The forest did not mourn alongside the elderly lady. It remained quiet and indifferent as she knelt beside her grandson's body. Only the sound of leaves rustling rang through the woods.
The old grandmother's shoulders trembled, tears streaming down her saggy cheeks ceaselessly. But she kept her cries trapped behind her closed lips, as if afraid the sound would shatter what little composure she had left.
Ashrik stood a short distance away, expression unreadable under the mask. Instead of rushing the elderly lady, he shifted his attention to the fallen zombies.
'Ah, their crystal cores.'
With swift movements, Ashrik extracted the crystal cores at the back of their skulls. He wiped each clean before storing them away. Then, he retrieved the third-level core.
Finally, he owned one.
Ashrik decided to try advancing once he returned to his space later. His main priority now was bringing the grandmother to a safe place.
