"Well… it's a shack, at least." Liz wiped his brow, slapping the final wooden door onto the boxy structure.
By square footage, it wasn't bad—private sleeping spaces, even room for a future bathroom. But with its uniform brown planks and rushed construction, it resembled a monolithic LEGO block more than a house.
Why build outdoors when classrooms exist?
Ask Takashi Komuro, currently huddled in a bloodstained gas station with Saeko and Nurse鞠川, surrounded by moaning zombies. Somehow, the shack felt cozier.
"We're back—"
"Whoa. You built this in hours?"
"So this is a 'building-game system'…"
Hisashi and Saya returned from looting the school, picking up Rei from the forest. Kohta—lacking inventory hacks—trailed behind after securing the perimeter with his nail gun.
"Report your hauls. Rei, you've got wood, right? Fork over 40%. Keep the rest." Liz held out his hands.
"W-Wait, I'm still getting the hang of—" After fumbling, logs phased out of Rei's body into Liz's. Horrifying yet efficient. "D-Done…"
"Damn, you're a natural! Tomorrow, you're on rock-mining duty~"
"Liar!" Rei groaned. She'd deforested a small grove single-handedly (and felt like death). But no protests—after today's zombie exploits, she knew even dirt blocks were OP.
Hisashi went next. "Food and water, pre-sorted with Saya."
"Split evenly."
"Really?" Hisashi blinked.
"What, you think I'd ration necessities to control you?" Liz scoffed. Their powers came from him—unstealable leverage.
Hisashi laughed, transferring supplies. But the unspoken truth lingered:
Most leaders would've hoarded resources for dominance. Liz? Couldn't be bothered.
Saya moved next—not to Liz, but around the shack, placing items:
A dining set (salvaged from the teachers' lounge).
"Beds" (repurposed office couches).
Spare uniforms (storage-room loot).
Then—
"IRON INGOT?! HOW?!" Liz nearly tripped over the silver lump.
"You mentioned no ore veins, so I… experimented." Saya smirked. "Turns out, steel beams count."
"MORE. WHERE?!" Sunset be damned—Liz was ready to raid construction sites.
"Only one beam left in the school."
"New mission: Find a factory!" Liz fist-pumped. Finally, an upgrade from stone-age gear!
"Hell yeah!"
Their cheers echoed—perhaps the only group celebrating in this apocalypse.
———————————————————————————————
Nightfall brought more than rest.
First: Tutorial Time.
Unlike Liz, the party lacked system knowledge. They could punch, place, and craft—barely.
"Synthesize workbenches first." Liz demonstrated. Soon, stone weapons materialized:
Saya: Katana (obviously).
Rei/Hisashi: Spears (polearm training).
Kohta: Nail-gun upgrades (still useless for EXP).
"Next, furnaces." Liz tossed a cobblestone block. "One per room—unless you wanna bake alive."
Charcoal production followed:
"Burn wood → charcoal → torches."
"MY PRECIOUS WOOD—" Rei wailed. (Liz had forgotten to give her an axe earlier.)
"Ahem. Unbreakable light sources. Remember to reclaim them." Liz brandished a torch. Somehow, he knew the rules instinctively.
"This is bullshit OP…" Kohta muttered.
"That's the point~"
———————————————————————————————
Lastly: Hard Truths.
"Party downsides. One: Damage nerfs."
Saya's eyes narrowed. "So that's why my strikes feel weaker…" (Still the team's DPS queen.)
"Blame equipment tiers. Iron weapons'll fix it." Liz shrugged. "Two: Starvation dehydrates you faster. Eat or die."
"Noted." (Their backpacks overflowed with snacks.)
"Three: Emergency escape." Liz's face turned grave. "Watch closely."
He crouched—
THUD-THUD-THUD!
—and punched a 3-meter hole straight down, sealing the top with a block.
"Earth Style: Underground Retreat Jutsu! Safe, fast, universal! Even if zombies bite you mid-dig, just eat to heal!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Four pairs of eyes stared into the abyss of absurdity.
Kohta broke the silence. "…Can I at least get a shovel?"