The Fifth Time

　

“――――ou. ――chijou!　Hey, Ichijou! “

　At the sound of that voice calling out to him as usual, Akira immediately knew that he had returned to life again.

(……Fifth time, huh?)

　First, Akira let out a breath of relief that he was alive and well this time as well.

　Then immediately turned his attention to the previous cause of his death.

(The minotaur’s level was 45. The status was about 4 times what I am now …… or maybe even 5 times what I am now. I knew it. I should have known that if I met him, I’d be dead for sure.)

　What he should consider in this life would be the actions of the Minotaur.

　Food――He must avoid encountering the minotaur, which may be in search of humans.

　With that in mind, Akira called up his own status screen.

(My stats are the same as the last time I checked. There’s no indication that I’ve earned any trophies since I awoke, and nothing seems to have been earned on my Return from Hell like it used to be.)

“Hey, Ichijou!!　Are you listening!? “

　Maybe it was because he kept ignoring her too much. The voice calling out from behind Akira grew louder.

　At the sound of that voice, Akira finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked back behind him.

“……Chief Nanase. I’m going home. You too should leave immediately Chief. Oh, and I recommend stocking up on water, food, and other supplies on the way home.”

“What?　Ichijou, you…… what are you saying all of a sudden――――?”

“Well then…… if you’d excuse me.”

　Akira forcibly interrupted Nao, who looked doubtful.

　Quickly packing his bags, Akira then left his seat.

　In turn, Nao raised her voice toward his back.

“Hey, Ichijou!! “

　At the shout, Akira stopped dead in his tracks.

　Then he spun around to look at Nao’s face and slowly opened his mouth.

“……This is not coming from a subordinate of the same company. I say this as an old friend from junior high, a kouhai who has known you for a long time. …………Nao-san. Please buy food and water, preferably for a few days―― or even a week, and return home. And whatever happens, don’t go out of your house so readily. ……Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Ichijou!!　Hey, Ichijou!! “

　Akira did not look back at the voice that called to him this time.

　Because he knew what was about to happen.

　For the fifth time in his life, he knew that the world from now on would be a world in which it would be difficult for him to survive even on his own.

　Akira could not take the option of acting together, even if he had known her for a long time.

“It’s almost time the date changes, huh?”

　The appearance of monsters in this world will be confirmed only after midnight.

　Until then, as in the fourth time, he should stock up on supplies.

　With this in mind, Akira stepped out into the city at night, where people still went about their daily lives.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　◇　◇　◇

　He hoarded supplies, retreated to his now unoccupied company, and waited for the right moment.

　And so, when the sirens and gunshots began to echo through the city, Akira finally sprang into action.

“……All right, let’s get started.”

　While waiting for the time to come, Akira was deciding on his goals in his fifth life.

　First and foremost, survival at all costs. This was no different from his goal set for the fourth time. And that goal was Akira’s ultimate goal, one that would never change no matter how many times he revived.

　Second, focus on leveling.

　There was no doubt that level, status, and skills were what was needed to survive in a destroyed world where monsters had emerged. The most troublesome of all was the existence of the Minotaur―― or monsters with strength equal to or greater than that of the Minotaur.

　As long as the food for the monsters was human beings, leveling would be essential to survive in such a world. The minotaur’s level was 45. Currently, Akira’s overall level― that is, with the carryover― was 8. There was an overwhelming gap in status and level.

(It is already difficult to raise the level with goblins. And a quest has not been generated at this time…… Then I guess I’ll start leveling with Man-eating Plants, as I had planned to do last time.)

　This was the monster he had decided last time to use as a leveling partner after the goblins.

　Based on his previous memory, he knew roughly where Man-eating Plants appeared around the company. Since these monsters could not move, they must be in the same place this time around.

　With that in mind, Akira left the company that served as his base, and walked through the city, which was abuzz with the appearance of monsters, and into an alley lined with small, multi-tenant buildings.

(――――There.)

　Akira’s gaze narrowed sharply at the figure he soon found.

　The ivy stretched out in all directions as if the building itself were a host, and its body, which resembled a Nepenthes, hung down to the ground. Akira knew from the memories of his previous life that the vase-like body was as large as an adult and that it would start moving as soon as he stepped into its attack range.

“Well then.”

　Muttering, Akira reached into his backpack and pulled out some copy paper and a lighter.

　It was prepared in advance when he decided to fight against Man-eating Plant.

“I wonder how this plant-looking thing will react to fire.”

　Akira said and lit the copy paper on fire.

　In an instant, the copy paper caught fire, and when Akira saw that the fire was growing, he tossed it haphazardly into a cluster of overhanging ivy.

“～～～～～～!” “

　A moment later, the ivy stirred, as if it didn’t like that fire.

　The undulating ivy opened up a space to avoid that fire and eventually stopped its movement.

　Apparently, the fire was its weakness, as it appears to be.

(If a few of us surrounded them with flamethrowers or something similar to burn them down so they couldn’t escape, we’d win in no time at all.)

　That was, of course, if you had one on hand.

　Akira, who had no such weapon, let out a sigh and quickly regained his resolve, this time taking out a kitchen knife from his backpack and swinging the blade as close as he could to the taut ivy just as it was starting to move.

“～～～～～～!” ! “

　Could it have a sense of pain? As soon as the blade wounded the ivy, it writhed and wriggled violently, sending purple fluid from its wounded body parts into the area.

　Akira quickly retreated back, avoiding the mysterious liquid that flew off with the writhing ivy and observed the Man-eating Plant.

(……Ivy, more like tentacles. They’re moving fast――But I think I can still handle it.)

　Laughing, Akira bent down with his knife at the ready.

“Haaa……”

　He breathed out and held his breath.

　Akira then rushed off to the Man-eating Plant at full speed.

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 ToC    

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