Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 280: Evolving to Tier II

Zane quickly scanned the blueprints of the arena, instantly memorizing everything about it. And in the next second, he pointed to several spots on them. Which Gwen had also memorized.

"Here, here, here, and here. If explosives were placed at these areas, then we would easily be able to bring the whole arena down on those inside. Thousands would die in a second, and among those who are awakened, we would be able to reap the rewards without anyone knowing!"

Gwen agreed with this sentiment, but was quick to ask Zane where he planned to get the explosives required to pull off the job.

"Okay, that's great and all, but last I checked you're not exactly carrying explosives on you, now are you? Where do you plan to get your hands on the supplies needed to pull this off?"

Zane had an answer to this in mind already and was quick to explain.

"Look at this place. It's a base filled with weapons and supplies scavenged from the wasteland. Sure, they primarily use weapons and armor crafted from a Grim Forge. But throughout our journey through these halls we have seen all kinds of guns and munitions. I won't doubt these guys are sitting on a stash of c-4 somewhere. Or maybe TNT.

All we need to do is run around and search every corner of this place, and we are bound to replace what we need. So, I say we split up, and meet outside once we have rigged the structural weak points to blow, alright?"

Gwen understood the logic and Zane's words and was quick to agree with a wicked smirk on her face. They both had superhuman speed. It would take them a matter of minutes at most to search the entire arena, so she was all for it.

"Got it. Find explosives rig them to blow at the points provided, rendezvous outside. See you in a few minutes big brother!"

After saying this, Gwen reactivated her stealth mode before rushing off. Where Zane followed suit. Like Zane had thought, the Raiders were sitting on more than enough explosives to bring down the arena, even without targeting the weak points. And because of this, he and Gwen scavenged the exact amount they needed before placing them at the targeted locations.

Once they had rigged them to blow, they quickly left the Arena and stood at a safe distance, on top of a building with a good view. Gwen handed the wireless detonator to Zane before posing a question.

"Shall I give you the honors?"

There was a malicious smirk on her face, almost as if the very idea of bringing down a giant sports arena on top of thousands of inhabitants was a joyful occasion. As for Zane, he cupped the girl's hand over the detonated and pressed it together with her, but not before voicing his intent aloud.

"The honor shall be both of ours."

After pressing the button, loud explosions went off in the distance, taking out the support of the Arena, where it came crumbling down upon those inside of it. Though some tried to escape the disaster, none managed to do so.

And after everything was well and truly demolished, having turned into one giant pile of rubble. Zane looked into his inventory to replace thousands of awakened hearts of various levels inside of it.

With this experience, he could very easily gain another five to ten levels. But…. He had something else in mind. Zane shocked Gwen by pulling out the most valuable heart, where he handed it over to her.

"Your rewards for helping me today shall be well worth your efforts. I dedicate today's bounty to you, little sister."

Gwen stared in disbelief at first. I mean, Zane could quite rapidly raise his strength if he just consumed them all himself. But he was clearly thinking ahead. If Gwen consumed all of these hearts and the power contained within them. She would quite easily become a Tier II Undead.

At that point she would be able to fight off other Tier II Undead, and at the very least, escape from any of her siblings in the tier.

Knowing this, she was quick to bite into the crystalline heart, which rapidly transformed into a sanguine liquid that stained her lips. She continued to devour each and every heart Zane gave her until she had consumed them all. And once she had done so, Zane saw a message appear in his system.

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[Undead Servant Gwen has leveled up to 50!]

[Gwen evolved into a Tier II Horde King!]

[+10 to all Attributes for Gwen]

[+1 Skill Point for Gwen]

[Skill Slot Unlocked for Gwen!]

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Zane was astonished by this. Gwen's level up system seemed to be a mixture of that for an awakened human, and that for a companion like Lily had described with her aurochs. He quickly applied the attribute points, as he felt they would be best suited to Gwen's abilities.

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[Gwen]

[Race: Horde King]

[Rank: Tier II]

[Level: 50]

[HP: 5,000]

[Attributes]

[Strength: 45]

[Dexterity: 50]

[Constitution: 45]

[Intelligence: 45]

[Wisdom: 45]

[Charisma: 45]

[Skills:]

[Way of the Assassin]

[Description: For the next 20 seconds, while wielding blades, you attack 25% faster and have a 45% chance to land a critical hit.]

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There were plenty of skills that Zane could choose from for Gwen. Way too many, but [Way of the Assassin] was one that he thought was perfect for her build as an assassin archetype like himself. In fact, Zane was honestly a bit jealous by the skill as it was something that he would very much like himself.

In addition to this, Gwen seemed to get a massive boost to her hit points as well. That was not tied to her dexterity whatsoever. Going from 3,500 HP, to 5,000. Even Zane wasn't convinced that he could actually kill Gwen if she resisted, and that was assuming he was given a full hour to attack her without her reacting to him at all.

Needless to say, her evolution to Tier II was a fearsome display of power.