4 Chapter 4: Reunion

I woke up with a start. Coughing and rubbing my eyes, I put my glasses on and slowly rose to my feet. Yawning, I stretched myself.

For some reason, I felt oddly full. Shaking my head, I glanced at the bright, blue sky.

Wow, that was one crazy nightmare.

Dreaming that I was a zombie? I scratched my arm and let out a sigh. That was one hell of a nightmare. It felt so vivid, so real…I almost thought it was reality. I was grateful that it was just a bad dream.

Why am I sleeping outside, though?

Rubbing my ear, I glanced around and frowned. For some reason, I was in a village. The same village in my dream.

Ah…crap…

This didn't bode well. My throat suddenly felt dry. Swallowing, I took a step back and accidentally stepped on something squishy.

Feeling a chill run down my back, I glanced down and stared at the hollow-eyed corpse of the necromancer staring right back at me. Most of his flesh was gone, his organs spilling out. It was his intestines I had stepped on, slippery and wet. I gagged on the foul stink of leaking bowel gases, and tried to walk away, trying not to fall.

I didn't want to fall on those remains.

Oh God, oh God, oh God…what did I do? Did I do that?

I distinctly remembered eating the necromancer. Cornered by his zombies, I had bitten into his throat and ripped his flesh out…

My hands flew to my mouth and I dropped to my knees, retching. Nothing came out but bitter bile. The flesh must have been digested, becoming a part of me. I didn't know how I digested it so fast, and if so, why did I feel so full? Was my stomach resisting my mind, forcibly keeping the contents within so that it could assimilate the nutrients?

"Damn it…"

What the hell happened to me? Why did I…?

As if to answer my question, a blue holographic screen appeared. Surprised, I raised my head and stared at it. A new ability caught my eye, and my jaw dropped when I read it.

Name: Tanaka Tomoyuki

Species: Undead

Job/Rank: Zombie/Ghoul

Special Abilities: Adamantium Will, Regeneration

Regeneration? Not only did I gain a second ability, it was quite the useful one. Much more useful than Adamantium Will, that was for certain. I gulped, trying to contain my excitement, and clicked on the tab.

Regeneration: the ability to heal and restore the user's body back to its original condition, no matter how severe the damage.

Unsurprisingly, I found that I did not gain the necromancer's ability to raise the dead even though I devoured him. Not that I was interested in reanimating corpses but with a mass grave of dead bodies surrounding me, I was tempted to try it. Then again, that was probably the reason why the necromancer came to this dark, ominous place in the first place. It was the best possible supply of zombies. Unfortunately, I failed to replicate the necromancer's spell, and the villagers' corpses lay where they had fallen when I killed the bastard. There were too many of them and I was too tired to bury them, so I left them where they were.

Damn it, why couldn't I be granted the cheat ability to gain an enemy's ability when I ate them? Some protagonist from a web novel gained the properties, characteristics or strengths of the enemies he consumed, and became the world's strongest or something like that. Being in a similar situation, I was hoping for a cheat ability like that, but from my failure to replicate the necromancer's reanimation spell it was clear I didn't have such broken powers.

Other than that, I was still completely in the dark as to where I was. The necromancer hadn't been a cooperative conversation partner, ignoring me almost the entire time. I didn't regret killing him, but when I thought about what I did, I felt nauseous. Well, at least I gained a new ability, Regeneration, which allowed me to return to full health.

That said, I couldn't get carried away. I didn't know the limits of my ability. There were no stats, no numbers, no values, no HP or MP bars. If this was a game, regeneration might require MP, which I might have very limited amounts of. Taking my ability for granted might lead to my death. Furthermore, it might be a one-use ability – once a day, once a battle…I didn't know. I wished the holographic menu would contain more descriptions, but I had to work with what I had.

Then again, I might be thinking too much into it. There's no MP bars, no stats, no values. Perhaps there isn't such rigid restrictions.

Even so, there might still be limits to my regeneration. If I ran out of magical energy, even if it wasn't quantifiable in holographic windows, I would still not be able to heal my wounds.

Best to use it sparingly.

Taking a deep breath, I proceeded to leave the village. It wasn't just the necromancer. The sheer number of corpses was beginning to disgust me. The stink was suffocating and it was all I could do to barely pass out. Evidently, whatever foul necromantic spell the necromancer had cast on them was broken after his death, and they were sprawled all over the ground in broken heaps, like puppets with their strings cut.

The dead were finally dead.

What should I do?

I sighed and proceeded forward. There was little point in hanging around here. I was too tired and there were too many bodies for me to bury by myself. Looking around, all I saw were vultures and other scavengers circling overhead. There was no other sign of life, and after a thorough search, I didn't find any survivors. I did scrounge around for anything useful, but the only thing I could find was a box of matches. The farming tools were took bulky to carry by hand, and as much as I wanted to carry a shovel around, it would look distinctively stupid. In the end, I pocketed the matches and checked the place one last time for any survivors.

I found nobody. This place was dead. There was no reason for me to stay.

But where do I go?

I sighed heavily and scratched my head. I had completely no idea. To begin with, I didn't even know where I was. Was I in Restia or another world altogether? How would people react if they found out that I was a zombie? Could I pass off as a human? Or did I have to live in the wilderness like some sort of deranged, cannibalistic hermit?

As a zombie, can I eat anything other than meat?

That thought disturbed me. What if I couldn't consume human food? What should I do?

Well, there's no point thinking too much about it. I should continue until I find someone who can explain everything to me.

If they didn't kill me first.

Taking a deep breath (apparently, I could still breathe even if I was a zombie), I headed toward the exit of the village. I didn't take more than a few steps when I suddenly heard galloping from the distance. Swallowing, I glanced down the trail and saw a cloud of dust rising from the clearing just outside the forest.

"Halt!"

The lead horseman, a man dressed in silver armor with a white cape and a plume rising from his helm, pulled his steed to a stop. I coughed and choked on the dust as the cloud billowed into my face. Behind the person who seemed to be the commander, a contingent of similarly armored knights with identical white capes (but no plume) pulled to a stop.

"Identify yourself!"

Pulling a sword out of his scabbard, the knight commander pointed his blade at me. I gulped and raised both my hands in surrender, fumbling with an excuse. "I'm…uh…Villager A."

"…Villager A?" the commander repeated incredulously. I kicked myself inwardly for that lame name. Way to go, Tomoyuki. I clearly had read way too many isekai light novels. Obviously the same concept didn't apply to reality.

"I'm a villager from here," I explained, then gestured to the dead bodies. "We were attacked by some unknown beast. Uh, it was huge, black, had tentacles and claws. I managed to hide from it until morning, but unfortunately I can't find any survivors."

The commander regarded me suspiciously, and then instructed his knights to spread out and search the village. Now we finally had enough manpower to bury the bodies. Not that the knights would, but you would never know. It would be a bad idea to leave the corpses where they were, though. Diseases would spread from the total lack of hygiene.

"Sir…no other survivors."

One of the knights reported to the commander, who was still mounted atop his horse. He glanced at me, then returned his gaze to the bodies.

"The injuries the villagers seem to match that boy's story. They were killed by a monster of some sort. Claws, spikes…teeth."

The knight commander nodded, but his subordinate seemed to have more to say. He hesitated for a moment, and then continued.

"Sir, there is something odd about the bodies, though. They look…like they were tainted by black magic. We can sense traces of foul magic on them."

"Black magic?"

The commander sounded like he was frowning, but I couldn't see his expression from under his helm.

"There was a necromancer but he was killed," I offered helpfully. "He…uh…was performing some sort of ritual, so I crept behind him and hit him. Then ran off and hid somewhere. That must have interrupted the spell."

"Oh, really?"

The knight commander's voice was full of skepticism.

"In any case, you're to return with us to the city. We'll have you cooperate with our investigation."

"Yes, sir."

I was extremely relieved. There was no reason for me to stick around in a dead village. I would benefit more from hitching a ride to the city and finding out more about this world. More access to resources, and perhaps an adventurer's guild if this followed the typical light novel pattern. Better than being stranded here with nothing but the shirt on my back.

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"Burn the bodies. We can't afford to leave them here…lest another necromancer takes advantage of the situation." The knight commander sounded like he was grimacing. "We've enough on our hands already, dealing with so many demonic attacks as of late. The world's going to hell."

"Yes, sir!"

The knight snapped a salute before marching off to deliver the new orders to his comrades. I watched as they worked to pile the bodies together in the center of the village. One of the knights stood to the side while his squadron mates assembled behind him. Raising his hands, he intoned something and sparked a small fireball between his fingers.

"Fireball!"

With a shout, he launched the rapidly expanding projectile from his hands and into the pile of corpses. A bright flash of light blinded me for a moment, forcing me to shield my eyes from the sudden conflagration. As my eyes adjusted, I watched as the corpses of the villagers (and the remains of the necromancer) were cremated.

"Form up," the commander instructed his troops before singling out a single knight at the rear. Turning to me, he impatiently gestured for me to approach the knight. "You'll be riding with George."

"Thank you, sir."

"Sir!"

Before I could mount up, another knight emerged from the forest, urging his horse into a gallop. The knights gently nudged their steeds to face him. Pulling his ride to a halt, the young knight snapped a salute.

"The heroes are here!"

…heroes?

I somehow felt a sense of foreboding when I heard the word. That could only mean one thing.

I was in Restia.

"Good timing. We'll need to inform them of the presence of a monster." The knight commander seemed relieved. "Which heroes are arriving?"

"The Black Mage and the Sword Saint!"

I raised my eyebrow at that. So they were identifying the heroes by their titles rather than their names. That could mean anything. They could very well be my classmates, or they could be someone from this world.

Speaking of which, I still hadn't confirmed if this was Restia or not. That should be my first priority, especially if there were heroes in here…

"Um…"

I began, but I was cut off by the noise of galloping horses. A couple of riders pulled into the village, sending up clouds of dust with their arrival. While I watched, stunned, the knights all marched their horses into formation and saluted smartly.

But the newcomers paid them no attention. One of them, in particular, was staring at me in shock.

"…Tanaka-kun?"

My blood ran cold when I heard the familiar voice. Looking up, I saw Matsumoto Kureha and Tsukishima Tomoyo. The two girls were glaring at me in disbelief.

Matsumoto Kureha was a beautiful, silver-haired girl who was practically the idol in class. Even when she was wearing uniform back in Japan, she was already good-looking. But now the silver armor, complete with a white dress, short miniskirt and metallic boots served to emphasize her curves and gorgeousness. She wasn't exactly a mean person, but she didn't help me either. I was under no illusions that she planned on helping me now either, given how her hand had flown to the sword that was sheathed by her side.

Tsukishima Tomoyo was known as the ice queen, and while Kureha's hair was silver, hers was black, a sort of Yamato Nadeshiko beauty that had a certain appeal. Unfortunately, her attitude matched her nickname – in other words, she was cold and condescending toward everyone else. She didn't physically hit me, but she was one of the most vocal girls who enjoyed verbally abusing me and destroying my self-esteem with vicious insults. I had a bigger grudge against her than I had against Kureha.

"How are you still alive?" Tsukishima asked stiffly.

"I ran," I replied simply, remembering that I had told the soldiers that I escaped the black, tentacle horror. Trying to calm myself down, I noted that this was indeed Restia. The appearance of my classmates was no coincidence. I was transported into the same world as them.

How very convenient.

"Kobayashi-kun pushed you out of the transport beacon. We all saw you fall and disappear!" Kureha insisted, her voice rising in panic. I shrugged.

"To be fair, the goddess didn't say the fall would kill us. She only said we would get lost somewhere."

Then I noticed something. The girls were well-armored, and judging from how the knights respectfully deferred to them, they were obviously acquainted for quite a while. Scratching my head, I inquired.

"How long has it been since you guys were transported to this world?"

"Huh?" Kureha stared at me suspiciously. "Why are you asking?"

"You seem to be here for quite a while."

"Six months," Tsukishima replied coldly, more to shut me up than because she was polite enough to answer my question.

"I see…" I mused. "I didn't just get lost physically, I was also lost temporally, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Kureha blinked. On the other hand, Tsukishima was studying me intently.

"You're still wearing our school uniform. It doesn't seem like you've been transported here long."

As expected of Tsukishima. She caught on quick.

"Yeah. I just arrived in this world yesterday. Thanks to Kobayashi's stunt, I got thrown quite some distance away from you guys. And it seems that applied to time too."

"I see." Tsukishima nodded, and then raised what looked like a magical staff. Unlike Kureha, she wasn't dressed in armor but in a black cloak, complete with a tall, witch's hat. If this was a game, she looked aesthetically like a black mage. That was probably her role, I bet. "Regardless, now that we've run into you again, we cannot let you leave…alive."

For a few seconds, I wasn't sure if I heard her correctly.

"Huh? You want to kill me?"

Tsukishima responded by blasting a dark spell at me. I dodged on instinct, throwing myself to the side. As a huge explosion resounded behind me, I glanced back, only for my jaw to drop when I saw the grass turning black and rotting away.

What the hell was that spell? And why was she firing at me?

"Why?! It's not as if Kobayashi is around! Why do you have to kill me?"

"Are you an idiot?" Tsukishima scoffed. "Obviously it's too dangerous to let you live. Kobayashi-kun and the others tried to kill you, but none of us stopped him. Instead, we helped him or let him do it. You'll want revenge. So we'll have to kill you before you can exact vengeance on us. A preemptive measure."

Bloody bitch. What kind of reasoning was that?

"Kureha-san, don't just stand there. Help me!"

"Eh? But…"

Kureha wasn't as vicious as Tsukishima, but she was standing around and not doing anything. I didn't mind her indecisiveness, but if she was easily influenced by others…

"There's something wrong with him. My magic is picking up something…he's not human."

"So he's not the real Tanaka-kun?"

"Possibly."

"I understand."

Drawing her sword, Kureha hopped off her horse and strode toward me. I raised my eyebrow and glanced at Tsukishima, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Uh…I am the real Tanaka Tomoyuki."

"Do you think you can fool me?"

Tsukishima was smiling slyly as she covered one eye. I saw a purple flame blaze in her other eye.

"My special ability is Absolute Appraisal. It allows me to see your special abilities, species, class, rank, real identity…everything. And you're a zombie."

"Yeah, whose fault is that?" I snapped. "You guys tried to kill me. I ended up dead and revived as a zombie, thanks to Kobayashi's murder. And you guys all just stood there and watched him and his cronies kill me?"

Kureha lowered her head guiltily, averting her gaze from mine. However, Tsukishima bristled.

"It's your fault for being weak and stupid! This isn't Japan. It's a new world. It's the survival of the fittest. If you're weak, you die."

"He's a zombie?" the knight commander repeated, stupefied. The knights exchanged glances, looking puzzled. I didn't blame them. I didn't look like a zombie at all. And it was too late for me to start shambling around and moaning about wanting to eat brains.

"Maybe…? The necromancer probably did something to me…whoa!"

I wasn't given any time to explain. Tsukishima had fired another blast at me. Dodging, I rolled away and sprang to my feet. These girls meant business!

Why were my classmates always trying to kill me? What was their problem? First, it was Kobayashi and his gang, always bullying me, and then throwing me to what they thought was my death. And having survived that, the girls were now determined to finish me off. I never did anything to them. Why did they hate me so much?

Was it because I was weak? Hah! When I kicked Kobayashi's ass and forced my classmates to gang up on little old me? Impossible.

Was it because I was disgusting?

It didn't add up.

I threw my hand out, but nothing came out. Even after eating the necromancer, it didn't seem like I had inherited his abilities. I had no way of fighting my opponents at all, especially if they had a six months' head start. It was best to run.

Unfortunately, Kureha's horse galloped past and she slashed at me before I could dodge.

"Gaaah!"

Her blow had landed true. My right arm flew into the air, blood spurting from it. Screaming from the pain, I dropped to my knees. That movement inadvertently saved my life, for Kureha's next blow missed and instead sank into my shoulder.

"Aaah!"

Yelling, I pulled away, but Kureha blew me away with a flick of her sword, slicing open my chest. Tumbling to the ground, I writhed in agony.

Fuck! It hurt! It hurt like hell!

Wheezing, I tried to climb back to my feet, tears in my eyes. Sucking in a deep breath, I was suddenly aware that my pain was lessening. I glanced down, and my eyes widened when I saw the huge gaping wound in my chest closing up.

Wiping the blood from my mouth, I dove for my right arm. In front of the disbelieving knights and two heroes, threads of blood flew out from my stump and met with the severed edge of my arm, connecting and weaving together. In less than a minute, my arm was fully attached. Wincing, I swung it to make sure, but my action only served to prove that my amputation from earlier was an illusion.

"What's that for?" I demanded, but as usual everyone ignored me.

"He's not human," one of the knights murmured.

"Don't falter! The heroes are with us! Back them up!"

The commander sprang to life and urged his horse forward, drawing his sword. With a cry, the squadron of knights began charging at me, along with Kureha.

As much as I was impressed by my Regeneration ability, I wasn't fond of being hacked into pieces. Gulping, I quickly turned around and sprinted into the forest. Here, the thick, densely packed trees made it difficult for the cavalry to stampede into the woods. I heard panicked neighs as the horses pulled up to prevent themselves from colliding into the trees.

Overhead, a black ball of magical energy slammed into a branch, rotting it away into oblivion. I ducked my head, trying to make myself as small a target as possible to evade Tsukishima's deadly spells. Even with Regeneration, I dreaded to think what that sort of foul magic would do to me.

"Get off your horses! Chase him on foot!"

The commander was yelling at his men, who were flustered by the sudden impediment. They were all hastily dismounting and bashing through the foliage, but their thick, heavy armor ended up catching on foliage and branches. Their protective gear served to hinder them in a closed, confined environment like this.

I could get away!

Or so I thought, but a sudden silver streak from behind caused me to duck my head in reflex. Instead, blood spurted from my back and I toppled over with a cry.

"Did you think you'll get away?"

Kureha was pointing her sword at me. Dressed in lighter armor than the knights, she had no problem navigating the thick forest with her deft footwork. Panting, I crawled away as I kept a wary eye on her.

"Why?"

"Because you're Tanaka."

"So what? What do you have against me? What does the class have against me? I never did anything to you guys!"

Kureha paused, as if seriously considering the question for a while, and then shrugged.

"I don't know. Kobayashi singled you out, and after a while all of us decided that you were the perfect scapegoat…the perfect punching bag. It just feels natural, you know? In whatever world we're in, everyone has a role. Yours is to submit to us."

"What kind of logic is that!?"

Kureha responded by slashing me. The blow from her swing was so strong that I was sent hurtling several meters away, breaking branches and twigs unfortunate enough to be in my trajectory. Crashing heavily onto the ground, I tried to crawl back to my feet.

Fortunately, my wounds from earlier were already starting to heal. Taking a deep breath, I staggered to my feet.

However, Kureha didn't seem impressed even as she took note of my Regeneration ability. She merely sneered.

"What an annoying ability."

"I know, right? So this is just a complete waste of your time."

I didn't know if that was convincing enough, but I was desperate enough to resort to anything as long as I could stop her from hurting me. Gah, the agony…! Even as my wounds healed, my mental state couldn't endure the excruciating agony that came with it. Any more and I would break.

Not that Kureha or any of my classmates cared. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that was what they were aiming for.

"Waste of time?"

As I suspected, Kureha burst out laughing. I watched her, wondering what was so funny. Behind, the knights and Tsukishima were slowly catching up. Tsukishima was also smirking, having heard our verbal exchange.

"Are you stupid? Oh, that was a dumb question. Of course you're stupid. You're the idiot Tanaka, after all."

I bit my lip, not liking the sound of it. As if to put me out of my suspense, Kureha lowered her sword and pointed it at me.

"It's not like you're immortal. Your Regeneration ability has its limits. I'll just keep cutting you apart until you can't regenerate again…or until you run out of magical energy to regenerate. It's just that simple."

I felt my spine turn to ice.

Before I knew it, Kureha surged forward, her sword flashing in strokes too fast for my eyes to follow. The next moment, my vision disappeared in red-hot agony and I fell back, blood spouting from my body.

I had just barely averted having my limbs severed again, but Kureha's blade had reached deep. I was choking as my lungs filled with blood, and my movements grew slower. Staggering backward, I tried to withdraw, but Kureha pursued me relentlessly, slashing me again.

The Regeneration…it's getting slower.

While I backed away desperately, I noticed that the speed that my wounds were healing had slowed down. The time they took to mend and knit together had increased. And with every fresh injury that Kureha dealt me, my Regeneration slowed down even more.

…until I could no longer keep track. Blinded and suffocated by the pain, I desperately ran trying to endure the fountain of blood that spurted from my back as Kureha dealt me a new injury. Stumbling, I crashed through the forest, trying to seek cover in the trees.

It was useless. Kureha's sword carved a path through the dense foliage, sending leaves, twigs, branches and even trunks flying into splinters. Nothing could stop her sword. The impediments didn't even slow her strokes down – it was as if they never existed. Whatever her blade touched was cut as easily as soft butter under contact from a hot knife.

But I didn't care. I needed to get away. I wanted the pain to end.

I fumbled through the forest, only for my right foot to misstep and flailed over a pocket of air. Unable to stop because of my momentum, I crashed forward and suddenly found myself above empty space.

The forest had terminated in a cliff. With no solid ground under my feet, I pitched forward and fell. I flailed about, but was unable to catch hold of anything. I just went off the cliff and crashed into the yawning abyss below.

"Aaaah!"

For the second time in as many days, I plummeted to what seemed to be my death again.