The portal surrounded us once more.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in a jungle anymore.
It looked like a countryside.
Abandoned, still, almost… serene.
The wooden old houses lined one side of the dirt road, fences broken and weeds as tall as I stood. The wind howled through open windows, carrying the faint smell of rust and damp earth. A scarecrow sat lopsided in a nearby field, its head hanging as if it'd lost hope a long time ago.
"This. doesn't look like a dungeon floor," I grumbled, surveying the area. "More like the setting of a horror movie.".
Seris, always serene, was silent beside me. Her armor softly radiated in the cloudy illumination. "Deception lies in appearance. Stay sharp, Master."
I nodded, even though my eyes wandered repeatedly across the view. "Dude, if this is what awaits beyond every floor, I'm gonna need therapy when I get home."
[Floor 3 – Abandoned Countryside]
The words flowed before me.
And just below it—yet another tempting button on my system screen.
[Dungeon Coins: 130]
[Gacha Pull Available: 1]
*****
I froze in my tracks. The urge hit me immediately.
*****
Seris picked up on it, her head tilted slightly. "You intend to use the gacha again?"
*****
I grinned. "Well, why not. Who knows what I can win this time? Another servant? A weapon? Maybe a dragon?"
*****
She blinked, her expression impassive. "I don't think dragons are low-tier summonable."
*****
"Let a guy dream, okay?"
*****
And with that, I pressed the button.
The ring of familiarity echoed in my mind. Light chattered before me—blue and golden motes condensing into a solid thing. I took a breath, half hoping a human would coalesce like the last time.
But something else coalesced instead.
A ghostly symbol hung mid-air, then disappeared into my chest.
"Huh?" I blinked. "That's. new."
[Congratulations! You have acquired: Skill – Forced Enforcement (★3)]
[Effect: Temporarily enhances all physical and mental traits to extreme limits for 10 minutes.]
[Cooldown: 24 hours.]
[Warning: Excessive pain and fatigue can result after activation.]
I scanned the text, my brow furrowed. "Ten minutes of that kind of power…! That's insane!"
Seris stepped forward, her expression serious. "Master, those kinds of powers are not good. If the warning label is accurate, it could damage your body after activation."
"Yeah, but it says it might cause pain. Doesn't mean it will."
She scowled. "Overconfidence results in unnecessary death."
I smiled half-heartedly. "Then I'll be cautious, promise. But hey—at least I do have a talent now. I was starting to feel like a background character."
Her gaze softened, though her voice remained stern. "I am glad for your improvement. But keep in mind—power is meaningless if you are unable to handle it."
"Got it, teacher."
We made our way to examine the area thereafter. It was daylight still, though the sun was gray and pale behind thick clouds. With each step down the dusty path, decades' old dust was kicked up.
Homes were eerily similar—rotten wood, splintered furniture, and emptiness.
"Looks like folks just… vanished," I said, brushing cobwebs off one of the houses. "There is no trace of struggle. No blood, no bodies."
Seris closed her eyes, sensing the air. "There is weak mana here. Old, but enduring. It stays beneath the earth."
"Mana in the ground? Sort of like a seal or something?"
"Perhaps. Or… something buried."
That made me gulp. "Yeah, great. Because I just really wanted to have zombies in my first horror-themed dungeon."
We didn't speak any further. Just continued to scan the terrain, her sensitive senses tracking the shadows.
Finally, we found a two-story house on the edge of the countryside. Unlike the others, however, this one was surprisingly in one piece. There were still furniture, a fireplace, and even shelves with dusty jars upon them.
"This one's habitable," I ventured, entering.
Seris followed along, her boots hushed on the creaking floorboards. "It will have to do for cover. I will scout out the perimeter."
She did that while I searched around the kitchen—and nearly screamed with excitement.
"Seris! There's food here!"
She rushed in just about instantly. "Show me."
I nodded at a cache of canned provisions, dried fruit, and what looked like stale bread stored in jars. "It's all still here! Jackpot!"
She examined one jar carefully, sniffed it, and nodded slowly. "No sign of poison. These ought to be safe to eat."
I didn't give her a chance to finish. I tore one open and took a bite.
"Oh my god…" I groaned between bites. "This… this is heaven. Real food. Not sporadic fruit or rations!"
She waited there looking at me for a moment before she said softly, "I am pleased that you are happy, Master."
She spoke in a gentle, almost playful tone. I smiled at her and laughed. "You sure you don't eat? Anything?"
She shrugged, tightening her gauntlet. "I have no biological need to eat," she replied. "But the ceremony of sitting to eat… I do find it fascinating."
I grinned. "Maybe when we get out of here, I'll buy you one."
perfection
She narrowed her eyes by just the slightest before she turned away. ".Understood."
perfection
With the sun lowering, we started a small fire in the ruined fireplace. The fire heated the room, and for once in quite a while, I felt almost human again.
perfection
But that peace didn't last.
Seris stiffened. Her sword arm spasmed. "The mana signature… it's building."
I stiffened. "Where?"
"Below."
"Below—wait, you mean under us?"
Before I could even move, the wooden floor creaked apart.
A grotesque, decaying hand pushed through the boards, and then another—and then a whole figure squirmed out.
It looked human. At least, at one time.
Skin half-rotten, eyes empty, jaw flapping loose. Its body twitched spasmodically as though all the bones within it had forgotten what they were doing.
------
"Dear—what the devil?!" I took a step back.
------
Seris did not hesitate. She drew out her knife and sliced it in one continuous motion. The creature's body was bisected in two—still twitching.
------
"What in the devil is that creature?!" I yelled.
------
The system announced:
[Welcome to the Zombieland — Home of the Undead.]
I blinked, then groaned loudly. "Zombieland?! You've got to be kidding me!"
The severed halves of the creature started crawling toward us, its fingers clawing against the wooden floor.
"Master, stand back," Seris said firmly, stepping in front of me. "These are undead creatures. Conventional slashes will not cease their motion unless their core is destroyed."
"Core? Like slimes?"
"In essence, yes. But the undead core often resides within their skull."
"Meaning… I gotta smash their heads. Great. Perfect."
More cracking noises encircled the air—beneath the floor, in the walls, even outside.
Seris's grip on her sword tightened. "They are moving in on us."
I picked up a broken chair leg and gripped it as a club. "Well, time to see my new jacket's shield in action again if things do go bad."
Don't rely on that too much," she warned. "It can't be reused until it's out of cooldown time."
Yes. Five hours cooldown.
We both fell back toward the center of the room as the floorboards surrounding us creaked open, one after another. Dozens of zombies hoisted themselves up, their vacant eyes shining with the flickering firelight.
Their moans filled the air like a nightmare dirge.
Seris went on the attack first. Her blade flashed with lightning once more, cutting through the mob. Heads rolled, bodies fell—but some still squirmed, crawling towards us with unnatural persistence.
I brought my makeshift club down, crushing one's head. The impact coursed a shiver up my arm, but the beast was dead finally.
"Okay! That works!" I roared.
"Hold your guard up!" Seris screamed, cutting another in two.
They just wouldn't let up. From the ground, through the doorway, even from the ceiling.
"Seris, there's too many!"
"Then we hold the line until their numbers thin!"
Her blade slashed back and forth, her movements swift and accurate. Lightning danced around her like a storm, each strike cutting down three or four at a time.
And me? I just tried not to die.
Each time I pressed one underfoot, another took its place. The air was heavy with smoke and decay. My heart pounded in my ears, and sweat burned in mine.
Then, as abruptly as it began. it stopped.
The floor was still. The remaining corpses twitched once, then lay flat.
Panting, I leaned against the wall. "I. I think that's all of them."
Seris did not stir, her eyes sweeping the room. "For now."
Then the system rang again.
[Goal Updated: Defeat the Undead Floor Master to complete Level 3.]
I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "A floor master? Great. Just what I need. Let me bet—it's some zombie king or other?"
Seris unsheathed her sword and re-sheathed it with a soft metallic click. "Whatever it is, we'll need to prepare ourselves. Rest while you can, Master."
I leaned down by the dying fire. "Yeah… well, you don't need rest."
She smiled very gently, hardly noticeably. "I will keep watch."
And while I slept restlessly amidst the underlying tang of smoke and rot, one thing would not stop bubbling in my mind—
Zombieland had but just started.