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Meanwhile, in the world of the Apocalypse!
Saeko Busujima and the other girls arrived at the medical office in the school's teaching building, looking for the school nurse, Shizuka Mikawa.
They wanted to take her with them, but the naive, sweet teacher refused and didn't believe Saeko's warning about the zombie virus outbreak.
It wasn't until the virus spread throughout the school, and the teacher in the broadcast room was attacked while trying to warn everyone, that Shizuka finally understood the danger.
From there, Mikoto Misaka, Kurumi Tokisaki, and Saeko Busujima led the way, with Michiko Yotsuya and Shizuka following behind.
The five of them fought their way from the infirmary to the school parking lot, then jumped into the school bus and sped out of the campus.
The school's large iron gates were smashed open, and more zombies poured in.
Now, the number of undead inside the campus only increased.
Those who hadn't escaped yet, including our protagonists, were all cursing their luck.
On the bus, Mikoto turned to Kurumi. "Kurumi, how do you think we're supposed to complete this mission?"
The system's objective was to keep Saeko safe—but what counted as truly "safe"?
With the zombie virus spreading everywhere, there was almost nowhere secure.
Official shelters might exist, but none were visible for now.
Although the Sakura Country government hadn't completely collapsed, they clearly weren't making any real effort to save ordinary people.
"Would it count as completely safe if we took Saeko to another world?" Kurumi suddenly suggested boldly.
Saeko's eyes lit up at the idea.
Her world was already in apocalypse mode. Staying here was pointless. Sure, she could vent her bloodthirsty side by killing zombies, but after a while, that would get boring.
What mattered now was getting stronger—gaining real power.
Michiko exclaimed, "That's perfect! Saeko's already a follower of Hestia, so let's send her to Orary!"
All three girls turned to Saeko, waiting for her answer.
Shizuka, driving the bus, didn't understand what they were talking about—but she didn't ask. She just assumed the girls were "chuunibyou" teenagers.
Saeko took a deep breath. "Let's do it that way. But I'm taking Shizuka-sensei with me."
"That shouldn't be a problem. Ask Hestia—she won't mind one more follower," Mikoto said with a smile.
Saeko nodded and opened the group chat.
Saeko: "@Hestia, Goddess, I'm heading to Orary. Can you issue a mission?"
Hestia: "Is everything under control on your side?"
Saeko: "Almost. The mission is just to get me to safety. Once I'm in Orary, that counts as safe."
Hestia: "Good plan. Are you planning to stay there long-term or just a short visit?"
Saeko: "Long-term."
Hestia: "Leave it to me. It'll be ready soon."
Saeko: "Wait, there's one more person with me. Can she come too? I'll have her join the Familia."
Hestia: "I'd like to, but my points aren't enough. Last time I brought six people from the Type-Moon world, it cost 600 points. Then I spent another 201 points on three missions for Alex, Loki, and Shinobu. That's 801 points already. I don't have much left."
Saeko: "I'll cover the points!"
Hestia: "Alright, hold on a moment."
[Hestia has issued a mission: Path of the Strong, Difficulty ★★★★, Reward 100 points!]
This mission, like Alex's, required raising "Favor Level" to LV5 to complete. Saeko was only LV1. Even with her exceptional talent, it would take years to reach LV5. During that time, she could stay in the Apocalypse world.
Loki's mission, "Archmage," was the same—reach LV5 Favor.
Only Shinobu's mission, "First Kill," was simple: kill one monster in a dungeon to complete it. It was low reward, just 1 point, but it allowed her to return to her world anytime.
[Saeko Busujima has accepted the mission!]
Saeko chose to bring a teammate.
[Select a teammate: extra 100 points required!]
She paid the points. In the next moment, she and Shizuka vanished from the bus.
The bus, driverless, hurtled toward the curb.
"Oh no! The bus is going off the road!" Michiko screamed in terror.
Mikoto and Kurumi were about to jump out with her when a message popped up in the group chat:
[Mission complete. Return now?]
Without hesitation, the three chose to return.
In the next moment, they too disappeared from the bus.
The mission rewarded 500 points, split evenly: 166.666 points each. Rounded, the system generously gave 167 points apiece.
Michiko had done nothing but relax and was thrilled with the easy points. If this were a check-in system, she'd have to log in for half a month to get that much.
Mikoto and Kurumi had killed many zombies, earning extra points. Mikoto killed 129 zombies—129 bonus points, totaling 296. Kurumi killed 201—201 bonus points, totaling 368.
In the chat:
Loki: "You guys basically glitched your way to completing the mission, right?"
Erza: "Too bad I was too slow to grab this one.
"Alex: "Michiko got lucky, earning points lying down."
Michiko: "I did it on skill! @Hestia, Goddess, hurry and pull me in—I want to go to Orary too."
Hestia: "Coming!"
[Hestia has issued a mission: First Kill, Difficulty ★½, Reward 1 point!]
[Michiko Yotsuya has accepted the mission!]
…
Outside the Orary church, Alex and the others were waiting. Soon, three beams of light appeared, and Saeko, Michiko, and Shizuka materialized before everyone.
Yotsuya Miko's eyes lit up the moment she saw Hestia, and she practically leaped into her arms.
"Goddess! I finally get to see you!"
Hestia froze for a moment, completely caught off guard. She was used to being the one to cling to others, not the other way around. This sudden role reversal made her feel strangely awkward.
Togijima Saeko scanned the surroundings. Her gaze immediately landed on the Babel Tower at the center of Orary. She froze.
Even as someone from the modern world, someone used to skyscrapers, she was completely overwhelmed by the sight of that towering white structure.
It was like a pillar holding up the sky itself, radiating an oppressive presence even from a distance.
Buildings like this didn't exist anywhere in her world—she could only imagine seeing something like this in a magical, otherworldly realm.
Suddenly, Shizuka Mikawa's voice rang out in a startled shout.
"Togijima-san… what… where… is this place?"
Alex glanced at Shizuka, surprised that Saeko had brought her along.
Saeko looked at Shizuka too, unsure how to explain.
Alex simply smiled. "Shizuka-sensei, this is another world. You've… crossed over."
"What?! Another world? How is that even possible? And… how do you know my name?" Shizuka's questions poured out one after another, words tumbling over themselves.
"Don't worry about it," Alex said casually. "The world you came from was hit by a corpse virus. More than half the population was infected. Your world… it's already a wasteland. Just stay here from now on." He didn't bother explaining further and turned toward the dungeon. The cleanup could be left to Saeko—she had brought the humans here, after all.
"Master, I'll come with you!" Merlin hurried to catch up.
Seeing this, Morgan and Artoria followed as well.
Alex looked at the three of them. "From now on, don't call me Master. Since we're all part of the same familia, just call me Captain."
Merlin smiled. "Got it, Captain."
"Then let's go." Alex led the three toward the dungeon without hesitation.
Seeing this, Yotsuya Miko looked at Hestia with wide eyes. "Goddess, where are they going?"
"Of course… the dungeon," Hestia replied.
"What? I want to go too!" Miko immediately tried to run after them.
Hestia yanked her back with a firm grip.
"Why are you rushing into danger? Those four are strong—they'll be heading deep inside. Do you want to be dead weight?" Hestia gave her a look that screamed disbelief.
"Uh… I just want to get stronger…" Miko said, her voice pitiful.
"Then team up with Ais and the others. You can start in the upper layers. Don't go to the middle or lower levels yet." Hestia shoved her toward Ais.
"Then I want to go too!" Togijima Saeko, having just settled Shizuka, decided she wanted to join the dungeon run.
"Fine," Hestia nodded.
And so, the second team was formed. It consisted of Loki, Togijima Saeko, Yotsuya Miko, Ais, Sera, Lilith, and Kuu Mai. Loki would lead them as captain, and together, they ventured into the dungeon for their adventure.
"..."
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