When Ryuji woke up again, he found himself inside a tent. The first thing he noticed was the rich aroma of at soup lingering in the air.
His head was still a little foggy, but he forced himself to sit up and crawl off the makeshift bed.
To his surprise, although his limbs still ached slightly and were now secured with crude splints made of small branches, the pain in his internal organs and head had completely vanished.
Even when he moved his arms, there was only a faint sting—no sharp pain, no unbearable soreness.
"Strange… How long was I unconscious?"
Stepping out of the tent, the first thing he saw was a small bonfire, with two won sitting beside it, cooking at in a tal pot. They were still dressed the sa way he had last seen them.
As his mind cleared, he focused on the tomboyish woman tending the fire. Hesitantly, he called out, "Lady Kiri?"
Hearing her na, the woman stirring the pot turned her head and flashed him a confident grin, waving the wooden stick she was using as a makeshift ladle.
"Oh, you're finally up! The food will be ready in a bit. Just sit tight and wait… Oh, and this here is Tsunade Senju. She's the one who saved you. You should really thank her."
Tsunade Senju ?
Ryuji's mind froze for a mont. Of course, he recognized that na. But never in his wildest dreams did he expect it to be that Tsunade—from Naruto.
But… hemophobia? Have all her loved ones already died?
He couldn't help but glance at Tsunade. Without hesitation, he gave a slight bow.
"Thank you for saving my life."
Tsunade, however, barely reacted. She sat in silence, gazing into the bubbling pot of at with a deeply troubled expression.
"Don't ntion it. It ca at a price."
She finally turned to look at him, her golden eyes sharp and demanding.
"As paynt, you owe us an explanation. What exactly is going on in this world?"
She was deeply unsettled. One mont, she had been leaving Konoha with Shizune, planning to live a peaceful life, and the next—she was here. Surrounded by corpses, blood, and devastation.
For a fleeting mont, she had thought she had died and gone to hell.
Ryuji let out a heavy sigh and sank to the ground.
"Honestly, this place isn't much different from hell."
Then, he began to explain.
"This world was struck by an unknown catastrophe that turned humans into mindless, flesh-eating corpses. The only way to kill them is to destroy their brains. But the worst part isn't just the zombies—it's this world's strange rules. Every ti we kill a zombie, we gain experience points. These points level us up, granting us abilities unique to this world. The powers you've seen—like conjuring objects out of thin air—co from this system."
He paused for a mont and instinctively opened his status screen. What he saw shocked him.
He had reached Level 51.
Quickly, he browsed through the interface. Not only had his map function unlocked, but the quests and skills tabs were now accessible as well.
Even stranger, a clock had appeared at the top of his vision, alongside cardinal direction markers, telling him it was precisely 8:20 AM and that he was facing north.
His quest log, however, was completely empty. As for skills, only basic attributes—Perception, Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Intelligence—could be leveled up. Special abilities remained locked, but at least now he could see that they existed.
Still, he only had one skill point. He wasn't sure which stat to upgrade just yet.
But this gave him hope.
A real chance at surviving the next zombie horde.
No… with these two here…
His eyes flickered between Tsunade and Lady Kiri, and his anxiety eased a little.
Kiri's combat skills were unknown, but if she had survived in a place like Empyrean, she had to be formidable. Tsunade, on the other hand—she was a powerhouse. Even if she couldn't fight due to her hemophobia, she could still build fortifications.
At the very least, she'd be excellent at mining.
The mont of contemplation was broken when Kiri spoke up.
"So you're saying that summoning wood and creating weapons from thin air is actually a power granted by this world? I thought you had so kind of storage equipnt."
She tilted her head, clearly intrigued.
"More importantly—do you have a way to return?"
Tsunade nodded slightly. The first ti she had seen Ryuji summon wooden barricades, she had nearly mistaken it for —the legendary Wood Release technique.
But it seed to be sothing else entirely.
Ryuji confird their suspicions with a nod.
"Yes. And by spending experience points, I can turn you both into players. As repaynt for saving my life… would you like to beco one?"
Kiri and Tsunade still looked skeptical, so he decided to explain further.
"Without player status, you can't interact with the unique elents of this world. For example, see that intact building over there? Inside is a rchant—she looks human, but she isn't. You can't harm her or her shop in any way. And unless you're a player, you won't even be able to buy items from her."
Then, a thought struck him.
"By the way… how long was I unconscious?"
"One day."
"Shit."
Ryuji's expression darkened.
"That ans we only have four days until the next zombie horde."
He clenched his fists. Four days was nowhere near enough ti. They wouldn't be able to build proper defenses. The only viable solution was to dig an underground shelter.
"Zombie horde?"
"Yeah. Every seven days, a massive swarm of zombies moves in a single direction. When the moon turns blood-red, they will all rush toward you, destroying everything in their path. I barely survived the last one… and looking back, it was probably the gas station fire that saved ."
Kiri crossed her arms, deep in thought, while Tsunade's expression turned ice-cold.
"And what about returning ho?"
Ryuji hesitated for a mont before finally answering.
"I haven't found a way back yet. But… I know there has to be one."
He accepted the cup of hot water Kiri handed him, taking a slow sip. As he looked up at the clear sky, one thought lingered in his mind—
Is Erina safe?
"I see…"
Kiri tapped her fingers against her arm, clearly weighing her options.
anwhile, Tsunade's gaze sharpened. Her voice carried a chill as she pressed him further.
"Forget the player thing for now. If you were brought here suddenly, then does that an you had a companion with you? Were you able to send her back?"
She stared directly into his eyes.
"And… does your so-called thod of returning ho co with a price?"
Ryuji t her gaze, sensing the heavy weight behind her words.
Without hesitation, he nodded.
He had no reason to hide the truth.
"Yes, I sent her back to her original world. As for the thod I ntioned… I discovered it through that experience. Because of fear, desperation, and other emotions, we ended up together. After that, I realized I had a unique ability: whenever I share an emotional connection with soone, I gain a type of energy. Once I accumulate 1,000 points, I can send soone back. But whether they actually return to their original world or not… I don't know."
"…Huh?"
Kiri tilted her head, pointing at herself.
"So you're saying… if I want to go back, I have to sleep with you? What kind of ridiculous thod is that? You're just taking advantage of the situation!"
Her expression was one of sheer disbelief.
"Well… that's the information I have so far," Ryuji admitted awkwardly. "But I don't think physical intimacy is the only requirent. Since it's based on emotional connection, maybe if we form a strong enough bond as companions, it could work too."
Tsunade turned away, saying nothing.
"Let's hope so," she muttered.
She still wasn't convinced that Ryuji wasn't behind everything. This was a bizarre world, after all, and so far, she had only encountered him. If she blindly believed everything he said, that would be far too foolish.
Ryuji understood this.
Tsunade was a ninja—trusting people so easily wasn't in her nature. As for Kiri, if she were the type to believe strangers without question, she would have been dead long ago.
"I know it's hard for you to trust ," Ryuji said seriously. "But with the upcoming zombie horde, I hope you can at least work with for now."
Since he couldn't gain their trust imdiately, he decided to act first and prove himself later.
The first thing he needed to do was dig an underground shelter.
Building a fortress wouldn't work—he had seen firsthand how overwhelming the last zombie horde was. A towering structure wouldn't hold.
So instead, he would rely on honesty and transparency.
"I won't force you to do anything," he continued. "You're free to explore and seek out the truth of this world on your own. But as a token of gratitude for saving , I can provide you with supplies and food. Just… please be careful. Avoid getting scratched at all costs—without dicine, infection is highly likely. And if you ever encounter a screar zombie, kill it imdiately. They can summon more of their kind and drastically increase their speed and strength."
He paused, then added, "One more thing. No matter where you go or what you find, return by the third day. If you don't have a safe shelter by then, you won't survive the upcoming horde."
His tone was grave—he held nothing back.
"I see."
Tsunade exchanged a glance with Kiri.
Kiri nodded.
"Alright. Then we'll be counting on you for now."
This was the best compromise they could reach. Both won planned to explore their surroundings before deciding whether to trust Ryuji completely. But they appreciated his straightforward attitude.
After discussing a few more details—such as different zombie types—they sat down for a quiet al.
Kiri's at stew… well, it was edible. But compared to the gourt dishes Erina had made, it was nothing. Still, in tis like these, he wasn't about to be picky.
Once they finished eating, the two won prepared to head out.
Neither of them even glanced at the mysterious rchant nearby.
Ryuji stayed behind, watching their figures gradually disappear from the ruined town. He let out a sigh.
"…What a sha."
If Tsunade and Kiri had trusted him more, things would be much easier.
Kiri had taken his scrap-tal machine gun, but she didn't take all the ammo—just about a hundred rounds. anwhile, Tsunade didn't take anything at all, seemingly trusting Kiri to protect her.
Now, it was ti for him to get to work.
Taking a deep breath, Ryuji entered the rchant's shop.
It looked exactly the sa as before—untouched, unchanging.
The rchant, as always, wore a polite smile, sitting still as if she were just a lifeless NPC.
Without a word, Ryuji opened the rchant's nu and selected "Do you have any work for ?"
The mont he did, the rchant suddenly moved.
"Oh, you ca at the perfect ti! I have plenty of tasks that need doing."
Her English was crisp and clear, yet sohow, he understood her perfectly.
Her voice wasn't as charming as Erina's haughty tone, but it carried a soothing warmth.
Then, a list of tasks appeared before him:
-Clear out all zombies in the fire station (214m away).
-Retrieve smuggled goods from a three-story building (200m away).
-Gather food supplies from a wooden white house (160m away).
-Clear all zombies from a wooden cabin (121m away).
Ryuji scanned the list and imdiately selected the fourth task—it was the closest.
He wanted to test how this world's quests functioned.
More importantly… the town was completely burned to the ground. There shouldn't be any intact wooden cabins left.
Would zombies just spawn out of thin air?
Would he simply complete the quest by stepping into the designated area?
The rchant's cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Wonderful! The last people I hired died trying to do that. I was just wondering who could help next!"
A quest notification popped up in his vision.
His map now displayed a large exclamation mark over a particular location, with the word "Clear" marked beside it.
"So… the cabin's destruction didn't affect the quest chanics."
Did that an zombies would magically appear when he arrived?
Or would the quest auto-complete the mont he stepped in?
Just when, he turned to leave— a sudden thought struck him.
The rchant…
Could she be used to level up his Endless Traveler ability?
His gaze flickered to the woman, who remained seated, her revealing outfit the sa as before.
Ryuji found himself hesitating.
Should he do it?
Or should he hold back?
One thing was clear.
The mont he started debating it, it ant the idea had already taken root.
But for now…
"Not yet."
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