Employment Ice Age of the Dead - Chapter 2

 FIRE → Zombies Appear

"Nnn... Where am I?"

How long had I been unconscious?

When I woke up, to my surprise, I was lying on the futon laid out in my own room in a cheap apartment.

"...It's certainly safe here, all right..."

Getting up immediately, I felt like my body had gotten a little heavier...

However, rushing to look in the bathroom mirror, my skin remained smooth and clear, and I didn't look like I had aged five years either.

"What's going on?"

Did I revert back to my original late-forties body because I returned to my original world?

No, but the muscle I had gained hadn't withered, and my skin condition was still in great shape.

I hastily checked my status... I wasn't sure if that was possible in this world, but when I opened my status screen, my level had somehow reset to 1.

"Since I reverted to Level 1, I guess I've gotten weaker..."

Perhaps because of the five years of training in another world, I looked younger and felt in perfect health compared to before the summoning, but at Level 1, my strength was likely far below what it was right after defeating the Demon Lord.

Rather than my body getting heavier, my stats had simply dropped because of returning to Level 1.

It was strange that my youthfulness remained despite being Level 1, but for now, I decided to accept it for what it was.

It wasn't as if the muscle built up in another world would suddenly vanish, and compared to the Level 1 I was right after being summoned, I was vastly sturdier, full of vitality, and far healthier.

"Well, I don't really need to get super strong in this world anyway. Besides, it's not like I can get any stronger now."

That was because levels only increase by defeating demons and monsters.

Since nothing like that existed in this world, my level would never go up again.

If asked about animals, I had done plenty of hunting to secure food in the other world, but defeating animals never raised my level.

So even if I hunted in this world, my level wouldn't increase.

"At least the rewards from the king and the items I got in the other world can still be accessed through my Item Box."

As long as I had that, even at Level 1, there was no problem since I didn't need to fight monsters like in the other world.

On the contrary, if I wanted to live a quiet life going forward, it was better if others didn't find out I was strong or that I was actually a wealthy man holding vast amounts of treasure.

"Wait, come to think of it..."

At that moment, a certain question occurred to me.

How was it possible for me to use my apartment room normally when I had been fighting in the other world for five whole years?

"If you fall five years behind on rent and utilities, you'd normally be evicted."

Moreover, the inside of the room was in the exact same state as when I lived here.

It bothered me that even after five years, the room looked identical to how it was right before I was summoned.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Checking my smartphone placed beside my pillow, an astounding fact came to light.

"It says today is July 10, 2025, and it's 8:00 AM! Then that means..."

Even though I spent five long years defeating the Demon Lord in another world, only a single night had passed in this world!

Could it be that the king had been considerate of my situation?

"Ah, then that means!"

I hadn't actually been fired from my janitor job yet, which meant I had to go to work!

"I'm going to miss the bus!"

If five years had passed and I was fired, it would have been beyond my control. But if only one night had passed, I needed to submit a formal resignation notice to quit my job.

Moving so earnestly despite becoming rich enough to not need a job was probably just my nature... Or perhaps it was because living carefully like this was how I managed to keep from falling to the absolute bottom my entire life.

"No time for breakfast! I have to rush to work!"

Since it was a janitor job, at least I didn't need to change into a suit.

I changed into my usual casual clothes and immediately went to open the door to leave the room.

However...

"Gah!"

Instinctively sensing bloodlust, I pulled back and slammed the door shut—a reflex owed to my days fighting as a hero in another world, even if I was currently back to Level 1.

Slamming the door with all my strength, the arm that had thrust through in response to my sudden motion got trapped in the door.

"Woah!"

If that were all, it would have been fine, but the thrust-in arm actually tore off from the impact of the door closing, dropping onto the entryway floor with a thud.

Saying I was shocked would be an understatement.

"Shoot! Even though I'm back to Level 1 and my strength has dropped, I forgot I'm still far stronger than a normal human. I didn't think this would happen... Wait?"

Inspecting the severed arm that fell in the entryway, I noticed something.

There was almost no blood coming from the severed arm, and the skin was dark, dry, and filthy—just like a corpse.

I recognized an arm like this.

"Could this be..."

Not sure if I could use it at Level 1, I cast the spell Heal towards the fallen arm.

Immediately, the arm wrapped in a pale light began emitting white smoke and dissolved into nothingness.

Afterward, only white arm bones remained.

"The reason it burned away from healing magic is because this arm belonged to an undead."

Next, I ran to the room's window and pulled the curtains open with force.

Looking down from the second-floor window of the apartment, a terrifying sight unfolded before me.

The skin color of all the people walking around for their morning commute or school trip was dark and discolored.

Looking closer, there were multiple bite marks on their necks and limbs; I recognized these monsters.

"(Zombies...)"

They were magical weapons created by high-ranking demons under the Demon Lord to eradicate humanity in the other world.

There were slight differences compared to the zombies in that world, but they were undoubtedly zombies.

Furthermore...

"Eeeek! A monster!"

"Aaaaagh..."

"Urrrgh..."

A single person who hadn't turned into an undead was running for his life, but the zombies that were waddling along previously pounced on him with blinding speed, devouring his entire body.

Bitten in various places, the person lost strength and collapsed on the spot, with multiple zombies piling on top of him.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have died, lying motionless on the ground without a twitch.

Dying upon being bitten by a zombie was just like in the other world.

"Hmm... Right after finally returning to my original world, too..."

To think zombies would appear in the modern world...

"What is this, a B-grade horror movie?!"

Even as I complained, having fought the Demon Lord and his army for five full years, my mind immediately switched to combat mode.

I quickly tried to retrieve weapons and armor from my Item Box to equip them.

However...

"I can't use the 'Hero Series' set that defeated the Demon Lord... My level is too low."

In that case, I had no choice but to defeat these zombies and raise my level again.

"Even at Level 1, I'm way stronger compared to right after I was summoned to the other world. If I raise my level to where it was when I defeated the Demon Lord..."

Besides, I had five years worth of combat experience and knowledge.

I was bound to become even stronger.

Storing the Hero Series items back into the Item Box, I pulled out a different set of equipment to put on.

"Leather armor, leather boots, leather shield, leather helm, and a bronze sword. I guess this is about my limit for now..."

In the other world, you couldn't equip superior gear without the appropriate level capability.

Even if you managed to wear it, it would actually make you weaker.

And that made sense.

If a Level 1 wore full metal plate mail, the sheer weight would only slow their movements down.

No matter if I was a hero from another world, I couldn't escape that rule, so I had worked hard to level up to wear better gear back then.

"But right now, since I'm Level 1, it can't be helped."

After gearing up, I stashed everything inside my room into the Item Box while I was at it.

Having been a working poor adult for so long, my poverty mindset kicked in.

At the same time, seeing the streets swarming with zombies meant this wasn't isolated.

It was safe to assume that not just this town, but all of Japan—or rather, the entire world—was in the same state.

"In that case, humanity won't be able to maintain its previous standard of living for a while."

Various daily supplies, food, and even water were highly likely to run short.

Since I had an Item Box, I stored as many useful things as possible.

It was thanks to this frugal nature that I managed to stay alive and defeat the Demon Lord in the first place.

"And here I got all these gold, silver, and treasures as rewards..."

In this situation, I couldn't sell them for cash, and even if I got money now, it was doubtful how useful it would be...

At this point, living supplies, food, and water were far more valuable.

That's why I needed to gather as many of those as possible.

Because of the zombies, my mindset instantly flipped back to the same combat mode as when I served as a hero in another world.

"My phone... It's a miracle the internet is still connected. 'People around the world are turning into zombies one after another, attacking the living to increase their numbers,' huh..."

Social media, message boards, popular video-sharing sites—every single platform was filled with reports of mass zombie outbreaks from people all over the world.

Some were even attacked by zombies from behind during live streams.

"It's certain that the internet will go down soon, and electricity, gas, and running water will become unusable too."

Then, what I needed to do was...

"Let's go!"

Fully prepared and having cleared out my entire room into the Item Box, I opened the door once again.

When I did, the one-armed zombie attacked me once more.

Expecting it beforehand, I managed to sever its head with minimal movement.

"Phew... That's one for now..."

"Aaaaagh!"

However, the opponent was an undead.

Even as a severed head rolling around the hallway, it kept groaning, while its headless body wandered aimlessly around the second-floor hallway.

"Undead are such a pain to kill..."

First, I cast Heal on the zombie's head; the flesh melted away with white smoke, leaving only the skull behind.

Casting Heal on the body yielded the same result, melting the flesh until only bones remained.

"Phew... Thank goodness I'm stronger than my original Level 1 self before the summoning."

Among the remaining body bones of the zombie, a gray marble-sized orb remained.

Picking it up to inspect it, I realized it was a clump of mana.

In the other world, defeating monsters also dropped mana stones, though this looked slightly different in appearance.

"It's low quality. I should leave this place as soon as possible."

That was because the remaining bones would eventually revive as a Skeleton after some time.

Unfortunately, smashing the remaining bones wasn't enough to stop a skeleton's revival, and since skeletons were mid-tier undead, a Level 1 like me could easily make a fatal mistake against one.

For now, I needed to stick to defeating zombies to raise my level.

"First, I need to defeat as many zombies as possible to level up..."

The zombie I just killed was likely the resident living next door on the second floor.

I didn't interact with them much, so I didn't realize it at first.

"Aaaaagh!"

"Urrrgh!"

After defeating the neighbor zombie, the other residents on the second floor—all turned into zombies—opened their doors and rushed out to attack me.

Using my bronze sword, I severed the heads of three zombies and melted them down using Heal.

"Pardon me for a moment."

After defeating the second-floor zombies, I made sure to check their rooms.

While storing usable items in my Item Box, I found a prepared breakfast in the room of an elderly woman who lived alone.

"Grilled salted salmon set meal... hits the spot. Sorry, ma'am."

This was all to survive.

I collected more food and water.

Heading down to the first floor, unfortunately, all the residents there had also turned into zombies, so I dispatched them using my bronze sword and Heal.

Slashing them with the bronze sword and melting their bodies with Heal.

Finally, I made sure not to forget collecting the dropped mana stones.

As expected, I was far stronger than right after being summoned, and the combat instincts honed over five years were completely ingrained, so there was no risk of slipping up against a handful of zombies.

"Even at Level 1, I'm glad I haven't forgotten the sword techniques I desperately learned in the other world. Oh! I leveled up!"

After defeating six resident zombies from the apartment, my level went up.

My body felt slightly lighter, so I decided to keep grinding levels steadily.

"Right now, I'm overwhelmingly stronger than when I reached Level 2 right after being summoned, but I can't afford to be careless."

If I encountered a skeleton or higher-tier undead, there was a high chance I'd be killed in an instant.

"...I give up on going to work. I'll focus on raising my level quickly while securing the necessities for survival. Hmm..."

In this situation, even if I foolishly showed up for work, I probably wouldn't get paid anyway.

Besides, there was no way the bus to school was going to arrive at the bus stop on time.

"I wonder if Miss Shirai is safe?"

I was worried about the safety of the girl I talked with every day in the janitor's room, but I doubted she would go to school in this situation, and as a janitor, I had no idea where her home was located.

If an middle-aged non-regular janitor asked for a student's contact information, it would definitely cause a huge scandal.

Even if I tried calling the school now to ask about her safety, no one would answer, so all I could do was pray for her safety.

Sorry to Miss Shirai, but securing my own safety comes first right now.

Having made up my mind, casting Heal on six zombies at Level 1 had completely drained my mana.

"Normally, I'd need to rest overnight to recover mana, but this method should work."

I pulled out a bracelet from my Item Box and equipped it onto my dominant arm.

Fortunately, this bracelet could be equipped even at low levels.

In the other world, it was an item I only acquired after reaching a very high level.

"The 'Mana Replenishment Bracelet.' Inserting the mana stones dropped by the zombies into the slot on this bracelet..."

Instantly, the mana stone vanished as if melting away.

And the headache and drowsiness that came with mana exhaustion completely disappeared.

"And now, Heal."

Using healing magic to restore my max HP increased from leveling up, my body felt light once again.

With this Mana Replenishment Bracelet, I could recharge mana using the mana stones obtained from defeating zombies.

Using this, I should be able to hunt plenty of zombies in a short time.

Having successfully replenished my mana, I set out to secure supplies and food first to survive.

As for leveling up, it wouldn't be an issue as long as I defeated every zombie that got in the way of my work.

"The chairman's foolish son probably didn't show up to work either. At this rate, it's doubtful whether that school can even survive anyway."

I never imagined that after being summoned to another world for five years, I'd return just one day later, nor did I expect zombies to appear.

But first, I'll survive, then think about what to do next.

"Once I level up enough and have some leeway, maybe I can go look for Miss Shirai?"

Even so, to think my own world would end up overrun by zombies...

What's that?

Aren't I going to save the world with this power?

Even though I was suddenly summoned to another world and forced to risk my life, the king treated me with respect and rewarded me fittingly.

In this world, however, I'm nothing more than an 'Employment Ice Age uncle' who is a burden on society.

Like I was told before, I'll manage to live on my own somehow, so I'll leave saving the world to the capable elites and young people.

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