I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years

“I still can’t quite figure this out…”

Turning the zombies protesting beyond the wall into test subjects for my new shovel, I captured one, severed its limbs to immobilize it, and observed it for 10 minutes.

Still clueless.

If this were a zombie someone created, I expected there to be some kind of mark or trace on its body, but alas, the decayed, rotted skin revealed no peculiar signs.

Ugh, I really don’t want to dissect it.

Telling me to perform an autopsy on that horrific thing is like asking for self-torture.

If I cut open its belly, I feel like maggots would pour out, and that’s terrifying. No matter how many years I’ve lived eating insects, maggots are a whole different problem. Who would want to eat maggots from a rotting corpse, anyway?

…But I have to do it.

I covered my face with a cloth and sliced open the belly of the zombie with the shovel. As expected, the moment I cut it open, white maggots wriggled out from its entrails. It’s not like I’ve never seen this sight before, but that doesn’t mean I can look at it casually.

Using a shovel to dig around feels a bit wrong; is there a useful stick around?

Oh, I can use this.

I brought a long stick from nearby and poked at the zombie’s belly. Each time I prodded, a green liquid that smelled like I’d have to shower for hours to get rid of splattered everywhere. Is this liquid filling its innards? I’m no doctor, so I have no clue what this green liquid is. It’s just filling it up.

Seeing it oozing out no matter where I poke only leads me to a reasonable suspicion that this is blood. I mean, what else could it be if it’s oozing out from every poke? Of course, it could just be some toxic fluid or something…

“…What am I doing?”

Cutting it open and pushing its insides doesn’t seem to bring about any useful findings.

What an absolute idiot.

I dug a hole with my shovel and rolled the zombie into it. The zombie, rotting and useless as compost, looked at me, moaning as if asking to be let out, but I responded by stuffing dirt into its gaping mouth.

“Should I dissect another corpse?”

I feel like I’m on the verge of coming up with some method.

A simpler approach… ah.

I could just bring Karina and ask her. Being a saint, she’d definitely notice any chuunibyou-like powers acting on the zombie. Then would I have been just wasting my time?

No, in any case, I completed the shovel’s performance test, so I’ve done my part.

I let out a deep sigh and turned my body.

First, let’s go back and bring Karina.

I dashed back home and returned to the pit where I had dropped the zombie, accompanied by Karina and Renny. Karina peeked into the pit I pointed at, immediately clamping her mouth shut and stepping back.

“Ugh…”

“Karina, are you okay?”

It seems that showing this to Karina is a bit gruesome. Displaying a corpse smeared with bodily fluids and emitting a stench worse than that of decayed entrails is a bit much. It’s not your average corpse; showing its insides isn’t something one should do.

“I don’t need to see, but could you confirm one thing? Do you sense anything strange?”

At my words, Karina nodded her pale face.

“…Yes. I feel a… malicious energy. It’s a feeling I can only sense from a dark wizard…”

…Sigh. It really does seem like there’s something in the dungeon. The very existence of such zombies in a land devoid of people is strange. This world feels too real to operate like a game.

“…I don’t like this.”

The more I delve into the dungeon, the more questions pile up, and that really bothers me.

What’s the identity of this island, what’s in the dungeon, and what’s the nature of the whirlpool surrounding it?

Will all my questions be resolved when I reach the bottom of the dungeon?

And if they aren’t resolved at all,

what should I do if I can’t leave this island?

With a complicated mind, I spoke to the two of them.

“Let’s head back for now.”

I filled the pit with dirt. The zombie, struggling to breathe with its mouth full of soil, soon fell silent, buried beneath the dirt.

Walking back with the two who looked at me with strange eyes, we returned home.

———————————-

I transferred food of various types into the newly made pouch. One bag of dried fruits. One bag of dried meat. Two bags of brined hydra meat that looked like they were either chunks of salt or meat. That should provide a week’s worth of food.

Assuming, of course, that I only eat a set amount.

The reason I’m not taking anything more is that I plan to explore towards the dungeon entrance.

I need to do a rough estimate at the entrance so that I can check how much of the supplies I need.

While I’m at it, I thought about clearing the entire vicinity of the dungeon, then slyly adding making a plausible camp to my to-do list. I can’t keep going back and forth between home and the dungeon.

Whenever exploring, it’s essential to have a camp set up nearby for convenience in movement. Sure, zombies will come out at night thinking it’s Halloween and obnoxiously sing the Halloween special song “Thriller,” but we’ll just confidently call out their names.

Even if those bastards come charging in hordes, we’ve got the ultimate weapon, Karina, with us.

All we need to do is shout, “What can you do? What can you do other than get purified while screaming ‘Ugh’ at us?”

“Y-Yohan?”

“What’s wrong…? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Y-You’re saying all that out loud…”

Karina awkwardly raised the corners of her lips as she averted her gaze. I too, after hearing her words, averted my gaze with a blank expression. Renny’s stare was piercing.

Ah, it’s suffocating.

The wildly awkward air seemed to prance around us, urging me to say something. But do I really need to?

I haven’t really insulted anyone.

Feeling empowered, I nonchalantly gathered the food-laden pouch and shoved it into the hydra leather backpack that I put my heart into making.

This isn’t for sale, but it feels like some material that begs for money while gobbling up the groceries and also the water-filled leather pouch.

This one’s for Renny.

“Renny, wear this bag.”

“What about you?”

“This is my bag.”

I pointed with my thumb at a bag the size that would rival a military pack that I had to carry every time during my service days. Inside are the utensils for the camp, a newly made hammer, and meticulously sealed poison powder. All harvested from mushrooms. Poison might not work on zombies and skeletons, but since there’s a possibility of other monsters existing, it doesn’t hurt to prepare.

“Yohan, isn’t my bag a bit too small?”

Karina asked, pointing to a bag that might just be twice the size of a handbag. There was a hint of guilt and burden on her face.

You don’t need to look that apologetic.

When entering the dungeon, having a lighter load is better since her role would involve constantly using magic. Truth be told, she could even go empty-handed if it weren’t for the fear of making her feel guilty, so I intentionally packed a little to make it look good.

“It’s fine.”

“But…”

“You have an important role, so just perform that well.”

“Yes… I’ll do my best!”

The way she tightly clenched her hands and prepared herself was really adorable. Indeed, a beauty looks lovely doing anything. I’m relieved it was Karina drifting onto this island; had it been a dark-skinned man, I’d have probably buried him by now.

Of course, even had that been the case, I somehow would have tried to save him to use as labor.

“Yohan? I…”

Oh.

“…Let’s set off right away.”

I quickly slung my bag over my shoulder and stepped outside.

I heard Karina and Renny’s voices calling me from behind, urging me to wait, but I coolly pretended I didn’t hear them and continued walking ahead.

——————-

There are so damn many of them.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I struck the head of the 59th zombie with my shovel.

With the animal friends who usually handled the zombies gone, it felt like the genre had shifted from a wildlife kingdom to some cheap horror survival indie game.

Now that I think about it, it’s quite similar.

Crafting, building, killing zombies, and mining-like things; soon enough, self-destructing zombies may pop up.

“Yohan! I think we’ve cleaned up this area!”

“Got it! Keep watch! I’ll be setting up camp!”

Let’s see, time for a quick estimate.

We’ll use the open space near the dungeon as our base and create a camp that zombies can’t enter. Making it a structure that requires a ladder to climb up will make it easy to respond in emergencies, so I’ll set up pillars and build a camp on top…

“Too noisy to sleep.”

This is why houses should be built away from the hustle and bustle.

Rich people wouldn’t cluster together in noisy places for no reason, right?

“Better just barricade the dungeon entrance completely.”

If I can’t sleep due to the noise, solving the root cause of the noise is the ideal solution. I called Karina, had her use her holy magic, which is the bane of all undead, and piled up materials near the puddle in front of the dungeon entrance and waited.

“O, Kalon!”

The effects are fantastic.

As Karina began reciting a prayer that would lull anyone to sleep, the zombies immediately reacted. They all ignited with white flames and turned into a pile of ashes blown away by the wind. If that’s the case, was there any need to urgently move around? I could’ve just wiped them all out at once with Karina’s blessed magic instead.

Maybe I was too stingy with valuable manpower.

Whatever. Let’s start quickly and get some good rest.

“Crafting.”

By the power of the saint, I build a bridge over the puddle where the poison and zombies had vanished. The stacked wood and earth began to stir and take shape, gradually forming a bridge.

I’m not well-versed in architecture, so I don’t know much about arching techniques, but it’s a solidly built stone bridge.

It doesn’t need to last a thousand years; it just has to hold up until the dungeon exploration is complete, so there’s no point in getting into the hassle of what architectural methods to use.

“Crafting.”

I completely seal the entrance with earth and stone walls, eliminating all exit points… I created a suitably sized door and fitted it into the pre-emptively cleared space between the walls.

That should prevent monsters from popping out of the dungeon and ensure peace and quiet, right?

To test it, I put my ear to the door to listen to the sounds on the other side. All I could hear was a very faint moaning.

Hmm. Good.

Now it’s time to create the camp.

I went back to the open space, set down the materials, and activated my skill.

“Crafting.”

The greatness of the skill is…

A two-story wooden building that might have taken an ordinary person several days to build appeared right in the middle of the open space. Karina and Renny seemed amazed by my excellent architectural skills, continuously exclaiming in awe as they gazed up at the building.

Of the two who kept showering me with praise, the first to speak was Karina.

Surely it must be a compliment…

“Yohan, but how do we get up there?”

Oh.

I totally forgot the ladder.

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