A Way

Kurumi walked at the very front with the Steel Katana. Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei flanked her from behind, holding an Oak Sword and a homemade spear respectively. Behind them were Komuro Takashi with a baseball bat and Hirono Toda carrying a Nail Gun.

The last two were Takagi Saya and Shizuka Marikawa. Neither held a weapon, while Shizuka Marikawa carried a small white bag filled with emergency medical supplies.

Pushing open the glass door to the staff office, they found that the Dead Bodies outside, which had been cleared out earlier, had gathered into several scattered clusters again. It was impossible to tell how long it would take to deal with them one by one. Kurumi glanced out the window... It would be dark soon.

"I'm saying, these Dead Bodies should be using sound to determine the direction of their attacks..."

"Bang—bang!" Before Takagi Saya could finish explaining her theory, Hirono Toda fired two "bullets" from his Nail Gun. They struck two Dead Bodies precisely in the head, killing them instantly.

Kurumi drew her blade and charged forward as well. Her superhuman strength and coordination made up for her lack of swordsmanship, allowing her to dispatch the Dead Bodies from extremely tricky angles. It was both easy and efficient, while keeping the blade from being damaged.

A glint flashed through Busujima Saeko's eyes behind her. Judging from Kurumi's performance just now, those were clearly techniques that could only be used so effortlessly after more than a decade immersed in swordsmanship. Yet back in the staff office, she had carefully observed Kurumi's hands.

They did not look like the hands of someone who held a sword year-round. There was not even a trace of callus on them. Her pale, jade-like hands looked as though they had been meticulously cared for by a young lady from an aristocratic family—perhaps even better than that! How could Saeko not be suspicious... Could there really be such a genius of the sword in this world?!

She stopped dwelling on those contradictory questions and focused her attention on the Dead Body before her. With one swing—

"Bang~" With skills honed through years of sword practice, the tremendous force transmitted through the Oak Sword blew the Dead Body's head apart in a single strike. Her precise control ensured that the Oak Sword remained undamaged.

The others followed closely behind one after another. Takagi Saya stopped elaborating on her theories about the Dead Bodies... This group gave her a long-lost sense of security.

"Phew~ Why are there still so many? Didn't they all go to the field?" Kurumi let out a soft breath as she saw a densely packed mass of Dead Bodies from the corner of the stairwell and muttered in complaint.

Even if killing these Dead Bodies was effortless, making sure every strike was fatal while keeping her weapon intact was still mentally exhausting. On top of that, she had to suppress that frenzied urge, which annoyed her to no end.

Kurumi had originally planned to follow the protagonist's group out of here, but the moment the side quest appeared, she knew that plan had fallen through. Such a high reward was obviously not just a simple handout.

Perhaps... things that had never appeared in the Original Work would show up... like some kind of mini-boss. Kurumi had no confidence in killing one right now. It seemed she could only keep killing Dead Bodies to earn side quest rewards, raise her attributes, and then take a shot at it.

What? You were telling Kurumi not to trust any of that? No, no, it was better to be cautious in everything. She still preferred fights she could win easily. After all, how could you lose when you had a flying dragon in your face?

Hearing Kurumi's complaint, everyone tacitly stopped moving forward.

At that moment, Busujima Saeko looked at the Dead Bodies below. "We don't need to confront them head-on. As long as we can get out safely, the most important thing is to use a method that saves time and effort."

"Right. These Dead Bodies seem to be especially sensitive to sound, and they're unbelievably strong. Once they grab you, they'll eat you, so be careful," Takagi Saya reminded them with her arms folded.

"Aah—!"

Kurumi had just been about to discuss what they should do when a piercing female scream stabbed into her ears. Her eyes narrowed, and she rushed ahead with her sword. The others followed close behind.

...At the stairway landing between the second and third floors, three men and two women were surrounded by Dead Bodies, trapped with nowhere to advance or retreat.

The boy in front wore a grim expression. Holding a baseball bat like Komuro Takashi's, he roared at the female voices behind him, "Damn it! Get back! Leave this to me!"

A blond-haired Dead Body held the advantage of position. Guided by the sound, it opened its bacteria-filled mouth and viciously bit toward the boy named Takuo.

"Bang—" Hirono Toda fired his Nail Gun, and the shot struck the blond-haired Dead Body in front of Takuo in the temple, piercing straight through and splashing blood into the air. The boy froze in fright, having no idea how to react.

The surrounding Dead Bodies did not have such complicated thoughts. Driven by instinct, they lunged at Takuo and the others!

"Slash—pfft—" Kurumi leaped down the stairs, twisted her blade slightly, and severed one Dead Body's head. It collapsed to the ground as blackish-red blood sprayed outward as if it cost nothing, frightening the girls into backing away repeatedly.

Busujima Saeko, Miyamoto Rei, and the others arrived one after another and swiftly cleared out the Dead Bodies nearby. Takuo's group of five finally snapped out of their daze. One of the girls spoke to Kurumi in front of her. "Thank you... Thank you so much!"

"Oh." Kurumi examined them with a cold gaze. "Has anyone been bitten?"

"No, no." It was still the short-haired girl from earlier, hurriedly explaining to them.

Miyamoto Rei looked at the group with pleasant surprise. "It looks like they really are all right."

That made sense. After all, in a campus overrun with Dead Bodies, it was truly fortunate to encounter companions who had not been bitten. Kurumi also knew that the protagonist's group would definitely bring along this small group that was doomed to die.

Before Komuro Takashi could invite them, Kurumi spoke up first. "We're escaping from here. What about you? Want to come with us?"

"Mm, mm."

"Why are there still so many? We can't get through like this at all." Komuro Takashi felt despair at the number of Dead Bodies in front of the teaching building's entrance.

Takagi Saya continued sharing her conclusions with everyone. "Those Dead Bodies have no vision. They can't see us. As long as we don't make any noise, they probably won't attack."

"Then Takagi, you go test it. See whether they'll attack you or not," Komuro Takashi retorted mercilessly. Takagi Saya immediately wilted. She knew it was only a theory of hers, and whether it was correct... still needed to be tested... but she did not have the courage to do it herself.

Komuro Takashi stepped forward. "I'll do it. Someone has to go, right?"

"No, Takashi, you can't go!" Miyamoto Rei had just tried to step forward and pull Komuro Takashi back when Busujima Saeko stopped her. "Do not interrupt a man's resolve. That is the most basic requirement for a woman."

She raised her head toward Komuro Takashi, who had turned around. "May fortune favor you in battle."

Komuro Takashi nodded to Busujima Saeko and was about to walk into the group of Dead Bodies, but the next person's voice made him stop in his tracks.

"Hey, why do something so thankless and exhausting?" Everyone turned their eyes toward Kurumi. "Since Takagi said these things are especially sensitive to sound, why not find a sound source and lure them away?"

"Where would we find a sound source? The broadcasting room? That's way too far!" Just as everyone was about to object to Kurumi's suggestion, they saw her reach into the pocket of her school uniform skirt... and pull out...

A Nokia! Back when Kurumi had still been Mo Xiao, when he watched this anime on Earth, smartphones had not yet become fully widespread, so the Original Work's setting followed reality.

Couldn't they see that even Komuro Takashi was using a flip phone? So the Main God had kindly given her a Nokia from the same era for free!

Back then, this had been a god-tier phone. Its popularity far surpassed Apple's a few years later. Not only did it have incredible battery life, lasting a week on a single charge, but its drop resistance and loudspeaker volume were legendary!

Kurumi's thought was simple: why not turn the volume all the way up and toss it out? Wouldn't that be far more practical than in the anime? And they would not have to worry about that damned kid betraying his teammates.