The introductions from everyone finally caused Tendou Ryuuji's calm expression to twitch slightly, and he could not help but reassess his teammates once more.
Emiya Shirou, as an Ally of Justice, was an absolutely reliable teammate. The only uncertainty lay in how proficient he actually was in magecraft, and whether he could reinforce something as simple as a baseball bat to the point of achieving a one-hit kill.
Nao Tomori, whose stealth ability allowed her to launch surprise attacks, ranked third in the team's overall combat strength.
Takanashi Hoshino: The only 'Big Daddy' of the entire team. The halo above her head is impossible to hide. It's just unclear what the so-called 'mystery limit' is.
Satou Kazuma: aside from his extensive knowledge of games, he possessed virtually no combat power. Still, his future potential could not be ignored. Hopefully, the Main God would be generous enough to provide him with opportunities for growth.
Akemi Homura: a well-known, loyal, and fanatical devotee of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. However, judging from her physical condition and the congenital heart disease she had previously mentioned, she was currently not much better off than Kazuma. That said, her future prospects were far brighter. If the Main God offered the appropriate exchanges, she would undoubtedly become one of the team's future Big Daddies.
After all, the Time Stop ability is truly useful.
As for the final member, Sirin: judging by her status as an orphan, she had likely just arrived at the Babylon Laboratory and had not yet reached the stage of being subjected to experimentation. The Core of the Void was out of the question for now, but her future potential was in no way inferior to Akemi Homura's.
Adding himself to the equation—just a normal person with no special abilities—the team could hardly be called balanced at all. If they were to survive, they would have no choice but to rely on Takanashi Hoshino.
After completing his internal analysis of everyone's situation, Ryuuji finally spoke in a serious tone.
"I understand everyone's circumstances. Please raise the wristwatches in your hands. Based on the nature of this mission, your roles will be assigned to maximize overall benefits while ensuring our survival."
As Ryuuji finished speaking, everyone simultaneously looked at the wristwatches in their hands. Immediately, a light screen visible only to them projected out, displaying the main mission of this horror movie.
[Main Mission: Survive for seven days in a city overrun by zombies. Reward: 1000 points.
Kill ten zombies: Gain 1 point.Kill a Mutant Dog: Gain 10 points.Kill a Special Individual: Gain 100 points.
Side missions must be discovered independently. Rewards are determined by completion level.]
Seeing such a classic mission setup, Ryuuji quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure weighing on his mind eased slightly, yet his vigilance only grew stronger.
Although the overall balance of the team was somewhat extreme, their strength was undeniable. As for Takanashi Hoshino, ordinary firearms were essentially useless against her, both in terms of offensive power and defense. Punching through zombies or kicking away creatures like Lickers would be effortless for her.
With Emiya Shirou providing support and reinforcement, as long as their coordination remained stable, using this mission as a point-farming opportunity would not be unrealistic. However, there was one crucial detail he needed to confirm; otherwise, the entire idea of farming points would be nothing more than wishful thinking.
Once the mission announcement ended, the protective barrier surrounding them vanished. Ryuuji immediately approached Emiya Shirou and asked him about magecraft.
Although doing this was rash and risked exposing the fact that he knew certain things, the dangerous Main God Space would not allow him to be indecisive. He had to utilize all resources to ensure survival.
Unfortunately, the result was disappointing. Emiya Shirou had no idea what magecraft even was. Ryuuji cursed his bad luck inwardly, tried to subtly inquire about Emiya Shirou's family background, and ultimately had no choice but to abandon his original plan for detailed tactical micro-management.
The plan had to be reordered. This Emiya Shirou, brought here by the Main God, was the most envied individual among all Emiya Shirous—the one from the Magical Girl Illya timeline, truly a winner in life.
Nevertheless, Emiya Shirou was still Emiya Shirou, possessing eyes full of justice and passion, which was enough to qualify him as a reliable teammate.
As for Satou Kazuma, he was using his gaming experience to educate the ignorant Sirin and Akemi Homura, who had long been detached from academic life, about what zombies were. He clearly wanted to demonstrate his usefulness.
Takanashi Hoshino, on the other hand, was quietly observing the surroundings through the window, carefully avoiding unnecessary noise. Her gaze swept across the school grounds, identifying high vantage points. She even used a notebook she found in the classroom to sketch out a rough map of the area.
One can only say that she truly is a student from Kivotos; she possesses professional knowledge in this area.
Since the Main God's mission required them to survive for seven days, remaining holed up in a classroom indefinitely was not an option. They would eventually need to venture out in search of supplies, and so the personnel arrangement was finalized.
Ryuuji and Satou Kazuma were tasked with protecting the two most vulnerable members of the team while handling supply transport. The remaining combat-capable members naturally formed a triangular formation, shielding those in the center.
The sticks and tennis rackets Ryuuji had gathered earlier finally proved useful. While their damage against zombies was limited, they were still better than fighting bare-handed.
Based on their shared understanding of zombie films and television series, Tendou Ryuuji and Satou Kazuma agreed that, beyond gathering basic survival supplies, their next priority was to locate firearms. After all, with Takanashi Hoshino's proficiency in weaponry, the team's overall sense of security would remain lacking without proper guns.
"Alert!"
Just as expected, accidents never failed to occur. The moment Ryuuji's group moved less than ten meters outside the classroom, a howling zombie staggered past a corner and confronted them head-on.
"Aaaargh!"
The zombie's dry, rasping scream pierced the air. Akemi Homura and Sirin, who were protected in the center by Emiya Shirou and the others, flinched and instinctively moved closer to Ryuuji. Satou Kazuma's face turned pale as he struggled to keep his grip on his weapon.
Ryuuji, however, remained relatively composed. Ever since being dragged into the Main God's Space, he had memorized several psychological contingency plans. If he allowed himself to be paralyzed by fear at the sight of a mere zombie, he might as well smash his head into a block of tofu and call it a day.
The zombie slowly charged forward. Takanashi Hoshino, standing right at the front, remained composed in the face of danger. As a senior from Abydos, her strength was solid in front of her juniors, and she naturally had no fear of the so-called zombies.
With a powerful swing of her baseball bat, she sent the zombie's head flying like a struck baseball, vividly demonstrating the overwhelming force of a true frontline fighter.
The group advanced with some difficulty, even encountering flying Infected Crow along the way. By the time they progressed further, they had already killed nearly twenty zombies and several of those mutated birds, earning a modest number of points. The primary damage dealers were Emiya Shirou and the others, though Ryuuji and a few teammates occasionally stepped in as well. Everyone needed to adapt to real combat, or they would never survive the harsher battles awaiting them in the future.
Even Akemi Homura, the physically weakest member of the team, managed to swing her bat at a crippled zombie, delaying the group for several minutes in the process.
Although the journey was filled with minor scares, no major danger emerged. Fighting their way from the teaching building toward the cafeteria, Takanashi Hoshino swiftly climbed through a second-floor cafeteria window. She immediately smashed a nearby zombie with her bat, blowing its head apart in a single strike. That marked her tenth kill, earning her one full point.
After clearing out the surrounding zombies, Takanashi Hoshino gave a signal, and Tendou Ryuuji and the others followed, climbing up one after another.
Akemi Homura was panting heavily, trying her best to keep her voice down, as Zombies were extremely sensitive to sound. Because of this, everyone's pace had slowed considerably.