Lucky sat in silence for a long moment after the gate closed behind the four unlucky clones.His heart was still racing. The faint memory of the Gate to Calamity's oppressive aura lingered in the air like a phantom touch, making his skin prickle.Even though the clones had returned safe this time, he couldn't shake the thought
'If I get bitten… if even a bird or an insect in that world carries the infection, I'm finished.'
The idea lodged in his brain like a thorn. A zombie bird. A zombie mosquito. The more he thought about it, the more scenarios his paranoid mind conjured each ending with him shambling around brainlessly or rotting in some forsaken alley."Nope," he muttered, shaking his head. "Not risking my actual body. I'm not stupid."
Still, there was one important test he needed to run.
He turned to his mass of clones about a thousand currently manifested, with plenty more in reserve. They were lounging, bickering, or pretending to be busy when his eyes swept over them. As soon as he smiled, they instinctively stepped back in unison. That only made his smile widen."Oh, don't be shy," he said in the most sincere tone he could muster.They didn't look convinced.
He pointed to a random clone one he didn't particularly like. "You. Field test."The clone groaned loudly but obeyed, trudging toward the still-active gate.
"The moment you see the gate close, let it dissipate," Lucky instructed. "We're checking if I can get your memories from another world."
The clone saluted half-heartedly and stepped through. Lucky waited exactly five seconds after the gate snapped shut. He focused… waited for the mental flood of memories, the XP notification anything.Nothing happened. Not a flicker.
"huhhhh." He crossed his arms. "Figures. No cross-world memory transfer. XP's locked to the dimension I'm in."That was annoying, but not catastrophic. As long as the zombie world wasn't crawling with mutant horrors straight out of Dying Light or Resident Evil, it would still be manageable.
Still… better to test with them first.
Lucky's gaze scanned his thousand clones again. Slowly. Deliberately.Every single one of them took another synchronized step back.
With a too bright of grin, he said, "Good news, everyone. All of you are going in."The resulting chorus of groans could've been mistaken for a dying whale.
He didn't let them complain. With a few quick orders, he split them into twenty teams of fifty. Each group was assigned a clear set of rules:
Kill on sight. Any zombie you see destroy it. Collect any cards it drops.
Information. Find out everything you can about the world's condition.
Resources. Gold, gems, valuables bring it back.
Survivors. Low chance, but if you see any, report it immediately.
They grumbled but nodded.
One by one, the groups stepped toward the gate. It was small slightly wider than a doorframe. Lucky tested something on impulse."Expand," he commanded mentally.
To his surprise, the gate obeyed. It stretched, swirling outward until it was wide enough for an entire team to march through at once. That sped things up considerably.
"You'll enter in intervals," Lucky told them. "I'll open the gate here once a week. Same location."
Before he could send off the last team, one clone asked, "When you say Each week… you mean ours or yours?"
Lucky's eyes narrowed. "Mine."
The clone's face twisted, about to unleash a creative insult but Lucky slammed the gate shut before he could say it.
With the gate gone, silence fell over the clearing. Lucky sighed, looking around at the now-empty area.Time to refill the numbers.
He began the methodical process of creating new clones. It was draining work, but he pushed through. Midway through summoning, something strange happened his skill window flashed.
[Skill Evolution Detected]
Tier: 3
Skill: Summoner
Type: Passive
Level: 99 / 99
Description: Allows the user to improve all positive stats of summoned creatures.Current Increase: +105% to all stats.
Lucky blinked, then checked the available evolutions.
Summoner (+) Tier 3 Options:
Link – Connect the summoner to their summons; at certain level thresholds, new effects unlock (shared health, senses, etc.).
Take Over – Fully control a summoned creature's body.
Fusion – Temporarily merge two or more of the same creature into an advanced version.
He stared at the options, biting his lip."I want them all," he muttered. Each one was ridiculously good. But after a long moment of internal struggle, he picked the one that felt most universally useful.
Choice Confirmed: Link.
[Skill Upgraded]
Tier: 5
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Skill: Summoner
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Type: (Passive/Active)
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Level: 1 / 99
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Description: Allows the user to improve all postive stats of his sumoned creature and linking the summoner to his summon
Current increrase: Increase by 200% over all states
Current Link Amount : 1
Currunt link Effect: Sharing senses
(Each level increase will increase All stats by +3%)
(Each level increase will increase the link amount by 1)
(Each level threshold unlocks a new effect
Lvl: 1 = Senses
lvl 25 = Vitality sharing (10%)
Lvl 50 =Mana Sharing (10%)
lvl 75 = Swap (Swap place with the linked summon to saftey 1 min cooldown)
Lvl 99 = Death Trade (once a year)
)
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Evolutions:
1 link: Link the summoner to his summoned each level threshold will add more effect like health sight and more
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Lucky's grin stretched ear to ear. This was perfect. Being able to share senses meant he could see and hear exactly what his summons experienced, hopefully even across worlds.
That alone will make the zombie expedition far safer.
Re-energized, he summoned another thousand clones, straining his mana reserves to the limit and exhausting even his loyal summoned beasts. Finally, satisfied, he dismissed them to their assignments and headed back toward the Fairy Tail guild.
The guild doors swung open."Yo, I'm back," Lucky said casually as he stepped inside.
Makarov looked up from his paperwork and smiled faintly. "Welcome back..."
At that Moment Lucky Max Mana has became 50,001
Lucky's chest lurched. A sudden metallic taste flooded his mouth. Before he could react, he spat blood onto the guild's floorboards.
The room froze.
Makarov's expression hardened instantly, worry flashing in his eyes. "Lucky ?"
Lucky's knees buckled. He barely registered Gray's voice shouting his name or Cana's chair scraping back. The guild hall tilted violently in his vision.
Darkness rushed in from the edges.
'Not good…' was his last thought before he collapsed completely.
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Author here again! Just a quick heads up there might not be a chapter tomorrow. The chance of me uploading is around 30%, so don't count on it. Sorry for the uncertainty, and thanks for understanding!