The First Dragon God

"Half-zombie?!" Leo asked in shocked voice as he turned to look at Ms Ves who was still unconscious on the floor.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw thst she was still unconscious. When he heard what Tatiana said, his heart fell to his stomach as he felt like he had been sentenced to death.

Even though a a few minutes has passed, Leo was still yet to recover his stamina. His body still ached all over, his fingers were still numb and the biting cold from the floor was already getting to him.

In his condition, how is he expected to fight another zombie? The answer to that is obvious and his outcome is already certain.

Tatiana giggled when she saw the fallen expression on Leo's face. She isn't a sadist but the expression was funny to her.

"You don't have to look like that. Like I said, she is a half-zombie. Different from the regular zombies," She said, as she tried to explain more.

Leo turned to look at Tatiana, who was still smiling, clearly taking joy from his misery. "How is a half-zombie different from regular zombies?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Tatiana's eyes sparkled. "I'm glad you asked. But to answer that, I first need to explain what a zombie is."

Leo sighed internally, bracing himself for the lecture.

"Zombies," she began, "are people who couldn't tame the first burst of mana that rushes into their bodies when the world awakens. That first mana surge is always violent, chaotic and filled with different impurities. Whether you survive it or not depends mostly on luck."

Leo frowned, his confusion evident. "Wait… mana? Chaotic?"

"Let me clarify," Tatiana said, noting his expression. "Mana is all around us, but it's dormant in an unawakened world. When the System—an unknown entity activates it—mana floods the world and surges into anything with life force. You remember life force, don't you? It's what you absorbed when you killed that zombie."

Leo nodded slowly, piecing things together.

Tatiana continued. "This might sound lengthy, but here's the simple version: zombies are the result of what we term a mana infection. Their bodies couldn't handle the wild surge of mana that entered them, so the mana starts to overpower their life force."

"And when that happens?" Leo asked.

"Their bodies deteriorate," she said, "but the mana keeps them animated. They become driven by one primal urges—a desperate need to consume more life force to keep going."

Leo's eyes widened. "So that's why…?"

"Yes. Zombies can sense life force from a distance and, once they make contact with a living being, they try to drain that energy—through biting or scratching. Once they've drained someone completely, that person becomes a zombie too."

For a moment, Leo turned to look at the zombies at the door. He knew that they were different from those that he's familiar with but now he understood just different they are.

Leo exhaled as he turned to look at Ms Ves. "So, what makes her different? The half-zombie?"

Tatiana's smile faded, and she shrugged. "My guess? She'll retain her rationality, at least to some degree. Unlike regular zombies, she probably won't be completely driven mad by the craving for life force.

But how much control she'll have over herself… well, that's the unknown part."

Leo sighed after Tatiana was done with her explanation. He has never heard so much and so little words in his life.

At the end, she didn't explain anything on how exactly Ms Ves half-zombie status is different from regular zombies. But he was able to get some information through from her explanation.

He now understands why the zombie was able to sense him and made a follow-up attack when it woke up. It was because he could sense his life force. But there's something he was curious about.

"The zombies, what's the distance limit of their ability to sense one's life force?" He asked as he turned to look at Ms Ves.

"For regular zombies, it's 30-50 metres," Tatiana replied.

Leo's eyes narrowed when he heard this. 30-50 metres? It was then he completely understood everything.

But what does she mean by regular zombies? Are there other types of zombies? He felt that this should be very possible.

If zombies drain the life force of a living being, then it's basically the same thing as leveling up and this means that they might also be able to increase their own strength. If so, then this makes things even more dangerous.

As if she knew what he was thinking about, Tatiana decided to explain a little more the zombie situation.

"Zombies can also level up like regular people too. This is the same for animals and plants. But it's harder for zombies to increase their strength as they have no intelligence on how to go about it.

So, I don't think you need to worry too much about it. But there's a conjecture that if a zombie consumes enough life force, it can return back to normal but this conjecture has never been proven."

Leo sighed in relief when he heard this. It was like a huge boulder was suddenly lifted from his chest.

The truth is that Leo is overthinking everything—he knew this—but he can't be blamed as it's something related to his survival.

Even if zombies can easily increase their strength there was nothing he would be able to do about it. It was disheartening but it's the simple truth.

Leo continued to gaze at Ms Ves who was sleeping—with different thoughts occupying his mind.

"So, do you know what made her to mutate?" He asked curiously.

Tatiana remained quiet when she heard Leo's questions. She was also curious to know what made the lady to mutate but she has a guess.

"I think it's you. Maybe when you touched her, the violent mana surging through her, made its way to your body. But I'm not sure, so I can't say."

Leo nodded slowly when he heard this. The truth was that he was having conflicting thoughts. He didn't know what to do with Ms Ves.

He was worried for his safety around her but he just can't leave her alone. She's someone who has been taking care of him since she started working at the orphanage home three years ago.

She didn't treat her work like a job, taking him and all the kids at the orphanage like her siblings. She was also one of the person he was closet to.

Leo closed his eyes briefly and sighed. There was no need to think about it as the decision had already made itself.

He won't abandon her. Even if it's as a form of repaying everything she has done for him, he would do this best for her.

He doesn't know how he's going to achieve it or if he will be able to achieve it but he still wants to try.

Leo felt that things were becoming interesting. He now have a vampire princess as a friend his caretaker from the orphanage home is now a half-zombie and he doesn't know what he is.

'Really interesting.'