Volume One, Chapter 12: Gaining Little, Losing Much

“Skeleton Knight Commander, charge!”

Although Qi Fengling was confident, he was not arrogant. When the Zombie Emperor King rose again, Qi Fengling immediately ordered the Skeleton Knight Commander into action.

His goal now was to slay the Zombie Emperor King as swiftly as possible. After all, a chosen one like him had to seize every opportunity, and every extra second the Zombie Emperor King lived was a threat.

Though the Zombie Emperor King was far smarter than an ordinary zombie, he was still only a level-two undead. Qi Fengling did not believe that the Zombie Emperor King would feign a critical injury just to lure the Skeleton Knight Commander away from him.

“Roar—”

“Human... I... Corpse Hawk... will remember... you,” the Zombie Emperor King said almost clearly as he stood.

Impressive! Even a level-two zombie could hold a grudge. Qi Fengling knew he could not let him go.

Just as Qi Fengling braced for the Zombie Emperor King to attack him again, the latter suddenly turned and dashed toward the edge of the skyscraper.

“Hmm? Could the Corpse Hawk be trying to jump off the building?”

This was the thirty-seventh floor! At this height, even a level-three zombie would be crushed from the fall, let alone the Corpse Hawk who was only level two.

Qi Fengling did not relax, suspecting the Zombie Emperor King would not be foolish enough to jump directly.

On the rooftop, while the Skeleton Knight Commander moved quickly, the Zombie Emperor King was dangerously close to the edge.

Just as the Skeleton Knight Commander’s spear was about to strike, the Zombie Emperor King leapt down.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Qi Fengling refrained from rushing forward, wary of any hidden tricks the Zombie Emperor King might have. Soon, he heard an unbearable screeching noise—like a cat’s claws on a chalkboard.

Bad! Could it be...?

Realizing something, Qi Fengling no longer hesitated and hurried to the edge of the rooftop.

“Damn! Corpse Hawk, you’re really something,” Qi Fengling muttered, impressed.

On the skyscraper’s wall were strange black-red blood streaks. Qi Fengling hadn’t expected that the Zombie Emperor King would survive even this.

Now, the Corpse Hawk was using his clawed hands and feet to cling tightly to the building’s facade, carefully sliding down.

Though the claws would eventually wear down, what amazed Qi Fengling more was that the Zombie Emperor King even bit into the wall with his teeth to slow his descent.

Such a tactic was effective, but the cost was severe—his teeth and even jaw would erode away.

Clang!

At that moment, a shattering sound rang out—the unmistakable noise of breaking glass.

Qi Fengling’s heart sank. The Zombie Emperor King had smashed through a window and escaped into one of the floors below.

Judging by the height, the Corpse Hawk must have reached somewhere around the twentieth floor.

Qi Fengling understood the principle of eradicating a threat thoroughly, but what could he do now?

For one, he didn’t know exactly which floor the Zombie Emperor King had entered.

Secondly, he was unaware of the Zombie Emperor King’s current condition.

Thirdly, being only a low-level first-tier, his skeleton squad could not fly and lacked the intelligence of the Zombie Emperor King. Ordering them to jump down would be a death sentence.

Lastly, even if he recklessly pursued the Zombie Emperor King, what if other creatures appeared on the rooftop? Would he have to abandon the Awakening Orbs here?

Looking out at the ruined cityscape, Qi Fengling shook his head helplessly. He had been careless—failing to kill the Zombie Emperor King and now having him bear a grudge.

He resolved to grow stronger quickly so that next time they met, he would slay the Zombie Emperor King on the spot.

With that thought, Qi Fengling snapped out of his daze and returned swiftly to the rooftop center to collect the scattered Awakening Orbs.

After twenty minutes of careful searching, he gathered all the Awakening Orbs.

Unfortunately, only seven remained in his possession. It seemed the Zombie Emperor King had consumed quite a few.

“Hmm! That’s better!”

Satisfied with the positions of the Skeleton Warriors and the Skeleton Knight Commander, Qi Fengling nodded.

Absorbing Awakening Orbs was a crucial process, and he didn’t want any mishaps.

Two Skeleton Warriors guarded the rooftop entrance, while four Skeleton Warriors and the Skeleton Knight Commander stood close by him.

His orders were clear: if anything happened, they must protect him at all costs.

Click!

Without hesitation, Qi Fengling crushed one Awakening Orb.

[Class: SSS Undead Emperor] [Expression] [Class: C Ironblood Assassin]

Soon, these images appeared in Qi Fengling’s mind.

Clearly, the orb he had just crushed held a Class C profession: Ironblood Assassin. If he wished, a single thought could change his profession.

However, Qi Fengling was no fool. Switching from an SSS class to a C class was something only a fool would do.

Changing professions was possible in the post-apocalyptic world, but very few did.

Because upon switching, all abilities and companion skills from the previous profession vanished, and the level reverted to low-tier one.

So, unless one was changing from a below-B grade to an above-S grade profession, no one bothered.

Still, Awakening individuals did not have just one profession. Some exceptionally powerful people could awaken two or even three different professions, entirely dependent on luck.

Though Qi Fengling couldn’t absorb the profession on this orb, he could use it to enhance his profession’s quality or raise his level.

In other words, with enough Awakening Orbs, even the lowest E-class profession could potentially be upgraded to S-level.

But Awakening Orbs were incredibly rare. Qi Fengling’s lavish use was only possible because the apocalypse had just begun, and most people didn’t yet know their value.

Without hesitation, Qi Fengling absorbed the orb’s energy. His profession was already top-tier, so now his focus was on leveling up.

Regrettably, one orb was not enough to advance his level.

Awakened levels were notoriously difficult to improve, likely tied to one’s aptitude and profession quality.

In his previous life, Qi Fengling had witnessed someone with a perfect A-class profession who, no matter how hard they trained, never surpassed the peak of low-tier one.

This suggested that the body itself limited growth.

Profession quality also influenced levels. For instance, the lowest E-class profession, even if awakened, could only reach the peak of level two.

Knowing this, Qi Fengling did not lose heart and crushed another Awakening Orb.

[Class: SSS Undead Emperor] [Expression] [Class: D Beastman]

He didn’t hesitate for a second before using this low-quality orb.

...

On the rooftop, Qi Fengling’s expression was grim—both speechless and heart-wrenching.

Out of seven Awakening Orbs, he had already used six, and the best among them was [Class: A Flame Mage].

It seemed his Undead Emperor profession had been an extraordinary stroke of luck.

What left Qi Fengling speechless was that none of these six orbs had raised him from low-tier one to mid-tier one.

Staring at the last orb in his hand, Qi Fengling shook his head helplessly and crushed it in the end.