The ancient tome propped beside the monitor, the Tome of Perdition. Where the hell did Gramps get this?
He’s already gone, so I can’t even ask.
I wonder if this book knows.
At this rate, I was definitely going to starve to death, but this book let me get outside. It’s an incredible book.
There’s so much I’m curious about.
The monitor was black. No text at all.
But I could tell the Tome of Perdition was on standby in a kind of “connected” state. Because a transparent, strange, string-like thing linked it to the monitor.
One thing at a time.
“You there?”
[What is it?]
See? I knew it.
“Uh… I’ve got a lot of questions. How are you talking to me? Can you answer?”
[When destruction arrives, if one who possesses me appears, I awaken.]
“…You mean you’re mine? Then… what if someone else tries to take you?”
[You are already bound. Do you wish to transfer me to another? Then die.]
“…………”
Ruthless bastard. The way it talks.
Still, as long as I don’t die, the Tome of Perdition is definitely mine.
What if I die?
…I just have to make sure I don’t die, right?
“There’s something else I’m curious about. Next to me, those… statues? Miniatures? There are three left. Earlier I made a mage—”
[Nepheka.]
“Right. Nepheka. Well, a mage, basically? Anyway, uh… I can choose another one, right? Or do I have to create one freely myself?”
[Nepheka, Nepkent, Nepmes, Nepaket. They are the heroes you will command in a world facing destruction. Great figures who created the Nile Civilization.]
“…So they were actually living people? I mean, not alive now, but. H-hold on, don’t tell me they’re alive inside these miniatures or something… surely not? Of course not.”
[They entrusted their authorities to me. So that if the day comes when humanity faces destruction, their authorities may be used to rebuild civilization.]
“Wow…”
And that fell into my hands?
Fucking awesome, Gramps.
I miss you, Gramps. Fuck.
“Haa…”
I blew away the sudden wave of longing with a sigh. It’s been half a year since Gramps’s funeral, but I guess I’m not over it yet.
“Nepkent, Nepmes, Nepaket. What authorities do they have? Like, what kind of heroes are they?”
[Who is this person?]
[Lift the hero’s statue.]
…it’s not going to explain?
Ha, fine.
“Then from the beginning. Nepkent.”
As soon as I spoke with the statue in my hand, the monitor answered.
[Your second hero has been decided as Nepkent.]
A heavy marble statue. The figure wearing a thick cloak was carved away from the head down with a rumble, scattering stone dust.
It held a spear and shield, but wore no armor on its body. A bow was slung on its back, and a quiver hung at its waist. On the opposite side of its waist, a long curved sword was tied with a leather strap connected to its thigh. Its lower body was covered with long cloth. A warrior wearing a dog-faced helmet that covered even its face.
Brandishing its spear, it leaped from my knee, rolled once on the floor, and stood up. Quite gallant. As it walked, sure enough, it gradually grew bigger.
It turned to look back at me.
Our eyes met.
The statue’s eyes glowed white.
Here…
Right.
I have to speak.
Letters were blinking on the monitor, too.
“…𓐍 𓇲 𓂋.”
I was sure I’d said Kheper, and then I opened my eyes.
I saw myself sitting comfortably in the chair.
It looked down at me.
My body was quite muscular.
Left arm.
[Coin: 32]
[Stamina: 22]
[Mental Strength: 1]
…Huh. My mental strength is only 1?
The spear in my hand.
The curved sword at my waist and the bow on my back.
Ah.
This guy is a warrior who shoots a bow, too. That means close combat is possible. Unlike the mage.
This will be fun.
I should check my right arm, too.
[Arrow of Anubis]
It was written as 𓄿 𓃣 𓂡, and that was how I understood it.
Or you could write it as Arrow of Certain Hit. Dogs track targets incredibly well by scent, right? If the arrow works like that, you could call it a guaranteed hit.
…In other words, isn’t it a homing arrow?
How exciting!
I’m looking forward to this!
I want to try it!
“I’m going out!”
To think I’d feel like an excited kid going out to play again!
I opened the front door and went straight out. There were still a few zombies that had made their way into the hallway.
There must be almost five hundred just in the apartment complex parking lot. They weren’t a completely dense crowd. They were somewhat scattered, but from the front they looked insanely numerous.
If I hunt them all!
Mwahaha!
I immediately stabbed the zombie in front of me with the spear.
Good lord.
My stance shifted into a combat posture without me even realizing!
Front leg half bent, back leg fully extended, hand holding the shield keeping balance, spear aimed precisely at the zombie’s abdomen!
Thrust! The moment I stabbed, the area around the zombie’s abdomen turned beige and transformed into sand, pouring down with a rumble.
The zombie staggered. Of course, with its entire side gone.
Fun, so fun!
The zombie lost its balance, thunked against the wall, and thudded over on its side. The wound spread until soon its entire body turned to sand and collapsed.
This is practically…
Too easy and fun, isn’t it?
[System: Obtained 1 Coin.]
Nice? With this I can wipe out the zombies here… Huh?
The tattoo on my left arm holding the shield changed.
[Stamina: 21]
…Wasn’t it 22 before?
Wait, don’t tell me.
Does stamina decrease by 1 for each zombie killed?
Ah, that’s a bit disappointing.
…No.
I still have two statues left, don’t I?
So!
The warrior Nepkent.
I stabbed all the zombies in the hallway and obtained 4 more coins.
Then I ran toward the elevators and stabbed the eleven zombies gathered there, too.
Thrust, thrust, thrust! Once stabbed, they all turned to sand and crumbled apart. Piles of sand were forming here and there, but I didn’t care. It was fun!
Thrust, thrust, thrust!
While wandering around the apartment complex stabbing zombies, my stamina hit 0.
[Stamina has reached its limit.]
[You are annihilated.]
My body crumbled away.
Ah, that was fun.
A bit of a shame, but not bad.
I opened my eyes in the chair.
“I really went all out stabbing, but I’m not even out of breath and this is fucking fun. All right. Another one! Another one! Let’s go kill more zombies! Fuck, this is so goddamn fun.”
[Who is this person?]
Ah, right.
I placed the mage and warrior statues on the floor next to the mouse.
Damn, cool. The mage with a staff is cool, and the warrior is very cool, too. They don’t look like typical medieval fantasy, but rather, this feels even cooler.
I picked up another statue and placed it on my knee.
My knee is piled with stone dust, damn it.
I’ll clean up later.
“What was it? What’s left?”
[Nepmes and Nepaket remain.]
“Might as well go in order. What does Nepmes fight with? Anyway, Nepmes.”
[Your third hero has been decided as Nepmes.]
“Good. Kheper.”
Stone dust fell in showers.
As expected, it was a man who looked just like me, but his upper body was bare and he only had cloth wrapped around his waist. He held a hammer in his hand.
“Oh, does he fight with a hammer? Does lightning come out?”
Full of expectation, I watched the statue drop to the floor with a clack and walk.
The now-my-sized Nepmes turned to look at me.
Eyes glowing white. Immediately after, I became Nepmes.
First, check.
Left arm.
[Coin: 54]
[Stamina: —]
[Mental Strength: 3]
…Kind of shabby?
Both stamina and mental strength.
First, right arm.
[Eye of Restoration]
The characters 𓄿 𓈖 𓉐 were understood as such.
…Eye of Restoration?
“…What is this? Eye? I don’t get it. How do you fight with this?”
I placed my hand on the shoulder of my body sitting in the chair and looked at the monitor.
The monitor answered.
[Nepmes is a civilization builder.]
…A builder.
…Ah.
“He doesn’t fight?”
[Incorrect.]
Oh.
Hmm.
Kind of deflating.
Must be a crafting character.
No. Still.
“…Eye of Restoration.”
In that instant, a beam of light shot from my eyes. It shone widely, radially, on everything within my sight.
I could see. The shape of the walls, the joints of the window frames, where was strong and where was weak.
The weakest structure in my house was the windows.
It’s the first floor. To the point where it’s amazing zombies haven’t broken in. Of course, it’s because I’ve been as quiet as a dead mouse.
The nearest one is the kitchen window.
I approached and struck the window with the hammer.
I don’t know why. I just felt like I had to hit it.
Thwack!
The moment I struck, the hammer crumbled into sand, then gathered with a rumble to form a sand-reinforced frame over the window.
Oh!
My mental strength decreased by 1.
At the same time.
[System: 5 Coins have been consumed.]
Crazy.
The coins…
Ah… maintenance requires materials.
Ah… so that’s how it is!
I now have 49 coins.
Good. First, the big window.
I went to the veranda and struck with the hammer.
[System: 20 Coins have been consumed.]
Damn… the bigger the size, the more coins it consumes.
29 coins left.
Next, my bedroom.
[System: 10 Coins have been consumed.]
The bedroom window is big, after all. It’s a large triple-sash window.
Wow. Down to 19 coins in an instant.
[Mental strength has reached its limit.]
[You are annihilated.]
My body fell apart in a shower.
Anyway, I’ve taken care of the big windows.
All that’s left is a small one in the bathroom and a small window in the closet-cum-storage room. Both are too small for a person to get through.
Still, just in case, I’ll reinforce the rest when I can use him again.
“Good. Now what’s left? Ah, Nepaket.”
I placed the statue on my knee.
“Kheper.”
[Your fourth hero has been decided as Nepaket.]
Stone dust piled up heavily on my knee.
The leaping statue likewise held a staff, but its shape was a bit different. A staff with a rounded, curved end, the kind that old grandfathers might lean on.
The rapidly growing statue turned to look at me.
I am Nepaket.
First thing to check.
Left arm.
[Coin: 19]
[Stamina: —]
[Mental Strength: 3]
Hmm. Same stats as the builder.
Right arm.
[Essence of Life]
𓄿 𓈗 𓏋 was understood as such.
“…Essence of Life.”
I said that while holding the staff.
The only way to know what kind of skill it is, is to use it.
The staff flashed with light and created some kind of sand form in front of me, billowing and gathering. It was translucent. It didn’t seem to actually exist there. Kind of an illusion? Or a hologram?
The form was… a fountain-style water dispenser?
At exactly waist height, it had a stone-carved spout, looking exactly like a water dispenser. Only the material was stone and sand.
When I waved the staff, the translucent illusion moved this way and that.
It seemed to be telling me to place it.
Hmm…
I walked around the house with the illusion.
Where should I put it?
The bedroom?
No. Getting sand in the bedroom would be annoying.
The living room… also not great.
Maybe the bathroom?
No, it’s cramped.
This water dispenser is chubbier and bulkier than I thought.
Then I’ll put it against the wall next to the bathroom door. There’s some space there.
I placed it carefully there, aimed properly.
“…How do I place it?”
[System: Deploying Essence of Life.]
Sand appeared from thin air, swirling in a tornado before my eyes.
It gathered exactly in the shape of the hologram and gradually hardened into stone.
In less than a minute, the water dispenser was completed.
[Mental strength has reached its limit.]
[You are annihilated.]
I crumbled away.
Wow.
It uses 3 mental strength at once?
I bolted upright in the chair. Stone dust poured down from my knee. It got all over my pants, too. I’ll clean this up later.
The newly created Essence of Life next to the bathroom.
Amazing!
I made this!
There was a stone stopper on the side of the perforated stone spout. It was shaped for easy gripping by hand, and thin.
I grabbed the stopper and pulled it out. It came out smoothly. It had some weight but wasn’t very heavy.
But nothing happened.
“…What.”
I went back to the monitor and asked.
“How do you use that thing?”
[For 10 Coins, you can obtain water for one day.]
…This costs coins too?
“I’m not in hero mode right now?”
[If you declare that you will use coins, they are used.]
Without delay, I got up and grabbed the Essence of Life. It was waist-height, so I had to bend down quite a bit.
“…I’ll use coins.”
Then, a faint sound of water.
Soon, water trickled out from the spout.
“Wow! Fuck!”
I immediately put my mouth to it and drank.
Sweet. It’s sweet water.
The water was cut off! I’ve been surviving on tap water this whole time!
It’s fresh water!
Gulping it down, I stood up. The welling water from the spout was slowly pooling in a round, sunken spot.
I plugged the stopper in on top. The water stopped.
It’s less convenient than a faucet, but not bad.
“Haha!”
I feel like I’m going crazy with joy!