Redo: Grimoire System in the Apocalypse

Twelve figures stood in the immense branches that hovered over a large cemetery. Geth and his party were looking down on thousands of Zombies creeping amongst open graves.

The Zombies weren't all human. Some were raised from the corpses of Goblins, while they could see some Lizardmen and Kobolds.

All of them held somber faces. Four hulking figures were walking amongst the thousands of lurking creatures.

Geth couldn't tell, but he was sure they would be the Sub-Bosses. This Dungeon was the first he'd seen that was above ground.

"Albus, do you have any idea why this isn't an underground Dungeon?" Geth asked. Everyone had agreed that their Grimoires would communicate during this trip.

'I am not confident, but this does mean that the weaker Zombies have already spread throughout the Region.

It doesn't bode well for any survivors who were in this area. It looks as if the Formation is keeping the Boss in, but the Sub-Bosses can freely leave.'

Everyone received those words through their own Grimoire's, so there was no need to translate. Geth looked at the others to see if they had anything to say.

Swole was the first to ask a question, "How are we supposed to find loot in this mess? The Dungeons I've been in had a small crate in every room."

"Almost all of the tombstones have faded names. Some are larger and marked with an 'X,' I would imagine we have to dig it up," Filthy stated while looking out over the graveyard.

Geth watched Swole squint his eyes to try and make out the tombstones. He couldn't help but laugh at the guy.

Ross stood next to him with a worried look on his face. Geth knew that the couple hadn't been involved in a Dungeon raid before.

"Don't worry too much, Ross. You two are very close to Level 25. We will lure just a few Zombies for you until you get used to it." He told the couple, along with young Matt.

Matt had come along as well. He wanted to study the creature's behaviors and compare them with the information in the Library.

"Filthy, lure some groups back towards the clearing we passed earlier. No more than 20 until we see what they are capable of."

The man nodded and vanished. Geth could barely make out the Mana tracks from his departure.

'What a neat ability.' Filthy had focused heavily on stealth and accuracy in his build. Alise had a similar class but focused more on criticals and damage output.

They had a decent team composition at the moment, but he felt they were lacking magic damage. He understood that it wouldn't be a popular choice due to the low survivability.

'I wonder where he's at right now?' Geth thought. Another of his friends was always the mage in their DnD campaigns. It was likely that he would build in a way he was familiar with.

"Alright, let's get back to the clearing. Matt, Rachel, Ross, you three need to be ready," He instructed. The group then made their way down the branches and back to the clearing.

He would have preferred to let someone else lure the creatures while Filthy kept a lookout. The problem was their sense of smell.

If any of them got within range, they could likely aggro the entire horde. Filthy's ability made his presence harder to detect, smell included.

Before climbing the branches, Geth had already prepped the area. He used State Change to make a massive pit.

The mindless creatures would fall in, and the three could safely handle them. It wasn't perfect, but it should keep them from taking too much damage.

The weaker creatures weren't like the Zombies they'd seen in movies. These Zombies could only create more undead from freshly killed corpses. Getting bitten wouldn't be an issue.

Soon, a rustling noise came from the forest. Most of the party stepped back while the three weaker members waited near the pit.

Filthy jogged out of the woods and leaped over the cavity. He landed gently on the opposing side and turned to watch the brush.

Rushed footsteps sounded from the other side. Shortly, just over 30 figures sped through and collapsed on each other inside the hole. 

Geth cast his Barrier just behind those in the back, causing them all to fall in. He then stepped a bit closer to the trio.

"All right, one of you hop in and take care of them," He said.

"Wha... Why just one of us?" Matt asked.

Geth chuckled, "Obviously, so you don't have to split the experience. You need to grow comfortable with being outnumbered.

Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you." Geth cast his Mass Blessing spell as he said this, granting them 56 additional Defense.

It was Rachel who stepped forward first, "I'll handle the first batch if you don't mind."

Geth gestured toward the pit and watched the woman jump. He found it amusing that she was less hesitant than the two men.

Rachel carried a long two-handed sword and wielded it with ease. She already had it unsheathed when the Zombies noticed her.

She swung the blade horizontally before they could get close. Geth could see a wide arc of Mana leaving the weapon and cutting through the closest five Zombies.

The bodies were cleaved in half and fell to the ground. The next swing only managed to cleave three of the monsters in half.

Then, the group was upon her. Ross made a move to jump into the pit with her, but Geth placed his hand heavily on the man's shoulder and shook his head.

A bit hesitantly, the old man just watched his wife's suffering in silence. The Zombies tore and bit at her skin as she tried to dice them apart.

The creatures had great tenacity. Even after being split apart, the top half would crawl forward and tear at Rachel's legs.

Geth noticed that they had zero health regeneration.

'It seems once these things are damaged, there is no coming back for them.'