The next morning, I woke up a little earlier than planned.

That said, since the color outside hadn't changed, I only judged it by the clock and the sluggishness of my body.

When I sat up, I saw Ushizawa san and Mitsurugi san standing near the entrance of the infirmary.

"What's wrong, you two..."

When I rubbed my eyes and asked them, Ushizawa san tightly grabbed my clothes, looking frightened.

"L-look at this."

Then Mitsurugi san pointed outside with a trembling voice.

"Is that—"

As my blurry vision cleared, the scenery outside the infirmary came into sharp focus.

There were over ten zombies loitering right in front of the room.

No, it wasn't just that.

The hallway was also jam-packed with zombies.

"What is this... Are you telling me they multiplied this much in one night?"

"Ai heard zombie voices and woke up. And then it was like this."

"They haven't come in here, but this amount... Kuragane san, can you go outside?"

The opponents are small fry zombies, so there's no problem—even if I say that, this amount is simply too much.

Then, my smartphone suddenly vibrated.

"A message from Marin."

When I opened the screen, Ushizawa san and Mitsurugi san also peeked in.

[Are you awake? Outside the hallway here is full of zombies, how is it over there?]

I replied immediately.

[Same here. As far as I can see, it's covered in zombies.]

[Can you see anything else? Like new monsters, for example.]

[Nothing from the infirmary. I can see Cerberuses and Ghouls here and there, though.]

[I see. Ruka is currently clearing out the zombies in front of our classroom. Once that's done, we plan to secure a route to the infirmary.]

[Understood, I'll try heading toward Class 1-E from here too.]

After finishing the conversation, I let out a breath, "Phew."

Texting is easier than talking, but "casual conversation" with Marin feels unnatural and makes my shoulders stiff.

"You're planning to go outside."

"If we leave them like this, they'll all turn into powerful monsters. The more time passes, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us."

"Ai is cheering for you. Do your best!"

Ushizawa san cheered me on, tightly clenching both fists.

Then, perhaps noticing her voice, the others also woke up one after another.

Rea noticed I wasn't beside her and quickly rushed over to me.

"Did something happen... whoa, there are so many zombies!?"

Rea was surprised to see the sight outside.

Following her, Inuzuka san also seemed to see the situation from a different angle—

"Ugh, gross. They're dirty, their voices are unpleasant, just hurry up and go defeat them, Kuragane!"

She's saying something annoying, but I ignore her.

"I'll just grab a light bite of bread and then head out. I think you'll be fine today, but if anything happens... okay?"

"Yeah, thanks for looking out for me. Take care."

Being pushed forward by Rea, I felt like power was welling up.

And the moment I took a step out of the infirmary—the zombies' gazes were directed at me all at once.

"Uaaaaaaaugh!"

"Ooooooh..."

The zombies attacked while letting out rotten voices.

[Kuragane Erika]

[Level: 24]

[HP: 30/30]

[MP: 30/30]

[Strength: 18]

[Magic Power: 10]

[Stamina: 10]

[Agility: 12]

[Remaining Stat P: 18]

[Remaining Skill P: 7]

[Learned Skills]

Healing Lv. 3

Cure Lv. 1

Fire Lv. 1

Water Lv. 1

Sanctuary Deployment Lv. 1

Dual Slash Lv. 3

Sword Dance Lv. 1

Power Stab Lv. 1

Illusion Dagger Lv. 3

Spread Dagger Lv. 1

Weapon Enhancement Lv. 1

Now that I've leveled up to 24, they are such fragile existences that calling them small fry seems like a waste.

If the tip of my swung Dreamer touches them, their heads blow off, and even if I just kick them, they crash into the wall and die instantly.

The group of over ten zombies in front of the infirmary was dealt with in an instant, but unfortunately, because there are so many, that amount wasn't even a minor comfort.

"Why did it turn out like this..."

There's no way there are this many students in the school, and they look different from the citizens of the Adrasia Kingdom.

In the first place, none of the newly appeared zombies are wearing clothes, and their hair has fallen out.

And they had the characteristic of their entire bodies being uniformly decayed.

"They're clearly different from the zombies until no—!? A Cerberus head!"

Weaving through the gaps between the zombies, a Cerberus head stretches out and bites at me.

I managed to jump back in time, but the sheer numbers aside, the fact that they block my vision is also troublesome.

For now, I consecutively throw an Illusion Dagger and a Spread Dagger in the direction the Cerberus seems to be.

The daggers pierced through multiple zombies, but other zombies quickly blocked the path, making it hard to move forward.

Above all, in front of the infirmary, there's a hallway extending forward and a corner to the right, creating a convergence point for two paths.

Because of that, the zombie density is clearly high.

Furthermore, a Spider was crawling on the ceiling, trying to spit mucus at me.

I fired a Fire spell at that guy.

The Spider turned into a ball of fire and fell to the ground.

Then, that flame ignited the human fat and spread to other zombies.

"That's it...!"

I stepped back and took out my smartphone.

It's a makeshift solution as always, but if I can't even get through this situation, saving points is a waste of treasure.

Pouring in the points I have, I enhance my magic all at once.

[Fire Lv. 3 MP Cost: 3]

[Fires a fireball to attack]

[Burning Lv. 3 MP Cost: 6]

[Causes the designated location to burst into intense flames]

[Fire Wall Lv. 1 MP Cost: 6]

[Generates an intensely burning wall of fire at the designated location to restrict the opponent's actions]

[Remaining Skill P: 1]

As expected, higher-tier magic consumes a lot of MP.

Since I'm going to be using magic extensively anyway, I might as well raise my Magic Power now.

[MP: 58/60]

[Magic Power: 20]

[Remaining Stat P: 8]

Alright, with this much, it should last for a while.

Besides, as the maximum amount of MP increases, I feel like the natural recovery amount of MP also increases, so even if I use it all up, it should recover to some extent by the time I join up with Marin and the others.

"Fire Wall!"

I created a wall of flame that blocked the hallway ahead.

Although it's only Level 1, it's two levels higher than Fire.

Moreover, my Magic Power is also enhanced.

Its power is enough to instantly turn a monster like a zombie to ash, and the Spider that forcefully tried to approach me also burned to a crisp in vain.

Since my vision is blocked, the Cerberus can't easily attack either.

Since I've completely blocked off the hallway, I've prevented them from converging from the two paths with this.

I don't know how long it will last, but while it does, I'll get even a little closer to Class 1-E!

"Burning!"

And moving on to the next test.

The higher level of Fire magic, "Burning," does not shoot fireballs, but rather causes the space in front of me to suddenly burst into flames.

The flames were so intense I had to wince when I used it, and they painted the hallway orange with a roaring sound.

The walls and ceiling are instantly charred black, the zombies in the center burn to nothingness, and the zombies around them catch fire and writhe in agony.

As they move around like that, the fire spreads to other zombies, and they catch fire in the blink of an eye.

"Cough, cough... Ugh, the smell is unbearable..."

The smell of burning rotting corpses fills the area.

It's impossible to breathe here.

I temporarily tried to leave the spot and return to the infirmary.

But on the way, I tripped on something and almost fell.

It was soft, so I thought I had stepped on a corpse, but I quickly realized I was wrong as I kept sinking deeper and deeper.

"The floor turned black... Hot! This, the part I sank into... Aaaaaah!"

Heat and pain so intense I couldn't even speak assaulted me.

My body had sunk into the floor that had turned into a black swamp.

My HP is—[22/30].

It decreased by 8 in just a few seconds, and it's still decreasing!

Just as I thought, this, the sunken part is melting!

I try to pull myself up with the hand I placed on the floor, but the pulling force is stronger and I can't move forward.

"Gi, gu... Why, what is this...!"

I try digging my nails in, but even my nails get torn off.

Clenching my teeth through the pain, I immediately look back.

The burning, agonizing zombies.

The spreading smoke.

Within that, I saw a sphere glowing purple.

"There! Burning!"

I aimed at that sphere and activated Burning.

As the intense flames roared Gooooh!, I heard a scream, "Aaaaaaah!".

And the swamp disappeared, and my body finally regained its freedom.

However, from my thighs down, there was nothing left but half-melted bones.

Current HP, [8/30].

That might have been pretty close.

When I treat it with Healing, my body quickly returns to its original state even from that condition.

Even without forming a party and becoming a slave, I think my current body is abnormal enough.

My HP is [28/30], it seems Healing Lv. 3 recovers about 20.

It's not a full recovery, but there are hardly any noticeable wounds left.

When I stood up, I saw a purple light beyond the smoke, and something flew from there.

"It took a direct hit from Burning and didn't die!?"

I roll to the side and evade the first strike.

But the flying black sphere doesn't just fly straight; it slightly tracks me and grazes my shoulder.

Next, when I jump straight up to dodge a bullet aimed low, it slightly changes direction upwards with a jerk right before hitting the floor.

It seems to be that kind of magic.

Judging from the scream earlier, the one using magic is a monster of the same lineage as the Skeleton I fought yesterday.

That guy was fighting with a sword, so it must have evolved further and become able to use magic.

While I was considering this, the smoke cleared a little.

And beyond the zombies, I saw a bone monster with a slightly scorched body standing there.

It was wearing a tattered robe and holding a staff embedded with a purple jewel in its hand.

Was the light earlier fired from that jewel?

As I was thinking that, it emitted purple light again—the area around my feet turned black.

It's that magic that turns the floor into a swamp again.

But this time, it's not a surprise attack.

"Close the distance with Sword Dance—!"

Before I completely sink into the floor, I use the skill, dash forward, and approach the enemy.

First, a strike to the defenseless skull right after using magic.

With a dull Gagon!, a crack forms in the skull.

I immediately circle around to its back and slash its spine!

It took a direct hit from Burning, yet it still hasn't fallen.

On the contrary, the opponent turns around in response to my next strike.

And it blocked the third strike with the staff in its hand.

I circle around behind the Skeleton and attack again, but the opponent reacts to that too.

This guy—even though it can use magic, its close-combat skills haven't declined!

Usually, don't these things become frail when they become magic users!?

Furthermore, the opponent, holding its staff, is trying to shoot that black bullet at this close range.

If I do something about that staff, can I stop the magic?

Then, right here, a Power Stab—!

"Zu, oooooh!"

I let out a decidedly un-cute battle cry, and a Power Stab was unleashed towards the hand holding the staff.

Just now—I didn't declare the activation of the skill.

The thing Marin was doing, I missed the chance to ask how to use it, but it seems there are times you can do it without saying it.

I don't know the specific method.

It probably requires a lot of concentration.

I just have to get used to this.

For now, I'll consider myself lucky it activated.

Thanks to that, the staff left the Skeleton's hand.

That equipment must be incredibly important to the opponent, as it's trying to go get it even at the cost of turning its back to me.

I'll press the attack all at once here!

"Shatter!"

I grip Dreamer with both hands and swing it down with all my might towards the crack in its skull.

Then the blade finally pierced the bone.

I twist my wrist just like that, hooking it, and pull the head off.

"Hnnuuuugh! Take that!"

A sensation of something popping off is transmitted to my hands.

The Skeleton's skull popped off and flew backwards from the momentum.

Will it die just from having its head taken off—I worried about that, but,

[Monster "Skeleton Mage" killed. Congratulations, you have leveled up to 25!]

It seems I successfully subjugated it.

Probably, the accumulation of damage before that was effective.

Somehow, one down—if a zombie is the initial 1st stage, the Skeleton Mage just now is the 4th stage of evolution.

No wonder it became that powerful.

My remaining MP is [36/60].

I'd like to avoid encountering 4th stage monsters as much as possible before meeting Marin and the others, but—

◇◇◇

After that, I continued to efficiently burn away the zombies using fire attribute magic.

I still can't get used to the smell, but I can't afford to complain.

To be honest, I was worried that the school building might burn down with them.

But it seems there's no need to worry about that, and so far the walls are only getting scratches.

While moving forward like that, it seems that even small fry give decent experience points when there are that many of them, and before I knew it, my level had risen to 27.

However, no matter how much I advance, the zombies don't decrease.

No, on the contrary, their density increased—and I finally discovered the cause.

"As I thought... an evolved monster was the cause."

That thing was stuck to the wall of the hallway, as if putting down roots.

Its appearance is close to that fat monster "Ghoul" I fought yesterday.

It has a face, and barely retains its limbs, but its hideously swollen stomach is split wide open on the left and right.

From inside those splits, zombies were being sloughed out.

No wonder they lack "individuality".

These guys aren't students or citizens of the Adrasia Kingdom who turned into zombies.

Because they were being birthed by this—monster with a name like Ghoul Mother or Ghoul Plant.

However, it seems this monster itself doesn't have attack capabilities, and even if I get close, only the countless zombies it birthed attack.

But there's a big problem—

"Defeating all of this number seems like it'll break my bones."

These guys are densely packed on the walls of the hallway ahead.

Furthermore, on the way, there were Skeleton Mages like earlier, and figures of monsters I've never seen before.

On the other hand, my remaining MP is [12/60].

"I don't really want to rely on them, but it would be easier if Marin or Hiyami san joined up with me."

They must be fighting on their end too, so I can't really expect that.

I let out a single sigh and began eliminating the enemies.