Part 4: On a Journey of Adventure

So, after searching through the room, I'm all set and ready.

Equipment Check.

Weapon: Katana of the Ancient (Attack Power +255)

Armor: School Uniform (Defense +62)

Sports Gear (Agility +57)

Other: Black-rimmed Glasses (Accuracy +100)

Headband Rubber (Agility +9, Accuracy +5)

Well, the stats in parentheses are just random, really.

Just based on mood.

Incidentally, the contents of the backpack were:

Tools: Delicious Water (restores HP when drunk)

Calorie Mate (incredibly tasty)

Banana Bounce (a summoning item)

Ghost Light (ghosts aren't scary at all)

Summon Pants (flip them and you get double the effect)

That’s about it.

With everything ready, I grasp the doorknob and pause for a moment to glance back at my home.

The house, already reeking of death thanks to the late Mr. Tanaka.

Hmm, no regrets.

Well then, let's head out.

As I yank the door open, I lock eyes with the "zombie" (the first one I saw) lingering nearby.

"Gah!"

Before he can utter anything,

"Yoi shoo"

I jabbed the tip of my blade into the "zombie's" forehead with minimal force.

The "zombie" wobbled as if its power had suddenly cut out, losing strength beneath its feet.

Easy victory—complete disarmament.

Fuhu fuhu. So this "zombie" thing isn't as intimidating as I thought.

...But I didn't have time to gloat.

From behind the first "zombie," a female "zombie" with long hair and glasses lunged out.

"Gotcha!"

This time, I put in a little more force and shattered her brain right through the glasses.

Then, another one.

From farther down the hallway, I could see something shambling toward me with a clumsy gait.

That's when I came up with a little experiment.

I wondered just how much damage it would take to kill these things.

...Ah, just to clarify, this isn't some hidden sadistic impulse or anything like that.

Since we’re planning to engage in a back-and-forth battle with these “zombies” from now on, I thought it was extremely important and reasonable to study their biology now, while we still have the chance.

I’d rather not have to learn about the “zombies’” behavior only when we’re in a tight spot.

We can only do this kind of thing while we still have the luxury of time.

“So, sorry about that.”

‘Koooooo, oooohhh…’

Since we've confirmed it personally, let's get started right away.

For example, a common portrayal of zombies in movies is that they can only be killed by destroying the head.

I lunged with a full-force stab of my katana at the heart of a zombie shambling a few meters ahead.

肋骨を砕いて、肉を裂く感触がします。ぴっと頬に赤黒い血液が跳ねますが、気にしません。田中さんを刺した時にあった嫌な気持ちは、すでに消失しています。私、順応性高い系女子なので。

「えいやっ」

刀を突き刺したまま手首をひねると、“ゾンビ”の胸にじわりと血が広がりました。

ですが、

『うヴォォオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオ』

Disappointing—he looked perfectly fine.

Well then, I pulled my sword free.

Then, with a single swift stroke, I severed both arms reaching out toward me.

The arms flew into the air with a soft *poom* and landed with a thud on the floor.

"Once more."

Muttering to myself, I chopped off both of his legs right in front of me.

With his legs severed below the knee, he collapsed onto the floor, splattering dark red blood across the surroundings, lying in a sea of crimson.

"Hmm..."

I remained motionless, waiting for several minutes.

"...Ugh... Wob... Ga...?"

He no longer seemed to have any strength left.

Yet, it appeared he still wouldn't die unless his head was destroyed.

Feeling sorry for him, I drove my blade into his head.

The zombie, wriggling like a caterpillar, instantly stopped moving.

Thank you for your cooperation in the experiment. Goodbye, unknown "zombie" person.

The only thing that still bothers me is the conditions for mutation.

I certainly don't want to deliberately get bitten for an experiment, and I'm pretty sure being bitten would be a death sentence. Tanaka-san mutated after just one bite, after all.

The real problem is if it's airborne—something that could spread through the air.

If that's the case, there's really nothing we can do about it. There'd be no way to prevent it.

If I were truly "chosen by God," maybe I'd have natural antibodies from birth or something like that—then it'd be no problem later on.

But no matter what, dwelling on it won't change anything.

Let's just try not to think too deeply about this matter. Let's make that our goal.

Even if we want complete peace of mind, it might be better to show up at places where people gather and share information.

Hm.

That narrows down the next place we should head to.

With that in mind, I quickly left behind the rundown apartment.

Farewell, my home. I'll come back if I feel like it.

Just to clean it up, you know.