Sakura petals floated under the afternoon sun, turning the ground beneath the cherry trees into a sea of pink. This sight was admired by Aurélien from the third floor of Fujimi Academy.
To say that his outfit hadn't drawn attention would be an understatement. It's not every day one sees, in a school with a strict uniform policy, a young man wearing a flamboyant outfit and carrying a cane with a morbid emblem. A regular student would have received a stern reprimand from the teachers, but being one of the academy's top students and a candidate for one of the most prestigious universities in the country granted him a degree of leniency. The faculty deliberately turned a blind eye to his eccentricities.
His classmates looked at him strangely, but that was nothing new. Even before his fusion with a Tech-Priest, he preferred to spend his time buried in books and tinkering with small inventions — hardly a path to an active social life, not that he cared. It didn't help either that he was of mixed heritage, with one European and one Japanese parent, in a country still somewhat xenophobic.
He had spent the morning attending regular classes, but as soon as the afternoon bell rang, he headed to a quiet corner of the third floor to observe, one last time, the peaceful city he had known since he was three. Before he could even process it, his countdown ended.
[Quest completed. Quest evaluation: B+. Presence detected at Fujimi Academy – bonus awarded.]
[Rewards received]
[Campbell Family Swordsmanship Manual]
[Bonus reward: Lucius Pattern Lasgun schematic]
A schematic and a manual appeared in Aurélien's right hand. Stashing the schematic in one of the pockets of his coat for later use, his attention shifted to the manual, which piqued his curiosity.
Aurélien: "System, is the Campbell Family renowned in swordsmanship?"
[For a world like yours, they would be considered among the best combat techniques, but in their world of origin, they are at best a second-rate force.]
This information intrigued Aurélien. Learning such techniques could increase his chances of survival. Knowing this was neither the time nor place to think about such things, he carefully placed the manual in his bag.
Contrary to what one might expect, the arrival of mana did not immediately trigger mass chaos. Instead, Aurélien noticed a gradual accumulation of strange phenomena: a rising number of car accidents, increasing ambient noise, smoke on the horizon, people running—some as if pursued by demons—and finally, screams of horror echoing through the streets. It didn't take long for the voice of the school principal to ring out over the academy's PA system.
Principal: "Attention students. We have an emergency. All students and staff must evacuate immediately. All students and staff must remain—What?! How did you get in here?! NO! STAY BACK! STAY B—NO-AAARRRGGGH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"
The sounds of gnawing and breaking bones could be heard until the microphone was abruptly cut off.
For a few seconds, no sound followed. It was as if the world had paused, granting its inhabitants one last moment of reprieve. But peace instantly gave way to chaos as a horde of students and teachers, panicked by what they had heard, rushed to escape. Those who fell or couldn't keep up were mercilessly shoved and trampled by their so-called classmates. The unfortunate ones quickly became piles of bloodied flesh.
Yet, escape wasn't the solution. The excited shrieks of bloodthirsty monsters echoed from the first floor, as if they knew it was feeding time.
Aurélien had avoided the stampede by hiding behind one of the pillars near a window. From his vantage point, he saw that the school courtyard had become a scene straight out of a horror movie. The undead chased after students now gripped by mass hysteria in the face of danger.
Most of the zombies seemed slow and clumsy, relying on sheer numbers as their only advantage. However, Aurélien noticed some with peculiar traits. He thought this as he saw one reach the speed of an Olympic sprinter to catch up with two girls.
Rather than flee, hide, or help the other students, Aurélien forced himself to watch the unfolding horror. It's one thing to see visions of another world locked in eternal war; it's another to live it. This was now his reality, and he knew he had to adapt if he didn't want to end up in the mass grave that had become his world.
Aurélien thought: "That's what evolution has always been: either adapt or vanish into oblivion, whether you're a Good Samaritan or the maddest psychopath. In the end, nature only allows the strong or the adaptable to survive."
After a while, the upper floors of the academy were nearly deserted. The first floor and stairwells had become death traps. The screams of pleading teenagers clashed with those of monsters and the dying. Fifteen minutes into the chaos, Aurélien came face to face with one of the undead emerging from the stairwell.
Seeing it was one of the slower types, Aurélien approached until he was four meters away. Instantly, one of his mechadendrites shot out from under his coat and latched onto the creature's chest. In response, the zombie continued swinging its arms toward the only living being in sight, seemingly unaware of the metallic limb restraining it. Observing its behavior, Aurélien classified this zombie type as a low threat—unless encountered in tight quarters or large numbers.
The mechadendrite lifted the undead into the air and brought it closer to its master. Aurélien gazed into the zombie's eyes with a morbid fascination. He wondered whether any shred of humanity remained. But seeing the hunger in its eyes, devoid of anything but an insatiable urge, he quickly reached a conclusion.
Aurélien said to the zombie: "You poor wretches have been stripped of what makes you human—a punishment undoubtedly worse than death. And yet, in looking at you, I feel not hatred, but pity. I do not know yet where my path will lead, but to you and all your kind, I make this promise: I will free you from the curse that consumes you. The deity who chose me has given me the chance to drive the darkness from this world and rebuild a new one upon the ashes of the old."
Aurélien drew the blade hidden in his cane and drove its tip into the zombie's skull. The mechadendrite hurled the body out the window, shattering it into dozens of pieces.
Aurélien: "May you be reborn to better serve the interests of humanity."