Hogg huffed. “No, you can’t fight that one. You think you can just pick out enemies the way you would a toy at the carnival?”

Brin tugged on Hogg’s sleeve and did his best young-child voice. “Papa, that one. I want that one, Papa. Pleeeeease, Papa!”

Hogg slapped his hand away while Luiza shook her head in incredulity.

“Come on, Hogg. You basically already gift wrapped it for me,” said Brin. “When am I ever going to get a better chance to grab some combat experience?”

“The point is you’re not supposed to be getting any more of that kind of experience. We agreed, remember? No more putting yourself in extreme danger chasing achievements. The only experience you need right now is glass making experience.”

“One zombie’s worth of experience won’t ruin my build. And I’ll be completely safe, you’ll be right here,” said Brin.

Hogg scratched his chin, then shrugged. “Alright.”

“Wait, really?” said Luiza.

“Like he said, it’ll be good experience,” said Hogg. “Now listen, Brin. You’ll be taking a defensive stance. Nothing fancy or heroic. You hear me? Fight cautiously. You’re not a [Scarred One] anymore who can shrug off injuries. I want you to walk away from here without a single scratch.”

“Got it,” said Brin.

Brin took a firm grip, with his hands near the back of his spear, keeping it pointed at the enemy. This wasn’t a great position if the goal was to kill the enemy at all costs, but it was the best bet if the goal was to stay alive and unhurt. He didn’t think Hogg would appreciate anything else.

“Now as for you,” Hogg spoke to the zombie in a voice that wasn’t loud, but seemed to penetrate the night. The zombie was halfway across the clearing, and Brin had no doubt that it could hear every word. “I bet you have orders to preserve yourself if possible. Tell you what. If you can manage to put a single scratch on him, I’ll let you go free. You can go back and report to your master. How does that sound?”

The undead snarled, and when Hogg loosed the coil of shadow, it launched forward without hesitation. Gone was the awkward gait; this one was going full-out from the beginning.

He carried a hand-ax. There was a bit of time, so Brin used [Inspect].

Undead Soldier

Level

Description

This undead was a [Woodsplitter] in life. A [Woodsplitter] commonly evolves into [Lumberjack]. It focuses on breaking down logs for transport, for firewood, or for preparation for use by carpenters.

Skills

[Chop] - Imbue your weapon with Mana for greatly increased power in a downwards chop.