The most painful part is this.
I raised Nephkent’s level and got a healing skill, and even though I could use it three whole times, I only ate 51 experience points.
Theoretically, his stamina is 44, and since he disappears when it hits 0, I have to leave at least 1, and when I first possess the hero, he starts with 44 stamina.
So it’s 43 times 4 plus 1.
I could have eaten a whopping 173 coins.
I tested the healing once when I first created him, used it while stabbing zombies left and right on the way to the convenience store, and used it to cure the dyed-hair convenience store girl’s zombification. The result: 51 coins. Graaah, what a waste!
Of course, I only scribbled down calculations like this because I was home alone with nothing to do besides board games. Honestly, it stings a little, but I don’t regret it that much. I got to feel just how excellent Nephkent’s performance had become, didn’t I?
After that, I also summoned the mage and scraped up all the zombies in the apartment complex parking lot, and with the coins I already had, it all adds up to 269 coins now.
There used to be almost 500 zombies in the parking lot, but now they’ve thinned out quite a bit. If I raid it maybe one more time, the parking lot will probably be cleaned up nice and neat.
Of course, in this apartment building, there must be plenty of homes in bad shape, whether the people inside became zombies or died, but I don’t plan on checking them one by one.
The funny thing is, just a few days ago, I was too scared of zombies to even step outside. Well, it’s not like I can go out even now, but anyway.
As I found myself thinking, “Where would the most zombies be?” it suddenly struck me as ridiculous, and I snickered.
A zombie apocalypse.
This is the ultimate playground.
But, hmm.
I’ve got 269 experience points, so I should raise a level.
A level 2 one needs 200 experience points, and a level 1 one costs 100. What should I choose?
After the Book of Ruin was absorbed into me, it stopped telling me anything.
The thing I was most curious about was whether a skill would appear at level 3, since I got one upon reaching level 2, but it won’t answer me, so I have no choice but to somehow guess on my own.
And I don’t want to rely on probability.
For now, I’ve already experienced twice that reaching level 2 gives a skill, so it’s easy enough to expect the others will be the same.
But if I go from 2 to 3?
Who knows. The second skills are already excellent, so would a skill really come out every level? Wouldn’t only mental strength or stamina go up?
“Hmm.”
I’ll have to actually apply it to know which it is.
If experience points were hard to get, I might have raised a level 2 one.
Because in the warrior’s case, a single level going up is huge. I can sweep up coins. The more times I can use the healing skill, the more all of it turns into coins, right?
But getting coins itself isn’t really that hard.
As long as I go looking for places with lots of zombies, I can get as many as I want.
Then I have enough leeway to try this and that, and so my conclusion is: let’s raise two level 1 ones, one at a time.
First, Builder Nephmes.
I raised him to level 2.
[Stamina: -]
[Mental Strength: 6]
[Immortal Sarcophagus]
I obtained a skill called 𓊭 𓀾 𓋹.
...Sarcophagus?
A sarcophagus is that thing, a coffin made of stone.
A coffin? Why a coffin?
This is the second skill? Making a coffin?
...Maybe it’s a trap that imprisons zombies or something?
For now, whether I knew what it was or not.
I made one.
In my bedroom, beside my bed.
A long, thick sarcophagus about two meters in length, just the right size for me to fit inside, was created beside the bed.
It took a whopping 40 coins.
I’m damn curious what kind of coffin needs 40 coins.
Sand gathered and clumped together, becoming stone and forming a coffin, but the sand filling the inside of the coffin didn’t disappear.
I pressed it with my hand, and the sand was insanely soft.
“...What do you want me to do with this?”
I hate putting all sorts of things in my bedroom, so I only had my bed and wardrobe sitting there, but with this sarcophagus lying hideously beside them, it’s a bit... Did I make it for nothing? Ah, maybe I leveled him up for nothing?
But the sand is crazy soft.
...Should I get in?
There’s no lid anyway, and it doesn’t really feel like a coffin.
I got inside and lay down, and as expected, it gently supported my whole body like I was lying on a cloud.
It’s seriously so damn comfortable.
“Oh...”
I felt like sleep would come over me in no time...
Rustle—sand gathered from all sides and blocked my view.
“Huh?”
In an instant, it became a coffin lid and covered me.
“Ugh?!”
A message appeared before my startled eyes.
[Under complete protection.]
...Huh?
Complete protection...?
...Ah.
Ah! So it’s that!
Don’t get eaten by a monster that climbs in through the window while you’re sleeping, something like that...
...Hmm?
No.
I feel like it has another use.
Ah...
I get it.
When I’m possessing a hero, my main body is defenseless!
This protects it!
Ah! So that’s why it’s a coffin?
“So how do I get out?”
It’s kind of scary, though.
Can I push the lid open?
When I reached out my hand, the lid turned into sand with a soft hiss, scattered in all directions, and quickly disappeared.
Ah, so that’s how it works.
“Phew.”
I rolled down and got out.
That thing, honestly.
It felt good lying in there. The sand was really soft, and it supported my waist and knees perfectly to fit my body.
Even when the lid closed, I didn’t feel like it was hard to breathe. If anything, it felt refreshing.
But I did get a little scared.
It’s a coffin, after all.
Why name it a coffin and scare me for no reason, damn it.
Still.
“...I can go in there when I possess someone.”
I got something good.
Builder isn’t bad.
I used another 10 coins to reinforce the two small remaining windows in the house.
This damn builder is a coin-eating monster.
I’ve already spent 50 coins.
Though it’s something I only need to make once.
After canceling the possession, I leveled up the remaining hero.
The mage.
[Stamina: 12]
[Mental Strength: 0]
[Nile Sand Swamp]
Oh.
I got a new skill...?
His mental strength is 0.
I used magic three times earlier and came back, so it hasn’t recovered.
Damn it.
Let’s try using this tomorrow after it recovers.
Then what’s left is...
For now, fill the toilet tank with water, take a proper shower... Should I wash the blanket today? I feel like I won’t have enough water.
So I put 10 coins into the water purifier.
With that, I had 9 coins left.
I’d spent a whopping 260 coins all at once.
Ugh, washing the blanket.
Since I can’t use the washing machine, I have to stomp it clean with my feet, and I’ve got a lot to do today.
Even though the world has ended,
even though I’m alone,
there’s still too damn much to do.
* * *
The next day, I possessed Warrior Nephkent and immediately ran to the convenience store.
Even though the electricity was out, the reason I knew it was exactly 6:10 a.m. was because the archaeologist old man had filled the house with all kinds of antiques, and among them was a nineteenth-century wall clock. Not an expensive one, just a palm-sized wind-up thing.
I used to find the ding-ding it made every hour annoying as hell, but now, without that thing, I wouldn’t know the time.
The old man said that since it was from an era when factories were popping up all over the place, it was an antique but still surprisingly easy to get... I wish the old man were here now.
If it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t have been a Book of Ruin either, and I wouldn’t have become a god.
The convenience store was dark.
The sun was just barely rising, but the store faced away from it, so it was dark.
I tried opening the door, but it wouldn’t open. It was locked.
Clank, clank.
“Hmm?”
“Uuuhhh—”
A zombie was beside me.
I stabbed it through with the spear and turned it into sand.
Almost no zombies come out around here anymore. I’ve gone back and forth a few times and cleaned it up steadily.
I looked into the convenience store again.
Ugh, because of this dog snout, I can’t look closely.
“Hello. Hey, who locked the door?”
Knock, knock.
“Hey, hello? Is anybody in there?”
Do I have to break the door down?
No.
If it’s locked, that means someone locked it from the inside.
Those women must be here.
I’m sure they’d love it if the dog-mask monster smashed the door down.
“Ah, tsk.”
Guess I’ll go somewhere else.
My drinks, damn it.
It’s right at the entrance to the shopping area anyway, so there are plenty of convenience stores. It doesn’t have to be here.
Ah.
Should I try going to a pharmacy this time?!
Energy drinks and stuff would be good!
And it’d be nice to grab some digestive medicine or whatever too!
I turned to walk away when something rustled inside the convenience store.
Shadows. Two women walked out at the same time.
They stood silently in front of the door and stared at me.
Since I was standing in the darkness the early morning sunlight didn’t reach, it seemed they couldn’t recognize me.
“Hello. It’s the dog-mask monster. My drinks, fuck.”
I shrugged and said it, and as for the cursing, well, what am I supposed to do when it just comes out?
Click. They opened the door.
“...Mr. Dog-Mask?”
“God?”
“Yeah. It’s me. Where are my drinks? I clearly said yesterday that I’d come get... Huh? Did I say that?”
The women opened the door for me, and something felt a bit, hmm.
Their movements were pretty...
Welcoming?
“Come in.”
Even polite speech?
Ah, the voice belonged to the small black-haired woman. She’d spoken politely before too. What was her name again? I don’t remember.
“Ah, thanks. But where’s my bag?”
“Here.”
Even though it must have been quite heavy, they had placed it neatly on the ramen-eating counter. It didn’t look like they’d touched the contents. Not that it matters.
I rustled the bag, picked it up, and turned around, but the women blocked my way.
“Uh, then I’ll be going... Huh? What is it?”
“Um, excuse me, Mr. Dog-Mask.”
The tall dyed-hair girl.
“...There’s... something I want to ask... Could we... talk for a bit...?”
...This isn’t an atmosphere where they’ll let me go after just talking, is it?
If they were going to let me go, they wouldn’t be blocking my way.
Without realizing it, I looked down at the bag in my hand.
Ah, damn it.
My main body. My body is craving this soda.
“...What is it?”
The dyed-hair girl said,
“Um... what happened yesterday? I... was definitely going to become a zombie and die...”
“I cured you. What, do you need more?”
“...How? Me... how? How did you cure me from becoming a zombie...?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m God. You’re welcome. Even if you don’t worship me, I sometimes do good things for humans. Didn’t I say that yesterday?”
That’s right.
I’m being a little prickly right now.
“Um, sorry. I was being kind of sarcastic, wasn’t I? The truth is, I really want to drink this. I haven’t had any for six months. I’m really, really looking forward to it. I want to hurry back.”
“Ah... You could just drink it here.”
“I’m Dog-Mask, damn it. I don’t have a mouth! How am I supposed to chug cola... okay, that came out harsh again. I’ll apologize again. So, um... what do you want?”
“...If you don’t have a mouth, how do you drink?”
The small black-haired woman asked, hiding behind the dyed-hair girl.
As if that was enough to hide her.
“This isn’t my body. This is... how should I put it. My incarnation. My... my avatar? Something like that. So I can’t eat or drink. I can go around killing zombies and, well, cure people who’ve caught the zombie disease too. Honestly, I didn’t know whether I could cure it, so I was surprised when it worked. Anyway, this is my avatar.”
“...If it’s an avatar... then does that mean your real... body that can eat and drink is somewhere?”
“Yeah. My body, my main body, I mean, my, what should I call it. Human flesh. It’s lying over there. I’m going to take this to it, cancel the avatar, and guzzle cola to my heart’s content.”
The women looked at each other.
Sunlight crept in faintly.
It wasn’t bright.
But it was enough to see them dimly.
Determination showed on their faces.
They nodded to each other.
“...Take us too...”
Ah.
“Please take us with you.”
...Fuck.
My inner voice is about to come out on its own again.
“...Nope. Why should I?”
The dyed-hair girl strode closer.
“Fuck. You said you were a god! You can help humans and stuff, can’t you?!”
“I already helped you! I cured you from being a zombie!”
“Fuck!”
The dyed-hair girl’s expression was desperate.
“Please help us! Huh? Help us. We’ll do anything.”
“If we... worship him, he might accept us.”
The black-haired girl whispered from behind.
The dyed-hair girl nodded, then knelt in front of me.
The black-haired girl knelt too.
Both of them flattened themselves on the floor and bowed their heads.
“We will worship you, God. Please help us.”
...Shit.