My Reality Became a Zombie Game World, but Only I Can Use the Game System - Chapter 2: First Encounter

Chapter 2: First Encounter

“Good morning~, Ritsu-kun.”

“Good morning, Yume-nee.”

“Good morning, Ritsu-san.”

“Don’t you dare join in!”

I suddenly shouted, and Yume-nee tilted her head in confusion.

“Sorry, Yume-nee, it’s nothing…”

I had accidentally replied to the message window, which had intruded on our morning greetings.

I had been ignoring the message window for some time, but it seemed to be getting bolder, trying to grab my attention.

The voice of a girl speaking the same words echoed in my head, which was very annoying.

I had to try my best to ignore it.

During the walk to school, I decided to focus on my conversation with Yume-nee. The academy was within walking distance from the apartment we lived in, and it was our daily routine to walk and chat together. As we walked along the school route, our conversation turned to the topic of movies, which Yume-nee was passionate about.

“So, there’s a movie I’m interested in that’s going to be released soon. Want to go together, Ritsu-kun?”

“Hmm, but isn’t it a scary one? I’m not really into those kinds of movies.”

“Ehh! Come on, let’s go together!”

Yume-nee pouted, protesting.

In reality, I wasn’t particularly afraid of horror movies, but I had been lying about it to avoid going out alone with Yume-nee.

Yume-nee was beautiful and popular, and it would be noticeable for her to be seen with a bullied student like me. In fact, I had suggested that we walk to school separately in the mornings, but Yume-nee had thrown a tantrum, and I had given in, which led to this situation.

Every time Yume-nee’s soft and cute pink blonde hair swayed, the eyes of passing men were drawn to her. And when they saw her angelic smile directed at me, they would look at me with a puzzled expression.

To be honest, I felt uncomfortable. Some people might envy this situation, but I disliked this time. It was like being a pill bug hiding under a stone, but being forced out into the open and exposed to people’s gaze. And next to the pill bug was a beautiful butterfly with its wings spread.

As I was thinking such nonsense, Yume-nee forcefully took my arm and linked it with hers. Her full chest, accentuated by her winter blazer, pressed against me, and I didn’t know what to do. Yume-nee looked up at me with a mischievous expression, and whispered in my ear.

“You’re going to the movies together with Onee-chan, right, Ritsu-kun?”

“Yes…”

To my horror, Yume-nee was aware of her beauty and often used her charms to get me to do what she wanted. When she pressed her soft body against me without hesitation, I couldn’t resist.

“Ugh, I hate it. Why is Ritsu-san so weak to older women’s fat? In this day and age, it’s all about a year younger and a more modest chest.”

The sulky voice of the girl echoed in my head.

What do you know about me…? No, since this is my hallucination, you know a lot about me.

You’re getting more and more bold, talking nonsense while I’m ignoring you.

As I walked down the main street, enduring the insults from the message window, the sound of a siren passed by.

“Today, there seem to be a lot of ambulances, huh?”

Yume-nee muttered anxiously. I could feel her grip on my arm tighten slightly. This was the third ambulance we had seen today. It did feel like a lot. Was something going on?

Even after that, as we made our way to the academy, we passed by police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks.

At the entrance of the school building, Yume-nee and I parted ways, as we were in different grades.

“See you tomorrow, Ritsu-kun.”

Yume-nee’s usual wave looked strangely fragile. I felt a sense of unknown anxiety as I parted ways with her.

*

If my morning routine was walking to school with Yume-nee, then my after-school routine could be described as being bullied by Kokuso and his group. The common factor was that I didn’t want either of them.

When Kokuso and his group called me out, I couldn’t ignore them. Once, I tried to escape and go home, but the violence I faced the next day was terrible. I didn’t want to be stripped down to my underwear and hit with a hardball again.

I waited in the empty classroom after school, and soon, Kokuso and his group arrived. There were four boys and two girls, and they were known as a group that didn’t cause any trouble, at least on the surface.

“Hey, Ritsu, let’s play nicely today too.”

Kokuso spoke to me in a slimy, mocking tone. We used to be friends, but somehow, I had lost his favor, and we had become bullies and the bullied. With a hint of hope, I spoke to Kokuso.

“Hey, Kokuso-kun, let’s stop this, okay?”

It was not Kokuso who reacted to my words, but Gouta, who was standing next to him. Gouta was a giant, over 190 cm tall.

Gouta shouted, as if having a tantrum.

“Aah! What do you mean by ‘this’? You think we’re bullying you or something?!”

Gouta grabbed my hair and slammed my face against the desk repeatedly, persistently, and the sound of flesh hitting a hard surface echoed in the empty classroom.

“You’re acting like we’re the ones using violence! When have we ever used violence? Tell me, you’re messing with the wrong guy!”

The other boys and girls around us were laughing at Gouta’s actions.

“Haha, Karamine is so lame!” “I love it when Gouta does this. It’s so satisfying!” “Hey, let’s record this!”

At first, I was confused as to why they were doing this to me, but after it was repeated over and over again, I finally understood. For them, bullying me was entertainment.

“Hey, Gouta, calm down. He might really die.”

Kokuso-kun stopped Gouta, and finally, he stopped his attack. He threw me onto the floor and apologized to Kokuso-kun in a smarmy voice.

“Sorry, Kokuso-kun. But I can’t stand liars like him. It’s like we’re the bullies, isn’t it?”

It was strange to see Gouta, the ace of the karate club, following the skinny Kokuso-kun. I thought it had something to do with the fact that Kokuso-kun was the son of a wealthy businessman.

I tuned out the conversation between Kokuso-kun and Gouta. I was stunned, looking at the mysterious phenomenon happening in front of me, lying on the floor.

… It doesn’t hurt at all.

With Gouta’s strength, my nose should be broken by now. Yet, for some reason, I was unharmed.

Confused as to what was happening, a girl’s voice echoed in my head.

“You have been chosen as a player. Physical ability information to counter zombies has been installed.”

So, chosen players have stronger bodies too? I laughed bitterly at the voice of my fantasy. It’s not like a placebo, is it? I never thought that my imagination could make my body so strong.

Gouta didn’t miss my expression.

“Don’t you dare laugh, Karamine! You’re messing with me!”

He stepped on my body, which had fallen to the floor multiple times. It didn’t hurt at all. What has happened to my body?

The other bullies joined Gouta, kicking me. Eventually, they got bored and stopped the human soccer game, and finally, Kokuso-kun grabbed my hair and forced me to look up.

“Ritsu, have you decided to become my underling?”

“I’ve told you many times. We can be friends.”

Kokuso-kun showed an annoyed expression at my answer.

“Let’s go. I’m bored.”

He left the empty classroom with his group.

“You could have suppressed all of them with your current physical abilities. Why didn’t you?”

I ignored the girl’s voice in my head and stood up.

I retrieved my smartphone, which I had placed in the corner of the classroom beforehand. I played back the video, and there was a clear recording of the bullying incident. I had started the camera and recorded everything. If this act of violence became known to the public, Kokuso-kun and his group would be suspended, or even expelled.

This was not the first time I had successfully recorded such a video. I already had several videos like this saved on my smartphone.

“You were recording videos?”

“Now that you mention it, you have vision too, don’t you?”

I thought that the message window and the girl’s voice were from a distant call, but if she could see this video, it meant she had vision too. Well, since it was my fantasy, it was only natural that my vision would be transmitted to her.

“If you submit this video to the academy, the problem will be solved immediately, won’t it?”

“T-That is true but…”

I couldn’t seem to articulate the reason why I didn’t do it.

I could always socially ruin Kokuso-kun and his group, and I didn’t feel the slightest hesitation in doing so.

Still, I didn’t do it because I had a faint fear that if I allowed myself to retaliate, I might become a different person.

“I guess you could say the leash comes off. I’m afraid that if I attack someone once, I’ll become a monster who won’t hesitate to attack others.”

“I see.”

I felt the girl nodding, although I couldn’t see her. I was glad that I had conveyed my feelings well.

“So, it’s like a middle school disease, huh?” (T/N: She’s referring to MC having a chuunibyou disease.)

She didn’t understand at all.

“I’m really going to ignore you now!”

“Now, now. Leaving that aside.”

“Leaving that aside?!”

What’s with this girl? Seriously.

I was getting frustrated, but the girl continued to speak.

“Zombies are approaching. Please check the map.”

A mini-map, similar to the one in “DL4,” appeared in the top left of my vision. There was a red warning display to the left of my coordinates. If it was the same as the “DL4” system, it meant that zombies were in that direction. Considering the position, there were zombies in the corridor just outside the classroom.

“So, I can see the game system’s hallucination now…”

I let out a dry laugh. There was even a health bar in the bottom left. It seemed to be full, but my mental illness wasn’t taken into consideration, was it?

It seemed like I should go to the hospital sooner rather than later. I walked down the corridor, feeling powerless.

“Be on alert! Zombies are nearby!”

“Okay, okay.”

I didn’t feel like listening to the panicked voice of the girl.

What kind of doctor should I see for this? What’s the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist?

As I opened the door of the empty classroom, thinking about such things—

“Aaa… Aaahhh… It hurts so much!”

A zombie girl, a stranger, was standing right in front of me, at a distance where I could feel her breath. Her skin was pale, her hair was messy, she was drooling, and blood was flowing from the bite marks on her neck.

… What?

Before I could even comprehend the situation, the zombie lunged at me. My scream echoed in the empty classroom.