Chapter 8
Among the rooms sealed with spell formulas, the first place I went into was the housemaster’s lounge.
The sign that read Femir caught my eye first.
It was the name of the professor who managed Dormitory Building 4.
A faint sense of relief stirred in one corner of my chest.
If I joined up with a community later and met him there, I would ask about this room.
I would definitely end up in an awkward situation.
However, that would not happen.
Some professors took on a central role as named characters and led survivors, but Femir did not.
In every route, he carried the misfortune of being killed by zombies.
Poor Femir.
I stepped inside while praying for the repose of his soul, who was lying somewhere as a cold corpse.
“Ugh, the stink is horrible. This room looks like it has been left alone for a long time.”
A stale smell seeped out from clothes that were thrown all over the place.
Tania caught the smell and grimaced in disgust.
I started rummaging around without a word.
In this room, I felt a faint sense of homesickness.
Whatever the world, men who were busy with social life seemed to turn into chronic procrastinators.
The smell of blood in the corridor faded for a moment as well.
Compared to the sticky stench of blood clinging to the tip of my nose, this almost felt pleasant.
“If you think something is useful, just take it for now. Sorting it out later is not too late.”
Tania nodded and began to search the room.
I found cigarettes in the drawers and wardrobe.
In this world too, cigarettes had taken deep root as a kind of luxury.
Now that the apocalypse had come, they were sometimes used as currency in trade.
Should I light one?
In reality, I was a heavy smoker.
I always smoked at least a pack a day, and wherever I went, I kept cigarettes in my pocket.
Then why did I never look for them?
Because I had been busy adapting to the sudden situation, I had practically quit against my will.
I wondered how it would feel if I started again.
The moment I reached my hand toward the cigarettes, [Cool] stopped me.
Its restraint was so strong that my fingers trembled.
Alright, alright. I won’t smoke.
Once I gave up inwardly, [Cool] quieted down.
“Do you like cigarettes?”
Tania, who stood next to me, asked that.
My face grew a little hot.
If she had just watched what I did next to her, it must have looked really ridiculous.
“I used to like them.”
“So that means you don’t smoke anymore, right?”
“I am not sure. I feel like I will know if I try again.”
“Then I think you should not.”
“Why?”
“I hear cigarettes are bad for your body. Though it’s still in research.”
She answered in a very serious tone.
For some reason, the worry filling her eyes put me at ease.
“Alright, I won’t then.”
“You’ll really trust what I say?”
“I felt a lack of energy lately. I cannot get up right away in the morning, and my stamina does not feel like it used to.”
“That is right. Cigarettes are definitely the cause for it! There are so many harmful substances living inside these things. I am sure those are affecting the human body.”
Tania sounded rather excited.
I thought about whether it made sense to get that worked up just from worrying about someone.
[Clever] reached a conclusion.
Her words held a lot of credibility, so I asked her without hesitation.
“Do you write a research paper about cigarettes or something?”
Among the ways the academy handled grades, there were research papers similar to these.
It was an early assignment for a second year, but with Tania’s ability, it would not be strange if she had written a few.
“...Um.”
I must have hit the mark.
Her face flushed instantly and she whipped her head around.
She fell silent, unable to continue.
If I kept pushing, I could probably see a cute reaction, but I held back.
“Do your best. I agree with your opinion.”
In this age where cigarettes were extremely popular, pointing out their problems was taboo.
It took a lot of courage.
I encouraged her with the hope that her courage would help our survival.
“T-Thank you.”
Tania answered in surprise, and when our eyes met, she quickly looked away again.
I shrugged and wrapped up my search.
“What we can call a haul is liquor, cigarettes, a backpack, and a dagger, I guess.”
“I thought there would be a bit more…”
Tania dropped her shoulders.
For how much trouble we took to get in, she probably thought the scavenging was not very satisfying.
But my opinion was different.
Luxury items like liquor and cigarettes could be traded with other people.
Depending on the situation, they might be worth more than ordinary currency.
And what I gained from the lounge was not only these things.
[Hidden space confirmed.]
[You gained 5 coins.]
I had obtained coins used in THE Survival’s system shop.
You could earn these coins by defeating certain monsters or entering hidden stages and so on.
They were paid out when you completed what the game called achievements.
I knew how to gain coins, but I could not be reckless.
There was always danger in the process of gaining coins.
Doors sealed by spell formulas were the same.
If Joshua had not possessed magical talent and [Clever], accidents could have happened while he interpreted the formulas.
His nerves in his arms and legs might have ended up ruined, or in the worst case, he might have lost his life.
The players who joined the game test with me all said the same thing.
The process of earning coins was like a poisoned chalice.
I agreed with that opinion.
No matter how good the reward was, you only went for it when it was possible.
I did not forget that rule.
It was one of the rules that allowed me to place first among the players.
“We still have the personal storage room left, so you don't have to feel too disappointed. And keep this on you.”
I handed her the dagger I found in the room.
I thought she needed it as self defense, just in case.
“Is it really alright if I take it?”
“I have my bat. You should carry at least one weapon on you too.”
“Thank you.”
“Then see you later.”
I parted from Tania in the lounge and headed back toward my own room.
Talleon’s room was on the way.
I stopped in front of the boy’s door and carefully peered through the crack.
The two surviving boys were sitting on the bed together, talking.
I pricked up my ears and started listening in.
“If the pain is really too much, what if you just blame him and say everything is his fault?”
“Whose. Joshua’s?”
“Yeah.”
“...No, I can’t do that. He helped us. It was a situation where our lives were on the line. What makes me angry is that I just spaced out and watched while Brindel was being killed.”
“I know how you feel. I am as angry as you are. But the past never comes back. I don't know if ruining your health over this is what Brindel really wants.”
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
“I should follow him. He does not look like a bad person. You agree with that, right?”
“Yeah, Joshua is a good guy.”
I pulled myself away from the wall at that point.
Talleon was struggling.
In that state, the possibility that he would break the rules looked like half and half.
I let out a sigh.
It was greedy to wish that everyone around me would always act calm and cautious.
For some people, survival might not be their first priority.
What should I do?
I lay down on the creaking bed and sank into thought.
Should I just cut them off coldly?
Or if an accident is going to happen anyway, would it be better to help them through it?
All of those ideas were tempting in their own way.
At times like this, I wished I were the kind of person who could act without overthinking everything.
My head hurt.
The fact that this was not a game with selectable choices irritated me.
Whatever happened, I hoped it would not be today.
A wave of lassitude washed over me.
It seemed I had used too much mana to open the door.
I closed my eyes.
I felt the strength drain out of my entire body, and my consciousness turned hazy.
* * *
It was dawn a few days later.
Talleon was still in a precarious state, but he stubbornly insisted that he would not go upstairs without my order.
I praised the boy’s self control.
Whatever his true feelings were, he was holding down a jar that was about to overflow.
My steps felt light as I went out to take my turn on watch that day.
I sat down on a chair I had left in the central corridor.
[No matter how many situations you imagine, you will never fully stop accidents. Do you know why? It is the end of the world precisely because you cannot predict them. If there is no hardship, then it is not survival. So always watch your back. If you want to live long, that is.]
While I was on night watch, I dozed off.
In the dream, I was listening to tips about the game from the operator of THE Survival.
Out of all my memories, why did it have to be this one?
It felt like such a waste to spend a rare lucid dream like this.
[Could you please be a little more specific?]
One of the players asked.
[Players all start by being wary of people. Since they have intelligence, they create the most variables. Then does that mean zombies are mindless, so you can let your guard down as long as you keep minimal watch? I would not say so. Let me warn you. They are not that easy to stop. That’s the kind of creature they are.]
I opened my eyes.
A cold wind from somewhere made my body shiver.
Autumn nights were always rather chilly, but tonight felt different from usual.
It felt like the chill reached all the way into my bones.
It was cold.
[Nocturnal] tensed sharply.
This trait sharpened my senses whenever it became dark.
Those senses were warning me now.
So it had not been a lucid dream, but a prophetic dream instead?
I had not forgotten the zombies.
There was no way I would ever forget them.
Of course I had considered the possibility that the zombies on the upper floors would come down.
A few days ago, I had swept furniture on the second floor together with the two boys and blocked the connecting passage for that very reason.
It was the best possible defense.
But the best defense did not always bring the best result.
I wanted to avoid this if I could.
Trying to sweep away zombies with only four people was a dangerous idea.
That was why I had held back.
However, things changed if they broke this floor’s defensive line.
If the enemy had chased us all the way to our chin, we could not leave them alone.
So they came down.
Thud! I heard something collapse.
The hungry groans of the zombies reached even this distant spot.
[Sudden Quest - Bloodbath in the dormitory]
[Clear Goal - Survive the zombies in the dormitory.]
[Difficulty - F]
[Reward - 10 coins.]
A quest appeared.
There was an option to give up, but in reality I could not.
If we abandoned the dormitory and went outside, we would only be surrounded by more zombies.
I steadied my breathing.
I picked up my bat.
I went from room to room where the kids slept and told them what was happening.
“Talleon, it looks like your wish is finally coming true.”
“Huh?”
“Come out. The bastard are here.”
He had longed for this situation so much.
Yet Talleon looked more flustered than pleased.
He wiped the drool at the corner of his mouth on his sleeve and came out with his sword.
Tania and Gavinu had already arrived in the corridor.
“What happened? Did we make some kind of mistake?”
Tania stared at the stairwell that connected the floors with a face that had turned pale.
“Nobody did anything wrong. This was a situation that could’ve happened at any time, and it is just happening now.”
I calmed her down.
There was no use in letting her panic at this moment.
“I have a question.”
Gavinu raised his hand and spoke.
“There is only one stairwell that connects this floor to the first floor. If we just block this place thoroughly, do we really need to fight?”
“The number of staircases is not what matters. The problem is that there is at least one hole they can come through. They can come down whenever they want, like tonight. The upper floor gives us time to prepare, but this floor is right under their nose. If you want to keep stretching out your legs and sleeping on your bed, it is better to wipe them out as quickly as you can.”
I answered in a slightly threatening tone.
They needed a reminder that we were walking on thin ice.
Gavinu swallowed dryly.
“We are going to fight. Think about how you will fight. You will need to squeeze out everything you learned at the academy.”
“Aren’t you scared? I am honestly scared.”
Even as she asked her question, Tania still did not take her eyes off the second floor.
The zombies’ groans grew stronger.
Several voices overlapped, making my skin crawl.
Am I scared?
With [Steady Nerves], there was no reason for me to feel fear of them.
Still, I could not say that as it was.
They wanted to feel reassured through me.
“I am not scared. At least at this moment, I am not fighting alone after all.”