CH 98

Chapter 98 – Checking the Special Sword Skills

So, we decided to secure a pristine magic supply station (as in, a place full of food).

The ideal location was surprisingly easy to find.

It was a convenience store called Famina, which was not too far from the community under the overpass, who was surrounded by zombies.

Most of the food here was left untouched, probably because of the zombie siege.

Moreover, after climbing the attic, we found out that the store has a solar-powered generator installed.

Apparently, more convenience stores have started using those for the sake of being eco-friendly, so… Hooray for the eco boom!

“Good. This is the kind of thing that is fun to work with.” Mr. Norio grinned as he fiddled with the generator. Perhaps he might even bring it back to Miyabigaoka later, “With this it shouldn’t be hard to turn on the light on the store’s signboard.”

If we use it well, we should be able to divert the attention of the zombies.

After that, we decided to solidify the defenses of the convenience store, though that wasn’t a particularly hard task.

Iroha, with her superhuman strength, brought cars and iron fences from all over the place, creating a very sturdy barricade.

“… No matter how many times I look at it, I can’t help feeling that this is completely against the laws of physics…” Asuka commented as she saw Iroha smash a telephone pole with a single chop.

“So, what are we doing?” Kousuke asked.

“Cook.” I briefly answered, “Don’t let me get tired of eating, alright?”

“Can you even get tired of it…?” Kousuke asked.

“I might not chug the food fast enough if I’m sick of it, so please take good care of me.” I replied.

Kousuke gave me a strained laugh in response, but my wish was sincere.

I can eat anything if it means replenishing my magical power, but if I get too tired of the taste, I might start taking longer to swallow it… In that case, there is a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to replenish my power quickly enough, so as to deal with the zombies that were coming one after another.

We need to be able to quickly kill and replenish in this mission. This is definitely not my desire to eat delicious food speaking. Definitely not.

“Alright, Senpai! I finished preparing all the seasonings!” Rintarou enthusiastically (well, he is always enthusiastic) showed me an array of condiments.

“I’ll tell you this now, but don’t try making any prank concoction that you do when ordering drinks from restaurants. Senpai will throw up if you do.” Ritsuko told him.

Rintarou seemed a bit confused at that, “I don’t really get what you mean, but tabasco goes surprisingly well with any dish! I always use a bottle when going to Italian restaurants!”

I almost choked at his words.

Ritsuko picked up the seasonings from Rintarou’s hands, “… I will take care of adjusting the taste. Rintarou will just make one spicy hot food after the other.”

Please do.

“Ah, by the way. It would be a problem if you only served sweets, as I might get tired of the taste, so please alternate between sweet and salty food.” I told them.

“Got it.” Kousuke replied.

“Also, I have a sensitive tongue, so don’t make the food too hot.” I told them next.

“Understood.” Kousuke said.

“Furthermore, I don’t like things with shiso in them.” I stated.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kousuke replied.

“Wasabi is fine to me, but not enough to the point it irritates my noise.” I said next.

“Leave it to me.” Kousuke nodded.

He really took all my directives seriously… What a good boy he is.

Well, at least this should ensure that we won’t be annihilated due to being unable to eat the food fast enough… I really don’t want to die for such a stupid reason.

***

And now… I guess I should finish leveling up before the battle starts?

There is a mountain of zombies that we need to take care of, so I decided to start picking up skills that could be used for long-range attacks.

For that, I got Special Sword Skill II-V, as well as Fire Magic IV-V and Attack Power up to III.

So, to summarize my current skills…

—————-

Wandering Warrior

Level: 42

——–

Basic Skills:

Sword Technique (Advanced); Perfect Maintenance; Special Sword Skill I-V

Natural Healing (Strong); Skin Strengthening; Bone Strengthening

Hunger Resistance (Strong)

Skill Appraisal

——–

Magic Skills:

Fire Magic I-V

Healing Magic I-V

——–

Job Skills:

Attack Power III

Defense V; Steel Clothes; Aegis Shield

Magic Resistance II

Spirit Summoning I; Spiritual Presence I; Fairy

——–

Shared Skills

Quick Step I

Enslave; Slave Reinforcement V

—————-

As for the skills I got from the Spirit Tamer, well… Surprisingly, I have yet to figure out how they work.

From time to time, I still try calling out to the Fairy, but it hasn’t worked out at all.

Maybe I got some worthless skills here.

Well, let’s look over Iroha’s skills anyways.

—————-

Justice Martial Artist

Level 35

——–

Basic Skills:

Fighting Technique (Advanced); Special Skill I-V

Natural Healing (Strong); Skin Strengthening; Bone Strengthening

Hunger Resistance (Strong)

——–

Magic Skills:

Fire Magic I-III

Thunder Magic I-IV

Healing Magic I-III

——–

Job Skills:

Quick Step V

Iron Fist

Superhuman Strength V

Mind’s Eye; Clairvoyance I

——–

Shared Skills:

Defense I

—————-

Hers were like that.

I think it’s a perfect setup for beating a zombie horde.

***

While leaving the cooking to my friends, I decided to test out the Special Sword Skills.

I was outside the barricade, and made sure that there were no people, other than zombies, around me.

“Special Sword Skill I.” The sword shone golden as I said that.

As a test, I slashed a zombie that was walking around, and I cut it in half with splendid sharpness.

I guess I can think of it as one-use version of Enchantment? It should be more cost-efficient magic-wise, but it’s also kinda hard to use.

Next up, “Special Sword Skill II.”

As expected, the sword shone golden again. It’s a similar effect to the Special Skills of Iroha, but I wonder what causes these phenomena. Is it an energy surge of sorts?

In any case, when I tried swinging the sword, the golden blade stretched out and became three times its size.

Mmmm… Let’s note this down.

Seems like it’s a technique that temporarily extends your attack range. That will surely be useful when facing zombies.

Let’s keep it up, “Special Sword Skill III.”

Mmmm? What is this one doing? It feels like the sword is shaking with tremendous force.

As a test, I slashed a zombie that was idly basking in the sun.

Eww, eww, eww, eww! This was terrible.

The zombie’s body was shredded in an instant. This skill apparently makes an effect of me landing multiple sword strikes at once with a single swing.

It’s a total overkill against zombies and… Now, even before the battle started, I was already showered in blood… Seriously. That’s depressing.

Oh well, next, “Special Sword Skill IV.” I forced myself to say it in a cheerful mood.

A strong golden energy enveloped my sword this time.

Mmmm… It doesn’t feel that different from Special Sword Skill I.

Let’s try swinging it.

Whoa!

With a wind cutting sound, an energy wave was sent away from the sword. It only disappeared after it collided with the wall of a building several dozen meters away, and it made a huge gash on the wall of said building.

Now this is what I was waiting for! Like a game attack that can wipe out many enemies at once! A seriously strong ranged attack with my sword!

With this, we can surely win.

I’m satisfied with having this much, but since I’m at it, let’s finish the test, “Special Sword Skill V.”

Now what is this? It feels a bit different from Special Sword Skill IV… The sword is being coated in a mysterious silver light of sorts? A surge of energy or something?

Could it be a similar effect? Maybe a stronger version of Special Sword Skill IV?

With this idea in mind, I pointed my sword at the building and swung it sideways.

And then… Something completely unexpected happen.

With a tremendous sound, the building was hit by the energy wave and collapsed… It was almost as if it was punched by a giant monster.

“W-what’s going on!?” “What happened!?” “What did you do, Senpai!?” Everyone who was working on the convenience store was surprised by this, and looked towards the collapsed building.

“Ah… Well… You see…” I muttered.

Oh dear, this is bad… There is no doubt that the zombie herd heard this tremendously large sound.

I forced a cough, then raised my sword up high, “Come on, everyone! Now is the time to fight!”

“Eh? But you said we’d start after it got a bit darker…” Kousuke muttered.

“The situation changes with every passing moment! They’re coming! Come on! Come on!” I exclaimed.

I could see everyone staring at me with a cold gaze.

I can’t help feeling a bit discouraged at that…

“… Seems like play time is over! Come on, everyone! Let’s go!” Mr. Norio shouted as he saw the zombie horde approaching us like a giant wave.