulted back over the piles of rubbish into the alleyway, buying myself a moment, and channelled aether, ripping the spear free in a welter of gore and returning it to my hand. Ducking low I thrust at its knee, piercing it, and increased the weight, levering it up and down, shredding flesh and rotting bone.

It roared again, flailing at me, claws ripping grooves in the stone wall behind me, striking sparks. I lashed out with my foot at the ruined knee, using aether to make my footing more solid. The knee gave way and the beast fell to the ground, kneeling, even then at my height. I hopped back, my own leg numb from the impact, and thrust again.

The blade flew towards the giant zombie’s head, only to be stopped by its hand. It grabbed the blade, tearing flesh, but its overwhelming strength arrested my thrust. At that moment from behind, several more zombies came racing. It was then my heart sank as I realised I wasn’t entirely sure how to leave the Boundary… damn, what an oversight. I’m constantly making mistakes, any one of which could prove fatal…

Letting go of the spear again, I turned and grabbed an overflowing waste bin, muscles straining, I used aether to lighten the mass, and then threw it at the oncoming zombies, reversing the lightening and making it much heavier. It cannoned into the first one with a sickening thud, smashing limbs, and then bounced into the second, pinning it against the walls of the alley.

Tuning back to the giant zombie I was suddenly slammed into the wall, as it swung its arm and the shaft of the spear caught my shoulder. Pain flared, but I managed to seize the spear and drove all my body weight into it, thrusting it through and cutting free the zombies’ fingers. It bellowed again, struggling to stand with one leg and lashed out. I turned the shaft and barely blocked the blow, staggering away.

Got to finish this quickly…

I thrust again, blade piercing the zombies’ other arm, and with mass enhanced, the blade tore through, leaving it hanging by a thread. Maddened by pain the zombie barely had any intelligence left, and despite its grievous injuries it leapt at me using its one good leg. I ducked away as it careened into the wall, and used that opportunity to drive my spear up into its neck. Blood gouted, sheeting me, and it cried out once more, struggling to turn.

“Time for you to return to the grave!” I roared, using aether to maintain sharpness and increase mass. There was a brutal noise of shattering bone and the blade slipped up into the zombie giants’ skull. It sagged, weight dragging the spear from my hands, and then it exploded into a bright shimmering cloud of ether, the most I had seen from a foe by quite some margin.

You have seized a Rank 0 Territory by defeating the being who controlled it. Due to the distance from your Territory you may not amalgamate it. Since the distance is too far, you can destroy this Territory claim and absorb the ether that resides within it. This will prevent further enemies from spawning here.

Welcome words scrolled across it. Before I could decide, I had to clean up here though. I took up my spear and finished off the zombie that was trying to free itself from the bin that had slammed into it, and then I dealt with the last few who had arrived at the house. They were all milling around aimlessly, and offered little resistance as I put them down, turning them to ether.

I’ll take the ether. Consolidating what I have at the moment makes the most sense, I can worry about farming spots later. As soon as I thought this, there was a flash of silver light and the Territory of the zombie collapsed, flooding me with ether. With a final investigation of the area, I also found several red Etherite ores hidden amongst the debris, small but shining a pure red.

I picked them up and considered how much ether I now had. While it was tempting to keep them, if I broke them down for ether I could set up both Ether Spires, and long-term that would benefit me more…

You have gained in strength. Your level has increased from four to five.

Another level up. I guess beating that huge zombie then destroying the Territory gained me a ton of experience. It had been quite a good day… if you discounted the times I could have died, that is…

“Oh well, no point on dwelling on what is done, it is time to get building!”

*****************

When I returned to my Territory, I checked my stock of ether. It was nicely high. I couldn’t help but chuckle over how hard I struggled to make the thousand ether to set my Anchor, when now I had over three times that. The zombies gave ample ether, to say nothing of the boss zombie and his Territory, plus those Etherites.

It was time to begin. I trickled aether into my Territory Anchor and ordered construction. Silvery words confirmed my choices, as the surrounding ether was drawn in to begin the process.

You have begun construction of an Ether Spire, an Ether Spire and a Silo. At your current Territory Level you can only construct or upgrade one building at a time. It will take one astral day to construct each building. You can spend ether to expedite this process. Ether Spire Construction 0/24 Hours

“Oh great, now we have micro-transactions and pay-to-win too.” I snorted. Still, this was just another indicator of why ether remained a currency in the Astral even at the higher levels. If it was like those mobile freemium games, construction and upgrade times at higher levels would be very long and require huge amounts of ether to speed up. Not that I would have to worry about that yet.

A rainbow glow was spreading from my Anchor, starting to slowly coalesce into the shape of a tall, narrow needle. Since it would take three astral days, so seventy-two astral hours, to finish all my construction, I had to decide what to do now. I quickly decided against going out to gather more ether. Instead, I would use this time to hone my fundamentals. I didn’t want to be in such a risky position again, if I was to fight such monsters I would need real skills backing me up.

It was easier to visualise here, as opposed to the Material, so I would practice my chakra-raising techniques until my aether ran out and I was returned to the Material world…