Watching the back of a very eager Saeko as she began mowing down the zombies with just her Bokken. Gen let out a sigh before he went after the young warrior born in the wrong era.
'Or is it really the wrong era for her, with all that's happening globally right now?'
Stray thoughts aside, he took the crossbow out of his inventory and began killing the zombies that are slowly surrounding the purple haired beauty. While trying hard not to be mesmerized by the image of her gracefully dancing a deadly dance in the battlefield that is the hallway of their school. Unconcerned about the awed, suspicious, fearful and greedy looks being sent his way due to his seemingly magical weapon.
'It is magical though.' he thought amusedly.
Side by side, Saeko and Gen killed any zombie they encountered on their way or give a beating to broken minded students who keeps throwing anyone they can grab behind so they can delay the zombies chasing them. Along with crippling any idiots who think they are better at wielding the weapons the two held.
Inhumane? Both would say 'you reap what you sow'.
If they can't even save themselves then what right do they have to sacrifice other people just so they can live for a few more minutes?
Those types won't last long anyways unless they have devilish luck and a silver tongue like Shido.
'Speaking of... That dude needs to go.' Gen mused when he remembered that specific guy.
A few minutes later, the duo stumbled upon a rather peculiar group.
'A ditzy school nurse, a self proclaimed genius who can't stay calm, a gun enthusiast who needs good cardio and a trio in a bad love triangle - wait WHAT?!... How the heck did that mob survive?!'
Leaving the talking to Saeko, Gen hid his gobsmacked expression under a fake deadpan while his mind is swirling with different thoughts with the fact that a guy who should have died at the very start of canon, is now very much alive.
'I didn't save him, the 6 "extra" aren't in this school... Could one of the 10 "random" ones be here and saved him?.. Ugh! this is headache inducing.'
In the end, Gen gave up thinking of a reason and just massaged his temples to ease the oncoming headache.
"Yo! Name's Chomei Gen, means Longevity and Mystery." Introducing himself to the bigger group casually as though an apocalypse isn't happening all around them.
"Nice to meet you senpai, I'm Hisashi Igō."
"..Miyamoto Rei"
"I'm Komuro Takashi"
"I'm sure you know me already but, I'm Marikawa Shizuka. A pleasure to meet the war prince." *Giggles!*
Raising his eyebrow at the new and embarrassing moniker while making a mental note to ask about it later. Gen looked at the pink haired girl drilling holes on his head since his introduction.
"Why are you so nonchalant in this situation?! Do you think this is a joke or a game?! STOP TRYING TO ACT COOL WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE YOU DID NOTHING BUT HIDE BEHIND BUSUJIMA-SENPAI YOU LEECH!!! YOU-hhmmmhmphm!" Takashi managed to both pull the hysterical girl out of Gen's face and shut her up at the same time.
'He just gained 1 point of respect from me.'
"Sorry about her senpai, she's just having a bad time. Her name's Takagi Saya by the way." Placated the dense former MC.
Unlike Saya, Takashi saw him holding a crossbow when their group met. And although the weapon is now nowhere in sight, it actually made Takashi even more cautious of him. Not that he would care even if he knew what the dense guy was thinking.
"It's fine, it's true that I stayed behind Saeko anyway." Gen stated with a shrug.
No one missed the fact that he called Saeko by name without honorifics.
The now released Saya showed a pleased and smug expression that he couldn't help but want to make crumble so he added.
"As such, I only killed 35 zombies while Saeko killed roughly 46-52 zombies. This baby can only generate 35 bolts and once used, would need charging you see."
Gen's second sentence is proven by him taking out the crossbow again which surprised those who didn't see it before and made both Takashi and Shizuka who was the only other ones who saw it when they met earlier, very curious about how he can make something appear and disappear at will.
As for Saya's smug look.. Well it now looks like an angry tomato look.
"Charging? You mean it need Mana to make it's ammunitions and it can be refilled with Mana afterwards?" The purple haired waifu *cough* young woman clarified.
"Yep, it needs 2 MP to create 1 bolt and it has its own MP, which right now is an empty tank at 0/70."
"Where did you get such a weapon if you don't mind me asking."
"Oh, right, I didn't have time to explain and you went straight to your battle frenzy to even check. You should have a gift pack inside your inventory. Just open it, it'll give you some items and a weapon box which contains random weapons." Gen explained while ignoring the now restless gallery.
A member of which, isn't known for her calmness.
"Can we know what in God's name you two are talking about?! What Mana? What Inventory?." Exploded the busty tsundere
"Wait, so none of you unlocked the system?" Saeko answered with another question.
At their headshake, Saeko turned towards Gen with an expectant look that made him furrow his eyebrows.
"You sure about this Saeko? Only one of them can truly fight up close, maybe two. One is good at ranged attacks but only with guns or improvised versions of one. Shizuka-san isn't a combatant but she's the most important one here aside from you and me." Voicing out his question then stating how many are useful and their identity with a cold calculative look. Gen stared at Saeko's eyes as she does his.
Tension arose with the group while the two got lost in each other's eyes. But after a while, Saeko closed hers with a resigned sigh.
"I cannot force you to do it, I can only leave your party and invite them in mine." Gen didn't miss the slight upward twitch of the side of her lips as well as the twinkle of challenge that graced her eyes.
'This little vixen'
With a twitching eyebrow, he relented.
"Fiiine, just so you know, this will be your first and last." He warned.
"We'll see." Was her reply as she covered her mouth with a hand to hide her giggles.
'I'll remember this.' Gen vowed revenge.
**********
After inviting all of them into his party, and yes that includes the busty Sakura wannabe. And explained what they knew(What Saeko knew) about the system, the group first decided to take a bus, escape and then plan what to do next from there.
With Him and Saeko in the lead followed by Shizuka just behind while the rest are tasked with defending the rear. The group managed to safely and easily reach the faculty room and obtain the bus key. From there the trip to the parking lot was every bit like canon, only faster and more 'kill efficient' with the addition of Gen who is now armed with a metal table leg from the faculty room as a makeshift baton/stabbing pipe.
At this time, more than 20 minutes have passed since the outbreak and Gen recovered 2 MP which he is going to save for the next confrontation.
'Wait, no... It won't do to just kill him or leave him to die. If I kill him in the bus, there's a chance his goons will make things worse. I wanted a culling not extinction, so the more allies I have the better in the long run. I'm here for the long haul, not just power up, collect then jump. Na-uh!'
With his course of action decided, he checked if he actually has enough to implement it.
F-rank: lvl 0 (0%) [112]
'Well, whaddya know, it actually is more that enough.'
Level: 0 (0/100)
Level up!
Level: 1 (0/200)
Free Attribute points: 1
[Skill: Multiplier used!]
Charges: 0
Free Attribute points: 10
F-rank: lvl 1 (0%) [12]
'Good, now I'll just allocate the points for what I need.'
Name: Gen Chomei
Sex: Male | Age: 18
Rank: F | Level: 1 (0/200) [12]
Lifespan: 42 yrs remaining
HP: 40/40
MP: 17/20
DMG: 4
DEF: 6
STR: 3
STA: 1
VIT: 1
END: 1
PER: 3
INT: 2
WIS: 2
SPI: 2
'And done!.. This should be enough to subdue those idiots once Shido is dead.'
**********
While Shizuka is getting the bus ready and Gen is standing guard beside her, the rest aside from the busty Sakura are surrounding the bus, killing any zombie that comes close with the weapons the got from their gift packs.
Saeko got an E-rank katana, Takashi got an F-rank spear which he traded with Rei's F-rank Machete while Hisashi got an F-rank axe. Weirdly enough, Kohta got an F-rank Mana Nail gun that, despite having very low damage, has 100/100 MP and only needs 1 MP per nail. Saya got herself an E-rank twin dagger but with her weak mentality she won't be able to utilize them well, let alone fight using them.
Shizuka it seems is the luckiest of the group, obtaining a Unique 8 inch growth type sentient senbon that's currently in F-rank. Said senbon is now just floating at the back of the busty nurse's head, going from shoulder to shoulder like a patrolling officer.
And since the party is just a means to unlock the system as well as keep track of the members and not an Exp sharing type. All combatants are eager in their hunting/defending in order to get stronger faster.
Of course, the non-combatants can also level up. But only if someone donates Exp to them if they can't really fight, aside from that, they have no other means of leveling up.
Unlike canon, where only 2 groups got into the bus. This time it's 3 groups, though calling an obvious pair of lovers a 'group' is stretching it.
Gen had another bout of twitching eyebrow upon seeing the pair. The welcoming attitude of the love triangle idiots towards the male of the two is very telling though.
'Well that answers how Hisashi survived, but What the hell man?!.. I know I put 10 random "extra characters" but still!. Seriously?! These two?! They didn't even die in their own canon, wouldn't bringing them here more "costly" than giving me my previous body?'
While he raged and whined in his mind, Gen's eyebrow continued to twitch as he looks at the couple who could only be Ganta Igarashi and the wretched egg herself, Shiro, from Deadman wonderland.
"We're ready to depart! Everyone inside now!" Shizuka who got saddled with driving duty being the only one with a driver's license (not that it matters in an apocalypse) made the call which was heard and followed by those outside.
The trio got in first followed by Kohta, then lastly, Saeko who's eyes have a disappointed glint, not that there's anyone other that Gen who can see it.
"WAIT!!!" The chorus of several people was heard and those in the bus all saw another group of roughly 8 or so running toward the bus as quite a number of zombies are hot on their tails.
Then, a figure was seen at the very back of the group, just shy of being grabbed by the horde of flesh eating corpses. Only 5 pair of eyes inside the bus saw the betrayal/selfishness that happened a second later.
*********
Inside the bus a few minutes later
'Watching the scene in the anime didn't piss me off this much.'
Gen narrowed his eye dangerously while watching Shido flap his gums and spewing nonsense like a bad door to door salesman.
Rei has a very high chance of activating or creating a fire/venom breathing skill with how angry she's currently throwing curses at Shido while Hisashi is holding her back to stop her from killing the guy. Takashi meanwhile is looking like an overwhelmed helpless idiot who doesn't know what to do other than try and calm down the angry young lady.
'Saeko seems to have pinned Shido's 4 thugs with her sharp gaze alone.' Gen observed amusedly
At this point, Shido who seems to have it in his mind that he somehow managed to assert his authority to them. Tried to step forward to 'invite' Shizuka again, keyword being 'tried'.
The moment he took one step, Kohta gave him a warning shot that grazed his cheek making the him stop and sputter out while cold sweat run down his back.
"Don't think that my group is easy to coerse let alone brainwash like those you have with you Ko~i~chi."
A cold voice butted in before Kohta can even say his piece.
With emphasis on the 'my' as well as a playful tone when calling Shido by his first name, Gen stood laxly beside Shizuka on clear view of Shido and his 'group' with a condescending look pointed at the teacher(not that Gen sees the guy as such).
No one spoke not even the now heavily sweating Shido, not because they don't want to, not even because of the crossbow that Gen suddenly has in his hand, but because there seemed to be an invisible pressure in the air that prevents them from moving a muscle.
What they don't know is that this is what is known as 'attribute suppression', a phenomenon that happens when there's a clear gap in overall stats between beings. And considering Gen gained 10 attribute points after level up when he used the remaining charge in his 'Multiplier' skill on the attribute point gained... Well you get the idea.
"I had and still have many things that can piss me off, but this is the first one in a long time that someone pissed me off enough for me to want them dead... I always felt disgust and disdain towards you since we met you know? Which is puzzling since I'm not one to judge by first meeting alone. 'Most of the times anyways' But the longer I watched you, heard the rumors about you(Wiki actually) it seems my instincts are right as always... You're just a weak scum who got used to having his way, probably because daddy dearest always pull your balls out of any trouble you get into right?"
Faced with the ridicule, Shido actually managed to show anger on his face which made Gen rais an eyebrow.
'Well now, it seems mind over matter works under the suppression, granted no killing intent was added in it and it's just more or less 10 AP(Attribute points) difference.'
Accurately pinpointing the cause of the unexpected development, Gen put Shido's anger out of his mind and walked closer to the now paling teacher.
When he was close enough, Gen grabbed Shido's throat and lifted him up, effectively choking the scum with the tightness of the grip. Keep in mind that 1 point in strength is what the average adult male human has. And by average, it means an adult male who regularly jogs but doesn't go to gym or is in physical labor jobs, now Gen's STR(Strength) is at 3, more than enough to lift a guy that's about 5'7" in height and about 60+ kg in weight.
Hands that are clawing at Gen's arm as well as legs that are kicking/kneeing at him in hopes of scoring any damage that will make him let go, Shido's form looks like that of a cat being strangled to death.
Unfortunately for him, although he can't see it seeing as he hasn't awakened, the maximum damage he can deal to Gen is 6 while Gen's current DEF(Defense) is also 6. And being an unawakened, Shido doesn't have the permanent 1 true damage that all awakened gain. Meaning he deals 0 damage even at his max damage output.
'Might as well take a page out of that guy's book.' Gen mussed before doing just that
"Don't think you'll die painlessly.. That brief moment you'll have before you die which will feel like an eternity. Use that time to think about all the wrongs you've done and let happen."(1)
The thugs of Shido moved to intervene but intercepted by Saeko with Kohta providing back up. One of them didn't move though.
'Probably the dude that's only known as "Yamada" in the canon and wiki.' Gen sumised
"If they still try to help this scum after you beat them.. Just finish them off."
As expected, after Gen said these word's Takashi, Hisashi and the girls in Shido's group protested.
'Good, the change I made to her was implemented.. Miku Yuuki according to the few information written in the wiki, is a young woman who got the short end of the stick but still endured in order to survive and not live a worse life than what she already got... Now, with my interference she's only with Shido to not be bullied by him and his "minions", her virtue still in tact because Shido wants to "savor" their "special time" which would've been after graduation as per my "settings" in this reality.'
While he did design this version of a zombie Apocalypse, he wants culling of humans and evolution for the universe, humans, alongside the flora and fauna. And each healthy and active womb is necessary in that regards.
The commotion got even more frenzied when Shido's body spasmed in what is known to a few as 'the last struggle to live'. At which point, Saeko stopped simply subduing while Kohta lost his hesitation, both now went for the kill as Gen had said.
Their group seem to have subconsciously deemed him as the leader, Saya Takagi being the exception.
'For now' He thought
********
With the death of Shido and his 3 thugs, peace and quiet came back within the bus. Though more on subdued in the case of Yamada and the three girls while Miku looks like someone who just had a heavy weight lifted off her shoulders.
After shoving the 4 corpse out the window of the moving bus, Gen checked the scenery if the distance between him and his house is within 1 km. It is.
'I can now invite my maid to the party hehe.'
With a whisper, he did just that.
"Invite Grayfia Lucifuge to the party..."
*********
(1) Kudos to those who knows who's line I based this from.
AN: It might seem fast to some of you but I just want them out of the school and Shido, out of the picture as fast as possible. Otherwise it would've taken 3-5 more chapters before I got to this one.