The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 35: Thirty-four

[Congratulations, Player Jannah!]

The Countess raised an eyebrow at the system when she read the text, looking away from her hands to look at it.

The leopards have just finished climbing the mountains and she could not feel anything dangerous around them anymore.

Just as they were about to go down the mountain to go to their original destination, the system have congratulated her out of nowhere and it confused her.

[You have gained a companion!]

The system seem to know what was on her mind because it quickly replaced the congratulations text.

She stopped walking down the mountain, freezing as she stared at the text.

Companion? She does not know why, but she looked at the mother leopard who looked back at her because she stopped walking.

[Reward for side mission (A Leopard’s cubs) can be equip!]

Equipped? She stared at the system with furrowed eyebrows, not fully grasping what it means.

[Snow leopard equipped, would you like to give your new companion a name?]

Her eyes went as wide as saucers. A leopard as a companion? The snow leopard of the northern mountains?

Purr.

She felt something wet touch the tip of her finger which made her snap her head to look down and saw that the mother leopard rubbed her nose to her hand.

Not only that, she was purring quite loudly and rubbing her head against Jannah’s hand, as if asking her to pet her.

"My companion, huh?" She mumbled, giving in to the temptations and rubbed the leopard’s head with gentle motion, "What kind of name do you want?"

Don’t be silly, Jannah. She scolded herself for asking the leopard when it is obvious that the animal wouldn’t answer her.

"Never mind." She pulled her hand away from the leopard’s head and went back to walking down the rocky terrain of the mountain.

She was careful on stepping on the rocks because she doesn’t know which one would be able to hold her weight and strong enough to keep still in its place.

The progress on going the mountain is slower than going up. It was a tedious task, but it was worth it because she finished the mission.

"Here, my lady." Duke Eulicies held out his hand to Jannah when she almost near the bottom of the mountain.

She did not refuse the offer and grabbed his hand, letting him guide her down the terrain with calculative steps— noticing just now that out of all the knights, the Duke of the east was the first one to reach the bottom.

He only went back up to meet her halfway so he could help her down.

By the time they reached the bottom, the knights have settled themselves on the nearest tree, taking a breather.

"We don’t have time to be sitting around like this, it won’t be that long before the sun comes up." Jannah announced the moment the Duke bought her down.

"I’m sorry for making you guys come with me and delaying the trip to Rye." She apologized and lowered her head, "I just can’t ignore a mother asking for help."

Not like I can ignore it. It was technically forced upon me to help the leopard. Jannah wanted to add to her apology, but decided against it.

"We don’t mind, Countess." Arthur spoke on behalf of his friends.

"It was nice seeing you shoot those arrows." Kean beamed at her as he give her a thumbs up.

"We know we’re in good hands." Dante smiled at her and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Also, it looks like they like you, Countess." Loren pointed out as he gestured towards the cubs by her legs.

She followed where he was pointing and looked down, locking gazes with the cubs who let out a loud, excited chuff which soon followed by a soft mew.

[Favorability increased.]

The hell? I didn’t even do anything. Jannah grimaced when the system appeared in front of her and notified her about her favorability increasing.

Purr.

She flinched in her spot when she felt something vibrating rub against her left leg, only to realize that it was the mother leopard rubbing her body on her.

The mother leopard rubbed her hand on Jannah’s hand again, a telltale sign that she wants to be petted.

"Yeah, they like you, my lady." Duke Eulicies agreed with Loren’s statement.

"Well, I could see that.." Jannah mumbled, trailing off as she raised her leg and stepped away from the small family.

"Anyways, we need to move." She brushed off the gravity of the situation and turned to the knights, "We still don’t know if those things are out there— no, I know for sure that they are out there, we just don’t know where."

"You heard her." Duke Eulicies waved his hand to get his knights’ attention, "Keep an eye out."

"Be careful." Jannah walked ahead, letting the knights and leopard fall behind her.

The mother leopard walked beside her while the cubs walked in front of the knights, taking stances to protect the baby leopards just in case anything happens.

The Duke marched forward, wanting to walk beside Jannah, but one growl from the leopard was enough to him stop in his track.

Silence filled the space as the moon continued to assist them by providing them with a little light. The trees around them seem to close in on them as they march forward, leaves rustling and twig breaking in half under their weight.

As they walk back to their original track, Jannah kept her eyes on the system.

The map is showing the shortest route to the Rye, but the path looked like it would be hard to walk on so she resorted to the longer route, but easier path.

The leopards on the map are color a darker color of green and her dot color is light green.

Something caught her eyes in the system, a blinking red dot appeared up ahead. It’s only in one spot, but it’s blocking their path.

She looked past the system and squinted her eyes to get a clear view on the road ahead of her, the map showed her that she’s nearing the red dot, but she can’t see anything ahead of her.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up, making a shiver run down her spine.

"Slow down, everyone." Her words alarmed them and made them follow her soft command.

They eased into a slower pace and watched Jannah walk forward with the leopard trailing behind her.

The red dot kept appearing and disappearing, she can’t tell if it was playing tricks on her so she continued walking.

Until she stepped into something.

Her foot sinks into the soft ground with a distinct sound. Confused and a bit shocked, Jannah pauses and looks down, noticing that she has stepped on a patch of dirt that seems to be covering something unusual.

The ground beneath her foot feels unexpectedly soft, rather than the expected firmness of the earth.

"What’s wrong, my lady?" Duke Eulicies blinked owlishly when the Countess stopped walking.

Instead of answering, Jannah carefully lifts her foot, only to notice a faint, sickly sweet smell lingering in the air.

She doesn’t seem to be the only one to notice the unusual smell because the knights started to whisper among themselves as they look around, confused as to where it came from.

Jannah glanced at the system, showing her that she’s hovering right on top of the red dot in the map.

She didn’t waste any time on pushing the soft dirt using her boot, her eyes casting downwards to look at she’s digging with her foot.

The sickly sweet smell is now more distinct and she can feel a shiver run down her spine.

With a sense of dread looming over her shoulders, she slowly uncover the patch of dirt, revealing a glimpse of something pale and lifeless below.

Jannah sucked in a sharp breath as the lifeless face of a person becomes visible, their cold, ashen skin shining under the moon light. She took a step back, her heart racing with fear and disbelief.

It takes her a few moments for the reality of the situation to sink in, but there is no mistake, she has stumbled upon a buried corpse in the— not just any corpse, it’s a zombie.

The bite marks on the corpse face and the missing left ear are the pointers.

"It’s one of those things!" Dante exclaimed, announcing his presence beside the Countess as he stare with wide eyes at the zombie.

"Why is it laying there?" Arthur stepped beside Dante to take a look at the corpse.

"That thing stinks." Kean commented as he walked past them, "I don’t know why you lots are looking at it."

"Is it just me or does it look like it’s sleeping?" An unfamiliar voice came from behind Arthur, peaking his head over Arthur’s shoulder to inspect the corpse.

"It’s not just you." Jannah mumbled, stepping over the corpse and keeping her eyes on it, "It is sleeping."

"What do you mean?" Duke Eulicies had beat the others by asking.