The city had fallen into chaos. Government institutions had already collapsed, and even for someone like Rika Minami, a member of the SAT (Special Assault Team), it was proving troublesome.
Under normal circumstances…
She would've been resting at home by this time. Night shifts weren't typical, and as she glanced back toward her home—so far away—it felt almost unreachable now.
"Wonder how Shizuka's holding up…"
Though Rika maintained a calm exterior, worry flickered in her eyes when she thought of her rare close friend, Shizuka Marikawa. That woman's airheaded nature…
Placed into a world ravaged by a zombie outbreak?
She didn't dare imagine the worst. All she could do was hope that Fujimi Academy, Shizuka's workplace, had put together some sort of effective response plan.
But just then—
In the distant sky several kilometers away, a towering column of fire suddenly exploded into view.
The night sky lit up.
"…What the hell is going on?"
Rika's expression froze. Even as the top sniper and patrol chief of the SAT, and a collector of exotic firearms, she had some knowledge of large-scale weaponry.
But no matter how hard she racked her brain…
She couldn't think of a single missile that could cause a blast this prolonged—nearly ten full seconds of continuous fire and shockwaves.
The flames came first, followed by the delayed boom of the explosion. Even kilometers away, she could still feel the impact—though it wasn't too powerful.
"…Could the government have deployed some kind of massive attack weapon?"
She couldn't help but speculate.
But as the shock wore off and her senses returned, she suddenly realized something horrifying—
"Wait… that's where my house is!"
"Oh sh—!"
---
As Shirakawa exited the world of Highschool of the Dead, it was already dawn.
Thanks to the mana Infusion from his Holy Sword Wielder class, he no longer needed to sleep. The refined magic energy was more than enough to eliminate physical fatigue.
Before leaving, he hadn't forgotten to vaguely explain the anchoring mechanism for inter-world travel, to reassure Takagi Saya and Rei Miyamoto.
Returning to the real world...
It was a little after 6:00 AM. He still had free time, and full of energy, Shirakawa decided to take a quick shower before heading to school.
During that time—
He continued using the skill "Mana Infusion ", and finally hit the threshold for a stat upgrade. A prompt popped up before his eyes:
"You have refined mana for 12 cumulative hours. Gained 800 EXP. Mana Infusion Lv5 (1300/2000)"
"You have refined mana for 12 cumulative hours. Gained 800 Class EXP."
"Through continuous mana infusion, your overall physical attributes have slightly increased. All stats +3."
With the skill leveling up, the most noticeable improvement was how much attribute growth he gained from infusion.
+3 to all stats.
Honestly…
Shirakawa had always been a pure-blooded Holy Sword Weilder. Other classes only gave him one point of free attribute allocation and one basic skill upgrade per level-up.
Kind of stingy, really.
Still, even if his current combat strength was limited, time alone would eventually let him become a statistical monster.
As the hot water ran, he pulled up his full character panel:
Name: Shirakawa
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Constitution: 16
Agility: 15
Strength: 15
Intelligence: 16
Spirit: 15
Mana: 620
Current Professions: Student (Lv5), Exorcist (Lv5), Holy Sword Wielder (Lv6), Arch-wizard (Lv5)
Skill Points: 6
Evolution Points: 6
"The power of the Arch-wizard class directly scales with mana. I'll dump all my evolution points into Spirit to boost it as visibly as possible."
More mana = higher damage output.
And thanks to the passive boost from Mana Infusion, he could afford to slow-roll the other stats and still make good progress.
As for skill point allocation—
Shirakawa didn't even hesitate. He dumped everything into Mana Infusion. The higher the skill level, the more significant the attribute gains.
Spirit increased: 15 → 21
Mana increased: 620 → 740
Skill 'Mana Infusion' leveled up: Now Lv11
After allocating his points and wrapping things up, Shirakawa didn't linger too long on the character sheet.
He changed into his Sobu High School uniform, quickly fixed his hair, and finished prepping for his high school day.
Once he entered the living room, he spotted someone busy in the kitchen.
She wore an apron—far more conservative than what Saeko Busujima might wear.
It was Aunt Izumi.
"Good morning, Shirakawa-kun."
Her braided hair draped gently over her chest as she turned to greet him with a warm smile. "Breakfast is ready. Your bento's here, too."
He stepped into the kitchen.
Shirakawa gave a quick glance at the brand-new bento box. It was clear Izumi Mio had gone out of her way to buy it for him—a sleek celadon container, with a pink heart-shaped sticky note on the side.
It listed today's lunch menu: snow crab sushi, spicy beef over rice, soft-boiled eggs with boiled greens—a hearty portion.
This... was a feeling he had never experienced before.
Back in school, no one had ever made him lunch. He usually grabbed something quick near Sobu High. But now, he suddenly lifted his gaze—
—and studied Izumi Mio.
"...Wh-What is it?"
Flustered by his focused stare, Izumi Mio's hands froze mid-wash over the sink. She turned with a gentle smile, trying to mask her unease.
"Thank you, ma'am."
His voice was sincere—so much so that even Mio found herself momentarily lost. Their eyes met, making her heart stutter. She awkwardly busied herself, wrapping the lunch box in a cloth before handing it over to Shirakawa, who stood half a head taller.
"Shirakawa-kun, you'd better get to school. You'll be late otherwise."
"Got it."
"..."
She watched his back as he walked away. Only once the security door closed behind him did Izumi Mio finally let out a long breath.
But with that closing sound came a strange emptiness inside her.
Ma'am...?
Izumi... ma'am...?
She couldn't help pulling out her phone and opening the front camera. Her reflection didn't look like a "ma'am" at all... and yet that's how Shirakawa addressed her.
Should he call me... big sister instead?
Even the thought embarrassed her.
Though technically a mother, her relationship with her late husband had been purely legal—a marriage of convenience with no real emotional connection.
As for Sagiri...
She was the result of IVF, thanks to a former husband with ED. And even if Mio's current job was as an erotic manga artist—inside, she still saw herself as a girl at heart!
[Note: Bullshit, I'm starting to think Chinese men would rather fuck a virgin chicken than an experience women]
"Why do I keep thinking about things like this lately...?"