Cranberry Pride.
According to what she had said herself, that surname meant that she was a member of the seven main noble families in the kingdom.
"Ha...? Don't tell me you actually didn't know my family name? Anyway, you better focus, I don't plan on failing my quest just because you're surprised by something like that."
She said and stood up.
"Let's go."
She beckoned him and started walking.
Well, Zombie indeed did hear the word pride a lot while staying with his master, but he always assumed that it was just a pride, and not Pride as a surname!
The blue boy was lagging behind when suddenly something started pushing him forward against his will!
"Graough?! (What the...?!)"
He growled confused and turned his head around but... there was no one behind him!
/Master entered the story mission area
Servant's presence required
/Please enter the story mission area
A system message showed up and Zombie's confusion dissipated.
Since the system can create invisible walls to trap someone, it can obviously also use them to push people around.
"Graough! (Alright! I'm going!)
Zombie growled and started limping forward faster than the invisible wall could push him.
"That took you long enough."
Cranberry sighed and reached her hand expectantly.
"Garough! (Ah! Right!)"
Zombie flinched, put down the long thin package he was carrying on his back and unwrapped it carefully.
It was a masterfully crafted baseball bat with a floral pattern etched into the wood, and blue velvet wrapping around the handle.
Zombie offered the bat to Cranberry, the girl took it and smirked.
"I feel much better now."
She laughed and rested the bat on her shoulder.
"Now, let's see what happened with our monster."
She grinned and her eyes shone coldly.
"Graough? (Maybe that quest is just a misunderstanding?)"
Zombie crossed his fingers.
The monster they would be facing was brought up.
"A lizardfolk!"
The blond boy with the oversized sword exclaimed impressed.
Indeed, that what the monster looked like.
A tall green humanoid lizard with robust muscles and a massive tail, looking around cautiously with its reptilian eyes.
The lizardfolk was bound with magic restraints, like every other monster before it, and was mostly naked, wearing only a loincloth made out of unprocessed animal skin.
Its kind was a tribal society with properly developed craftsmanship and was just a step away from getting acknowledged as a major species, so it was obvious that this one was stripped from its equipment to look less intelligent.
The people walking it to the center, left a thick long bone, presumably a rib of some large monster, by the bound lizardfolk's feet.
Cranberry and Zombie waited for the magic restraints to come undone, and when their light faded, the lizardfolk slowly stretched its limbs and looked at the pair of children.
"Khhhhgh...!"
It opened its jaws and let out a weird shrill.
"Graough... (I don't like that they cut off his tongue, it's creepy.)
Zombie groaned while keenly watching the monster pick up the rib and weigh it in its hands.
"Lizardfolk. Your kind is known to be very proud, I'll give you the honor of turning into our first experience points."
Cranberry ignored her servant and instead pointed her bat at the monster.
"Even if you defeat us, you won't be getting out of here alive, but still, give it your all. I need this to be flashy."
She smirked coldly.
"Khhhhhghhgk...!"
The lizardfolk shrilled and its tail furiously smashed against the ground.
"Zombie, go."
Cranberry lightly nodded her head pointing the blue boy towards the angered monster.
"Graough...?! (Hey! Master! I thought that taunting was my job...?!)"
Zombie groaned a complaint and started limping at their opponent.
"That weird child is an undead puppet, so is young lady Pride a corpse puppeteer? Why isn't she conjuring more of them?"
Some of the spectators started talking.
"I've heard that during the awakening she refused the magic and it partially failed. It's quite possible that it's the best she can do."
Someone whispered with a barely hidden smirk.
"It looks really weak, will it even do something?"
Another person asked laughing at the limping blue boy.
Indeed, Zombie's peace was quite slow, he was dragging one leg behind in a classic old-school zombie-like fashion, and certainly, what he was wearing now were essential rags and red strapped sandals, so such comment wasn't out of place at all.
"Khh!"
Even the lizardfolk snorted at him and shook its head in annoyance.
"Graough...! (Hey! I'll get there when I'll get there, alright...!)"
Zombie scoffed back at everyone and continued at his own peace.
When he finally got in front of the monster, the lizardfolk glanced at him with disgust and just swatted his weapon.
At that moment Zombie's body shone and he bent his body right under the weapon, at the same time his leg started glowing and he used his own movement to deliver a terrifying kick at the monster's groins.
He dug in his heel and twisted it for the greater effect.
"KHHHGHGH!"
The monster's eyes bulged out and it screamed in pain, bending in half and almost dropping its weapon.
"Uuuh...!"
Everyone with male parts flinched, momentarily connecting with the lizardfolk on a spiritual level.
As soon as the monster showed an opening, Cranberry's body glowed and she launched a charge right at it.
Her eyes shone and she swung her baseball bat, smashing it into the monster's jaws, forcing the beast's back straight.
Zombie also wasn't just standing by idly.
Without a shred of mercy, his leg shone, and he kicked the lizardfolk's groins again, which send it bending forward again, only for Cranberry to bash it for the second time.
Zombie was going to repeat that cycle once more but at the last second, he noticed that the lizardfolk's muscles harden under its scaly skin.
"Graough! (He will counter!)"
Zombie shouted and threw himself back, pushing Cranberry right out of the way of the rib, that just appeared in their vision, swung by the seemingly incapacitated monster.
The rib hit the blue boy square in the side of the stomach and sent him flying while the monster already took another swing and attacked Cranberry.
The girl's eyes shone and she met the attack with her own skill.
Two weapons slammed against each other and both opponents were sent back a few steps, the much lighter Cranberry was sent further back.
While those two were busy, Zombie's body shone just before he hit the ground and he twisted into an upright position.
The boy gritted his teeth, both of his legs shone and instead of landing he kicked the ground and flew right back at the monster duking it out with his master.
/Proficiency level reached
/Servant receives a skill
Acrobatics (level 1)
A message popped up but neither the master nor servant had the time to care about it.
Cranberry was countering the hits of the increasingly furious lizardfolk, one after the other.
/Proficiency level reached
/Master receives a skill
Counter (level 1)
When that messaged showed up, Cranberry's face twisted in a wicked smile and her bat started shining mid-swing.
*BANG!*
This time when the weapons connected they made a loud sound and only the lizardfolk was sent back and even tripped, losing its balance.
But it was just a fain, instead of falling over, the lizardfolk turned around and swiped at Cranberry with its tail.
That was the moment when Zombie came back, while above the monster's head, his legs shone and he dug the very same sandal's heels that he complained about, into the lizardfolk's head, slamming the beast into the ground and throwing off its tail-swipe completely.
/Servant's hidden affinity unlocked
Leg Power (level 1)
Cranberry was already by the fallen lizardfolk and her eyes were shining.
"Graough! (Uh-oh!)"
Zombie growled and hastily stepped off the monster's head so that his master could deliver the unrelenting thrashing on the monster.
"Graough? (Master, is that me or is this guy actually weak?) Graough. (So that's how it looks like from the third-person perspective. Brutal.)"
The blue boy squatted by the lizardfolk and calmly watched as a barrage of blows was falling onto the monster desperately trying to protect itself.
"Stop groaning and help me finish it!"
Cranberry shouted ferociously and glared at Zombie.
"Garough! (O-on it!)"
Zombie hurriedly stood up and joined in with his strong kick.
"It doesn't feel right, this one is using some skill to block most of the damage from my skills!"
The girl clicked her tongue.
"Hmph... The show is over, then, I guess?"
A deep voice coming from below the pair asked.
"...?!"
"Graough?! (What the hell?!)"
The children gasped and tried to back away from the lizardfolk who crawled back up to all fours.
"As if I'll let you!"
The monster shouted and its back shone with murky brown light and not even a split second later, two giant wings smashed into the children, sending them crashing against the invisible walls.
/Unable to leave the area
/Unable to leave the area
The same message showed up twice as the master and the servant hit the invisible walls at different times.
Zombie tried to stand back up but he instantly fell over.
/Warning
Servant became damaged
Servant has insufficient mana to heal
Permission to use Master's mana required
"Graough...? (What is..?) Graough... (Oh...)"
The spreading wing got him in the legs and now they were bending in two more places than they were supposed to...
"Th-that's not a lizardfolk! It's a dragonewt! Quick! Somebody help them!"
People from the audience raised a commotion but as soon as they tried to approach the center of the arena, they got blocked by the system's invisible walls.
"Graough! (Master!)"
Zombie growled panicked when he realized that his master was hit by the same kind of attack as him, but she didn't have his DEF.
"You are persistent, little human... I almost feel it would be a shame to kill someone with such potential."
The dragonewt stood up and glared at Cranberry.
The girl was crouching, supporting her battered body with the steaming baseball bat.
She managed to counter the wing but she still got thrown very far and crashed into the invisible wall.
"Ha...! Almost, you say..."
She let out a mocking laugh and her expression turned into an angry grimace.
"Yes... Almost."
The monster confirmed and opened its mouth.
His throat shone bright and a wide cone of fire erupted from his jaws and swallowed Cranberry whole.
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