I don't know how long I was out. All I know was that when I woke up, I felt like hot garbage. 

It was as if someone had concocted the most noxious sewage inside of my organs. I felt weak and frail, like my bones would snap and my muscles were nonexistent. 

I was also cold. Thankfully though, it wasn't the parasitic cold that ate away my vitality. 

My eyes opened, seeing the white tiled ceiling of the restroom I had been in before going on a killing spree and increasing my Vitality. My body shivered, and when I curled my arms, I found that they were far skinnier than before. I also didn't have the same tree trunk thighs I used to. Those beautiful thighs I was so proud of...

But that was all inconsequential. 

I had survived!

I had to choke back tears. Although I was really fighting for my life, in the back of my head, I still couldn't eliminate that primal fear of death. I wasn't sure if I was going to wake up again after passing out...

But here I was. I had proven that you could beat the zombie virus with enough Vitality. I may be the first on Earth to make this discovery. I was a trailblazer, though I kind of wish I hadn't had to be...

"Archive..." My voice was hoarse when I called out.

---

{Alert! You have gained a Trait.}

{[Lesser Ailment Immunity] acquired.}

[Lesser Ailment Immunity]: Strengthens the immune system, allowing it to combat all forms of disease, infection, and abnormal conditions. Alters basic Vitality values. ((+2) Health per Vitality)

{Archive}

[Attributes]

[Abilities]

[Traits]

[Ectoplasm]

---

"A Trait..?"

I was a bit wondrous despite the weakness in my body. It was actually rather amazing how close to death I was. Still, I concentrated on the Trait I gained. 

A Trait that boosted not only my Vitality, but strengthened my immune system. This was definitely the reason I was able to survive the zombie infection, or parasite, or whatever it was. 

I was more than happy I got it. Now, I could fight without fear of dying with a single scratch. While I still didn't plan on getting injured, that fear of such absurd and unfair danger was now unable to keep me from giving it my all. I could be far more aggressive.

And before, 1 Vitality gave me 5 Health. If that increased by two, then it was now 7 Health per Vitality. That would give me significantly more Health as I scaled the stat. This would also allow me to take more hits and risk. Again, not that I planned on getting injured. 

Now... I needed to figure out my situation. 

"Guhh..." I grunted as I pulled my body off the hard table. My entire backside was sore, the few muscles I still had cramping with stiffness. 

I looked at my legs and cringed. My body had actually eaten all my fat and muscles for sustenance. Honestly, I'm surprised I hadn't died of malnourishment or starvation first. 

I reached out my hand, wrapping my bony fingers around my thigh. My once glorious quads were nowhere to be seen. I could almost grasp my entire leg like a pole... It was a painful sight. 

My weakness really showed when I tried to stand. I stumbled and had to keep myself up using the table. 

My Health and Energy were so painfully low. How could I fall so far?! How could some stupid zombie infection make me look like some plebian who hasn't left his basement in years?!

I was an athlete! I had been sculpted like a Greek god! I had worked hard for my muscles, and dammit, I wanted them back!

With righteous indignation, I forced myself to my feet and trudged forward. My remaining Energy managed to get me to the door. 

I placed my hands on the doorhandle, pushing with all my strength. But when the door cracked, it hit a barrier. 

Who the hell blocked the door?!

With a labored breath, I started throwing myself against the door. It barely budged, slowly nudging bit by bit until I could more clearly see beyond the restroom. 

"Jack?"

Then, I heard a voice. It was Elijah's!

I don't know how long had passed, but I was glad that he had stayed. And that he hadn't killed me. Maybe locking me in the restroom was his way of giving me a chance. 

Suddenly, my lips twisted weirdly as I opened my mouth.

"Bleeghhh...."

I let out a long groan, banging against the door again. The door kept slowly inching open, and I kept banging. 

Oh yea. Just like a mindless zombie. 

"...I'm sorry, friend."

I had to stop myself from laughing when I heard the sigh. Then, I heard the sound of metal sliding across wood. 

*Bang!*

It wasn't even a second later when I saw a machete slice through the door, like the famous axe scene in The Shining. I almost screamed too, the machete only five inches from my face. 

I jumped back just in time for the door to explode outward. Then, Elijah came stomping in, looking like he was about to battle for his life. His eyes narrowed when he saw me, the golden glow of his blade sending a chill up my spine. 

Crap. He was really gonna kill me!

He took a step forward, raising his weapon. 

I yelled. "Stop! Stop it! Don't kill me, dammit!"

I watched as he froze, my heart pounding out of my chest in fear. Seriously, the dude was as big as a bear. He could be seriously threatening if he wanted to be. 

"...Jack?"

"Yea! It's me! Put down the machete please!" I pleaded with him, afraid that he might not believe me. 

And he did seem skeptical, narrowing his surprised eyes at me. "What happened to you? I thought you..."

I let out a tiny smile, a bit ashamed. "Yea, I was... pretending to be a zombie..."

His face fell as he quickly understood, momentarily twisting in rage. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

"Because you were gonna kill me, asshole!" I shot back. "I was trying to fight that stupid infection, and you had me worried that you were gonna chop my head off early! I passed out thinking I was gonna... die..."

For some reason, my words got choppy at the end. I felt my chest tighten at the mention of death. 

I hurriedly turned away, barely pulling myself to my feet and leaning on the table. I took some deep breaths, wiping my eyes and forcing down the fear inside of me. 

I had really been close to dying... I wasn't ready for that yet. I had worked too hard to die now. There was too much I needed to do. And to think that there were others who didn't get the chance to survive like I did. 

I understood now.

Elijah lowered his machete, the golden glow around it fading. He let me be, standing behind me and waiting. 

It was only a minute or so later when I calmed down. I tried to mask my emotions as I turned back to him. Thankfully I had clothes on, so puffing out my chest didn't look so unpleasant.

"You alright?" He asked carefully. 

I let out a long sigh, blinking my eyes a few times before nodding. "Yea. I'm good. Let's just get the hell out of this restroom."

Elijah nodded and led me out.

"It's good that you survived, Jack. But if you don't mind me asking..." Elijah mumbled and scanned my body. I barely looked like myself anymore. 

His head tilted. "What happened?"

I answered while looking out the windows of the building, scanning the surroundings. "I raised my vitality, and it allowed me to fight the infection. But my body didn't have enough energy or nutrients to fight the infection for long. I don't know exactly what happened after I passed out, but I guess that my body ate my fat and muscles to get the resources it needed to fight the infection. Now, I'm skinny as a twig, and I'm actually pretty close to dying."

I laid out my situation rather clearly. Elijah nodded, understanding what I was saying. But he still seemed surprised. 

I didn't wait for him to process things though, pointing to a nearby convenience store. "Take me there."

He raised his head, looking at where I was pointing. The store wasn't that far, a mere four buildings away. Still, he'd have to fight and keep me safe. 

"Why?" He asked, though he seemed to realize it was a stupid question quickly. 

"I need some damn food, that's why! I can barely walk, let alone fight."

He followed me to the front door, removing the barricades and leading me out. "Couldn't you summon your skeleton?"

"That takes energy to sustain. I could bring it out, but if I lose any more energy, I might not be able to even crawl." 

With a nod, Elijah took point. He quickly cut down several zombies, and I walked as fast as I could to the store. 

We arrived after he killed around a dozen, and I practically threw myself through the doors. I didn't even bat an eye at the four zombies in the store, grabbing the nearest bag of beef jerky and tearing it open with my remaining strength. 

My starvation seemed to make itself known when I took the first bite. The bit of spiciness and leathery goodness slid down my throat, and upon hitting my stomach, was immediately dissolved. I could feel my body plead for more, and I was happy to indulge it. 

I scarfed down the entire bag of jerky, topping off with an entire liter of water. After the jerky was some candy, then some chips, and then some questionable donuts. 

Even after eating an entire two pounds of food, I was still hungry. That's when I thought of something. 

I had been close to 170 pounds before. Now, I couldn't weigh more than 120. I lost 50 pounds! Did that mean I needed to eat 50 pounds of food?

There was no way I was recovering in one sitting, let alone one day. But damn if I wasn't going to try. 

I cleared off entire shelves as I inhaled my food like a damned pig. Elijah just stood by and watched, shocked by my eating. And when I got full, I merely waited five minutes before continuing, my stomach having digested everything. 

In the end, five hours passed. It was only then that I stopped eating, but that was only because I was tired. I could actually eat more, but I felt it wasn't good for my recovery if I did. I needed rest as much as food. 

And boy did I nuke the restroom. With food came waste, and I swear I could've set a few records in there. 

The sun had been setting when we crossed to the convenience store, so by now, it was well into the night. Elijah had almost fallen asleep waiting for me, but forced himself to stay awake. 

I checked my status. 

---

---

I nodded in satisfaction. It would take time to recover back to my prime, but even now I could feel my muscles tingle in growth. My Vitality was so strong that I could feel its changes in real time. Given a few days, there was no reason I couldn't get my muscles back. 

Though, it seemed absurd that such growth could happen quickly. But this world was now supernatural. With the Archive, anything was possible. 

It couldn't cure my hunger though. Even as I tried to force myself to sleep, my stomach was growling for more food. I ended up eating for another two hours after reassuring Elijah he could go to sleep. I could summon my skeleton with my energy, so I didn't have anything to worry about. 

It was only when midnight had passed that I finally felt tired. My body finally decided that it had enough, for now, and let me rest. Sleep was super important for recovery, after all. 

I closed my eyes contentedly, happy to have survived another day.

...............

..........

"Stop."

"Just one more!"

"It's been six hours! You've cleared out two entire stores! I didn't even know that was possible for a human! So let's leave, or I'm going to start thinking you really did turn into an intelligent zombie!"

Elijah dragged me out as I tried to snatch another bag of candy. 

After waking up, I did nothing but eat. I seemed to be even more voracious than before. 

And I had insisted that I spend a bunch of time eating. The reason was because I noticed how my muscles actually grew in size!

My body was actively regenerating everything that I'd lost. Maybe malnourishment was an ailment, because my body was definitely curing itself if that were the case. 

Or maybe my stats ensured that I would always be able to perform as they indicated. Without muscle, I couldn't put out so much strength, so it was regenerating all of it. 

Either way, I was hungry, and my body absolutely needed more food. Specifically, it needed protein. In fact, if I were to lay eyes on an animal right now, I'd be trying to devour it whole. 

Candy and chips could only go so far. It was all crap that couldn't properly nourish the body. Maybe that was why I was nuking the restroom so often. 

So after a bit of complaining, I gave in and followed Elijah. The grocery store would definitely have better food, so getting there was now a priority. 

"Oh crap! The mission!"

I suddenly remembered our little migration, and the Archive responded. 

---

{Form the Militia}

You have inspired hope, sparked the machinations of development and prosperity. It's only the first step, but the first steps are often the most important. Nothing can happen without them.

Mission: Move your people and ensure their lives as they migrate to your new hideout.

Failure Conditions: 70% or higher death rate.

Rewards: Based on survival rate.

Survival Rate: 83/103

Remarks: Your people are the brawn necessary to secure a potential community. Without them, the community can only wait for death to come. Become the shield that protects and inspires progress. 

---

"Damn..."

I cursed as I followed Elijah. He was clearing the way of zombies, as was my skeleton, so he didn't have the mind to notice my sorrow. 

We had lost 20 people. While it wasn't the worst possible outcome, I had been hoping that we'd get through this without any deaths at all. 

But I guess it was inevitable... Or I was still too naive and could've thought of a better plan. Or I could've been a bit more careful and not gotten scratched, allowing me to protect everyone...

I let out another sigh, mournful of those who'd passed. I knew practically all of them. I couldn't imagine being eaten alive, or slowly succumbing to the infection. Either way was a horrible death... I knew firsthand how dreadful one could feel. How scared and hopeless...

Shaking my head, I focused forward. 

Since it was just Elijah and I, we could easily navigate around and through zombies. We could take long routes or short routes, bypassing massive clusters and getting to our destination faster. I happily collected Ectoplasm along the way, as did Elijah. He had already started distributing it into Vitality. A smart choice, speaking from experience. 

And it was only an hour later when we approached the store. We could see some of our people atop the roof. 

As I got closer, I could see everyone freeze in shock, staring at me like I was some kind of monster. The dozen or so who were on the roof rushed down as we went to the back door. 

We were greeted by Albert, who saw my noticeably sickly appearance. He didn't frown, but he also didn't immediately welcome me in. 

"I heard you were scratched and infected." He looked me up and down. You could actually see the wounds on my left arm, one's that had slightly healed over and left nasty scars. "So what happened?"

"I survived, that's what happened." I stepped up to him, puffing out what little muscle I had regained with a smile. "I fought the infection, and won."

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I could sense his disbelief. "How can I know..."

"You're awakened, right? Well, I increased my Vitality stat, and I was able to fight off the infection with my strengthened immune system. I was infected over a day ago, and now, here I stand." I raised my arms in obvious victory. "While I'm not totally recovered from the starvation, I've been working on that."

"He ate a dozen pounds of food before we got here." Elijah stepped up. He was my most powerful witness. "Don't worry, Albert. He's not a zombie. You're looking at the first case of someone surviving the infection. It takes about a day to turn, and as he said, he got infected over a day ago."

"...Vitality, huh?" His gaze changed, becoming more hopeful instead of suspicious. "Looks like I should start killing zombies and investing points."

"Heh, I've started doing just that." Elijah chuckled in response. 

Then, I was finally invited in. I walked through the door and into the store's garage. There I saw my teammates all gathered, looking at me with all sorts of mixed feelings. Hope, happiness, relief, suspicion.

Kait walked over to Elijah and I. She looked me up and down, her gaze resting on the scars running down my arm. 

"...I can touch you without being infected, right?"

"There isn't a single ounce of that infection inside me, or I'd still be passed out. My body hates that stuff." I spoke with a smile. 

She nodded. "Good."

Then, she moved forward, wrapping me up in a hug. I was a bit shocked, but her warmth calmed me down greatly. I responded in kind, letting out a deep, though ever so slightly shakey, breath. My anxiousness finally faded. 

"I made it."

---

{Mission Completed}

---