X-OVER: RIP and TEAR, Until IT IS DONE

CHAPTER 1: [Highschool of the Dead]

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A/N:

I'm making the first three chapters + the prologue free for all my members. Please let me know if I cooked or burnt the dish!

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—him about this transportation at all!

... Oh. He was already out of the cave. And his bodysuit was worn under some Japanese gakuran uniform; it actually was quite breathable and easy to move in.

[Can't let you stay there forever; I know the type of person you are.]

[You'd be asking for details regarding this universe and stay as long as you could to get as much information as possible.]

[By the time I'm done explaining, hours will have gone by and you will have starved.]

Damn, can't argue with that. Fine, where was he? He looked around to find himself in a... school area? A very clean school with an architecture that is vastly different from the ones he personally went to. Ah, right. The word "high school" was in the title of the anime world he's currently in.

But the "of the dead" part in the title is giving me some zombie vibes. From the title, it sounds like the anime takes place in a high school filled with the dead? Tova, can you confirm this?

[Yep! You're spot on. The anime starts in a high school where the zombie apocalypse suddenly occurred; the main cast spent a fourth of the season running to escape from said high school.]

Interesting. He had a few more questions, but the important information that he needed was...

When is this apocalypse going to start?

[5 minutes and 32 seconds. But in your case, about 7 minutes and 12 seconds due to the school gates being closed.]

Alright, not much time, but manageable. First, he needed food and water; a school like this should have some sort of store to buy food and snacks from, right?

[Something like that. There's a cafeteria on the ground floor that you can go to for some food and drinks.]

[Oh, one thing to note: items sent into the Inventory will not expire, so you don't need to worry about putting any perishable foods.]

That's good—no—great news, actually. That makes selecting items much easier.

David jogged through the hallway and down the stairs, passing by classes filled with students and teachers. By the time he reached the cafeteria, Tova's countdown had dropped to 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

Ignoring the cries of the lunch ladies that were still in the midst of cooking up lunch, he started to stack up the already readied food that was on display. One of the staff members tried to stop him but was met with a firm push to the ground, stopping their advances towards him as he continued his mission.

Two minutes later, he cleared out all the available food and drinks that the cafeteria had in store. He also brought along a few dozen empty plastic bottles for water storage too. Placing them all into a plastic bag, he willed them away into his Inventory as his shoulder was abruptly grabbed.

"Student Yong Zuan, you're pushing it!"

A string of aggressive Japanese made its presence known as the man behind him tried to pull his shoulder back but was met with inhuman resistance as David's body didn't move an inch.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

[Ghahaha! In the staff's eyes, you're the usual delinquent student. And now you've gone and done this, hahahaha! It's to fit your backstory into this world, sorry not sorry!]

Just as the teacher shouted again, David snorted before his face hardened.

Well, being a delinquent for once sounds fun. He just had to think of it as role-playing. Besides, he doubts that he'd ever see this guy again once the apocalypse starts.

"Get off me."

Grabbing onto the man's arm on his shoulder, he performed a textbook shoulder flip after crouching slightly with his center of gravity lowered, sending the Japanese man slamming onto the ground with his back against the floor.

The teacher choked on his saliva as he struggled to get up, the spectacles on his face slightly off-center.

"Y-You! Damn foreigner, you dare do this to a teacher?!"

Wow, his voice is slimy, the disgusting type.

Flipping off the knocked-down teacher with the universal sign of the middle finger, he started walking back up the stairs with the intent of going to the rooftop for a bird's-eye view of the situation.

[2 minutes and 21 seconds until first contact. Keep your eyes peeled at the front gate; that's where shit goes down the fan.]

He nodded before deciding to detour for a moment into some places around the school. The trip was quick and simple, as he simply grabbed anything that was useful before heading out.

Bunsen burners and matches were the most important. Gas for the bunsen burners too.

Books were next to keep himself entertained. Maybe he could take the time to learn something new too.

He also grabbed a few hand mirrors by smashing one of the toilet's mirrors into pieces. They can be used for peeking around corners or signaling things to people with reflected light...

He doubts that he'd be with people during the apocalypse, but just in case.

Toilet paper. There's no need to explain this one.

Notebooks and pens. Very useful tools when you need to map out the surrounding area or track things.

And some spare razor blades he found in the faculty office as his ranged option.

It was unfortunate, but those were the only good things that he managed to find in the timeframe he had before the countdown went to zero.

Opening the door that leads to the rooftop, he found a nice vantage point for him in the form of an observatory to watch things unfold. With a single jump, he easily hopped up to the 3-foot-tall wall and stood at the top of the dome.

His high STR stat really is useful.

Now then, the front gate is... there. Oh, damn, it looks like the apocalypse already started. He could see the dead walking around through the gate.

[11 seconds until first contact.]

[10]

[9]

[8]

[7]

[6]

A few teachers are walking to the front gate, wanting to confront the Dead that's trapped between the gate.

[5]

[4]

[3]

Oh dear, one went too close to the Zombie.

[2]

Yep, the teacher fell down after getting bit on the arm. The Zs have surprisingly great biting strength.

[1]

The bitten teacher reached out and grabbed the nearest thing it could find before sinking its teeth into its victim's throat.

[First contact initialized.]

So the virus transmits through bites. This is so cliché.

[World Quest started.]

[Zombie Apocalypse — Difficulty : Easy (LVL 5 ~ 20)]

| "Zombies are just weirder-looking Demons!" |

Objective : Keep the Main Cast Alive for 3 months + Kill 10,000 Zombies

Reward : Random Mid-Level World Ticket, Random Rare-Tier Weapon

Optional Objective : Kill 20,000 Zombies, Kill 50,000 Zombies

Reward : Random Rare-Tier Skill, Random Rare-Tier Equipment]

[World Tickets come in Levels, starting from Low < Mid < High < Extreme < Godlike]

Now, what's the next move...?

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Slamming the door open, Takashi panted while the students and teacher in the class looked straight at him, but he didn't care about the gazes as he walked up to Rei.

"Rei, come with me. We're getting out of here."

"... Huh?"

She looked at him with confusion before Takashi roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her seat.

"W-What on Earth?! I'm in the middle of class—"

"It doesn't matter, come! We need to go now!"

Murmurs radiate through the room as Hisashi grabs his arm. His eyes landed on Saya, who looked at him weird, to which he simply gestured for her to follow along as well.

"Takashi, what are you doing to Rei?!"

Takashi expected this, so he tilted his head to Hisashi's ear as he whispered.

"There's been a murder at the front gate. It's bad, really bad."

"... For real?"

He was skeptical, but the look on Takashi's face sealed the deal. Takashi wouldn't be lying about this kind of stuff; his face was too serious to be joking.

Rei slapped his arm away as she started to sit back down while berating Takashi until Hisashi, too, grabbed her arm.

"Rei, we need to follow Takashi."

"What?"

Hisashi donned a serious look that silenced Rei as he apologized to the teacher that started yelling at the both of them.

"Sensei, if you'll excuse us."

Jogging through the hallway that led to the stairs, Takashi explained the situation to both of his childhood friends.

"Something messed up went down at the front gate. If you value your life, you'll need to escape this place!"

"At the gate... That's it?!"

"What went down?"

Hisashi interrupted Rei as he asked Takashi the main elephant in the room.

"Someone was at the gate. Some P.E. teachers went to check it out. I didn't see it clearly, but something went wrong, and now... the teachers are killing each other."

"That's... How?! Why?"

Rei started questioning her friend, but Takashi shook his head.

"I don't know the details myself, but we're going to be in danger; I can feel it."

They continued their trip in silence before Hisashi stopped them.

"Hold on for a second."

He stopped mid-jog before opening the closet near him and grabbing a broomstick. Uncapping the head, he gave Rei the stick and Takashi the bat that he found lying around too.

"If what you said was true, then we'll need these."

"Then, what about you?"

"Have you forgotten? I've got a black belt in karate. It'll do until I can find something else to use."

Swinging the bat around, Takashi nodded at the weight as Hisashi continued.

"Either way, let's get out of the school. I want to check on my family."

"Your family... Right, I need to check on mine too."

"W-Wait!"

Rei took control of the conversation.

"First, we call the police! Dad's an inspector, so he'd come right away..."

Takashi immediately took out his phone and gave it to Rei, who started frantically pressing her father's phone number.

A few seconds later, the call connected as her face dropped. Hisashi noticed as he worriedly asked.

"What is it?"

"It... It said that they are getting too many 9-1-1 calls... That's..."

Suddenly, the school's public announcement system rang out as a teacher's voice echoed through the school.

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF! A violent outbreak has taken place on school grounds! All students are instructed to follow staff to safety at once!"

"Took them long enough."

Takashi muttered before gesturing to his friends to hurry along.

"I repeat. A violent outbreak has taken place on—"

A sudden screech from the P.A. system rang out as the teacher behind the system started screaming after some clattering sounded.

"AHH! Save me! Stop-Stop it! Please! S-Save me! Ow-w-w-ow! OH GOD, SAVE ME, I'M GONNA—GWAHHHHH!"

The last thing the P.A. system voiced out was the splatter of blood before silence filled the school.

"... Shit. We have to move NOW!"

In the same class where Takashi and his friends left minutes ago, at the back door of the class, a person was sneaking out crawling when suddenly—

"Hirano."

The body jolted before looking back.

"Ta... Takagi-san..."

Revealing Saya Takagi, who was crouched to avoid suspicion as she gestured to keep quiet.

"Sh! We are out of here. I'm sure you heard what Takashi said. Something's happened, and I'm going to find out."

He nods when the P.A. system turns on and gives its message. A chill went down her spine as she realized the dangers that were going to occur, so she pulled Kohta up before sprinting down the hallway.

As soon as the P.A. system ended its announcement, not a minute passed before chaos erupted.

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=

Wow, there's smoke emitted everywhere. And the amount of screaming that permeated the surroundings was starting to hurt his ears.

[That's the apocalypse for you.]

The minimap was filled with red dots... Haha, all the zombie trivia and knowledge that he binged on Reddit before bed would come in useful!

The rooftop door bursts open as three students walk out, looking at the chaos outside the school with shocked expressions.

Huh, looks like someone reacted in time. Great. Hopping down, he went into the observatory to grab the furniture. With it, he could create a barricade to prevent any Zs from entering a chokepoint.

His movement caused the three to be on their guard. Who were they, anyways?

[Two of the many main casts. The black-haired one is Komuro Takashi, while the brunette is Miyamoto Rei.]

A group of helicopters flew through the air as he noticed that Tova didn't mention the other person at all.

And the gray-haired one?

[No one of importance.]

Harsh, aren't you, Tova?

[Everyone could kill themselves for all I care. The one person that I care about is you, my host.]

[But since the main casts are important for your growth, I will hold my opinions, but nothing else.]

Hmm, thanks, Tova.

[No problem, David.]

Looking at the three, he noted the bloody bandage on the gray-haired boy's arm and narrowed his eyes.

The boy looked so pale and weak that he'd likely drop at any time. That led to the conclusion that he's been bitten.

... Could he kill a human being? Goblins were different since they looked alien compared to humans.

... Well, he'll deal with it when the time comes. For now, he had a barrier to create. Piling the foldable tables into one stack, he easily lifted them up with a single arm before slinging his free arm to grab the remaining chairs in the observatory.

Looking at the rooftop, David decided to block the stairs. It's narrow enough to create a choke point, and there's a ledge for the Z to be knocked down if enough strength is used.

And there's also the option of breaking the stairs entirely since he could easily jump high enough to reach the intended level, but his Quest objectives couldn't, so that idea is shot down for now.

"Hey, help me with this barrier."

He called out to the three, holding the chairs up for them to see. A second passed before they walked up the stairs and started helping him create the barrier.

"You're that foreign exchange student, Lee-something. Sorry, we're not in the same class, so..."

The girl, Rei, apologized while searching through the astronomy club's field trip stock as he used a roll of scotch tape to tie the tables together, forming a large wall at the base of the stairs.

"David Lee Yong Zuan. Just call me Yong Zuan or Lee. And you all are...?"

"Komura Takashi. The two are Igou Hisashi and Miyamoto Rei. Sorry, can you help me line them up?"

Takashi asked as he pointed at the remaining chairs to be used as support to reinforce the barrier while Hisashi was tying everything together with scotch tape.

Truly, duct tape is just superior in a zombie apocalypse.

Nodding, David easily lifted the remaining chairs before lining them up for the two boys to handle.

"You're rather strong. Just now you held all the tables with a single arm."

Hisashi noted as David nodded.

"I work out."

Then, the zombies started funneling through the rooftop doors.

"Tsk, they're coming through. Why did the lock break now?"

The lock on the door broke? He'd have to clear them out for the two main casts to move easily.

The zombies heard them and bee-lined straight towards the stairs. Thankfully, the barrier held with surprising durability. He sat on the railing of the stairs as a guard while the three were talking.

The sound of vomiting suddenly filled the area with the stench of iron following thereafter.

"T-Takashi! It's Hisashi!"

"What?!"

He walked up the stairs and looked at Rei, who immediately went to check on Hisashi. David sighed as he mentally prepared himself.

"Why are you—You just got a little bite! Why are you falling apart?"

Hisashi's coughing spree ended as he raised his hand that was filled with blood.

"... It's just like in the movies. One little bite and you're done for."

Exactly, his hypothesis was that the virus is transferred through their fluids. Saliva and blood, once they get into your bloodstream, you're done for.

The two started to crash out as David tuned them out. So much drama, just kill him and get it over with...

[From my database, all three of them are childhood friends.]

... Now he felt like an asshole. That being said, he was a little hypocritical since he kind of understood their pain. He left his parents to deal with the world after dying, after all.

It hurts.

"C-Come on, Takashi. I'm begging you... I want to be me up to the very end."

Seeing that Takashi wasn't going to release the man from the pain, David stepped up as he grabbed Takashi's shoulder.

"Wait, Lee-san—!"

Rei, who knew what was about to happen, begged him to stop as she shielded the coughing Hisashi with her body.

"P-Please, don't—!"

He grabbed the girl by her gakuran shirt before tossing her aside. Satisfied that she didn't take any damage, he looked at the weak Hisashi, who smiled.

"Thank... you..."

"... I'll make it painless."

[COMBAT EXPERT activated]

[WEAPON MASTER activated]

[BERSERK activated]

{STR : 27 → 135}

{DEX: 27 → 135}

{END: 27 → 135}

{270/270 HP → 1350/1350 HP}

"Do it for your friend."

He led Takashi as he forced him to raise the bat up high. The shivering hands of the boy slowed down at the sight of his friend suffering from the pain.

Steeling himself, Takashi let out a cry before swinging down as hard as he could, with David using his strength to help with the swing.

[GLORY KILL activated]

[You have gained +12 SP]

[You have assisted in a kill and gained 50 Experience Points!]

[His head was crushed in 0.134 seconds.]

[The death was instant.]

Thank you for telling him that—

His shirt was grabbed as Takashi leaned forward with a snarl.

"YOU—!"

The snarl slowly faded into a defeated expression as he let go, crumbling down. Rei, who got up from the ground, stared at the dead corpse near her before shrieking out in pain and loss.

"Why... WHY?!"

"I had to. We had to, or else we'd have been bitten."

Takashi suddenly stood up and explained as his face hardened. His hands were still shivering, but he masked it by clenching his fists tightly.

"Thanks, Lee. For the..."

David simply nodded. No words were needed.

As Rei started to lose it, she looked at the hardened face of Takashi before muttering.

"I get it now... Takashi... You actually hated Hisashi because he was going out with me!"

... Damn, really?

[Miyamoto Rei was going out with Non-important character 1, while Komura Takashi still has feelings for Miyamoto Rei.]

What a clusterfuck.

"And you!"

She pointed at David.

"You sick person, you killed someone, and still you look fine! Do you not feel anything after that? Do you?!"

To be frank... Nope. Nothing.

He gave a shrug as his answer. He then looked at Takashi, who had a distant look in his eye, before walking to the barrier.

That sent Rei on edge as she quickly followed behind him.

"Hey! Wait, where are you going?"

Takashi tilted his head to look back.

"I'm just in your way, remember? I'm going down there to give them a beating."

Surprised, Rei quickly pulled on his gakuran.

"Wha... What are you saying? You can't do anything on your own!"

Takashi shrugged it off before walking down the stairs with a determined expression. Climbing up on the barrier, he looked down at the zombies clawing on the makeshift walls.

"Come on... Takashi?"

Rei's whole body started to shake as she darted towards Takashi.

"S-STOP! NO, DON'T! I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry! Please, please don't leave me!"

She grabbed onto his arm as she pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"I didn't mean it! I didn't mean what I said! Please! PLEASE STAY WITH ME!"

... Takashi moved away from the barrier before hugging onto Rei tightly. She gave out a soft "ah.", tears streamed down her face before she broke down in his arms.

He looked at David, who nodded again before looking away.

[Komura Takashi, deep down, was happy that she needed him.]

[If it were me, I'd leave her behind; what an annoyance.]

And if it was him who broke down like that?

[It's obvious I'd pamper you like a king!]

Hah, that makes you a hypocrite, Tova.

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After they've both had the time to calm down, David designated himself as the carrier as he placed the resources that Rei managed to find into a duffle bag before slinging it onto his shoulder.

Tova advised him to not show the Inventory out in the open and only confide it to allies that he trusted, so he's keeping it a secret for now.

They then discussed formation.

Takashi will be on front-line duty with Rei behind him to protect his back. Meanwhile, he alone would cover their sides.

They argued about it, but he had already persuaded them to let him move alone after dispatching a few zombies on his own with nothing but his hands as a showcase.

With all his combat skills, nothing could lay a hand on him, so he was chilling.

Rei tried calling her father earlier. The line connected, and her father answered, but it was a one-way line, and the information that her father gave couldn't get through before the line cut.

What a waste.

At least they decided to move from the rooftop. They planned to check on their families, which he understood.

The only problem was the size of the main cast... Tova wouldn't tell him the exact numbers, but she mentioned that it would be a large group.

It would be hard to protect so many people at once; he was just a one-man army.

Looking down from their safe space, the zombies had increased to a decent number of 30.

Looking back at the Quest, he nervously chuckled. Getting 10,000 kills might be harder than expected.

To clear enough space to escape, Rei suggested using the fire hose linked to the observatory to push them from the barrier.

It was a good plan, spraying them down; the water pressure should be high enough to knock them down, but they'll get back up eventually and will cause a pincer problem the further they go.

At least, that's the case without him around. He'll clean up the problem swiftly with an easy crush of the head once they are on the ground, reducing their numbers and avoiding any future problems.

So, they executed the plan after checking their equipment one last time.

"All set?"

Takashi stood in front of their makeshift barrier with the fire hose in hand as he asked Rei who was at the fire hose controller.

She nodded.

"Ready!"

He then looked at David, who stood at his side, holding onto their weapons. He received a nod, prompting him to breathe in deep before yelling.

"We're starting now! Crank it!"

[Crank that Soulja Boy, Shinji!]

The sound of a lever being pulled echoed when the hose suddenly erupted with water. Takashi almost lost control of the hose if it weren't for him helping him.

"Thanks, Lee! Alright, take this!"

High-pressurized water crashed into the barrier, causing it to clatter and fall onto the zombies that were clawing at it.

It was like a chain of dominos falling; one by one the zombies would fall due to the barrier collapsing, causing a chain reaction for the rest to fall after being pushed down.

"If you would, please, Lee-san!"

Handing Rei her pole and Takashi's bat, he began his role's job as he walked up to the knocked-down zombies.

[BERSERK activated.]

{STR : 27 → 135}

{DEX: 27 → 135}

{END: 27 → 135}

{270/270 HP → 1350/1350 HP}

Rage surged through his chest as he raised his leg before stomping down on their heads, crushing their skulls and caving through their brains with his shoe.

And he hit the mother lode.

[You have killed 29 enemies and gained 2900 Experience Points!]

[You've leveled up from LVL 4 → 9! (200/900)]

[STATUS PAGE]

[Name : David Lee]

[Class: SLAYER]

[HP : 520/520 (52 HP/Hour) — END X 10]

[SP: 60/60 (11 SP/Hour) — WIS X 1]

[LVL : 9 (200/900) — 15 AP]

[STR : 52]

[DEX : 52]

[END : 52]

[INT : 12]

[WIS : 11]

[CHA : 10]

[LUK : 10]

... Looking at the amount of stats he now had, he couldn't help but think that isn't he a little too powerful?

With BERSERK, he's looking at 260 STR, DEX, and END.

Actually, as they were heading down the stairs, now's a good time to check the levels of zombies around the school through the rooftop fences...

[OBSERVE activated]

[LVL 5 Zombie (90%) — Hostility : ENEMY]

[LVL 3 Zombie (87%) — Hostility : ENEMY]

[LVL 4 Zombie (94%) — Hostility : ENEMY]

[LVL 5 Zombie (97%) — Hostility : ENEMY]

They took some damage? Ah, it makes sense since they've been bitten or clawed before turning into zombies.

Levels 4-5 were the averages; they're weak as hell.

[Don't underestimate them; the virus increased their parameters by quite a bit.]

How much stronger are we talking about?

[About 1.5 to 3 times more powerful physically, but most have a 1.5 times multiplier. A Child Zombie could chew through steel with some difficulty.]

Damn, that's horrifying to think of, but why aren't they... Oh, they're unintelligent.

[Zombie Weakness : Low Intelligence, Sound-Reactive, Predictable Movement — Weak Points : Head]

Noted. He'll keep the Attribute Points for now, but they most likely would go to his other stats like INT and WIS to balance his build.

[Hmm... They give too much EXP, it seems. Looks like I'll have to nerf you a bit.]

Say what?

[If you're too strong, it wouldn't be as fun, would it? It's an oversight on my part; I'll reduce some numbers.]

[Don't worry, I'll still let you keep everything, and to compensate...]

[You have received Weapon : Black Nichirin Sword (Kimetsu no Yaiba) — Wielded by the Strongest Demon Slayer to have ever lived, the weapon is made specifically for the purpose of slaying the Demons of the night.]

[DMG Potential : 300 ~ 750 HP]

Holy, he didn't mind the nerf to his Level gains, but hot damn, this is some compensation!

The damage potential is also insane; this thing could one-shot him with a single strike?!

"Lee-san, are you listening?"

He snapped back to reality as Rei tapped his shoulder. Takashi, with his bat on his shoulder, repeated after making sure that the coast was clear.

"I'm suggesting hooking up with other survivors somehow and then helping each other get back home."

"Um... Lee-san, do you have any family members here in town?"

Does he?

[No. You're an orphan in this universe. No particular strings too; it makes dimension hopping easier to explain.]

He shook his head.

"No, I'm an orphan. Let's prioritize your families."

That put a damper on their expression as an awkward tension filled the group, to which David sighed.

"Calm down, it isn't offensive. I understand, and I thank you for your consideration."

His words seemed to ease the tension slightly, and the group exchanged glances.

"Then... mind tagging along? Your insane strength would be useful in any group."

Takashi asked as David nodded. Smiling, he raised his fist, to which David returned as they fist-bumped.

They continued their way down the stairs with caution when Rei hesitantly reached out to tug on his gakuran.

"I... Um..."

He turned to look at her.

"I'm... I'm sorry for saying such harsh words earlier. I-I didn't mean it."

Takashi kept quiet as Rei apologized.

"I forgive you."

Those three words blew away all the tension remaining in her shoulder as she choked up, giving him a soft smile.

"Sorry... Thank you..."

"You can thank me by surviving."

For three months, at the very least. For the sake of his Quest, please survive without causing many problems!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A gunshot? No, that sounded more like gas releasing from a compact form factor. A nail-gun, perhaps?

"Gunshots...?"

Takashi thought of the same thing, muttering in confusion as Rei pinpointed the location.

"They're coming from the faculty room."

Looking at the group, Takashi hesitated before making a decision.

"... Let's go. That sound must mean that there are survivors."